HeathDavisSpeed
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Beamer - you're welcome to visit the Sol Bar any time.
-
Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.
***Official*** New Zealand in the West Indies 2014
- Thread starter Hurricane
- Start date
straw man
Hall of Fame Member
A belated congrats to the Windies - deserved to win the second test. Exposed NZ in all the predictable places though we must be regretting our relinquishment of the initiative in our first innings.
I'm not usually one to complain about forum threads though this one makes me sigh, more due to repetitiveness than anything else. Looking forward to the cricket anyway.
Part of NZ's problems come back to selection and some strange decisions in our squad. Looks like we're stuck with Rutherford opening as McCullum isn't going to move back to opener. With Brownlie having declared his intention back home to transition to opener, if he'd been in this squad (would have been borderline in mine, vs Guptill and Wonky) then he would be opening in this third test. However without that option and having already ditched Fulton, there's little option but to retain Rutherford. Just shows how shoddy our reserve selections have been.
Bad timing with Williamson being called for a suspect action as I think it'll make him less likely to bowl many overs and bowl them well. This in turn makes our selectors less likely to do the right thing and bring in Wagner for a spinner. I'd retain Craig over Sodhi at this point though I wouldn't be devastated if they went the other way.
Taylor and McCullum need to score some serious runs this match. I'm optimistic though - the side is generally performing well, seems to have a focus even if it slipped a little last match, and should come out strong next test. Need to get on top early like the first two matches, and then make it count.
I'm not usually one to complain about forum threads though this one makes me sigh, more due to repetitiveness than anything else. Looking forward to the cricket anyway.
Part of NZ's problems come back to selection and some strange decisions in our squad. Looks like we're stuck with Rutherford opening as McCullum isn't going to move back to opener. With Brownlie having declared his intention back home to transition to opener, if he'd been in this squad (would have been borderline in mine, vs Guptill and Wonky) then he would be opening in this third test. However without that option and having already ditched Fulton, there's little option but to retain Rutherford. Just shows how shoddy our reserve selections have been.
Bad timing with Williamson being called for a suspect action as I think it'll make him less likely to bowl many overs and bowl them well. This in turn makes our selectors less likely to do the right thing and bring in Wagner for a spinner. I'd retain Craig over Sodhi at this point though I wouldn't be devastated if they went the other way.
Taylor and McCullum need to score some serious runs this match. I'm optimistic though - the side is generally performing well, seems to have a focus even if it slipped a little last match, and should come out strong next test. Need to get on top early like the first two matches, and then make it count.
Howsie
International Captain
Yeah, but generally when you bowl well you don't fly along at five runs an over. I watched the entire test just like most of you did, not a chance in hell you'll convince me that Craig outbowled Sodhi in that match.
Mike5181
International Captain
Any statistical analysis that would discount the importance of a BJ Watling wicket is flawed imo. Nasir Hossain twice, Ramdin twice, and when he got Blackwood he was down at number 8. That's five more important wickets right there. Let's give the kid some credit for once, ok? Any time a New Zealand spinner takes 8 wickets @ 28, we should be happy. He may have been a little expensive, but I think I'm ok with that considering his "wholly unproven action mechanics" got us the wicket of Chanderpaul twice in this series.
Blocky
Banned
They both bowled **** in my view. They both aren't test level cricketers although I've seen more from Craig around control, flight and guile than I have from Sodhi - personally I'd rather have Nathan McCullum performing a darter/soak up role than either of these two, but everyone seems to think you need two spinners in the West Indies these days, despite most meaningful wickets being ripped out by pacers in the series to date.
straw man
Hall of Fame Member
We ARE that desperate than any spare-parts batsman lying around should be considered to open, but it also calls to mind Ronchi's absolute inability against the new white ball against England (and others?) a while ago.
HeathDavisSpeed
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
PAPPS for the late call up.
Kippax
Cricketer Of The Year
Blackwood's included. You're digging your toes in though because you backed Sodhi (as you backed Devcich), seemingly because 'shots on goal'/'worth a crack' players give you a bit more titillation as a viewer, and your ego keeps pushing you down a misguided path.
HeathDavisSpeed
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I don't think New Zealand selectors have given enough consideration to the merits of Mark Houghton.
Or Lance Dry.
Or Lance Dry.
Hurricane
Hall of Fame Member
Every time i hear that name I am taken back to NaeNAe vs Easts and a torrent of abuse being directed towards him.
Mike5181
International Captain
I made a valid point, and you obviously couldn't do the same so you just gave me an ad hominem response. I still fully support what I said back then re: Anton Devcich. I've never thought he's a particularly good player, but the guy was averaging mid-30s in List A cricket, and he got a call-up. Fair enough I think, especially considering Hamish Rutherford was one of the ODI openers at the time and he was a failure in limited overs cricket, and still is. He was rightfully disposed of when we had something resembling a full-strength squad back, and that's it. He should never have had any involvement with the NZ A team in first-class cricket, and I said something to that effect when he was used in such a capacity, too. If you want to use such an instance to claim my ego is pushing me down a misguided path, I guess you're entitled to your opinion. Forgive me if I don't agree.
If Blackwood's included, my count's up to eight. You must have made an error somewhere else. My original point still stands though. The discussion was re: Craig vs Sodhi for the third test. You don't discount wickets against a number seven, and to a lesser extent the tail either. Ask India how much they wanted Watling's wicket in the home series not too long ago. I actually have Craig ahead of Sodhi selection-wise, but not because of some flawed statistical analysis that doesn't reflect a bowlers actual impact on a game. A better argument would have been to reference Craig's MOTM performance in the first test.
WindieWeathers
International Regular
Can you refrain from saying stuff like that please? i stepped away from another member trying to play the "tit for tat" game and decided to be the grown up in the debate..so lets just talk about cricket instead of this silly stuff.
hendrix
Hall of Fame Member
it was a joke bro.