Year-ender 2016: New Zealand’s bumpy ride post Brendon McCullum era

ICC World Twenty20 (WT20I) was regained by West Indies, India gained supremacy in longer format, Australia slumped only to rise later but New Zealand had a mixed run in 2016. Apart from reaching the knockouts of the World T20, Kane Williamson’s new look side were seen trying to create a niche post Brendon McCullum era. To lose a player of McCullum’s stature, one can expect the Black Caps to get into their groove slowly in 2017. Nonetheless, let us take a look into New Zealand’s journey in 2016 which involved some impressive highs, shallow defeats, individual glories, losing out on legendary players (on and off the field) and much more.

Bidding farewell to legends on & off the field:

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New Zealand began the year by comprehensively overpowering Sri Lanka and Pakistan at home. They continued their forward stride by retaining the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy 2015-16. Thrashing Australia 2-1 in the three One-Day Internationals (ODIs), Kiwis were outdone in the two-Test series. Nonetheless, their biggest jolt came even before the year started with McCullum deciding to call it quits. The 35-year-old decided to hang up his boots after the conclusion of the home season. The swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman had taught his side to be innovative with decisions, courageous in approach and aggressive in intent. New Zealand headed into a completely new direction under his astute leadership.

Nonetheless, their dream run under the charismatic leader was coming to an end. The camp’s mood said it all as they could not even give him a fitting farewell. Australia returned home winning the Test series whereas New Zealand started to look beyond McCullum-era. Amidst all this, he still managed to sign off on a high. He played a berserk knock in his last match scoring 145 off 79 balls to unleash his attacking mode for one last time. He entered the record books, registering Test cricket’s fastest century, achieving the milestone  in 54 balls.

The void created by McCullum’s departure still continues to haunt his side despite the plethora of action involving Kiwis. If this was not enough, they were in for another shock. Their greatest-ever batsman Martin Crowe died on March 3 after a long battle with cancer. Crowe passed away at 53 on the eve of the World T20 to give another glitch to the Kiwis. Crowe played in 77 Tests, averaged 45.36 and scored 16 centuries which still stands as a record for his nation. His highest score of 299 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington against Sri Lanka in 1991 stood as a New Zealand’s best until McCullum scored 302 against India on the same ground in 2014. He was an inspirational leader and a tactical genius who surprised the world by leading New Zealand into the World Cup semi-final in 1992. Crowe led from the front with the bat. His death left the entire cricketing fraternity speechless.

Very sad to hear of the passing of martin crowe this morning. An inspiration to me and so many others. One of our true greats. RIP hogan

— Stephen Fleming (@SPFleming7) March 3, 2016

RIP Martin Crowe you will always be remembered. You were the BEST I ever bowled against and a top human being. #Gonetoosoon #RIPMartinCrowe

— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) March 3, 2016

Until we meet again Hogan. Love Tuisi pic.twitter.com/gXJCWlvaCa

— Ross Taylor (@RossLTaylor) March 3, 2016

RIP Martin Crowe, an absolute legend and an iconic star for the @BLACKCAPS
My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 3, 2016

He was a mentor to the likes of Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor. The Kiwi stars were in tears before their tournament opener against India.

New Zealand had firepower aplenty to clinch the title. They had the likes of Guptill, Taylor, Corey Anderson, Tim Southee, Nathan McCullum and Williamson. Kiwis also showed faith in newcomers like Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Colin Munro.

Sweating it out in unfamiliar Indian conditions was always going to be difficult but they were up for the challenge. Playing to their potential, they exceeded expectations with some tactical brilliance and unpredictable nature of the format. New Zealand defeated India, Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh only to bow out in the semi-final to England.

Their exemplary run in the group stages displayed their image of being sharp “students-of-the-game”. Williamson resorted to horses-for-courses ploy playing to his side’s strengths with conditions on offer. By the end of the marquee event, Kiwis got new stars in form of Santner and Sodhi (sharing 20 scalps at an economy rate of less than 7). They were yet again eluded of an ICC Trophy. Just one poor phase in the semi-final cost them the glory but they managed to keep their heads high.

After the hullabaloo of Indian Premier League (IPL) 9 died down, all teams embarked on a new cricketing season with challenging assignments lined up in second half of 2016. New Zealand flew to Zimbabwe in a quest to prepare for a tough Test series against South Africa and India. Williamson and co. did not put a wrong foot versus Zimbabwe, who were playing Test cricket after 2 long years, and won the two-Test series convincingly. Tom Latham and Neil Wagner shone with bat and ball respectively whereas Ross Taylor mustered 364 runs without being dismissed in the entire series.

There were some interesting stats achieved by the Black Caps in this series:

Neil Wagner took his best Test figures of 6 for 41.

Trent Boult took his 150th Test wicket.

Williamson became the youngest batsman to score a hundred against all Test playing nations.

