Grooving Along
Eddie Osei-Nketia goes to gridiron, Super Smash gets going, Steven Adams assist statties & Blackcaps vs Pakistan Test preview
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The Six Aotearoa Warriors Juniors To Learn About (Rugby League)
Francis Manuleleua And The Kiwi-NRL Panthers (Rugby League)
The Kiwi-NRL Juniors Who Helped Australian Teams Make Finals In 2022 (Rugby League)
Kiwi-NRL Junior Siua Wong's Crazy Year Of Footy (Rugby League)
2022/23 Kiwi-NRL Train and Trial Breakdown (Rugby League)
Learning About Kiwi-NRL Juniors Keano Kini and Karl Oloapu (Rugby League)
2022 Women’s National League – Grand Final Review (Football)
Flying Kiwis – December 21 (Football)
Kiwi Steve in the NBA #3: Tackling The Big Assignments (Basketball)
The Breakers Have Rediscovered Their Mana, Aotearoa Rejoice (Basketball)
2022/23 Super Smash: Three Intriguing Lads (Rob O'Donnell, Rachin Ravindra, Jacob Duffy) (Cricket)
2022/23 Women's Super Smash: The White Ferns Mixer (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
The Blackcaps Test series in Pakistan is shaping up as a doozy. As noted in our podcasts this week, I'm cautiously optimistic about how this series could play out - that vibe stretches into NZ Warriors as well. The refresh/freshen up stuff with Test captaincy and squad selections puts a new twist on a team that was rather stale over the past year, plus Pakistan are battling all sorts of niggle.
Ramiz Raja became the bossman of Pakistan cricket in September 2021 and this was a curious move given that Raja was more of a social media geezer who presented various cricketing broadcasts. This week Raja was given the flick by the real bossman of Pakistan cricket (PCB), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Many folks believe that sports and politics can't mix, despite there being many examples of sports and politics mixing like cake ingredients.
Many sports are run by politics. Many governments oversee their sporting bodies and dictate... everything.
Raja was appointed by former Pakistan PM Imran Khan in September last year. Khan's government was brushed aside in April this year and now Raja has been flicked away by the new PM. Deep in the mangroves there are various reasons why Raja was bumped out, kayaking along this estuary means that you just need to know one thing...
Pakistan are 0-4-2 in home Tests this year. Pakistan have not won a Test in Pakistan this year. Pakistan did manage to defeat South Africa in two Tests at home last year, then they had two draws and a loss against Australia this year. England just wrapped up a series sweep in Pakistan.
The six Tests in Pakistan this year have been played in four different cities: Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore and Multan. Blackcaps will play Tests in Karachi and Multan. Pakistan drew a Test with Australia in Karachi and then lost the third Test vs England there, also losing against England in Multan.
This is all fabulous for the Blackcaps. Keep the cautious vibe with you though as the kiwis are 2-5 in Tests this year, while Pakistan are 1-5-2 in all Tests. Pakistan averages slightly more per wicket (34.83 vs 33.87) and Aotearoa operates at 3.31rpo this year, while Pakistan sit at 2.93rpo. For context, Australia averages 41.66 per wicket and England leads the funk, grooving along at 4.13rpo.
In the World Test Championship, Pakistan are a spot ahead of Aotearoa on the ladder. Both have four consecutive losses including sweeps via England while ho-hum Test teams in West Indies and Bangladesh are their peers down the bottom of the ladder. Factoring in last summer's defeats in Aotearoa (ft. Bangladesh), Blackcaps have been just as bad as Pakistan in this format. Both teams have made a bunch of changes at various levels of their Test system.
Sure, the Blackcaps freshen up feels different to Pakistan's situation. The kiwis could pounce on a weakened beast, then again they could struggle and deepen their woes in Test cricket.
Meanwhile in the Big Bash League...
Colin de Grandhomme: 52 runs @ 17.33avg/126.8sr | 2w @ 27avg/7.7rpo
Trent Boult: 2w @ 20.66avg/7.75rpo
Colin Munro: 43 runs @ 21.5avg/119.4sr
Jimmy Neesham: 21 runs @ 7avg/116.66sr | 1w @ 18avg/9rpo
Here are Neesham's T20I knocks since the start of the tri-series, plus his recent BBL mahi: 5, 6*, 17, 26*, 5, 6, 0, 16*, 0, 0, 16, 0, 5.
Martin Guptill is yet to lace up in BBL, he's waiting for Andre Russell to depart. It looks like Russell will play one more game before Guptill comes in and after three games, Russell has hit the most sixes for Melbourne Renegades (9) as well as bowling 9 overs with 2w @ 8.88rpo.
This sets up an intriguing gauge for Guptill's mahi. Guptill won't bowl so he can't match Russell's value there and he will need to be smacking runs around Russell's 128.57sr. Renegades have also won their first three games along with de Grandhomme and Adelaide Strikers, which could amplify the pressure on Guptill.
In pondering upcoming Super Smash cricket, the middle class theme stretches into wahine cricket. Very few youngsters are selected for Blackcaps. Those lads who earn promotion into Blackcaps teams are usually around 30-years-old, having played at least five seasons of domestic cricket. Most of the current Blackcaps entered domestic cricket around 2012ish.
There are exceptions such as Finn Allen. Allen emerged back in 2017 with Auckland and had to move to Wellington to elevate his mahi. Rachin Ravindra was rushed into the Blackcaps Test team and that led to him slipping out of the Blackcaps mixer.
Glenn Phillips is kinda young and he made his List-A debut in 2015. Meanwhile, the second-tier of wicket-keepers who will be a funky Super Smash wrinkle are Dane Cleaver (30yrs), Cam Fletcher (29yrs) and Tim Seifert (28yrs).
The dominant players in Super Smash will probably be experienced domestic troopers, especially after the ODI Blackcaps depart. Katene Clarke (23yrs) is the only younger lad near the top of Ford Trophy run-scoring, while 26-year-old Henry Shipley is the only younger lad near the top of FT wickets-taking. No youngsters near the top of Plunket Shield run-scoring or wicket-taking.
Women's Super Smash is highly unlikely to feature dominant youngsters. No youngster has a 50+ score in HBJ Shield so far. Gabby Sullivan (24yrs) is the leading youngster with the ball, while Shriya Naidu (27yrs) and Caitlin King (26yrs) are settling into the middle class. With more White Ferns batting and bowling in Super Smash, young bowlers outside of the White Ferns will struggle to bag wickets.
Folks can debate whether this is good or bad. I lean into observation mode and just follow what's happening. The middle class in men's cricket has been cooking for a few years and while Blackcaps results haven't been fantastic, the middle class has filled spots left by retirements etc. As exciting as youngsters are in women's cricket, the players who perform on the domestic circuit are domestic troopers and they set the standard for everyone to chase.
Men’s Highest Batting Strike-Rates 2021/22 Super Smash (min 100 runs)
Finn Allen (Well): 200sr
Mitchell Santner (ND): 188sr
Josh Clarkson (CD): 187.85sr
Tom Latham (Cant): 178.88sr
Dane Cleaver (CD): 166.21sr
Men’s Lowest Bowling Strike-Rates 2021/22 Super Smash (min 5 wickets)
Tim Southee (ND): 10.5sr
Joe Walker (ND): 11.6sr
Henry Shipley (Cant): 11.6sr
Scott Kuggeleijn (ND): 11.8sr
Fred Walker (ND): 12.4sr
Women’s Highest Batting Strike-Rates 2021/22 Super Smash (min 50 runs)
Lea Tahuhu (Cant): 180.48sr
Jess Kerr (Well): 150.81sr
Sophie Devine (Well): 145.71sr
Maddy Green (Well): 127sr
Jess Watkin (CD): 121.73sr
Women’s Lowest Bowling Strike-Rates 2021/22 Super Smash (min 5 wickets)
Monique Rees (CD): 10sr
Sophie Devine (Well): 10.4sr
Jess Kerr (Well): 10.6sr
Leigh Kasperek (Well): 11.2sr
Hayley Jensen (Ota): 12sr
Musical jam...
