ICC World Cup 2011 - Quarter Finals 3: South Africa Vs New Zealand

   The only quarter final game which does not feature a team from the sub-continent or even a previous world cup winner. But, if you are thinking this just makes for a lame encounter, you need to wake up now! Proteas have for long been tagged "Chokers", Kiwis have been the dark horses in most big tournaments. This cup is no different. Once through the league any team that can win 3 more games is crowned the champions. Like it or not. This brings the equation very close, its just on the day performance and not the potential of the teams that will affect the end result.

New Zealand Report :
   Vettori's side has seen pretty much the worse period ever for the Kiwis. They do not justify their talent with their current ODI rating but, losing to Bangladesh and then India did not help their cause. They have looked better in the world cup though, they beat the Group A leaders Pakistan thanks to a mad max innings courtesy Ross Taylor. But struggled against Australia and Sri Lanka and hence finished 4th in the group. Once again its the consistency that has been lacking from the black caps. Facing Group B leaders won't be simple, their top guns Taylor, Mc Cullum, Vettori will have to make sure that it isn't thrown away. Southee has looked good  and will be responsible to bring early breaks against the majestic Proteas batting line-up. Hopefully, Vettori is fit and that will severely boost their chances. Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptil, Jesse Ryder will have to deliver with the bat. Taylor, Styris can later give the impetus. If they can post a meaty score like they did against Pakistan. They should look for wickets early in the SAF innings. Hopefully, bowling coach Alan Donald will give them key pointers. Proteas batting has blinked a few times once the top order is back in the hut. Kiwis should look to play disciplined cricket all along to beat the mighty Proteas.

South Africa Report :
    Smith's men have come to the party and bullied everyone. Except for the hiccup against England in chennai, they have beaten others convincingly to top group B. Playing at Dhaka once again, Proteas would be keen to play Tahir, Peterson and perhaps Botha considering their winning run.Tsotsobe was great in the game against Bangladesh. Smith has yet to fire with the bat and would be hoping that one game is not far away. Kallis has shown flashes of his reputation. Yet, Amla and AB DeVilliers will be their trump cards once again. If any of these four click they can easily post a huge total with the help of Duminy, DuPlesis, Botha. Van Wyk has been disappointing, I think his place in the team is now taken. Will be keen to see if Ingram gets a chance ahead of Faf in any case they need to play the slogger's role. Steyn has looked at his menacing best. And Morkel has been no less from the other end. Proteas have a well balanced attack and a fearsome one at that. Proteas who have done well against Kiwis in world cup games would be hoping the trend continues and gives them a berth in the semis. Yet to win a world cup, they will be hoping the tag of "Chokers" doesn't arrive for 3 more games.

Watch Out For:

• Tahir Vs Taylor
• Vettori Vs De Villiers
• Steyn Vs McCullum

   The teams know very well this is the knock-out time, one bad day and they will be boarding their flights for home. This is the time to bring out all the tricks from the bag, do anything but win. Proteas would just have to hope Duckworth and Lewis are not anywhere in the vicinity of the ground. New Zealand have to do just one thing, put the opponents under pressure, then they will stand up-to their name "Chokers". Rest assured it is all going to happen at Dhaka.

ICC World Cup 2011 - SWOT Analysis : NEW ZEALAND

Who will stand-up and deliver for the Black Caps?

   Kiwis are going to the world cup, with the worst possible form imaginable. Like your date never turned up to pick you up for the "Prom", the night you've dreamt about all your life. But, just then the door bell rings and the rest is interesting if you are a girl and totally lost. So, coming back to the cricket.. which is why you and I are here right? Something's gone horribly wrong for New Zealand in the last 12 months, they've lost the ODI series against Bangladesh(0-4), India(0-5), Pakistan(1-3*) which includes a 11 match losing streak, which brings us to having new coaches, management and even Dan the man Vettori giving up test captaincy. Vettori has announced he will give up his ODI captaincy after the WC so, where do the Kiwis go from here?
   On the team selection front most notable names feature as expected with a few youngsters making a back-door entry. Selectors have opted not to take Gareth Hopkins or any back-up wicket keeper so, Baz is the only man for the job. Grant Elliot too misses the team bus where as Jacob Injury-free Oram is chosen. Considering the world cup fiesta is taking place in the sub-continent, the selectors have given Vettori a helping hand and opted for Nathan McCullum and a certain Mr. Woodcock. No kidding! Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, James Franklin the team is nicely beefed up with bowlers who can bat and vice versa.

