Styris determined to cement place in Kiwi Twenty20 squad

April 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Wellington, Apr 24 (ANI): New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris is determined to cement his place in the playing eleven at the 2010 ICC Twenty20 World Cup to be played in the West Indies.

Styris is not about to take anything for granted, as he is aware that despite having been part of the squad for the previous two tournaments, as well as after a successful return to the ODI squad against Australia in March, he is still not back in the Twenty20 line-up.

“I didn”t make it for the home season, so at no stage have I thought I am in the playing XI,” said the 34-year-old Styris.

“I have to go out and put good performances on the board, otherwise I will find myself sitting watching these games, which is not what I want,” he added.

Styris”s inclusion in the T20 format of the game would be a natural step forward, as he had forced his way into the ODI lineup.

The New Zealand cricket team is taking a full-strength team to the West Indies that departs today.

Styris, a veteran of 29 tests from 2002 until his retirement from that form three years ago, 165 ODIs dating back to 1999 and 22 Twenty20s has been an in-and-out figure in the national side in the last couple of years.

“The selectors, over the last 12 to 18 months, have shown in their view. I am not in the Twenty20 side, so I have got to change that, whether I think I should be or not. It”s up to me to go out and try and change their opinion,” said Styris.

New Zealand plays the first game of the tournament against Sri Lanka in Georgetown, Guyana, on April 30. (ANI)

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Kiwis have not ordered a dust bowl pitch for Wellington: Greatbatch

March 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Wellington, Mar.16 (ANI): New Zealand cricket team coach Mark Greatbatch has said there has been no request from his team to turn the Basin Reserve here into a dustbowl for the first test against Australia, starting on Friday.

He said that any Australian fears that the pitch would be dried out to assist spinners Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel are off the mark.

“No, not at all. With a 13-man squad we”ve got that cover with our four seamers and two spinners so we need to see how the pitch unfolds over the next few days,” the Dominion Post quoted Greatbatch, as saying.

“It”s normally a wonderful test strip here so we”re looking forward to it and we”re excited about the game,” he added.

“We”re going to bowl a certain way to them. We don”t have any nasty fasties so we”re going to need to be patient, be accurate and really just hang in there and compete against them, every ball. Discipline and patience is going to be a key. If we can do that over five days then we”re a chance of competing with them and staying with them,” he said. (ANI)

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Young up for Test cricket cameo as McCullum battles stomach bug

August 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Galle (Sri Lanka), Aug 21(ANI): Following a spell of food poisoning sweeping through the New Zealand cricket team, Auckland wicketkeeper Reece Young is up for a Test cricket cameo.

A stomach bug has hit regular wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum and reserve keeper Jesse Ryder, while up to seven other squad members have also been affected.

Since Young was not part of the initial squad, New Zealand had to ask Sri Lanka for permission to field him, which the Sri Lankan team has allowed.

Young will deputise for McCullum when New Zealand’s first innings ends on the fourth day of the first test here at Galle International Stadium, stuff.co.nz reports.

Young is yet to play on tour but he boasts experience of 85 first-class matches.

New Zealand team medical staff have been busy administering antibiotics and keeping the players hydrated, while team manager Dave Currie said that they will hold an investigation into the issue.

Currie further hopes that McCullum and Ryder would recover in time to bat in New Zealand’s second innings. (ANI)

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Black Caps inability to make solid starts annoyed Moles

April 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Wellington, Apr.8 (ANI): New Zealand cricket team coach Andy Moles has admitted that one of the most annoying aspects of his first summer as New Zealand coach was the side’s inability to make solid starts at the crease.

The former opening batsman said the opening partnership remains a prime concern.

Seven tests into his reign an opening combination are yet to produce a stand of 50 runs. The discarded duo of Jamie How and Aaron Redmond came closest against Australia in Adelaide when they put on 46 in the first innings.

Redmond was axed for the West Indies series — How and Tim McIntosh’s best stand was 33 in Dunedin — and when McIntosh was joined by Auckland teammate Martin Guptill for the three-test Indian series the pair’s best effort was 30 in the final test here at the Basin Reserve.

