Associated Records
Blackcaps at the ODI World Cup, Wellington Phoenix women, Breakers doing things, MNL Team of the Week, and more
Podcast
Subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Youtube
Reading Menu
2023 Aotearoa Kiwis Squad Breakdown (Rugby League)
2023 Aotearoa Kiwi Ferns Squad Breakdown (Rugby League)
Previewing the Wellington Phoenix Women's 2023-24 Season (Football)
White Ferns vs South Africa ODI Series Debrief/T20I Series Preview (Cricket)
Flying Kiwis – October 4 (Football)
All Whites vs Congo DR/Australia: Squad Yarns & Preview (Football)
Scotty’s Word
Rugby World Cup has amplified its advantage over Cricket World Cup even further with more fun games played in front of big crowds. CWC action has been fun yet there still plenty of niggly issues at play which stem from typically weird ICC/BCCI antics.
Part of that involves the turf at Dharamasala - the loveliest ground in India with an outfield that doesn't do the views justice. This yarn from Cricinfo highlights some of the concerns for an England perspective as they are the next team to play at Dharamasala. I also referenced this Cricinfo yarn in the Monday Niche Cast about England's training/workload management/injury prevention.
England selected six seamers in their World Cup squad with the intention of rotating players to ensure their availability. Blackcaps on the other hand selected four seamers: Trent Boult, Matt Henry, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson. In the Niche Cast we discussed how England's bowling attack wasn't scary for us as fans - Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra obviously weren't scared either. I'd put Boult and Henry as better ODI seamers than any English bowler, plus Tim Southee on a good day.
Yet England are hyper-focused on their management of this seaming group. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes is operating as a batter and may miss the second game vs Bangladesh due to injury. Stokes was already not bowling due to ongoing injuries and now he's missing games as a batter. Jofra Archer is always trying to return from injury. Despite England officials managing his IPL mahi, Archer dipped out of the IPL early to prepare for the World Cup and hasn't played since the IPL. Archer is a chance of a mid-tournament call up but it's just as likely that he doesn't bowl at this World Cup.
Why do I care about all of this? Because Blackcaps have Kane Williamson making a crazy comeback from a major knee injury. Tim Southee's thumb was munted a few weeks ago. Neil Wagner suffered hefty injuries during the Test summer and he returned to action in County Championship cricket last month. Blackcaps play far less cricket than England and that's an advantage, Blackcaps also have a sneaky excellent fitness/strength/rehab regime led by Chris Donaldson.
Blackcaps have the best athletes at this World Cup. They are the fittest team. Perhaps they have the most rehab/recovery prowess if Williamson and Southee make successful returns. Player availability is crucial for World Cup success and I’m curious how this plays out in both codes.
Support The Niche Cache
Join the Patreon whanau or jam a paid Substack subscription for an extra podcast each week.
Make a sporadic donation through Buy Me A Coffee.
Tell a friend.
You probably heard about that Rachin Ravindra chap?
Don't fall for the lazy storylines about a lack of young talent in any New Zealand sport. The youngsters across all our sporting beats are incredible. When folks were complaining about the elderly Blackcaps Test team they didn’t seem to be aware of the talent that shines just a smidge beneath the radar.
Ravindra's had his breakout moment for Blackcaps but he did make his Test debut in 2021. This year also saw Will O'Rourke take his steady mahi for Canterbury last summer and add 2+ wickets in six consecutive innings against Australia 'A'. I whipped up a deep dive about O'Rourke which is now extra funky after Ravindra's start to this World Cup. As many of you know: O’Rourke is joined by Kyle Jamieson and Henry Shipley in Canterbury’s seam stable.
O'Rourke is 22-years-old while Jamieson is 28-years-old and Shipley is 27-years-old. All three hover around 2m tall, all three nibble the ball around. Jamieson's had a freaky Blackcaps career already, O'Rourke just flexed all over Australia A and Shipley is the second leading wicket-taker for Blackcaps in ODIs this year.
