Finding opponents is the easy part. It’s finding opponents that match Duco’s vision for where Parker now stands and how marketable he should be that might be tricky, depending on how realistic their view of those things are.
Flying under the radar of the Blackcaps squad dumping last week was BJ Watling sneaking into the Blackcaps ODI squad for their series against Pakistan in United Arab Emirates
Whyte was able to get into the fight after a slow first because he was able to throw heavy counter punches and force Parker to slow down to a more relatable pace. But when Parker needed to alter the flow of the fight he just couldn’t manage it.
Having had a rough ol' time against the English in T20 and ODI cricket recently, a bunch of our White Ferns stayed on in England to play in the Women's T20 Super League.
Ain't nothing like an Aotearoa 'A' cricket squad right? Prior to the Blackcaps hitting up Pakistan for some cricket in United Arab Emirates, a squad of fringe Blackcaps and a few up and comers will play T20s, one-dayers and four-dayers against Pakistan A.
If you've missed having the Blackcaps shenanigans of Lesson in your life, Mike Hesson and Gavin Larsen combined one last time to squeeze out Blackcaps Test, ODI and T20 squads as well as an Aotearoa A squad, all of which will tour United Arab Emirates later this year.
There's this thing that the NBA and even closer to home, the NRL has done very well in recent years and that's building up a year-long news cycle. Unfortunately kiwi cricket and the Blackcaps haven't quite got the memo.
Ah, quite a bit actually. Joseph Parker didn’t waste too much time in getting back on the horse after his battling but comfortable defeat to Anthony Joshua back at the end of March.
A few weeks ago Eliza McCartney cleared 4.92m in a meeting in Germany, beating the personal best that she’d set a month earlier in America during a Diamond League event by a good seven centimetres. Now she’s edged up another two cm’s.
Michael Venus did not win a second career grand slam title this weekend. He and South African doubles partner Raven Klaasen went to five sets in the Men’s Doubles final at Wimbledon but fell to Americans Jack Sock and Mike Bryan in the championship match.
All is well that ends all good, right? A win for Aotearoa in their third ODI against England wraps up a tour to Ireland and England that was solid, but under-whelming for the White Ferns.
Despite switching formats, it was the same result for Aotearoa's White Ferns against England and their run on getting smoked by the Poms continues.
Other than the big name movements of Neil Wagner, Colin de Grandhomme and Jimmy Neesham, the 2018/19 domestic cricket contracts lists were a tad underwhelming.
In the White Ferns loss to England, in the final of their T20 tri-series, the lack of class when it matters most, perhaps translating into a lack of killer instinct popped up again and that's exactly where the frustration with the White Ferns and Blackcaps sits for me.