Its Summer! - the Fever Cricket Thread. (Part 1)

Ryder would have been seriously pissed off if Martin had gotten out, especially after O'Brien's brain explosion.

Mills looking average with the ball 18 from 2 overs!!!!

Deaker saying he has been reading reports about match fixing in the ICL and IPL to a lesser extent, all over the net but no one is reporting it. I havn't read anything and am battling to find it. Anyone seen anything/got a link? Even Vaughan saying he has been hearing the same things

really hope he keeps it up...

O'Brien in on the act...

If they only get 50 or 60 each we'll have them for under 600.

Flynn drops Tendulkar. hard chance catch high catch over his head. Franklin doesn't seem to have much in the way of pace.

They reckon Franklin's bowling high 130s...doesn't seem to be much carry though.

Ryder the terminator on for an over...

Fraklin bowls along the pitch as opposed to at it, which affect his carry, if you compare him to o'brien you'll notice O'Brien gets more bounce cos he digs it into the deck more whereas Franklin is trying to get the ball to swing more.

We'll need rain. And lots of it.

They need to move the game to Karori Park.

From the play I watched, all bar last 3 hours, We were bowling much to short. Not getting them on to the front foot enough, was frustrating to watch.

And have it played in July...

We are complete sh*t.

Gangsta!2009-03-20 15:55:21

Our pace attack could do with some viagra they're as impotent as
We'll only need to bat for 200 plus overs to ensure a draw, seeing as we can't bat for much more than 75 most tests,I'm hoping for rain.
 

So, what chances of that rain then?

https://www.metservice.co.nz/public/localWeather/hamilton.html Not good.

Because they have bullied us the entire series. Reminds me of Australia at home (and when they were better, away).

Bloody typical. Rains every farken day in both ODI series we've had here, and in the series decider over in Oz when we were on the cusp of a series win, and now when we need the rain the most we get the bloody sun.

I mean, wtf? It usually rains every second day in this country, and now it looks like we'll get 5 nice days in a row. Does the BCCI even control the big guy upstairs? el grapadura2009-03-20 20:08:22

Good observation el q.

This would be one of the worst New Zealand sides in my time watching cricket. They really are poor at both batting and bowling. Lets prepare seaming and bouncing wickets for the next two tests. Then pray.
Maybe three or four years test experience will see them improve.

Ok, I just wrote a post for 10 minutes talking about this team. It was mammoth and full of thought provoking observations. Basically I cannot be assed writing it all out again but here is it in bullet point form
- This team not as bad as side from 92-97, this side has potential and ability, those sides plain didn't.
- Can't really argue with the talent available in the team, need to sort heads out and have them mentally strong enough for test cricket.
- If Oram fit put him back at 6, give Ryder more responsibility with the ball. He is as quick as Franklin and Mills and this would take pressure off Orams body and allow him to bowl less overs in a day.
- Patel comes in for Mills in next test.
- GIve this group time together for two or three years and will be a good side, Martin and OBrien old by then to be replaced by Southee/Wagner/Arnel/Boult. Depth in batting aswell with guys like How, Ingram, Franklin, Williamson.

So my top team at present is
Guptill
MacIntosh
Flynn
Taylor
Ryder
Oram
McCullum
Vettori
Patel/Southee/Mills/Franklin (Franklin last choice)
OBrien
Martin

Really goal one: opening stand of 50 every time.
Goal two: score above 450 in one innings every test.

Not convinced by the top 3, but haven't seen them bat. They seem to be very similar types of players? None of the 3 are likely to take the attack to the opposition in the first session of a test.

Not sure how you would rectify that. Flynn could conceivably drop back down the order. But Taylor might not have the technique for 3 yet. You certainly wouldn't want him opening- and Fleming was happy opening or 3.

Plus our bowling line up is weak. I think Mills would have to be last choice. Most expensive bowler, and doesn't have the record of taking 5 fors that Franklin does. But you would still have Southee or Patel ahead of either based on this tests performance and their lack of form. Or even this Arnel chap.

We need Oram/Ryder to be able to bowl overs that don't concede boudaries. Someone needs to bowl stock overs, with a high percentage of maidens, to help Vettori create pressure at the other end. Not sure about Oram's fitness.

QFT.

We're also poor at fielding now. How many dropped catches in the Indian innings?

