The woeful performance of the hyped New Zealand bowling attack in the England tour of 2022

[Savak]

Southee has had an absolute shocker this tour. Bolt has shown his quality in spots but he has gone missing in the key moments in this series. These two bowlers are not novices, they have experience of English conditions and have played numerous test tours in England before, for the reputation these two bowlers carry, it is shocking that they have not been able to defend 300 runs in the 4th innings, 3 test matches in a row.

This tour has exposed both these bowlers for being over cast swing bullies, the moment the pitch flattened out where pace, reverse swing was required, these two proved ineffective. The NZ bowling attack obviously lacks a quality spinner but also lacks an out and out pace bowling enforcer. I wonder why don't the NZ selectors give Lockie Ferguson a chance in test matches unless he himself is not interested in playing test cricket.

A very embarrassing series for the World Test Champions. To me their bowling let them down big time this series.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

One series can't define them.

Southee has done well even in Indian conditions, Boult is reliant on conditions for sure but it's not like he is a dud on flat tracks.

The biggest factor is Jamieson. He was operating at ATG level for the last two years but looks like he has simmered down a bit, he is again reliant on conditions but can keep it tight even on flatties. His absence definitely costed them.

Wagner is a rhythm bowler, when he is not in form, he is the easiest bowler to play, also these tracks weren't offering much bounce.

Overall, this NZ attack is definitely not ATG level (considering no spinners and reliance on conditions) but still it is the third best attack of this era and NZ's best ever for sure.

 

[Varun]

New Zealand don't perform well in the Big 3 - Australia, India and England.

They are at #1 because that spot is currently a roulette wheel between 3 or 4 teams. but they are not really elite.

Ironically, McCullum supercharged England on the other side on this tour.

 

[Moeey]

New Zealand don't perform well in the Big 3 - Australia, India and England.

They are at #1 because that spot is currently a roulette wheel between 3 or 4 teams. but they are not really elite.

Ironically, McCullum supercharged England on the other side on this tour.

England were never true world number 1s ever in history either apart from 1 year in 2012. That was about it.

Australia of 1997- 2005, w.indies of 80s to mid 90s, India of 2006-2011, India of 2015-2021, south africa from 2010-2014. These were true world number 1s at the time.

Wtc final based on one test is a farce.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

They havent bowled all that badly . Root and Bairstow, in particular, have monstered the series. NZ bowling is a little overrated at times but it wasnt as bad Bairstow made it look.

 

[Mamoon]

Not only the bowlers but Williamson’s captaincy was badly exposed. He looked like Azhar Ali on the field and had no plan to subside England’s aggression.
[MENTION=147292]RedwoodOriginal[/MENTION]

 

[Robert]

New Zealand don't perform well in the Big 3 - Australia, India and England.

They are at #1 because that spot is currently a roulette wheel between 3 or 4 teams. but they are not really elite.

Ironically, McCullum supercharged England on the other side on this tour.

I believe they won last time in England, and maybe the time before that too.

 

[Mamoon]

It is time for NZ to replace Southee with Ferguson, they need a genuine speed demon to complement Boult, Wagner and Jamieson.

Matt Henry was rapid once upon a time but he has lost several clicks. I wonder what happened to Milne - like Henry, he too modeled his action on the great Shane Bond and was lightning quick.

 

[Ab Fan]

In a 5- man bowling attack, two of the names were Bracewell and Daryl Mitchell. That weakens a bowling attack. Imagine having Jamieson and Ajaz/Colin de grandhomme as 4th and 5th bowler. That strengthens the bowling attack a lot. NZ got it wrong with their selection. Bracewell is at best a 5th bowler and Mitchell a 6th bowler. They should have played Ajaz.

Another point is that Henry Nicholls has been exposed as weak bowling bully too. Some thought he is a quality player based on that fluke knock in UAE vs Pakistan but he has been just a home bully and good vs mediocre attacks like Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh etc. He only has one away hundred which was in UAE.

 

[Moeey]

It is time for NZ to replace Southee with Ferguson, they need a genuine speed demon to complement Boult, Wagner and Jamieson.

Matt Henry was rapid once upon a time but he has lost several clicks. I wonder what happened to Milne - like Henry, he too modeled his action on the great Shane Bond and was lightning quick.

need to replace wagner too

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Not only the bowlers but Williamson’s captaincy was badly exposed. He looked like Azhar Ali on the field and had no plan to subside England’s aggression.

