Maximus

Democracy Manifest to win for Max OR Hard To Say to win for Lightning Blue (must pay $9.60+ or Whinchat complete the Q) with that TransTasman combo how can we lose? MM

2nd again with a wuffie (Wobwick) ...poor Max MM

Is Max the only one who has noticed the near-empty grandstands at Ellerslie on Derby Day? Wossup? MM

Dropped catches lose matches. Cant believe Henry Nicholls dropped that one straight down his flockin' throat. Whatever slim chance we have/had of winning has gone down the gurgler (IMO). MM

ruffies day at HQ so far ....good omen for the Factory MM

keen or desperate or both, old son. At least today we know we're playing the next-worst performers on revealed form. Might get worse for us as Round 2 progresseth. A good spread from the Factory Workers is good - as long as we keep posting wins! Hayasugi turned things around for us last week, so mebbe JAS can do the same. Orchestral is described as 'freakish' but that doesn't make her Winx and the Derby distance finds a few 3yos out. Should be a wonderful day of racing ...and cricket ... Australia could declare now and still beat us. MM

Max for Max Factory Triple Joker thanks PJ ..let's see if we can make a big mess in a Seagull's nest ... R1 2,7 R2 3,10 R3 12,13 R4 4,6 R5 1,3 bb R6 5,17 R7 12,15 R8 2,4 R9 2,4 R10 4,5 bb MM

Ravindra has the potential to be a superstar of the game across all formats. Blackcaps fought back to some degree late today with early wickets but once again didn't make the most of opportunities. Southee dropping Lyon last ball of the day ...grrrr. Strange, isnt it, that two guys with great hands - Southee and Williamson - have dropped catches in this Test. In the field, Williamson looks like he wants to be somewhere else - ie at home with his family - and mebbe hasn't had a lot of sleep this week either. Southee's two (fortuitous) wickets late today were important to give us some momentum, but, really, the horse has bolted (Cameron's big ton the diff) and Oz would prob still win if they are all out for 100 tomorrow. At least we have Derby Day to keep us amused tomorrow. MM

Max is angry. All out 179 ..the total is not the issue it's the short amount of batting time it's taken. 43.1 overs. The Blackcaps have not adjusted well from white ball to red ball cricket. After his pathetic 2-ball duck, slogging, Scott Kuggeleijn should NEVER play Test cricket again. Except mebbe for Netherlands, and only if they're desperate. Southee inept with the bat again. Poor leadership, poor bowling stats. I feel for the fans, like Max his-self, who rightly expect better at Test level from this team - and, as mentioned previously, Max suspects there's a lot of behind-the-scenes misery that is being manifested on the pitch. Don't be surprised if the knives come out shortly after this series. MM

what's the online equivalent of a commentator's curse? 113-6 LOL

Hint od some spine in the Blackcraps...80-5. Phillips/Blundell doing well by being positive and moving their feet as the wicket settles down ..do they have the patience to bat lo-o-o-ong into the third day? Max picking Blundell to score a ton - he's the only one who has the patience and experience on that wicket to do it. If he goes today, we'll be all out for not many more (IMO). Fascinating stuff to a cricket purist like Max. MM

Triton - i don't think a horse was ever ahead of him in his NZ career (6 or 7 starts unbeaten). Tiparillo. Mudlark from the CD mid-late 1970s.

update ...Blackcraps 29-5. Earlier today Max placed a fiver on Tom Blundell to be top scorer at $8.50. Didnt think he'd only need 12 to be the man...but at the moment he's on zip! MM

adios, Williamson ..oh, and Ravindra..the centurions v S Af couldnt score a run between them. In Maxi's opinion, this is evidence of a very unhappy team behind the scenes, a team who are 'out of sync' and not happy with their leader(s). Max has a theory that this misery all stems from the Wagner incident v S Af when Wags was made to wait and wait and wait for a bowl in their 2nd innings and some strong words were exchanged between Wagner and Southee. As a result, , Southee and/or Stead wanted Wagner dropped for the Oz series. and Wags announced his retirement immediately after getting that message. Max has been a huge Southee fan for many years, but his leadership is average at best and never inspirational a la McCullum/Stokes. And hardly inspirational, a la Williamson, when the chips are down (eg: do you think Southee batting at 11 would try to do what Hazlewood did for Oz?) Max is predicting Southee's retirement (from Test cricket) at the end of this series. Or he in turn will be dropped. Would love to be proven wrong, esp if it means Southee has taken 5-fer in any innings v Australia. On current performance, he'd be lucky to get 5 in the series. MM PS: NZ currently 15-3 on a glorious day for batting. Has anyone got the patience to stay there til stumps?

