England vs Ireland ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: Preview

Bangalore: After snatching a thrilling tie against favourites India, a rampaging England will look to mow down minnows Ireland and pocket the crucial two points when they meet in a group B match of the cricket World Cup on Wednesday.


After an unconvincing victory against Holland in their opening match, England were in sniffing distance of a memorable win over India on Sunday but the English team almost threw the chance before holding on to an astonishing tie.


Having three points from two matches, England are placed just behind India in the table with the only thing separating them being the run-rate. Andrew Strauss' men would hope to notch up a huge win tomorrow to get to the top.


England's batting has fired in both their previous encounters where they chased down 292 against Holland and scored 338 against India and skipper Strauss would want another solid performance from his batters.


However, the bowling has been a bit lacklustre as they have been leaking runs galore. James Anderson produced the worst World Cup performance by and Englishman when he gave away 91 runs in 9.5 overs, while Stuart Broad's replacement Ajmal Shahzad bled 53 in eight overs against India.


Save for Tim Bresnan, who took 5-48, none of the other bowlers, including spinners have been very successful.


Ian Bell, however, defended the bowlers and said England team are now a genuine World Cup contender.


"I think the conditions have been very hard for the bowlers. The batting team has to score heavy to defend. It was a fantastic performance by Tim (Bresnan) on a surface like this. He is in incredible form," Bell said.


"We were chasing 338 and I do not think so many teams in the past would have done that. We have got the quality in bowling and we were 100 per cent right in our fielding too.


"We can be a threat to the other teams in the World Cup if we start playing collectively as a group. As a team we can match anyone," Bell said.


Ireland, on the other hand, didn't have much to take home from their match against Bangladesh, their first match of the World Cup.


Ireland's bowlers fared better than the batsmen as they dismissed Bangladesh for 205. But the team was let down by the batsmen as they failed to chase down the total and it would take a mammoth effort if they have to salvage any hope of an upset tomorrow.


"We have to bounce back. We can't let it (defeat against Bangladesh) bother us. We have to leave the batting here and move on to Bangalore," Skipper William Porterfield said.


Interestingly, Ireland will have the services of some of the regulars of English county circuit such as Ed Joyce, who was granted special dispensation by the ICC to play for the country of his birth at the last moment.


Joyce, who was dropped by England after the side's dismal showing at the 2007 World Cup, will be joined by Somerset spinner George Dockrell tomorrow.


Bell also reckoned there are some dangerous players in the Ireland side who can spoil their party.


"We know a fair bit (about Ireland). These days a lot of those guys are respected on the county circuit. They have earned respect in international one-day cricket and there is a lot of experience in their side from county cricket.


"It's a game we're looking forward to and will have to play well in. It is not a game we can turn up and just coast. There are some dangerous players in that Ireland side," he said.

Squads (from):

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Michael Yardy, Ajmal Shahzad, James Tredwell, Luke Wright


Ireland: William Porterfield (capt), Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Niall O'Brien, Kevin O'Brien, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, John Mooney, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Gary Wilson, Andrew White, Ed Joyce

Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Billy Bowden (NZL)

TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA)

Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (SRI)

Match start: 1430 IST.

Sri Lanka vs Kenya Live Streaming Highlights – Cricket World Cup 2011

Sri Lanka would look to bounce back after their morale-sapping loss to Pakistan and avenge their 2003 edition defeat at the hands of Kenya when they take on the African associate nation in their ICC Cricket World Cup Group A match on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka, tipped as one of the title contenders, lost to Pakistan by 11 runs on Saturday and they would look to lift their morale with a big win against Kenya at the R Premadasa Stadium.

They have also got the boost ahead of Tuesday's match with fast bowler Lasith Malinga available for selection after sitting out of Sri Lanka's last two matches due to a sore back.

Sri Lanka can ill-afford to take their opponents lightly, though Kenya had suffered heavy defeats at the hands of New Zealand and Pakistan in their last two matches and facing internal division with differences between their coach Eldine Baptiste and senior players.

