All posts by n8rngtd.top

His absence opens the door for either Haris Rauf or Faheem Ashraf to make the XI

Sreshth Shah21-Jul-2022Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has been ruled out of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle that begins on Sunday. The PCB said in a statement that Afridi suffered a knee injury during the fourth day of the first Test that Pakistan won by four wickets.Afridi had played a key role in Sri Lanka’s first innings in the opening Test, taking 4 for 58 in 14.1 overs to bowl the hosts out for 222. But he bowled just seven overs in Sri Lanka’s second innings that lasted for 100 overs, and left the field after appearing to be in discomfort on day three. He will, however, stay back with the Pakistan contingent in Sri Lanka till the end of the Tests “where his initial rehabilitation and management will continue under the supervision of the team’s medical staff.”Afridi was initially seen hobbling in the field after a diving effort, and was spotted with an ice pack wrapped around his knee thereafter. He had also undergone an MRI scan in Galle.Afridi’s absence opens the door for one of fast bowler Haris Rauf or bowling allrounder Faheem Ashraf to make the XI for the second Test, if Pakistan opt for another seamer despite Galle providing spin-friendly conditions. Afridi’s injury also delays his bid to become the 11th Pakistan seam bowler to take 100 Test wickets. He is currently on 99 scalps in the format.Pakistan’s next commitment is a three-match ODI series in the Netherlands starting August 16, after which the Asia Cup T20 competition is scheduled to be held later that month. It is still unclear whether Afridi’s injury is serious enough to put his participation for those games in jeopardy.Sri Lanka have injury concerns of their own too ahead of the final Test of the series, that is also part of the World Test Championship. On Thursday, it was learnt that offspinner Maheesh Theekshana was ruled out of the second Test with a finger injury.

Ricky Ponting believes the Steven Smith can reach record peaks in his career but did caution that things could get tougher for the Australia captain

Brydon Coverdale26-Nov-20171:27

Smith explains emotional century celebration

Ricky Ponting believes Australia’s captain Steven Smith has the potential to finish his career as the greatest batsman of the modern era. Smith’s century on the third day at the Gabba was the 21st of his Test career, in his 57th Test, and left him with a career batting average of 61.23.Smith began as a legspinning allrounder but notably made a significant change to his game while batting in Perth during the 2013-14 Ashes, when he spontaneously added a preliminary movement to his technique. Since then, he has averaged 72.09 and scored 20 centuries. Ponting said his record put him on track to become the best batsman of the modern era.”Twenty-one hundreds in 57 games, he’s well and truly on track to do that,” Ponting said on ABC radio on the fourth morning in Brisbane. “When you look at the way he went about it yesterday, he was just completely unflappable. He didn’t get out of his bubble at all, through the course of that innings, which says a lot about him.”I’ve watched him pretty closely, you can just tell he’s hungry to lead his team well and he wants to be the best player that there has ever been. He’s got a game now that is standing up to the best attacks in all conditions, all around the world. If he keeps trending the way he is, then absolutely.””Think about the greats – the Tendulkars and the Kallises and these guys that have scored 15,000 and 13,000 runs, but they played in 150-plus Tests, Tendulkar 200 Tests, to achieve what they achieved. He’s nearly halfway there in just over 50 Test matches.”Ponting added the caveat that things would not necessarily get any easier for Smith, noting that once a player gets near the 100-Test mark, it is difficult to keeping improving. Ponting was Australia’s captain when Smith made his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010, and he said that while nobody had expected him to become such a great batsman, it was always obvious that he had talent.”I don’t think any of us did, really,” Ponting said. “He’s clearly the number one ranked batsman in the world right now. We all knew he had talent, because he used to do things a bit differently. He would go to the nets and [you] throw him a pull shot, and he’d hit it straight back at you almost like a tennis shot. It’s all different and unorthodox, but there’s a certain amount of talent that goes with that.”Coming in the first Test of a home Ashes, Smith’s Gabba century was not unlike Ponting’s own Brisbane hundred in 2006-07, an innings that set the tone for Australia’s whitewash of England. Ponting said Smith’s effort this time around would have had a significant effect on some of the younger or recalled members of Australia’s side.”We saw the emotion that came out of him afterwards, banging his chest and his heart and his crest,” he said. “But if I was sitting in that dressing room as a young bloke — as a Bancroft or a Shaun Marsh coming back in, or Tim Paine — I wouldn’t have needed to see that at all.”I would have been inspired by what I had seen in 520 minutes at the crease, and going up and down through the gears, and playing a role that was so specific to what the game needed. It was a leader’s innings, and he’s put his mark down on the series at the first possible opportunity.”However, Ponting said there was one thing about Smith’s approach that he would like to see change.”I still wish he’d bowl a few more leggies every now and then as well,” Ponting said, “because he can bowl those and bowl those well.”

