Cricketers wanted - Apply now

[Lawso]

Here's a gem from NZ Herald's letters page today:

I just found out that the Black Caps get paid to play cricket. Can someone tell me where I can apply to join the team? I can't bat or bowl either.

Last night I watched the second half of the India v. Oz ODI. What a delight to watch brilliant batting by Ganguly & Co, then a typically gritty fight back by the Aussies with some great catching and amazingly tight bowling when it was needed.

Would rather go to the beach today than watch another dismal effort by our clowns.

[Average Punter]

Lawso

good idea, go to the beach, at least whilst your there you won't be filling up this "SHARE" site with mindless dribble.......


AP

[Lawso]

OK, point taken. I just wanted to share what I thought was a neat letter to the Herald.

As for AP, it's ill-mannered saddos like him that sometimes make me want to quit ShareTrader for good. For heaven's sake, man, lighten up.

[craic]

Contrary to what has been said, I am sure that there is a bob to be made from this series. Now I am not a cricket fan but I do like to make the odd dollar. You see my theory is that whoever wins this third of five series must lose the next game, the fourth of five series because.
(A) The fifth or final game is probably in a major venue and will be the big money spinner
(B) If one or the other team wins three of the first four, then the series is won and lost and ther will be minimal interest in the "final"
So when this result is in and one team is leading 2:1 then the losing team WILL win the fourth of five games - and that is where the dollar is ti be found.
I am sure someone will confirm what I suspect, that is that I am talking a load of rubbish.

[Lawso]

You're a cynic, Craic, but you could be on the money.

[mikescott]

I think nothing wrong with topics like sports to break the monotonous totally discussion on shares and investing. Like reality in life, many topics make for good conversation and interaction.

Those who no like sports can opt out and that's their choices.

[Oracle]

Or better still, you start a sports site, or find one, & use it!

[Jay]

Well they did all right today. I don't know about earning their pay[?].
Most of them sat in the stand for the second innings - easy money [:p]

Well done to Stepehn Flemming:D

We will now have to see if craic is right.

[Lawso]

Guess I should retract what I said about cricketing clowns. A good all-round performance today, except for the dropped catches and the opening partnership. Let's wait and see if Craic's cynical forecast is correct.

I agree with Minder and, without overdoing it, would much rather see some occasional sports talk here than endless rantings about WoMD, GWB etc.

[Gryffyn]

Hey Lawso - your last post a little ironic as you tried to stiffle the Chelsea thread!!!

Good work by Flembo but Sunday Star article about how come Cumming selected with a 1st class avergae less than tail ended Kyle Mills a very good point.

[Average Punter]

Lawso

the only saddo around here is you. Whereas others discuss things such as cricket with friends/family, you obviously don't have any that's why you post silly little comments regularly to this website.

Get a life, read the rules regarding relevance of posted material, and if you can't do either, then yes, don't post to this site. Some people may miss your in-depth an$lysis of companies, shares, etc., oops, no they won't, you've never provided anything of any substance have you.


AP

[Gryffyn]

Mnnn AP, a little harsh don't you think? There are many links to the economy and business in the sporting and political world. A great run of success by the Black Caps may lead to the purchase of equipment and replica shirts and Rebel sport and a better bottom libe.

Losing the Americas Cup may cause the govt to foolishly promise millions to a team to regain it.

[Capitalist]

quote:Originally posted by Average Punter

Lawso

the only saddo around here is you. Whereas others discuss things such as cricket with friends/family, you obviously don't have any that's why you post silly little comments regularly to this website.

Get a life, read the rules regarding relevance of posted material, and if you can't do either, then yes, don't post to this site. Some people may miss your in-depth an$lysis of companies, shares, etc., oops, no they won't, you've never provided anything of any substance have you.


AP



So why are you reading this thread if you hate off-topic so much? It's obvious what it is about.Like some dumbass who emailed me to say " You aren't worth replying to" LOL Some people just don't get the irony and hypocrisy.

[Average Punter]

Cap

yet again you miss the point, conveniently I suspect.