McIntosh and Guptill are the 14th opening pair used since Australia accelerated left-hander Mark Richardson’s decision to retire in 2004 although whether they remain intact for the tour of Sri Lanka in August remains to be seen.

Guptill’s average of 27.20 is not a fair reflection of the 22-year-old’s talent and his ability to adapt to the limited overs formats will see him retained for the foreseeable future.

McIntosh may be on edge, however, after a test average of better than 60 against the West Indies halved to 32.12.he left-hander made 60 runs at an average of 12 an innings against India with a top score of 32.

“We need to grab the initiative by having the top three batting for 40-45 overs,” the NZPA quoted Moles, as saying.

With the dry, spin friendly pitches in Sri Lanka looming, Moles said preparations for that tour involved an A team tour to India.

He hoped there would also be scope for the bowlers to train outdoors in Australia over the winter months.

Moles debriefed the team today and said preparations for Sri Lanka were a priority for those players not included in the Twenty20 squad.

“We’ve had a good chat with all the guys, we’ll be working on a lot of technical things over the winter before Sri Lanka,” he said.

“We have a lot of time to get ready.”

He said every player under consideration for the national side over the next 18 months would be given a day-to-day fitness and skills programme over winter.

Moles, meanwhile, admitted a three-loss four-draw test record at the end of his first summer had been frustrating because New Zealand could not capitalise on the occasions they dominated.

“I can’t say I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s been frustrating at times when we’ve made silly mistakes. (ANI)

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Kiwi coach Moles looking forward to pacer Bond’s international cricket comeback

April 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Wellington, Apr.8 (ANI): New Zealand cricket team coach Andy Moles says that he is looking forward to strike bowler Shane Bond’s return to international cricket after he quits the unsanctioned ICL Twenty20 competition.

Bond has indicated that he plans to play a full season for Canterbury in 2009-10, not simply the limited overs competitions. And if the cash-strapped ICL folds he would again be available for international selection a year after cutting his ties with New Zealand Cricket.

Bond was barred from playing for New Zealand when he chose the `rebel’ ICL over the International Cricket Council (ICC) endorsed Indian Premier League (IPL).

The 33-year-old played the last of his 67 one-day internationals at the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

The ICL cancelled its most recent tournament while there have been reports of players being offered a release from their contracts.

Marquee players like Bond have not been paid for more than a year.

Should the ICL continue there is a possibility it may be sanctioned by the ICC board at its meeting in Dubai on April 21, removing another obstacle to a Bond comeback.

“If he was available I’m sure the selectors would look favourably because he gives us that extra pace,” the NZPA quoted Moles, as saying today.

Another ICL-aligned former international, Daryl Tuffey, who took 23 first-class wickets at an average of 18.91 for Auckland this season ahead of the State Championship final, also interested Moles.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan welcomed the prospect of ICL players eventually being welcomed back to the fold.

“You want your national team to include the very best players and I think it’s quite clear we haven’t been able to do that in recent times,” he said.

Bond played the last of his 17 tests against South Africa in Johannesburg in November 2007. (ANI)

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NZ coach casts cloud over Tendulkar’s catch

March 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Hamilton (New Zealand), Mar.20 (ANI): New Zealand cricket team coach Andy Moles on Friday expressed doubts over whether Sachin Tendulkar had taken a slip catch of opener Tim McIntosh’s bat cleanly.

McIntosh was controversially dismissed for a duck as New Zealand began to chase down India’s lead of 241 runs. At the close of play on the third day, the Kiwis were precariously placed at 75 for the loss of three wickets.

Tendulkar’s role in McIntosh’s demise-three balls into New Zealand’s quest to erase a 241-run deficit-threatened to take some sheen off another high point of his 157-test career.

Replays confirmed there was doubt Tendulkar had legitimately caught the edge at first slip.

He was confident, as was English umpire Ian Gould who raised the finger.

Unlike a similar incident during India’s innings, Gould and Australian umpire Simon Taufel did not consult the third umpire.

New Zealand coach Andy Moles thought the Tendulkar catch should have been referred.

“You all saw the TV shots, it’s fair to say we’re surprised it wasn’t referred,” Moles said.

