**Official** New Zealand in Australia 2015

[OverratedSanity]

8 wickets taken in the match is extremely worrying for NZ. And most of those were declaration batting wickets.

 

[Moss]

Wonder if we can expect better at Perth. Santner for Craig doesn't do a lot for the bowling and probably weakens the batting a bit. The extra seamer for Neesh at least gives BMac another option, but if Southee isn't fit it doesn't look good.

 

[morgieb]

Australian ratings:

Burns 7.5 - good knocks all round, very good job for what is his first Test opening. Could've kicked on first innings and was arguably lucky to survive the new ball but made up for it with the ton in the second (in admittedly easy circumstances). Didn't really look all that great at bat-pad, though.
Warner 9.5 - loses .5 of a mark for not getting a double when it was there for the taking. Otherwise two excellent innings to open the vault as vice-captain.
Khawaja 9 - surprise packet of the game. He'll have harder circumstances to bat in but looked classy all game.
Smith 5 - got a peach first innings, realistically couldn't have impressed in the second. Did a good job with the bat to take the game safely through two potentially dicey sessions.
Voges 8 - hard to really judge as by the time he was in the pressure was way off. But there were runs to be had and he got them. Doesn't look a natural in the slips though.
Marsh 7 - on a hiding to nothing with the bat, but bowled pretty damn well. Especially in the second innings.
Nevill 8 - looked all class behind the stumps. Not really anything explosive but that's probably down to his keeping techinque being a class above most keepers today.
Johnson 7 - struggled early but after that bowled very well, despite getting a bit of stick from Williamson.
Starc 7 - one of his best older ball spells I've seen from him, if anything his more wayward/floaty patches came with the new ball. Possibly stood out less than other bowlers did but still one of his best overall bowling efforts with the red pill.
Hazlewood 6.5 - bowled an excellent spell on the second evening to build the pressure that Johnson and Starc lacked with the first new ball. But otherwise seemed a bit meh and his loose delieveries seemed to be put away with ease.
Lyon 7 - came to the game in the second innings after getting his line right, and bowled very well from that time on.

 

[Bahnz]

KW 8.5 - Imperious in the first innings, but let himself down with poor strategy to the turning ball in the 2nd innings.
Southee 7 - Excellent on day 1, with a bit more pressure coming from the other end he might've picked up one or two more wickets.
Latham 6 - Played well in each innings, but looked to be operating at the very limits of his capabilities. His penchant for falling away to the offside ultimately cost him his wicket in the 2nd dig.
McCullum 5 - Gash captaincy on day 1 probably contributed to Boult going awol. Sounds like a great knock in the 2nd innings but things were largely decided by then anyway.
Guptill 5 - Saw off the new ball in each innings, but the fact that he's only just averaging 30 since his return to the test side does not inspire confidence (especially since he's been given huge let-offs in 3 of his 6 innings since then).
Watling 4 - Tidy with the gloves, but poor with the bat in each innings. Seems harsh but NZ need more from him if they're to stand a chance
Bracewell 3 - Don't think he bowled terribly, especially on day 2. Produced some leading edges that in kinder circumstances would've gone to hand. Still bled far too many cheap runs though.
Craig 2 - showed why he's the Albion cricket club's 3rd choice spinner. Threatened to make a real nuisance of himself in the 1st innings but then threw it away with a horrible slog.
Taylor 2 - now this is a real worry. Taylor is looking Ian Bell levels of bad atm. Really felt for him struggling to find his way to form in the 2nd innings and ultimately failing miserably. NZ don't stand a chance unless he can find a way to turn things around.
Neesham 1 - bad back or no, Jimmy was trash from woe to go in this one.
Boult 0 - the worst I've ever seen him bowl by miiiiiiiles. Reminded me of post knee surgery Franklin. Blegh.

 

[Moss]

Australian ratings:

