Well some fascinating news from New Zealand cricket (NZC) is that Daniel Vettori has been awarded top three of the awards in this year's major awards of the country. To mention the needed, Vettori has been awarded as the player of the year, Winsor cup for 1st class bowling and Walter Hadlee trophy for the best bowler on ODIs. One aspect that is needed to be mentioned here is that, New Zealand players can be awarded only by their cricket association and no one else. That is what New Zealand have been able to achieve in international cricket until now.
My apologies for not taking pains to go all the way to search as to since when have New Zealanders been playing international cricket. However, if their statistics are given a close look at, it would come as no surprise that New Zealand stand far compared to all other teams but for Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Of course, South Africa have been able to do exactly what new Zealand could manage which is a totally different issue here. New Zealand are yet to reach the finals of a world cup in its 25 year long history (since 1975 when the 1st world cup was played).
New Zealand players have hardly been able to produce any out standing cricketers be it in any department of the game. The only achievement by New Zealand team is the ICC Champions trophy which they won in 2000 by beating India at Nairobi. They did everything to win the world cup in 1992 only upto the semis where they lost to Pakistan. One has to note down that the maiden win for New Zealand in a tournament containing three or more teams is the ICC champions trophy 2000 as mentioned. They are yet to boast of a batsman who has scored a triple century in tests.
The highest individual score from a batsman from New Zealand is Michael Crowe who got out on a score of 299. Some outstanding names from New Zealand cricket are Sir Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe, Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori. Of course, players like Brendon McCullum, Chris Cairns and the present bunch are found doing a fab job for New Zealand. But, these players are of no match to say Mark & Steve Waughs, Sachin Tendulkar & Sourav Ganguly, Brian Lara etc from outside New Zealand. Though Shane Bond stands apart from other fast bowlers like Shoaib Akthar and Brett Lee, his career started after them but ended much before them.
So, where else can New Zealand players expect an award if not for their own country? Stop wondering about New Zealand and become a movie fan instead.
Showing posts with label Daniel Vettori. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daniel Vettori. Show all posts
Friday, September 10, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
New Zealand a much happy team now
Finally, yesterday New Zealand becomes the third team to be defeated by Australia in all three formats of the game when they formally lost the second test by 176 runs after the Kiwis were bowled out for 302 runs on the board. An expected result was delayed by just another day when the test match which should have been lost on day 4 itself happened to go on until the end of the 5th day. Similar to the Aussies, even the Kiwis followed suit when almost every known batsman fro the New Zealand side contributed his little bit to his side.
There were 20+ scored from the blades of Walting, Tim Macintosh, Mathew Sinclair, Vettori, Guptill, McCullum and Southee. Earlier in the test match, even the Aussies had shown a similar type of team work when there were 40+ scores from the blades of as many as 7 Aussie players on the 4th day's play. This is the difference between both the sides where Aussie batsmen scored 40+ regular scores which was twice of what each batsman from the New Zealand side could contribute to his side. After Australia had amassed 511 runs on the board, the Kiwis had lost half of their side for less than 200.
New Zealand's defeat came after Pakistan and West Indies had their turn when they had faced the Aussies some three months back. The only difference this time was the unlike in the previous two occasions where both Pakistan and West Indies lost a test series in Australia, New Zealand lost their test series at home and not on their tour to Australia. However, the NZC may not follow the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt by banning players from playing international cricket or impose hefty fines on their players. May be the NZC will not even take the loss against Australia seriously with most of the teams' fate being almost same when they face OZ.
This was Australia's 7th test match victory out of the 8 games that it has played since December last year. At the same time, this was New Zealand's 3rd loss at home with the other one being against Pakistan. New Zealand have repeatedly shown the world that they are hardly interested in playing test cricket when they can show some decent performances in the remaining two formats of the game. New Zealand won two out of the 5 one dayers against Australia and one T20 game out of the scheduled 2 matches. But, the Kiwis were nowhere when it came to playing tests.
There were 20+ scored from the blades of Walting, Tim Macintosh, Mathew Sinclair, Vettori, Guptill, McCullum and Southee. Earlier in the test match, even the Aussies had shown a similar type of team work when there were 40+ scores from the blades of as many as 7 Aussie players on the 4th day's play. This is the difference between both the sides where Aussie batsmen scored 40+ regular scores which was twice of what each batsman from the New Zealand side could contribute to his side. After Australia had amassed 511 runs on the board, the Kiwis had lost half of their side for less than 200.
New Zealand's defeat came after Pakistan and West Indies had their turn when they had faced the Aussies some three months back. The only difference this time was the unlike in the previous two occasions where both Pakistan and West Indies lost a test series in Australia, New Zealand lost their test series at home and not on their tour to Australia. However, the NZC may not follow the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt by banning players from playing international cricket or impose hefty fines on their players. May be the NZC will not even take the loss against Australia seriously with most of the teams' fate being almost same when they face OZ.
This was Australia's 7th test match victory out of the 8 games that it has played since December last year. At the same time, this was New Zealand's 3rd loss at home with the other one being against Pakistan. New Zealand have repeatedly shown the world that they are hardly interested in playing test cricket when they can show some decent performances in the remaining two formats of the game. New Zealand won two out of the 5 one dayers against Australia and one T20 game out of the scheduled 2 matches. But, the Kiwis were nowhere when it came to playing tests.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
New Zealand out of the race
As it has been the case whenever Australia faces most of the teams, no matter whether the Aussies take a first innings lead or not but they end up on the safer side towards the end of the match. And, this time as well the situation was no different when Simon Katich continued from where he had left in the first innings of the test match where he scored a valuable 88 runs with the entire team getting bowled out for a mere 231 runs on the boards, which was - needless to be said far behind the standards of Aussie cricket.
