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Comrade Hillary

Monday, November 22, 2004

Ha ha glad I went away for the weekend 

Because I didn't see the losses in the cricket, the league, and the netball, and the near-loss in the union, not that I would have watched it anyway. The Black Craps' defeat was so utterly comprehensive, and Glen McGrath's starring role with the bat so unlikely, that it's impossible not to laugh and take the result with a broad smile. It's hard to know whether Cricinfo is being ironic or not in writing:

A track flat good enough for two tailenders to share a record for the 10th wicket against New Zealand had become unplayable.


I guess the umpires didn't do New Zealand any favours in the 3rd innings, but nor did NZ's selection policy, which included the hopeless McMillan. It doesn't help that Astle is a class player badly out of form and Fleming frequently fails to front up. In terms of players who can't share too much of the blame ... (and bear in mind I didn't see Australia's first innings or New Zealand's second), it seems that McCullum got 2 terrible decisions, Oram played very well in the first innings and was dismissed under freak circumstances in the second, and that Martin and Vettori at least made some impact at the bowling crease. Still, I guess they also contributed to that handy 114-run last wicket partnership featuring Glen "my average used to be 2.1" McGrath.

Still, it's nice to know that our cricketers aren't the only crap team out there. And hey, in the second innings we were on two of my favourite all-time New Zealand batting scores, 33/3 and 44/4. If I had a dime for every time the Crappers were on those scores (and I note the 5th wicket also fell on 44).

Comments:
Braces was on the record this morning as saying something along the lines of "What difference would Butler have made - bounced the ball a bit more?"

But the point is that there's dangerous, awkward, likely-to-take-a-wicket bounce, and then there's short and wide outside off stump crashed to the point boundary (end of day 2 rubbish bowled by Styris & Oram) and short and wide on middle and leg and pulled to the square leg boundary (day 3 rubbish).

Can anyone comment on the bowlers who did take wickets - Martin and Vettori? Were they any good? Who dropped the catches in the field for us - someone told me Glenn "61" McGrath was dropped thrice.
 
Yep. Agree with you guys.

i think the only way to ever beat the Aussies is to knock them over with the ball. Taking 20 wickets against them is a bloody hard task so you better be ready to go in there all guns blazing with the best you've got.

And then hope the batsmen do their job for us. Which they should theoretically be doing fairly often.

McGrath 61
NZ 76

At least we teamed up to pip him.
 

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