by NZ ought to have won this Test series, by most reasonable measures.
But if there's one thing it's unwise to bet your shirt on, it's
England failing to save a match. They can collapse in two sessions on
day one, and then bat for two days the next time round.
I shall now attempt to irritate the Lord High Priest of Understanding
Randomness (Failed) by ascribing some meaning to this.
My theory, which is mine, is this, this theory of mine that it is:
England's players are rather unimaginative.
Give them a defined task, like "Take the 10 wickets of these batsmen
under these conditions for under 368 to win a Test match" or "Bat for
145 overs in these conditions against these to save a Test", or "Score
275 in 50 overs on a pitch you've seen in action to win an odo", and
they can work out what to do.
Give them an undefined task like "Go out and get as many runs as you
can" or "Take wickets on whatever sort of pitch this is", and they
have no idea at all. They can just about manage things if they have
worked out that their opponents are really dangerous, but when they've
done their back-room analyses and come up with the conclusion that a
set of bowlers are not all that challenging so they'll have to work
out how to react to them and what to do for themselves, they are lost
without a compass.
Cheers,
Mike
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