Dear Team New Zealand

I can't believe I actually cried.

Not because our team of 4 million wasn't big enough to beat the American billionaire. I accepted that.
 What got me was Dean Barker's speech afterwards. When Dean said we'll 'never know how much they appreciated the support from all around New Zealand, from schools, workplaces up and down the country. From Shed 10, from kiwis that flew to San Francisco to cheer, from kiwis all around the world.' And to them Dean said they 'gave it everything they had.' They 'left nothing out on the water, and sorry they couldn't win that last race.' Cue the water works.

I think that's what all of us wanted to know deep down. We needed to know that Emirates Team New Zealand had used all their resources and thrown everything they had at the American syndicate. Our pockets were never as deep as theirs, and we were never going to have the same level of resources. But, you know what? I reckon our hearts were bigger. How many countries could get behind a yacht race to the extent that New Zealand did?

We mean it when we say that it's our boat. It's got our name on it. How many of us have been late to school in the last two weeks? Who do you know that has been sloping into work at 930am for the last wee while ? How many New Zealanders have been rocking their red socks and racing to wash them every night so they're good to go for the next day's racing? Who else has discussed the recent racing with the postie, the guy at the petrol station, the lady at the New World checkout? Who else went to an RPM class at 6am with all the tracks dedicated to Team New Zealand?

I coped with my frustration and disappointment by sweating it out at the gym after the final race. That was a great place to release some of the adrenalin still coursing through my veins. It  also became crystal clear to me that the earth hadn't stopped turning, the sun was still shining, traffic lights still working, and yes- people were even smiling.

Then along came the  6 o clock news. Oh god. Team NZ talking about how they feel. More tears, more pain.

I'm really glad to have done my bit, and been a part of  all of it, red socks and all.

Thanks Dean and Team New Zealand for giving us the chance to be part of something this big.
 Thanks for racing our boat so brilliantly for so long.  Thanks for giving it your all and leaving nothing out on the water. We're ok back home, we'll recover.

Now come on home with your heads held high.

Eng vs NZ T20 clash

There has been a lot of comment from the English fans about the timing of this two match T20 series and the impact it had on 'that' weather affected match a few days earlier. Like it or not, the giggle and hit was always going to be played at the Oval, and was always destined to draw the crowds. And so it did.

Game one, England won the toss and sent New Zealand in to bat.
The lucky, capacity English crowd had a beautiful summer's evening and made the most of the pleasant conditions after a day at work. So spare a thought for those of us on the other side of the planet, getting up at 5am on a cold, dark winters morning; to watch T20 cricket under a blanket on the sofa.

There are three key highlights from this match for me, and this was the first- Hamish Rutherford's innings. New Zealand lost Franklin early to Rankin, and it ruffled a few polar fleece blankets in the predawn light on sofas round New Zealand. However, Rutherford has had a little bit of batting practise in recent weeks, and was good to go. He batted as well as he ever has, striking the ball cleanly and getting a good number out of the middle of the bat. And so he was rewarded with 65 runs off 35 balls, and a bit more confidence to tuck into his back pocket for the next match.

Hamish Rutherford on his way to 62 runs
Courtesy Getty Images

The second big highlight for me was Brendon McCulllum's captaincy. He continued his aggressive and beguiling tactics, rotating bowlers and fielders and keeping the batsmen guessing. This was clearly illustrated when Butler came on to bowl and he put Taylor in at slip. The commentators couldn't fathom it with comments from Bumble like 'why on earth would you put a slip in there?' Two balls later, his question was answered as Taylor reached high over his head to take a magnificent one handed catch to dismiss England's captain. Taylor later claimed on Twitter that the catch was an absolute fluke.

Ross Taylor's catch
Courtesy Getty Images

My third highlight was the final over. McCullum again with his clever captaincy put the new guy Anderson on to bowl. At the time I questioned whether he would have the confidence and composure to finish the match for NZ.   And once again, McCullum was proven right. Anderson took each ball on it's own and focussed on it with steely determination. He was relaxed; smiling even. And he came through with the goods.
  New Zealand won by 5 runs.

NZ v Aus- Trans Tasman clash

New Zealand and Australia have a history of stepping it up a level when they play against each other and Kyle Mills predicted a 'ding dong' battle at Edgbaston.

Australia won the toss and elected to bat. We were treated to scenes of the Australian dressing room- covered in posters of great Aussie cricketers, and the New Zealand dressing room, understated and bare.

And so it started as Mills foretold.

