NZ concerns

[Tim]

Watching the NZ/S.L game, NZ have some issues they need to address.

* Cairns cannot continue solely as a batsman, because he's not being consistent enough. If he is not going to bowl then NZ may have to consider dropping him to 7 in the order or tell him to start learning to keep.

*Harris I think is coming to the end of his career, he batted awfully again today & was involved in a poor run-out with Styris.

Just watching here, makes me think that NZ don't have a hope in hell of at least even remaining competitive in India if they don't get this idea of 'balance' addressed.
I think the more this series has dragged on..the more obvious it is that the selectors have made several blunders once again despite the pitches being very poor.

 

[Tim]

Peter Manuel would have be the most bias umpire i've seen at the moment.

His decision on Shabbir Ahmed last night was risky & today he's let the Sri Lankans away with about 5 wides down legside & given 2 or 3 doubtful wicket decisions.

Whoops there's another one, Murali spins one way down legside & Manuel turns a blind eye.

 

[Kimbo]

get rid of mills too. not good enough to play international cricket. not fast enough, nothing to trouble the batsmen...

 

[Tim]

Vettori is getting MEGA turn, i've never seen him get side ways spin before.

 

[Tim]

Peter Manuel is pathetic...blatant out given not out.

Why haven't the ICC just gone ahead and made 2 ICC umpires stand in ODI's aswell because there are too many sub-standard umpires around.

Sri Lanka are gaining a bad reputation now with Asoka & now Peter Manuel.

 

[Tim]

I think NZ have done pretty well in this series considering they're without Astle & McMillan aswell as Cairns being not able to bowl..plus the loss of Shane Bond.

The wickets have been poor..and they;ve spun lots which has made life tough for NZ because they're not good at playing spin.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Yea i dont like mills , i dont like cairns at the moment either...
they arent doing much to contribute..harris all sorts of out of form with the bat, doing good/alrite with the bowl helping vettori slow things out

tuffey good job mate, that dudes carrying on some form... and vettori , is christ for nz cricket atm , but i reckon once astle comes back for india things will be different ,but then again cant rely on him solely, we should replace Cairns with tama canning or even canning for harris!!

 

[Tim]

I think your being harsh on Mills..he came back really well.

The selectors have treated him badly I think..and if he was selected more consistently he would be quite a handy all-rounder.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Vettori looks to have won it with 4/14

What are the pitches like, as they seem far removed from anything Sri Lanka have ever produced before...

 

[Tim]

extremely poor pitches...seaming in the morning & then spinning alot in the afternoon.

No team has scored above 200 in the first 5 matches & the highest individual score is 52 by Hafeez I think.

NZ played very well to win the match considering the amount of turn the Sri Lankan's were getting aswell as some poor umpiring.

But NZ are into the final, and it will depend on tommorows result as to who goes through with them.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Sweet Nz won

bloody cricinfo is still stuck on the 2nd last over for me !!

 

[Kimbo]

it was like that for me for ages too. fine now though.

MOTM: Daniel Vettori.
superb work, he deserves it too. hes been toiling away for a long time now without a lot of reward, excellent figures: 10-4-14-4

an honourable mention also to Brendon McCullum. topscored in the match with 47*. I wasn't able to see the innings but by all accounts it was very patient... and then he hit a few big shots towards the end. good to see a young player beiing patient.

 

[Tim]

McCullum's innings was extremely important as it turned out. He looked a little nervous against the spin at first but I thought as time went on he really played Murali & the other 3 very well.

And then the last 4 overs of the innings he really pushed the pedal down & played the shots he was known for at U19 level.
I thought he also took some very good catches behind the wickets so maybe he is starting to develop a little.

 

[Bazza]

Two comments on NZ. Firstly I had been thinking for a while now Cairns is nowhere near good enough to be considered a specialist batsman. If he's not bowling he shouldn't be in the team for mine. Surely NZ have another bat who desereves a go at 5 or 6, maybe a youngster to give experience now so he can develop into a better player in the long term? I feel that would be more benficial than having Cairns and six bowlers in the team.

Also Vettori - I hadn't realised how poor his overall record is. I always thought he was a fairly decent player, but his record is no better than a Robert Croft/Ashley Giles type player, yet he often gets praise as the best spinner outside the big three.

 

[Tim]

I think his performances in Sri Lanka over the last week or so have shown why he's considered to be good.

Unfortunately he gets injured just when he's starting to perform well so hopefully he stays fit & can continue this good run to bring his average down.

 

[Rik]

Also Vettori - I hadn't realised how poor his overall record is. I always thought he was a fairly decent player, but his record is no better than a Robert Croft/Ashley Giles type player, yet he often gets praise as the best spinner outside the big three.

Vettori is often overbowled by NZ as he is their only International class Spinner, he is an attacking bowler who is often asked to bowl so many overs he has to go on the defensive. OD cricket he has a very poor record, fair enough. One thing though, look at Giles, Tufnell, Croft...all spinners who bowl in spin-unfriendly conditions in England, ie grassy seaming pitches. Vettori is from NZ, similer conditions. In fact Vettori didn't bowl in the 1st 2 Tests of the India tour because of the greenness of the wickets.

 

[anzac]

yeah one of the reasons Vettori is rated as an attacking spinner despite his figures is that he is seldom over awed by the batsmen.

As discussed in previous threads he is not known for his turn or bounce, rather his craft is subtleties in pace & flight (he seldom bowls quicker 'flat' deliveries), and has a good arm ball that is esp effective in ODIs.

Also Richie thinks highly of him and that's good enough for me!