1. Ross Taylor is an invaluable member of the team.
Taylor going under the knife after the Pakistan Test series win was supposed to give a few guys lower in the pecking order a shot. However all it ultimately achieved was exposing the soft underbelly that is New Zealand’s lack of world-class one-day players.
There may be a time that we’ll be able to cope with not having Taylor sometime down the track but that time is not now.
2. The step from New Zealand domestic to international cricket is still far wider than it should be.
Players like Colin Munro, Colin de Grandhomme and Henry Nicholls have excelled at domestic level. But the reality is that international cricket is still too much of a step up. Whether it’s how the players are coached or that the domestic competition isn’t up to standard, players are finding the gap far too wide to breach.
3. Martin Guptill is still our best ODI batsman
He could have been forgiven for losing some of his bounce and his desire in the side after losing his Test spot, but he’s responded exactly how selectors would have wanted him to.
With the exception of the dead-rubber in Melbourne, Guptill was New Zealand’s shining light in the Chappell-Hadlee pit of darkness. His technique absolutely gels with the white-ball game, it’s just a shame he can’t do it in red-ball cricket.
4. There’s no substitute for genuine pace
The Blackcaps attempted to fight fire with fire in paceman Lockie Ferguson.
The issue is that there simply aren’t enough bowlers within New Zealand’s domestic arena that deliver 145km plus deliveries consistently, and when our batsmen come up against an attack consisting of Mitchell Starc (to be fair, the best white ball bowler in the world), Josh Hazelwood and Patrick Cummins, who all bowl consistently over 145km plus, they are far less-equipped to handle it.
5. Coach Mike Hesson’s spot isn’t safe
After a nine-month period that has delivered Test series defeats against South Africa, India and one-day series defeats against India and Australia, Mike Hesson’s spot has to be under pressure.
It’s not easy to lose such an influential character like Brendon McCullum and continue growing the squad, but the way in which the next tier of players have come through is far from encouraging.
All images courtesy of Getty
