Cricket - Preview: New Zealand vs Pakistan 1st Test Match (Part 2)
Misbah ul Haq took over Pakistan's Test captaincy at a very tumultuous time when Pakistan cricket was struggling to find some rhythm. He led by example scoring three half centuries in only four innings to help save both the Tests. Despite the collapse of
the Pakistan team in the warm-up match, Misbah went on to score a ton against the New Zealand XI. Therefore, the form of the captain and the veteran player Younis Khan will be most crucial for Pakistan. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, at the moment, need to find their focus and
convert their energies into match winning performances.
Pitch and conditions
Rain has been forecasted for tomorrow, even though the last two days in Hamilton have been quite warm. The likelihood of overcast conditions on match day provides the teams with the temptation of fielding first, however compared to the other tracks, Hamilton
is relatively batting friendly. The New Zealand batsmen are accustomed to the home conditions and therefore should not find the conditions or the circumstances troubling. Questions are being raised about how well the Pakistan top order will be able to perform
against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 bowling attack.
"I'd like to have a little bit in it but also in the back of my mind is that if it gets really humid, the ball can swing a lot, and it has been really humid here. I don't want the wicket to swing and have a lot of zip and movement off the track, but obviously
the bowlers would like that," said Karl Johnson, the curator at Seddon Park.
Team News
Saeed Ajmal has returned home due to the death of his father and will not be available for the first Test. This would then leave Pakistan with the option of Abdul Rehman. It is expected that Sohail Tanvir will share the ball with fellow pace bowler Umar
Gul.
New Zealand left arm seamer Andy Mckay is out of the squad due to an injury and in his place, Daryl Tuffey has been called in for the 13-man squad. Reece Young has been picked up in place of Gareth Hopkins as the wicketkeeper. Jesse Ryder will in most likelihood
be making a return for the side.
Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Adnan Akmal (wk), 8 Abdur Rehman, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Sohail Tanvir, 11 Wahab Riaz
New Zealand (possible): 1 Tim McIntosh, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Reece-Young-c2302 (wk), 9 Tim Southee, 10 Brent Arnel/ Daryl Tuffey, 11 Chris Martin
Stats and Trivia
New Zealand, in the last two years, has averaged 31.47 with the bat. This is much higher than Pakistan’s average of 26.40. However, the Kiwis have not had the same level of success with the bowl, averaging at 44.34 which is slightly better than the bowling
average of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747.
Quotes
"I think with Tim we've either done really well or we've not done well at all, so we've got to try and gain some more consistency between us,” Brendon McCullum said, talking about his opening partnership at the top of the order with Tim McIntosh.
"We are not thinking about what has happened in the last 12 months, we are just thinking about today and tomorrow and what is coming next. We are ready for that. We just have to forget everything else and focus on what is coming now,” Misbah ul Haq said,
insisting that his team was focused and not thinking about everything happening off the field.
Tags: