Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Mahdirakib]

All thanks to Root and Potts the English side one the first test out of three. Newzealand lost the match because of poor batting. I never expected them to get wiped out by just getting a lead of 277 runs. These two Mitchell and Blundell were batting so good that I assumed they will stay on the pitch the next day till they both help Newzealand getting a good lead of more than 300 runs. They lost because the batters were not able to handle the pitch. Looking forward to the next test match.

Joe Root really deserves the credit for this victory. But New Zealand hasn't lost the match for their poor batting performance. The pitch wasn't friendly for batting. And new ball was helping the fast bowlers to make the swing perfectly. We have also seen the collapse of England batting lineup in the first innings. Day 4 started with the old ball. As a result, the fast bowlers weren't able to make much variance in their bowling. A new ball could have changed the game. England lost their first 4 wickets quickly in the second innings. Then they turned the game on their favour with the batting performance of Joe Root and Ben Stokes.

[JSRAW]

All thanks to Root and Potts the English side one the first test out of three. Newzealand lost the match because of poor batting. I never expected them to get wiped out by just getting a lead of 277 runs. These two Mitchell and Blundell were batting so good that I assumed they will stay on the pitch the next day till they both help Newzealand getting a good lead of more than 300 runs. They lost because the batters were not able to handle the pitch. Looking forward to the next test match.

Joe Root really deserves the credit for this victory. But New Zealand hasn't lost the match for their poor batting performance. The pitch wasn't friendly for batting. And new ball was helping the fast bowlers to make the swing perfectly. We have also seen the collapse of England batting lineup in the first innings. Day 4 started with the old ball. As a result, the fast bowlers weren't able to make much variance in their bowling. A new ball could have changed the game. England lost their first 4 wickets quickly in the second innings. Then they turned the game on their favour with the batting performance of Joe Root and Ben Stokes.

I was rooting for the Kiwis throughout this test match because it's more fun when BIG-3 lose the match due to meltdown.

Having said that, Rooty is continuing with his dream form, youngest guy to reach 10k runs along with Cook is not easy feat in any way, although Poms play tons of Test match every year so it's manageable for talented ones. I used to criticise him a lot due to his conversion rate but after so many years this guy is going strong and i wish he continue to serve the test cricket for at least next 3-4 years.

[teosanru]

All thanks to Root and Potts the English side one the first test out of three. Newzealand lost the match because of poor batting. I never expected them to get wiped out by just getting a lead of 277 runs. These two Mitchell and Blundell were batting so good that I assumed they will stay on the pitch the next day till they both help Newzealand getting a good lead of more than 300 runs. They lost because the batters were not able to handle the pitch. Looking forward to the next test match.

Joe Root really deserves the credit for this victory. But New Zealand hasn't lost the match for their poor batting performance. The pitch wasn't friendly for batting. And new ball was helping the fast bowlers to make the swing perfectly. We have also seen the collapse of England batting lineup in the first innings. Day 4 started with the old ball. As a result, the fast bowlers weren't able to make much variance in their bowling. A new ball could have changed the game. England lost their first 4 wickets quickly in the second innings. Then they turned the game on their favour with the batting performance of Joe Root and Ben Stokes.

I was rooting for the Kiwis throughout this test match because it's more fun when BIG-3 lose the match due to meltdown.

Having said that, Rooty is continuing with his dream form, youngest guy to reach 10k runs along with Cook is not easy feat in any way, although Poms play tons of Test match every year so it's manageable for talented ones. I used to criticise him a lot due to his conversion rate but after so many years this guy is going strong and i wish he continue to serve the test cricket for at least next 3-4 years.

I think Root is one batsman from England who has really played consistently for the team without being dropped or anything. If you see English cricket history there have been a lot of good batsmen but all of them had been great for just some time in their career but Root who is barely 31 at this point in time can really become an English Legend, having Said that I doubt NZ  gave a tough competition to Eng it was just Root who made them Win

[eaLiTy]

All thanks to Root and Potts the English side one the first test out of three. Newzealand lost the match because of poor batting. I never expected them to get wiped out by just getting a lead of 277 runs. These two Mitchell and Blundell were batting so good that I assumed they will stay on the pitch the next day till they both help Newzealand getting a good lead of more than 300 runs. They lost because the batters were not able to handle the pitch. Looking forward to the next test match.

Joe Root really deserves the credit for this victory. But New Zealand hasn't lost the match for their poor batting performance. The pitch wasn't friendly for batting. And new ball was helping the fast bowlers to make the swing perfectly. We have also seen the collapse of England batting lineup in the first innings. Day 4 started with the old ball. As a result, the fast bowlers weren't able to make much variance in their bowling. A new ball could have changed the game. England lost their first 4 wickets quickly in the second innings. Then they turned the game on their favour with the batting performance of Joe Root and Ben Stokes.

