I am NOT seeing anything at all tricky in the way the wicket is playing. The bowlers are OK... but nothing special.

NZ are simply letting themselves down (it seems)

Of course more will be revealed when Australia bat... but I dont think the state of the wicket is to blame.. we'll see

_________________
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___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

When it is early like this (batsmen fresh, not tired) why don't they "get it going" and try for 2 when the ball is hit in the long leg area, like the beginning of this over?

I can only say.. its is NOT worth any risk for a second run when its a test.. number of runs is VERY secondary to losing a wicket.


I had to check.. it seems like a long time ago... Australia WON the 3 test series when NZ toured Australia end of last year...

One match was drawn so Australia won that series 2 - 0

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Lunch (1st Test, Day 1)




New Zealand 84/5 (25.0 ov)

Australia won the toss and elected to field

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25 overs is not good enough... 30 is what they are supposed to bowl

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Innings Break

(and Tea Break)


NZ all out

New Zealand 183 (48.0 ov)

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I assume that the final session today will be longer than 2 hours and will require MORE than 30 overs?

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Funny old game, cricket.. Australia are playing like bunnies too

I KNOW I was advocating batsmen be more agressive than night have traditionally been the case... with boring batsmen spending hours at the crease for few runs.. but....
...this is TEST cricket. Batsmen are not supposed to just go out and SLOG!!

They are supposed to build an innings... try to score centuries.. double centuries... triple centuries

It's the BAD influence of ODI .. and T20

_________________
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Ross Taylor joined the commentary team

The good news is... his recovery is going slower than he hoped..

Lets hope he is NOT fit enough to be considered for next test.

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I missed it.

I'm watching with my volume off, listening to music.

I found Taylor on twitter and, I swear, he has two of the cutest little kids that I have ever seen. I hope he is getting to spend a lot of time with them while he's recouping.

I'm trying to calculate, if Aus batted first, how many overs played by lunch. They are obviously doing better, but the batting sure seems slow. (27 overs)

Now THAT is funny.

A days play should be 90 overs (or more)

NZ batted 48?
Australia should bat 42.. before they are allowed to go home.

Smithy says they take off 2 overs for innings break... I would dispute that.. given the TEA BREAK was used for innings break...Smithy has agreed with me on that now

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Stumps - 1st Test Day1


New Zealand 183
Australia 147/3 (40.0 ov)

Australia trail by 36 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the 1st innings


Even playing an extra 45 minutes they were STILL 2 overs short.

THIS slow over rate has got beyond a joke.. It is ridiculous. It is NOT HARD to Bowl 90 overs in a normal 6 hours of play. If there ARE special circumstances, then quite rightly they have the extra half hour at the end. Today there were NO special circumstances AND they failed still even with extra half hour.. failed even with another 15 minutes on top of that !!!!
Not doing it even after 6 and three quarter hours is just plain daft

_________________
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I have been thinking about how I would solve/police slow over-rate... If I ruled the world

Firstly I would make it the FIELDING SIDE'S problem. Often one side will point to other side being part of the problem.. and NOBODY is held accountable. Stuff that!!

Umpires should prevent batsmen from shagging about asking for drinks and new gloves.. else they better do it real fast without delaying change of ends between overs.

At end of normal days play (would have been 5:30 today and NOT 6:15)... simply STOP PLAY and CREDIT batting side with extra runs for each over not bowled (and of course they lose no wickets in getting those runs). No extra time (unless there is compelling reason... eg a player injured during play using up time etc. In which case the extra half hour (or more) could be used to make up for that.

It MOST cases where it is simply SLOW over rate... for each over not bowled...simply credit the batting side with DOUBLE the team's current run rate worth of extra runs. I just invented a new "Extra" for cricket scorers.. the TE (Time extra). If problem persists next day.. make it 3x current RR gift runs for overs not bowled.. etc.

Simple really

ETA
In a case like today where there is a change of innings.. the overs short should be calculated at the change of innings. The extras could still be added at STUMPS based on the second side's run rate.
I think the slow over rate today was mainly down to Australia. They were already behind by 5 overs at lunch time, and bowled most of next session no doubt at similar ORate (behind another 4 or 5 overs) ...and at the end of "normal time" the deficit was 11 runs.
If BOTH sides concede some TE runs... so-be-it

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___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

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I studied your plan, Rumpole.


As if the million of cricket rules aren't already puzzling to me.

I'm sure it will click with me later in the day.
Ya know, it may be too practical.

You need to be on an official Cricket committee.

Nah... I need to be supreme ruler or the world... at lot of stuff needs me in charge.

My "plan" simply means giving runs to the batting side when the fielding side don't bowl all their overs.

If I was in charge... play would have ended at 5:30 yesterday... Australia would have missed out on all the runs they scored in the last 45 minutes.. and NZ would have about 40 extras (TE's) added to their total.

ETA
I think the BEAUTY of my Extras Time penalty "plan" is that it would hardly ever (never) come into play
Sides would simply get off their asses and bowl the required overs.... they can do it easily.. they just need the THREAT of giving away runs to opposition

_________________
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___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Note we started the day with Australian innings at 40 overs... so by lunch time... 70 overs (or more).... we'll see

_________________
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Okay, I get that much

So Aus is not given extras because NZ had 48 ov .. eventho they were only at 25 at lunch?

I calculated in exactly two hours play, NZ 25 ov. and Aus 27 ov. which to me seems like they were equal. NZ had more time to spend on switching players after 5 wickets, but don't think that would take up the time of 2 ov.

I think I just answered my own Q above. TE needs to be calculated at END of day. So whoever is batting 2nd must bring over total to 90? What if first team batting just pisses about most the day?

I think TE would normally be LESS complicated than yesterday. It is usually obviously one fielding side being slow.

I really dont think the finer points would EVER come into play. The mere fact that a fielding side has the threat of giving away.. say 8 runs per over they dont bowl.. would mean they would in fact get all their overs bowled.

The calculation could be done at the end of every session (or change of innings).... 30 overs bowled or else other side gets 8 runs per missed over added. Where there is an innings change it is not hard to work out how many overs are require in a "part session" based on 15 per hour.

_________________
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___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

K, thanks.

I really thought Australia would beat the pants off NZ after such a weak 1st innings.

But the early wicket of Burns after only 4b, set the tone for NZ bowling, imo.