The Offspin podcast: rainy days and father figures

In episode seven of The Offspin, with more bad weather in England and not a lot of cricket being played, we took the opportunity to reminisce on our personal journeys in the sport. And spend some quality time dissing Australian cricketers. We are joined in the studio by a passionate cricketer who had little choice … Read more

The Bulletin: New polls bring joy, confusion for political obsessives

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Two polls released showing bizarrely different scenarios, Murupara runs out of cash, and report finds racism embedded in the justice system.  In the space of a single evening, two wildly different poll results came out. Each tells an entirely different story of the voting preferences of the … Read more

The Bulletin: Changes coming for dairy industry

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Recommended changes to dairy industry finally announced, signs of life in teacher negotiations, and flu vaccines are running short.  Yesterday was a mixed day for Fonterra, with the government announcing significant changes to dairy regulation will be introduced. Farmers Weekly reports the dairy cooperative, which takes about 80% … Read more

The Offspin podcast: At last, a real cricketer joins the show

In the third episode of The Offspin, globetrotting freelance cricketer and muscleman Mitchell McClenaghan joins the podcast to discuss winning the IPL, the changing patterns of cricketing analytics and a nervy Black Caps win over Bangladesh.  You’d better believe it – the Black Caps are at the top of the Cricket World Cup table after a nervy … Read more

The Bulletin: Fears for NZ’s cities with loss of mature trees

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fears for cities with loss of trees, competitive battle looms for Dunedin mayoralty, and teacher strike talks to take place amid new secondary strike action. New Zealand’s urban environments are losing worryingly high numbers of irreplaceable mature trees, reports Charlie Mitchell at Stuff. It comes a decade after … Read more

A definitive ranking of all the Black Caps’ ODI shirts: now updated for 2019

After the Black Caps’ victory over Sri Lanka in their first match of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Calum Henderson has made an important update to his ranking of every New Zealand ODI shirt. Has any other team in world sport worn such a wide and varied range of colours as the TelstraClear New Zealand … Read more

The Offspin podcast: a Black Caps win, plus the big question – is the uniform good?

In the second episode of The Offspin, esteemed uniform ranker Calum Henderson joins the podcast to discuss the Black Caps’ comprehensive victory over Sri Lanka, uniform fashion trends and Simon Doull’s glorious goatee from 1999. It’s 2.30am on Sunday, Simon has driven back from the beach to be here, Alex has come from a wedding, … Read more

Bring back Brendon McCullum

Ahead of the Black Caps’ first match in the 2019 World Cup, superfan Simon Day longs for his former leader. Every day I miss Brendon McCullum. Whenever he was on the field as captain I felt an unusual sensation as a longterm Black Caps fan – optimism. No matter what the scoreboard said, I thought “we’re … Read more

The Bulletin: Govt gives and takes with Wellbeing Budget

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Govt gives and takes with first Wellbeing Budget, Treasury Secretary under immense pressure, and dozens of kākāpō sick from fungus. The question was asked in yesterday’s Bulletin – what does this government value enough to put real money towards? In the end, the Budget that was delivered wasn’t … Read more

The Offspin podcast: Can the Black Caps win the World Cup? (Maybe, but probably not)

The first ball in the 2019 Cricket World Cup is about to be bowled and to celebrate we’ve launched a new podcast, The Offspin, where our resident cricket tragics (in the truest sense of the word) fill the hole of not being in England with the sound of banter.   For the next six weeks join hosts … Read more

‘They don’t chase wins, they chase prices’: why the fixing stench still clings to cricket

An international gambling industry source has told The Spinoff that World Cup warm-up matches are prime targets for the vast subcontinental fixing machine. Warm-up games in the Cricket World Cup are a match-fixer’s paradise, a veteran international gambling industry source has told the Spinoff. The combination of big names and high publicity means a lot … Read more

Form guide: Who will win the Cricket World Cup?

Does New Zealand have any chance of winning the Cricket World Cup? Wood and leather enthusiast Alex Braae casts his eye over where every team stands heading into the tournament, and puts his credibility on the line with some predictions.   You might think it’s rugby season, but in fact the greatest summer sporting event on … Read more