Against the Kiwis, Kenya were bowled out for 69 runs, their lowest total in ODI cricket, and then Pakistan thrashed them by 205 runs at Hambantota.

However, the last time Sri Lanka and Kenya met in a World Cup encounter was in 2003 and the Africans had stunned the 1996 champions on that occasion with an upset win in Nairobi.

Understandably, Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss warned his players not to be complacent.

"The fact that we did not win our last game will stop any complacency. Our guys are consciously aware of playing good cricket and we certainly will not take them lightly," Bayliss said.

He said Malinga was able to bowl full steam at the nets on Monday and he would be available for selection.

"Lasith bent over to pick up a cricket ball about two weeks ago and strained his back a little. The physio said that the first two weeks were the most important after his injury as the most likelihood of him re-injuring was that period. He bowled in the last two practice sessions. He has bowled with a full run-up today and batted and fielded.

We have a selection meeting in the evening and will decide what to do then," Baylisss said.

Kenya, on the other hand, are facing trouble ahead of their all-important match with reports of differences between players and coach emerging.

Cricket Kenya chief Samir Inamdar on Sunday blamed differences between the players and West Indian coach Eldine Baptiste for their lacklustre performances so far.

Kenyan captain Jimmy Kamande, however, dismissed suggestions that there was disunity within the squad and promised a better performance on Tuesday.

"I also read those reports. I have not spoken to the chairman, but I can tell you that my team is very solid. When a team loses people try to find excuses. The thing is we have not performed and we want to play well," Kamande told reporters at the pre-match press conference.

"Obviously Sri Lanka are a solid side. But we have nothing to lose. They are the ones who are under pressure to perform. Having lost to Pakistan, this makes a must win game for them and we will try and put pressure on them," Kamande added.

The Teams (From):

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (captain and wicketkeeper), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.

Kenya: Jimmy Kamande (captain), Tanmay Mishra, James Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya, David Obuya (wicketkeeper), Nehemiah Odhiambo, Thomas Odoyo, Peter Ongondo, Elijah Otieno, Maurice Ouma, Rakep Patel, Steve Tikolo and Seren.

Sri Lanka vs Kenya

ODIs

Sri Lanka have won four and lost one out of five contested against Kenya in ODIs between 1996 and 2003.

ICC Cricket World Cup

At the ICC Cricket World Cup, the two teams met three times - Sri Lanka won two ( Kandy - March 6, 1996 and Southampton - May 30, 1999 and Kenya once (February 24, 2003).

Overall World Cup

Kenya have won six games - one each against Sri Lanka , Bangladesh , West Indies and Zimbabwe apart from both their games against Canada .  As against their six wins, Kenya have lost 18 out of 25 played (NR 1) - winning % 25.00.

Sri Lanka have won 26 and lost 31 out of 59 played - winning % 45.68 - Tied 1  NR 1.

Australia vs New Zealand Live Stream Highlights Cricket World Cup 2011

In the next match of the World Cup 2011 we will have two matches on 25 February 2011 starting with the early match between Australia and New Zealand which happens to be the first big match in the event where predicting a winner is as hard as it can get. Although New Zealand are not playing to the best of there abilities at the moment but they are still a team whcih some how or the other tend to make sure that that they play better in the world Cup matches. This match will be played at nagpur on 25 February 2011 and will start at 04:00 GMT.

Australia vs New Zealand World Cup – 25 February 2011

Date: 25 February 2011 Time: 04:00 GMT
Venue: Nagpur, India

Australia are coming into this match on the back of win against Zimbabwe couple of days ago, it was a match where every one expected that Australia will crush the Zimbabwe team but that did not happen and although they won the match they were not in total control as Ponting would want them to be. Good news for them is Mitchel Johnson is back in form and getting wickets as he racked up 4 wickets in this match while Watson continued his great run of form with the bat when he gave australia a good start with a well batted 79 runs to his name.

