Rest of the World

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Blimey...just flicked back to see Australia making a meal of chasing 34 to win. Warner another fail (is that a strong hint that his time is all but done ?)

But also Smith Khawaja and Head gone...29/4 and extras has made 14 of them !

Only need five more so no problem...but SA might wonder what might have been if they'd been able to produce a bit more resistance in that awful second innings.

Supports kingraf's pitch assessment , I guess

Temba averages 40 since the start of 2021 - even before this effort. So he’s had some decent returns, and has always been good for a start without ever kicking on. Which is decent, especially in comparison to the rest of the SA batting line up in that period!

That first 100 was in the Stokes 258 game too on a massive road - that England tried their best to lose on in the third innings.

Horrible day for Sri Lanka after the promise of the opening two. They got Bracewell fairly early, but Mitchell ground out a hard-fought ton at the other end. Since Mitchell fell, Henry has launched into a brutal counter-attack, taking him beyond his test high score, and he's just smashed 24 off an over. It's the type of innings I'm accustomed to witnessing with England bowling!

Means NZ have a lead.

NZ finish up with a lead of 18, quite a comeback: 188/6 to 373 ao. Some good aggression in that counter-attack, but Sri Lanka did look quite fatigued as well. Ordinarily, a first innings deficit of 18 isn't such a bad thing for the team that gets to bowl last, though momentum can do funny things. NZ certainly have that momentum right now.

I think Sri Lanka will require a lead of at least 250 because it still looks a decent batting wicket and no obvious signs of decay just yet. First task, however, will be getting through the initial Southee and Henry burst.

Could be set for an excellent finish, however rain is forecast for part of day five, so that may be a literal dampener on proceedings.

Sri Lanka grinding their way to 83/3 at stumps, a lead of 65, after 38 overs. A real battle of attrition. The openers both did their job and saw off the initial attack, but both lost their wickets to expansive strokes. The experienced duo of Mendis and Mathews dug in and seemed to be taking their side safely to stumps, before Mendis had a flash at a wide one and perished.

All three wickets for Tickner. Goodness! Bad news for New Zealand is Wagner broke down and looks unlikely to bowl again in this test. He didn't bowl much in the first innings, but losing him is still a blow for Southee.

Overall, a very good day for New Zealand, led by Mitchell and Henry with the bat, and the test is now well-balanced after three days. Sri Lanka may only be one big innings away from establishing an imposing lead; New Zealand perhaps one quality spell away from chasing under 200 to win.

Worth noting that Sri Lanka's hopes of making the WTC final may be further negated by the abysmal over-rates in this test. Deductions could follow.

And Australia v India still looks like being a draw - just 11 wickets in 200 overs.

The two spinners actually now looking like a fair call for South Africa. Though realistically, Windies would never get near that target even if it was pacers plus one spinner.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Safely navigated to close of play by Rohit and Gill - pivotal day in the series tomorrow then! Have to admit I haven't watched a lot...but the fact Lyon and Murphy can put on a partnership like that suggests to me it's a bit of a batsmen's paradise...?

And so it is proving as the Indians make it through the day for the loss of only 3 wickets - slow going, still in a fair deficit of 190 odd runs, so not quite out of the woods yet, but the game does appear to be grinding towards a draw

This has  not been an exciting test match so far but may have an interesting finish.
I pointed earlier that this pitch is like the ones  India rolled out in 2016 series against Eng.
And this test may be going per the script of T5 of that 2016 series at Chennai when Eng made 480ish in first inning and lost the test on D5, when the pitch crumbled on last day 2nd session.

This pitch too will crumble on D5 or by the 3rd session tomorrow.
While 480 looks like a good first inning score in absolute terms and especially so given this series scores...
I think par for this pitch was 600 in first inning.
It's so easy that no Indian batsman has really been even beaten once....and even a half blind kohli has looked comfortable.

Ind I think will bat with the same scratchy approach, and with attritional cricket equalize Aus score in about 2 sessions tomorrow.
Then they need to utilize the 35 overs in last session to get ahead by 150ish.
If they have wickets still, they can bat 10 overs on  D5 also.

