NZ under GrahamB (story)

[GrahamB]

4th ODI - NZ v India 2013

We stuck with the same side yet again, although Hatwell is fortunate to keep his place ahead of Neal Parlane.
India has replaced batsmen Rahane and Pandey with Vijay and Laxman. They've also left out one of the spinners, Bhatt, in favour of pace bowler Nachim.

Batting first didn't work out as we'd hoped this time.
After losing Hatwell early, Murdoch and Williamson got us through to 66/1 before the captain departed. Then in the next over, P.Kumar removed both Brownlie and Van Wyk for ducks to put us back in an awkward position. It was due to the efforts of Taylor, Fulton, Wells and Southee that we managed to get through to 232/8.
The two Kumars were the pick of the Indian bowlers, with tight spells and wickets.

Once Sehwag and Gambhir had put on 115 for the first wicket, it was really all over bar the shouting. Gambhir went on to score a fine unbeaten century to lead his side to victory and level the series up at 2-2 with one to play.

[GrahamB]

5th ODI - NZ v India 2013

We made three changes for the decider - Neal Parlane replacing Brook Hatwell as an opening batsman, Derek de Boorder replacing Kruger Van Wyk as keeper and Bruce Martin making way for Jacob Oram.
The Indians left out Nachim in favour of Yadav.

We won the toss for the fourth time in five and elected to bat first yet again.
Murdoch and Parlane put together 144 for the opening stand, with Parlane being the main aggressor. Following his dismissal for 80, Murdoch anchored the innings until he fell just short of a century. Taylor kept the momentum going and we finished with a sizable 302/4.
P.Kumar stood out like a beacon amongst the bowlers with 2/38.

Just when the NZ fans thought we'd done enough, Sehwag came out in rampant mood to smash 90 off just 67 balls to bring the run rate down to a manageable level for his team mates. Laxman and Vijay backed up his efforts with half centuries and India looked certain to chase down our score. However, once they were gone, wickets tumbled and the game really could have gone either way. Unfortunately for us though, it was the visitors who got up with the final pair at the crease.



India win the ODI series 3-2.

[GrahamB]

T20 Internationals - NZ v India 2013

The NZ side that played in both games was:

S.Murdoch (capt)
J.Raval
L.Bennett
R.Taylor
S.Wells
J.Franklin
D.de Boorder (wk)
J.Ryder
T.Southee
D.Tuffey
B.Arnel

In the first game, none of the Indian batsmen were able to cash in on starts, but they still managed to score 166/5 under difficult overhead conditions. Franklin was the most impressive of our bowlers, conceding a miserly 2/24.
Murdoch and Raval got us off to a tremendous start that really should have seen us home, but the following batsmen struggled to assert any sort of dominance and the eventual tie was a disappointing result. S.Kumar responded superbly to the challenge, finishing with the fine figures of 2/22.



We batted first in the deciding fixture. After Murdoch and Bennett were gone at 11/2, Ross Taylor took it upon himself to anchor our innings with a wonderfully controlled knock of 81no. His unbeaten partnership with Jimmy Franklin saw us through to a respectable 172/4.
Gambhir came out and started flaying the ball like a man possessed, despite wickets falling regularly at the other end. When we finally managed to send him on his way, keeper Kaul again became our curse with his unbeaten half century seeing his side through to victory off the final ball of the match. Sam Wells was the best of our bowlers, finishing with 3/28.



India take the T20 series 1-0.

[GrahamB]

2013 Tour to Sri Lanka



Opening Batsmen
Stephen Murdoch really needs to find a partner at the top of the order. 22 year old Ben Smith has shown good technique in his first season of domestic cricket and is likely to get the nod ahead of Jeet Raval.

Other Batsmen
We seem to have good stocks of useful batsmen at present and this meant that both Sam Wells and Ross Taylor missed selection, along with Iain Robertson and young Len Bennett. Jesse Ryder retained his spot ahead of them based on the test form he's delivered for us over the past two seasons, while 22 year old Harry Boam was preferred because of the promise he's shown.
Our test line up is likely to include Dean Brownlie, Kane Williamson, Tim Weston and Ryder. Neil Broom is an able replacement should he be required. Ryder of course offers a further bowling option as an all-rounder.

