***Official*** New Zealand in Australia 2011

[Furball]

It seemed that Pattinson ignored Hughes when he took the catch to dismiss Mccullum. Pattinson also had a war of words with Taylor which Pattinson appeared to instigate towards the end of the day.
Does Pattinson have a reputation at all in Aus in terms of attitude?

He got his jaw broken by one of his mates.

 

[BeeGee]

This doesn't look good:

Camera

 

[Burgey]

Really think New Zealand play the game in the right spirit, you know? A rally gutsy team with plenty of heart who punch above their weight.

Thoughts?

 

[wallacenz]

Really think New Zealand play the game in the right spirit, you know? A rally gutsy team with plenty of heart who punch above their weight.

Thoughts?

Personally I think they underachieve. These batsmen have talent, they get stuck in 20/20 mode though.

we've lacked a genuine pace bowler but players like mcgrath and hadlee prove you dont need to bowl 150 to be great. players who failed for us like franklin succeeded in the english county comp where the best team in the world atm (england) selects its player from.

southee was the best bowler in the junior world cup a few years back but he has been average at best since joining the senior team.

imo our cricket academy has to take some (maybe all) of the blame. they helped vettori change his action when he was suffering injuries, now he doesnt spin the ball. Anyone who shows raw talent like southee goes to the academy where they have their bowling actions fiddled with.

 

[Burgey]

It is disappointing that Southee hasn't quite kicked on as well as everyone hoped a few years back.

Of course, now he'll take 7/52 and win them the game.

 

[Neil Pickup]

This doesn't look good:

Camera

The Radar looks more optimistic.

 

[SteveNZ]

Yup, he actually seemed fairly proud about the fact it was green. When asked about the variable bounce on day 2, he kind of joked about it pointed out that it promotes exciting Test cricket. He certainly wasn't apologetic about it.

I'm not for variable bounce that early but I've got no qualms with the pitch. I would if I was Australian...but in terms of a pitch that's done something, I don't see an issue with it all. Batsmen can't have it all their own way - and we've seen right throughout this test that if you're prepared to leave well, pick your moments etc there are runs to be had. It's a different contest to the usual, that's no bad thing.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Is it just me, or is the forward defensive becoming less and less common in modern cricket? Maybe it's just something I've noticed in this series, but I haven't seen one player being able to play regular forward defensives, everyone just seem's to get stuck on the crease. Anyone else noticed this?

 

[SteveNZ]

Can't help but now think Vettori getting injured was a blessing in disguise for NZ. They have the perfect bowling attack for this pitch now. Australia are slightly hampered by having to bowl Lyon/Hussey etc while Starc is pretty gash

Agreed.

I hope Jesse got a thousand uppercuts for his dismissal last night. If ever a dismissal could be called lazy, that was it. I don't think he's ever going to get it, sadly.

And on Southee, it's also attitude holding him back from being a world-class bowler. If he wants to take 300-400 Test wickets, and get his average below 30 or so, he will. If he wants to be a regular without ever being that great, make a bit of coin from limited overs cricket and play the larrakin/chase skirt (as he does now) then he'll continue as is.

 

[ganeshran]

Kiwis havent won a test match on Aussie soil in 26 years. A very good chance of doing so this match. Hope they bat well tomorrow.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Personally I think they underachieve. These batsmen have talent, they get stuck in 20/20 mode though.

we've lacked a genuine pace bowler but players like mcgrath and hadlee prove you dont need to bowl 150 to be great. players who failed for us like franklin succeeded in the english county comp where the best team in the world atm (england) selects its player from.

England are only a recent no.1 though and Franklin has done better for NZ in the last year or so. Andre Adams has been the most consistent Kiwi performer in County Cricket, he does very well for Notts but obviously didn't get much of a run for the national side. More Kiwis playing in the County Championship will help New Zealand a lot over time. There's no reason really why New Zealand shouldn't be at least putting out an XI where all them are competent Test players, they can do better than guys who average 25-30 with the bat or 35-40 with the ball.

People generally but especially selectors need to get over this experience crap, than a rubbish player with experience is automatically better than an unknown with no caps - that isn't even true in the short term, let alone the mid to long term.

