**Official** Pakistan in New Zealand (3 tests)

[HeathDavisSpeed]

I'll give you a lift Volty. I'm not going to the Xmas party, so will definately be in a position to drive on Saturday. Might head down for Friday arvo, if I can get the time off (unlikely)

 

[Smudge]

Sweet - will let you know later in the week.

 

[straw man]

Some suggestion O'Brien won't be fit for Wellington after dislocating his finger. I reckon he'll probably play anyway but if not I wonder if they'll bring Southee in or stick with Tuffey.

 

[Hurricane]

Hoping to get organised to go to a couple of sessions on Thursday at New Zealand's version of the WACA (everyone has been talking up its pace and bounce).

BTW I have been thinking about O Brien dislocating his finger. This has to be his finest hour for NZ what a story for his auto biography.

 

[Athlai]

O'Brien bowling into the wind in England was just as good IMO.

 

[irfan]

Is there a case for selecting Afridi to open (not sure if he's injured ATM)?

Despite the hit and miss nature of his batting, he surely would be better than the likes of Imran & Jamshed who look scratchy and end up failing anyway. If he fails with the bat, his handy leg spin would complement Ajmal's tweakers quite well.

 

[Prince EWS]

Is there a case for selecting Afridi to open (not sure if he's injured ATM)?

Despite the hit and miss nature of his batting, he surely would be better than the likes of Imran & Jamshed who look scratchy and end up failing anyway. If he fails with the bat, his handy leg spin would complement Ajmal's tweakers quite well.

He's retired from Tests.

 

[Smudge]

Belated comment I know, but after the **** the University Oval has got from people over the last few years, bouquets have to be handed to groundsman Tom Tamati in particular, but also the rest of the OCA for their efforts in producing an outstanding test match. Especially, given the fears about playing a test in Dunedin in November, only a couple of sessions were severely affected by the weather, and one might say it actually contributed to the final-session drama as it pushed the result of the game right to the final hour.

I look forward to the old art gallery finally getting knocked over (which apparently is now a strong probability), so the north-eastern boundary can be extended and then we will have another super venue for test cricket in New Zealand.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yeah, go NZ cricket. Your guys have produced a better Test match than we've seen in OZ for years. The only close Tests we've seen here for a long time have been that way through big totals and declarations.

 

[Uppercut]

Yeah, go NZ cricket. Your guys have produced a better Test match than we've seen in OZ for years. The only close Tests we've seen here for a long time have been that way through big totals and declarations.

God damn Aussies and their far-too-good cricket team making for uncompetitive cricket.

Last year not withstanding . Although tbf the series with South Africa was fabulous to watch.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Dunedin did well, but the its a very risky strategy giving Dunedin (or Wellington for that matter) a test match in November. Surely, it would be more sensible to have Napier as the early season test venue and Wellington as 2nd venue. Dunedin would then host at the height of summer?

Still, cannot complain about the pitch which held together well, but still had something for the bowlers to exploit. Perfect for test cricket really.

 

[Smudge]

Ideally, we'd be playing tests in March and one would be given to Dunedin, as it'd be a much more vibrant venue after the students arrive back in Dunedin in late February.

 

[Top_Cat]

God damn Aussies and their far-too-good cricket team making for uncompetitive cricket.

Last year not withstanding . Although tbf the series with South Africa was fabulous to watch.

tbh, if we had seen a few more spicy decks in OZ even when the big guns were still around, reckon certain series' might have been more competitive.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Ideally, we'd be playing tests in March and one would be given to Dunedin, as it'd be a much more vibrant venue after the students arrive back in Dunedin in late February.

Agreed. I almost suspect NZC of setting Dunedin up to fail; giving it a test in November when 90% of the country would struggle to complete 5 days without some rain interruption.

 

[Polo23]

That Dunedin pitch should have shown other groundsmen one thing, leave a ****load of grass on the pitch. A healthy green tinge for the start of the first day wouldnt go astray either, remember the Christchurch pitch were Astle scored his 222 vs England? The first day it was a complete green top, looked as though it was going to seam everywhere and then there were two double tons scored!

 

[straw man]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

 

[HMas]

yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssssss

 

[Uppercut]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Knew what had happened before I even clicked. Shattered

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Oh for crying out loud. How did he manage this? What has he been up to in the days between the last test finishing and this test about to start? Did he tear the muscle picking up his suitcase or something?

Well, that's taken half of my excitement away from this test match. Was really looking forward to seeing a proper fastie on the rampage at the Basin.

 

[Athlai]

lol. AH well.