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#2147241 18-Dec-2018 17:32

Bahaha Matthews reaches his century and celebrated with 10 pushup.

He was dropped due to fitness reasons (he was way too podgy is the real reason). But he did something about it to his credit and now hes well and truely back.

That pretty much the Test win, lost by NZ,

I really hoped we would clean them up smart after doing similar on much more concrete like pitches in the UAE. I thought if we win this one that pretty much guarantees us moving to #2 ICC Rankigs.

But the Pitch aside from day 1 when it looked as green as the field turned to brown and hasnt offered anything since.

I will be so gutted at Williamson's captaincy if we end up with 3 draw or worse 2 draws and a Loss.

All I can hope is we win the toss and bat like this again on a pitch thats providing lots of movement. And we snaffle 1 win from the next 2.

k1w1k1d

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#2147248 18-Dec-2018 17:55

280 runs ahead and they bowl short sh*t that the batsman doesn't have to hit!

TeaLeaf

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#2147395 18-Dec-2018 21:01

Just shows how much luck is based on winning the toss, prob more so than any mainstream aus/nz sports. It went from looking the same colour as the outer block first session to completely brown by end of day 2. and has been dead since. so sri lanka got bowled out easy first innings but thanks to a flat wicket and less worry/pressure from nz, day 4 they had no thing to fair. poor poor cricket. I dont blame the bowlers. definitely give srilanka some credit for effectively drawing the test. good to see a player hold his bat the entire day.

tdgeek

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#2147536 19-Dec-2018 07:36

There are a few points here. Clearly we were trying to win the match. It's cricket, players dig in, take few risks. NZ seemed to feel the game was already over. But its cricket, you can bowl a side out in less than two overs and we also see sides bat for 2 days and get hundreds of runs. SL needed to bat long, so they played safe. However, I would have thought we bowl every ball at the stumps, every ball. You will give yourself many LBW opportunities, some nicks, maybe a catch. Try to make every ball a yorker or the spinners are aiming to spin to the stumps, you would think that eventually the stats will speak for themselves. Maybe we choked, trying too hard with todays weather in mind? Kiwi teams tend to choke, we play well when its going well, but under perform when under pressure

How much play might there be today? 2 or 3 hours max? With the moisture in the air, it would seem an opportunity to nab a few wickets. If its tough today to bat, and these two go early, they could collapse very quickly

WyleECoyoteNZ

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#2147586 19-Dec-2018 09:41

The chances of any play in the Cricket today are slim to none.

I've just traveled from Johnsonville (north of the CBD) to work in Wellington CBD, it was just starting to rain steadily north of the city when i left Johnsonville and only just starting to drizzle in the CBD when i arrived.

Looking out the window now, it's looking very much like more rain is on the way.

This first test will end in a draw.

TeaLeaf

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#2147716 19-Dec-2018 11:43

The problem was the captaincy from williamson, which even the commentators kept talking about, he was playing to defend a total not to get wickets, at least thats what the fielding positions would tell us.

ALso Wagner and his usual 20 overs of shoulder high bouncers didnt work, he got SMASHeD to the boundary over and over.

It was REAlLY windy and sunny which would have taken the snot out of our bowlers.

Not enough line and length, trying to switch it up way to much.

In saying that, I remember 1 yorker from Boult, I would have liked to see us making it far for more uncomfortable for them.

Lastly perhaps we were Jaded from such a quick turn around from the UAE, but with similar pitches it strikes me odd that we couldnt pick up a wicket in a whole days play.

tdgeek

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#2147720 19-Dec-2018 11:53

Well, it seems that every time we lose, there is a complaint session of all those at fault. Any number of players who should have scored this score, bowlers who should have taken more wickets, coaches, selectors and so on. Seems to be the Kiwi way? I recall in the commentary, how superb a strategic captain Williamson is.

The first I would blame is SL for batting for the occasion, stay in, rain tomorrow.

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TeaLeaf

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#2147737 19-Dec-2018 12:24

Definitely you cant blame NZ when it was Sri Lanka who held both wickets for a day, something we usually struggle with and certainly did in the UAE. Which are also batsmans wickets (im not sure if UAE use cement pitches ;-p).

So a massive turn around for our batting, I just hope we can do it twice more and not have rain.

But Williamson definitely was a big part of not putting the pressure on, they wouldnt stop talking about field placements and why Kane doesnt have catchers etc, and they were right. When you have 600 you dont play a fielding team to stop runs, he should have had slips and mid on/mid offs and maybe a silly. Especially when Ajaz was bowling, he looked real good but probably 7 balls went to catching positions that werent there. Its odd as Williamson I said had to be more like Mccullum than Flemming in the UAE and he delivered in that final game with the risky declaration. I was so happy. But at the Basin he very much captained like a defensive Flemming. Hes not all to blame at all, but it was odd not to have offensive catches in place, thats a given when you score 600 and are trying to bowl the team out twice.

Will be interesting to see if they bowl Ajaz and Sodhi at the same time. One left orthodox and Ish Sodhi who is our only decent wrist spinner. Its hard to pick, Sodhi can be innaccurate but so was Warne, is the nature of wrist spin. I like the flight he gets which is native to wrist spin, if only he was shorter like ajaz. Ajaz seems to be a shorter version of Vetorri. He can turn it both ways and his bounce is his big surprise. Again thats due to his flight which is not due to the spin but due to his height. If we had both of them going yesterday I think we would have won.

