*Official* New Zealand in England 2015

[JediNudist]

Give Dmitri Mascarenhas a break.He's been in charge for bugger all time. Some responsibility to back onto the bowlers. Awful pathetic club level howlers being bowled all day . Mitch , yeah well great strike rate blah blah cool as, but he hasn't performed all series. Dropping it short every delivery on a nice batting pitch is just crazy stuff. Finn and Wood bowled with no swing and conceded 50 runs , less than a run a ball. NZ bowlers just poor. Drop Mitch at least for the final game and gave Bracewell a go. Cant do any worse.

 

[JediNudist]

The commentators have to justify why 200 was a good score to defend in their day and why this hitting and approach was not taken earlier. Except it was, just by very few batsmen who's records stand out in the past eras. Viv Richards for example.

Players are now batting closer to run maximisation. The game is not about batting averages, but economy rates and strike rates to maximise team scores. The one rule change which has completely and unfairly challenged the bowler is only 4 outfielders not 5. So the commentators say, oh you can do that with the new bats. The new bats may be drier (is that really possible - moisture in wood would have rotted the old bats if a significant difference), they talk of pressing the bats less - whatever that may be, and the bats are lighter according to Gower, and heavier according to Australian commentators.

Scores in ODI cricket are regaularly hitting totals that many of us I believe were always possible if the batsmen had chanced their arms. Coaches and selectors are giving licence to the players to play that way, and the likes of Maxwell and co with their daring play can give it a nudge without fear of being dropped if it does not pay off.

Williamson and Amla have upped scoring rates without taking many more chances. Scores like this should have been scored more often in the past. But batsmen thought it was a novelty to bat big in the first powerplay with Greatbatch and then Jayasuriya. And instead of waiting for the last 5 overs to charge (the death). They do it for the last 15. Furthermore in the middle overs, aggressive single running and boundary hitting occurs much more frequently. Attitudes and approaches have vastly changed putting the bowlers under immense pressure.

Remember the Chappell Hadlee series in 2007. Three matches 330 odd both innings. No one batted an eyelid.

 

[CaptainGrumpy]

Remember the Chappell Hadlee series in 2007. Three matches 330 odd both innings. No one batted an eyelid.

Yeah, Taylor, McMillan, and McCullum for NZ. Even Peter Fulton. A known boring cricketer scored at a big strike rate. Hayden, Hodge, Watson and Hussey run maximising for Australia.

Not particularly relevant in this series, but overall, we are seeing far better wicket keeper batsmen ubiquitously and two sometimes three allrounders per side, also increasing runs scored. Maxwell and Watson for Australia with MMarsh (almost Johnson included as well) being a prime example.

I like the way batsmen are playing the game today. The bowlers are responding by trying to take wickets because they know runs will happen. Its far better cricket than containment. That said, any bowler who can actually contain in the modern game, like Vettori or Shakib, is a superstar and worth their weight in gold.

Its taken a long time for the coaches and selectors to come from a generation that knows that old rules and addages of test cricket do not apply in One Day Cricket, and that holing out is not the worse sin for a batsmen, but 60 no off 100 balls is. And a 101* off 166 balls is inexecusable, not an innings to be celebrated.

 

[Antihippy]

I did not think it was possible to create pitches flatter than the world cup.

But there you go.

 

[kiwiviktor81]

I wouldn't worry too much about the high scores because in this series the four best batsmen across both teams have all scored prolifically. Root, Morgan, Taylor and Williamson are collectively averaging about 90.

 

[CaptainGrumpy]

I wouldn't worry too much about the high scores because in this series the four best batsmen across both teams have all scored prolifically. Root, Morgan, Taylor and Williamson are collectively averaging about 90.

But Morgan is a classic example of what I am saying. England batted him lower - as a 'finisher' or a 'closer'. Now that he is up the order, he can bat the same way, just for many more overs, and with less 'wicket and score board pressure' at the commencement of the innings.

 

[Antihippy]

I would worry, because it pretty much means that there's no bowler who's able to rise on level with those batsmen.

I dunno, if it continues this way it becomes batsmen vs batsmen, and to me cricket loses its allure when it stops becoming batsmen vs bowler.

I'm also not sure if people only want batsmen vs batsmen now. There's a reason that bowlers won the MotM for the world cup final and MotS for the whole world cup. I feel like that's an indirect protest to the direction this series has gone.

Honestly, the reason I was looking forward to this series is because I thought NZ bowling would give a good show, but they've been a disappointment really.

 

[CaptainGrumpy]

I would worry, because it pretty much means that there's no bowler who's able to rise on level with those batsmen.

I dunno, if it continues this way it becomes batsmen vs batsmen, and to me cricket loses its allure when it stops becoming batsmen vs bowler.

I'm also not sure if people only want batsmen vs batsmen now. There's a reason that bowlers won the MotM for the world cup final and MotS for the whole world cup. I feel like that's an indirect protest to the direction this series has gone.

Honestly, the reason I was looking forward to this series is because I thought NZ bowling would give a good show, but they've been a disappointment really.

