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

I still love you test cricket.

I still love you test cricket.

This takes me back to 08 when we would struggle to turn Bangladesh over in tests. Really just a horrific test all round (Kane's 100 aside).

Flat batting wicket and no contribution from Taylor, McCullum or Neesham (with the bat) yet. There were plenty of other runs out there for us I reckon.

Great batting from Williamson. Good opening stand too...but I could see that bowling that channel to Guptil from Hazelwood was always going to trouble him. Seemed to be doing ok against Starc and Johnson. A belligerent Guptil hundred could be something of note...Would be great to be 200/0 with Williamson, Taylor and McCullum still to come. I kind of like Guppy at 5 more, would almost want to risk opening with BMac...

Brisbane, Perth and a night test. and that's it for another 8 or 9 years...farkers...

The only thing that will save us is another Qld flood, and that is not going to happen.

Could easily see this batting line up batting two days.

Just requires the application and a little luck.

Probably more luck.

Nah, Brendon will be going all out for the win.

A lot of luck. And rain.

It will need Taylor being able to occasionally hit the ball in the middle of the bat, and BMac taking the batting seriously.

But that Oz bowling attack has not performed as well as the commentators wanked on about, it's a real shame we had those 20 minutes of madness on Day 2, otherwise we'd have got 450-500 too. Gonna be tougher in the second innings, but if there is an NZ batting line-up to pull something out in this type of situation, it's this one. I have a feeling Lyon will be the crucial bowler in the last innings, Starc is easily their best but Johnson and Hazelwood are both overrated (Johnson massively so, at least the current version of him).

Application isn't their strong point. It's all about playing their "natural game" no matter what the situation. 

Agree that Johnson's best days are behind him but he can still tear us to pieces - he loves bowling against us. His test bowling average against us is 18.48. His next best record against another nation is 25.64 vs South Africa and his career average is 28.01.

I fudgeing hate the guy with a passion.

we are a short from game team (Williamson excused)

Got a pretty good test record of late for a "short form" team

explain the application to bat on a pitch that should be a batsmens' paradise?

that's a bit rough. I only meant that they're not great at adapting to a situation to bat for a draw. We have a good test record lately. 

The last two Wellington tests, where we batted for 2 days to save and win a test respectively, suggest that we can adapt to batting time. Even with our 4-6 only getting 9 runs between them, we still scored over 300. That bowling attack (Starc excluded) isn't as scary as Aussie commentators are making it out to be.

Having said that, they'll probably roll us for 150 now.

So you're judging them on one game?

I shouldn't be surprised. Any chance to stick the boot in you'll take it.

We lost 4 quick wickets in the middle order.  None of which had anything to do with lack of application.  The nature of cricket is you sometimes get a run of wickets.  The only batsman I can think of with a lack of application is Southee, and I think he should bat 11 until he learns to bat unselfishly, but its not really his responsibility to score runs.

We can win this.

Though it's much more likely we won't.

Well we've given them a few chances so far but we're not looking too bad. Half an hour to lunch... 

....I'm worried that by posting this I'll curse them.

Oh FFS

Haha dick 

Maybe my power works the other way too

We're clearly fudgeed, we should just give up. No way we will win from here. Or even get close to a draw

No. You are so far from wrong that its not funny.

I do give this side credit but as I have said consistently, the thing that fudges me off is that they talk about what they are going to do and need to do and don't do it. How about they just shut the fudge up and play the game. Its when they talk about being in with a real shot and get completely fudgeed that pisses me off. Just don't talk. I can deal with getting ass raped by Australia but not when we talk about how we are gonna do this and do that and not deliver. 

Its like a boxer going into a fight telling the other guy he is gonna rip his head off and then getting caned in round 1. Actions speak louder and words and they have been doing so well recently. Just don't it by talking about what they are going to do.

Guptill showed fantastic application today.

Snide comments about the captain? 

https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/matc...

Taylor hasn't kicked on as we might have hoped. 

But 1-5 we actually have a damn good line up. 

If anything it has been the Aussies who have had the luck with the LBW of Williamson. Or we'd be in even a better situation. 

It will still be a tough day tomorrow, but they certainly didn't blow us away in the first. Agree Lyon could be a difficult prospect, but this isn't beyond us to hold for a draw at all.

Actually both LBWs were quite marginal - you can't say they were 'wrong' decisions, but are the kind of 50/50s, and you can definitely feel unlucky to have both go against you.

My first thought after Williamson was given out was - if that was Craig's shout on Steve Smith, would that have been given out? Hmmmm.

Tried to post pretty much exactly that when Williamson went El G (but the site blew up!).  We were incredibly unlucky to have both those decisions got the Aussies way.  More often than not, at least one of those would have been given not out, and we copped both of them.  As you say, they weren't wrong decisions, but unfortunate nonetheless.

We're lacking in two areas right now and while not an easy fix, I don;t think we're far away from being a consistently top side.

1) Genuine all-rounder: someone who is a threat with bat and ball on a regular basis. It's not Neesham, it's not Anderson. If we had a player in the AR spot that can offer us 2-3 key wickets and 25 - 35 runs each time, we'd take a big step forward.

2) Spin: there is no NZ spinner up to Test Crciekt at the moment and no spinner in NZ would make any other test side or even the A side for that country. The exception MAY be Patel who is taking bag of wickets for fun in County Cricket. Bearing in mind his home pitch is a bunsen burner but at the very least he has a ton of overs udner his belt and maybe Hesson should be giving him a few calls. 

If Watling goes next, there will be fireworks. 

I think there'll be fireworks either way. It doesn't look like McCullum will die wondering in this knock.

Yeah, well there's still two tests left in the series tbf. Assuming we go on to lose here we still have a chance to turn it around, just like we have done in England and the UAE over the past 12 months. 

I'm glad they have that belief anyway. Regardless whether you think they talk too much bollocks it's obviously had a positive effect, given we are now seeing far better Test results, particularly away from home. In the past the team would be heading straight for a 3-0 series defeat from here. Nowadays you wouldn't put it past them coming from one down to win 2-1.

Game over and Watling has wasted our last review when he was dead plum.

Epic anticlimax here...awful umpiring as well for the Baz dismissal. 

Team for Second Test:

1. Brendon McCullum

2. Tom Latham

3. Kane Williamson (has scored 8 centuries in his last 17 tests @ average of 70)

4. Ross Taylor

5. BJ Watling

6. Mitchell Santner

7. Luke Ronchi

8. Mark Craig

9. Trent Boult

10. Matt Henry

11. Mitchell McClenaghan

Very harsh on Guptill. Thought he really fought yesterday.

And why two keepers? Is Ronchi really going to offer you anything more than Guptill.

Also, I'm fairly sure that Henry is injured.

Great to hear McCullum completely play down any suggestion that the umpiring cost us, and even stating that they are two of the best umpires in the game and are entitled to make the odd mistake.  I am a critic of his in the past, but one thing I can't fault is his positive attitude.

You can almost bet on it.

NZ have quite a good record in tests at the WACA . 1 win, 2 losses and 3 draws. Scored 534 last time we played there (Dec 2001) Centuries to Vincent, Fleming, Astle and Parore . Pushed the Aussies quite hard had them 7 down at the end of day 5. Win toss bat first, looks like 36 c on day 2....

I remember that test. That knobhead Zimbabwean umpire cost us the match. Two absolutely horrific decisions in Aussie's 2nd innings robbed us of a series win.