John Wright has replaced Mark Greatbatch as New Zealand’s coach, and Daniel Vettori has lost his role as a selector, as part of a review of the team’s recent tour of India

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2010John Wright has replaced Mark Greatbatch as New Zealand’s coach, and Daniel Vettori has lost his role as a selector, as part of a review of the team’s recent tour of India. Wright will take charge of the side immediately, while Greatbatch will become the convener of a three-man selection panel that will also include Glenn Turner and Lance Cairns.One of Wright’s major tasks will be to turn around New Zealand’s poor one-day form, after they suffered clean-sweeps in India and Bangladesh over the past two months. The team has lost 11 consecutive ODIs, hardly the sort of lead-up they wanted ahead of February’s World Cup, and they have also won only two of their past 19 Tests.”I’d always thought it would be a great challenge. When you look back at past history it’s been a tough one but that’s cricket,” Wright told reporters after his new job was announced in Auckland. “I feel some unfinished business. I’m excited and I want to test myself as a coach.”Wright is contracted until after the West Indies tour in 2012, and his appointment completes his return to the international scene after he ended a five-year stint as India’s coach in 2005. He knows that his first task is to get to know the New Zealand players ahead of their next international encounter, a Twenty20 against Pakistan on December 26.”I understand it will be small steps,” he said. “I look at particularly the one day team and they have potential. But the trick is to help the players find that consistency, find how to rediscover their form and confidence. I’ve been in a similar situation before going into a World Cup that was very, very low on confidence.”The decision to hand the reins to Wright was the central outcome of a review of New Zealand’s tour of India, but changes to the selection panel were also significant. Greatbatch is in charge of the new panel, which will be independent of the team, ending Vettori’s tenure as a selector.However, in a statement, New Zealand Cricket said the captain and coach would continue to contribute to the selection process and would be actively responsible for team selections on tour. Greatbatch will stay on as a batting coach in New Zealand’s high-performance programme.”A thorough review of the Black Caps tour of India has been undertaken over the last week,” said the New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan. “All aspects of the tour – playing performance, preparation, selection and support staff – were examined to ensure that the Black Caps have the greatest chance of succeeding. The changes being made are a direct result of that process and should make a real difference.”Wright will be the fourth coach New Zealand have had in just over two years. John Bracewell was the long-standing mentor until his departure in December 2008, and his replacement Andy Moles lasted barely a year before the search for a new coach landed on Greatbatch, who took over in January this year.

The Basin Reserve Test sparked into life on a third day filled with twists, turns and decisive shifts in momentum, with both sides inadvertently pushing the opponent to swap game-plans several times

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar18-Jan-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMartin Guptill adopted different approaches in each of the first two sessions to work his way to 73•Getty Images

