Congrats To The English..

[mismaiden]

First of all i would like to say congrats to the England Cricket Team Well Played..

I cant help but wander though Who would Aussie rather meet in the finals?

ENGLAND OR NEW ZEALAND???

[crabs]

I think they would want to play the team that performs better, so they can get the best preparation possible for the World Cup.

[Mr Kiwi]

given they're playing NZ in the Chapple-Hadlee anyway I doubt they're too fussed.

The cynic in me thinks that they'll want to play the team which sells the most tickets...

[Seamer]

Originally Posted by crabs

I think they would want to play the team that performs better, so they can get the best preparation possible for the World Cup.

Well in terms of selling tickets, CA would probably prefer a Eng/Aus final.
The public would probably want to see Aus play the better team (NZ) get through in the hope of seeing a decent final series.
The Aus cricket team would probably prefer to play England, as they just want to win the series without (hopefully) any hassles and go into the WC with plenty of confidence.
Personally, although i usually favor Aus/Eng games, i think NZ have the stronger team ATM and a greater willingness and ability to take it up to the Aussies

[KennyG]

Originally Posted by mismaiden

First of all i would like to say congrats to the England Cricket Team Well Played..

Well done to Ireland,South Africa and English Immagration Office would be more accurate.

[Murali]

Tonights game can teach youngsters how to lose games from an easy position. 100 runs from 90 balls with 7 wickets in hand is an easy target in todays game especially with some of the experienced players there are in that team. I feel sorry for Ross Taylor as he is such a promising young player but is in a team of gutless chokers and a coach who has no idea. I hope he doesnt settle for the level of mediocrity the rest of his team has.

[Younis Khan #1]

Taylor throws his wicket away too often.

[Murali]

Well tonight he didnt throw his wicket away. Flemming ran him out. I may be a bit harsh on the team but as a fan it hurts to see a team lose a game in that fashion. I would like to know what the Black Caps have gained from this campaign as I feel we are taking steps backwards.

[Andy Mellon]

Originally Posted by Murali

I would like to know what the Black Caps have gained from this campaign as I feel we are taking steps backwards.

At least progress has been made in Astle's retirement, Vincent securing a place as opener for a while (surely!) and Hamish Marshall being banished back to domestic cricket. Obviously, Vincent and Marshall were things that any layman could see that the Black Caps needed to do, but stubborn Old Bracers can't be seen to be wrong.

I also think that we've seen a problem with the Kiwi 5th bowler. In the last few games, Oram has been sharing this duty with Styris and before that Craig McMillan. Oram has looked pretty sedentary with his bowling, as if his recent injury has taken a few k's from his pace

[Murali]

I agree that we have progressed in having Vincent as opener (for now!) but I see that a few more problems have been created. Our fielding that was once a pride of ours has deteriorated beyond belief. I could say in almost 20 years of watching cricket, that this was the worst NZ fielding team I have seen. Dropped catches, poor throws, poor positioning, many misfields and generally look panicked in the field. How these standards can drop so dramatically in a year, I dont know.

As the previous post has said, our fifth bowler option seems lacking. I think Oram has to give it a rest for now. He is in good batting nick and personally we cannot risk that by bowling himself to another injury. Craig Macmillan is too inconsistant with the bat to keep a place. In some ways its a shame Bracewell did not perservre with Chris Harris and give him some match practice. His experience and heart imo could have carried us on to at least one more world cup campaign. I know that a lot of people wont agree with me!