I'll spell it out in capital letters;

THIS SITE IS FOR ISSUES RELATED TO SHARES AND/OR THE ECONOMY.

[Lawso]

Well, it's provided a bit of entertainment, on a sunny weekend when no one seems to want to talk about the share market anyway.

Let's all lighten up.

[craic]

When the gunfire dies down - the bottom line is that Pakistan will win in Napier on Wednesday and the TAB will pay out accordingly. Even if I am wrong and made to look foolish, I will have a hard job matching the foolishness some who have turned this inocous thread into a soapbox for their infantile rantings.

[Gryffyn]

Craic - I nearly bought into your logic - like it. But luckily my rule about not betting against NZ held out. Pak 86/8 last I looked. Lost a wicket whilst writing this :-) Surely we can get that score. If we don't then I'm with you in smelling a rat.

[marinesalvor]

you cant trust the Paki team - they play to the bookie wishes.. one minute sublime, next minute like the grafton U13 B team

[Gryffyn]

126 all out but perhaps the pitch has to take some credit it seems.

[miner]

If we did that to them on that pitch, what? will they do to us with speedy gonzaly's as a bowler.

[Lawso]

So, Craic, what's your next theory?

[Awryly]

Not much it seems. But even with only 20 to win and only 2 down, it's hard to take these Kiwis.

[Awryly]

Ooops ... [:I]

[Burgerbun]

Miner, what a way to celebrate becoming a GURU:D

On this thread[:p]



Appreciate your humour mate.

[Gryffyn]

Oz cleaning up Zim - last I looked Gilchrist had 153 not out of 112 balls...

[winner69]

Things have changed eh

Is that 5 out of 8 to NZ..... or something close to that

Correlation - cricket team useless NZSE up
cricket team winning NZSE down

[Elise]

hehe ... wonder who's the winner outa that correlation.....

[Coaster]

quote:Originally posted by winner69

Correlation - cricket team useless NZSE up
cricket team winning NZSE down


New trading strategy???[8D]

[garryw]

Impressive. Lets hope they can step up and get the job done. (Win the series)

Kiwi's (I'm one) seem to fail at the last killer blow.

Aussies, however, are ruthless.

Need more of it in both business and sport.

[marinesalvor]

amazing performance from the team - good management at last????

[The GrandMaster]

The Black Caps have always been capable - not that much has changed. As per usual, just far too much attention to ODI results (the rugby 7s of cricket).

The Test Series is where it counts.

[Jimmy]

quote:Originally posted by The GrandMaster

The Black Caps have always been capable - not that much has changed. As per usual, just far too much attention to ODI results (the rugby 7s of cricket).

The Test Series is where it counts.

[Jimmy]

Good management is making all the difference to some of our inconsistent performers - a lesson perhaps for one or two of the companies that I hold shares in ( hopeful)! I wonder what Flemings average is for the season?

[blackcap]

Well what a result. I was a little dissapointed that Cairns didnt get more recognition. He was the pick of the bowlers and if it wasnt for his little cameo at the end we could have been in trouble with Mcmillan scratching around tring to run balls down to 3rd man.

With Papps looking better everyday, we may finnally have found a solution as to who is going to partner Flems at the top. And with the others performing consistently it is only a matter of time before we challenge that number 2 if not number 1 spot.

[Liberty]

Fleming is the best "thinking" captain in the world now, in both forms of the game, little doubt about it. He has out-thought Graeme Smith in almost every aspect of the series so far.

[Lawso]

Great stuff. Especially that we seem to have found some top-order batsmen at last - Papps, Marshall and the ever-improving Styris and Cairns seeming to be close to his best.

Maybe we should change the title of this thread - or start a new one, someone.

[miner]

[^][8D][^][8D][^][8D][^][8D]:D;)

[Dimebag]

Marshall is the find of the session. He is an outstanding asset to the side.

At last a solid, dependible top order batsman who can steadily accumulate & turn over the strike, as well as put away the bad ball.

He averages over fifty and is striking at about 80. Outstanding. He is also a great fieldsman square of the wicket in the backward point region.