This was more so when the opposition - New Zealand surpassed the Aussie total by 33 runs, which is more than enough for the Kiwis to rejoice. However, that could in no way trouble the Aussies who were pretty confident of their comeback to the game which has seen them doing o since the past decade or so. But, with New Zealand being the hosts, a lot more was expected from them and not just a lead of 33 runs and that too in the second test after surrendering the first one without atough decent fight. New Zealand has been the worst hosts in the recent past.
It is really surprising that Simon Katich who shone with the bat took 137 balls to score his first boundary when he was found driving the 100 test man - Daniel Vettori through cover. However, at the end of his innings, he had 12 hits to the fence to his credit. Katich was also involved in an 85 run first wicket partnership with Shane Watson and a 155 run partnership with Mike Hussey despite having a bad strike rate of a run from every 3 balls. As expected, the entire Australian team batted with utmost cautiousness to take the game away from New Zealand.
Simon Katich stood for 279 balls which was close to 47 overs and 4 sessions before getting out. Katich's score was close to 33% of the entire Australian team total on the 3rd day's play. The entire Australian side was out on the first day's play and so was the case when New Zealand batted on day 2. Such games are quite rare in today's test cricket. Today's test cricket either has both the teams scoring huge amount of runs with just 2 out of the 4 innings being possible. Or else, there would be one high scoring team with the other team crashing out even before its play has been started.
This was more so when the opposition - New Zealand surpassed the Aussie total by 33 runs, which is more than enough for the Kiwis to rejoice. However, that could in no way trouble the Aussies who were pretty confident of their comeback to the game which has seen them doing o since the past decade or so. But, with New Zealand being the hosts, a lot more was expected from them and not just a lead of 33 runs and that too in the second test after surrendering the first one without a
It is really surprising that Simon Katich who shone with the bat took 137 balls to score his first boundary when he was found driving the 100 test man - Daniel Vettori through cover. However, at the end of his innings, he had 12 hits to the fence to his credit. Katich was also involved in an 85 run first wicket partnership with Shane Watson and a 155 run partnership with Mike Hussey despite having a bad strike rate of a run from every 3 balls. As expected, the entire Australian team batted with utmost cautiousness to take the game away from New Zealand.
Simon Katich stood for 279 balls which was close to 47 overs and 4 sessions before getting out. Katich's score was close to 33% of the entire Australian team total on the 3rd day's play. The entire Australian side was out on the first day's play and so was the case when New Zealand batted on day 2. Such games are quite rare in today's test cricket. Today's test cricket either has both the teams scoring huge amount of runs with just 2 out of the 4 innings being possible. Or else, there would be one high scoring team with the other team crashing out even before its play has been started.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Vettori's gift for NZ on his 100th test appearence
Well this is the New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori's 100th test match and has been a good performance both as a captain and as a player. With Daniel Vettori trying to prove a point in his 100th test, one has to see the positives in the ongoing test match against Australia. New Zealand have successfully bowled Australia for a mere total of just 231 on the board which would have otherwise been close to somewhere around 500+ like it happened in the earlier test where Australia put up a total in excess of 400 and defeated New Zealand till the death.
Because this is Daniel Vetttori's 100th test match, New Zealand can think of a decent loss unlike it happened in the earlier test where Australia had a lead in excess of 302 runs. Australia had lost half the number of wickets that New Zealand lost towards the end of their innings and as mentioned earlier scored 302 runs less than what the Aussies could manage. However, now if the first day's play is considered, New Zealand are found enjoying a slight upperhand when it comes to the test match. May be the loss that New Zealand would have anticipated to incur be now reduced by an innings to a few runs.
No matter how low the team total of Australia is, victory can never be snatched from them. The best example being the Sydney test between Pakistan and Australia where Australia lost all their 10 wickets for a score of 127 with hopes of an Aussie win being nowhere. But, much to everyone's surprise Australia won the match by 36 runs needless to be said. Now, if Australia have lost all their 10 wickets on the 1st day's play itself, it would not come as a surprise to anyone if Australia manage to reduce New Zealand to a lesser total than what Ponting's men could.
And, in case New Zealand manage to take a small lead in the first innings, the Aussies have always shown that they get back to the game by not repeating the mistake they did in their first innings for which once again the Sydney test against Pakistan stands as an example. A hint regarding the same is already available from the 1st day's play when the first New Zealand wicket fell with the scoreboard reading 19 runs at the end of the day's play. It would not be a tough task for the Aussies to get the remaining 9 New Zealand wickets in the next day they play.
Because this is Daniel Vetttori's 100th test match, New Zealand can think of a decent loss unlike it happened in the earlier test where Australia had a lead in excess of 302 runs. Australia had lost half the number of wickets that New Zealand lost towards the end of their innings and as mentioned earlier scored 302 runs less than what the Aussies could manage. However, now if the first day's play is considered, New Zealand are found enjoying a slight upperhand when it comes to the test match. May be the loss that New Zealand would have anticipated to incur be now reduced by an innings to a few runs.
No matter how low the team total of Australia is, victory can never be snatched from them. The best example being the Sydney test between Pakistan and Australia where Australia lost all their 10 wickets for a score of 127 with hopes of an Aussie win being nowhere. But, much to everyone's surprise Australia won the match by 36 runs needless to be said. Now, if Australia have lost all their 10 wickets on the 1st day's play itself, it would not come as a surprise to anyone if Australia manage to reduce New Zealand to a lesser total than what Ponting's men could.