I was rooting for the Kiwis throughout this test match because it's more fun when BIG-3 lose the match due to meltdown.

Having said that, Rooty is continuing with his dream form, youngest guy to reach 10k runs along with Cook is not easy feat in any way, although Poms play tons of Test match every year so it's manageable for talented ones. I used to criticise him a lot due to his conversion rate but after so many years this guy is going strong and i wish he continue to serve the test cricket for at least next 3-4 years.

I think Root is one batsman from England who has really played consistently for the team without being dropped or anything. If you see English cricket history there have been a lot of good batsmen but all of them had been great for just some time in their career but Root who is barely 31 at this point in time can really become an English Legend, having Said that I doubt NZ  gave a tough competition to Eng it was just Root who made them Win

Do not forget the bowlers, they were the highlight performers for the first two days and once New Zealand missed the opportunity to score a good lead, the match was in the balance and then the odds started to change and i wanted to place a bet on England but skipped knowing their first innings collapse and England won the match without loosing a wicket today.

[LittleBitFunny]

All thanks to Root and Potts the English side one the first test out of three. Newzealand lost the match because of poor batting. I never expected them to get wiped out by just getting a lead of 277 runs. These two Mitchell and Blundell were batting so good that I assumed they will stay on the pitch the next day till they both help Newzealand getting a good lead of more than 300 runs. They lost because the batters were not able to handle the pitch. Looking forward to the next test match.

Joe Root really deserves the credit for this victory. But New Zealand hasn't lost the match for their poor batting performance. The pitch wasn't friendly for batting. And new ball was helping the fast bowlers to make the swing perfectly. We have also seen the collapse of England batting lineup in the first innings. Day 4 started with the old ball. As a result, the fast bowlers weren't able to make much variance in their bowling. A new ball could have changed the game. England lost their first 4 wickets quickly in the second innings. Then they turned the game on their favour with the batting performance of Joe Root and Ben Stokes.

I was rooting for the Kiwis throughout this test match because it's more fun when BIG-3 lose the match due to meltdown.
Having said that, Rooty is continuing with his dream form, youngest guy to reach 10k runs along with Cook is not easy feat in any way, although Poms play tons of Test match every year so it's manageable for talented ones. I used to criticise him a lot due to his conversion rate but after so many years this guy is going strong and i wish he continue to serve the test cricket for at least next 3-4 years.

I think Root is one batsman from England who has really played consistently for the team without being dropped or anything. If you see English cricket history there have been a lot of good batsmen but all of them had been great for just some time in their career but Root who is barely 31 at this point in time can really become an English Legend, having Said that I doubt NZ  gave a tough competition to Eng it was just Root who made them Win

Do not forget the bowlers, they were the highlight performers for the first two days and once New Zealand missed the opportunity to score a good lead, the match was in the balance and then the odds started to change and i wanted to place a bet on England but skipped knowing their first innings collapse and England won the match without loosing a wicket today.

If New Zealand could have given more than 300 targets, they could have won the match. With the exception of Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell, no other player in the New Zealand squad has played well. The rest of the batsmen could not stay at the crease for long after the fall of New Zealand's fifth wicket. On the other hand, Root and Foakes performed very well. If the New Zealand bowlers had been able to take wickets early in the fourth day, perhaps the match would have been under their control.

[KennyR]

What a game, 141 runs in the first innings and winning the match by 5 wickets is really a big thing. Even in the second innings England lost 5 wickets for 159 runs. If a wicket have fallen New Zealand would've taken a chance. It was Joe Root and Foakes were the key person, because even when one is scoring the other end needs to give support. Foakes did it perfectly and the match have got over in the first session of day 4. Anyhow England have got some home ground advantage, because even with a new ball wicket haven't fallen in today's session.

[Sithara007]

Foakes played a very important role yesterday. If he was not there, then things would have got difficult for England. Because their tail was very long. But he played responsibly and provided good support for Joe Root. New Zealand bowlers on the other hand failed once more while playing under pressure. And this is true especially in the case of Kyle Jamieson. I have noticed that he loses his length and rhythm, as soon as things doesn't go as expected. New Zealand are now up by 1-0, but two more matches remain in this series. 

