7 thoughts on “The CRICKETher Weekly – Episode 239”
Whilst recognising that NZ’s victory was a team performance and certainly not a Devine/Bates show, the lasting memory will be their hug at the end of the match. A heck of a lot of disappointments, hard graft and sheer bloodied mindedness culminated in that hug. and they deserve all the plaudits that come their way.
NZ have, today, shown us how to win but they’ve spent years showing us how to handle defeats, and how to handle them well., to their great credit.
South Africa will be gutted but they’ve done outstandingly well and should be proud of this.
Although Australia and England probably won’t feel this way, the fact neither won it was good for cricket (btw; credit to Perry for her graceful tweet congratulating NZ).
I suspect NZ will not be having any captain-succession issues as Devine stands down unlike _______ (add country name as you think fit).
Outstanding day for the White Ferns – the sheer unexpectedness of it all is the icing on a very rich and sweet cake
But – this is an inflection point for women’s cricket in NZ. It has been badly managed for years, and so now we wait and see: is this the start of better times, or is it a flash-in-the-pan like the Comm Games were?
Tournament cricket it great, and hinges on single moments. Can they sustain campaign after campaign of success and competitiveness? I still worry that nothing has really changed in the set up that has caused so much disappointment over the last 7 years since 2017 World Cup
Brilliant win for NZ and much deserved. I am pleased for them to win this trophy and also for Bates and Devine to obtain such a tangible reward after all their time at the top and efforts over the years. NZ are always fun to watch and the performances this comp have needless to say been some of their best. Kerr looked on her last legs at the end, she could hardly walk but still managed to bowl those last overs. A wonderful achievement for a team that are appreciated the world over.
I think SA made a mistake in bowling first, to be honest, the fact that it was a final (and runs on the board are very important – and chasing them is difficult), should have trumped their desire for a stylistic repeat of their victory over Australia.
And what a victory that was. I have been saying for a while that the Aussie bowling attack is not as special as they used to be, and indeed it was ruthlessly exposed by Wolvaardt and Bosch. They couldn’t repeat it in the final, perhaps due to the pressure and a sense that they’d already had their moment, as Syd said, but also because the NZ bowling to them was far better.
As far as the England captaincy situation goes, I think NSB has been badly treated by the management again. She is a reluctant captain yes but a capable one, at least in domestic cricket, as she’s shown with Trent Rockets and other sides over the years. With Jones and Ecclestone in the team as well one would think leadership would be catered for. The issue is that it seems no-one wants to come in and assert themselves, and their own captaincy style that may be different to what Knight does.
The issue for Knight is that this is becoming more and more obviously a problem that’s negatively affecting performances, and her own form and contributions with the bat are struggling to justify her continuing to have such control over the group and its selection. We will have to see what happens but it needs to be sorted out, and fast, as there are some big series coming up and England can’t afford to look as lost as they did against WI.
This was a great episode and loved the insight re: England. I didn’t know about NSB being chucked under the bus, which did some a strange approach after the event. Not sure though the captaincy answer is someone who is not yet in the team. Are there not other options? Bouchier? Ecclestone? Dean?
Bouch: An introvert. Nothing wrong with that (I’m one!) but the rough and tumble of international captaincy is not for her.
Eccles: A hothead, who needs to be able to focus on what she does best – taking wickets.
Deano: The only possible candidate among the younger players, but… would create selection flexibility issues, because you then HAVE to include her and Eccles for EVERY game. (Would be a lot easier if she was closer to being a proper middle order T20 batter, but… she isn’t.) Also… not convinced she actually wants it – she is also a little bit of an introvert, tho not on the Bouch scale.
CRICKETher 
Whilst recognising that NZ’s victory was a team performance and certainly not a Devine/Bates show, the lasting memory will be their hug at the end of the match. A heck of a lot of disappointments, hard graft and sheer bloodied mindedness culminated in that hug. and they deserve all the plaudits that come their way.
NZ have, today, shown us how to win but they’ve spent years showing us how to handle defeats, and how to handle them well., to their great credit.
South Africa will be gutted but they’ve done outstandingly well and should be proud of this.
Although Australia and England probably won’t feel this way, the fact neither won it was good for cricket (btw; credit to Perry for her graceful tweet congratulating NZ).
I suspect NZ will not be having any captain-succession issues as Devine stands down unlike _______ (add country name as you think fit).
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Outstanding day for the White Ferns – the sheer unexpectedness of it all is the icing on a very rich and sweet cake
But – this is an inflection point for women’s cricket in NZ. It has been badly managed for years, and so now we wait and see: is this the start of better times, or is it a flash-in-the-pan like the Comm Games were?
Tournament cricket it great, and hinges on single moments. Can they sustain campaign after campaign of success and competitiveness? I still worry that nothing has really changed in the set up that has caused so much disappointment over the last 7 years since 2017 World Cup
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Let’s put England Cricket back 5 years
https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/compare/grace-scrivens-1184303-vs-heather-knight-358259?view=OVERALL
Can she at least get a central contract first.?
you guys are becoming unrealistic over this obsession with GS imo.
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So… what *is* the plan then? We agree that our plan is far from ideal but… who else?
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Brilliant win for NZ and much deserved. I am pleased for them to win this trophy and also for Bates and Devine to obtain such a tangible reward after all their time at the top and efforts over the years. NZ are always fun to watch and the performances this comp have needless to say been some of their best. Kerr looked on her last legs at the end, she could hardly walk but still managed to bowl those last overs. A wonderful achievement for a team that are appreciated the world over.
I think SA made a mistake in bowling first, to be honest, the fact that it was a final (and runs on the board are very important – and chasing them is difficult), should have trumped their desire for a stylistic repeat of their victory over Australia.
And what a victory that was. I have been saying for a while that the Aussie bowling attack is not as special as they used to be, and indeed it was ruthlessly exposed by Wolvaardt and Bosch. They couldn’t repeat it in the final, perhaps due to the pressure and a sense that they’d already had their moment, as Syd said, but also because the NZ bowling to them was far better.
As far as the England captaincy situation goes, I think NSB has been badly treated by the management again. She is a reluctant captain yes but a capable one, at least in domestic cricket, as she’s shown with Trent Rockets and other sides over the years. With Jones and Ecclestone in the team as well one would think leadership would be catered for. The issue is that it seems no-one wants to come in and assert themselves, and their own captaincy style that may be different to what Knight does.
The issue for Knight is that this is becoming more and more obviously a problem that’s negatively affecting performances, and her own form and contributions with the bat are struggling to justify her continuing to have such control over the group and its selection. We will have to see what happens but it needs to be sorted out, and fast, as there are some big series coming up and England can’t afford to look as lost as they did against WI.
LikeLike
This was a great episode and loved the insight re: England. I didn’t know about NSB being chucked under the bus, which did some a strange approach after the event. Not sure though the captaincy answer is someone who is not yet in the team. Are there not other options? Bouchier? Ecclestone? Dean?
LikeLike
Bouch: An introvert. Nothing wrong with that (I’m one!) but the rough and tumble of international captaincy is not for her.
Eccles: A hothead, who needs to be able to focus on what she does best – taking wickets.
Deano: The only possible candidate among the younger players, but… would create selection flexibility issues, because you then HAVE to include her and Eccles for EVERY game. (Would be a lot easier if she was closer to being a proper middle order T20 batter, but… she isn’t.) Also… not convinced she actually wants it – she is also a little bit of an introvert, tho not on the Bouch scale.
LikeLike