Trent Boult may quietly be feeling that he made the right decision.
The crack left-armer twice bowled the Black Caps into a winning position in the Chappell-Hadlee series, in what will presumably be one of his rare turnouts for his country after deciding to chase the T20 dollar aroundthe world.
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is the cliche normally applied when a winning position is squandered, though there was precious little snatching. The Black Caps, in both matches, performed the mental equivalent of laying the prize on the ground in front of revered cricketing royalty – before slowly reversing out of the room, genuflecting three times, careful not to turn their backs and give offence.
Boult can be exempted from this (though not the dropped catch of Cameron Green which might have won the first match). He has decided against his $500,000 annual retainer from New Zealand Cricket in favour of becoming a freelancer, apparently able to earn at least 50 per cent more.
Whatever you think of ditching playing for your country for more money, Boult's bowling showed how much he will be missed – and that he might have made the right personal decision. This team seems, at best, in transition. At worst, on the evidence of these two ODIs, it's returning New Zealand cricket to the days of cultural cringe when playing the Aussies – evident in the Black Caps' strange hesitancy in this series.
This team have won so many friends over recent years with their collective efficiency and punch-above-their-weight persona, known as tough to beat – but now they face a dead rubber on Sunday which brings to mind the old saying: 'Life is a shipwreck but we mustn't forget to sing in the lifeboats'.
At the 35th over of the first ODI, Daryl Mitchell joined Tom Latham in the middle at 150-3. It was the time in the innings when the batting side – with wickets in hand – can turn the screw. The accepted recipe is one person – Latham – plays the holding role, turning the strike over to the other (Mitchell) who scores faster, setting up those to follow with a better chance of building a big total with less worry about lost wickets.
Trent Boult dropped Cameron Green during the first ODI against Australia. Photo / Photosport
Mitchell has become a key member of the side; his heroics with the bat too long to recall here. But – even accepting the sticky nature of the pitch – he (and Latham) scratched around, adding far too few runs in an overly respectful manner before getting out.
That error was compounded. With Australia reeling thanks to Boult, captain Kane Williamson decided against keeping Boult on, pressurising the Australians further.
Instead, he allowed matchwinners Green and Alex Carey to play themselves in against the spin of Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell and some expensive bowling from Lockie Ferguson.
In the second ODI, Boult again took four wickets, not saved for the death this time. Australia were 117-8 and, even though the Aussie tailenders put on valuable runs against Bracewell and co at the death, 196 was still eminently achievable. It could have been done in singles.
Instead, they batted like frightened men, arriving at 54-5 in the 18th over, with no one seizing anything resembling an initiative. Williamson's was perhaps the worst dismissal, playing round an Adam Zampa full toss. In his pomp, Williamson would have acquainted that ball either with the boundary rope or nearby streets.
Williamson is in, unusually for such a talented man, a bit of a tailspin – and maybe the team is being affected by his struggles. Never one to run his mouth, even in victory, Williamson's natural caution, delivered with his unfortunate monotone in the after-match interviews, made him sound like the verbal representation of his team's performance, dismissed for a paltry 82.
"It obviously wasn't our best effort with the bat - a number of soft dismissals," he said. Asked about the excess of caution, he said: "Everybody's got their own minds and makes their own decisions. I suppose we'll reflect on that and we do need to be a lot better than that."
No international cricket captain is ever going to come out and say: 'We were all crap and they should be assembling the firing squad' – but such an abject failure probably deserves more insight.
It's not a good time to be a captain called Kane (or Cane) and, while Williamson will find his groove again, the figures returned by Australia's Sean Abbott are perhaps the most eloquent statement of New Zealand's woes.
Abbott, 30, is a decent medium-fast bowler, accurate and stingy at the death, and, yes, the track was unhelpful. But he had taken just four wickets in five ODIs before this, at an average of over 47 and an economy rate of six runs per over. Against the Black Caps, he bowled five overs, four maidens, took two wickets for one run – 30 balls, from which came one lonely, orphan run.
I think the Black Caps do have to reflect on that.
