On A Mission
NZ National League nuggets, Plunket Shield & HBJ Shield notes, Tall Blacks in action, Wellington Phoenix Women, Kiwi-NRL signings, Blackcaps stats, and more
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Reading Menu
All Whites in the November WCQs: Big Wins and Big Vibes (Football)
2024 Men’s National League – Week 8 (Football)
2024 Women’s National League – Week 8 (Football)
Flying Kiwis – November 20 (Football)
New Zealand T20I/ODI Tour Of Sri Lanka Notebook: Emerging Talent & Will Young (Cricket)
The Kiwi-NRL Juniors Who Helped Australian Teams Win In 2024 (Rugby League)
New Zealand Warriors Sign Tanah Boyd & Pacific Championship Wrinkles (Rugby League)
2024 Pacific Championship Debrief For New Zealand Kiwis & Kiwi Ferns (Rugby League)
Scotty’s Word
Jasprit Bumrah in Tests vs New Zealand and Australia
Vs NZ: 10inns, 9w @ 45.4avg/2.9rpo
In NZ: 4inns, 6w @ 31.6avg/3rpo
Vs/In Australia: 14inns, 32w @ 21.2avg/2.4rpo
Blackcaps Most Runs/Wickets In ODIs Since Start of 2020
Batting
Daryl Mitchell: 1,577 runs @ 52.5avg/98sr
Tom Latham: 1,549 runs @ 40.7avg/92sr
Will Young: 1,374 runs @ 45.8avg/88sr
Devon Conway: 1,246 runs @ 36.8avg/79sr
Rachin Ravindra: 820 runs @ 41avg/108sr
Bowling
Matt Henry: 49w @ 26.2avg/4.8rpo
Trent Boult: 47w @ 22avg/4.7rpo
Mitchell Santner: 39w @ 39.3avg/4.8rpo
Tim Southee: 35w @ 30.7avg/6.1rpo
Lockie Ferguson: 32w @ 43.9avg/6rpo
Notable ODI Averages Since Start of 2020
Kane Williamson: 56.5avg/77.5sr
Michael Bracewell: 41.8avg/117sr
Will O'Rourke: 23avg/6.1rpo
Henry Shipley: 23.9avg/5.5rpo
Josh Clarkson: 24.3avg/6rpo
Kiwis in WBBL
Brooke Halliday: 88 runs @ 44avg/116sr (Scorchers)
Sophie Devine: 185 runs @ 23avg/114sr | 7w @ 25avg/7.7rpo (Scorchers)
Amelia Kerr: 74 runs @ 24.6avg/114sr | 13w @ 10avg/6.8rpo (Sixers)
Suzie Bates: 32 runs @ 16avg/107sr (Hurricanes)
Scorchers: 4th (4-4-1)
Hurricanes: 5th (4-5)
Sixers: 6th (3-4-1)
Plunket Shield mahi prior to day four
Auckland vs Northern Districts
Kane Williamson 60 runs, Jordan Sussex 3 wickets, Danru Ferns 3 wickets
Simon Keene 60 runs, Scott Kuggeleijn 5 wickets, Brett Hampton 4 wickets
Jeet Raval 120*, Henry Cooper 52 runs, Sean Solia 3 wickets
Central Districts vs Canterbury
Dane Cleaver 54*, Jack Boyle 43 runs, Cameron Paul 5 wickets, Fraser Sheat 3 wickets
Rhys Mariu 240 runs, Matt Boyle 116 runs, Ray Toole 2 wickets, Tyler Annand 2 wickets
Curtis Heaphy 81 runs, Will O'Rourke 2 wickets
Otago vs Wellington
Nick Kelly 161 runs, Logan van Beek 68 runs, Jarrod McKay 4 wickets
Dale Phillips 135 runs, Max Chu 62*, Liam Dudding 3 wickets
HBJ Shield things
Auckland
1-1 vs ND. Good mahi from White Ferns...
Maddy Green: 183 runs @ 183avg/93sr, 1 x 100, 1 x 50
Molly Penfold: 5w @ 20.8avg/5.2rpo
Fran Jonas: 4w @ 18.5avg/3.7rpo
Saachi Sharhi had a 76-run knock, and now has a List-A record of 26.58avg/70sr
Northern Districts
1-1 vs Auckland
Jess Watkin scored 77 runs @ 104sr in the weekend
Natasha Wakelin and Eve Wolland (both 18yrs) had the two highest scores for ND vs Auckland. Wakelin scored 55 in the loss, Wolland scored 48* in the win. Wakelin has two 50+ scores in 15 LA innings.
