New Zealand in Australia Nov-Dec 2008 Feb 2009

[Howsie]

Not trying to sound like a sore loser here but alot of 50/50 calls go against NZ it seems. It seems to me that the Australians can bowl as wide as they want to and they won't get called. And the Australian umpire in every game has hurt us in someway, that missed LBW last night was a disgrace, it was so bad.

On the NZ team, why are Neil Broom and Craig Cumming playing if they have to bat at six and seven. If Brendon McCullum isn't going to play his shot's early then get him down the order and get Cumming to open. And Peter Fulton has to go, he looks so bad every time he bats.

1.Craig Cumming
2.Martin Guptill
3.Ross Taylor
4.Grant Elliot
5.Neil Broom
6.Brendon McCullum
7.Kyle Mills
8.Tim Southee
9.Daniel Vettori
10.Trent Boult
11.Iain O'Brien

How about we get Tim Southee out in the middle more often, he has to bat before Vettori. What a disgrace that was yesterday when he came out before Southee.

 

[Ari]

My team for the last game

1: McCullum
2: Guptill
3: Taylor
4: Elliot
5: Fulton
6: Broom
7: Diamanti
8: Mills
9: Vettori
10: Southee
11: O'Brien

After this game I want to add Fulton and Cumming to the list of players (read Matthew Sinclair) that should never play for NZ again.

Boult should of never been selected for this tour he should of been back in NZ playing domestic cricket. Playing him would weaken our batting to much.

McCullum just needs to go out there and play his aggressive game. Right now it seems he is worried about the lack of batting depth but in the end he doesn't make scores playing defensively anyway. Might as well get out for 30 off 15 rather than 60. I also see people wanting him to be shifted down the order I don't agree with that at all when Oram is back and the selectors do their job and select Franklin we have 2 very capable finishers.

 

[irottev]

I fully agree. Cumming never bats at 6. It's a new role which is unfair on the player and the team. I presumed McCullum was staying down the order and Cumming would come in as an opener. It's not that McCullum is a bad opener. He's one of the best going around. But with no Oram we need a finisher down the innings. If McCullum's going to play more sensibly up the order then any batsman can do it. He may as well be down the order attacking. He's not giving us fast starts anymore because he feels he has to be responsibly with experienced players missing.

Broom was too slow. I hate to say it but he had to be pushing the ball around finding gaps. Another 10 runs from him and we'd have been fine. I can understand openers playing themselves in a bit, the bowling was decent, but Broom making only 11 off 24 at the death wasn't acceptable. I felt one of Guptill or McCullum had to be a bit more aggressive to put some pressure on at the start also.

I'm not going to complain too much about the bowling because we should have had Hussey and Fergason out from a horrible dropped catch and a horrible umpiring decision. Some extra runs would have been nice.

 

[aussie1st]

Clarke in doubt for the decider but I would say he should be fit to go reading the article. If he isn't guess Hopes would have to move up unless they bring back Warner. Definitely don't want to move Hussey though.

Cricinfo - Clarke in doubt for series decider

 

[piriyanth]

I rather have Hopes as an opener than Warner, also will Australia be No.1 again if they win in the next match???

 

[aussie1st]

Henriques looks set to play his first game for Australia after being picked in the T20I squad. Warner has also been picked so both will miss their Shield match although neither would have been selected I think.

Henriques called up to Australian squad - Cricket - Sport - smh.com.au

The 13 man squad

Michael Clarke (c) - NSW , 27
Brad Haddin (vc) - NSW , 31
Nathan Bracken - NSW , 31
Callum Ferguson - SA , 24
Moises Henriques - NSW , 22
Ben Hilfenhaus - TAS , 25
James Hopes - QLD , 30
David Hussey - VIC , 31
Mitchell Johnson - WA , 27
Peter Siddle - VIC , 24
Adam Voges - WA , 29
David Warner - NSW , 22
Cameron White - VIC , 25

http://www.cricket.com.au/default.aspx?s=news-display&id=15394

 

[piriyanth]

Henriques looks set to play his first game for Australia after being picked in the T20I squad. Warner has also been picked so both will miss their Shield match although neither would have been selected I think.

