Joe gets his 37th hundred, Joe gets out, England declare. New Zealand have half an hour short of three days to get 583 runs to win. Plenty of time, wicket still playing true, it could be historic..
A good old thrashing in the end then, winning inside three days by 323 runs after being put into bat and being 43-4 on the first morning. I did not see that coming when the Pope went out to bat but he and Brook did wondrous things from that point and then getting the Kiwis out so cheaply set the game up. And if you haven't seen it yet, enjoy the moment Joe gets to his 36th ton.
Meanwhile, across the Tasman sea to Adelaide, India have just been given a similar spanking by Australia who won the second test without losing a wicket in the 2nd knock. The third test starts in Brisbane next Saturday so not much time to rest or lick your wounds,,
Lots of schadenfreude, laughing and piss taking after the Perth test. This shows you never, ever write off the Australian cricket team.
That is true . Will India suffer like we did against them after winning the first test ? Two fabulous tests . The old guard so to speak chipping in today .
We continue our tradition of losing the very next away game after winning the first. The big difference was our nemesis Travis Head, & we do have a full blown batting issue, considering this our 8-9 below 200 score this year or WTC cycle (Not bothered to confirm that). Hearing that Shami might finally be back, but our bowling (barring how to get Head out cheaply) is not really the issue. Also, as a big fan of Rohit, have to admit it doesn't look good. Feels like it's time.
Good to see us right the mistake of a couple of years ago and actually clinch the series win, we've been excellent in this series with lots of good performances. Atkinson and Carse are looking like great finds for the bowling, it's a shame Robinson is a clown as we could have a really potent attack if he got his shit together.
Agreed, and the other bonus is that Strarc, Hazelwood, Lyon and Cummins will be that little bit older come the next Ashes series, as well as Smudger who is currently having a bit of a mare against India..
Live cricket on Channel 5 next summer . Channel 5 to show live England cricket matches dropped by BBC
It's only the tip and run though isn't it? Is it too much to ask that all major cricket matches should be free to air in the UK like it is in Australia? If you had to pay to watch test cricket in this country there'd be a revolt and so there should be..
Yes and not even all of them . Some will be ladies too . BBC still got the highlights . Is most Australian sport on FTA unlike here where you do well to get even highlights now .
Pretty much, I’m not sure about the rugby as that’s more popular in NSW and Queensland, but the AFL and cricket are both shared on two FTA channels. If Victorians were asked to pay for Aussie rules there would be an overthrow of the government..
Bluntly, yes, and that's been the case from the moment administrators began to realise just how much money football was raking in from subscription television stations. Unless the law of the land dictates that events should be free to air, as with the football World Cup and the Olympics (albeit that example is now weakened by the Discovery deal), there is just no way that we will ever get back to anything like what I was lucky enough to experience when I was a kid. Free to air broadcasters, particularly the BBC, just cannot compete financially. I don't like it, but I can't deny reality.
England make one change for the third and final test - the 17th of the year for England - as Matty Potts comes in for Chris Woakes. That makes our tail that bit longer as Woakes was coming in when we're six down. New Zealand also make one change, releasing Devon Conway so he can be at the birth of his first little Kiwi. He is replaced by Will Young (insert X Factor jokes here) as he tries to help his side avoid a series whitewash after being involved in a series whitewash in India, although that was a good whitewash for New Zealand, this one not so much if it happens. It's also farewell time to the great Tim Southee, but more on that on later on..
More charges for Pakistan. Another coach . Jason Gillespie quits as Pakistan red-ball coach Guess he won’t be coming back to bowl next summer then . Shakib Al Hasan banned from bowling in ECB competitions
The forecast for Hamilton is for sun, sun and a bit more sun but it has been raining so the pitch is expected to be a green one, meaning it will be difficult not to be tempted to bowl first.
As expected the toss winner elects to bowl on a wicket that doesn’t actually look that green. The Kiwis pick Santner the spinner ahead of Smith the expensive and as mentioned before Will Young will bring his X factor to open the batting.
