***Official*** New Zealand in the West Indies 2014

[Blocky]

Living in Auckland though, the pitch really doesn't matter most of the time - the humidity and conditions up here are perfect for swing which is why I rub my head when we can't produce batsman who can play the moving ball well.... considering every single club attack in the country has guys taking the ball in or away from batsmen in the air.

 

[Zinzan]

Nah i can't be having that Beamer..i have my faults but i've never been ****y to that extent..but you know what? words have a way of biting people in the backside..we'll see if that long held notion comes to pass when this series is done .

To be fair on Blocky, I don't recall him constantly derailing non NZ related threads with irrelevant posts about NZ players and I certainly don't recall him starting any 'Will player X be an all-time great?' threads before the said cricketer has even proven himself as a Test cricketer period. Think a little mirror reflection is required here champ.

words have a way of biting people in the backside

Oh yeah...they certainly do!!

I'd like to think Blocky would fess up if he's proven wrong as opposed to coming up with excuse after excuse after the event eg. We don't have our two best spinners in Vettori and Patel playing..sob sob.

 

[kiwiviktor81]

Don't know if the BCs have the luxury of even talking about replacing a guy who averages 27 with the ball right now

 

[WindieWeathers]

To be fair on Blocky, I don't recall him constantly derailing non NZ related threads with irrelevant posts about NZ players and I certainly don't recall him starting any 'Will player X be an all-time great?' threads before the said cricketer has even proven himself as a Test cricketer period. Think a little mirror reflection is required here champ.

Oh yeah...when did i do that? please enlighten.

Oh yeah...they certainly do!!

I'd like to think Blocky would fess up if he's proven wrong as opposed to coming up with excuse after excuse after the event eg. We don't have our two best spinners in Vettori and Patel playing..sob sob.

Well someone didn't read my first post after the first test clearly!!...also comparing Narine's situation with a clearly beyond his best Vettori and someone who turned his back on NZ is a little much...but i guess it's designed to suit your point so i digress.

 

[WindieWeathers]

Six month layoff from a career that he's never been overly consistent in, he has some amazing performances scattered in between that - his average is inflated by performances against Bangladesh and the last time NZ toured here but I dare say he won't escape this series without some damage to his figures and reputation. He's not in the same league as Boult, let alone Southee. You say "He got better in the second innings" - I say the NZ'ers simply allowed him to bowl at them without putting pressure on him and hitting the bad balls away and made his bowling spell look much better than it was - as we saw with Latham handling him comfortably in both innings.

LOL funny...he tries to run down Roach despite Kemar have a valid excuse for not being at his best and yet he tries to big up Boult who was p;ss poor and only got ONE WICKET!!...you couldn't make it up

Even if Kemar takes a 10fer versus us in Trinidad, West Indies will not win. It makes me laugh though, in one sentence you're saying that Roach shouldn't be expected to perform during his first few tests from comeback, the next you're issuing a warning that he'll destroy our batting line up.

Erm no i didn't issue a "warning"..i was just stating another FACT that he took a 10fer against a much better side at that ground the last time he played there...no need to get worried Blocky.

If you're saying NZ only has three proven batsmen at the top level, then I'll counter and say in recent times, the Windies really only have two... Gayle not really contributing to his usual standard. The issue is also that when you make blanket statements like that, you don't think about match ups in the teams. If you're looking at these two teams side by side, the only two players who are absolutes from the Windies to make the combined side are Gayle and Chanderpaul if you match man for man.

Well actually if NZ have three decent batsmen well so do we considering Darren Bravo's average is BETTER than Kane's!!

Neesham is coming off back to back tonnes, Watling is setting records as a keeper batsman and if Latham starts to show the same consistency he just has in a season of first class, he'll be another causing pain for the Windies.

I've seen it all before...Kirk Edwards got a ton on debut vs India and then got another one quickly...his average went above 50...but he was soon figured out and it wouldn't surprise if both Neesham and Latham go the same way tbh...a good start doesn't really prove much.

Then you have the issue of the bowlers. If you had Narine, maybe you've got room to feel that you've got a bowling attack that could compete with New Zealand. But you don't - comparing Taylor and Roach to Southee and Boult is a little funny, even though Boult is a fish out of water in these conditions, ultimately either Southee or Boult are much better than either Taylor or Roach as bowlers, recent form and entire history tells you that.

You can keep bigging up Boult till the cows come home...the reality read very differently in the first test though and yet again he was left in Southee's shadow.

Like I say. West Indies won't beat New Zealand, unless something like a sticky wicket situation happens, NZ are sent in first and get rolled on a pitch as bad as they were in the warm up matches. Even then I'd give money on NZ being able to snick out the Windies under a low score.

LOL now i see he's trying to cover himself if his big claims don't come to pass!!..what happend to the "NZ will destroy WI again" line?

 

[NZTailender]

On the subject of this, though:
How many Blocky points do I get?!?!