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association’s (TNCA) executive committee has nominated N Srinivasan to be the state association’s representative at the BCCI’s special general meeting on Monday (June 26) in Mumbai

Arun Venugopal23-Jun-2017The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association’s (TNCA) executive committee has nominated N Srinivasan to be the state association’s representative at the BCCI’s special general meeting on Monday (June 26) in Mumbai. According to a TNCA official, he is also slated to attend the state associations’ meetings with the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) on Sunday.Srinivasan, the former BCCI and ICC chief, currently stands disqualified from the role of TNCA president, but is a member of the association’s executive committee.It is unclear if Srinivasan is eligible to attend the meetings given the precedent established in April when the Supreme Court blocked his unlikely return to the boardrooms of the ICC. While the BCCI was inclined to nominate him as its representative for the ICC meetings, the CoA made it clear that any such move needed the Supreme Court’s approval.The Supreme Court subsequently halted Srinivasan’s comeback by observing that there was a “cloud” hanging over his integrity.The Supreme Court and the COA had then warned that office-bearers disqualified under the Lodha Committee recommendations could not attend BCCI meetings. Srinivasan was disqualified after being found ineligible on two counts: he was over 70 years of age and had completed nine years as an office-bearer at both the TNCA and the BCCI, thereby violating the judgment of July 2016, which had approved the recommendations of the Lodha Committee.The CoA is yet to respond to ESPNcricinfo’s queries regarding Srinivasan’s eligibility to attend Monday’s SGM.Srinivasan’s most recent public appearance came on June 19, when he felicitated the Tamil Nadu team that had won the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Deodhar Trophy in the 2016-17 domestic season.