And, in case New Zealand manage to take a small lead in the first innings, the Aussies have always shown that they get back to the game by not repeating the mistake they did in their first innings for which once again the Sydney test against Pakistan stands as an example. A hint regarding the same is already available from the 1st day's play when the first New Zealand wicket fell with the scoreboard reading 19 runs at the end of the day's play. It would not be a tough task for the Aussies to get the remaining 9 New Zealand wickets in the next day they play.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Too late for the Kiwis
As expected, it was Australia who walked away with the honors in the first test against New Zealand at Wellington when they beat the Kiwis by 10 wickets. New Zealand had given hints about their downfall the day the match started when Aussie batsmen piled up a mammoth 459 runs on the board and following that, the Kiwi batsmen played exactly the way the Aussies expected them to. Lose wickets at regular intervals and then get some sympathy owing to which a decent score compared to that expected from them is found to be put up on the board by the Kiwis.
After New Zealand batsmen ruled out every possibility of an innings win for Australia, the second best thing to that did happen when Australia took home a 10 wicket victory in the game. New Zealand had ended their fourth day with the scoreboard reading 369 runs for the loss of 6 wickets which eventually ended at 407 for the loss of all ten wickets. Had the same score been scored by them in the first innings, things would not have been that difficult for the Kiwis though that might not guarantee them a victory against the Aussies. But, their brains were found to work a bit later than expected.
But, had the score of 407 been their first innings total for the Kiwis, then may be the second innings would have ended with the New Zealand batsmen putting up just 157 runs on the board reversing what happened in the present situation. But, had that been the case, Australia would have had to bat once again with their lead being just 52 runs. And, Australia would have had to bat for yet another day with pressure building on them enroute to piling up atleast 300 runs in addition, incase victory could be a reality for the Aussies. But, "ifs" and "buts" form a different story altogether.
The only satisfaction for the New Zealand team was that, as mentioned earlier they didn't lose the game by an innings and neither did the match end well before the end of the fifth day. If the first innings of the New Zealand team is given a close look at, they should have got out for the second time well before the fourth day itself which fortunately for New Zealand didn't happen. And, there was Daryll Tuffey who scored a handy 47 runs which provided some interest in the match with a bowler doing a job left by some of the top order batsmen from New Zealand. But, the match would not have been complete without the Kiwis being unable to take even one wicket which still didn't happen.
After New Zealand batsmen ruled out every possibility of an innings win for Australia, the second best thing to that did happen when Australia took home a 10 wicket victory in the game. New Zealand had ended their fourth day with the scoreboard reading 369 runs for the loss of 6 wickets which eventually ended at 407 for the loss of all ten wickets. Had the same score been scored by them in the first innings, things would not have been that difficult for the Kiwis though that might not guarantee them a victory against the Aussies. But, their brains were found to work a bit later than expected.
But, had the score of 407 been their first innings total for the Kiwis, then may be the second innings would have ended with the New Zealand batsmen putting up just 157 runs on the board reversing what happened in the present situation. But, had that been the case, Australia would have had to bat once again with their lead being just 52 runs. And, Australia would have had to bat for yet another day with pressure building on them enroute to piling up atleast 300 runs in addition, incase victory could be a reality for the Aussies. But, "ifs" and "buts" form a different story altogether.
The only satisfaction for the New Zealand team was that, as mentioned earlier they didn't lose the game by an innings and neither did the match end well before the end of the fifth day. If the first innings of the New Zealand team is given a close look at, they should have got out for the second time well before the fourth day itself which fortunately for New Zealand didn't happen. And, there was Daryll Tuffey who scored a handy 47 runs which provided some interest in the match with a bowler doing a job left by some of the top order batsmen from New Zealand. But, the match would not have been complete without the Kiwis being unable to take even one wicket which still didn't happen.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Kiwis delay the inevitable
If the way the New Zealand team played on the 3rd day against Australia was taken, it was as though the New Zealand team would end their second innings well before the end of the 4th day itself when, in addition to losing the remaining 6 wickets in the first innings, they lost another 5 wickets in their second innings as well. This no doubt gave hints of a New Zealand batting collapse even before the 4th day of the test match ended. However, this was no to be when the Kiwis, unlike in the first innings didn't lose more than 1 wicket with their scorecard at the end of the day's play reading 369/6.
The score at the end of the third day's play read 187 runs for the loss of 5 wickets, meaning the New Zealand batsmen could score an additional score of 182 runs in the process losing just 1 wicket which was that of their captain Daniel Vettori and not before he scored a solid 77 runs which also involved a 126 run partnership along with Brendon McCullum who was unbeaten on 94 at the end of the day's play. If any team is given a first glance, the very first thing that would be noticed would be the captain and the wicketkeeper and the same captain and the wicketkeeper doing a fab job for his team is a rare feat for any team.
It was their captain Daniel Vettori and the wicket keeper Brendon McCullum who were in an attempt to save some face for the New Zealand team, which would have otherwise seen their team losing the match by an innings on the fourth day itself. Even Bangladesh who are facing England on the other side of the globe are considered, the match is not found to finish before the 5th day commences. But, New Zealand evoked fears among the fans by losing 11 wickets on the third day's play. However, it was good that the duo settled the issue for the New Zealand.