On the other hand we have always underdogs, New Zealand side who won their first match against kenya with real ease, as they hammered them in the match with bowl and bad, New Zealand bowled them out for jsut 69 runs and went on to win the match by 10 wickets and stamp their authority in the World Cup 2011.

South Africa vs West Indies Live Streaming Highlights ICC World Cup 2011

 South Africa vs West indies Live Streaming Video Online Sopcast Channel

WATCH South Africa vs West indies LIVE STREAM HD TV OF ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP here. West Indies take on South Africa in the seventh game of the World Cup at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. This World Cup game will be a day-night encounter and will see the two sides meet in the World Cup cricket games for the fifth time. Both have won two games.

The West Indies team will look to depend on their batsmen to deliver the goods. This will be because the West Indian bowling is not too strong and it will need the likes of Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard to strike hard when it really matters.

Of course, the experience of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul will also count for a lot.

South Africa will need to rely on the batting of Hashim Amla, who has been their best batsman in the last one year or so. With Jacques Kallis back from injury, things are looking good for the South Africa side, who will depend on the pair of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel for a win. Watch Free Live Stream South Africa vs West indies ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Online Broadcast Here.

New Zealand vs Kenya World Cup Match 2 at Chennai Live Score Highlights and Preview

New Zealand take on Bangladesh in the second World Cup game of the 2011 edition of the tournament. The match will be played at Chepauk in Chennai on February 20 and will be a Group A encounter.

New Zealand go into this game with a hard-fought win over Ireland in the warm-ups after having posted more than 300. Kenya had met West Indies and had them on the mat for a small period at the start of the innings before Ramnaresh Sarwan battled through to a match-winning century.

However, Kenya did defeat Afghanistan and Ireland in the two other warm-ups that had taken place before the teams got down to the sub-continent, making them a side to watch out for.

Interestingly, New Zealand is one of the top teams which has never won a World Cup before. With the kind of form that they had shown in the last 12 months leading up to the tournament, they couldn’t be farther from their dreams of doing so this year. Whitewashes in Bangladesh and India were preceded by a tri-series in Sri Lanka where they had failed to qualify for the final.

The Chennai track was in news during the warm-up game between South Africa and Zimbabwe when both captains complained about the slow nature of the track. Things may just remain the same.

New Zealand v Kenya World Cup Group A at Chennai Live Score here:

New Zealand v Kenya World Cup Group A at Chennai Timings:

The New Zealand v Kenya World Cup game will be a day match and will start from 0400 hours GMT or 0930 hours local time.

The Teams:

Kenya is a top-heavy side with a huge dependence on the pair of Steve Tikolo and Collins Obuya. In the aforementioned three warm-up games, Tikolo has scores of 126 and 15 while Obuya has made 49, 19 and 68. Only wicket-keeper Maurice Ouma got anywhere close to a half century apart from this.

Fortunately for the side, the likes of Seren Waters at the top of the innings and Tanmay Mishra in the middle order can bat and they will look to ensure that the side overcomes its collapses of the past and gets to respectable scores.

It is their pace bowling that will be asked questions with only Thomas Odoyo having any kind of experience with the new ball. Again, Tikolo could add valuable support as far as spin bowling is concerned.

New Zealand have their own woes and the problem is that it isn’t known why they are in such a rut. There are occasions when the batting doesn’t get off the ground and on others when the bowling gets carted around. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many when both, their batting and fielding gets going together.

Martin Guptill’s century against Ireland should help him gain some confidence but one gets the sense that coach John Wright’s decision to push Brendon McCullum down the order has backfired. Since then, he has been moved back to the top but is clearly short on confidence and will need some urgent runs.

Where New Zealand will struggle is their bowling attack as they will look to adjust to the spin-friendly tracks of the sub-continent.

Why watch this match?

The two sides have played only once in World Cup cricket and New Zealand had crushed the Kenyans by 141 runs – in 2007. However, more importantly, they were to meet in the 2003 edition of the tournament in Kenya but the Kiwis had refused to travel to the country because of security concerns. Kenya will look to avenge that embarrassment and the following loss this time.

