1st Semi Final - New Zealand v South Africa (24th March)

[Cruxdude]

Wow! Just Wow! This game really lived up to the cliche of cricket being the ultimate winner. Was so torn watching the last two overs as a neutral cricket fan. One second I want SA to win, then I start feeling bad for the superb crowd out there and start supporting NZ and then I remember AB and Steyn and move back to SA. Seriously a super end. Sadly missed a big chunk of the NZ game sleeping and was lucky to wake up by chance for the last two overs.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

Yea but getting to the final just to lose to Aus is not something I'd sign up for.

well obviously no NZer wants to lose. It'd be hard to be too mad though considering this is by far our best ever effort.

 

[jonbrooks]

Yea but getting to the final just to lose to Aus is not something I'd sign up for.

And who said the BCs have signed up for that? Like you've seen to date the BCs will give it everything they've got. That you can rely on 100%.

 

[jonbrooks]

well obviously no NZer wants to lose. It'd be hard to be too mad though considering this is by far our best ever effort.

Yes exactly. All any fan can ask for is for their team to give it 100%, I've ridden many a low with the BCs over the last few decades. Now I'm enjoying the highs.

 

[_Ed_]

I’ll be honest, I considered my legendary 1997-2007 jinx and genuinely considered staying away from this game for the good of the team. But I’ll be forever grateful that I didn’t! Being there in that crowd is something I’ll never forget.

That roar when Elliott hit the game-winning six was… I can’t even describe how loud it was. With ringing ears and my heart still going at a ridiculous speed I unsurprisingly couldn’t get to sleep until after 2am - suffering a bit at work today, but it’s fair to say it was worth it.

Just an incredible game of cricket, and I feel lucky to have been able to witness it. So proud of the NZ team, both for their performance on the field and then their gracious behaviour towards their amazing opposition at the end - it was a game that it’s crushingly sad someone had to lose.

AB’s bravado heading into the game may have irritated me a little, but his class shone through after the game. His praise for the NZ team and for the crowd earned him a richly deserved standing ovation from the (thousands) who stayed in the stands to see the speeches.

SA’s fans at the ground (and here on the forum too - I’ve read all the way through the thread and saw some wonderful posts from Proteas fans) were fantastic. There was one exception sitting near us, who I was all ready to unleash a massive rant about when I got home. But it was a stunning game played in such awesome spirit by players and fans alike, so that tiny minority is absolutely not worth dwelling on.

SA fans, I'm sorry you didn't quite make it this time after coming so close. But your team played some fantastic cricket through the tournament and last night. I hope you get your World Cup soon - it's pretty likely that you'll have my support as my second favourite team in the tournament in 2019.

Lastly, I did not agree with Eden Park’s claim that Stan Walker performing was a “special treat”. But to be fair it did sound like he can actually sing decently live, so credit to him for that at least.

 

[Burgey]

Ground is gonna be much bigger though. Quite a big adjustment.

Still only two blokes out up front and four for the rest of the innings though.

 

[Cruxdude]

Seriously how good is AB! Just never failed this whole WC and to still lose after such an effort is so heartbreaking!

 

[viriya]

And who said the BCs have signed up for that? Like you've seen to date the BCs will give it everything they've got. That you can rely on 100%.

Yea but after going through 4 SL final losses, I'd rather the team I'm supporting lose early than lose at the final hurdle - it's much harder to swallow.

 

[Greenlite]

The BCs are not the ABs. With the ABs there is an expectation we will win cos we are the dominant team.

As a BC fan I'm just enjoying the ride. We are playing good cricket. We've got the whole country behind us. Just go out there and play hard and enjoy yourselves on the biggest cricket stage in the world.

I'm so proud of our team that I felt like crying every time I watch that thrilling finale, I would still have forgiven them for getting knocked over last night chasing 7/over (but who am I anyway) but they fought back with emotions and guts and to actually WIN the game which I thought was impossible, is enough for me and I'm just glad we are in the show piece, and I can sense it (without jinxing it) and we'll see what happens on Sunday, you can always dream like BMac told us too right? Plus my wife's intuition was quite spot on recently (she said Amla's gonna get out then BANG! NZ will win ( said that before the last over) and BANG! Now NZ looks like a champion side...we'll see...shh....)

