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

[thierry henry]

Mills made it to fifth in the world by consistently keeping the runs down most of the time and taking occasional wickets. He is a great back-up bowler in ODIs (just don't let him bowl much at the death). Sure he is pretty ineffective in test matches but his style suits ODI style as he has proven with an average of 26.01 which is pretty handy.

Mills is our leading ODI seamer by a mile, how can you call him a back-up?

Actually, Mills has basically been an unqualified success in international cricket full-stop, and why so many people seem to have reservations about picking him in the test team is beyond me.

 

[anarky]

People are forgetting that not to long ago NZ were ranked 3rd in ODIs not far from 2nd. Now ranked 5th however have not lost any games since they were 3rd, and most recently wiped the floor with England at ODI level after losing the test series (yet some how england are ranked above them?) and were semi finalist in the world cup. Pace seems to effect them in tests however in the shorter form i have seen pace bowlers such as Lee destroyed by the likes of Mccullum and others. NZ's ODI team at full strength is a class act able to take on any other ODI team with the confidence of a victory especially at home (anyone recall the 3 - 0 drubing of OZ at home?). I predict W Indies may wing one game no more.


if only the corrupt BCCI and brown noseing ICC greed didnt rob us of Bond....

prediction: NZ 4 - 1

corrction england are not thank god. However must be noted that WI are unoffically LAST.

 

[sammy2]

West indies will sweeep the one dayers.

 

[anarky]

West indies will sweeep the one dayers.

the day that happens in the day i stop supporting NZC, which is never

 

[Magrat Garlick]

We have woman!

Stiff competition, I see.

 

[Manee]

Yea, everyone knows that. He chucks it. People just choose to ignore it for some reason.

Sarcasm?

 

[Smudge]

West indies will sweeep the one dayers.

Avatar bet on that?

 

[Natman20]

Mills is our leading ODI seamer by a mile, how can you call him a back-up?

Actually, Mills has basically been an unqualified success in international cricket full-stop, and why so many people seem to have reservations about picking him in the test team is beyond me.

Well he pretty much has made his success being at the other end to the success that Tuffey and Bond had. It has only been fairly recently where he has had to take the lead role in the seam attack. He is our best ODI seamer at the moment but he made it to where he is by consistent pressure at the other end while others took most of the wickets.

 

[JimmyGS]

Sarcasm?

Nope.

5 match series right?

I pick 3-1 with an abandoned game.

 

[_Ed_]

Well he pretty much has made his success being at the other end to the success that Tuffey and Bond had. It has only been fairly recently where he has had to take the lead role in the seam attack. He is our best ODI seamer at the moment but he made it to where he is by consistent pressure at the other end while others took most of the wickets.

I don't think that's giving him enough credit.

 

[_Ed_]

West indies will sweeep the one dayers.

I would be quite astonished if that happened.

 

[pasag]

This is a final warning to people to stop baiting certain members and supporters of certain teams. Banter is one thing but when members of the other side have shown continuous displeasure at the winding up it has to stop. We, as a moderator team, have no interest in having a forum where people stop posting because there are certain posters who have no intention of contributing positively to the discussion.

 

[sammy2]

This is a final warning to people to stop baiting certain members and supporters of certain teams. Banter is one thing but when members of the other side have shown continuous displeasure at the winding up it has to stop. We, as a moderator team, have no interest in having a forum where people stop posting because there are certain posters who have no intention of contributing positively to the discussion.

I can make my predictions ... Whats your problem ? you're bias, and if a NZ supporter had said NZ would sweep you wouldn't complain about it.

 

[Smudge]

I don't think that was aimed at you, sammy.

However, I still think you should back up your predictions by having an avatar bet with me. If the Windies win 5-0, you get to pick an avatar for me to use for two weeks immediately after the series finishes. If the Windies don't win 5-0, then I get to choose yours. To give you a little more leeway, if there are games rained off, as long as the Windies don't let NZ win a game, then I'll consider that a whitewash (say, 4-0 and 3-0 for example).