Players to look out for:

James Franklin has shown enough in recent times to be termed as New Zealand’s main player. Kenya, on the other hand, will need their openers Waters and David Obuya to not lose early wickets.

Live Stream Highlights India vs Bangladesh – ICC World Cup 2011

India vs Bangladesh World Cup 2011 Live Stream Highlights – 19 February 2011

India vs Bangladesh World Cup 2011 Live and Highlights:
Date: 19 February 2011 Time:
Venue: Shere-e-Bangla, Dhaka

In the opening match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 we will have India taking on bangladesh at Dhaka and it will be one of the most anticipated matches as not only its the first match which will officialy kickoff the world cup 2011 but it is between two Aisan neighbours. This match which will be played at Shere-e-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka and it will be interesting to see how these two teams go about this match. You can tune in here to watch the live action of the match here, we will be providing live streaming links of the match here.

Bangladesh will be playing at home and they will be hoping to get a good result against argubaly the favourites to win the World Cup. They have been playing really well off late and defeated Australia and New Zealand in the Warm Up matches.

West Indies vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI at Hambantota on Jan 31, 2011 Watch live

Sri Lanka would take on West Indies in the 1st ODI match of the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka 2010. The match will be hosted at Colombo. Schedule time of Match is 10:00 Local Time (04:30 GMT). The match is schedule to be played on Jan 31, 2011. The match would be played in day time. Get List of all Cricket Matches between West Indies vs Sri Lanka.

Pakistan vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI, Christchurch, Preview ,Live Stream Highlights and Updates

New Zealand have taken the 1-0 lead in the 7 match series with 2nd ODI already washed away,Pakistan would be trying to get all back at Christchurch.Having being beaten brutally in the 1st ODI,Pakistan have to work alot on there batting.For kiwis Tim Southee has been in great form but others would also have to contribute to come up against unpredictable Pakistan team.

In the first ODI, Brendon McCullum became the third wicketkeeper to effect five or more dismissals, five times or more. The others are Adam Gilchrist (12) and Mark Boucher.For the kiwis there top order has been a concern for a long time,so they have decided to call by Jamie How, the Central Districts batsman who will open for New Zealand and Luke Woodcock and Kane Williamson are likely to play.

New Zealand (probable):

1 Jamie How, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Ross Taylor (capt), 4 Scott Styris, 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Brendon McCullum (wk), 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Luke Woodcock, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Hamish Bennett.

Pakistan (probable):

1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Kamran Akmal (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Abdur Rehman/Sohail Tanvir, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Shoaib Akhtar/Wahab Riaz.

Pakistan vs New Zealand 2nd ODI Live Stream Highlights – 26 January 2011

In the next match of hte series we will have New Zealand hosting Pakistan at Queens Land where Pakistan will be hoping to get back to winning ways as they were slumped to 9 wicket defeat in the 1st ODI, Shahid Afridi’s Captaincy certainly under real doubt as he struggle to impose himself both with bowl and batting. SO its looks like Misbah-ul-Haq will be taking the responsibility in the World Cup 2011. You can watch the live action of the 2nd ODI from queensland here, we will place the live streaming here shortly before it all starts on the day.

New Zealand vs Pakistan 2nd ODI live Stream – Highlights

Pakistan vs New Zealand 2nd ODI at Quuensland:
Date: 26 January 2011, Time: 1:00 GMT – 6:00 PST

New Zealand started the limited over cricket so well and the will be hoping to start the proceeding in the 2nd ODI in the same fashion, while for Pakistan they have been so much inconsistant over the last few years that it will difficult to tell whether they can make it to the next level or not.

