Black Caps - India

Needs its own thread as mentioned. Hate getting reminded of that series loss to the Bangers.

Go Tommy Martin! 5 in the hole already and a pretty good shot at some career best figures surely. A couple from Dan and we'll rip through it. Laxman will be tough to remove, but he won't devastate us on the scoreboard initially, so we really just want to target the tailenders I reckon.

TEST CRICKET BITCHES



gc.

Cheers for getting this thread going SMF.

Id almost forgotten about test cricket. What a delight it is.

And i'd written Martin off as a has-been. Stoked to be proven wrong.

All appointments have been cancelled this eve. Got the bottle of wine, cheese rolls & supa spliff ready to burn. HURRY UP AND START THE DAYS PLAY ALREADY!

on the game - we need to get Harbajhan quickly. I'm pretty nervous chasing anything over 190ish.

Nathan likes this.

Agreed about Martin. I admit that I have never been a huge fan, but always seen him just 'fit' in the team because we don't have anyone else with the extra pace and bounce required for test match cricket. I'm keen to get home and check out some highlights before today's play cos I fell asleep and missed the end last night after a huge bender weekend... heh.



gc.

I watched every ball Good times for a Sunday night. zomg if we pull off victory

sighaments. Those half chances in the 1st hour were sooo frustrating

Yeah that was major let down.

McCullum fucked me right off when cameras showed him having a laugh after putting down that chance

I wonder if that's some sport psychology tactic? So that the missed opportunity doesn't plague/affect you..
Seems like he wouldn't legitimately think it's funny.

Possibly. I was quite astounded at his stance in that position being up quite high. I would have thought he would be a lot lower a-la wicketkeeping. Would have given him a way better show of nabbing the wicket.

We did do what Aussie couldn't though. Draw a test in India this year, essentially two bowlers down. Me = happy.

Meh. An average team has good sessions. A good team has good matches. I knew we wouldn't be able to sustain the effort into the last day, because we simply are not good enough.

Still, it was great to see a batting effort that didn't involve a near innings defeat or desperate scrabble by the tail to salvage a bit of our reputation. Which kinda sums up my expectations of NZ Cricket.

Was worth it to see Kane Williamson get his century on debut. Well done fulla. Now don't be a Matt Sinclair...

Possibly the funniest thing Ive ever seen happen on a cricket field

That... is... awesome...

ahahahaha ty maestro!

Fuck I love that!



gc.

Gem to get rid of McCullum first up. Ouch. McIntosh looking a fish out of water as ever.



gc.

5.6 Sreesanth to McIntosh, FOUR, 135.4 kph, Stop the press. McIntosh has crashed his first delivery he has faced from Sreesanth to the cover boundary. Gold! He leaned forward to cream it through covers.

So... no UDRS, but we can get called back on no-balls? Can ANYONE explain that to me?



gc.

The umpire wasn't sure whether it's a no-ball or not, so decided to check before ruling?

Never, ever seen that before dude. And I've watched a fuckton of cricket over the years. And tbh there has to be some provision for it in the rules too, which I'm definitely not aware of...



gc.

Yeah - I don't think I've seen it happen either. Bit odd... Cricinfo don't seem too phased by it though

Yeah neither do the TV guys. Weird.

:/

gc.

No doubt the indians will be burning effigies of the umpire later today anyway, so maybe we'll get an explanation then

What the fuck... No cellphones?

Yeah I thought that was weird too...

26 overs in the first session which went 2 mins over 2hrs.
1 wicket
1 six
2 spinners used who bowled 13 of those overs.

What the fuck are india doing out in the field. Smoking weed? Surely they'll get fined for such a piss poor over rate.

Did they start late?

---

Love guys proving me wrong. Go TM & Guppers :>

Classic "bat like shit and survive" first session
ffs early on TM kept falling over himself... was sure an lbw was on teh way

He's still there, its better than he's done most of his international career... And most batsmen have some kind of scare, even the best, in the first session of a test. In saying that though, he's not exactly blessed with exquisite technique.

This is an excellent wicket to bat on, if these two can hold it together we will score 500. All of our real firepower is stlil to come

lol at them smashing that sightscreen

The Guptill incident bought out a pet hate of mine,. Its the way commentators talk about wickets off no balls being so "lucky" for the batsman and/or "so unlucky" for the fielding team ...luck is irrelevant and does not play a part when the bowler cheats

Doull even managed to say "he deserved a wicket with that delivery"

Usually the scare is dipping at a couple outside off stump... which is easily fixed... this, on the other hand...

McIntosh has always been too hard with that front foot. It gets him in to a lot of trouble. I blame a coaching system which places so much emphasis on getting out on to the front foot. Thats why it was so pleasing to see Williamson bat for so long the other day, I got a good look at his batting style and he is an absolutely quality back foot player. Sure most short players have to be great on the back foot but we just seem to churn out an overabundance of tall gangly front foot heavy batsmen who constantly get out lbw or caught behind. :-/

Hundred for McIntosh. Silences a few haters I suppose - myself included. Shame to see him get out to such a tired dismissal at the end of the day. I'm pretty stoked to see us score 3 centuries in not even 2 full innings so far in this series, and unusually high strike rate for us. Maybe a message is getting through *finally*.

