Boult: The Deadly Death Rattle.
Its Summer! - the Fever Cricket Thread. (Part 2)
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...
The issue is Ryder is a MUCH better batsman (especially at test level) than McCullum. If Ryder is available, he has already earned his place in the side with both his test and 1st class record.
As you say, the balance of the side means we need an all rounder batting at 6 (or 7 if Watling moves up), and unless Ryder is going to fulfil that role (I don't think he is there yet), or Williamson plays as our only spinner (again, he's not there yet) then there is only one spot in the middle order for one of Ryder or McCullum. I think your right and he will come in for Anderson, but I think that would be a mistake.
On a more positive note, what a fantastic performance from Boult, to clean up the tail like that in both innings was brilliant.
McCullum is the selected captain so must play.
Both have fitness issues so it could be taken out of our hands. But McCullum goes too hard at the ball to be a good opener and looks tortured every time he has to wait out an opening bowler or eke out a few singles. Coming in to join in the flaying of a bowling attack suits him.
They might look at Boult Southee Wagner Sodhi Williamson Ryder as enough bowling....Where do you then bat Ryder though? in my opinion the side has a settled and balanced feel to it, with Ryder possibly only coming in for McCullum or Williamson.
Edit: having watched some highlights Anderson picked up two key wickets on a green swinging seamer- the man in form Bravo and the best in this match in Edwards. Key wickets and important in the win.
Ryder in for anderson for me. 3 seamers and sodhi plus williamson
Guptill for Fulton eventually maybe
What a great win, well done fellas! Boult bowling performance was superb by the sounds of it but was ably supported by great spells from Wagner and Southee.
I would say it was almost the complete test performance, only thing knocking it back a tad was the inability of the rest of the middle order to convert starts in the first innings.
It's a massive shame for wellington that the game ended before the weekend though. Also nzc would have lost a <a href="http://i.imgur.com/7CZby9V.gif">shark</a> load of money
It's a massive shame for wellington that the game ended before the weekend though. Also nzc would have lost a shark load of money
Yeah but as messed up as internation scheduling can be, that wouldn't happen in the middle of a test series. They will have a day off (sleep off the hang overs), and they deserve it - particularly the bowlers, then an extra day of training.
Why did they schedule it to start on a Wednesday then?
Serves them right.
Complete BS scheduling. Starting tests on Tuesdays and Wednesdays...you can't say no one comes to test matches if you don't put any games on the weekend...
Blame India. Because of their scheduling demands, to get a 3 match test series in required pretty much every day available to be used, hence the tight spacing between games, and the ludicrous buildup game the 'West Indies' had involving 16 or so Kiwis and 6 West Indians.
Yeah bit of a revenue loss. Weren't many there weds & thurs and the crowd was slowly building friday arvo. Worst Windies team ever? 3 of last 4 tests ending in an innings defeat and the other being the saved Dunedin test.
Yep the Windies are hopeless. Refuse to get excited about beating a sub standard team.
On the money aitkenmike. India have dictated our whole summer. West indies are mud which doesn't really help us get any better. Looks good on paper but it's not a great achievement beating them
Yep the Windies are hopeless. Refuse to get excited about beating a sub standard team.
I kind of agree but having suffered for so long with Black Cap/AWs/Nix failures I'll take any kind of win.
I think southee is a real gem. He may not have got the attention that boult got, but his ability to wear down top/middle order partnerships was impressive
Warner strikes me as the ugly Australian.
He's one I guy I actually would love to see smashed. Just one smug mofo.
I detest Warner.
He pretty much personifies Australians.
How's this pitch! A player could lose their head here
Well it won't be the weather that will help England, just good batting. Doubt they will save this game.
125/4 looks like a rout, and the Ashes will stay in Australia. (:
How will they stay in Australia when they've been in England the past 5 years?
How will they stay in Australia when they've been in England the past 5 years?
It means Buffy that they won't be going back to Pompey.
Not too difficult to understand.
Funny how you were never here when Aussie were getting battered 5 months ago. Or in 2010/11. Or in 2009.
Not surprising in the slightest though given you "support" United.
Funny how you were never here when Aussie were getting battered 5 months ago. Or in 2010/11. Or in 2009.
Not surprising in the slightest though given you "support" United.
Like you support Arsenal who have not won anything for 8 years plus and you won't this year either.
Leggy is a converted strayan...leave united fans out of this.
Just a laugh how he wasn't chirping when Aussie were getting pummeled.
England might lose 5-0 here but it won't turn me off them.
Na neither.
"If anyone would have caught that it would have been Haddin" fudge off Haddin is one of the least agile wicket keepers around
And that's a day after Healy was rubbishing Priors keeping like he had never missed a chance in his career. Healy actually thinks he was perfect
McCullum could have caught it. Seriously.
Back when he owned a pair of gloves
Had the other batsman played like Stokes, this series may have had a different ending.
3-0 and it will be interesting to see if England fold for the next two tests or battle back for some respectability.
Be interesting to see if you're on here the next time Aussie lose a series.
Bet you aren't.
Na neither.
"If anyone would have caught that it would have been Haddin" fudge off Haddin is one of the least agile wicket keepers around
Haddin looooves stealing catches from his slips corden. And then there are the ones which he grabs then decides to do a little leg-flick at the end, he's an absolute Twit and yet still not in the most three annoying Australians.
Be interesting to see if you're on here the next time Aussie lose a series.
Bet you aren't.
Just like you have not been on the Arsenal forum since your 6-3 shellacking by Man City. (:
Be interesting to see if you're on here the next time Aussie lose a series.
Bet you aren't.
Just like you have not been on the Arsenal forum since your 6-3 shellacking by Man City. (:
You'd know all about shipping 6 to City. Especially at home.
Be interesting to see if you're on here the next time Aussie lose a series.
Bet you aren't.
Just like you have not been on the Arsenal forum since your 6-3 shellacking by Man City. (:
You'd know all about shipping 6 to City. Especially at home.
Quite right I do remember. Do you remember the 8-2?
This series is baffling. If you ask me in three years time to pick a composite 11 from this series based on who is the better cricketer (not who is on form at the moment) then I reckon you would end up with more Poms than Aussies. But goes to show how close the margins are. That and the fact most of the Australians are playing cricket that not a single person thought they were capable of and the Poms are playing cricket that is utterly awful.
Agree about haddin N bomb but if he's not in my top three hes bloody close. Think its quite hard to pick though because quite a few are just as bad as each other