Don't doubt the depth of Blackcaps talent in Aotearoa. Ben Lister, Adithya Ashok and Dean Foxcroft have entered the Blackcaps mixer. Katene Clarke and Josh Clarkson are hyper-aggressive young batters who routinely compete with Finn Allen in this pocket. I love the talent of Canterbury all-rounder Zak Foulkes. I could go on and on.
Six highly talented youngsters were selected for Aotearoa Kiwis. Leo Thompson, Matthew Timoko, Griffin Neame, Keano Kini, Wiremu Greig and Naufahu Whyte were all recruited by NRL clubs from grassroots footy in Aotearoa. They have all risen through Aussie systems as top-notch youngsters and this means they are better than most youngsters in Australia.
Same for Kiwi Ferns who now have a growing group of youngsters from Aotearoa entering NRLW. Amelia Pasikala and Annessa Biddle are the notable youngsters selected, one from Hawke's Bay and one from Otara. Both commanded Kiwi Ferns selection through their debut NRLW seasons and Wainuiomata's Alexis Tauanaeai must be out injured because she is the best example of Aotearoa's young talent.
I'm enjoying a break from NZ Warriors but their summer intrigue is all about youngsters. How do NZW back up this season and bolster their roster? Well there are at least 10 young lads who are hungry to make their mark and given how Ali Leiataua, Demitric Sifakula, Zyon Maiu'u etc took their NRL/NSW Cup opportunities this year; they ain't going backwards.
No one should be doubting the young talent in Aotearoa sport.
White Ferns haven't played a full T20I vs South Africa yet. First game was washed out and after White Ferns scored 111/9, the second game was washed out. Maddy Green's 45* @ 125sr was the only kiwi knock to score 20+ runs. No result but a mediocre innings for the kiwis.
Kate Anderson and Bella Armstrong got their White Ferns debuts. Anderson opened and was run-out on 19 while Armstrong scored 11 runs batting seven. Both could have played the ODIs and given how low the bar is for selection in a losing ODI team, a dominant domestic player like Anderson should have been given a crack in the ODI series.
(The White Ferns pipeline is full of emerging young talent in Aotearoa, but isn't managed as well as the other teams. Young talent in other codes are given time to grow into the higher levels, White Ferns don’t care about domestic mahi)
Sophie Devine's T20I scores this year: 0, 16, 0, 3*, 0, 5*, 46, 2 (72 runs @ 12avg/105sr).
Devine does not have a T20I wicket this year. Since her debut in 2006, this is her first year without a T20I wicket.
Musical jam...
Wildcard’s Notebook
The Breakers have done another thing. Currently over in the USA to help the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers out with their preseason activities – the Jazz won 35 games last season, the Blazers won 33 and just traded Damian Lillard who was by far their best player – the Breakers are going to return with one more player than they left with as Anthony Lamb has been scooped up as a replacement import for the injured Justinian Jessup.
What’s that, you didn’t know that Jessup was injured? Yeah me neither. Especially since he’d started both games so far, playing 28 and 25 minutes. JJ scored a tidy 15 points in game one shooting 6/10 with three assists. Only scored 4 on 2/5 shooting in the loss to Brizzy though. Now it’s being said he has a pelvic injury and is awaiting the results of scans as to the extent. ESPN reported that Lamb will remain with the team for the entirety of the season (albeit with an NBA out-clause), which suggests that we could have seen the last of Jessup in a Breakers jersey already.
What ESPN didn’t report is that Anthony Lamb was named in a civil lawsuit last year pertaining to an alleged sexual assault on his then girlfriend when they were both at the University of Vermont. The lawsuit was brought forward by the ex and a couple of other women and didn’t name Lamb as a defendant, hence charges were not brought forth (which was the excuse that the Golden State Warriors used for keeping him in their rotation), but that’s because the lawsuit was against the school for mishandling the allegations at the time – it was claimed that the school hushed things up, basically, in order to protect a star athlete (although she was also a competitive swimmer for the uni). Lamb has denied all claims.
