*Official* New Zealand in England 2015

[flibbertyjibber]

Yes, I like his bowling in test matches. A very good wicket taking 4th seamer. But that role doesn't expose his limitations as much because if he's having a bad day he just won't bowl as much, and you can sacrifice a bit of control for an important breakthrough or two.

Totally agree, trouble is with the WI tour we had Jordan who fills the same role so had the opening bowlers, 2 4th seamers and a spinner who was struggling. Not a great combination. Wood could be the making of Stokes as he is a proper bowler and gives him the freedom to do his thing and if it doesn't work it doesn't matter so much.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Well, well, well. I'm disappointed, of course, but that was a cracking Test match and again demonstrated why the Test is a vastly superior format to the short forms. The ebb and flow can't be captured in an alternative format. In an ODI, England being 30 - 4 would never have led to a big enough score to challenge a hundred plus opening partnership for the oppo. Hopefully match two is equally exciting, but with a different result!

NZ will be disappointed and probably a trifle upset, but the reality is they played well for long periods of the match despite coming in a bit rusty. In a deliriously positive world, I might hope this encourages them to play more more frequently. Great to see a resurgence from Cook, and long may it continue. England still have a number of issues with their line up, most notably Bell, I suppose but this will be a great psychological boost to them.

 

[Pothas]

Totally agree, trouble is with the WI tour we had Jordan who fills the same role so had the opening bowlers, 2 4th seamers and a spinner who was struggling. Not a great combination. Wood could be the making of Stokes as he is a proper bowler and gives him the freedom to do his thing and if it doesn't work it doesn't matter so much.

Yeah, and there will be now no question about him batting at 8, so he will not need to justify his spot as a bowling all-rounder.

Beefy questioned Moeen's bowling again today but really he did fine, I don't know what people really expect, we would have been delighted if Giles had taken 4 wickets and scored 100 runs in a match. Swann was very much an exception rather than the norm, there is still a lot of work Moeen can do on his bowling, primarily he needs to go for less runs, but he does get wickets. He also makes for a brilliant number 8, I know you are supposed to pick your best bowlers but lower order batting is a big part of the modern game, still think there is a good case for him batting above Buttler, would be happy to change it depending on who is playing better at the time.

 

[Cabinet96]

I think the batting will stay as it is for a while. Moeen seems to be the only one of the three who doesn't regress when batting at 8, in fact the actually batted better than he did for most of last summer.

Should clarify I'm not really sure I believe in this kind of stuff where someone is great at 6 rubbish at 8 and vice-versa, but it seems to be working how it is.

 

[Flem274*]

Well done England that's one of the great comebacks.

Yuck NZ.

 

[BackFootPunch]

Watched until lunch then gave up, result went largely as expected. Fair play to England, heck of a comeback and a much deserved win. Stokes was awesome, and I'm actually pretty happy for Cook.

Not sure about all the people criticising McCullum though. I got the impression he was batting 6 so he gave his team the best opportunity for a win. Williamson and Watling proved 5 months ago that they could bat together for a long time, had they done that and given McCullum a platform, who knows what might have happened. Obviously didn't turn out that way but that's cricket.

Leeds will be a huge test of where this Kiwi team is at mentally. A win there and I'd be prepared to write this loss off as an aberration, though obviously that's dependent on how England play too. I can't see us needing to change anything with the team, unless Watling pulls up no good.

 

[LegionOfBrad]

Yeah, and there will be now no question about him batting at 8, so he will not need to justify his spot as a bowling all-rounder.

Beefy questioned Moeen's bowling again today but really he did fine, I don't know what people really expect, we would have been delighted if Giles had taken 4 wickets and scored 100 runs in a match. Swann was very much an exception rather than the norm, there is still a lot of work Moeen can do on his bowling, primarily he needs to go for less runs, but he does get wickets. He also makes for a brilliant number 8, I know you are supposed to pick your best bowlers but lower order batting is a big part of the modern game, still think there is a good case for him batting above Buttler, would be happy to change it depending on who is playing better at the time.

There is certainly no Swann out there right now.

Rashid is not the bowler you go for for plugging up an end. So I'm happy with Moeen.

 

[Moss]

Watched until lunch then gave up, result went largely as expected. Fair play to England, heck of a comeback and a much deserved win. Stokes was awesome, and I'm actually pretty happy for Cook.

Not sure about all the people criticising McCullum though. I got the impression he was batting 6 so he gave his team the best opportunity for a win. Williamson and Watling proved 5 months ago that they could bat together for a long time, had they done that and given McCullum a platform, who knows what might have happened. Obviously didn't turn out that way but that's cricket.

Leeds will be a huge test of where this Kiwi team is at mentally. A win there and I'd be prepared to write this loss off as an aberration, though obviously that's dependent on how England play too. I can't see us needing to change anything with the team, unless Watling pulls up no good.

No issues with McCullum coming behind Watling, that was a tactically good move. The skipper might want to look into how runs were consistently leaked though.

Wagner for Craig? And yeah, let's hope there's no need to bring in Ronchi.

 

[Moss]

Spark and Howe: Nice work on the audio commentary today! Look forward to more during the Headingley test.

 

[GIMH]

I think we'll win 2-0 now. Many of our players are so confidence-driven. We've seen the up and down side of that over the years.

Not writing NZ off, by any means, but feeling very positive right now.

 

[Pothas]

I think we'll win 2-0 now. Many of our players are so confidence-driven. We've seen the up and down side of that over the years.

Not writing NZ off, by any means, but feeling very positive right now.

We are still more than capable of a collapse but yeah feeling good, it feels like we really do have a new side now, as opposed to some new players with Anderson winning the matches. Lyth making some runs is the next thing we really need, home test for him, got hopes for a good test for him.

 

[WindieWeathers]

Well done England that's one of the great comebacks.

Yuck NZ.

I agree

 

[Pratters]

Obviously Stoke has had a great test. He just looked so comfortable out there. In West Indies, he was much more inconsistent. I am guessing it is not just that it was home conditions. Playing tests regularly does that. Really like Wood. As Athers said, he didn't look overawed at all. Keeps mixing it up. If his body keeps up, he could be the cog they were missing all along - the effective third bowler. Since Swann's gone now, it was very important to get that third fast bowler right.

 

[Athlai]

A real shame this is a two match series.

 

[Pratters]

I know. A two test series is annoying.

 

[weldone]

A real shame this is a two match series.

I agree. I think with 3+ tests it could have been an epic series. In fact, this should end up being a tighter contest than the Ashes - which will lose the excitement from the 3rd or 4th test imo.

 

[Furball]

We are still more than capable of a collapse but yeah feeling good, it feels like we really do have a new side now, as opposed to some new players with Anderson winning the matches. Lyth making some runs is the next thing we really need, home test for him, got hopes for a good test for him.

Lyth just feels like someone who'll come in, score the odd hundred or fifty here or there but ultimately average 30-35 before being dropped for the next big thing.

 

[Furball]

I agree. I think with 3+ tests it could have been an epic series. In fact, this should end up being a tighter contest than the Ashes - which will lose the excitement from the 3rd or 4th test imo.

Nope.

 

[GIMH]

Nope.

Nah he has a point - once we go three up the last two will be dull

 

[Cabinet96]

Nah he has a point - once we go three up the last two will be dull

Bit like last time they were here then. Good point Weldone.