New Zealand's abysmal record abroad

When Shane Bond and Chris Martin bundled South Africa out for 226 on the first day of the Johannesburg Test, it seemed New Zealand might finally have got themselves into a position to force the issue in an overseas Test. Come the second day, though, and all those hopes were rudely dashed as their top order collapsed limply, and what started as an encouraging game finished in their worst Test defeat in terms of runs. The result also continued a shocking run for them in overseas Tests in the 2000s.

A cursory look at the numbers shows seven wins and 11 defeats in 28 matches, which, while not being top-notch, is still reasonably respectable. Dig a little deeper, though, and it turns out that six of those seven wins have been against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Remove the minnows from the equation and New Zealand have plumbed the depths: their only win in 22 matches was against a not-so-intimidating West Indies line-up in Barbados in 2002, a team who have themselves almost completely forgotten the art of winning overseas.

The table below indicates how far New Zealand have slipped. There used to be a time when the Indians were the worst travellers, but they haven't done badly at all this decade, winning nine out of 37. Also, Australia are the only team who have won more games overseas than they have lost. The difference between them and second-placed South Africa is another indication of just how wide the gulf has been between Australia and the rest.

In Johannesburg the batsmen were the culprits, completely clueless in both innings against the pace and swing of Dale Steyn. Generally, though, the bowling - especially the fast bowlers - has let New Zealand down badly overseas. In home conditions, which are generally conducive to swing and seam, they average 30 runs per wicket, but abroad that number goes up by nearly 50 per cent.

The table below shows that James Franklin and Chris Cairns have been the only fast bowlers who haven't been struck by the overseas malaise. Even Shane Bond is far more effective at home, with 30 wickets from six games. When traveling, he has only managed an average of 33.28. The numbers for Daryl Tuffey and Jacob Oram are even more shocking. Both have exploited home conditions beautifully, but have been reduced to mere trundlers overseas. Oram averages three wickets per match at home, but just one a game when he travels.

The batting, especially at the top of the order, has always been a worry for New Zealand, but they haven't been as affected by the overseas factor like as bowlers have. In fact, the batsmen have done marginally better abroad than in New Zealand.

New Zealand's most significant problem with the bat has been their inability to find a reliable opening pair. In fact, they've struggled to find one competent opening batsman since Mark Richardson retired. The last hundred partnership for the first wicket was way back in June 2004 at Trent Bridge against England, when Richardson and Stephen Fleming added 163 for the first wicket and then followed up with 94 for the second. Since then, in 33 innings the openers average 24.62 per partnership, with a highest of 61.

The table below shows just how much New Zealand have missed Richardson: when he was around, the openers averaged a respectable 35 per innings, and scored seven centuries and 24 fifties (excluding games against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe). Three of those centuries and 16 of the fifties were courtesy Richardson, who averaged 42.74. Since he left, the openers have only scored two fifties in 50 innings, and the average has almost halved.

* All numbers exclude games against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.