Brendon McCullum will lead a predominantly young side in Bangladesh and while he was wary of how difficult conditions in the subcontinent can be, he believed the challenge would help them grow as international cricketers.
New Zealand are hoping to minimise the impact of alien conditions and a rigorous schedule by rotating their players during the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh. The teams play the first match on October 29, and the second comes up after only one day’s rest, followed by travel to Fatullah for the third and final match on November 3.
“Most of the bowlers will be given opportunities in this series at some point. We have got a lot of stock in this series which is good,” he said. “We have got experienced campaigners like Kyle Mills and Tim Southee. We have got some relative youngsters such as Adam Milne, Corey Anderson and James Neesham [in the side]. They are going to get some exposure in the next couple of games as well. That’s exciting for us and hopefully the conditions aren’t too brutal on them and they are able to perform.”
Seamer Mitchell McClenaghan has been a sensation this year for New Zealand, with 38 wickets at 18.02 in limited-overs cricket. But he is still not likely to feature in all three games, considering his lack of experience in the subcontinent and unhelpful pitches.
“I don’t imagine he will play every game just with the nature of how quick the two games are together at the start,” McCullum said. “This is his first trip to the subcontinent but he is an incredibly exciting talent for us. Since he has come in to international cricket, we have been able to change the way we attack with the ball.”
As for their batting, McCullum is happy to see Hamish Rutherford open the innings with newcomer Anton Devcich, who is expected to make his ODI debut on Tuesday. New Zealand will draw most of their experience from the likes of McCullum himself, Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott who man the middle order.
“Hamish Rutherford and Anton Devcich should open the batting for us,” McCullum. “They are both strong stroke-makers and like to play their shots. They should be able to play their shots given the balance of our middle order, with Williamson, Taylor and Elliot coming in behind so hopefully they are allowed to play with that freedom.”
New Zealand’s one-day form in the last 12 months is also encouraging for McCullum. They have won against South Africa and England away from home this year – a sure sign of progress as a team. “I think the one-day team is pretty set in how we play. We have had more success off late and probably feel a lot more confident in the one-day format at this point of time.”
The bottomline though is to return home with a series win, after the painful memories of 2010 and McCullum is acutely aware of that. His steely glare when asked whether he considered this series as opportunity for payback said it all.
“This is not revenge. But we haven’t forgotten.” McCullum couldn’t be closer to the truth.
, and they had their lower-order batsmen to thank for that. After being put in, SBP were reduced to 117 for 6 in the 26th over, with HBL’s Umar Gul and Ehsan Adil among wickets. But the last four batsmen added 114 useful runs to lift the team well past 200. Jalat Khan, the No 8 batsman, top scored with 38, while Mohammad Naved, the No 10, hit four sixes to collect 29 off 16 deliveries.
The target was not an imposing one and HBL made the ideal start as well, with Imran Farhat and Shan Masood putting up 52 for the first wicket. However, once Naved had Masood caught behind, HBL struggled to string together any big partnerships. They were reduced to 109 for 4, but the biggest slump came later. Between the 25th and the 30th over, HBL lost four wickets for only five runs, effectively ending the contest. Jalat and Zahid Mahmood picked up three wickets each, giving SBP two points at the start of the tournament.
A five-wicket haul by the seamer Yasir Arafat bowled out Pakistan Television for 161, setting up Khan Research Laboratories‘ six-wicket win in Rawalpindi. Arafat claimed the top three to leave PTV wobbling at 38 for 4. A sixth-wicket stand of 70 lifted PTV, with the captain Naeem Anjum scoring 45 off 53 balls. Arafat claimed two more wickets to finish with 5 for 25. KRL’s chase was led by fifties by Zain Abbas and Shoaib Ahmed. The pair added 83 for the second wicket before Shoaib was stumped for an exact 50. Abbas finished with 69, as KRL wrapped up the game with more than ten overs to spare.