In-form Green Brigade to meet NZ

Updated at: 0820 PST,  Tuesday, March 08, 2011

PALLEKELE: In-form Pakistan batsman Misbah-ul-Haq said his team was ready for the double challenge of facing New Zealand as well as a mystery World Cup pitch on Tuesday.The Group A rivals meet at the newly-built Pallekele stadium in the first-ever one-day match at the venue, a factor which vice-captain Misbah believes will give both teams plenty to think about."Of course, it adds to the challenge because we don't know how the pitch will behave but that's the same for both teams, and as far as we are concerned we are up to the challenge," Misbah said Monday.The 36-year-old has anchored the Pakistan team in the World Cup with two half-centuries against Kenya and Sri Lanka and a hard-fought 37 in the last match against Canada.Pakistan sit top of Group A with six points after three matches, followed by co-hosts Sri Lanka (five points in four) and defending champions Australia (five after three), with New Zealand fourth with four in three matches.Misbah said Pakistan's recent one-day series win over New Zealand will count for nothing."We have done well against them in World Cups and in the recent series there but that win will count for nothing as it's a new game at a new place," said Misbah, of Pakistan's 3-2 win in New Zealand last month.Pakistan will bring in paceman Shoaib Akhtar after resting him in the last match against Canada, while left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman will also be available after missing the last match due to a leg muscle injury.Led by skipper Shahid Afridi's leg-spin, which has garnered a tournament-leading 14 wickets, Pakistan possess variety in their bowling with off-spinners Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez, coupled with a strong new-ball attack of Akhtar, Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz."I think we know how good their bowling can be," said New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori."They can probably defend any score because of the nature of their bowlers. They bring a lot to the table."Pakistan successfully defended a below-par 185-run target against Canada and 278 against co-hosts Sri Lanka in the two of their three matches.New Zealand, who lost to Australia by seven wickets but eased past Kenya and Zimbawe by 10 wickets in each game, have four points after three matches."We know to win these big games it needs complete team performances and that's what we have done. "It's a matter of stepping up against the harder teams," said Vettori, whose country has lost six World Cup matches against Pakistan since winning their first in 1983.Unlike the bowling head-to-head, New Zealand hold the upper hand in batting, with openers Martin Guptill (86) and Brendon McCullum (76) chasing a 186-run target against Zimbabwe without being separated."I'm not sure you could ask for too much more, we wanted complete performances out of ourselves and that we gave in the last match," said Vettori, whose team have made the semi-finals in the last three World Cups.The hill town of Kandy has suffered from persistent rains and the only international match here, a Test between Sri Lanka and the West Indies in December, was drawn without a single innings completed in five days.The warm-up matches before the World Cup were also moved because of bad weather.

Teams
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran
Akmal, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Ahmed Shahzad.
Coach: Waqar Younis
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Hamish Bennett, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock.Coach: John Wright

Umpires: Daryl Harper (AUS) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Ian Gould (ENG)
Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)
Match start: 02:00 PM

Pitch conditions: Heavy rains last month have hit the preparations of the pitch, and if the sun comes out in the next two days, the square will have good grass and help the seamers, provided the grass is not removed. The pitch has bounce and if it doesn't rain will help batsmen.Pakistan v New Zealand head to head Head-to-head record for the World Cup Group A match between Pakistan and New Zealand at the Pallekele stadium on Tuesday:

Matches: 88
Pakistan: 51
New Zealand: 34
No result/Tied: 3
First meeting: Feb 11, 1973, Christchurch - New Zealand won by 22 runs
Last meeting: Feb 5, 2011, Auckland - New Zealand won by 57 runs
(AFP)

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Vettori urges team not to fear Pakistan

Updated at: 0930 PST,  Tuesday, March 08, 2011

PALLEKELE: New Zealand Skipper Daniel Vettori said Monday that they would focus on their own game and not worry about formidable Pakistan in their World Cup match on Tuesday.Pakistan, inspired by captain Shahid Afridi, who has taken a tournament-best 14 wickets with his leg-spin, have won all three matches and top Group A with six points.New Zealand, who beat Kenya and Zimbabwe by ten wickets apiece but lost to Australia by seven wickets, have four points from three matches."The game, like against most teams, is about yourself and trying to work out how you could actually get the best performance out of yourself because that's pretty much where we have let ourselves down in the past," said Vettori.The captain, whose side lost a home one-day series to Pakistan that ended only last month, said he was aiming for consistency."We have not been able to put that consistent team performance together, so that's what we are asking," said Vettori, whose team were whitewashed in one-day series against Bangladesh and India last year."If we can get right in ourselves then we have more of a chance than if we worry about Pakistan," said Vettori, whose country has lost six of seven World Cup matches against their opponents.The pitch at the Pallekele stadium is an unknown for both teams but Vettori expects a batsman-friendly surface."I think we are expecting it to be a little bit quicker than most grounds but still it will be a batter-friendly wicket," said Vettori, whose openers are in top form.Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum hit unbeaten half-centuries in New Zealand's win over Zimbabwe on Friday.Vettori said the teams knew each other well due to their recent clashes."We are fortunate that we played a lot against them lately so we are pretty familiar but they are pretty familiar with us so it's going to be a tough game but hopefully there is some confidence from the Zimbabwe game," said Vettori.And the New Zealand captain said he hoped key batsman Ross Taylor would fire."I think your best players are the ones who win the World Cup and Ross is obviously one of our very good players. He has high expectations from himself and he wants to perform," said Vettori."I expect him at one stage in this tournament to win a game for us and hopefully it's tomorrow." (AFP)

