Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[KennyR]

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith have mentioned in an interview that the test teams will down to 5 - 6 countries in the future. This means only the top cricketing nations will contribute to the iconic and oldest format of cricket. This drop in the number of nations playing cricket is out of the emergence of large number of Franchise based T20 leagues.

With this all big six can settle their tours in accordance to their own schedule because this is also good for many small boards those are now having not good profit from these test matches and ODI's Franchise can give them profit in small-time, and also they can bring some system which also give some transfer fees share to boards as well.

It is the responsibility of the ICC to take adequate measures to keep the real cricketing, but ICC is no more considering the importance of test cricket. Another thing every cricketing nation should be given opportunity for test series, only then it is possible to know the real ability of the team. For now the trend and the prime focus of ICC is towards T20, so test cricketing won't get much of importance as well as more team participation.

[preikaler]

I think the test game in sports is very boring for me, it's a matter of patience to see if this game starts at all

[Sithara007]

In terms of bowlers, the South African team was like a powerhouse, with Rabada and Nortje standing out. There was something electrifying about that spell. A fast and swinging ball like that was not what English batters were used to. At times, it feels like the wicket is unavailable, but to survive, you need tactical moments that make a difference. This humiliating defeat taught the English side a valuable lesson, and hopefully they will implement those lessons going forward.

It is not just Rabada and Nortje. Even the second string South African pacers are in terrific form now. I am talking about Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Duane Olivier. And the most important fact is that these bowlers have performed away from home. Previously I was of the opinion that New Zealand is having the strongest pace attack in test cricket. But after watching the South African pacers in action, I am having a few doubts with that. Nortje-Rabada-Ngidi-Jansen can give tough competition to Boult-Southee-Wagner-Ferguson.

[fuguebtc]

In terms of bowlers, the South African team was like a powerhouse, with Rabada and Nortje standing out. There was something electrifying about that spell. A fast and swinging ball like that was not what English batters were used to. At times, it feels like the wicket is unavailable, but to survive, you need tactical moments that make a difference. This humiliating defeat taught the English side a valuable lesson, and hopefully they will implement those lessons going forward.

It is not just Rabada and Nortje. Even the second string South African pacers are in terrific form now. I am talking about Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Duane Olivier. And the most important fact is that these bowlers have performed away from home. Previously I was of the opinion that New Zealand is having the strongest pace attack in test cricket. But after watching the South African pacers in action, I am having a few doubts with that. Nortje-Rabada-Ngidi-Jansen can give tough competition to Boult-Southee-Wagner-Ferguson.

If we are talking about how fast bowlers perform in test cricket two teams come to mind instantly for me, those are South Africa and England. But right now the performance of England is not good. So I believe now it is going to be South Africa and New Zealand. Well at least in test cricket. The way South Africa is performing currently it is undeniably true that they will have a really good chance against New Zealand.

And New Zealand have not performed very well as they should because they are the world test championship winner. They haven’t performed like a champion and I think South Africa has a really good chance if we think about the current form.

[JSRAW]

Good article on recent failure of English batting line up.
https://wickets.substack.com/p/was-this-the-bazballbust

There is no doubt that the performance of English players has decreased. Not only in terms of bowling performance but also in terms of batting performance. In addition to the batting, the English players have also not performed well on the field. It is really difficult for me to figure out what is causing the problem. There is no doubt that the England players are taking the necessary steps and basically doing everything they can to improve their game.

Despite that, the performance does not seem to indicate that this is the case. The solo performances of certain players helped England to win some test matches because of their individual performances. In addition, when we are talking about England, we expect a really good performance from them, but the recent performance of England has not met the standards that they have already set for themselves.

Well that wasn't the overall point of the article or my post, article was more focused on the reasoning behind the changes in their mindset (Stokes and McCullum) and the other technical but important factors which helped them, like Pre 4 win era and after recent bubble bust.

Not saying that you are wrong.

[Sithara007]

If we are talking about how fast bowlers perform in test cricket two teams come to mind instantly for me, those are South Africa and England. But right now the performance of England is not good. So I believe now it is going to be South Africa and New Zealand. Well at least in test cricket. The way South Africa is performing currently it is undeniably true that they will have a really good chance against New Zealand.