NZ is very hard to assess as they can be totally useless one day and score 600 the next or defend 190 totals to win series etc.

I still feel Colin is our weak spot, but hopefully the rot doesnt set in early here at home, if we have Sodhi we have an all rounder as well which would lengthen our awfully long tail.

I dont know if we will see a single spinner in our team at Hagley on boxing day, known for being our premier pace pitch, its usually pretty darn green. Id love to see Lockie Fergusson debut on there if they think his fitness is up to it. 150kph yesterday would have prob been another way to get them out, oh well.

I think they said we have had the WACCAs head curator for 3 years at the basin and its playing very much like the WACCA use to, evidently the aussies arent so happy as the WACCA doesnt have the bounce and pace it use to. Not sure if I buy into that, but thats what the said on air.

tdgeek

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#2147745 19-Dec-2018 12:33

Maybe look for another captain and coach and selectors, as Ive read about this here before whe we lose. Did Kane make the calls out there ALL day, or was the coach involved? Has to be

TeaLeaf

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#2150686 26-Dec-2018 11:26

Nah was all on Kane Ive heard post the last test. He batted for too long given they DO look at weather forecasts and he was defensive, overly in the field, no catches.

Imagine if we had that whole day 3 3rd session to bowl, instead of 3-9 and the, surviving the next day I think the pressure on we would have got that vital wicket which would have us with the all rounder in and a tail, for a whole day, so even if they got passed out score, but we bowled them out, and we have say 100 to get in 30 overs on day 4, its a win. Kane just made a booboo and should have declared aside from how piss poor they attacked day 4.

ok so 2nd test, we can still get to 3rd place if we win.

for me, we HAVE to blood Lockie Ferguson. Ok he hasnt played a test yet, but when does one get to play tests, hes on fire everywhere else. 155kph on a pitch that is as green as the outfield he would have been deadly, Id have gone with him over Patel, and Williamson needs to pull finger blocking overs, hes a better bowler than Mitchell Santner, its starting to erk me, just because you are captain doesnt mean you cant bowl.

Jan 18- Dec 18 our top 3 Batsmen, very happy with this as they are the 3 key batsmen to me, with Nichols consistency vastly improving. He looked like guptil in tests his first year, without the big 100s.

1. Williamson Avg 66.77

2. Henry Nicholls Avg 61.87

3 Tom Latham 52.44

Southee is far ahead of Boult in Strike rate, Patel close to Boult, but we toured, this to me is a pace all day and if you need some spin day 5 bowl Williamson.

For some reason Colin just makes our whole team look fragile as we have an uber long tail. I bet he plays well in NZ now haha. Murphys law.

TeaLeaf

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#2150700 26-Dec-2018 12:41

And there is Nichols not performing when we desperately need him to again, he scores often when the team is going well but struggles on trying pitches. NZ out by 150, Id say we will be bowling by Tea, which for me is ok, as Boult and Southee should have a field day, and not forgetting Wagner was originally a swing bowler. Even Colin should go good. But again, Fergusson would rip through them on this pitch.

tdgeek

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#2150707 26-Dec-2018 14:25

Nichols???

It's flown under the radar, but Nicholls has the second highest average (61.87) among the leading run scorers in test cricket for 2018. Williamson (66.77) is the lone batsman ahead of him.

So, he has performed, he is No.2 average in the world for 2018.

TeaLeaf

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#2150724 26-Dec-2018 15:26

Nichols did tour really well, no he was #2 for NZ 2018. But still pretty good none the less considering Latham, Taylor are there. Just hes only had a couple of innings when we REALLY needed him, usually he scores well when the teams not falling around him, which is not what you ideally want at his spot, hence Watling is really What Nichols should be, our safety.

Watling great, but goooooooo Southee.

We all know Southee has the ability but like boult he just throws his wicket away, again when we need him, NOT today. We could get to 250 if the other tails Cameo around Watling if Southee goes.

Again Colin fails, he has to go, hes not an investment. Id rather drop Ajaz, have Sodhi who spins it more than anybody else in NZ and has a 22ish avg vs 29 for Colin, and then put ferguson in to replace Colin for bowling. That would be Lethal bowling line up on any pitch.

Scoring close to 4 and over, so 240 by Tea, if we all out, the pitch will still be green and Southee will be lethal, as will Boult and Wagner if he bowls off cutters and swing.

TeaLeaf

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#2150735 26-Dec-2018 16:17

Well that was a prime example of a weak middle order and aside from Southee, nothing from the bowlers with the bat. has to change.

Amazing how this pitch has gone from as green as the second block to now looking dull greeny brown, luckily its swinging.

Boults got that ball moving something chronicly late, which is perfect. Just needs to get it looking like on off stump

tdgeek

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#2150933 27-Dec-2018 08:36

TeaLeaf:

Nichols did tour really well, no he was #2 for NZ 2018. But still pretty good none the less considering Latham, Taylor are there. Just hes only had a couple of innings when we REALLY needed him, usually he scores well when the teams not falling around him, which is not what you ideally want at his spot, hence Watling is really What Nichols should be, our safety.

If there was an innings we REALLY needed him, what about the other players? Its ok if they fail, as we rely on Nichols? His 2018 average speaks for itself. As for batsmen who fail when the others are falling around him, list out ALL NZ batsmen. Its happens to all of them

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