NZ XI v Eng XI Test Warm Up day 2

Two late wickets left England in control as a New Zealand XI reached 224-6 at stumps on the second day of their warm-up match in Queenstown.

Dean Brownlie was caught down the leg side for 63 in the penultimate over of the day off Jonathan Trott before Graeme Swann trapped Jimmy Neesham lbw for a duck.

England lead by 202 runs, having been dismissed for 426 in the first innings.

Ian Bell, who resumed on 127, fell for 158 in the morning.

Hamish Rutherford, pressing to make his Test debut against England next month, scored 90 for the hosts, hitting 13 fours and a six from 149 balls.

The four-day match is England's only warm-up game ahead of the three-Test series, which starts in Dunedin on 6 March.

NZ XI v England XI Test Warm Up

Ian Bell hit an unbeaten 127 as England reached 357-7 on the opening day of their tour match against a New Zealand XI in Queenstown.

Captain Alastair Cook made 60 and Joe Root 49, while Jimmy Neesham took 4-65.

The tourists showed their intention to persevere with Nick Compton as Cook's Test opening partner by selecting him over Root in that position.

The four-day match is England's only warm-up game ahead of the three-Test series starting in Dunedin on 6 March.

Bell's innings, which spanned 196 balls and contained 18 fours, helped England recover from 81-3, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen having fallen cheaply after Compton made 21.

Bell and Root, who has made an impressive start to his England career, added 97 for the fifth wicket, before Matt Prior contributed 41 to a sixth-wicket alliance of 80 with Bell.

"The two guys up front had the tough time in that first hour - and we got through that," said Bell.

"Some of the one-day wickets we've played on here have been absolutely flat, so to play on a wicket a little bit more in the bowlers' favour was a good test."

England rested James Anderson and Steven Finn for the encounter at Queenstown Events Centre, with fellow pace bowler Graham Onions included.

They are targeting victory in the Test series after their recent one-day and Twenty20 success against New Zealand. 

3rd ODI Zim v WI

Zimbabwe will bat first after winning the toss in Grenada.

West Indies: Kieran Powell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Darren Bravo, Narsingh Deonarine, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo (capt), Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kemar Roach, Tino Best, Sunil Narine, Veerasammy Permaul

Zimbabwe: Vusi Sibanda, Tino Mawoyo, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), Chamu Chibhabha, Regis Chakabva, Malcolm Waller, Kyle Jarvis, Tino Mutombodzi, Natsai Mushangwe, Chris Mpofu

 

Zim 211/9 50 overs

25 over report: Once again, Zimbabwe had an indifferent start, and once again, after they had managed to recover from it, they lost more wickets. And to make matters worse for them this time, an ill Craig Ervine, their best batsman in the series, was not available. West Indies were more disciplined with their lines today, and barring a short period when Vusi Sibanda and Brendan Taylor counter-attacked, tied Zimbabwe down.

A score of 23 for 1 after the opening Powerplay said it all, as far as Zimbabwe's start went. Tino Mawoyo, replacing Ervine, was peppered with bouncers by Tino Best. One lobbed off the glove but fell short of the slip cordon, two thudded into the body and carried behind. Despite their pace, Best and Kemar Roach did not allow their lines to suffer and Zimbabwe went nowhere initially.

 

After the burst from the fast bowlers, Zimbabwe had Sunil Narine to contend with. He'd struck with his seventh and third deliveries in the first two games. He did so with his first today, Mawoyo pushing forward and going leg-before to an offspinner following a review by West Indies.

Hamilton Masakadza heaved the first boundary of the innings in the 11th over off Dwayne Bravo but in the West Indies captain's next over, backed away to leg stump, and was bowled by one that straightened past his attempted drive.

 

Zimbabwe were 30 for 2 after 13 overs, and desperately needed some momentum. It came from Sibanda and Taylor. Sibanda punished a couple of short ones from Narine and went after Bravo, lofting him through extra cover and over midwicket. Taylor looked in superb touch from the outset, flicking, sweeping, reverse-sweeping for boundaries and even upper-cutting Best over third man for six.

 

The stand was worth 55 at over run a ball, and Zimbabwe seemed to have made up for the tame start. But both batsmen were to fall in almost casual fashion. Sibanda tried to turn a Best delivery to leg, only for it to straighten slightly and for mid-off to take the leading edge. Taylor stepped out to loft the left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, but ended up spooning it to cover.
 

Yet again, Zimbabwe's middle order had a rebuilding job on their hands, and this time, there wasn't a lot of batting to come.

50 over report: Zimbabwe went nowhere at the start, then began to find some direction, but soon sank further and further, severely hurting their chances of avoiding a 0-3 whitewash. Barring a short period when Vusi Sibanda and Brendan Taylor counter-attacked, they were tied down by a disciplined and varied West Indies attack on a batting pitch.

To make matters worse for them, an ill Craig Ervine, their best batsman in the series, was not available. In his absence, the middle order, when called upon to rebuild another stuttering innings, caved in, barring some fight from Chamu Chibhabha. The wiles of Sunil Narine and Veerasammy Permaul, the accuracy of Dwayne Bravo, and the pace of Kemar Roach and Tino Best was too much to handle.

 

A score of 23 for 1 after the opening Powerplay said it all, as far as Zimbabwe's start went. Tino Mawoyo, replacing Ervine, was peppered with bouncers by Best. One lobbed off the glove but fell short of the slip cordon, two thudded into the body and carried behind. Despite their pace, Best and Kemar Roach did not allow their lines to suffer and Zimbabwe had little opportunity to score.

 

After the burst from the fast bowlers, Zimbabwe had Narine to contend with. He'd struck with his seventh and third deliveries in the first two games. He did so with his first today, Mawoyo pushing forward and going leg-before to an offspinner following a review by West Indies.

Hamilton Masakadza heaved the first boundary of the innings in the 11th over off Bravo but in the West Indies captain's next over, backed away to leg stump, and was bowled by one that straightened past his attempted drive.

 

Zimbabwe were 30 for 2 after 13 overs, and desperately needed some momentum. It came from Sibanda and Taylor. Sibanda punished a couple of short ones from Narine and went after Bravo, lofting him through extra cover and over midwicket. Taylor looked in superb touch from the outset, flicking, sweeping, reverse-sweeping for boundaries and even upper-cutting Best over third man for six.

 

The stand was worth 55 at over run a ball, and Zimbabwe seemed to have made up for the tame start. But both batsmen were to fall in almost casual fashion. Sibanda tried to turn a Best delivery to leg, only for it to straighten slightly and for mid-off to take the leading edge. Taylor stepped out to loft the left-arm spinner Permaul, but ended up spooning it to cover.

Yet again, Zimbabwe's middle order had a repair job on their hands, and this time, there wasn't a lot of batting to come. The batsmen appeared clueless at times against Narine and weren't able to do much against the variations of Permaul either. Regis Chakabva and Malcolm Waller both had their struggles ended by Permaul.

 

No. 7 Chibhabha was also uncomfortable against the spinners but retained his composure to target the seamers, especially Bravo, later. With Kyle Jarvis willing to hang around, Chibhabha swung a few big hits down the ground to push Zimbabwe past 200 in a ninth-wicket stand of 41. Bravo was taken for 21 off his final two overs as Chibhabha finished the innings by heaving a high leg-side full toss for six. But for an attack that had conceded 337 and failed to defend 273, 211 appeared too inadequate.

WI 10/0 2 overs

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Coming up in a little bit the final ODI between West Indies & Zimbabwe

1st Test Day 5 Ind v Aus

India 572 (Dhoni 224, Pattinson 5-96) and 50 for 2 beat Australia 380 (Clarke 130, Ashwin 7-103) and 241 (Henriques 81*, Ashwin 5-95, Jadeja 3-72) by eight wickets
An Indian victory that seemed imminent minutes after tea on day four was eventually completed by Sachin Tendulkar, 40 minutes before lunch on day five. Australia's resistance over that period arrived too late to change the result, but in it may be found the clues to a tighter contest when the second match begins in Hyderabad on Saturday.

MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Tendulkar were the pivotal contributors to India's 1-0 series lead, showing greater discipline and awareness of the sort of cricket best played on the MA Chidambaram Stadium's clay court. Save for Michael Clarke's first-day century and James Pattinson's fiery pace, it was not until Moises Henriques stood up with the bat in the second innings that the tourists showed evidence of catching up.

 

A target of only 50 to win was reached with the help of some Tendulkar fireworks - towering sixes from his first two deliveries against Nathan Lyon - but Pattinson again bowled well to the openers and Lyon showed far greater consistency of line and control of length than he had managed while being taken for 3 for 215 in the first innings.

