*Official** New Zealand in England

[PY]

MotM will be decided by the result of the game in my book. Richardson and Strauss? Flintoff could do it if he comes out and blazes a mighty 80 odd but don't see it myself.

If it's a draw, I'd go Strauss as it is his debut.

 

[luckyeddie]

Some of the appealing is getting stupid

 

[Loony BoB]

MotM: Definitely Richardson or Strauss, hard to make the call, for they both had huge influences on the game as a whole. I'd give the edge to Richardson, personally, for being a rock through the entire innings rather than just a powerhouse at the top.

Run rate required from here: 3.13 RPO - easily managable, with the big hitters down the ranks.

 

[Loony BoB]

Quite a few short spells from various bowlers, and no sign of Tuffey for a while now - one of our only wicket takers this innings, too.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

MotM: Definitely Richardson or Strauss, hard to make the call, for they both had huge influences on the game as a whole. I'd give the edge to Richardson, personally, for being a rock through the entire innings rather than just a powerhouse at the top.

Run rate required from here: 3.13 RPO - easily managable, with the big hitters down the ranks.

Not sure we'll get through all the overs? 34 left to bowl after tea, and NZ are probably not too keen to bring on Vettori.

Then again, light in England in late May shouldn't be a problem (above point rendered idiotic)

On Man of the Match: Strauss definitely. A century and a fifty on test debut, which swung the game firmly England's way. Richardson was good, too, but he was way too slow in both innings for NZ to have any real chance of winning the game.

 

[Adamc]

I don't think Richardson can really be faulted. He held NZ's innings together in both innings. Without his contributions NZ would have lost long ago. 10 wickets on a fifth day pitch is hardly impossible, but Strauss applied himself exceptionally well.

 

[garage flower]

Richardson was good, too, but he was way too slow in both innings for NZ to have any real chance of winning the game.

Not sure about that. At the start of Day 5 they were in a position to win the game. If they fail to do so it's because their bowling attack isn't good enough.

One dour, defensive player amongst a top 8 choc-full of aggressive strokeplayers isn't the problem. The problem is that too many of the strokeplayers aren't hanging around long enough.

 

[luckyeddie]

For the first time in the match, New Zealand have gone on the defensive.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Not sure about that. At the start of Day 5 they were in a position to win the game. If they fail to do so it's because their bowling attack isn't good enough.

One dour, defensive player amongst a top 8 choc-full of aggressive strokeplayers isn't the problem. The problem is that too many of the strokeplayers aren't hanging around long enough.

I'm just saying that it was too slow for him to become man of the match - his contribution is less valuable than Strauss's was, when they hit almost equal amounts of runs.

And anyway, England were slightly better positioned in the morning - 274 from 90 overs with 10 wickets in hand is definitely very, very chaseable.

 

[Loony BoB]

Quite possibly time for Martin to come out of the attack. >_>;;

EDIT: Is Tuffey injured or something?

 

[Loony BoB]

Okay, hanging head in my hands time. England can't lose from here. Bugger.

 

[Loony BoB]

Fleming juggling his bowlers like hot potatoes...

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Fantastic Run chase by england. 4th best ever in England apparently. No mean feat.

Lets see them drop Strauss OR Hussain now...or Thorpe for that matter....oh dear

 

[Loony BoB]

ME Trescothick - A strong opening partnership in the first innings including his knock of 86 put England in control at one point. It would be rude to send him off after his winning captaincy and a strong 1st innings.
AJ Strauss - Dropping him would be stupid.
MA Butcher - The highlight of his stay was a brilliant catch, and he failed with the bat while those around him did well.
N Hussain - You can't really put a centurion out of the team, his 103* was one of the match winning innings. Brilliant fielding to boot.
GP Thorpe - A 51* in the second innings will easily secure his spot.
A Flintoff - I'd be stunned if they ever left Flintoff out. 3 wickets and a vital quick-fire 63.
GO Jones - I think he's safe. I can't see them dropping him for Read and I can't see them taking a batsman as a wicket keeper, either.
AF Giles - 3 wickets and a vital pressure spell, only 11 with the bat but that's now why he's there, really. Possibility that he'll be left out of the squad with Vaughan bowling the odd ball.
MJ Hoggard - Only the one wicket and he's not a required batsman. He didn't do too badly but he's apparently great at the next venue, and this might secure his place.
SP Jones - 4 wickets, deserved more. He'll stay, I'm sure.
SJ Harmison - Well, he's not going anywhere. 8 wickets.

