***Official**** Sri Lanka in New Zealand 2014/2015

[Dick Rockett]

Agree with Athlai, the stadium for me is the worst sporting event watching ground in the country.

I think it's fine once you're in your seat, but the security, access, food and beer are just rubbish. They've made some effort but it still falls well short of being good.

 

[Flem274*]

Mills was below average today. Didn't even look like taking a wicket and went for 25 off his first five up front. Boult on the other hand was sensational early doors, could've had one or even two and went for 10. Anyone without bias could see that, except for the haters obvs.

No one is disputing Boult bowled better than Mills today.

Today being the operative word in that sentence. Read what I said again.

You accusing others of bias is very rich.

 

[Athlai]

I think it's fine once you're in your seat, but the security, access, food and beer are just rubbish. They've made some effort but it still falls well short of being good.

Yeah I don't think the Cake Tin is in a bad spot of the city or anything but is still a pain in the ass to get to, and when you're there it's a pain in the ass to get to your seat. It's the apotheosis of the Basin.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

The really stupid thing about the Cake Tin is that the pitch and match action are hidden from anyone deciding to go and get food or beer.

Contrast this with Suncorp in Brisbane which is a largely similar design, but has the bar/food level open to the ground for viewing.

That, and the shape of the ground is wholly unsatisfactory for any sport other than AFL or cricket, and for the AFL it's too small.

They should have built a rugby stadium and invested in the Basin for cricket.

 

[Dick Rockett]

Contrast this with Suncorp in Brisbane which is a largely similar design, but has the bar/food level open to the ground for viewing.

Yeah, I was saying to a friend the other day that that's about the only thing good about Eden Park.

They should have built a rugby stadium and invested in the Basin for cricket.

A lot of folk have said that in hindsight. It's unfortunate, but multi-purpose GeneriParks were the accepted norm in NZ at the time the Cake Tin was planned. The earthquake was a horrible thing, but at least Christchurch is now rid of its own.

 

[Greenlite]

Say what you like about Vettori's strike rate, but 22 runs off 8 overs is murderously tight if you're defending 320.

Do you see how scared the Sri Lankans were against him? Just Having the old man stanidng there is enough to intimidate the opposition.

 

[hendrix]

That, and the shape of the ground is wholly unsatisfactory for any sport other than AFL or cricket,
.

It's perfect for rugby.

Seriously dunno what the problem with access to the stadium is. Wellington people are so ridiculously used to taking 5 mins to get anywhere that 15 mins is considered horrible I suppose.

 

[Dick Rockett]

It's perfect for rugby.

Seriously dunno what the problem with access to the stadium is. Wellington people are so ridiculously used to taking 5 mins to get anywhere that 15 mins is considered horrible I suppose.

The security is overbearing, the lines for tickets are always way too long and slow, and there's only two ways in or out, which clogs up the concourse.

 

[Greenlite]

yea SL didn't have much of a chance in the WC but this just destroyed any semblance of it.. NZ on the other hand will probably never get a better chance to win the whole thing.

I think if you get Malinga and Matthews back, that's still a pretty intimidating team, losing your captain and No.1 seamer can be the difference between a win and a big loss.

 

[Greenlite]

I'd probably play the first XI once against Pakistan, then continue rotating one or two players for the warm ups.

Fact is our first XI bowling team can change from game to game. Only our batting lineup looks pretty much set in stone. With Latham there to cover injury for pretty much any position in the top 7.

I would like to see them play on the Australian pitch, just in case we meet them in the semis, or if we make it to the showpiece.

The warm up vs SA might be an important one too, I think we lacked practice against lethal pace attacks vs SL and Pakistan, and Milne is sore so our batters can't practise with his fireball in the net.

 

[Maximas]

It hasn't been that bad, the scoreboard may say 4-1 in our favour but it has been a pretty well fought series. Your bowling and late middle order are the big concerns.

You have a top five locked in:

Thirimanne
Dilshan
Sangakkara
Jayawardene
Mathews

All in form and they'll put a lot of teams under pressure. Your number 6 and 7 positions are massively in the air though, I felt pretty bad for Chandimal today since he got so badly sawn off.

I think the bowling is relatively straightforward as well, with Malinga, Kulasekara, Perera and Herath making up your other options.

