***Official** Sri Lanka in New Zealand

[Fiery]

NZ should wrap this up (but you can never rule out some Murali magic...)

I hope both sides improve greatly for the next match. Both sides look very rusty. NZ will probably field an unchanged line up for the next test and I would give How the next test to really impress before we start looking for another option. A few people would probably call for him to be dropped after a fairly awful performance in this test, but I think he deserves the next test considering it's just a two test series and our next test series is a while off again.
Bringing in a new player for one test won't achieve too much, IMO.
But it will have to be a big performance, at least 150 in the match (with 1 century) to seal his spot for another test series.

I think Sri Lanka, obviously, will need to replace P Jayawardene and perhaps Silva. I don't think he's ready yet, to be honest. Bring in Dilshan, and perhaps replace Maharoof.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm looking forward to the ODI series now. We'll hopefully see some new players blooded or, at least, Taylor and Fulton getting another go.

If I was selecting I would bring in Taylor after his chanceless 215 odd which was very impressive by all accounts and greater than a run a ball. I know he hasn't been considered as a test player that much but he is obviously going to be in the team at some stage so give him a taste now. I would drop How and tell Skippy he has to open

 

[_Ed_]

I would usually disagree with Sinclair opening but he came in early in the first innings and got a good 36, so he might be able to do a decent job of it this time.

 

[NZTailender]

Uh oh, Astle gone. he would be kicking himself by not being there at the end.


McCullum could end it in an over or get a duck.

 

[NZTailender]

Uh oh, Astle gone. he would be kicking himself by not being there at the end.


McCullum could end it in an over or get a duck.

SIX!

 

[_Ed_]

McCullum could end it in an over or get a duck.

Starts by belting Murali for six.

 

[Fiery]

I would usually disagree with Sinclair opening but he came in early in the first innings and got a good 36, so he might be able to do a decent job of it this time.

It's not like he's in a position to negotiate where he bats. Ha, McCullum has a look at a couple and then belts Murali over cover for 6. Nice action

 

[NZTailender]

McCullum has ended it. An alright win for NZ but not without flaws.

Can't wait for the 2nd test.

 

[Fiery]

Ah, finally a team who celebrate victory like men without having to dry-hump and ass-grope each other. Take note Aussie.

 

[straw man]

I'm really looking forward to the next test and the one dayers too, especially if we see a few more new players do well.

One dayers should be close, especially if the groundsmen round the country dish up some really flat tracks. Sri Lanka and NZ are both generally better at ODIs than tests so there should be some good matches.

Picking there will be a couple of wickets with seam movement and bounce though so SL will probably struggle on those.

 

[Perm]

Well New Zealand win the 1st Test match by 5 wickets, a pretty poor display from both team's really and I hope that they can come back stronger at the Basin Reserve in just under a week's time. I doubt the Black Caps will make any changes but if Jamie How fails in Wellington I think the selectors should send him back to the State Championship for a couple of years, I don't think he should be part of our ODI squad and hopefully he will come back as a better player.

Craig Cumming played well and backed up some fairly consistent domestic form with a couple of good scores, unfortunately he will need to turn them into 50's and 100's if he wants to be successful on the international stage. One thing I had noticed that playing for Otago he was generally making scores around 70 or 80 and couldn't quite kick on to make a big one.

Matthew Sinclair played well in his first dig and was undone by a lack of footwork, he played a silly shot in the second innings and was punished. However he does still have a future with the test team but like Jamie How will need to continue scoring runs in domestic cricket because I don't think he should be in the ODI side.

Once again the middle order was pretty shabby, Jacob Oram looked pretty hopeless with the bat and just shows he underdone he was leading into this test match. It's alright for Brendon McCullum and Nathan Astle to come out and bat aggresively but I would've liked to see them show a bit more fight when we went through a slump in the first innings, especially McCullum who needs to kick on with his batting now that his glovework has improved.

All the bowlers bowled pretty well but our inability to dismiss Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan was a little bit disconcerting considering we have a class bowler like Shane Bond in our ranks. James Franklin and Jacob Oram continue to raise their bowling standards with every game they play while Chris Martin was unlucky not to have more wickets than he did.

 

[JASON]

Murali's Run out by Macullum is one of the most disgraceful dismissals and IMO one of the most Unsporting way of dismissing someone.

Surprisingly it seems NZ have been involved in 2 such dismissals in Test Cricket. So lets not mention NZ and Sportsmanship in the same breath in the future - Only England can claim to be the country with players of great sportsmanship conduct. NZ definitely do not belong to that category , honestly.

 

[Perm]

I suppose you'll be saying that Bond's run out of Jayasuriya was also unsportsmanlike, get with it man. This is how the game is played.

 

[chipmonk]

Murali's Run out by Macullum is one of the most disgraceful dismissals and IMO one of the most Unsporting way of dismissing someone.

Surprisingly it seems NZ have been involved in 2 such dismissals in Test Cricket. So lets not mention NZ and Sportsmanship in the same breath in the future - Only England can claim to be the country with players of great sportsmanship conduct. NZ definitely do not belong to that category , honestly.

I concur !

 

[NZTailender]

Murali's Run out by Macullum is one of the most disgraceful dismissals and IMO one of the most Unsporting way of dismissing someone.

Surprisingly it seems NZ have been involved in 2 such dismissals in Test Cricket. So lets not mention NZ and Sportsmanship in the same breath in the future - Only England can claim to be the country with players of great sportsmanship conduct. NZ definitely do not belong to that category , honestly.

I think it's disgraceful that experienced, international players don't know the rules of the game. You're out there to win. It's not a charity match or a game in the park. You get a chance to get the opposition out, you take it.

 

[Fiery]

Murali's Run out by Macullum is one of the most disgraceful dismissals and IMO one of the most Unsporting way of dismissing someone.

Surprisingly it seems NZ have been involved in 2 such dismissals in Test Cricket. So lets not mention NZ and Sportsmanship in the same breath in the future - Only England can claim to be the country with players of great sportsmanship conduct. NZ definitely do not belong to that category , honestly.

Get over it. It wasn't disgraceful. It was just very dumb of Murali.

 

[JASON]

I suppose you'll be saying that Bond's run out of Jayasuriya was also unsportsmanlike, get with it man. This is how the game is played.

Only NZ seems to be specialising in this type of pretty ******** type of dismissal.

 

[JASON]

Get over it. It wasn't disgraceful. It was just very dumb of Murali.

Most neutrals would view it as a pretty crappy way of buying a wicket . I guess Maccullum follows in the elite company of the likes of Parore etc. so not surprising.

 

[Fiery]

Most neutrals would view it as a pretty crappy way of buying a wicket . I guess Maccullum follows in the elite company of the likes of Parore etc. so not surprising.

You wouldn't be Sri Lankan would you Jason? Hope you cheer up in time for the next game buddy.

 

[NZTailender]

Only NZ seems to be specialising in this type of pretty ******** type of dismissal.

You mean running someone out when they're out of their crease? I can see how thats ********.

Most neutrals would view it as a pretty crappy way of buying a wicket . I guess Maccullum follows in the elite company of the likes of Parore etc. so not surprising.

Most neutrals I've spoken to so far today have said it was a bizarre dismissal and stupid of Murali to be so careless.

 

[NZTailender]

You wouldn't be Sri Lankan would you Jason? Hope you cheer up in time for the next game buddy.

Sri Lankan living in NZ, IIRC.