Official Cricket Thread Part 104 off 31

[Vlad n U 2]

NZ chase down 276. My boy Williamson with another ton, Corey Anderson was good and Ronchi went berserk in the 47th over smashing sixes everywhere.

 

[Axver]

Stunning ending to the New Zealand vs Sri Lanka game. When Corey Anderson was run out, I thought the ball was in Sri Lanka's court - we needed eight an over, and though we had four wickets in hand, their bowling kept pinning us down every time we looked like making a charge. Herath was amazing, barely playable. But along came Luke Ronchi! We needed 25 off the last 18 balls when he let rip, smashing 24 off one Perera over. First ball of the next over, my man Vettori belted a four to bring up the win in style. Great stuff.

Also, really nice to see Nelson get some international sport. Spent a fair bit of time there, and although it seems nobody between the ages of 18 and 40 lives in the city, it's in a pleasant spot and is the great woulda-coulda-shoulda story of New Zealand history. It was our third city, founded after Wellington and Auckland, but has long since drifted to be of only regional relevance. But now they've got a picturesque little ground in Stoke between the bay and the mountains. Nelson rarely gets events of international significance, but the Windies played there last year, then Sri Lanka today and three World Cup fixtures to come.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

It's a lovely ground. The stands look quite nice (they're recent aren't they?) and of course you get the view of the hills in the background.

 

[Axver]

Yeah it's all very new, Trafalgar Park used to be the main ground in Nelson (and still is for rugby). I think the move happened about five years ago.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I was hoping this India v England match wouldn't be a blowout.

 

[Axver]

Epic lulz at India.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

They lost like 5 for 14.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Everybody, behold! HD highlights of AB's fastest hundred.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hksn2nYv36s

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Holy crap the Stars' run chase was amazing.

 

[Axver]

Why do all the incredible BBL chases happen when I'm either out of the country or at a gig.

 

[cobl04]

Even better was this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lh1MC0-A3M

 

[Axver]

Oh my god that's brilliant.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

NZ just turned the grave danger of 5/93 into 5/360.

Ronchi with 170, Elliott with 104.

 

[Axver]

Ahahahaha! Ronchi's 170 was off 99 too. Wow.

And I keep forgetting these are day games so I miss the first innings.

 

[dan_smee]

Ronchi scored 170? I'm lucky I didn't put that bet on SL to win the World Cup I was thinking about a month ago...

 

[dan_smee]

170 has to be the highest score ever by a number 7, surely?

Also, how is Matt henry not the first fast bowler picked for NZ. The kid is a massive talent, and has a phenominal record.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Ahahahaha! Ronchi's 170 was off 99 too. Wow.

And I keep forgetting these are day games so I miss the first innings.

He was hitting it so cleanly. In the zone.

 

[Axver]

Also, how is Matt henry not the first fast bowler picked for NZ. The kid is a massive talent, and has a phenominal record.

I've been wondering this too.

And you're right about Ronchi's 170 being a record for a number 7. The previous best was MS Dhoni's 139* in Asia XI vs Africa XI in 2007, or if we stick to normal games then Jos Buttler's 121 vs Sri Lanka last year.

Not sure if this link will work: Batting records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Moeen Ali hitting 3 sixes in a row. Last one Shaun Marsh caught it but was practically falling over the boundary rope.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

There's already a memorabilia set for Steve Smith in the last test series? Bloody hell.

 

[Axver]

Good grief! On both counts.

And Dilshan's got a century. Sri Lanka need ten runs an over to win from here, but Dilshan's set them up admirably and they've been picking up the pace. With eight wickets in hand this could go either way.

 

[Axver]

Jayawardene goes one over, and Dilshan the next! Crucial wickets, to put it lightly. Sri Lanka now 4/215, needing 146 off the remaining 13.4 overs - which means the required run rate is closing in on 11.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

NZ are definitely safe now. Even with Dilshan it would've required him to get 150+ plus somebody else to make a half century. I'd guess Sri Lanka will still try and go all out but eventually fall at about 280-290.

 

[Axver]

Kulasekara fell, third wicket in three overs! I'm definitely feeling more confident. While Dilshan was at the crease and Sri Lanka had eight wickets in hand, it felt they could launch for a T20-style slogathon. They need a miracle now.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

6 down now. Good stuff.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Williamson looked so dumbfounded taking that catch.

 

[Axver]

Five wickets in five overs!

 

[Vlad n U 2]

All done for 252. Too easy in the end. Pretty emphatic finish.

 

[Axver]

What a dismal collapse by Sri Lanka after all that work done by Dilshan. That said, New Zealand were lucky to have that epic Rochi/Elliott stand to even make the game competitive, let alone put it out of reach!

Now I can turn my attention to the England vs Australia game. Bell's on form today by the looks...

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I don't think there was very much Sri Lanka could do. They barely lost any wickets for their first 200 runs, and not having Angelo Matthews today wasn't much help to them. Even when they were going well their RR was always below the RRR. Though to say that the Sri Lankan lower order gave away their wickets much too cheaply would be accurate, but then they had little choice.

Surprised by England's performance so far.