 

India were left with some questions about their opening pair, M Vijay and Virender Sehwag doing little in either innings, and they may also wonder about subtracting another seam bowler from their XI should the Hyderabad surface be anything like this one. Australia have found a steady batting hand in Henriques, but much of their display in this match will be the cause of serious introspection.

 

Henriques and Lyon had put on 66 for Australia's last wicket, a defiant gesture after the earlier batsmen had failed to stand their ground. Henriques' unbeaten innings completed a fine double for the debutant, who has surely made his place safe for the second Test.

Ultimately it was Ravindra Jadeja who ended the stand after 25 minutes on the final morning, switching from over to around the wicket against Lyon and coaxing an inside edge onto pad that was snapped up by short leg.

 

Pattinson's first ball of the innings was a snorter, pitched short and seaming back sharply at Vijay, though it angled away from Matthew Wade and flew away for four byes. The ball kept Vijay thinking, and after depositing Lyon for one straight six, he fell when an indecisive drive was well taken by Henriques at a shortish mid-off.

 

In the next over Cheteshwar Pujara offered a sharp chance when padding up to Lyon, the ball striking pad and glove but eluding Wade, who was unable to adjust to the ball's shifting trajectory. Sehwag sliced a brace of boundaries over the slips cordon from Pattinson, and when Peter Siddle replaced him he drove sweetly down the ground.

 

Lyon, meanwhile, showed some evidence of improvement in his bowling. He twirled down far fewer deliveries that could be tucked around the corner behind square leg, and the better line forced some impatient premeditated strokes from Pujara. It also undid Sehwag when he snicked to Clarke at slip. This little joust was ultimately immaterial to the result, sealed as it was by Tendulkar's sixes, but demonstrated that Lyon was learning.

1st Test Day 4 Ind v Aus

Australia 380 & 232 for 9 (Henriques 75*, Ashwin 5-90) lead India 572 (Dhoni 224, Kohli 107, Tendulkar 81, Pattinson 5-96) by 40 runs

Showing enough good sense and simplicity of method to put his more experienced team-mates to considerable shame, Moises Henriques granted Australia a stay of execution and a narrow lead after four days of the first Test in Chennai. India seemed certain to wrap up the match for most of the day, until Henriques and Nathan Lyon formed the most substantial stand of the tourists' innings with the last wicket available.

Until that point MS Dhoni and R Ashwin had been the day's dominant figures, torturing Australia with the bat and then the ball. Michael Clarke's men were left with a familiar set of questions about why their bowlers could not extract similar results from a dustbowl, and why the majority of their batsmen had no workable method against the spinning, spitting ball.

Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja all posed different questions, their triumvirate proving complimentary as the former's prancing bounce contrasted with the latter's sharp spin.

 

Harbhajan provided something in between, bowling better than at any previous point in the match. All took advantage of the lead handed to them by Dhoni's brilliantly brutal 224, which helped take the hosts' innings well past 550 in the morning.

 

Before Henriques, Australia's batting carried the mentally weary tone of cricketers driven to distraction by Dhoni's innings. Only Phillip Hughes and the captain, Michael Clarke, could rightly say they had been beaten by the unplayable.

 

The rest were suffocated by accurate slow bowling that was never challenged for any length of time by a batsman sure of his technique and tactics, until Henriques strode to within 25 runs of a defiant debut century.

 

 

Ed Cowan, Shane Watson and David Warner all squandered starts, a major sin on a subcontinental surface given the fact that some were always likely to receive a ghastly delivery early, as happened to Hughes against Jadeja, and Clarke against Ashwin.

How different things appeared when India's innings resumed. Dhoni was ninth out for 224, not only the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper but the highest by an Indian captain, having taken his stand with Bhuvneshwar Kumar to 140 runs with a handful of further impudent blows against Australia's strung out bowling attack.

 

James Pattinson defeated Dhoni with a bouncer that India's captain gloved behind while trying to hook, and deservedly claimed his fifth wicket. He was Australia's only sustained threat with the ball across the innings. Nathan Lyon's figures of 3 for 215 were among the most expensive recorded by an Australian bowler in a Test, and unlike Jason Krejza he did not have eight wickets to show for it.

 

Watson opened due to Warner's bout of gastro, and hoisted one six from Harbhajan as lunch drew near, but off the final ball of the morning popped a catch up to slip from glove or bat handle as he prodded forward, Ashwin rewarded for his line and bounce. Cowan fought his way through but appeared highly vulnerable to Jadeja's left-arm spin, the ball fizzing out of the rough with three short-leg fielders sweating on any deflections from glove or inside edge.

 

The afternoon began with Cowan and Warner in stolid occupation, eschewing most shots and essentially trying to survive on a surface offering treacherous turn and bounce to skilful-enough purveyors of spin. They appeared to be getting somewhere at 64 for 1, but Cowan's closed-face push to midwicket was to cost him when a quicker, straighter delivery from Ashwin beat the bat and pinned him in front of middle. Cowan was angered, thinking perhaps that he had been given out caught at silly point, but the lbw looked adjacent enough.

 

Hughes was immediately confronted by Jadeja's sharp spin, and completed a most unhappy match when a ball spat devilishly out of a foothole and lobbed from glove to slip as the batsman tried in vain to take evasive action. Clarke walked to the middle with his side in a hole as mental as it was empirical, and at least tried to give the spinners something to ponder by using his feet.

 

Ashwin was drop-kicked for six over wide long-on then pulled to the boundary next ball as he adjusted his length, a rare moment of Australian poise against the spinning ball. However at the other end Jadeja's geometry twice appeared to pin Clarke in between wicket and wicket. The umpire Marais Erasmus remained inscrutable to the appeals.

 

Warner became the third Australian to squander a start when he propped forward to Harbhajan and was given lbw after a tangle of pad and bat. Warner stood aghast when Kumar Dharmasena's finger was raised, but replays again showed a ball pitching in line and straightening to strike the pad an instant before the bat. In the absence of the DRS, an advantage seemingly lies with the team able to forge ahead then place pressure on the umpires - no-one did this better than the Australians in their pomp.

 

Wade accompanied Clarke briefly, but was another to appear unnerved by the breadth of spin and changeability of bounce available, and was bowled attempting a presumptuous sweep at Harbhajan. Clarke and Henriques reached the interval with only the merest hope of doing anything but reduce the margin of defeat.

 

That hope shrunk moments after resumption, when Clarke was struck on the back pad just in front of off stump by a ball that barely bounced. Clarke's rueful expression was matched among Australia's coaching staff at the boundary's edge, as the rest of the innings followed the familiar pattern.

 

Obituaries were being written by the time Lyon reached the wicket, but he and Henriques in their quiet way managed to exploit tired bowlers much as Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar had done the previous evening. Unless a miracle is to be performed on day five, this will only cause Australia's batsmen to wonder at how they might have done better.

2nd ODI Zim v WI

25 overs Zimbabwe 106 for 3 (Masakadza 25*, Ervine 17*) v West Indies

Zimbabwe seemed to have regrouped from the top-order collapse in the first ODI but Dwayne Bravo's double-strike consigned their middle order to another rebuilding role. Bravo removed the in-form Vusi Sibanda and the captain Brendan Taylor in the space of three deliveries in his first over, the 19th of the innings, to convert a solid 76 for 1 into a shaky 76 for 3.

Taylor had asked West Indies to bat on Friday, and watched them zoom to a match-winning 337. He chose to bat this time, and Sibanda vindicated his captain's decision. He looked in little trouble as he drove, cut, pulled and swept his way to a breezy fifty.

 

The emphasis seemed to be on not losing wickets at the start as Sibanda and Chamu Chibhabha scored just 35 in the ten overs of the opening Powerplay. Chibhabha, though, hadn't looked in any particular rhythm, and in trying to drive Sunil Narine, was bowled off the first ball of the 12th over.

Hamilton Masakadza was tested by the pace of Tino Best but also managed to hook him to the deep square leg boundary. With Sibanda in control at the other end, Zimbabwe's thoughts would have been to increase the run-rate of around four an over.

 

They were to be surprised by Dwayne Bravo. Sibanda missed a full and straight delivery to be bowled, and Taylor missed the line of an incoming ball to be caught lbw.

As he had in the first ODI, Craig Ervine arrived and steadied matters again. Soon, he was paddling Dwayne Bravo and sweeping Narine for fours, and along with Masakadza, doing a fine repair job.

50 overs Zimbabwe 273 for 8 (Ervine 80, Masakadza 60, Sibanda 51, Dwayne Bravo 6-43) v West Indies

Zimbabwe shrugged off their rustiness from the first ODI to post their highest total in West Indies against the hosts in the second. They had conceded 337 and responded with a start of 34 for 4 on Friday in their first international game in five months, but two days later, three of the top five made fifties in a competitive batting effort.

