***Official*** Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series

[Dick Rockett]

Anyway, SP's sniping aside, I'd like to wave the white flag.

I just don't know what more we can do. There was very little wrong with NZ's performance last night, yet we were basically creamed. To be casually brushed aside, conceding the highest ever successful run chase on the MCG - with it's boundaries most of the way out - is just so frustrating I want to scream.

Call me childish, churlish, whatever you like, but it's just not fair. Our boys play more or less to the best of their ability, and it's not even close to enough. We're still waiting for a successor - just one lousy player mind - to be a star with the bat for us in the 13 years since Martin Crowe retired. The Australians have a top order full of them........ and then they have Ricky Ponting.

290 is supposed to be hard. Batsmen are supposed to take risks, put themselves under pressure, get caught in the deep chasing a huge total. Ponting looked like he was having a net out there. Sure, we almost chased down 340 the other day (although I'm getting mighty tired of the words almost and nearly), but that took the innings of Jacob Oram's life, and we still lost. Ricky Ponting barely raised a sweat last night.

I just don't know what more we can do. It's gotten to the point now where I don't care whether or not we make the tri-series final. Where's the attraction in making it if we can't beat Australia? What's the point in looking forward to the World Cup if we can't beat Australia? Even if, by some blessed miracle, someone else flukily knocks them out of the Cup and we win it, could we really call ourselves world champions?

Anyway, sincere apologies and all that for this whinge, just had to get that off my chest. I don't know if I've felt so abject after watching a game of cricket as I felt last night. 74 all out is fixable. What on earth can we do now?

*slinks off to corner to sob quietly to himself*

 

[Scaly piscine]

Although I might agree with the vague point you're making, will you please give it a rest? Your constant snide remarks about the New Zealand team were boring the last hundred times you said it, it's plain irritating now.

Err is it my fault if people keep making groundless comments about NZ? It's fine for them to make blatantly ridiculous comments like 'great performances by New Zealand in the last few games' but I'm not allowed to correct them?

Oh and Salamuddin you're on ignore, got no time for childish idiots.

 

[Bahnz]

Anyway, SP's sniping aside, I'd like to wave the white flag.

I just don't know what more we can do. There was very little wrong with NZ's performance last night, yet we were basically creamed. To be casually brushed aside, conceding the highest ever successful run chase on the MCG - with it's boundaries most of the way out - is just so frustrating I want to scream.

Call me childish, churlish, whatever you like, but it's just not fair. Our boys play more or less to the best of their ability, and it's not even close to enough. We're still waiting for a successor - just one lousy player mind - to be a star with the bat for us in the 13 years since Martin Crowe retired. The Australians have a top order full of them........ and then they have Ricky Ponting.

290 is supposed to be hard. Batsmen are supposed to take risks, put themselves under pressure, get caught in the deep chasing a huge total. Ponting looked like he was having a net out there. Sure, we almost chased down 340 the other day (although I'm getting mighty tired of the words almost and nearly), but that took the innings of Jacob Oram's life, and we still lost. Ricky Ponting barely raised a sweat last night.

I just don't know what more we can do. It's gotten to the point now where I don't care whether or not we make the tri-series final. Where's the attraction in making it if we can't beat Australia? What's the point in looking forward to the World Cup if we can't beat Australia? Even if, by some blessed miracle, someone else flukily knocks them out of the Cup and we win it, could we really call ourselves world champions?

Anyway, sincere apologies and all that for this whinge, just had to get that off my chest. I don't know if I've felt so abject after watching a game of cricket as I felt last night. 74 all out is fixable. What on earth can we do now?

*slinks off to corner to sob quietly to himself*

Sadly I have to agree. When it comes to New Zealand, our best simply isn't good enough. Admittedly we haven't played at our best throughout this series, had we done so we probably would have won the match at the SCG a couple of weeks back. Still, when it comes to batting, bowling and fielding Australia are quite simply light years ahead of us, especially since Bond seems to have lost all his penetration and Fleming can't get the ball off the square anymore.

 

[Bahnz]

Err is it my fault if people keep making groundless comments about NZ? It's fine for them to make blatantly ridiculous comments like 'great performances by New Zealand in the last few games' but I'm not allowed to correct them?

But sadly SP, you're the one who's making ridiculous comments. If you don't think that 100 off 71 balls, or 290 against Australia is a great performance, then you're just a biased fool.

 

[Dick Rockett]

Err is it my fault if people keep making groundless comments about NZ? It's fine for them to make blatantly ridiculous comments like 'great performances by New Zealand in the last few games' but I'm not allowed to correct them?

Err is it our fault that New Zealand, like every country, has it's one-eyed apologists who aren't capable of distinguishing fantasy from reality?

If you were ever right to make your point, that time surely passed a long time ago. Build a bridge...

 

[Scaly piscine]

But sadly SP, you're the one who's making ridiculous comments. If you don't think that 100 off 71 balls, or 290 against Australia is a great performance, then you're just a biased fool.

You going to call England's win over Australia a 'great performance'? It's totally silly. Save the 'great' tag for something special or exceptional, not for a team that managed to belatedly get quite close but leave Australia in their comfort zone for a lot of the match, two times over.

