The new logo adorning the Blackcaps’ shirts belongs to an Indian dairy giant with a long-running advertising campaign based around spectacular puns. It looks like it could be a secret society which dabbles in the occult, or the name of Brendon McCullum’s latest racehorse. But the word ‘Amul’, printed in a heavy medieval font on … Read more
Dunedin dad Aaron Hawkins went to the cricket and all he got was his pram banned. Here he questions the decision of New Zealand Cricket to exclude families from watching his beloved game. As a long suffering test cricket tragic it’s my job to pass that obsession on to my one-year-old son, so off we … Read more
Alaister Moghan dives deep into the recesses of New Zealand cricket history to uncover the ballads and bangers to which our men in teal once entered the oval. In 1999 sports science was still in its infancy. In my chosen sport of childhood focus, cricket, this was a time of naivety where ice bathing had yet … Read more
Amy Satterthwaite is the second person, and only woman, to score four consecutive ODI centuries. Madeleine Chapman caught up with her to see about making it five. “If you just read it as it’s spelled, it’s quite straightforward, but people seem to freak out.” Amy Satterthwaite doesn’t sound too bothered by the fact that commentators … Read more
A weird thing happened to me at the cricket yesterday: for the first time in my life I felt sympathy for Australia, confesses Jamie Wall. It was at around 4:30pm yesterday that the unthinkable happened. Maybe it was the oppressive heat. Maybe it was because I’m almost 36 and slightly more rational these days. Or … Read more
Close to 100 cricketers have represented New Zealand in limited overs internationals since numbers were added to the backs of players’ shirts, but none have ever worn the number 69. Why not? Calum Henderson investigates. When Lockie Ferguson runs in to bowl for the Auckland Aces in T20 and one-day cricket, he does so with … Read more
The Australian cricketer’s refusal to sign an R.M. Williams boot during last night’s One Day International forced me to reconsider his character, writes Calum Henderson in a stunning flip-flop. https://twitter.com/rustyjacko/status/806059078724108288 Like most New Zealand cricket fans I have spent the last seven years thinking the Australian cricketer David Warner was bad. Since his international debut … Read more
“Who the hell does Brendon McCullum think he is?” asked our recent mildly inflammatory headline to a review of the former Black Caps captain’s new autobiography. As we enter our first summer of cricket in 14 years without him, Dan Luoni asks: who the hell do we think Brendon McCullum is? That Brendon McCullum has … Read more
Brian Turner wades through the hyperbole in Brendon McCullum’s biography, and recalls the old saying: “Self-praise is no recommendation.” On the front flap of the cover of Declared, the blurbist trumpets Brendon McCullum “could reduce the world’s bowling elite to quivering wrecks”, and “As a captain… his influence has been so profound it will likely change the way … Read more
The corruption allegations levelled at French club Racing 92 could be a sign of things to come in world rugby, says professional player-turned-journalist John Daniell. In 2012 I was tipped off about a story at Racing Metro, a French rugby club I used to play for, now renamed Racing 92 and home to half a … Read more
Alex Chapman took the opportunity to look at the last year of New Zealand cricket, bookended by two brutal defeats. What if we’d bowled first? What if Brendon McCullum hadn’t been bowled early? What if simply being nice and the spirit of the game were enough to carry a team to a world title? What … Read more
The Blackcaps win over Australia in the recent ICC World T20 tournament had nothing to do with masterful innings construction and well-executed bowling plans – according to Greg Bruce’s dad it was all just a fluke. My dad came into the ICC World T20 hot. The morning after the match against Australia, he turned up at … Read more
The Black Caps have rolled India and squeezed Australia, but now it’s time to take on Pakistan – a team that almost always find a way to break our hearts. Few things make Kiwi cricket fans tremble more than squaring off with Pakistan in the midst of a world tournament. Just mention 1992 (the Inzamam … Read more
As the Black Caps make a winning start to the T20 World Cup, Julia Hollingsworth remembers the time she lost big in a meeting with Dan Vettori. A year ago, I met cricketing legend and part-time heartthrob Daniel Vettori. It was the height of Cricket World Cup fever. The weather was unseasonably hot, and everyone was suddenly a … Read more
The first week of the World T20 has come and gone and the Black Caps have already beaten two of the pre-tournament favourites: India and Australia. Alex Chapman assesses the captaincy of Kane Williamson and the bold selections behind the success. And he sounds a warning ahead of Pakistan, too. When Simon Doull suggested a … Read more
