Comments on: The Power And The Glory

By: David

David — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 06:03:48 +0000

Admittedly, this is a setback in our war against Short of a Length (which you have fought admirably on the rest of our behalf), but I actually took quite a few positives from this game.

A) Vetorri wasn’t playing, which I think cost us about 30 runs. Those were the ones Ryder conceded bowling during India’s power play. Surely, Vetorri would’ve put another bowler on for that period?

B) We actually scored 334 runs with 5 overs left. That’s pretty respectful, even with the shameful middle order collapse. Minus those 30 runs we would have gained with Vetorri and we might have been even closer. For a brief moment I though Southee and Mills might do something really, really special.

Ok, I might be pushing it. I’m usually not one to see the bright side of a loss , but in this case, after India’s insane batting display, I’m kind of amazed we had a chance. I’m also gutted we threw that away in cheap fashion. But still.

Anyway, bring on Hamilton, a win, and the consequential loss of Short of a Lengths internet connection.

By: Duncan

Duncan — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:52:37 +0000

The Taylor run out was definitely out. Moronic bit of cricket that. I’m generally the first one to go apeshit beyond the call of duty when there’s a sniff of injustice (see: my current status update), but while one angle looked dodgy, there’s another which is definitive. I was actually pleased I wasn’t at the game. I tend to get very drunk and not really be aware of what’s happening when I go to pyjama cricket, whereas my recall of watching games on tv tends to be pretty sharp even years after the event. McCullum’s ground fielding is oddly off, but how terrible was McGlashin’s missed stumping? the guy only had to catch about 13 balls the entire match and drops the only one which matters. Career is over. And I know exactly what you mean re: the McCullum six… there was something about the opportunity to pause and take in the state of the match and how it had tilted our way ever so slightly that made me sure we were about to blow it.
@achettup: I need a ceasefire badly… It’s been a torrid 24 hours, I need to find a vat of self-respect and a way to even contemplate New Zealand beating this nightmare team of yours. Will take a good while, I fear. But I’ve a soft spot for Hamilton as a venue, and I’m pretty sure the Black Caps feel the same way. Until then…

By: The India-New Zealand Blogging Wars « Kridaya

The India-New Zealand Blogging Wars « Kridaya — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:53:10 +0000

[...] DeadBall: The Power and the Glory [...]

By: teeth benitez

teeth benitez — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:26:18 +0000

The true turning point of the match was when McCullum hit a 6 into the wastelands of the new stand and Raina and another Indian player joined a security guard hunting for the ball. Raina came back out limping quite badly, we all said ‘this is where it goes wrong’ and within 10 minutes we’d lost 3 wickets.

Typical NZ, last ditch effort starts getting close, Mills gets caught twice off noballs in an over and the bowler gets ejected, the crowd is going crazy and then the part time offie shuts it down.

Was the Taylor run out out? They only showed one extremely brief replay at the ground and it looked pretty dodgy.

My favourite “Go India” signs were the ones written in vivid on the back of last weeks Womens Weekly cover posters that you see out the front of dairys.

The Indian innings was amazing, it was all so effortless, at the ground you’re not totally aware of the number of every ball and it just feels like you’re clapping boundaries quite a lot until you realise just how often. Unlike that new keeper we have who looked stoked with himself that he’d managed to defend a regulation ball. We were hoping Southee might become the first player to score a hundred in each innings. Felt sorry for the guy being made to bowl his last couple of overs, wonder what he did to piss everyone off?

Indian ground fielding is comically bad. I know they have a reputation for it but it was hilarious, especially their boundary riders and Harbhajan who run like they have mad cow or something. That skied catch that was dropped near the end was because the 3 Indians who could’ve got there all just looked at each other for a while. In saying all that McCullum is a surprisingly terrible fielder almost never stopping the ball cleanly.

By: achettup

achettup — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 10:31:08 +0000

Feel for you guys, that Guptill decision was horrible and probably the point of no return. Have to say I thought we were about to witness (embarrassingly) the second highest successful chase in ODI history. Fantastic start from McCullum and Ryder.
In light of what has been a day of intense but draining battle, I propose a temporary ceasefire until the next game.
What a match!