Alex Hales and Dan Christian helped Nottinghamshire kick off their Royal London Cup campaign in impressive style with a nine-wicket victory over Warwickshire

ECB/PA25-Jul-2015
ScorecardAlex Hales scored a blistering century as Nottinghamshire cruised to victory•Getty Images

Alex Hales and Dan Christian helped Nottinghamshire kick off their Royal London Cup campaign in impressive style with a nine-wicket victory over Warwickshire at Welbeck Cricket Club. Hales blasted his way to 103 and hit seven fours and nine sixes in his 61-ball stay as Notts chased down their victory target in only 28.1 overs.During the first part of the day, Christian took the bowling plaudits for the home side, taking 5 for 40, as Warwickshire were bowled out for 220 in only 49.1 overs after being invited to bat first. Ian Bell, given dispensation by the ECB to play in between Test matches, made 52 from 83 deliveries but there was little in the way of support for him, as last season’s runners-up made a stuttering start this time around.Defending a modest total, the visitors ran into Hales and the in-form Riki Wessels, who were both at their hard-hitting best. The openers put on 164 in just 20.1 overs before Recordo Gordon picked up the only wicket to fall, having Hales caught at the wicket by Tim Ambrose.Wessels reached his own 50 from 56 deliveries, with five fours and a maximum and he closed on 86 not out, with James Taylor making an unbeaten 24. Notts hadn’t used a home outground within Nottinghamshire since 1998, when they had last played at Worksop, and an enthusiastic crowd of around 2000 turned out to wish them well in their venture.Earlier, Warwickshire were put under pressure after a fortuitous incident broke their opening partnership. A drive by Bell was deflected by the bowler, Luke Fletcher, on to the stumps at the non-striker’s end and Jonathan Webb was adjudged to be short of his ground.Christian’s first over, when he entered the attack, didn’t give any indication of what was to come, with four ill-directed leg side wides contributing to the total. From then on, the 32-year took centre stage with his medium-fast swing bowling and he picked up wickets in each of his next three overs. Tim Ambrose was caught behind by Chris Read and then both Rikki Clarke and Laurie Evans were taken in identical fashion by Alex Hales at second slip.Ian Bell and Chris Woakes mounted a fightback, adding 63 for the fifth wicket before Christian returned to remove them both. Bell had reached his 50 from 82 balls, seven of which were hit to the boundary boards but he then perished tamely to his next delivery, after picking out James Taylor at point.Woakes, who had played one match in recent weeks for Nottinghamshire’s second string on his recuperation from a knee injury, made an impressive 36 before playing all around a full-pitched delivery.Keith Barker hit a lusty 27 and Ateeq Javid contributed 33 but the total always seemed well below par and Warwickshire even failed to bat out the final over, with Jake Ball dismissing Josh Poysden for his second wicket. Ball, a product of the Welbeck club, finished with figures of 2 for 47.Notts will stage the second part of their “Welbeck Weekender” on Sunday when they host Glamorgan at the same venue.

The NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final between Worcestershire and Hampshire ended in farcical circumstances as bad light at New Road – a ground with no floodlights – forced an early end to proceedings

Freddie Wilde14-Aug-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Vince notched a maiden T20 hundred to help his Hampshire side to Finals Day•Getty Images

The NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final between Worcestershire and Hampshire ended in farcical circumstances as bad light at New Road – a ground with no floodlights – forced an early end to proceedings. Hampshire progressed to Finals Day on Duckworth Lewis Stern having bowled just 8.1 overs in Worcestershire’s run chase.James Vince had earlier struck an almost faultless hundred to take Hampshire to an imposing 196 for 4. Although Worcestershire were facing a spiralling required run rate when play was halted, there is no doubt they would have wanted a full 20 overs to make a proper case for their first Finals Day appearance.Following a day of rain and heavy cloud in Worcester, the light was troubling the Hampshire fielders for a few minutes before the teams were eventually led off. The decision was made when Chris Wood protested to the umpires that he was struggling to see the ball after he dropped a catch on the square-leg boundary that burst through his hands and left him with a bloodied, possibly broken, nose.According to the tournament rules floodlights are not mandatory for hosting evening T20 matches, with three other counties, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire and Somerset, also not possessing them. Those four counties without floodlights schedule their evening matches to begin one hour earlier, at 5.30pm, but following a gloomy day in Worcester the light closed in quickly and play was suspended at 7.33pm. “We thought it was just too dangerous out there at the end,” umpire Rob Bailey told Sky Sports.Shortly after the match was stopped boos rang around New Road when it was announced on the PA system that Hampshire would win on DLS if no more play was possible. For almost three quarters of an hour the umpires, players and fans waited to see if the light would improve but at 8.16pm the decision was made and the sun quite literally set on Worcestershire’s T20 season.Questions were already being asked as to why what was essentially a day-night match was scheduled at a ground with no floodlights, or why the match could not have been played as a day game. The fixtures were restricted to an extent, with Kent forced to play their home quarter-final on Saturday, despite having floodlights, due to the Women’s Ashes Test finishing in Canterbury on Friday. However, there are no county fixtures scheduled for Sunday and the match could possibly have been played then.The ECB will be frustrated this incident has occurred, a day after reports suggested it is increasingly reluctant to usher in a city-based T20 league. Images of Worcester fans resorting to shining their phone torches in the direction of the pitch are hardly the image the governing body will have had in mind when triumphing the success of this season’s T20 Blast.The win, albeit in controversial circumstances, took Hampshire into their sixth consecutive Finals Day. In the 13th season of T20, they are forging a legacy of their own. Birmingham may have a more impressive recent record but Hampshire can surely lay claim to being the most consistent, if not the best, T20 side the English game has produced.Although the win may taste slightly sour, Hampshire could argue they were on course for victory. Indeed, even in a curtailed match, the result was one that Hampshire, and especially Vince, deserved.Vince’s hundred, his first in the T20 format, came off just 60 balls and was a wonderful display of batsmanship. Helped along by a typically energetic opening partnership with Michael Carberry, and later a busy Adam Wheater, Vince displayed an impressive range of strokes, scoring all around the wicket against some highly regarded T20 bowlers. The number of shots evidently at his disposal didn’t appear to clutter his mind as he took apart Worcestershire’s attack with surgical precision. Vince has now scored 641 runs this season, putting him second overall.It was clear from the start that Hampshire planned to go fast and hard at the ball straight away and Vince, with his quick hands, had slashed four fours and a six by the end of the Powerplay. Worcestershire managed to keep him restrained through the early middle overs, as he lost his opening partner, but Vince cut loose once again in the final quarter of the innings, forcing four consecutive double-digit overs as Hampshire pushed on towards 200. He may have scored at a strike rate of 164 but there was nothing ungainly about Vince’s strokeplay – it was accelerated classical batting.It was innings that embodied Hampshire’s T20 complexion: not quite scintillating but certainly not boring either. But while Vince lit up the first half of the evening, the lights were about to go out on Worcestershire.

Opener Swapnil Gugale’s 91 on yet another rain-curtailed day has put Maharashtra on course to take a first-innings lead and start their season with three points against Haryana

The Report by Amol Karhadkar in Pune03-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Ankit Bawne and Maharashtra will hope for as little rain as possible on the final day in Gahunje•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Opener Swapnil Gugale’s 91 on yet another rain-curtailed day has put Maharashtra on course to take a first-innings lead and start their season with three points against Haryana. Play was stopped in Gahunje just before tea on the penultimate day with hosts Maharashtra 256 for 3, only 79 runs behind Haryana’s first innings total of 335.Claiming the lead might not be quite so straightforward with heavier rain predicted on the final day. The unbeaten batsmen Kedar Jadhav and Ankit Bawne, were quite aggressive during their 76-run partnership, and would be hoping for at least an hour’s play tomorrow to push Maharashtra ahead.The day, however, clearly belonged to Gugale. He had debuted in 2010-11, got a duck and did not play the rest of the season. After a few years in the wilderness, he broke through in 2014-15 with 596 runs at 54.18, including a century in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu. He had come in midway through the season and ended up with the highest average.Gugale began cautiously today, taking his time to gauge the pace and adjusting to the lesser bounce on the pitch. He saw off the pace of Ashish Hooda, the standout bowler for Haryana, before getting into gear with some lovely drives.Jayant Yadav, on a high after impressing for India A against the touring Bangladeshis last week, was introduced after drinks but Gugale didn’t let him settle. He laced a four through cover and followed it up with a paddle sweep to the fine leg boundary. Next over, he charged down the wicket and struck medium-pacer Sachin Rana over his head and into the sight screen. Gugale completed the assault by hoicking Yadav into the stands beyond long-on just before lunch.Gugale had scored 174 against Delhi last season and memories of that knock may have come up for Virender Sehwag, now leading Haryana. But, Hooda was eventually rewarded for his discipline as Gugale edged one to keeper Nitin Saini just after entering into the nineties.Gugale was glad to have started the season with a good knock which wiil give him “enough confidence to avoid second-season blues.” but was disappointed to have missed out on a three-figure mark.”A hundred is, after all, a hundred,” he said after the day’s play was called off ten minutes before scheduled close. “It would have been better to leave home for four consecutive away games with a hundred at home but it wasn’t to be. Hopefully I can make amends in the coming games.”