 

[wallacenz]

England are only a recent no.1 though and Franklin has done better for NZ in the last year or so. Andre Adams has been the most consistent Kiwi performer in County Cricket, he does very well for Notts but obviously didn't get much of a run for the national side. More Kiwis playing in the County Championship will help New Zealand a lot over time. There's no reason really why New Zealand shouldn't be at least putting out an XI where all them are competent Test players, they can do better than guys who average 25-30 with the bat or 35-40 with the ball.

People generally but especially selectors need to get over this experience crap, than a rubbish player with experience is automatically better than an unknown with no caps - that isn't even true in the short term, let alone the mid to long term.

i dont think we need to play county cricket. i think our comp is up to the task of fostering talent.

Andrew Strauss came to New Zealand, dumped by the English team. His career was pretty much over. He played a season in NZs comp, based on that he was selected for the English team (I think for their tour of NZ) and now he holds the ashes and captains the number 1 team in the world.

Other players have also resurrected their careers playing in the NZ comp like Hick.

 

[ret]

Good comeback by the kiwis .... havent watched the game but the game appears to be nicely balanced as you cannot either discount a kiwi collapse or the OZ coming back strongly in the 2nd innings

 

[Zinzan]

i dont think we need to play county cricket. i think our comp is up to the task of fostering talent.

Andrew Strauss came to New Zealand, dumped by the English team. His career was pretty much over. He played a season in NZs comp, based on that he was selected for the English team (I think for their tour of NZ) and now he holds the ashes and captains the number 1 team in the world.

Other players have also resurrected their careers playing in the NZ comp like Hick.

That's not actually true of Hick....he played FC cricket in NZ well before he ever played Test cricket & had complied an amazing FC record in both NZ & English conditions up until that point.

 

[Zinzan]

Weather looks a little bleak once again ........

Max 19
Morning rain.
Chance of any rain: 80%
Rainfall amount: 2 to 5 mm

Hobart area

Cloudy. The chance of mist this morning, mainly in the east. Areas of rain, easing to isolated showers during the morning, clearing around midday. Winds mainly northwest to southwesterly averaging up to 20 km/h.

 

[wallacenz]

That's not actually true of Hick....he played FC cricket in NZ well before he ever played Test cricket & had complied an amazing FC record in both NZ & English conditions up until that point.

I was referring to Hicks last stint in NZ. He did the same as Strauss didnt he, tried to get back in the team via the nz comp and tour. Ravi Bopara is another example, i dont know why they picked him though because he wasnt anything special over here.

 

[Zinzan]

I was referring to Hicks last stint in NZ. He did the same as Strauss didnt he, tried to get back in the team via the nz comp and tour. Ravi Bopara is another example, i dont know why they picked he though because he wasnt anything special over here.

I may be wrong, but I don't recall Hick ever returning to NZ to play for ND after his first Test. I thought he had 2-3 season only from 1987-89 (and didn't play a test until '91)

 

[wallacenz]

I may be wrong, but I don't recall Hick ever returning to NZ to play for ND after his first Test. I thought he had 2-3 season only from 1987-89 (and didn't play a test until '91)

Im pretty sure he played in the early/mid 2000s and scored prolifically.

 

[Furball]

I was referring to Hicks last stint in NZ. He did the same as Strauss didnt he, tried to get back in the team via the nz comp and tour. Ravi Bopara is another example, i dont know why they picked him though because he wasnt anything special over here.

Bopara was called up for his debut Test from the England Lions squad which was in New Zealand at the time.

 

[Zinzan]

England are only a recent no.1 though and Franklin has done better for NZ in the last year or so. Andre Adams has been the most consistent Kiwi performer in County Cricket, he does very well for Notts but obviously didn't get much of a run for the national side. More Kiwis playing in the County Championship will help New Zealand a lot over time. There's no reason really why New Zealand shouldn't be at least putting out an XI where all them are competent Test players, they can do better than guys who average 25-30 with the bat or 35-40 with the ball.

People generally but especially selectors need to get over this experience crap, than a rubbish player with experience is automatically better than an unknown with no caps - that isn't even true in the short term, let alone the mid to long term.

The problem for NZ is a simple one, Test matches just don't rate here. That is why players naturally gravitate towards ODI/T20's where NZ generally punch above their weight. We're lucky to get 2000 people along to a test match these days & our weak-chinned ex CEO did nothing at all to promote Test cricket in this country. They need to get back to rewarding well performed Test cricketers more than the other forms at a national level, only then they can start working on the other areas of development.