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Cricket WC: Hansra, Bagai take Canada to rare win

Updated at: 2139 PST,  Monday, March 07, 2011

NEW DELHI: Jimmy Hansra struck a fine half-century under pressure as Canada defeated Kenya by five wickets on Monday to register only their second victory ever in a World Cup. Hansra hit seven fours and two sixes in his knock of 70, his best in 11 one-day internationals, to help Canada overhaul Kenya's 198 with 27 balls to spare in the day-night clash at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. The Indian-born Hansra, who came in to bat with the team reeling at 48-3, put on 132 for the fourth wicket with his captain Ashish Bagai to ensure the efforts of fast bowler Henry Osinde (4-26) did not go to waste.
Bagai remained unbeaten on 64 off 97 balls with seven fours. "I was disappointed in myself and my team over the last three or four games so it was good to get some runs under the belt. Jimmy played a fantastic knock with me and both of us did a great job to get us over the line," said Bagai. "We were fortunate to have no run-rate pressure really. It was four runs an over and we got a decent start and kept up with the run rate right the way through." Disappointed Kenyan skipper Jimmy Kamande said: "We started off very, very badly and I thought it was a good recovery." He added that at one stage he thought they could post 220 or 230, which would have been defendable.Canada's previous World Cup win came against Bangladesh in the 2003 World Cup at Durban. The result had little bearing on the quarter-final hopes of either teams, languishing at the bottom of the Group A table.Canada's chase began in a dramatic fashion with opener Rizwan Cheema being ruled leg before wicket off the second ball of the first over but the batsman asked for a review and the decision was overturned. Cheema though did not last long as he was bowled by Elijah Otieno after carting the paceman for a six and a four in the same over. Zubin Sarkari was run out by a direct throw from Kamande and opener Ruvindu Gunasekera was stumped off the bowling of off-spinner James Ngoche. Ngoche could have picked up a second wicket in the same over when Hansra hit straight to mid-on but Seren Waters dropped a sitter, a mistake that was to cost the Kenyans. Earlier, Osinde picked up three wickets in his opening spell to help reduce Kenya to 57-5 by the 15th over before a fight back by Tanmay Mishra and Thomas Odoyo. Mishra hit a composed 73-ball 51 for his fourth half-century in one-day internationals and Odoyo also chipped in with 51, containing five fours and a six. Osinde struck early for Canada, removing opener Morris Ouma off the second ball of the innings and his partner Waters in the fifth over. The paceman then sent back David Obuya to grab his third wicket before Harvir Baidwan brought an end to a promising knock by Collins Obuya (31). Veteran Steve Tikolo (12) was given out lbw. Kamande sought to rebuild the innings with Mishra, putting on 52 runs for the sixth wicket but portly leg-spinner Balaji Rao had him caught behind for 22. Mishra's dogged fightback came to an end when he holed out tamely to Surkari off part-timer John Davison in the 43rd over.(AFP)

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Kenya set 199-run target for Canada

Updated at: 1750 PST,  Monday, March 07, 2011

DELHI: Kenya have set a modest target of 199 runs for Canada in their World Cup Group A match here at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground on Monday.After captain Jimmy Kamande won the toss and elected to bat, Kenya were all out for 198 in exact 50 overs.Earlier, they found it difficult to make runs against accurate bowling by Canada and lost their five top order batsmen for only 57 runs.However, Tanmay Mishra and Jimmy Kamande came to their rescue and took the score to 109, adding 52 for the sixth wicket before Kamande (22) departed.Then, Mishra, joined by Thomas Odoyo, added further 57 runs for the seventh wicket partnership.Mishra scored 51, his fourth One-day International half-century, before being dismissed by John Davison.But Odoyo continued his fight till the end and was bowled by Harvir Baidwan on the last ball of the Kenya innings. He also made 51, his eighth ODI fifty, with five fours and a six.For Canada, seamer Henry Osinde was the most successful bowler takin four for 26 while Rizwan Cheema claimed two wickets.

