Really need to go bang, bang about now.
Pretty much regardless of pitch condition, I tend to look at a first innings score of 220/4 as being par - we were behind the game at stumps last night, but a couple of wickets (or three) in the next half hour would have us back on course.
@MN5 said in West Indies tour of NZ:
@Chris said in West Indies tour of NZ:
The decision to re select Blundell over Hay as I have said before is a poor one.
Compare the reckless shot Blundell played in his score of 4 to the 61 Hay scored when NZ was in trouble in the previous tests, shows who will contribute more.
Blundell dropped a catchable one down the leg side, and anyone who says it was hard sure, but if you get a decent glove on it you should catch it at test level, he just moved too late at 35 that is going to happen.
Hay is the best WK in NZ as he anticipates very well and gets in to catching positions very easily compared to other keepers, and stays down longer which gets him in to good positions to take the ball and keeps his head and eyes more in line with the ball.
It is always easier to catch a ball staying low and coming up than coming up too soon and having to re adjust.Blundell has been an admirable trooper for NZ and a handy successor to Watling but the fact he walked straight back in after Hay made every single post a winner ( some excellent keeping from what I saw to go with a very handy score ) is a bit troubling for me. His batting continues to be far more misses than hits too.
The coaching staff are very loyal though, they can point to Conways efforts in this series as justification for this I suppose but Hay looks a seriously good long term talent who should get his chance now especially in an ageing team ( Ravindra the only other top six batsman under 30 )
Yes totally agree
@Chris said in West Indies tour of NZ:
The decision to re select Blundell over Hay as I have said before is a poor one.
Compare the reckless shot Blundell played in his score of 4 to the 61 Hay scored when NZ was in trouble in the previous tests, shows who will contribute more.
Blundell dropped a catchable one down the leg side, and anyone who says it was hard sure, but if you get a decent glove on it you should catch it at test level, he just moved too late at 35 that is going to happen.
Hay is the best WK in NZ as he anticipates very well and gets in to catching positions very easily compared to other keepers, and stays down longer which gets him in to good positions to take the ball and keeps his head and eyes more in line with the ball.
It is always easier to catch a ball staying low and coming up than coming up too soon and having to re adjust.
I don't think anyone would have complained if Hay had backed up. It was a poor decision on every level, no one owns the jersey/cap
@Chris-B said in West Indies tour of NZ:
According to me:
Duffy has a test bowling average of 12.3 and Foulkes is averaging 8.9.
Matt Henry needs to pull finger!
Posted this a couple of weeks back.
Message back from Matt Henry:
"I don't have to do a goddamned thing - 'çept sit on my ass and wait!" 
Phillips into the attack - in tandem with Patel.
Eleven overs to the new ball. Presumably hoping to get through quickly, cheaply, and with a bit of luck snaffling at least one wicket.
LBW review coming. Looked high in real time, but Rae isn't that fast or bouncy.
Review lost. Another poor review. Poor intel from the keeper and the bowler
Mitch puts down a very tough chance off "Jazzy". Would have been a corker, in and out. Patel looking more likely than Beasty
Starting to look a bit draw-like to me.
We really need a good last session today where we roll them for, say, 400.
Which would leave six sessions and us leading by 175. Invest two sessions scoring 225 and boldly leave them four sessions to make 400?
That's gettable on a flat track if they start well.
@booboo said in West Indies tour of NZ:
Ok. Fuck this. I'm off to bed. (Wee early afternoon zzz but hoping it works ...)
Looks to have worked on Athanze
But they're rolling on, 4 down.
That looks plumb from Mitch Jr. Only an inside edge will save him. Why can't our full-time bowlers put it on the spot with any consistency? Why don't we heap the pressure onto the new batsman with men around the bat to try and manufacture another wicket? We are 220 ahead FFS
Finally we do go bang, bang!
Ajaz gets Chase cheaply.
Still got Hope and Hodge to get through, and presumably Roach can bat even if he can't run. Hope still not coming out, though.
Hope's time restrictions will be over now, I wonder if he's not available to bat? Not able to watch at the moment, so only checking score periodically.
Hodge hit in the nuts then gets a hundy.
Well deserved
( the hundred, not the shot in the nuts )
367-6. Trailing by 208, follow on mark damn close now.
@Bovidae said in West Indies tour of NZ:
Rae should have caught that.
Can't afford to miss chances on a wicket like this
Draw written all over this one.
In saying that the Windies have once again surprised with their fight, even taking into account the surface.
NZ will want to roll them in an hour or so tomorrow to be ANY chance of forcing a result.
@MN5 said in West Indies tour of NZ:
Draw written all over this one.
In saying that the Windies have once again surprised with their fight, even taking into account the surface.
NZ will want to roll them in an hour or so tomorrow to be ANY chance of forcing a result.
If we had our front line attack it would probably be another story. But we can only ride with what we have
Early wicket from Duffy, nice. Philip caught behind.
Shai Hope coming out now, hopefully still not 100%
I'm not sure I recall a series where so many guys from both teams have had so many injury issues.
Hope apparently had food poisoning. If we'd got another couple of wickets yesterday, maybe we wouldn't have had to deal with him at all, but he doesn't last long.
