NWR Cricket

just read Mark Nicholas' tribute which included this which I had not known:

The first time I stood next to him was in the old pavilion bar at the County Ground, Southampton, after he had taken four wickets in five balls to blow away the Hampshire top order in the 1977 Benson and Hedges Cup semi-final. He actually took five in six but the umpire, dear old Tommy Spencer, simply couldn't bring himself to lift the finger yet again. Nigel Cowley, the batter who followed Gordon Greenidge, Barry Richards, Trevor Jesty and John Rice to the guillotine, said he stood gripped by fear at the bellowing appeal by all of Gloucestershire, but the execution never came.
 
and for Keith's benefit about Procter's batting:

he batted as if in a hurry, smiting the ball through and over the off side with extraordinary timing and power. He is one of only three men to have made first-class hundreds in six consecutive innings, the others being Sir Donald Bradman and CB Fry.

He scored a thousand runs in a county season nine times and took more than a hundred wickets twice. He is the only cricketer to score a hundred and take a hat-trick in the same match twice.

But figures don't do it. His close pal and partner in numerous campaigns, Vintcent Van der Bijl, said simply, "I would have followed him over the top of the First World War trenches had he demanded it. A remarkable all-round cricketer, captain and man. I just loved who Proc was."
 
My thoughts on Kalleske were until we get him out we will not have a chance of winning. Then the bugger would destroy our best batsmen. Truly an excellent cricketer
 
Jasper Morris said:
just read Mark Nicholas' tribute which included this which I had not known:

The first time I stood next to him was in the old pavilion bar at the County Ground, Southampton, after he had taken four wickets in five balls to blow away the Hampshire top order in the 1977 Benson and Hedges Cup semi-final. He actually took five in six but the umpire, dear old Tommy Spencer, simply couldn't bring himself to lift the finger yet again. Nigel Cowley, the batter who followed Gordon Greenidge, Barry Richards, Trevor Jesty and John Rice to the guillotine, said he stood gripped by fear at the bellowing appeal by all of Gloucestershire, but the execution never came.
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That’s an amazing line up of victims… some of the greatest of all time
 
The big surprise for me in this series is that India have been preparing pretty decent all round cricket wickets rather than the absolute bunsens that they set for us.

Not sure as I really understand why, other than to say that the only wicket that really did rag at times they lost on and the two really good ones they won. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and so the next one’s set to be a good wicket too.

...and despite being mangled in the last to much hand-wringing here, I think England will just reset and go again. As a result I think they’ve got as much chance of winning as any of the tests and if they bat first I could see them making it 2-2. Whatever happens they've looked much more competitive than the last series in India where they were truly hopeless.
 
Mark Carrington said:
Fact check update. J M Anderson: 700 Test wickets.
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A pity no one told the batters how they should respond to adversity. I am delighted for him as he has really shown how a swing bowler can prosper in (almost) all conditions around the test playing world. I remember seeing him at the Wanderers early in his career never dreaming he would have achieved so much in his career.
 
Mark Palmer said:
What a result in Christchurch. Worth staying up most of the night to watch. Where’s Big Kev when you need him?
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Certainly an intriguing test match, but very frustrating for many NZers. Many of us were worried the previous day when the media kept going on about NZ being on the verge of a famous victory. A lot of us had seen that situation too many times before. NZ was even hot favourites in the TAB odds at various times.

There are just too many non contributors in the NZ side, the number 8 can't bat or bowl, and we have a terrible captain who can't bowl, bat or captain. Williamson only got one decent score, a 50 in the last innnings, and we tend not to win test series without a contribution from Williamson. The Australians seemed to find one batsman out of the blue to stand up when it mattered each time. I don't believe it is a great Aussie batting line up, but they always found one to contribute.

It must have been one of the rare test matches when bowlers captained each side, and there was a massive gap between then in every respect. Cummings is probably the Aussie cricketer that NZers like the most, he seems to be a thoroughly decent chap. In contrast Southee is a terrible captain, is well past his bowling prime and doesn't value his wicket at all when batting. In their last innings of this test NZ lost its last 4 wickets in 25 minutes and the last 3 contributed 1 run. Contrast that to the first test when the Aussie last wicket pair put on 120 odd and effectively won them the game. NZ just lost all of the crucial moments, when largely they panicked under the pressure of expectations, in contrast to the Aussies who seem to thrive under pressure.

NZ's best player by a country mile, and possibly the best player in the series was Henry, who for a long time was under-rated and couldn't get into the team. He was even NZ's top run scorer for the series until NZ's last innings in this test. Australia's best player was probably Lyon, who also managed to top score in one innings. I always tend to think of him as the most under-rated player in world cricket, although obviously not in Australia. NZ would never select a player like him in every test they play regardless of conditions. He is lucky he was born in Aussie.

Sorry for the rambling contribution. I'm busy picking grapes, our earliest vintage ever. Half the vineyard has already gone when normally we wouldn't have started by now. Back into it now.
 
A wonderful Test match and it just seems that the Aussies have the wood over NZ. It’s been a very long time since they won a series over the Aussies and yet they do very well at home against other countries .
NZ may not have the best team in world cricket but they have the most scenic test grounds and it’s a pleasure to watch in such an setting rather than the concrete bowls of most stadia round the world .
 
Keith Prothero said:
Surprising to me that this was the highest ever individual score at Lords and a great shame there were not more to witness it.
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The photo is rather misleading as MCC only open one or two stands for County Champs games meaning that the entire crowd is funnelled onto one side of the ground hence the deserted stands in the photo.

I'd say about 1500 were there to see it. Not a huge crowd but certainly enough to generate a rapturous and fully deserved reception when the various landmarks were reached.

20240406_143809.jpg
 
DCCC vs HCCC match abandoned without a ball being bowled,. And Hampshire are top of the table! (according to Cricinfo, who do not seem to apply the standard ‘in alphabetical order'). Even now I can see the 2024 pennant fluttering over our pavillion, this September.

As for Sam Northeast: the one that got away. :eek:
 
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