Any team barring Bangladesh and West Indies (off late) have to rethink about their position in test cricket in case they lose a home series and more so in case the defeat is by an innings. Now that the Kiwis have avoided the innings, atleast some consideration though they are bound to lose the match. But still, a better performance was expected from the Kiwis with the likes of Vettori and Guptill who have a great potential to turn around things for their team. When they could do it in the second innings, there can be hardly any reasons that can be guessed for them not being able to do the same in the first innings.
The score at the end of the third day's play read 187 runs for the loss of 5 wickets, meaning the New Zealand batsmen could score an additional score of 182 runs in the process losing just 1 wicket which was that of their captain Daniel Vettori and not before he scored a solid 77 runs which also involved a 126 run partnership along with Brendon McCullum who was unbeaten on 94 at the end of the day's play. If any team is given a first glance, the very first thing that would be noticed would be the captain and the wicketkeeper and the same captain and the wicketkeeper doing a fab job for his team is a rare feat for any team.
It was their captain Daniel Vettori and the wicket keeper Brendon McCullum who were in an attempt to save some face for the New Zealand team, which would have otherwise seen their team losing the match by an innings on the fourth day itself. Even Bangladesh who are facing England on the other side of the globe are considered, the match is not found to finish before the 5th day commences. But, New Zealand evoked fears among the fans by losing 11 wickets on the third day's play. However, it was good that the duo settled the issue for the New Zealand.
Any team barring Bangladesh and West Indies (off late) have to rethink about their position in test cricket in case they lose a home series and more so in case the defeat is by an innings. Now that the Kiwis have avoided the innings, atleast some consideration though they are bound to lose the match. But still, a better performance was expected from the Kiwis with the likes of Vettori and Guptill who have a great potential to turn around things for their team. When they could do it in the second innings, there can be hardly any reasons that can be guessed for them not being able to do the same in the first innings.
Monday, March 22, 2010
A bold decision by Ponting
Well there are at present two test series' going on in parallel namely, the tour of England over Bangladesh and the other one being the Australian tour of New Zealand. However, if both the tournaments are considered, it looks that the Bangladesh have shown better performance against England compared to New Zealand's performance against Australia. This was evident from the fact that there, the England captain didn't turn up to impose a follow on over Bangladesh while here, Ponting took no further thinking in imposing the same against New Zealand. This itself shows the caliber of the New Zealand team.
In just one full day, New Zealand lost as many as 11 wickets which is as good as getting all out and losing a wicket extra. The entire day belonged to New Zealand which saw them bat without any Aussie taking the crease. The New Zealand team had ended the previous day that is day 2 with 108 runs on the board and losing 4 wickets which included an unbeaten 5th wicket partnership of 65 runs between Vettori and McCullum which could last for just 4 more runs on day 3 of the test match. It would not be longer for the Kiwis to lose the remaining 9 wickets in a similar fashion.
New Zealand were playing at home and no excuses regarding their debacle can be entertained. The first innings of New Zealand lasted for just 49 runs with 6 losses of wickets inbetween. After the loss of the 4th wicket on the 2nd day's play, New Zealand were expected to put up a fighting performance atleast if not a match winning one. But, all that happened was the continuation of the bad work that was seen by the New Zealand batsmen in the initial part of the first innings. And if that was not enough, they lost yet another wicket in the second innings of their batting when Watling lost out to a controversial decision.
Whatever, the highlight of the day's play was the Australian captain Ricky Ponting imposing a follow on upon the New Zealand team. Ponting was never found doing such a thing in the past despite there being a huge margin. I remember Ponting deciding to continue batting in the first test against England in the Ashes 2007 with a lead of 445 runs. And then, in the recently concluded test series against Pakistan, Ponting decided not to go in for a follow on despite the fact that Pakistan failed to cash out an opportunity to win a test at Sydney. These were the cases where Australia were hosting unlike in the current test against New Zealand. This shows some maturity of Ponting as a captain.
In just one full day, New Zealand lost as many as 11 wickets which is as good as getting all out and losing a wicket extra. The entire day belonged to New Zealand which saw them bat without any Aussie taking the crease. The New Zealand team had ended the previous day that is day 2 with 108 runs on the board and losing 4 wickets which included an unbeaten 5th wicket partnership of 65 runs between Vettori and McCullum which could last for just 4 more runs on day 3 of the test match. It would not be longer for the Kiwis to lose the remaining 9 wickets in a similar fashion.
New Zealand were playing at home and no excuses regarding their debacle can be entertained. The first innings of New Zealand lasted for just 49 runs with 6 losses of wickets inbetween. After the loss of the 4th wicket on the 2nd day's play, New Zealand were expected to put up a fighting performance atleast if not a match winning one. But, all that happened was the continuation of the bad work that was seen by the New Zealand batsmen in the initial part of the first innings. And if that was not enough, they lost yet another wicket in the second innings of their batting when Watling lost out to a controversial decision.
Whatever, the highlight of the day's play was the Australian captain Ricky Ponting imposing a follow on upon the New Zealand team. Ponting was never found doing such a thing in the past despite there being a huge margin. I remember Ponting deciding to continue batting in the first test against England in the Ashes 2007 with a lead of 445 runs. And then, in the recently concluded test series against Pakistan, Ponting decided not to go in for a follow on despite the fact that Pakistan failed to cash out an opportunity to win a test at Sydney. These were the cases where Australia were hosting unlike in the current test against New Zealand. This shows some maturity of Ponting as a captain.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Ponting's decision to declare?
