Australia vs New Zealand Test Series

[Sacha]

Yeh but this isnt a top line team. If NZ were ever going to post 400 against Australia, its against this line up. Youve got one world class bowler in Johnson, two good shield cricketers yet to be tested at international level in Bollinger and Harris and possibly the weakest finger spinner in world cricket in Hauritz, who, lets face it only gets wickets because people see him bowl and think, "MAN, I could CART every ball for SIX!!!" then they get caught.

Now is their time to step up, its there if they want it.

Are u serious?? i dont think we have been watching the same cricket in the last 6 months..

---------- Post added 27-03-2010 at 10:47 PM ----------

Hopefully Kane Williamson gets a go in the 3rd!!

Ill put a million on that not happening, considering there is no 3rd test.

 

[midnight_show]

Are u serious?? i dont think we have been watching the same cricket in the last 6 months..

We have, its just that millions of Australians are riding the emotion of an unbeaten summer without looking at who we actually beat. Two second rate teams of no ones. Mark taylor said that both the Pakis and the Windied this summer are almost the weakest teams he has seen visit our shores perhaps ever.

In the tests, West were without :

Darren Powell, broke down in the first test.
A fit Chanderpaul
A fit Sarwan

In the one dayers, they were without :

Fidel Edwards
Suliemann Benn
Dwayne Bravo
Powell
Chanderpaul
Sarwan

Four of their starting bowlers missing and three of their best batsman. Yes I can count, bravo is an all rounder

Pakis were a tragic joke before they got here, and they didnt improve as their tour wore on. Political agendas, as per the usual with Pakistan has cruelled their team.

I remember posting on the cricket website we would get challenged in the T20and one dayers in NZ and should comfortably win the tests and I was HOUNDED down by thousands of people just like you saying pretty much exaclty what you said "Havent you been watching for the last six months?!?!?". Square the T20 1-1 and narrowly win the one dayers 3-2 with all bar one of them going down to the wire. FIrst day of this test didnt look promising, although I still expect Australia to win pretty easily. Freak me if they dont, questions will be asked, NZ test team is pretty ordinary. Take out Vettori and a rising Southeee, and they have no bowling attack.

Any SERIOUS honest cricket follower, taking off the biased blinkers, can not look at this current Australian team and say they are a top level team. If you do thats a massive insult to the team when McGrath, Warne, hayden, Langer and Cilchrist were playing in an elite team. I know you can only beat whose put in front of you, and kudos to Australia for doing so, but come on the WA shield team would have put up more of a fight.

 

[jacko]

Just going back to Hauritz being the worst finger spinner, Jeetan Patel would have to be up there with the worst?

 

[midnight_show]

Just going back to Hauritz being the worst finger spinner, Jeetan Patel would have to be up there with the worst?

Wouldnt disagree with that. I think if a bowler only gets wickets cos the batsman makes mistakes, you cant rate them too highly.

Dont look now, NZ are 3/114....................................

 

[aussiemjfreak]

Are u serious?? i dont think we have been watching the same cricket in the last 6 months..

We have, its just that millions of Australians are riding the emotion of an unbeaten summer without looking at who we actually beat. Two second rate teams of no ones. Mark taylor said that both the Pakis and the Windied this summer are almost the weakest teams he has seen visit our shores perhaps ever.

In the tests, West were without :

Darren Powell, broke down in the first test.
A fit Chanderpaul
A fit Sarwan

In the one dayers, they were without :

Fidel Edwards
Suliemann Benn
Dwayne Bravo
Powell
Chanderpaul
Sarwan

Four of their starting bowlers missing and three of their best batsman. Yes I can count, bravo is an all rounder

Pakis were a tragic joke before they got here, and they didnt improve as their tour wore on. Political agendas, as per the usual with Pakistan has cruelled their team.

I remember posting on the cricket website we would get challenged in the T20and one dayers in NZ and should comfortably win the tests and I was HOUNDED down by thousands of people just like you saying pretty much exaclty what you said "Havent you been watching for the last six months?!?!?". Square the T20 1-1 and narrowly win the one dayers 3-2 with all bar one of them going down to the wire. FIrst day of this test didnt look promising, although I still expect Australia to win pretty easily. Freak me if they dont, questions will be asked, NZ test team is pretty ordinary. Take out Vettori and a rising Southeee, and they have no bowling attack.

