LIVE Preview, Australia v New Zealand – ICC World Cup 2011
As the first week of the World Cup draws to an end, Nagpur gets ready to host an encounter between Australia and New Zealand. Tomorrows clash will be a Day match that will force the dew factor out of the equation and perhaps
make the toss a bit less interesting. Both the sides are fresh from their victories against the minnows but this match will be a completely different ball game. The Kangaroos’ are on a winning streak of 24 matches in the World Cup and no side has come close
to overpowering them in the last two competitions.
This time around there is a strong feeling among other contesting countries that Aussies are vulnerable and they have weaknesses that can be exploited. New Zealand have had a disastrous time off late but crushed the weak
links http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752 in their tournament opener. They love to play their old nemesis, Australia, and have a history of stepping up their game whenever they play against them.
Two to tango
Australian batsmen with the exception of Michael Clarke don’t play spin well and that can be their undoing on the spinner friendly tracks on the Subcontinent. The Kiwis will try to use this to their advantage by utilising
all the resources on disposal especially of their captain, Daniel Vettori, and Nathan McCullum. Australia is a team of thorough professionals and their guard will be well up against this scheme as they will probably have a plan ready to undo the Black caps.
Key Players
The present Australian team has enough talent and star power to overwhelm any opposition they come across. Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 has become “Mr. Dependable” for the team. He can fire with the bat and make significant contribution when
he comes up to bowl. Clarke will not only have the deputy’s duties to perform but also have a huge responsibility to successfully counter the slow bowling from the Kiwis. A lot will depend on the fast bowling duo of Shaun Tait and Brett Lee. The Punter will
be depending upon them to make early in roads into the Kiwi batting line-up.
The New Zealand side has some quality players in their team that can be a threat to any opposition they play against. Martin Guptill can be extremely destructive opening the innings. It will be up to him to provide his team
with a good platform for others to build upon. Nathan McCullum, is the man in form as he has excelled with both bat and the ball in recent series. Last but not the least, the captain, Daniel Vettori is their premium all-rounder and one player who cannot be
kept out of the game for long. He is the leading One Day International (ODI) bowler. He will use all his experience and skill to outwit the batsmen.
Playing XIs
New Zealand (probable): Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum (wk), Jesse Ryder, Ross http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915, James Franklin, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori (Capt.), Nathan McCullum, Hamish Bennett, Tim Southee
Australia (probable) Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Ricky Ponting (Capt.), Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120, David Hussey, Cameron White, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krezja, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait.
Final Word
New Zealand’s recent record against Australia is nothing much to write about as they have lost all the last 7 matches played against the Kangaroos but they will come hard against the Aussies hoping to end their winning streak
and hand them a first World Cup defeat after more than a decade.
As http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746’s downfall, Aussies will be busy writing their own script. The Australian side will play to their strengths and Ponting’s men will make it incredibly hard for the Black caps to carry
out any of their pre-match plans.
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