New Zealand

Playing a high-profile series within days of finishing a World Cup isn’t new to New Zealand. Last year, within hours of playing the T20 World Cup final against Australia in Dubai, they were en route to India for a T20I series. This year, they’ve had an “extra day or two” following their semi-final loss to

Coach Gary Stead expects New Zealand’s playing resources to be put under further pressure by the expanding franchise T20 scene, as the selectors get set to address the immediate future of Trent Boult now that he does not hold a central contract after stepping away from it in early August. Boult has deals in the

After his New Zealand side fell short of the T20 World Cup title for a second year running, Kane Williamson‘s future in the format will likely be the source of renewed debate, particularly the question of whether he will be the person to lead the team at the 2024 event in the Caribbean and the

Coming into their semi-final against New Zealand at the SCG, Pakistan had one of the worst powerplay records of any batting team at this World Cup, with a scoring rate of just 5.93 in that phase – only Zimbabwe and Netherlands had done worse. Their openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were under pressure both

Big picture There are parallels. They may not mean anything, but they’re there, if you’re the kind of cricket fan who looks for them. And if you’re a Pakistan fan, you’re always looking for parallels to 1992. Well, here are a couple. New Zealand began their tournament with a big win over Australia. New Zealand

Toss Ireland bowl vs New Zealand Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie won the toss and decided to bowl first at the Adelaide Oval. A fresh surface is being used, with the short square boundaries helpful for batters. Ireland fielded an unchanged XI from the side that lost to Australia at the Gabba, which meant Stephen Doheny,

Big picture With seven wickets in hand and 27 balls remaining against England, New Zealand were 54 runs away from sealing a semi-final spot. But New Zealand lost, and that complicates things before their final Group 1 game against an unpredictable Ireland. One more defeat, and a window opens up for both England and Australia

Glenn Phillips and Mitchell Santner have thrown their support behind struggling captain Kane Williamson, backing him to come good “at some point”. Williamson’s performance came under scrutiny after New Zealand lost to England by 20 runs in Brisbane. The New Zealand captain faced 40 balls, and scored as many runs, taking his tally at this

England 179 for 6 (Buttler 73, Hales 52, Ferguson 2-45) beat New Zealand 159 for 6 (Phillips 62, Curran 2-26) by 20 runs Ten days into the Super 12s, England finally turned up at the T20 World Cup and delivered a clinical performance in a must-win game against New Zealand at the Gabba. Victory in

Glenn Phillips‘ innovative move to take up a sprinter’s start position at the non-strikers’ end was not pre-planned although he did suggest that it would help him avoid the risk of being run-out backing up which he said was an entirely justifiable dismissal. Phillips’ running between the wickets was a standout feature of his spectacular

New Zealand 167 for 7 (Phillips 104, Rajitha 2-23) beat Sri Lanka 102 (Shanaka 35, Boult 4-13) by 65 runs Sri Lanka had New Zealand 15 for 3 in the powerplay. But then they dropped Glenn Phillips, and it was all new Zealand from there. Phillips bashed 104 off 64 deliveries to almost single-handedly carry

Big picture Fatigue-wise, New Zealand have had a kind start to the tournament. They thrashed Australia in Sydney, then took the short flight to Melbourne, where their match against Afghanistan was rained out without a ball being bowled. They’d have preferred to play that match, of course, but they’ve not had to contend with crazy

Daryl Mitchell admitted having a moment when he feared the worst about his T20 World Cup prospects after fracturing his finger just weeks before the tournament, but he is confident ahead of his return to New Zealand’s middle order against Sri Lanka at the SCG. Mitchell suffered the blow while batting in the nets before

The result means New Zealand, who opened with a NRR-boosting win over Australia, continue to top Group 1 with three points in two games. Afghanistan’ chances of making the semi-finals, however, have received a big blow as they remain at the bottom with one point in two matches. All the other sides in the pool

While Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan continues to top the batting charts, he faces stiff competition now from New Zealand opener Devon Conway, whose unbeaten 92 off 58 against Australia in the first Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup catapulted him up three places to second. Rizwan currently has 849 rating points, 18 more than

Big picture Before the tournament, not many gave New Zealand a chance to put it past Australia. Before Saturday, the last time New Zealand beat Australia in the country was in a Test match in 2011, when Trent Boult made his international debut in Hobart. And the last time New Zealand beat Australia at the

When New Zealand came across the Tasman in late March 2015 for the ODI World Cup final they could not have been a more confident team, after surging through the tournament unbeaten on home soil, dreaming of the chance to topple their fellow hosts at the MCG to claim the title. That defeat marked the

