Gillespie and McGrath

[Dizzys_on_fire]

What can I say?

:D

Send 'em in to open in Adelaide. Magnificent partnership.

[Dizzys_on_fire]

My prediction has proven quite accurate at this stage also.

Did I or did I not say (in my thread that isnt here anymore ) that it would be all over by the end of the 4th day/early on the 5th day?

Thankyou, thankyou :D

Well done NZ, good luck in Adelaide

[crocodileman]

My prediction has proven quite accurate at this stage also.

Did I or did I not say (in my thread that isnt here anymore ) that it would be all over by the end of the 4th day/early on the 5th day?

Thankyou, thankyou :D

Well done NZ, good luck in Adelaide

What's the score - I've missed today's action?

[Dizzys_on_fire]

It's all over.

Kiwis out for 70 something

[crocodileman]

It's all over.

Kiwis out for 70 something

I, too, thought they'd crumble, but who'd have thought at 4/128 chasing 355 late in day 2 that it would be over so quickly?

They lack firepower with their bowling that I doubt they can address in the short term.

[Dizzys_on_fire]

Here's the final scorecard.....

NEW ZEALAND FIRST INNINGS

M. Richardson c Ponting b Kasprowicz 19
M. Sinclair c Ponting b Gillespie 69
S. Fleming c Warne b Kasprowicz 0
S. Styris c Gilchrist b Kasprowicz 27
N. Astle run out (Clarke) 19
C. McMillan c Gilchrist b Warne 23
J. Oram not out 125
B. McCullum stpd Gilchrist b Warne 10
D. Vettori c Warne b Kasprowicz 21
K. Mills c Hayden b Warne 29
C. Martin not out 0
Extras (b1, lb2, w3, nb4) 10
Total (9 wkts) 352
Fall of wkts: 1-26, 2-26, 3-77, 4-138, 5-138, 6-180, 7-206, 8-264, 9-317
Bowling: McGrath 27-4-67-0 (2nb), Gillespie 29-7-84-1, Kasprowicz 28-5-90-4 (2nb), Warne 29-3-96-3 (3w), Lehmann 4-0-12-0

AUSTRALIA FIRST INNINGS

J LANGER lbw b Vettori 34
M HAYDEN lbw b Mills 8
R PONTING c Astle b Martin 51
D MARTYN c McMillan b Martin 70
D LEHMANN c McCullum b Vettori 8
M CLARKE b Vettori 141
A GILCHRIST c Styris b Martin 126
S WARNE lbw b Vettori 10
J GILLESPIE not out 54
M KASPROWICZ c Mills b Martin 5
G McGRATH c Astill b Martin 61
Sundries (1b 7lb 1w 8nb) 17
Total 585
Fall: 16 (Hayden), 85 (Langer), 109 (Ponting), 128 (Lehmann), 222 (Martyn), 438 (Clarke), 450 (Gilchrist), 464 (Warne), 471 (Kasprowicz), 585 (McGrath).
Bowling: C Martin 39.5-7-152-5 (4nb), K Mills 26-8-99-1, J Oram 25-4-116-0 (4nb 1w), S Styris 8-1-33-0, D Vettori 50-9-154-4, C McMillan 5-1-23-0.
Batting time: 641 mins. Overs: 153.5.

NEW ZEALAND SECOND INNINGS

M RICHARDSON c Gilchrist b McGrath 4
M SINCLAIR lbw b McGrath 0
S FLEMING c Langer b McGrath 11
S STYRIS lbw b Warne 7
N ASTLE c Warne b Kasprowicz 17
C McMILLAN lbw b Gillespie 9
J ORAM c Hayden b Warne 8
B MCCULLUM c Gilchrist b Gillespie 8
D VETTORI c Hayden b Warne 2
K MILLS not out 4
C MARTIN lbw b Warne 0
Sundries (2lb 4nb) 6
Total 76
Fall: Fall: 6 (Richardson), 7 (Sinclair), 19 (Fleming), 42 (Styris), 44 (Astle), 55 (Oram), 69 (McCullum), 72 (McMillan), 72 (Vettori), 76 (Martin).
Bowling: G McGrath 8-1-19-3 (3nb), J Gillespie 10-5-19-2, M Kasprowicz 8-2-21-1 (1nb), S Warne 10.2-3-15-4.
Batting time 165 mins. Overs: 36.2

[crocodileman]

Well, I watched every ball on day 3 and I can honestly say that it was a good pitch for both batsmen and bowlers - some movement, but batsmen could play shots on the front and back foot without concern. The cracks that were in the pitch didn't concern the batsmen on day 3, so unless there were gophers digging it up last night, I doubt the kiwis could lay blame to anyone or anything for their demise!

Waiting on a man of the match (a few contenders) and a 3 - 2- 1 points please Dizzi (uppy)!

Will Lee get a guernsey for Adelaide or will he rack up another 12th man spot. If they don't use him soon, he will go off he boil and will lose interest in Test Cricket, in my opinion - problem is, who do you omit?

[Dizzys_on_fire]

Well, I watched every ball on day 3 and I can honestly say that it was a good pitch for both batsmen and bowlers - some movement, but batsmen could play shots on the front and back foot without concern. The cracks that were in the pitch didn't concern the batsmen on day 3, so unless there were gophers digging it up last night, I doubt the kiwis could lay blame to anyone or anything for their demise!

Waiting on a man of the match (a few contenders) and a 3 - 2- 1 points please Dizzi (uppy)!

Will Lee get a guernsey for Adelaide or will he rack up another 12th man spot. If they don't use him soon, he will go off he boil and will lose interest in Test Cricket, in my opinion - problem is, who do you omit?

A bit of rain last night certainly greened the pitch up a tiny bit, nothing very notable though. All it came down to was Australia bowled the right length and NZ just bowled far too short.

As for MOM, in my opinion:

3. Clarke
2. Kasprowicz
1. McGrath

Clarke's innings was outstanding, nothing more to say!

Kasper bowled brilliantly in the 1st innings but IMO even better in the 2nd. He bowled with great pace and especially precision.

McGrath just beats Gilly for 3rd, I think its fair to say that 61 for McGrath is the equivelant to a 250 or triple century to Gilly He also cleaned up in the 2nd innings with the ball and that was enough to get him a point.

On the issue of Lee and who to drop, I really dont know the answer. They cetainly have no grounds to drop Kasper, he was definately the pick of the bowlers and id say in his best ever form. That leaves McGrath and Gillespie, surely they cant be dropped. There's also the issue of a 2nd spinner for Adelaide. So as much as we all would love to see Lee have a run, its going to be bloody hard to find room for him.

Unfortunately, im predicting he'll carry the drinks yet again. But you never know with the Aussie selectors.

[crocodileman]

I feel sorry for Lee because I believe the selectors have used him a bit - rushed him back into the team in the past after injury and with limited preparation and now that he's 100% fit and raring to do, they leave him making Lipton's iced tea for his teammates. Very sad!

Look what he did to NZ in the tour match last week.

Is there any chance that the Aussie selectors will have a rotational system in place the way they had in the one-dayers a few years back. It's true it didn't really work for them (arguably!) but there may be more merit in it in a 5 day game!

That way Lee will be ready and emotionally 100% - not down on confidence as he thinks he is not in the top 3 pace bowlers in the team.

Just a thought.