http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758: SWOT analysis of the New Zealand bowlers
The semi-final stage of the ICC World Cup 2011 has finally arrived and in coming days we would see four top teams of the tournament competing for a place in the finals. The first semi-final of the mega event will be played between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on Tuesday. It would be an ideal opportunity for fans from both countries to cheer their hearts out for their national teams.
The Sri Lankan’s played the final of of the 2007 edition of the World Cup and played well to give a good fight to the Australian team. On the other hand, New Zealand is one team that has performed reasonably well in the group matches. They won 5 of the 7 matches to clinch a place in the semi-final in Colombo. The Kiwis have shown some “fighting spirit” in the competition and have played with a lot of enthusiasm and commitment in the tournament.
New Zealand has some world class bowlers in their lineup who has the ability to give hard time to the Sri Lankan batsmen. Tim Southee would most definitely be the main strength of the New Zealand bowling lineup and has the tendency of bowling some exclusive overs in the early spells of the innings.
Tim Southee has been “simply superb” in the competition and has taken 15 wickets in the tournament. Southee’s role would be of pivotal nature in the upcoming semi-final. He could be the defining bowler for the Kiwis in their bid for a berth in the final. Southee has been bowling an accurate line and length in the competition and has not bowled many lose balls to the batsmen to hit at.
He has been most dangerous and meticulous with the ball that most of the prominent batsmen have found it difficult to handle his pace in the early overs. His ability to move the ball early on could easily pose some serious issues for the Sri Lankan batsmen with possibility of trapping a batsman like Uppal Tharanga leg before.
With his accurate bowling, he could easily check the scoring rate in the early overs and could put the Sri Lankan batsmen on the defensive. He has been bowling some good out-swingers in the tournament which could provoke Dilshan into playing some uppish shots towards the cover region. Daniel Vettori is another prominent and seasoned bowler in the New Zealand bowling lineup who has the tendency of bowling some “intriguing” spin in different phases of the innings.
Being the Captain, Vettori knows the importance of a semifinal and would definitely try to do his best in his bowling. Vettori has bowled some decent spells in the World Cup and has been successful in not conceding too many runs to the opposing side. Vettori is aware of the spinning nature of the Colombo wicket and would definitely try to bowl with some good flight to the Sri Lankan batsmen in order to lure them in to play some uppish shots. He could also prove quite beneficial during the middle over’s of the innings. Even though, the middle over bowlers have not bowled badly but they have a tendency of bowling some lose overs to the opposition batsmen.
The wicket would be easy for batting and there is a chance that bowlers like Jacob Oram and L Woodcock could be taken for runs during the crucial middle stages. New Zealand has been bowling with a lot of energy in the World Cup; however, beating Sri Lanka would require careful planning. So far New Zealand’s planning has been quite successful in the competition. Careful planning will allow them the “opportunity” to easily exploit the weaknesses the Sri Lankan batsmen. Sri Lankan batsmen have a tendency of failing when the going gets tough and could easily end up playing some lose shots off the New Zealand bowlers.
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