Eight down now and Roach might not bat.
Come on boys - knock them over and open up the chance of a result!
@Chris-B said in West Indies tour of NZ:
Hope apparently had food poisoning. If we'd got another couple of wickets yesterday, maybe we wouldn't have had to deal with him at all, but he doesn't last long.
Eight down now and Roach might not bat.
Come on boys - knock them over and open up the chance of a result!
Windies have done bloody well, I thought even with our depleted bowling stocks that the follow on would be well beyond them.
In saying that all this time they're hanging around is niggly and bloody annoying in terms of getting a result.
NZ will be doing very well to win from here.
Why are we bowling Phillips?
Surely Rae or Foulkes are more likely to knock Seales over quickly?
@Chris-B said in West Indies tour of NZ:
Why are we bowling Phillips?
Surely Rae or Foulkes are more likely to knock Seales over quickly?
Well, to his credit he pulled off a terrific boundary saver just then. He's an absolutely outstanding fielder. Probably best in the world.
@Chris-B said in West Indies tour of NZ:
Duffy is carrying our attack, really.
I thought you were a bit optimistic wondering about Rae to knock over the tail before
@Donsteppa I think he's more likely to do it than Phillips.
Unless the pitch deteriorates markedly in the next 24 hours, though, I don't see where another 10 wickets are coming from.
Hooray - Jeetan gets Seales. Will Roach bat?
My boy Rae comes on and finishes Roach!
Have a rest for a few hours lads.
So, according to me we need to bat normally for about a session and then play increasingly aggressively for another session. Set them about 400 in 3.5 sessions and hope to knock them over cheaply.
Not a bad mop up job this morning - 39/4.
They won't have Roach to bowl so hopefully some hay to be made.
Sun hasn't really emerged consistently this morning to bake out the pitch for tomorrow. Ajaz will be looking at it with interest though from another day of wear.
@Chris-B said in West Indies tour of NZ:
My boy Rae comes on and finishes Roach!
Have a rest for a few hours lads.
So, according to me we need to bat normally for about a session and then play increasingly aggressively for another session. Set them about 400 in 3.5 sessions and hope to knock them over cheaply.
It's a pretty harsh truth that he is more than likely playing his last test.
I've really liked his attitude and he has shown he belongs at this level. In pretty much any other era he would have had a long career but dare I say it there is some depth in NZs fast bowling stocks and a host of good players to come back.
@Chris-B said in West Indies tour of NZ:
@MN5 Yeah - rankings probably something like:
Henry
Jamieson
O'Rourke
Duffy (he's been impressive and jumped up the list)
Sears
Tickner
Fisher
Foulkes (can swing the ball a mile in the right conditions, but shades of Lance Cairns for me)
Rae
Looks more or less right, Jamieson despite the incredible average just hasn't played enough to usurp Henry from the top of the list.
I'd probably rate Tickner ahead of Sears.
No Smith ?
Yeah all fit and firing you'd have Henry, Jamieson and O'Rourke as lock ins with perhaps Smith and Foulkes battling for that "all rounder" spot.
But Jacob Duffy has been excellent, Tickner too in his brief appearance at the Basin.
Patel is obviously in the equation too, also Santner vs Phillips......
Once all are back and taking into account Raes age he'll go back in the wilderness which seems a shame.
I hope enough of them are fit for the tests next year.
@MN5 If Phillips plays, I reckon he needs to bat at 6.
At 7 he seems to think his job is to have a bit of a tonk, rather than playing as a proper batsman.
I'm not convinced either Smith or Foulkes are good enough batsmen to warrant playing them ahead of guys who are better bowlers.
If a pitch will assist spinners, I'd pick:
Latham, Conway, Williamson, Ravindra, Mitchell, Phillips, Hay, Santner, Jamieson, Henry, O'Rourke.
If it won't:
Latham, Conway, Williamson, Ravindra, Mitchell, Phillips, Hay, Jamieson, Henry, Duffy, O'Rourke.
@Chris-B said in West Indies tour of NZ:
@MN5 If Phillips plays, I reckon he needs to bat at 6.
At 7 he seems to think his job is to have a bit of a tonk, rather than playing as a proper batsman.
I'm not convinced either Smith or Foulkes are good enough batsmen to warrant playing them ahead of guys who are better bowlers.
If a pitch will assist spinners, I'd pick:
Latham, Conway, Williamson, Ravindra, Mitchell, Phillips, Hay, Santner, Jamieson, Henry, O'Rourke.
If it won't:
Latham, Conway, Williamson, Ravindra, Mitchell, Phillips, Hay, Jamieson, Henry, Duffy, O'Rourke.
Same here. It seems to be a bit of a worldwide phenomenon to pick guys who are handy at both at the expense of guys who are better bowlers and/or batsmen.
The NZ squad seems to have quite a few of these.
I like your teams, Top five absolutely pick themselves. Conway has done more than enough this series to push Young down the pecking order. If Hay takes over fulltime and I hope he does soon then his record would indicate he should be batting at six with the option of Philips leap frogging him if quick runs are needed.
If either of your teams played I'm fairly sure NZ would have won the series 3-0 pretty easily.
