*Official* West Indies in New Zealand - Nov/Dec 2020

[Flem274*]

ahahahahahaha, don't know what i enjoyed more, nicholls bringing up the ton with an edge squirting the opposite direction to where he intended or the kid who found the microphone. "awesome sweep bro! love you nicholls!"

it was a fortunate innings but one he needed. i liked mitchell's cameo too.

****in windies man. yes you almost got him early pulling, but every shot since then has connected even if his technique is ungainly. you're bowling on a green pitch to a guy who is most susceptible to getting bowled through the gate or lbw. let's take a moment to decide which plan would have the greatest chance of success here.

i hope this doesn't sound too channel 9 but the windies weren't that unlucky imo. catch the ball, bowl full in the channel not on the pads and don't get overexcited because a guy messed up a pull shot on a green one ffs. they were their own worst enemies today. nz have really got out of jail thanks to some determination and poor play from the opposition.

 

[Moss]

dunno why you guys spent the thread moaning about nicholls, this is far from the worst test knock i've ever seen, but a subset of nz fans have always had a complex with him where they begrudge every run he makes.

what i'm seeing is a bowling side more interested in leg stump half volleys and dropping catches than skittling nz on a lawn. australia knock us over for 60 on this. even the duke ball heroes would find 10kph and a drop of heart when presented with this deck and limit us to 150.

also this new version of will young is perplexing. he made his name top scoring for central with 70s on green decks only to repeat that 70 on motorways while someone else scored 140. he used to leave the ball so well. he's batting like an ftb aucklander atm, even if the well refined tools are still there to work with.

i'll be back to ramble about the third sesh shortly. i hope you can all contain your erections.

Runs are the currency, and while the subset you speak of may never by fully convinced by Nicholls I doubt anyone was complaining during his 2017-early 2019 purple patch when he was killing it at no.5. Since then it’s been a different story, and if this innings jolts him back into form then great, but if he goes missing against Pakistan there would be some justification for wondering about his spot considering you have Blundell, Young, Conway and Phillips all joining in the race for spots. Chancy or not, today’s was a very valuable knock and as I said earlier have to admire that he got through it unbeaten.

 

[Flem274*]

I'm not a NZ'er and I think it is one of the jammiest knocks I have seen, even ignoring the drops. Honestly, his control % was dire.

I think everyone apart from Jason Holder bowled pretty well tbh. They could easily have rolled NZ with more luck and some semi competent fielding. I just get the sense this tour was not meant to be for us. Hopefully they can get the last few wickets quickly, the pitch continues to dry out and then the batsman perform ten times better than they usually do.

the debutant was your best bowler and he looks solid tbh i like him. gabriel was rocks and diamonds as usual and he's not even very quick which is his entire point, joseph hates pitching it up and jason holder was the worst culprit for gimmes on leg closely followed by joseph.

i know this all sounds very ian chappell but the windies were not good today. for every delivery that zipped past the bat there was a gimme. that's the difference between the west indies and say aussie last summer, and aussie were bowling on far tougher decks than this.

 

[Beamer]

the debutant was your best bowler and he looks solid tbh i like him. gabriel was rocks and diamonds as usual and he's not even very quick which is his entire point, joseph hates pitching it up and jason holder was the worst culprit for gimmes on leg closely followed by joseph.

i know this all sounds very ian chappell but the windies were not good today. for every delivery that zipped past the bat there was a gimme. that's the difference between the west indies and say aussie last summer, and aussie were bowling on far tougher decks than this.

Lets agree to disagree. It wasn't our best bowling but I don't feel it was as bad as you are saying (apart from Jason Holder who was tres ordinary). Even semi competent fielding in that second session and NZ are bundled out for 180-250 and it's a job well done IMHO.

I must say it is the first time for a while that I am starting to doubt Jason Holder's leadership. His bowling has severely gone off the boil in the last 3 tests and his field settings are extremely negative. I feel a more positive captain would have made a difference. Trouble is, Darren Bravo is the obvious replacement and he desperately needs some runs before that could ahppen.

Btw Gabriel was 147kph. Quick enough. I thought he bowled well, you seem to have something against him as in posts before this tour you seemed to be overlooking his excellent record over the last 3 years.

 

[Bahnz]

It's funny, 5 years ago I would've cursed Nicholls for scoring a hundred like that, but now I can't help but feel really happy for him.

Still, even on a green track offering up two sitters and a couple of half chances is a bit worrying. Hope he can crack on from this and use the confidence to get a second wind in his career.

 

[Frost]

A lot of 4 Balls delivered By the West Indies, If they could of limited those it might have looked better.
I think at the end of the series the West indies will look at the Nicholls Innings and wonder Where their gritty Tons are going to Come from.
The NZ bowlers are going to be very hard to resist, they will find Length early, any score over 350 and this game is done.

 

[Flem274*]

didn't need to worry about quarantine after all. these guys couldn't catch corona in a bat kebab shop.

 

[Meridio]

You do have to feel a bit for the WI bowlers. They've not been perfect but having your fielders constantly let you down - and not difficult chances either - makes your figures look a lot worse than what they could have been.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

This is getting ominous.

Nicolls is gonna surpass Baz’s best

 

[Beamer]

The only problem with our test side is they can't bat and they can't catch. Otherwise they're great.

 

[Flem274*]

classic tim. beautiful 4, stupid way out next ball.

 

[Pothas]

I don't think I have ever really noticed Wagner's batting before. Is this normal?

Would be even more fun if it was also Wagner bowling.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Wagner's a good 10. Once saved a test with his defense as well.

 

[TheBrand]

Wagner's a good 10. Once saved a test with his defense as well.

was at that test... first time id been to all 5 days of a test. was epic!

 

[Prince EWS]

I don't think I have ever really noticed Wagner's batting before. Is this normal?

Would be even more fun if it was also Wagner bowling.

Nah he usually bats defensively and tries to build partnerships with the set bats. Obviously a bit of a different situation today.

He's definitely better than his Test average, he batted seven for Otago a few times (nosebleed territory as I thought that was at the time). Seems to be really enjoying the opportunity to play expansively today.

 

[Flem274*]

a chanceless 150 richard would be proud of

 

[Flem274*]

they've given up

 

[Pothas]

Nah he usually bats defensively and tries to build partnerships with the set bats. Obviously a bit of a different situation today.

He's definitely better than his Test average, he batted seven for Otago a few times (nosebleed territory as I thought that was at the time). Seems to be really enjoying the opportunity to play expansively today.

This probably explains why I have never noticed him. I mean I must have watched him a load of times.

 

[Pothas]

This is such a Broad innings. Love it.

 

[Meridio]

This is fun