Burns 7.5 - good knocks all round, very good job for what is his first Test opening. Could've kicked on first innings and was arguably lucky to survive the new ball but made up for it with the ton in the second (in admittedly easy circumstances). Didn't really look all that great at bat-pad, though.
Warner 9.5 - loses .5 of a mark for not getting a double when it was there for the taking. Otherwise two excellent innings to open the vault as vice-captain.
Khawaja 9 - surprise packet of the game. He'll have harder circumstances to bat in but looked classy all game.
Smith 5 - got a peach first innings, realistically couldn't have impressed in the second. Did a good job with the bat to take the game safely through two potentially dicey sessions.
Voges 8 - hard to really judge as by the time he was in the pressure was way off. But there were runs to be had and he got them. Doesn't look a natural in the slips though.
Marsh 7 - on a hiding to nothing with the bat, but bowled pretty damn well. Especially in the second innings.
Nevill 8 - looked all class behind the stumps. Not really anything explosive but that's probably down to his keeping techinque being a class above most keepers today.
Johnson 7 - struggled early but after that bowled very well, despite getting a bit of stick from Williamson.
Starc 7 - one of his best older ball spells I've seen from him, if anything his more wayward/floaty patches came with the new ball. Possibly stood out less than other bowlers did but still one of his best overall bowling efforts with the red pill.
Hazlewood 6.5 - bowled an excellent spell on the second evening to build the pressure that Johnson and Starc lacked with the first new ball. But otherwise seemed a bit meh and his loose delieveries seemed to be put away with ease.
Lyon 7 - came to the game in the second innings after getting his line right, and bowled very well from that time on.

Lyon maybe a point or two higher? Was bowling extremely well in the 2nd dig and ensured the pressure was on when the quicks were seen off.

 

[Bahnz]

Wonder if we can expect better at Perth. Santner for Craig doesn't do a lot for the bowling and probably weakens the batting a bit. The extra seamer for Neesh at least gives BMac another option, but if Southee isn't fit it doesn't look good.

This is actually a decent point. Is Santner really at all likely to perform the role of batting allrounder any better than Craig?

 

[nevermind]

It’s hard to be anything but extremely critical of that NZ performance, it was quite pathetic. Sure, winning away from home isn’t easy (we can’t do it), but come on, NZ had a real shot this series and I think that’s the most disappointing thing. Yes, nothing went their way from the toss onwards, but they were absolutely smashed. Wasn’t even close. Rain and some declaration batting makes the margin seem less.

Real shame as I was expecting (and hoping for) a competitive series. Yes, I know it’s not over yet but they have also unfortunately suffered a few injuries and it’s not looking good. But roll on Perth and let’s see what happens. Just shocked by the bowling more than anything, it certainly wasn’t Test standard.

Though it has to be said, KW was supreme. Outstanding player.

 

[OverratedSanity]

KW 8.5 - Imperious in the first innings, but let himself down with poor strategy to the turning ball in the 2nd innings.
Southee 7 - Excellent on day 1, with a bit more pressure coming from the other end he might've picked up one or two more wickets.
Latham 6 - Played well in each innings, but looked to be operating at the very limits of his capabilities. His penchant for falling away to the offside ultimately cost him his wicket in the 2nd dig.
McCullum 5 - Gash captaincy on day 1 probably contributed to Boult going awol. Sounds like a great knock in the 2nd innings but things were largely decided by then anyway.
Guptill 5 - Saw off the new ball in each innings, but the fact that he's only just averaging 30 since his return to the test side does not inspire confidence (especially since he's been given huge let-offs in 3 of his 6 innings since then).
Watling 4 - Tidy with the gloves, but poor with the bat in each innings. Seems harsh but NZ need more from him if they're to stand a chance
Bracewell 3 - Don't think he bowled terribly, especially on day 2. Produced some leading edges that in kinder circumstances would've gone to hand. Still bled far too many cheap runs though.
Craig 2 - showed why he's the Albion cricket club's 3rd choice spinner. Threatened to make a real nuisance of himself in the 1st innings but then threw it away with a horrible slog.
Taylor 2 - now this is a real worry. Taylor is looking Ian Bell levels of bad atm. Really felt for him struggling to find his way to form in the 2nd innings and ultimately failing miserably. NZ don't stand a chance unless he can find a way to turn things around.
Neesham 1 - bad back or no, Jimmy was trash from woe to go in this one.
Boult 0 - the worst I've ever seen him bowl by miiiiiiiles. Reminded me of post knee surgery Franklin. Blegh.

8.5 for Kane is so harsh.

 

[Bahnz]

Shouldn't have been playing back to Lyon with the ball turning that much, especially given he'd already had a few close calls. 10/10 in the first innings, 7/10 in the second.

 

[Dan]

Yeah but Bahnz is a key contributor to the NZ Doom and Gloom thread

 

[Gob]

Can't see New Zealand doing better at Perth tbh. Would get totally bombed. Boult has to stand up if they are to have any chance

Adelaide is a different story though could defo see them winning if they get to ball in the evening. Thats why it was so important to draw this today

 

[Bahnz]

It’s hard to be anything but extremely critical of that NZ performance, it was quite pathetic. Sure, winning away from home isn’t easy (we can’t do it), but come on, NZ had a real shot this series and I think that’s the most disappointing thing. Yes, nothing went their way from the toss onwards, but they were absolutely smashed. Wasn’t even close. Rain and some declaration batting makes the margin seem less.