Although let's not hold our breath.

:>

gc.

tbh the hundred kinda reduced my like for him... really highlighted his flaws

Harbajhan!???

UNGH)!$*%&!#*$()139



gc.

Yeah what a bahinchudh. :-/

His innings has only fuelled my dislike for him. Lucky slogs x 10 that miraculously fall short of or in between fielders. Stopping THE TEAM GETTING RUNS so he can pursue a FIFTY.

That last hr was the most painful cricket i've ever watched.

9 down for only 19 runs more than us, and now we can only draw. grrrrrrrrrrr reminded me of that time Gillespe and fkn McGrath held us up

Thanks Maestro for bringing up THAT particular memory. I buried that shit deep bro.

fair call. I do apologize

back to back 100s for Harbhajan Singh... wtf!

First century opening stand since Flem and Rigor in '04. Wow.



gc.

Don't think he hit that!!!!!!!



gc.

so I guess all McCullum's sins are now forgiven.

It's a good start but he has to be consistent to maintain his place...


edit. On another note, it's nice to see so many Black Cap centurions in a single series...

They're playing on roads dude

Still, in the past we would have seen a string of unconverted half centuries, maybe bolstered by a lower order hundred by a wicket keeper or someone batting low. Our MAIN batting weakness over many, many years has not necessarily been talent, it has been application. I don't mind seeing batsmen going out like McCullum did in the first innings, or even how Taylor went out in this innings - excellent deliveries. To see us get 4 centurions in 3 innings is highly unusual, no matter the conditions.

I wouldn't say McCullum's sins are forgiven either to be honest, but I suppose he has shown that he is probably OUR best option at the top of the order. Averaging well over 60 for the calendar year with hundreds against 3 different nations represents a genuinely good year by any standards. My concern with McCullum, though, is that he still tries to manufacture too much when he doesn't need to. In tight situations it will hurt us, that's a certainty.

Just need to get through this session at a decent clip really, and we'll be sweet.



gc.

Well put SMF. Under no illusions as to the quality of the pitches but our guys have shown a determination to stay in that is encouraging and little seen over recent years.

Add to the centuries the half centuries by Ryder, Taylor, Guptill and McCullum and you have to admit, thus far, our batsmen have been performing their tasks. Largely.

And hell, we have low expectations so I can say that with a straight face.

Now it's vital our guys drop the anchor and stay in for at least a session and a half. Seting India a target of around 250 with half a day to play is inviting disaster with Sehwag due in first....

When was the last time an opening batsman scored a second innings hundred to help save a test match for NZ? At a push Richardson I suppose. The opening partnership tree bears little fruit, I'm afraid!



gc.

All things considered, we are playing quite well. However, we all know its much easier to bat on the subcontinent than in NZ or AUS for example. The telling fact is that Daniel Vettori is the only black cap who has played india in india before this series.

So what fine performances do you have to compare the current to? That's right, none.

Just sayin.

Just sayin what exactly?

I can't find a point in your post.



gc.

The point is that there is no history of our batsmen playing on these type of wickets, so of course they're going to look better than we expected!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-west-indies-2010/engine/current/match/464987.html

Gayle on 250 and counting :o

Its not often I pick out a sub continent cricketer as being a complete bell end, they are normally quite stoic .... but Sreesanth is def one. loo at that performance over a faulty LBW appeal

We shouldn t really be suprised at these results, series in India for us often have a couple of draws, I think we managed them last time this century ...and the 90s. Stupid roads. Give em some grass!

Australia managed just one draw and two losses not more than a month ago!

Well yeah but they are a much different type pf team than us. Australia still tries to progress the game quickly pretty much regardless of the state of play, a tactic they pioneered when they were chock full of stars and it made good sense to do so. They dont seem to have worked out they are not that side anymore, and that arrogance is hurting them

Im not taking anything away from te boys anyway, I said in the other thread that this was a good time for us to tour.... and I was the only one backing Bmac as opener

333!



gc.

Sreesanth can be a bit OTT at times but I'll always admire him for the way he absolutely took it to the Aussies in their last Australian tour. Showed once and for all that India weren't afraid of them and helped in a big way to break down the aura of invincibility that the Aussies have. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Besides pace bowlers generally tend to be a bit douchey, it helps with their aggression. In our own squad, Kyle Mills can be a bit of a knob at times. I enjoy seeing it, it's a part of the joy of cricket. Bowlers and batsmen getting in each others faces. I love it!

hehe, Sreesanth is awesome imo, always a fan of a headband wearer! Quite exciting, how often have we gone into the 3rd test away with it as a decider. Hope we can string together a 3rd good effort, definately rate quality swing bowling against that Indian top order, seems to be the most difficult thing for them to play.

this is certainly not the best practice for their upcoming tour of RSA

Alright fine then! Sreesanth is awesome! Picking on me over there you two bums on a log!