The pitch will crumble and I think Aus would be up and against it with an Indian lead of 150 to 180ish
50-50 game stands between an Indian win and draw
And depends on how efficiently Ind will exploit the last session tomorrow

Sri Lanka lost the night-watchman early, but Mathews and Chandimal have combined for an unbeaten 50 partnership, establishing a degree of control for the tourists. 67/1 in that session.

NZ's bowling resources are getting stretched. Not only is Wagner unavailable, but Henry's got part of his hand stitched and his pace is noticeably down. They've kept it tight and kept a lid on the scoring, but chances have been at a premium. Some persistent short stuff hasn't equalled much danger.

Starting to see some variable bounce on this wicket, making batting a little trickier, with the odd ball keeping a touch low, or one exploding off a length every now and then. That will please Sri Lanka.

Lead at 132. Still well-balanced, with the draw just starting to come into view if that early rain hits Christchurch tomorrow.

Sri Lanka dominate the afternoon and get ahead in the test. The first hour saw a dismally negative leg-side, short-ball barrage from the NZ bowlers. It was primarily delivered by Mitchell; presumably this role would have been fulfilled by Wagner had he been fit. It did nothing but allow Sri Lanka to gently tick the score along.

The second hour saw the new ball. Southee got one through Chandimal's defences in the only testing phase of the afternoon, but Mathews has maintained authority and control at the other end, getting to yet another test ton. Dhananajaya, the new batsman, took the attack to an increasingly tired Kiwi attack, and Sri Lanka's lead is up to 233.

These two, plus Dickwella, are the only genuine batsmen remaining, but even so Sri Lanka will be aiming to push this lead beyond 300 in the evening session. If they don't get bowled out, I wonder if Sri Lanka will aim for an evening declaration and get a few overs at New Zealand tonight?

Neat spell from Henry after the interval gets his side into the tail, which doesn't put up much resistance. Dhananjaya left stranded on 47*, an important knock. Henry and Southee doing all the damage with the ball today, both bowled very well.

284 for NZ to win. Ostensibly 109 overs left in the game, if the rain misses Christchurch. Sri Lanka favourites excluding the draw, but not massively so. Pitch far from a minefield, but there is some variable bounce, and the ball has been generating decent to good movement throughout its lifecycle.

NZ 28/1 after 17 overs takes the game to stumps on day four.

Run-rate is low because of a superb spell of new ball bowling from Rajitha and Fernando. How they only got one wicket is a mystery!

It's a perfect set-up for the final day, a shame the rain is set to spoil that. Will be at least a session wiped out if the forecast is accurate.

After a long century-less drought Kohli finally got there today. The match is heading for a draw.

Yes, it will be a shame if rain ruins what could be an interesting finish in Christchurch.

You never know with matches like this, we are either about to see a third innings where the pitch suddenly looks like a snakepit, or another day and a bit of the utter tedium that's been served up so far

50 minutes left. Even with this putrid overrate, that should be 10-12 overs. Another 45-60 runs here and India lead by 110-120. A quick hit tomorrow, to get it to 180ish (and also force Australia to go through fielding warm ups, fielding drills, time on the wicket), and you never know.

This pitch is a serious example of malicious compliance following the third Test pitch rating, though.

Odds still very much on the draw. Kohli managed to score more runs in this one innings than in his previous 11 if my maths is correct.

Interesting stat about at least 50 being scored for partnerships for each of the first six wickets. Apparently, only the third time it's happened in Tests.

I wanted to see how the match panned out first before commenting as it may be an unpopular opinion. Khawaja in the context of the match and series played a really selfish innings, average protecting if you will. Australia needed to win the match and on a lifeless pitch he should have served the team and tried to provide some impetus at some point. The time taken out the game took the pressure off of India.

Rain took out 37 overs from the test. NZ need 257 from 53 overs. They can maybe have a little dart at it, and go defensive if they lose a couple of wickets. A Sri Lankan win pretty much out of any realistic equation, unless a Cardiff 2011 situation happens!

