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

- latest Private Eye mag.

Join the Taliban.

Bit nervous now. Still confident in our boys though.

Should win by a big margin.

Here's hoping! Not great from McCullum but you have to accept it will happen sometimes with his style of play.

legendary -

Knight him.

That is the greatest ODI innings ever. I'm not having any of this Rohit Sharma bollocks where he gets 200 in some no-mark series on a dustbowl in Mumbai or Bangalore or wherever, this is next level. 237 not out in a pressure cooker World Cup QF, he faced the first and last ball of the innings, he carried his bat, he played proper cricket strokes throughout, yes he got a life in the first over when that half chance was not taken but other than that he was never close to getting out. Thorough control all the way through, and he paced the innings with perfection. Well in Guppy!!!!

The way he's started, about half that...

Far from panicking yet, but not the greatest start.

Vettori you god.

Yes.

Guptill showed McCullum how a real batter plays.

McCullum believes his own hype in my eyes; great leader, but could be such a better batsman if he didn't play like an idiot every time.

Southee v England, Guptill v Windies, Welly cricket fans have been treated to two world class individual performances by the Black Caps.

Shocked by this. McCullum has proved his approach. He is a wrecking ball and he terrorises and demoralises opposition. He does things others can't.

If you had said Guptill and Anderson in this innings I might have believed you... The mark of it was how few dot balls there were. He would find the run everywhere, and started by keeping it on the carpet, without harming his strike rate. Great timing, taking pace off the ball to find the run. We are missing the straight and cover drivers from our team, perhaps from cricket in general...

this is the thing. The press have been fapping over Williamson and to a lesser extent BMac for the whole tournament so far. But it comes down to one knockout innings. Both choked today or were found out. 

And I suppose we shouldn't forget that Guppy has got lucky twice. the LBW and the dropped catch. 

but on the statistical trend his next innings is likely to be over 300 just on his own...

Stayed up for the first innings and boy am I glad I did.

Amazing.

Semi is going to be intense.

Jeez some of you are miserable sods. Surely today you could just be happy with the result. Unbeaten at the cup so far. Through to the semis!

It's the same people. Everytime.

Can't wait for the semis on Tuesday. Anyone else on here got tickets?

Flying up to aucks tomorrow, can't wait!

Absolutely amazing game. Thought things we're going to go pear shaped when we lost BMac but credit to the team for playing one of the greatest games I've seen. Guptill was a Beast! Croud was awesome ,  Wellington was buzzing pre game and the weather was great. Even the Tui wasn't too bad though I am paying for that this morning.  Roll on Tuesday and a big old sickie!

I think there's a good possibility of a rather nasty one day virus sweeping across the country in a few days time....

Horrifically hungover and watching the highlights, that catch by DV and his blasé reaction before the whole team ran over..... brilliant.

Great day, great game, bring it on tuesday!

What an absolutely incredible day! Stoked to have been there, have never seen a croud like that in the cake tin since the 2009 World Cup qualifier. Incredible scenes. 

Also, despite Guptill's amazing innings I actually thought Vetorri's catch was the most amazing moment of the game. What a legend.

Bring on Eden Park on Tuesday! Can't wait.

Amazing game, thoroughly outplayed the windies.  So pleased I was able to be there live to witness.  Will go down as one of my fondest sporting memories.  Comedy moment when 4 NZ fielders were chasing after a ball.  

This means so much to them

Roll on Tuesday! 

Someone who doesn't understand cricket.

Look, i've been a critic of McCullum's attitude to batting in the past (more so in test cricket), but as an opening batsman in ODI's you have to accept that sometimes he will hole out looking a little silly early given that this is the role he has in the side.  With a middle order of Williamson, Taylor and Elliott we have people who can stabilise an innings if an early wicket or two comes, but McCullum playing the way he does at the top can be a complete game changer.  45-60 runs from the first ten overs seems to be the norm against good attacks these days with the two new balls, and if McCullum has a flyer we can be well ahead of the game early.  This is his role, and I don't really think you can knock him for it when it fails if you are going to celebrate it when it comes off and he plays the same way. 

I agree with this. I lambasted him but then someone pointed out that he is a boom or bust cricketer not because of brain fades but because that's the way he always plays. I think there is room to improve in that but he certainly plays his way.

Nick Meredith = hobbit

wrong thread

Quarter finals. The two key players that we have looked to to play decisive innings got out cheaply, without either getting us off to a particularly quick start or building a partnership.

At that point their ability to influence the game and tournament with the bat was over. Since neither has really failed in this tournament I'd call it a choke. It could have been a much more costly failure than it was.

McCullum has had success of late particularly because he hasn't been a Spearman. He choses the ball to hit, has become a mite more selective and is much more successful.

I haven't heard anyone mouthing "that's just the way they play" ie defending hit out and get out, which they used to do a lot in a lame attempt to defend some of our players, because he hasn't been doing that. He's been consistently aggressive and devastating.

I'm not knocking his approach- I'm saying that he has done it spectacularly well up until the game that was an elimination one, and that goes for Kane too. Sure it will happen, it just really hasn't all tournament.

The thing about cricket is that you sometimes fail.  Even if you are in good form and things are going well, you can go out.  This failure in a one off innings does not imply choking, or being found out.  To suggest otherwise with no other evidence is ridiculous.

If the failure in one innings knocks you out of a World Cup, yep I consider it a choke. Look at the quarter finals. Dropping a catch is something that sometimes happens. But to do it in a quarter final is an example of the pressure getting to you. This is what a choke is. Not being found out at all- that's probably the wrong words sorry, but failing to live up to your own standards or expectations in a pressure situation. Missing a put, finding the water. All these things happen, but on an 18th hole when you need a par to win- that's a choke. It can be the difference between good players and great players, depending on the game. Williamson's dismissal was particularly soft. Fantastic players, but we were lucky, very lucky that our other players stood up and had second lives!

All Blacks choked a bit at the last WC final, but were lucky to meet a French side who couldn't capitalise on their mistakes as previous teams have done. 

Don't think this means I think any less of Williamson or McCullum as players- their record stands there to be counted- but that they failed to play a decisive hand in a key game, when they have done so so frequently recentlyand the opposition would be afraid that they would.