AUS vs NZ: Black Caps Are "Too Scared" When Playing Against Australia - Brad Haddin
Published - 12 Sep 2022, 03:59 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:13 AM
Australia beat New Zealand by 25 runs to sweep the series 3-0 on Sunday and give captain Aaron Finch a farewell in his final 50-over performance.
Steve Smith scored 105, his 12th ODI century, to help Australia overcome a sluggish start and post 267-5 on a slow track in Cairns. New Zealand were bowled out for 242 runs in 49.5 overs.
Black Caps Are “Too Scared” When Playing Against Australia – Brad Haddin
Former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said that the Black Caps are “too scared” to play the hosts across the Tasman. It has been 13 years since the Black Caps beat Australia in an ODI in Australia and played 10 games.
New Zealand batsmen have not impressed with the bat, with no player scoring a half-century in the series, raising concerns that the visitors may have a psychological problem when they face their nearest rivals Australia.
“I don’t think NZ feel they can compete with Australia,” Haddin said on the post-game Fox Sports show in Australia after Steve Smith’s century helped the hosts to victory.
The former wicketkeeper believes it is a mental issue and that the Black Caps are “too scared” to face the Australian bowlers in the middle stages of their batting innings.
The Black Caps have only played three T20s in Australia in the last 15 years, all of which they have lost, including a one-run defeat in Sydney in 2009.
NZ has won three Test matches in 34 attempts in Australia, where they were defeated 3-0 in the most recent Test series in 2019-20. After two victories in a series win in 1985, they celebrated their last victory in Hobart in 2011.
Gary Stead, Black Caps coach, admitted his team needed to figure out how to deliver a killer punch to Australia on tour.
“I don’t know,” Stead said when asked on Monday if his team had a mental block in the circumstances.
“A lot of teams come to Australia and they struggle to beat them, and we’re no different. They’re a very very good side, they compete the whole time and it’s something I guess we talk about in the group is how we can keep throwing punches back at them.”
“They seem to keep having answers for us at the moment.”
“But we’re also a good side and we’ve got to learn how to compete and then put that killer punch in at times to make sure that we can get over the top of them.”
On October 22nd, the Black Caps and Australia will start their respective Twenty20 World Cup campaigns when they meet in the tournament’s opening match at Sydney Cricket Ground.
The hosts are the defending champions, having easily defeated New Zealand in the final in Dubai last year.
Former Australia international Kerry O’Keeffe, Haddin’s co-commentator, said New Zealand failed to convert their chances against a host team that, with the exception of Sunday’s century-maker Steve Smith, has struggled with the racquet throughout the series.
“Against Australia, if you get in a winning position, you’ve got to win,” O’Keeffe said.
“We needed to apply pressure for longer, and basically throughout the series we weren’t clinical enough in that,” Williamson said after NZ’s run chase slipped away in the closing overs on Sunday night.
“And credit to Australia, they’re always a strong side and they have a number of weapons throughout their attack … and they’re all bowling beautifully.”
After a two-wicket loss in the first game and a 113-run thumping in game two, the captain, who scored 89 runs in three games, described his team’s efforts as frustrating.
“For us there were glimpses, but it’s about taking it further and putting out more collective performances.
“They’ve outplayed us in quite a number of areas, but certainly in moments where the game sort of swung, they’ve sustained that pressure, and we haven’t been able to reverse it.”
“You can learn as much as you can – and these are the sorts of opportunities,” Williamson said.
“We know that coming over here, in their own conditions, Australia are very, very clinical. They’re a very tough side to beat. Having said that, we try to focus on our cricket, and it wasn’t quite good enough throughout this series, so …”
Trent Boult was once again the standout with the ball, taking 2-25 off 10 overs to give him 10 wickets in the series at an average of 10.30, but the rest of the attack couldn’t apply the same pressure as the home team’s bowlers due to an injured Matt Henry.
