Fabulous Baldies
Fabulous Baldies
Blackcaps ODI victory, David Light's title challenge, All Whites hypotheticals, Warriors win again & more
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Reading Menu
The 2023 Football Season Is Already Underway With OCL Qualifiers And A Blossoming Rivalry (Football)
The Women’s National League’s Getting Another Revamp (Including A Wellington Phoenix Reserve Team!) (Football)
An NBL Free Agency Primer For Breakers + NZers At Australian Teams (Basketball)
Blackcaps vs Sri Lanka Test Series & Test Summer Debrief (Cricket)
Exploring Blackcaps Pipelines: ODIs vs Sri Lanka & Aotearoa 'A' Squad (Cricket)
2022/23 Plunket Shield: Underground King Bharat Popli & Aotearoa 'A' Check In (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
Blackcaps had a lovely win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI which takes them to the top of the World Cup Super League ladder. Bangladesh are the only top-four team with games to play and they will face Ireland which could shake up the ladder, although more wins for the Blackcaps will probably seal the top spot.
Most of the Blackcaps batting line up scored some runs, but the knock of Rachin Ravindra late in the innings offers the most funk. Ravindra hit 49 runs @ 94sr which took the kiwis beyond 250 and this was Ravindra's first score over 20 in international cricket. This is an intriguing opportunity for Ravindra and while he didn't bowl, Wellington's best batter strengthens Blackcaps batting.
Ravindra scored the most runs for Wellington in Ford Trophy and Plunket Shield. He's the only Wellington batter with a FT century this season and he grabbed two of them, while also being the only Wellington batter to score 500+ runs in PS. It will be interesting to see how he controls the last 15-25 overs of these ODIs.
Below are the figures for the seamers who played in India recently compared to the first game against Sri Lanka (in India | in NZ vs SL) ...
Henry Shipley: 3w @ 34.33avg/7.35rpo | 5w @ 10avg/6.2rpo
Blair Tickner: 4w @ 41avg/6.83rpo | 2w @ 10avg/5.21rpo
Daryl Mitchell: 2w @ 35.5avg/7.88rpo | 2w @ 6avg/4rpo
Blackcaps have also announced some T20I squads to host Sri Lanka and then tour Pakistan. Jimmy Neesham, Tim Seifert and Adam Milne are selected with Seifert only playing the Sri Lanka series. Here is how these three have performed in recent activities...
Jimmy Neesham T20 adventures...
Australia: 62 runs @ 12.4avg/144sr | 1w @ 49avg/9.8rpo
South Africa: 176 runs @ 25.14avg/133sr | 14w @ 17.92avg/7.27rpo
Pakistan: 87 runs @ 14.5avg/131sr | 6w @ 33.16avg/9rpo
Tim Seifert this summer...
Super Smash: 245 runs @ 27.22avg/150sr
Ford Trophy: 349 runs @ 43.62avg/91.4sr
Plunket Shield: 290 runs @ 19.33avg
Adam Milne this summer...
Super Smash: 6w @ 18.33avg/6.87rpo
Plunket Shield: 4w @ 23.75avg/4.52rpo
Amelia Kerr won the Women's Premier League which is lovely. Here's her mahi...
Bat: 149 runs @ 37.25avg/133sr
Ball: 15w @ 14avg/6.45rpo
Kerr won a WBBL championship with Brisbane Heat, has been a key figure in the Wellington Blaze Super Smash dynasty and has now won the first WPL. She's a winner.
NZ Warriors defeated Bulldogs 16-14 in a beautiful Sunday afternoon of footy at Mt Smart. Unfortunately Tohu Harris suffered a knee injury but last Monday's thread of Warriors forwards passing can be updated as Harris had 15 passes in 44 minutes while no Bulldogs forward had more than 5 passes. Dylan Walker had 17 passes which was boosted again by some dummy half mahi and the baldies were fabulous through the middle...
Dylan Walker: 57mins, 19 runs - 146m @ 7.68m/run, 5 tb, 2 offloads, 20 tackles @ 91%.
Jazz Tevaga: 42mins, 19 runs - 147m @ 7.73m/run, 4 tb, 22 tackles @ 85%.
Shaun Johnson played well and has had a solid start to the season. It's easy to celebrate Johnson when Warriors win - especially when he's engaging defenders to score or set up tries. Winning Warriors footy features so much more than Johnson though.
Te Maire Martin whacks in every tackle. He's a willing defender who controls the left edge in attack. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad is a consistent running threat who generates plenty of momentum with his tackle busting and offloading. Wayde Egan usually offers play-making at dummy half, this time Freddy Lussick stepped in and played 76mins with 2 offloads, 3 kicks and 36 tackles @ 90%.