And New Zealand have not performed very well as they should because they are the world test championship winner. They haven’t performed like a champion and I think South Africa has a really good chance if we think about the current form.

New Zealand (current champions) have been in disappointing form. Their bowling looks OK, and they do have world class pace bowlers. But despiet the fact that they have very good players such as Kane Williamson and Devon Conway, in the batting department they have struggled. Spin bowling is another concern, as Santner and Sodhi have not performed on a consistent basis (actually this is an issue with England and Australia as well and one of the reasons why South Africa is having an advantage over these teams right now). 

[fuguebtc]

New Zealand (current champions) have been in disappointing form. Their bowling looks OK, and they do have world class pace bowlers. But despiet the fact that they have very good players such as Kane Williamson and Devon Conway, in the batting department they have struggled. Spin bowling is another concern, as Santner and Sodhi have not performed on a consistent basis (actually this is an issue with England and Australia as well and one of the reasons why South Africa is having an advantage over these teams right now). 

New Zealand obviously has world-class bowlers, fast bowlers actually. In the spin department, the bowlers that they have are quite competent for limited overs cricket. The spinners must be able to spin the ball quite well and quite a long way if they are going to be very successful in the test format. They don’t have any bowlers like that. In addition, New Zealand as a team is not in form.

Honestly, I did not see them performing very well after they had won the test cricket championship. So keeping these things in consideration I have to say South Africa seems to be the better team at this moment.

[Webetcoins]

New Zealand (current champions) have been in disappointing form. Their bowling looks OK, and they do have world class pace bowlers. But despiet the fact that they have very good players such as Kane Williamson and Devon Conway, in the batting department they have struggled. Spin bowling is another concern, as Santner and Sodhi have not performed on a consistent basis (actually this is an issue with England and Australia as well and one of the reasons why South Africa is having an advantage over these teams right now). 

There is no doubt it's matter of concern for the New Zealand as they fail to give good performance in England because they were good at bowling and batting was also not bad at all but still they fail and having dropped badly in WTC League table.

They need to improve in batting and spin department is also never been ideal for them even they have few good numbers of spinners in last few years, but they fail to give their best. After win of last WTC there were hopes now they will be in better shape and improve their system and have quality teams in all formats, but sadly they are in deep trouble with their test skills which need good work from them if they want to go top in next cycle.

[Sithara007]

New Zealand obviously has world-class bowlers, fast bowlers actually. In the spin department, the bowlers that they have are quite competent for limited overs cricket. The spinners must be able to spin the ball quite well and quite a long way if they are going to be very successful in the test format. They don’t have any bowlers like that. In addition, New Zealand as a team is not in form.

Honestly, I did not see them performing very well after they had won the test cricket championship. So keeping these things in consideration I have to say South Africa seems to be the better team at this moment.

Yes.. quite simply they are not in form. Neither the batsmen, nor the bowlers. One of the advantages with the New Zealand pace attack was that there is a very good bonding between them. Boult and Southee always bowl in tandem, supported by Ferguson, Wagner and Milne. Boult recently rejected a central contract from NZC and is concentrating more on franchise T20 leagues. This maybe one of the reasons for the lack of rhythm. But there is no excuse for the recent lack of form shown by Kane Williamson and Devon Conway.

[fuguebtc]

New Zealand obviously has world-class bowlers, fast bowlers actually. In the spin department, the bowlers that they have are quite competent for limited overs cricket. The spinners must be able to spin the ball quite well and quite a long way if they are going to be very successful in the test format. They don’t have any bowlers like that. In addition, New Zealand as a team is not in form.

Honestly, I did not see them performing very well after they had won the test cricket championship. So keeping these things in consideration I have to say South Africa seems to be the better team at this moment.

Yes.. quite simply they are not in form. Neither the batsmen, nor the bowlers. One of the advantages with the New Zealand pace attack was that there is a very good bonding between them. Boult and Southee always bowl in tandem, supported by Ferguson, Wagner and Milne. Boult recently rejected a central contract from NZC and is concentrating more on franchise T20 leagues. This maybe one of the reasons for the lack of rhythm. But there is no excuse for the recent lack of form shown by Kane Williamson and Devon Conway.

