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

Who will win this match?


  • Total voters
    57
  • Poll closed .

Greenlite

U19 Debutant
Just read through the final over of the thread and gee it was tense++++

And Jonbrook you were sooooooooooo pessimisticcccccc!!! Like me!
 

thierry henry

International Coach
Best night of my life. The winning six came my way but landed about 10 rows in front of me. I hugged so many random Indian guys. My friend got so excited he almost strangled me to death. My girlfriend, who didn't even have a ticket but was working there and managed to find a seat next to us for the last 20 overs, yawned, smiled and said "oh New Zealand won? That took a long time. Ok let's go home". What a time to be alive.
 

Greenlite

U19 Debutant
Best night of my life. The winning six came my way but landed about 10 rows in front of me. I hugged so many random Indian guys. My friend got so excited he almost strangled me to death. My girlfriend, who didn't even have a ticket but was working there and managed to find a seat next to us for the last 20 overs, yawned, smiled and said "oh New Zealand won? That took a long time. Ok let's go home". What a time to be alive.
she needs hearing aids:laugh:
 

Greenlite

U19 Debutant
My high school friend is going to MCG for the final, wonder how many tickets are allowed for kiwi fans to snap up or is 80% gonna be sold to Indians or Australians?
 

Hurricane

Hall of Fame Member
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
You are right unfortunately people are idiots and it will actually take a situation of someone being called back for the rule to change.
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
There was no greater moment of the match then when Dan "the man" Vettori squirted that 4 in the last over and everyone was going nuts, but Ian Smith noted that Dan was just leaning back on his bat looking like one ***y bearded bespectacled chilled mofo. As if he was feeling no pressure or stress at all.

Honestly if Dan isn't the greatest living creature on Earth, he is only second behind Luggage.
 

Dan

Hall of Fame Member
Honestly if Dan isn't the greatest living creature on Earth, he is only second behind Luggage.
Thanks Jono! Glad to see you've come around after my challenge in that other thread. Maybe you aren't as bad as everyone makes you out to be after all.
(inb4 Shri rages that he didn't mean me)

Surprised you didn't say third behind Kohli and Luggage though.
 

_Ed_

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Had Radio Sport on when I was driving to work this morning - they said they were trying to get hold of Elliott for an interview but he was busy watching Dora The Explorer with his kids. WAG.
 

Greenlite

U19 Debutant
Had Radio Sport on when I was driving to work this morning - they said they were trying to get hold of Elliott for an interview but he was busy watching Dora The Explorer with his kids. WAG.
He said something about cricket is just part of life and you need to have a balance in life and you don't need to play each game as your last there's always more to life...he's a man of his word
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
When you have a face literally made of leather, you have perspective in life.

Luggage should write a book about his philosophies called "No luggage", a book written by Luggage

Edit: "No baggage" would also work.
 
Last edited:

Daemon

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If NZ loses the final I hope the NZ fans here don't try to paint it as "it was a great run, we did our best".. cos winning a semifinal isn't enough this time.
Yea but getting to the final just to lose to Aus is not something I'd sign up for.
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.
Hmm, can't speak for them ofc, but trying to put myself in their shoes I can't help but think that if NZ lose the final but in manner to how SA bowed out, the fans will be nothing but proud of their team. You're right when you say it will be harder to swallow because they were so close to the title, but I still highly doubt they'd have taken a loss today over one in the finals.
 

cnerd123

likes this
SA's nervous energy almost won them this game, but ended up losing it for them.

It was their nervous energy that saw Amla and De Kock out early playing loose shots, but that saw Faf and Rossou hustle hard and absorb the pressure so well right after. ABDV is a walking talking ball-smashing bundle of energy, and then Miller right at the end exploded like a firework.

All this energy was there to be seen in the field, as ABDV kept shuffling bowlers to hold back McCullum, as Morkel and Philander and Steyn all turned in fantastic spells at various points, as Tahir bundled through the crease every ball pushing hard and hard for a wicket so he could go on a lap of celebration around Eden park.

It was the same energy that saw them fling themselves after the ball in godly display of fielding, that saw ABDV bowl one of the best death spells of the world cup. It was the same energy that powered Dale Steyn through that final spell.

But it was the same energy that saw ABDV and De Kock fumble the ball, and that saw Duminy collide into Behardien.

Their nervous energy saw them put on an incredible performance in all 3 disciplines, yet saw them lose some crucial moments. Not a choke. Not bottling a game they should have won. Just their excitement and eagerness that fueled them turning around to bite them.

It's hard to point a finger on one defining turning point in a game that consisted of about a billion of them. Amla and De Kock's loose start, Faf and Rossouws recovery, that Guptill catch, that Williamson drop, a few missed runout chances, the rain, the reveiwed wide that sent back Faf short of a well deserved 100, Miller's assault, another drop. Then the McCullum blitz, the Tahir maiden, Kane's dragging on, Ross running out Guppy and getting himself strangled down leg, Corey's counter punch, ABDV bowling, ABDV missing a runout, Morkel's over, Ronchi holing out, Dan's four, another missed runout, the dropped catch, the four, the six.

In the end, the assertion made earlier in this thread by one of the old wise members that the coolest head on the night would win the game was corrrect.

Elliot had the coolest head that night. And he won the game. Grant Elliot, of all people, has played an ATG World Cup innings in one of the ATG ODIs.

McCullums six at the start off Steyn signalled the NZ's intent to win this in style; Elliot's six off Steyn was a fitting way to wrap it up.

Great game. Fantastic.
 

Snippie27

Cricket Spectator
Thats what happens when you don't read a link on facebook in depth (blame it on the early hours of the morning). Still f@@@ heartbreaking!
 

anil1405

International Captain
Came to this thread today with almost the same enthusiasm as yesterday. Can we start this game again please.
 

jcas0167

International Debutant
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.
In NZ's case you only need to read some of the views of the veterans of the 1992 World Cup final defeat to Pakistan to see that making the final at the MCG would have been massive for them. Obviously they would have been gutted if they'd then lost the final, but making the final would have been the pinacle of their careers. I think that this is a watershed for New Zealand cricket to finally break that psychological barrier and get beyond the semi-finals.

I agree, if they lose it will be gutting but I'll be proud of their efforts in this tournament.
 

Hurricane

Hall of Fame Member
You are right unfortunately people are idiots and it will actually take a situation of someone being called back for the rule to change.
Ended up discussing this over the water cooler. The consensus is that Corey should have kept walking and not thought about returning to the field.
 

OverratedSanity

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We all thought this game would be great so it's great to see something like that acually live up to the hype. This WC has seen such a weird mixture of absolute rubbish one sided matches and a few of the most thrilling matches ever (This semi, NZ v Aus, Afg v Scotland)
 

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