Wildcard’s Notebook
It was definitely a curious one waking up the other day to a few Twitter notifications from University of Hawai’i football (of the American variety) fans sharing a clip we’d posted of Eddie Osei-Nketia breaking the NZ 100m men’s record earlier in the year...
At first I misread what they were saying and assumed that EON was off to join the athletics team in Hawai’i, combining his sprinting with a free education. It was early morning, after all. But then I got digging and realised what was going on. Aotearoa’s top sprinter had committed to play gridiron for an American university, shelving his athletics career.
Fair enough. If that’s what he wants to do then go for it.
The thing that’s gotten the focus in this country has been the way in which he went about it, not alerting Athletics NZ about his decision before it was announced (which also meant that TNC got the scoop before the rest of the kiwi sports media thanks to the ol’ notifications lol). Okay perhaps that wasn’t the ideal thing to do. But ANZ is a governing body not a team that he belongs to… and we all know there’s some upset involved over the silly standards that meant Osei-Nketia didn’t get to compete at the Commonwealth Games despite running quick enough to be selected. Didn’t meet ANZ’s criteria of being able to compete for a medal. The same issue occurred with Zoe Hobbs who is NZ’s fastest female sprinter.
Looking at this through the wider lens... what’s keeping a bloke in the sport ahead of other opportunities if he’s not getting to go to a major event even after hitting the qualifying target? It’s not like they didn’t know this was a possibility as Osei-Nketia had openly flirted with the idea of a rugby career already.
Maybe it’s too much to ask to tilt the selection criteria to allow top prospects to use things like the Comm Games as developmental experiences like that. Maybe that’s actually exactly what they should be doing. Or maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway because his heart was elsewhere. Dunno. But I highly doubt anyone at Athletics NZ is thinking right now that they did absolutely everything possible to retain him.
But I’m less interested in that situation and more interested in what happens moving forward. The Uni of Hawai’i is a Division 1 footballing school that competes in the Mountain West Conference. Been around since 1909, known as the Rainbow Warriors (cheeky bonus kiwi connection there). Won a division title as recently as 2019 (losing to Boise State in the conference championship match) although they haven’t been up to much since, going 3-10 last year under rookie head coach Timmy Chang (a former quarterback for the school).
So this isn’t the ideal programme to join if the eventual aim is the NFL. To be honest those programmes probably wouldn’t have taken him anyway with zero relevant experience in the sport and even if they did he wouldn’t get to play too many snaps. We spoke about this on the podcast yesterday (links at the top) because there is that NFL International pathway available which takes on a lot of athletes from other sports, focussing on coaching and development with a potential fast-track to the big league if things work (think Jordan Mailata for one major success story – from Rabbitohs U20s to an every game starting lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles).
But maybe Eddie just wants to play? He loves the sport and wants to experience it. If he makes the NFL some day then that’s the best case scenario. Otherwise he does something that he’s passionate about and gets a decent education and some great life experiences out of it.
Struggling to see the downside there, particularly if he feels that he’d reached a ceiling as a sprinter. Fastest man ever from Aotearoa but sixty different blokes ran faster than his personal best of 10.08 seconds this year. Next Olympics are two years away and qualifying for that would have been pretty tough.
There’s a lot that goes into switching sports like this. For Eddie Osei-Nketia, the toughest thing will probably be what most Australasians who try this switch say is the toughest thing: learning the playbook. Although perhaps the switch to a sport where your task is very rigidly set out will be easier for a sprinter than a rugby league player who is used to being able to play with creative improvisation. Making his catches is another thought that springs to mind but at least his rugby background should help with that.