Masood and Madsen show the way before Middlesex turn up the heat

Paul Edwards13-Jun-2022
“Hominem te memento” whispered the auriga in the ear of Roman generals during their triumphs. Remember that you are a man. Perhaps Mickey Arthur should detail a junior member of staff to say something similar to Shan Masood during these weeks in which he is making batting appear the simplest thing on the planet.Or perhaps not. Masood is enjoying a magnificent season partly because, having experienced failure, he understands the nature of success. The Pakistani opener will only need to recall his uncharacteristically wild slash to a ball from Ethan Bamber in the eighth over of this morning’s play to be freshly aware of his fallibility. Stevie Eskinazi took the catch at first slip and thus ended one of the finest 49s you could ever see. And this match in its tree-ringed paradise may yet hinge on how well Masood bats in the fourth inningsArthur’s achievement in the East Midlands has been rather different and more complex. Rather than remind Derbyshire’s cricketers of their vulnerability, he has encouraged them to make the most of their strengths. The result is that a team which lost half its 14 first-class matches in 2021 has so far been defeated just once this season. The side’s competitive edge, and thereby Arthur’s influence, was apparent in the first half of this day’s play, never more so than when Wayne Madsen and Brooke Guest were putting on 82 for the third wicket.But at that point, Arthur might have asked George Scrimshaw, one of Derbyshire’s 12th men, to go out and murmur words of caution in the batsmen’s lugholes. For once Guest had been gated for 40 by a ball angled in to him from Bamber, very little went well for Godleman’s team. Indeed, Middlesex’s bowlers seized control of the day, their efforts led by a man who needs no reminding of human frailty. For given even a regular helping of luck, Toby Roland-Jones would have gained many more than four England caps; instead, his recent career has been wrecked by injury and he must commit himself to Middlesex. Plainly he does not find it a hardship.Roland-Jones’ devotion to his county’s cause has always been very plain but his spell of 7-4-14-5 this afternoon was extraordinary even by his standards. Maintaining a tight line and using a recently changed ball, he exploited the Derbyshire players’ every weakness – and there was suddenly an abundance of those. The result was that having been well placed on 175 for two and 208 for three, the latter giving a deficit of 43, the home side collapsed like a detonated power station, losing their last seven wickets for 21 runs in exactly 11 overs.Declines of that magnitude and velocity often determine the outcomes of games. By close of play, Middlesex were 95 for 3, giving them a lead of 117 and the opportunity to bat a couple more sessions of the third day before leaving, or even setting, a target on a pitch which is offering the spinners plenty of encouragement. Mark Stoneman is unbeaten on 60 and has hit eight fours and a six, with all but one of his boundaries on the leg side. The visitors’ advantage is nothing like enough but it is difficult to see them subsiding like Derbyshire did and harder still to see the home side chasing more than 240 unless Masood plays an innings from the Gods. And come Wednesday, Thilan Walallawita and Luke Hollman should enjoy bowling on this Queen’s Park pitchBut it was not the twisters who caused havoc this afternoon. Rather, it was Roland-Jones loping in with those lovely long strides who persuaded Madsen to play a little too far from his body and thick-edge a catch to Sam Robson in the gully. For all that Masood is by five furlongs his side’s best batter, Madsen is still the player his colleagues look to when their ship’s listing in rough water. It was almost natural that his dismissal began the submersion.Next over, Leus du Plooy came half-forward to Tim Murtagh but merely edged Eskinazi the second of his three slip catches. Ten minutes later, Anuj Dal missed a straight one from Roland-Jones, who was to bowl similarly probing deliveries to Alex Thomson and Sam Conners before either had scored. The batsmen trusted their pads; it was not a wise move. At one stage, Roland-Jones had taken four wickets for absolutely spit in 21 balls. On the first day of this match the public address system had gone on the blink; this afternoon, some of the locals – flat vowels, warm hearts – probably wondered if someone could smash the bloody thing again. Derbyshire’s innings ended when Luis Reece hoisted Murtagh into the heavens and Max Holden took the catch at deep square leg.Middlesex’s lead was 22. It’s now 117 and feels much larger than that. Beyond a doubt, it does not seem 24 hours since Masood had hit five blissful fours off Murtagh’s new-ball bowlers, the skipper being among the sufferers. Four of those boundaries were conceded by Roland-Jones, though, the man who this afternoon ran through Derbyshire’s batsmen like ten pints of Hook Norton coursing through an Oxonian’s bowels.

With WA only needing a draw to claim the Shield title, Whiteman made 123 and Hardie finished 119 not out to all but bat Victoria out of the game with a day to play

Alex Malcolm03-Apr-2022Western Australia have one hand on the Sheffield Shield trophy after centuries from Sam Whiteman and Aaron Hardie took the game away from Victoria on the fourth day at the WACA ground in Perth.With WA only needing a draw to secure the title after claiming the bonus point lead on day three, Whiteman produced a superb display of concentration and determination to blunt the visitors for more than three sessions and found able support from Hardie, who produced an outstanding century, to push WA’s lead to a nearly unassailable 393 with four wickets in hand and a day to play.Whiteman batted 500 minutes for his 123 from 338 balls, to go with his 85 in the first innings. He became the second WA player to face more than 500 balls in a Shield final after Mike Veletta did it in 1987.Hardie showed his blossoming all-round talents, adding his second Shield century to his three crucial wickets in Victoria’s first innings.The pair produced a brilliant 184, the highest sixth-wicket partnership for WA in a Shield final after coming together at a critical point in the first session. WA had crawled along to 5 for 110, with a lead of just 190, after the fall of Teague Wyllie and Josh Philippe in quick succession.But Whiteman’s disciplined leaving and Hardie’s obdurate defence wore down Victoria’s attack across more than 62 overs on a warm afternoon.Whiteman hardly made a mistake, having already batted the final session of the third day. Scott Boland, Will Sutherland and Mitchell Perry threw everything at him but his judgement of length was superb. He also played the spin of Jon Holland and Matthew Short with similar discipline and assured footwork. He sweated on anything short and wide unfurling cuts and late cuts behind point in between long periods of leaving and defending.He brought his century off 268 balls with a late cut off Holland. It was ninth in first-class cricket and his eighth Shield century. It was also his sixth ton in the last four seasons since becoming a full-time top order batter, having started his career in WA as a specialist wicketkeeper-batter before a bad finger injury forced him to abandon the gloves.Sam Whiteman walks off at tea with an unbeaten century•Getty Images