Any SERIOUS honest cricket follower, taking off the biased blinkers, can not look at this current Australian team and say they are a top level team. If you do thats a massive insult to the team when McGrath, Warne, hayden, Langer and Cilchrist were playing in an elite team. I know you can only beat whose put in front of you, and kudos to Australia for doing so, but come on the WA shield team would have put up more of a fight.

Fairly well agreed with except for the part of our Attack not being top line! Sure it's not McGrath, Warne, Lee but Harris, Bollinger are walk up startes on just about any international team in the world today! Of course you can not compare today's side to the previous years sides! You can't compare the side of the last 10 years to any team ever, it was, and will be the best Australian side ever for a long time to come!

We have the best grass roots cricket program in the world! We have the best National comp in the world, with county cricket coming in a close 2nd.

To right this team off as a non elite side is crazy though. Biased blinkers or not, thats being way over critical and ignoring so many facts!

We beat South Africa in South Africa with a very similar side to the one over in NZ. Sure we lost the Ashes in England but so did the previous side!

So many "True" Cricket fans live in the past, times change and so do sides!

India in India will be the real test, but I guess if they lose over there they'll be branded a shambles and no one will remember how long it took for Steve Waugh's side to win over there.

South Africa and India are the only Test sides that will compete well with Australia. One day and T20 is a different story though....

 

[Mamboblue72]

Wonderful innings by Taylor, by all accounts, but well short of 400! It will be a real challenge for NZ to chase a target over 200 on the 4th or 5th day!

 

[midnight_show]

Fairly well agreed with except for the part of our Attack not being top line! Sure it's not McGrath, Warne, Lee but Harris, Bollinger are walk up startes on just about any international team in the world today! Of course you can not compare today's side to the previous years sides! You can't compare the side of the last 10 years to any team ever, it was, and will be the best Australian side ever for a long time to come!

We have the best grass roots cricket program in the world! We have the best National comp in the world, with county cricket coming in a close 2nd.

To right this team off as a non elite side is crazy though. Biased blinkers or not, thats being way over critical and ignoring so many facts!
We beat South Africa in South Africa with a very similar side to the one over in NZ. Sure we lost the Ashes in England but so did the previous side!

So many "True" Cricket fans live in the past, times change and so do sides!

India in India will be the real test, but I guess if they lose over there they'll be branded a shambles and no one will remember how long it took for Steve Waugh's side to win over there.

South Africa and India are the only Test sides that will compete well with Australia. One day and T20 is a different story though....

That last sentence is leaving the "biased blinkers" firmly on. Yes we won in SA last year, but lets ignore the FACT that they beat us over here six weeks earlier. You say SA and India are the only teams that would "compete with Australia". SA and India would tear us a new one. And Im sick of people sayng Im not supporting Australia cos of this view, but come on, lets be realistic. Ross Taylor, just ONE kiwi batsman smacked Hauritz around today, imagine what 11 Indian Batsman would do to him?? Watson has faced no real fast bowlers all summer save maybe Mohammad Asif, how will he go when he faces Dale Steyn or Zaheer Khan??

You see Im the opposite. Anyone who brands this current team as elite is ignoring the facts. The fact is, we are winning games all summer because the opposition teams havent taken their opportunites to beat us. I take my facts from the top order failing for the seventh time is as many tests yesterday, Theres an article on Heraldsun.com.au detailing all those facts.
I take my facts from if Windies and Pakis hold their catches, Watsons average for the sumemr is below 30. I take my facts from Pontings ONLY good score of the summer came after he was dropped off his first delivery, if that catch was taken their would be being questions raised about his desire to go til hes 38. I take my facts from the opposition we were facing. I take my facts from not just looking at the WIN, but looking at what happened during the win. I take my facts from Marcus North scoring one half century all summer against the same B-Grade teams. I take my facts from Husseys only decent score of the summer coming because he got dropped four times.

The team that beat South Africa last year had the following players.

Philip Hughes smacking Centuries.
Ben Hilfenhaus leading the wicket taking.
Peter Siddle Bowling well.
Marcus North IN FORM.

There are three changes in personnel to that team as well as a massive change in form for one batsman. North traditionally follows up good scores with rubbish, his whoel career at shield level has been like this, his county cricket career has been like this and hes carried it into the test team. Does enough to secure his spot, then raises questions on it for the next four games. Lets look at Hilfenhaus first.

