Black Caps Seek Win At All Costs

New Zealand has certainly given it their all this series.

The introduction of a new coach, coupled with the bowling expertise of Allan Donald has certainly made a difference, however there seems to be an air of uncertainty about this Black Cap team as they play their final fixture in preparation for the ICC World cup later this month.

The Kiwi middle order has been nothing short of atrocious in the preceding games and a lot more is needed of them in order to salvage anything from this series.

For the home side’s bowling line up- not too much can be expected of a side that’s batsmen has only taken them above 250 three times in the past 14 matches.

Pakistantoo is a team in need of a boost, as they take on the unenviable task of playing in a ‘home’ tournament that not one game of which falls within Pakistani territory.

Despite all the issues surrounding the team, Pakistan has started to give the feeling of approaching somewhere close to being a settled unit.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Jamie How/Jesse Ryder, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Scott Styris, 5 Kane Williamson, 6 James Franklin, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori (capt)/Jacob Oram, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Hamish Bennett.

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

Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq have both impressed this series, and both will look to lead this side into a new era- one far away from back alley bookies, and controversy.

If the visitors can leave with a Test and a one-day series win- this will be a huge achievement considering what has transpired over the past few months.

In today’s encounter keep your eye on Misbah-ul-Haq who continues to impress with his abilities. He has recently shown that he can find the boundaries when needed. His cool calm ability will be an enviable asset over the coming two months.

This sentiment was underlined when earlier in the week New Zealand coach John Wright said:"His was exactly the type of innings we need. I think throughout this series he's been their glue, and we probably need some glue."

On the New Zealand end- keep an eye out for Ross Taylor. The IPL veteran has not unleashed for quite some time, and one must feel that with the World Cup only weeks away, that he will be doing so here tonight.