The NZ men’s cricket side has gone from hopeless to number one in the test rankings in seven short years. Michael Appleton breaks it down, and asks: can we lock in that run of success? To be a Black Caps fan is to be familiar with disappointment. Thudding, repetitive, painful disappointment. For much of our … Read more
After a byzantine process, some beautiful performances and a fair splash of luck, the Black Caps will be playing for the biggest prize in cricket – the first ever World Test Championship. Alex Braae explains how they got there. What’s all this then? In June this year, Kane Williamson will lead the Black Caps onto … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Why it matters Wairoa lost their dentist service, commercial rent relief won’t be revisited by government, and four year term referendum looking likely. It can be hard enough for key workers to live in the big cities, with the high cost of living. But for many … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Criticism over new ‘two-tier’ welfare payments, National announces reshuffle, and a day of differing fortunes in the media world. The government has announced a brand new income support scheme for those who have lost work – but in many ways, it immediately became notable more … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Coup definitely on in the National party, government has had enough of the Epidemic Response Committee, and two worryingly large sets of job losses indicated. The coup attempt is definitely on in the National party, and it’s going to happen fast. The NZ Herald reports a challenge has … Read more
Simon Day and Alex Braae, co-hosts of The Offspin podcast, look back at the 10-year evolution of the Black Caps. The last 10 years have been a bizarre time for Black Caps supporters, because the team has been consistently good. The true joy of being a millennial New Zealand cricket fan is built on the team’s … Read more
Grant Robertson, a cricket fanatic whose day jobs include being minister for finance and minister for sport, raced from Wellington to northwest London on the weekend to watch the Black Caps in what turned into the greatest one-day international ever played. I don’t remember the exact moment I fell in love with cricket. That’s a … Read more
The Black Caps’ World Cup loss at Lord’s this morning has much of the country feeling pretty shit. From massage to mindfulness, here are five ways to feel just a tiny bit better. There’s a lot of weepy people out there today folks, a lot of real sad individuals. When you draw twice and still … Read more
The Black Caps were a critical part of what is probably the greatest game of cricket ever played, writes Duncan Greive. Is that enough to get over having lost it? It’s hard to imagine a more hollow consolation than having played the crucial supporting role in the greatest game of cricket any of us will … Read more
Tonight the Black Caps will be led on to Lord’s for the World Cup Final by Kane Williamson, the most underestimated captain in world cricket, writes Toby Manhire. Were he not so confoundingly, unshakably, even irritatingly amiable, we’d call him something like Ice Cold Kane. Instead, the official epithet-hander-outers of New Zealand cricket, the Alternative … Read more
In today’s episode of The Offspin podcast, Simon Day and Alex Braae go absolutely berserk over the semi-final win that put the Black Caps into the Cricket World Cup final. It took 29 hours and two nights, but the Black Caps have somehow managed to beat the mighty India to advance to the Cricket World … Read more
In episode eight of The Offspin, we break down the best game of the tournament so far, and talk about the shattered dreams of South African cricket. Writer and journalist James Borrowdale grew up with dreams of South African cricket running through his brain, but they’re long gone now, traded in for a Black Caps … Read more
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
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
On every occasion that the Black Caps have come up against a top quality opponent this home season, they’ve lost badly, and lost the same way every time. Is it time for a change of plan? To win an ODI game of cricket, you need to put some runs on the board. That’s a crushingly … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National gets year underway with reshuffle and red meat, judge rules union is allowed to be rude during negotiations, and investigation into CHCH crypto hack. With a reshuffle and a few whiffs of red meat, National has set out a few points where they intend to … Read more
Black Caps devotee Michael Appleton assesses the chances of cricketing glory as the side begins its season in the United Arab Emirates. The Black Caps’ new season starts in the UAE tomorrow morning. Between now and late March, they’ll play eight test matches, 14 ODIs and seven T20s against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. … Read more
The number of South African born cricketers contracted in New Zealand has now cracked the required number for a full team. So if they were put up against the Black Caps, who would win? The number of South African born sportspeople who have left their country to pursue their dreams continues to increase, and cricket … Read more
Yesterday, Kane Williamson became the first New Zealand batsman to score 18 test centuries. But is he New Zealand’s greatest ever batsman? Cricket is built on statistics. It’s the backbone by which one era can be compared to another. It’s Bradman’s average, Stephen Fleming’s conversion rate, and for a very long time Martin Crowe’s 17 … Read more
In 2015 Simon Day travelled to Adelaide to observe the inaugural day/night test. Yesterday, he caught the train to Eden Park to see the first pink ball test match played in New Zealand. I feel sorry for Neil Wagner. This summer the test specialist only gets to play four games for his country. That’s eight innings … 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 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
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
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
Tipped by many to become New Zealand’s greatest ever batsman, 25-year old Kane Williamson has already scored 12 test centuries and 16 test half-centuries. Ben Stanley goes in search of his power, and finds the answer in the Four Noble Truths. For Kane Williamson, it was just another shot played on the third morning of the … Read more