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

[KiWiNiNjA]

He comes from a country renowned for spinners and can't pick the straight one.

I think you missed the punch line.

 

[Somerset]

Disappointing that we couldn't rap things up after lunch, but had someone offered me 260/6 at the start of the day, I think I would've taken so good stuff.

Yup, fair point. Besides Chanderpaul and Nash, the lack of application from the main batsmen must be worrying for the Windies. Take aside Gayle and the two left handers mentioned above, and the rest of the WI batsmen should be pretty disappointed with their performance (again) on an excellent pitch. And its purely in hindsight but I'd bet that had New Zealand managed to dismiss Nash shortly after lunch, we would've been batting by stumps.

 

[pasag]

Another innings, another Chanderpaul century, such a champion.

Removed the post about steroids. Don't want to see anything like that on here ever.

 

[Uppercut]

The world's best batsman tons up yet again.

 

[jondavluc]

Another day at the office for Chanderpaul good stuff .

 

[_Ed_]

Removed the post about steroids. Don't want to see anything like that on here ever.

Good stuff, thought that was pretty shocking.

 

[Uppercut]

I hate when this happens though because now i'm really curious about what was posted. Maybe they should be deleted and everyone should pretend they didn't exist.

 

[WindieWeathers]

Firstly i have to say Nash was absolutely sensational, him and yes THE BEST BATSMAN IN THE WORLD Chanderpaul really saved us from embarrassment after lunch, he seems so calm and picked his shots so well, he put the so called "main batsman" to shame, once again Marshall's inexperience is costing us big time, right now the way he's playing we might as well give the opposition a free wicket for six runs, it's simply not good enough, also what on earth can be said about Chatergoon?, when was the last time he got 35 runs for us?, i can't even remember, that's another wasted wicket that we need more quality in, i'll let Sarwan off because we all know he's a class act although he doesn't seem to be up to his usual standards in this test, Ramdin was just a rabit caught in the headlights, wft was he doing letting that ball go? , if we can find some real quality in the positions of Chatergoon, Marshall and Ramdin then we'll be in business, but the question is who can replace them?, as for tonight i hope Taylor can continue his fine form from the last test, if he can get himself into the 30's that would be fantastic as i'm sure Chanders will hang around until there's no-one left as usual.. , if we can reach 330 that would be very decent indeed, then we can unleash our bowlers and see what they can muster up, we know when they are in the mood they can make the best of sides look bad, it will be interesting to see what Benn can do on that pitch too.

 

[JBH001]

Nice work Chanders. If anyone was to stand in the way of the Kiwi's, I am glad it was him.

 

[Matt52]

FFS, why does it matter so much how fast they bowl? Get over it already. They're hardly a "bowling defence" when they both average around the 30 mark, and giving Franklin an absolute pasting is hardly fair given he's clearly not 100% yet.

It's nice to have a genuine quick in the attack but it's hardly a necessity and if your bowlers do their jobs and take cheap wickets, it's really of no relevance. For an extreme example, McGrath > Sami.

Anywhere from 130+ is OK. Fast medium or fast, doesnt really matter but 125 kph is distinctly medium pace. McGrath started around 140ish, then dropped to 130-135 latter on, but was never consistently around 125. Sami is just a bad bolwer. I could say, as an extreme example. Malcolm Marshall>Kye Mills. Youre right about Franklin. I hope he gets back to full fitness and rhythm soon.

Fa$t Bowlaz Fa$t bowlaz! Swing bowlaz hav no place in *****t. U n33d sp33d or ur gay

Charming. Swing bowlers are fine but a swing bowler doesnt have to be a medium pacer. Brett Lee doesnt swing the ball??. Ofcourse he does. Shane Bond didnt? Swing bowlers have a definite place and they can be swing bowlers at any pace. That has nothing to do with my comment about pace. My point is that a fast swing bowler will be more effective than a medium pace swing bowler. Refrain from making personal attacks, just talk about cricket.

Havent watched much opening bowlers then.

Gillespie, Sherlock, Bennet and McClennaghan are the fastest bowlers in the country, and the are absolute pie chuckers 90% of the time.

Shaun Tait, Mohammed Sami, Steve Harmison (for a very long time) and this WI fast bowling attack are extremely pie-prone, despite being very quick.

Im not advocating a bad fast bolwer be put in the team. Of the ones you mention I have only seen Sherlock and Gillespie Bowl. My point is that a good fast bowler would be of more benefit to this team than a good medium pacer. Therefore NZ cricket should try and give time and try and develop our faster bowling options. Im quite happy for Martin to come back in, as when fully fit, he can get it up to 140ish.(and swing, and seam the ball).

You mention Tait, Sami and co as examples of poor fast bowling to prove your point. When you think about the great wicket taking bowlers, there are very few medium pacers in there. Malcolm marshall, Garner, Walsh, lillee, thompson, Snow, Ambrose, Ntini, Steyn, Bond, Donald, Waqar and Wasim, Hadlee, McGrath and many others. Some were very fast, others just quick. but very few great bowlers bowl around the 125-130 mark. The only one I can think of is Vaas. Pollock started off as a 140ish bolwer, but then slowed to 125-130ish pace and struggled to take wickets.

Its called swing and seam, but unless its a domestic match then it doesn't exist at Napier.

Another reason why I think we should invest time and effort into developing our fast bowling stocks. There will be many places around the world, and many matches in which the pitch is flat, and there is little or no swing. In which case, genuine pace would be of great assistance.

 

[Jamee999]

Shiv

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

O'Brillant!
I hope he can get a 5fer.

 

[JBH001]

Yes, he certainly deserves it. He really has become the leader of the pace attack. A 5-fer on a flat track would be just reward.

Would still like Martin to return and share the new ball with O'Brien while Franklin bowls his way back to test match fitness.

Edit/ Am not watching this, but looks (via cricinfo) like Chanders is now going to open up a little and try and get as much over 300 as he can.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Is Darren Powell the most stupid batsman ever? Can't remember too many others who have got out playing ridiculous shots so often. Especially with Chanderpaul out there.

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

5fer!

Crazy stuff from Powell.

 

[JBH001]

6 fer! Well done, O'Brien.

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

6fer

Chanders stays not out, and his average stays at 50.01.

Looking forward to the NZ innings, I really hope they don't collapse, but I always have a bad feeling in my gut that they will.

How really needs a big score here, would like to see NZ no more than 2 down at tea.

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

O'Brien with 37 wickets @ 19.72 in 2008.

Also, Taylor needs 53 more runs to pass Martin Crowe's record for most runs in a calender year by a NZer.

 

[Nutter]

Yeah O'Brien just keeps running in. Good reward. Bit of zip too - in the high 130's/low 140s.

 

[Craig]

How Jamie How did not get run out is miracle.