Field Theory by Hadyn Green

There were tennis balls flying everywhere and yet everyone was able to keep a track on their own one.

Obviously, their Optical Acceleration Cancellation sense allowed them to know where the ball would land and therefore by extrapolating the predicted trajectory, the ball could be continuously optically triangulated to its final resting position.

Obviously.

As it was the crowd only became excited when Chris Martin hit a four and Ian O'Brien setting a personal best run total (19).

Martin's four over the bowler's head was about the only positive shot I saw from our feeble team all that day.

Maybe he and McIntosh should swap places in the batting line up.

We clearly got carried away with ourselves last game. The Indians have done us a favour - reminding us how badly we suck at test cricket.

I love the Basin, I really do.

But the insidious erosion of areas where you can actually watch the game over recent years has annoyed me. An extra food stand here (good work on getting in there this year Tulsi), a new scoreboard there, and this year’s irritating innovation of a (poorly attended) corporate tent encroaching over a sizable part of the old terraces has meant that the ground capacity has shrunk without anyone really noticing.

That’s a large reason for why it seemed so crowded on Saturday.

And yes, I did get it wrong on the ban on playing in the middle at lunchtime. Perhaps that was just a one-off from last year as a way of repelling our English friends.

Love the game pity about the players. Saturday was hard to watch from anywhere but at least at the ground you do get to wander around the grass during the break and see just what "the enormous hole patch just on a good length" really looks like.

The sad thing is that it will be boxing day before the selectors, coach and team get to try again to be test cricketers. I'm not sure any of the current bunch care :(.

As for moving when trying to catch, yup. Even playing social slowpitch softball simply moving as the ball comes off the bat makes a huge difference to ones ability to know where the ball is going. Of course then one has to convince knees that running to where the ball is going is a worthwhile or even feasible endeavor.

God, this is frustrating. All New Zealand has to do is hold out for a wee bit until the weather closes in, but they lack the technique. And, it seems, basic nous.

It's interesting just how much more effective Harbhajan Singh is on this pitch than Vettori was. Vettori looked barely interested; now, Harbhajan seems unplayable.

What a shower this bunch is. I'd probably have more fun supporting England.

Vettori looked barely interested; now, Harbhajan seems unplayable.

Or it could be that our players (unlike the Indians) don't know how to play good spin bowling.

I'd probably have more fun supporting England.

You're probably right. Not much chance of Vettori getting trolleyed and stealing a pedalo

ScottY,

You’re partly right. Our batsmen have traditionally been weak against top-class spin; Cult Hero Jesse being a prime example of this. Twice in the series now he’s been totally undone by Harby.

But really, Vettori hasn’t been a decent attacking test spinner in favourable conditions for around a decade. His best returns have normally been early in a test and on seaming pitches or against Australia.

That is, when the batsmen have been going after him,

There was water involved and a pedalo as well. But I don't want to go into detail.

One of the immortal lines in cricket history.

But really, Vettori hasn’t been a decent attacking test spinner in favourable conditions for around a decade.

As mentioned in the commentary on the weekend if you asked just about everyone in NZ cricket to list the 5 best bowlers at the moment, Jeetan Patel would be on every single list. But he can't get in the side.

The simple fact is that Vettori has an average of 40 as a bowler since his back injury all those years ago. As a bowler Vettori really cannot justify his place in the NZ side. But commentators rave about his control of flight and pace and lots of people say he is a good captain.

The result is Vettori is in the side and that means we have no room for a real spin bowler. The reason Harbi spins the ball so much is because he is a spin bowler and Vetorri doesn't get spin because he isn't a spin bowler.

This raises the question of whether it is wise to go into a test match without a spinner, especially since one of the top five bowlers in the country happens to be a spinner (Jeetan Patel).

For seeing Ryder and Sehwag bat in a day, it was a little disappointing, cricket-wise.

I did have a lot of fun on my first day at the basin, but honestly, we went to the wrong day - should have gone Friday when the weather was nice (Spot the optimistic Aucklander in the shorts!) and we were taking Indian wickets, not losing them left right and centre.

You can't know that, though, that's test cricket I guess. Catching a sneaky look now on the telly of our 'run chase', it looks pretty grim down there.

Ben from Crucket has written the day up too.

They rave about him because he’s a good ODI bowler.

Sums it all up really.

I wouldn't say Vettori isn't a spin bowler. He just doesn't spin it much any more. Certainly a much better one day bowler than test bowler.

I understand his test batting average over the last 4 - 5 years is almost 40, so on that basis he'd make it into our side as a batsman, let alone all rounder.

I wouldn't say Vettori isn't a spin bowler. He just doesn't spin it much any more.

Um he can't spin the ball but he is still a spin bowler????

[Vettori's] test batting average over the last 4 - 5 years is almost 40, so on that basis he'd make it into our side as a batsman

Yup agree entirely. In which case Vettori should exclude one of the batsmen from the side, not Patel. Seriously with an average of 40ish Vetorri should be batting at 4, 5 or 6 and he should displace one of the players that is currently occupying those slots.

He should not displace an attacking spin bowler with the form that Patel currently displays.

One of my favourite NZ cricketers of all time was a thinking player, a good batsman who captained and bowled slow. Vettori also fits those criteria now.

I'm not saying Vettori can't be an enormously effective player for NZ but we/he and the selectors need to get their heads around the fact that he is not a bowler any more and as a result he needs to become part of the batting line up and the bowling line up needs to be chosen without him.

What a bizarre passage of play that was. No Harbajhan and Patel bowling way wide of off stump, over after over.

It was almost as though India suddenly decided that, no, they didn't want to win this game after all. Why they might want to do something like that I wouldn't like to speculate.

One of my favourite NZ cricketers of all time was a thinking player, a good batsman who captained and bowled slow. Vettori also fits those criteria now.

You miss Geoff Howarth too?

It was almost as though India suddenly decided that, no, they didn't want to win this game after all. Why they might want to do something like that I wouldn't like to speculate.

Crossed my mind that I didn't want to speculate about it either. It was bizarre, though.

The simple fact is that Vettori has an average of 40 as a bowler since his back injury all those years ago.

I'm not sure it's quite that simple. Since Vettori came back from injury in November 2001, he's taken 187 wickets at 34.08. Interestingly, his strike-rate during that period is marginally better than his strike-rate over the whole of his career.

Vettori's bowling average last dipped under 30 in his sixth test match, back in 1997. I think what this indicates is that he's a bowler who has never really delivered on his reputation or early promise, statistically speaking.

No, it’s not what you’re thinking. Too much money in the game these days to let the bookmakers get their hands into matches like this anymore.

More down to Indian bravado (setting silly score, then expecting Franklin to bat like he’s 10 grades below them) than anything else.

Either that or their famous BCCI Jumbo has got held up in Singapore or something.

Vettori's bowling average last dipped under 30 in his sixth test match, back in 1997. I think what this indicates is that he's a bowler who has never really delivered on his reputation or early promise, statistically speaking.

Funny thing is, way back, people used to say he wasn't a one-day bowler, and there's no doubting his record there ...

Funny thing is, way back, people used to say he wasn't a one-day bowler, and there's no doubting his record there ...

Sadly, that's not a coincidence.

I know whch Daniel Vettori, spin bowler, I'd rather have.

__I wouldn't say Vettori isn't a spin bowler. He just doesn't spin it much any more.__

Um he can't spin the ball but he is still a spin bowler????

Did the insertion of the word 'much' confuse you there?

And to rub salt into the wounds of the Vettori situation, Sachin comes on to bowl and immediately gets it turning sideways.