 

[Bahnz]

You going to call England's win over Australia a 'great performance'? It's totally silly. Save the 'great' tag for something special or exceptional, not for a team that managed to belatedly get quite close but leave Australia in their comfort zone for a lot of the match, two times over.

Yes, I would call England's win over a Australia a great performance. Any team that beats Australia has to play extremely well, and both England's batting and their bowling were fantastic. You seem to be putting a weird emphasis on the word great. Most people don't use it to mean 'exceptional', it's merely a mildly positive way of describing a performance. Half way in between good and incredible, if you will.

I wouldn't find your tone so obnoxious, if it wasn't for how deliberately antagonistic it is.

 

[Scaly piscine]

I'm not using a weird emphasis at all on great. A great performance would be winning a World Cup or winning the Ashes in 2005 against two great bowlers. I don't see how anyone could perceive a defeat of the nature of NZ's against Australia in a trivial ODI as great. If you're the media and like to submerge the reader in hyperbole then you could justify calling England's win against Australia as a great performance - but it still wasn't.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Anyway, SP's sniping aside, I'd like to wave the white flag.

I just don't know what more we can do. There was very little wrong with NZ's performance last night, yet we were basically creamed. To be casually brushed aside, conceding the highest ever successful run chase on the MCG - with it's boundaries most of the way out - is just so frustrating I want to scream.

Call me childish, churlish, whatever you like, but it's just not fair. Our boys play more or less to the best of their ability, and it's not even close to enough. We're still waiting for a successor - just one lousy player mind - to be a star with the bat for us in the 13 years since Martin Crowe retired. The Australians have a top order full of them........ and then they have Ricky Ponting.

290 is supposed to be hard. Batsmen are supposed to take risks, put themselves under pressure, get caught in the deep chasing a huge total. Ponting looked like he was having a net out there. Sure, we almost chased down 340 the other day (although I'm getting mighty tired of the words almost and nearly), but that took the innings of Jacob Oram's life, and we still lost. Ricky Ponting barely raised a sweat last night.

I just don't know what more we can do. It's gotten to the point now where I don't care whether or not we make the tri-series final. Where's the attraction in making it if we can't beat Australia? What's the point in looking forward to the World Cup if we can't beat Australia? Even if, by some blessed miracle, someone else flukily knocks them out of the Cup and we win it, could we really call ourselves world champions?

Anyway, sincere apologies and all that for this whinge, just had to get that off my chest. I don't know if I've felt so abject after watching a game of cricket as I felt last night. 74 all out is fixable. What on earth can we do now?

*slinks off to corner to sob quietly to himself*

Could be worse, mate - you could be English.

 

[Dick Rockett]

I'm not using a weird emphasis at all on great. A great performance would be winning a World Cup or winning the Ashes in 2005 against two great bowlers. I don't see how anyone could perceive a defeat of the nature of NZ's against Australia in a trivial ODI as great. If you're the media and like to submerge the reader in hyperbole then you could justify calling England's win against Australia as a great performance - but it still wasn't.

You're arguing semantics which isn't going to achieve anything other than a multi-page discussion that goes absolutely nowhere. Give it up.

 

[Dick Rockett]

Could be worse, mate - you could be English.

Thank heaven for small mercies and all that...

 

[armchairumpire]

Spare a thought for Stephen Fleming. How many times can the Blackcaps skipper say "we nearly won" and still sound enthusiastic. I'm sure the Blackcaps sports psychologist has to work overtime.

However, lets take some positives away from the last couple of Blackcap performances - Lou Vincent has done a fantastic job opening, Jake Oram has been the crowd pleaser of the series, Daniel Vettori has found some form, and Mark Gillespie and James Franklin have done well in the bowling. What about Ross Taylor - the Channel 9 commentary team think he is a great talent.

When you support the Blackcaps you need to take every morsel and enjoy it. When they occasionally win it's great.

 

[pup11]

I think its about time Ricky gives one on one pep talk, and tell him the need for him to be more mature and consistent. Pup has really made a habit of playing one good knock and then backing it up with 3 or 4 poor knocks where he gets out playing some very poor shots. In the last two games he has done the same thing and its about time he gets over this problem.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

What are you on about? Clarke's had a perfectly good series, and his entire ODI career has been a model of consistent success while being shuffled around the order.

 

[Josh]

The sooner hodge gets out and hussey gets in the better for australia.

*ahem*

 

[Josh]

He went to the Milo kerrigan school of inteviewing

Great post, but terribly harsh. Give him a break...

 

[andyc]

This has probably been mentioned already, but Tim Nielsen has been announced as the next coach of Australia after Buchanan retires.

 

[Josh]

For some reason I read it as Nillson and thought we were going to have a baseballer in charge.

 

[pup11]

I am not saying anything against clarke on the contrary i am fan of his, but its his shot selection that needs to improve . If you just look at this series everytime he has got out its due to his poor shot selection, rather than the bowler earning it of a good ball. With symo almost out of the world cup he needs to be more responsible and mature in the way he paces his innings from now on.

 

[Johnners]

Great post, but terribly harsh. Give him a break...

haha, spot the victorian