Australia v England 4th ODI at Adelaide Oval - Jan 26, 2011 Highlights, Live streaming

4th ODI Match - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
On Jan 26, 2011 from 13:50 Local Day Night Match | 03:20 GMT | 09:20 BST

Australia would take on England in the 4th ODI match of the The Ashes 2010. The match will be hosted at Adelaide. Schedule time of Match is 13:50 Local Time (03:20 GMT). The match is schedule to be played on Jan 26, 2011. The schedule match would be Day/Night and played under flood light condition. Get List of all Cricket Matches between England vs Australia.

Australia vs England 3rd ODI Live Stream Highlights and Preview

Australia vs England, 3rd ODI, Live Streaming, Live Scores, Eng vs Aus
Australia won by 4 wickets (with 24 balls remaining)

England vs Australia Aus vs Eng 3rd ODI Live cricket score and streaming, Highlights video
Date: Jan 23, 2011 (03:20 GMT, 08:50 IST), Venue: Sydney

Watch Australia vs England 3rd ODI Live Stream Highlights 23 January 2011 here. Australia takes on England in the third ODI of the seven-game series at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia lead the series 2-0 after winning the first two matches at Melbourne and Hobart and England will look to make a comeback into the series.

England will need to ensure that they bat much better than their first two times. Even in the first game where they got to more than 290, they were in a position to get to 330 plus but failed in their endeavour. As compared to that, it was Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh who have put their hands up for Australia when it has mattered for them.

England will need to ensure that they bowl tight lines and lengths in the absence of their premier pace bowler James Anderson. With Swann out of the game as well, it will be interesting to see how the side goes about their work in the game

India Vs South Africa 4th ODI Live Cricket Streaming and Highlights

Team India coach Gary Kirsten had said earlier that the South African tour of India will be like a major mission and will matter a much for practice for World Cup. The Indian team didn’t disappoint the coach. They drawn the series, won the only T20 match. And now are looking in much better condition to win the ODI series.

India Vs South Africa 4th ODI Live

 

India is ready to win their first ever ODI series in South Africa in the 4th ODI only. The guests are already having a lead of 2-1 in the 5-matches series. The platform for the 4th ODI is ready and will be played today on Jan 21 at St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.

India’s record is not good at St. George’s, as the team has lost all the 4 matches played here. On the other hand, South Africa has played 25 matches here, of which it won in 16 and lost 8 matches.

Team India would keep M Vijay out of today’s squad, as he has not shown any promise in the matches played before. Parthiv Patel can get a chance over him. Bowlers are doing their job well with the bat as well, but India has to overcome from the failure of top-order batsmen.

South Africa would be under a huge pressure. Captain Graeme Smith too has said this that they are under pressure and have to win this do or die match. South Africa doing doing changes in the team has called all-rounder Albie Morkel and wicketkeeper batsman Morne Van Wyk, who knocked an excellent half-century in his debut T20 match against India recently.

The match will be aired on Ten Cricket Live at 6 pm.

Australia vs England (Aus vs Eng) 2nd ODI live score streaming, highlights ,preview

The second ODI between Australia and England will be played at Hobart on January 21, 2011. It will be a day night game and see Australia go into the game with a 1-0 lead. Click for live scores.

Australia had won the first game at the MCG, thanks to a swashbuckling 161 by Shane Watson, but their worry will be the batting of the rest of the batsmen. Click to watch live streaming.

To add to that, Michael Hussey will now miss the game given his injury and that will mean that the pressure will be on the likes of Cameron White and captain Michael Clarke.



England, on the other hand, will also miss out Graeme Swann due to another injury while getting in Matt Prior in place of the original wicket-keeper Steve Davies.

This will mean that they have a better chance of getting through to the next match with the score reading 1-1.

Australia vs England 2nd ODI Live Stream Highlights-Preview January 21 2011

Watch Australia vs England 2nd ODI Live Stream Highlights 21 January 2011 on here. The second ODI between Australia and England will be played on January 21 at Hobart in Tasmania. Australia lead the series 1-0 after Shane Watson led them to a big win over England, chasing down 290 for a win.

England will look to bounce back from the loss with a batting performance that matched the first ODI but with a much better bowling performance. One got the feeling that they missed James Anderson and that played a huge part in the loss.