The Basin Reserve Test sparked into life on a fourth day filled with twists, turns and momentum shifts, as one side inadvertently pushed the other to swap game-plans several times. Pakistan began with unimaginative bowling at unacceptable over-rates, spread-out fields, and sloppy fielding. New Zealand cashed in, with their openers adding 120 enterprising runs, before Pakistan’s spinners rallied to reduce them to 208 for 5. For the second time in the match, though, Ross Taylor responded with a composed innings to help his side recover despite an inspired sortie from Umar Gul before stumps.With 273 to defend, New Zealand will begin as favourites on the last day, but Pakistan can take heart from the fact that seven years ago, they successfully chased the same target at this very ground. If they fall short, they will have their lacklustre start to the day to blame, a period when Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill were allowed to dictate terms.Pakistan’s fast bowlers came out without intent, spraying the ball around and gifting easy boundaries as McCullum and Guptill settled in before Abdur Rehman came on. Rehman attacked the rough with a slip, silly point and short leg, with Adnan Akmal imploring him to bowl the ‘magic ball’. One forceful shot from Guptill, a crunched back-foot cover drive, was enough for silly point to be removed. An over later, the magic ball came, stopping and turning sharply from leg stump to take Guptill’s edge before landing in the now vacant silly-point region. Pakistan had paid for their lack of proactivity.McCullum’s eagerness to dominate was counterbalanced by the state of the match and New Zealand’s recent batting woes. Rehman tossed them up, inviting the drive over mid-off, with men waiting close in for the edge. McCullum resisted, lunging forward to the flight, and working the odd arm-ball off the back foot to the leg side. Rehman almost broke through, getting McCullum to prod with hard hands, but Asad Shafiq dropped the chance, again at silly point. McCullum ran down the track to the next ball and clattered a flat six over long-off, before pulling a short ball for four more. Pakistan’s best bowler had been negated, with some luck, but he was not done for the day.Worried by the opening session, Pakistan came out with a plan in the second. Gul harried Guptill with bounce and movement, clunking his helmet with a bouncer in the first over after the break, and getting him to edge a legcutter in his second, but Adnan spilled the opportunity. Guptill altered his approach, hanging back in the crease, but resisting the impulse to pull.Rehman eventually found a way past McCullum, luring him to miscue to long-off after beating him in the flight. The run-rate dropped and Pakistan finally found their voice as Guptill got into a tangle against some well-directed bouncers from Wahab Riaz, the biggest culprit in the day’s no-ball stakes. Guptill barely survived the spell and then attacked Rehman, slicing an off-drive past a diving Tanvir Ahmed at mid-off, and teeing off down the ground for six. Rehman was not to be denied, though, and he eventually pinned Guptill in front with a skidder, an over after Kane Williamson had perished to an ungainly drive against Tanvir.Jesse Ryder avoided a third successive first-ball duck but was bowled by Mohammad Hafeez off the first ball following a brief rain interruption. New Zealand suddenly were in strife, at what was effectively 172 for 4. For a brief while, Hafeez transformed into Muttiah Muralitharan, producing a few unplayable deliveries that had New Zealand befuddled and Pakistan worried. Taylor survived one that turned in a mile, and James Franklin wasn’t good enough to edge another than turned across him and jumped over his stumps. He didn’t last long, nicking Hafeez to Younis Khan at slip before Shafiq dropped another crucial chance, lunging late from short leg as Reece Young poked nervously.Having taken a close look at Hafeez’s fare, Taylor dug deep to reverse the momentum once again. He negated the spinners with assured feet, late shots and soft hands, frustrating them into drifting onto his legs. When they did, he moved his front pad decisively across to flick and sweep into his favourite scoring areas. His first boundary came after 45 balls of caution, by which time his discipline had tired Rehman into errors. Hafeez also lost his sting, and Taylor asserted himself with a trademark slog-sweep over midwicket. Young held his own with a straight bat and a steady head for the second time in the game, and the 60-run stand turned the tide once again in New Zealand’s favour, but the day had some more surprise in store.Azhar Ali took a blinder close in to end Young’s effort before Gul charged in with an 86-overs-old ball and resorted to his most loyal weapon – reverse swing. He struck Taylor in front with an inswinger before rearranging Daniel Vettori’s stumps with a yorker. Brent Arnel came and went first ball, barely seeing a laser beam that pinged his toes. Chris Martin got the wildest applause of the day when he kept out the hat-trick ball, and Tim Southee connected with a couple of swings before Martin became Gul’s fourth scalp and New Zealand were bowled out.

Pakistan’s need for a substantial opening stand is growing and Mohammad Hafeez is confident he and Ahmed Shehzad can deliver

