NZ under GrahamB (FC and Tests only)

[GrahamB]

My conditions:

I will not be selecting any players who are 35 years old or older, so that will rule out Ross Taylor for a start.

I play through every game over by over watching all runs and wickets.

All results will be as first played, good or bad. I don't exit and try again if I don't like how things are going.


More soon.

[MateGaming]

Very much enjoyed your Gloucestershire story last year - will be following this

[GrahamB]

Test Championship

My story starts in November 2021.

A new Test Championship is about to start, with England the reigning champions.

Our first series involves two tests in India.

[SIZE=14px][U][B]NZ Squad[/B][/U][/SIZE]

[B]Openers[/B]

Tom Latham (29 years old FC bat 44 Test bat 45) [I]Reserve keeper[/I]
Rachin Ravindra (22 years old FC bat 42 Test bat 28)
Jeff Collins (20 years old FC bat 11 Test bat -)

[B]Other Batsmen[/B]

Max French (19 years old FC bat 77 Test bat -)
Kane Williamson (31 years old FC bat 49 Test bat 51) [I]Captain[/I]
Devon Conway (30 years old FC bat 46 Test bat 20)
Will Young (29 years old FC bat 43 Test bat 33)
Mark Chapman (27 years old FC bat 43 Test bat 36)
Neal Charles (19 years old FC bat 42 Test bat -)
Dane Cleaver (29 years old FC bat 41 Test bat 36) [I]Keeper[/I]
Dean Foxcroft (23 years old FC bat39 Test bat 49)

[B]Pace Bowlers[/B]

Larry Clarke (10 years old FC bowl 18 Test bowl -) RMF
Will Williams (29 years old FC bowl 24 Test bowl -) RFM
Matt Henry (29 years old FC bowl 25 Test bowl 50) RMF
Trent Boult (32 years old FC bowl 26 Test bowl 27) LMF
Kyle Jamieson (26 years old FC bowl 26 Test bowl 19) RFM

[B]Spin Bowlers[/B]

Ajaz Patel (33 years old FC bowl 31 Test bowl 33) SLA
Ish Sodhi (29 years old FC bowl 32 Test bowl 49) LS

Players who were unlucky to miss the cut:

Hamish Rutherford (opener)
Brad Schmulian (batsman)
Darryl Mitchell (all-rounder pace)
Malcolm Nofal (all-rounder spin)
Cam Fletcher (keeper)
Lockie Ferguson (pace bowler)
Jeremy Benton (spin bowler)

[GrahamB]

India v NZ (1st Test 2021)

NZ team: T.Latham (wk), R.Ravindra, D.Conway, K.Williamson (capt), W.Young, D.Foxcroft, M.French, K.Jamieson, I.Sodhi, L.Clarke, A.Patel.

This was a typical subcontinent pitch, with the turn becoming increasingly prodigious over the five days.
Sadly, we lost the toss and India made the best of the perfect batting conditions.
We survived into the middle session on Day 5, but the Indian spinners were too good on the sharply turning track.

[weetabixharry]

Classic subcontinental conditions. True to real life, India are so hard to beat in India. Oh, and Kohli is a beast.

[GrahamB]

India v NZ (2nd Test)

Just one change to the side for the final test, with Trent Boult replacing Ish Sodhi.

NZ team: T.Latham (wk), R.Ravindra, D.Conway, K.Williamson (capt), W.Young, D.Foxcroft, M.French, K.Jamieson, L.Clarke, A.Patel, T.Boult.

Conditions for this test were different to the last, with very cloudy weather expected for much of Day 1.
There was also a chance that even though the spinners could expect the turn to become more advantageous as the game progressed, that it wouldn't be to the same degree as in the first test.

Therefore, when we won the toss, we put India in to bat, and if it hadn't been for Kohli being dropped once and Iyer twice, we'd likely have dismissed them for a lower score.
As things turned out, we were given a fourth innings chase of 400+, but ended up drawing.

[GrahamB]

NZ v Bangladesh (2 Tests) 2021

NZ team for the 1st Test: T.Latham, R.Ravindra, D.Conway, K.Williamson (capt), W.Young, D.Foxcroft, D.Mitchell, D.Cleaver (wk), K.Jamieson, L.Ferguson, T.Boult.

Hopefully, Latham's batting will be more productive now that he no longer has to keep as well.
We certainly missed taking an all-rounder on our Indian tour, so Darryl Mitchell comes back into the team.

As the pitch and conditions look more suited to the pacemen, we've left out Patel.
Foxcroft and Williamson can always turn their arms over a little if required.

[GrahamB]

I forgot to mention that Bangladesh has won test series against both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, so they're not necessarily going to be the easy-beats that some might imagine!

[GrahamB]

NZ v Bangladesh (1st Test)

At 113/5 in our second innings, there was real danger that we would lose, but led by Mitchell, the lower order put up some real fight.
Bangladesh would need 190 to win when they came out 28 minutes before tea on Day 5. They were a batsman short, which didn't help their cause.

[GrahamB]

NZ team for the 2nd Test: T.Latham, R.Ravindra, D.Conway, K.Williamson (capt), W.Young, D.Foxcroft, D.Mitchell, D.Cleaver (wk), K.Jamieson, L.Clarke, T.Boult.

Just the one change, with young Larry Clarke replacing Lockie Ferguson.

[GrahamB]

NZ v Bangladesh (2nd Test)

An impressive first innings batting effort under cloudy, sometimes very cloudy, skies set us up for a win. We'd chosen to bat first because the pitch was expected to break up and suit the pacemen later on.

The pitch started to behave erratically late on Day 3, which helped our pace bowlers dismiss the Bangladeshis twice.

[GrahamB]

Next, we face a stern challenge, as the South Africans visit NZ for a two test series.

[GrahamB]

NZ team for the 1st Test: T.Latham, R.Ravindra, D.Conway, K.Williamson (capt), W.Young, D.Foxcroft, D.Mitchell, D.Cleaver (wk), K.Jamieson, L.Clarke, A.Patel.

With the pitch expected to take turn later in the game, Ajaz Patel replaces an out of form Trent Boult..

[GrahamB]

NZ v South Africa (1st Test)

South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl first to try and make use of the cloud cover on the first morning, prepared to take the risk of batting fourth later on.

After conceding a first innings lead of 37, NZ had to bat well on a pitch which was now taking sharp turn and bordering on erratic bounce.
The South African spin duo of Linde and Maharaj didn't make life easy, while the pacemen, Rubada and Ngidi, are always a handful.

However, NZ weren't dismissed until near the end of the first session on Day 5, leaving the visitors to chase 302 in two sessions.
South Africa lost second innings wickets regularly and ended up fighting for survival.

[GrahamB]

NZ team for the 2nd Test: T.Latham, R.Ravindra, D.Conway, K.Williamson (capt), W.Young, D.Foxcroft, D.Mitchell, D.Cleaver (wk), K.Jamieson, J.Benton, L.Clarke.

Spin bowler, Jeremy Benton, gets an opportunity ahead of Ajaz Patel, who has been largely ineffective for me in the games he has played.