Couple of quick wickets brings finisher Neesham to the crease - one more wicket causes NZ problems, but having him at the crease causes Eng issues
This is getting mighty interesting.
NZs to throw away now, needing 4 from 7. Bowling at the death disappointing from England.
57 runs in 3 overs. Wow! And with an over to spare.
I think @Stanislaus has to take some of the blame here, though…
Offending the woofing gods?
Does anyone talk about woofing any more?
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/hzgVQm-WRNk?pli=1
In case no one has any idea what I am talking about.
Poor from me.
Magnificent from NZ.
Forgot to check when the game was on so totally missed it. Still a nice result to wake up to.
This was two very good teams Duking it out in conditions that didn’t quite suit them.
Apparently the usual onset of dew didn’t occur.
There was a comment that “England had been exposed” for the lack of a fourth seamer. Talk about Monday Morning Quarterbacking. Yes, the Poms have tweaked their “go early, go hard” strategy making some allowance for the pitches which are getting tired, lower and slower. Anything else would be reprehensible.
Nudging and noodling 140 plus some judicious tonking seems to be the key to success here, after winning the toss. And if you want to got the tonk you need to preserve wickets at the top. This is old school stuff.
Curiously enough, this is the Australian game plan … way behind modern thinking and used for most of the past 2 decades with bugger all success. This would notionally be a very positive sign for the Aussies in the upcoming games, except they need to get past Pakistan, for whom adherence to any well thought out strategy is an anathema.
I didn’t know this term was used outside of the US. Is it commonly used in Australia? [/aside]
Probably only by those of us who closely followed “The West Wing”
Well, kudos to Pakistan for showing how to put up a competitive total after losing the toss. Should be a fun 2nd innings for us neutrals.
A lot of fun!
Australia are going for their shots and scoring faster than a) Pakistan did at the same point and b) the required run rate - but also losing wickets faster too. Very much in the “don’t die wondering” school of batting
Aus now 96/5 chasing 75 from 45. The run rate is gettable, but they are going to run out of wickets, my money firmly on Pakistan here.
Oh man, gotta feel for Hasan Ali. But still amazing heroics from Wade.
Hell of a drop. Was a tough chance, really, but you’ve got to take those, and Wade took the bowler to the cleaners afterwards.
On Sunday, I’ll be putting a bet on whoever chases.
I’ve been riding this bet all tournament. I usually make the bets “in game” after the team batting first gets some runs on the board. Once the toss is decided, odds change drastically towards the team batting 2nd, so I get better value in waiting. If there are early wickets, then I just skip that game. It’s been money in the bank. Today, I got Australia at +130 at around Pakistan’s 15th over.
Well that was a stylish way to close out the game.
Bring on the Trans Tasman final.
Both semis were basically the same game. Both 1st innings featured batting success with competitive posted totals. The chasing teams lost a wicket in their 1st overs, followed by other early wickets. Both seemed to be well below the required pace, before ending with a power flourish, with an over to spare.