3rd Test: West Indies v New Zealand at Bridgetown Jun 26-30, 2014

[edabomb]

Mark Craig following in a fine tradition of NZ spinners that are better with the bat and the ball.

The only recent one to buck the trend was Jeetan Patel - and he was the worst spinner of the lot.

 

[JJ]

good fightback nonetheless.... surely Rutherford's done for now..

 

[KeepingTheFaith]

Rutherford follows the long tradition of kiwi players making an immediate impact only to fade into oblivion when they're required to do it more than once. Craig looks to be heading down that path too I but may hold on longer if he keeps batting well.

 

[Iafeta]

There's a lot of irony there. His old man started off in horrendous fashion and then slowly, very, very, very slowly, came good, to the point where he was a pivotal member of the '92 World Cu team of all-time legends.

 

[TheParraboy]

NZ did well to restrict WI to 317, and only a small

3/123 lead of 99 runs , 2 days left

Crucial NZ bat till at least 1 hour after tea day 4 (I think play starts earlier as well to make up time from the rain), and have a 330 plus lead minimum, maybe send them in for 10-12 odd overs?

Wicket looks to be playing slower and slower, batsmen getting themselves out rather than great bowling, trying to score quickly on this deck is the downfall

 

[Red Bear]

Roach and Holder are a good pair of quicks for the Windies to have.

Good series so far

 

[vvvrulz]

good fightback nonetheless.... surely Rutherford's done for now..

Rutherford is finished, for at least a couple of seasons.
Go back to domestic level, fix the frailties, score a bucket of runs, win your position back.

They're better off doing a merry go round of potential openers until they find a winner.
Its better than trying to bank on a guaranteed failure.

 

[vvvrulz]

Roach and Holder are a good pair of quicks for the Windies to have.

The most frustrating thing is that they still produce decent quicks, but *none* of them ever seem to stick around for very long.

Taylor, Edwards, Best, Roach, Lawson... all had their moments but buggered off.

 

[TheParraboy]

Ambrose is bowling coach/co-ordinator , so hopefully a couple of the young ones can stick around keep improving and be consistent

Holder is promising

 

[Fufu Andronez]

Sounds a good game fox has been putting the pussy golf on instead of te first couple of hours for the the past few days so haven't been able to watch much.

Nz will need set Gayle a bigger target this time around, should be able to set 250+

 

[Red Bear]

Harsh on Roach, he's been good for quite a while

 

[JJ]

Willamson has had quite a series given he's effectively opening, and the Windies attack isn't bad... Lead over 300 now

Disappointed with McCullum and Taylor tbh...

 

[TheParraboy]

NZ 7/331 stumps - lead of 307

Well done Williamson, saved the kiwis

Shame rain affected play again on day 4, im sure NZ would have been in a position to declare

Id say NZ try and get a quick 30-40 in the morning day 5, that sets the game up nicely particularly if WI go for the win. Or just declare overnight if the forecast is for more rain

Little fun fact (from cricinfo)

"To put Williamson's achievments into perspective, if he can get past 188 he will have a better average, strike rate and high score, more runs, more centuries and more fifties than Martin Crowe did at the same age (from only a few more innings)."

 

[edabomb]

Great innings from Williamson (not that I saw any of it). Taylor and McCullum have both failed to step up when it has been needed this series - Williamson, Latham and Watling have been great with the bat.

What do people think about a declaration? I am all for batting another 30-45mins and adding 20 or 30 to put it completely out of any danger.

 

[Twizzle]

nice fightback

 

[TheParraboy]

Great innings from Williamson (not that I saw any of it). Taylor and McCullum have both failed to step up when it has been needed this series - Williamson, Latham and Watling have been great with the bat.

What do people think about a declaration? I am all for batting another 30-45mins and adding 20 or 30 to put it completely out of any danger.

Not sure that puts them out of danger, play starting early to make up time so probably a good 100-110 overs for the whole day if no rain. Kiwis scored at 3.7 an over so as well so its not a ground hog day wicket either.

But what it does do it potentially set up a great ending to the match, and a result other than a draw hopefully

 

[JJ]

While our attack is good, I want to ensure a drawn series first - the Windies lineup is dangerous.

While I am keen on aggression, we don't have the luxury of risking losing to perhaps win - a lost test series is the norm... bat it safe, and hopefully have enough overs to put some heat on them

 

[edabomb]

Not sure that puts them out of danger, play starting early to make up time so probably a good 100-110 overs for the whole day if no rain. Kiwis scored at 3.7 an over so as well so its not a ground hog day wicket either.

But what it does do it potentially set up a great ending to the match, and a result other than a draw hopefully

I read 98 overs scheduled for tomorrow in passing at some stage this morning - so that could or could not be accurate :lol: . Most days have had some rain about so there is that to consider.

Maybe safer to go for the 350 lead then - that puts it out of reach unless something very special happens from a Windies POV.

 

[TheParraboy]

If WI lose Gayle early they might shut up shop, would be disappointing if they played for a draw from lunch on wards

Heard Gayle is being rested for up coming T20s, surely that's a gee up, nonsense talk lol

 

[JJ]

7 down, come on fellas!