*Official* England in NZ 2023

[Socerer 01]

yea Pope was Brook in county before Brook if not better and him even getting a chance at 3 is because England didn’t want to let such a good talent go to waste

 

[Howe_zat]

Also, regarding the difference in their average, Crawley's is skewed (in the statistical sense) by his one huge score and he has much smaller typical output than most players with a similar average - and his average is still really poor.

Also also, Pope and Crawley are probably our best and worst catchers right now.

 

[honestbharani]

I will always maintain Crawley has a much higher ceiling than Pope but even I feel he needs a break at this point. If he is going to be an opener, he needs to learn to be tighter with his game and figure out his proper attacking options. He really cannot Bazball, that is not his tempo. At his best, he will keep putting away a lot of good balls for 4 but he has to stick around enough to do that. He has to take a bit more of an old school approach of getting himself in and then playing his drives.

But more than anything else, if he is mentally not at his best, he needs a break, find runs in CC and then come back to the side IMO.

 

[shortpitched713]

Pitches like this finishes off careers. Is Crawley finished after this?

As if a pitch had anything to do with that.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Daily reminder that Michael Bracewell is the third best bowler in the New Zealand Test team.

And probably the 4th or 5th best bowler in the Wellington 1st class team.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Today "should" (if logic prevails) be the last day of Neil Wagner's fine test career. He has been an absolute champion of the game and added much to cricket.

Thanks for the memories, the great bowling (and gutsy batting), the hard work, and the entertainment. All good things must come to an end though.

 

[Bahnz]

To be fair to Crawley, he did manage to get the one ball which moved off the seam. It's not like there was any hint leading up to that it could happen.

The ball didn’t move off the seam, it was an off cutter. The pitch is taking an unusual amount of turn. If NZ had a quality spinner to call on they’d have a realistic chance here.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

Today "should" (if logic prevails) be the last day of Neil Wagner's fine test career. He has been an absolute champion of the game and added much to cricket.

Thanks for the memories, the great bowling (and gutsy batting), the hard work, and the entertainment. All good things must come to an end though.

Aye, he's been a quality player but it's sadly very clear that he's not got enough left to give at this level any more.

Can't have been many in Test history who achieved as much as him in his (admittedly niche) role of specialist second change pace bowler.

 

[Brook's side]

Hoping Brook doesn't have to bat.

Needs to have a crack at breaking the 1000 runs record with 2 full knocks against Ireland.

 

[nzfan]

Today "should" (if logic prevails) be the last day of Neil Wagner's fine test career. He has been an absolute champion of the game and added much to cricket.

Thanks for the memories, the great bowling (and gutsy batting), the hard work, and the entertainment. All good things must come to an end though.

I think so too but his career may be prolonged for just couple more tests vs Sri Lanka. Our cup board right now is bare of faster bowlers or the proper incumbents are rather injured. I guess he will get couple more tests to sign off. He's got a county gig coming up.

 

[nzfan]

The ball didn’t move off the seam, it was an off cutter. The pitch is taking an unusual amount of turn. If NZ had a quality spinner to call on they’d have a realistic chance here.

Any morning at basin the ball will do fair bit without doubt no matter the condition of the ball. It's just the way it is, don't ask why. It always does more than a bit in the first hour. With a bit more sun the swing goes and that is when the bowlers will start bowling back of a length to get some inconsistent bounce. Sometimes you do get those but that's later in the day. Usually after the first hour and till around tea time its' quite docile.

The first hour will be crucial today. Even with the spin, it will usually be quicker off the wicket and more bounce. That of course dies down after the first hour or so. Don't think we can wait till tea to make use of any inconsistent bounce, the game won't last that long either way.

 

[Brook's side]

are we starting 30 early again today guys?

 

[Starfighter]

I will always maintain Crawley has a much higher ceiling than Pope

Once again, based on what? It's debatable whether he's even good enough to play for Kent.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

are we starting 30 early again today guys?

Yes. 10:30am NZDT

 

[wpdavid]

Aye, he's (Wagner) been a quality player but it's sadly very clear that he's not got enough left to give at this level any more.

You do realise that I will hold you personally responsible if Wagner bowls NZ to victory tonight.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Big day for a lot of players today re the SL series:
Bracewell obviously, and Wagner (if he doesn't plan to retire/if the selectors haven't already decided not to pick him). Hopefully commonsense prevails with Wags and he's gone.

Nathan Smith and Ravindra with the ball, and G Philips with the bat in Ot - Well.

Perhaps Shipley and Sodhi if they have to win the game for Canterbury with the bat.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Southee (357) is 5 wickets behind Vettori and Imran (both 362 wickets). If he can catch them today, a pretty good test match may become a great test match.

 

[the big bambino]

Is Boult a realistic option to come back into the test team? I believe he hasn't accepted a contract (presumably to maximise his earning potential before he retires) but with Jamieson injured he'd be a handy inclusion for NZ right now.

 

[ataraxia]

No, because NZC says no, because because

 

[Brook's side]

Since the Stokes-McCullum era began, England have faced fourth-innings' run-chases on six occasions and been successful each time...

• 378-3 v India, Edgbaston, July 2022
• 299-5 v New Zealand, Trent Bridge, June 2022
• 296-3 v New Zealand, Headingley, June 2022
• 279-5 v New Zealand, Lord's, June 2022
• 170-2 v Pakistan, Karachi, December 2022
• 130-1 v South Africa, The Oval, September 2022

BBC