Pak bowl first against Kiwis

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to bowl first in the final one-day international against New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday.

With the series in the bag for Pakistan, the dead rubber gives them a chance to rest leading players Misbah-ul-Haq and Wahab Riaz to give Asad Shafiq and Sohail Tanvir more game time ahead of the World Cup, starting this month.

For New Zealand, it is a face-saving exercise after winning the first game by nine wickets and then being convincingly beaten in the past three matches after the second game was washed out.

After losing the fifth game in Hamilton on Thursday, to give Pakistan an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the series, the New Zealand players spent 90 minutes locked away in a soul-searching session.

All-rounder Jacob Oram said some "home truths" were laid out as the players evaluated why they had won only one of their past 16 games.

"There was a lot said and that's going to stay within the changing room, but it's basically about guys doing their jobs, not looking for excuses or explanations, and just winning matches for New Zealand," Oram said.

"We were just trying to get to the bottom of what's going on because it's happening too often for it to just be a coincidence."

New Zealand have made two changes from the Hamilton side with Tim Southee and Luke Woodcock coming in for Oram and Jamie How.

Oram was injured in the match warm-up, while regular captain Daniel Vettori remains sidelined with a hamstring strain. Ross Taylor will lead the side.

New Zealand have also ended the experiment of batting Brendon McCullum down the order in a spot he occupied years ago and he will return to opener where he has been in recent seasons.

New Zealand: Ross Taylor (captain), Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder, Martin Guptill, Scott Styris, James Franklin, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Luke Woodcock, Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett

Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir

Captain Afridi has widespread support: Butt

 Shahid Afridi will take the field for the final One-day International against New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday (today) knowing for sure that he will be leading Pakistan in the World Cup.
After weeks of uncertainty, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) finally announced on Friday that it has retained the seasoned allrounder as the national captain for World Cup 2011 which gets underway on February 19.
The PCB announcement ended speculations that the Board might give the job to Misbah-ul-Haq, the experienced middle-order batsman who led Pakistan to a rare Test series triumph over New Zealand last month. Misbah has been appointed as vice-captain for the World Cup.
It was 17 days ago that the PCB announced Pakistan’s final 15-man squad for the World Cup but decided against naming the team’s captain.
Officially, the Board refrained from giving any reason for the delay but privately some of its officials hinted that Ijaz Butt — the PCB chief — wasn’t happy with Afridi’s performance as Pakistan’s limited-overs cricket.
Misbah’s prolific form and his success as Test captain added weight to speculations that he is being seen as the most suitable man to lead Pakistan in the World Cup.
But most experts warned the PCB that it would be disastrous to change the team’s captain so close to the World Cup.
Butt took it upon himself to ‘resolve’ the captaincy issue and went to New Zealand to carry out meetings with all stakeholders. In the end, he finally found out that Afridi was still Pakistan’s best bet as the World Cup captain.
Butt, a former Test cricketer, announced on Friday that Afridi enjoyed widespread backing from his teammates.
“I had detailed discussions with team management and players in New Zealand regarding captain and vice-captain and am pleased to state that everyone fully endorsed these decisions,” Butt said in a statement.
Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan took a swipe at the Board for its self-created headache.
“The Board paved the path for needless speculations,” he said. “Afridi was the obvious choice and should have been named captain for the World Cup when the team was announced,” he added.
Other former cricketers including Rashid Latif, Abdul Qadir and Zaheer Abbas urged Pakistan to rally behind Afridi so that the national team can do well in the World Cup.

Pakistan coach Waqar questioned over World Cup comment

Pakistan team coach Waqar Younis has been asked to explain himself to the national cricket board after criticising it for a delay in naming their captain for next month's World Cup (Feb 19-April 2).

A spokesman for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that a notice had been sent to Waqar over his comments made from New Zealand following their 2-1 Test series win there.

"We have asked him to explain his statement over the captaincy," media manager Nadeem Sarwar said.

Former Test captain Waqar, who guided Pakistan to their first Test series win since 2006 by winning the two-match series in New Zealand on Wednesday, had told Geo Super channel that he was surprised by the board decision.

"I am surprised that the board has delayed announcing the captain. I don't know the reasons for this but personally I think the captain should have been named with the team," Waqar said.

The PCB on Tuesday announced its 15-member World Cup squad but said it would name the captain later although all-rounder Shahid Afridi has been given the responsibility of leading the team in the forthcoming one-day series in New Zealand.

Former Test captains and ex-selectors have criticised the PCB decision to delay announcing the captain, claiming it would lead to internal problems in the team and make players insecure.

Pakistan seal New Zealand series with draw

 Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-haq led from the front, scoring his second half century of the match, to ensure his side batted out the final day to draw the second Test against New Zealand on Wednesday and claim their first series victory since 2006.

Misbah finished the day on 70 not out, following on from his 99 in the first innings, as Pakistan reached 226 for five at the close of play, 48 runs short of their victory target of 274.

Adnan Akmal was two not out as the visitors claimed their first series win since they beat the West Indies 2-0 at home five years ago.

Misbah had shared in an 118-run stand with Younis Khan (81) -- their second century-stand of the match -- after New Zealand had threatened to spoil the visitors' day when they reduced them to 42-3 in the first session.

Chris Martin was particularly aggressive in the first session, taking 2-24 off nine overs and had the Pakistani batsmen frantically trying to see him off.

New zealand captain Daniel Vettori also provided some concerning moments for the visitors, introducing himself in the eighth over and getting bounce from the harder ball and some turn out of the footmarks.

Misbah and Younis, however, slowly but assuredly ground down the attack and for long periods during the session between lunch and tea looked to have given up any pretence of chasing down the target before they slowly began to increase the scoring rate.

New Zealand were given the slightest hope of a final session victory when Younis was caught by Reece Young off Tim Southee in the final over before tea.

Misbah, who faced 172 balls and hit his fifth boundary to bring up his 50 after 255 minutes at the crease, and Asad Shafiq, however, continued to combine stoic defence and flirting with the possibility of launching a frantic final assault.

In the final hour, Vettori trapped Shafiq in front for 24 to leave Pakistan 215-5 and while the New Zealand bowlers attempted to rattle them with several vociferous appeals, Akmal and Misbah negotiated their way through until the close.

All-round Razzaq Helps Big Victory Against New Zealand

Abdul Razzaq pummeled an 11-ball 34 to propel Pakistan to 183, before returning to flatten the New Zealand top order with the new ball, as the visitors stormed to a 103-run victory in the third Twenty20 in Christchurch.

Razzaq capitalised on some inexperienced death bowling from Adam Milne to hammer 31 from the last nine deliveries of the innings, and picked up three wickets for 13 as New Zealand imploded dramatically, effectively surrendering the game within the first three overs of their chase.

To chase a big total of 184, New Zealand had made 11 runs for the loss of five wickets from their first five overs. Pakistan were 51 for no loss at the same stage.

It had begun as the top four batsmen all collected ducks. Martin Guptill began the catastrophic collapse when he edged Razzaq to point, pushing away from his body with hard hands to one that nipped away a touch. Jesse Ryder turned in his continue failure of the series in the following over when he top edged a pull, and Dean Brownlie's decision to sneak a quick single to get off the mark backfired when Shahid Afridi effected a rare Pakistani direct hit.

Ross Taylor was unfortunate to be adjudged lbw to one that struck him slightly above the knee roll, but didn't do himself any favours by playing all around the straight delivery.

Three overs into the innings, New Zealand had lost four wickets for three runs, and when James Franklin lost his head, and his middle stump, two overs later, there was only one direction the match was heading.

Earlier, Pakistan shrugged off the indifferent form that has dogged their New Zealand tour to reach 183/6 in a sparkling display.

Openers Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez went after New Zealand's bowlers from the outset, scoring at a rate of almost 10 an over for a partnership of 81 to give Pakistan their best start of the series.

Hafeez made a slower start but was keeping the scoreboard humming with 34 from 23 balls before mistiming a wide pitched delivery from James Franklin and falling to a leaping one-handed catch from Ross Taylor.

Shehzad followed in Franklin's next over, trapped lbw for 54 off 34 balls.

Pakistan then hit a mid-innings wobble as Younis Khan was run out for five and Asad Shafiq was dismissed for eight after charging Nathan McCullum and providing Kyle Mills with an easy catch on the boundary.

Skipper Shahid Afridi tried to steady his team but threw away his wicket stepping away from the stumps in an attempt to scoop a full toss from Southee over fine leg.

Abdul Razzaq had more success after being dropped by McCullum on two, going on to make 34 off 11 balls, including three sixes.

Pakistan Opt to Bat As Gul Rested, Akhtar Dropped

Pakistan will bat after winning the toss in the third Twenty20 in Christchurch, as they attempt to restore pride and gain some winning momentum ahead of the Test series.

Both skippers will be happy at the toss result as Ross Taylor said he would have bowled first due to the grass cover on the pitch.

Shahid Afridi shuffles down the order to bat at his regular position for Pakistan, as Ahmed Shehzad moves up to open. Umar Gul rested at ahead of Test series while Shoaib Akhtar have been left out of the side, after having had indifferent outings in Hamilton on Tuesday, with left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman and fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed replacing them.

New Zealand too, have rung in the changes, as Dean Brownlie and Adam Milne return to the team at the expense of Luke Woodcock and Ian Butler.

Afridi Arrived Pakistan to Pick World Cup Probables

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi will meet board chairman Ijaz Butt at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters in Lahore on Monday to finalise the probables for the 2011 World Cup and also the 15-man squad for the ODI series in New Zealand.

Afridi arrived in Lahore on Friday night from Christchurch after the end of the three-match Twenty20 series for the meeting. He will leave on Monday night to join the team in Hamilton for the first Test against New Zealand starting Jan 7.

A top official in the PCB said that Butt wants to discuss the probables with Afridi before giving the green signal to national selectors to announce the preliminary squad for World Cup 2011 as well as the squad for the seven-match ODI series against New Zealand.

Pakistan are to name their 30-man provisional squad for World Cup 2011 by Jan 5. The national selection committee headed by former Test opener Mohsin Khan is also supposed to decide the 15-man ODI squad for the series against the Black Caps within the next few days.

All participating teams of World Cup 2011 were asked to name their preliminary squads by Dec 19, two months before the quadrennial spectacle gets underway in the sub-continent. But Pakistan were unable to meet the deadline because their three key players are seeking a 'clearance' for national duty.

Following a PCB request, Pakistan were allowed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to name their squad by Jan 5.