Cricket Banter

Somehow from 45-6 Bangladesh pulled off a remarkable victory, with an unbroken partnership of 174 between Afif Hossain (93 no) & Mehidy Hasan Miraz (81 no). Afghanistan's 21 year old pace bowler, Fazalhaq Farooqi took the first 4 wickets, as Bangladesh soon found themselves 4 down for 18 runs in the 5th over.

India v Sri Lanka 1st T20 Lucknow
SL won the toss & elected to field
IND 199-2 (20 overs) Kishan 89 Shreyas 57 no Rohit 44
SL 137-6 Asalanka 53 no Chameera 24 no Bhuvneshwar 2-9 Venkatesh 2-36
India won by 62 runs

So starts the second (and final.........ridiculous) Test NZ V SA. After the first match, the Kiwis start as clear favourites - apparently on a track that is even more bowler friendly. (I would like to see the ICC prepare pitches, with nothing more than the contest in mind.)

Not a lot of time to fix the technical flaws exhibited first time around, but lets hope that the Proteas can give a better account of their abilities, and we have a conclusion that these teams (on paper) being so closely matched, can produce!

NZ V SA 2nd Test Christchurch Day 1
SA won the toss & elected to bat
SA 238-3 (90 overs) Erwee 108 Markram 42 Elgar 41

(25-02-2022 13:53 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  NZ V SA 2nd Test Christchurch Day 1
SA won the toss & elected to bat
SA 238-3 (90 overs) Erwee 108 Markram 42 Elgar 41

Quality days test cricket. A pitch that still tested every skill. with NZ bowling somewhere near their best as a unit. Although S Fleming was singularly unimpressed - the 'nut' that took out Elgars offie - was sublime. It was Southee, so perhaps expected in terms of the skill on show.

Credit to SA for making the necessary adjustments in their batting approach from the first test. I wasn't sure they would have the time to work on it, but they did, and it paid dividends. It was interesting to listen to Macca and Flem ( a privilege actually) and the way they analytically dissected the changes in technical approach from the SA batsmen, together with how - from a captains stand point - they would approach attacking them. I wish we could transport the two of them around the world into every comm box.

A quality 4 days ahead it would seem. Can't wait for it!!

Old-school Test Match cricket, with a scoring rate of 2.6 runs per over. A much better balance between bat & ball, the pitch was certainly less green that the previous match, but offered enough movement for the quality Kiwi bowlers to exploit. As you would expect, not great pace & carry, nicks dropped short of the slips on a regular basis.
Elgar is one of the better openers in world cricket, Erwee looks to have given the selectors some option , when everyone is available. Markram has been short of runs & maybe a well crafted wont be enough to keep him in the side, despite his pedigree. IT will be interesting to see if the Proteas can build on day one, & post a sizeable total that can put pressure on the Kiwi batting.

(25-02-2022 22:17 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  Old-school Test Match cricket, with a scoring rate of 2.6 runs per over. A much better balance between bat & ball, the pitch was certainly less green that the previous match, but offered enough movement for the quality Kiwi bowlers to exploit. As you would expect, not great pace & carry, nicks dropped short of the slips on a regular basis.
Elgar is one of the better openers in world cricket, Erwee looks to have given the selectors some option , when everyone is available. Markram has been short of runs & maybe a well crafted wont be enough to keep him in the side, despite his pedigree. IT will be interesting to see if the Proteas can build on day one, & post a sizeable total that can put pressure on the Kiwi batting.

Glorious wasn't it??

Bangladesh v Afghanistan 2nd ODI Chattogram February 25
Bangladesh won the toss & elected to bat
Bangladesh 306-4 Das 136 Mushfiqur 86 Fareed Ahmad 2-56
Afghanistan 218 All out (45.1 overs) Najibullah 56 Rahmat 52 Nabi 32 Rashid Khan 29 Taskin 2-31 Shakib 2-38
Bangladesh won by 88 runs

(25-02-2022 13:53 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  NZ V SA 2nd Test Christchurch Day 1
SA won the toss & elected to bat
SA 364 (133 overs) Erwee 108 Markram 42 Elgar 41 Jansen 37 no Maharaj 36 van der Dussen 35 Bavuma 29 Wagner 4-102 Henry 3-90 Jamieson 2-74
NZ 157-5 (45 overs) de Grandhomme 54 no Nicholls 39 Mitchell 29 no Rabada 3-37 Jansen 2-48

NZ V SA 2nd Test - Review
Day 2 provided a contest that constantly swung one way, then the other. Armed with a relatively new ball the Kiwis were on the money, despite an early dropped catch, Conditions looked tough to bat, with swing & thankfully a little more pace in the surface. Henry & Wagner combined well as the worked their way through the Kiwi batting order. At 302-8, dreams of a commanding total were in tatters. But Jansen & Maharaj added 62 runs at a good rate, before Jamieson finished the innings at 364, which was made to look all the better after Rabada & Jansen reduced South Africa to 91-5. de Grandhomme then decided to counter-attack with a 36 ball half-century, taking his side to just 8 runs away from the follow-on target.
Another days compelling cricket, & the hope that this match can run for the full 5 days with similar entertainment.