Just some Kane things

Sport Review #371

So he’s left us, in typically enigmatic fashion. Trying to nail down what Kane is thinking and especially how he’d go about retiring is as easy as trying to nail down a cat, so it’s (kind of?) no surprise it’s finished like this.

Seeing the last two Tests of the summer scheduled at the Mount and Hamilton signalled a pathway to a Ross Taylor / Tim Southee retirement template of rolling fanfare - deep down everyone knew there’s no way Kane would be into that. Still, the timing is kind of hard to take when we’re not even halfway through a Test series, with more to come shortly against India and Australia.

He’s comfortably our greatest ever player, I think any debate over that is an enjoyable devil’s advocate exercise, but there’s only one sensible conclusion. I loved the way he’d hit it along the ground like a snooker ball, usually perfectly bisecting the gap. I love it when he needed to hit out and over connecting with the sweetest sound. I’d get frustrated when those soft hands would get him bogged down at times, trying to find the gap at backward point. I loved how his bat had a deep red mark in the middle of his bat to a comical extent.

Dylan Cleaver has a much more informed run down on last night’s news at The Bounce, but here are some personal highlights from a career I feel lucky to have seen from start to finish:

My favourite innings - 242 not out at the Basin, in a stand with BJ Watling that that took NZ from 5-159 to 524-5 declared.

This 2014 ODI v India, where Kane and Ross Taylor steadily built the platform, then when it was time to put the foot down, Kane had to go so that Brendon McCullum could come in to start hitting. Cue a run out, immediately - it turns out he was just as good at getting himself out, happily and for the good of the greater cause.

This Basin Reserve catch, the one that got him on Sports Center’s plays of the day - the American hosts couldn’t believe he’d done it in a sweater

The leave-it-to-me six that got us over the line against Australia - the best bit is his uncharacteristic, almost apologetic fist pump (probably the most you’ve ever see him celebrate), while everyone in the crowd and at home was busy filling their pants.

He went from saying T20 was in his ‘top three’ formats when being selected for the 2014 World T20, to being an incredibly effective player. It turns out an amazing ability to problem solve and find gaps is really handy in T20, I loved watching him go when the pressure was off:

The way he looked at that mace. He fucking loved getting that mace.

The moment after the 2019 final when an official tells Kane he’s the player of the tournament, and he replies ‘Me?’. Yes mate, you scored 40, 79*, 106*, 148, 41, 40, 27, 67 and 30, Kane was the only person that was at all surprised.

This is a lot of fun. For all the adulation, this is a guy deeply in love with cricket:

This week's best NZ sport content

Gregor Paul on NZR+, which is now history. More of the same themes here, the push to deliver what was promised to Silver Lake learning to poor decisions and the All Blacks, especially under Ian Foster, being precious. Would have been easier on everyone if the team actually performed through this period, but still [NZ Herald]

Simon Wilson tries to make sense of and peace with the world cup, while this guy reckons no-one can pick all the tournament’s results correctly and is putting his house up for grabs to prove it [Hopetown, RNZ]

Good cricket man Richard Boock’s ‘goodbye, and also I’ve lost confidence in the Board’ all-staff email made its way into the paper [NZ Herald]

Video nasty

We honestly need one.

Long read

Goated Patrick Radden Keefe has extended this New Yorker article about a London teen’s decent into the Russian underworld and his mysterious death into this book - you can listen to him speaking to Adam Buxton about the book and his approach here, great chat.

Recommendation 

It really is: