Kim Hughes says 'NZ are the only worthy opponents'

[Eclipse]

'Huge' nick? I've got the footage of that very ball and if there was a nick, it was a feather-touch. As it was, I wasn't convinced there was one regardless of what the snick-o-meter said. It may well have been his bat just touching the ground or another noise but it wasn't clearly a nick at all so the umpire made the correct decision.

I thought it was a big nick personaly.

 

[Tom Halsey]

I'm not convinced by the snickometer anyway. It seems to me to be very unreliable, with bats hitting the ground, etc.

 

[marc71178]

Only Brian Lara at home and India on dodgy wickets can touch Australia at the moment.

* points out that a significantly understrength England ran Australia quite close in 2 consecutive matches less than 12 months ago *

 

[marc71178]

In the end NZ had to resort to dirty tactics by running him out via a deflection onto the stumps at the non-strikers end.

I wouldn't call that dirty tactics, more a flukey deflection!

 

[marc71178]

I'm sorry I don't have video evidence to bring up at a later date in a dispute. I can only go on what most people use; their memory. As far as I remember there was a deflection.

Using that argument I haven't any video evidence of the Ashes 03, but from my memory, didn't England win it 5-0?

 

[Neil Pickup]

Using that argument I haven't any video evidence of the Ashes 03, but from my memory, didn't England win it 5-0?

There was no Ashes in 2003 :P

 

[marc71178]

I demand video evidence that there were no Ashes Tests played in 2003 :P

Until then I will use my memory!

 

[luckyeddie]

Using that argument I haven't any video evidence of the Ashes 03, but from my memory, didn't England win it 5-0?

Nope - 1-0.

Australia won the 2002 Ashes series 4-0.

 

[Salamuddin]

"Only India on dodgy wickets can beat Australia"

Hmmm... I dunno about this. I thought the wickets the Indians dished out to Australia in 2001 were pretty good ones.
I mean you don't lose a match after forcing the opposition to follow on simply because of the pitch !!
Credit where credit's due -- I think India won that series mainly due to the weakness of the Australia's against spin bowling and superlative batting by VVS Laxman.

AS to the subject of this thread, I feel Pakistan could challenge Australia more strongly than New Zealand can.
The Kiwis are a clever, innovative side but I don't think their bowling is as explosive as Pakistan's. You need strong bowling to take on Australia.

I know a lot of people are going to point out the 3-0 thrashing that Aus handed out to Pak last year. However -- I think the Pakistani side now is playing with much more confidence.
Of all the sides to have toured Australia in the past 5 seasons, I feel the Pakistani side of 1999-2000 challenged Australia most strongly. They wre dreadfully unlucky to not have won that 2nd test in Hobart asnd they pushed the Aussies in the others.

Pakistan's bowling strength was also shown in June last year
when they beat Australia 2-1 in a ODI series at Telstra stadium.
Granted this was ODI cricket but how many sides can boast of a ODI series win over Australia in Australia ?

 

[Legglancer]

Kim Hughes lost his marbles long time ago !

 

[Craig]

I dont know about that James.

There bowling line-up last year had Waqar Younis, Shoiab Ahktar and Wasim Akram.

Now Ahktar is banned and Akram has retired and Waqar isnt picked.

 

[anzac]

Not having seen the article, but my guess is Hughes is referring to the mental attitude to do battle on the pitch as opposed to player / team talent etc.

IMO NZ has had to develop this attitude primarily because they haven't had the talent at their disposal - usually in dribs & drabs if at all per team generation.

NZ put themselves in more winning positions than they used to, but still lack the regular firepower to pull it off. The recent Away series to India was a good example - dominated by the Indian batsmen on the scoreboard for most of the 1st Test but held out for a draw, and then turned the tables in the 2nd Test but were unable to finish them off.

Needless to say I don't subscribe to the Indian view that their spinners would have done the job had the situation been reversed on that final day - they have to say that otherwise it means a single Kiwi spinner out performed the much vaunted Indian spinners that defeated Australia, and on their own tracks!

 

[Richard]

Only Brian Lara at home and India on dodgy wickets can touch Australia at the moment.

Dodgy wickets?
On dodgy wickets Australia are all but untouchable. McGrath and Gillespie will destroy and batting-line-up on a dodgy wicket.
India might trouble Australia on a turning pitch, but not one of inconsistent bounce.

 

[Richard]

BUT, we should have won the 3rd test, instead we let Warne play a ridiculously long innings & ended up missing out.

4 dropped catches, was it?

 

[Richard]

I remember that game.....think it was in Hobart. Wasim Akram was really disgusted at the decision.

The main reason Wasim was annoyed was because everyone knew Parker had apologised to Langer for giving him out in the first-innings.