Its Summer! - the Fever Cricket Thread. (Part 2)

It's a good result (well, should be eventually) and a good performance against a horrendously bad side. Nothing more.

Don't disagree with that. But it'll still the best result we'll have had (touch wood) for ages.

If the Nix beat Perth, I'm not going worry about the fact that they're missing a handful of their first-choice players (Gallas, Smeltz, Burns, Pantelidis etc), I'm going to be stoked that we got over the line. Particularly given the season we've had so far. Similar for the Black Caps.

Dug this gem up

As least the Aussies are in the box seat.

Fudge the aussies!

Day 5 and the pitch looks like a decent ODI track. And it wasn't a green seaming death trap on day 1 either. TopLeft you might be able to answer it but is it just the soil and weather in Dunners causing that or is it a preparation thing?

Edit: and then one keeps low and clatter's Bravo's stumps. Guess my judgement on pitches isn't so great. At least it made the commentary team sound dumb too.

All our pitches are like that.

Stop preparing shark pitches!

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/9450458/Shane-Bond-blasts-benign-test-match-pitches

"Shane Bond has pleaded for spicy, bowler-friendly test wickets this summer.

The former quick and current New Zealand bowling coach wants the domestic and test pitches to offer more for the bowlers.

Dead and flat wickets, Bond said, did nothing to help promote the game and bowler-friendly wickets could help the national side lift its miserly test ranking."

The pitch is variable today what are you all talking about? Stop listening to Craig McMillan he's a muppet.

The bowlers are all fudgeed - that is the talking point here. They are lacking a lot of sting now which has made for pretty easy batting.

This is a good pitch, probably better than any of the test pitches from last summer. The clays and climates in NZ do make it hard to produce result pitches without making it a filthy green seamer but this pitch has been a pretty good balance IMO.

Also Shane Bond needs to watch what he says because last summer NZC requested dead pitches to nullify the superior English bowlers. Now they want something different when they don't fear the opposition's bowling attack.

A lot of people say something along the lines of "we need wickets in nz that do a little bit on day one then flatten out on day 2/3 and then start to break up end of day four and five". The reality is we don't have the climate to change a pitch that much over five days so it is going to be one or the other.

Should just be mad green seamers then. Can't be drawing 90% of our matches.

Or just get better? Why do other country's bowlers have better stamina and less injuries?

Err, if we are drawing nearly every match it isn't because we aren't good enough. It's solely down to the pitch (unless there's sharkloads of rain).

So the draw at eden park last season was soley due to the pitch when all we needed was one wicket? You could name about six other countries who win when their home pitches are produced to suit them yet we rarely do.

Yes the Eden Park pitch was dreadful. Flat as a pancake all 5 days.

After laughing at Rutherford, they are now laughing at our captain.  Why are we trying to make this as hard for ourselves as possible?  Oh, that's right - we are playing our natural game.  Slog sweep at 44/3 - FFS

Was it a good test match Buffy?

I take back my comments on this pitch. Man I hope it stops raining.

ABC Grandstand and BBC 5 live geo blocked on Tune in radio ffs. What's Test Match Sofa on The Cricketer like? Otherwise its bloody Channel 9. Any other options?

Cricketus interruptus

What has happened to England?

Ugh, Mitchell Johnson. What a douchebag.

At least he didn't get a hat trick

Johnson must be juicing.

He's channeling the power of the 'tash

Back to the NZ game, if that's it would Taylor or Bravo be MOTM? Bravo's innings was under more pressure

Bravo.

Taylor's 2nd innings knock has been pretty important to in stopping us collapsing completely

If drawn Bravo. If NZ win Taylor.

I don't think there is going to be any more play today so Bravo it is then

Better Ashes memories here

We haven't produced a result at home in about 20 months.