Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: How about that cricket, eh?

162 Responses

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  • nzlemming, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    Lucky we aren’t playing on Friday

    Might have been better if we were.

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Funny old game cricket…
    Now we can all get back to over-producing dairy products,
    ceding our sovereignty via the TPPA,
    and changing the flag…

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Semmens,

    Although the media hype has and will try and obscure the reality, we were hopelessly outclassed in our first match outside NZ. The tournament was structured in such a way as to favour the co-hosts and then to practically guarantee an Australian victory in the final, should they make it that far. Our best chance of winning the tournament was to face India in the final.

    New Zealand got to play at home on wickets that suited our batsmen and masked our weaknesses. The final itself was played in Australia, on their sort of wicket, with their crowds (and umpires) and Australia has won four of the last five (and five out of seven) tournaments. Last night was our first game away from NZ and all our old batting woes re-appeared immediately when faced by a quality attack on a fast wicket.

    It was a great tournament and Mike Hesson extracted every last drop of performance out of his team but Australia are in a different class. Personally, I really enjoyed the CWC up to the semi-final, but I found the hysteria in the media this past week a huge turn off and I watched a movie last night instead.

    Still, we've got a test series in England in May and we can get back to proper five day cricket.

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Tom Semmens,

    wickets that suited our batsmen

    Bollocks.

    No doubt playing at the MCG helped Australia but the (largely flat and perfect for ODIs) wicket had nothing to do with it. Nor did the wickets in NZ which were also largely flat. No seaming wickets, no uneven bounce anywhere.

    Dismissing the performance of the Blackcaps as a result of a friendly draw is both wrong and churlish. Please stick to movie reviews in the future.

    What is definitely true is that Australia had better players who played better on the night.

    What is also true is that the Blackcaps played a high risk high reward style of cricket that was always going to be an even higher risk against fast bowlers of the pace and quality that Australia have.

    With a little luck batting (Taylor and yes MacCullum too) would have made for a different match as would a little luck bowling, Boult actually had an lbw turned down that was out and a number of balls went to ground that in other matches had found fielders. NZ needed to play right up to their potential to compete and they didn't, but that isn't the same as suggesting they didn't deserve to be there and didn't have a very real chance of winning.

    Get back under the bridge Tom.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    Dismissing the performance of the Blackcaps as a result of a friendly draw is both wrong and churlish.

    There is certainly an advantage in hosting a tournament – ask Australia. But even then, the draw wasn't that friendly. New Zealand had to back up and play a semi-final two days after winning their quarter final.

    But Boult finished with as many wickets as the tournament's best bowler, Mitchell Starc. Southee's return against England was our best bowling performance in a World Cup match and Boult's against Australia was the fourth best. Guptill's innings against WI was the second-highest score in the history of the game, and the semi in Auckland was probably the best match the tournament has ever seen. It's been an amazing few weeks.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    What is definitely true is that Australia had better players who played better on the night.

    Better players? Some, but not all surely.

    Better on the night? Definitely. Starc's bowling was superb. Four ducks in our lineup. I'm very disappointed in the result but bloody impressed by the Blackcaps tournament.

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Ross Mason, in reply to ,

    I was surprised to see the unsightly shadow cast on the pitch.

    So Steve, would you have complained about the shadows if Aussie batted first? My dollar would say that you would be screaming at the TV telling "our" bowlers to use the speckled light on the pitch to their advantage. And didn't NZ win the toss????

    Conspiracy: I heard from someone who was there who told their son who passed it on to a friend of mine that if Aussie won the toss a bevy of blokes would emerge onto the roof to unfold the curtains that were to be drawn out over the windows and roof in that part of the arena so that the effect would not have been so great..........

    It was great cricket and I was just sad watching BM (like that? I call him "BM" now) getting hacked down so quickly. And my #2 daughter has one of those events of a lifetime now tucked away by being there!

    Upper Hutt • Since Jun 2007 • 1590 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Ross Mason,

    Conspiracy

    I think rather than conspiracy, Steven was suggesting it was a poor design option by the architects. One of those

    "... wouldn't it be cool if we had windows around the top layer and you'd see sunlight streaming through to make the building feel less overwhelming and monolithic ..."

    Without actually considering the purpose of the building - sigh.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    Without actually considering the purpose of the building

    It's just a big sundial, innit?

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • BlairMacca, in reply to Tom Semmens,

    Personally, I really enjoyed the CWC up to the semi-final, but I found the hysteria in the media this past week a huge turn off and I watched a movie last night instead.

    I feel sorry for one so cynical

    Wellington • Since Apr 2007 • 208 posts Report Reply

  • simon g,

    The media hype was a reason to turn off the six o'clock news, not the cricket. There are predictable telly clichés (presenters trying to outdo each other in their "Go the Tall Black Warrior Caps" faux-devotion) but really, we know where to find them - and therefore, where to avoid. For all these events, it's not hard to work out who cares and knows about the sport, and who is paid to pretend they do.

    The radio coverage (Waddle, Maxwell, Agnew, etc) was excellent. No hysteria there.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

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