@michelappleton

๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ diplomat. Now: Senior Adviser to @NewZealandMFA. Ex: HCer to ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ, posted to ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ. Samrajโ€™s Dad & @nayantarappleโ€™s husband. Love ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ—ณ. Views my own

 Wellington City, New Zealand
Joined August 2009
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We New Zealanders are blessed to live in an open, vibrant, competitive democracy in which we get to choose between alternative visions for how to make our amazing country (even) better. Get out and vote! vote.nz/2026-general-electioโ€ฆ ๐Ÿ“ธ Samraj on his first ever election day (2020).
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Michael Appleton retweeted
Francis Payne@FPayne100Oct 25
The 79th edition of the New Zealand Cricket Almanack is available now. If you're looking at cricket records which will never be broken, put 44 consecutive editions of a cricket annual by the same editors at the top of your list. No one will even get close, see the following...
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Absolutely love The New Zealand Cricket Almanack. Weโ€™ve certainly had some memorable editions this decade for @BLACKCAPS, including 2021 (WTC victory), 2025 (Test series win in ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ) & 2026 (Test series win in ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ).
Francis Payne@FPayne100Oct 25
The New Zealand Cricket Almanack (1948-2026) is the world's longest running cricket annual after Wisden.
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Very excited for the @BLACKCAPS - ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ series. My predictions: T20s: ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ 4-1 ODIs: ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ 3-2 Tests: ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ 2-0
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Michael Appleton retweeted
Jonathan Austin@jaustinNZOct 21
Overseas voting for the NZ General Election opened today so I took the opportunity to cast my vote in the Embassy in Beijing. Democracy is great!
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๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณโ€™s 12 games in ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ - 5 T20Is, 5 ODIs and 2 Tests, from 22 October till 1 December - is the longest bilateral tour @BLACKCAPS has ever hosted (in games played). Examples of 11-game tours: ๐Ÿ๏ธ in 2025-26: 5 T20s, 3 ODIs, 3 Tests ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ in 2010-11: 3 T20s, 6 ODIs, 2 Tests
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Collecting for the Breast Cancer Foundation, and remembering the wonderful mother Caroline, James, Thom Apples and I lost almost sixteen years agoโ€ฆ and all the other women we know whoโ€™ve faced the same challenge. We love you, Mum. Donate here: fundraise.bcf.org.nz/prsa
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With my bros, Wairakei.
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Samrajโ€™s verdict on the debate: โ€œIt would be hard to be Jack!โ€
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CBWOAGD
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Five election podcasts Iโ€™m listening to: 1. Gone By Lunchtime (@TheSpinoffTV) 2. Caucus (@radionz) 3. Tame and Tova (@TVNZ) 4. Raw Politics (@NewsroomNZ) 5. Election 2026: The Podcast (@nzherald) Any good ones Iโ€™m missing?
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Using our beautifully complicated electoral system, and proposed overhang strategies, to do some Sunday morning maths with Samraj. His question for if the overhang strategies worked: who would pay to build all the extra seats in Parliament?
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Unfortunately Dawsonโ€™s Creek, Felicity and The West Wing - which all surely would have otherwise been in the top 10 - all started in the final years of the 20th Century.
The New York Times
@nytimesSep 25
Our list of the 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century is out now. See what came in at No. 1 here. nyti.ms/4joj3Dm

The 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century

More than 500 influential stars, showrunners and other notable names in the world of TV voted on the best series released since Jan. 1, 2000. See what they chose.