Like in the first match, Craig Ervine was at the forefront of a recovery, and unlike in the first match, he ensured he carried on long enough to make a significant difference. Zimbabwe began solidly, if sedately, but Dwayne Bravo's double-strike in the 19th over consigned their middle order to another rebuilding role. Ervine and Hamilton Masakadza responded to that challenge with a 110-run fourth-wicket partnership. Had stand-in West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo not struck at crucial moments on way to a career-best 6 for 43, his side would have had a chase much closer to 300 on their hands.

He struck twice in his first over, removing the in-form Vusi Sibanda and the captain Brendan Taylor in the space of three deliveries to convert a solid 76 for 1 into a shaky 76 for 3. Sibanda had vindicated his captain's decision to bat and had looked in little trouble as he drove, cut, pulled and swept his way to a breezy fifty.

The emphasis seemed to be on not losing wickets at the start as Sibanda and Chamu Chibhabha scored just 35 in the ten overs of the opening Powerplay. Zimbabwe progressed well along those lines, despite the departure of Chibhabha in the 12th over, until Dwayne Bravo brought himself on. Sibanda missed a full and straight delivery to be bowled, and Taylor missed the line of an incoming ball to be caught lbw.

 

Ervine arrived and steadied matters again. Soon, he was paddling Dwayne Bravo and sweeping Sunil Narine for fours. Masakadza, nowhere close to Ervine in fluency, soldiered on at the other end, heaving Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell for a six each.

 

Narine, with 3 for 28 in the first game, found lots of turn and bounce but was partly unfortunate not to have had better figures than 1 for 55, and partly responsible for them, bowling too short and on the wrong lines often. He bowled accurately in the batting Powerplay alright, conceding just 12 off three overs as Zimbabwe managed 22 off the final set of fielding restrictions.

Third ball of the 41st, Masakadza had another heave, and the top-edge landed in the hands of a running Narine at third man. Zimbabwe were 194 for 4 after 42 overs, and needed someone to kickstart the final charge.

Malcolm Waller provided that boost in a cameo that lasted just 16 deliveries, but altered the momentum of the innings. In an eventful 43rd over from Kemar Roach, Waller pulled and drove for a six and a four before being yorked. Roach was dumbfounded when no-ball was signalled, and it turned out that Tino Best's carelessness had made it one man too many outside the inner circle. Roach went harder for another yorker next ball, and Waller flicked the resultant full toss off his pads over short fine leg for six more.

 

Roach did get his man in his next over, bowled off a slower one, but now Ervine lofted two more sixes, one each off Roach and Dwayne Bravo. The West Indies captain dealt another timely blow when he bowled Ervine off a full toss in the 46th over. Zimbabwe managed 79 off the final eight in the end.

75 overs West Indies 108 for 0 (Powell 55*, Sarwan 45*) need another 166 runs to beat Zimbabwe 273 for 8 (Ervine 80, Masakadza 60, Sibanda 51, Dwayne Bravo 6-43)

Kieran Powell and Ramnaresh Sarwan put on a century opening partnership, but they didn't attempt to dominate Zimbabwe, and by the halfway stage of the chase, the asking-rate was over six-and-a-half an over. Zimbabwe could have been in a much better position, had they converted one of the many chances that came their way.

In the fourth over, the debutant medium-pacer Tendai Chatara had Powell pushing uppishly for Vusi Sibanda to pull off a one-handed stunner at short extra cover. Replays, however, showed Chatara would have to wait for his maiden international wicket as he had overstepped. In the 18th over, Zimbabwe had clear opportunities to catch both openers short of their ground in the space of three deliveries, but poor fielding meant Powell and Sarwan carried on unhindered.

 

Sarwan began in a blaze of boundaries, cutting, driving and pulling for fours but started finding the field far too often. Powell was a touch more aggressive but wasn't far behind in hitting seemingly innocuous deliveries to the infield.

 

However, there was hardly any bite in the Zimbabwe attack for them to tie them down the batsmen for a prolonged stretch. Chris Mpofu had gone for 83 in ten overs in the first game. His replacement, Chatara, moved the ball around for a while but was far too slow to create too many worries. Powell kept breaking free with some big hits while Sarwan had the space to push around for singles.

 

Even as the duo motored along, West Indies' worry would be that a couple of quick wickets could significantly increase the pressure of the asking-rate.