As expected, the second day also belonged top Australia when they amassed 459 runs on the board by scoring 143 runs extra compared to their score at the end of the first day's play. And as usual, the batting of the New Zealand side started collapsing like glaciers in snow mountains. The first four wickets of the New Zealand side fell with less than 50 runs on the board. The scoreboard of the New Zealand batting read 43 runs when the fourth New Zealand wicket fell. No needs to be given any sort of appreciation for tumbling the New Zealand wickets for it was the Kiwis who flattered.
The Australian bowlers did nothing extra ordinary to bowl the New Zealand batsmen out for a partly score. Since the fall of the fourth wicket at the score of 43 on the board, the New Zealand team didn't lose another wicket until the end of the day. The scorecard at the end of the day read 108 runs for the loss of four wickets meaning 65 runs in addition to 43 were scored without losing a wicket. The first three New Zealand batsmen went back to the pavilion scoring single digit scores of 9, 0 and 5 respectively. However, the scorecard read 31 runs when the 3rd wicket fell.
The trio New Zealand batsmen scored just 14 runs if their individual scores are taken which means that the additional 17 runs should have been scored by extras. Even Australia lost just 4 wickets on their first day's play like New Zealand. Australia lost 4 wickets on day 1 after scoring 316 runs and New Zealand also lost 4 wickets but with a score that was just 208 runs less than what the Aussie batsmen could pile up on day 1. The Kiwi batsmen could not even score half of what the Australian batsmen could do on day 2. This was rather expected taking into consideration their caliber in test cricket.
Earlier, the Australian batsmen put up a score of 459 runs on the board as mentioned above. In the process, the Australian team lost just one wicket of Michael Clarke who scored 168 runs that is needless to be said. After Clarke retreated, Ponting declared the innings with a score of less than 500 on the board and with as many as 5 wickets in hand. This can rather be considered to be an unusual gesture in today's test cricket especially when a total of 400+ on the board can no longer be considered as safe. And, this was done outside home as far as Australia are concerned. With the likes of Haddin, North and Johnson, Ponting could have delayed the declaration to avoid cursing himself later. But, the decision can well be understood by Ponting alone.
The Australian bowlers did nothing extra ordinary to bowl the New Zealand batsmen out for a partly score. Since the fall of the fourth wicket at the score of 43 on the board, the New Zealand team didn't lose another wicket until the end of the day. The scorecard at the end of the day read 108 runs for the loss of four wickets meaning 65 runs in addition to 43 were scored without losing a wicket. The first three New Zealand batsmen went back to the pavilion scoring single digit scores of 9, 0 and 5 respectively. However, the scorecard read 31 runs when the 3rd wicket fell.
The trio New Zealand batsmen scored just 14 runs if their individual scores are taken which means that the additional 17 runs should have been scored by extras. Even Australia lost just 4 wickets on their first day's play like New Zealand. Australia lost 4 wickets on day 1 after scoring 316 runs and New Zealand also lost 4 wickets but with a score that was just 208 runs less than what the Aussie batsmen could pile up on day 1. The Kiwi batsmen could not even score half of what the Australian batsmen could do on day 2. This was rather expected taking into consideration their caliber in test cricket.
Earlier, the Australian batsmen put up a score of 459 runs on the board as mentioned above. In the process, the Australian team lost just one wicket of Michael Clarke who scored 168 runs that is needless to be said. After Clarke retreated, Ponting declared the innings with a score of less than 500 on the board and with as many as 5 wickets in hand. This can rather be considered to be an unusual gesture in today's test cricket especially when a total of 400+ on the board can no longer be considered as safe. And, this was done outside home as far as Australia are concerned. With the likes of Haddin, North and Johnson, Ponting could have delayed the declaration to avoid cursing himself later. But, the decision can well be understood by Ponting alone.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Clarke's performance not surprising
From the past one month or so, all news that Michael Clarke was able to make was regarding his break up with some female whose relation with Michael Clarke is needless at the moment and at the same time not clear as well. Clarke returned to the Australian cricket with a bang when he scored an unbeaten 100 runs in the first test at Wellington against New Zealand. It was not Bangladesh or the West Indies whom Clarke was facing to say that the weak opposition helped Clarke nor it was Brisbane or Sydney where Australia were playing to say that Clarke had the home team advantage.
In addition to Michael Clarke, there were other Australian players like Simon Katich and Marcus North who aided Australia in putting up a mammoth total of 316 on the board on day 1. This was achieved at a run rate of less than 4 which once again points towards Australia's losing momentum after the retirement of big guns a couple of years ago. However, this was more than enough for and against teams like New Zealand who are best suited for teams like Pakistan and may be England and that too under home conditions. The bowlers from New Zealand could get the wicket of just three Australian batsmen, with the other one being run out.
If not for Mike Hussey on a rare occasion, the rest of the Australian batsmen showed no signs of fear towards the New Zealand bowlers. There could have been only one bowler who could put pressure of some sort on the Aussie batsmen and that was Shane Bond who bid adieu to test cricket. If that is to be kept apart, the lone bowler who could do that job to some extent would be Daniel Vettori not because of his extraordinary bowling skills but due to the fact that Australians are bad players of spin bowling. But the other side of the coin is that so is New Zealand.
Even New Zealand fear spin bowling more than Australia due to the fact that atleast Australia have a decent batting run up which is not the same when it comes to New Zealand. It would not come as a surprise to anyone in case the same Michael Clarke who id much of the damage to the Kiwi bowlers turns up to do the same with the ball as well. Clarke would have two advantages, one owing to the fact of New Zealand's approach to spin bowling as stated earlier and two for having a mammoth total on the board which would persuade him to try and do different things. In case he fails in that, there is Ryan Harris and co who can settle things for Aussies.