Marama Downes: 49 runs @ 49avg/65sr | 3w @ 23avg/3.9rpo
Central Districts
1-1 vs Wellington
Emma McLeod is 18yrs and is the only CD batter with more than 30 runs. Scores of 25 and 41 for 66 runs @ 33avg/63sr.
Ocean Bartlett (21yrs) took a 6w in a game, finished with 8w @ 7avg/3.1rpo. LA bowling average of 20.8.
Wellington
1-1 vs CD
Xara Jetly scored the most runs (43 runs @ 21avg/70sr) for Wellington last weekend and her 5w @ 13avg/3.4rpo was just behind Jess Kerr's 6w.
Jetly averages 23.5 in LA bowling and 16.6 in T20 bowling
Canterbury
0-2 vs Otago... Canterbury seem to be struggling
2023/24 HBJ Shield: 6th (2-7)
2023/24 Super Smash: 5th (2-6)
Only team to lose both games last weekend
Otago
2-0 vs Canterbury
Bella James (25yrs) and Caitlin Blakely (28yrs) both had two 30+ scores...
James: 63, 36 | 99 runs @ 49avg/90sr
Blakely: 49*, 42 | 91 runs @ 91avg/71sr
Louisa Kotkamp (19yrs) took 4w on the Saturday to finish the weekend with 5w @ 5avg/2.3rpo
Anna Browning (21yrs - new arrival from Auckland) scored 32 runs @ 71sr with 3w @ 3.4rpo on the Sunday
Moses Leo will join Melbourne Storm for next season. Leo joins Will Warbrick in moving from NZ Sevens to NRL, specifically Storm. They join Gayle Broughton, Tyla King, Stacey Waaka and Tenika Willison in moving to NRL/NRLW from NZ Sevens. Bailey Simonsson also made that move but he was born and raised in Australia, where he was in Raiders/Bulldogs systems before moving to NZ Sevens.
Some Dolphins Kiwi-NRL info has flowed through...
Development/Supplementary
Aublix Tawha: Turangawaewae
Elijah Rasmussen: Westlake Boys High School/Pt Chevalier
Tevita Naufahu: St Kentigern College
Train/Trial
Peter Hola: Marist
John Fineanganofo: Auckland Grammar School
Knights have Sebastian Su'a (Mt Albert) and Francis Manuleleua (Papatoetoe) in their top-30. Both went to Kings College. Tyrone Thompson (Maraenui) in development.
Musical jam…
Wildcard’s Notebook
The Tall Blacks played overnight in one of their Asia Cup qualifiers and what was also Judd Flavell’s first game as head coach of the national team. They played... and they lost 93-89 away to the Philippines. First ever defeat against that opponent. A 16-0 run by the hosts late in the third quarter blew things open and the kiwis couldn’t quite haul it back with a fourth-quarter barrage of threes. Annoying defeat because they led for most of the first half. As a team they shot 51.4% from threes... but were also outscored 48-16 for points in the paint while Philippines had a huge 44-31 advantage on the boards. 26 points and 11 rebounds for Justin Browlee tells a fair bit of that story, while former Adelaide 36ers prospect Kai Sotto had 19p/10r/7a for them as well.
For the Tall Blacks, it was all about the shooters with captain Corey Webster making 5/6 triples on his way to 25 points, Tom Vodanovich also making five triples (from seven attempts) for 19 points, and Cairns big man Sam Waardenburg hit three long balls as part of his 19 point performance. Taylor Britt had a very efficient evening with 8 points and 13 assists taking it upon himself to be the bloke to find those shooters. Didn’t see Oscar Goodman or Kaia Isaac get on the court. They’re more likely to debut in Christchurch on Monday night against Chinese Taipei. Check the box score from the Philippines game over here.
This result isn’t going to affect the team’s overall qualification for the Asia Cup so don’t panic. Also, keep in mind that this wasn’t a full-strength Tall Blacks squad. There were quite a few Aussie NBL players involved but definitely not all of them, with the likes of Shea Ili, Sam Mennenga, and Tai Webster allowed to have a wee rest. Much needed on all counts there, given Mennenga’s breakthrough NBL campaign and the other two having had injuries. Reuben Te Rangi was another one who took this one off. They are going to call up a replacement for the injured Max Darling for the next game though.
