Deciding Test Match Of Pak Nz Series !!!!! Teams aim for batting revival

Match facts

December 11-15
Start time 12pm (2300 GMT)

	Umar Akmal and Kamran Akmal have scored nearly half of Pakistan's runs this series © Getty Images

Big Picture

If this series could be a template for all cricket contests over the next decade, we might be in for fun times; so cruel has been the bat's rule over the sport over the last decade. Bowler-dominated series have become increasingly rare, and though they are generally to be found in New Zealand, even that trend has been slowly giving in to the inevitability of the willow.

In any case, this series has been as much about the batting frailties of both sides as it has been about the sharpness of the bowling; it is inconceivable that stronger batting orders would not have scored more on surfaces which rewarded good batsmen and good bowlers equally. New Zealand's top order has come to resemble the best boy-bands; built around the talents of one man, Ross Taylor, the purpose of the others seems unclear, other than just hanging around making him look even better. Tim McIntosh, Peter Fulton, Martin Guptill, Daniel Flynn and Grant Elliott together have scored ten runs less than Taylor. Daniel Vettori has been his usual busy self lower down, but by then, mostly stuff has hit the fan.

Pakistan's hasn't been much better and they might, after the tour, name Muhammad Akmal Siddique and his wife as Players of the Series, for providing them their sons Kamran and Umar. Very nearly half of all the runs Pakistan has scored have come from the brothers. The pair nearly returned to Pakistan after the Wellington Test because their mother suffered a heart attack, but she insisted they stay on and Pakistan should be doubly grateful. The openers remain a concern, though the bigger concern might be with the thinking behind their continued selection. Surely some new, younger, fresher blood is worth trying, if only for the sake of change?

Traditionally in New Zealand, heading to Napier has meant conditions easing up for batsmen. McLean Park is the most batting-friendly venue and the last Test - against India earlier this year - produced five hundreds in all, including a double. It would be a shame for this series to end with a stalemate run-fest, even if you suspect strongly that neither side - unused to winning of late - will mind that too much.

Form Guide

Pakistan LLDLW New Zealand DLLWL

Watch out for

Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul have been a serious threat to New Zealand through the series, but they might also be a danger to each other. During the second Test the pair reportedly got into a heated verbal scuffle on the third day, and both were fined heavily as the team management tried to hush up the altercation. Keep an eye out for when they are next bowling in tandem, or batting together.

Ian O'Brien has been charging in all series, into the wind, with a dislocated finger. Now comes his last Test and he goes into it as the joint-highest wicket-taker, just off his highest Test score. There was another setback, after he went off early from fielding practice, presumably worried about his injured finger. But what odds he overlooks that all and turns all that determination and effort into a series-winning hand?

Team news

Daniel Vettori has said he'll be batting at No.6 to accommodate an extra bowler. He added it was a toss-up between four seamers, and three seamers and two spinners - so either Tim Southee, who has the edge with the grass cover on the track, or Jeetan Patel. BJ Watling, replacing Peter Fulton, is likely to make his Test debut. He comes in with good form, having made 90 and 136 in his last first-class game, but his career average is 30.

New Zealand: 1 Tim McIntosh, 2 BJ Watling, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Daniel Flynn, 6 Daniel Vettori (capt), 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Tim Southee/ Jeetan Patel, 9 Daryl Tuffey, 10 Ian O'Brien, 11 Chris Martin.

Pakistan are also likely to make one change; both Mohammad Yousuf and Intikhab Alam have said that Shoaib Malik, who has endured his worst Test series for a while, is unlikely to play. Faisal Iqbal thus has a chance to shift up from a perennial backbencher spot, maybe even at one-down.

Pakistan: 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Salman Butt, 3 Faisal Iqbal, 4 Mohammad Yousuf (capt), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Mohammad Aamer, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Danish Kaneria, 11 Mohammad Asif.

Pitch and conditions McLean Park usually likes batsmen and only twice this decade has any side been bowled out for less than 250. But with the pitch preparations complete, a healthy amount of grass has been left on the surface and there is enough moisture around to keep fast bowlers happy. The sun might also shine through and if it remains warm and dry, then reverse swing might make a welcome appearance.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have come from behind to win a three-Test series only once before, against Zimbabwe in 1994-95.
  