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Pakistan ready for NZ on mystery pitch

Updated at: 1529 PST,  Monday, March 07, 2011

PALLEKELE: In-form Pakistan batsman Misbah-ul-Haq said his team was ready for the double challenge of facing New Zealand as well as a mystery World Cup pitch on Tuesday.The Group A rivals meet at the newly-built Pallekele stadium in the first-ever one-day match at the venue, a factor which vice-captain Misbah believes will give both teams plenty to think about."Of course, it adds to the challenge because we don't know how the pitch will behave but that's the same for both teams, and as far as we are concerned we are up to the challenge," Misbah said Monday.The 36-year-old has anchored the Pakistan team in the World Cup with two half-centuries against Kenya and Sri Lanka and a hard-fought 37 in the last match against Canada.Pakistan sit top of Group A with six points after three matches, followed by co-hosts Sri Lanka (five points in four) and defending champions Australia (five after three), with New Zealand fourth with four in three matches.Misbah said Pakistan's recent one-day series win over New Zealand will count for nothing."We have done well against them in World Cups and in the recent series there but that win will count for nothing as it's a new game at a new place," said Misbah, of Pakistan's 3-2 win in New Zealand last month.Pakistan will bring in paceman Shoaib Akhtar after resting him in the last match against Canada, while left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman will also be available after missing the last match due to a leg muscle injury.Led by skipper Shahid Afridi's leg-spin, which has garnered a tournament-leading 14 wickets, Pakistan possess variety in their bowling with off-spinners Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez, coupled with a strong new-ball attack of Akhtar, Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz.

"I think we know how good their bowling can be," said New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori."They can probably defend any score because of the nature of their bowlers. They bring a lot to the table."

Pakistan successfully defended a below-par 185-run target against Canada and 278 against co-hosts Sri Lanka in the two of their three matches.New Zealand, who lost to Australia by seven wickets but eased past Kenya and Zimbawe by 10 wickets in each game, have four points after three matches."We know to win these big games it needs complete team performances and that's what we have done. It's a matter of stepping up against the harder teams," said Vettori, whose country has lost six World Cup matches against Pakistan since winning their first in 1983.Unlike the bowling head-to-head, New Zealand hold the upper hand in batting, with openers Martin Guptill (86) and Brendon McCullum (76) chasing a 186-run target against Zimbabwe without being separated."I'm not sure you could ask for too much more, we wanted complete performances out of ourselves and that we gave in the last match," said Vettori, whose team have made the semi-finals in the last three World Cups.The hill town of Kandy has suffered from persistent rains and the only international match here, a Test between Sri Lanka and the West Indies in December, was drawn without a single innings completed in five days.The warm-up matches before the World Cup were also moved because of bad weather.

• Teams
• Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran
• Akmal, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Ahmed Shahzad.
• Coach: Waqar Younis
• New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Hamish Bennett, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock.Coach: John Wright Umpires: Daryl Harper (AUS) and Nigel Llong (ENG)TV umpire: Ian Gould (ENG)Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)Match start: 02:00 PM Pitch conditions: Heavy rains last month have hit the preparations of the pitch, and if the sun comes out in the next two days, the square will have good grass and help the seamers, provided the grass is not removed. The pitch has bounce and if it doesn't rain will help batsmen.Pakistan v New Zealand head to head Head-to-head record for the World Cup Group A match between Pakistan and New Zealand at the Pallekele stadium on Tuesday:
• Matches: 88
• Pakistan: 51
• New Zealand: 34
• No result/Tied: 3
• First meeting: Feb 11, 1973, Christchurch - New Zealand won by 22 runs
• Last meeting: Feb 5, 2011, Auckland - New Zealand won by 57 runs
• (AFP)

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Hafeez sees end to opening misery

Updated at: 1529 PST,  Monday, March 07, 2011

PALLEKELE: Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez admitted on Monday that he and fellow struggling opener Ahmed Shahzad have let their team down, but a World Cup blitz could be just one innings away.Hafeez and Shahzad have managed opening partnerships of 11, 28 and 16 in three matches so far, a performance which captain Shahid Afridi and coach Waqar Younis have already insisted must improve.Despite the lack of good starts, Pakistan's middle-order has fired to help the team win all three games at the World Cup, giving them six points and top position in Group A ahead of co-hosts Sri Lanka and Australia.Hafeez believes he and Shahzad will fire as a partnership in Tuesday's match against New Zealand having both hit centuries against the Black Caps during team's 3-2 series win on the eve of the World Cup."As an opener I know we have not given a good start to the team, but there's no lack of confidence and we just need one good partnership to get the rhythm back," said Hafeez.The 30-year-old Hafeez also provides a spin option to Pakistan, an added quality which has helped him keep his spot in the team.Hafeez made nine against Kenya at Hambantota, before being run out for 32, after intially shaping well in the Sri Lanka match."You need luck in cricket to perform. Here there is lateral movement with the new ball and the swing is also there so both of us are trying to put up a long partnership which is the requirement," said Hafeez.Hafeez, who has so far scored 1,462 runs in 67 one-day internationals, said he was confident the openers will handle New Zealand's bowling well."We handled their bowling very well in New Zealand. Confdence is very high and I hope to perform against them," said Hafeez. (AFP)

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