Hard News: How about that cricket, eh?
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Bart Janssen, in reply to
refuses the hand up
I read that as accepting the handshake but too emotionally drained to get up and be the gracious loser ... just yet. I certainly didn't read it as petulant and nothing about the SA team afterwards was anything but shattered and gracious.
It was one of the few matches in any sport where both teams deserved the victory and equally neither team deserved to lose.
Much as I'm not sure my constitution can take it I really really hope the final is even half as good ...although to be honest an easy Blackcaps win wouldn't be the worst thing :).
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So I'm a grumpy old man now, with the classic grumpy old man trait of loving test cricket more than the one day game. I'll even argue long and loud (especially with wine in hand) that ODIs are a thing of the past now that we have twenty 20 ...
BUT
man that was an amazing game!
Nobody in that side missed a beat. I'll heap scorn on anyone who disses any of the team - that includes Taylor who caused a run out true, but lets get serious there were other run out opportunities given by both sides. That is the nature of a game that close. All the players took risks, all knew they could look like a goose or a hero. That is the nature of the game on the days when it reaches the heights.
I'm glad I watched the whole thing, loved every minute.
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izogi, in reply to
At secondary school it became a lot more serious and only the skilled were allowed to play – but those inclusive primary years were important.
Heh. I loved playing cricket through primary & intermediate. I had a major shock when I started secondary school, and suddenly found it treated so seriously. I was "allowed to play" but without even any trials after posting my sign-up sheet, I was somehow assigned to a rarely-called-on handful of reserves who weren't in any team. That meant no involvement for the whole season (practice or otherwise) beyond a couple of short notice call-ups to play on teams where the other members clearly didn't trust me or want me to be there anyway, and from that I soon came to really hate the sport. It took a few years to get over that before I started following it again from a distance.
Meanwhile, I've been really enjoying following the World Cup. RSA was the first team which I really thought NZ could be lucky to beat without choking. For me simply seeing how they played has shown that it really is a world class team which New Zealand's managed to build.
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BenWilson, in reply to
Nobody reads my posts, do they? Typical.
I could say the same, Missy. Calling me nobody, huh!
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BenWilson, in reply to
I was somehow assigned to a rarely-called-on handful of reserves who weren’t in any team.
That's a bit shit. So there was no B team or B grade?
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SteveH, in reply to
So I’m a grumpy old man now, with the classic grumpy old man trait of loving test cricket more than the one day game. I’ll even argue long and loud (especially with wine in hand) that ODIs are a thing of the past now that we have twenty 20 …
I must be an even grumpier old man as while I too prefer Tests, I also prefer ODIs to Twenty20s. As someone on twitter pointed out, ODIs have a lot more scope for recovering from a losing position than Twenty20s do. I also think the powerplay rules have eliminated most of the tediousness than ODIs have been accused of in the past.
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The Duckworth -Lewis method is now far more advanced then the old days of a book of tables. You need a computer to calculate now with D/L Pro version.
The whole idea is that you will power on when you have have wickets and overs to spare. And this instance NZ had to exceed SA score with the same number of overs
Go here http://www.duckworth-lewis.com/ to look at a possible result AND play with some alternatives- using the simplified version
But note : The Professional edition of Duckworth-Lewis (aka CODA) would be used by officials for first innings scores greater than 235.
So those thinking NZ could be chasing 350 for 50 overs, well they did that handsomely v West Indies
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izogi, in reply to
Come to think of it I think there was some other kind of 'fun' category I could've signed up for, but I naively put my name down with the serious signup sheets thinking I was serious at the time. There could have been issues with me being out of zone and not having any recognised rep teams on my resume but I don't know exactly how teams were drawn up. If I'd noticed what was happening and been more assertive, maybe I could've done something else, But things weren't going well with me and that school (Wellington College) generally at the time, and being assertive wasn't one of my strong points. I've moved on. Had a much funner time playing Ultimate when I reached university.
Anyway: Cricket thread. Not school thread. :)
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izogi, in reply to
[deleted - accidental double post]
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It was close - not much in it - the greatest game - a classic - the best sport can be - now lets see if the other semi and the final can live up to this semi.
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Hilary Stace, in reply to
Wouldn't it be nice if there were some of those inclusive teams for adults so they could recapture that pleasure of playing? My son would love one, but they don't seem to exist.