I dont think Mills has ever been an asshat in that glarey fast bowler manner though. Simply isnt threatening enough. Looks like he has played his last test judging by whose being promoted ahead of him. Not too much longer to wait for Wagner either, after the WC he is eligible

Zaheer injured.



gc.

Def good news for us, he's been far away their best bowler over the past while taking the bulk of their wickets.

I spotted that lanky Sharma on the boundary in whites in the last game, does anyone know what his deal is? injured/out of form? I always thought he was going to become a huge threat since he looked good in Australia when only a teenager

He's been out of form lately which is why Sreesanth has been starting in his place. Personally I think Sharma is the better bowler and I hope we don't do our customary habit which is to play out of form players back into form...

Otherwise thats definitely good news for us with no Zaheer...

Ishant has never, not once, lived up to the standard that he set for himself in his very first series. He's about 5km slower and only really bowls mid 130s consistently. Lacks the confidence to be as damaging as he initially promised.



gc.

Yeah to be honest I haven't seen as much of him since that time he destroyed the Aussies. I have been reading though that he's been all out of sorts of late.

that fucking adams apple generates enough drag to slow him down
creepiest looking sportsman ever

Wet start...wonder if this will juice up the pitch. What exactly does humidity/rain do to a dustbowl anyway


Does anyone else feel a hole in their stomach about one G Hopkins being in the line up? Weve nearly always had very good keepers with Smith and Parore, and both were quite entertaining...in their own ways. Hopkins is just booooooooring, everything he does with the gloves looks slightly below average and I dont think he will ever score runs.

Whatever people think about his personality Adam was the best gloveman in the world for much of his career. Smith was exciting with the bat and didnt make many mistakes wit the gloves. Hopkins just feels like an McSweeny type stop gap till the next superstar arrives. Anyone wanna trainspot who that would be? Hope it doesnt take long. May as well play Reece Young

Reece Young is a great gloveman
Shame he wasnt a good batsman for most of his career

How is it that Ryder keeps getting seletced whe he is clearly not fit? His partnership with BM seemed to be made up exclusively of 4's and singles. Very strange cricket yesterday. we picked two guys that cant bat propery or run 2's? Thats just plain weird

Unfit and both still playing better than anyone else there is to pick, or anyone else that was picked as the case might be. Can you imagine the humiliation if it wasn't for those two.

That batting collapse was bound to happen I suppose, however very possible BMac's injury upset the whole dynamic of the team. Who knows, NZ is to whobbly at the best of times to blame something like that on the collapse.

I'm afraid we are starring down the barrel of a massive loss here

I wonder what the logic of selecting McKay over Jeets on a turning pitch was... I think we've missed a trick here.

Ryder scored his first 30 runs without any niggle from his calf. Guess it just came back to bite him unfortunately. The McCullum one was obviously a judgement call where they thought they could perform well enough to ensure some recovery time, before they realised how bad it was. No excuse to bat like that on this pitch, to the quicks at least.

As far as Jeets goes, they just don't rate him - and the extra quick bowler worked ok in the last game. They saw a bit of extra pace in this pitch and took a(nother) gamble I guess.

GAH.

:/

gc.

Too pissed to remember watching the game last night.

Heh.

:>

gc.

I watched when we were batting till 110/2, changed channels for a wee bit, then when I came back we were 170/8.

Brutal.

I guess the saving grace is we only lost by 40 without our two best players. Mind you, it looks like India fielded a 'c' team

NOT looking very healthy for the WC next year. And oddly, we have 3 of the top 10 ranked one-day bowlers. WTF.

Today's 3rd ODI was one of the most rediculous games of cricket i've ever seen. Early morning start lose the toss and bat on a wicket thats sticky and seaming about. Lose the top order for not many runs... (as usual) then about 30 overs into the innings it dries out and all of a sudden batting is a piece of piss, highlighted by a 94 run 8th wcket partnership between Franklin and N. McCullum. We scramble together a semi respectable score, but by now the wicket is so flat, batting on it is like an easy net session for any 1/2 decent batsman and India get up in a cakewalk. Hell the only wicket we got was a run out.

Horrible, horrible game.

That all may well be true, but it doesn't excuse McCullum's horrible shot, the stupid run out of Williamson and Talyor's shocker - the list goes on. The question I ask myself is what score would India have got on that wicket? 250+ I'd wager.

That may be all well and true, but it was still a shit pitch.

If there's ever a time to back NZ at cricket on the TAB, next game is it, but only if we win the toss.

Fuck Franklin getting that close to his ton was good fun to watch. Just gutted the lads couldn't quite hold out (but pleased I kipped out halfway through their session)

Well, we've certainly learnt how to lose a cricket match, haven't we.



gc.

We score 315 and LOST? Jeezzzus ^%$#$ Krist

Back to having a pop gun attack again

Guptil is soooo infuritaing , he has a great eye, timing and quick hands. But his shot selection and general nous is abysmal. Its like watching a gorilla drive a Ferrari

11 one day losses in a row and two complete series white washes in a row.

Ace.