NZ story (pre-patch)

[GrahamB]

A lot of thought went into selecting the squad for the 20/20 World Cup, the task made difficult by most players not having a lot of experience in this shortened form of the game.

NZ Squad

A.Redmond
M.Guptill
P.Ingram
L.Taylor
K.Williamson
G.Elliott
M.Sinclair
B.McCullum (capt)
P.McGlashan
J.Franklin
J.Oram
N.McCullum
D.Vettori
S.Bond
D.Tuffey

Grant Elliott has been selected as a batsman only and will only bowl as a last resort.
I took a punt with the talented 18 year old batsman Kane Williamson, but have confidence that he might surprise.
The most difficult task was selecting the bowlers.
Bond and Vettori were no-brainers, but the second pace spot was a real toss up. In the end I opted for Darryl Tuffey.
Nathan McCullum was preferred as the second spinner ahead of Jetan Patel, based purely on the fact that one can't afford to have too long a tail in this form of the game.

[GrahamB]

Our opening match was against the Scots, and they put up a good fight! In fact, they gave us a real scare as they kept ahead of the required run rate throughout their chase.



Elliott anchored our innings with a half century, but it was mainly Brendon McCullum's aggression and a late flurry from young Kane Williamson that gave us a respectable total.
Bond was a demon with the ball, but conceded too many runs for my liking. Tuffey was disappointing and lacked penetration.
It was left to Vettori and Oram to see us through.

[GrahamB]

The second match against South Africa took on added importance because the Scots had pulled off a two wicket win against the hosts!



It was just as well that we had a long batting order because the South African attack is a dangerous one.
Spearheaded by the pacy Steyn and ably supported by a superb spell of spin from Botha, they picked up wickets at regular intervals.
James Franklin showed his worth as an allrounder as his innings of 43 held our effort together.
Our total should have been a competitive one, but after Smith and Gibbs had smashed 69 runs off the first four overs, we were always up against it!
Our bowling attack is a real worry.

[GrahamB]

And that was out of the 20/20 World Cup!

[GrahamB]

As a matter of interest, India beat South Africa by six wickets in one semifinal and Australia defeated Pakistan by one wicket in the other.
An Aussie v India final.

[GrahamB]

2009 tour to Sri Lanka

NZ Squad

[rishi]

heyee.. Welcome back New Zealand..

[GrahamB]

Sri Lanka v NZ (1st Test)



The home side were just too strong for us in all departments.
I expected more from the experience of Fulton and Sinclair, but it was left to Bell with a fighting second innings century to show the others what was needed.
Kane Williamson made a good debut with useful knocks in both innings, while Oram batted well in the first dig.
The Sri Lankans have a dangerous bowling attack, with the pace duo of Fernando and Vaas well complimented by the spin of Mendis and Murilitharan.
Mendis was particularly impressive.

Our bowlers toiled long and hard without the success they deserved against the powerful home batting lineup.
Perhaps Bond is losing his bite at 34 years of age. If so, we're in for a tough few years!

[Spinninggenius]

Is Mendis' first name something like Bajantha now as opposed to Ajantha?

[zeduck]

Balapuwaduge

[GrahamB]

Is Mendis' first name something like Bajantha now as opposed to Ajantha?

Still Ajantha, but his initial is B for some reason.

[GrahamB]

Sri Lanka v NZ (2nd Test)



A better performance saw us in with a chance, but a masterly hand from Sangakkara guided the Sri Lankans through to a challenging victory target in the final over of the test.
Stung by their criticism following the first test, both Fulton and Sinclair contributed well with the bat in this test.
In our bowling, O'Brien was a solid performer and Bond showed that he might be coming back into a bit of form, but Gillespie was way too loose and will get the chop for the final test.

[GrahamB]

Sri Lanka v NZ (3rd Test)



After dismissing the home side cheaply, we got to bat on the only very cloudy/rainy day of the match and we didn't cope.
Murilitharan was a beast in this match, the wily veteran destroying us in both innings.
Skippy Sinclair led a valiant fourth innings attempt to stave off defeat, but got disappointing support from the middle and lower order.
A 3-0 series whitewash to the Sri Lankans.

[zub2009]

love the story keep it up

[GrahamB]

love the story keep it up

Cheers. Just hope that things improve!