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

[Flem274*]

really good day. much better than i dared to dream.

 

[BeeGee]

Awesome day. Great stuff NZ!

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Much better than expected. If Kane (and preferable both him and Taylor, R) can see off the early pressure on day two, we're well set.

 

[Burgey]

Excellent first day for NZ. Seriously pissed off this series isn't on TV here.

 

[straw man]

Top day for us. Pitch will yield runs if the batsman is patient, steady and has good defense - like Williamson. Man it's good to have someone unflappable like that.

Taylor gifted a start by the Windies who've handed him most of his thirty runs and didn't pressure him enough at the start. Want a hundred tomorrow.

Jerome Taylor's bowling was good from what I saw; shows there's just a little there in the conditions for the fast bowlers to use if they bowl well.

Jeremy Coney talking now on Sky - added bonus.

 

[Prince EWS]

Excellent first day for NZ. Seriously pissed off this series isn't on TV here.

The fact that it was telecast live in Macedonia is still grinding my gears.

 

[Smudge]

So very patient from Kane. The commentators were saying he might be a bit worried/nervous if he didn't bring up his ton before stumps. He's one of those players who just wouldn't care. He'd switch back on tomorrow morning and start again.

That said, I was nervous for him...

 

[Zinzan]

Kane Williamson right up there when looking at the record of batsmen while under the age of 24

 

[Blocky]

Actually, he's not that good at surviving late session play - he tends to get himself out just around the time a session ends or starts.

 

[Days of Grace]

Guptill.

 

[hendrix]

The most hypocritical thing about dropping Narine for not committing to preparation is then picking Roach who hasn't played a first class match. So utterly ridiculous.

Still, this team is miles better than what was picked in the NZ series.

 

[Zinzan]

Kane Williamson right up there when looking at the record of batsmen while under the age of 24

Just noticed the spooky similarity between he and Crowe's record while under the age of 24. Kane still has another 50 odd days to improve his record before his 24th birthday.

 

[Beamer]

Well played New Zealand, particularly Kane. That was a day of excellent concentration and defensive batsmanship that has put them in a decent position.

I thought Roach and Benn were both pretty disappointing tbh. Kemar has the excuse of not having played anywhere near enough cricket but I expected better from Benn. Admittedly it was a horrible wicket to bowl on because the spin was dead slow and there was absolutely no carry at all for the pacers, but I thought they could have done better.

JT showed the way and my fear is he bowled exactly how Southee and Boult are likely to. The saving grace is that we get to bat against Ish Sodhi who will almost certainly be the loosest bowler on display and give us scoring opportunities. Not sure what Craig is like but I severely doubt he's as good as Shilly. When we do bat we have to get through the new ball and then capitalise. Hopefully we can restrict New Zealand to a manageable total tomorrow but it's not looking likely.

Finally, I would like to vent my frustration at the wicket that has been produced for this Test. I know they can do better than this and it is not conducive to entertaining cricket.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

Wow, what a first day. As usual immaculate betting call from PEWS. Heartening to see a solid 80 from Tommy.

Kane babies pls

 

[Zinzan]

Well what can i say? we've been done by a 3rd umpire AGAIN which i guess is just the norm these days...had it twice vs Australia, had the famous Pujara incident last year and now this Latham one...but hey ho i'm sure it will all level itself out in the end right?

Anyway this performance has been quite shocking tbh...the pacers didn't do too badly at the start but clearly the pitch isn't giving them much to work with...and if it stays this way NZ's quicks will struggle too i think. As for the spinners..Benn was quality before lunch but looks harmless right now and as for Shilly!!...my goodness it's painful watching the man bowl...and this is the man the selectors constantly favor over Narine despite him being banned twice? ...Sunny must be laughing his f##king behind off right now watching this...and so should the NZ players because we've totally killed ourselves with that decision they've decided to take.

Best hope now is to keep it below 260 today and hope we get a good start tomorrow...otherwise we'll be chasing 500 plus!!...we can do it on a track like this but the added pressure won't help us at all.

Poor form tbh. It's clutching at straws when the first thing you harp on about after picking up only 2 wickets in the entire day is a close 3rd umpire decision that cost you

Also, for all your bleating about the great Narine, perhaps you might consider NZ don't have the services of their top two spinners in Vettori & Patel which NZ fans have incidentally hardly mentioned.

Credit where due son.

 

[Smudge]

Actually, he's not that good at surviving late session play - he tends to get himself out just around the time a session ends or starts.

Thanks. Wasn't my point though.

 

[Mike5181]

I hope Jerome Taylor's body survives long enough for him to bring his average down to something that better reflects the skill level there. He looked a class above the other bowlers today.

 

[Bahnz]

Looks like a pretty decent first day. What do people think about the team that New Zealand selected? Not too happy personally - I can't believe the apparent decision to bat Neesham at 6, the guy is barely a First Class number 7. Further, it doesn't sound like there's much there for the slower bowlers, and I really hate it when Wagner gets left out just because the selectors think the conditions might suit spin. Even if we do pile on big runs, I think we'll struggle to capitalise on this start unless Southee and Boult can trigger a 1st innings top order melt-down (which they're perfectly capable of doing). Time will tell.

 

[Bahnz]

Also, great to see Latham go well. While I'm not as big a fan of him as hendrix, I do think he's more likely to succeed as a test opener than any NZer that I've seen since Richardson retired.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

anyone found a highlights package?