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The Imane Chebel Era didn’t last very long at the Wellington Phoenix. The Canadian/Algerian defender only signed officially two weeks ago and now she’s been released (though the move was forecast a while before she was actually unveiled). Personal reasons have caused her to return to Canada without having played a game. Bummer of an outcome for a team that’s already dealing with injuries in the backline. However, they’ve moved quickly to replace her with American defender Alivia Kelly.
AK joins after five years of college: the first four at the University of New Hampshire and then she did a post-grad year with North Carolina State. NC State, as it happens, is the same school that Isabel Cox attended (she and Kelly won’t have overlapped but Kelly says she did reach out for advice before signing). It’s also the same school that Katie Bowen attended. Therefore this is Kelly’s first professional gig so the Nix do lose out on plenty of experience by going from Chebel to Kelly... but there are some big positives in AK’s favour too. The main one being that she’s 5’11 and very athletic which are traits that the Nix defence absolutely needed more of. Someone who can win headers, track runners, and hopefully rough things up a little. Ideally, she’ll be able to stay fit too.
The Wellington Phoenix Women have had a hard enough time losing three games in a row to start their season, having to deal with injuries on top of that is just plain cruel. There was good and bad news on that front. Annalie Longo avoided any serious damage after that head knock she suffered against Newcastle. Massive lump on her forehead but no fractures or anything, and she’s even a chance of playing tonight’s game.
Alas, Rebecca Lake has suffered ligament damage in her foot and will need surgery that’ll cause her to miss six months. Season-ender, in other words. Lake had a season-ending injury last year too, only costing her the last four matches but keeping her in rehab protocols for most of the offseason. This time she’s done it having played only twice. Awful news for someone who shaped to be an important on-field leader in a defence that was already missing Marisa van der Meer before the games had even begun.
Alivia Kelly should be ready to roll for the match after next and will hopefully make a big difference to the defence. But they’re also potentially going to need an injury replacement for Lake because the reserves have been shipping in goals in the National League and there’s not necessarily anyone there immediately ready to step in for a team trying to make the top six. On that note, here are a few National League standouts who could do the trick...
Saskia Vosper (Auckland United) – A former Nix player so she’s got ALW experience. She’s a fullback but could do a job on the left edge of a back three, bringing pace and versatility.
Zoe Barrott (Wellington United) – Strong, mobile, aggressive, and good on the ball. One of the premier defenders in the country for the last few years, a great leader as well, plus she’s already in Wellington (and her sister used to coach the Women’s Reserves).
Marissa Porteous (West Coast Rangers) – She’s not very tall but she’s fast and a strong tackler and very good on the ball. Was influential on loan at Southern Utd last season, helping them qualify for a WNL final. Currently playing in a back three for WCR. Is the youngest of this quintet.
Hannah Mackay-Wright (Southern United) – Another defender who plays with great aggression, proactively stepping up into challenges. She was an U17 World Cup bronze medallist and they’ve signed a third of the rest of that squad through the years.
Sarah Morton (Waterside Karori) – Capped a few times by the Ferns during the Tom Sermanni era, can play anywhere across the backline or in midfield. Great attitude. Experienced enough to step in from day one. A committed player with good defensive instincts.
They might also lean towards an Australian player but if they do then there’s no predicting who it’ll be. I’ve gone with kiwi options here because that’s the wheelhouse. They don’t have room for another import or else the likes of Arisa Takeda, Yuki Nishizono, or Saki Yoshida would be in the mix. And we’re talking about immediate impact players not younger projects, otherwise names like Charli Dunn (Western Springs), Mackenzie Longmuir (West Coast Rangers), Daphne Ranta (Waterside Karori), Meg Simpson (Canterbury United), and maybe even Zara Erol-Watt (Central) might have been mentioned.
Some National League Nuggets...
In the MNL, Western Springs have used the fewest number of players (16) but have the highest number of individual goal-scorers (11). Oscar Browne is the only outfielder to have started a game and not scored.
Western Springs’ WNL squad also has 11 goalscorers, the most in that competition... but they’ve used 23 players overall as they cope with several injuries there.
Incredibly, Waterside Karori are headed to the women’s final with only five goal-scorers: Kendall Pollock (7), Emma Starr (4), Renee Bacon (3), Tui Dugan (3), and Nikki Furukawa (1)... and Furukawa only scored her first goal last week.