Fleming is also in fine form - certainly one of the world's best batsman.

Papps? Has some potential but is still a bit slow. He has limited firepower against the slower bowlers and often takes too long to pick up the single. Beyond over 10 he is fairly useless. Still, he is still green and may grow with time.

All we need now is Bond to come back into the fray and we have a pretty darn good looking side IMO. The best in the last decade.

Dimebag
Disc: Hardcore cricket fan

[Lawso]

Dimebag, you're probably right about Papps. But at least he's helping to give us a start. Let's hope there no more of this 0/1, 10/2 stuff, with the middle order and all-rounders (Vettori et al) getting us out of the poo. And Fleming is "regal" in his consistency (to borrow an adjective from the effusive JConey).

[Liberty]

Dimebag, you say this side is probably the best in the last decade. I put it to you that of that there is no question, and that in fact this is the best one-day side we've ever fielded. There is a certain rose-coloured wistfulness when referring to the 1980s team, but this side is far more consistent - especially in the longer version of the game.

[blackcap]

Bloody oath this side has the potential to be the best outfit in the world at one dayers anyway. We still lack (without bond) a strike bowler at test level. A fully fit Simon Doull would have been ideal the last few years but s.h.i.t happens. At least the beleif is back and there are (hopefully) going to be some good results come our way.

[Seti]

Lets not get carried away. Wihtout Bond we have a journey-man bowling attack and our best batters have averages in the low 30s. Compare stats with Aus, SAF and India and we look pretty ordinary. Don't forget Pakistan humiliated us over there before a lack lustre (and bookie influenced?) performance here. Our all-round team game is getting us home at the mo but world class players are required for consistent winning. In this area we fall short.[xx(]

[Happy]

We still lack overseas performances of quality on fast pitches. That is why Astle and Bond look so good on tour and sometimes outshone by slower bowlers or more stodgy batsman here. I still think we need a decent left arm quick and more solidity around the batting order. I think Richardson is as good if not better than Papps so should be in the team, just an old fella. Tuffey really needs a fit bond to really shine as well. At full strength NZ is as good as the Australian's but remove a few players and we struggle to compete. Bond was the first time in a long while Australians have faced real quality fast bowling from a Kiwi in a long time. Flemming is also arguably the world's best captain at present and finally showing his ability with the bat.

Roll on the SAF test matches.

[Ted2]

quote:Originally posted by Seti

Lets not get carried away. Wihtout Bond we have a journey-man bowling attack and our best batters have averages in the low 30s. Compare stats with Aus, SAF and India and we look pretty ordinary. Don't forget Pakistan humiliated us over there before a lack lustre (and bookie influenced?) performance here. Our all-round team game is getting us home at the mo but world class players are required for consistent winning. In this area we fall short.[xx(]


Have you ever played Cricket???

This NZ side is playing near to the maximum of it's ability at present. It is currently too good for a SA side which is a very ordinary bowling one, and a very powerful batting one which is not firing that well. This same SA side basically annihilated WI recently and is rated No. 2 in the World.

World Champions ? - maybe a little optimistic. On our day we can beat Aussie. But doing it consistently, particularly without Bond who is THE bowler in world Cricket that the Aussies are scared of, is a maybe at best!

Stats and averages - a better idea might be to look at the averages over the past 12, even 18 months to get a truer picture. I'd suggest Fleming would be above even most Aussies, and Marshall and Styris wouldn't be too bad either. India play so many matches on Roads over there that a grandma could get an average of 40+.
Be careful of combining your impressions/opinions with the facts. They are often 2 very different things.

This is from a usually cynical NZ supporter whose regular comment on the Black Caps has been "They never fail to disappoint".
We actually do now have a team to be proud of, and one which can still improve. BUT - they probably won't be like the Aussies and win just about every match.


Hey - if the Jaapies fire next match and whack us for 300, remember that is happening to other teams at the moment as well. And not many teams win facing the pressure of chasing 300.
(except Aussie. And if they're chasing 300, that means their bowlers got flogged for 300. Funny eh!)