Hardie overcame a nervous start and survived a close lbw shout off Sutherland just after lunch. The umpire deemed it just going over the top after the ball hit the back thigh in line with off. He also edged Holland from over the wicket, but the ball brushed the gloves of keeper Sam Harper and fell short of Peter Handscomb at slip.But the longer he went, the tighter his defence became and the better his driving was off both feet. He hit the spinners powerfully wide of mid off from both the front and back foot and produced a couple of sparkling straight drives, including one to bring his century in fine style.Victoria bowled well throughout the day and deserved better than their returns. They ground WA to a halt in the morning session thanks to Boland and Sutherland. WA scored just three runs in the first nine overs of the day and only 43 in the first 30 overs before lunch. The slow scoring and the dual breakthroughs gave Victoria hope that they could bowl WA out and chase down a target of under 300.Wyllie, who scored just 23 off 86 balls, edged Perry to slip prodding a forward defence at a ball he could have left. Handscomb held yet another catch to add to his record season tally. Shortly after, Philippe played a loose shot to Holland, chipping him to cover for 1.But they failed to make another breakthrough until the final hour when Whiteman finally made an error in judgement and lost his off stump shouldering arms to Sutherland.Hardie and Joel Paris saw WA to stumps without further loss and only a miraculous final day chase from Victoria would deny them a first Shield title in 23 years.

Both men believe criticism of the players is wide of the mark

Alex Malcolm08-Feb-2022Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey doesn’t subscribe to the theory that a small group of players and staff were key to Justin Langer’s departure as head coach while Usman Khawaja believes Test captain Pat Cummins or limited-overs captain Aaron Finch needs to answer some questions to end the speculation.The current Australian players and staff have been conspicuous in their collective silence in the days following Langer’s resignation on Saturday morning.Related

• Cummins: 'Don't think Langer should be surprised' with players asking for coaching change

• Agar named as third spinner in Australia squad to tour Pak

• Langer apologises for being 'too intense' in resignation letter

• Langer resigns as Australia coach after rejecting short-term extension

Alex Carey and Khawaja were the first players to do any media appearances, with both men speaking in the lead-up to the restart of the Sheffield Shield season on Friday, while Bailey spoke following the announcement of Australia’s 18-man Test squad to tour Pakistan.Bailey said he was consulted by Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley and head of national teams Ben Oliver about Langer’s position but he did not believe the accusations that a “faceless few” individuals had been key to the coach not getting a long-term contract were accurate.”I was consulted,” Bailey said. “I’m led to believe that it was a very, very broad consultation. It went wide. Again, I’ve been consulted back since the middle of last year,” Bailey said.”I don’t subscribe to the fact that there was individuals that were key to making the decision.”Bailey also thought Langer’s apology in his letter of resignation was unnecessary.”In JL’s letter that he apologised for being too intense, I mean, I don’t think that’s something he had to apologise for,” Bailey said. “One if he felt that way, but two, I don’t think he was too intense.”A number of ex-Australia players, many of them Langer’s former teammates, have rebuked the current playing group in the media following the coach’s resignation. Bailey encouraged many of them to reach out if they had any concerns about the inner workings of the Australian team.”It’s hard as a past player to keep your finger completely on the pulse of what’s going on within the team,” Bailey said. “A lot of their opinions can be based on hearsay and second and third-hand information. So I would always encourage those players to reach out and get a good understanding of what’s happening.”Khawaja said he wasn’t consulted on the coach’s contract and noted he had not been around the team during the India Test series last summer and the West Indies and Bangladesh limited-overs tours last winter where issues between Langer and the players had bubbled to the surface. But he urged Cummins and Finch to address the issue.”I think at some stage one of the captains, probably Finchy or Patty will probably have to stand up and answer some questions just to get rid of all the speculation that’s going around and to just put an end to it all,” Khawaja said.Both Khawaja and Bailey said they had contacted Langer since his resignation. Both praised the departed coach for bringing humility back to Australia’s men’s cricket team.”One thing that I do love JL for, what I feel he bought back into Australia was humility,” Khawaja said. “I felt like he brought humility back in the Australian cricket team. You talk about legacy, for me, that’s one thing that he’s left behind. Because I know what we were playing like before he was coach, and I know what we were playing like after he became coach. So I haven’t said that to him yet. So I’m saying it to you guys.”Bailey added a similar sentiment recalling Langer’s first day on the job.”Funnily enough through a bit of a quirk of fate, and I can’t remember why it was, but I was actually present in Brisbane the day that JL first spoke to the Australian group when he took on the role,” Bailey said.”I sort of feel like I was there for day one of the journey despite coming on in this role halfway through. But I vividly remember his two points that day. He wanted the team to earn respect with Australians and he wanted to develop great cricketers and great people. And I think he has absolutely done that. I think the team have done that. JL has done that. The staff around the team have done that.”