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Kathy Fryer, in reply to
Try autotune late at night when there is less interference.
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Hilary Stace, in reply to
Grant Elliott seemed like a really nice person on Campbell Live tonight. He said he was taught to be humble in victory as that scene played of him walking over to shake the hand of the poor man on the ground. He also said he was up at 6 this morning settling the baby, and Metiria said in Parliament that he had Green sympathies- so doesn't seem the macho sledging type.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
I also think the powerplay rules have eliminated most of the tediousness than ODIs have been accused of in the past.
Yeah, they got very samey.
Some people seem to object very strongly to to the one-more-playe- in-the-circle thing, but it actually incentivises the taking of wickets as the best way to keep the runs down, which seems like a good thing.
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Ross Mason, in reply to
He said he was taught to be humble in victory as that scene played of him walking over to shake the hand of the poor man on the ground.
Grant Elliot is old. Old enough to have lost the sledging snarl of youth, Old enough to enjoy the game. Old enough to celebrate success because after all the years of trying when you finally achieve something like this you think of all those times when you were truly pissed off and this one moment makes it all worthwhile. Old enough to understand that it is sport. Merely an invented game. This twinkling moment that should, in the light of day for the loser, bring the realisation expressed by ABD coming to the press conference: "The sun will still come up tomorrow".
PS: Have no sorrow for South Africa. Just remember the times when they have thrashed us. Bask in it.
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As a 9 year old kid I sat in the terraces watching the 1992 world cup semi final slip from our grasp thanks to Inzaman. We felt so confident that we were chanting "we're going to Melbourne" as the required run rate went up to levels that just weren't successfully chased back then. The experience hurt for years and years.
Yesterday I was back in nearly the same spot. With my Dad yet again. We couldn't bring ourselves to think of 92 let alone mention it. But it was there in our minds for sure.
As it got closer the passion of the crowd was crazy. We all stood at the start of the last over and screamed our lungs out. "Come on!!!!!!!"
Then when Elliott hit the winning runs such a wave of emotion. Everyone was jumping and screaming, I've never seen it or felt it before. It was redemption for 92 and we were so proud to beat such a champion team.
If there's one person more than any other I'm pleased for though it's Martin Crowe. He's now seen McCullum's 300 in Wellington last year avenge his 299 and yesterday's game avenge the 92 semi final that I know he felt so gutted about.
Now let's go win this damn cup!
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Steve Parks, in reply to
I could understand the part when the referees where checking to see if the ball had hit the camera wire. Is it not actualy a catch, if the ball touches an obstacle, without exception? what if the ball hits the Tellevision drone?
It did strike me as strange in that if the ball had clipped the wire it would only have been a more difficult catch to take. But I can see a rationale for for ruling it a "dead ball", as Steve H indicated would likely be the case.
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Steve Parks, in reply to
Some people seem to object very strongly to to the one-more-playe- in-the-circle thing, but it actually incentivises the taking of wickets as the best way to keep the runs down, which seems like a good thing.
Yes, and McCullum seems to understand the new rules very well. We may not win the World Cup, as strategy is only one factor and won't guarantee a victory, but McCullum has been the best captain of the tournament. And yes the new rules are a good thing; after all, how entertaining has this World Cup been?
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nzlemming, in reply to
This is a fun visualisation of the #NZvSA hashtag last night. http://trendsmap.com/v/ykNe/w</q>
That's awesome!
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nzlemming, in reply to
Martin Guptill reminded me of a sparrow during his stellar batting effort in Wellington.
I was thinking "Meerkat"
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nzlemming, in reply to
So those thinking NZ could be chasing 350 for 50 overs, well they did that handsomely v West Indies
I don't think anyone would seriously compare the Windies bowlers with the South Africans, on a good day for either team. It's not that their bowlers were bad, last night - they weren't. But somebody has to win, and we did. (although why Philander for Abbott is something Russell Domingo will be defending for a long time)
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And my daughter #2 and her BF bought tickets for the final way before the tourney started........sigh......lucky lucky buggers.
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And ex-Aussie batsman Mathew Hayden, as classy as usual;
Sadly, I said the same thing about the size of the MCG boundary after our semi final win and I hate to be agreeing on anything with that guy.
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nzlemming, in reply to
And ex-Aussie batsman Mathew Hayden, as classy as usual
So now I really want India to win.
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not sure if this link will work...
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10155334830985368&pnref=story
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