Cheers
Ted

[Qwerty]

quote:Originally posted by Seti

Lets not get carried away. Wihtout Bond we have a journey-man bowling attack and our best batters have averages in the low 30s. Compare stats with Aus, SAF and India and we look pretty ordinary. Don't forget Pakistan humiliated us over there before a lack lustre (and bookie influenced?) performance here. Our all-round team game is getting us home at the mo but world class players are required for consistent winning. In this area we fall short.[xx(]


Agreed Bond - But the SA attack does look very threatening either does it ?

NZ batting averages are always lower than overseas players cause of our crap wickets. SA and Indian batting averages are not to good on our wickets either r they ?. Remember last season Indians couldn't score a run here.

Pakistan lost 4-1 (Different Black Caps from Pakistan tour remember)

[Ted2]

4-1 up.
Matches wouldn't even have been close if Mills wasn't related to Hansie!

Top effort.

[whatsup]

When the hell is NZ going to get some decent cricket pitches so the Black Craps can have a good chance to see how really good they are ,lets not kid ourselves , The Indians out for under 150 here vs 250/300 in Aussie , the Pakies the same and now the Yarpies at 6/41 when they make 250-300 in one dayers in SA ,what BS this is , This does nothing to our reputation to produce a good pitch(soft soil here vs hard pitches in India ,Pakistan , Sth Africa , Aussie and the West Indies )come on pleeeeeeeeeease!

[Qwerty]

Cobblers ~ SA have just lost the plot

[Mr Murphy]

What are you talking about What's up, almost all scores in the SA series have been over 200, there have been some huge scores in domestic cricket, Nevin & Walker just broke a record something like 250 partnership.

You can't call a team a great batting team if they can only perform on flat pitches where the bounce is always consistent, never moves off the seam. it is just the same when we go to places like Pakistan, they are used to bowling on those wickets, that's why they do more in the air than off the pitch, in NZ it moves of the pitch more so we bowl into the pitch more.

It is all relative

Cheers
Murph

[Gryffyn]

It's been encouraging but I think SA are a little tired and we played well on home wickets - which provided runs for a change - remember the Indians last year?

Still, this is just pyjama cricket - bring on the TESTS - that's all that really counts!

[Mr Murphy]

Bring on the Tall Poppies, typical NZ reaction, come on people first series win in 72 years... South Africa is tired...please

[Gryffyn]

Mr M - a little perspective! I'm as happy as the next man and have religiously watched all the games and supported us all the way. I'm just saying well done but the main prize is the test series. Hopefully Bond will be back soon...

[Lawso]

Only saw the last 45 minutes of the SA innings. NZ in the field were so bad it was embarrassing to watch. Looked like they'd all gone to sleep - well some of them, esp. Styris and Vettori.

[Gryffyn]

Good start though - SA only 186 off 50 and Papps carving them up as I type.

[Lawso]

Fleming & Papps - the most consistent opening pair we've had for yonks. The jaapies only dismissed Fleming three times out of six - two run outs and one bad umpiring error (at Eden Park).
I reckon they'll have to keep Papps for the tests. Who will open with him? Might as well be Fleming since he's clearly on top of the jaaps.

[Qwerty]

Richardson will open the tests as per usual.
Possibly our best test batsman

[Qwerty]

Nine wins out of eleven for the home season.

[Lawso]

Yes of course - Richardson with Papps, Flem at No. 3

[Gryffyn]

Wx looking good in Hamiltron. Pick the toss winner to bat first. Extra spinner likely.

After the pyjama cricket at last the real thing. We can really crow if we win test series against SA. Bring it on..

[Gryffyn]

Bugger! SA batting first after winning toss.

[Toddy]

Thanks to the Dominion Post and the flood relief fund I received Craig McMillan's playing jersey in the post yesterday signed by all of the team.
What was meant to be a a donation of $300 kiwi turned out to be a great investment.

Proud to be a kiwi and looking forward to heading around the corner to the MCC (Lords) in May for the test match and again in July for the Natwest one day final.

