Cricket

By the same token, at least we are not seeing scores of 600+ plus on roads where bowlers don’t have much of a chance and matches petering out to the inevitable draw because no side had a hope of getting 20 wickets, that’s pretty boring to watch too.

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As you say, Dunedin is full of students - plus it was O-Week (orientation/week before uni starts proper) so guaranteed crowd.

Not that hard to take a day of annual leave or half-day it though…

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From the NRL broadcasting rights thread. Seven seems to still be looking to get out of their contract with CA.

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And possibly all pissed. :stuck_out_tongue: I know I was during O Week.

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Absolutely. They used to burn couches in Dunedin on the terraces at the cricke tin the 1990s, think they’ve calmed down a bit since then though

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Which means game 4 of the T20 series against Australia, scheduled for Auckland next Friday (March 5), is now under a cloud.
For the seven days from tomorrow (February 28), Auckland will be in level 3 while the rest of NZ will be in level 2 under the country’s COVID alert system. Sporting events can’t take place under level 3, while fans won’t be allowed into sporting events under level 2.

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I imagine they will just play with no crowd?

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Indeed.

It also means Wellington will host game 3 and game 4 of the Twenty20 series.

UPDATE 1/3: the fifth and final game will also be played in Wellington.

UPDATE 2/3: the fifth and final game at Wellington will start early so the Aussies can take a chartered flight home after the match.

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Australia bounced back to form tonight, beating New Zealand by 64 runs in Wellington to keep the T20 series alive. Ashton Agar was named player of the match for taking 6/30, the best figures by an Australian in men’s T20 internationals, including three wickets in the 13th over. Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell both scored 50s. One of Maxwell’s sixes was so big that the ball smashed an empty seat in the stadium.

After the match Maxwell signed the broken seat which would be auctioned on TradeMe, with proceeds going to Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust.

New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals and were rarely in the contest. Riley Meredith, who made his T20I debut for Australia, chipped in with two wickets.

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Really good of Maxwell to do that. Great idea!

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A hat trick in 1 over, and 36 runs (6 sixes) off the next…

That’s going from one extreme to another!

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Kieron Pollard is the eighth player in history to score 6 sixes in one over in domestic or international cricket. The following article shows the first seven.

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West Indies smashed Sri Lanka by 4 wickets with 6.5 overs to spare. Sri Lankan player, Akila Dananjaya took a hat trick dismissing Lewis, Gayle and Pooran. Believe it or not, Kieron POllard hit six sixes in one over off the bowling of Akila Dananjaya. Akila Dananjaya conceded 62 runs off 4 overs. Kieran Pollard became the 2nd batsman to hit six sixes in one over in T20s.

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Australia have levelled the 5-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand with another big win in Wellington, this time by 50 runs. Again batting first, the Aussies could only manage 6/156 from their 20 overs, with captain Aaron Finch contributing to half of his team’s score with 79. Like game 3 on Wednesday, NZ’s run chase never got out of second gear, losing wickets at regular intervals, with bowler Kyle Jamieson their top scorer with 30.

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On the other hand, England are in their 2nd innings and are trailing 6/74 on Day 3. I felt that England have thrown away their chances and lost wickets.
It will more likely be India v NZ in the WTC Final at Lords, London in mid 2021.

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UPDATE: India have booked themselves in the ICC World Test Championship Final after beating England by an innings and 25 runs in Ahmedabad. In fact, India have won the series over England 3-1. Rishabh Pant was Man of the Match for his 101 off 118, while Ravi Ashwin for his 32 wickets in the Series.
England started off well, winning the first test, however during the second test, the wheels fell off for the English team. England simply couldn’t capitalise on their success in India and simply threw away their chances during the 3rd test.
India will face New Zealand in the World Test Championship Final in Lords, London. Who will win the Final?

  • India
  • New Zealand
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Where India have transformed their game in the last 6 months is their lower order batting.

Pant and Ashwin have improved and are more consistent, and Sundar has been a real find for them.

You used to be be pretty confident that India would lose their last 4 wickets for not many, but you couldn’t say that now.

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How did England play so badly after winning the series in Sri Lanka and claiming the first test in India? After all, pitches in Sri Lanka and India are similar.

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India asked for pitches to be changed after ’ a flat ’ pitch that resulted in a big english score and ended up being an England win and

Pitches should be managed by the ICC NOT hosting boards especially the BCCI

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It’s no different to Australia having fast and bouncy wickets particularly in Perth and Brisbane, because that’s what we are used to and we do well on.

India never used to do well in Australia until recent years, and similarly other countries need to prepare their batters for the slower and lower wickets they play on in India.

It’s essentially still the same pitch for both teams, so I think here’s no point in visiting teams complaining about it.

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