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New Zealand players celebrates Dan Vettori's wicket to dismiss Graeme Cremer. - Source: Photosport -
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Some words of comfort for Zimbabwe's battered and bruised Test cricketers: don't worry guys, you're not even close to being the biggest losers in world cricket right now.
There's still a long way to run in 2012, but odds are we've already seen the ultimate sporting letdown of the year and it wasn't Zimbabwe's three-day hiding at the hands of New Zealand in Napier.
India's tour of Australia has been so disastrous that it's set to signal the end of two glittering careers and leave several others in limbo.
The tourists have been listless, hapless, gutless, brainless - and we haven't even got to the limited overs leg of the tour yet.
So, on current form, would the Indians even be good enough to beat the Black Caps? You'd have to say probably not.
The hosts aren't that far behind Australia at the moment.
Despite laughable claims that they'd have won the Ashes if England toured this summer, Michael Clarke's men remain seriously deficient in the top order batting and spin departments.
The Black Caps look a rejuvenated team with a functioning pace attack.
Seven times in the past eight innings they've bowled their opposition out; six times for less than 350.
Much would depend, of course, on which version of India chose to turn up on our shores.
Last time they came here, in 2009, it was with in-form players and a bucketload of ambition.
They wanted to be number one in Tests and - despite some reasonable New Zealand resistance - went away with a 1-0 series win.
Then there was the India of 2002/3 that turned up with a petulant and superior attitude, took one look at the lush green wickets and consigned themselves to a 2-0 whitewash.
One senses this current Indian team is in a similar mindset to the squad that was thrashed here a decade ago.
Under John Wright they improved their touring record tremendously; in his absence they've regressed to a feckless rabble that behave like spoilt rock stars and play cricket like, well, spoilt rock stars.
What it also highlights is the wonderful unpredictability of Test cricket at the moment.
Few men were brave enough to predict the Black Caps would square the Test series with Australia last December.
Fewer still picked a 4-0 whitewash of India across the Tasman and no one imagined England going down 2-0 to a resurgent Pakistan in the Middle East with one Test still to play.
The world rankings may suggest otherwise but there is little between England, South Africa, Australia and Pakistan in the battle for top spot.
The English have come back down to earth against Pakistan but remain the team to beat; a five-Test series against the Proteas right now would be mouth-watering.
With the West Indies and Sri Lanka in prolonged slumps, Ross Taylor's men could probably lay claim to being the fifth best right now and a series draw or win against South Africa would prove it.
As for India, there's no telling how far the ageing gladiators will fall.
Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman could well walk, but they'll only be replaced by youngsters who have already been trialled and deemed unworthy at this level.
Their bowling attack is toothless and woefully inconsistent.
Test cricket lives in interesting times.
There are those who say the Black Caps' trouncing of Zimbabwe was bad for the game but if it gives the hosts the confidence and bravado they need to match Graeme Smith's men then all it has done is help increase the competition at the top of the pile.
With the antipodean nations rebuilding and the Indian and English juggernauts slowing, the Test landscape could have rather a different look to it by the end of 2012.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Max? Comment below.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentgreenmachine said on 2012-01-30 @ 13:36 NZDT: Report abusive post
Im sorry Max, but I don't agree at all. For starters you have got to remember Australia were not playing there best team against us, as much as we hate to admit it. Secondly for goodness sake it was ZIMBABWE we smashed, we were expected to win well. The Zim test meant NOTHING, if anything it would under prepare us for when South Africa, carring 4of the best cricketers in the world ( Dale Steyn, A.B De villiers and Hashim Amla and Jaques Kallis) Don't get your hopes us just yet. Thanks