Stuart Law believes Australia may be surprised at the strength of the Bangladesh team they take on in next month’s Test series in Chittagong and Dhaka

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2015Stuart Law believes Australia may be surprised at the strength of the Bangladesh team they take on in next month’s Test series in Chittagong and Dhaka. Law, the former Australia batsman, has previously served as coach of Bangladesh and Queensland, and he is now back in Bangladesh to help them prepare for next year’s Under-19 World Cup.A new-look Australia will tour Bangladesh next month under captain Steven Smith, with five veterans missing having recently retired: Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Chris Rogers, Ryan Harris and Shane Watson. They will also be without David Warner, who has a thumb injury, and the fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood are being rested.Bangladesh should therefore view this as their best chance to rattle Australia, having previously lost all four Tests they have played against them, in 2003 and 2006. However, Bangladesh have lost only two of their past 12 Tests at home, and they are also coming off ODI series wins at home against South Africa, India and Pakistan this year.”If Bangladesh play anywhere near what they have been in recent times, they will give Australia a real fright,” Law said. “People who are expecting Australia to come here and be the big bully and beat Bangladesh out of the stadium, don’t think that’s the case. Bangladesh will be ready for a fight.”Smith will be in charge of a squad featuring two uncapped players, fast bowler Andrew Fekete and opening batsman Cameron Bancroft, and a further eight members of the group have played fewer than 10 Tests. Law said that would add to their challenge, as would the conditions in Bangladesh, where the heat and turn of the pitches will test the Australians.”Australia are going through rebuilding,” Law said. “It is a different look team. The amount of experience that has left the team recently is a huge hole to fill.”Understand it will be hot. The ball will turn and another big stepping stone would be to get used to the lifestyle here. They have a lot of hurdles to jump over. Bangladesh has to play good cricket. It will be tight.”The make-up of Australia’s XI remains a mystery but with Nathan Lyon, Steve O’Keefe and Glenn Maxwell in the squad they have plenty of spinning options, as well as the seam-bowling allrounder Mitchell Marsh and four frontline fast men. Writing in his column on Cricket Australia’s website, Smith said there were plenty of options for how to balance the side.”With wickets that are likely to be conducive to spin, there’s a possibility we could play two spinners and two allrounders in the starting XI,” Smith wrote. “Mitch Marsh’s bowling has come a long way on this tour, and we all know what Glenn Maxwell can do with his off-spin and dynamic batting.”Maxi has really impressed me over the course of the one-day series. It looks like all the hard work he’s put in during his stint with Yorkshire has paid off, so it’s great to see him learning and improving and I look forward to see how he goes on spinning wickets in Bangladesh.”

A round-up of the Group A games of the Ranji Trophy 2015-16 season on October 16, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile Photo – Arup Das and Krishna Das shared all 10 wickets from the Odisha innings•PTI