[onecall123]

Foakes played a very important role yesterday. If he was not there, then things would have got difficult for England. Because their tail was very long. But he played responsibly and provided good support for Joe Root. New Zealand bowlers on the other hand failed once more while playing under pressure. And this is true especially in the case of Kyle Jamieson. I have noticed that he loses his length and rhythm, as soon as things doesn't go as expected. New Zealand are now up by 1-0, but two more matches remain in this series. 

With 5 wickets in hand, England easily chased down the total. At one point, however, it seemed that the visiting team had the upper hand. New Zealand's dream is shattered by a solid partnership between Root and new wicket-keeper batsmen Ben Foakes. In this series there are still two matches to be played, so it may be possible to restore balance soon. It would be nice if England won to silence New Zealand.

[JSRAW]

All thanks to Root and Potts the English side one the first test out of three. Newzealand lost the match because of poor batting. I never expected them to get wiped out by just getting a lead of 277 runs. These two Mitchell and Blundell were batting so good that I assumed they will stay on the pitch the next day till they both help Newzealand getting a good lead of more than 300 runs. They lost because the batters were not able to handle the pitch. Looking forward to the next test match.

Joe Root really deserves the credit for this victory. But New Zealand hasn't lost the match for their poor batting performance. The pitch wasn't friendly for batting. And new ball was helping the fast bowlers to make the swing perfectly. We have also seen the collapse of England batting lineup in the first innings. Day 4 started with the old ball. As a result, the fast bowlers weren't able to make much variance in their bowling. A new ball could have changed the game. England lost their first 4 wickets quickly in the second innings. Then they turned the game on their favour with the batting performance of Joe Root and Ben Stokes.

I was rooting for the Kiwis throughout this test match because it's more fun when BIG-3 lose the match due to meltdown.

Having said that, Rooty is continuing with his dream form, youngest guy to reach 10k runs along with Cook is not easy feat in any way, although Poms play tons of Test match every year so it's manageable for talented ones. I used to criticise him a lot due to his conversion rate but after so many years this guy is going strong and i wish he continue to serve the test cricket for at least next 3-4 years.

I think Root is one batsman from England who has really played consistently for the team without being dropped or anything. If you see English cricket history there have been a lot of good batsmen but all of them had been great for just some time in their career but Root who is barely 31 at this point in time can really become an English Legend, having Said that I doubt NZ  gave a tough competition to Eng it was just Root who made them Win

Not commenting on last match's perspective but solely Batriarchy.

He's still behind Cook for at least 2500 runs and i believe he's not going to break his own record ever (last year God-Like form), he might score 700-900ish run per calendar as England play more than 20 tests but surely it won't be 2020-21 Root. Having said that if he keeps playing for next 4-5 years with same form (which is tough af) then he'll be consider legend.

Same thing happened with Kohli, Smith, Williamson. All of them touched new heights (especially Kohli and Smith) and peaked drastically and now going down in their career. Babar-Marnus should lead this decade as far as test cricket goes.  

[DanWalker]

Foakes played a very important role yesterday. If he was not there, then things would have got difficult for England. Because their tail was very long. But he played responsibly and provided good support for Joe Root. New Zealand bowlers on the other hand failed once more while playing under pressure. And this is true especially in the case of Kyle Jamieson. I have noticed that he loses his length and rhythm, as soon as things doesn't go as expected. New Zealand are now up by 1-0, but two more matches remain in this series. 

With 5 wickets in hand, England easily chased down the total. At one point, however, it seemed that the visiting team had the upper hand. New Zealand's dream is shattered by a solid partnership between Root and new wicket-keeper batsmen Ben Foakes. In this series there are still two matches to be played, so it may be possible to restore balance soon. It would be nice if England won to silence New Zealand.

One of the biggest reasons why they won the match was because they had all the time in hand. So, the New Zealand bowling lineup could not possibly rush them into scoring faster. And that's what the England batsman did. They took their sweet time scoring the 61 runs. And it was very important that they did not lose any early wickets because that could have made things turn around in the match. Before the match started I actually expected England to win but after the collapse, I thought New Zealand might have a chance.

[Iranus]

Not commenting on last match's perspective but solely Batriarchy.

He's still behind Cook for at least 2500 runs and i believe he's not going to break his own record ever (last year God-Like form), he might score 700-900ish run per calendar as England play more than 20 tests but surely it won't be 2020-21 Root. Having said that if he keeps playing for next 4-5 years with same form (which is tough af) then he'll be consider legend.

Same thing happened with Kohli, Smith, Williamson. All of them touched new heights (especially Kohli and Smith) and peaked drastically and now going down in their career. Babar-Marnus should lead this decade as far as test cricket goes.  