[MENTION=147292]RedwoodOriginal[/MENTION]

He had a bad series. Doesn't change the fact that he is the only captain to win a series in England in the last 8 years.

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

 

[James]

Selection didn’t help. At Headingley they should have gone for Boult, Wagner, Henry, and Ajaz. It would have been a far closer game in this scenario imo. Southee didn’t have the form to produce, and Bracewell was out of his depth.

 

[ElRaja]

nz became complacent after unerathing jamieson, even in the earlier tests he was the only bowler who took wickets against the run of play. if he can stay fit and maintain his pace he will go down as one of the greats, nz should really build the attack around him. which means boult stays in as a left arm pacer, and his recent performances are good.

every other place should be up for grabs, nz need to induct some more young blood into the team, southee is very skilled but hes played a lot of cricket. wagner too is the wrong side of thirty.

 

[TheSultan]

It is time for NZ to replace Southee with Ferguson, they need a genuine speed demon to complement Boult, Wagner and Jamieson.

Matt Henry was rapid once upon a time but he has lost several clicks. I wonder what happened to Milne - like Henry, he too modeled his action on the great Shane Bond and was lightning quick.

I actually agree with this - they have a genuine speedster and are wasting him

 

[TheSultan]

NZ were caught off guard. Their bowlers haven’t been attacked like this. Bairstow was an absolute beast in this series. I don’t think there are many attacks that would have slowed England down. It would have taken down every team.

No plaudits are enough for Baz. He has literally been a game changer.

 

[James]

wagner too is the wrong side of thirty.

*Wrong side of 35 even

 

[Savak]

NZ were caught off guard. Their bowlers haven’t been attacked like this. Bairstow was an absolute beast in this series. I don’t think there are many attacks that would have slowed England down. It would have taken down every team.

No plaudits are enough for Baz. He has literally been a game changer.

Bhumrah, Shami, Siraj would have counter Bairstow as they have done repeatedly in the past. India has an all conditions attack and are not dependent on just one type of conditions. Bairstow has been exposed in the past against quality bowling attacks like Australia, India e.t.c.

 

[Buffet]

England were never true world number 1s ever in history either apart from 1 year in 2012. That was about it.

Australia of 1997- 2005, w.indies of 80s to mid 90s, India of 2006-2011, India of 2015-2021, south africa from 2010-2014. These were true world number 1s at the time.

Wtc final based on one test is a farce.

NZ record in den of other teams is really poor. 4 test wins with W/L of 0.3 in the last 6-7 years.



NZ looked hopeless in too many away series in the last 6-7 years and even at home against Aus. That's never a sign of top dog at any time. Rank one was simply based on some favorable schedule in specific 2 years. Now they are rank 4 with 100 points and that's probably a decent reflection of NZ team. At home they will still do well due to bowling being good for their home conditions.

 

[Buffet]

Bhumrah, Shami, Siraj would have counter Bairstow as they have done repeatedly in the past. India has an all conditions attack and are not dependent on just one type of conditions. Bairstow has been exposed in the past against quality bowling attacks like Australia, India e.t.c.

+1

Bairstow was hopeless against some quality bowling earlier, but every test is new test. Bowlers and batsmen have to prove again. When Eng is playing full series against Aus and India next?

 

[TheSultan]

Bhumrah, Shami, Siraj would have counter Bairstow as they have done repeatedly in the past. India has an all conditions attack and are not dependent on just one type of conditions. Bairstow has been exposed in the past against quality bowling attacks like Australia, India e.t.c.

It’s not about conditions, these aren’t vastly different conditions to what NZ are used to. It’s about the approach.

 

[Savak]

NZ record in den of other teams is really poor. 4 test wins with W/L of 0.3 in the last 6-7 years.

View attachment 116335

NZ looked hopeless in too many away series in the last 6-7 years and even at home against Aus. That's never a sign of top dog at any time. Rank one was simply based on some favorable schedule in specific 2 years. Now they are rank 4 with 100 points and that's probably a decent reflection of NZ team. At home they will still do well due to bowling being good for their home conditions.

Take their performances against Pakistan in the UAE in 2018 out and their away record will be even worse.

 

[sweep_shot]

To be honest, Jamieson got injured. It probably hurt their bowling a lot.

Also, they should play Ajaz regularly.

 

[Junaids]

A few things.

Firstly, Bazball required England to prepare grassless, dead wickets to enable rapid, high ODI-style scoring. That basically crippled all the bowlers.