I said give Craig a go in February tbf

 

[Athlai]

Oh yeah...when did i do that? please enlighten.

I'm guessing he is referring to your Sunil Narine thread? Fair call IMO.

Way too soon. Isn't even clear yet if Sunil Narine will be a consistent Test performer.

 

[WindieWeathers]

I'm guessing he is referring to your Sunil Narine thread? Fair call IMO.

Way too soon. Isn't even clear yet if Sunil Narine will be a consistent Test performer.

I was referring to his first claim about "derailing"

 

[Dan]

How about we all just get along and collectively laugh at Tim 5outhee being reprimanded for his poor dancing?

Thank you Tim Southee tumblr fangirls.

 

[Dan]

And appreciating the universally-acknowledged brilliance that is Kane Williamson.

#TotallyNotOneOfThoseTumblrFangirls

 

[Kippax]

Gabriel likely to feature as Windies hope for rain relief | The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper

The West Indies cricketers will be hoping the Almighty sends blessings by keeping the rain away, so that they could get in the full five days in the second Test against New Zealand which begins at 10am today at the Queen’s Park Oval.

The struggling West Indies lost the opening Test by 186 runs at Sabina Park in Jamaica, and will be hoping that the weather holds so that they can have an even chance of winning the second Test.

Rain has been in the air over the past week and the forecast is for more over the coming few days. This does not make good reading but hopefully there will be enough time to get in enough cricket for a meaningful match.

Yesterday the locals had a work out at the Oval and from all reports everything is fine with the squad in terms of injury. The team spirit remains upbeat despite the opening loss and with the new players coming in there is optimism.

Jermaine Blackwood and Leon Johnson come into the fray replacing Keiran Powell and Marlon Samuels respectively. There is a strong indication that the home team would go into this Test with a third pacer in the form of Shannon Gabriel and use one spinner. The track at the Oval has changed in recent years and would give assistance to the fast bowlers as well.

Skipper Denesh Ramdin is backing his boys to come good. “We have no choice but to go all out in this Test. We have the talent to win matches against New Zealand and it has been frustrating that the results have not come our way.

“Hopefully the guys can go out there and give off their best, so that we can come back into this series and have a chance at even winning it. We have been working hard and it is all in the head right now. The guys have to be positive, go out there and believe in themselves and their teammates and we can be right back in this series.”

Ramdin said the pitch at the Oval should be a sporting one which would give assistance to whoever is willing to work for it. “We have the batting and bowling attack to suit this pitch and once we go at the opposition positively we would get the result we want.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee who was brilliant in the opening Test said: "Coming to Trinidad now, the last Test I played here I performed pretty well so I'm looking to better that performance or even top it. I'm just going to go out there put in my best and give it a good shot.

 

[Kippax]

Note that the first sessions start an hour earlier, 2am NZT.

 

[hendrix]

Note that the first sessions start an hour earlier, 2am NZT.

terrible time.

Sort it out, Trinidad. FFS.

 

[Hurricane]

Gabriel likely to feature as Windies hope for rain relief | The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper

awesome - pumped for it,

We will have to decide on our team balance as well. Wagner vs Sodhi will come down to how McHesson thinks. They believe in being aggressive - so that could mean Wagner.

A small factoid - Ross iirc averages 42 in the first test of a series and 56 and 57 in the second and third tests respectively.

Hurricane's editorial comment for the test - Baz needs to lead from the front. If he fails in every innings of this tour that will hurt New Zealand. Go Baz. Play your shots.
Trent Boult also needs to shake off the cobwebs and perform.

I don't mind if fulton gets picked theoretically he can field at least.

 

[Kippax]

terrible time.

Sort it out, Trinidad. FFS.

Sorry Hendrix. Let's remember they were looking to perhaps reduce this series to two Tests, until NZC piped up and had the one-dayers taken completely out of the play. This Trinidad "hump Test" is the WICB's Monday-to-Friday burden, 10am-5pm.

 

[Dan]

Midnight start for me, which means I can catch the first session even more easily.

Unfortunately I was hoping to fix my sleeping pattern this week, but that's obviously not happening any more.

 

[BeeGee]

I don't mind if fulton gets picked theoretically he can field at least.

Fulton is out, replaced by Rutherford.

 

[Kippax]

Looking at the pitch, it looks like a little more grass than Jamaica so we may have to make some changes to our spin department," Ramdin told reporters.

"Come tomorrow, it depends on how Shane Shillingford feels - he has a little niggle - and how Sulieman Benn is feeling. The fast bowling unit we have is bowling well so may be we'll get one extra fast bowler and try to get some wickets."

Looks like Taylor and Roach will come in appreciably from those odds, if it's rainy, juicy conditions.

 

[Hurricane]

Fulton is out, replaced by Rutherford.

thanks for that.

 

[Kippax]

.

It's a bit cloudy today but the weather is clearing up in Trinidad, so there should be play in the second Test