Any suggestions on what I should do with the jersey would be appreciated as we do not have a pool room in our tiny one bedroom flat.

[wsheridan]

quote:Originally posted by Toddy

Thanks to the Dominion Post and the flood relief fund I received Craig McMillan's playing jersey in the post yesterday signed by all of the team.
What was meant to be a a donation of $300 kiwi turned out to be a great investment.
Proud to be a kiwi and looking forward to heading around the corner to the MCC (Lords) in May for the test match and again in July for the Natwest one day final.
Any suggestions on what I should do with the jersey would be appreciated as we do not have a pool room in our tiny one bedroom flat.



Trade it in for some Beige Brigade gear http://www.beigebrigade.co.nz/

[Gryffyn]

Thanx WS - hot link!

[Toddy]

Yes, don't we all love beige.
Enough of that anyway, you are making me feel homesick.
There will be eight of us going along to Lords all dressed in beige.
Only one thing can stop me from attending the cricket.......... the Pepi is due two days afterwards.
He/she had better not be early.

[whatsup]

What a absolute waste of time this last test match was ,what a rolled potatoe patch of a pitch in was , dont think the "lift in pitch" for the Eden Park wicket this weekend will be much better,-lets get rid of union until after Easter(the end of the cricket season), poor Yarpies all they want is a good hard/true wicket so they can show their wares(dont we all!!!!)

[Elise]

Well .... gratz to the NZ cricket team. To me, it certainly looked like the team answered any critics it had in the best way possible.

Great all-round team performance.

[Binklebonk]

Yes, well done, so many outstanding individual contributions Martin Cairns, Styris etc etc etc
Comprehensive victory without any question mark over dodgy pitches umpiring etc.
On the back of the one day series..
NZ "A" hamering Sri Lanka A
Oh and Shane Bond played club cricket this w/end gone.
Looks like NZ Cricket is in good shape

[Gryffyn]

Good on the lads.

Shane Bond injury free is good news. He'll be key to the tour to the UK.

I'll be at the basin this Friday if the weather is fine for sure.

[whatsup]

Welldone Stephen and his team, looks like that the wish was granted hard fast and true wicket made for a great game instead of the bull dust at Hamilton Well done 1-0 Kiwi.

[SEC]

quote:Originally posted by Gryffyn

Good on the lads.

Shane Bond injury free is good news. He'll be key to the tour to the UK.

I'll be at the basin this Friday if the weather is fine for sure.


NZ desparately needed Shane Bond for this test match - The Poms never looked like losing today. And Chris Martin bowled crap.

Next test is here in Leeds. I don't think I'll be turning up in beige[xx(]

SEC

[Gryffyn]

Yeah, hoping for better at Headingly. While we didn't bowl great on the 5th day we lost because we didn't get enough runs on day 4! A few more runs would have made the match safe and we could have really attacked.

[Lawso]

Haven't got the figures in front of me but the fact is that the world's worst test batsman, Chris Martin, took part in two vital partnerships - with Cairns for how many? - 60-odd ? - and with Tuffey in the 2nd innings for 26. Agree his bowling was weak. What's happened to the pace and accuracy he showed against SAfrica?

But Martin did better with the bat than Styris and McMillan put together. I can forgive Styris but have lost patience with McMillan. He should be dropped and Papps should come in as an opener.

[Gryffyn]

Agreed - Flemming back to 3, Astle at 4 and Styris rightfully at 5. Like Macca but that second innings shot was dreadful for the position we were in. Not just his fault of course but we need two openers so he is weakest link.

[whatsup]

Like Ive always said we shouldnt take too much out of any test series played here in NZ, BS pitches set up to show how good NZ bowlers are on BS wickets ,please (green keepers) in future only produce world class wickets here in future if were to be taken seriously by the world cricket pros - name any NZ players who would make a WORLD 4th eleven let alone a WORLD 3rd eleven!!!

[Gryffyn]

I believe Flemming was picked for the world 2nd eleven by Wisden along with Cairns.