Otherwise... I mean, he’s kind of an amazing prototype athlete for a wide receiver. Like, if he can settle into the sport and learn his routes and all that then he could genuinely be successful at this. That’s what’s got me excited to follow this journey. The guy is 6’5 tall and 95kgs heavy and he made the 100m sprint semi-finals at the last World Championships.
By the way, this move was worked out by UH running backs coach Keiki Misipeka who did a couple years work as an NFL International Scout in the South Pacific - so, covering the Australia/NZ/Pacific Islands regions. Misipeka also played Sevens for Manu Samoa (he comes from American Samoa) which makes him someone with a unique perspective on what EON is up to... as well as the ability to give him this opportunity. Fascinated to see where Osei-Nketia goes from here.
I’m fresh off writing about Steven Adams so get amongst the latest Kiwi Steve if you wanna read about how he’s matched up with Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic all within the last three weeks.
The Memphis Grizzlies next play on Saturday NZT against the Phoenix Suns which will be another banger of a game against a top opposition... and the exciting news is that Desmond Bane has been upgraded to questionable on the injury report having missed the last month or so with injury.
Bane was playing like an All Star prior to his busted toe. Dude was averaging 24.7 points per game shooting 45.1% from three-pointers through the first twelve games. Getting him back immediately aids a Grizzlies team which has lost its last two games shooting a combined 17/71 from deep (23.9%). It also means that they’ll be able to use their preferred starting five for the first time this season. Overlapping injuries have meant that the Morant, Bane, Brooks, Jackson, Adams quintet have played 0 minutes and 0 seconds together since the first round of the last playoffs. The Grizz have been flipping between the first and second spot in the Western Conference standings lately so the entire NBA should be on notice once Bane is back.
But there’s also something else that could change when Des returns. Last season Steven Adams averaged a career-high 3.4 assists per game. 256 of the suckers in total which was more than a hundred more than he’d ever logged in a single season before. This season he’s dropped back to 2.3 per game and it’s probably not a coincidence that Bane has missed a lot of time considering that 85 of those 256 assists last season when to Bane. He’s the dude he hits the most on those backdoor cuts. He’s also a kick-out option for three after an offensive rebound. Ja Morant was the second top recipient with a mere 33 Steven Adams assists.
Steven Adams Assist Recipients in 2021-22
Desmond Bane – 85 assists on 55% shooting
Ja Morant – 33 assists on 43.4% shooting
Jaren Jackson – 28 assists on 41.3% shooting
Dillon Brooks – 25 assists on 44.2% shooting
Zaire Williams – 23 assusts on 55.3% shooting
Steven Adams Assist Recipients in 2022-23
Dillon Brooks – 13 assists on 42.3% shooting
Ja Morant 12 assists on 46.7% shooting
Santi Aldama – 10 assists on 43.5% shooting
Desmond Bane – 8 assists on 39.3% shooting
John Konchar – 8 assists on 41.7% shooting
Especially gotta look at the triples, as Desmond Bane shot a disgusting 32/54 for (59.3%) from three pointers coming off passes from Steven Adams last season. If Bane is back... then Adams is surely about to get a boost in his assist numbers too. The small sample size this time around (11 games in which they overlapped) probably explains the drop in overall shooting percentage from Bane off Adams passes but just take note that he’s made 5/7 from threes off those ones this season.
Oh yeah and the man ain’t bad when shooting around a screen either and guess who the NBA’s leader in screen assists per game is? 5.6 per game, first in the NBA. 7.5 per 36-minutes, first in the NBA. 150 total, second in the NBA by a margin of seven behind Domantas Sabonis – who plays bigger minutes and has missed fewer games and who also spent his rookie season playing alongside Adams in OKC no doubt learning a few tricks of the trade.