In addition to Michael Clarke, there were other Australian players like Simon Katich and Marcus North who aided Australia in putting up a mammoth total of 316 on the board on day 1. This was achieved at a run rate of less than 4 which once again points towards Australia's losing momentum after the retirement of big guns a couple of years ago. However, this was more than enough for and against teams like New Zealand who are best suited for teams like Pakistan and may be England and that too under home conditions. The bowlers from New Zealand could get the wicket of just three Australian batsmen, with the other one being run out.
If not for Mike Hussey on a rare occasion, the rest of the Australian batsmen showed no signs of fear towards the New Zealand bowlers. There could have been only one bowler who could put pressure of some sort on the Aussie batsmen and that was Shane Bond who bid adieu to test cricket. If that is to be kept apart, the lone bowler who could do that job to some extent would be Daniel Vettori not because of his extraordinary bowling skills but due to the fact that Australians are bad players of spin bowling. But the other side of the coin is that so is New Zealand.
Even New Zealand fear spin bowling more than Australia due to the fact that atleast Australia have a decent batting run up which is not the same when it comes to New Zealand. It would not come as a surprise to anyone in case the same Michael Clarke who id much of the damage to the Kiwi bowlers turns up to do the same with the ball as well. Clarke would have two advantages, one owing to the fact of New Zealand's approach to spin bowling as stated earlier and two for having a mammoth total on the board which would persuade him to try and do different things. In case he fails in that, there is Ryan Harris and co who can settle things for Aussies.
Friday, March 12, 2010
New Zealand no match for Aussies!
It was just unfortunate for Australia to lose the first match of the Chappel-Hadlee series against New Zealand when a last moment risk from Scott Styris saw Australia with the last option of making it to the presentation ceremony first before Vettori had to. And, from then onwards, needless to be said, it has been only Aussies to have been walking away with the honors of the day. If not for the 2nd one dayer, the remaining two one dayers were completely dominated by Australia. And, this time in the fourth ODI, Australia dismissed Kiwis' claim in the 2nd ODI.
In the 2nd one dayer at Auckland, New Zealand were found blaming the Duckworth-Lewis method for their team's loss against Australia which saw their required number of runs being reduced by just 8 runs and the number of balls being reduced by 30. And, this time, it was the Aussies who were found facing the same situation when rain tried to play a spoilsport. The revised target for Australia happened to be 200 runs from 32 overs as against the 238 run target they were supposed to chase from 50 overs had everything gone alright. Meaning the number of runs required was reduced by just 39 and the number of balls by 96.
Had the game went on smoothly, and than Australia would have had to chase at the rate of just above 4.0 an over, which happened to be just below 6.0 an over after the rain interruption. The main thing that proved costly for the Kiwis was their batting which saw the 2nd highest score in their innings happened to be scored by a number 8 batsman in Darryl Tuffey who bought in all his experience. If not for Bollinger, all the Aussie bowlers returned with wickets and a run rate below 6.0 an over. Most of the Kiwi batsmen were batting as though it was a test match that would end in a draw.
And, when it came to the batting of Australian team, similar to their bowling, if not for one batsmen in Brad Haddin, the rest of them showed no signs of fear and mercy in belting the New Zealand bowlers. One Aussie batsman in Ricky Ponting was found having 8 hits to the fence which was 75% of what the entire New Zealand team put together could do. However, when it came to the number of sixes hit, New Zealand managed to take the upperhand when their team had 9 sixes compared to just 3 from the Aussie side. However, once again, the man-of-the-match was not justified. Scorecard suggests that it was Ricky Ponting who should have been awarded the Mom which was unfortunately awarded to White.
In the 2nd one dayer at Auckland, New Zealand were found blaming the Duckworth-Lewis method for their team's loss against Australia which saw their required number of runs being reduced by just 8 runs and the number of balls being reduced by 30. And, this time, it was the Aussies who were found facing the same situation when rain tried to play a spoilsport. The revised target for Australia happened to be 200 runs from 32 overs as against the 238 run target they were supposed to chase from 50 overs had everything gone alright. Meaning the number of runs required was reduced by just 39 and the number of balls by 96.
Had the game went on smoothly, and than Australia would have had to chase at the rate of just above 4.0 an over, which happened to be just below 6.0 an over after the rain interruption. The main thing that proved costly for the Kiwis was their batting which saw the 2nd highest score in their innings happened to be scored by a number 8 batsman in Darryl Tuffey who bought in all his experience. If not for Bollinger, all the Aussie bowlers returned with wickets and a run rate below 6.0 an over. Most of the Kiwi batsmen were batting as though it was a test match that would end in a draw.
And, when it came to the batting of Australian team, similar to their bowling, if not for one batsmen in Brad Haddin, the rest of them showed no signs of fear and mercy in belting the New Zealand bowlers. One Aussie batsman in Ricky Ponting was found having 8 hits to the fence which was 75% of what the entire New Zealand team put together could do. However, when it came to the number of sixes hit, New Zealand managed to take the upperhand when their team had 9 sixes compared to just 3 from the Aussie side. However, once again, the man-of-the-match was not justified. Scorecard suggests that it was Ricky Ponting who should have been awarded the Mom which was unfortunately awarded to White.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Luck shifts from NZ to OZ
Finally, yesterday in the 2nd one dayer between Australia and New Zealand, it was Australia who was finally declared winners after the last New Zealand wicket fell and not until the last legal Aussie delivery bowled. This is quite obvious when all the odds namely the weather, the opposition and the team itself favors only one team and aides its victory. Fortunately, for Australia it was also the toss that they won which helped them level the series 1-1 at present. Added to that was Ponting chose to bat first on a pitch where chasing a decent total would not have been that difficult.