Seamer Krishna Das took 7 for 21 to bowl Odisha out for 88 and give Assam, who had made only 92 yesterday, an almost inconceivable first-innings lead. Assam then managed to cobble a total in triple-figures, finishing on 137 for 8 at stumps. The Cuttack pitch afforded 15 wickets on Thursday and 13 today, so any advantage seems vital and the visitors are 141 runs ahead.Krishna and Arup Das, who took 3 for 45, took care of all the Odisha batsmen. Only Natraj Behera and Anurag Sarangi managed to get double-figure scores and Odisha’s best partnership – 22 runs – was put on by the ninth wicket.But the help that was available to the fast bowlers meant the hosts were able to reel in some of the ground they lost. Suryakant Pradhan struck twice in the second over of Assam’s second innings to dismiss Kunal Saikia and Gokul Sharma for ducks. At the other end, Basant Mohanty removed Amit Verma, also for a duck, to leave the visitors on 13 for 3.By the 45th over Assam were 86 for 6. But coming in at No. 7 Syed Mohammad struck 42 off 158 balls with four fours to record the highest score of the match so far and perhaps tempt his team into contemplating an away victory.
ScorecardOvernight rain followed by intermittent showers on the second day resulted in only 16.2 overs being bowled in the Group A game between Bengal and Rajasthan at the Eden Gardens.The start of the match was delayed by an over hour. Resuming from 104 for 3, Rajasthan lost two wickets while putting on 38 runs. Pragyan Ojha got the first when he went through the defences of Ashok Menaria in the 43rd over while Ashok Dinda had Puneet Yadav caught for 14 in the 50th.Ojha came back to dismiss Arjit Gupta for 5 in the 59th over but then the weather intervened. Only 59.4 overs have been possible after two days. Karnatka v Vidarbha in Bangalore – Satish 81* leads VidarbhaDelhi v Haryana in Delhi – Sehwag threat looms

Former India captain Rahul Dravid has said he isn’t in favour of producing pitches that turn excessively in the Ranji Trophy and cause matches to end in two days

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2015Former India captain Rahul Dravid has said he isn’t in favour of producing pitches that turn excessively in the Ranji Trophy and cause matches to end in two days. Dravid, the India A and Under-19 coach, said such “poor” pitches will hurt Indian cricket and harm the growth of young cricketers in the long term.Of the 96 matches played in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy so far, seven finished in two days while 14 ended on the third.”It’s disappointing to see this,” Dravid said in Kolkata, where he is with the U-19 team, two days after Odisha lost to Bengal inside two days at a new venue in Kalyani. “I don’t want to specifically mention the Bengal game, but all around in the Ranji Trophy this year teams are producing poor wickets – square turners where matches are finishing in two or three days. I don’t think it’s good for the health of Indian cricket.”

Two-day matches this season

• Saurashtra v Jharkhand (Rajkot)

• J&K v Services (Jammu)

• Saurashtra v Hyderabad (Rajkot)

• Jharkhand v HP (Ranchi)

• Punjab v Andhra (Patiala)

• Delhi v Maharashtra (Delhi, Kotla)

• Bengal v Odisha (Kalyani)

Chasing 171, Odisha were dismissed for 37, with fast bowler Ashok Dinda taking 7 for 19 and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha taking 3 for 14. Odisha lodged a complaint with the match referee about the uneven nature of the pitch and the OCA secretary Ashirbad Behera said he would write to the BCCI asking it to investigate the issue.Dravid was in Kalyani to watch the game and his comments came at a time when there is debate about the quality of pitches being produced for the Test series between India and South Africa. The surfaces in Mohali and Nagpur have turned from the first session of the match and batsmen from both teams have struggled to survive. Dravid, however, said there was a difference when it came to international cricket.”It’s a little different at the international level, though, since you are looking for wickets and to win matches,” he said. “But at the Ranji Trophy level, we are looking to prepare the players for the international stage. What I have seen recently, these wickets are poor. I really don’t think it’s good for Indian cricket because if you think about them it’s a waste of time, energy and money.”The reason for the Ranji Trophy is not only to decide the winner in the end. It also has a job to develop and prepare cricketers for the international stage. And if we keep playing on bad wickets like these, we are not going to develop and produce good cricketers.”Dravid said state associations and curators needed to find a balance in laying out a pitch. “We need to nip this in the bud. We need to start forcing teams to preparing good wickets. We don’t want green tops but we don’t want wickets either where matches finish in two days, and people bowling darts get six-seven wickets. I think we need to be very careful that we don’t go down that path.”I am glad that the knockout stage is at neutral venues. We will see good wickets at least during the knockout stages. A lot of people criticise and say Ranji Trophy matches should be held in home venues of teams. But if teams resort to doing these kind of things, then I think it is better the knockout matches are staged in neutral venues.”