Deal?

 

[sammy2]

I don't think that was aimed at you, sammy.

However, I still think you should back up your predictions by having an avatar bet with me. If the Windies win 5-0, you get to pick an avatar for me to use for two weeks immediately after the series finishes. If the Windies don't win 5-0, then I get to choose yours. To give you a little more leeway, if there are games rained off, as long as the Windies don't let NZ win a game, then I'll consider that a whitewash (say, 4-0 and 3-0 for example).

Deal?

Deal, sounds good.

Windies have the best ODI players, batsmen and bowlers.

Sarwan would have gotten some time to rethink his position in the windies team. He was surprising awful during the test series, he has to make up for it.

 

[Prince EWS]

People are forgetting that not to long ago NZ were ranked 3rd in ODIs not far from 2nd. Now ranked 5th however have not lost any games since they were 3rd, and most recently wiped the floor with England at ODI level after losing the test series (yet some how england are ranked above them?) and were semi finalist in the world cup.

This is true. However, it's also worth pointing out that the New Zealand team has undertaken wholesale changes recently. Whilst I'll definitely back you up in your claims that New Zealand as a one day team were criminally under-rated up to and including the last World Cup, the team is too different these days to just carry that rating through. New Zealand got where they were in one day cricket primarily through Fleming, Astle, Vettori, Styris, Bond (when fit), Mills (particularly around that period when he was at the top of his game) and I suppose Oram. Fleming's gone, Styris's batting form has been terrible since the World Cup and he no longer bowls, Astle's gone, Bond's gone and Oram's fit even less often than he was back then. McMillan and Fulton certainly had their moments around that time as well and they're off the radar as well.

I think the current team's potentially just as good - McCullum has improved significantly while Ryder, How, Southee and I suppose Elliot have promising starts and the likes of Taylor, Vettori and Mills are still there. However, they don't deserve the rating merely because they have the same logo on their jersey: they have to earn it. Beating a poorly-performed England team in two series doesn't prove a lot to me.

I think New Zealand will win pretty comfortably as well but I wouldn't rate their team particularly highly in one day cricket at the moment as it's too much of unknown quantity with so many emerging players in it.

 

[Smudge]

Deal, sounds good.

Windies have the best ODI players, batsmen and bowlers.

Sarwan would have gotten some time to rethink his position in the windies team. He was surprising awful during the test series, he has to make up for it.

Cool. I hope you like Peewee Herman.

 

[Atreyu]

Expecting either 1-1 or 2-0 to the West Indies in the 20/20. Nz just sucks at them for some reason. Something like 7 wins in 16 games

 

[Bahnz]

Man, it's an absolute peach of a day in the capital. Would've been perfect for a deciding match...



Anyway, my team for the 20/20 and ODI games
20/20
McCullum, Ryder, Flynn, Styris, Taylor, Oram, Elliot, Vettori, Mills, Southee, Patel
ODI
McCullum, Ryder, How, Taylor, Styris, Oram, Elliot, Vettori, Mills, Southee, Gillespie/Patel

 

[garage flower]

Windies have the best ODI players, batsmen and bowlers.

Don't agree with that. I think that - with everyone available - a Windies team looking something like this would have real potential:

Gayle
Chanderpaul
Samuels
Sarwan
Pollard
Bravo
Fletcher (wkt)
Dw Smith
Taylor
Miller
Edwards

However, with Bravo, Samuels and Smith unavailable and the selectors not gambling on Fletcher's potential as a keeper/batsman, Windies are likely - as in the tests - to be massively over-reliant on 3 or 4 players. Unless Pollard can start to find his feet at this level and contribute a few overs of medium pace, NZ should be able to exploit a brittle middle/lower order (4 specialist bowlers + either dismally out of form 'keeper) and win the series.