We have to learn from this
There’s no doubt we’ve taken a knock from the Test series. After our promising efforts at home, two convincing English victories were hard to swallow.
We stuck with England for long periods during the two Tests, but they just kept coming at us for that bit longer. That’s the value of a very experienced and skilful side, and that’s why they’re deservedly number two in the world. My message afterwards was pretty simple – we have to learn from experiences like this. Two very poor sessions with the bat over the series cost us two Tests. We all need to look at ways we can improve individually, so when we're put under pressure, our method is robust enough to stand up.
All of our top seven batsmen in recent times have performed extremely well against the top two ranked sides in world cricket. We know these batsmen have the ability to score Test hundreds, and if we can combine that with International experience, then consistency will come.
We stuck with England for long periods during the two Tests, but they just kept coming at us for that bit longer. That’s the value of a very experienced and skilful side, and that’s why they’re deservedly number two in the world. My message afterwards was pretty simple – we have to learn from experiences like this. Two very poor sessions with the bat over the series cost us two Tests. We all need to look at ways we can improve individually, so when we're put under pressure, our method is robust enough to stand up.
All of our top seven batsmen in recent times have performed extremely well against the top two ranked sides in world cricket. We know these batsmen have the ability to score Test hundreds, and if we can combine that with International experience, then consistency will come.
That rain! Mike dodges a shower with umpires Steve Davis (r) and Marais Erasmus (l).
Looking at the positives, you can’t go beyond our seam bowling attack spearheaded by Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who thoroughly deserved his player of the series award. Tim has lead that bowling group exceptionally. For a young man he’s analytical and most importantly he sets standards for the younger bowlers to follow. Other positives were the emergence of Kane Williamson as a quality international spinner, and our catching behind the wicket, which was a big step up from the home summer.
There’s no time to dwell on the Test series as we’re straight into our first one day international at Lord’s. Bucking the trend, our one day unit is far more experienced than our Test side with the likes of Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum added to the group.
These three matches against England are a chance to bed down combinations before the Champions Trophy – and who better to do it against than one of the tournament favourites in their own conditions. The one day guys had a great hit out in Northampton with Dan grabbing a ton and a four wicket bag while Nathan and Kyle also got amongst the runs. They’ll be pretty keen to get out at Lord’s on Friday after a lot of time in the nets and on the bench in India.
The coloured clothing will be a welcome change after a tough couple of weeks in the whites.
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Looking at the positives, you can’t go beyond our seam bowling attack spearheaded by Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who thoroughly deserved his player of the series award. Tim has lead that bowling group exceptionally. For a young man he’s analytical and most importantly he sets standards for the younger bowlers to follow. Other positives were the emergence of Kane Williamson as a quality international spinner, and our catching behind the wicket, which was a big step up from the home summer.
There’s no time to dwell on the Test series as we’re straight into our first one day international at Lord’s. Bucking the trend, our one day unit is far more experienced than our Test side with the likes of Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum added to the group.
These three matches against England are a chance to bed down combinations before the Champions Trophy – and who better to do it against than one of the tournament favourites in their own conditions. The one day guys had a great hit out in Northampton with Dan grabbing a ton and a four wicket bag while Nathan and Kyle also got amongst the runs. They’ll be pretty keen to get out at Lord’s on Friday after a lot of time in the nets and on the bench in India.
The coloured clothing will be a welcome change after a tough couple of weeks in the whites.