Keepers
Although Derek de Boorder has been one of the in form batsmen, Kruger Van Wyk is likely to start ahead of him due to his solid performances at test level for us.

Pace Bowlers
We have a good battery of pace bowlers, all vying for their chance in the test side.
23 year old express bowler Vic Skinner still leaks too many runs, but is a proven wicket taker. I intend sticking him on accuracy technique training.
Neil Wagner has proven to be useful with the bat and ball.
Trent Boult has been a consistent performer for us in tests.
Waiting in the wings are Tim Southee and promising 22 year old medium fast bowler Norman Norman.

Spin Bowlers
We've unearthed an exciting new 20 year old leg spinner by the name of Sam Lyman. He has taken 56 first class wickets at an average of 21 in his first season and has many NZ fans licking their lips in anticipation!
Seasoned campaigner and reliable slow left armer Bruce Martin was desperately unlucky to miss selection, with another young leg spinner, 22 year old Richard Willmott being preferred.

[Chewie]

lol you have a player called Norman Norman

[GrahamB]

lol you have a player called Norman Norman

Yeah - must have had thick parents!

[GrahamB]

1st Test - Sri Lanka v NZ 2013

The home skipper won the toss and elected to bat. Unsurprising really with the pitch expected to break up from the second day on!

Vic Skinner sent both Thirimanne and Matthews on their way early, but Samaraweera combined firstly with Sangakkara and then with Jayawardene, taking the score through to 153/3 before he fell. Then all-rounder Diwage found some support from tailenders Mendis and Karnain to take the score through to 262.
Skinner finished with 4/95, while young spinner Lyman grabbed 3/75 on debut.

After Murdoch got a corker from Karnain with his score on 5, Ben Smith and Dean Brownlie took us through to 60/1 before three wickets fell in quick succession to the spinners.
Once Smith had gone, only Ryder provided resistance as we crumbled to a lowly 155 all out on the turning pitch.
The Sri Lankan spinners were dynamite, Mendis taking an incredible 5/24 and Boralessa 4/49.

With good support from both Sangakkara and Jayawardene in particular, opening batsman Thirimanne guided his side through to 237/4 before Skinner shattered the innings with the second new ball.
Sri Lanka all out for 266, but it was going to be near nigh on impossible for us to chase 374 on a pitch that had erratic bounce and sharp turn.

Murdoch and Smith made a solid start, getting us past fifty before Murdoch was dismissed. However, after that only young Ben Smith was able to master the conditions and the Sri Lankan bowlers, carrying his bat through the innings to finish with a gritty unbeaten century on debut.
This time the spinners were ably assisted by pace bowler Priyanka, who finished with 4/67.

A good test for our bowlers, but our much vaunted batting let us down. Five dropped catches didn't help our cause either, especially considering that the home side held all of theirs.

[riz7khan12]

thats unfortunate, i find sri lanka easiest to beat i won against them 2-0 in the same series to my surprise. Williamson, Wagner and Hira did most of the damage then.

[GrahamB]

thats unfortunate, i find sri lanka easiest to beat i won against them 2-0 in the same series to my surprise. Williamson, Wagner and Hira did most of the damage then.

You did well to negate the spinners. Were you on normal mode with the original database?

[GrahamB]

2nd Test - Sri Lanka v NZ 2013

The Sri Lankans made one change to their side, replacing Silva with Chandimal.
We kept the same playing eleven.
We lost the toss again, but at least this time the pitch was unlikely to break up. Mind you, that could also mean that a result could be difficult to get for either side.

The home side made full use of the prime batting conditions to score a mammoth 519. Five batsmen went past fifty (Sangakkara, Mathews, Chandimal, Jayawardene and Diwaje), but none were able to go on to score centuries!
Wagner and Lyman picked up four wickets apiece.

