A lot of pressure has gone on Ross Taylor. Photo / Getty
A lot of pressure has gone on Ross Taylor. Photo / Getty
COMMENT
As if the Black Caps' disappointing batting display against Australia at Lord's wasn't distressing enough, the talk from fans and so-called experts following the 86-run defeat - about how our main concern in the final pool match against England should be keeping our net run-rate healthy –should send the alarm bells ringing.
Thanks to winning four of their first five matches at the tournament, and holding a superior net run-rate, the Kiwis are practically assured of a spot in the semifinals regardless of the result against England on Wednesday. Yet, relying on the crunching of numbers to get you into the final four should be the furthest thing from anyone's minds heading into what should instead be viewed as a World Cup quarter-final.
That attitude won't win us this World Cup and instead, we should be approaching the game as a must-win – as victory would mean invaluable momentum heading into the knockouts. It's also an opportunity to potentially knock one of the most dangerous sides right out of the competition.
Having a win at all costs mentality and scrap for a win is what will get us a trophy in our hands. Make no mistake, despite their recent defeats and obvious fragilities, Eoin Morgan's side remains dangerous as they showed against India when their backs were against the wall in a must-win game for them.
At the same time, the Black Caps were fragile when put under pressure by the Australian bowlers and after being seemingly untroubled for the first part of the tournament, they now run the very real risk of suffering back-to-back-to-back defeats ahead of the semis – a far from ideal position to be in.
Most concerning for coach Gary Stead will be the timid batting displays against the Aussies and Pakistan. Only Williamson and Taylor have put their hands up to build partnerships in our top five, which throws unnecessary pressure on our two most experienced men. A hundred from someone in your top five is needed to win clutch games and it would be great to see the rest of the batters take on the challenge.
Colin de Grandhomme and Jimmy Neesham have shown glimpses of form with the bat but the pressure on Williamson and Taylor will be almost unbearable at a time when you most need your top players to be calm, clear and confident.
The UK pitches haven't been as batsmen friendly as most of us had expected at the start of the World Cup but the fact that the Aussies were able to bowl 172 dot balls at us at Lord's is baffling. When conditions make it tough to score boundaries the ability to rotate the strike becomes even more important – something England's Joe Root, India's Virat Kohli, Australia's David Warner and Williamson have done with aplomb.
The Black Caps. Photo / Photosport
The batsmen aren't solely responsible for the Black Caps' recent losses, however.
Twice now in the tournament, we've had opposition teams on the ropes in their batting innings, and twice now we've been unable to land the knockout blow.
With Australia at 92-5 at Lord's, Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson should've bowled through and buried the Aussies instead of us taking the pressure off Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey and allowing them to rebuild with that 107-run partnership.
I don't envy Stead and some of the calls he'll have to make ahead of the Durham clash.
The decision to drop Colin Munro for Henry Nicholls at the top of the order didn't really pay dividends and he will be hoping to see returns from a batter who has been on the bench from the start. The selectors are clearly prepared to make changes despite some players not having a lot of cricket recently, which could mean that Tim Southee comes back into consideration for the match against England.
Southee has performed spectacularly well against the English before and could be an option to replace Ish Sodhi - and take back the position Matt Henry previously occupied, with impressive early returns.
On a positive note, the successive defeats have been a much-needed reality check for players and supporters alike. Perhaps we got carried away after beating four of the weakest teams at the tournament first up – especially as we weren't really convincing in most of those matches. We made life difficult for ourselves against Bangladesh, Williamson got us over the line against South Africa, and the West Indies came within a metre of beating us in Manchester. We're up against the big boys now and we need to show what we're made of.