Australia were lucky in more than one aspect – they actually managed to restrict the opposition to 290 when the total of 325 was very much possible. England will need to overcome their issue of getting the starts and not converting them into something substantial from it.

One can expect the Aussies to go in with the same line-up after winning two successive internationals for the first time in any months. England may look at their bowling a tad more closely. Australia vs England 2nd ODI Match Highlights and Score on 21st January 2011 will be placed below.

Australia squad: CL White, TD Paine, AJ Finch, DJ Hussey, MG Johnson, B Lee, SNJ O’Keefe, JL Pattinson, SPD Smith, SW Tait, DA Warner, SR Watson

England squad: PD Collingwood, IR Bell, TT Bresnan, SM Davies, ST Finn, MJ Lumb, EJG Morgan, KP Pietersen, A Shahzad, GP Swann, JC Tredwell, CT Tremlett, IJL Trott, CR Woakes, LJ Wright, MH Yardy
Australia vs England 2nd ODI Live stream online

Watch Australia vs England 2nd ODI Jan Live Online here. Live Streaming Australia vs England 2nd ODI Highlights will be placed here minutes before the match starts.

Pakistan vs New Zealand 15-1-2011 Live & Highlights at Wellington:2nd Test Day 1

Pakistan vs New Zealand 2nd Test 1st day 15-01-2011 Live: Watch Pakistan vs New Zealand 2nd Test (Day 1) 15/1/2011 Live Streaming with full score card, ball by ball updates, fixtures, players, score card. Pak v Nz 2nd test 2011 live scores and updates with 2nd test 1st day video highlights b/w pak and nz at Wellington cricket ground, New Zealand on 14 January 2011. Highlights of 2nd test day 1 of Pakistan v New Zealand on 15/1/2011.

Australia vs England - second T20 Preview -Highlights

The first match of the series was a nail biting thriller which England managed to win off the last ball. The defeat added to Australia's huge bag of disappointments. Much as they have throughout the tour, both teams go into the match - the second and final T20 - in contrasting form.

Australia have tried everything possible to get that elusive victory: Cameron White was named captain, Tim Paine was made his deputy, some new faces were introduced and veteran Brett Lee was brought back. However, neither the changes in personnel, nor the changes in leadership and format led to a change in Australia's fortunes. It almost seems as if the Aussies have forgotten how to win. The first T20 game depicted Australia's recent woes in more ways than one: Shane Watson continued his good form, the middle order collapsed, the bowlers leaked runs and Australia ended up losing the game. The loss was also their 5th consecutive defeat in the shortest format - they have lost all T20 matches since their famous World Cup semi final victory against Pakistan.

Live Streaming - Australia V England Second T20 Preview - Tru... - Click here for this week’s top video clips

While everything seems to go wrong for the home team, the visitors are speeding away in the opposite direction. A comprehensive 3-1 win in the Ashes was followed by a record 8th consecutive victory in the T20 format. The bowlers, despite an initial onslaught by Shane Watson, did well to restrict Australia to a below par 157. Most of the top order batsmen, including new opener Ian Bell, chipped in with useful contributions to help England clinch the game. Paul Collingwood, who was out of sorts in the Tests, looked a completely different man as the leader of the team. Players like Ajmal Shahzad, Michael Yardy and Eoin Morgan, who didn't play a game in the Test series, showed no signs of rustiness and acclimatised to the conditions right away. But the team is not without problems. Steve Davies and Luke Wright lasted only 2 balls each. None of their batsmen could capitalize on good starts and it was left to the tail to see their side through.

Though the entire cricketing world is focused on 50 over games ahead of the world cup, both teams would look to gain the much needed winning momentum going into the ODI series. While everything seems dark for the Aussies, history suggests that it would be foolish to write them off. This team certainly has the potential to turn things around and prove history right. Australia has a formidable England side to battle. England on the other hand have two oppositions - Australia and complacence.