West Indies 274 for 3 (Sarwan 120*, Powell 57) beat Zimbabwe 273 for 8 (Ervine 80, Masakadza 60, Sibanda 51, Dwayne Bravo 6-43) by seven wickets
Don't go by the seven-wicket victory margin. Don't go by the one over left unneeded in West Indies' innings. This was a chase in which the pressure built, and was allowed to be built, gradually during a century opening partnership.

Then came two wickets in three deliveries. More pressure. Then came the batting Powerplay. And Ramnaresh Sarwan bolted away finally, to his fifth ODI century, his highest ODI score and his first substantial knock after his comeback. Any remaining pressure was blasted away by Kieron Pollard. West Indies had the series, but Zimbabwe were worthy competitors following their surrender in the opening game.

 They made their highest away total against West Indies and created chances in the field but lacked penetration in their attack. They were also robbed of Sarwan's wicket when he was on 53. He was caught several inches short by a direct hit but umpire Peter Nero, instead of referring it to the third umpire, immediately shook his head when Zimbabwe appealed. West Indies needed 151 from 20 overs at that stage, and who knows what the wicket of a well-set Sarwan could have led to.

It was the lone, albeit significant, blemish for Sarwan in an innings where he exploited the batting Powerplay to race from a slow half-century to a breezy hundred. Sarwan and Kieran Powell had put on 111 at the top, but hadn't attempted to dominate Zimbabwe, who squandered an early opportunity. In the fourth over, the debutant medium-pacer Tendai Chatara had Powell pushing uppishly for Vusi Sibanda to pull off a one-handed stunner at short extra cover. Replays, however, showed Chatara had overstepped.

 

Sarwan began in a blaze of boundaries, cutting, driving and pulling for fours but started finding the field far too often. Powell was a touch more aggressive but wasn't far behind in hitting seemingly innocuous deliveries to the infield. However, there was hardly any bite in the Zimbabwe attack to tie them down for a prolonged stretch.

 

It was Powell who threw away another promising start, heaving at a Hamilton Masakadza delivery and edging it behind to depart for 57 off 81. Two balls later, Masakadza moved one away slightly to take Darren Bravo's outside edge into the wicketkeeper's gloves. The asking-rate was now approaching seven, and West Indies' at times diffident start could have cost them.

 

Sarwan and Narsingh Deonarine managed just a boundary each till the onset of the batting Powerplay, by when the asking-rate was within touching distance of eight. Sarwan was on 68 off 103, having gone 80 deliveries without hitting a boundary during the middle overs.

 

In the 37th over, he slammed Kyle Jarvis through cover and point for fours. In the 38th, he lifted Chatara down the ground and over extra cover for successive boundaries. In the 40th, he hit Jarvis for a one-handed straight six, and off the next ball, reached his century. He'd taken 32 off his last 15 deliveries, and West Indies had taken 46 off the batting Powerplay. Zimbabwe, tied down by Sunil Narine, had managed 22 off theirs.

Deonarine played an important knock of 42 off 49, turning the strike over repeatedly, but when he was run out by a direct hit, West Indies still needed 55 off 40. Enter Pollard. Exit Zimbabwe. Pollard rained fours and sixes, his power punishing anything too full or too short. He needed just 20 deliveries to race to 41, with Sarwan fittingly hitting the winning single.

Zimbabwe will no doubt be gutted with the Sarwan run-out that wasn't given, especially after their batting effort. They had conceded 337 and were reduced to 34 for 4 on Friday in their first international game in five months, but two days later, three of the top five made fifties.

Like in the first match, Craig Ervine was at the forefront of a recovery, and unlike in the first match, he ensured he carried on long enough to make a significant difference. Had Dwayne Bravo not struck at crucial moments on way to a career-best 6 for 43, his side would have had a chase much closer to 300 on their hands.

 

In his first over, he removed the in-form Vusi Sibanda and the captain Brendan Taylor in the space of three deliveries to convert a solid 76 for 1 into a shaky 76 for 3. Sibanda had vindicated his captain's decision to bat and had looked in little trouble as he drove, cut, pulled and swept his way to a breezy fifty.

 

Ervine and Masakadza responded with a 110-run fourth-wicket partnership. Ervine paddled Dwayne Bravo and swept Narine for fours. Masakadza, nowhere close to Ervine in fluency, soldiered on at the other end, heaving Pollard and Andre Russell for a six each.

