's right, not been on CW until 20 minutes ago. Lectures and a nice sleep-in.Your morning? Does this mean you didn't notice KiWi's post until now?
Didn't really expect it to go through.Hurt that you'd email CricInfo and not post on this thread though TBH.
There is a subtle difference between being cautious and being too cautious imo and England were too cautious here for mine. They could have always taken a few singles here and there, rotated the strike. The problem with being too defensive is that you can allow the bowlers settle into a line and you can easily allow yourself to go into a shell.Yes, I thought Bumble was talking out of his aess TBH. Oram bowled brilliantly, nothing less, for my money. He was getting bounce, seam, and was dropping it on a sixpence. Pietersen did try to attack him, but even he found it impossible and resorted to trying to play him out (then went after Gillespie, and played around one that swung in which he might have kept-out had he played it more circumspectly...) which he just about managed....
Look around, you'll see scores like Strauss' and Bell's really aren't that unusual. Plenty of batsmen play 30-odd balls for not-that-many. The thing is, good batsmen (better batsmen than Strauss has been of late ) stay in beyond this then up their strike-rates as they start to get their eyes in and the bowling becomes less threatening.
Who?And educated y'all about Ernst Vettori, too.
Surely the Basin Reserve employ him, not NZC.Seriously, there's few things in cricket that **** me this much. How bloody annoying must it be to have a groundsman who prepares whatever he feels like preparing rather than what he's asked to prepare?
Honestly, groundsmen who don't take orders and make it clear they don't take orders should be sacked on-the-spot for my money.
Who are the Basin Reserve responsible to when a Test is being played? NZC. If NZC have given instructions, the authorities at the Basin Reserve should follow them. If the authorities at the Basin Reserve have given the groundsman instructions, he should follow them.Surely the Basin Reserve employ him, not NZC.
Entirely fictious IMHOMade my morning.
And educated y'all about Ernst Vettori, too.
Fictional. As in Samuel duping cricinfo regarding this imaginary skier who shares a surname with the speccy NZ captain.Is what?
Or if he had decided to play with his bat closer to his body, which is technically the right way to bat. Nonetheless, Pietersen has gotten himself into a rut recently, and hes really been in this stage since the WI series last year.Yes, I thought Bumble was talking out of his aess TBH. Oram bowled brilliantly, nothing less, for my money. He was getting bounce, seam, and was dropping it on a sixpence. Pietersen did try to attack him, but even he found it impossible and resorted to trying to play him out (then went after Gillespie, and played around one that swung in which he might have kept-out had he played it more circumspectly...) which he just about managed.
The rest of the bowlers weren't, for the most part, anywhere near as good, though they all got batsmen to play-and-miss. But Oram was fantastic, there wasn't that much in the surface but he was extracting every last thing it offered him. Trying to attack him would, IMO, have been foolhardy, and if they had tried he might have gone for 19 or 20 off his first 9 overs rather than 4, but I reckon he could've had 4 or 5 wickets (and he should've had 3 anyway). Even trying to pinch singles (which involves opening the face, closing the face, playing slightly accross the line and the like) would not have been wise. For mine, the caution earlier allowed Ambrose to come in and play the innings he did.
Look around, you'll see scores like Strauss' and Bell's really aren't that unusual. Plenty of batsmen play 30-odd balls for not-that-many. The thing is, good batsmen (better batsmen than Strauss has been of late ) stay in beyond this then up their strike-rates as they start to get their eyes in and the bowling becomes less threatening.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_VettoriOh, right, had simply presumed he wasn't fictitious, TBH.
Haakon you cheeksy devil, have you been making Olympic winners up? Or is DB being facetious?
The point I was trying to make is that he'd have been more likely to have done that had he been attempting a defensive shot rather than a drive at that ball.Or if he had decided to play with his bat closer to his body, which is technically the right way to bat.
More from the Second Test against India onwards, for my money.Nonetheless, Pietersen has gotten himself into a rut recently, and hes really been in this stage since the WI series last year.
Can see why too. Looks circumspect on the drive, and plays with absolutely no footwork. Lets see how he pans out when the ball is swinging, but you wont see me trumpeting a very ordinary inning that was played in dire circumstances. Seems like a trend here- Read, Prior and now Ambrose- guess wicket keepers in England tend to favor playing on the back foot.He debuted in the Test before this mate.
He isn't the cleanest striker of the ball, but he got the job done. It was a good positive innings, but he looks to me to be the kind of guy who'd get sorted out pretty quickly.
I always thought 'keeping was his strong point, from what I'd heard. I take it that means he's not dropped much so far.Ambrose is and always has been an excellent wicketkeeper.
As the saying goes, one swallow does not make a summer. A perfectly decent innings, but given that his form cascaded from the 2nd test against the WI onwards in both forms of the game i don't think that one inning changes much especially when you consider the mediocrity that followed thereafter. I think Pietersen's issue really is that now that he is capable of playing in 2 different gears (which is a remarkable feat), he finds himself unsure as to which gear to push in many situations, which has affected both his ODI and test form.The point I was trying to make is that he'd have been more likely to have done that had he been attempting a defensive shot rather than a drive at that ball.
More from the Second Test against India onwards, for my money.