Days 2 and 3 at Hamilton
NZ took the first innings lead against Australia for the first time in six tests, but in the context of the game it was barely significant. It could well be when Vettori looks back at his encounters with the Aussies, his team's inability to consolidate after that first innings bowling effort in this test will rank high among the disappointments.
There was a lot going for us after the Aussies made just 231; a flat deck, sunny weather and unusually loose Australian bowling and fielding. When you let a game against a top test nation - with a share of the spoils as motivation - slip away like this, it's unforgivable. Credit to the trio of Johnson, Bollinger and Harris who kept charging in the face of Ross Taylor's onslaught, though they were aided by some irresponsible batting. The dismissal of McIntosh of the previous day was a vital one although BJ Watling made a decent attempt at fulfilling the role of crease-occupier.
What to say of Ross Taylor's innings? It was quite amazing that he was able to carry on batting that way through three missed chances and wickets falling regularly at the other end. Where Guptill and McCullum seemed uncertain of their approach and Vettori seemed compelled to go hard at every ball, his clean hitting was almost Sehwag-like in its simplicity. His assault on Nathan Hauritz could be vital if, as appears likely, NZ are faced with a daunting target on a wearing final day pitch.
When Australia batted, Katich played the sort of innings NZ had needed if they were to put up an imposing lead. Personally I'm happy to see him get the accolades, for he is one of the less-heralded members in the side and has really come into his own following the departures of Hayden and Langer.
Cheis Martin's lack of contribution has also come under scrutiny. Perhaps tomorrow offers one last chance for him to resurrect what has been another extremely disappointing series as spearhead against the Aussies.
Top Cricket From The Second Tier
13 years ago
3 comments:
Hello Suhas... let's unroll this from behind, it was imho pretty obvious that Timmy would lead the attack in this match and he did a fairly good job given that there was no single senior quick in the side. Arnel emerged pretty cool as well, hats off to him, he bit his way through. I like these two guys, NZ shouldn't let them fall when Tuffey, and, maybe in 50 years, Millsy come back. The two fought well under these difficult circumstances with Martin basically being an useless eater, as we say over here, who couldn't contribute with the bat either. I wrote a post every match day and got really angry at him day 2 :/
Taylor was outstanding in the double sense. He stuck out all alone, Watling nicely accompanied him for 46 but obviously this would by far not be enough. The rest, meh.
Guptill makes me sad, I really like him, but his patient contributions and good fielding always disappear behind others a bit. Why Vettori didn't bowl him I don't know. Or maybe I missed it.
Sorry, forgot what else I was going to say...
Cheers,
Wes
Hi Wes, really not much to say on Martin but Vettori's a fan of him and also seems to value his experience, so I have a feeling he will try and stick with him for the next test series (whenever that is) to see if he has one last shot at international cricket left in him. To be honest I kind of expected this because Martin generally seems to reserve his worst for Australia.
I share your frustration at Guptill, but the guy is a rare talent and at 23 has time on his side. I wonder if a stint at county cricket mind do him some good.
Yes I seem to remember that Martin did fairly well against Pakistan, no? But well in this year everybody did. Guptill's time will hopefully come, I hope they'll stick to sticking with him ^^
Here's my final post about the tour, a bit melancholic, just in case you feel like having a look...
••• Bye Bye New Sheepland...
It's not quite easy as I basically support both teams but the heart is naturally more on the side of the underdogs then, while Australia's bullish strength makes me rub my hands in anticipation of the Ashes hehe.
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