The wingers are robust, while the centres combine footwork with passing (more on that below). Jackson Ford and Marata Niukore are among the best edge forward combos in the NRL right now. Addin Fonua-Blake is an elite middle forward like Harris; they compliment each other.
This yarn highlights the 1st 15 wrinkle in Warriors centres. Vailea and Pompey have settled as starters early this season, while Rocco Berry is showing his class in NSW Cup alongside Ali Leiataua. That yarn didn't feature Leiataua and he's got the same background, although more experience in league. Leiataua was an impressive league junior before and during his 1st 15 stint at King's College.
Berry had 2 try assists in the NSW Cup win over Bulldogs, Leiataua had 1. Warriors are brewing depth in every position and centre is the funkiest pocket. Pompey and Vailea were often first-fives in union with Berry playing fullback. Leiataua was usually in the midfield and all four have skills that go beyond the regular package of league centres.
Bulldogs centres combined for 8 passes and 1 offload. Warriors centres had 10 passes, 3 offloads and 3 dummy passes. The variety of skill at this position is aligned with the entire Warriors style.
Zyon Maiu'u was excellent once again in the NSW Cup team, here are his game logs this season...
vs Knights: 44min, 12 runs - 124m @ 10.33m/run, 3 tackle busts, 19 tackles
vs Roosters: 57mins, 13 runs - 129m @ 9.92m/run, 2 tackle busts, 20 tackles
vs Bears: 63mins, 1 try, 14 runs - 152m @ 10.85m/run, 6 tackle busts, 40 tackles
vs Bulldogs: 33mins, 1 try, 10 runs - 113m @ 11.3m/run, 2 linebreaks, 4 tb, 1 offload, 14 tackles
Selu Halasima was promoted from SG Ball to NSW Cup and played 19mins with 4 runs - 44m @ 11m/run as a middle forward. Halasima has been in the Warriors system since at least 2020 at is a Mangere East junior from Southern Cross Campus.
Warriors lost SG Ball so they finish the weekend 2-1 over Bulldogs. Warriors have 2-1 club-day wins over Bulldogs and Knights this season, going down 1-2 to Roosters a few weeks ago.
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
David Light lost his cruiserweight world title fight against defending champ Lawrence Okolie in England on Sunday morning NZT. Went down by unanimous decision after twelve rounds. It was a scrappy fight full of clinches and holds, which Okolie dominated using his extra size and abundance of skill but Light showed a massive heart throughout. A couple of times he got absolutely rocked but he never went down. Frustrated the champ all the way. Can’t argue with the result but it was a defeat that will have earned him plenty of respect.
I’ll watch it again properly and maybe write about it if I can find the time in a busy week. Had to lead the way with that one here though. This was a kiwi fighting for a world title – and it didn’t get anywhere near the coverage it should have gotten.
What’s curious is looking at the response from the other side, with English fans apparently pretty bummed about how their lad performed. Didn’t get the stoppage. Okolie admitted to being rusty after a year between fights. The crowd in attendance sounded ungrateful about the whole thing, a weirdly entitled way to act at a sporting event but okay. To be fair, it wasn’t the most entertaining spectacle with all the inside stuff going on, which was Okolie’s fault more than Light’s. Judges scored it 116-112, 117-110 & 119-108.
Also gotta throw some love the way of Light’s trainer Isaac Peach who has really emerged as a legit force within the kiwi combat sports realms. Working humbly out of West Auckland and delivering world title challengers. In a month’s time Mea Motu will take on Canada’s Tania Walters for the vacant IBO women’s world super bantamweight title. That’s apparently going to be the headline act in a Fight For Life event staged on Auckland’s North Shore... but while the undercard will be tacky, the main event is the real deal.
There was a ridiculously wild A-League Women’s game on the weekend (and we’re not talking about the Wellington Phoenix). Perth Glory got the big upset 4-3 win over Melbourne City. Four New Zealanders were involved. Two for each team, although Hannah Wilkinson was left on the bench by City to start with. Katie Bowen started in defence for MCY. Perth then had Liz Anton at the back and Hannah Blake on the wing.
It was 1-0 to City thanks to a first-half goal that occurred via an error from the goalie and that lead lasted into the 68th minute when Wilkinson was subbed on. But before she could do anything, the Glory struck twice. A header from a corner to equalise, cool, but then a belter of a goal from Hannah Blake. Chipped the keeper from out wide. Superb finish for her third of the season. Then literally a minute later Wilkinson smacked in a clever left-footed finish for her fourth of the campaign... which in the process made her the all-time top scorer for the club. 12 last year, four this year. 16 in total. There ya go.
