Blackcaps

Having lost the test series (of 2) 1-0, the Blackcaps are now taking on Pakistan in a 6 match ODI series. The first match was played at Wellington’s Cake Tin stadium, so we wandered down after lunch, as the game was scheduled to be a day-night affair under floodlights.

We were a bit late setting out, and when we got there the match had already been underway for three quarters of an hour. In that time, Pakistan had advanced to 30/3 – hardly an impressive start, and scoring at under 3 an over. The Blackcaps continued to chip away at them and Pakistan never really looked like getting going – despite the efforts of Misbah who managed a 50 off 89 balls, he eventually ran out of partners and Pakistan finished on a dismal 124 after 37.3 overs.

So, New Zealand came in to bat. Unfortunately, it was my turn to go and get the drinks and due to the huge queue at the coffee stall, I missed the first six overs. As I returned to my seat, they had advanced to 50 for no loss. For those of you doing the maths, this is more of a Twenty20 type score. Ryder had been doing the damage throwing his bat around. For the first over back in my seat (the seventh), NZ added 19 runs. Clearly, we thought, there must be something on the telly that they’re desperate not to miss!

After knocking out 50 in 29 deliveries, Ryder eventually succumbed for 55. That slowed the Blackcaps down a little, but not much. The scoring rate dropped down to single figures per over, but in the 18^th over they cracked the target with no further loss of wickets. A resounding win for New Zealand, hopefully setting them up for a better result in the ODI series.