New Zealand trip 2008
On to day three of the cricket (Saturday 15th), and Lynne got a good shot of Stuart Broad practising his batting in the temporary nets. Not sure what's happened to his middle stump, though.
We had a good shot of any fielders who wandered our way, including Jacob Oram ("Boring, boring Oram" was the catchy song sung by the Barmy Army, mainly because of the 20 maidens he bowled in the match and the generally stingy run rate he conceded).
Here is Dan Vettori in (spinning) action, but alas without success, as England reached a relatively comfortable 106-1 at lunch.
We were again allowed on the pitch during the lunch break, so I handed control of the camera to Lynne, who captured this apparent mismatch. Good stance, though.
We played a game of keepy-uppy with a tennis ball, which has a name that I can't quite recall right now; we being me, Ste Dillea (both hatted), Chris Hurst (a friend of Ste) and someone else in our group (facing, I think).
This Robin looks a bit like Rodney Trotter, weirdly.
This is an excellent shot, with a slip cordon of superheroes and men dressed as women.
The grass bank was particularly busy on the Saturday, with the ground seemingly a complete sell-out. The balance of England and New Zealand fans was much more even during the weekend.
Proof if proof be needed that Oram can bowl tightly. This was one of his many maiden overs, as mentioned earlier.
This guy was brilliant. On the first day or two, he wandered past the Barmy Army a few times and prompted some shouts of Colonel Sanders, he of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. As a result, he donned this T-shirt on the Saturday, which reads "Sure I could tell you the recipe. But then I have to kill you." It went down well with the Barmy Army crowd.
This is the life of a fielder (Chris Martin - no, not that one) in the deep. First, look attentive...
...then wander back to your mark and eye up the crowd.
Again, the heat became too much (a part of my forehead was starting to blister!) and we headed round the other side of the ground for some shade. It also enabled different photo angles.
Back at the Barmy Army, Jimmy had been accompanied by a spitting image of Ryan Sidebottom. To the tune of Robin Hood (fittingly, since he plays for Nottinghamshire): "Sidebottom, Sidebottom, swings it through the air; Sidebottom, Sidebottom, with his curly hair. He bats at eight or nine, his hat-trick was sublime; Sidebottom, Sidebottom, Sidebottom." There were other version of this, with various (occasionally ruder) options used to rhyme with eight and nine, since his batting position changed as the series went on.
England pushed home their advantage, reaching 177-4 at tea, with Alastair Cook notching up 60, before being caught at slip by Fleming off the bowling of Kyle Mills. Having been run out by Chris Martin for 17, Kevin Pietersen sat on some steps and had a chat with some guy.
In desperate times, desperate measures are often sought. This New Zealander, seemingly enraged by the combination of a strong England performance, the relentlessness of the Barmy Army and the relatively placid nature of the New Zealand fans, took it upon himself to stir up some local passion. His tune, intended to rival the "Barmy Army" chant, was "Ki-wi! Ki-wi!" (or, in the New Zealand accent, "Kay-way! Kay-way!"). He did get some of the crowd to join in, but it soon fizzled out - meanwhile, the Barmy Army's chant continued unabated (and unaware of any supposed competition). England finished the day on 277-9, with a comfortable lead of 421, and with two full days left and the weather set fair. It did not look good for New Zealand.
Later that evening, some guy played his electric guitar on a pedestrianised street sufficiently well to prompt Lynne to make a donation.
On the same street, there was a strange water-tipping device.
It seemed that one could get money off buying Manchester. Bargain.
We went for a curry later that evening - we were to have four during our stay in New Zealand. The next morning, it wasn't clear whether this army of bikers was on the way to the cricket. Probably not.
Anderson and Monty Panesar hung around a little bit during the Sunday morning, entertaining the crowd with a few boundaries. Here they chat in between overs. England were eventually all out for 293, 437 runs ahead.
New Zealand soon started their innings and Sidebottom came bounding in...
...and then later he signed about a thousand autographs.
Ste and Robin discussed the finer points of cricket. Probably. Meanwhile, New Zealand moved steadily to 42-1 at lunch and 145-3 at tea.
New Zealand were on 218-5 when bad light stopped play. It wasn't a popular decision as the light seemed ok - but then we weren't facing 85mph deliveries. This prompted one of Jimmy's right hand men to hop onto the outfield and wave his cards around. First: "Av It!"
His other trick was to shout "Ey! Ey! Nooooo nonsense!".
The light improved slightly, however, and the players came back out. Unfortunately for New Zealand, the extra 11 overs on the pitch were sufficient for Sidebottom to dislodge Oram with the penultimate ball of the day. This prompted an unholy pile-on in the crowd. This is the aftermath of that action, featuring Ste, Mark and Robin.
That will do for now. Another page is needed for the rest of Wellington, I think.