Prickly Characters
Prickly Characters
Blackcaps/White Ferns selections, Flying Kiwis x Champions League, and... Dune
Podcast
TNC Variety Show - Episode 28
Powers Of Imagination (Blackcaps T20 Squads)
Reading Menu
Scotty’s Word
Colin Munro & Ross Taylor…
Not too many of us really expected Colin Munro or Ross Taylor to be named in the Aotearoa Blackcaps T20 World Cup squad. Munro is far closer to Blackcaps T20 selection than Taylor as Munro competes as a T20 trooper around the world and Taylor’s ousting from the Blackcaps T20I team has seen him peel back the amount of cricket he plays - allowing him to prolong his Test and ODI mahi.
We’ve documented all the low key niggle between Taylor and NZC over the past five years, which feels like a huge factor in where Taylor sits. The thing that has stuck with me about Taylor and Munro is something that exists across all sports as players are at the mercy of decision makers. I can provide you with little nuggets or stats about Taylor’s T20 quality, even his value as a T20 veteran but what is clear with these two is that the NZC decision makers have long made up their minds about their T20I futures.
No matter how much Taylor and Munro want to play T20I cricket for Aotearoa, let alone how we as fans feel - it’s not up to them and very rarely is it ‘up to’ the players.
Taylor was shafted from the T20I squad in 2017, playing just one T20I game that year. Between 2015 and end of 2017, Taylor played 11 games which is bolstered by nine games in 2016. Since the start of 2018, Taylor has played 28 T20I games and this features the only time in Taylor’s career where he has played 10+ T20I games in consecutive years.
It’s important here to note that between 2013 - 2017, Taylor’s annual T20I average bumped up over just once (2016 with 29avg). That is a clear dip in Taylor’s T20I production and obviously led to him being dropped - we had issues and still have issues with how Taylor is treated but nonetheless a dip in form led to him becoming surplus to the Blackcaps T20I 1st 11.
Taylor was suddenly back in demand starting 2018 up until last summer and produced the goods with what is the best three-year run of Taylor’s T20I career…
2018: 10 games, 38.20avg/126.49sr.
2019: 11 games, 27.60avg/125.45sr.
2020: 7 games, 33.20avg/127.69sr.
That’s the best three-year run as far as both games played and batting stats go since Taylor’s debut in 2006. These three years are also the three years leading into the 2021 T20 World Cup and the year of the T20 World Cup, Taylor is suddenly back to not being wanted. Taylor wasn’t wanted, then he was wanted and obliged with the best three-year run of his T20I career, and then wasn’t wanted. None of which makes much sense but again this is about others making up their minds about you.
Munro is genuinely one of the top-five T20 batsmen from Aotearoa right now. Prior to that Pakistan Super League shown above, Munro finished 5th in last summer’s Big Bash League (31.64avg/128.03sr) and is 10th for runs in The Hundred (33avg/136.36sr).
Munro has played nine years of T20I cricket, averaging 30+ in five of them.
Munro’s third-best year of T20I cricket was 2020 (35.60avg/130.88sr) and his best year was 2018 (45.45avg/178.57sr). In between those two years in 2019, Munro had a record of 22.41avg/154.59sr which is his lowest average since 2015 but came with an extremely impressive strike-rate.
Like Taylor, this was the only period of Munro’s career in which he played 10+ games in consecutive years (12 games in 2018 and 2019). Munro’s form was perfectly fine, I’d go as far as saying that the last four years have been the best years of Munros T20 career - T20I and T20.
Munro, though, is clearly not wanted by the decision makers. We can chat around why that might be and while Taylor’s universally loved, Munro is more of a prickly character which may have influenced matters. I’m fairly confident in Munro being a top-five T20 batsman from Aotearoa right now though based on the above evidence.
What makes this more weird is that both Munro and Taylor had their busiest T20I periods of their careers leading into this T20 World Cup; not only were they putting up career-best mahi, they were in favour and commanding further opportunities. Suddenly, prior to a T20 World Cup these two are not required due to no fault of their own T20 work.
