*Official* New Zealand in Australia 2019/20

[The Hutt Rec]

Erasmus you big chunk of uselessness, where was that finger when Wagner was bowling?!

 

[Spark]

What's strange to me is that Paine's was hitting halfway down. DRS done goofed I suspect.

To be fair we have seen a few take off from that length throughout the match

 

[Burgey]

That was my concern with him becoming captain, but I think his average has actually continued to improve since taking over from McCullum. Does seem to be slightly off his game on this tour. He didn't have a lot of cricket leading up to the England series due to a hip issue (?) so maybe just hasn't had the preparation time he normally has on top of captaincy demands.

Yeah that may well be it. I mean, anyone doubting his quality is nuts, so it isn’t that. It’s not even he’s missed out - just the way he’s got out suggests he isn’t quite there mentally.

And it’s hard when you slog your guts out on the field for ages and you’re worrying about having bowled first etc. Captaincy is a tough gig on a tour when things aren’t going right

 

[artvandalay]

Think the Blundell innings illustrated why you need a specialist to do the opener's job. Good player who looks the part so far in internationals but wouldn't be surprised if Australia work him out quickly. For this series alone we'll take whatever he's able to manage since Raval can't make a run; but given he's of long term importance as a keeper you'd hope he comes out of this series without too much of a scarring.

People mentioned brownlie but guy looked like he reads the guptill coaching manual the way the bat comes at an angle and the stance. Another batsman who would be a better #6 than an opener.

 

[The Hutt Rec]

Think the Blundell innings illustrated why you need a specialist to do the opener's job. Good player who looks the part so far in internationals but wouldn't be surprised if Australia work him out quickly. For this series alone we'll take whatever he's able to manage since Raval can't make a run; but given he's of long term importance as a keeper you'd hope he comes out of this series without too much of a scarring.

Blundell doesn’t seem like the type that will get too affected by not doing well in this situation, to me.

Think we need a new specialist opener for the India series for sure though ... no idea who it will be with no Plunket Shield between now and then, though.

 

[Burgey]

Gonna take some stones for Taylor to take on Lyon at this stage of the game. Top bowling change, this. Would have been easy to go back to Starc

 

[Spark]

Hahahaha very good by Paine

 

[artvandalay]

Fmd had that smashing middle and leg over. That’s vintage WACA bounce. He wasn’t far forward at all.

Agreed it looked absolutely dead when you saw it live.

 

[Heboric]

MCG doesn't deteroriorate at all, basically, so it's not that bad. Paine's call at the Oval was much much worse (Lord's too).

You are putting yourself at the risk of, well, this though, and playing the ATG 12th and 13th men known as scoreboard pressure and fatigue.

True, but I just thought being down in the series and having a chance of putting scoreboard pressure on Australia

 

[The Hutt Rec]

Yeah that may well be it. I mean, anyone doubting his quality is nuts, so it isn’t that. It’s not even he’s missed out - just the way he’s got out suggests he isn’t quite there mentally.

And it’s hard when you slog your guts out on the field for ages and you’re worrying about having bowled first etc. Captaincy is a tough gig on a tour when things aren’t going right

I wonder if that hip injury or whatever it is, is impacting him. I’m sure they said it’s something he’s been managing for ages.

 

[Moss]

Was also like that on the Sri Lanka tour, some of the shots KW got out to (for low scores) were very out of character. Probably a good thing there's a fair break between this tour and the India series.

 

[Spark]

True, but I just thought being down in the series and having a chance of putting scoreboard pressure on Australia

Yeah it's a massive risk and probably a bad idea, but it isn't the same category of Bad as those two calls by Paine during the Ashes.

I wonder if that hip injury or whatever it is, is impacting him. I’m sure they said it’s something he’s been managing for ages.

Probably a combination of them all. Only takes a slight disruption mentally to start introducing small errors, and at this level against this kind of bowling that's all it takes.

 

[Moss]

True, but I just thought being down in the series and having a chance of putting scoreboard pressure on Australia

The first session conditions on offer yesterday presented a rare opportunity to make inroads early on. While I think batting first was the way to go, can understand the rationale.

 

[Flem274*]

we've just been outplayed in these conditions tbh. even on the flattest of nz roads there's always a chance of swing and batting wise it has been a while since we've had to bat on bouncy decks, and we've been going in after chasing leather in the heat.

 

[Burgey]

we've just been outplayed in these conditions tbh. even on the flattest of nz roads there's always a chance of swing and batting wise it has been a while since we've had to bat on bouncy decks, and we've been going in after chasing leather in the heat.

Yeah perth in particular was horrendous, conditions-wise.

Chance to square up a bit tomorrow - meant to be 37 in Melbs.

 

[Ultra Instinct]

Kane should be rested for the next series, he's completely out of it.

Think the Indian series at home is next, but for the sake of NZC he should be given some time off to recharge.

How is Will Young's recovery? Would be worth bringing him in at 3 if he's available.

 

[Ultra Instinct]

Had we batted first, we would have been bowling late in the third session.

Can't fault Kane for bowling first, it was the right decision. We just didn't make use of the helpful conditions early on - Aus would have and we would have been rolled for under 200 and out of the Test on day 1.

We just need to realize we're not good enough to compete with this Aussie team in these conditions. Most teams roll over and get thumped here.

India are probably the only team who can challenge them there, they have the batting and bowlers.

 

[Ultra Instinct]

That was my concern with him becoming captain, but I think his average has actually continued to improve since taking over from McCullum. Does seem to be slightly off his game on this tour. He didn't have a lot of cricket leading up to the England series due to a hip issue (?) so maybe just hasn't had the preparation time he normally has on top of captaincy demands.

Probably because we've played a lot of cricket against bad teams since then.

 

[Spark]

Wait, I just saw the Smith handled the ball incident. Why didn't NZ appeal? That's 100% out under the law.

 

[honestbharani]

If NZ can draw this game, it will be some achievement. Australia's to lose/draw from now.