Osman Samiuddin in Pallekele07-Mar-2011Three matches in and murmurs over Pakistan’s opening combination are increasing. Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad have put on 11, 28 and 16 against Kenya, Sri Lanka and Canada but on two occasions the middle order has bailed the side out. There is no move from the team management to change things just yet – in fact there is a commendable rigidity to stick, as much as possible, to the same winning XI – but the need for a substantial stand is growing.Hafeez has looked the more fluent of the two, particularly in his 32 against Sri Lanka, where a disastrous run-out ended a promising knock. The surfaces they have come across, while good for batting, have been more competitive than some seen in the World Cup and that Hafeez concluded has also played a part.”When you assess the pitch as an opener, you have to plan out what it would be like, and both pitches at Hambantota and at the Premadasa had a lot of movement and swing,” Hafeez said in Pallekele, a day before his side’s game with New Zealand. “We need some time to build a good partnership but you get one good delivery or a decision goes against you, which are a part
of the game, and you have to take it positively. Here there has been some lateral movement with the new ball and swing as well.”Hafeez’s return to the ODI set-up in the last English summer has brought Pakistan a sense of stability at the top, though his most productive partnership has been with Kamran Akmal, now batting at one down. Hafeez averages nearly 33 in 19 ODIs since, with a hundred – in New Zealand – and three fifties. The figures don’t look outstanding, but he has chipped in otherwise, with wickets (13) and a safe presence in the field.”In the three series against England, South Africa and New Zealand I think I’ve been consistent,” Hafeez said. “It’s only that I haven’t performed in three World Cup matches. In one match I got run out and in another I got a bad decision. To perform in cricket you need luck other than your own potential as well sometimes.”A good start also gives Pakistan greater flexibility in their batting order. Because the openers have not so far come off, Pakistan has stuck with bringing Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq together behind Kamran Akmal, in order to insure against a collapse. But there are indications within the camp that if the openers provide a substantial, pacy start, Abdul Razzaq or even Shahid Afridi could be pushed up the order, as high as one-down.Having scored his first and only ODI hundred against tomorrow’s opponents in the series in January, a change of results, Hafeez believes, is due. “As an opener I know we have not given good starts to the team, but there’s no lack of confidence. We just need one good partnership to get back the confidence. We handled New Zealand’s bowling very well [in New Zealand], I also scored a century against them so the confidence is very high.”

Daniel Vettori did not look like his world has crashed around him, but was able to put the loss in perspective

Firdose Moonda in Colombo29-Mar-2011The Daniel Vettori who turned up at the post-match conference after the semi-final was not the Daniel Vettori that was expected to turn up. He was not grumpy, annoyed or irritable. He was not overly disappointed, he did not look like his world has crashed around him, or even like a small part of it was destroyed.For the sixth time, New Zealand have exited the tournament at the semi-final stage and they have never reached a World Cup final. Vettori would have had every right to appear upset, heartbroken and gutted, as he looked on the field when Thilan Samaraweera hit the winning runs. By the time the media conference came around, 15 or so minutes later, he had dried his eyes and put the loss in perspective. “I can only speak for this team, I can’t speak for the teams of yesteryear and we just came up short,” he said, pragmatic as you like.The coming up short started with the bat. New Zealand lost 6 for 25 runs at the end of their innings, including a dramatic 4 for 4, and were bowled out for 217. Already, they knew they were on the ropes. “We thought we were 20 to 30 runs short,” Vettori said, although he maintained that he had made the correct decision by choosing to bat first. “Our top order came up short and against the Sri Lankan bowling it was tough to recover.”Despite a below-par batting performance New Zealand – known for their ability to fight, and just four days after defending 221 in spectacular fashion against South Africa – may have gone into the field thinking they would do it again. For that, they would need the batting side to play along, but Sri Lanka were no South Africa, and made it difficult for New Zealand to repeat their giant-killing performance. “Our whole game plan was to try and get them three down,” Vettori said.New Zealand go out, not embarrassed or humiliated, but like their captain, proud of about what they achieved•AFP

