***Official*** West Indies in New Zealand 2017

[wellAlbidarned]

Why do you say selfishly? Presumably you want to see him because you know he's express, which adds that extra element of excitement, but also that he's been in absolutely devastating form.

tbf to the selectors he hasn't been able to maintain his pace through 10 overs of an ODI, let alone 5 days of test cricket. I think it's fair to see if he can sustain this kind of performance a bit longer.

 

[weldone]

One for Beamer and co. if the WI attack is still up for debate, rather than being confirmed somewhere already.

Hope NZ bowls first...can't wait to see Boult on this

 

[Beamer]

Miguel......Cummins....... sigh

Like what they've done with the batting lineup though. Hope it works. They will need all the concentration they've started showing to succeed here.

 

[CarlsbergXpress]

Bonus couple of hours of test cricket before bed ?. Boult might be tricky to face on this if it plays how it looks!

 

[CM Punk]

So have NZC given up on Test cricket?

Playing less Tests at home and we haven't played an away Test Series in more than a year, we aren't scheduled to play one till Oct/Nov next year which would make it 2 years.

That's unless they organize a series before then, which is unlikely considering they're chasing the $$$.

 

[Meridio]

Yay NZ test cricket! FMD I've been starved of this lately. Was kind of hoping we'd bat first though just cuz I want to watch us bat but nevermind.

No sign of movement in the first over there.

 

[CM Punk]

Just sums up NZ cricket of late. Whether it's strange decisions upon winning the toss, choking from winning positions, the shortsightedness of our administrators in replacing scheduled Tests for T20s, or our selections. we just seem to miss the boat.

If we've given up on Test cricket, I'd like to see us at least have a proper go with a T20 league.

Would be great to get casuals to go to the cricket and would promote the game better than Test cricket ever can.

Can't lie, I'm a bit envious of what the Aussies have with the BBL.

 

[Meridio]

Boult hitting good lines early on - good to see. Pitch looks like it's carrying through pretty well so far.

 

[straw man]

What I didn't want to see from henry's first over in the cricinfo comments :
Back of a length x 4
Bouncer x 1
Good length x 1

Pitch the ****ing thing up

 

[Meridio]

A little bit of movement of the pitch so far but nothing whatsoever in the air. Both our guys bowling well first up, Boult in particular. Just need to maintain that discipline though, don't go searching for miracle balls.

 

[weldone]

Early signs seem to suggest that both sides have made wrong decisions. Bowling first was a wrong decision; not taking a spinner was also one. Both teams over-estimated the green-ness of the pitch.

 

[Meridio]

We might have done the famous 'pick the non-swinging Kookaburra' trick by the sounds of things.

CDG as first change seamer makes me sad.

 

[straw man]

Early signs seem to suggest that both sides have made wrong decisions. Bowling first was a wrong decision; not taking a spinner was also one. Both teams over-estimated the green-ness of the pitch.

I didn't want to do the reactionary 'wrong call' just because no wickets in the first ten overs (and I'm not watching right now), but the Basin and other NZ pitches have been like this very frequently the last few years. Green on top with only moderate movement, which then flattens into a road. Other teams have been trolled into bowling first and then regretted it. And now today we choose to bowl first.

You could argue it will still be easier to bat on day 2, 3 & 4, so bowling first makes sense, though batting first for big runs to apply scoreboard pressure would also be a good tactic.

 

[Prince EWS]

I went all in on CdG most NZ first innings wickets, so I was happy NZ bowled first.

 

[Athlai]

Early signs seem to suggest that both sides have made wrong decisions. Bowling first was a wrong decision; not taking a spinner was also one. Both teams over-estimated the green-ness of the pitch.

Bat first on the Basin? Pffffft

Batting first in NZ in general is questionable. Pitches don't break up anymore.

 

[CM Punk]

Something tells me it's going to be a long day.

Our bowlers struggle to pick up wickets.

 

[Meridio]

FMD Henry's seam position is abysmal. You don't mind seeing the odd cross seamer or wobble seamer as a variation but his is just all over the show.

 

[straw man]

I went all in on CdG most NZ first innings wickets, so I was happy NZ bowled first.

It's not all about you PEWS!

If NZ don't get new ball wickets then Wagner the best bet for top wicket-taker. CDG could still grab one or two with the new ball though.

 

[The Hutt Rec]

Boult and Wagner are the only real wicket takers in the bowling attack, so not good that Boult hasn’t had early success.

 

[Athlai]

All off the Henry train, we're approaching the station. Grab your bags and jump off. The Spud train will be coming along any moment.