Birkenhead United (MNL) have scored 21 goals. Three in first halves and 18 in second halves, including nine goals after the 78th minute.
Likewise, the past eight goals that Auckland City have scored have all come after the 70th minute, spanning their previous four games. All up, they have 3 first half goals and 12 second half goals.
The opposite case is Waterside Karori in the WNL, who have scored eight times in the opening 15 minutes of games out of 18 goals overall. 14 in first halves, 4 in second halves.
Shannon Henson (West Coast Rangers) is the only player across either competition with at least five goals and five assists (she has five of each). Matthew Ellis of Western Springs (MNL) is closest with four goals and five assists.
Garbhan Coughlan (Cashmere Tech) has tied with Gianni Bouzoukis for the MNL Golden Boot in two straight seasons. Bouzoukis is out of the picture this year with only one goal but Coughlan is currently tied with Monty Patterson (Birkenhead) on seven heading into the final round.
Further to the nil-all allergy discussed in previous newsletters, after 80 games between the two comps there have still only been two 0-0 draws this year. One in the men’s and one in the women’s. Both happened in week one.
In eight full rounds, there have been 23 penalties awarded in the MNL (14 scored, 9 missed) but only six awarded in the WNL (4 scored, 2 missed... though one of the misses was scored on the rebound).
WNL Team of the Week #8
GK – Sophie Campbell (Central) – The Nikki Whyte vs Molly Simons goalkeeping duel was awesome but gotta send some recognition the was of Campbell, her second game since returning from the U17 World Cup, making save after save in Central’s best defensive effort of the term (they lost 2-1 to Canterbury).
RB – Zoe Barrott (Wellington United) – There are other superb defenders going around this league but not sure any of them have the same ability to just dominate a game like ZB does. Action-packed excellence.
CB – Daphne Ranta (Waterside Karori) – In a team full of experienced ballers, Ranta is the young’un starting every game at CB while only aged 18. You don’t get to be in that position by accident though. Ranta did an excellent job withstanding a dangerous and varied WC Rangers attack.
CB – Greer Macintosh (Auckland United) – Bit more to do this week with the usual midfield duo of Harashima/Knott only featuring off the bench. And Macintosh (and CB comrade Chelsea Elliott) was more than up to the task. No surprises there.
LB – Saskia Vosper (Auckland United) – Nearly had Rebekah Trewhitt here after a courageous performance for the WeeNix, battling through a shoulder injury to set up a goal, hit the crossbar, and make a bunch of good defensive acts. But Vosper also set up a goal and was near flawless for AU in a narrow win vs Southern and just because she does it every week doesn’t make it less fantastic.
CM – Saki Yoshida (Eastern Suburbs) – So classy, so poised in that midfield. Set up a goal stepping into an interception in the opposition half. Still an underrated WNL gem after several years.
CM – Shontelle Smith (Southern United) – Despite her team ultimately losing, Smith was a woman on a mission throughout that match with Auckland United, scoring a spectacular goal and looking like the beating heart of a midfield that already had Rose Morton and Georgia Keen which tells you how outrageously energetic she was.
CM – Emma Starr (Waterside Karori) – She’s scored in four consecutive games. A goal and two assists as Karori took a 3-0 lead after only 11 minutes in a massive game against West Coast Rangers. The American has played in the top divisions of Ireland and Austria. She’s been at Crystal Palace in the English second tier. She’s quite possibly playing her way into MVP status in the NZ National League.
FW – Liz Savage (Western Springs) – A couple of goals for the veteran as the Swans rallied from a goal down at half-time to beat the WeeNix 4-1. Savage’s bursting runs from the wing were simply more than the Nix could handle.
FW – Rina Hirano (Western Springs) – Also heavily involved in the comeback win, with a beautiful goal to her name and numerous other chances created (including for one of Savage’s goals) was Rina Hirano. Somehow hadn’t scored since week three but we can forget about that now. Vintage Rina performance.
FW – Charlotte Roche (Auckland United) – Two big chances in the first half, two goals. Both were deceptively tough finishes. Both involved determined, aggressive movement. Those two goals gave Auckland United another victory to guarantee their grand final spot and were yet more evidence of how much Roche’s game is developing this year. Pure striker stuff.
Musical Jam...