NZ well on the victory charge because of a fine partnership between Mitchell and Williamson. 101 needed off 90 balls and still a bit of batting to come, plus Sri Lanka's bowlers beginning to look fatigued. Sri Lanka ruing a drop off Williamson earlier, one that should have been taken.

Williamson still chugging along, getting to yet another test century. Amazing innings, but they are five down now.

32 needed off 24...

Wow, 8 needed off the last over. Henry now keeping Williamson company.

WOW! NZ win off the very last ball, by millimetres. What. A. Test. One of the best.

Williamson running through a bye on the last ball. Stumps thrown down. But Williamson stretched himself and got in.

Simply amazing stuff. Test cricket at its best. It's been a superb advert for the sport. The rain actually made the finish even closer. Far from ruining it, it helped mould it into a classic.

Williamson will get MOTM*. One of his best test knocks. Perhaps the best. An unbeaten 121 to carry his team from 9/1 to victory. Weathered a highly testing new ball period, then navigated the ball with supreme control across the cavernous outfield to deftly pick up quick 2s and the occasional boundary. A master. Some luck, yes, as well. He was dropped on 33 by Dickwella, a chance that should have been taken, and he survived a very close LBW shout on umpire's call.

Not too far behind him will be Daryl Mitchell. He bothers Sri Lanka now, not just England! Mitchell's century in the first innings was the difference between a sizable deficit and a small lead; and today he bludgeoned an aggressive 81, with some enormous sixes, which put Sri Lanka on the back foot. That test average still around 60.

And credit to Henry as well. Seven wickets with the ball, deserved more actually, and a test high score of 72 in the first innings; plus Southee who also picked up seven wickets in the contest. Both bowlers showing a masterful line and control to keep their side in it.

Sri Lanka will be gutted. They were on top for large segments of the test, especially when they had NZ 188/6 in the first innings, but just couldn't close it out. I think the rain delay harmed their chances more than it did to New Zealand, because it forced NZ into an aggressive strategy that they probably wouldn't have gone for otherwise. Sri Lanka have the nucleus of a very good test team. I was hugely impressed by Rajitha and Fernando (he bowled two world-class yorkers in this game), the new ball pair, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they fare in England next year; added to which Sri Lanka have a solid middle-order and the odd bit of flair in the rest of the batting line-up.

There may be some critique of Sri Lanka's field placings today, but I think it's one of those times where you just have to salute the quality of Mitchell and Williamson.

The pitch and conditions were also perfect for test cricket. There was always something in it for the bowler, swing and spin, but it was also a wicket where a batsmen could get themselves in and begin to play their shots, backed up by a quick outfield. Some variable bounce as the wicket deteriorated, though nothing too extravagant. Lovely. Much better than the pancake in India. If all tests played out in these conditions it would be a much healthier game.

*Actually it does go to Mitchell, for his greater weight of runs. I would have thought Williamson virtually carrying his bat, and indeed literally carrying it over the line on the last ball, in the fourth innings would have got him the accolade.

Incredible stuff, that's two absolute classics for New Zealand in a row. Loved the bouncer that
wasn't called a wide off the second to last ball.

What a contrast to the turgid nonsense being served up in India. There's no sudden clatter of wickets, its just a complete and utter road. 22 wickets now in almost 5 days and all at a pretty low run rate

Checked NZ score in middle of night UK time and went back to sleep thinking it would peter out in a tame draw. Well, imagine my surprise....

Recent scores might suggest that the old "Big Four" (W'ms'n, Kohli, Root and Smith) are back in business in unison.

It's just a pity that while India, England and Aus play, perhaps, too much Test cricket, the rest play too little.

Well now that was a great finish... Good old Kiwis keep producing interesting cricket matches...

Still not back home so couldn't watch but was following on and off via text ...brilliant chase by Williamson and Mitchell . Thought a little way out they would just about get there but that it came down to the last ball - amazing. Apparently there was again the issue of a possible "wide" call at the death ? Remarkable as that non call might have decided two Tests in a row ! No wonder the IPL has brought in drs for wides and no balls : but I really don't want Tests to follow suit !