Following an unproductive batting Powerplay, Masakadza had another heave, and the top-edge landed in the hands of a running Narine at third man. Zimbabwe were 194 for 4 after 42 overs, and needed someone to kickstart the final charge.

 

Malcolm Waller provided that boost in a cameo that altered the momentum of the innings. In an eventful 43rd over from Kemar Roach, Waller pulled and drove for a six and a four before being yorked. Roach was dumbfounded when no-ball was signalled, and it turned out that Tino Best's carelessness had made it one man too many outside the inner circle. Roach went harder for another yorker next ball, and Waller flicked the resultant full toss off his pads over short fine leg for six more. Zimbabwe managed 79 off the final eight overs, but West Indies won both the batting Powerplays, and they had Pollard for later.

3rd Test Day 3 SA v Pak

South Africa 409

Pakistan 156 & 235 (f/o) (78.0 ov)

South Africa won by an innings and 18 runs

 

For the two decades since their return from sporting isolation, South Africa have been among the top teams in the world, without ever having a sustained run as the undisputed No. 1. Even in the recent successes, an element of ruthlessness was missing, highlighted by the lack of consecutive Test victories over a four-year span ending with the hard-fought series victory over Australia.

Graeme Smith's men have been unrelenting in correcting that anomaly over the home summer. Not only have they won all five Tests, they have utterly dominated almost all of them, as the margins suggest: innings and 27 runs, innings and 193 runs, 211 runs, four wickets and today at Centurion, innings and 18 runs. None of those matches went to the fifth day, the opposition was outclassed in the batting, bowling and fielding, and the near-perfect summer silenced any debate over which was the best side in the world. It also quelled murmurs over South Africa's less than impressive record at home in recent years.

 

It has been all one-way traffic over the past couple of months, and it looked like that would be the case on Sunday as well. There were plenty of cracks in the Centurion pitch making the odd ball swerve dramatically, and there was a bit of unpredictable bounce as well. And Dale Steyn removed Pakistan's man for a crisis, Younis Khan, early with another of his typical have-to-poke-at outswingers.

 

Azhar Ali and Imran Farhat, however, kept the South African pace battery at bay for a couple of hours. Ali, who had only one substantial score in five previous innings, capitalised on the deliveries on his pads, and was happy to otherwise push around for the singles.

 

He looked to leave as many deliveries as he could, and defended solidly as he patiently made his way to an unbeaten 27 by lunch.

 

Farhat, who couldn't open the innings after having been struck on the hand yesterday, continued to show the confidence he had at the start of the first innings, crashing the ball past point repeatedly. He was not shy of the pull shot either when South Africa's quicks pitched it short.

 

Still, despite their defiance, as has been the case all summer, a Pakistan batting collapse never seemed far away. What will hurt them is that this time the slide began due to a run-out. Soon after lunch, there was confusion whether to go for the second or not, and by the time Ali was sent back, a bullet throw from Steyn at fine leg had arrived, and the dogged partnership was over.

 

That opened the gates for a slew of wickets. Debutant Kyle Abbott got yet another wicket behind the stumps as Farhat edged through to the keeper, before Rory Kleinveldt finally had reward for his persistence. Misbah-ul-Haq nicked one through to AB de Villiers, and soon after Asad Shafiq gave away his wicket by punching a catch to Vernon Philander at mid-off.

 

With an hour still left till tea, and Pakistan's tail notoriously fragile, there was a genuine chance that the match would finish before the session was scheduled to. Sarfraz Ahmed, who has been hopeless with the bat all the series, and Saeed Ajmal, who put up some resistance in Newlands as well, made sure the collapse didn't extend beyond four wickets, playing out the 13 overs till the break.

 

Steyn returned to whip out two wickets, to go past the great Allan Donald's Test haul of 330 wickets, and was one away from yet another five-for. Abbott got his ninth wicket of the match when he got the other debutant Ehsan Adil to steer a catch to third man.

 

That left Steyn and Abbott chasing the final wicket for personal milestones, and though Pakistan's last pair, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Irfan, attempted many an agricultural swipe, the final strike just didn't arrive. The frustration increased for South Africa as despite a bunch of chances, Rahat and Irfan batted out eight overs. Smith finally tossed the ball to his spinner, Robin Peterson, who finished off the game in his first over, getting Rahat lbw.

 

It completed a miserable series for Pakistan, whose batting has consistently let them down on the testing surfaces in South Africa. In this match, no batsman made a half-century, and in the series no batsman aggregated 200 runs.