The pitch to a greater extent suited the batsmen which saw all Aussie batsmen but Ponting and Michael Clarke contribute with the willow. The Aussie batting progressed in a slow and steady manner with even the pinch hitter Mitchell Johnson providing his share by scoring at a rate of more than run a ball during his unbeaten score of 16 runs from 13 balls. On the otherside, even the bowlers from the New Zealand side did not lag far behind in showing some sort of discipline in their bowling by making use of the Australians' fear for spin bowling when Vettori bowled 10 overs.
Bad luck struck the New Zealand side when play was suspended for a small duration owing to rain delays on two occasions and as it always happens, the side batting second always has to pay a heavier price for no mistake of theirs. The number of balls was reduced by 30 and the number of runs required to win the match was reduced by just 9. And, the time has not yet come for anybody to dispute the Duckworth Lewis method which has seen so many deserving teams lose out to non deserving ones. However, this time luck had to favor the Australian side no matter what.
The situation was the same like the one in the first one dayer where a slog shot from Styris saw the ball clear the fence and ensure a win for the Kiwis. The same slog shot could have even been a miscue and landed safe in one of the eleven Aussie fielders' hands. Or, Styris could have been beaten and in the process the stumps rattled. But, it was luck that batted for New Zealand in the form of Scott Styris. And this time, it should have been the top order batsmen to have made things easier for New Zealand and not the late middle order in Vettori trying to settle down issues.
Finally, there was a reason for the Kiwis to smile when Daniel Vettori was awarded the man of the match for his contribution with both the bat as well as the ball. Otherwise, New Zealand never deserved anything much.
The pitch to a greater extent suited the batsmen which saw all Aussie batsmen but Ponting and Michael Clarke contribute with the willow. The Aussie batting progressed in a slow and steady manner with even the pinch hitter Mitchell Johnson providing his share by scoring at a rate of more than run a ball during his unbeaten score of 16 runs from 13 balls. On the otherside, even the bowlers from the New Zealand side did not lag far behind in showing some sort of discipline in their bowling by making use of the Australians' fear for spin bowling when Vettori bowled 10 overs.
Bad luck struck the New Zealand side when play was suspended for a small duration owing to rain delays on two occasions and as it always happens, the side batting second always has to pay a heavier price for no mistake of theirs. The number of balls was reduced by 30 and the number of runs required to win the match was reduced by just 9. And, the time has not yet come for anybody to dispute the Duckworth Lewis method which has seen so many deserving teams lose out to non deserving ones. However, this time luck had to favor the Australian side no matter what.
The situation was the same like the one in the first one dayer where a slog shot from Styris saw the ball clear the fence and ensure a win for the Kiwis. The same slog shot could have even been a miscue and landed safe in one of the eleven Aussie fielders' hands. Or, Styris could have been beaten and in the process the stumps rattled. But, it was luck that batted for New Zealand in the form of Scott Styris. And this time, it should have been the top order batsmen to have made things easier for New Zealand and not the late middle order in Vettori trying to settle down issues.
Finally, there was a reason for the Kiwis to smile when Daniel Vettori was awarded the man of the match for his contribution with both the bat as well as the ball. Otherwise, New Zealand never deserved anything much.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Australia redefines homesickness
Well, after losing the first one day international to New Zealand yesterday, Australia reminded the word homesickness which has a different meaning in the world of cricket. Australia lost a match to New Zealand which was after a series of victories against Pakistan and West Indies in all formats of the game of cricket. All that Australia could lose in the gap was the first test to the West Indies in December which ended in a draw and the 3rd one dayer which was abandoned. If not for these, Australia won all the tests, one dayers and T20 games that it played.
However, all the aforementioned victories that Australia enjoyed until now was at home. Nevermind that at times, Australia popped up from a never again position and went on to win the game. This was in the Sydney test against Pakistan and in the only T20 game against the same. In both cases where Australia were bundled out for 127 runs on board. And also not to mention the T20 win against New Zealand in the 1st followed by a tie in the 2nd (though the match was handed over to NZ after the super over) . Now, Australia is found to be facing the heat with a loss in the 1st ODI to the Kiwis.
Had the same match been played at home, Australia would no doubt been victorious. The lat match before the one under discussion that Australia lost was against India on its tour at Delhi in the 3rd one dayer. Since then, Australia had not lost even a single match irrespective of the format of the game that it was playing. Whatever, this loss need not termed as the end of the road for Australia. Not only regarding the fact that there are 4 more ODIs to go but also that Australia lost the match by a close margin which it can make up in the next meeting at Auckland.
However, more than the loss that Australia suffered, the main thing that is bound to haunt them is the timing of the loss. As cited above, Australia had won all of its encounters against Windies and Pakistan at home and a loss in the very first encounter to New Zealand down under will surely make fingers point towards Australia regarding their victory restricted only to home conditions and nowhere when it comes outside it. There is more of a probablity that Australia will win the series but, it is the margin of victory that matters. Will it be a 4-1 or a 3-2 win for Aussies which makes the difference!