Silly boy, Hesi-meister. The first session never decides a Test. The last session always decides a Test. Enthralling cricket yesterday (Day 1); sad to say Southee looks a shadow of his former great self, I hope he makes amends in the 2nd innings. Hoping we can bat well enough to sap some energy out of those fab Ozzie quicks and score 400+ as the pitch flattens out ...though it may not even do that! A bob or two on Blundell to turn his form around... The glorious uncertainty of it all -so much more fascinating than the hit and giggle crap Max was exposed to last Sunday at Eden Park. MM

This Sophie's pretty good, too

If a racetrack has a drainage system that cannot cope with 10 minutes of torrential rain .... MM

A minor correction from Max about the original subject of this thread (TRP changes).....and then a story. Max didn't "decide to relinquish" his (voluntary) role as Admin/Moderator ...it was relinquished for him by Hesi because Max does not want to commit funds right now to help pay for TRP 'operations' (the ones that require $$$, not epidurals). Clearly, Hesi has subsequently invited pete to return as a co-owner and that's absolutely fabulous by Max. Long may peace and harmony reign in the 'hood. Hesi has been paying the bills, so it's his call. On to the story (far more interessant) ... A long time ago in Bethlehem, Max was a very busy media man who didn't have time for distractions like minor surgery. But was convinced by his quack to go up to the local hospital as a 'day case' - ie in at 10am, out a few hours later...) The task: removal of some nasty warts hanging around unspeakable places..Lord only knows what local trollop had blessed poor Max with those ... Max enters said hospital and is 'prepped' with some drug or other and is waiting on a trolley in some 'Ante room' near some 'Theatre' ...as the drugs kick in, Max decides to befriend the other dude waiting his turn, and blesses the poor bugger with Maxi's life story up to that point. He probably couldnt wait to be under the knife by the time Max had finished with 'im! Funniest thing is, Max had no idea what drug they'd given him ..(they said it was a muscle relaxant) Whatever it was, it was, Max can honestly say it was the happiest time in his Mustelidian life; if someone had walked in with a buzzing chainsaw and said "Time to chop yer head off, young man"..I Maxhonestly would not have cared. Probably would've offered to hold the bucket. Ain't it scary what drugs can do? Post Script: Post-op, mid-arvo, Max was in a big hurry to get back to work at the wireless station, so when Nursie came in to offer a cuppa tea, Max got a time check and said, "sorry, no time for a cuppa tea and a chat, lovely Nursie, I'm off" ...and promptly fell over trying to stand up. Stoopid boy! MM

Max is home after a visit to Eden Park. Forget the score and who did what to whom. It didnt matter. This was a Right Royal Flock Shambles IMO by the powers that be. Covers on and off, on and off, on and off, with just the lightest drizzly shower falling. Or not falling. Ground staff moving at glacial speed to do anything. No apparent urgency to take opportunities to resume play, maximise available time, do some PR with the fans. Fans were treated like SHITE the entire afternoon. Pathetic PA/sound system...hard to hear what anyone was saying. No significant entertainment while we all waited ever-so-patiently for either information or action. We got ripped, as in ripped off, by NZC today. About $80 a head for a seat in the Northern Stand. For what? Half a game of cricket spread over four hours, a lot of time waiting for significant rain that never came... Chances of an apology from NZC? Nil, or close to it, I'd say. MM

Barb v Pete LOL

tks for your most gracious words, Howie Exciting stuff all afternoon! MM

sounds like you've abandoned ideas of winning, Howie ...? and Max has backed em both to win, so you're clearly buggered ... MM

W #11 Hayasugi $14.30 Q #13 Lady of Camelot $36.50

it will come as no surprise to you to learn, LB, that Max his-self is a former champeen of the chessboard. Seem to recall beating the hot favourite (and older player) Peter Cunningham in the Secondary School Champs a few moons ago. MM

Max for Max Factory ....power's on, gates open, people on deck...but will the till be ringin'?? R1 3,5 R2 1,2 R3 2,6 R4 7,8 bb R5 2,4 R6 1,5 R7 1,2 R8 10,11 R9 2,10 R10 2,7 bb MM