New Zealand Cricket - what is going on?

Ranked at #3 in the world in One Day Internationals, there is just no excuse for the shocking display we've seen from them in the past few weeks. We're sitting here in the Attic shaking our heads, desperately trying to figure out where things have gone wrong - and why...

The series against England started so promisingly for the Black Caps. Yes, the first game was rain affected - but that hasn't stopped New Zealand losing in the past. We actually held on for a solid draw in that First Test, and deservedly headed into the second match level-pegging with England.

In the First Test, New Zealand scored 546 runs in total, and lost 16 wickets. Not only is the total number across both innings respectable, but it's consistent.

They scored 277 in the first innings (not great, but you can work with it...), and were 269/6 in the second. With Vettori and Flynn at the crease, New Zealand were looking likely to exceed 600 runs in the match. Nothing to knock your socks off, but from a New Zealand Cricket fan's perspective - well, you wouldn't complain, put it that way.

And then...well, it would be unfair to say that the wheels fell off the Black Cap's wagon. To be accurate, we really need to describe what happened in terms of numbers - that is, the number of splinters left after the wagon exploded in a spectacular cloud of smoke, dust and fire. And low scores. And low wicket hauls. And dropped catches. The numbers, to be frank, are just scary.

The Second Test started extremely well for New Zealand. A first innings total of 381 was more than solid, and Taylor's 154 not out was absolutely stunning. There were positives in the opening department, too, with How putting a smile on our faces for the first time since Mark Richardson (a.k.a The Wall a.k.a Defense, Defense a.k.a Pretty Boring, Really, But Damn Solid) retired.

The bowling started well, too. Vettori lead from the front taking a five-for, and England were bundled out for a paltry 202 - 179 runs behind New Zealand, and the prospect of an in-form Vettori on a crumbling pitch.

We've mentioned the exploding-wagon-thing - there really is no other way to describe it, and this was the turning point of the series. New Zealand relinquished control, lay down on the ground, and let England get stuck in to them.

England, after being bowled out for 202, summoned the mental toughness to come out and bowl with excellent discipline and control - and bundled New Zealand out for 114.

114.

114.

It doesn't matter how many times we say it here in the Attic - we just can't get our head around it. That one score, and the whole series went. How top-scored with 29 - what more can we say?

England still needed 292 to win, and the media had New Zealand placed as favourites. We even thought New Zealand would do it. But we forgot one small detail - that mental toughness England had earlier displayed? Well, apparently New Zealand have none of it. They had runs to defend, a bowler-friendly pitch (despite the heavy roller) to do it on...and yet they managed just 4 wickets.

Danny - what happened?? 1/111 just isn't good enough - and from the captain, no less.

Strauss batted himself into imperious form, and Pietersen, Bell and Collingwood all had valuable knocks. Chasing 294 in the fourth innings of a game, and doing it with ease - there aren't too many better ways of re-instilling confidence in a shaky batting lineup.

And re-instill it did. Test Three, and England strolled out and scored 364 - Pietersen helping himself to a hundred, and Ambrose and Broad scoring half centuries. O'Brien bowled well to take 4 wickets, but the early pressure the New Zealand bowlers applied was let go - England's middle-lower order adding 166 valuable runs, demoralising New Zealand even further.

And their fans. Don't forget us.

To be fair, when New Zealand walked out to bat, they did do better than their miserable 114 in their previous outing. They blasted 123 in this innings, potentially putting their batting demons to rest. There were plenty of highlights - Redmond grafted out a single, and McCullum was at his blistering best during his 8 minute stay. Flynn got a duck, but he did last 3 balls - and that's better than lasting 2. All of Oram's hard-hitting skills were on display during his 7 runs, walking of with a strike-rate of 26.92, and a job well done. Chris Martin finished not out, but unfortunately couldn't get off the mark. Unusual, but it can't all be positive.

After New Zealand had compiled their 123, Vaughan decided that a lead of 241 was enough to enforce the follow-on. A risk, you say? No, no - not against New Zealand. 232 runs later, New Zealand had lost their 20th wicket, and the match by an innings and 9 runs.

So much for all the work they put in for that 123.

So - 2-nil to England, and a hugely emphatic win to close off the Test series.

We'd like to be positive, and say that there are things New Zealand will have learned from the loss. But we honestly don't think they will. The problem is, there's talent within this Black Caps unit. A heap of it. Jamie How has an excellent career ahead of him, and will fight for his wicket with his life. Ross Taylor is reckless, but showed what he can do when he gets it right, and the middle-lower order batting has always been strong.

And we don't even need to mention McCullum - the best wicket-keeper/batsmen in World Cricket right now.

Vettori is a world-class spinner, and Tim Southee has shown a heap of potential. He has real talent with the ball, and showed (when England were in New Zealand) that he'll fight to the end - even if it has to be with the bat.

But they won't learn, because what they need is application. Daniel Vettori said so himself after the Test Series loss - you need 4 or 5 guys to stand up and perform to win a test, not just 1 or 2 - and that's what has happened. The odd good performance, mixed in with some really, really bad ones, and a complete lack of concentration and determination.

John Bracewell won't be helping. He's stated his intention to leave, and in doing so has forced New Zealand cricket into a holding pattern. He's not doing the job, and yet the team can't move on to bigger and, potentially, better things because, incredibly, he's still there.

Why? Stand down, John. Do The Black Cap's (and all of their fans...) a favour - move on, and let us get on with a new regime. Admit that things haven't gone well, and clear out so that someone else can give it a shot. 3rd in the world at ODI's isn't bad - but at what cost? If anything, New Zealand's performances in Tests are getting worse. With the talent available to New Zealand Cricket, there's no way they should be performing so badly in Tests.

And what of 20/20's? A side that prides themselves on their success in ODI's should surely be able to make the transition to the 20 over game. And yet - 7 losses in a row, the latest one being the 9-wicket (nine...) loss to England. You can't tell us that's not a coaching issue...

So, New Zealand Cricket - where to now? We in the Attic will not be satisfied with an ODI Series win from here - that just will not fly any more. We can accept that there was a period where New Zealand cricket suffered after the loss of some of their big names, but it's not an excuse any more. The players coming in have shown that they're more than capable of performing - the best is just not being drawn from them consistently enough.

We've heard a lot of talk about long re-building periods - and quite frankly, it's rubbish. New Zealand and England are very similar sides on paper right now, and have similar amounts of talent at their disposal. New Zealand have a far better wicketkeeper-batsmen, and a better spinner in Vettori. The batting line-ups are fairly evenly matched, with a slight edge going to England, just for the sake of experience. Having said that, New Zealand bat deeper than England.

So why the complete white-wash? And why the shockingly bad loss in the 20/20, after all the talk of switching to New Zealand's preferred format - the shorter version of the game? Well, it doesn't get much shorter than 20 overs - so why so poor?

So many questions have been raised in the Attic this past week or so, and we keep coming back to the same conclusion - Bracwell must go. NOW.

That, and someone should invent 1-over cricket. As long as the Black Caps continue to sustain their performance for 12 deliveries, they'd be in with a shot.