Kane Williamson of New Zealand celebrates his century during day two of the First Test match in the series between New Zealand and the West Indies. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Kane Williamson of New Zealand celebrates his century during day two of the First Test match in the series between New Zealand and the West Indies. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Clubrooms
Winners and Losers
WINNERS
KANE WILLIAMSON'S EMPLOYERS
The superlatives have largely been exhausted after his match-winning 251 against the West Indies, an innings that started on a classic green top and ended caught on the boundary when chasing quick runs. Rather than repeat all the reasons it was a technical masterpiece – thesort of innings that inspires both poetry and PhD theses – it's timely to look at a wider implication that might have been missed.
New Zealand Cricket changed broadcast partners this year to predictable wailing and cavilling from Sky customers. It was a move NZC felt they had to make largely because of the free-to-air component that involved the most-watched terrestrial network in the country, TVNZ. There was a fear that whole generation of New Zealanders had never seen the Black Caps play; fear that was reflected in sliding participation numbers.
Without a major event or even a high-profile opponent, to launch the switch to Spark Sport, you suspect the major parties knew this would be a slow burn and all indications are the pick-up has been modest. You also suspect that right now across the country there are hundreds of casual cricket fans with a case of non-buyer's remorse.
I'm a cricket tragic that requires no extrinsic motivation to watch the game that moves me more than any other, but if I was trying to market the sport and the coverage of it, convincing people they would be crazy to miss the peak years of our greatest batsman would play a large part in it.
They've got 251 new reasons to do it.
Kane Williamson, New Zealand Black Caps v West Indies, Day 2 of the 1st international cricket test at Seddon Park, Hamilton on Friday 4th December 2020. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
This is a deliberately ambiguous header, because Los Pumas flexed their muscles in more ways than one.
Let's start with the obvious: Argentina lost fewer games in this year's Tri Nations than the winners did. (Yeah, yeah, so did Australia but this isn't about them, alright?)
The campaign they put together with the build-up they had was quite extraordinary. Drawing twice with the hosts means they were effectively two points from their first major title. There was also the small point of beating the All Blacks for the first time and the tears of joy that inspired.
So, yeah, hell of a tournament, and one that has increased the value of many of their players on the post-Covid job market.
Those players also flexed their muscles in a different way after three members of the squad, including popular captain Pablo Matera, were suspended due to vile, yet historic racist tweets. Matera was stripped of the captaincy.
A couple of days later, this happened:
"The disciplinary committee has considered and valued the attitude of the three players during this process and understands that they have not repeated similar actions during these more than eight years," a statement from the UAR read. "They have shown during this time to be people with firm and upright values, worthy of being part of our team."
Sensibly no mention of the pesky fact threats of player strike informed their decision. Sensibly no mention of the revolting content that led to the suspension in the first place, either.
I'm looking for a word to describe the international component of this weirdest of all rugby years and the one that keeps popping up is "flat".
Even the close games, while having their share of drama, have been lacking in spark.
There are some fundamental reasons, most notably the limited crowds and the artificiality that engenders, but more than that it's the tactical cycle rugby is in at the moment.
For the fan there's just waaaaaay too much kicking. Waaaaaaaaay.
Eddie Jones summed up the dilemma when defending his team's approach. England are often at the forefront of discussions involving the word "boring" but they're far from alone in 2020. Remember, the All Blacks played a game against Argentina where they made one line break – and that team contained the supernatural talents of both Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo'unga.
Jones said current refereeing trends and proficiency of defence can explain the high number of kicks from hand by his side.
"You have to win – if we don't win, we don't coach. Everyone knows that, so let's be quite blunt about that. Had we run the ball from everywhere and got turned over 30 times and been beaten 30-15 you'd have said why didn't we kick the ball more.
"We're trying to win games of rugby and we've got to find a way to do that, to try to get the ball to the opposition goal line as often as we can. That's the aim of the game – always has been, always will be. Would we like to run the ball more? Possibly yes, but not if we're not going to win games of rugby.
"Rugby needs to be positive at the moment, it is a tough time for the sport, and we are all trying to play as good a rugby as we can."
Try harder, please.
WEST INDIES
It feels like punching down to mention this but they really were not very good in Hamilton.
Sure, Williamson played a worldie and this New Zealand attack is outstanding, particularly in home conditions, but really, where was the fight?
Neil Wagner celebrates the wicket of Jermaine Blackwood before the decision is reversed, New Zealand Black Caps v West Indies, Day 3 of the 1st international cricket test. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
I expected New Zealand to win and win convincingly, but this is a West Indies team with genuine talent – Darren Bravo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach are quality test cricketers - that won a test in England recently. I didn't expect such a weak capitulation.
Letterbox
I was going to can the Letterbox section this week due to time and good-taste constraints but saw this beauty in the Herald letters page and thought it cannot go by without comment because I suspect Gill's not alone in her plight.
Spark has bought the rights, but why can't we see cricket on TV anymore? Gill Eady, Kohimarama
You can Gill! It's really quite simple once you've subscribed. You either need a smart TV that includes the Spark Sport streaming service, or you need to install a Chromecast and cast the cricket from a Spark Sport app on your device to TV screen. Change is hard, I get it, but once you're set up you'll honestly wonder what all the fuss was about.
And to all the tech and digitally savvy yoof of today, get alongside your parents and grandparents and give them a hand. They'll love you for it.
Media Snack
The Guardian's David Squires has carved himself out a niche as a brilliantly creative and rip-roaringly funny football cartoonist. This is a more sober work, but also a wonderful tribute to the many lives of Diego Maradona. You need to understand a bit about the evolution of Maradona's life to truly appreciate it, but even if you don't it's still worth a look.
The Grim Reaper
ROSS DYKES
Dykes was a cricket man through and through. A former first-class wicketkeeper, he then selected first-class teams, selected national teams, managed national teams and eventually helmed a major association. His great legacies were the selection of Daniel Vettori to the New Zealand side as a raw 18-year-old, and the development of University Oval into first an official test ground, and a little later, an appropriate venue for test cricket.
Watch Me
Rather than direct you to the cricket again, I'll point you in the direction of something a little different. If you haven't seen The Queen's Gambit you really should. It's one of the great sport's mini-series of all-time. The acting is great, the sets are great, the chess is fantastic and you can binge on it at your leisure. The Queen's Gambit, Netflix.
