Catch.. dropped.. fuck me.. Taylor dropped simple catch.. WTF is he doing at 1st slip? Why is he in the team at all

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

I count 4 slips and a Gully... cant get much more attacking field than that... McCullum doent need useless jerks like Taylor.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

I don't have stream yet, missed it.

He's not "my boy" btw.
(unless he has another century & beyond at bat again)

Might be 4 slips and 2 gullies? I see six fielders in that cordon... at least one catcher on on-side.. bowler and wicket keeper... so 9 close fielders.. only 2 players covering rest of the field.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Nah its 3 slips and a gully.. but close players either side square and mid on and mid off..... there can only be one fielder out deep having to cover the entire field distant from the bat.

BTW commentators asked if this is greenest test wicket they have ever seen.. they go further and say its the GREENEST wicket they have seen for all types of cricket.. 1st class cricket etc.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

NOT looking good for NZ....

Green wicket.. new hard ball... two top STRIKE bowlers.. bowlers fresh.. batsmen new to the crease....
Even my 3-legged cat would have taken 2+ wickets in the first hour



I might have mentioned that I am NOT impressed with the NZ bowling attack.. have not been for years. They just dont LOOK like bowling people out on an average to flat wicket.. certainly not 10 people out (twice).

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

LOL! only you would have a cricket/cat graphic!

Yes, you have mentioned once or twice about NZ's lack of bowling attack. Noted.

Wish Mark (whatshisname) would STFU ... and I am also tired of him talking over the umpire during reviews! I like to listen to that part.

Fixing to mute so I will need to watch, can't do anything else, lol.

Mark (rigor) Richardson is an ass.... but he is not there all the time.. Simon Doull is good... he wasnt doing last game... he is ex-bowler.. a bit better than the crop we have now

The cat is one of Wain's cats.... I have a vid of them... I am sure posted here somewhere already... I'll add a link if I find it.

I couldn't find it

but I posted it in Random Vids
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=37&p=110834#p110834

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Thanks for posting it.
(it's posted in Jodi Arias Discussion #5, Colleen Ritzer threads)

LOL at the cats playing poker, because the dogs playing poker is my favorite Coolidge(sp?) paintings.

Sri Lanka has started off batting well.

A wicket in this last over will make all the difference.......

2 down and SL scoring close to 4r/o.... is borderline... I think NZ did NOT achieve what they hoped for in putting SL in to bat on a green wicket..

They managed to sneak in one more over.....

LUNCH


Sri Lanka 108/2 (28.0 ov)

New Zealand won the toss and elected to field

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

This looks like a good wicket to bat on.... SL in the position they might have been if they won the toss and elected to bat. For now... they control the game... batting first to set a good total... then batting again to wipe of any deficit.. and set NZ a target for their second innings.. to be scored in the final innings of the match.. on a wicket that might have deteriorate ( a little bit)

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Hamilton is a nice little city... though I have not been there in quite a few years... It was a small place servicing the surrounding rural area. It's a bit more bulit up now I hear....

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Says it's the 4th largest city in NZ. Seddon Park famous for its "village green" setting affording a picnic atmosphere for spectators. Lots of trees .. I have spotted one or two I'd love to be sitting under.

Gorgeous grounds .. and this view shows the green pitch

Eden Park still my favorite. I need to look and see when they play there next.

Did Taylor drop another one, or was that a replay of first session?

I thought I heard them say "Taylor 0 for 2."

Maybe they said 1-1-0 for 2 (the score).

I ddint see the replay you are talking about... Taylor did get a finger to one that when over his head.... I wasn't so annoyed by that... but officially I guess it was a "chance"

Comentators opining about SL getting to 280? I expect them to get to 350 by the end of today

They need to up the run rate now,,, get it up to 4 per over... that would give them 350+ at stumps

As I type.. Smithy is saying "Drag the run rate to less than 3"... we'll see

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Cricket is a funny old game... the silly run out.. now Chandimal out

SL look a bit stuffed!!

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

I hope you are right about SL, Rumpole.

But aside from the bowling, I am looking at the fielders and seeing just a bit of sloppiness and not much enthusiasm since lunch. Maybe it's just me.

No matter, this has been fun to watch.

As much as I like competition, I'm gonna wait to 2nd innings to make a call.

I have no idea, but with the way SL are batting and lack of maidens today, I think you are going to be close.

Just thinking outloud.

Very wise... you can not say what is up really until you have seen how both sides do batting on a wicket.

But... at 4 down... and no "batting stars" to come.. SL are likely to collapse after another wicket or 3.

NZ SHOULD be able to bat and score whatever SL get.. and increase on it... but cricket is a funny old game ( and we have Taylor) who knows if there will be a few quick NZ wickets fall when they bat.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light