[Placebo]

Yup, Papps must come in at expense of MacMillan. Much as I admire the big-hitting bravado of the Bogan Wonder, he has done his dash in the Black Caps. He has immatured with age.

[SEC]

Bloody 9 wicket win by the Poms, what a drubbing. Crap captaincy, crap batting and crap bowling by NZ. 18 in the last over off Tuffey. Bond out of the tour. Vettori and Papps injured. Astle, McMillan and Styris out of form. How bad can it get? And if you wanted to go to the venue and see England kick the crap out of NZ you paid £39 per day for the privilege. Looks like a series whitewash now:(

SEC

[J. Holmes]

Nice summary SEC.

We don't have the bowlers to take the neccessary 20 wickets to win a test match....plain and simple.

[Liberty]

There is more to it than that, you guys - there is big trouble between Flem and Bracewell.

Flem has had his way with the running of the team for the last four years - then Bracewell comes along and wants alot of things done his way. He's wanted to stamp his mark on the way the team is run, and Fleming has been very unhappy about it. Not surprisingly it is affecting the morale and performance of the whole team.

Fleming has always had a petulant streak when things weren't going his way, and his attitude in the field in the two test matches has been bordering on nonchalant. He has almost been disrespectful of his role. To my mind his maturity has always been in doubt when things weren't going along swimmingly, and these tests prove that when the chips are down, he doesn't know how to lift the troops or implement Plan B.

Jake Oram has now cemented his place in the side, has greater maturity than Fleming and should take over the side, and he is the sort of bloke who will work with Bracewell, rather than want everything his own way. I'm afraid that the "Canterbury Club" have now become too big for their boots (Flem, McMillan, Cairns, Astle).

Being hit by a raft of injuries hasn't helped, but taking only 14 players (and two of these went with questionable match fitness) was sheer lunacy on a tour such as this. Nevertheless, the very real problems lie far deeper than this.

Unfortunately, capitulation in the third test is inevitable.

[Gryffyn]

Bloody disappointing. Bit early to be writing Felm off though I thibk Liberty.

JH - wait till after the olympics and Hayden Shaw focuses on bowling - will be the next Bond.

[bermuda]

The thing that really cheesed me off was the state of the pitch short of a length in line with the stumps.The bounce here was totally erratic and varied between waist high deliveries and head high flyers.The English were even getting the old ball to really stand up at times.Some of these deliveries were unplayable.The commentators hardly even commented on it.That was definitely the undoing of NZ.
Agree the comments re Oram.He is a star but not captaincy material yet.

[Placebo]

Liberty what grapevine did u get that from re Fleming/Bracewell?

I'd be pi*sed off, have just changed to Rexona.

[blackcap]

quote:Originally posted by bermuda

The thing that really cheesed me off was the state of the pitch short of a length in line with the stumps.The bounce here was totally erratic and varied between waist high deliveries and head high flyers.The English were even getting the old ball to really stand up at times.Some of these deliveries were unplayable.The commentators hardly even commented on it.That was definitely the undoing of NZ.
Agree the comments re Oram.He is a star but not captaincy material yet.


Bermuda agree re what the deliveries were doing, BUT.... if England managed to exploit it why couldnt our bowlers and make it the undoing of England. Both teams have to play on the same pitch, and the sad fact remains that England played better than we did.

[kittydashwood]

Very upsetting to see England and India now above NZ on the ICC test points board. Still the problem is the bowling not the Captain.
Where was Tuffey's 5-35 or Martins 7-74? The dodgy length changed throughout the game but international bowlers should be up to it.
[V]

[CHEQUERS]

Clearly all is not well - Fleming sounded sour at press conference suggesting that decision to only take 14 plyers was "a matter for John"(Bracewell).

Bottom line is that Bowling is Cr*p - Tuffey & Martin both amble in and go through the motions, Cairns is a shadow of his former self -there is no apparent desire, no fire.

England bowlers have consistently bowled 5 -6 mph faster - and on a track like Headingly that counts for a lot.

