New Zealand looking good....

[Rachael]

Having looked at one time as if they might struggle to manage the follow on.. New Zealand have taken a first innings lead with debutant Papps's battling 59 off 155 balls and Styris' 74 off 190 forming a platform from which Oram (in his 8th test and now moving beyond his first test century) and the tail (debutant McCullum, Vetori - both 50+) have built.

[Vinoth]

They Did The Sa A Clean Sweep In The Series With An Amazing Series Victory.



But They Cannot Defeat Indians Or Australlians.


They Have To Improve Their Skills Before Facing The Gaints.


Thanx

Vinoth

[Mike]

The first Test fizzled out to a tame draw but the 2nd Test will be interesting as Kallis attempts the rare feat of 6 centuries in consecutive matches. Only Bradman has achieved that feat. Some people rate New Zealand as 3rd best team in the world. They have a chance to prove that when they play England in a few months.

[Rachael]

Didn't NZ actually draw their last series with Aus? Not sure, but I think so.

NZ vs India in NZ would be an interesting series: the Ind bats would be less comfortable with the conditions than they were in South Africa... and the seam bowlers would be rather less able to exploit the local conditions than their NZ counterparts.

Ind vs NZ in India would be a tougher proposition for the NZ lot.. but I think they would compete... and a series win at home and a series loss away for each team would give neither the edge.

Bottom line: I think both SA and NZ are better equipped to compete in NZ, Aus, SA and England. India are better equipped to cope in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Both would win anywhere else.

Personally I think India need to get their support for Khan up to scratch: it's coming.... but isn't there yet. Then there is Harbhajan: either get him fit and bowling great or find a replacement - neither of which seem easy.

I hope it happens and think India are on the way.. but you can't be counted as one of the giants until {a} the openers are doing the job consistently; and {b} the seam attack can exert real pressure through quality pace (i.e. pace with control) and the ability to exploit conditions in which the ball is moving off the seam and swinging.

Hope it happens.. but it's not going happening right now!

[Mike]

I guess we have to specify whether we are talking about Tests or One-dayers. Currently, New Zealand are strong in both forms of the game and England will be able to better judge their ranking when both teams meet later this year. India still seem to lack confidence when playing away from the subcontinent but I can see that changing as the quality of their seamers improves. A series between New Zealand and India would be a cracker. I think neither is good enough to overcome the home advantage of the other in both forms of the game so their ranking would have to be determined by their aggregate performances once they have played in each country.