Wilkinson also set up a goal in stoppage time to give City some hope of a comeback having leaked a couple more. Didn’t happen but it was still a sharp run to the byline and a quality chipped cross to Julia Grosso at the back stick. Love a game with plenty of kiwi goal exploits. Highlights here if you’re keen.
Wilkie being dropped from the starting line-up was a rough one, coming amidst a run of poor form for the club in which she hasn’t been as effective as she was last year. Hasn’t found that same stride at all, really, after missing the start of the season with injury. This was an excellent way to respond and hopefully a boost in confidence ahead of the next Footy Ferns tour. It was another loss for City though, who’ve only won one of the last six games with the finals creeping up. If they lose to Canberra United next week then that’s probably going to keep them out of the finals.
Meanwhile Hannah Blake has been in and out of Footy Ferns squads under Jitka Klimkova. Wasn’t in the last group but three goals in seven games for Perth, working her way into the starting eleven for an in-form team, has gotta have her in contention for a Ferns team struggling for goals.
By the way, the other NZer with three goals this season? Marisa van der Meer.
Henry Shipley now has the equal-25th best ever bowling figures for New Zealand in an ODI. That’s what 5/31 will get ya. His was also only the 46th ever five-wicket haul for Aotearoa in the format. Doesn’t happen too often, that’s for sure – the most recent was Jimmy Neesham with 5/27 against Bangladesh in 2021.
Tim Southee has the best ever figures with 7/33. Southee and Trent Boult are the two blokes who have taken seven-for, six-for, and five-for in One Day Internationals for NZ. Good from them. Strange to think that Boult has only played 17 ODIs more than Shane Bond, with all his injuries, got to. Though Boult should still have the World Cup to add to his tally – he’s got 187 ODI wickets as things stand and has taken 39 wickets at 21.79 average in his two previous World Cups combined (19 games).
Most Five-Fors for NZ in ODIs
5 - Trent Boult & Richard Hadlee
4 - Shane Bond
3 - Tim Southee
2 - Dan Vettori, Jacob Oram, Danny Morrison, Matt Henry, Jimmy Neesham, Shayne O’Connor
In amongst a solid All Whites tour, interim manager Darren Bazeley found time to blood two new caps for the fellas: Callan Elliot and Kyle Adams. Both fine reward for strong club work, Elliot more specifically this season as he’s really broken out for the Nix, Adams over several years in the American second tier. Elliot also has the advantage of having been involved with many of the current squad at youth level while Adams is one of the older Ole Academy lads adding to that presence in the team.
That’s always a cheeky aspect of the interim manager. Get to be the dude who forever gave someone their first international appearance. The last time we had a situation like that was Neil Emblen back in 2014, in the wake of Ricki Herbert leaving, and ol’ Neil had a powerful impact giving debuts to six players in two games. There was James Musa, Tyler Boyd, Matt Ridenton, Jason Hicks, Tamati Williams... and Ryan Thomas.
Which got me wondering how recent coaches would stack up if you picked the best eleven of players who debuted during their tenure. So here’s what that looks like, IMO...
Danny Hay:
Oli Sail | Niko Kirwan, Nando Pijnaker, Francis De Vries, Dalton Wilkins | Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic, Matt Garbett | Elijah Just, Alex Greive, Callum McCowatt
Fritz Schmid:
Michael Woud | Justin Gulley, Nikko Boxall, Adam Mitchell, Liberato Cacace | N/A | Sarpreet Singh, Andre De Jong, Noah Billingsley
Anthony Hudson:
Stefan Marinovic | Dane Ingham, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, Themi Tzimopoulos, Sam Brotherton, Deklan Wynne | Alex Rufer, Clayton Lewis | Logan Rogerson, Myer Bevan, Moses Dyer
Interims:
Tamati Williams | Callan Elliot, Kyle Adams, James Musa, Matt Ridenton | Ryan Thomas, Jason Hicks, Tyler Boyd | N/A
Yeah, can’t quite fill it all out. Schmiddy didn’t discover a single midfielder in his four-game stint. Emblen and Bazeley between them didn’t have time to find any attackers except for the one American bloke.
But still, two things stand out from all that. The first is that the talent coming through these days is miles ahead. The second is that the fact that our team is so strongly built upon younger players now, with a few older heads to hold things down, has a lot to do with Anthony Hudson wasting four years bringing through maaaaybe six players who are still in legitimate contention five years later. There was a void to be filled and conveniently we just happened to have a banger bunch of prospects just about ready to step up.