***Official*** West Indies in New Zealand 2013/14

[Bahnz]

Hmmm, things looked a bit ominous in that last hour. Beamer is certainly justified in his assertions that this is a belter of a pitch. New Zealand will need to strike quickly tomorrow morning or it could be a long day in the field. Good to hear Sodhi bowling a few good'uns before the close.

 

[Beamer]

Well I guess that wasn't totally disastrous. The ball has stopped moving much now, but it was tricky to face when it was brand new. Really rate Trent Boult as a bowler, he hardly ever goes for runs even if it's not swinging.

Gitta say Darren Bravo looked class in that session, loved that cover drive off Wagner, so dismissive. Marlon looked a bit of a walking wicket but he's still there and that gives me hope. Survive the first hour tomorrow, then make hay. At least I hope that's how they are thinking.

 

[Bahnz]

Hmmm, from the sounds of it Boult didn't bowl all that well today. Yeah he was cheap, but that's primarily because he was bowling way too wide outside off and the Windies were in a fairly defensive mindset. Would've been better to attack the stumps more even if he risked getting whipped for a few onside boundaries.

 

[Hurricane]

Well I guess that wasn't totally disastrous. The ball has stopped moving much now, but it was tricky to face when it was brand new. Really rate Trent Boult as a bowler, he hardly ever goes for runs even if it's not swinging.

Gitta say Darren Bravo looked class in that session, loved that cover drive off Wagner, so dismissive. Marlon looked a bit of a walking wicket but he's still there and that gives me hope. Survive the first hour tomorrow, then make hay. At least I hope that's how they are thinking.

I've seen Bravo before but he really looks quality out there. That cover drive off Wagner was one of the best I have seen. Samuels is a strong player as well. We really needed to get rid of the openers early then somehow get rid of your terrific 3,4,5 combination. The rest of your batting doesn't concern me. I don't know why you want WI to make hay. They should really just bat for a draw and operate at 2 to 3 runs per over.

Good luck to them though if they want to play their shots.

 

[Prince EWS]

I do get what you mean - that from time to time the ball will drift in the air and then carry on off the pitch without turning at all, creating the illusion of it turning the other way when in reality it just changed its path before pitching.. a bit like really late swing that people confuse for seam movement.

That's not what happened there though; the ball did drift in but it clearly changed direction after pitching.

Actually, I take it back to some extent. HawkEye clearly the best way to solve this issues IMO so I went back in time on FoxtelGo and got this:

And it's hard to say. Certainly didn't turn as much as I thought. I think the actual parabola the ball is travelling on is more indicative with turn than movement in the air before pitching though, as it seems to still actually be changing direction. It wouldn't still be drifting after pitching, and even though that's the predictive element of HawkEye, it obviously picked up a change in direction after pitching of some sort to give that result, even if only a slight one.

So I still think it was a wrong'un. Wasn't anywhere near as big a wrong'un as I first imagined though.

 

[thierry henry]

I wonder if Sodhi has a really nerdy nickname like "Na"....

Ish "Too Cold" Sodhi (my teef hurt)

 

[hendrix]

Hmmm, from the sounds of it Boult didn't bowl all that well today. Yeah he was cheap, but that's primarily because he was bowling way too wide outside off and the Windies were in a fairly defensive mindset. Would've been better to attack the stumps more even if he risked getting whipped for a few onside boundaries.

yeah he was poor and down on pace apart from his last couple of overs where he got up to 144kph.

The rest of the time he lacked rhythm, and was trying too hard on the variations. Needs to just stick with the inswinger and only very rarely use the other one.

 

[Beamer]

I've seen Bravo before but he really looks quality out there. That cover drive off Wagner was one of the best I have seen. Samuels is a strong player as well. We really needed to get rid of the openers early then somehow get rid of your terrific 3,4,5 combination. The rest of your batting doesn't concern me. I don't know why you want WI to make hay. They should really just bat for a draw and operate at 2 to 3 runs per over.

Good luck to them though if they want to play their shots.

I just want them to play their natural game tbh. When I say make hay I don't mean throw caution to the wind and be proactive, rather just enjoy the fact that you can hit through the line with impunity.

Bravo can play a big innings if he gets past a hundred but has a habit of giving it away after passing 50. Samuels can score big if he gets in and will score quickly naturally once he is settled. Shiv will obviously occupy the crease forever if you let him. Ramdin needs to bat sensibly and put away the cover drive and the sweep for the first 30 minutes of his innings. After that he has a pretty wide array of shots and could score pretty quickly. Sammy can only play aggressively, if he tries to defend too much either Southee or Sodhi will eat him for breakfast.

So, in a very long winded way (apologies), I'm saying that if they just survive the first hour, the natural games will take over and we'll score relatively quickly anyway (Shiv excepted). If NZ pick up early wickets and get Ramdin/Sammy/the tail in, they could well collapse in a heap, no matter how flat the wicket is.

 

[straw man]

They must hit him (Sodhi) out of the attack or he will get amongst them..

that sounds like Ishful thinking

 

[WindieWeathers]

Well i guess we can't comlain with that finish!!..Darren looked a class apart and it's encouraging that he's looked comfortable thus far in these conditions!!..Shame about Powell but he'll learn in time. What can we say about Edwards though? (smh) he just can't handle these sort of pitches and i think his time is just about up now!!..Beamer said this is our strongest batting line-up bar Gayle but i disagree!!..i think Brathwaite opening and possibley Fudadin or Carter at six would be better!!..

