Woeful New Zealand struggling to stay in contention for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 - Part 2 - Opinion
Continued from Part 1...
New Zealand’s future encounters, and whether not they can reignite their flare, is questionable. After this chore of taking on India on dustbowls in the subcontinent, the side will travel to Sri Lanka for the ICC World T20, which will take place in the Emerald
Isle. The tournament will act as a challenge as much as an opportunity for the Kiwis which had been grappling with injuries during their tour to the Caribbean. Taylor’s men looked deranged in the tropical heat as they succumbed to a 4-1 defeat at the hands
of the West Indies, which would mean that Sri Lanka would pose a stiffer challenge.
What makes matters worse is that New Zealand is pitted up against two subcontinent giants in Group D of the competition. Their opponents would fancy their chances against them, given that Pakistan, and of late Bangladesh, have been playing phenomenal cricket.
The fact that both their opponents had reached the Asia Cup Final of 2012, are ominous signs for a team that had struggled against a West Indies outfit in sweltering conditions. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 would back their spin attack and their array of top quality stroke
makers to seal the deal, whereas Pakistan would bank upon their exceptional bowling attack to make inroads into a largely, fallible Kiwi line up. The only real advantage in the group stages for New Zealand would be the nature of the Pallekele Wicket, and the
fact that their bowlers might be able to extract something from an unconventional track. New Zealand also has happy memories of the venue that they would play their matches in. It was on this ground that Ross Taylor’s swashbuckling performance in a group encounter
against Pakistan in the fifty over World Cup sealed a memorable win for the Kiwis. That achievement however, was a product of follies by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kamran-Akmal-c70122 and poor bowling from Pakistan.
The old adage of rosy times being immaterial in a clash of large proportions does apply to New Zealand. The truth is that this side would be taking on the world which includes the flashy brilliance of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750, the sensationalism
of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045, would hover as dark clouds which could inundate Kiwi prospects in this all important tournament.
The advantage that New Zealand has however, is largely psychological in nature. Unlike http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754’s ability to outperform, after they are written off as under dogs, has
been commendable. They have been regular quarter and semi finalists of various ICC tournaments such as the World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the ICC World T20, yet have failed to secure a place in the finals of any tournament, barring the 2009 Champions
Trophy in South Africa. Considering that the state of New Zealand cricket is in ‘free-fall’, this tournament might prompt this beleaguered outfit to stun the world and secure another respectable position in a global tournament. Historic trends almost entirely
go in their favour and the Kiwis would hope that their past successes materialize onto the field one more time amid all the calamities, both on and off the field.
For now, the Kiwis need a Maori ‘Haka Haka’, which is as symphonic to the ear, as a willow is, when it hits leather.
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