There is no doubt that Kane Williamson is the most consistent player in the New Zealand squad. In almost every match he has played, he has performed well, no matter what the circumstances may be. However, his team is not being able to provide him with the support that he needs to succeed. Neither in terms of batting nor bowling.

In addition, it is understandable why Trent Boult is trying to focus more on franchisee cricket. In franchise cricket, he has more opportunities to make money and gain fame than he has when he plays for the national team. There was a time when things were different. However, now we can't blame him for taking such a decision since he has no choice but to do so.

[Juggy777]

New Zealand obviously has world-class bowlers, fast bowlers actually. In the spin department, the bowlers that they have are quite competent for limited overs cricket. The spinners must be able to spin the ball quite well and quite a long way if they are going to be very successful in the test format. They don’t have any bowlers like that. In addition, New Zealand as a team is not in form.

Honestly, I did not see them performing very well after they had won the test cricket championship. So keeping these things in consideration I have to say South Africa seems to be the better team at this moment.

Yes.. quite simply they are not in form. Neither the batsmen, nor the bowlers. One of the advantages with the New Zealand pace attack was that there is a very good bonding between them. Boult and Southee always bowl in tandem, supported by Ferguson, Wagner and Milne. Boult recently rejected a central contract from NZC and is concentrating more on franchise T20 leagues. This maybe one of the reasons for the lack of rhythm. But there is no excuse for the recent lack of form shown by Kane Williamson and Devon Conway.

There is no doubt that Kane Williamson is the most consistent player in the New Zealand squad. In almost every match he has played, he has performed well, no matter what the circumstances may be. However, his team is not being able to provide him with the support that he needs to succeed. Neither in terms of batting nor bowling.

In addition, it is understandable why Trent Boult is trying to focus more on franchisee cricket. In franchise cricket, he has more opportunities to make money and gain fame than he has when he plays for the national team. There was a time when things were different. However, now we can't blame him for taking such a decision since he has no choice but to do so.

I believe that New Zealand’s desire to perform well in Test cricket started to drop after they won the test cricket championship, and at this stage the management can drop a few player’s to see if it helps them recover. Furthermore Kane Williamson has done a lot for New Zealand, but he’s also allowed to be out of form on some days and like I said New Zealand will have to drop some player’s and see if their replacement’s perform better.

[Minecache]

New Zealand (current champions) have been in disappointing form. Their bowling looks OK, and they do have world class pace bowlers. But despiet the fact that they have very good players such as Kane Williamson and Devon Conway, in the batting department they have struggled. Spin bowling is another concern, as Santner and Sodhi have not performed on a consistent basis (actually this is an issue with England and Australia as well and one of the reasons why South Africa is having an advantage over these teams right now).  

There is no doubt it's matter of concern for the New Zealand as they fail to give good performance in England because they were good at bowling and batting was also not bad at all but still they fail and having dropped badly in WTC League table.
They need to improve in batting and spin department is also never been ideal for them even they have few good numbers of spinners in last few years, but they fail to give their best. After win of last WTC there were hopes now they will be in better shape and improve their system and have quality teams in all formats, but sadly they are in deep trouble with their test skills which need good work from them if they want to go top in next cycle.

When New Zealand became the runner-up in the ODI World Cup and lost the final match against England which they really didn’t lose in my opinion, I do not know why England was victorious!
and New Zealand also won the test cricket championship after that, a lot of people thought that this team is going to be a menace to deal with going in the future. The reality is that this did not happen at all. As a matter of fact, New Zealand has lost their way. I am certain that if they continue to play like this, they will not be able to hold on to the test cricket championship title for a very long time to come. There is a lot of uncertainty about the future of New Zealand at the moment.

[Sithara007]

When New Zealand became the runner-up in the ODI World Cup and lost the final match against England which they really didn’t lose in my opinion, and they also won the test cricket championship after that, a lot of people thought that this team is going to be a menace to deal with going in the future. The reality is that this did not happen at all. As a matter of fact, New Zealand has lost their way. I am certain that if they continue to play like this, they will not be able to hold on to the test cricket championship title for a very long time to come. There is a lot of uncertainty about the future of New Zealand at the moment.

