Could this summer’s first Test series been a close-fought, exciting contest that could very easily have seen New Zealand a much-fancied side?

The answer is ‘yes definitely’; a side captained by the ever-reliable Stephen Fleming, leading one of the world’s best all-rounders in Shane Bond, Gloucestershire’s run machine and star fielder in Hamish Marshall, the man who stunned England with his speedy double century on the Black Caps last England tour in Nathan Astle, his fellow double centurion in Lou Vincent and a Daniel Vettori able to concentrate fully on his cricket without the weight of captaincy could very easily have left England with a Test Series win, possibly a comfortable one.

If you want someone to blame for New Zealand’s chances of victory being slashed, look no further than the ever-helpful New Zealand Cricket.

'If you want someone to blame for New Zealand’s chances of victory being slashed, look no further than the ever-helpful New Zealand Cricket'


Bond, Vincent and Marshall are all undoubtedly international standard players, any one of whom could make the difference between a win or loss for their national side.

Despite half the current Black Cap side partaking in the much hyped IPL, Bond, Vincent and Marshall’s participation in 2007’s ICL has led them to being banned from international cricket.

With the revelation that Bond had received prior permission from the NZC to play, one must wonder what the NZC hoped to achieve with their sudden U-turn. It almost certainly wasn’t to improve their prospects of doing well in cricket matches which, one would have thought was the primary objective of any organisation calling themselves New Zealand’s ‘cricket board’.

Despite the NZC’s ‘helpful’ intervening, New Zealand have thus far not looked like a team incapable of pulling off victory. Certainly, the second Test looked very much like it was going New Zealand’s way. It must have been a bitter pill to swallow for captain Vettori, knowing that veteran Fleming, retiring before his time after being stripped of the Test captaincy by the NZC and Hamish Marshall, in excellent form for his county, could have scored those crucial runs to stop New Zealand’s embarrassing second innings slump.

In much the same way, Bond could perhaps have knocked over out of form Ian Bell and out of sorts Paul Collingwood to expose England’s tail and bring a swift end to the home side’s run chase. Unfortunately, the tourists were without one of their finest and fastest bowlers and England got home comfortably. 

So, can England secure a Test series win against New Zealand? The answer is surely yes. The real question is whether or not this should really have been the case.