**Official** 2004 Natwest Series (Eng, NZL, WI)

[Mingster]

Daniel Vettori - easily the best performance by any player in the entire NatWest series. Bowling, run-outs, you name it. Great to see him back in full force.

 

[Tim]

Before this match I was going to say I was concerned about the lack of batting Harris, Hopkins, Vettori etc had..and it showed today but all of them made up for it with their bowling & fielding & thats really good to see.

 

[Mingster]

So we only bowled with 2 specialist fast bowlers in our chase, and we still managed to thrash the Windies.

Lara got the toss wrong, expecting his side was always going to win by chasing, when instead the pitch was going to get lower and slower. Our slower bowlers suited it perfectly.

 

[Tim]

I think Lara was going to back his side to chase 285 again which is fair enough..unfortunately it wasn't a very good assessment of the pitch.

 

[Tim]

The thing is though..if Lara had realised that the pitch was going to get slower then surely he had the right bowling attack to take advantage of the pitch too.

Smith, Bravo, Sarwan, Gayle etc...

 

[Mingster]

Tim, who would be your top 5 bowlers of the cup?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Cairns would have bowled if the Windies had got closer to the target. The fact that McMillan was bowling in a final is quite embarassing for the Windies.

NZ really should have made close to 300 but I guess in the end it didn't matter..they were exceptional in the field & that was perhaps the big difference between the sides today.

And I suppose that because McMillan scored a 50, he'll be in the team for the next series...blast.

Be fair now. The pitch wasn't exactly as easy to score on as when New Zealand batted, as indicated by New Zealand's late innings heroics. The fact that Dwayne Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Craig McMillan etc. all had some measure of success on the surface tells a story of the type of pitch.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I think Lara was going to back his side to chase 285 again which is fair enough..unfortunately it wasn't a very good assessment of the pitch.

I think you're wrong there. I think Lara didn't back his bowlers to be able to defend a score which is quite justified from recent games. Inexperienced bowlers tend to struggle to defend runs more than experienced batsmen in chasing them. The fact that we could only put two fit bowlers on the field didn't help Lara's confidence either.

All's well that ends well. New Zealand is the better team and deservedly won - 11 undefeated now.

 

[_Ed_]

Only 2 losses in ODIs so far this year for NZ.

And the one I went to was one of them!

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Before this match I was going to say I was concerned about the lack of batting Harris, Hopkins, Vettori etc had..and it showed today but all of them made up for it with their bowling & fielding & thats really good to see.

I must say that Hopkins has kept quite impressively. A shame that he's not likely to get much cricket when McCullum returns.

 

[Mingster]

Shame that we didn't get to see Hopkins bat a bit more.

Styris bowled very well, very underrated.

 

[Craig]

Was that necessary Craig?

I was actually agreeing with you.

Great win by New Zealand though.

Still shocked that is NZ's first ODI at Lords

 

[anzac]

happy days - thought I'd missed the match but managed to get home from work and catch the last rites from about 90 balls to go..........

well done The Black Caps - a well deserved victory and a very professional performance.........

well done Chris Harris on finally getting his 200th ODI wicket & becoming only the 2nd player to reach the 4000 runs / 200 wickets ODI double.........

and a BIG 'welcome back' for Daniel Vettori - 5-30 career best figures, and at last he not only looks good but takes wickets as well, not to mention 2 fine run outs........

Fleming & Astle provided another 100+ opening partnership & in good time to set the innings up, and Marshall again provided solid support in the Top Order.......not surprisingly Macca saved his best performance on Tour for the last match to ensure his name will not be forgotten by he selectors (only as good as your last effort etc).......

the rest of the batting were shown up for their lack of time at the crease during the series..........

the player who gets my vote as 'Most Improved' for The Black Caps over this series would be Butler...........

 

[anzac]

ok so now that the final is over - any changes to the lineups for the team from the series??????

 

[MoxPearl]

i was on a ferry in the middle of the cook straight when the game was on with gale winds and huge swells and people puking everywhere.

I was watching da cricket on the ferry while all the stuff was going on.. great win!

2nd on the world rankings looking at the icc site :o

Still.. as people will do.. they will continue to under rate new zealand as they always do

 

[Mingster]

ok so now that the final is over - any changes to the lineups for the team from the series??????

Yes. Harris is not a certain starter yet, and will only play if conditions suit him. Shane Bond should be available for September, so he would probably come in for either Harris or Butler. Tuffey when fit should also start.

So for the NatWest XI, would Bravo (10 @ 25, over 5 an over) still make your team ahead of the likes of Butler, Bradshaw, Styris etc? Your opinions please.

 

[Tim]

This isn't the side i'd necessarily pick to play Australia in the ICC Trophy..but I think this is the side the selectors/team will pick (presuming everyone is fit)

Fleming
Astle
Marshall
Styris
McMillan
Cairns
Oram
McCullum
Vettori
Bond
Tuffey

i'd have Tuffey bracketed with Butler because I think he was much improved in this series.
McMillan has no doubt saved himself for another series with that 50 & likewise with Vettori.

 

[Tim]

Congratulations to Chris Harris aswell..he finally got his 200th ODI wicket.
And he joins Sanath Jayasuriya as the only other player to ever score 4000 runs and take 200 wickets in ODI's.

 

[tooextracool]

I find it amazing that Atherton has one of the highest ODI averages amongst Englishmen, yet was never really considered anything but a Test player.

yes but unfortunately there werent 2 'athertons' though

 

[Tom Halsey]

A solid player can be just as useful as a quick scorer at the top.