 Mills opened the bowling and had a good first over before handing the ball to McClenaghan, who struck a short time later getting Watson to edge one to Ronchi for 5.
Two overs later McClenaghan struck again, assisted by a catlike Guptill in the field, effecting a brilliant underarm direct hit to run Hughes out without scoring.

Of course the news overshadowing the match was all about Warner and what he did to get stood down from the match. Unfortunately all the discussion on social media was about that and the tv commentators had to keep referring back to it as well.

Australia's third wicket fell as Wade was caught LBW off Nathan McCullum for 29 off 57 balls. McCullum also claimed the fourth by clean bowling Bailey for 55 as he looked to work one away to leg.
It was a change from the previous match against SL as New Zealand bowled 30 overs of spin. This turned into a high workload for Vettori who was as penurious as we remember him, conceding only 23 runs off his 10 overs.

It wasn't long before McClenaghan was back in the wickets, remarked on by the commentary team as 'he has a habit of taking wickets'  He skittled Marsh with a high edge catch to Ronchi, and had a dangerous looking Voges caught by his captain at mid wicket.

At 200/6 Australia had two new batsmen at the crease, until McClenaghan was involved in another dismissal, catching Faulkner off Kane Williamson for 6 off 12 balls.
 Then came the battle that many were waiting for. Mitchell Johnson versus Mitchell McClenaghan.
Johnson had his way with a couple of quick boundaries before Mitchell of the more popular hair do got his wicket with a deceptively slower ball at 102km that was edged straight to McCullum.
There was a late flourish from Australia as Maxwell got them to 243/8, contributing 29* himself.


From the New Zealand innings, the national expectation of Guptill was sizeable. After back to back centuries earlier, the same dish had been ordered from the caterers. It wasn't to be, however, as Guptill was the first wicket; hitting McKay to point to be caught by Maxwell. His contribution was 8 off 13 balls. Ronchi edged one to Watson at 4th slip a short time later, again off McKay after adding 14 runs off 17 balls.

This left Williamson and Taylor at the crease as dark clouds threatened overhead. New Zealand got to 51/2 before the umpires called for the covers and the hovercraft was brought out to the middle. Because only 15 overs had been completed and the grounds could not be sufficiently dried in time to continue the match, the decision was taken to abandon play.

Both teams take one point from the match- leaving New Zealand with 3 points and Australia one.
New Zealand's bowlers had another good session, in particular McClenaghan and Vettori, but there is plenty of opportunity there too. McKay bowled well for Australia, but the top order batsmen struggled with footwork and looked at sea.

There will be homework to complete for both sides before they meet their next opponents, in order to ensure they continue their Champions Trophy quest.

A walk in the Valleys

NZ v Sri Lanka in Cardiff was never going to be a walk in the valleys for either team. Sri Lanka went into the match with the upper hand. From the last 14 ODIs where the two teams have met, NZ have only beaten them once.

Kyle Mills opened the match with a ripping ball that had Perera edging one to McCullum who performed a magnificent diving catch.

A few overs later McClenaghan got the prized wicket of Dilshan.  Then it was time for a change of pace as the prodigal son returned with some Left Arm spin to hurrahs from all the stalwarts who had been waiting  for 2 years for Dan Vettori to turn his arm over for NZ again.  And he didn't disappoint, with a repeat of his last performance two years ago taking Jayawardene LBW again.

Mills was back on the attack taking Chandimal a few balls later for a duck, leaving SL reeling on 34-4

This was a sign of how the BlackCaps were approaching the match and had Kiwis up and down the land on the edge of their late night sofa.  The bowling attack have already had a good workout against England in both home and away series, and have proven to be just the kind of  determined and aggressive attack that can win matches.

McClenaghan struck again spinning Mathews leg stump in the air, KSW got Thirimanne and Mitch claimed his 3rd with Thisara Perera .  Sangakkara was the only one who was looking seriously dangerous until Nate McCullum had him caught on 68.  The final two wickets fell quickly and the first innings was over well before the lunch break. McClenaghan was the pick of the bowlers with an unrelenting 4-43, and gained team honours leaving the field first to applause from his team mates. He has also equalled Wayne Parnell’s record of 22 wickets in his first 8 ODI outings.

The usual formula however, is that the bowlers do a great job, and then the batsmen struggle to back it up with the numbers.

A lot of Kiwis watching would have been expecting that formula to play out last night. Especially once Ronchi departed early on in the innings. Realistically, NZ should have cruised to victory. They had bowled Sri Lanka out for 138 in the 38th over.  The lowest  score to date in 8 ODIs played at Cardiff.

Surely with only 139 to win NZ should have romped home, right? Oh no. The second innings was as captivating as the first. It was probably more dramatic and with more theatrics too. The appealing was fervent and voiciferous, and happened with increasing regularity. Both teams had used up their referrals early on. By the match conclusion, Dilshan and Jayawardene had been reprimanded for excessive appealing. The pair pleaded guilty to a Level 1 breach, and were fined 50% of their match fee.

The Sri Lankans threw everything they had at New Zealand but the bowlers just didn’t have enough runs to bowl to. They came very close indeed, but a great display of backyard cricket from the brothers McCullum put on 35 for the 7th wicket partnership. But the sheer obstinate determination of the tail end sealed the deal for NZ, and they eventually won with Dilshan's final ball being a wide.

The BlackCaps survived a Lasith Malinga onslaught to win the match . He was a ferocious competitor and was hurling thunderbolts. That, in itself was a small victory for New Zealand. Some of the batsmen learned more about how to handle those thunderbolts. Others, apparently, did not.

Looking ahead:

• NZ had some good and some difficult time at the crease. Malinga is as tough a bowler as they will face in this tournament and they got some good practice in there. There was plenty of practice against deceptive spin with Herath as well.
• Dan Vettori is back. He was limping like an old man, but his captain says he is ‘no spring chicken’, and he thought Vettori was moving pretty well for himself.
• The New Zealand bowling unit goes from strength to strength. They have plenty of fire power and have already proven themselves against two of the world’s toughest teams.
• The fielding is still looking very sharp. NZ pride themselves on their fielding and do a great job restricting and containing sides.
• Australia is next up for New Zealand. Whenever these two countries face off in any sport, there is extra pride on the line, and anything can happen.

 

Dear BlackCaps

Hi, it's me again.
 I have to write this because I can't fit all the things I want to say on the little support postcards on the BlackCaps web site. 140 characters on Twitter isn't going to do it either.
You know, it's well into the rugby season and we are gearing up for the All Blacks to take on France at Eden Park this weekend. At the same time, there are hoardes of us spending nights on the sofa (now known as 'Sleeping with the BlackCaps'), making sure we are there to support you guys on your campaign in the UK.

You should know by now how desperately proud we all are of you and everything you have achieved so far.  I cannot tell you how big a thrill I get when I stand on the kids football sidelines on a Saturday morning, and crow about all the BlackCaps results with the football dads. These guys never used to stay up late to watch the BlackCaps, they definitely do now!
I couldn't wait to pop into the local dairy to catch up with the guy there who loves Guptill's batting as much as me. He and I had a great old debrief the other day, and it felt like I had bought the winning Lotto ticket off him. If I had, I'd be on the first plane to London to wave my flag in person.

I've enjoyed choosing the music of the day to kick off each match and share on Twitter too. We've had Chris Knox and "Love not  given lightly', 'Don't Dream it's Over' from Crowded House and  'Better Man' from Pearl Jam.  Tonight's theme tune will be 'Rise Up' by Six60. I'll be playing it loudly from the sofa in the wee small hours. I hope you guys have it in your heads as you run onto the grass at TrentBridge too.

It's been tough going having to listen to the English commentary on the tv coverage at times. It's not like having Doully & Rigor with Macca & Smithy. We get the occasional bit of Smithy, and that's about it. If I hear one more time about how Cook is going to bring on the mighty Swann to devastate the New Zealand batsmen, I will scream! His dismissal, and the subsequent grin from Williamson was one of the high points of the second ODI for me.

We all want to see more of the same. Steely determination with the bat and belligerent boundaries. Ninjas in the field, annoying the opposition. And it goes without saying, the bowling unit beguiling and bossing the batsmen.

 Keep your heads high, chests proud, and know that there's a whole lot of love and support from back home willing you on.

.......Show them you know how to Rise Up! Baby it's a revolution.......!



Love from Ruth. (again)

Test Preparation

So how exactly does one prepare for a Test Match; as a spectator?

Well, when it's an overseas Test, and it is scheduled to run through the night, there is a fair amount of organisation and preparation required.
I sometimes start the day before the Test by getting as many extra hours ( usually ends up as minutes) of sleep as I can. Credit in the sleep bank is a good thing.
The day before, I also like to get ahead of myself on the housework, emails, folding washing and any other little jobs that might distract me from devoting myself 100% to viewing every single ball bowled and every little piece of commentary.

On the morning of the Test, I ensure I know exactly how the day is going to pan out. Every meal is planned, prepared and cooked well in advance. I knew when I staggered out of bed this morning that today's breakfast menu would be porridge with almond milk, walnuts and greek yoghurt.
 A quick trip to the grocers mid morning sorted out my snacks for the day and into the evening. It covered mandarins, feijoas, tamarillos, and as an extra treat, kale chips baked with lemon zest.

