The Cricket Thread 2013

[PaulWinch again]

"I think it's a great reality check that you can't take any team lightly, and you can't play people on what it says in the rankings or what it says on a piece of paper,"

That's what Gooch has said, so essentially admitting the team have been complacent. That is utterly criminal and can never happen again.

[PGW]

I think that's about game over 164 / 6 now Bell defending admirably 45 off 194 balls but even he was dropped just before lunch.
Could be a little entertaining now though Prior 10  off 4 balls.

[Dave Cooper please]

This is fucking brilliant Test Cricket.

Six balls, one wicket, Monty on strike!

[Dave Cooper please]

Play and a miss - five to go.

[Dave Cooper please]

Played and missed again! - Four to go.

[Dave Cooper please]

A single!!!!!

Prior on strike - Three to go. This is fantastic.

[Dave Cooper please]

Should have been runs but Prior ain't moving! - Two to go.

[Dave Cooper please]

Defended resolutely - last ball.........

[Dave Cooper please]

yeeeesssssssssssssss

WHAT. A. GAME!!

[cdbearsfan]

Good stuff by Prior and co. God knows what the fuck the top order were playing at yesterday though.

[KevinGage]

Unbelievable from Prior, Broad and Bell (3+hours at the crease, when most needed).

Will be quite happy if I don't see Compton and Bairstow near a test side anytime soon.  Lessons need to be learned, but that can be saved for another time.  Going into an Ashes summer off the back of a series defeat to NZ (NZ, FFS) would have been horrific.

That last session is why we love the game.  And some say test cricket is dead! 

[OzVilla]

Bit hard on Compton, he got two hundreds in this series don't forget.

NZ have performed much better than anyone, even them I suspect, expected.  But this is what makes a good side - not playing well and avoiding defeat with a gutsy rearguard and credit to them for that, a lesser side would have lost that.

Still some questions need to be asked about preparation and overall mindset.  You can't bat like we did in the 1st innings in the 1st and 3rd Test Matches and keep getting away with it.

[KevinGage]

Pieterson takes pelters, but you can see how fragile that top order looks without him. 

Advantage England ahead of the summer.   Australia getting rolled in India isn't a huge shock, but the nature of that defeat is encouraging. They look like a divided rabble.  That would have meant little had England suffered a series defeat to NZ though.

As for NZ, they have looked good over the 5 days -almost like a decent test playing side.  What they do from here on in dictates whether this was the start of something, or merely a brief interlude between regular test maulings.

[JD]

What a great last day. Been keeping up to date/watching it all day. It's been great, but scary (like watching Villa play).

Well done Matt Prior, England's saviour. 

I think New Zealand are trying to rebuild and their young players, Williamson, Boult, Rutherford etc look good players. Problem with New Zealand over the past few years has been that they haven't had a settled team and are too quick to drop players who don't perform in one series. Hopefully they will keep faith with players, like they've done with Southee for instance. 

[paul_e]

Unbelievable from Prior, Broad and Bell (3+hours at the crease, when most needed).

Will be quite happy if I don't see Compton and Bairstow near a test side anytime soon.  Lessons need to be learned, but that can be saved for another time.  Going into an Ashes summer off the back of a series defeat to NZ (NZ, FFS) would have been horrific.

That last session is why we love the game.  And some say test cricket is dead! 

Very harsh on Compton who has a perfectly respectable test average for a young guy new to the team.

Bairstow there are question marks over I agree.