Tag: Cricket

Cricket: Seamers and Williamson help NZ level series

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New Zealand broke their Sharjah duck overnight after defeating Pakistan by 4 wickets to square the one day international series.  Having lost their previous ten matches in Sharjah, the Black Caps needed a calm Kane Williamson – who scored his sixth half century in his last seven matches – to see them over the line.  Chasing 253 for victory the pursuit got off to the best possible start when Anton Devcich (58) and Dean Brownlie (47) eased the concerns hanging over the openers to put on 103 for the first wicket.  Despite the start, New Zealand still needed their captain Williamson’s nous to get them hoe in the 46th over.  Amongst a middle order collapse that saw Ross Taylor miss out on a fourth consecutive hundred, Williamson held firm and after watching several middle order colleagues throw wickets away, found able support from Luke Ronchi (36).  Ronchi’s rapid cameo helped to ease any lingering doubt in the New Zealand camp and quickly put the result beyond doubt as the gap between us needed and balls remaining widened.

Williamson shouldn’t take all the praise however.  The Black Cap’s seamers also played their part taking all ten wickets in Pakistan’s innings.  Matt Henry and Mitchell McClenaghan were the chief destroyers albeit in different circumstances.  Henry (4-45) took the bulk of his wickets at the top of the order helping dismiss four of the top six and reducing Pakistan to 20/3 at one stage.  McClenaghan, notwithstanding the early wickets of Younis Khan (he got him twice, once off a no-ball) took his wickets at the end of the innings to finish with 3-56.

Pakistan will rue their inability to kick on from handy starts.  Of their batsmen to cross 14 (there were 7 of them) only Mohammad Hafeez (76) passed 50.  That left Shahid Afridi (27 from 14) with too much to do, and while he made a decent fist of it striking big blows off both Henry and Milne, he couldn’t sustain the attack and joined the others in failing to see out the allotted overs.

Haris Sohail was once again a big plus for the number four ranked ODI team with wickets and runs.  He made 33 and took 3-48 in another fine all-round display.  His efforts superseded Corey Anderson’s efforts as New Zealand’s all-rounder worries worsened, and helped mitigate the impact from Hafeez’s bowling ban.

A quick turnaround sees Sharjah host game three on Sunday.  Of particular note are the potential injuries to Umar Gul and Misbah-ul-Haq.

New Zealand 255 for 6 (Williamson 70, Devcich 58, Haris 3-48) beat Pakistan 252 (Hafeez 76, Misbah 47, Henry 4-45) by four wickets

Cricket: Openers and all-rounders the concerns for Black Caps

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The Black Caps are in familiar territory.  After losing the opening the one-dayer they find themselves behind for the third time in the tour.  That’s not the only familiarity of the NZ situation either.  The Black Caps also face dilemmas over their openers and their all-rounders.  Both are of equal concern; causing headaches for the selectors as the look to settle on their best lineup for a World Cup that some (Kevin Pieterson included) are expecting them to do very well at.

The Black Cap’s average ODI opening partnership over the last two years is the worst of test playing nations at 18.36 with a run rate of 4.17 and highest stand of 66.  Next worst is the West Indies average partnership of 29.57.   That’s because they have tried a whole host of different names. Players like Rob Nicol, Jesse Ryder, Luke Ronchi, Hamish Rutherford, Tom Latham and BJ Watling have all had a go, with limited success.  While Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill look set to be the openers for the Black Caps at the World Cup both are unavailable for this match and there’s some serious concern for the form of Anton Devcich and Dean Brownlie.

Also suffering from massive a form slump is Jimmy Neesham.  The military medium paced Dunedin all-rounder hasn’t scored over 18 runs in any of his last 11 innings’, in all formats.  With Corey Anderson out concussed, Neesham needs to do much more to cement a spot in the top Black Caps XI.  Especially considering Kane Williamson can return to the bowling crease.

Pakistan have less worries but will be looking for runs from their top order.

The Last Time These Two Met

Pakistan won a nail-biter that they never should have.  The Black Caps struggled (with a soft ball) to dislodge the well-set pair of Haris Sohail and Shahid Afridi.  The pair’s partnership ensuring a 1-0 series lead.

The Teams

Pakistan (likely): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Haris Sohail, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Shahid Afridi, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Mohammad Irfan

New Zealand (likely): 1 Anton Devcich, 2 Dean Brownlie, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Adam Milne/Matt Henry

The Key Players

Haris Sohail – The maturity shown in his match-winning knock in game one was a pleasure to watch.  He paced his innings s o nicely it was surprising that he had made his way to 85* by the end of it, without a shot in anger.  For a player that makes so many first class runs perhaps the first ODI knock will be the catalyst for further International success.

Daniel Vettori – Vettori did it all in game one.  He made runs, took wickets and also chimed in with a stunning catch.  Proving that age is no barrier, the left armer turned, sprinted, and clung on to an epic catch to dismiss Misbah, a catch that should have set NZ on their way to victory.  Look for Vettori to be treated more cautiously in game two.  Most teams prefer to see out his ten overs for 30 runs and score big of the others – Pakistan will catch on to this too.