About test cricket, I am really not sure at all what is going to happen because these players are obviously great test players and there is no doubt about that. But the problem is I think we might see less and less test matches being played in the future. Because test cricket is not doing really great even though a lot of people are going to say otherwise. And whatever ICC has tried did not work.

They have said that the test world championship and also the nighttime test cricket is going to make it more popular but that did not happen. I was a little interested in Pink Ball cricket but honestly, I don't have the time to watch test cricket and I think that is the case for a lot of people.

I said all those things because no one knows what is going to happen in the next 4 or 5 years.

By the way, I think obviously, it is going to be hard for him to break his own record but it is obviously not impossible. If he can play really well in the next 5 years I think he will be considered a legend but I honestly don't see that happening.

[JSRAW]

Not commenting on last match's perspective but solely Batriarchy.

He's still behind Cook for at least 2500 runs and i believe he's not going to break his own record ever (last year God-Like form), he might score 700-900ish run per calendar as England play more than 20 tests but surely it won't be 2020-21 Root. Having said that if he keeps playing for next 4-5 years with same form (which is tough af) then he'll be consider legend.

Same thing happened with Kohli, Smith, Williamson. All of them touched new heights (especially Kohli and Smith) and peaked drastically and now going down in their career. Babar-Marnus should lead this decade as far as test cricket goes.  

About test cricket, I am really not sure at all what is going to happen because these players are obviously great test players and there is no doubt about that. But the problem is I think we might see less and less test matches being played in the future. Because test cricket is not doing really great even though a lot of people are going to say otherwise. And whatever ICC has tried did not work.

They have said that the test world championship and also the nighttime test cricket is going to make it more popular but that did not happen. I was a little interested in Pink Ball cricket but honestly, I don't have the time to watch test cricket and I think that is the case for a lot of people.

I said all those things because no one knows what is going to happen in the next 4 or 5 years.

By the way, I think obviously, it is going to be hard for him to break his own record but it is obviously not impossible. If he can play really well in the next 5 years I think he will be considered a legend but I honestly don't see that happening.

Virtually no doubts among fans be it anti kohli etc or not.

Yes i agree on overall sentiment that, from next decade or so only few countries will play the test match/ long series (4-5 test match/ BIG 3). Smaller board can hardly sustain the big series, 99% of times it's loss making series unless they are up against big-3.

I like to believe that it's better if we play longer format of game among few countries but at the same time i want 16-20 or 24 teams wc.

[YinShuiSiYuan]

With 5 wickets in hand, England easily chased down the total. At one point, however, it seemed that the visiting team had the upper hand. New Zealand's dream is shattered by a solid partnership between Root and new wicket-keeper batsmen Ben Foakes. In this series there are still two matches to be played, so it may be possible to restore balance soon. It would be nice if England won to silence New Zealand.

Test cricket can defiantly revive if we have interesting test matches like this where 20 wickets fell on one single day. From New zeland side only Mitchel and Tom Blundell were the two batsmen who score runs rest of the batting line up collapsed in both teams. Result of the match would be in favor of New zeland if they have lead of 50 more runs.

[Haunebu]

Test cricket can defiantly revive if we have interesting test matches like this where 20 wickets fell on one single day. From New zeland side only Mitchel and Tom Blundell were the two batsmen who score runs rest of the batting line up collapsed in both teams. Result of the match would be in favor of New zeland if they have lead of 50 more runs.

It basically becomes a T-20 or ODI at that point which is why Test Cricket will continue dying in my opinion. Was never really a fan of tests to be honest which is why I won't miss them.

ODIs are also becoming less relevant and they might die at some point in the future too. Both these formats will probably be completely replaced by T-10 and T-20 formats which would be a great change overall.

[Sithara007]

It basically becomes a T-20 or ODI at that point which is why Test Cricket will continue dying in my opinion. Was never really a fan of tests to be honest which is why I won't miss them.

ODIs are also becoming less relevant and they might die at some point in the future too. Both these formats will probably be completely replaced by T-10 and T-20 formats which would be a great change overall.

I agree. Already test cricket is on it's deathbed and very soon ODI will be facing that fate. That said, I am horrified with the prospect of T10 replacing ODI cricket. IMO, T10 is not cricket. It is more like baseball. I am OK with the T20 format, but definitely not OK with T10. Why can't we ban this god forsaken format for the general wellbeing of cricket? If the ICC want matches to be reduced to 10 overs per side, then they should reduce the number of players from 11 to 6. Imagine this, 11 guys having a total of 10 overs. That is less than one over per player. Definitely not fair.