No doubt there will be a reprieve for the likes of Tuffey & Martin - if only we had some depth like the Aussies! With only 14 players (1 of whom was injured from the outset) there was hardly going to be competition for test spots - No wonder complacency set in.

[boris]

My lady is an American so she is a novice when it comes to cricket. She is however a very keen and observant sports fan particularly baseball.
Watching the debacle the other night she asked me why the Kiwi bowlers were not aiming at the wickets like the English had been. I answered that the Kiwis were brought up correctly and were attempting to make all the English batsmen look equally world class.
I have followed cricket since the sixties and apart from a few bowlers we have consistently struggled to maintain line and length when under any sort of pressure.
Taking a small squad with at least one injured was always a risk but we do not have any great number of up and comers to pressure the incumbents. Compare this with the new All Black forwards who have been rewarded for their dedication and hard work.
cheers Boris and the Baseball nut

[J. Holmes]

Gryff,

Excuse my ignorance but who is Hayden Shaw??? Never heard of him.

[Awryly]

Flemming is marketing the wrong product: http://www.flat-d.com/

[Awryly]

OK .. Phlegming.

[Ted2]

MCMILLAN !![8][8][8]

[Gryffyn]

JH - he's the big guy in the NZ Hockey team who takes the penalty strokes and penalty corners - world class drag-flick.

He is also a very promising A grade cricketer who the academy have been watching and working with but due to Hockey committments he doesn't play much - all that changes after the Olympics and he's a good prospect to be a Bond type quickie :-)

[Gryffyn]

Ted - he does himself no favours. Last night not the problem - great delivery - but his second test performance was poor. Pity Sinclair didn't get a bat in this series. Macca still worth picking when he can show some consistency.

[Gryffyn]

Bowling hasn't lost us the 2 tests - it just assur4ed us of not winning them, i.e. can't take 20 wickets quickly/cheaply enough.

Both tests need not have been lost if batsmen had performed a little better. Captaincy perceptions or not, we didn't score runs when they were there to be had.

[Liberty]

Gryff:

- McMillan didn't play in the second test
(But you can be forgiven for not noticing his absence.)

- A cursory look at his recent innings reveals remarkable consistency!

- Batting isn't the problem when you're scoring 400-odd in the 1st innings of a test. If you then trail on the 1st innings after that, you've got bigger problems than the batting. More aggressive captaincy would definitely have helped.

[Gryffyn]

Liberty :-) You're right - wrong sort of consistency.

[mikescott]

So what is this garbage doing on ST? [^]

Who cares about this bunch of losers - the glory days of NZ cricket are totally over and you lot are happy to feed off the smelly crumbs off the table after the Australians have spat them out.

[SEC]

So NZ got the whitewash treatment :(. The Poms played in a rush today as if they wanted tomorrow off - win or lose.

And please tell me why do the NZ cricketers have such an appauling record of getting injured? It's not just this series, it's been going on for years. They seem to have more injuries than any other test playing nation[XX(]. I reckon the coaches/physios are partly to blame, fitness regimes must be improved.

And am I the only one who thinks that the 80s team with Wright, Hadlee, Chatfield, Coney etc was better than this team despite NZ's track record being better now than then? Or was Hadlee carrying that 80s team and until we get a (fit) replacement NZ will always struggle to be a serious force?

SEC

[Gryffyn]

SEC - They had an important football match to watch :-) The French should take up cricket - probably give our chaps a run in the playing the whole game to the last minute stakes.

Ans no you're not the only one. Better record recently includes Zim, SL and Bangers so it flatters to deceive.

The 80's team had a world class batsman - Crowe and bowler - Hadlee and several who were close - Smith etc. Glory days indeed.

[mikescott]

Strictly a game for losers to follow and comment on.

[Placebo]

quote:the glory days of NZ cricket are totally over

When were they again??

Isn't it nice that the rugby team won so that we can happily ignore the cricket

Everyone is focussed on the bowling. But we don't score enough runs. Put more runs on the board, you put the opposition under pressure. 500 plus first innings. We can't do that. When you have world class strike bowlers or a lineup reading McGrath/Lee/Gillespie/Warne you can get away with scoring sub-300. Sadly we don't have that luxury.