Tendulkar, who left the field to ice a bruised left index finger, disagreed. (ANI)

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Altaf says only political stability can revive Pakistan cricket’s lost reputation

March 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Karachi, Mar. 18 (ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board COO Saleem Altaf has said only political stability in the country can help Pakistan retain its lost reputation in the cricketing world.

Pakistan has gone into international isolation following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore earlier this month, Altaf said.

“It is a problem that is not very simple. The rest of the world sees the situation in Pakistan as volatile and until that’s the case it’s very difficult for us to convince cricket teams that they should come here and play. Unless there is stability and political harmony, I’m afraid the perception about Pakistan is not going to change,” The News quoted Altaf, as saying.

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt had recently said Pakistan would smash its unwanted tag of a cricketing pariah within the next six to nine months.

Altaf, who is less hopeful, believes that Pakistan will fail to host the only home series in the remaining part of the year – against New Zealand.

“Our home series against New Zealand in November-December this year is very doubtful. We will have to keep the option of playing it on a neutral venue open. Our only home series over the next year or so is against New Zealand,” he said.

However, Altaf hoped that things in Pakistan would normalize next year.

“Mr Morgan (ICC president) has rightly pointed out that Pakistan’s current situation is not a permanent one. Pakistan have gone through a similar phase when foreign teams refused to come here in the wake of a suicide attack that happened at the Sheraton (in Karachi), very near to where the New Zealand cricket team was staying. But later things became better,” said Altaf.

In past, two big international teams (New Zealand and Sri Lanka) have faced terror attacks, and expressed dissatisfaction over security arrangements in Pakistan.

Altaf made it clear that Pakistan will have to offer concrete security arrangements in the future.

“The return of cricket (to Pakistan) depends on whether we can assure complete security to visiting teams,” he said. “We can only do that once things are in control and we can provide presidential level protection to the cricketers,” he said. (ANI)

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Kiwis hope to avoid a clean sweep in ODIs

March 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Auckland (New Zealand), Mar.13 (ANI): The New Zealand cricket team will focus on avoiding a clean sweep against their Indian counterparts on Saturday, when they meet up for the fifth and final one-day international here.

New Zealand’s euphoria after their two Twenty20 victories against India has been punctured. The visitors have blasted the Kiwis into submission in the four ODIs played so far.

New Zealand’s bowlers have struggled to find the right lengths to contain India’s intimidating top order, let alone pick wickets. The quality of the pitches and sizes of the grounds have also played into India’s hands and that has deprived the series of any kind of competition.

India will have a few selection headaches, but not much to worry about. They may want to shuffle the batting order a bit to give an opportunity to batsmen who haven’t had much to do so far.

For New Zealand, their sole focus will be to win and for that to happen, the middle order will have to live up to its potential.

New Zealand will need to summon their pride collectively to give India a message i.e. that the upcoming Test series is not going to be a walkover like the one-day internationals. (ANI)

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Black Caps coach Andy Moles backs his team to fight back

March 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Hamilton (New Zealand), Mar.10 (ANI): New Zealand cricket team coach Andy Moles is optimistic his troops can recover from the battering India has inflicted on them in the fourth match of their one-day series in Hamilton tomorrow.

According to the Waikato Times, Moles is upbeat about Black Caps fighting back at Seddon Park.

Skipper Daniel Vettori is back following the birth of his son and fellow spinner Jeetan Patel has been retained in the 12, while Tim Southee and the injured Ian Butler have been omitted. All rounder Ewen Thompson also makes the grade.

Moles said the bowling attack “needs to be more consistent in our execution with the ball. We have plans for all their batters, but for whatever reason, we haven’t been able to carry out those plans. The flat wickets and small boundaries have meant that’s proved expensive but we’ve not been helping ourselves.”

While their preference this season has been to chase targets, the hosts are eyeing batting first tomorrow should Vettori win the toss.

“We were going to bat in Christchurch until the groundsman persuaded us otherwise,” Moles said.

“I think we will here if the conditions are right. Let’s bat first, put a score on the board, then try to get a couple of early wickets and put India under pressure for once,” the 48-year-old added.

“There’s immense talent in the side. It’s my job to get the players to believe in themselves and play with the freedom they show in practices,” he said. (ANI)

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Hurriyat leaders condemn Lahore attack on Lankan cricketers

March 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Mar 4 (ANI): All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders on Wednesday strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricket players during the second Test match at Lahore in Pakistan.