[Minecache]

It basically becomes a T-20 or ODI at that point which is why Test Cricket will continue dying in my opinion. Was never really a fan of tests to be honest which is why I won't miss them.

ODIs are also becoming less relevant and they might die at some point in the future too. Both these formats will probably be completely replaced by T-10 and T-20 formats which would be a great change overall.

I agree. Already test cricket is on it's deathbed and very soon ODI will be facing that fate. That said, I am horrified with the prospect of T10 replacing ODI cricket. IMO, T10 is not cricket. It is more like baseball. I am OK with the T20 format, but definitely not OK with T10. Why can't we ban this god forsaken format for the general wellbeing of cricket? If the ICC want matches to be reduced to 10 overs per side, then they should reduce the number of players from 11 to 6. Imagine this, 11 guys having a total of 10 overs. That is less than one over per player. Definitely not fair.

I am also not a very big fan of test cricket but I really like to see the skill that is needed to play well in test cricket. In the t20 format, skill is hardly needed in my opinion. I want to see that one-day international cricket never dies, that is the most basic format of cricket. But it does look like what happened to test cricket is going to happen to ODI cricket also and there is nothing anyone will be able to do about it. But I really hope it doesn't get shorter than t20. Because then we will see 11 batsmen in a team or 11 bowlers.

[Haunebu]

IMO, T10 is not cricket. It is more like baseball. I am OK with the T20 format, but definitely not OK with T10. Why can't we ban this god forsaken format for the general wellbeing of cricket? If the ICC want matches to be reduced to 10 overs per side, then they should reduce the number of players from 11 to 6. Imagine this, 11 guys having a total of 10 overs. That is less than one over per player. Definitely not fair.

Understandable. However, I feel that T-10 format could attract a bigger audience primarily due to the length of the games. Many people don't even have time to fully watch T-20 games from start to finish which is where the T-10 format comes into the picture.

It would definitely feel unfair at first, but I am confident that viewers would get used to it pretty quickly.

[n0ne]

IMO, T10 is not cricket. It is more like baseball. I am OK with the T20 format, but definitely not OK with T10. Why can't we ban this god forsaken format for the general wellbeing of cricket? If the ICC want matches to be reduced to 10 overs per side, then they should reduce the number of players from 11 to 6. Imagine this, 11 guys having a total of 10 overs. That is less than one over per player. Definitely not fair.

Understandable. However, I feel that T-10 format could attract a bigger audience primarily due to the length of the games. Many people don't even have time to fully watch T-20 games from start to finish which is where the T-10 format comes into the picture.

It would definitely feel unfair at first, but I am confident that viewers would get used to it pretty quickly.

This is true, at the beginning it won't be that attractive and with time this will gain importance. On the other side this is pure destruction of real cricket. With the start of these games, test matches will lose its importance. Just think of the scoring pattern, players will just try to make more aggressive shots than perfect shots. In T-20 matches we can see some balls reaching boundaries and sixes which weren't expected by the batsman himself.

[Sithara007]

Understandable. However, I feel that T-10 format could attract a bigger audience primarily due to the length of the games. Many people don't even have time to fully watch T-20 games from start to finish which is where the T-10 format comes into the picture.

It would definitely feel unfair at first, but I am confident that viewers would get used to it pretty quickly.

In the end, the viewers will get whatever they want. Even for the T10 format, the total duration (90-100 minutes) is slightly longer than a standard football match or a game of field hockey. In the future, T10 may become the preferred format and T20 may face the same fate as that of test cricket and ODI. Nowadays viewers want maximum action within a short duration, and T10 is very much suited for that purpose. And who knows? It may make cricket more popular in markets such as USA and Japan, where baseball is dominant.

[JSRAW]

Understandable. However, I feel that T-10 format could attract a bigger audience primarily due to the length of the games. Many people don't even have time to fully watch T-20 games from start to finish which is where the T-10 format comes into the picture.

It would definitely feel unfair at first, but I am confident that viewers would get used to it pretty quickly.

In the end, the viewers will get whatever they want. Even for the T10 format, the total duration (90-100 minutes) is slightly longer than a standard football match or a game of field hockey. In the future, T10 may become the preferred format and T20 may face the same fate as that of test cricket and ODI. Nowadays viewers want maximum action within a short duration, and T10 is very much suited for that purpose. And who knows? It may make cricket more popular in markets such as USA and Japan, where baseball is dominant.

ICC chief also mentioned similar thingy in his recent interview but his focus was more on T-20, it's the shorter format which subsidize the test cricket, he also hinted that new countries should forget about playing test matches as it's already loss making affair for the most of the Test playing nations.