I’ll dive deeper into the Munro/Taylor yarn this week, plus I’ve got this idea of White Ferns Talent ID that I’m working through. Here are some White Ferns stats that showcase how strange their talent ID is considering they haven’t really used the 2020 Development Players (who have largely been all good), while selecting young players not from their own Development list who haven’t dominated in any way … while their own youngsters who have enjoyed consistent selection have kinda sucked.
2020 NZC Womens Development Contracts
Bella Armstrong
Super Smash: 3w @ 39.66avg/8.81rpo.
HBJ Shield: 7w @ 32.57avg/4.97rpo.
Skye Bowden
---------Didn’t play last summer.
Rebecca Burns
Super Smash: 96 runs @ 12avg/90.56sr.
HBJ Shield: 175 runs @ 21.87avg/56.63sr.
Eden Carson
Super Smash: 9w @ 24.22avg/7.26rpo
HBJ Shield: 12w @ 35.91avg/5.75rpo.
Katie Gurrey
Super Smash: 246 runs @ 30.75avg/99.19sr.
HBJ Shield: 306 runs @ 30.60avg/60.59sr.
Fran Jonas
Super Smash: 8w @ 23.37avg/5.50rpo
HBJ Shield: 13w @ 18.61avg/3.78rpo
Jacinta Savage
Super Smash: 5w @ 32.20avg/8.05rpo.
HBJ Shield: 11w @ 9.54avg/3.60rpo.
White Ferns Call Ups
Fran Jonas (Only player from Development Contracts to play for White Ferns)
Brooke Halliday
Super Smash: 175 runs @ 19.44avg/87.93sr.
HBJ Shield: 331 runs @ 47.28avg/81.12sr.
Molly Penfold
Super Smash: 0w @ 8.20rpo
HBJ Shield: 5w @ 31.80avg/4.86rpo
Claudia Green
Super Smash: 5w @ 30.80avg/5.92rpo
HBJ Shield: 9w @ 20.11avg/3.17rpo
Jess McFadyen (is an outlier as she’s been on the domestic scene for a few years - could have been selected much earlier)
White Ferns Youngsters Last Summer
Hayley Jensen
T20I: 14 runs @ 8.40avg/66.66sr.
ODI: 102 runs @ 17avg/68sr.
Lauren Down
T20I: ---
ODI: 106 runs @ 35.33avg/68.83sr (sub-10 in three years prior)
Jess Kerr
T20I: 3w @ 35.33avg/6.29rpo
ODI: 5w @ 30.60avg/4.13rpo
Rosemary Mair
T20I: 4w @ 26.50avg/5.88rpo
ODI: 0w @ 5.95rpo (22ov)
Hannah Rowe
T20I: 0w @ 8rpo (2ov)
ODI: 1w @ 121avg/5.26rpo (23ov)
Thamsyn Newton
T20I: 2 runs @ 2avg/33.33sr |
ODI: ----
Maddy Green
T20I: 54 runs @ 13.50avg/103.84sr.
ODI: 57 runs @ 14.25avg/56.43sr.
Wildcard’s Notebook
Weekend Flying Kiwis Exploits
More of the same from all three of those dudes, pretty much. Tomorrow’s Flying Kiwis edition is going to be right back to the jam-packed days of the end of the last European season, it’s just goodness all the way through. Bit of a slog to compile but also mate what a thing to savour. (Support us on Patreon if you wanna reward the hustle).
This is a huge midweek coming up for the Flying Kiwis brigade. No rest whatsoever and nor should there be. The final round of Men’s Champions League qualification is taking place while the first round of Women’s Champions League qualification is also happening and there are kiwi comrades in both.
No man from the islands of New Zealand has played in the Champions League since Chris Killen with Celtic in 2007 and he was only the fourth ever. But Ryan Thomas could well break that drought. He’s potentially set to feature for PSV Eindhoven as they take on Benfica in Portugal on Thursday at 7am in the first leg of that tie (which should be on Spark Sport under their UCL rights package, the earlier rounds I don’t believe have been but this one is advertised so there ya go) having made his return from injury on the weekend with a cameo off the bench vs Heracles.
