Cricket......

['Dale]

Go, Kiwis...

['Dale]

7 down

 

Cook, real anchor, out a bit earlier

[GLuvsMtb]

Well played Black Caps! Have they ever won a series in England?

[Mntboy]

Well played Black Caps! Have they ever won a series in England?

If memory serves the Fleming led team of 1999 did. In fact you might find that, that particular tour and result was the catalyst to the English revival. Decisions were made and plans implemented. It only started to bare fruit in 2005.

[Mntboy]

7 down

 

Cook, real anchor, out a bit earlier

Yip he won the Nzld vote for man of the series because of his batting form. Boult got the English vote - best bowler on show imho although level with Broad for wickets taken in the series.

[Shebeen]

Well played Black Caps! Have they ever won a series in England?

along with the entire orica greenedge team Jarrod Kimber is one of the few aussies I am happy to tolerate!

 

Here's his BRILLIANT take on what has made the black caps into the powerhouse they are today. My dad would say it much easier - "a star team always beats a team of stars"

 

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-new-zealand-2015/content/story/883713.html

 

He goes back to the roots at this match in capetown in early 2013 - SA wrapped up an innings victory just after lunch on day 3. - http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/567356.html

[Shebeen]

Yip he won the Nzld vote for man of the series because of his batting form. Boult got the English vote - best bowler on show imho although level with Broad for wickets taken in the series.

except Broad got moered to all corners of the boundary. 76 overs at an economy rate of 4.34 rpo. 

[GLuvsMtb]

the biggest disappointment to me is the absence of a decider. Much like our shortened series against India this feels like putting down a good book 2/3rds through. 

 

It baffles me that they cannot find another 5 days in the itinerary. If a 3rd was a dead-rubber, by all means cancel it and have 2 x T20 games instead. A 3rd test would have surely received more interest than the first 2 as the series would be so delicately poised right now.

[Mntboy]

Adam Voges has become the oldest batsman to score a century on debut. He has batted mostly with the tail.

[Mntboy]

4099 @ 40.18, SR's of 61.6 & 1.75. The recently retired Matt Prior's vital numbers.

 

Anyone willing to take a guess at who the other two wicket keeper batsmen are with an average over 40?

[Shebeen]

4099 @ 40.18, SR's of 61.6 & 1.75. The recently retired Matt Prior's vital numbers.

 

Anyone willing to take a guess at who the other two wicket keeper batsmen are with an average over 40?

gilchrist. abd.

Alec Stewart, sangakara all probably there but didn't always keep

[Mntboy]

 

Stewart was damn close as a batsman to averaging 40 but misses out by .46 of a run per innings. Abd and Sanga are, I think, viewed primarily as batsmen who are test class keepers but not wicket keeper batsmen per se.

 

Gilly on the other hand was always primarily viewed as a specialist keeper who was also an outstanding batsman averaging a very very useful 47.6 coming in at 7 in test matches. The other specialist keeper batsman is none other than Prior's former long time England coach, Andrew Flower who averaged 51.54 with the bat in tests.

gilchrist. abd.

Alec Stewart, sangakara all probably there but didn't always keep

[Mntboy]

It's rather interesting to see the difference between a player who is viewed as specialist keeper batsman versus one who is viewed as a batsman who can keep. If one compares the figures that Matt Prior generated ito batting average, batting strike rate and dismissal strike rate to that of AbDV and Sangakkara a clear pattern does emerge. AbDV gets his runs at an average of 52.09 with a SR of 54.37 and has a dismissal SR of 0.96, whereas the numbers for Sangakkara reads 58.66, 54.25 & 0.76. For me the most striking aspect is how low the dismissal SR is of a batsman who can keep. It shows how influential a wicket keeper is ito direct involvement of general play. It also highlights how little the other fielders come into the equation ito dismissals. Just a caveat to the dismissal SR comparison is that I was unable to access the statsguru service on my Cricinfo app and therefore the dismissal SR for both AbDV and Sangakkara reflects their contribution as both fielder and keeper.

 

The other pattern that emerges is the difference in the rate of scoring runs. Prior could bat with a greater sense of freedom as he had his keeping ability as a back up to his batting whereas AbDV & Sangakkara does not have this luxury leading to slightly more circumspect batting.

 

One similarity to point out is that all three players have a natural inclination to attacking batting which is reflected in their SR's and the value opposition teams place on their wicket.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Mntboy

[Mntboy]

With the Ashes coming up does anyone here think England has a chance at regaining it? Or will Aus out gun them like they did in Aus? And who might be the players that'll light up the series?

[Oxter]

With the Ashes coming up does anyone here think England has a chance at regaining it? Or will Aus out gun them like they did in Aus? And who might be the players that'll light up the series?

You never know with the Engelse...They've got good players, but their form/confidence is very inconsistent.  Maybe KP will tweet something ridiculous again just before ashes start to through the engelse off their game again

 

On another note...Well done Bangladesh on their series win.  Its gonna be a tough tour for us next month.  I can already see people complaining how bad we are because we did not thrash them (old mindset).  Bangladesh have come a long way, especially on their home ground, and we would need to respect them.

[Shebeen]

With the Ashes coming up does anyone here think England has a chance at regaining it? Or will Aus out gun them like they did in Aus? And who might be the players that'll light up the series?

best indicator of form is that they have both just toured the windies. England scraped home with a 1-1 series draw, aussies blasted them off the park for a 2-0 thrashing.

 

I think Aus are overwhelming favourites. the only thing really counting against them is the spin dept and the fact that they are all getting on a bit. ryan harris' knee will eventually break down in a game and that could leave them short of quality options.