Cricket Summer 2023-24

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Great performance from the quicks to roll NZ for 160, but at what point are we going to address our misfiring top order? The bowlers can't keep bailing this team out.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I hate to say this - but I think Bazball has really lost something since Broad retired.

They really need to find some good bowlers to replace both Broad and Old-man Anderson, as well as some other stock bowlers to fill out a squad. Not having an experienced spinner in India has cruelled them somewhat.

I think I said it during the Ashes, but Bazball works if you've got an elite pace attack that keeps you in the game and in the back half of that series Wood and Woakes won those two tests for them.

If they can't replace Broad as you say or develop more elite bowlers (as Raelene rightly points out) they are in a world of hurt on anything other than flat tracks.

 

[Sword of Justice]

Henry is really leading this NZ team. He’s basically single handedly keeping them in it.

A couple different selections and better fielding and I think last test looks very different. Not sure that Southee has much time left and his mate Kuggeleijn is not yet ready.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Starting to hate Travis Head. Smith & Marnus are struggling but fighting. Head just plays the dumbest crap over n over. He’ll have a monster innings soon then do nothing for another 10 tests.

 

[Sword of Justice]

Starting to hate Travis Head. Smith & Marnus are struggling but fighting. Head just plays the dumbest crap over n over. He’ll have a monster innings soon then do nothing for another 10 tests.

It’s tough, we haven’t really had an innings where we’ve had more than two batsmen cash in for ages. Do we actually suck? Are they yesterday’s men?

At what point are the good innings the exception and not what we expect? Seems like that’s where we are now.

No real solutions from the player pool below and I am no more confident for India next year then I was when they last beat us here.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

It definitely feels like a Bowlers era like it was a Batters through the 90s early 2000s with a few absolute star bowlers.

There isn’t much below this. Beau Webster is the shield leading scorer and it’s his best year ever but he’s 31 with a career average of 36. I think we’re more likely to develop through white ball with guys like Fraser-McGurk and Hardie.

With Head it’s just the way he gets out. It’s always a dumb shot and often at a point in a game when we can’t afford it.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Henry is really leading this NZ team. He’s basically single handedly keeping them in it.

A couple different selections and better fielding and I think last test looks very different. Not sure that Southee has much time left and his mate Kuggeleijn is not yet ready.

Henry was always in the promising but injury-prone category. Now he's had a extended injury-free run (hope I haven't just jinxed him) he's getting the returns he always seemed capable of.

If Southee wasn't captain & going into the series with 98 caps would he have been picked? And now he's cracked the 100 is it time to move on?

Kuggeleijn shouldn't have been picked ahead of O'Rourke & Sears, he's an OK white ball cricketer but hasn't really done much in red ball.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Well at least Marnus is still in there fighting. That's something.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Matt Henry 5/60
A.L.Lothers 1/~120

Can't do it all on his own, guys...

Well at least Marnus is still in there fighting. That's something.

Maybe today's the day he gets that 200 @Sword of Justice predicted a few pages back...

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

LOL...

"Matt Henry 5/60
A.L.Lothers 1/~120

"Can't do it all on his own, guys..."

...Glenn Phillips wicket second ball.

I love this game.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Last over before lunch & Labs is chasing wide ones...

The cricinfo guy who came on drinks made a comment about it all being over tonight which still seems unlikely but anyone with tix for Monday might not get to see much.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Fair test match in the offing here. If NZ can put another 180-200 on the board they win this game comfortably. We'll be hard presses to get anything over 150.

 

[Sword of Justice]

Not really seeing a path to victory for Australia from here. It’s not even half way through the test so I am not seeing a path to a draw either given the form of our batsmen.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

We’re in big trouble. i said on another fora that this looked like a bat first pitch and now that it’s flattened out we’re going to be chasing plenty. We’re no chance to do that with form of out batting group.

 

[Sword of Justice]

As we say that we take 3 quick wickets… back on

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

NZ need at least another 100 & ideally 150. Time for our newly-minted Mr Cricket to shine with the bat & the bowlers to each swat a few boundaries.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

The Kiwis already have enough I reckon

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

I'd prefer to not see Aus bat today.

As we say that we take 3 quick wickets… back on

LOL three down & cruising when i left to go to Woolies to pick up some snacks for Sunday arvo beersies (the best beersies IMO esp when the sun's shining, as it is today), six diwn when I got back less than half an hour later. Made me kick off early, did that.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Now that's what reviews are for: Kuggs knew he hadn't hit or gloved it. Hopefully that fires him up.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

The Kiwis already have enough I reckon

You don't back your boys to get 279 on that? I think we're about 50 runs short & will lose by two or three wickets.