By the time that three down happened, Sri Lanka were only 57 away from victory and had formed enough of a solid base for the rest of the order to build on. Kumar Sangakkara was still at the crease, looking as composed as ever and the inroads New Zealand made were not enough to cause an upset. “The [Tillakaratne] Dilshan and Sangakkara partnership went on too long,” Vettori said of the 120 runs the pair put on for the second wicket.That was the partnership that put the match beyond New Zealand’s reach and the only way they could get it back was to grab and pull with all they had. “When the opposition has to chase at less than 6 runs to the over, you have to get wickets and we were all about taking wickets and breaking partnerships. But we couldn’t break the sixth wicket partnership.” That stand, of 35 runs, between Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews won the match for Sri Lanka but had it been broken, it would have opened up the tail for New Zealand.Mathews joined Samaraweera at the crease with the score on 185 for 5, still needing 33 to win and with the required-rate nudging its way towards a run a ball. Southee had just completed a maiden over but instead of applying pressure on the other end as well, Vettori allowed Jesse Ryder, who had just conceded nine runs in his first over, to continue. “I needed to get through some overs, Jesse was in the game already,” Vettori explained.He was not going to go as far as laying blame on anyone, even young Southee, who persisted with short balls towards the end of the Sri Lankan innings, which the Sri Lankan were not too afraid off. “Short bowling is a good plan but you have to bowl in the right areas. Tim Southee has had a great tournament and I can’t blame him.” Vettori has praise for the whole team’s effort saying he was “impressed” with the way they fielded.If there was a hint of sadness in going home and not to Mumbai, he didn’t let it show. Perhaps it’s because the performance the team had in this World Cup has been better than the showing they’ve had in the last nine months, when they lost four ODI series to subcontinental sides. Perhaps because it gives him such a boost to be able sign off from the captaincy on this note, knowing that the team has regained its ability to fight.”Obviously we are incredibly disappointed. We fought so hard to stay in the tournament,” he said. It was that determined fight that sees New Zealand go out, not embarrassed or humiliated, but like their captain, proud of about what they achieved and realistic about what they hope to do in the future.

Ricky Ponting has quashed reports that he will retire after the World Cup, confirming that he has no plans to end his playing career or give up the captaincy

Brydon Coverdale in Ahmedabad23-Mar-2011Ricky Ponting has quashed reports that he will retire after the World Cup, confirming that he has no plans to end his playing career or give up the captaincy. The on Wednesday reported that Ponting, 36, would retire and was hoping to cap off his career by captaining an English county side this year, but Ponting said the story was untrue, and has still not ruled out being part of the 2013 Ashes tour.”I’ve never ever thought about retirement or where the finish line might be,” he said. “I’ve been trying to prepare myself as best I can as a player and lead the team as well as possible. For some reason, these retirement things keep popping up all the time. As we all know, you probably shouldn’t always believe everything you read in the newspaper.”It looks like every few weeks now I’m having to answer that question. I’m enjoying it as much as ever. We’ve got a big game coming up against India that I’m looking forward to, and more importantly I’m looking forward to getting out there and performing well as a player.”However, there was some truth to the report, with Ponting’s management having scouted around the county circuit in an attempt for Ponting to secure a first-class deal in the lead-up to Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka in August. Ponting said the county option had fallen through due to the timing of the English domestic competitions.”I looked at trying to play some county cricket before the Sri Lankan tour this year, for the fact that I would have been coming off three months of no cricket and I thought we were going straight in to Test matches,” Ponting said. “That’s why my management had a look around a few of the counties to see if they were interested. As it worked out, our programs just didn’t line up.”The Twenty20s and one-dayers are mainly on in England at that time and I wanted to get some four-day cricket under my belt before the Test matches in Sri Lanka. That’s how that started, but it didn’t work out and I certainly won’t be going to play there this year.”The retirement rumour came a day after a report in the , in which an unnamed Cricket Australia official was quoted as saying that Ponting faced a challenge at board level to retain the captaincy. Ponting said he was keen to play on in Test and ODI cricket and if he was asked to step aside as leader to make way for Michael Clarke, it would not be an issue.”If Cricket Australia believe, or the selectors believe that there’s someone out there better to captain any team that I play in, then so be it,” Ponting said. “If it happens that I’m still good enough to be playing in the team with another captain, then so be it as well. I’m open to any of that sort of stuff. By the same token, I’ll know when the time is right for me to step aside as captain or step aside as a player. Right now, I don’t think that’s the right time.”After the 2009 Ashes defeat in England, Ponting was bullish about his chances of returning for the 2013 trip. He will be be 38 by then, but if he regains his form, he still believes he has some chance of fulfilling that goal.”Maybe it is a realistic thing,” he said. “As far as the way my body’s feeling and how much I’m enjoying my cricket, I’d love to be able to do that. But I’ve got to be good enough to do it, which is what I’ve always quantified it with. I’ve got to be playing well enough. Other players around the world at my age are doing it pretty well and pretty regularly so certainly there’s some ambition there for me to be good enough to get back to playing the way I want to play.”