Tag: New Zealand

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  His efforts superseded Corey Anderson’s efforts as New Zealand’s all-rounder worries worsened, and helped mitigate the impact from Hafeez’s bowling ban.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: 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

Cricket: One-dayers a chance to separate sides

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Rounding out a long tour for the New Zealand cricket team is a five match ODI series in which both sides will continue to look for World Cup momentum.  Especially for Pakistan, this series is the best opportunity to tinker with line-ups and settle on a game plan that will transfer easily to the pitches and grounds of NZ.  One of the tactics will be the continue used of wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed at the top of the order.  Since the days of Kamran Akmal, Pakistan are used to their keeper taking up a spot in the top three, and if Sarfraz’s T20 form is anything to go by, this could be a permanent spot for the destructive right hander.

The Last Time These Two Met

The Test and T20 series’ between the two have been drawn so fans will be hoping for something a little more decisive in the one day series.  In both formats NZ have fallen behind after game one only to rest initiative back in subsequent matches.  Bookmaker.com have understandably listed Pakistan as favourites.

The Teams

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

Martin Guptil is unavailable for the Black Caps.  Corey Anderson will be assessed closer to game time, and I’ve bracketed every bowler in the squad because of the wealth of options available to the NZ selection panel.

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

Umar Gul could play his first one day international cricket since March after a strong showing in the second T20 contest.

The Key Players

Ross Taylor – Aside from some strong performances for Royal Challengers Bangalore in early IPL editions, Taylor has struggled for T20 cricket runs.  He is much more comfortable in the one day game where he can pace himself and anchor an innings, so will look fondly upon the start of the one day series.  After just one notable innings in the test series and two failures in the T20 series NZ will be looking to their former captain for big runs.  He’s paying $4.50 to top score.

Mohammad Hafeez – How Hafeez deals with a bowling ban makes for an interesting aside to the series opener.  The all-rounder has been handed down a suspension until he remedies his action, and despite not considering himself much of a bowler, he will still need to ensure he’s in the right head space to continue to make runs at the top of the order.  Despite the potentially impairment, Bookmaker.com.au has him at

The Odds*

Pakistan – $1.53

New Zealand– $2.50

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Bookmaker.com.au.

The Prediction

It’s very hard to look past Pakistan.  They are loving a game one win against the Black Caps.  But if I was feeling lucky I would have a cheeky bet on New Zealand winning the series at $3.25.

Cricket: NZ level series with narrow win

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Just like the test series, New Zealand bounced back from a first up defeat, to square the Twenty20 Cricket series against Pakistan.  After falling to a six wicket first up loss, New Zealand strangled the Pakistan batsmen to defend their rather lowly 140/4, eventually bowling out Pakistan for 127.

Anton Devcich was the hero for the Black Caps.  The bit part cricketer showed his prowess with both bat and ball to claim the man of the match award.  He scored 21 with the bat and took 2-16 in a display that significantly heightens his chances of featuring in the upcoming Cricket World Cup.

Earlier, a slow pitch made things challenging for all the batsmen with no one from either side topping 33.  In New Zealand’s dig Kane Williamson (32), Tom Latham (26), and Luke Ronchi (31) were the main contributors; Ronchi particularly proving effective, striking at 163 including 20 from a Shahid Afridi over.  Of the Pakistan bowlers Umar Gul was the most impressive.  Returning to cricket for the first time since April the lanky seamer returned 2-24 from his 4 overs, cementing his position as one of the finest bowlers in T20 cricket.

Attempting the very gettable chase, Pakistan were faced with Devcich’s spin from the opening over and struggled to get the ball away., and they stuttered to 24-3.  However with Ahmed Shehzad at the crease and the likes of Umar Akmal and Afridi to come the target was always within reach.  Even with 39 required off 18 the task looked possible, and when Jimmy Neesham sent down the worst over of the match (conceding 15 from the first 5 balls) it looked almost assured.  But the final ball was telling, Afridi nicked a short ball from Neesham to Ronchi to curtail the chase and deprive the fans of a gripping finale.

Another split series means the one-day cricket series will have to be used to split the sides.  World Cup tinkering will also be on the agenda, as will monitoring the injuries of Corey Anderson and Martin Guptill.

New Zealand 144 for 8 (Williamson 32, Ronchi 31, Gul 2-24) beat Pakistan 127 (Shehzad 33, Afridi 28, Mills 3-26, Neesham 3-25) by 17 runs.

Cricket: Pakistan too strong in series opener

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Pakistan proved far too good for an under-strength New Zealand side in the first of two back to back Twenty20 International Cricket matches.  New Zealand’s decision to rest captain Brendon McCullum; and seamers Trent Boult and Tim Southee backfired as Pakistan easily chased down a mediocre target of 136.

New Zealand’s effort to set an imposing total was under immediate threat as they fell to 15-3 when Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, and Anton Devcich were all dismissed inside three overs.  Repair work was performed by Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi.  Anderson in particular looked to have NZ back on track for a respectable target after making his way to 48 with four 6s.  Unfortunately, his and New Zealand’s momentum was cut short when he fell looking for a fifth maximum and the Black Caps managed just 135 from their 20 overs.

Sarfraz Ahmed expertly guided Pakistans response.  The wicketkeeper made 76 not out from just 64 balls and was involved in the crucial 43 run partnership with Umar Akmal that saw them home.  Of the New Zealand attack only seamers Mitchell McClenaghan (4-21-1) and Adam Milne (4-18-0) displayed any semblance of a threat in what was otherwise a sensible and measured cricket innings.

We thought the positivity of the test series might flow through NZ’s cricket into this match so we gave them a chance to upset Pakistan here, but it will be hard to back them for game two which is played tomorrow.  As always after suffering a defeat, NZ will look to bounce back while Pakistan will be seeking to further destroy NZ’s confidence before the one day cricket series begins.  NZ need runs from Taylor and Guptill, and wickets rather than cheap overs from their spinners Nathan McCullum and Devcich to support the fine work of their pace attack.

Pakistan simply need more of the same.  They’ll be hoping for more crease time for Sarfraz, Awais Zia and Haris Sohail, but a 2-0 win will be consolation if not.

Game Two Odds

New Zealand $2.3

Pakistan $1.62

Cricket odds courtesy of Sportingbet Australia

Game Two Predictions 

Flipping a coin will be about as successful as following our predictions.  This could go either way.  But once again go with New Zealand to hit the most sixes.  Those leg side slogging Kiwis…