Henriques called up to Australian squad - Cricket - Sport - smh.com.au

The 13 man squad

Michael Clarke (c) - NSW , 27
Brad Haddin (vc) - NSW , 31
Nathan Bracken - NSW , 31
Callum Ferguson - SA , 24
Moises Henriques - NSW , 22
Ben Hilfenhaus - TAS , 25
James Hopes - QLD , 30
David Hussey - VIC , 31
Mitchell Johnson - WA , 27
Peter Siddle - VIC , 24
Adam Voges - WA , 29
David Warner - NSW , 22
Cameron White - VIC , 25

Cricket Australia > Latest News > News

They still didn't kick out Cameron White:

 

[IloveGilly]

Henriques...kill me.

 

[Big Man]

Good win.

Cracks appearing in the NZ lineup now.

But meh, its only NZ

 

[irottev]

I disagree. Everyone's attacking New Zealand but all 4 games have been close and could have gone either way with a little bit extra either way.

That game would have been close with catches taken and correct umpiring. I tell you.

I hope the 5th is a thrashing. And NZ deals it out.

 

[Big Man]

I hope we win just to see you lose the plot.

 

[sifter132]

I disagree. Everyone's attacking New Zealand but all 4 games have been close and could have gone either way with a little bit extra either way.

That game would have been close with catches taken and correct umpiring. I tell you.

I hope the 5th is a thrashing. And NZ deals it out.

HAHA - everyone is attacking NZ???? No way. Try being an Australian fan in the last month or two. Australians were about ready to give up on cricket after going down 2-0 to NZ, especially after losing everything else this summer. It has been a crisis of epic proportions, with pundits around the world rubbing their hands and crowing about the decline of Australia. We were ready to crown David Warner the new king of cricket for goodness sake.


And for all the whining about the Ferguson decision - it hardly decided the game. If Davis had given Ferguson out, Australia would then have needed 15 off 21 balls with 5 wickets in hand. Look me in the eye and say that NZ would win from there. And even if you do, I'll call BS.

The thing that might have turned the game was Cumming dropping Mike Hussey, so really NZ only have themselves to blame.

 

[irottev]

Well we only have ourselves to blame for the catch. It was a horrible drop.

I won't lose it. I'm already resigned to the fact that we've lost the series. We won't win the last game. The Aussies just went and saw a bushfire site today. If that doesn't inspire and fire them up then I don't know what will. Baring bad umpiring or another piece of cheating.

 

[Inbox24]

Well we only have ourselves to blame for the catch. It was a horrible drop.

I won't lose it. I'm already resigned to the fact that we've lost the series. We won't win the last game. The Aussies just went and saw a bushfire site today. If that doesn't inspire and fire them up then I don't know what will. Baring bad umpiring or another piece of cheating.

Head up mate, with the way the selectors are going you guys still got a big chance to take home the trophy. You do need to take advantage of the situation though, you can't let substandard bowlers like Clarke go unpunished, must gorge them for maximum. Hilfenhaus too to an extent should be attacked early on and brutally, get his confidence down and then in the death overs take him for more. Some how you guys have to bat with a certain target in mind, at Adelaide they seemed like at the beginning they lacked a bit of a goal and just trying to survive and see off the new ball, when on quite a good wicket they could've had 60 off the first ten.

Inbox24 added 14 Minutes and 51 Seconds later...

Based on the Clarke injury, this would be our best chance of winning the trophy:

Haddin
Hopes
Ponting
Dussey
Hussey
Voges
Ferguson
Johnson
Siddle
Bracken
Hilfenhaus

A lineup with 4 specialist bowlers, and Hopes and Voges/Dussey to finish 10 overs between them. Hopes at the top also means he can have some more time to get himself in, instead of just going for the slog which he doesn't look right doing.

 

[aussie1st]

Well assuming the match isn't washed out which could happen that does look like the way to go if Clarke is out. But I hope he isn't as would be good to get the Haddin and Clarke combo one more go before Marsh returns which probably will be straight back into opener. That would mean bringing in a bowler for White as surely we can't rely on 10 overs from Dussey and White.