The Odds*

Pakistan – $1.57

New Zealand – $2.40

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Tom Waterhouse.

The Prediction

We have one eye on the result here and one eye on whether Ross Taylor can score four consecutive ODI hundreds.   Tom Waterhouse has him at just $4.25 to top score, but we don’t think he’ll get there.  We also don’t think the Black Caps have the game winners to get them over the line either.  Pakistan by 4 wickets or 40 runs.

Cricket: Root sees England home after false start

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Joe Root overcome a long overnight wait to guide England home in their pursuit of Sri Lanka’s 239 in the fifth match of the ODI series.  England’s chase was initially delayed by a mid game downpour as the game entered a second day; planned with the World Cup in mind and utilising the rarely used reserve day.  When the teams returned, Root superbly guided his side to 240/5 and a win with five balls to spare.  His 104* came from just 117 balls and is his third ODI century of the year.  He was aptly supported by James Taylor, who backed up his last effort of 90 with a patient 68.  That was after England had fallen to 35/2 when Alastair Cook and Moeen Ali were dismissed cheaply by the returning Senanayake.  We thought the returning bowler might go alright on his return from international suspension and he delivered an economical spell of 2-35 from his ten overs.

Other than his impact however, the rest of the Sri Lankan attack struggled and the four pronged spin attack lacked the requisite threat to take regular wickets.  With wickets in hand England were always favourites and Root’s six to bring up his century was the final nail in the coffin.  Ravi Bopara (28) offered another useful contribution, sharing in a partnership of 86 with England’s match-winner.

Before the unusually long rain delay Sri Lanka had stuttered to a below par 239; suffering at the hands of Chris Woakes who returned his best internality cricket figures of 6-47.  Sri Lanka got off to the worst possible start when the ‘duck-prone’ Kusal Perera nibbled one to slip third ball of the match.  Perera’s last international scores read 0 4 0 59 9 0 31 0.  Kumar Sangakkara scored well again, the classy left hander contributed 91 of the local’s total, but he lacked support from his fellow senior players.  That may well be due to the fine bowling efforts of Woakes, Chris Jordan (2-56), and James Tredwell (1-35).  The trio never allowed the run-rate to get away from them, illustrated by the fact that Sangakkara scored at a strike rate of only 73 and Matthews at only 52.

The win means England stay alive in the seven match series.  Luxbet still have them as outsiders to win the series though.  They are at $2.30 to pull off an unlikely series win.

England 240 for 5 (Root 104*, Taylor 68) beat Sri Lanka 239 (Sangakkara 91, Woakes 6-47) by five wickets

Cricket: Senanayake cleared to return in game five

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With just a handful of games to go until the 2015 Cricket World Cup every game plays an important part in a team’s preparations.  Game five in the England v Sri Lanka series is no different as both sides welcome the opportunity to test combinations and settle on orders before the prestigious tournament.  Both sides welcome back players, with England throwing down the red carpet for their captain, Alastair Cook, and Sri Lanka fortunate to have Sachithra Senanayake available for selection after a recent illegal bowling action ban.

If the rain stays away this could be an intriguing contest, on both an individual and team basis.

The Last Time These Two Met

In Colombo Sri Lanka took a 3-1 series lead when they successfully chased down England’s 265.  However, the Pallekele venue should suit the England side much better and of the grounds England play at before the World Cup is likely to be the venue that resembles the New Zealand conditions most closely.

The Teams

Sri Lanka (likely): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Kusal Perera, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Sachithra Senanayake, 10 Dhammika Prasad, 11 Ajantha Mendis.

England (likely): 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Moeen Ali, 3 James Taylor, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Chris Jordan, 11 Steven Finn

The Key Players

Sachithra Senanayake – The controversial spinner has endured a miserable few months as he sought to remedy his law breaking action.  Without a second skill to fall back on, the offie has been limited to just 10 overs in a domestic List A match, no doubt going stir crazy in the process.  He gets an immediate opportunity to showcase his remodelled action and make an impact on the series thanks to Rangana Herath’s hamstring injury.   Sport loves a comeback story so Senanayake taking wickets might be worth a bob or tow.

James Taylor – Some of the games best batsmen have been little.  Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting are all short men who dominated opposition because bowlers found it so difficult to find the right length to bowl at them.  James Taylor is the same; his height allows him to pull deliveries that are usually decent length deliveries to other batsmen and when bowlers try and correct the fuller efforts often become half volleys.  Taylor helped himself to eight boundaries in game four and will be looking to make another statement here.

The Odds*

Sri Lanka – $1.54

England – $2.48

*Odds courtesy of Sportsbet Australia.

