El Niche Cache
November 9, 2020
The Niche Cast Podcast
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Plunket Shield Round 2 Chat
The Niche Cast Warm Up: NBA Draft vs NBL Impact (RJ Hampton/LaMelo Ball)
Reading Menu
2020/21 Plunket Shield: Otago Volts Recruitment/Leo Carter (Cricket)
27fm Album Jukebox – October 2020 (Music)
The Wildcard’s NFL Picks - Week 9 (NFL)
The Premmy Files – Women’s Premiership Week One (Cricket)
2020/21 Kiwi-WBBL #2 (Cricket)
Lydia Ko Mixtape: September/October, 2020 (Golf)
27fm Weekly Niche Cache Playlist: November 9 (Music)
The Quotable Steven Adams – 2019-20 Edition (Basketball)
Wildcard’s Notebook
I’m on my own today so lucky youz, I’ll try to offer up a bit extra. Bit of this, bit of that. All while I keep one eye on NFL Redzone as all that progresses. Mondays are so hectic.
Hey, look at this, Spark Sport have unveiled their cricket commentary line-up...
That they’d be helmed by Scotty Stevenson was no secret, he’s pretty much the main man there on the broadcasting front and it was revealed a little while back that Brendon McCullum was their major get for the cricket. Baz has eased straight into a pretty nice commentary career already, doing some stuff at the World Cup and a bit with Sky Sports in the olden days and he’s great. A chummy personality, a clear communicator, and also someone who was a tactical innovator who views the game through that lens. Dunno what Stevenson will be like on the cricket (I have my personal biases against the rugby media) but he is at least a legit broadcaster capable of holding things together which is increasingly underrated these days in sports coverage for some reason. So that was a good enough start.
As to the ten new faces unveiled today, Spark had talked up a fresh and progressive crew and this isn’t really that, to be fair. Well apart from Lotto presenter Sonia Gray who presumably gets to run deputy to Stevenson’s Proper Broadcaster duties. Fair enough. Also surprising are the images of Mel Jones and Ian Bishop as overseas personalities... you’d imagine Bish is popping over for the Windies tour while Jones will probably be calling on White Ferns matches with England and Australia coming to visit. Those two aren’t part of the core crew but will add some class to the booth when they’re around.
Now for the rest of them. The bulk of the group where we’ve got a bit of good and a bit of not so good. If Spark were really hoping to get progressive with things then Mark Richardson isn’t the first name that springs to mind. In fact there’s almost no fresh blood here at all outside the converted broadcast duo... pretty much everyone else has extended experience calling games for Sky with one exception: Jeetan Patel. Jeets has done a few stints here and there no doubt but he’s only just polished off his playing career after one last season with Warwickshire in England. He’s a great get for this crew, I’ve got a good feeling about Jeets on the mic.
Frankie Mackay was a breakout commentary star for Sky Sports who didn’t get used enough. Someone a little younger with a different generational perspective. Always want a bit of variety. The other woman on the Spark call is Rebecca Rolls who has done some cricket and some football broadcasting before and should hold it down with a bit of humour (it’ll be interesting to see how all this goes with the Blackcaps/White Ferns splits and whether the entire crew is involved for both or not). Grant Elliott is a likeable dude who knows what he’s talking about... though just being likeable is a big advantage – the commentary team is there to add to what we’re already seeing, they’re not the main attraction. When the Sky Sports crew (usually very good, tbf) tipped into frustration it was when certain blokes felt too much licence to start spouting loud opinions all over the show. That and the dreaded ‘banter’.
Mark Richardson and Craig McMillan were amongst the more regular offenders in that regard so we’ll see how that goes in this different context. Wasn’t expecting Rigor to be hired given his Mediaworks duties but it seems that Spark aren’t really doing the rivalry thing with their competitors... as evidenced by a lil collab deal with Sky that was announced two weeks ago. And fair play to Spark for being the first broadcasters to finally tie Stephen Fleming down to a regular commentary role all these years after he stopped playing. Pure and simply one of the great cricketing minds Aotearoa has seen so excited to hear what he offers.
