***Official*** England in New Zealand series 2013

[_Ed_]

Interesting TMS summary of the day's play: BBC - Podcasts and Downloads - Test Match Special

 

[Days of Grace]

Pitch is still a road according to Boycott.

He then goes on to say that we should have enforced the follow-on. On a road.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Odds at the moment...

NZ - 1.67
Draw - 2.80
Eng - 7.00

I think the odds are weighed more in NZ's favour than that.

Totally agree, Only way England can win is to bowl NZ out for under 100 and bat better than they have for over 18 months. Not going to happen.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Pitch is still a road according to Boycott.

He then goes on to say that we should have enforced the follow-on. On a road.

It isn't a road but it certainly isn't a 204 all out pitch or one where you should lose 9 wickets for 183 which has happened in this game by both sides. Only reason to enforce a follow on was if weather was likely to intervene, it isn't by all accounts so no need to, let the bowlers freshen up and bowl with 400+ on the board. If they can't get the job done then then they don't deserve to win.

 

[_Ed_]

Would just like to say I was there all day Saturday and Sunday and being at Eden Park didn't ruin my life or anything. I actually had a great time and enjoyed the atmosphere

Have to agree with this. I hated the idea when Eden Park appeared in the Test itenerary, but I loved every minute of my time there today. Very pleasantly surprised.

Because of the farcical dimensions of the playing field, you actually feel really close to the action in the front few rows of seats, which is very cool.

If you could guarantee the sort of crowd and atmosphere we had today every time (probably not likely - the Barmy Army were a huge contributor), I'd be all for regular Tests here.

The Barmy Army were really good value today IMO. Loved when they sang the Beatles song Help after the early wickets in the morning session. And they joined the standing ovation for Boult, which was generous of them.

 

[Meridio]

Dear NZ,

Please do not have a lol collapse now. Even making 180 should guarantee a draw at worst.

Just don't collapse for 50 all out.

 

[Scaly piscine]

How many home series have India whitewashed their opponent?

How does this compare to NZ home series victories?

I'm trying to gauge which is worse.

 

[theegyptian]

Well we are ****ed unless the weather intervenes. Well played NZ and well done Cook, useless **** inserting.

should blame cook for getting out as well. The general consensus was to bowl including the opposing captain and most of the press. great in hindsight to appear wise but England have been **** throughout the series. Their bowlers and batsman have done better and got more out of the wickets. The biggest failure has been to let Fulton face 719 balls over the series so far(more than anyone else). If SA were here I doubt Fulton would have made 20 runs over the whole series.

You could really blame any of the players

Cook- He fails, they all fail but is that really his fault. He can't average 80 away from home every series
Compton - His first innings here was horrible and the reason I didn't want him in the team. You can't just block and invite pressure. We may have won the second test if someone else but compton had scored a century.
Trott - too casual, too many mistakes
Bell- can't even make runs against the average teams now.
KP- standard not turning up for the first test stuff ****. didn't want to be there.
Root- Hasn't looked test standard. Many of us said before he was picked for india that he was a couple of years away from being good enough.
Prior - Has done well but needed to do more yesterday when he got out for 70. Good knock but england needed a series defining knock. Too often he puts in a good knock but can't push on and score a big hundred that a great player would.
Broad - bowled ok. batting **** and getting what he deserves for deserting considered practice and thinking he can do what he wants
Finn- pretty damn bad but adjusting runup and action during international series is not easy.
Anderson - biggest disappointment of the whole lot. needed a big series with no swann and broad and finn at turning points of career. the reason why he still averages 30 is this. too many average series'.
Panesar- poor but what did you expect. least we won't get people going on about how he should be starting over swann anytime soon.

 

[lockton2skipper]

right decision not to follow on with 4 bowlers. set england 400 by mid afternoon and new zealand should win.

 

[ganeshran]

this has probably been discussed here, but why on earth did NZ not enforce the follow on? Great way to press home the advantage and take the series.

 

[Cabinet96]

Their opening bowlers got through a lot of overs in the first innings, along with the overs bowled at Dunedin and Wellington. The general census was that they could do with a bit of a rest and then hit England again fresh the next day.

 

[Pothas]

Very comfortable start for New Zeland this.

 

[Flametree]

Just blown away by Fulton... I think this innings so far is even more impressive than his 50 or his hundred earlier in the series. Pressure on (I know, 230 ahead not the worst situation to bat...), bowlers fired up, and he's hardly played a false shot.

