Washout
Dammit dammit dammit dammit!
Dammit that the test had to finish like this.
Dammit that nearly five days of cricket, including O’Brien’s spell of awesome, Vettori’s century, Tuffey’s out of the blue 80, Pakistan’s fight-back, Guptill’s fight-back-back, was washed away by a scant hour of rain. In fact, that trivial shower of rain in the deciding hour of the deciding test of the series has made irrelevant the two tests that preceded it.
Dammit!
December 16th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
it was not the washout that devoid this test of a result… its convenient camouflage of two captains insipid decision making… who decided before everyone else that this test must end in a draw…
December 17th, 2009 at 8:43 am
it was not the washout that devoid this test of a result… its convenient camouflage of two captains insipid decision making… who decided before everyone else that this test must end in a draw…
Um, no actually.
Let’s just recap: After 4 days and 4 1/2 hours of the test, New Zealand needed 118 runs off 24 overs. Then it rained and no more play was possible.
It was the rain.
Perhaps you’re just not aware of what a run-scoring paradise Napier is, Straights. I think the captains played the game just fine for the conditions. In fact, I would suggest that using Guptill as a surprise change bowler was an inspired rather than an insipid decision and turned the game around both times Vettori did it.
Anyway, my disappointment wasn’t so much that a result wasn’t possible, but that the test had to end with the players off the park. Things were getting really exciting going into that last hour and a half. Even if Pakistan had scrambled a draw, that would have been a good finish.
December 17th, 2009 at 10:12 am
The rain certainly finished it off.
But I’m not sure a team deserves to win a test when it takes them 200 overs to bowl out a side in the 2nd dig.
Hang the Groundsman.
December 17th, 2009 at 10:23 am
But I’m not sure a team deserves to win a test when it takes them 200 overs to bowl out a side in the 2nd dig.
All you have to do is outscore your opposition. It’s a simple equation.
Hang the Groundsman.
I say make him bowl unchanged from one end through the whole of the third innings.
It’s moderately ironic that he was dissing the batsmen before the test when he’s not really on top of his own job of preparing a decent test wicket. He’s lucky the batsmen were so fragile, or we might have had a 2 1/2 innings shocker like we did last year.
December 17th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
i was referring to the scoring at snail pace by pakistan without being under any obvious danger as you said the pitch was a batathon… there was just no intent to score qucikly in pursuit of series win… and also vettori who did not attacked enough at the start of pak’s second innings even when he had 250 odd lead…
both captain seemed content… vettori by not losing two consecutive test series at home and yousuf by not losing first series being captain…