Real shame as I was expecting (and hoping for) a competitive series. Yes, I know it’s not over yet but they have also unfortunately suffered a few injuries and it’s not looking good. But roll on Perth and let’s see what happens. Just shocked by the bowling more than anything, it certainly wasn’t Test standard.

Though it has to be said, KW was supreme. Outstanding player.

I can't see NZ turning this around in 4 days even if Southee is fit. Boult looks like he's a month or two away from being where he needs to be. I know it's probably rash to say this, but Taylor looks like he's nearing the end. And the lack of depth in both bowling and batting stocks is being exposed.

My XI for the second test

Guptill, Latham, KW, Taylor, McCullum, Ronchi, Watling, Bracewell, Wagner, Southee/Henry, Boult

Wagner can do the holding role that Craig so obviously isn't up too. If by some miracle we find ourselves in a position to push for a win, hopefully some of those legendary chasms will open up in the Waca pitch for the quicks to exploit.

 

[straw man]

Bracewell -- 3: I think he bowled better than 0/170, insofar as he got a few to take off and looked threatening in patches, but too much was pedestrian. Gets a point for his important partnership with KW.

Bracewell is as tepid as ever when he can't get it to swing.

Bracewell: 2. Not test standard. Gets a bonus mark for bowling better than Boult.

Bracewell 3 - Don't think he bowled terribly, especially on day 2. Produced some leading edges that in kinder circumstances would've gone to hand. Still bled far too many cheap runs though.

I keep wanting to say good things about Bracewell when he charges in over after over, hits a good length for a brief spell here or there, and seems to be putting everything into it. But I can't really.

Firstly there's the short bowling - half trackers is a more accurate term. I want to say he's learned that's not his strength and maybe the frequency of good-length balls that he bowls has increased a small fraction from where he was 18 months ago, but there are still too many easy short balls. After Craig had bowled over after over of complete trash on day 1 I remember looking at the scoreboard and being surprised that Bracewell actually still had a worse econ rate than Craig. But that's the thing - goes for 4-4.5 per over without it even registering as surprising.

He simply doesn't do enough with the ball. Doesn't have height and has forgotten how to swing it. Seam position not great. I remember the one he got to rear at Warner who edged it over slips, and maybe he did that a handful more times through the match, but that's nowhere near frequent enough. Australian batsmen were able to drive long half volleys and even hit him off a good length with relatively little risk because it's so rare that he actually moves one off the straight.

With no other tools aside from reliably chugging in to bowl over after over of mid-high 130s, the only thing he has left is to be relentlessly accurate. However the lack of anything to really worry the batsman means his margin for error (especially on length) is very small.

 

[Bahnz]

Another thing that frustrates with Doug is the massive underachieving in his batting. He's a genuine allrounder in domestics (averaging 32.55 with 2 hundreds and 11 50's), and a genuine tailender in internationals (averaging 10 after 20 matches with a high score of 43). He's got good footwork, and every shot in the book, so it's frustrating to watch him do so badly.

 

[Howsie]

Mitchell McCleanghan. Are you kidding me.....

 

[Gnske]

Doesn't Colin de Grandhomme still exist? Surely a better fit than Mitch "Leave the tailenders to me" McClenaghan

 

[hendrix]

We shouldn't drop Craig. Even if he's playing as a slip catcher, that's very important. We can't drop catches next game.

It's also unlikely that any replacement will bowl or bat better. Moreover (I know it's unlikely) but this wouldn't be the first time he has a bad match to turn it around.

 

[Gob]

Mitchell McCleanghan. Are you kidding me.....

he is hot though

 

[Bahnz]

Mitchell McCleanghan. Are you kidding me.....

I felt this way at first to, but honestly who would you pick ahead of him? Milne and Wheeler are injured, as is Nuttal. Kuggs is a poor man's Bracewell. You're obviously not a Duffman, and I don't think anyone's advocating a recall for Brent Arnel or Mark Gillespie. If nothing else, Mitch is at least in form, and the Waca is a good venue for lefties.

 

[straw man]

Best way to make Craig bowl better is to bat first and score 500. Barring that, he will be terrible again.

Could just about retain Craig if Neesham was still fit, but without him it forces the issue as can't afford the fourth bowler to be completely incapable of keeping the runs down.