That’s all previously reported information and the Breakers have so far said nothing – those “insiders say” reports tend to come a few days before any legit announcements... although it’s claimed that Lamb will play in the two NBA friendlies and the first of those is in two days. Let’s see what happens with it.
Lamb averaged 6.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game with 38% shooting from deep in the NBA last season, earning his way from a two-way contract to a full contract over the term. And yet the Warriors let him go at the end of the campaign and he hasn’t been able to find a new NBA gig since. You reckon the rape allegation might have played some part in that situation? Well, it’s no hurdle for the Breakers. Even though there are hundreds of other potential imports around the world of a similar level who don’t carry so much baggage that not a single one of the 30 NBA franchises want to touch them.
Needless to say this is a disappointing swing back towards the Glen Rice Jr days of this Breakers franchise. You don’t need to read a sermon about all that here. I’ll just say I’ll be keeping an eye out for how this news is perceived around the country, supposing it does become formalised.
The Breaks are coming off a great season in which they restored their presence in Aotearoa sports. Their profile is higher than it was back when the Rice stuff was headlining recurring bad decisions from the club… but that didn’t really get any coverage at all until Rice started causing trouble. Then the mainstream sports media got a hold of that yarn. Obviously the NBL themselves are going to downplay everything for commercial reasons, which is probably why Olgun Uluc got the scoop in the first place. Great journo but he’s pretty cozy with the NBL insiders. I just wanna see if this gets any crossover coverage in NZ now that people care about the Breakers again.
The Wellington Phoenix Women begin their season on Sunday when they host Melbourne City at Sky Stadium. I wrote a big ol’ preview for the team late last week, looking at how they’ve flicked the switch heading into year three with their import signings and a determination to find more ways to score goals. That’s led into a couple of preseason games across the ditch, where they won 2-1 against Newcastle and 3-2 against Central Coast. Five goals in two games, both victories... it’s only preseason but that’s what we wanna see.
There were highlights available of those matches but only sparse ones of the goals and nothing else, filmed on a scouting camera. But it kinda looks like they’re playing a 4-3-3 with an inverted midfield triangle – aka one defensive mid and two eights (rather than the two eights and a ten of the last two years). Looks like Emma Main may have been playing striker with Mariana Speckmaier not involved in the CCM game. Hope Breslin also appears to have assisted two of these CCM strikes. Main, Manaia Elliott, and Chloe Knott got the goals in that game. Kate Taylor (pen) and Grace Wisnewski scored in the Jets win.
Based on eyewitness accounts it also appears that Kate Taylor has been playing as a defensive midfielder. It’s not unheard of, she’s done it once or twice at A-League level already, but it would be a funky change from her usual CB role – helping clear up what was shaping to be a curious selection headache. Michaela Foster and Hailey Davidson are going to be the fullbacks which left Taylor, Mack Barry, Marisa van der Meer, and Rebecca Lake all battling for CB spots. Lake is probably fourth choice to start due to her new signing status but beyond that a decision had to be made. Paul Temple had mentioned Taylor’s potential as a CDM in press conferences in the past so the clues were out there.
Having Taylor there would mean she can easily drop into the backline as cover, allowing the fullbacks to really get forward. It also means that the two eights get more of a licence to get into the attacking third so if you’re keen on a wild prediction I’ve got one for you: Grace Wisnewski with 5+ goals this season. The Wiz has always had a goal-scoring knack (remember the U17 World Cup) and indeed played a lot of striker in her teens. She’s tenacious enough to hunt down chances and sharp enough to finish them.
Devon Conway brought up 1000 ODI runs in the game against England, doing so in his 22nd innings which is a New Zealand record and only ten men all-time have done so quicker (Fakhar Zaman of Pakistan did it in 18 innings). Glenn Turner’s NZ record of 24 innings had stood for forty years until DC came along. Daryl Mitchell has since tied Turner for second.
Devon Conway brought up 1000 Test runs in only 19 innings which is also a New Zealand record… albeit a long way off the all-time legends Herbert Sutcliffe and Everton Weekes who each did it in 12 innings back in the day. Don Bradman is third on the list needing 13 innings to reach that mark. John F Reid and Mark Richardson each did it in 20 for the previous NZ record.