PSV have been surprisingly superb early in their season. They overcame Galatasaray 7-2 in the second round of qualifiers (which was where they entered as the Dutch runners-up) and then popped Midtjylland 4-0 on aggregate in the third round. In between the two latter legs they beat 10-man Ajax 4-0 in the Johan Cruijff Cup and then since then they’ve gotten their Eredivisie season off to a lovely start with that 2-0 win over Heracles. Six games, six wins, 17 goals scored, 2 conceded.
Thomas has only played 19 minutes combined in the first and last of those games (remember he was still coming back from ankle surgery during preseason so it was a slow start even before the latest knock). But he’s usually featured for Roger Schmidt when he’s been available. This Benfica tie is the last round of qualifiers. It’s win this and advance to the UCL group stage. First leg on Thursday, second leg a week later. Massive ramifications. Lessgo.
Meanwhile in the Women’s UCL there’s been a New Zealander featuring in the competition proper every season since 2011-12… most of those people being named Ali Riley who accounts for 35 of the total 47 appearances in that comp by Aotearoa reps. With the competition being revamped to begin with a 16-team group stage now (rather than starting with a round of 32) that makes it tougher than ever to qualify but there are two current Football Ferns trying to do so as the first phase takes place over the next week in a series of mini-tournaments. Four teams, one location, with one-legged semis and then a final to see who progresses. Ruthless stuff.
CJ Bott played UCL for Vålerenga last season and will be hoping to get back there as VIF take on Mitrovica (Kosovo) in their semi and then either PAOK (Greece) or Agarista Anenii Noi (Romania) for a place in round two of qualifying should they progress. Bott wasn’t in the squad for VIF on the weekend as they drew 1-1 against Avaldsnes (and Ferns third-string goalie Vic Esson) having been an unused sub the week before. She is coming back from the Olympics to be fair, but unlikely to start one would think. But should be involved in some capacity provided she’s fit. The mini-tournament is being hosted in Greece even though VIF were the highest-seeded team… but apparently they needed to keep their stadium free in case the men’s side make the Conference League playoffs… d’oh.
Then there’s recent addition Olivia Chance who signed for Celtic over the weekend and has already made her debut for the club in a League Cup win and game two could well be against Levante (Spain) in a couple days, with FC Minsk (Belarus) or Rosenborg (Norway) on the cards subsequently. That mini-tourney is taking place in Norway. Only the tournament winners go forward into the second round (although there are third place playoffs for no apparent reason) where it’s a two-legged tie for a place in the group stage. Some absolute belter clubs enter in round two though so the draw is going to be crucial for either of these teams even if they do advance.
Here are the fixtures to watch out for:
Vålerenga vs Mitrovica, Thursday at 3am (CJ Bott)
Levante vs Celtic, Thursday at 4am (Olivia Chance)
Benfica vs PSV, Thursday at 7am (Ryan Thomas)
UCLW round one qualifying finals, Sunday TBD
Elsewhere in the smaller UEFA men’s comps, there are still a couple teams with NZers involved. A spot in the Europa League group stage is on the line as HJK (Finland) take on Fenerbahce (Turkey) over two legs starting this week. Logan Rogerson’s gone out on loan for the rest of the Finnish season so he won’t be playing there but the overlapping timing of their season mean he could feature later on if they can advance past the groups. If they lose to Fenerbahce then they drop into the Conference League group stages btw so one way or another.
Also West Ham are already into the Europa League group stage via automatic qualification however there’s been no word of what Winston Reid is up to post-Olympics, not yet anyway, other than to confirm that he’s “still working his way back to fitness after suffering an injury on Olympic duty with New Zealand”.
Welly Nix Preseason
Funny thing there is that preseason actually began late last month but the world being what it is at the moment they’re only just getting the coach and a heap of their players into the city. Only the non-Olympian NZers plus David Ball have been there the whole time, with Chris Greenacre presumably running the show, while Gary Hooper and Steven Taylor have since joined them after travelling and quarantining individually.
