New Zealand and the art of being consistently brash

Oh I don’t know. I guess brash is too… brash a word to describe their brand of cricket but what to do?  Aggressive, intimidating, active, dynamic etc have already been used. (Not to forget reckless).

 My analysis is pertaining only to one-day internationals and to test matches to some extent.

However sometimes you do get the feeling that they are being reckless. They are taking the so called brand of positive cricket too far. For purists it almost seems rude.

Sometimes. Almost

McCullum.

McCullum's savage assault on Steven Finn during world cup

If any one else attempted to play like McCullum( except say, Gayle) they wouldn’t last 10 balls.

In the world cup he lasted 19 balls per match. Its true.

 Just imagine what would happen if he could take a bit more time and try to play at least say 20 overs of an ODI. The bowlers would delegate their role to bowling machines.

Even in the field he goes all out searching for wickets. So much so that his lead bowler bowls out by the 30^th over and his part-timers are learning the art of death bowling.

This form of expansive cricket isn’t very consistent. When you play like this there are going to be many one-sided games. Suddenly the tactical genius of Brendan seems clever by half as can be seen in their match against England recently.

It has rarely happened. The black caps have taken McCullums’s attitude to heart. They talk about being positive. And they walk the talk consistently. So much so that people don’t mind that odd one-sided game knowing that when they watch a game in which the black caps play there is something happening every moment.

That’s why they have become the second-best team for every non- New Zealander (mostly).

How is it that they are so consistent with a brand of cricket whose outcome is so inconsistent?

How are they playing cricket in such a ‘rude’ fashion and succeeding more often than not?

Well each player knows his role for a start. It helps when you have the bowlers to back your strategy. It helps even more when all the players are in form.

However the ‘positive’ mindset has different reference here. It doesn’t always necessarily mean aggressive. It means an inhibited style of play. Some players like McCullum and Ronchi play with gay abandon while others like Williamson and Taylor are able to play their natural risk-free cricket ad going for their shots only when they can do so. There is no pressure on any of them to play in a particular way unless of course the situation demands it.

Boult and Southee are given the freedom to ball attacking lengths irrespective of the runs they concede. This freedom is allowing them to play with a clear mindset.

The cohesion and the bond of the team we see know makes it impossible to believe that the team was in the process of falling apart 3 years ago.

There has been so much discussion on the Talyor-McCullum-Hesson(the coach) saga that I don’t think I need to discuss it.(yet again)

Another thing about this team is that they completely back their players. It is harder to get into this team than to get out. There has been stability. This security has not led to complacency but increased motivation. The bench strength ( especially in case of the bowlers) is promising.

All the players know their roles.

For example

McCullum needs to murder the new ball.

Guptill needs to caress it

Williamson’s the anchor

Ross Taylor needs to consolidate

Southee needs to pick wickets

Boult needs to pick wickets

Well… you get the idea.

the wicket-taking combo?

New Zealand 5-10 years back was a steady if unspectacular side. Although having promising players they weren’t able to consistently play well and win those big moments in the game.

Today we see that they accept that there will be days when their plans look more like an attempt to increase their TRP. 

There will be days when they will be given a dose of their own medicine.

There will be days when their attacking cricket doesn’t work.

But they will be attacking and agressive anyway.

They are prepared to lose to win, if that makes any sense.

But the great thing is that they are playing this style of cricket with ease. The losses are just minor blips on the way. There is definitely going to be a stage when it becomes hard to play with such freedom.

There are going to times when the team realizes that it is one thing to play this brand of cricket with in-form players  and absolutely another when the players lack confidence and are not at their best.

I just hope the black caps can postpone that period as long as possible and make this attitude contagious to other teams as well.

 Their style has hit us like a cool winter breeze in the summer heat.

 It has come at a time when the general feeling was that most teams did not get the incentive to go for win in test matches. That most teams went through a period in ODIs were they let the game drift so much that new rules had to be implemented to force the teams to attack and make things happen all the time.

At a time when the financial viability of test matches in countries except in Australia and England was in doubt the New Zealand team has changed the mindset of the fans and players alike.

 This has been aptly phrased by an advertisement for ongoing the NZ tour of ENG

The men who invented the game VS the men who are reinventing it.

When one is 

1.  Restructuring or reinventing the style of the play

2. Trying to attract the crowds back to the longer formats, 

Maybe brash is the way to go about it.

Just so long it is consistently brash.