Contrast to a rather dull and long foreseeable draw in Ahmedabad . That one looked a good bet from tea on day one. Unfortunately a lot of Indian pitches lately seem to have been either dead flat or crazy "raffle" spindizzies...I appreciate it isn't easy to get a balance ; but would love to see more spin-favoured but not outrageous pitches put up. Would make for better matches , I think , while preserving the totally justifiable home advantage (which actually makes for added interest , everywhere)

Oh dear...no Test Cricket now for ages (except one NZ /Sri Lanka) so it will be IPL or nothing...

Time to catch up on my reading.

Yes, there should have been a wide off the second-last ball, but the umpire didn't dare give it. Wonder if a test has ever been won off a wide before? You could technically argue Brisbane 2006....

The umpires were, previous to that, actually very proactive on widing. Jayasuriya, the spinner, bowled a few down the leg-side. The umpires disagreed with this potential negativity, and they soon wided him for any ball that went down leg, a total of four in the end. It encouraged positive cricket.

I'd also applaud Sri Lanka for their sense of fair play. When it got to 15 overs remaining it looked like they would lose, but at no point did they engage in timewasting tactics, as NZ did when they played in Pakistan a few months back. And when the final ball was bowled, there was probably only around 15-25 minutes left before bad light would have curtailed everything, so some underhand methods may have got Sri Lanka a draw. But they played the game and there was a superb finish as a result.

Shame about the test schedule. It seems there's a bunch of it on at once, there were three tests being played simultaneously last week, then a few gaps in the calendar. As you say, the final test between NZ/Sri Lanka is the only one left this month. There are two tests in April; interesting ones because they both involve Ireland, who haven't played a test since 2019 - they're playing Bangladesh and Sri Lanka away from home, for one test each. Good luck to Ireland in those unfamiliar conditions...

No tests in May at all, from what I can see. So we'll have to be content with the return of the County Championship, this year sponsored by Bazball, I believe. But June sees England v Ireland, plus the WTC final, now confirmed to be Australia v India, followed by the Ashes, which has the potential to be the best test series in many a long year.

Well what a tame, lame farcical game it turned out to be because of the pitch that we waited for 5 days to crumble and it didn't

I think Indians lost their confidence after Indore defeat and got chicken shi.t scared and decided to play safe and ensure WTC final assuming that very low probability even of Lanka winning 2-0 won't occur.

Your can't credit those who made high scores on this worse than Pak's Faislabad featherbed......
Ashwin does get the credit for his 7-fer on this pitch as does Shami for producing some cracking, slippery reversing deliveries.

Bharat in for his deemed superior WK skills dropped 3 catchable catches....and I don't see why he should play ahead of Ishan who can bat almost like Pant.
Axar has complicated selection of 11 in home conditions by batting better than all specialist batters and having lost his bowling form completely.

Shardul or Pandya will come in for Axar and Siraj for Ashwin in the WTC final.

BUT
the final is still far away.....there is an IPL in the middle....where some of these guys might breakdown.

In NZ, although they lost, Lanka gave a good account of themselves.
Not easy to follow games in NZ that coincide bang with my 8 hours of intended sleeping time.

Nepal have qualified for the 2023 World Cup Qualifier (which is the final qualifying event of the 2023 World Cup), after going on a remarkable run of 11 wins in 12 games to elbow Namibia out of the way.

The 2023 World Cup Qualifier, from which two teams will make the World Cup, is confirmed to have Oman, Scotland, Nepal, Zimbabwe and the Netherlands. Ireland, Sri Lanka and the West Indies will almost certainly join that list in due course.

Two more teams will join the 2023 World Cup Qualifier. This will be decided by the 2023 World Cup Qualifier Play-Off, contested between Canada, Jersey, Namibia, USA, UAE and PNG, and starting on the 26th March. Canada v USA is the oldest international rivalry in cricket...

I'm glad this qualification malarkey isn't convoluted!