 

[NZTailender]

Haha loving the confusion as to why NZ didn't enforce the follow on.

It'd mean we'd be chasing in the 4th innings. Given that for the last few years we've struggled to put a decent score on, and despite our improvements in this series, I wouldn't have bundles of confidence in us bowling England out cheaply and winning by an innings or chasing a small total like 150 (which can prove difficult, despite the meagre size). I mean, look how we started this innings. Enforcing the follow on would be putting the pressure on the English but then to expect they'd collapse is giving our bowling attack more credit than they deserve IMO and not giving enough to the English side, who would've won the 2nd test had it not been for rain.

England showed in Dunedin that after a bad first innings they can just grind us out of the game. In this match there's more time to play with and if they want to win and have a series win, it's trickier than batting for a draw. I think on this pitch and with the conditions, the side bowling last will have the biggest advantage.

 

[Jezroy]

Just blown away by Fulton... I think this innings so far is even more impressive than his 50 or his hundred earlier in the series. Pressure on (I know, 230 ahead not the worst situation to bat...), bowlers fired up, and he's hardly played a false shot.

Yep - pressure obviously got to Taylor/Rutherford/Kane.

But not to 2m Peter.

I thought even on the first day, the first 50 or so he scored, he still looked a little gumby.

But he looks *almost* solid.

 

[wpdavid]

should blame cook for getting out as well. The general consensus was to bowl including the opposing captain and most of the press. great in hindsight to appear wise but England have been **** throughout the series. Their bowlers and batsman have done better and got more out of the wickets. The biggest failure has been to let Fulton face 719 balls over the series so far(more than anyone else). If SA were here I doubt Fulton would have made 20 runs over the whole series.

You could really blame any of the players

Cook- He fails, they all fail but is that really his fault. He can't average 80 away from home every series
Compton - His first innings here was horrible and the reason I didn't want him in the team. You can't just block and invite pressure. We may have won the second test if someone else but compton had scored a century.
Trott - too casual, too many mistakes
Bell- can't even make runs against the average teams now.
KP- standard not turning up for the first test stuff ****. didn't want to be there.
Root- Hasn't looked test standard. Many of us said before he was picked for india that he was a couple of years away from being good enough.
Prior - Has done well but needed to do more yesterday when he got out for 70. Good knock but england needed a series defining knock. Too often he puts in a good knock but can't push on and score a big hundred that a great player would.
Broad - bowled ok. batting **** and getting what he deserves for deserting considered practice and thinking he can do what he wants
Finn- pretty damn bad but adjusting runup and action during international series is not easy.
Anderson - biggest disappointment of the whole lot. needed a big series with no swann and broad and finn at turning points of career. the reason why he still averages 30 is this. too many average series'.
Panesar- poor but what did you expect. least we won't get people going on about how he should be starting over swann anytime soon.

All true. NZ's current innings is symptomatic of how we've performed. Even the gift start of 11 for 3 hasn't been capitalised on, when a genuinely good team, given that start, would have pretty much blown NZ away by now and thought about chasing 300 or so. Instead, they've barely put these two under any pressure at all.

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

All NZ batsman now have batting averages over 30!

Probably the first time in years, as we're always carrying some crap opener barely averaging 20.

Pretty low bar but...

 

[Pothas]

All true. NZ's current innings is symptomatic of how we've performed. Even the gift start of 11 for 3 hasn't been capitalised on, when a genuinely good team would have pretty much blown NZ away by now and thought about chasing 300 or so. Instead, they've barely put these two under any pressure at all.

They really have been rubbish so far today. Broad especially bowled really well in last session yesterday but nothing today.

 

[Jezroy]

Haha loving the confusion as to why NZ didn't enforce the follow on.

Yeah - I agree with your reasons above also, but if you want to simplify even more, NZ bowled for 80 overs. If England had managed to bat for 120 overs, that's 200 straight overs for our bowlers, after what they had to do in Wellington and Dunedin. And who knows how long England could have batted for in a "grind it out" type situation.

They way this game is going, it looks like they will have around 140 overs methinks.

 

[NZTailender]

All NZ batsman now have batting averages over 30!

Probably the first time in years, as we're always carrying some crap opener barely averaging 20.

Pretty low bar but...

Not a bad tail either. Martin averages 36 () and Southee a touch under 20.