According to the club’s media releases they had six first-teamers for session #1. Plus presumably a heap of the Lower Hutt City lads from the academy... otherwise it’s getting way too close to home for us club battlers dealing with trainings where the best you can muster is a small-sided game because of the low numbers... yeah, we’ve all been there. Sail, Fenton, Ball, Payne, Rufer & McGarry were the six.
But five guys back from Tokyo plus the two English imports already there and Joshua and Jaushua (Laws + Piscopo) along with the main coaching staff all arriving now means that the lads can get into some proper work starting... maybe tomorrow? Something like that, at least. Trainings up until now must’ve felt like going into school during the holidays. Now the real work begins.
CLW Things
Following on from Friday’s email, this is the full trilogy of what Charlisse Leger-Walker got up to over the weekend. Three games, three massive wins, three insanely good performances...
W 94-59 vs Auckland Dream:
31 PTS (11/20 FG, 2/5 3PT, 7/8 FT) | 8 REB | 5 AST | 9 STL | 0 TO | 2 BLK (35 MINS)
W 91-36 vs Otago Gold Rush:
25 PTS (9/17 FG, 5/11 3PT, 2/4 FT) | 8 REB | 3 AST | 4 STL | 1 TO | 0 BLK (30 MINS)
W 92-40 vs Capital Swish:
23 PTS (7/15 FG, 3/6 3PT, 6/6 FT) | 12 REB | 6 AST | 3 STL | 3 TO | 0 BLK (33 MINS)
Overall average:
26.3 PPG | 9.3 RPG | 4.0 APG | 5.3 SPG | 51.9% FG | 45.5% 3PT | 83.3% FT
DUNE
I’d heard about the film. I knew the reputation of the original novel. I also knew the reputation of the David Lynch version from the 80s. Then I watched trailers for the film. Then I started to get excited for the potential of the film, looking at which actors were involved and considering what the director has done in the past. Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 apparently didn’t do too flash at the box office but that’s a top quality film that builds on the original in really interesting ways (nothing tops Rutger Hauer but still). Villeneuve also made Arrival, Prisoners, and probably most famously Sicario. Only seen the latter of the three but Sicario is also very much in that same category of: superb. Safe to say my excitement levels had been piqued.
So I read the book. And, let me tell ya, I absolutely guzzled it down. Dune lived up to its reputation and then some. I’d had a ratty second hand copy lying around for at least a couple years, like going way back before the Villeneuve film was announced (I assume I picked it up because of the Lynch association though honestly I can’t remember), but had never made any attempt to read it before. Mostly coz it’s like 500+ pages including appendices and there are about five sequels and it’s notoriously dense and all that. Nah, no need to hesitate, turns out it’s actually a gargantuan page-turner (though it does help immensely if you have a version with the glossary in the back).
Then I watched the David Lynch film. Woah boy that one... that one was a strange experience. There were the makings of a classic film in there but then the studio got a hold of it and ripped it to shreds and they ran out of money for a lot of the special effects and the end result is a ragged curiosity with hints of brilliance but a second half that runs through so fast it’s like all they were doing was ticking boxes of plot points.
I’ve got high hopes for this new one though, the current industry is a little more lubricated towards doing this properly. Some books are just unfilmable, that’s cool. That’s the way they’re supposed to be and the books are almost always better, deeper, more resonant than the movies anyway. But Lynch’s Dune showed what cinematic potential there is in this text and normally that’s not something that a big screen adaptation needs to worry about but thankfully here it’s easily packaged within a wider Intellectual Property which is all the big studios care about. Warner Brothers wants their own Marvel Cinematic Universe... thus here comes Dune, people.
I actually wrote like a thousand more words on this impending movie (and the fascinatingly bad Lynch version) but this is just your Monday email so no need to go overboard. I’ll repurpose and expand this into a proper Loungin’ article later in the week. That’ll also give me time to watch the doco about when Alejandro Jodorowsky tried to adapt Dune back in the 70s only for that to fail spectacularly (yet influentially).