Madeleine Chapman takes a look at the differences between how the men’s and women’s teams are treated at the T20 World Cups taking place in India. The Twenty20 World Cup is underway in India and, as we all know, the Black Caps are in fine form, eerily similar to their fine form at the World Cup … Read more
Why are so many women’s sports played in near-empty stadiums? Madeleine Chapman suggests some big changes to bring in more fans. Over the weekend I took a bus to Tauranga to watch the first of three tournaments aimed at deciding the best women’s basketball team in New Zealand. The event was held at ASB Baypark Arena, a huge sporting complex … Read more
Our Spinoff writers remember Martin Crowe: an old-school batting technician who became the headband-clad hero of the 1992 Cricket World Cup, the inventor of Cricket Max, and a regular antagonist to the cricketing establishment. Sonia Gray, TV presenter, Black Caps tragic I first met Martin Crowe in 2000 when we filmed a promo for Sky Movies together. There were camera … Read more
One of the best cricketers New Zealand has ever produced died today after a losing battle against cancer. Scotty Stevenson remembers Martin Crowe. For people of my generation, Martin Crowe was everything we wanted to be. He was a calculated-yet-cavalier, disciplined-yet-dashing batsman who feared no attack. He wore headbands under his helmet, and stood tall on … Read more
Arguing With My Dad is an occasional column which features Greg Bruce in conversation with his father about sports. In an unprecedented turn of events, Greg finds himself agreeing with his dad on everything – until an unlikely saviour arrives. I was always aware that one day I might come to write one of these … Read more
Samuel Scott takes his mind off the Black Caps’ humiliating defeat by thinking about their uncertain future. Day 1: Black Caps deliver touching reminder of the old days with throwback batting collapse Day 2: A day in hell Day 3: Blood magic now the Black Caps’ only hope As New Zealand’s hopes disappear, so do … Read more
As the hills around the Basin Reserve burn, along with the Black Caps’ chances, Samuel Flynn Scott turns to a legend’s blood-stained shirt in a search for salvation. Day 1: Black Caps deliver touching reminder of the old days with throwback batting collapse Day 2: A day in hell Mt Victoria is on fire. … Read more
Sam Scott watches Adam Voges score 176* as Australia clinically dismember the Black Caps on a punishingly hot day at the Basin Reserve. Day 1: Black Caps deliver touching reminder of the old days with throwback batting collapse As I peer out from under my giant “ladies hat” the field looks an out of focus … Read more
Samuel Flynn Scott watches the Black Caps, and his newfound high hopes, implode in a nostalgia-soaked first innings at the Basin Reserve. The lead up to this test series against Australia has been intense. For one thing, it’s Australia. Secondly, we have expectations now. This is new for the Black Caps fan, to go into … Read more
Is it a tale of a trusted institution gone rogue? There’s fan revolt. Official denial. Who do you believe? It was meant to be a happy night at Eden Park. The Black Caps were harvesting Australia’s souls. Their heatstruck fans were braying for Australian blood. And in most parts of the ground, beer was flowing freely … Read more
The Black Caps are historically great, so why does it feel wrong to believe in them? Sonia Gray writes on the hurt haunting the team’s winning run. New Zealand cricket is on an unbelievable, once-in-a-generation, too-good-to-be-true, pinch-me-if-I’m-dreaming kind of high. Yet still, as Black Cap supporters, we struggle to truly believe, deep in our war-weary … Read more
We asked 12 Rugby World Cup winning All Blacks for their Kiwi sporting hero of 2015. Colin Slade selected Black Caps wunderkind Kane Williamson. James Milne looks back on his extraordinary year at the crease. In 2015, there have, incredibly, been more words written about Kane Williamson than runs scored by Kane Williamson – i.e. a heck of … Read more
Lover of cricket Jeremy Wells wraps up the historic first day-night test match between Australia and New Zealand and wonders whether that completely baffling DRS call really was the deciding factor. Let me say this. I like the pink ball. I mean, the actual ball. I think the red ball should now be a pink ball. … Read more
Arguing with my Dad is an occasional column which features Greg Bruce in conversation with his father about sports. This week’s disagreement: New Zealand’s best batsman. It was a Sunday morning and I was sitting at the top of a slide on a playground across the road from New Zealand’s largest cemetery when Dad called. … Read more