***Official*** England in New Zealand series 2013

[hendrix]

So would we once the lead was over 200.

Agree with this.

Also think that England batting last in Wellington would've given Bruce Martin a chance with a lead over 200.

Actually think that might've been more likely given how there actually was turn at the Basin, but there was absolutely nothing at Dunedin.

 

[Pothas]

I am pretty sure they would not have enforced the follow-on if it had not been for the weather though.

 

[grecian]

I am pretty sure they would not have enforced the follow-on if it had not been for the weather though.

Yeah, a certainty, with a four-man bowling attack, and two of them not bowling brilliantly, we'd have rested up Broad and Anderson, and hoped Panesar bowled better on a wearing pitch.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Yeah, a certainty, with a four-man bowling attack, and two of them not bowling brilliantly, we'd have rested up Broad and Anderson, and hoped Panesar bowled better on a wearing pitch.

Heh no chance. Whatever you get with Panesar is whatever you would have gotten with Panesar. He bowls the same regardless. Only the pitch and opposition change.

So he may have been more effective (I doubt it), but he wouldn't have bowled better.

 

[Meridio]

Lol: Alistair Cook Admits: "We Were Saved By The Rain." « The New ZealanderThe New Zealander

As the second test in Wellington appears to be heading for a weather affected draw, England captain Alistair Cook has admitted that the rain was all that saved them from what might have been an embarassing loss.

Says Cook:

“On the face of it, we appeared to be in control of the test somewhat, we had a bit of a lead there, yeah. But if you understand the class of this current Black Caps squad, in my mind we were lucky not to come away with a hiding.”

Despite enforcing the follow on, after posting a massive first innings total of 465 before reducing New Zealand to 254, Cook felt uneasy about the match position, citing the proven test quality of the Black Caps batsmen:

“All it would have taken would have been a few of their big names to pile on massive double hundreds, and we would have been under real pressure in the fourth innings.”

Despite receiving personal comparisons to Bradman, Averaging over 70 for the last three years and posting an impressive 24 test centuries in his short career, Cook continued to be glowing in his praise of the New Zealand batsmen, even somewhat reverent:

“For a lot of the guys in our squad, it’s kind of a dream getting to play against some of these big names in the Black Caps. As an opener, Peter Fulton is definitely someone I’ve always looked up to.”

“In a lot of ways this current Black Caps top six kind of sets the benchmark, in terms of test batting.”

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson agreed wholeheartedly with Cook’s assertions:

“We have no doubt we would have won that test if rain hadn’t intervened. We were a bit slow off the mark in the first innings, but winning from the follow on is something we’ve really been trying to develop as a gameplan, as much out of neccesity as anything else.

The series wil now move to the deciding game three at Eden Park, on March 22.

 

[Jezroy]

Not sure about all the hate on McSouthee.

He has earned the right to be aggressive.

Here is what I think about Southee.

When things are going his way, he looks like a world beater with fire in his eyes, and bowls unplayable balls like they're going out of fashion.

When things are not, the phrase "pea hearted" comes to mind. He looks like he doesn't give a crap and is just going through the motions. Which is why it was ironic that he was the one that came out with the quote along the lines of "you almost have to learn to enjoy bowling all day".

It's very very very very frustrating, and the reason why his bowling average is nearly 40.

 

[Adders]

Lol: Alistair Cook Admits: "We Were Saved By The Rain." « The New ZealanderThe New Zealander

LOL, I think that needs to be taken about as seriously as McCullum saying Cook is the next best after Bradman!!

What is it with all this blowing sunshine up each others arses in this series??

I've always admired the Blackcaps and their knack of punching above their weight, and there is no doubt they have gone toe to toe with us in parts of this series........but their top 6 sets the standard for test cricket???? C'Mon Cookie.....you're having a laugh mate.

 

[Neil Young]

LOL, I think that needs to be taken about as seriously as McCullum saying Cook is the next best after Bradman!!

What is it with all this blowing sunshine up each others arses in this series??

I've always admired the Blackcaps and their knack of punching above their weight, and there is no doubt they have gone toe to toe with us in parts of this series........but their top 6 sets the standard for test cricket???? C'Mon Cookie.....you're having a laugh mate.

Erm...Adders!

 

[Adders]

Anyone else think the ranking points on offer for this series are a bit harsh??

I understand there has to be some rating towards the current standing of both teams but the only way England could have gained points out of this series is to have won it 3-0.... which would have seen them gain 1 solitary point.

Had we have won the series 2-0 we would have lost 1 point and now the best outcome we can hope for is to win it 1-0 which will see us lose 2 points.

With a heavily rain affected series 1-0 and you still lose 2 ranking points........doesn't seem right to me.

Only saving grace is that Australia, currently just below us, are getting a hiding in India, otherwise we could have won our series against NZ and the Cons could have still jumped ahead of us in the table.

Like I say I appreciate there must be some weighting to the points on offer but it seems overly harsh on the top sides IMO.

Anyone agree??

 

[Adders]

Erm...Adders!

LOL, Yes?? Am I missing something here

Edit:

Ahhh OK, In my defence it is early here........maybe I need another coffee!!!

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

LOL, Yes?? Am I missing something here

It may look legit, but it's a pisstake.

 

[VCC44]

LOL, Yes?? Am I missing something here

Look at the website it's actually on.

 

[Meridio]

LOL, Yes?? Am I missing something here

Heh, yes. For example, here is another one of their articles: McCullum: Bowlers Aren't Doing Enough With The Bat « The New ZealanderThe New Zealander

A furious Brendan McCullum today let loose with a barrage of post match criticism, most of which was directed at his bowling unit’s inability to score runs.