And the second test between NZ and Sri Lanka starts tonight. Very green pitch and plenty of rain around, as NZ look to close out their first test series win for a couple of years.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/media-releases/3111946

Aleem Dar is stepping down from the elite panel of umpires, having presided over more tests and ODIs than any other umpire. An unsurprising development.

Holdstock, of South Africa, and Raza, of Pakistan, will be joining the elite panel, and taking the number up to 12. Michael Gough still reigns supreme amongst them.

Entertaining collapse by the Aussies in the first ODI v India. 129/2 after 19.3 overs ends up being 188ao...even with Stoinis batting at 8!

Duty281 wrote:Entertaining collapse by the Aussies in the first ODI v India. 129/2 after 19.3 overs ends up being 188ao...even with Stoinis batting at 8!

Yes. Think they either got a bit carried away with their supposed batting depth - or thought it was a t20 Quite the collapse : was a bit in the pitch for the seamers but you'd think India should stroll this.

Mitch Marsh on his day can be terrific. Certainly playing on a different planet to the rest of the line-up today. Inglis hit a few well , if briefly ; and Smith was solid - until he wasn't. But the rest were rubbish. Shami bowled very well.

Looking at reports re the ICC board meeting going ahead now in Dubai is rather depressing ...

On Afghanistan : ICC rules state full members must have a functioning women's team - which the Taliban simply won't allow. But as they don't want to punish male Afghan cricketers it seems this requirement will just be waived in this case. When is a rule not a rule ? Expect some empty talk...

Re Pakistan and India refusing to play in each other's back yard : also too hard. OK , governments are involved so hands are tied. Tricky for these white ball cup events. And how about Tests ? Isn't the whole WTC programme rather undermined if two members
won't play each other ? ICC can do nothing about it.

So any expectations this rather ineffectual body can or will do anything useful around the important - and linked - topics of Revenue distribution and the Future Tours Programme are surely doomed in advance.

But I guess they will make some motherhood statements and pat themselves on the back for selling broadcast rights for a lot of money - even if it tends to benefit a favoured few at the expense of the lesser lights...

Aussies need early wickets to try and defend this - and got one with Stoinis trapping Kishan lbw in his first over. Should have had Gill too but Inglis spilled the edge from Starc. Added insult to injury as it went for four and so did the next ball banged through covers.

Gill lucky again , a half chance to Smith off Stoinis ! He might make them pay after that ...

I'm surprised England or Australia haven't made a more concentrated effort to host a India-Pakistan test series. It would certainly fill the grounds in England.

But hey ! Starc is on fire and has removed Kohli and S Yadav with successive balls to leave India reeling at 16/3

Good review then - that looked very good live , and so it proved.

Gill and Rahul have some work to do...

Must be Shubman Gill's lucky day...saved by a review after being given lbw now. Looked a pretty good call and I'd expected umpire's call at best but missing for height...

Nice way to save a hat trick KL Rahul lovely cover drive for four. Need a few more of them !

Has been a great start by the Aussie pace men - especially Starc. Trouble for them might be that since Marsh can't bowl it will be up to Zampa - and maybe Maxwell - to do some work later.
Though maybe not . They have Green so that's four pace options : and if they can't bowl India out in forty overs they've probably lost anyway. Might as well keep pressing with the seamers...

Ten overs gone for 39/3.

India got home safely enough, with a century partnership between Jadeja and Rahul.

Meanwhile, Ireland have elected to play their home three-match ODI series v Bangladesh, taking place in May, in Essex, reasoning that the conditions are better. Presuming South Africa beat the Dutch in both games in a couple of weeks time, Ireland will need to beat Bangladesh 3-0 to qualify directly for the World Cup.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/ireland-to-host-india-for-three-t20is-in-august-1363970

NZ monstering poor Sri Lankan bowlers today... huge third wicket stand of 363 from Williamson and Nicholls , another double century for KW ; and now Nicholls is closing in on his own double : after riding his luck earlier he's been totally dominant lately.

Collapse might be on now though as Mitchell has fallen for 17 after a frisky stand of 49 in about five overs with Henry N. 538/4 in 118 overs...Bazball is spreading...