2-3 years back, New Zealand had a very balanced team. Their batting, as well as bowling was equally strong. But the retirement of a few players such as BJ Watling, and the lack of form from some of their key players have had a negative impact. And they have fared poorly in sub-continental conditions, partly due to the lack of quality spinners. I would say that after the retirement of Vettori, they never had a quality spinner in their squad. Santner and Sodhi are simply not international class material. They need to improve.

[Minecache]

When New Zealand became the runner-up in the ODI World Cup and lost the final match against England which they really didn’t lose in my opinion, and they also won the test cricket championship after that, a lot of people thought that this team is going to be a menace to deal with going in the future. The reality is that this did not happen at all. As a matter of fact, New Zealand has lost their way. I am certain that if they continue to play like this, they will not be able to hold on to the test cricket championship title for a very long time to come. There is a lot of uncertainty about the future of New Zealand at the moment.

2-3 years back, New Zealand had a very balanced team. Their batting, as well as bowling was equally strong. But the retirement of a few players such as BJ Watling, and the lack of form from some of their key players have had a negative impact. And they have fared poorly in sub-continental conditions, partly due to the lack of quality spinners. I would say that after the retirement of Vettori, they never had a quality spinner in their squad. Santner and Sodhi are simply not international class material. They need to improve.

I don’t think Mitchell Santner is bad. I think he’s good but not for the test format. If we are talking about spin bowling, a player should have a really good amount of spin to be successful in test cricket. Especially if that player is a leg spin bowler.

And if the player is a finger spinner, he needs to be able to utilize the cracks in the pitch very well. In that way even if he does not have a good amount of spin he will be able to produce a better spin with the help of the track. Just like we saw Rangana Herath of Sri Lanka do it. The final verdict is that the spinners of New Zealand should improve or they should be replaced if there is someone better.

[fuguebtc]

There is no doubt that Kane Williamson is the most consistent player in the New Zealand squad. In almost every match he has played, he has performed well, no matter what the circumstances may be. However, his team is not being able to provide him with the support that he needs to succeed. Neither in terms of batting nor bowling.
In addition, it is understandable why Trent Boult is trying to focus more on franchisee cricket. In franchise cricket, he has more opportunities to make money and gain fame than he has when he plays for the national team. There was a time when things were different. However, now we can't blame him for taking such a decision since he has no choice but to do so.

I believe that New Zealand’s desire to perform well in Test cricket started to drop after they won the test cricket championship, and at this stage the management can drop a few player’s to see if it helps them recover. Furthermore Kane Williamson has done a lot for New Zealand, but he’s also allowed to be out of form on some days and like I said New Zealand will have to drop some player’s and see if their replacement’s perform better.

I believe that New Zealand should try something new as the regulars are not performing very well at the moment. As for New Zealand, I do not know what happened to them. There is no doubt that they are one of the very best teams in the whole world of cricket. They should drop some regular players to give them a reality check that if they are not performing on a regular basis, they are not going to be a part of the team anymore. The same can be said for giving newcomers a chance to prove themselves as well. Newzeland should be able to benefit from this in a positive way.

[Webetcoins]

2-3 years back, New Zealand had a very balanced team. Their batting, as well as bowling was equally strong. But the retirement of a few players such as BJ Watling, and the lack of form from some of their key players have had a negative impact. And they have fared poorly in sub-continental conditions, partly due to the lack of quality spinners. I would say that after the retirement of Vettori, they never had a quality spinner in their squad. Santner and Sodhi are simply not international class material. They need to improve.

There are few things about New Zealand as Cricket is never been a main sport with mostly youngsters love to enjoy Rugby and Soccer which are having better financial impact as well even they are doing good for this game but still it's never been easy they have many quality players but never been a quality team which is surely their main problem in last few decades.

If they want to do positive development then surely this need revolutionary changes which are never been easy as small country and well-developed most having issues like these youths mostly enjoy other activities which give them better financial incentives so just because of this we can watch some non-native players are also having good future in this team which is also good for them.

[Sithara007]

There are few things about New Zealand as Cricket is never been a main sport with mostly youngsters love to enjoy Rugby and Soccer which are having better financial impact as well even they are doing good for this game but still it's never been easy they have many quality players but never been a quality team which is surely their main problem in last few decades.

If they want to do positive development then surely this need revolutionary changes which are never been easy as small country and well-developed most having issues like these youths mostly enjoy other activities which give them better financial incentives so just because of this we can watch some non-native players are also having good future in this team which is also good for them.