As per comparisons with other teams, I would have Richardson/Fleming/Astle/McMillan/Cairns/Vettori/possibly Oram ahead of most NZ teams. The problem is they aren't producing.

[Gryffyn]

The 80's - when we were able to win test series against Aussie and other strong nations.

I think half your list - on their career stats/records - would stack up well: Astle, Cairns and Vettori but sadly there were better players than the others in the (recent) past: Turner, Wright, Crowe, Reid.

Yay the rugby.

[Sideshow Bob]

Surprised this thread wasn't resurrected after last Saturdays match.......

Today's edition was a great match. Just angry with that final decision being far from conclusive deciding the march. Bugger!

[Sideshow Bob]

Hmmm, suprised this isn't on the off-topics forum........(yet)......

[Gryffyn]

Have to admit the boys showed more fight that they have for a while. Reassuring.

[Lawso]

Fantastic game and great effort from our batters, except that Astle and McMillan failed again. No way can they retain McM for game 3. And there has to be big question marks over the Marshalls. Where are our young up-and-comers??

[StainlessSteelRat]

Oh please, it was the same old rubbish that hasn't changed for years. WE LOST. I have given up on these losers!

Just to maintain some sense of topicality - it's like a company continuing to do the same old thing, changing CEO's every couple of years: the company's really dead, but somehow keeps sucking in a few bucks from the mugs everytime they look like they might be about to break out - AIR anyone? :D

Actually, that's a bit harsh on AIR (though imo true), it applies to plenty on the NZX. Maybe it's just something in the psyche of Kiwis that they are so ready to accept mediocrity.

[KJ]

It's easy to rubbish them-have you any positive ideas?

[Dimebag]

The NZers comprising the NZ cricket team never promised to win, only to be the best NZ has to offer & to try to the very best of there ability to win.

If the NZ cricket team is not good enough to beat Australia, it is the failure of every NZer, including StainlessSteelRat.

Despite the result on Wednesday, it was a fantastic game that could have gone either way. Against the top team in the world, that can hardly be said to be a performance that can be criticised.

On the other hand, Saturday's game... well, lets just chalk that down to an aberration :). I have to take some of the blame, as I attended the game, and it seems that whenever I do so we seem to lose!

Sorry fans,
Dimebag

[StainlessSteelRat]

quote:Originally posted by KJ

It's easy to rubbish them-have you any positive ideas?


Actually, i do. I was speaking with an ex-NZ player and now administrator. I suggested that they do something about the seam on the ball. Here in NZ we use Kookaburra's which have pronounced seam, which promotes military-medium bowlers at the expense of pace.

If we could somehow find a way of reducing the effectiveness of seam bowling by "doctoring" the balls, it would surely have a positive effect in the medium to long term.

Unfortunately i felt my idea fell on deaf ears, but as the old saying goes, "if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

[StainlessSteelRat]

quote:Originally posted by Dimebag

If the NZ cricket team is not good enough to beat Australia, it is the failure of every NZer, including StainlessSteelRat.


Absolutely. The difference being that i will never stop thinking of ways to improve until we do win. :D

[rmbbrave]

quote:Originally posted by Dimebag


If the NZ cricket team is not good enough to beat Australia, it is the failure of every NZer, including StainlessSteelRat.


It certainly is!

First we need 15 million more people - all of them young cricket lovers. The only places we are going to find 15 m young cricket lovers is in Ind Pak SL and Bang. So write to your MP asking for more immigration from those countries.

Next we need a massive upgrade in facilities for 1st class cricket - so open your check books or write to your MP for an increase in taxes for cricket.

Last we need better weather for better pitches. Can't do much about that but we could put roofs on all the new stadiums - don't close that check book!

[TheBossMan]

despite all these, still capable of a record chase of 331!!

[Romer]

What an amazing game!

Good on ya boys!

[8)]

[lanenz]

gotem...yyyeeeessssss

[Sideshow Bob]

Was at the match on Saturday - awesome!!!! :D