So, onto my pre arranged lunch of leftover kumara, vegetable and lentil mash (yes, I know; I'm very rock and roll). That was actually a bit of a highlight of my Test preparation, I love that meal!

After lunch, I try to sneak in a quick nana nap if at all possible. I am, if nothing else, a pragmatist. I like my sleep, and will take it wherever I can get it. The prospect of 5 nights in a row of broken sleep looms large in my mind.

There's the usual jobs to get down to in the afternoon, school books to help read, football juggling to admire. All the while my mind is percolating thoughts. Dripping away slowly in the background. Spilling into the little espresso cup sized space in my head. I'm imagining what is happening on the other side of the world. What's going through the team's heads? What thoughts are they having? What's on their breakfast menu?

Dinner tonight, pre Test was pretty straightforward. I planned ahead (of course) and roasted a piece of lamb in the slow cooker all afternoon. That made me available to respond to emails, look for work, return calls and finish a few other fiddly jobs while it was slowly cooking. There was something strangely appropriate about  having a good New Zealand roast lamb accompanied by an excellent Central Otago Pinot Noir whilst preparing to watch a great New Zealand cricket team do battle.
I've even painted my nails already. That's my usual Friday night girly indulgence. Not this Friday night. I'm 100% focused on blokes. And their cricket.

That out of the way, it's time to get myself set up on the sofa. I have a few things to keep me company during the long night ahead; sleeping with the BlackCaps. I've got the Pinot. I've got the kale chips. I've got buckets of Earl Grey, Milo just in case and frooze and brain balls. I'll get my PJs, my warm slippers and my favourite blanket out too. The sofa has to be setup with the optimal number of cushions to support me, my laptop and my iPhone; but also cosy enough if I should happen to just doze off at any time in the wee small hours.
I've also got my hand cream, my lip balm and my tissues. I've got a cold. I'm not expecting tears.

So what else is there left to do?
 Oh yeah. Practice my cheers 'Come oooooon you BlaaaaaaackCaps!'
Give it heaps lads. I'm ready.

Nil desperandum

I never thought watching the BlackCaps play would transport me back to 3rd Form Latin. But there you have it.

Days 1 2,3 and the first session of Day 4 had me thinking  nil mortalibus ardui est- nothing is impossible for humankind.

 I was very quietly confident about what we had seen from the BlackCaps bowling attack thus far. Tim Southee taking ten wickets for honours at Lords looked to have sealed the deal. Surely, getting 239 runs was not impossible.  Bearing in mind that our last two Test victories were against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. The BlackCaps are ranked number 8 and the English are number 2, which kind of puts things in perspective.

In typical kiwi style, I was very quietly confident- no shouting from the rooftops for me. After all, I've been burned before.

I loved watching the footage from Lords. It's the first time I've seen a match played there since 2011 when I was there in person.

 It's more exciting when you can picture the Nursery Ground and the Members stand in your minds eye. I closed my eyes for a while and remembered sitting in the Grand Stand, shivering with cold, drinking Pimms and chatting with the elderly West Indian gents seated behind me. They were great fun, sitting their with their sensible pink woolly blankets that their wives made them bring. I think they genuinely enjoyed my company as well, laughing away with this mad, candid New Zealand tourist while her brother sat alongside her shaking his head at her forwardness. Far too much Antipodean spirit in me, and not enough left in him after ten years in London I suspect.

This is the same brother who said to me on Sunday at lunchtime- "they're going to lose you know".  To which I responded that he should "wash his mouth out". Unfortunately, I then had to babysit for him on Tuesday night and he loved telling me he was right. Annoying little brother.

Anyway, back to Lords and the Test. OK we lost. Badly. But it was only one bad hour. After  more than twenty good hours. I'll take the good memories away from that match, and carefully forget that ugly hour of capitulation.

It is hard work staying up late for five nights in a row supporting your team though, and it does take a toll on your good looks and good humour. It's also a kiwi tradition, spending the night on the sofa under a blanket with your vogels toast and marmite, and hot cups of Milo. We've all done it as kids, and some of us continue to do it.

But I'll do it again , and gladly.  I love it even more now that I can be having Twitter conversations with other cricket watchers around the world whilst watching. I love all the trash talk and the sledging- it makes it all more interesting.

So we are 24 hours away from the Headlingley Test. This time tomorrow I will be set up ready for another big night on the sofa. I'm not unhappy about that. In fact, I'm looking forward to it.

Nil Desperandum - Never Despair.

 That's the Latin phrase that sticks in my mind now.

Go to it Black Caps!