This is what’s happened to the Great Dispersion of Sky Sports’ cricket comms team...
Ian Smith – Still contracted to Sky Sports doing some rugby and a few spare other things... would imagine he’ll get to keep do overseas tours at least (esp. in Aussie)
Mike Hesson – Same deal as Smithy except he’s not a rugby caller so he’ll be feeling a bit lonely. Was doing a show called Smith & Hesson with Smithy for a while there... luckily he’s got a lifeboat thanks to Mediaworks getting the radio coverage where he’ll be one of the marquee callers
Simon Doull – Also on Mediaworks radio duties with Hesson. Getting back to the format/company where he first broke through as a broadcaster on The Rock... and is bound to have fun debunking scientifically verifiable climate information with old mate Peter Williams. Will surely also keep doing ICC stuff when the travelling situations are accommodating
Scott Styris – Currently to be seen/heard as a broadcaster for the IPL and having been left out of the loop with the two newbies on the block it seems that the man they call Pig will be limited to calling games on foreign turf... although there are plenty of those to go around once you’re in the mix like Styris is
Craig Cumming – Back to the day job?
Frankie Mackay – Scooped up by Spark Sports
Craig McMillan – Scooped up by Spark Sports
Leslie Murdoch – Sky made a big deal in their last 3-4 years of having that one (sometimes two) token spot for an ex-White Ferns international to add that missing female perspective. There shouldn’t be a barrier to having female commentators, it’s not as if any gender has a disadvantage when it comes to talking, but Sky had a tendency to pick the biggest names they could find rather than the best broadcasters. Debbie Hockley was unfairly picked on but she also wasn’t very good... part of that being she only really meshed with Ian Smith due to the generational thing. Leslie Murdoch was one of the better finds yet only Frankie Mackay was able to transcend the feeling that Sky were trying to make a point about how progressive they were. Which is better than not being progressive at all, to be fair. But yeah, so it goes.
That does get at another point about all this though, which is that commentary is about a lot more than individuals. The partnerships that they form in pairings, trios, quartets make a huge difference and so does the overall production value of the broadcast. For Spark Sport, that’s where they’re gonna sink or swim regardless of what the comms team looks like. There’s a lot to like here though. Nice and solid. Just maybe didn’t need Craig McMillan there, y’know? Sorry Mac.
We now interrupt this regularly scheduled newsletter to bring you further dispatches from the weird world of sports...
Peep at the Colts quarterback (38 year old Philip Rivers) absolutely bottling that attempt at a tackle
That’s Tom Blundell with the rare ‘obstructing the field’ dismissal for Wellington.
Shout out to Blundell because he served up a counter-attacking 101 for the Firebirds in tough conditions... after a terrible start to the season through his first five innings he became the first opener to ton up in this Plunket Shield season three weeks in. But this was a bit silly of him. Just swat it with your bat? Also if you were wondering why this isn’t ‘handled ball’ that’s because the rules were changed so that handled ball dismissals are absorbed within obstructing the field. Same thing, different name. Equally rare...
Staying on the Plunket Shield buzz, Canterbury are the only team to have won all three games. They’ve done that with some timely contributions with the bat, Tom Latham, Leo Carter, Daryl Mitchell & Cam Fletcher all with averages above 40 at this stage... but the real success of the team has been their seam bowling group which may not have the glitz and glamour of other groups (especially since Matt Henry was injured) but how about these apples...
Will Williams – 18 WKTS | 9.94 AVE | 31.7 SR | 1.88 ECO
Fraser Sheat – 15 WKTS | 9.93 AVE | 24.6 SR | 2.42 ECO
Daryl Mitchell – 12 WKTS | 13.25 AVE | 33.3 SR | 2.38 ECO
In terms of wickets, those three are all in the top five with Williams out in front. Jacob Duffy (17 wickets at 16.82) and Kyle Jamieson (15 wickets at 8.80) are the only ones splitting the triumvirate... although Jamieson would be way in front if Auckland’s game against CD wasn’t rained off in round three. But still. Williams and Sheat each have two five-fors already and are working up one of the great undercover tag-team duos in kiwi domestic cricket this season.