Amid the recent failures, West Indies captain Jason Holder has tried to lead by example, and his coach Phil Simmons admires his courage in doing so

Brydon Coverdale27-Dec-2015West Indies coach Phil Simmons said before this Test that one of Jason Holder’s strengths is his ability to leave the pressure on the field. Whatever is happening out in the middle, whatever gaping hole West Indies find themselves in, Holder is a man who can relax when he changes into his civvies at the end of the day. It’s a good thing too, for Holder is in charge of a team that is about as far behind in this series as is humanly possible.Consider the raw figures. By the end of the second day in Melbourne, West Indies had lost 24 wickets in this series for 462 runs. Australia had lost seven, for 1134 runs. It meant Australia were averaging 162 runs per wicket lost, West Indies 19.25. You need 10 wickets to dismiss your opposition, but if Steven Smith enforces the follow-on and things continue at this rate, West Indies might struggle to take 10 in the series.Amid all the failures, Holder has tried to lead by example. On the first morning, Kemar Roach leaked 15 runs from his first over with the new ball, and Holder immediately took Roach off and took the ball himself. He also began on the second morning, and while he went wicketless throughout the innings, he alone amongst his bowlers was highly economical, his 22 overs costing only 47 runs as he tried to build pressure at one end.”I love that fact that he’s taken on the responsibility,” West Indies coach Phil Simmons said after the second day’s play. “Even this morning he bowled a lot … and he said ‘right, I’m going to start this, and set the tone’, which is admirable. But at the same time it takes a lot out of him. I think it’s a case where he has to know when to do that and when not to do it. But it’s very admirable that he’s trying to lead from the front.”I can’t speak for him exactly but it must be frustrating and it must be hard on him, being the captain, being one of the leading bowlers and looking at [him as] one of the batsmen, because he has a Test hundred recently. There’s a lot for him as a young man to deal with. But talking to him and looking at him and I think he’s doing a good job.”And it is a hard job. Everywhere Holder looks he will see a problem, be it bowlers missing their lengths, fielders not pushing hard to chase balls, or batsmen losing concentration too quickly. That West Indies went to tea on day two at 0 for 33 was encouraging after Australia had piled on 3 for 551 declared, but by stumps it was the same old story, and they had collapsed to 6 for 91.”I think, as in yesterday’s performance too, the first hour we worked hard and we did the right things in the first hour … but then let it go in the second hour,” Simmons said. “And let it go in the hour after lunch. We batted fairly well leading up to tea, and then after tea some soft dismissals.”That’s the frustrating part. It’s about doing the things, but not just doing it for an hour. It’s about doing it for the two hours, come in and rest, do it for another two hours, and that’s where we’ve fallen down. Yesterday evening we bowled pretty well late in the evening. It could have been 400 in the day but we pulled it back, and then let it go again today. That’s the frustration, it’s not as consistent for the two hours of a session.”One of the key problems for West Indies has been the lack of impact from their senior men. Roach has been wayward with the ball and has not taken a wicket this series, Jerome Taylor has two wickets at 102.50, and Denesh Ramdin and Marlon Samuels have each scored 12 runs from three innings. Samuels, in particular, has been a disappointment, and late on the second day at the MCG was trapped lbw by James Pattinson for a third-ball duck.”He’s been one of the top batsmen for West Indies and he has that class that he can deliver tomorrow or Tuesday as the case may be, where we have to bat again,” Simmons said. “I don’t believe in writing him off. I think he’s struggled. It’s up to him to get his head in the right space for the second innings of this match.”

A career-best 148 from Shaiman Anwar was not enough for the UAE as the fell to Netherlands by four wickets in an Intercontinental Cup clash at Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2016
ScorecardFile photo: Quirijn Gunning claimed the key wickets of Shaiman Anwar and Saqlain Haider on the third day to ensure Netherlands faced a small fourth innings chase•Peter Della Penna