• Danish Kaneria has become the highest wicket-taking spinner for Pakistan with 238 wickets, heading the illustrious trio of Abdul Qadir (236), Saqlain Mushtaq (208) and Mushtaq Ahmed (185). Kaneria is now fourth on Pakistan's list of highest Test wicket-takers.
  

• New Zealand haven't yet won a Test in Napier, but it's been their best batting venue at home. Since 2000, they've scored six centuries in five Tests, which includes one match when they didn't get to bat at all.

Quotes

"All three seamers bring something different; the left-armer [Mohammad Aamer] who bangs it in, the line-length bowler [Asif] who bowls in outstanding areas and [Umar] Gul who mixes it up a bit, so it's important we counter these different factors."
Daniel Vettori on Pakistan's bowling attack.

ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 fixtures confirmed

The ICC has confirmed the remaining fixtures in the 2009-10 Intercontinental Cup, with everything leading towards next November's final, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates.

The next match will start on January 23 and sees defending champions Ireland facing improving newcomers Afghanistan in Sri Lanka. Two days later, second-placed Kenya will take on 2004 champions and current leaders Scotland in a top-of-the-table clash.

There is a total of US$250,000 in prize money for the Associate and Affiliate teams taking part in the ICC Intercontinental Cup with US$100,000 for the winners and US$40,000 for the runners-up.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event then evolved in 2006 to an eight-team round-robin and truly global tournament of four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the invaluable experience of the longer form of the game.

This year's format includes seven teams (Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland and Zimbabwe XI), while the new competition, the ICC Intercontinental Shield, involves the four teams below that, namely Bermuda, Namibia, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in all three events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider, Canada in the 2006-07 event and Namibia in 2007-08.

The remaining fixtures for the second-tier ICC Intercontinental Shield have also been announced.

ICC INTERCONTINENTAL CUP

23-26 Jan - Afghanistan v Ireland, Sri Lanka
25-28 Jan - Kenya v Scotland, Kenya
17-20 Feb - Afghanistan v Canada, UAE
10-13 Jun - Netherlands v Scotland, Netherlands
11-14 Aug - Scotland v Afghanistan, Scotland
11-14 Aug - Ireland v Netherlands, Ireland
21-24 Aug - Canada v Zimbabwe XI, Canada
1-4 Sep - Canada v Ireland, Canada
1-4 Sep - Netherlands v Zimbabwe XI, Netherlands
2-5 Oct - Kenya v Afghanistan, Kenya
6-9 Oct - Zimbabwe XI v Ireland, Africa
13-16 Oct - Zimbabwe XI v Scotland, Africa
25-29 Nov - FINAL (five days), UAE

ICC INTERCONTINENTAL SHIELD

20-23 Jan - UAE v Uganda, UAE
2-5 Apr - Namibia v Bermuda, Namibia
5-8 Jul - Bermuda v UAE, Bermuda
18-21 Sep - Uganda v Namibia, Uganda
25-28 Nov - FINAL, UAE

No home-and-away for new FTP

"Morgan was hopeful the relaxation of the home-and-away requirement would appease player unions, who have been outspoken in their criticism of the demands currently placed on elite cricketers"

New details of the proposed post-2012 Future Tours Programme have emerged, with David Morgan, the ICC president, stating the home-and-away component of the current model could be scrapped. All teams at present must play each other twice in Test and one-day series over a six-year cycle, but Morgan said the new FTP could reduce the mandatory requirement to one series.

Such a move would allow national boards greater flexibility in arranging bilateral "icon" series, and could lead to an over all reduction in scheduling depending on their manoeuvrings. Morgan was hopeful the relaxation of the home-and-away requirement would appease player unions, who have been outspoken in their criticism of the demands currently placed on elite cricketers.

"The process is similar but the results will be different," Morgan told Cricinfo of the draft FTP. "I can't elaborate, but at the moment it's a requirement that in any six-year cycle each full member has to play the other home and away in a minimum of two Tests and three one-day internationals. I believe there will be a relaxation of that. Perhaps not in the number of games, but there's the possibility of instead having to play everybody home and away in a fixed cycle, you may either play them away or home.

"The FTP essentially is a basket of bilateral agreements between the ten full members with some consideration given to the more proficient associate countries like Ireland and the Netherlands. That set of bilateral arrangements is continuing. I firmly believe that it is very important to consult with the players. Where FICA [Federation of International Cricketers' Associations] is recognised, which is in the majority of countries, we are very happy to liaise and discuss things with Tim May and his team. I find them a responsible body."

FICA last month called on the ICC to scrap the FTP in its current format and enlist the services of independent consultants to devise a new scheduling system. In a letter addressed to the chief executives of cricket's ten full-voting countries, which has been obtained by Cricinfo, May, the union's chief executive, proposed an annual Test and one-day championship he believed would add context and attract renewed interest in the game.

The notion of a Test championship model has been supported by a number of cricketing bodies, Cricket Australia and the Marylebone Cricket Club among them. FICA's proposal would see the top eight nations split into two four-team conferences, with semi-finals and finals to be played every three years. The fourth and final year of the proposed cycle would be referred to as an "icon year", and include the World Cup as well as high-profile bilateral series such as India-Pakistan and the Ashes.

"We believe that the model of bi lateral ad hoc series that have been cricket's structure for the past century (and again from 2012-2020) is fast becoming an outdated model, and will be unable to cater for the changing cricket landscape," May wrote. "It is unusual for FICA to request the ICC and its member boards to review a decision of the ICC board, however, we are of the firm opinion that there are serious flaws in the proposed 2012-2020 FTP that will severely threaten the primacy of international cricket in future years."

The likelihood of such a model being adopted appears remote, however, with chief executives gravitating toward an FTP similar to that currently in operation, with the exception of the home-and-away requirement. Following a two-day board meeting in Johannesburg in October, the ICC issued a release stating an in principle agreement had been reached on the draft FTP.

Restructure the game around Twenty20

Club cricket could well be the wave of the future © Global Cricket Ventures-BCCI

Much has been made in recent weeks of the need to rejuvenate the traditional forms of cricket. In the case of Test cricket, there have been suggestions of Test championships, night-time games with coloured balls, and reducing the number of days from five to four. In the one- day arena, there have been an even greater number of “innovative” ideas, such as split-innings of 25 overs each, reducing innings to 40 overs a side, more Powerplays, less Powerplays, and removal of bowling and fielding restrictions.

To get to the heart of the matter, the force behind this drive for change - as so often is the way - is money. Every sport needs to grow to survive. The ICC’s route to growth has been to significantly increase the overall number of international matches played, particularly in recent times with seven-match one day series becoming more common.

It is a continuation of a trend, however. In the last ten years there have been on average around 140 games of one-day cricket played per year, an almost 50% increase in matches per year when compared to the ten years from 1989-99. Unfortunately for the ICC, the size of the traditional supporter’s wallet has not grown at the same rate, and perhaps neither has their enthusiasm. Hence, to fill the stadium twice as often, and retain the same number of TV viewers per game, probably requires a market comprising twice as many cricket enthusiasts.

So, how to broaden the appeal of cricket? The rejuvenation suggestions mooted above have all been made in the name of increasing the interest of the game to the masses. The goal has been to try and introduce more excitement into what has always been a purist’s sport - one complete with its own set of complicated rules, statistics, and jargon.

Looking at other sporting codes, some have done it well, others not so well. Baseball is an example where teams can now play more than 160 games per year, any night of the week. Matches are typically played in packed stadiums even though games can be long, boring, the outcomes predictable, and with a number of dead rubbers.

Football is the same. In the UK, the big premiership clubs play 60-odd games per season, and every year the same teams inevitably dominate. Still each game is passionately supported by thousands of fans. A third example, rugby league, also prospered in Australia well beyond its original “working class” fan base.

The formats and rules for these sports have not changed significantly in recent history, yet the crowds still show up, every week. The three examples above all have one major thing in common: simplicity. You can explain the sport and its basic rules to someone who knows next to nothing about it in around 60 seconds.

Cricket is not simple - say the words “dead ball”, “reverse-sweep”, “LBW”, “silly mid-on” and “batting Powerplay” to the average American and their eyes glaze over. That’s before you tell them games can last five days and be declared a draw at the end.

In its present form rugby union is not simple either. Like cricket, it has been dogged by dwindling support in recent years. Both codes have made repeated attempts to improve their respective spectacles, and whenever this has resulted in increasing the complexity of the game, they have failed. An easy lesson for cricket’s administrators is therefore if you must do anything, then simpler is better.

Realistically, simplification of one-day cricket and “commercialising” Test cricket (a euphemism for day-night excursions) will not be enough to allow cricket to grow to meet the escalating financial demands of the game’s administrators. Stadiums need to be filled, and games that last a minimum of seven hours simply won’t cut it - even in the most simplified form imaginable.

This is where Twenty20 comes in. Twenty20 is the only true vehicle to grow the appeal of the game beyond the niche market that is one-day and Test cricket. Administrators have made no secret of their efforts to be “careful” to not saturate the market with Twenty20 matches. Too much Twenty20, they believe, will result in a failure to preserve the sanctity of the traditional forms of the game.

I would argue that limiting Twenty20 puts unsustainable pressure on the traditional formats to meet growth targets. The only option available is to tamper with the traditional form of the game, pushing it further away from its roots. How do you cater to the marked demand?

Increase the number of Twenty20 matches. This is the money spinner that will effectively fund Test and one-day cricket for the purists.

Play less “meaningless” one-day cricket, with shorter bilateral series and points systems that contribute to tournament seedings.

Continue to play Test cricket as it is today, but ensure a spread of games where the top teams don’t only play each other as often, and the likes of Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand play more games.

Done this way, the masses would get to see the games they are interested in, and the purists can still enjoy the traditional formats the way they are.

Now here is where the radical ideas begin. I would propose that the way to rejuvenate the game is to completely restructure it around Twenty20, where games are played once or twice a week (like football) for six months across a nine to ten-month season every year. This would allow for specific windows for Test and one-day cricket to then be created, and there would be additional rest periods for players as seasons overlap. Tests would count towards a Test championship, with a final to be played perhaps every 2-3 years, and one-day matches would all count towards seedings for World Cup and Champions Trophy style events that alternate every two years.

The club-based format, that has worked for most other sports, including football, rugby league, rugby union, baseball, NFL, AFL, ice hockey and basketball, would be the logical platform to do this. Additionally, a club-based format will enhance the relevance of international fixtures between countries, again in the same way as it does in football. The increased number of short Twenty20 games, coupled with a lower number of ODIs and shorter Test series spread across the year will relieve pressure on players complaining of burnout (though again, the baseballers playing 160 games a year don’t tend to complain about burnout, neither do the midfielders playing premiership football who run up to 15km per game, 60 times a year. But that’s an issue to be dealt with another time).

A model for the new system might look something like this:

Three Twenty20 premier leagues operate across different seasons around the world. These might be in India, Australia, and England (as examples)

Players play primarily for their Twenty20 club, and there are clubs from each of the eight major nations in every league. (For instance, New Zealand has a few teams in the Australian competition; Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have teams in the Indian competition; and the West Indies and South Africa teams in the English competition)

Each club has a number of feeder “first-class” teams who play local Twenty20, first-class and one-day cricket throughout the season in an attempt to earn a place in both the club’s premier Twenty20 team and their national one-day and Test team.

Matches will be scheduled such that the top players are not always playing Twenty20 and there is time for some domestic first-class cricket.

International windows lasting three to four weeks (enough time for two-three Tests and three ODIs), occur at four points in the year, perhaps December/January, March/April, July/August, and October/November - whatever suits the seasons of the most international teams best. In between, the club Twenty20 and feeder matches are played.

There would be no requirement for a player to represent a club from his country, in the same way Europeans and South Americans play in the English Football leagues. Granted, this is quite a radical idea, and it is hard to see the ICC agreeing to its format and implementation, let alone the cricket boards and players of each of the major nations. There would be multiple obstacles to work out, including how to share revenues, player allegiances, salary issues, club v country debates and all the other things that sports such as football deal with today. But in football there is evidence that the idea can work, and work well.

ICC Awards 2009

Its that part of the year when the Cricket players are honored. And they have something to brag about officially!! This year the awards had a very good Indian presence. Hope it gets better with years

ICC World Player of the Year – Mitchell Johnson [Australia]

Test Player of the Year – Gautham Gambir [India]

ODI Player of the Year – MS Dhoni [India]

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year – Tillakaratne Dilshan [Sri Lanka]

Emerging Player of the Year – Peter Siddle [Australia]

Spirit of Cricket – New Zealand

Umpire of the Year – Aleem Dar [Pakistan]

World Test Team of the Year – Led by Dhoni [India]

Gautam Gambhir (India), Andrew Strauss (England), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka), Michael Clarke (Australia), MS Dhoni (India, capt & wk), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Mitchell Johnson (Australia), Stuart Broad (England), Dale Steyn (South Africa), Harbhajan Singh (India, 12th man)

World ODI team – Led by Dhoni [India]

Virender Sehwag (Ind), Chris Gayle (WI), Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL), Yuvraj Singh (Ind), Martin Guptill (NZ), MS Dhoni (Ind, captain, WK), Andrew Flintoff (Eng), Nuwan Kulasekara (SL), Ajantha Mendis (SL), Umar Gul (Pak), 12th man: Thilan Thushara (SL)

Women’s Player of the Year – Clare Taylor [England]

Associate Player of the Year – Will Porterfield [Ireland]

Thanks Cricinfo, from where the content was heavily borrowed

Indian Premier League

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is an annual franchise-based Twenty20 competition organised by the Indian board. First held in 2008, it features many of the world's best cricketers playing for eight city-based franchises, owned by a host of businessmen and celebrity consortiums. The tournament's initial success stemmed from India's winning the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 but the IPL has itself spawned several competitions, current and planned, including the Champions League.

Apart from the franchise concept - cricket's traditional region-based team composition has been replaced by an auction and transfer system - what marks out the IPL is the money involved. The Indian board netted US$ 1.75 billion from the tournament even before a ball had been bowled - from the sale of TV and other rights. The players are making money too: There are now ten players on contracts worth more than $1 million annually, for what is effectively five weeks' work. The big money involved, and its appeal to cricketers, has upset the sport's traditionalists but it is clearly part of cricket's future.

Is This The Only Format In Which Pakistanis Are Champ

London, 21 June 2009

There were so many things to admire in Pakistan's run to the World Twenty20 title. Foremost there were players excelling - Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer - in a way that you would not find anywhere else.

But there was also this beautiful sense of watching something quite special being put together, of random, disparate pieces coming together at just the right moment, doing just the right thing and moving on. It's a very Pakistani kind of momentum: they might not do all three disciplines well enough all the time, but sometimes, for periods, they excel in everything.

Just watching them build it was fascinating enough. At every moment it was doomed to failure as well: Afridi saying that he played every match as if it was his last was fitting, for the whole thing was always on edge, horrific, thrilling, fragile and solid at once.

Afridi's catch to dismiss Scott Styris - in itself a supremely primal and athletic feat - was the moment where it all turned; inconsistent before, Pakistan sniffed something. Afridi, Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, the old heads who had been on such rides before, took hold of the beast as best they could and rode it to the end. Of course in the broader context of what was happening in Pakistan, and also to its cricket, and that it came only a few months after the Lahore attacks, gave the win a worldlier meaning. This wasn't just a sporting victory.

Now, in hindsight, it feels like we were all watching one of those human-pyramid record attempts, where men climb up slowly and carefully, always in peril. They make it, but it's a fleeting image, to be snapped quickly to capture forever one pure moment of joy and elation, before it all inevitably comes apart again. Afridi standing at the Lord's non-striker's end, having completed the leg-bye to seal it, helmet in hand, sheathed in sweat, arms aloft and legs wide: here was that one image.