The Prediction

Despite Pallekele offering more favourable conditions for the tourists I can’t see them winning this one.  Sri Lanka by 2 wickets or 30 runs.  As an outside roughie, take Alastair Cook to top score at $5.50.

Cricket: Clarke fit to lead Australia in first test

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After expecting to play the first game of cricket in the four match test series in Brisbane, all of the players will have to adjust to the new surroundings of Adelaide and the general eeriness that will linger throughout the test match.  The rescheduled match has made the side selection much easier for Australia.  If the first match did go ahead as planned at the Gabba, Michael Clarke was no chance to play.  Now he’s passed a fitness test and is playing with some serious motivation.  The chance to dedicate an innings to his “little brother” is a worrying proposition for the Indians who are without their own skipper, MS Dhoni, who is recovering from a broken thumb.

Virat Kohli, who signalled his arrival on test cricket’s World scene with a debut hundred in Australia the last time he was here, leads the team in Dhoni’s absence.  India desperately need his run-scoring ability and his slightly combative attitude to set the tone.

The Last Time These Two Met

The two teams play in vastly differing conditions and struggle when taken away from their home comforts.  This is shown in the series scores from the last times the teams met.  In 2012/13 in India, India won the series 4-0.  The same scoreline separated the sides in Australia in 2011/12.

The Teams

Australia 1 Chris Rogers, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Steven Smith, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Nathan Lyon.

India 1 M Vijay, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Wriddiman Saha (wk), 8 Karn Sharma, 9 Varun Aaron, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Mohammad Shami.

The Key Players

Michael Clarke – The mental strength required for Clarke to play in the first test of the summer should not be underestimated.  Following a role as a pillar of the country in the wake of Phillip Hughes’ passing, Clarke has taken to all his support roles with consulate professionalism and respect.  He’ll be hoping for similar strength from his dodgy hamstring to help him get through the first cricket test of the series.  He’s a key player to see if he has anything remaining in the physical and mental tank after his impressive effort just to be available.  He’s at $4.50 to top score for his side at Unibet.

Ajinkya Rahane – Rahane is quickly becoming India’s go to cricketer.  The diminutive yet correct right hander has been in rich vein of form of late and has already been touted by opposing players this summer.  After their match against the Cricket Australia XI, bowler Josh Lalor commented that Rahane “looks probably the most settled of their players at the moment”.  He’s paying $6 to top score in the first dig.

The Odds*

Australia – $1.63

India – $7.50

Draw – $3.20

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Unibet.

The Prediction

History tells us the Indians struggle in Australia and this series should be no different.  Without captain MS Dhoni it is expected the tourists will struggle to take 20 wickets and concede large totals.  That leaves too much to do for their batsmen, and considering the likes of Dravid, Laxman and Tendulker have not been able to save them in the past, we see this one going the way of the Australians.

Cricket: Pakistan battle back to beat NZ

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Haris Sohail and Shahid Afridi led an impressive comeback by Pakistan to seal victory over New Zealand in the first one day international in Dubai this morning.  Pakistan were earlier reduced to 86/5 in their pursuit of NZ’s 286 and needed the calm heads of Sohail (85*) and Afridi (61) to see them home with three balls to spare.  The pair shared a 110 run match-winning partnership and nullified the threat of Daniel Vettori’s (2-40) spin and Adam Milne’s (0-42) pace towards the back end of the chase, just when New Zealand were desperate for wickets.

As predicted, Ross Taylor had early taken it upon himself to deliver NZ a total they were capable of defending after they had earlier collapsed to 111-5.  Taylor’s 105* stood out like a sore thumb on a scoreboard featuring multiple starts but nothing else over 27.  Luke Ronchi (23) and Vettori (27) were both in that category, but their’s were scored at good strike-rates and were both important cameos in the context of the total.

The New Zealand’s cricket team’s struggle on a slow wicket was perhaps best illustrated by the fact that none of the Pakistan bowlers went for over 6-runs-per-over.  While Mohammad Irfan And Wahab as took the bulk of the wickets, the economical spell of man of the match Haris Sohail (10-30-0) was the most telling in the tight contest.

Any momentum that the Pakistan team took at the half way mark quickly evaporated when their top order was rocked by accuracy and carelessness.  Top order woes continued to middle order woes and when Sarfraz Ahmed (26) was the sixth wicket to fall at 124 to cricket match seemed unlovable for NZ.

However, as Pakistan employed a more cautious approach to their batting, led surprisingly by the enigmatic Afridi, the New Zealand attack could find no way through and could not take the wickets that were necessary to restrict the Pakistanis.  That meant the asking rate was never out of reach, and when wickets were on the agenda, Jimmy Neesham (2-62) and Kyle Mills (1-54) disappointed in their closing spells.

So, 1-0 to Pakistan when it looked unlikely for much of the game.  Game two to look forward to on Friday.

Pakistan 250 for 7 (Haris 85*, Afridi 61) beat New Zealand 246 for 7 (Taylor 105*, Irfan 3-57) by three wickets