Neil Wagner during a test match in 2023. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Is this Neil Wagner’s last test? The Black Caps left-armer will turn 38 in March.Time catches up with even the most indefatigable.
The Black Caps will play two tests against Australia in late February and early March and you would want a competitor like him in the XI.
He still offers something unique in test cricket. The left-armer has the extraordinary ability to bowl bumper after bumper at the batter’s rib cage.
His endurance is phenomenal.
Just last year he bowled New Zealand to one-run win over England with four for 62.
He should never buy a beer again. But the Black Caps read the Seddon Park pitch wrong on Tuesday.
They should have opted for a specialist spinner at the expense of one of their four seamers.
They were desperate to see what Will O’Rourke could do, so Wagner would have been at the bottom of the list.
He did not come on until the 37th over yesterday. And guess what? He got a wicket fifth ball with a bouncer.
He never lets you down, that fellow.
Crease bound
Are we worried about Devon Conway yet?
The Black Caps opener got a good ball the other day. But that three-ball duck was propped up by a lean run in the last three tests.
He notched scores of 12, 22, 11 and 2 in Bangladesh and 1 and 29 in the first test against South Africa.
He has not scored more than 29 in any format at any level since November 9. He is due.
■Written before Conway was dismissed for 17 in the second innings.
Clubbing it
The Dunedin T20 finals are being staged at Sunnyvale tonight. In the second grade, the Albion Turkeys play Green Island Sewer Rats.
Albion Kilda and the Cavaliers will contest the third grade final, and the Albion Rebels and North East Valley Veteran have made it through to the final of the fourth grade final. Swing hard, hope for the best.
The declaration
There was not a lot of feedback on whether Richard Hadlee or Kane Williamson was the greatest New Zealand cricketer. Regular reader Philip Temple felt it made little sense to compare the two.
"Hadlee is our greatest bowler, Williamson our greatest batsman, both by a big margin."
He did delve into an interesting area, though.
"I’d better be careful here because Oz cricket has listening devices everywhere.
But I often wonder if Bradman would have been as good if fielding in his time was up to today’s standards — and the umpiring."
We’ve checked with Wisden, and Temple’s comments have been ruled as heresy.
