***Official*** West Indies in New Zealand

[Sir Redman]

If Franklin makes the starting XI he should not be used as an opening bowler. In the last year or so he has consistently been spanked when bowling with the new ball. His best spells have come when the shine has come off the ball and he has a bit more protection in the field.

My team:

Astle
Vincent
Fleming
Fulton
Marshall
Styris
McCullum
Vettori
Franklin
Bond
Mason

With How or Patel as the sub depending on the pitch.

 

[Blaze]

Pretty good squad. Taylor would have been in for How in my team but I still like the looks of How and am looking forward to seeing more of him.

Anyone know what Bracewell said about Taylor?

 

[Smudge]

Nothing on the wires yet from Bracewell.

 

[Natman20]

What ya know. I predicted How and Fulton and then Mason the only guy left is Taylor who should be in the squad soon enough. Im phsycic

 

[NZTailender]

20/20:

1. McCullum (wk)
2. Vincent
3. How
4. Astle
5. Cairns
6. Marshall
7. Styris
8. Vettori (c)
9. Bond
10. Patel
11. Mason

SS Franklin


ODI:
1. Vincent
2. How
3. Fleming (c)
4. Marshall
5. Fulton
6. Styris
7. McCullum (wk)
8. Vettori
9. Franklin
10. Bond
11. Mason

SS: Astle

I was going to put Styris at 5 in the ODI side but I think his experience would be best used at 6 if there was a collapse of some sort. Left Fleming out of the 20/20 as a bit of an experiment...

 

[James]

NZ v WIndies Twenty20 - New Cricket Web Fantasy Cricket Competition​

 

[Zinzan]

Pretty good squad. Taylor would have been in for How in my team but I still like the looks of How and am looking forward to seeing more of him.

I agree. If Taylor is going to be a consideration for the WC, lets see him in this series. I just hope he gets a chance if we win the first 2 games easily.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

The series is just 5 days away folks. Let's get some convo going again.

Was reading an article on windiescricket.com about the training session the West Indies had recently. Apparently it's a very relaxed atmosphere. King has been spending a lot of time with Rawl Lewis and Denesh Ramdin. Apparently he's trying to get Ramdin accostumed to Lewis' googly. A couple of things to note here:

1. Ramdin is a very good wicketkeeper. If he's having to spend a lot of time picking Lewis' googly, perhaps it's not a half-bad delivery.
2. Rawl Lewis has a googly!

 

[Blaze]

Rawl Lewis has a googly?

 

[Smudge]

The series is just 5 days away folks. Let's get some convo going again.

Here's something to up the spite-o-meter (bear in mind this comes from one of New Zealand's two "red-top" papers):

Gary Troup has slammed West Indies cricket legends Clive Lloyd and Colin Croft.

The Windies flew into New Zealand on Friday for their three-test and five one-day international tour - starting with Thursday night's Twenty20 clash.

Twenty-six years after the Windies' controversial 1980 tour of New Zealand, Troup said he was still bitter at the lack of leadership Lloyd, left, displayed.

"It's a real irony that as a match referee, Clive Lloyd is in control of talking to people about things that are way less than what he let his team do," Troup told Sunday News.

"When all the trouble was going on, he just stood there with his arms folded at first slip. We couldn't believe he let his players get away with it - it all boiled down to bad leadership."

And Troup - who played 15 tests for New Zealand - was even more scathing of Croft, who shoulder-barged umpire Fred Goodall during the second test at what was then Lancaster Park in protest at his officiating.

"Colin Croft is now a pilot. If I knew he was a pilot on my plane I would look for another airline," Troup said.

"The guy is bloody crazy. To go to that extreme you have to have a very short wick."

"If Croft did that now he wouldn't be playing again," Troup recalls.

"It doesn't matter how bad it is, there is no excuse for an act like that."

And while Lloyd occasionally stood up with the bat on tour, his leadership was non-existent on day three of the drawn test at Lancaster Park.

Instead of taking action, Lloyd - who now travels the world on the ICC's gravy train monitoring the conduct of the current crop of players - kept his distance in the slips.

"The big irony of that whole tour is that now the ICC have Clive Lloyd as a match referee," Troup said.

"When all the trouble was going on, he just stood there with his arms folded at first slip. He made no motion whatsoever to see if Fred was alright. He didn't even try to sort out his players.

"We couldn't believe he let his players get away with it. It all boiled down to bad leadership." Meanwhile, Troup said he was amazed at comments from Windies media manager Imran Khan describing the Black Caps as "painstaking grafters" who "milk runs like a maiden wallowing in boredom".

Troup said: "The comments are pretty rich coming from them. If they're not careful they'll get a drilling like last time they were here."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaynews/0,2106,3569699a15599,00.html

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Not sure what to say about that except that cricket was played differently back then. The Code of Conduct is different to boot. Clive Lloyd has done a decent job as Match Referee, and that's all that should matter.

To suggest that Lloyd lacked leadership skills is ridiculous.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Rawl Lewis has a googly?

I've heard rumours...

 

[Smudge]

To suggest that Lloyd lacked leadership skills is ridiculous.

Even when he allowed that type of behaviour to go on unpunished? Never mind the time he refused to bring his team out after a break during the Dunedin test, as a protest against the umpires.


There - that's got things moving on this thread.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Even when he allowed that type of behaviour to go on unpunished? Never mind the time he refused to bring his team out after a break during the Dunedin test, as a protest against the umpires.


There - that's got things moving on this thread.

Consider that it must've taken a fair bit of skill to make such strong personalities and idiots like Croft into a winning force.

 

[roseboy64]

Anyone who can control Colin Croft is a true leader.

 

[Smudge]

Anyone who can control Colin Croft is a true leader.

Croft barged an umpire. I don't know if that's "control".

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Croft barged an umpire. I don't know if that's "control".

He didn't kill him. That's control.

 

[sirjeremy11]

The umpire didn't crap his pants. That, too, is control.

 

[Smudge]

The umpire didn't crap his pants. That, too, is control.

Good thing it wasn't Peter Plumley Walker - or he may have enjoyed it.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

"WICB and the evaluation of Bennett King

Officials in glass houses..."

This is a couple weeks old, but still very interesting. It's a comment on the call for Bennett King to be investigated as an investment.

"If Chetram Singh can play a game of himself criticising himself and not even realise it in his apparent haste to rally around the homeboy skipper, then King and company really have nothing to worry about."

Heh.