Secondly, NZ’s preparation was a disgrace: they arrived far too late and didn’t prepare enough.

Lastly, if England reproduce these Bazball conditions against India they will get slaughtered at their own game. India are used to grassless low bounce conditions!

 

[Nikhil_cric]

NZ record in den of other teams is really poor. 4 test wins with W/L of 0.3 in the last 6-7 years.

View attachment 116335

NZ looked hopeless in too many away series in the last 6-7 years and even at home against Aus. That's never a sign of top dog at any time. Rank one was simply based on some favorable schedule in specific 2 years. Now they are rank 4 with 100 points and that's probably a decent reflection of NZ team. At home they will still do well due to bowling being good for their home conditions.

This is a bit misleading . Even for the period mentioned, this does not include NZ's 2-1 win in the UAE.

The analysis should be for both away and neutral and for only top 8 teams playing each other. Because tours to UAE are , for all practical purposes, away tours for other teams.

For Pakistan, the above record is the right one. Put those 2 together and NZ's away record is better than SL, WI and PAK

 

[pratiktc]

A few things.

Firstly, Bazball required England to prepare grassless, dead wickets to enable rapid, high ODI-style scoring. That basically crippled all the bowlers.

Secondly, NZ’s preparation was a disgrace: they arrived far too late and didn’t prepare enough.

Lastly, if England reproduce these Bazball conditions against India they will get slaughtered at their own game. India are used to grassless low bounce conditions!

What do you think will happen when Bazball meets Rambo curated wickets

 

[Titan24]

What do you think will happen when Bazball meets Rambo curated wickets

We can hope wickets would be better than they were in the last series. However, irrespective considering the general dry nature of the wickets there is going to be reverse swing playing a big part in the series. Playing at such a rate against a reversing ball in the middle overs and if there is much spin (And spinner ins better quality then Bracewell - most would be) going about business in such a way is going to be really tricky.

This style of play looks good and is fascinating but, cant be consistently replicated I think.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

A few things.

Firstly, Bazball required England to prepare grassless, dead wickets to enable rapid, high ODI-style scoring. That basically crippled all the bowlers.

Secondly, NZ’s preparation was a disgrace: they arrived far too late and didn’t prepare enough.

Lastly, if England reproduce these Bazball conditions against India they will get slaughtered at their own game. India are used to grassless low bounce conditions!

So you admit that England created conditions that were favourable for their style of play. Interesting, I thought it was the unusual weather at this time of the year....

 

[BunnyRabbit]

NZ is best when they are prepared well.

An unprepared NZ team is mediocre which was the case on this tour. They weren't prepared for Eng's change in strategy and got caught like a deer stuck in the headlights.

Had Eng batted like they had been previously, they would have lost the series.

Selections of NZ team were awkward as well. Williamson isn't a good captain of spinners and it's been proven time and again.

Southee is near the end of the road. Has load a yard of pace. He is very much a medium pacer now. Can't even reach 80mph. Even Philander had a better average speed than what Southee has been bowling recently.

Gary Stead's philosophy of horses for courses strategy has holes which was taken advantage of by England. Sommerville and Patel only get to play tests in Asia. Williamson's fitness and form has been scratchy for over a year now.

 

[Moeey]

NZ is best when they are prepared well.

An unprepared NZ team is mediocre which was the case on this tour. They weren't prepared for Eng's change in strategy and got caught like a deer stuck in the headlights.

Had Eng batted like they had been previously, they would have lost the series.

Selections of NZ team were awkward as well. Williamson isn't a good captain of spinners and it's been proven time and again.

Southee is near the end of the road. Has load a yard of pace. He is very much a medium pacer now. Can't even reach 80mph. Even Philander had a better average speed than what Southee has been bowling recently.

Gary Stead's philosophy of horses for courses strategy has holes which was taken advantage of by England. Sommerville and Patel only get to play tests in Asia. Williamson's fitness and form has been scratchy for over a year now.

Nope. Key to beating new zeland is to hurt them with an aggressive swashbuckling approach. Get in their grills and be really aggressive against them. Australia bullies them with this attitude. Hurt them with bouncers etc. Rile them up. That's how you beat Kiwis. They are a mentally weak team. There are some good players there but overall they have a mediocre conditions dependant pace attack. Too slow as well. In swing friendly conditions they can be the best but that pace attack is still slow. So if you approach them aggressively they fold.

Pakistan, England last time and India all failed to do that in nz. Even bangla boys drew a series there.