West Indies slumped to 27 for 6 as Starc and Hazlewood did the early damage and never recovered enough

Andrew McGlashan20-Jul-2021Mitchell Starc took a five-wicket haul as he and Josh Hazlewood dismantled West Indies in the opening ODI to give Alex Carey, who had earlier played a key hand with the bat, a winning start as Australia’s ODI captain.Carey, standing in for the injured Aaron Finch, had formed the backbone of Australia’s innings with Ashton Turner in a fifth-wicket stand of 104 in 19 overs before Hayden Walsh Jr sparked a late collapse with a career-best five-wicket haul.However, Australia’s 252 – which was adjusted to a target of 257 after three rain interruptions cut the match to 49 overs – quickly looked imposing as Starc and Hazlewood got to work with the new ball to leave West Indies in a heap at 27 for 6. Starc took three wickets in his first spell and then returned to end the aggressive rearguard of Kieron Pollard. Pollard hit a 41-ball fifty, but the West Indies captain had been left with far too much ground to regain.Starc, whose form had improved through the T20I series, removed Evin Lewis first ball with a low return catch from a leading edge and then produced a trademark inswinger to castle Jason Mohammed. Hazlewood then showed off his skills with a superb one-handed catch to his left off his own bowling to snaffle Shimron Hetymer’s leading edge – the pitch, where the ball was going through the top, proved tough to drive on.Mitchell Starc ripped through the West Indies batting line-up•CWI

Nicholas Pooran became Starc’s third wicket when an lbw decision was upheld with the ball trimming leg stump and Hazlewood kept pace with his new-ball partner as Darren Bravo drove carelessly to point, when some circumspection was needed, and then Jason Holder hooked to long leg.At six down inside eight overs, the match was heading for a very swift finish but Pollard counterattacked against Adam Zampa, with Alzarri Joseph providing solid support in a seventh-wicket stand. Mitchell Marsh broke through when he knocked back Joseph’s off stump before Starc returned to add the finishing touches with his eighth five-wicket bag.For only the third time since 1980-81, Australia handed out three ODI debuts in the same game with Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott and Wes Agar given their caps. For South Australia quick Agar – his brother Ashton handed him his cap – it was a first international appearance. Agar ended up delivering six tight overs after the early damage inflicted by Starc and Hazlewood.Philippe and McDermott were paired at the top of the order – the last time Australia had two new openers in the same ODI was also the last time they fielded three debutants, against Sri Lanka in 2012-13 – and they made a strong start led by Philippe who dominated the scoring. Philippe twice cleared the ropes in the first ten overs, the first a pull off the slightly wayward Sheldon Cottrell and then a clean strike down the ground off Mohammed, before undoing his good work when he chopped on trying to give himself room against Akeal Hosein.The in-form Marsh set off in positive fashion before glancing a catch down the leg side that wasn’t given on field but was overturned by DRS – Marsh knew his fate and was walking off when the review was called.Hayden Walsh Jr had career-best returns of 5 for 39•CWI

On a surface where the ball was occasionally going through the top from the quicks and offering some turn for the spinners, timing wasn’t always easy and Australia’s innings became harder work against good spells from Hosein, who bowled his ten overs straight through, and Joseph. Moises Henriques’ difficult 24-ball stay ended with a top-edged a sweep to short fine-leg and when McDermott – who had only faced 48 balls in 25 overs – nicked the deserving Joseph to slip, Australia were 114 for 4.By then Carey had already opened his boundary account with a slog-swept six off Hosein and after a second rain break, he took consecutive boundaries from Mohammed’s part-time offspin.Turner was given a life on 12 when he pulled Cottrell towards long leg but Mohammed could not hold a low chance as he ran in off the boundary. That was in an eight-over period where Australia did not find the boundary against some tight bowling from Walsh Jr and Joseph.Carey began to kick things on when he brought up his fifty with a flat six over long-off, which was followed next ball by a scooped four off Holder. Turner then started to find his range with back-to-back sixes off Holder – the first a strong blow over wide long-on followed by a top edge over the keeper – before another rain interruption.Walsh Jr had been held back until the 29th over by Pollard but then conceded barely three an over for the majority of his spell. In his eighth over, Carey missed a sweep to lose his leg stump and Turner top-edged to deep square one short of his fifty, which was followed by Starc and Matthew Wade picking out fielders deep on the leg side in a five-wicket haul that took 16 balls to complete. But in the end, though, Australia had more than enough.

