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Tuesday Jul 02, 2024
Wednesday, 14 January 2015 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Both sides will be finalising plans and looking to get their players into top form ahead of the World Cup, which is now just a month away.
New Zealand have become one of the hardest sides to beat in both Test and 50-over cricket. In their last 14 ODIs the Black Caps have lost just four times.
Crucially, they’ve got into the habit of winning close games. Nowhere was this more visible than in the series opener against Sri Lanka.
Set a potentially tricky target of 219 in testing conditions, the home side looked in trouble with the score at 101-5.
Showing a new level of maturity, Corey Anderson, with help from Luke Ronchi and Nathan McCullum steered New Zealand over the line.
Kane Williamson, has been ruled out of Thursday’s match with a shoulder injury, report New Zealand Cricket.
Despite his absence, the Kiwi top-order contains a host of attacking weapons and scoring runs shouldn’t be a problem.
Skipper Brendon McCullum looked in great touch in the series opener, smashing 51 from just 22 balls. Ross Taylor is also set to be available after missing the first ODI.
Tom Latham and Grant Elliott will continue to battle for what is likely to be a single batting spot in the World Cup line-up.
Coach Mike Hesson told Stuff.co.nz, “We won’t be jumping to any conclusions. Both Grant and Tom will get plenty of opportunities in the next month.”
The New Zealand seamers made the most of the sporting conditions on offer at the Hagley Oval. Chief among them was young quickie Adam Milne, who combined 90 mph speed with prodigious seam movement. He has the potential to become one of the stars of the forthcoming World Cup.
Tim Southee is again expected to miss out with what batting coach Craig McMillan described before the first ODI as “a slight hammy niggle.”
The only player to stand up to the challenge posed by the New Zealand pace attack in Christchurch was Mahela Jayawardene. While the 37-year-old was compiling an 18th ODI century, the rest of the Sri Lankan batsmen could only manage a top score of 23 between them.
Much will rest on the big four of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews if they’re to tie the series. Despite a failure at the Hagley Oval, Dimuth Karunaratne is likely to be given another go at the top of the order.
The Sri Lankan bowling shaped up pretty well in Christchurch. The pacemen will have another opportunity to stake a claim for a World Cup place with Lasith Malinga not expected to return until the latter stages of the series. (Source: http://bleacherreport.com)