Here’s a sneak peak at this week’s Flying Kiwis. I was gonna rewrite some of this but what’s the point? The full thing will be published on Tuesday – after all the enticing MLS Decision Day action – so keep ‘em peeled for that and as always support us on Patreon if you reckon the (somewhat intense) amount of research and jazz that goes into that one each week is worthy of some small remuneration. Or just whack an ad in solidarity. Whatever you’re comfortable with... we’re just here to serve. Now feast upon a particularly exciting title race in the Norwegian women’s league with a couple kiwis in the middle of it all...
Vic Esson – Avaldsnes IL (Norwegian Toppserien)
It’s all gonna come down to the final week in Norway. One more round of footy and one single point separating the top three teams. Avaldsnes probably felt like they’d blown it last week when they lost to Rosenborg but then this week they were the only one of the top three to win, putting them right back in the mix.
They did it easy with a 3-0 win over Klepp (Kirsty Yallop’s old club, there ya go). Andrea Norheim gave them the lead in the sixth minute and it was all Avaldsnes the rest of the way, pretty much. Vic Esson did have to make one save late in the first half after a giveaway in midfield left them exposed but she set herself up and made a sharp diving stop to preserve the lead going into the break... after which they finally got the second goal that had looked so inevitable when Olaug Tvedten slammed in a low drive in the 51st minute. Holmfridur Magnusdottir came off the bench to make it 3-0 when she scored from a corner in the 67th and 3-0 was the way it stayed until the final whistle (although there was one scary moment as Klepp hit the post while it was still 2-0).
Meanwhile Rosenborg, try as they might, couldn’t find a winner against Sandviken which blew their chances of going top, while Vålerenga could have therefore clinched the title with a win away to Lyn but instead they were staring down the barrel of defeat when Dejana Stefanovic stepped up in the 86th minute to level the game at 2-2. Even that point would have put them in a great position... however Runa Lillegård hit back in the 89th minute to win it for Lyn with her second of the day. CJ Bott was an unused sub.
Vålerenga still hold on to first place thanks to their goal difference which with a four goal advantage should be enough that a win on the final day locks in the trophy. Here’s what the table looks like...
And here’s what the last round of fixtures looks like for the trio of contenders...
Sandviken vs Avaldsnes
Klepp vs Rosenborg
Vålerenga vs Arna-Bjørnar
Avaldsnes have the toughest of the three games plus they also need both teams ahead of them to drop points if they’re to rise up the ladder. Unlikely to happen though remember that the second spot is also a Champions League qualifying spot so it’s not only the title on the line here.
Up Next: As above, all games are 1am on Sunday (NZT)
CJ Bott - Vålerenga (Norwegian Toppserien)
So CJ Bott and Vålerenga have a league title to play for this week but there’s plenty else on the menu too. Like the small matter of the Norwegian Women’s Cup which is up for grabs in the midweek when Vålerenga take on Stabæk. Two trophies on offer in the next two games.
Not sure if CJB will he get a run out there or not, Vålerenga has proved a tough team to break into this season... but she did get a smooth ninety minutes last Friday as the Norwegian side cruised past KI (Faroe Islands) in the first round of Champions League qualifying. Three goals in three minutes in the first half basically put it beyond doubt early on, Synne Jensen getting them started from the penalty spot then Ajara Nchout and Janni Thomsen chipped in and from 0-0 on 24 minutes it was suddenly 3-0 after 27 minutes. Despite being in complete control they wouldn’t score again until the last twenty minutes, Nchout with her second, but when they did they proceeded to skittle the Faroe Islands club with three more goals including one to their left back for the night... Catherine Joan Bott.
Boom. First goal for the club - and she wasn’t the only one either, Rikke Nygaard also scored her first for Vålerenga as a rotated team had absolutely zero problems with cruising into the second and final round of qualifying. UEFA’s stats have it at 36 total shots for Vals and just 1 for KI. They next face Gintra Universitetas (Lithuania) away from home, in a single legged game, in a week and a bit. Victory there will put them into the competition proper which begins with the round of 32.
Up Next: Stabæk vs Vålerenga at 8am on Thursday (NZT)