Another day, another calamitous capitulation from the BlackCaps.
They've been crushed by South Africa on day four of the second test by an innings and 193 runs, to seal a two-nil series defeat.
New Zealand’s depleted line-up never stood a chance against the best side in the world, but it's hoped a much stronger side will be available to face England next month.
The BlackCaps fought hard to take the second test to a fourth day. You have to wonder why they bothered as their tail surrendered meekly in the first session.
“It's almost a case of being ducks in a gallery waiting to be picked off by these big grenade hurling fast bowlers,” New Zealand Cricket director John Buchanan says.
Once the new ball arrived that's exactly what Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel did - as the last five New Zealand wickets fell for just eight runs shortly before lunch.
“We're going to learn a lot of lessons from this - we were well short of the mark South Africa were at and we were exposed,” BlackCaps captain Brendon McCullum says.
The top order were technically deficient against the world's best pace attack, while McCullum revealed a weakness against left-arm spin.
The skipper admitted his side's skills weren't up to scratch, and changes need to be made to the team to face England next month.
So who comes in?
Former skipper Ross Taylor’s indicated he'll be available, but there's fresh hope of a return to the international stage for Jesse Ryder after he met with Buchanan yesterday in Wellington.
“There's a meeting he'll be having with NZC at the end of this month, catching up with Mike Hesson and manager Mike Sandle at the end of the month just to walk through a few different issues,” Buchanan says.
Ryder's manager Aaron Klee won't offer any certainties, but told 3 News he wouldn't rule out Ryder's return against England.
There's also encouraging news on Daniel Vettori's Achilles injury after seeing a specialist in Australia.
“[I’m] not sure exactly of his return to cricket date, but [it’s] not too far away so that gives him a reasonable possibility of being around for the test matches against England,” Buchanan says.
It's experience the BlackCaps badly need to avoid becoming the laughing stock of world cricket.
3 News
source: newshub archive