Pakistan vs New Zealand 1st Test Match Day 1st Highlights and Score 7th January 2011

New Zealand would take on Pakistan in the 1st Test match of the Pakistan tour of New Zealand 2010-11. The match will be hosted at Hamilton. Schedule time of Match is 11:00 Local Time (22:00 GMT). The match is schedule to be played on Jan 7, 2011. The match would be played in day time. Get List of all Cricket Matches between Pakistan vs New Zealand.

Related Matches

Jan 15 11:00 New Zealand vs Pakistan , 2nd Test Match Wellington
Jan 22 14:00 New Zealand vs Pakistan , 1st ODI Match Day Night Match Wellington
Jan 26 11:00 New Zealand vs Pakistan , 2nd ODI Match Queenstown

Watch Highlights Online Here

Pakistan v New Zealand 1st Test at Hamilton Live Score and Highlights

The first Test match between New Zealand and Pakistan will be played from January 7, 2011 at Hamilton. This a part of the two-Test match series to be played before the teams move into the ODI mode for the World Cup. New Zealand had won the T20I series 2-1.

Watch the Pakistan v New Zealand 1st Test live from Hamilton on Neo Cricket in India. Also watch the Pakistan v New Zealand 1st Test highlights from Hamilton on the same channels after the game.

Pakistan had had an iffy year 2010 in terms of their performances in Test matches and won two and lost six of their games. What would have warmed their hearts was that under the new captain Misbah ul Haq, they managed to hold the far superior South African side to two successive draws.

New Zealand played only six games in 2010 and won one, lost three and drew two. What was particularly encouraging was the performance in India where the side managed to draw a couple of games with the really powerful Indian side before going down in the third. The Kiwis will know that while Pakistan did draw the two against South Africa, the tracks at Abu Dhabi and Dubai were difficult to bowl on and to say that the ones in New Zealand will be different would be stating the obvious.

Watch Live New Zealand v Pakistan, 1st Test, Hamilton

Pakistan v New Zealand 1st Test Timings at Hamilton:

The Pakistan v New Zealand 1st Test will start from 11.00 am local time or 2200 hours GMT.

Venue:

The Seddon Park or the Westpac Park as it was earlier known will host the game. Pakistan have played two games here, and have won and lost one. However, it has been nine years since they played one at Hamilton. Batting is a tad difficult on the first day if the bowlers get it right but over time it does become easier for the teams. The last win for New Zealand here, over a team of note was against England when Kyle Mills and Chris Martin bowled England out for 110 chasing 300.



The Teams:

Pakistan may look to keep a similar combination to the one that played in their previous Test against South Africa. With Saeed Ajmal expected to miss the game, Pakistan will go in with Abdur Rehman as their specialist spinner and three quick bowlers – Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz and one of Sohail Tanvir and Tanvir Ahmed to make it to the side. If one were to go by what happened in the tour game, Sohail could well get a chance after having last played a Test three years back.

The batting had struggled in the warm-up match with only captain Misbah getting in some contribution and the top-order will need to get over the jitters. Younis Khan will be a key man given that the conditions will be difficult to bat in for the inexperienced batting line-up.

New Zealand will have the services of Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum. Both had missed the T20Is and had then played in the warm-up game. McCullum slammed a double century while Vettori bowled 23 overs for 30 runs and picked up three wickets in the game. However, it will depend on how the support staff plays that could decide the course of the game.

Jesse Ryder is back into the side after persistent injuries had made it difficult for him in India. He will bat in the middle-order while McCullum should open the innings with Tim McIntosh with Martin Guptill coming in at three. There is a good chance that Kane Williamson will also play while Reece Young will make his international debut.

Chris Martin and Tim Southee will lead the pace bowling department, while Darryl Tuffey may make it to the side as the third pacer.

Players to look out for:

Ross Taylor could be the player for New Zealand apart from McCullum but it will also be interesting to see how their pace bowlers go about their business in conditions that should be helpful. Younis Khan will hold the key for Pakistan while the return of Sohail Tanvir should be exciting.