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

Sounds like the basin is going to be green as so the game might be won/lost at the toss

So given that information, get on the windies at $3.75 as it's effectively paying $1.75 too much. (Assuming it isn't a rain out)

Or if you don't trust the weather: windies draw no bet, as at $2.70 that's effectively paying 70cents too much. 

Tim Southee as nz first innings top run scorer @ $10 is a decent outside chance too if we bat first. Batting collapse, southee comes out and slogs a quick 30. 

Sounds good for a result at least.

Gonna be a real good look for test cricket if either team gets rolled for f all on day one due to the playing conditions rather than skill. Meanwhile in adelaide aussie pump england on an absolute road

England batted like shark though.

Are all curators like this when talking about the pitch?

Point is we are many levels below both those sides. The pitch isn't a huge talking point when the cricket being played on it is that good.

Insufferable result.

Are you stalking me round the forum? Fudge me that's creepy.

Joe Root has comprehensively failed this series...to eliminate David Warner often and early

Leggy, Buffy - last warning. Sick of your bickering. Cut it out, or take a time out.

Can they be allowed just in this one thread? It's entertaining for some. Kind of like watching Mitchell Johnson talking <a href="http://i.imgur.com/7CZby9V.gif">shark</a> to Jimmy Anderson and vice versa

Maybe they need their own thread to flirt in.

....thread name something like Sledging for Couples?

Jesus you want to bowl first on that. Looks overcast as well meaning the sun wont burn it off.

You can just tell the Windies are gagging to play 2 spinners.

Correct, correct and correct JV. Would be quite amusing if they do play two spinners then they win the toss and choose to bowl

If only it was that easy!

For the record there is absolutely no way the groundsman was not asked for this pitch by nzc. I know this for a fact

Oh that was obvious. He protested too much in the pre-match

Fulton given out first ball... just goes to the show that the DRS is helpful sometimes...

Yeah he doesn't have s great poker face

Well done Rosco!

If Ryder comes back for the Indian series and we want to keep 3 seamers + all rounder, can anyone tell me where our specialist captain fits in?

They will make Ryder or McCullum an opener. You watch.

Either that or Anderson will go.

TBH, I didn't mind McCullum opening in tests when he did it. IIRC he had an alright average there too (better than his career avg I think). Of course he might retire with a stuffed back soon anyway and just milk the cash cow of the IPL for a few more years

Baz is New Zealand's fifth highest test run scorer in history, which is kinda crazy when you think about it, and it's not like he has a woeful average. I think he does get too much stick - it's kinda like the 90%/10% theory, McCullum is so talented that everything he does badly is over emphasised, the 10% he does wrong just infuriates everyone.

I agree with JV that one of them will go to become an opener, I'm still less than convinced with Rutherford, and Fulton won't be around for much longer either.

I haven't been convinced by a NZ opener since Richardson... including Baz, but I still think he's one of our best options there sadly. While we are talking about the batting order, Sodhi should be above Southee too.

I think that between them Ryder and Williamson can produce enough overs to make up for an allrounder's bowling contribution. Both are the sort of bowlers who break partnerships too

I hope they do make McCullum open, as he has gone relatively OK there.  I just don't see them admitting that they made a mistake to drop him down.  

441 is a good effort on a green track. Can't see us getting a result though, as it's very unlikely that we're going to get 5 days of cricket.

5 days still, possible, rained a little today, and little rain is expected over night, saturday and sunday are sweet - will get long days for the enxt three, result still possible provided we bowl well.

If we roll through them in the next session (whenever that may be) a result is still on the cards. 

150+ for 4, is not a bad start to said rolling, chanderpaul gone reveals their weak middle and tail!

All the talk of McCullum opening is insane.

We finally get a settled and relatively successful opening partnership, before which we regularly got scores like 50/5, and you all want to change that?

McCullum is in a goooooood place coming in after Taylor. Nothing really more demoralising for a bowling line up than working through the openers and WIlliamson to see Taylor stride out and flail them to all parts and then say 210+ /3 McCullum comes out to give them exactly no respite.

I think if the team is going well that Ryder has got a big big case to make to get his place back. The balance is good. Really his place can only go to Anderson. As an opening partnership Rutherford and Fulton have earned their keep and as long as that is still working (I'd give Rutherford a bit of a warning about lazy dismissals...) don't mess with it...Or the other option I guess is to go for Wagner for Ryder, but that again messes up the balance...at the moment we don't need the extra bat, but we do need the extra bowler...