England v New Zealand, 4th ODI, The Oval, 25th June

"Thanks skipper. Just the three runs to defend. No pressure, then..."

Make yer forecasts now- Who's gonna win?

I say Eng.

NZ....

Whattagame! 2 required off 2.

Even my dodgy stream is squeaking!

2 needed off 1. he cannot get a run!

NZ wins off a f*king overthrow!

No backup.

Thank god for that. Now there won't be too much crying over a meaningless knockabout match.

NZ win on a non-backup fiasco!

Poor Lukey!

Right result at least and ironic justice with the overthrow.

NZ win by 1 wicket: justice has been done

Worrah thrillah!!!!

All in all, this still was a fantastic game.

Brilliant.

Haha, how comical was that last ball?

Amateurish from England.

Didn't even bat out their own innings. What price an extra couple of runs?

Crap fielding, crap captaincy, crap.

Was a good ODI, though. Can't complain about a match that goes down to the last ball.

And I'm sure we're still "on track", so that's a positive...

Who would have thought we would need to win the final game to square the series after the bending we gave NZ in the first match?

Dello wrote:Amateurish from England.

Didn't even bat out their own innings. What price an extra couple of runs?

Aye.

The end to our innings won't get mentioned though - I thought it was just as bad (the Anderson run out)

As regards "the incident" Bell was also at fault for throwing the wicket down when Elliot was clearly on the ground but responsibility ultimately rests with Collingwood for allowing the appeal to stand. It would be fitting if Collingwood, Sidebottom and Bell are not included in the XI at Lord's on Saturday.

No presentation ceremony? MoM award?

Fair play Colly. He apologised and said he made the wrong decision in front of the whole ground. Takes balls.

Should be the end of the matter now.

Collingwood makes some amends, IMO.

I really wouldn't have any problem with England sacking Collingwood. Apart from the unsavoury run out incident, he's a pretty ordinary captain. How often do you see him react to situations rather than think ahead. So unimaginative.

Whatta buncha twats Collingwood and Vettori.

Here they had a chance to stoke off a bitter controversy, engender bloody mindedness, high drama, whinging that could have gone for months. Instead they both apologize.

Sooks!

Henry wrote:I really wouldn't have any problem with England sacking Collingwood. Apart from the unsavoury run out incident, he's a pretty ordinary captain. How often do you see him react to situations rather than think ahead. So unimaginative.

Dude, give him a break. He did right in the end.

Yep, he's apologised, and Vettori accepted the apology and apologised himself for the way New Zealand reacted on the balcony. Fair play all round.

Hate to be cynical, but you've gotta wonder how Vettori and New Zealand would have reacted if they had lost the match.....