Tough call. I'm guessing Hoggard or Giles with the outside possibility of Butcher if they're going to choose purely on how well they played in this side.

Almost worth telling Vaughan to rest his feet for one more match!

...you lucky bastards.

 

[tooextracool]

i was surprised with flemings captaincy today which was mediocre at best....cairns and tuffey barely got to bowl and vettori should have at least bowled a couple of overs around the wicket instead of that god damn negative line. i think the major problem with this NZ attack has been a lack of any serious pace.....bond is injured and the shortcomings of the 14 man squad become even more pronounced(perhaps butler would have been useful?). i do think that the bowlers who bowled gave it their best, the fielders fielded brilliantly but apparently it still wasnt good enough. they have a difficult period ahead,i would look to bring papps in at headingly and bat fleming at 4...i dont think hes suited to opening the batting, mcmillan deserves to be dropped for the manner of his dismissal.
england though look a settled side....only 2 players didnt perform in this test match, butcher and hoggard, the rest can give themselves a pat on the back. NZ on the other hand had fleming,mcmillan,styris,tuffey and martin. strauss played brilliantly and should have got a hundred, i really was looking forward to seeing him go on to bat till the end of the match. ATM i dont see any flaws in his technique,he can play every shot in the book and has an excellent temperament to back that up. perhaps he only needs to prove himself against a quality spinner. i for one do hope that vaughan does replace giles at headingly and that tresco bats down the order.

 

[tooextracool]

GP Thorpe - A 51* in the second innings will easily secure his spot.

as if his place was ever in doubt...you dont drop the best batsman in your side after one test failure!!!

Tough call. I'm guessing Hoggard or Giles with the outside possibility of Butcher if they're going to choose purely on how well they played in this side.

butcher will surely play, unless you happen to be on the selection panel.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

i was surprised with flemings captaincy today which was mediocre at best....cairns and tuffey barely got to bowl and vettori should have at least bowled a couple of overs around the wicket instead of that god damn negative line. i think the major problem with this NZ attack has been a lack of any serious pace.....bond is injured and the shortcomings of the 14 man squad become even more pronounced(perhaps butler would have been useful?). i do think that the bowlers who bowled gave it their best, the fielders fielded brilliantly but apparently it still wasnt good enough. they have a difficult period ahead,i would look to bring papps in at headingly and bat fleming at 4...i dont think hes suited to opening the batting, mcmillan deserves to be dropped for the manner of his dismissal.
england though look a settled side....only 2 players didnt perform in this test match, butcher and hoggard, the rest can give themselves a pat on the back. NZ on the other hand had fleming,mcmillan,styris,tuffey and martin. strauss played brilliantly and should have got a hundred, i really was looking forward to seeing him go on to bat till the end of the match. ATM i dont see any flaws in his technique,he can play every shot in the book and has an excellent temperament to back that up. perhaps he only needs to prove himself against a quality spinner. i for one do hope that vaughan does replace giles at headingly and that tresco bats down the order.

Well Tuffey isnt 100% Fit that was clear the entire game, also Cairns is past the days when he could bowl long spells (hense why he is retiring after this series). Coupled with the fact that Oram looked to have done his side and also Bond not 100% match fit i think NZ are gonna have some problems for th e next 2 games. Luckily for them they have a gap between now and the 2nd test to sort them out.

 

[tooextracool]

also Cairns is past the days when he could bowl long spells (hense why he is retiring after this series)..

is still not an excuse for giving him 6 overs in the entire innings especially when he was bowling a quicker than the others

Coupled with the fact that Oram looked to have done his side and also Bond not 100% match fit i think NZ are gonna have some problems for th e next 2 games. Luckily for them they have a gap between now and the 2nd test to sort them out.

so are they going to call for back up players or what??

 

[Loony BoB]

Things aren't so pretty in the NZ camp.