nytimes.com
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Of these 24 series in ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ has won 6: -Tests in 1967/68 & 2008/09 -ODIs in 2008/09 & 2018/19 -T20Is in 2019/20 & 2022/23
Michael Appleton@michelappletonSep 25
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ men ๐Ÿ tours of ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ 1967/8: 4 Test 76/7: 3 Test 2 ODI 80/1: 2 Test 2 ODI 89/90: 3 Test 93/4: 1 Test 4 ODI 98/9: 2 Test 5 ODI 2002/3: 2 Test 7 ODI 08/9: 3 Test 5 ODI 2 T20 13/4: 2 Test 5 ODI 18/9: 5 ODI 3 T20 19/20: 2 Test 3 ODI 5 T20 22/3: 3 ODI 2 T20 26/7: 2 Test 5 ODI 5 T20
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๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ men ๐Ÿ tours of ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ 1967/8: 4 Test 76/7: 3 Test 2 ODI 80/1: 2 Test 2 ODI 89/90: 3 Test 93/4: 1 Test 4 ODI 98/9: 2 Test 5 ODI 2002/3: 2 Test 7 ODI 08/9: 3 Test 5 ODI 2 T20 13/4: 2 Test 5 ODI 18/9: 5 ODI 3 T20 19/20: 2 Test 3 ODI 5 T20 22/3: 3 ODI 2 T20 26/7: 2 Test 5 ODI 5 T20
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Yes. Tests > ODIs > T20Is.
Ben Gardner@Ben_WisdenSep 24
ODI cricket just needs better PR. Every time there's an ODI like this, there should be hundreds of people who haven't really followed it tweeting 'Long live ODI cricket' or 'And people say ODI cricket is dying ๐Ÿ™„'
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An absolutely wonderful celebration of Margaretโ€™s life at Old St Paulโ€™s this morning.
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Fleming, as captain, has two feathers in his cap vs ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ in ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ -In the ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ home summers from 1994/95 to 2002/03, @BLACKCAPS were only team to play a Test series and not be defeated -Flemingโ€™s ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ knocked ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ out of their own tri-series (2001-2), ending Steve Waughโ€™s ODI captaincy
ABC SPORT
@abcsportSep 20
Is England obsessed with Australia โ€ฆ or is it Australia obsessed with England?๐Ÿ๐Ÿค” Red-ball coach Stephen Fleming was prompted by the BBC on his thoughts, to which he said, "No, because I have an obsession with it as well. New Zealand has an obsession with it, we love it." "We want to beat the Aussies. We're heavily linked to England performances. We have a deep desire to beat Australia in everything, as the little cousin. We are linked, and I'm incredibly excited about being part of it." England will tour Australia for an ODI and T20I series in November/December, returning for the 150-year anniversary Test in March, before the Ashes in the UK in June 2027. โšฑ๏ธ Keep up with all the latest sport news and analysis on the ABC listen app: ab.co/ABCListenApp
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Iโ€™ll always treasure my memories of conversations with Professor Margaret Clark about NZ political history & the world around us over the past ~25 years. A deeply generous teacher to countless politically interested Kiwis. My thoughts are with Dame Margaretโ€™s friends & family.
David Capie@davidcapieSep 11
Very sad to learn that Dame Margaret Clark passed away in Wgtn this morning. Margaret was a trail-blazing academic (the first woman prof. in political science in NZ), a beloved teacher, and a wonderful colleague. I'm forever grateful for the support & encouragement she gave me.
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Test wins per loss 2020s ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ2.9๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ1.7๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ1.7๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ1.3๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ1.2๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ0.8๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ0.7 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ0.6๐Ÿ๏ธ0.4 10s ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ1.9๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ1.8๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ1.5๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ1.2๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ1.0๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ0.9๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ0.8 ๐Ÿ๏ธ0.5๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ0.3๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ0.2 2000s ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ4.4๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ1.7๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ1.5๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ1.5๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ1.4๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ1.0๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ0.7 ๐Ÿ๏ธ0.3๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ0.2๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ0.1 90s ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ2.2๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ2.2๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ1.5๐Ÿ๏ธ1.1๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ0.9๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ0.6๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ0.6 ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ0.5๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ0.2 80s ๐Ÿ๏ธ5.4๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ1.8๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ1.1๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ0.9๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ0.5๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ0.5๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ0.1
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