Black Caps press self-destruct button

By Jamie Alter

 

New Zealand crashed from a steady 66 for two to a hazardous 73 for six, dashing their chances on a harmless track

Martin Guptill of New Zealand looks on, after he his bowled by Shane-Watson

By Jamie Alter

 

Nagpur: Feb 25, 2011

 

In what was a wretched batting display, New Zealand crashed from a steady 66 for two to a hazardous 73 for six, dashing their chances on a harmless track. A composed fifty from Nathan McCullum and a breezy 44 from Daniel Vettori averted a disaster but Australia will fancy their chances of knocking off 207 in good time.

Shaun Tait, whose brief is to hustle the batsmen with pace, triggered the collapse before Mitchell Johnson pierced the soft underbelly further. Jesse Ryder’s poor shot selection opened up the floodgates and rest seemed more intent to catch the next flight out of Nagpur. On a flat pitch, New Zealand came crashing down after their annihilation of Kenya with their lack of footwork the most glaring fault.

Having been put into bat, they just failed to turn up. Brendon McCullum slashed Tait to third man, Shane Watson pegged back Martin Guptill’s off stump, before Johnson nailed two in one over. Ryder hung his bat limply outside off stump and three balls later James Franklin slashed at width and suffered a similar fate. Johnson’s twin strikes in a maiden over, the 14th of the innings, left New Zealand wilting. On a good batting pitch, with the bowlers doing nothing extraordinary, they were teetering on the brink.

Ricky Ponting then went for the kill and recalled Tait. Scott Styris, when the situation most demanded solidity, threw his bat outside off stump and gave Brad Haddin his third catch, and then Ross Taylor was cleaned up by a peach of a yorker. At 73 for six, this match was over as a contest.

Nathan McCullum, refreshingly, was like a sane voice in a ruckus. Along with and Jamie How – who was preferred to Jacob Oram for this match – he added 48 and a further 54 with Daniel Vettori. Nathan McCullum showed he had all the shots – a crisp drive, a neat glance, and a powerful pull whenever the spinners dropped it even fractionally short. Cool, calm and collected, he raised his fifty off 72 balls while Vettori swept his way to 44 from 43.

The resistance ended at 175 for seven in the 42nd over when Johnson got one to straighten and rap McCullum in front. That brought out the batting Powerplay and some meaty shots from Vettori, targeting Steven Smith’s generosity, but trying one too many an improvised shot he gloved Brett Lee to Haddin. That was as good as it got for New Zealand, with Tim Southee slashing the next ball up in the air to give Johnson a handy four-wicket bag. Having been forced to dig deep with the bat, New Zealand’s two spinners have to now fulfill their proper roles.

 

Brief Score: New Zealand 206 in 45.1 overs (Nathan McCullum 52, Daniel Vettori 44; Mitchell Johnson 4 for 33, Shaun Tait 3 for 35) vs Australia.

 

(Jamie Alter is a freelance cricket writer, having worked at ESPNcricinfo and All Sports Magazine.His first book, The History of World Cup Cricket, is out now.)

 

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