Don't think this team is as bad as claimed...just lacking in genuine proven stars or any experienced go to players. No Chris Haris, Gavin Larsen, Fleming, Astle....Bond, Cairns, Allot etc etc
apart from Vettori, but hasn't turned up to win much (except against Bangladesh) more to keep the thing a little bit respectable.

Vettori and Martin, and McCullum when he shows the application are our only internationally proven go to players.

Vettori's bowling drought and batting flood

but having said that no-one in the team aspires to Craig Spearman or Robert Kennedy like levels of ineptness or carelessness.
martinb2009-03-21 20:31:41

The batting is where the potential is.You make a good point about lack of experience. They could be good test players given time.
The bowlers are just getting old.On decent tracks is there twenty wickets in the current crop?

Good luck today to the Kiwi women in their quest. Been great to watch the last couple of games.

I, too, disagree that this is the worst team we've had in a while - certainly, like BoPman said, the 92-97 period was a much darker time.

The basic problem is twofold: firstly, the batting line-up is very inexperienced; I mean Taylor is the senior batsman in the top 6 these days, and he's only 25 I believe. But there's enough there to give cause for optimism - Ryder and Taylor could potentially be very, very good players for us, and I like the look of both Guptill and Flynn in their respective positions. The issue is that all these guys are still pretty much learning on the job, but I think the batting will come right with more experience.

The bigger problem is the bowling - other than Vetorri, there's no-one there who can consistently apply enough pressure to trouble test-level batsman. Martin's a good bowler and aging, but he's not really a leader of a pace attack at the highest level. O'Brien is another one who's competent at the test level, but not much more than that really. And he's not that young either. So for me, the real onus needs to be on finding and progressing younger bowlers, and that's why I'm so pissed off with the way the selectors treat Southee - he's the one bright young bowling prospect we have, and he's not allowed a mistake/bad performance and gets dropped accordingly. It really frustrates me.

So overall, I think we have the makings of a decent batting side, with a bowling line-up that will struggle to trouble test teams on good decks. Basically, business as usual for a NZ test team, but I really think that both Taylor and Ryder COULD become very, very good players at test level and give us a bit more than we've been used to in the last few seasons. Or at least I hope so.

Southees problem at the moment is that he is the bowling equivalent of a flat track bully. Give him a pitch with a bit in it or where the ball will do something in the air and he is absolute quality. If it isn't though he hasn't got much. Can even see it it first class level, ripped through Canterbury(?) last week, today went 1/100 against Auckland.
Again more experience will enable him to develop but the question becomes where do we want that to happen? Do we do it like in our batting line up where we are letting them learn on the job or do we give him a season or two of first class cricket and a couple of winters to bulk up and add 4 or 5 km

Came home early to watch the women's final in the hope of seeing a NZ victory - instead we are getting caned in the traditional fashion.

Hmmm, hint of a possible Pommie choke? Just lost 4 wickets in a hurry, still 50-odd to get. Priest gave one of their batsmen a real send-off when she caught her behind. That coldsore must've put her in a bad mood.

Good fightback but all for nought. We had the poms chewing their nails at 6 down with still 20 to get, then Tiffen dropped a catch and that was that.

Tend to agree with you, but Southee does have the ability to take wickets with the new ball and he will get better as he plays more test cricket. At test level I think Mills has been tried and has failed to be any sort of threat and given the choice between Southee and Mills I'd take Southee every time even though he not the finished article.

Also think Franklin needs to be perserved with both with bat and ball. His left arm bowling provides the attack with a bit of much needed variety. On another day he could have had a few wickets, but he does need to cut out the 4 ball which he serves up too regularly.

Tops start to the second test, 2 for 22. Both McIntosh and How at sea (although given McIntosh was not out).

Taylor and Ryder playing like it's 20/20 at the moment (well, almost). Very aggressive - awesome if it works out, but if we're 6 down again at lunch I'll start contemplating vicious acts of violence.

Someone, say a statistician who has access to all information ever, should research vicious acts of needless violence and watching the NZ top order = direct correlation

215/3.  It's a miracle.

amen 

Both have brought up tonnes (actually Jesse brought his to the ground with him). 270/3, Rosscoe 131, Jesse 105. Biggest fourth wicket partnership ever by kiwi's. I think.