New Zealand in England May - June 2013

[StinkyBoHoon]

I thought not declaring was fine owzat, you mentioned the extra 58 runs, cook and compton came out and took 22 overs to match that. if the match is tight, surely that's saving time not wasting it?

 

[Haarithan]

but the first part of this test has shown England turning up "cold" for yet another series.

Was about to mention this too - only a win against the Windies in a first test of a series since becoming and losing the #1 ranking - Pakistan (L), Sri Lanka (L), Windies (W), South Africa (L), India (L), NZL (a draw looking likely as things stand)

 

[MUFC1987]

Good to see Compton showing what he can do. Hopefully will keep the idiots saying that Root should open off of his back. Also, he should pick up some confidence, which I think will boost his strike rate as his career continues.

 

[puddleduck]

Nice to see England digging in and batting their way out of trouble. This really is such a different era to any I've had the pleasure (maybe not the right word) of watching England play.

 

[War]

Good to see Compton showing what he can do. Hopefully will keep the idiots saying that Root should open off of his back. Also, he should pick up some confidence, which I think will boost his strike rate as his career continues.

Yea i don't where all the questions about Compton's place came from. Root although he was an opener by trade, performances in test, ODI, T20 in a middle order has simply meant that he has blocking other options the likes of Bairstow, Taylor from getting a # 6 spot.

Compton was brilliant in Indian given it was his first tour. When you consider how some of AUS young batsmen are looking at sea in India currently, it shows how solid Compton was in context.

 

[MUFC1987]

Finn's clearly got his eyes on a ton here.

 

[barmyarmy]

Jason Gillespie-esque.

 

[MUFC1987]

He's hitting some great looking shots, but hitting them so badly that it still doesn't quite get to the boundary.

 

[CG123]

I was talking about overnight declaration, you do know you can declare during an interval...................?!?!?

I'm not talking about foresight, hindsight, or any kind of knowledge above and beyond what is in front of the captain(s), I'm talking about knowing you need to take 10 more wickets and therefore getting on with it. The 58 extra runs might be seen by some as a bonus, but the kiwis still now face the tough task of taking 10 wickets and it's not proving as easy second time around without the England batsmen throwing away their wickets.

Yes, plans may be spoiled by the weather, but you have to go with the flow and make decisions based on what the situation is at the time, not based on what you would have liked to have done if the plans weren't spoiled. Point is the captain may have liked to push on and score quick runs, but with the weather a constant issue and time running out you have to adapt. I'm taking my car in to get something fixed this morning, if it had snowed heavily overnight then I would probably change my plans and wait for better weather.

It's certainly no good sticking to plan A regardless.

I thought McCullum got the declaration spot on. At the end of the day we haven't bowled too badly and we're no where near going to get 10 wickets, so an extra 10 or whatever overs wouldn't have made any difference since those are runs which we would've needed to get chase down anyway if it was close.

 

[Cricketman]

Geezes how the heck is Steven Finn still there??

 

[Epic]

He's a good top-order bat?

 

[Haarithan]

Watford Wall ftw.

Did fear the worst when Joe Root was run out though. Some ridiculous running between the wickets by England over the last two days.. could have seen so many run-outs!

 

[Owzat]

I thought McCullum got the declaration spot on. At the end of the day we haven't bowled too badly and we're no where near going to get 10 wickets, so an extra 10 or whatever overs wouldn't have made any difference since those are runs which we would've needed to get chase down anyway if it was close.

If you weren't going to lose either, why not declare? England would have batted to the end anyway, and you can't say for sure what might have happened had you not batted on. If England batted days 4 and 5 then you shrug your shoulders and say, "there was nothing more we could do". That isn't true here, 10 overs wasted for 58 runs when runs were not likely to be the issue.

It gave England less time to "survive", New Zealand less time to bowl England out and used up time. No matter which way you dress it up, you couldn't win that game unless you bowled England out and you weren't going to do that by batting......................



Not really a surprise it peetered out into a draw, kiwis more like chickens when it came to declaring. Not being able to get Finn out may well set the tone for the rest of the series, first ever first class fifty says it all, hell it's usually England that give away embarrassing records to tailenders

The rest of the order was there for the taking, Compton and Cook had done most of the damage the previous bit day and the rest just clung on for dear life. I don't think the kiwis could have batted any quicker, they might have declared overnight though. You just never know what might happen with as late as possible an announcement of a declaration, they say you should do what the opposition least wants you to do and I'm certain Cook et al were happy being out in the field once the kiwis were 150+ in front. Four day match, five day mentality.

Bring on tiers, the sooner sides who have got no balls are playing each other in a lower tier the better. They might not have won, but they seemed afraid to give it a real go.

 

[barmyarmy]

I think you're being harsh on the declaration. They scored at a very quick rate and kept the England openers in the field.
Well batted Finny.

 

[angryangy]

I don't think it matters really whether you declare on 460 and fail to bowl the opposition out or declare on 350 and fail to bowl the opposition out. They didn't simply run out of time, the innings went well past 150 overs. A more sporting declaration would merely invite England to take control of the game. They wouldn't be obliged to set a similarly sporting target, just a number of their choosing. And NZ are more likely to have to bat in that scenario, so it takes them from a good position to a potentially weaker one. One also can't see the English top order suddenly losing their style because they game got a little bit easier.

The big positive for NZ is that they didn't act like a team that thought that was their only hope in the series. It may well play out as such, but a team that thinks this way is quite doomed. They followed up a windfall first innings with an assured total; in other words, they made England pay for mistakes as long as they could. England eventually responded, but they were never going to win. Sometimes a weaker side will show difficulty in taking the contest across a full Test match. I'm sure a few will take amusement from the novelty that because NZ's position as a Test team is so low, England are already on a hiding to nothing by conceding a draw.