Devon Conway brought up 1000 T20I runs in 26 innings which, believe it or not, is a New Zealand record. In fact it’s tied third in history alongside Muhammad Waseem (UAE) and Babar Azam (Pakistan) who weirdly each brought up their 1000th run against New Zealand and both of them in Dubai (but five years apart). Dawid Malan (England) and Sabawoon Davizi (Czech Republic) are the world record holders having achieved it in 24 innings. Didn’t think you’d see a Czech Republic cricketer on the list, did you? Obviously that’s all against fellow associate nations. Second best kiwi on the list is Kane Williamson who got there in innings 34.
TL;DR: Devon Conway is the fastest New Zealander to 1000 runs in all three international formats.
Men’s National League Team of the Week #3
GK – Matthew Foord (Cashmere Technical) – Yeah sure his team blew a 3-1 lead to have to settle for a draw... but they’d have been coming to terms with taking nothing from that game were it not for the saves of their 17 year old goalkeeper. It wasn’t a flawless performance but some of the shot-stopping was just too glamorous to ignore, especially from a dude who is young enough that he’ll probably be going to the U17 World Cup next month.
RB – Hideto Takahashi (Auckland United) – This guy is a literal Japanese international, with four caps for the senior national team, who now plays as a right-sided CB for Auckland United in the NZ National League. Cool. He’s still bloody good too, a superb passer who also loves a dribble into the attacking half. He basically doesn’t make mistakes.
CB – Michael Den Heijer (Auckland City) - Not an easy task to pick defenders in a week in which there were no clean sheets and 28 goals scored across five games (there were only 27 goals in ten games in the EPL this weekend). So here’s a midfielder who ended up in defence, scoring the clinching goal amidst a typically strong performance.
CB – Aaron O’Driscoll (Christchurch United) – They couldn’t hold on down the stretch which takes the shine off of it but for so long the Rams defended like a brick wall and at this point it’s safe to say that Irishman O’Driscoll is one of the absolute premier defenders in the league. A hero at the back.
LB – Francis De Vries (Eastern Suburbs) – Odd thing about having FDV as a recent All White in this competition is that he isn’t always the clinical player you expect him to be, especially with his crossing. But when he hits them sweet there are few better and he also scored a slick one in Subs latest. Such an intelligent footballer.
CM – Yousif Al-Kalisy (Auckland United) – Three weeks in a row. It wasn’t looking that likely for him at half-time against Christchurch Utd but then he moved into a more advanced role in the second half and got his team on the front foot, scoring a stunning goal and proving the catalyst for a great comeback draw. A third of the way through the regular season it’s YAK vs Jack(-Henry Sinclair) in the MVP convo.
CM – Cam Howieson (Auckland City) – His team were trailing with quarter of an hour to go and it was Howieson who sparked the comeback, scoring the equaliser and inspiring what became a 4-2 win. All in a day’s work for this fella.
CM – Eoghan Stokes (Christchurch United) – Best we’ve seen from the Irishman in this competition, scoring an absolute beauty against Auckland United and creating several more chances with his sharp passing from the number ten spot.
FW – Josh Rudland (Wellington Phoenix Reserves) – Remember when he scored the winner in that Aussie Cup game a few weeks back? Yeah well the bro was at it again with two goals and an assist in the win vs Manurewa. He and Luke Supyk are the two best goal scorers to come through the academy since Ben Waine.
FW – Xavier Green (Auckland United) – Rate a bloke who stays with the play. Always looking to get involved, always hunting for that half-chance that others might miss. That’s how he scored the late equaliser for AU this week and it was no less than he deserved.
FW – Lyle Matthysen (Cashmere Technical) – Two goals and an assist plus a disallowed goal that would have been one of the best all season. When he plays like that he’s irresistible. One of only three guys with multiple goals and assists already – along with Garbhan Coughlan and Jack-Henry Sinclair. Pretty good company to be keeping.