*Official** New Zealand in England

[Tim]

A few balls are keeping quite low...but yet again McMillan is out LBW.

Franklin has played a couple of nice shots this morning...he has really impressed me so far.

 

[luckyeddie]

McMillan gone.

Tight LBW call, hawkeye says it would have just got the faintest touch on leg stump...

What happened to the benefit of the doubt?

Well, it looked nailed-on plumb to the naked eye - it's only Hawkeye which is now giving us these 'doubts', the benefits or otherwise of which you choose to question

 

[superkingdave]

oram gone, top catch Freddie
Go Harmi

game on

EDIT: Thought that was a really good catch, but made to look really simple

 

[Tim]

Im absolutely convinced now that some of the players in the NZ side are getting more than a little annoyed at the mickey mouse type batting lineup arrangements.
Oram publically expressed disappointment before NZ even left for England..so no doubt he was already going with concerns.

 

[_Ed_]

Oram for a big fat 0.

Hoping for a grand finale from Cairns now...we're going to need it to avoid our victory hopes being flushed down the toilet.

 

[Waughney]

McMillan gone.

Tight LBW call, hawkeye says it would have just got the faintest touch on leg stump...

What happened to the benefit of the doubt?

After 2 Australian summers with hawkeye you learn to not always trust it.

 

[Tim]

I don't have much time for Hawkeye...time after time commentators claim it's going on to hit the stumps, they then use hawkeye & it suggests it was missing by some distance and vice versa.
It's all about different television networks trying to get ahead of everyone else with every bit of technology they think will be useful or interesting.

 

[Loony BoB]

I could see that Oram wicket coming a mile away, to be honest. Looked very out of touch against some good bowling.

Good to see Franklin scoring a few runs, looking good for the future, he is.

 

[luckyeddie]

Oram for a big fat 0.

Hoping for a grand finale from Cairns now...we're going to need it to avoid our victory hopes being flushed down the toilet.

To tell the truth, I'm hoping for a victory target of (say) 420. Everything Vaughan touches seems to turn to gold, so why not a second innings 190-odd (again) and a world record run chase?

Or a Cairns bowling master-class - it's all good

 

[Tim]

NZ will need at least 350 with the depleted attack they currently have.

Despite the fact that the series has gone, if NZ pull this one off it'll be one of their greatest ever victories because I cannot see NZ bowling England out again with 3 strike bowlers & then a handful of part-timers.
Franklin has a big chance to make a statement..he's batted well & if he bowls well he could well push a couple of other contenders out of the way.

 

[_Ed_]

420 sounds very nice indeed...need to find 150 runs somewhere.

 

[Tim]

I'd love Cairns to re-produce a few of his slower balls just one last time...he looked as though he was finding a bit of his magic touch in the 1st innings.

 

[_Ed_]

Cairns = GONE.
NZ's hopes of victory = almost certainly GONE.

Everything falls onto the shoulders of Franklin and Mills, who have played a combined total of 4 tests.

 

[superkingdave]

The king of spain strikes! Sad for cairns but what a delivery!

 

[Tim]

Seriously, where has been the much hyped experience of this NZ side in the middle order during this series?

Almost every player in the team has a mental block when it comes to putting the final nail in the coffin. The selectors need to get rid of some of them so they don't affect the younger players in the team.
Cairns is leaving..some will say he should stay but I believe his time is up..he's not consistent enough & doesn't always use his experience. And McMillan..less said about him the better.

 

[_Ed_]

I was expecting Cairns and Oram to boost our total to something defendable in this innings, it turned out that they scored a combined total of 1.

 

[Tim]

The man I feel sorry for in this series is Mark Richardson..he was in woeful form against Pakistan & South Africa..but he trained hard & batted like a champion in England, yet nobody else was willing to stand up and fight with him.

I guess Fleming shouldn't cop too much blame either...he made some decent scores & really..what can a Captain do when NONE of your bowlers are in form?

 

[superkingdave]

Franklin gone to Freddie

 

[_Ed_]

It was a good decision by Franklin to play league cricket in England over the winter in case he got an opportunity. He certainly has been one of the reasons for NZ's improved bowling performance in this match, and his batting has been ok too.

If it wasn't for him, we may have had to endure another painful to watch spell by Daryl 'I'm fit' Tuffey.

Funny comment by Ian Smith: "Thats confidence, Chris Martin coming out with a runner."

 

[Tim]

I feel as though Bracewell MUST cop the blame this time...this is now the 3rd series where NZ have looked seriously average in test cricket.
Up until his arrival we seemed to be settling on a lineup yet over the last 3 months I don't think any of the batsmen have batted in the same position more than 2 or 3 consecutive times with the exception of Richardson & Papps.

The fielding has slipped to below our usual standards & apart from Chris Martin against South Africa, our bowling has been mediocre to say the least.

Last year people were complaining about Ashley Ross coaching in India..but at least we fought hard & almost won the series in the 2nd test.
Shades of the West Indies tour in 1995??