Daniel Vettori (c), Hamish Bennett, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum (wk), Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock.

Strengths:

• Dictator Dan. Vettori is the key to this team, forget the current form and start afresh.
• Ross Taylor & Brendon McCullum. If the team needs a new lease of life. They need it ASAP from their senior players. Rosco, Baz are hard hitting batsmen and they need to deliver more often.
• All round abilities of several players will be extremely useful.

Weakness:

• Kiwis opening batsmen have struggled. They've tried so many opening pairs of late that we can go on and on. Ryder and Guptill seemed to have been given the responsibility to get them good starts in batting friendly conditions.
• Middle order has been very inconsistent and failed more often than not. Taylor, McCullum, How, Styris will need to show some gutsy performance.

Opportunities:

• This edition of the world cup favors out of form sides like West Indies & New Zealand or even the underdogs. Once, they pass the league stage it is a knock out tournament. Kiwis should be able to get through to the quarters, from there onits just backing yourselves to win.
• They did very well in the 2009 champions trophy which is a knock-out tournament. For the record, they lost in the finals to Australia or should I say Shane Watson!
• Comeback man Big Jake, has taken time out from his injuries and is most likely to participate in the world cup. His batting, bowling abilities will be key to the Kiwis. In his absence James Franklin has made quite a reputation for himself. If both play along with Dictator Dan, Nathan, Mills, Southee the Kiwis tail looks more consistent than the top-order.

Threats:

• The team is at a low right now any injury to their top performers will spell "doomsday" quicker than Andrew Symonds giving a radio interview.
• Current set of Black Caps are brittle against quality spin attacks as we have seen recently. They face Pakistan, Sri Lanka in the league stage that wont paint a beautiful picture for them. They could try and avoid India in the Quarters.

   To keep the plot short, no one is expecting much out of the Kiwis. They are the underdogs, which is reason enough to cheer them. They haven't really put on a show in big tournaments and have won just one champions trophy back in the days of Roger Twose! A decade later their cupboard is empty and talent is starting to fizzle out.

Quick Updates: Oz Vs Kiwis T20 #1

After beating Windies ruthlessly, the Ozzies landed in Kiwi-land. There weren't any changes in both the teams. NZ won the toss and elected to bat(LOL!).
Things didn't start the way the Kiwis expected. Tait spit fire again. Nannes's bowling was tight . Mitchell 'Notch'Johnson was the hero with the ball as he picked up 3 wickets and giving away just 19 runs of his 4 overs. Twatto picked up 2 as well. James'I-am-not-a-bowler-anymore'Franklin top-scored with 43 runs.Kiwis succumbed to the raw pace and were bowled out for 118. It was never a tough ask for the OZ. Warner and Watto continued to belt the bowling . They got off to a flier, scoring 38 of 3 overs. 81 runs were required of 17 overs. DJ and Pup steered the team to an easy victory. DJ top-scored with a quick-fire 46(36), missed on a well deserved half-ton. Ithchy-Mitchell Johnson was the obvious choice for the M.O.M.
It was a one sided affair. Aussies continue their unbeaten streak this summer. I hope Kiwis bounce back in the next game(If they turn up that is)

Quick Updates : Tigers Vs Kiwis ODI #2

Its a clean sweep for Kiwis in the ODIs. The Tigers are just not able to pounce on any team at the moment. Kiwis won the toss and chose to field. Bangers got off to a disastrous start scoring 46 /6 after 23 overs. Phew! that's quite a start with a run rate of just 2/ over. Then Naeem Islam and Mushfiqur Rahim (Centurion in the tests against India) chipped in with a useful partnership of 101 runs and they steadied the ship to some extent. Naeem scored 43(81) and Mushfiqur scored a well complied 86(107) and late cameo by Shahadat 16(7) took Bangladesh to 183 which seemed impossible after 25 overs. Butler ended up with 3/43 in his 10 overs and surprisingly Dan the Man went wicketless.In reply to 183, NZ got off to a steady start. They never lost control over the game . McCullum departed early. Ingram and Guptill were slowly ticking away. The main highlight of the match was 'Rosco', who blew away the opposition with a swashbuckling innings of 78(52) with 6 4's and 5 6's. Needless to say he was the Man Of the Match.