pasag
RTDAS
Haha, I love the way you say that after about 50 posts from Filocricket were deleted. Was probably the worst rubbish I've seen in all my time here.
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Semi Finals
- Thread starter James
- Start date
pasag
RTDAS
NZ were favourites with Jayasuriya and Sangakkara out early though.
pasag
RTDAS
Yeah, that was only because in the last game the two played, one met Ireland and the other met Australia. If it was the other way around, things would be different imo. It was 50-50 for me going into the match and SL just played better on the day.
On a side note, as I mentioned last night, if Bond was rested from the Australia game and he didn't really have a stomach bug, then some serious action would need to be taken in NZ circles because quite clearly that would have come back to bite them and could have cost them the match with Bond clearly abit iffy on the field, which also had a flow on effect to his teammates, I reckon. It is an 'if', a big if infact, but if he was rested against Australia it cost NZ the game and the World Cup, IMO.
Dissector
International Debutant
I always thought NZ's chances were overrated in this tournament; probably because of their performance in Chappell-Hadlee. They did well to get to the semis which was further than I thought they would go but really they are pretty short of individual talent compared to teams like Sri Lanka or Australia. SL have about half a dozen players who could be called greats or near greats compared to perhaps a couple for NZ.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
I think the fact that Bond was off his game supports the excuse for him not playing, actually. He didn't look well out there - I reckon he was still sick which really justifies him missing the previous game for that reason...
pasag
RTDAS
Yeah, that's fair enough.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Sri Lanka also have some completely dire players though, whereas NZ didn't really have a true weakness (other than Franklin, and he was their best in the match anyway). So I reckon it was always pretty much a 50/50 call.
Dissector
International Debutant
Who are the dire players? Tharanga, Silva,Arnold and Dilshan are all useful players at the least; Dilshan is more than that when you factor in his fielding and bowling. Fernando is inconsistent but far from dire; he bowled beautifully against India and England.
Flem274*
123/5
Our problems are in two main areas
Death Bowling: we are shocking. Bond is shocking at the death even. The best death bowlers I've seen in our lineup are Patel and Macka. A part timer is better than the seamers.
Reliance on batting: Because we always have at least one pie thrower we rely on our batting to win, especially the middle order. They cannot be expected to win games for us all the time. The bowling and the top order need to step up.
As for individual talent, we have plenty. It's realizing that talent. McMillan up until very recently has been the biggest culprit. The guys that actually realize this talent injure themselves (Crowe, Nash, every fast bowler we've had)
IMO injuries are what kill it for us. We never have our first 11 on the park most of the time. Even now we are missing Mills and Vincent. While injuries is'nt a good excuse by any stretch of the imagination it is fustrating to see the development of these guys hampered by injury. If we want to become a consistently good team, we need to realize our talent and stop geting injured. end rant.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Tharanga, Arnold and Fernando are infinitely less useful than anyone in the New Zealand side. If you look up "dire" in the dicitionary, there is a picture of Dilhara Fernando. The likes of Dilshan wouldn't make the NZ side either but I wouldn't call him "dire" or anything.
Athlai
Not Terrible
I'm sure a spot could be found for them. Sadly Fernando has had a better world cup than both Mason and Gillespie.
Dilshan I think has had a very good world cup. I might even be tempted to thow him in for the likes of McMillan.
Not dire players but they aren't exactly setting their opponents on fire.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Regardless of how good a club they had, they are still poor players. Especially Fernando who I still maintain is very dire.
Flem274*
123/5
Yeah I'm wishing Fernando bowled his ten actualy.
It would have been hilarious to see the tailenders take him on.
Also, if Fernando had ran on the pitch a third time, what would have happened?
Athlai
Not Terrible
May be. But Mason and Gillespie aren't much better.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
They aren't much better, no. But they are still better IMO - and it's irrelevant in any rate because Mason and Gillespie aren't in New Zealand's best eleven, while Fernando is in Sri Lanka's.
Dissector
International Debutant
Here are the career averages of the two sides:
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/wc2007/engine/current/match/247505.html?view=averages
As you can see Tharanga and Arnold average around 35 which is more than most Kiwi batsmen. Fernando's record is similar to Franklin but I would pick him for his pace and bounce. By no stretch of the imagination are these players dire compared to their Kiwi counterparts.
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/wc2007/engine/current/match/247505.html?view=averages
As you can see Tharanga and Arnold average around 35 which is more than most Kiwi batsmen. Fernando's record is similar to Franklin but I would pick him for his pace and bounce. By no stretch of the imagination are these players dire compared to their Kiwi counterparts.
Athlai
Not Terrible
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Flem274*
123/5
When i see Fernando bowling I think: "sweet, free runs!"