Well.. the same can be said about cricket in countries such as England and Australia as well. Soccer and Rugby are far more popular in these countries. And take the case of South Africa. Cricket is not even a top-3 sport there. But that hasn't prevented South Africa from being on the top of the test championship points table. New Zealand has benefitted greatly from the influx of white players from South Africa (Wagner, Conway, Watling, de Grandhomme.etc). But there seems to be some decrease in this migration from South Africa recently. And the gap is not getting filled by the native players.

[crunck]

There are few things about New Zealand as Cricket is never been a main sport with mostly youngsters love to enjoy Rugby and Soccer which are having better financial impact as well even they are doing good for this game but still it's never been easy they have many quality players but never been a quality team which is surely their main problem in last few decades.
If they want to do positive development then surely this need revolutionary changes which are never been easy as small country and well-developed most having issues like these youths mostly enjoy other activities which give them better financial incentives so just because of this we can watch some non-native players are also having good future in this team which is also good for them.

Well.. the same can be said about cricket in countries such as England and Australia as well. Soccer and Rugby are far more popular in these countries. And take the case of South Africa. Cricket is not even a top-3 sport there. But that hasn't prevented South Africa from being on the top of the test championship points table. New Zealand has benefitted greatly from the influx of white players from South Africa (Wagner, Conway, Watling, de Grandhomme.etc). But there seems to be some decrease in this migration from South Africa recently. And the gap is not getting filled by the native players.

I think New Zealand can find gold native players if they wanted to. They are obviously one of the best cricketing countries in the world. So at least they should not have any problems finding native players to play for New Zealand in my opinion. But that is not the case when we look at the team. It is true that the native players in New Zealand are more interested in other sports. But that's obviously the fault of the New Zealand Cricket Board right? People are not interested in cricket because they haven't made Cricket interesting to people.

[Sithara007]

I think New Zealand can find gold native players if they wanted to. They are obviously one of the best cricketing countries in the world. So at least they should not have any problems finding native players to play for New Zealand in my opinion. But that is not the case when we look at the team. It is true that the native players in New Zealand are more interested in other sports. But that's obviously the fault of the New Zealand Cricket Board right? People are not interested in cricket because they haven't made Cricket interesting to people.

New Zealand has a population of only around 4 million. This is around 0.3% of that of India and around one-fifth of that of Australia. So naturally, the player pool will be quite small. They got a big boost when large numbers of White South Africans started migrating to New Zealand starting from the 1990s. Now around 20% of the domestic players are of South African origin. On top of that, South Asia is also contributing in the form of players such as Ish Sodhi, Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel. But at the same time, they lost one of their best native players to England (Ben Stokes was born in New Zealand).

[jostorres]

There are few things about New Zealand as Cricket is never been a main sport with mostly youngsters love to enjoy Rugby and Soccer which are having better financial impact as well even they are doing good for this game but still it's never been easy they have many quality players but never been a quality team which is surely their main problem in last few decades.

If they want to do positive development then surely this need revolutionary changes which are never been easy as small country and well-developed most having issues like these youths mostly enjoy other activities which give them better financial incentives so just because of this we can watch some non-native players are also having good future in this team which is also good for them.

Well.. the same can be said about cricket in countries such as England and Australia as well. Soccer and Rugby are far more popular in these countries. And take the case of South Africa. Cricket is not even a top-3 sport there. But that hasn't prevented South Africa from being on the top of the test championship points table. New Zealand has benefitted greatly from the influx of white players from South Africa (Wagner, Conway, Watling, de Grandhomme.etc). But there seems to be some decrease in this migration from South Africa recently. And the gap is not getting filled by the native players.

The biggest problem is native players those are not having good quality in last few years, and it's badly hurting their cause and decline in batting quality is also another factor with Williamson is consistently out with injury problems and few others are not giving their best as they need to do even they have few new batsmen like Conway. Mitchell and Finnley Allen but still quality is not as they need to be on this level.

England is also right now on same level of New Zealand but Australia and South Africa are really rich in cricket with their set-up and good quality academies which are helping them for having world's best batsmen and bowler because they are doing things drastically good for their own sack and having good dividend.