“As a bowling unit we’re just not putting enough runs on the board.”

“Moving forward, we can’t rely on our top order batsmen for runs. That’s an outdated approach which we’ve been trying to phase out under Hess (Mike Hesson).”

“We see the main role of batsmen in this side as a sort of mascots, cheering the bowlers on and clapping from time to time.”

“This is what we’ve diverted our focus to in training, because our analysis showed that actually batting long periods of time in test matches is quite hard, and as a result we’ve decided we can’t really be bothered.”

“Aside from that, by the time we (batsmen) have hauled our gear bags to the game, there’s not a hell of a lot left in the tank for batting. We’re not machines…”

McCullum was at pains to point out the crucial role the bowlers played in posting competitive totals.

“I mean, who’s better suited to face a bowler than other bowlers? They know how each other think. If you asked me or any of the other batsmen in the side what a bowler was thinking or planning, we’d literally have no idea.”

Batting all rounder Chris Martin reinforced McCullum’s view: “For me, personally, I see my main role in the squad as an enforcer at number 11. Ideally I want to come in, dominate a bowling attack, and score a quick century or double century. If I can take a few wickets too, then that’s just a bonus.”

Coach Mike Hesson wasn’t available for comment, as he was disposed in a small South African village negotiating the purchase of a mysterious drink, which sources say he believes may be the elixir of life.

“Once Hess gets us that elixir, everything’s going to be fine.” A restless and sweaty McCullum added.

“We’re all going to be just fine…”

 

[straw man]

Here is what I think about Southee.

When things are going his way, he looks like a world beater with fire in his eyes, and bowls unplayable balls like they're going out of fashion.

When things are not, the phrase "pea hearted" comes to mind. He looks like he doesn't give a crap and is just going through the motions. Which is why it was ironic that he was the one that came out with the quote along the lines of "you almost have to learn to enjoy bowling all day".

It's very very very very frustrating, and the reason why his bowling average is nearly 40.

I mostly agree - when he was bowling well in Sri Lanka, coming off a series where he bowled well in India, I made a post about how he looked mean and focused, looking at the batsmen like he was the predator and they were his prey.

Now he's gone back to the body language of kid Southee playing against the big boys. Perhaps it is, once you scratch the bravado on the surface, a lack of self confidence. He knows the English batsmen are very good (though the Indians and Lankans are good too, and those pitches weren't helpful either) and perhaps feels he's not in good form with the ball and that feeds into a lack of belief.

Or perhaps there is an element of pea-heart there - I don't know. He hasn't bowled terribly but this series hasn't been a patch on his India and SL bowling.

 

[hendrix]

With a heavily rain affected series 1-0 and you still lose 2 ranking points........doesn't seem right to me.

Hypothetically speaking, you might have a point.

But the reality is that performance-wise the teams have been equal so far. And if the number 2 side performs equally for most of the series with the number 8 side, they deserve to lose points.

 

[hendrix]

Nah look I'll criticise Southee's batting till the cows come home but he bowled well in Wellington without reward and bowled well in patches in Dunedin.

He is never going to be as tight as Trent Boult, but it's not as if he was bowling like (bad) Mitchell Johnson either.

 

[Wright]

The first 20 minutes was good & then Coney joined and it was absolutely superb.

BBC - Podcasts and Downloads - Test Match Special

Brilliant! Why didn't Chats get into commentary?

 

[Days of Grace]

Nah look I'll criticise Southee's batting till the cows come home but he bowled well in Wellington without reward and bowled well in patches in Dunedin.

He is never going to be as tight as Trent Boult, but it's not as if he was bowling like (bad) Mitchell Johnson either.

Aye? Boult has been going for over 4 per over at times during this series.

 

[Bahnz]

Anyone else think the ranking points on offer for this series are a bit harsh??

I understand there has to be some rating towards the current standing of both teams but the only way England could have gained points out of this series is to have won it 3-0.... which would have seen them gain 1 solitary point.

Had we have won the series 2-0 we would have lost 1 point and now the best outcome we can hope for is to win it 1-0 which will see us lose 2 points.

With a heavily rain affected series 1-0 and you still lose 2 ranking points........doesn't seem right to me.

Only saving grace is that Australia, currently just below us, are getting a hiding in India, otherwise we could have won our series against NZ and the Cons could have still jumped ahead of us in the table.

Like I say I appreciate there must be some weighting to the points on offer but it seems overly harsh on the top sides IMO.

Anyone agree??

Don't blame the rankings, blame New Zealand for being spectacularly **** over the last 5 years.

Our record since the 2007 world cup (not including Bangladesh and Zimbabwe).

v SA 0-2; v ENG 1-2; v ENG 0-2; v AUS 0-2; v WI 0-0; v IND 0-1; v SRL 0-2; v PAK 1-1;
v AUS 0-2; v IND 0-1; v PAK 0-1; v AUS 1-1; v SAF 0-1; v WI 0-2 v IND 0-2; v SRL 1-1;
v SAF 0-2

 

[Kippax]

England's selection also to blame a bit. I remember Geoff Miller saying "conditions should suit Woakes". As if to say, "nibbly green seamers, their pubs close at six and there's two television channels. My intel's written in bound print".

Despite the flat pitches, the dodgy autumn light and the seaside mizzle, NZ have never played out express pace for a high series average, that's what I would've run with.