The Black Caps chased down Sri Lanka’s total of 218 in Game 1 of the ODI series played in New Zealand, continuing the form of their 2-0 Test victory.
As the beginning of the 2015 Cricket World Cup draw closer, the Kiwis were looking to get some strong performances in before tackling the title on home soil.
Here’s a review of the action from Games 2, 3 and 4.
Game 2
There wasn’t a lot to like about Game 2. New Zealand looked lost without Kane Williamson at three and some good fielding and terrible communication resulted in four run-outs. Brendon McCullum looked good once again but he was the only positive in the first innings – apart from our tail wagging.
Adam Milne got dismissed for the first time in an ODI as he scored half of his career runs in one innings (19). Matt Henry and Trent Boult bashed a couple of boundaries so they at least had something to bowl at on an easy batting wicket.
Sri Lanka, led by Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 116, cruised home with 14 balls to spare. Henry was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers, taking two of the four wickets and bowling an economical 3.5 runs per over. Milne showed how expensive he can be if he gets it wrong, and bowling at 150km/h it doesn’t take much bat to get it to the boundary. It wasn’t a bad performance by the Kiwis, and when they’re missing one of the top four batsmen it really shows. I wouldn’t read too much in to this loss.
Game 3
There is not a lot to comment on in this 29-over rain-abandoned match, but McCullum can keep doing his thing at the top as it’s worth the gamble. They can trust Martin Guptill and Tom Latham, and there’s no need to protect them by forcing McCullum to play conservative.
Guptill looked good after he shook his early innings jitters. He was starting to middle a few and could have done without the rain to get some confidence back into his batting, although he looks to have found some form again.
Even after his poor last three series, where he averaged 14.86, he’s still the fastest Kiwi to grab 3000 ODI runs. He got there in 90 innings, beating Nathan Astle’s mark by three and his sensei Martin Crowe and class-mate Ross Taylor by six.
Latham showed why he’s the back-up opener. He’s sensible early on and looks for singles to rotate the strike. I’d love to see him get a big score soon to add to his Test success.
Game 4
This really was a game of four quarters rather than two halves. New Zealand started poorly with the bat and ball but recovered both times, true to the fighting reputation of this team. There weren’t a lot of positives to start the first innings, though.
McCullum had his work cut out for him, rotating seven bowlers in an attempt to contain an in-form Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara combo, which scored 214 of Sri Lanka’s 276 runs. If these three superstars can get some support from the bowlers and lower order then Sri Lanka will be a force to be reckoned with in the World Cup.
It was great to see Williamson pick up a key wicket as he hasn’t had a lot to do with the ball since his ban. There were a couple of missed opportunities where reviews could have overturned a decision but they weren’t quite confident enough to send it upstairs. Mitchell McClenaghan will be very disappointed he put a blemish on the fantastic New Zealand fielding record by dropping Sangakkara on 53, but fortunately Milne picked him up in the second over of his second spell.
This kicked off the first fight back before McClenaghan, Tim Southee, Corey Anderson and some good McCullum fielding cleaned up the last six wickets for 31 runs to bowl them out with three balls to go. One injury scare marred this recovery with reports that Milne has suffered another side strain. This is worrying for the young player, although New Zealand has a very capable and game fit World Cup replacement in Matt Henry.
What came next was the second poor start of the game. Chasing 276, New Zealand lost McCullum (11), Guptill (20) and Ross Taylor (8) to fall to 3-63. Guptill is looking more and more comfortable, his wicket was a good delivery and he showed positive signs. McCullum’s aggression got the better of him again when he took a swing at one and didn’t middle it. This will happen from time to time and New Zealand fans can’t be concerned about it.
They should be happy for him to play this game if there’s a comfortable Guptill and a safe Williamson at three. Taylor looks like the top order concern, however, after 45 runs from three games this series at a strike rate of 45. Look for him to get some runs in Dunedin or Wellington before the Pakistan games. He’s too classy not to.
Grant Elliott and Williamson led the second fight back of the match. Elliott started slow and could have done with a few more boundaries in his 44 but did the exact job he needed to do in this case. Though if he’s coming in at five he may not have that time to settle in the future. Williamson was all class in his 103 off 107 and played the perfect innings for a number three. He started slow and accelerated near the end to get New Zealand to 5-230 when he lost his wicket.
Williamson would have liked to have been there a bit longer but him and Corey Anderson put together another good partnership to get New Zealand on track to win the game. Luke Ronchi came in and faced a few balls that he pushed around to get the feel for the wicket before hitting three sixes and a four in the 48th over to get New Zealand home. The middle order did it for New Zealand again after a couple of early wickets but it’s a great confidence booster for those guys.
In the final three games what I want to see from New Zealand is some runs from Guptill, Taylor and McCullum so the lower order can come out swinging at the end. I’d also love to see Mills have a bowl and Boult get some wickets for his confidence levels.
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