The entire touring party has been asked to go into isolation for 48 hours before they are tested again

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2022Several members of the Afghanistan touring party in Bangladesh, including some players, have tested positive for Covid-19. It is understood that the Afghanistan squad, currently training in Sylhet ahead of a white-ball series against Bangladesh, have been asked to go into isolation for 48 hours – which ends on Wednesday – before they appear for fresh tests.The BCB has extended its support to the visitors, even though technically, the tour hasn’t started, and the Afghanistan squad is in Sylhet, since February 12, on their own.”Definitely we will support them in this situation,” Jalal Yunus, the BCB cricket operations chief, said. The visiting side will come under the BCB’s care officially on February 19. The tour is scheduled to start on February 23, with the first ODI in Chattogram, followed by two more games at the same venue on February 25 and 28. This will be followed by two T20Is in Dhaka on March 3 and 5.

Martin Guptill returned from injury with a match-winning unbeaten 180 off 138 balls to help New Zealand level the series 2-2 in the 4th ODI

The Report by Andrew McGlashan in Hamilton01-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:28

McGlashan: Astonishing display from Guptill

Could Martin Guptill slot back into the New Zealand line-up after a month on the sidelines and make an immediate impact? The answer to that was an ‘yes’ as he surged to a ferocious 180 off 138 balls at Seddon Park to set up a series decider in Auckland on Saturday. His innings enabled New Zealand to chase down what had appeared a challenging target of 280 with a massive 30 balls to spare.His 12th century in ODI cricket came from 82 deliveries after being saved by the DRS having been given lbw to Dwaine Pretorius on 62. Guptill dominated a third-wicket stand of 180 with Ross Taylor who made 66 off 97 deliveries, the joint second-highest for New Zealand and highest for any wicket against South Africa. Guptill finished with 11 sixes – at least four of them disappearing out of the ground – and now holds the three highest innings for New Zealand in ODIs after his 237 against West Indies in the World Cup and 189 against England in 2013.South Africa will ponder their team selection and tactics with the ball. The fact that the pitch would aid the spinners, and likely grip for the seamers, had been telegraphed a long way out. Yet they opted not to play a second frontline spinner in Tabraiz Shamsi while JP Duminy’s three overs cost 26 although AB de Villiers later defended the selection. They also did not bowl the amount of cutters and slower balls that New Zealand did mid-innings, instead the extra pace from their quartet of seamers played into New Zealand’s – and Guptill’s – hands.With the bat it was a familiar pattern: a solid base (128 for 2), a middle-order collapse (4 for 30) and then a revival led by de Villiers and the lower order to take South Africa to 279. De Villiers, Chris Morris and Wayne Parnell plundered 100 from the last eight overs to seemingly swing the match in South Africa’s favour. But then Guptill got to work.He struck the ball with blistering power, belying his lack of match time, and the signs had been promising as early as the fourth over when he pulled Parnell onto the grass banks. He connected with an even bigger blow off Morris, speeding to his fifty off 38 deliveries and needing just another 44 for three figures. The ball rarely failed to make a thunderous crack off his bat.Each time the asking rate threatened to edge much over a run-a-ball he would manage to go over or across the boundary. De Villiers didn’t know how to stop him, a feeling many a bowler has felt against the South Africa captain. The nearest Guptill came to a problem, until a missed run out on 166 when the match had been won, was when he was struck on the helmet by Morris.He overwhelmed the innings, but his partners were important. Kane Williamson helped add 72 for the second wicket as New Zealand got themselves ahead of the rate. He was also involved in, perhaps, the crucial decision of the innings. When given lbw to Imran Tahir’s second ball he pondered the review but decided to walk off. Replays showed it was out. If Williamson had gambled, there would not have been one for Guptill.Taylor then played the ideal second-fiddle, happy to ride in Guptill’s slipstream, although brought his fifty up with a huge six over midwicket to match anything his partner managed.New Zealand’s selection was far more tailored to the surface with Jeetan Patel recalled, ahead of the unlucky Ish Sodhi, as a second spinner. He struck in the first over of the match when Quinton de Kock’s run of five fifty-plus scores ended with his first golden duck in international cricket. There was an even more notable first, too, as a pair of spinners opened the bowling in the first innings of an ODI for the first time.The move did not last long, though, and Hashim Amla enjoyed the extra pace of Trent Boult but New Zealand soon switched back to spin and pace-off. Patel nabbed Amla at the start of his second spell and New Zealand began to squeeze. Tim Southee and Jimmy Neesham bowled handy spells of cutters as South Africa lost 4 for 30 in 9.5 overs. JP Duminy’s unconvincing series continued when he bottom-edged Southee, du Plessis chipped to midwicket after a 72-ball fifty, David Miller picked out deep midwicket while Pretorius was run out.De Villiers was left to try and take the innings deep again. He was sitting on 27 off 37 balls, after a period of 12 boundary-less overs, when he pulled Mitchell Santner over deep midwicket to mark his late-overs kick. Both Southee and Boult came in for late punishment, but rather than providing a total to challenge New Zealand it just enabled Guptill to play one of New Zealand’s finest one-day innings.