Tomorrow Darren and Marlon will need to see off the first half hour and then hopefully get into a groove!!..if they get to lunch then a draw is certainly on!!..to be honest if we get out of this without losing we can only improve from here!!..everything has been a disaster from the majority of our players not playing the warm up match and only arriving on saturday to Brathwaite being held up due to visa problems and Narine and Ramdin getting ill etc!!..it's been an absolute mess!!..but draw here then at least our players have had a good run out and we can make changes in the second test!!..

Brathwaite
Powell
Daren Bravo
Samuels
Chanderpaul
Deonarine
Ramdin
Sammy
Narine
Cotterrell
Best

It should be but if Sammy is injured then you'd hope the dumb selectors will finally call up Holder or get Rampaul over!!...can't see them keeping Shilly when being called in the last match has clearly effected his game!!..130 odd for one is simply not good enough.

 

[Flem274*]

Missed the last bit but by the sounds of it the pair negotiated the last overs quite well. 67/2 isn't the end of the world. What they need to be wary of (and NZ aware of) is the scoreboard pressure. In 2009 with a popgun attack (Martin, O'Brien, Franklin, Vettori, Jeets) NZ still almost beat India at Napier which is a contender for flattest pitch in the world. West Indies still have Chanders in the sheds and he is pivotal sine he will happily bat 3 days at 1 an over. I'm a little gutted we didn't get him in tonight but 2 wickets is still a good start.

Wagner said to Waddle they're looking to exploit conditions similar to those this morning before using what Wagner describes to be inconsistent bounce.

 

[Burgey]

What are we looking to see from WI in terms of a show here? I would think they would like to bat hard all day tomorrow and blunt the NZ attack with a view to an honourable draw. What is the history of this ground in terms of the pitch breaking up late?

Chanders aside (and it must be a relief to all WI supporters he didn't have to come in tonight), I suppose Samuels has shown he can play a long dig during that golden run he had a few years back. I just dunno that they're geared to drawing matches. A bit like Australia, their line up doesn't seem to lend itself to it. It would be a good thing if they went to stumps this time tomorrow at, say, 7/360-390 odd. If they did, with two clear days still to play, it would throw the emphasis back on NZ to see if they were prepared to declare in enough time to bowl WI out on the last day.

 

[Bahnz]

Well i guess we can't comlain with that finish!!..Darren looked a class apart and it's encouraging that he's looked comfortable thus far in these conditions!!..Shame about Powell but he'll learn in time. What can we say about Edwards though? (smh) he just can't handle these sort of pitches and i think his time is just about up now!!..Beamer said this is our strongest batting line-up bar Gayle but i disagree!!..i think Brathwaite opening and possibley Fudadin or Carter at six would be better!!..

Tomorrow Darren and Marlon will need to see off the first half hour and then hopefully get into a groove!!..if they get to lunch then a draw is certainly on!!..to be honest if we get out of this without losing we can only improve from here!!..everything has been a disaster from the majority of our players not playing the warm up match and only arriving on saturday to Brathwaite being held up due to visa problems and Narine and Ramdin getting ill etc!!..it's been an absolute mess!!..but draw here then at least our players have had a good run out and we can make changes in the second test!!..

This picture sums up how I feel every time I read one of your posts

 

[Bahnz]

What are we looking to see from WI in terms of a show here? I would think they would like to bat hard all day tomorrow and blunt the NZ attack with a view to an honourable draw. What is the history of this ground in terms of the pitch breaking up late?

In the test played here in 2009 against Pakistan the bounce got quite uneven during the last 2 days, leading to a fantastic finish. The last two matches here there was no deterioration at all resulting in boredraws, but both of those matches were seriously shortened by rain, so we'll have to wait and see.

 

[WindieWeathers]

This picture sums up how I feel every time I read one of your posts

LOL sorry!!..it's just the style i'm used to!!

 

[straw man]

What is the history of this ground in terms of the pitch breaking up late?

Very unlikely that it will break up. NZ will need attritional bowling plus bursts of wickets with each new ball to win this match.

 

[Burgey]

In the test played here in 2009 against Pakistan the bounce got quite uneven during the last 2 days, leading to a fantastic finish. The last two matches here there was no deterioration at all resulting in boredraws, but both of those matches were seriously shortened by rain, so we'll have to wait and see.

Very unlikely that it will break up. NZ will need attritional bowling plus bursts of wickets with each new ball to win this match.

Cheers. If WI manage to pass the follow on here and get within about 150 of NZ, there might be enough time for a result barring weather, depending I suppose on how keen McCullum is to #risklosingtowin

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

Ish "Too Cold" Sodhi (my teef hurt)

Ish "Don't Think" So....dhi?

 

[Hurricane]

LOL sorry!!..it's just the style i'm used to!!

i think you're doing fine Windie. you've come a long way from the days of laughing smilies. Keep up the good work.

 

[Bahnz]

Ish "at this stage of my career my leg breaks are still pretty so-so"...dhi