The Cricket Season in Australia is pretty much over, but just across the ditch in neighboring New Zealand there is one more short Test Series to be played before we give Test Cricket a break. Considering the relatively weak opposition that Australia has faced over the summer, this 2 game Test Series against New Zealand may well end up being the most important of the season for one big reason...
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New Zealand is currently sitting on TOP of the World Test Championship Table, while Australia is in 3rd. This is an interesting state of affairs because New Zealand has only played 4 Tests (Winning 3), while Australia has played 10 Tests (Winning 6) in the same period. This is due to the way that the World Test Championship is scored, however Australia are the Current World Test Champions and New Zealand is the Previous World Test Champions from 2021. This series could legitimately be considered to be between the Test Cricket heavy-weights and a Top-Of-The-Table Clash so Australia will be very keen to knock their local rivals off the top.
As a result I’d expect this Test Series to be fairly fiercely contested. Australia probably has the stronger team on paper, however New Zealand has home ground advantage so it might end up being very close. Once again a lot will depend on the pitches and conditions. In New Zealand the ball can Swing a bit and pitches can be a bit Greenish and Seam, or alternatively be Brown, Thatchy and Flat. I am not expecting Spin Bowling to be a big factor in this series.
Both teams have solid Pace, Swing and Seam bowling attacks so I think it’s going to come down to the Batsmen to be the deciding factor. Kane Williamson is back for New Zealand and as one of the worlds best batsmen he’s a key man in this series. For New Zealand to be competitive I think he needs to get a couple of big 100s. With any luck we’ll see 2 good Test Matches that make it into the 5th Day.
10pm start time here so should be able to watch the first session before I fall asleep on the sofa 😀
New Zealand seem to have a real issue with beating Australia in any format.
Despite being a pretty decent side in recent times, they've not beaten Australia in a Test match since 2011. The time before that you had to go all the way back to 1993 and the last couple of series they've played they didn't just lose they got hammered.
Yes, it is interesting and even disappointing as an Aussie because at their best they do play some great cricket and we could have a really good "local derby" clash going down here on the regular.
I'm not sure if there is a psychological or cultural element to it. New Zealand cricket has always put out this "little brother needs to prove a point" vibe to Australia (you can hear it in the way their ex-cricketers commentate) and maybe they're just putting too much pressure on themselves to beat us they're psyching themselves out.
On the positive side I am hearing the first four days of the Wellington test sold out a month ago.
Yeah definitely a psychological thing and the Australian cricket team have a long history of not letting sides get back up easily once they’ve knocked them down.
Good to hear there’s interest in the series. I guess that begs the question as to why are they only playing a 2 match series then? Test match cricket is always better where the head to head battles unfold over time.
I have no idea why it's only 2 Tests. They probably are trying to squeeze it onto the end of the Australian calendar before the IPL kicks off and all the stars get sucked out of the national sides.
I think Cricket Australia (and Cricket Admin globally) has some big problems and have skewed their priorities lately. They seem to be pandering to special interests and the idea of "bringing in new fans" at the expense of the core cricket supporters who have got the game this far.
Does Australia have different rules for cricket too like they do for rugby?
No. The international matches are all played via international rules set by the ICC (International Cricket Council)
I still don't totally get the rules, but I understand it more than rugby! I still haven't figured that one out.
Not gonna lie if there was a spot I had to watch it would be cricket
Today PSL is going on in our country and all the matches are getting very interesting and we will definitely watch these matches because these teams are also my favorite teams.
I think Australia is one country that cherishes playing crickets a lot
I’d pay some attention to it these days though
Thanks for sharing
I just hear updates about match series.