He led the attack last summer, against SA at home and away as well as in England. Two of the top three best sides in the world and he stepped up and showed he was world class. Played one match this summer and won man of the match, enough said. Due to injury, his replacement in Doug Bollinger. Kudos to Doug for the way he has started his test career BUT, he hasnt really faced a good team yet. And anyone who says he has is an idiot OR knows nothing about cricket. He has bowled to Spuds, B-Graders, no ones.

Siddle was our main hostility bowler last summer. He hit the deck hard, took wickets regularly against SA and England and along with Hilfenhaus and Johnson was shaping up a nice attck for the next four-five years. Again injury, he has been replaced this summer by a mixture of Clint Mckay and Ryan Harris. McKay didnt do anything in his first test against a rubbish windies side on the pace friendly Waca. Harris has started very well, continually doing what is asked, BUT he hasnt really faced a good team yet. And anyone who says he has is an idiot OR knows nothing about cricket. He has bowled to Spuds, B-Graders, no ones.

Im not ignoring the facts, nor am I hating Australia. But I have just had a gutfull of how the media have spoon fed us this drivel about how the current team is unbeatable. Andrew Hilditch said before we went to NZ that the top order needs to start performing well consisitently or changes owuld be looked at, in planning for the ashes this year. At least he can see we will need to step it up a hell of a lot more than how we are playing now to be competitive against England. And if we need to step up against England, we need to step it up three more levels to "compete" with SA or India :v:

 

[GiRDS-]

taylor did extremely well

 

[Mamboblue72]

Did I say it would be difficult for NZ to chase 200 in the 4th innings. Shall we try for over 500 as a challenge!?

 

[Sacha]

Did I say it would be difficult for NZ to chase 200 in the 4th innings. Shall we try for over 500 as a challenge!?

Vettori on a hat-trick

Australia will declare b4 500, or be out.

 

[Warney]

yep, Northy out for 90 and Johnson Golden Duck

 

[Sacha]

At lunch now, Surely Ponting will declare now?? 178 in a session!!! Massive

 

[Mamboblue72]

178 in the session is why he shouldn't declare now! 5 sessions 480 run lead. That is assuming NZ has the quality of the Windies in Antigua 03 or the Boks in 07 in Perth. Don't see a world record in the offing here?

 

[Sacha]

If NZ can make 480 then they deserve to win!! Cant see them getting 250..

---------- Post added 30-03-2010 at 11:08 AM ----------

Aussies have declared.... I woudlnt count on getting 5 session either. be lucky to get 3 going from previous days.

 

[Warney]

5/185 at stumps are the kiwis, with Guptill and McCullum at the crease with Patel, Southee, Arnel and Martin to come i think they have just about no chance!

Well bowled by Johnson today picking up 3 for 39 off 11 overs, he made his earlier mistake with the bat a little better with the ball

 

[Mamboblue72]

Love it when i'm right!

 

[midnight_show]

Love it when i'm right!

Wow man, your a regular old Nostradamus there!!! Who would have picked Australia to beat NZ in that test when they were 5 wickets down and still needed 8000 runs to win.

Dont spose you could tell me whose going to win between Collingwood and Demons on the weekend could ya?? I just dont know who to pick!!!

 

[Matty76]

New Zealand remind me of a lot of country footy teams. All "rah, rah, here we go boys! It's us against them! NO-ONE has picked us this week!".

They may occasionally spring a surprise against the lesser teams, but they can't get near Australia, England or South Africa in Test cricket.

I hope NZ cricket emerges from its self-proclaimed "underdog" tag and becomes the No 2 or 3 ranked team in the world, and that we play regular 3-Test series against them. To me, Aus v NZ and Aus v England is the real test cricket.

 

[howzat]

Wow man, your a regular old Nostradamus there!!! Who would have picked Australia to beat NZ in that test when they were 5 wickets down and still needed 8000 runs to win.

Dont spose you could tell me whose going to win between Collingwood and Demons on the weekend could ya?? I just dont know who to pick!!!

haha had to bring this up man! Was touch and go for a while there! the demons almost produced a boilover and the pies only won by a point in the end - so yeah, more fight in them than the kiwis I guess