No coach, no excuse

In the New Zealand Herald, Dylan Cleaver writes that New Zealand's dismal display against Pakistan wasn't due to their coaching situation.

No, the coaching debacle is too convenient a scapegoat. The real reason for the calamitous performance was that when the blowtorch was applied NZ's batsmen again melted - and again it started from the top.

Aaron Redmond's early becalming meant Brendon McCullum was forced to initiate desert storm, his brief sortie flaming out when he dragged on to his stumps. McCullum's effectiveness at the top of the order seems inextricably linked to the injured Jesse Ryder. They feed off each other's controlled aggression.