P.S. I was honestly praying for Elliot last night because he's such a nice peaceful human being and it just wonderful to see him winning the game for our country

And I feel very sorry for SA and I don't even like them before the game so that's saying something.

 

[BeeGee]

Completely apropos of nothing, but: "fruit and vegetables must not be taken out of Eden Park" - wat

After the game is over they let the cows back onto the ground to graze. The left over fruit and veg are piled into a trough for extra feed.

 

[hendrix]

Yea but after going through 4 SL final losses, I'd rather the team I'm supporting lose early than lose at the final hurdle - it's much harder to swallow.

no, no, it's really not.

 

[weldone]

no, no, it's really not.

Haha ya I'm with NZ supporters here. As an Indian fan, 2003 was much better than 2007 surely.

 

[Nate]

Elllllliiiiiooooottttttttttt

 

[Julian87]

I still can't help but feel but the lack of a genuine all rounder really, really hurt South Africa in this game. They weren't pathetic but Duminy and De Villiers as the 5th bowler just isn't good enough.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Well done Kiwis, great win.

I was going for NZ the whole time but also felt SA were dudded by the rain calculations. Later I realised that what I was really annoyed by was that the rain had interrupted a great partnership. Even if no time had been lost, the partnership, and total, would have been effected with the loss of flow.

I hope they win the final no matter who they play, but that seems tough after no games in Aus and not sure the MCG will suit their bowlers.

Hoping the last two games can almost match this.

 

[Greenlite]

On that subject, Corey Anderson hung around for ages to see if the ball hit the spidercam wire. What would have happened if it did? Dead ball and not out, or what?

I thought he was checking for no-ball, which they don't show for any dismissals for this game for some reason

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

I could only catch the last hour or so of the game on a bad stream, but looking back on the chase was fascinating.

- McCullum again with the blistering start. Would 100(80) be better than 50(20)? Arguably yes, but that's if McCullum feels that the extra conservatism will guarantee a higher score, which I don't think he does. His role is to kill off the game as fast as possible, not to set a launching pad to accumulate later.
- Missed most of Tahir's spell but for him to come away with no wickets was so crucial in us winning the game. A good spinner would in the past have got 2-35 or something and blunted the chase.
- The Morkel over where he dismissed Anderson was gorgeous. That alone would have deserved a South African win.
- South Africa's fielding was sublime, missed run-out and catch notwithstanding. Sounds like NZ's was below it's usual standard though.
- In my opinion Corey Anderson is our most important player at the moment.

Also after reading back over most of this thread I've come to the conclusion that NZ fans are some of the biggest panic-posters ever, which seems to be the total opposite of how the team is actually playing.

 

[otagoman]

The last replay of Anderson's dismissal appeared to show the ball hitting the spider cam wire...would also explains why Du Plessis fell to his die in effecting the catch. Would have been a travesty if Anderson got a reprieve there. I think Spider cam needs to go if it can potentially impact a game like that

Keep the drone cam, if you really need that overhead shot, but if the Anderson catch had been overruled as the ball hit the wire there would have been chaos

 

[Riggins]

The BCs are not the ABs. With the ABs there is an expectation we will win cos we are the dominant team.

As a BC fan I'm just enjoying the ride. We are playing good cricket. We've got the whole country behind us. Just go out there and play hard and enjoy yourselves on the biggest cricket stage in the world.

There's many things I hate about New Zealand, but I think the worst is this sort of acronym'ing.

 

[Greenlite]

The last replay of Anderson's dismissal appeared to show the ball hitting the spider cam wire...would also explains why Du Plessis fell to his die in effecting the catch. Would have been a travesty if Anderson got a reprieve there. I think Spider cam needs to go if it can potentially impact a game like that

Keep the drone cam, if you really need that overhead shot, but if the Anderson catch had been overruled as the ball hit the wire there would have been chaos

I thought du plesis should keep the catch even if the ball hit the wire...man should count as 2 wickets if it hits the wire and you still catch it.