***Official*** England in New Zealand 2018

[straw man]

Sounds like a pretty bad trap for Watling to fall into. Even less chance of making tea now.

 

[thierry henry]

CDG just needs to get back into that first innings zone of allowing himself to get totally bogged down and not caring at all.

 

[_Ed_]

Interesting start by CdG...

 

[Prince EWS]

Here's how NZ can still win...
#ColinThoughts

 

[Borges]

The lost art of grinding out a draw on the last day, on a wicket that isn't doing anything fancy.
There's no team that seems to able to do that these days.

 

[mr_mister]

CDG is all about entertainment nerds

 

[thierry henry]

CDG spent about 3 hours in the first innings making no attempt to score off Leach at all and now with a series to save he's lashing him in the air?

 

[Prince EWS]

CDG spent about 3 hours in the first innings making no attempt to score off Leach at all and now with a series to save he's lashing him in the air?

It only went in the air because it turned and beat him. He actually played a lot of shots like that off Leach in the first innings whenever Leach drifted a bit wide, either straight to cover for no run or occasionally out to the cover sweeper for one, but because he middled them he seemed a lot more in control of it.

 

[straw man]

Seems De Grandhomme has used up all his reserves of patience for the match.

 

[mr_mister]

I'd like to see him step across and hoik a few over the legside. Visually a more appealing shot

 

[thierry henry]

It only went in the air because it turned and beat him. He actually played a lot of shots like that off Leach in the first innings whenever Leach drifted a bit wide, either straight to cover for no run or occasionally out to the cover sweeper for one, but because he middled them he seemed a lot more in control of it.

tbf I'm only following cricinfo commentary at the moment, but I did watch almost every ball of his first innings knock.

Does sound like he's generally pretty loose at the moment though.

 

[Prince EWS]

tbf I'm only following cricinfo commentary at the moment, but I did watch almost every ball of his first innings knock.

Does sound like he's generally pretty lose at the moment though.

Yeah it was basically intended to be the same shot he played towards cover off Leach about twenty times in the first innings, but he lost control of it and ended up edge-spooning it because of the turn. It was quite similar to this moment in the first innings:

50.5
4
Leach to de Grandhomme, FOUR runs, aggression this time! CDG has a swipe through the covers and that's in the air for a while, but safe in the end! It's a test of patience, and he nearly failed it there!

Cricinfo seems intent on calling these moments "aggression", but he sort of just goes through with the shot after being beaten I think. The original intent is to do what he did the over before:

48.4
1
Leach to de Grandhomme, 1 run, finds the gap in the off side
48.3
0
Leach to de Grandhomme, no run, punched into the covers

I agree that he's pretty loose at the moment despite having said all that, but he actually was to start his first innings too; he just settled down once he got set.

 

[91Jmay]

He’d swept well all innings but the sweep is a fickle mistress. Leach with two massive wickets

 

[robbypark]

Words can't express just how stupid the NZ batsmen are. Literally the last four wickets should would have been avoided without idiotic decisions. Such a dumb ass team lol.

 

[Prince EWS]

I hope Sodhi gets out next so CdG and Southee can block NZ to a series victory: the most unlikely of events.

 

[Prince EWS]

Or alternatively..
"Sodhi getting out next is how NZ can still win."
#ColinThoughts #SoutheeThoughts

 

[NZTailender]

Words can't express just how stupid the NZ batsmen are. Literally the last four wickets should would have been avoided without idiotic decisions. Such a dumb ass team lol.

While you're an odious troll, it has been terrible batting. But then again, what kind of mental application do you expect from a batting line up coached by Craig McMillan?

After Watling's dismissal his thoughts were probably "ooh good shot choice, same I made against Warne bowling well outside leg. It'll come off, one day"

 

[NZTailender]

It really is a good thing Leach has debuted on a turning pitch. Had he made it in the Ashes or in Auckland he would've been on a hiding to nothing on pitches not offering turn, and then discarded for a decade.

 

[Moss]

Only just woke up, but seems like NZ have gifted wickets away like nobody's business. Are they really trying to save a test match here? Well at least Latham played one substantial innings here even if its probably irrelevant to the result.

 

[Gnske]

Imagine hating a player for being so full of testosterone that he can't stop himself from scoring runs.