Terming the incident as a ‘heinous act of terrorism’, senior leader of Hurriyat Conference Javed Ahmed Mir said, “We are saddened at the attack on these cricket players. If the players are attacked and injured with bullets, then it’s an inhuman act and any condemnation is less.”

The attack was also criticised widely by people in Kashmir, who demanded that the perpetrators of the attack should be punished.

“All of us condemn the attack on Sri Lankan cricket players in Pakistan because we know that these players are not there to wage any war. They bring the message of friendship through the game. Those responsible for the attack should be brought to book because all these things would only bring bad name for the country,” noted Showkat Malik, a local.

Meanwhile, many others felt that such incidents would only make players reluctant to tour Pakistan for the coming cricket matches.

The Sri Lankan team returned back to their homeland early on Wednesday after the second test match against Pakistan was cancelled following the attack.

Six members of the Sri Lankan team and a British coach were wounded in Tuesday’s daylight attack as their bus approached the cricket stadium in Lahore.

It was the first major attack on an international sporting team since Palestinian militants attacked Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

Also, in 2002, a bomb had exploded in Karachi when the New Zealand cricket team was touring Pakistan claiming 13 lives including 11 French naval personnel.

Sri Lanka had decided to tour Pakistan, when both Australia and India had refused to visit there sighting security issues. (ANI)

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25 m dollar incentive for Black Caps to beat India

February 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Christchurch (New Zealand), Feb.25 (ANI): The New Zealand cricket team stands to gain 25 million New Zealand dollars if it come off with a win against India in the cricket series which starts with a Twenty20 international at AMI Stadium tonight.

Apart from the two Twenty20 matches, both sides will compete in five one-day matches and three Tests, reports stuff.co.nz.

The money will mainly come from television revenue.

With the Future Tours Programme (FTP) schedule ending in 2012 and up for renegotiation it underlines the need for a creditable display.

India is well documented as the game’s powerhouse financially and of late its playing standards have lifted to match.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori is conscious that if the Black Caps do not give a good account of themselves in this series, then it could place regular visits from India and other draw card teams in jeopardy.

The last time India came to New Zealand was six seasons ago and they are not scheduled to tour again until after the FTP programme is renegotiated.

Vettori said expectations were always high when the team had the home advantage and could exploit that.

Vettori said he believed New Zealand had the firepower to match India’s master blasters Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Gautum Gambhir in the top order with Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor. (ANI)

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Black Caps not ready to get cocky just yet

February 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, Feb.8 (ANI): The New Zealand cricket team that is in Australia to compete for the Chappell-Hadlee trophy, is optimistic, but not ready to be cocky about handing out a possible 5-0 score line to the Kangaroos.

According to middle-order bat Ross Taylor, the Kiwis are well aware of Australia’s capability to bounce back when their backs are pinned to the wall.

“I think the first goal is to win the series, and if we can do that, then we can talk about a clean sweep. Like us, the Aussies, are going through a rebuilding phase at the moment,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Taylor, as saying ahead of the third one-day international to be played between the two sides today.

“Once you lose some outstanding, world-class players, you are going to be weaker. In saying that, we’ve lost some key players in our team, as well. We are playing Australia in Australia and they are always going to be tough on their home track,” he warned.

Taylor has been one of the outstanding and performing players for the Kiwis, having scored 64 and 47 in the two matches that have been played between the two sides so far.

But, he says that he is furious with himself for leaving the job “half done”.

“I’m happy with my own form but I would have liked to have finished both games off. To get into a good position only to get out and leave the work to someone else isn’t good enough. I want to be harder on myself and if that situation crops up again I’d like to be the one to hit the winning runs,” Taylor said.

Taylor said the New Zealanders were ecstatic with two wins from as many matches but also warned of a possible Australian backlash in Sydney today.

“It’s a pretty happy camp at the moment but at the same time we know the job is only half done right now. We still need to win one more game to clinch the series and hopefully we don’t leave that up to the fourth or fifth matches in Adelaide and Brisbane,” he said. (ANI)

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