However, all the aforementioned victories that Australia enjoyed until now was at home. Nevermind that at times, Australia popped up from a never again position and went on to win the game. This was in the Sydney test against Pakistan and in the only T20 game against the same. In both cases where Australia were bundled out for 127 runs on board. And also not to mention the T20 win against New Zealand in the 1st followed by a tie in the 2nd (though the match was handed over to NZ after the super over) . Now, Australia is found to be facing the heat with a loss in the 1st ODI to the Kiwis.
Had the same match been played at home, Australia would no doubt been victorious. The lat match before the one under discussion that Australia lost was against India on its tour at Delhi in the 3rd one dayer. Since then, Australia had not lost even a single match irrespective of the format of the game that it was playing. Whatever, this loss need not termed as the end of the road for Australia. Not only regarding the fact that there are 4 more ODIs to go but also that Australia lost the match by a close margin which it can make up in the next meeting at Auckland.
However, more than the loss that Australia suffered, the main thing that is bound to haunt them is the timing of the loss. As cited above, Australia had won all of its encounters against Windies and Pakistan at home and a loss in the very first encounter to New Zealand down under will surely make fingers point towards Australia regarding their victory restricted only to home conditions and nowhere when it comes outside it. There is more of a probablity that Australia will win the series but, it is the margin of victory that matters. Will it be a 4-1 or a 3-2 win for Aussies which makes the difference!
Friday, February 12, 2010
How a series against Bangladesh can count..
If the recently concluded one day series between Bangladesh and New Zealand is taken into consideration, scorecards of the matches suggests the way the performance of the New Zealand team has been deteriorating as the series progressed. In the first ODI at Napier, New Zealand were found playing the game with full excitement, when they beat the opposition by 146 after imposing a target of 339 to win and the Bangladeshi batsmen could hardly cross 200 runs on board. Then comes the 2nd ODI at Dunedin where New Zealand reach the target of 185 in over 27 overs losing 5 wickets.
Then, in the 3rd ODI played at Christchurch, New Zealand as expected did beat Bangladesh by a margin which was in no means satisfactory. New Zealand lost 7 wickets en-route to their run chase of 244 runs for victory. In the first ODI, New Zealand did everything possible on earth to contain the Bangladeshi batsmen first to put up a mammoth score of 336 on the board and then bowl out Bangladesh for 190. Then, in the 2nd ODI, the performance of the New Zealand team was comparatively below par. Though they won the game to take an unbeatable lead in the series, New Zealand should have bowled out the Bangladeshi batsmen all out; instead, Bangladesh played their full quota of 50 overs.
On the otherhand, New Zealand should have not lost 5 wickets to chase a target which was below 200. Finally, in the 3rd ODI at Christchurch, New Zealand lost 7 wickets during their successful run chase of 241. For the first time in the tournament, Bangladesh could manage a total of more than 200. And, New Zealand had their worst win in the series when they lost 7 wickets. It is not an unknown fact that playing Bangladesh is just a formality and nothing else atleast as far as the New Zealand team is considered. But, now it is also a curse to play Bangladesh I suppose.
Hardly any team would take Bangladesh as a noted opposition though they are granted test status in international cricket. It is no big thing for any team to win or crush a team like Bangladesh. But, a loss against the same can make headlines. But, now a days, teams take a casual route to beat Bangladesh which at times are mistaken to be a tough fight imposed by Bangladesh which would not be the case actually. Teams have now started thinking wise when facing Bangladesh, with the batsmen thinking of playing some distinct shots against the Bangladeshi bowlers and the bowlers tossing the ball in a different manner to the Bangladeshi batsmen.
Teams rather than resting some of their key players have took to this sort of technique while facing Bangladesh. And, this could be more than a warm up game when New Zealand are set to face the Aussies next month.
Then, in the 3rd ODI played at Christchurch, New Zealand as expected did beat Bangladesh by a margin which was in no means satisfactory. New Zealand lost 7 wickets en-route to their run chase of 244 runs for victory. In the first ODI, New Zealand did everything possible on earth to contain the Bangladeshi batsmen first to put up a mammoth score of 336 on the board and then bowl out Bangladesh for 190. Then, in the 2nd ODI, the performance of the New Zealand team was comparatively below par. Though they won the game to take an unbeatable lead in the series, New Zealand should have bowled out the Bangladeshi batsmen all out; instead, Bangladesh played their full quota of 50 overs.
On the otherhand, New Zealand should have not lost 5 wickets to chase a target which was below 200. Finally, in the 3rd ODI at Christchurch, New Zealand lost 7 wickets during their successful run chase of 241. For the first time in the tournament, Bangladesh could manage a total of more than 200. And, New Zealand had their worst win in the series when they lost 7 wickets. It is not an unknown fact that playing Bangladesh is just a formality and nothing else atleast as far as the New Zealand team is considered. But, now it is also a curse to play Bangladesh I suppose.
Hardly any team would take Bangladesh as a noted opposition though they are granted test status in international cricket. It is no big thing for any team to win or crush a team like Bangladesh. But, a loss against the same can make headlines. But, now a days, teams take a casual route to beat Bangladesh which at times are mistaken to be a tough fight imposed by Bangladesh which would not be the case actually. Teams have now started thinking wise when facing Bangladesh, with the batsmen thinking of playing some distinct shots against the Bangladeshi bowlers and the bowlers tossing the ball in a different manner to the Bangladeshi batsmen.
Teams rather than resting some of their key players have took to this sort of technique while facing Bangladesh. And, this could be more than a warm up game when New Zealand are set to face the Aussies next month.
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