After going seven years without a victory in the Intercontinental Cup, Netherlands have now won two in a row and are at the top of the table following a four-wicket triumph in the UAE. It’s Netherlands first away win in the ICC’s first-class competition for Associates since they beat the same opponent at Sharjah by 64 runs in January 2008.The win was set up by captain Peter Borren’s 96 made as part of a Dutch first innings reply of 315 after holding UAE to 164. The hosts won the toss but could not capitalize as Swapnil Patil’s 41 was the best they could muster on day one. Patil was undone by the left-arm wrist spin of Michael Rippon, who proceeded to wipe out the tail to end with figures of 4 for 45. Borren and Roelof van der Merwe nearly overhauled the UAE total by the end of day one and when van der Merwe fell early on day two, Borren teamed with Wesley Barresi for a 101-run fifth-wicket stand that took the visitors into the lead to claim first innings points.Borren was eventually dismissed by Ahmed Raza one shot short of what would have been his third first-class century, but at 306 for 7 his side were in a commanding position. Raza continued to roll through the tail to finish with six wickets and set the stage for a stirring fightback by Shaiman Anwar.Staring at a first innings deficit of 151, Anwar produced a career-best first-class score of 148. The bulk of those runs came in tandem with Saqlain Haider as the pair not only prevented an innings defeat after UAE slid to 80 for 5 but gave their side slim hope of an unlikely come from behind victory with a 144-run partnership.Seamer Quirijn Gunning sparked a slide of 3 for 1 across 12 deliveries with the second new ball, claiming both Anwar and Haider in the process, to swing momentum back to the Dutch. From 224 for 5, the hosts fell to 225 for 8 and were eventually bowled out for 276 to set up a target of 124. Max O’Dowd and Stephan Myburgh took the Dutch most of the way with 36 and 27 respectively.The Dutch were 11 short of victory when Borren and Barresi fell in quick succession but van der Merwe carried the Dutch across the line with an unbeaten 27 to give the visitors a maximum 20 points, moving them past Ireland into first place. Ireland play Papua New Guinea in Townsville, Australia later in the third round of play for a chance to reclaim the lead. Meanwhile, UAE have yet to claim any points from their first three matches of the competition.

Pakistan have shown glimpses of quality, particularly with the ball, but need to show a greater breadth of limited-overs skill to stage a comeback in the second ODI in Napier

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Napier27-Jan-2016

Match facts

January 28, 2016
Start time 1400 local (0100 GMT)1:12

Pakistan look to stop the rot

Big Picture

Pakistan hoped to pose a stiffer challenge to New Zealand than Sri Lanka did, but with two matches to go, their tour is threatening to go the same way as the previous one. The most recent loss was perhaps the most disheartening of their three on tour. Having held New Zealand by the collar at 99 for 6, Pakistan eased their grip – introducing spinners to hasten the over-rate – and the New Zealand lower order shoved them to the ground. Even with Mitchell McClenaghan in hospital, New Zealand eased to their eighth limited-overs victory in ten games.As ever, there is an edge to this Pakistan attack, but they have also lacked the full breadth of limited-overs skill, at times. They had broken New Zealand’s batting open with swing, seam and pace, yet have had struggles with containing throughout the tour. There was also a seeming dearth of intent with ball and bat. With six wickets down by the 23rd over, they opted to reserve the quicks for later in the innings, instead of hunting for those last four scalps. Then the chase of 281 began slowly – only 33 coming from the Powerplay.New Zealand have scrapped, jived and thrived despite everything that has been thrown at them. Four top players are ruled out of the next match, but such is the depth in their cricket at present that they have a bowler of Doug Bracewell’s quality to replace McClenaghan. Their middle order had seemed a weakness, but on Sunday it was Henry Nicholls and Mitchell Santner who revived the team with their seventh-wicket stand.The weather may play a role in shortening this match, but the rains are forecast to clear by afternoon.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)


New Zealand: WWLWW
Pakistan: LLLLW

In the spotlight

The latest in New Zealand’s production line of exciting young players is Henry Nicholls, who on Sunday played virtually the perfect rebuilding innings, notwithstanding an edge to slip that was shelled early in his stay. Nicholls punished short balls as he established himself at the crease, then slipped into low-risk accumulation mode when the team lost more wickets. His talents have been noticed internationally as well – the Sydney Thunder picking him up for a two-match stint towards the end of the Big Bash League.Ahmed Shehzad averages 32.28 in ODIs since the start of 2015, but of more concern might be his strike rate of 75.22. A hitter of flashy boundaries atop the innings, his ability to keep the scoreboard moving during the tougher periods has sometimes limited his game. After four low scores in the tour now, Shehzad will want to make an impactful contribution on what has traditionally been the best batting track in the country.