Well when Vettori retires, Boult gets injured, Milne and Anderson injured before the series start, surely you know this was the B team + Southee. We're not Australia with an endless production of high quality seam pacemen.

 

[cnerd123]

wtf is this series. RIP bowlers.

 

[Antihippy]

Well when Vettori retires, Boult gets injured, Milne and Anderson injured before the series start, surely you know this was the B team + Southee. We're not Australia with an endless production of high quality seam pacemen.

To be fair I was expecting more of a boult + southee show before boult injured himself. You guys really don't have that much coming up though? I thought matt henry looked decent in the world cup.

That's what I'm saying though.

 

[CaptainGrumpy]

To be fair I was expecting more of a boult + southee show before boult injured himself. You guys really don't have that much coming up though? I thought matt henry looked decent in the world cup.

That's what I'm saying though.

He wasn't a disaster in the finals which everyone in the know feared McClehangan would be.

The Milne Boult Southee show is a great show. I love watching Milne's pace and Boult's swing mastery. But yeah, our production line depth of serious quality is being tested. I'm surprised that Douggie isn't getting a run at the moment. Maybe they want McClenagahn to completely play his way out of the team for good.

 

[Bahnz]

Remember the Chappell Hadlee series in 2007. Three matches 330 odd both innings. No one batted an eyelid.

In the first match in that series, Australia were bowled out for 150. And it's absolutely not true that nobody batted an eyelid at NZ chasing down 300+ in successive matches.

 

[Antihippy]

Though I think this series underscored just how important Vettori was in world cup.

 

[Howe_zat]

Think I've got how it works now

NZ chase down a big score => England are ****
England chase down a big score => ODIs are ****

 

[Jono]

Remember the Chappell Hadlee series in 2007. Three matches 330 odd both innings. No one batted an eyelid.

Wasn't it just 2? Distinctly remember Australia getting bowled out for **** all one match

 

[JediNudist]

In the first match in that series, Australia were bowled out for 150. And it's absolutely not true that nobody batted an eyelid at NZ chasing down 300+ in successive matches.

Just saying that people are getting all fragile about high scoring games now but they are not new.

 

[Antihippy]

Think I've got how it works now

NZ chase down a big score => England are ****
England chase down a big score => ODIs are ****

I mean yeah.

It just highlights how improbable it is.

 

[JediNudist]

Well when Vettori retires, Boult gets injured, Milne and Anderson injured before the series start, surely you know this was the B team + Southee. We're not Australia with an endless production of high quality seam pacemen.

This kiwi one day attack will look a lot better when Milne , Boult and Anderson are back. Mitch and Henry and Southee did not perform last night. Saying that , still one more match to go. Anything can happen. Im sure if we win the series it will take some of the edge off the poor bowling.

 

[CaptainGrumpy]

This kiwi one day attack will look a lot better when Milne , Boult and Anderson are back. Mitch and Henry and Southee did not perform last night. Saying that , still one more match to go. Anything can happen. Im sure if we win the series it will take some of the edge off the poor bowling.

The series has had some positives.

Santner will feel good for his batting yesterday. Taylor is back in form. Guptill getting some starts. But when Ronchi bats 6, and Southee bats 8, the team balance is off. Way off.

 

[Skyliner]

The commentators have to justify why 200 was a good score to defend in their day and why this hitting and approach was not taken earlier. Except it was, just by very few batsmen who's records stand out in the past eras. Viv Richards for example.

Players are now batting closer to run maximisation. The game is not about batting averages, but economy rates and strike rates to maximise team scores. The one rule change which has completely and unfairly challenged the bowler is only 4 outfielders not 5. So the commentators say, oh you can do that with the new bats. The new bats may be drier (is that really possible - moisture in wood would have rotted the old bats if a significant difference), they talk of pressing the bats less - whatever that may be, and the bats are lighter according to Gower, and heavier according to Australian commentators.

Scores in ODI cricket are regaularly hitting totals that many of us I believe were always possible if the batsmen had chanced their arms. Coaches and selectors are giving licence to the players to play that way, and the likes of Maxwell and co with their daring play can give it a nudge without fear of being dropped if it does not pay off.

Williamson and Amla have upped scoring rates without taking many more chances. Scores like this should have been scored more often in the past. But batsmen thought it was a novelty to bat big in the first powerplay with Greatbatch and then Jayasuriya. And instead of waiting for the last 5 overs to charge (the death). They do it for the last 15. Furthermore in the middle overs, aggressive single running and boundary hitting occurs much more frequently. Attitudes and approaches have vastly changed putting the bowlers under immense pressure.

The commentators are the paid experts who's knowledge through playing the game previously is meant to inform the viewer of what is happening. Except the viewer knows that the batsmen never played that way. Last night they praised spin at the death and what a great move it was and that the commentators had wanted that for years to occur. After the first two balls went for six, the commentators said it was risk by Bell to do that and he should have left Wood with some overs. It was priceless.

It wasn't that long ago that teams used to dawdle through 'middle overs' at four an over, saving everything for the charge at the end. You had bowlers with wonderful figures because no-one was prepared to take the slightest risk. That was the 'good old days'.