West Indies have not won in New Zealand in 22 years, but their captain is hopeful his young team, which is on a recent upswing, can help change that

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2017West Indies’ struggle with long-term consistency may be an impediment to their pursuit of a first series victory on New Zealand soil in 22 years, but captain Jason Holder is optimistic their recent more results – a series win against Zimbabwe and a successful chase of 322 against England – will stand his team in good stead.”I think we’re in a pretty good place, this present team,” Holder said ahead of the first Test in Wellington on Friday. “I think we built up quite nicely this past year. We’re still not a finished product. There’s a lot more improvement to be made. But I think we’re headed in the right direction. I think it would be a very good series, especially coming off a win in Zimbabwe. I’m really pleased with the progression of this side. And we’ve obviously played some decent cricket in England prior to that. So yeah, I’m feeling really good about this series.”According the Holder, the presence of a quality attack, backed up by experienced reserve players, will be key to West Indies’ performance on tour. Given New Zealand lost eight wickets to the left-arm spin of South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj in their previous fixture at Basin Reserve in March, the efficacy of Devendra Bishoo cannot be discounted.”We’ve got a pretty balanced attack. Our seamers have done well for us in the past, led by Shannon [Gabriel] and Kemar [Roach] – we’ve got some decent replacements on the bench as well, who haven’t probably played in the last few months like Miguel Cummins and Alzarri Joseph. I think our seam bowling department is covered.”We obviously have our main spinner in Devendra Bishoo – he’s our only frontline spinner on this tour and other guys like Roston Chase and Kraigg Brathwaite can probably help also. Roston and Kraigg are top-order batters as well, who can bowl quite a few overs in a game and pretty much hold up an end and in doing so help us rotate the seamers. So, I think it brings a lot of depth to our side.”Early sightings of the pitch showed grass cover almost indistinguishable from the outfield but Holder did his best not to read too much into it until the first ball is bowled.”I don’t think many batsmen in world cricket have grown up to see so much grass on a pitch and really be willing to have a go at it. Having said that, it’s international sport and we can be asked to bat tomorrow, we’d be happy to lose the toss or whatever the case maybe, so we’ve got to have an open mind towards it and whatever happens we’ve got to be professional towards it and just assess the conditions as we see it and not predetermine what’s going to happen with the surface. As a group we want to analyse it only when the cricket actually starts.”West Indies were also banking on the fact that they have played three more Tests than New Zealand’s five this year. “We’ve been on the road for a while,” Holder said. “We had the series in England and had a short break at home and a quick turnaround in Zimbabwe. After Zimbabwe we didn’t go home, we spend a few weeks in Australia, a bit of downtime there, relaxation. But we still had quite a bit of cricket as well. The thing is we’re coming off on a lot of cricket, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”I know New Zealand’s season has just begun, but they’ve got some quality players and obviously they’re going to be playing on home soil. So we’re still expecting a good contest from them and a really good push. So I wouldn’t sit here and say we’re in a much better position than New Zealand.”