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has said allrounder Daryl Mitchell, who sustained a fracture in his finger, is unlikely to be available for their T20 World Cup opener against Australia in Sydney on October 22. Stead, however, is hopeful that Mitchell will be available for their second match against Afghanistan. Mitchell had suffered a

Bracewell, who is more of a batting allrounder for his domestic side Wellington, emerged as the joint-highest wicket-taker in the T20I tri-series in Christchurch, with eight strikes in five games at a scarcely believable economy rate of 4.94. Those returns fetched him the Player-of-the-Series award, though New Zealand lost the final to Pakistan on Friday.

Pakistan 168 for 5 (Nawaz 38*, Rizwan 34, Bracewell 2-14) beat New Zealand 163 for 7 (Williamson 59, Rauf 2-22, Naseem 2-38) by five wickets An audacious assault from Haider Ali and Mohammad Nawaz blindsided New Zealand and gave Pakistan the tri-series title in Christchurch. Their stand included smashing 33 in eight balls starting from

Bruce Pairaudeau, the former West Indies and Northern Districts batter, has died aged 91. Pairaudeau, who was born in British Guiana in 1931, played 13 Tests for West Indies between 1953 and 1957 alongside Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes and Alf Valentine. He fell in love with New Zealand on a tour to the country in

New Zealand 131 for 1 (Allen 62, Conway 49*, Shadab 1-26) beat Pakistan 130 for 7 (Bracewell 2-11, Santner 2-27, Southee 2-31) by nine wickets On a subcontinental-style pitch in Christchurch, New Zealand’s spin quartet, led by offspinner Michael Bracewell, pinned down Pakistan to a below-par 130 for 7 and set up the hosts’ second

After not touring Pakistan for 19 years, New Zealand are all set to visit the country twice in the space of five months to play two Tests, eight ODIs and five T20Is. It means New Zealand will not play home fixtures over the Christmas and New Year’s season this year, and will have to deal

New Zealand 142 for 2 (Conway 70*, Mahmud 1-26) beat Bangladesh 137 for 8 (Shanto 33, Bracewell 2-14, Boult 2-25, Sodhi 2-31) by eight wickets New Zealand opened their account in the tri-series with an eight-wicket win over Bangladesh in Christchurch. Their spinners Ish Sodhi and Michael Bracewell turned the screws in the middle overs

A minor abdominal injury to fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has depleted New Zealand further in the ongoing T20I tri-series, involving Pakistan and Bangladesh. The hosts are already without allrounders Daryl Mitchell, who has been sidelined from the entire tri-series with a fractured finger, and Mitchell Santner, who will join the squad on Sunday after his

New Zealand allrounder Daryl Mitchell has been ruled out of the ongoing home tri-series against Bangladesh and Pakistan with a fractured finger and his participation in the T20 World Cup could be in doubt as well. Mitchell suffered the fracture when he got hit on the little finger of his right hand while batting in

Quick bowler Blair Tickner has been added to the New Zealand squad for the home T20I triangular series with Pakistan and Bangladesh as cover. Tickner’s addition was necessitated by the absence of Mitchell Santner, NZC said. Santner will be joining the squad late – most likely by the weekend – after being away with his

New Zealand Women 108 for 4 (Bates 54, A Kerr 21, Fraser 1-13) beat West Indies Women 107 for 5 (Knight 42, Jensen 3-24, Carson 2-12) by six wickets Hayley Jensen‘s three wicket-haul and Suzie Bates‘ half-century helped New Zealand beat West Indies by six wickets on the penultimate ball of a low-scoring second T20I at North

India A 285 (Samson 54, Varma 50, Easwaran 39, Rippon 2-43) beat New Zealand A178 (Cleaver 83, Bawa 4-11, Chahar 2-39, Kuldeep 2-29) by 106 runs Half-centuries from captain Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and a late flourish from Shardul Thakur, combined with a four-wicket haul from allrounder Raj Bawa helped a dominant India A beat

India A 222 for 6 (Shaw 77, van Beek 3-46) beat New Zealand A 219 (Carter 72, Ravindra 61, Kuldeep 4-51, Dhawan 2-16, Chahar 2-50) by four wickets Kuldeep Yadav‘s four-wicket burst, which included a hat-trick, backed up by Prithvi Shaw‘s 48-ball 77 headlined India A’s comfortable four-wicket win over New Zealand A in the