Team news

Luke Ronchi is rested for the last two matches, and BJ Watling replaces him.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson (capt.), 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent BoultPakistan will probably keep their attack intact, but Shoib Malik is likely to come back into the middle order, having recovered from his injury. Sohaib Maqsood seems likeliest to make way.Pakistan (probable): 1 Azhar Ali (capt.), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Mohammad Rizwan, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Pitch and conditions

The McLean Park surface is usually full of runs, but the weather does not look promising. The forecast suggests there will be rain until the early afternoon, and cloud thereafter. A strong southerly wind is also expected.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand struck 369 and won by 119 runs when these teams last played in Napier, in February 2015
• Trent Boult became the top-ranked ODI bowler in the world ahead of the the first match of the series. Matt Henry is seventh on that list, while Mohammad Irfan is tenth.
• Babar Azam has struck a fifty in half of his eight ODI innings so far

Quotes

“The New Zealand fast bowlers seem to be going really well. They’ve got a few options up their sleeve and they’re rotating the guys. It’s exciting to be back in the mix.”

A round-up of the Plunket Shield 2015-16 matches that ended on February 16, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2016Northern Districts were dismissed for 139 in a chase of 201, giving Otago a 61-run win in Dunedin.Ish Sodhi’s 7 for 102 had limited Otago’s second innings to 287, leaving Northern Districts with a 201-run target. Their chase, however, unraveled with a slide that saw them tumble from 31 for 1 to 61 for 8. James Baker’s unbeaten 41 pushed the score past 100 but he had little support to count on as the side folded in 51 overs.Otago had scored 237 in the first innings after being put in to bat, limited by Northern Districts’ quicks. The only significant contribution came from opener Brad Wilson, who scored 97 even as Scott Kuggeleijn (3-72), Baker (3-42) and Tony Goodin (4-50) chipped away at the line-up.Northern Districts then surged from a shaky 82 for 4 to take an 87-run lead, thanks to opener Daniel Flynn’s 92 and a 73 from Daryl Mitchell. Sodhi enhanced their position with his seven-for, running through the line-up for his best first-class returns in an innings. Otago were kept to 287 despite an opening stand of 103 and fifties from Brad Wilson (64) and Michael Bracewell (96). No other batsman crossed a score of 40 in the innings.An innings-and-119-run win over Wellington helped Auckland climb to the top of the Plunket Shield table. Wellington could only manage scores of 174 and 219 in their innings, failing to match Auckland’s mammoth total of 512 for 9 declared, set up by a knock of 167 from Robert O’Donnell.Auckland dominated from the start, reducing Wellington to 116 for 8 after putting them in to bat and eventually bowling them out for 174. Colin de Grandhomme took 4 for 31, cleaning up the lower middle order.Auckland’s reply was led by Michael Guptill-Bunce (89) and O’Donnell as they added 172 runs for the second wicket to firm up the side after the early wicket of Jeet Raval. O’Donnell was involved in two other half-century stands and, after his dismissal, Auckland were strengthened further with an 85-run stand for the ninth wicket between medium-pacer Donovan Grobbelaar and legspinner Tarun Nethula.Grobbelaar (3-27) and Nethula (4-77) then took seven wickets between them to rout Wellington for 219. Scott Borthwick chipped in with 55 from 106 deliveries but another collapse saw Wellington lose their last six wickets for 56 runs.Will Young’s unbeaten 66 helped Central Districts eke out a closely fought draw against Canterbury in Nelson. Chasing a target of 376, Central Districts were at a strong 112 for 1 with opener Ben Smith’s 78 leading the way. Their position quickly turned precarious, however, fast bowler Andrew Ellis began working his way through the line-up. Ellis dismissed the lower middle order cheaply on his way to 5 for 52 but Young helped Central hold on for the draw.Young had earlier played another key knock, scoring 84 in his side’s first-innings total of 168. His knock, which included eight fours and two sixes, had lifted the total in an innings where the next best score was 26. Kyle Jamieson did most of the damage for Canterbury taking 5 for 47.Jamieson’s five-for ensured Canterbury took a 36-run lead after they mustered 204 in their first innings. They were propped up solely by Peter Fulton’s 89 as the batsman stitched together partnerships to steer the side against Central Districts’ bowlers. They built on that lead with a stronger performance in the second innings, scoring 339. Opener Leo Carter top-scored with 82 and had support from Ellis who scored 63. Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel took 6 for 152, adding to his two wickets in the first innings.