NZ Story ICC 2008 Version(Normal)

[seanoc]

I have kept the same team while India have made 2 changes with Y Singh replacing Tendulkar and I Pathan replacing Malhotra.

[GrahamB]

Great win in that 1st Test mate!
Looking forward to the 2nd Test.

[seanoc]

2nd Test vs India

India 1st Innings
358 V Laxman 114, S Badrinath 111
D Vettori 4-80, J Franklin 2-60

NZ 1st Innings
344 J Oram 105, D Vettori 96
R Singh 3-92, I Pathan 3-112

India 2nd Innings
282 Y Singh 92, V Laxman 52
T Southee 3-66, D Vettori 3-72

NZ 2nd Innings
300/4 I Robertson 93no, J Ryder 81
R Singh 2-80

NZ win by 6 wickets

A famous series win for NZ in India with Vettori the star of this game with bat and ball. India started strongly with a good partnership between Badrinath and Laxman. Vettori managed to rein them in and they would of been disappointed with 358. Our reply was disapointing with the top order failing to fire. The middle order however stepped up with Oram and Vettori impressing. We then bowled exceptionally well in their 2nd innings to restrict them to a chaseable score which we did comfortably thanks to Robertson and Ryder. We win the series 2-nil.

[GrahamB]

Well done. That's a real feather in your NZ cap.

[seanoc]

Well done. That's a real feather in your NZ cap.

Thanks it is a really satisfying win against good opposition away from home.

[seanoc]

Jesse Ryder has been injured and is out for 3 weeks. That is a big blow as he was our best ODI batsman last year.

[seanoc]

Our team for the 1st ODI is:

P Fulton
J How
I Robertson
R Taylor
C McMillan(c)
J Oram
B McCullum(wk)
D Vettori
J Franklin
T Southee
S Bond

[seanoc]

1st ODI vs India

NZ Innings
244/9 I Robertson 77, D Vettori 37no
S Dholpure 4-38, R Jesuraj 2-55

India Innings
247/6(48.5) S Badrinath 98, V Laxman 74no
T Southee 2-35, J Oram 2-54

India win by 4 wickets

We won the toss and batted first on a flat pitch with a fast outfield and just never got going. We didn't bat well enough to deserve victory with Robertson making the only score. India coasted home through Badrinath and Laxman although they wobbled a bit towards the end. McMillan was disappointing and is once again under pressure to keep his place from the impressive Hay.

[seanoc]

We have decided against making changes for the 2nd ODI with McMillan given another chance. We have just moved up to 2nd in ODI rankings overtaking Australia.

[seanoc]

2nd ODI vs India

India Innings
276/7 S Tendulkar 134no, V Sehwag 56
T Southee 2-58, S Bond 2-59

NZ Innings
278/3(43) J How 132, I Robertson 83
I Pathan 1-46, R Jesuraj 1-68

NZ win by 7 wickets

To remarkable innings has been the feature of the 2nd ODI with Tendulkar and How both hitting hundreds. How's century was the more impressive as it came off just 116 balls. He was ably supported by Robertson who is doing well in this format of the game. We have played well in sudden death games in the past and hopefully we can play well again in the 3rd and final ODI.

[seanoc]

3rd ODI vs India

NZ Innings
241/8 I Robertson 70, R Taylor 78
I Malhotra 4-48, I Pathan 3-53

India Innings
242/6(42) G Gambhir 62, P Patel 55
J Oram 3-53, D Vettori 2-48

India win by 4 wickets

Another disapointing batting display has seen us lose the series to India. Robertson once again stepped up with the bat and him and Taylor put together a fine partnership. Nobody else contributed however and we struggled to 241. India were always above the run rate an even though they lost 6 wickets, it was always a comfortable chase. We now have a few weeks off before the West Indies come to NZ for a long tour.

[seanoc]

We been dealt a blow with all-rounder Jacob Oram out for 2 weeks with a hamstring injury. The 12 man squad will be named for the 1st test shortly.

[seanoc]

The West Indies schedule for the tour looks like this:

3 Tests
1 T20
5 ODIs

Our 12 man squad for the 1st test is:

P Fulton(c)
N Horsley
I Robertson
R Taylor
G Hay
B Hiini
J Ryder
B McCullum(wk)
D Vettori
J Franklin
T Southee
S Bond

Fulton has been named as captain while Brandon Hiini is the only new face in the squad, he replaces Oram as a genuine all-rounder with FC batting average of 55.69 and a bowling average of 26.06. He, along with Hay and Robertson are exciting prospects.

[seanoc]

1st Test vs West Indies

WI 1st Innings
363 R Sarwan 97, D Ramdin 88
D Vettori 3-33, B Hiini 2-64

NZ 1st Innings
353 I Robertson 98, N Horsley 81
D Sammy 4-92, J Bennett 4-108

WI 2nd Innings
253 S Chanderpaul 95, A Barath 35
D Vettori 4-47, T Southee 4-62

NZ 2nd Innings
264/3 I Robertson 91no, N Horsley 68
N Millar 2-59

NZ win by 7 wickets

In the end it was reasonably comfortable victory, but we had to work very hard to get to that position. Vettori really stood up with the ball which is a good sign while Robertson is developing an outstanding test record. Horsley is also repaying the faith the selectors have in him. The West Indies are still a dangerous side however with Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan in their team and we will have to be wary of them in the 2nd test.

[seanoc]

I retained the same team for the 2nd test.

2nd Test vs West Indies

NZ Innings
588/8(dec) P Fulton 133, N Horsley 114
D Bravo 4-155, J Bennett 2-133

West Indies 1st Innings
370 C Gayle 91, D Bravo 55
J Franklin 5-82, D Vettori 4-113

WI 2nd Innings(following on)
411 D Bravo 116, C Gayle 103
T Southee 4-78, S Bond 3-90

NZ 2nd Innings
77/2 P Fulton 55no, N Horsley 15
J Bennett 1-18

Match Drawn

A hard fought match has ended in a draw. We batted superbly well in our 1st innings, although the West Indies did well enough in their turn at bat. If anything we batted to slowly as it took us 2 days to get to 588. On a slow pitch with a slow outfield, it was nearly impossible to rip through the order. Scoring was slow throughout and a draw was the only achievable outcome. With 1 test still to play I hope Oram is fit again to give us another test quality bowling option.