NZ v Australia Test series

[swooperman]

Just had a look on Stan James & the odds on offer for this series are: Australia 1/8 New Zealand 14/1 Drawn series 11/2 The 1st test odds are: Australia 4/9 New Zealand 10/1 Draw 2/1 Now Australia have just won the 1-day series 5-0, they won in Australia against NZ last year 2-0, & they won 3-0 last time they toured NZ, so obviously they deserve to be overwhelming favourites, but 10/1 does seem a little long. The three tests are @ Christchurch, Wellington & Auckland. Tests in NZ tend to be relatively low-scoring affairs & unless badly rain affected there doesnt seem to be many draws, & added to that the 1st & 3rd tests are drop-in pitches. Drop-in pitches tend to be ok in Australia but NZ have struggled with them a lot more, & the point I'm getting to is that surely makes the toss more important. The best example of this is in 2001/2, England scored 228, NZ 147, England then totalled 468-6, setting NZ 550 to win, but the pitch had improved during the match to an extent that Nathan Astle scored 222 off 168 balls & NZ only lost by 99!! That pitch started wetter than normal as the groundsman was worried about it holding together, more so as a D-I-Pitch. I'm not by any means suggesting NZ would win in a straight fight, I just think 10/1 may be too long when the toss could influence so much. I'll get more info & come back tomorrow

[swooperman]

Re: NZ v Australia Test series Ok, prepare to be bored: 1st Test - Christchurch - Jade Stadium (formerly Lancaster Park) 10-14/3/05 Overall test record - matches-38, won batting 1st-13, won batting 2nd-9, tied-0, drawn-16. NZ v AUS - matches-5, won batting 1st-2, won batting 2nd-1, drawn-2. NZv AUS: 73/4. AUS 223 & 259. NZ 255 & 230-5. NZ won by 5 wkts. 76/7. AUS 552 & 154-4. NZ 357 & 293-8. drawn. 81/2. AUS 353 & 69-2. NZ 149 & 272 following on. AUS won by 8 wkts. 85/6. AUS 364 & 219-7. NZ 339 & 16-1. drawn. 92/3. AUS 485. NZ 182 & 243 following on. AUS wo by inns & 60 runs. Recent tests: 2001/2. ENG 228 (Hussain 106) & 468-6 (Thorpe 200, Flintoff 137) NZ 147 (Hoggard 7-63) & 451 (Astle 222, Caddick 6-122) ENG won by 98 runs. 2000/1. NZ 476 (Sinclair 204*) & 196-1. PAK 571-8d (Inzaman 130, Youhana 203, Saqlain 101*) drawn. The average runs per wicket here are 30.89. Breakdown is: 1st wicket-30.66, 2nd wkt-29.6, 3rd-28.8, 4th-28.8. The last 5 tests here the innings scores have gone: 228 - 147 - 468-6 - 451. 476 - 571-8 - 196-1. 168 - 442-1 - 127-1. 346 - 228 - 186 - 307-6. 208 - 286 - 434 - 195. The reason I have highlighted these is that in recent years the wicket seems to improve noticeably as the match progresses, which surely must mean that having a bet on the highest opening partnership of the side batting second is worth a look, straight after the toss. I just think that a scenario of NZ winning the toss, inserting Australia, bowling them out relatively cheaply & then making use of an improving wicket has to make odds of 10/1 look very long............(thin, very thin!) There have been 6 scores over 500 here, & 5 over 550 (none by NZ). The highest score is 580-9 by England 1991/2. NZs HS is 476 v PAK 2000/1. 3 scores under 100 (2 by ENG in same match in 1983/4, 82 & 93.....batted!!) There have been 9 double hundred scored here (is that right? must be small) 10 wickets have been taken in a test 4 times. Notable personal records: Nathan Astle 4m, 302r @ 50.33 Hadlee 14m, 76w @ 21.51 :eek (for comparison only). 2nd Test - Wellington, Basin Reserve - 18-22/03/05. This is a normal 'in-situ' pitch, not a drop-in. Overall tests - matches-42, won batting 1st-6, won batting 2nd-19, tied-0, drawn-17. NZ v AUS - matches-7, won batting 1st-0, won batting second-3, drawn-4. NZ v AUS: 45/6. NZ 42 & 54. AUS 199-8d. AUS won by inns & 103 73/4. AUS 511-6 & 460-8. NZ 484. drawn. 81/2. NZ 266-7. AUS 85-1. drawn 85/6. AUS 435. NZ 376-6. drawn. 89/90. AUS 110 & 269. NZ 202 & 181-1. NZ by 9 wkts. 92/3. NZ 329 & 210-7. AUS 298. drawn. 99/2000. NZ 298 & 294. AUS 419 & 177-4. AUS by 6 wkts. Recent tests: 2002/3. IND 161 & 121. NZ 247 & 36-0. NZ by 10 wkts. 2003/4. NZ 297 & 252. SA 316 & 234-4. SA by 6 wkts. 2003/4. NZ 366 & 103. PAK 196 & 277-3. PAK by 7 wkts. There have been 8 scores over 500 (5 x NZ). HS 671-4 NZ v SL 90/1. 5 scores under 100, but none since 1982/3. Notable personal records: Astle 9m, 637r, HS 141, 1x100, avg 53.08 Fleming 12m, 556r, HS 67, avg 27.8 Vettori 11m, 29w @ 40.96 Warne 2m, 11w @ 24.36 Hadlee 12m, 53w @ 20.28 C Cairns 9m, 27w @ 31.66 (the last 2 for comparison only) 3rd Test - Auckland, Eden Park - 26-30/03/05. This is another drop-in pitch as this mainly a rugby ground, it is made from Kakliani soil from Ooamuru. Overall tests - matches-45, won batting 1st-11, won batting 2nd-11, drawn-23. NZ v AUS - matches-6, won batting 1st-2, won batting 2nd-4, drawn-0. Average per wicket - 31.55. 1st-34.0, 2nd-32.3, 3rd-29.4, 4th-26.8. NZ v AUS: 73/4. AUS 221 & 346. NZ 112 & 158. AUS by 298 runs. 76/7. NZ 229 & 175. AUS 377 & 28-0. AUS by 10 wkts. 81/2. AUS 210 & 280. NZ 387 & 109-5. NZ by 5 wkts. 85/6. AUS 314 & 103. NZ 258 & 160-2. NZ by 8 wkts. 92/3. AUS 139 & 285. NZ 224 & 201-5. NZ by 5 wkts. 99/2000. AUS 214 & 229. NZ 163 & 218. AUS by 63 runs. Recent tests: 2003/4. SA 296 & 349. NZ 595 & 51-0. NZ by 10 wkts. 2001/2. NZ 202 & 269-9. ENG 160 & 233. NZ by 79 runs 2000/1. PAK 346 & 336-5. NZ 252 & 131. PAK by 300 runs. Notable personal records: Astle 7m, 497rs, HS 114, 2x100, avg 45.18 Fleming 8m, 445rs, HS 129, 1x100, avg 31.78 Vettori 5m, 14 wkts @ 31.21