Perera is there effectively as a specialist "on his day" and death bowler who can bat a bit. You have enough quality in Dilshan and Mathews to carry him IMO. The other options are all pretty class.

Sri Lanka have an outside chance at the semi finals as they pretty much always do. The future after Sangakkara, Malinga, Herath and Jayawardene all go does look a little bleak.

Indeed, but things like fielding, death bowling and the lower middle order have been problems for a while now and while the return of Malinga should help it's hard to see us progressing beyond the quarters this time, I really had high hopes for this team a year ago so it's a shame to see this. The lack of depth with big names leaving soon is also a massive concern of course as you mention

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

It's perfect for rugby.

It's **** for rugby. You've a bloody mile away from the match because you've got massive run-off areas on either side of the pitch to accommodate the rectangle within the oval. Contrast this with Waikato Stadium or Forsyth Barr Stadium which are perfect for rugby.

It's not the lack of convenience that makes the Westpac a **** ground. It's 10 times easier to get there than the Basin ffs. But as a cricket ground, it's 1000 times worse.

 

[hendrix]

It's **** for rugby. You've a bloody mile away from the match because you've got massive run-off areas on either side of the pitch to accommodate the rectangle within the oval. Contrast this with Waikato Stadium or Forsyth Barr Stadium which are perfect for rugby.

It's not the lack of convenience that makes the Westpac a **** ground. It's 10 times easier to get there than the Basin ffs. But as a cricket ground, it's 1000 times worse.

Forsyth Barr is terrible.

Rectangles are not good for watching anything. Sit anywhere but the middle and you're tilting your neck the whole friggin game. Horrible design.

 

[NZTailender]

Freaking went down to the Oval and it's sold out. ffs.

Anyway, Taylor looking good.

What time did you go down? We needed an extra one so went early, got one at 10:30 no probs.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Forsyth Barr is terrible.

Rectangles are not good for watching anything. Sit anywhere but the middle and you're tilting your neck the whole friggin game. Horrible design.

What absolute rot. I'm sure there are others who agree with your view, but I've never met any of 'em.

EDIT: Let's have tennis matches at oval stadia so you don't have to tilt your neck every time the ball goes the other side of the net.

 

[Grasshopper]

Another disciplined performance. Mills' throw for the runout was a thing of beauty.

 

[Greenlite]

What absolute rot. I'm sure there are others who agree with your view, but I've never met any of 'em.

EDIT: Let's have tennis matches at oval stadia so you don't have to tilt your neck every time the ball goes the other side of the net.

I've been to Lancaster Park and redesigned "Jade Stadium" and the new one the Chiefs are playing in Hamilton now, never had an issue unless it's too far or the stairs are blocking the view

 

[NZTailender]

Another beaut day in Dunedin for cricket. Love that Elliott walks out to Freaks. Taylor looked great; one of his drives was the pick of the day for the Kiwis. One step forward, crunched it. A Sanga cut was best overall for mine.

Great unwashed still know **** all about cricket. 8 balls in 'eww this is so slow' and then later on 'we need a six' and when bowling 'we need a wicket'. Gee, no ****.

 

[Hurricane]

The really stupid thing about the Cake Tin is that the pitch and match action are hidden from anyone deciding to go and get food or beer.

Contrast this with Suncorp in Brisbane which is a largely similar design, but has the bar/food level open to the ground for viewing.

That, and the shape of the ground is wholly unsatisfactory for any sport other than AFL or cricket, and for the AFL it's too small.

They should have built a rugby stadium and invested in the Basin for cricket.

Sigh - heef commenting on Westpac stadium. All is well in CW land.

 

[Smudge]

What absolute rot. I'm sure there are others who agree with your view, but I've never met any of 'em.

EDIT: Let's have tennis matches at oval stadia so you don't have to tilt your neck every time the ball goes the other side of the net.

I did chuckle at that. In regards to Forsyth Barr, haven't had an end-on seat yet, but every seat I've been in (in both the North and South stands) have been great. I was near the goal line for the solitary Ranfurly Shield defence in 2013 and even that was good. I haven't heard a bad word from mates outside Dunedin who have come here to watch a game either.

I remember having a seat almost right on halfway for a Bledisloe test at Westpac Stadium. I felt like channelling Zoolander and asking if it was a ''rugby test for ants'' such was the distance between my seat and the sideline.