SCG Test. Australia v. New Zealand.

[Donny]

Oz getting a bit lazy?

Not a problem, when you're 450+ and NZ having to bat against 3 of the best quicks in the World ... AND arguably the best Offie (with Ashwin), and the wicket taking spin.

[Pies4shaw]

All out for 454. NZ are out of it, again, before they come in to bat.

[K]

NZ were out of it once team selections were made, mostly forced by illness and injury.

[Pies4shaw]

And a complete absence of basic batting aptitude.

[Pies4shaw]

Blundell did very well that over - he could have been out to Cummins 4 times but wasn’t.

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

they are doing ok NZ

[K]

And a complete absence of basic batting aptitude.

That's shared by all cricket nations. It's the Death of Test Batting. As Langer said of Marnus in December:

"... he actually moves his feet, got footwork patterns. It's a dying art in the game of cricket with the amount of T20 and one-day cricket guys play now."

Certainly there was a shocking lack of footwork in Smith's dismissal. The side-on footage looked awful. He just left his feet rooted to the crease and groped at the ball with the bat.


And English batsmen are having a fine old time (not!) in S. Africa [ http://magpies.net/nick/bb/viewtopic.ph ... 07#1948007 ].


One sign that a nation's batting production line has broken is when it selects two or three wicketkeepers in the same Test side. e.g. There are five (okay, 4 1/2) keepers playing in this Test.

[Pies4shaw]

Lyon bowls Blundell. 1/68.

[Pies4shaw]

1/109. NZ still batting. There’s a surprise. They might yet make 200.

Looks like getting the inept Williamson out of the side in favour of the slightly less inept Raval has made the difference.

Sometimes your best changes are the forced ones.

[Pies4shaw]

Raval given lbw to Lyon. He reviews. And the wicket stands NZ loses a review and Raval is gone for 31. 2/117.

[Donny]

Lyon has 2. Ravel out, lbw.

2/117.

[Donny]

BANG. Latham (49) out !!

Cummins wicket.

[Pies4shaw]

And now Cummins has Latham for 49.

Will they reach 175?

[K]

...
One sign that a nation's batting production line has broken is when it selects two or three wicketkeepers in the same Test side. e.g. There are five (okay, 4 1/2) keepers playing in this Test.

Err... they claimed Phillips is a keeper too. I must investigate.* That'd be six wicketkeepers playing in this Test then. A clear sign of the death of batting (and wicketkeeping).

Much was made of India playing four keepers (Dhoni, Pant, Karthik, Rahul) in the ODI WC against Bangladesh, but I don't know the most they've played in a Test. (Saha is their Test keeper.)


* Yes, he's listed everywhere as a wicketkeeper batsman. 7 out of his 11 T20Is have been as keeper. I wonder if he keeps for Auckland in first-class cricket.

[Pies4shaw]

3/141 at lunch. 175 still looks a genuinely achievable target for these lads.