***Official*** New Zealand in the West Indies 2014

[Bahnz]

The curator obviously isn't a fan of grass (of the turf kind, anyway).

I love that pollished sheen on the wickets that you get nowhere else than in the Caribbean. Hilarious.

 

[hendrix]

The latter, from what I saw...but I didn't watch much.

It's really hard to know on a pitch like this.

 

[WindieWeathers]

Yeah McHesson 100% justified in picking 2 spinners.

This is going to be a fun series.

Wouldn't get too carried away Hendrix as Sodhi and Craig were up against youngsters today.

 

[hendrix]

Wouldn't get too carried away Hendrix as Sodhi and Craig were up against youngsters today.

It's not that I rate Sodhi or Craig.

It's just that if the pitches are like that for the test series you can give the ball to any club level spinner and he'll have more chance of taking wickets than Macko.

 

[Meridio]

Wagner's first was an edge to second slip, he went around the wicket and the batsman tried to drive one just outside off that looked a bit short to be driving at. Decent delivery, but nothing special. Didn't see his second.

Craig's second wicket was nice, a good length ball that turned and bounced and took the left-hander's outside edge, with JimmehGS taking a good tumbling catch at slip. His third was a rank half tracker that the batsman pulled to deep square.

Only saw one over from Boult and it was a good over, was right on the spot every ball, not sure how he bowled in his other overs. Sodhi bowled pretty well, was getting a huge amount of assistance from the pitch but still struggled to land 6 good balls an over.

Don't really think you can read much into a game like this though - it's good for our guys to get a feel for the local conditions but for the bowlers I think it's more about getting overs under the belt before the tests.

 

[hendrix]

On pitches that turn like this, it's better to be a finger spinner than a leggie. Leggies just get too much turn so the ball never takes the edge. Have to use the topspinner much more, and I'm not sure if Sodhi has a decent one.

 

[CharlesLara]

On pitches that turn like this, it's better to be a finger spinner than a leggie. Leggies just get too much turn so the ball never takes the edge. Have to use the topspinner much more, and I'm not sure if Sodhi has a decent one.

This is pretty spot on. As a leggie, conditions like this are not as favourable to leg spinners as one thinks. Accuracy above all is what separates good spinners from the great ones, and if its turning for everyone, you want your most accurate guy getting there. The argument could be that Ish turns it both ways, but you can't rely on a wrongun (and nor should you have to) and with the pitch likely to be a bunsen burner, I would see Craig being more effective.

Someone already Ish being on the short side, that was always gonna happen. Bowling spin in NZ, due to the true bounce and consistent flat tracks, Ish natural length is probably a bit on the short side for slow low condition where you have to be getting the batsman to drive off a fuller length, otherwise it just sits up.

 

[ajdude]

something seems a bit off about buchanan's figures.

 

[WindieWeathers]

It's not that I rate Sodhi or Craig.

It's just that if the pitches are like that for the test series you can give the ball to any club level spinner and he'll have more chance of taking wickets than Macko.

The problem for NZ Hendrix is if this becomes a competition between spinners then there's really only gonna be one winner here isn't there? Tbh Bina should be fairly even at first..so the pacers will have a chance in the first few days before it starts to turn late on.

 

[hendrix]

The problem for NZ Hendrix is if this becomes a competition between spinners then there's really only gonna be one winner here isn't there?

Not really. It evens things up.

It's like the green pitches NZ chose to produce against India. It did nothing but make mediocre pace bowlers like Ishant Sharma difficult to face.

 

[WindieWeathers]

Not really. It evens things up.

It's like the green pitches NZ chose to produce against India. It did nothing but make mediocre pace bowlers like Ishant Sharma difficult to face.

Can't agree tbh...for a start i'd be inclined to believe our boys are more adept at playing spin than the kiwi top order (kane is ok not sure about the others) and if you couple that with having a better spin attack then for me that wouldn't look good for NZ.

 

[hendrix]

Can't agree tbh...for a start i'd be inclined to believe our boys are more adept at playing spin than the kiwi top order (kane is ok not sure about the others) and if you couple that with having a better spin attack then for me that wouldn't look good for NZ.

I don't disagree with that, I'm just saying that it brings our mediocre spinners into the game.

If they produce spinning pitches but not complete dustbowls, our spinners would be ineffective but Narine would still be a nightmare. Whereas if they just produce complete dustbowls all the spinners will be effective.

 

[Howsie]

Can't agree tbh...for a start i'd be inclined to believe our boys are more adept at playing spin than the kiwi top order (kane is ok not sure about the others) and if you couple that with having a better spin attack then for me that wouldn't look good for NZ.

Yeah, nah agree. It might help guys like Sodhi and Craig who for the most part are next to useless, but it won't help our batsmen at all. No need to go to the extreme, raging turner from the start for example, but the more turn the better for the Windies.

 

[hendrix]

West Indies Cricket News: Sunil Narine's dilemma: IPL final or West Indies camp? | ESPN Cricinfo

They should just let him play. He could be back by the third, and the test doesn't start till the 8th. Plenty of time.

 

[Blocky]

-insert Wagner is God rant-
-insert Sodhi sucks so badly rant-

 

[Maximas]

Do WI test pitches ever give spin bowlers as much assistance as what we're seeing in this tour match though? From what I've seen of WI pitches I think we may be getting a little carried away with our expectations, but I would imagine decent turn will be on offer from day 1

 

[WindieWeathers]

West Indies Cricket News: Sunil Narine's dilemma: IPL final or West Indies camp? | ESPN Cricinfo

They should just let him play. He could be back by the third, and the test doesn't start till the 8th. Plenty of time.

If the board have the nerve to jeperdise our chances over a few bloody days then God help them...we simply cannot afford to cut off our nose to spite our face now..not after the shambles of last years away tours .

Sunny not playing would lift the kiwis to no end.

 

[Hurricane]

If the board have the nerve to jeperdise our chances over a few bloody days then God help them...we simply cannot afford to cut off our nose to spite our face now..not after the shambles of last years away tours .

Sunny not playing would lift the kiwis to no end.

I wouldn't think your blood pressure would be too healthy either

 

[marc71178]

A contract is a contract IMO - if Narine chooses to play the final then he's effectively sticking 2 fingers up at the WI board. If they then pick him then they're showing absolutely no spine and will just allow players to walk all over them whenever they feel like it.

They'd already put it back once for the players so why should they change it again?

 

[hendrix]

If the board have the nerve to jeperdise our chances over a few bloody days then God help them...we simply cannot afford to cut off our nose to spite our face now..not after the shambles of last years away tours .

Sunny not playing would lift the kiwis to no end.

it's a bit ****ing stupid because McCullum will be playing in the same game, won't he?