Things weren't looking that great for us at 95/4 in reply, but Brownlie and Weston put on a record 224 run partnership for the fifth wicket to get us back on track. Both went on to score tons. There was a late flurry from Van Wyk with 39no, but we still fell just over a hundred runs short of the Sri Lankan total.
Priyankara picked up a "five fer", finishing with 5/149.

Skinner and Wagner came out with fire in their bellies and ripped into the Sri Lankan batting on what was still a good batting strip. Skinner yorked Sangakkara for 1 and then smashed Thirimanne in the helmet with a ferocious bouncer, putting him out of all cricket for a month! Only Chandimal held firm against the onslaught to pick up his second half century of the match.
Skinner and Wagner both ended with three wickets, the home side declaring late in the morning session on the final day.

Once both Smith and Brownlie were dismissed cheaply, achieving victory was always going to be a difficult ask. Murdoch and Williamson both showed some overdue form though as we went through to end the match on 152/3.



And so Sri Lanka takes the test series 1-0.

[GrahamB]

NZ ODI Squad in Sri Lanka 2013

[GrahamB]

1st ODI - Sri Lanka v NZ 2013

Batting first, Brownlie, Williamson and Van Wyk were the main contributors as we put up a respectable 271/8.
However, when Sangakkara is on song, there is little one can do to stop him and so it proved today.



1-0 to Sri Lanka after the first ODI.

[GrahamB]

2nd ODI - Sri Lanka v NZ 2013

At 94/1, the home side had got off to a comfortable start. However, once the second wicket fell, the innings crumbled like a pack of cards, with only Chandimal and Mathews getting past 20.
Whereas Neil Wagner and Norman Norman had been disappointing in the first ODI, today they were tight and threatening. Good as those two were, young Sam Lyman bowled the spell of his life to claim 5/32 and totally humiliate the Sri Lankans.

If we thought that we were going to stroll to victory, we were sadly mistaken as we were quickly reduced to 6/3!
Dusan Hakaraia and Kruger Van Wyk launched a recovery, but when they both fell in quick succession followed shortly after by Wells, we were again in the poo at 78/6.
Fortunately Ross Taylor got support from the lower order to see us to within six runs of victory before he fell, leaving us at 144/8. Norman though is no slouch with the bat and he was determined that his efforts with the ball weren't going to be in vain, his invaluable unbeaten 23 at number 9 seeing us squeak through to victory.



The series level at 1-1 with one to play.

[GrahamB]

3rd ODI - Sri Lanka v NZ 2013

Sri Lanka collapsed from a position of strength at 139/2 to a disastrous 160/8! Fortunately for them, Saman got stoic support from his number 10 and 11 batsmen to get his side through to a reasonably competitive 239/9.
Norman, Wagner and Boult were all tight and took two wickets each.

Our top order fired with one day specialist Dusan Hakariah smashing 93 off 87 balls to drag the run rate right down. Kane Williamson backed him up with an unbeaten 85 to guide us through to a comprehensive victory in the 41st over.



We exact some sort of revenge for going down in the test series by taking out the ODI series 2-1.

[GrahamB]

1st T20 International - Sri Lanka v NZ 2013

We'd selected the following squad for the T20s:

S.Murdoch (capt)
B.McCullum (wk)
J.Raval
R.Taylor
S.Wells
J.Ryder
J.Franklin
D.de Boorder (wk)
D.Brownlie
C.de Grandhomme
A.Ellis
R.Wilmott
N.Wagner
S.Lyman
B.Arnel

Sam Wells led the charge in the first T20 with an unbeaten half century as we fought our way to 144/3.
The Sri Lankan spinners, Senanayake and Mendis were very miserly, conceding 2/26 and 0/23 respectively.

Chandimal and Matthews set up their side for victory with fine innings at the top of the order.
Brent Arnel with 2/26, Sam Lyman with 1/27 and Sam Wells with 2/18 (off three overs) made the task difficult, but the home batsmen took to debutante spinner Richard Wilmott.
The Sri Lankans achieved victory with just three balls to spare to go 1-0 up in the two match series.