5th Match - Australia v New Zealand (18th March)

[Bahnz]

Santner is going to get a juicy IPL contract, btw.

Haha nah. Accurate finger spinners who can tonk it a bit are a dime a dozen in India.

 

[SteveNZ]

Not going to go the hysterical 'Kane is a great captain' stuff like Vaughan already, but gee it was encouraging to see the way he was proactive, seemed to know exactly what he was doing at what time and wasn't afraid to attack and be a bit off the wall. I probably quite mindlessly thought he'd be more paint by numbers but having played the majority of his international cricket under Baz, he's clearly observed what he thinks works best for us mixed in with his own ideas. Only issue I had was bowling Milne when he did in the 2nd half of the innings. But no one's perfect, nor captaining in their PJs on my couch.

And thank **** we haven't got a captain with body language like Smith. Wouldn't it be demoralising to know everytime you fail to execute a skill, the captain will be behind you in a teapot shaking his head and listing off all the four-letter words he knows.

 

[_Ed_]

Work is a bit of a struggle today, but I'm so glad I stayed up to watch that game through to the finish. Fantastic contest, honestly one of my favourite T20 games I've seen in a long time.

 

[NZTailender]

I stopped watching around the time Anderson got out (father NZT thought Bulldogs vs Eels was a more interesting contest). ytf did Zampa only bowl one over? I know restricting NZ to 140 after the blazing start was objectively good but he should've bowled out ffs.

 

[SteveNZ]

I stopped watching around the time Anderson got out (father NZT thought Bulldogs vs Eels was a more interesting contest). ytf did Zampa only bowl one over? I know restricting NZ to 140 after the blazing start was objectively good but he should've bowled out ffs.

Yeah, you'd suggest that's a pre-match planning error on the behalf of the coach and captain, not just Smith. You could only think that Zampa doesn't like a new ball, although he got one six overs old which is hardly ancient. Agar was absolute puss so he didn't like it any better and Coulter-Nile's 2nd over could've been Zampa's first. The latter was probably the biggest error. By then it was blatantly obvious the pitch was slowish and pace off the ball was going to get the job done. That over went for 14. I highly doubt Zampa would've.

So yeah, after his 1st over outside the PP, they bowled Maxwell presumably to turn it away from Munro then Marsh Watson etc all bowled well from thereon in. But to bowl a guy one over, on a slow gripping-ish deck, when he bowled very well v the same side in less conducive conditions in NZ a short time ago, was pretty average at some level of leadership. As was picking Agar.

 

[Spikey]

And thank **** we haven't got a captain with body language like Smith. Wouldn't it be demoralising to know everytime you fail to execute a skill, the captain will be behind you in a teapot shaking his head and listing off all the four-letter words he knows.

if you let down God, you should hardly expect anything good in return from him, tbh

 

[91Jmay]

Haha nah. Accurate finger spinners who can tonk it a bit are a dime a dozen in India.

Carlos Brathwaite finds this comment funny.

 

[kiwiviktor81]

And thank **** we haven't got a captain with body language like Smith. Wouldn't it be demoralising to know everytime you fail to execute a skill, the captain will be behind you in a teapot shaking his head and listing off all the four-letter words he knows.

I thought Kane seemed to share in the pain of the bowlers when they got hit for boundaries. This is judging by the camera footage of his facial expressions after balls that got smashed. I think KW has much more solidarity with his bowlers than Smith does. This is no doubt part of Baz's legacy.

 

[Prince EWS]

Carlos Brathwaite finds this comment funny.

Probably not because he's a seamer ffs.

 

[91Jmay]

Probably not because he's a seamer ffs.

Oops. I mixed him up with Negi the other surprise buy but he is Indian premium so right you were.

 

[SteveNZ]

if you let down God, you should hardly expect anything good in return from him, tbh

'Then God walked past one from Santner, and was dismissed'

Nope, don't remember that passage of the Bible.

 

[Gob]

'Then God walked past one from Santner, and was dismissed'

Nope, don't remember that passage of the Bible.

Prob cos Santner isn't worthy of facing

 

[hendrix]

Haha nah. Accurate finger spinners who can tonk it a bit are a dime a dozen in India.

He fits the nerdy-cute genre perfectly. That non-***ually threatening appeal.
Will do well to wear his specs at all opportunities.