MH Richardson - No chance of dropping him.
SP Fleming - No chance of dropping him. We need our captain.
NJ Astle - No chance of dropping him. Good knocks in both innings, particularly the first, and you could say his second was just as good considering how well the English were bowling at the time.
SB Styris - Hmm. It looks like Fleming is rating his bowling, while I'm a bit sceptical - we should have our bowlers bowling. Still, he does have our best match-average, so I can't put him wrong there. However, we do need him to bat well, too, and he needs to get his act in gear.
CD McMillan - Oh dear, oh dear. Nothing good here. Likely a batsman to miss out on the next match, unless he sticks for the same reason as Butcher, which isn't likely. To be optimistic, he often does bounce back - but is it worth the risk?
JDP Oram - Can't drop him, good knock in the first innings and more maidens than any other NZ bowler.
CL Cairns - Can't leave him out - his knock in the first innings could have ended up with a century had the men at the other end stood their ground against the steaming English bowlers.
BB McCullum - Great knock in the second innings, shame he didn't get a century. Outperformed Jones with the gloves with 11 byes to 23. Obviously staying.
DL Vettori - Finally a wicket for Daniel, he got some turn and should stay in the squad given he wasn't exactly outperformed by his teammates.
DR Tuffey - Hmmm. Unsure what to say, he just didn't get to bowl enough. The first innings he just didn't get anywhere at all, the second he just didn't get the chance - and when he did, he was rewarded by not being put into the attack for a long time, while every other bowler had about 3-4 short spells at the least. Nifty knock in the second innings, too.
CS Martin - 4 wickets, double the next NZ'ers down. I think he'll stay.

Tough calls. Richardson, Fleming, Astle, McCullum, Cairns and Oram are all safe. I think Martin is safe, as with Vettori. Probably Styris, too, given the 14-man-squad. Bond will come in for Tuffey, I guess. I also wouldn't be surprised if Mills gets put in for one of the bowlers.

Papps in? Hmm. McMillan would be the one to go if that were the case, and I'm not sure one is really that far above the other, regardless of McMillan's scores. I think that McMillan is more likely than Papps to make an impact on the next game, to be honest, as much as I do want Papps and Richardson to open together. Really tough.

My predicted squad:
Richardson
Papps
Fleming
Astle
Styris
McCullum
Oram
Cairns
Vettori
Bond
Martin

I would personally rather see McMillan be put in instead of Papps, but it's really too tough to call and I think Papps will be given a chance to show us what he's worth. I've never seen him so I'll be happy if he does get a chance, even if I think Macca is more likely to perform well.

Mills is just one big question mark right now, to me, as I've never seen him play in my life. And if Styris doesn't make a knock in the next match I'll be very concerned. Especially if he gets out to Giles again - should Giles be playing. Which does make you wonder if Giles is worth being played purely to play on Styris' apparent problem.

 

[Loony BoB]

i was surprised with flemings captaincy today which was mediocre at best....cairns and tuffey barely got to bowl

I have to say I was a bit concerned about Tuffey not bowling. If he really wasn't that fit before the match then they should have used other options - although I hear Mills is having trouble right now. There's that 14 man squad issue again.

(perhaps butler would have been useful?)

Perhaps, but he's not worth the risk. Don't like that guy, probably just a personal point of view though. I think we'd need someone with a completely different style, and I'm not sure who that would be. NZ's bowlers aren't at England's level, that's for sure.

and bat fleming at 4...i dont think hes suited to opening the batting

I'd say 3, Astle at 4. Fleming's position has almost always been 3, right?

mcmillan deserves to be dropped for the manner of his dismissal.

That's Macca for you... still, Papps can be just as silly with his shots. The difference is that Macca has a lot of experience and a habit of bouncing back. I still agree with you that he should be dropped and Papps given a chance given his scores, but I do think that Macca is more likely to do better next time than Papps is on his first time.

england though look a settled side....only 2 players didnt perform in this test match, butcher and hoggard, the rest can give themselves a pat on the back. NZ on the other hand had fleming,mcmillan,styris,tuffey and martin. strauss played brilliantly and should have got a hundred, i really was looking forward to seeing him go on to bat till the end of the match. ATM i dont see any flaws in his technique,he can play every shot in the book and has an excellent temperament to back that up. perhaps he only needs to prove himself against a quality spinner. i for one do hope that vaughan does replace giles at headingly and that tresco bats down the order.

I agree with pretty much everything there, although I think Martin didn't do too badly, just not consistently enough. I think Giles will be the most likely to go, if not Hoggard, purely due to Vaughan being able to cover for Giles' spin. I've no idea on who should open, mind you. I don't follow English cricket well enough to say.