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

Batting first. Been pretty tough batting first at the Basin in recent history, though we've been able to get results against sub-continent sides in that situation. Going to be a lot tougher against Australia.

Think our plan is to get rolled out in the first two hours so we get to use the same bowling conditions too.

I saw that on cricinfo.

If that's our actual plan that's insanity.

First session went well then smh. Bed time. 

3 day test if that.

104 for 7. I've given up.

Probably not, it flattens out from Day 2 onwards and becomes a road. I'd back us to get into at least Day 4.

We haven't bowled yet, so i haven't.

His whole heel is behind the bloody line, what on earth are you doing calling that a no ball you useless prick!?

They let tight ones go so it can be checked after, what the hell is he doing sticking his arm out there?

Fudgeing joke that you can't check that.

Hoping for a bit (ok a lot) of action in the first sesh tonight if we're to have any chance. Worst part is I'll be watching it with an Aussie. 

That's the bit that baffles me, it wasn't even close. It was arguably the perfect spot to land. How do you call that? Makes you really concerned about what they're missing/calling the rest of the time.

We need 4/5 wickets in the first session tomorrow morning, if we can do that then we stay in the game. If Australia are still batting at tea it's game over. 

Such a shame that the most anticipated test series we've played in years is, most likely, gone from us on the first morning.

Getting absolutely pumped now ffs.

Yeah this is shark.

Ffs we're gonna need to do another India 2014 to get any sort of result here.

3 day test coming up.

So embarrassing. 

I didn't see our innings, but we've been pretty unlucky in the field. Obviously there's the no ball call but even aside from that there's been quite a few half chances which on another day might have been a wicket - at least 3 or 4 inside edges which have missed the stumps, and there was a leading edge, I think from Voges, which could have gone anywhere but landed safely. Test cricket has such fine margins sometimes. Obviously the toss of the coin made a massive difference too. 

It would take an absolutely heroic effort for us to draw or win from here, but I don't think we should get too down about this result.

It is bullshark that it's only a 2 test series though. I personally think that all international tours should be 3 match series for each format. No 7 match ODI series, no 2 match test series.

Every series? I wouldn't like to see the Ashes turn in to a 3 match series tbh.

The whole way these series are scheduled just pisses me off. 12 home ODIs against SL in a 12 month period? No tests against Pakistan when they tour here? Only two tests against Aussie in our first home series against then in ages?

Welcome to the ICC.

we had three tests I believe and we cashed one in for an extra ODI

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/69107035/new-...

Pretty sure there wasn't a twelve ODI series against Sri Lanka. 

So there were two tours by Sri Lanka within a year. And the tour schedule is organised by the ICC. That was my point.

I don't think the ICC does arrange who plays who though - there's the future tours programme which says you must play each team a minimum number of times but the series on top of that minimum are arranged between individual countries Programme

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICC_Future_Tours_Programme

Just maybe we arnt as good as we like to think we are,or is it just playing the Aussies that gets into the players head space.Lets face it this isnt a particularly good Aussie team.Yet as we did before Xmas we  have just folded when it mattered,and failed to put pressure on them in the first test.Would love to see this Aussie team chasing a series against us for change as i dont reckon they would handle it well.

Yes decisions have gone against us in both series but we have also missed chances though batsmen playing crap shots and shark bowling.

I just hate Farken losing to a crap Aussie team.

Holy sharkballs, what a catch

If Aussie win this series they will go #1 in the Test rankings.

Make of that what you will. 

Who should be #1 then?

India are currently #1, based purely on home dominance really. Aussie waiting behind them in 2nd. South Africa are 3rd and in rapid decline. Pakistan are 4th and still a bit of an anomaly and somewhat unknown quantity. England are 5th and a team on the rise, they'll surely move up higher in the coming 6-12 months. Then we're 6th, Sri Lanka 7th. The Windies are a shambles in 8th. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe don't count.

The ranking system is hardly perfect, it has its flaws, but without an actual Test Championship in a format similar to the World Cup (one was mooted a few years ago) then how do you accurately define the best team in the world?

There is only 11 points seperating us and India in the rankings table. To me this represents fairly accurately the state of test cricket at the moment. No truly outstanding side like years gone by, almost every team struggling away from home leaving us with a rankings table that changes almost every series.

Of course Aussie may end up not winning this series and they will remain 2nd, or even slip to 3rd depending how this test goes.

Why don't we just give Lyon our wickets. Both openers playing stupid unnecessary shots to him.

Oh well... Cometh the hour, cometh the Baz

Fudgeing hell. Last over.

Fudge off.

Pakistan are here for tests in November/December.

I too noticed how we had such hard tests and one dayers against Sri lanka, Bangladesh and even played Zimbabwe only a couple of years ago, Yet Aussie are always playing South Africa and England...or appear to be.

poor from both Latham and Guptill.

No need to go aerial, plenty of room on the carpet. 

Latham needed to bat through. So many runs out there. No need to go back without them.