Michael Appleton @michelappleton

🇳🇿 diplomat. Now: Senior Adviser to @NewZealandMFA. Ex: HCer to 🇱🇰, posted to 🇹🇱🇺🇸🇮🇳. Samraj’s Dad & @nayantarapple’s husband. Love 🏏🗳. Views my own Wellington City, New Zealand Joined August 2009

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

23 minutes ago

@jrodbourn You’re there? Enjoy yourself mate.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

17 hours ago

Ravindra & Mitchell, who haven’t scored in this series as they would have liked, batted for 63.2 overs between them on a pretty challenging surface … and took @BLACKCAPS from a position of peril to the verge of a historic away Test series victory. Not a bad day’s work.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

17 hours ago

Williamson & Stokes: among the greatest cricketers their countries have produced, retiring during the same series. The manner of the two retirements as different as you could imagine … both perfectly befitting the respective personalities and careers of the two players / men.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

a day ago

Samraj’s World Cup picks: 🇩🇪def🇵🇾 🇫🇷def🇸🇪 🇨🇦def🇿🇦 🇳🇱def🇲🇦 🇵🇹def🇭🇷 🇪🇸def🇦🇹 🇺🇸def🇧🇦 🇧🇪def🇸🇳 🇧🇷def🇯🇵 🇳🇴def🇨🇮 🇲🇽def🇪🇨 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿def🇨🇩 🇦🇷def🇨🇻 🇦🇺def🇪🇬 🇨🇭def🇩🇿 🇨🇴def🇬🇭 🇫🇷def🇩🇪 🇳🇱def🇨🇦 🇪🇸def🇵🇹 🇺🇸def🇧🇪 🇧🇷def🇳🇴 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿def🇲🇽 🇦🇷def🇦🇺 🇨🇴def🇨🇭 🇫🇷def🇳🇱 🇪🇸def🇺🇸 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿def🇧🇷 🇦🇷def🇨🇴 🇪🇸def🇫🇷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿def🇦🇷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿def🇪🇸

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

a day ago

So I reckon England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿’s path to the World Cup 🏆 will be: ? Mexico 🇲🇽 France 🇫🇷 Brazil 🇧🇷 Spain 🇪🇸 Not straightforward.

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Cricinfo @cricinfo

2 days ago

The end of an era ❤️ A guard of honour for Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu as their New Zealand careers come to an end 👏

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

Now that the All Whites have been knocked out of @FIFAWorldCup, Samraj’s loyalties (with mine) shift to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Another lesson for Samraj in patience and overcoming adversity in the hope of eventual glory.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

Ravindra took a lot of (deserved) stick for how he got out in the first innings. In the second, he deserves considerable credit for how he’s played after walking into a very perilous, precarious position for his side. A hugely important knock; hopefully there’s more tomorrow.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

When I learned that neither Henry nor Jamieson would play in this deciding Test, I wondered how on earth @BLACKCAPS would take twenty wickets cheaply enough to win. Smith, O’Rourke & Foulkes deserve enormous credit for how well they bowled today.

Michael Appleton @michelappleton

4 days ago

Oh dear. With Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Glenn Phillips all out of the third Test, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿must now be considered hot favourites to seal the series. It’s going to be a much weakened @BLACKCAPS side (especially on bowling side), and strengthened 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 one, relative to The Oval.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

In the 1st innings, @BLACKCAPS & 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 got to 317/0 & 224/2…then lost 10/121 & 8/130. In the 2nd innings, you’d rather currently be 🇳🇿 - leading by 204 runs with eight wickets left. But a 3rd collapse of the match tomorrow, and a target of ~280 for 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, remains entirely plausible.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

In the women’s T20 World Cup, ☘️ have given 🇳🇿 a lifeline by upsetting 🏝️ If @WHITE_FERNS beat 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, they make the semi-finals.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

So nice to catch up with the family for a mid-winter Taylor “Christmas” party… Next year, I am going to have to up my Christmas jumper game … @nayantarapple

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

Well, the All Whites’ World Cup campaign felt a lot more impressive at its halfway stage. First half: 3-2 Second half: 1-8 They were much more creative and enterprising on attack than I expected, but also more hapless on defence. Here’s to the 2030 qualification campaign!

Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

First half of New Zealand’s @FIFAWorldCup campaign this year: 3-2 Second half: 0-5*

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

After six unanswered goals across 130 minutes of football, New Zealand has finally scored again. And Elijah Just now has three times more World Cup goals than any other All White.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

First half of New Zealand’s @FIFAWorldCup campaign this year: 3-2 Second half: 0-5*

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

Belgium’s best @FIFAWorldCup finish is third in 2018. New Zealand’s best @FIFAWorldCup finish is third (in their group) in 2010.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

2 days ago

.@collinsadam & @GeoffLemonSport have long argued that there should be specialist third umpires who understand how technology works and how it can aid your decision making. This absolutely terrible decision on Santner is yet another confirmation of the wisdom of that idea.

Andrew @shortflyslip

3 days ago

That's dreadful third umpiring. Why can't you use the pictures available to you properly instead of rushing to a decision. Waste of time having a third umpire if that's the result.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

3 days ago

I haven’t seen a ball of the second day at Nottingham and, having just checked the score, I think it’s probably best I leave it that way.

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

4 days ago

@shortflyslip Yeah, Andy Zaltzman here says that no first class team to concede an opening partnership of >280 in the first innings of the match has ever gone on to win it…

Test Match Special @bbctms

4 days ago

A record-breaking day one at Trent Bridge = a Zaltz stat pack for you! 📊 Andy Zaltzman explains why history is against England... and also on their side. 🤔

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

4 days ago

@shortflyslip @Sportsfreakconz And all of it unleashed by Bashir’s save on the boundary the ball before … had that been four, the batters would have been at different ends…

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Michael Appleton @michelappleton

4 days ago

Latham & Conway played excellently almost all day, and then Ravindra & Nicholls undo much of the good work with some loose cricket in the final five minutes of play…

Michael Appleton @michelappleton

4 days ago

Worth remembering that 553 was not enough, batting first, for @BLACKCAPS to win the Nottingham Test four years ago. The aim for the 🇳🇿 middle order tonight and tomorrow should be to convert Latham & Conway’s 317-run opening partnership into a 650-run first innings total.