Hitting rock-bottom:

New Zealand’s next assignment came against a side trying to find momentum in longer format. South Africa were without AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel while hosting New Zealand for a short Test series in August. Nonetheless, it did not stop the home side from winning the series 1-0 as New Zealand were exposed on tough bouncy surfaces of South Africa. Dale Steyn ruled the roost in his comeback series as Kiwi batsmen were trampled. With not much time to dwell upon their shortcomings, New Zealand came to India for a long series. Again, in conditions alien to them.

The tour comprised of three Tests and five ODIs. Williamson’s side were burdened with injuries and despite trying hard, they were bullied by India’s spin duo in form of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The difference between both sides remained in the spin department with visitors lagging behind whereas their batsmen failed to click as a unit. India regained the No. 1 Test spot as they whitewashed their opponents comprehensively. There were still some positives for the tourists. Latham continued his rich vein of form on his first tour to the subcontinent and played spin effectively.

Latham notched up fifties in all the three Tests. He could not convert it into anything significant but displayed composure and willingness to hang in the middle. He was comfortable against spinners and looked sure of his footwork. Luke Ronchi also chipped in with useful contributions and ended as Kiwis’ highest run-scorer but it was Latham’s nonchalant touch that impressed more. Trent Boult and Santner earned 10 scalps but could not inspire their side.

Coming to the shorter format, New Zealand kept coming back to stretch the series till the last ODI. If India were leading the charge, Kiwis kept themselves in the hunt going into the series finale. Nonetheless, the last ODI turned into a dead rubber with India wrapping the series by 190 runs. Talking about individual performances, Tim Southee returned to the playing XI after missing the action in whites and struck the right chord.

Southee was well aware of the different conditions and exhibited variations to grab 7 wickets. Boult earned 6 scalps whereas Santner continued to impress in limited-overs with an impressive economy rate of 4.

In the batting department, New Zealand were able to cross the 250-run mark on two occasions which exposed their middle-order woes. They were outdone in the middle overs and struggled to keep up with a good pace in the entire innings. Latham and Williamson were the 2nd and 3rd highest run-getters respectively but no one took responsibility from the middle-order. As a result, New Zealand ended the tour winning nothing apart from gaining much-needed experience of playing in India. In contrast to the Test series, they contested better here and went down 3-2.

Winning ways at home

Their next series was against Pakistan which kicked started their home season. The series consisted of two Tests as Kiwis were eager to get back to winning ways. Both the Tests became a one-sided affair as Pakistan, who till not long back were No.1 in Tests, lost 0-2. Kiwis were at their very best as Pakistan failed to get accustomed to the overcast and windy conditions.

Pakistan could not even cross 250 in all four attempts as Southee was at his menacing best. He finished with 13 wickets but it was the emergence of two inexperienced players which pleased their camp.

Jeet Raval, 28, debuted after the axe fell on out-of-form opener Guptill. Raval ended the series with two fifties and averaged 49.33. Colin de Grandhomme made his debut in the first Test. He only had played an ODI that too in 2012. He was accurate and got lateral movement to leave Pakistani batsmen in two minds. From conceding a whitewash, New Zealand inflicted the same pain to India’s arch-rivals, Pakistan. Nonetheless, the triumph was short lived as they lost a much-coveted silverware but that’s another format though.

Chappell-Hadlee Trophy goes back to Australia

New Zealand travelled to Australia to retain the much talked about Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. All three ODIs went in Australia’s favour as Kiwis kept falling apart from game one. It was a series entirely dominated by Australia as they fired in all cylinders. In a span of two months, Kiwis were a part of another whitewash. This time it was in coloured outfits.

Before the year ended, New Zealand began their home series against Bangladesh. Visitors came to the series winning 6 out of their last 7 home series (in ODIs) and wanted to repeat the same against an inconsistent line-up. On the other hand, New Zealand had seen enough ups and downs and eyed revenge from past failures versus Bangladesh.

Positive end

The result came in hosts’ favour as they nailed a whitewash over the Asian side. The three ODI series exposed Bangladesh’s shortcomings in overseas whereas the Kiwis welcomed the New Year with cheers. Neil Broom’s return has been one of the biggest positives for them.

Making a comeback after almost 7 years, Broom finished with 228 runs at 114. Latham and Williamson continued to form the mainstay of their batting whereas Southee, Santner and Boult packed a punch with the ball.

New Zealand ended their below par streak after a string of failures against South Africa, India and Australia. They got new talents in form of Broom, power-hitter like Munro and some new faces to reduce the workload on Southee-Boult. Williamson has found a talented side but saw turbulent times in the year gone by. His side promises a lot but lack consistency. Moreover, their biggest challenge is to match or come close to the aggressive brand of cricket initiated by McCullum.

Talking about numbers, they won 10 out of their 18 ODIs. They were most impressive in T20Is finishing as the No. 1 side in the ICC T20I rankings and boasted a win percentage of 80. They, however, faltered in Tests  losing 6 out of the 11 games, conceding two whitewashes.

New Zealand appears to be in a dilemma whether to follow McCullum’s path or create their own space. With a gruelling home season ahead and ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in the pipeline, Williamson and co. need to find answers and look for desirable results soon. Overall, a taxing 2017 in line for a new-look Kiwi side and expect them to do well in coloured outfits.