And now Nicholls reaches his 200 and Southee calls off the slaughter at 580/4 ... quite a batting performance

Will be interesting to see whether NZ's bowlers can do better on this...but at least they will have some scoreboard pressure on their side...

NZ making useful inroads in this late session...Henry nabbing Fernando caught behind during an excellent opening spell - and then Doug Bracewell taking just three balls to celebrate his return to Test Cricket with the wicket of Mendis : an absolute blinder of a catch by Conway

Nightwatchman Jayasuriya on the job now...into the last over...

...and survives. 26/2 at the close. So just another 355 to save the follow on

Good day for NZ , eh ?

Some innings from Nicholls. His place has been hanging by a thread, but to get his first double-ton in tests should keep the wolves from the door.

Sri Lanka will need plenty of rain to save this one - with the day five forecast as it is, I suppose NZ should enforce the follow-on if they get the chance.

Ireland getting smashed by Bangladesh in the first of three ODIs (not related to World Cup qualification) out there. Bangladesh made 338/8; Ireland haven't got close and are set to lose by around 200 runs.

The West Indies are playing South Africa in the second of three ODIs (also not related; the first one was rained off), and Shai Hope (their new ODI captain) has brought up his 14th ODI century (14!) as his team have crossed 300. Strike rate has always been Hope's problem - his career ODI strike rate is 75 - but this innings has been just over run-a-ball pace, which is unusual for him. Hope's also down at 4 for this innings, which is lower than usual, but allows the West Indies to take greater advantage of the first PowerPlay.

Sri Lankan wickets continuing to fall.

Just noticed that this debutant who is replacing Dickwella, Nishan Madushka, has a FC average of 61 from 38 games, including three centuries v the England Lions recently (including a 241 score).

Sri Lanka 164ao. Karunaratne's 89 stopping it being a complete humiliation. Chandimal's ugly stumping probably summed up the innings, four ducks in total, and the amazing tail made 5 between them.

NZ, leading by 416, have enforced the follow-on and, with the weather in mind, that's the right call. Even if Sri Lanka manage an amazing draw from here, NZ will get their first series win in nearly two years.

Fernando gone to a rather soft exit...flicking Bracewell to short-mid. 26/1 and NZ have plenty of time to get another nine wickets , surely. Don't think anyone would disagree with the decision to enforce the follow on in this case ! Only a question of whether Sri Lanka will make them really toil for the wickets or think about the flight home...

A bit of toil, certainly, as Sri Lanka close on 113/2, still behind by 303. Angelo Mathews on 1 run off 40 balls at stumps.

And India have been annihilated in the second ODI, bowled out for 117, with Australia chasing it down in 66 balls and for no loss. Marsh with 6 sixes!

The world's first 360 player with two golden ducks in a row!

NZ closing in on a victory as Jayasuriya loses patience : after playing 45 balls for two runs he attempts to sweep Bracewell and skies it for Tickner to dive and catch despite the swirling winds...

Still 78 behind and eight down now. Tickner has had a good day with three wickets earlier. Sri Lanka might feel they've been responsible for their own demise as several bats have rather got themselves out when well established - and to loose strokes just before and after intervals : but that is what happens when you are trying to bat out time and a four hundred plus deficit ! Credit the NZ bowlers for their persistence...124 overs now in this second innings , 340/8

Incidentally , speaking of high winds...we presently have the unusual experience of viewing from behind the wicket at one end as the wind has caused TV cameras to be limited to one end of the ground. Wonder if drs view is available at all ? Hasn't been an issue yet...

Wellington is indeed a Very Windy City

Weather for tomorrow is a bit dodgy so NZ want these last two tonight. Rajitha resisting well but not sure Lahiru is going to be able to hang on much longer.

VTR wrote:The world's first 360 player with two golden ducks in a row!

To be fair , Starc was bowling beautifully...but he certainly had his number ! In fact the entire Indian top order looked pretty hopeless against the Australian pace attack. Sending India in worked a treat on a pitch that was a lot more hospitable of the seamers than any we saw in the Tests. Bizarre that India went with three spinners for this match - and barely had a chance to give any of them a bowl