 

For the home side, it was only the third time since their return that they have won three or more Tests in the series. And there was another record for Smith to savour as he became the first captain to win 50 Tests.

 

Not only have the results been magnificent for South Africa, they have been achieved through a eye-catching brand of cricket that combines aggression, grace and efficiency. South Africa fans, lap it up.

1st Test Day 3 Ind v Aus

India 515 for 8 (Dhoni 206*, Kohli 107, Tendulkar 81, Pattinson 4-89) lead Australia 380 by 135 runs
Spectators entered the M Chidambaram Stadium earnestly hoping to see a Sachin Tendulkar century. They were to leave it chanting the name of the unbeaten double-centurion MS Dhoni, after watching one of the most brutal and influential innings the ground has witnessed.

Crashing and caressing his highest score, Dhoni tilted the first Test firmly India's way after three days in Chennai. In a startling display of power and poise that amounted to a six-hour celebration of Dhoni's inimitable technique, Australia's bowlers, fielders and captain Michael Clarke were humbled. India lead by 135, but the psychological effect of such an innings is bound to be weightier than that, much as Tendulkar flattened Mark Taylor's team on this ground in 1998.

 

So supremely did Dhoni play, barely offering a chance, that he overshadowed a perfectly constructed century by Virat Kohli, who proved an ideal partner for his captain. Australia's worst fears of subcontinental conditions - an unresponsive pitch, neutered fast bowlers and uncontrollable Indian batsmen - were realised as Kohli and Dhoni tore the attack to shreds in the first 45 minutes after lunch.

 

It was a passage that sapped Australia, its after-effects notable in the final session when a contest once finely balanced now looked almost as lopsided as that between Dhoni's top and bottom hands for control of the bat. The debutant and No. 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar played the pesky tail-end role with aplomb, and by the close had taken part in a record, unbroken ninth-wicket stand for India against Australia. In all, 144 runs were ransacked from the final session.

 

Pattinson was clearly his side's best and most threatening bowler, but Nathan Lyon's three wickets came at far too great a cost, and the rest were unable to make anything more than the most fleeting passing impact. Added to the tourists' concerns was the sight of Clarke stretching his back after a bowling spell; the draining day was elongated by a tardy over rate.

 

There had been immediate evidence of Australian adjustments in the field when play resumed. Pattinson and Siddle bowled without a slip but a tight ring field, denying the batsmen boundaries and homing in on the stumps with the odd short ball thrown in.

After taking an over or so to settle, Pattinson and Siddle charged in for a sustained period of high-quality bowling on a pitch that gave them nothing, only a hint of reverse swing aiding their cause. So tight was their work that four consecutive maidens ticked by at one point, Pattinson holding his head in his hands when he let the sequence lapse with a Tendulkar single behind square leg.

 

This outstanding partnership was to be exhausted without reward, but Lyon soon became its chief beneficiary. In his first over replacing Siddle, Lyon had Kohli blinking as two deliveries landing in the rough behaved with bipolar variation - the first a grubber outside off stump, the second a jumper that narrowly evaded short leg. Next over Tendulkar stretched to drive a nicely looped offbreak that drifted, dipped to land in a footmark, and spun back to take an inside edge then clip leg stump. Lyon's joy was unrestrained, but Pattinson and Siddle deserved plenty of credit.

 

Dhoni arrived with India becalmed. He responded with hard hands and aggressive shots, while Kohli heeded his captain's example and pulled a Lyon long hop into the crowd beyond midwicket to help them regain their voice. Boundaries began to leak again where previously none could be found, and the 50 stand was raised at better than four an over.

Lunch came and went, and the arrival of the second new ball was the signal for Dhoni to launch the most brazen of batting assaults. Taking advantage of a harder projectile more waywardly delivered by Australia's bowlers, Dhoni's blade flashed in the afternoon sun as boundaries piled up. Kohli reached his century in the middle of this period when Pattinson drifted onto his pads.

 

Moises Henriques' return to the attack had Dhoni smearing him contemptuously into the stands at wide long-off, and seven overs with the new ball had given up no fewer than 54 runs when Lyon returned. At once Kohli's ambition outstripped his prudence, and Starc claimed a fine overhead catch at mid-on. Ravindra Jadeja made a careful start, and faced a trio of lbw appeals as Pattinson and Starc extracted the sharpest reverse swing of the match so far.

 

Pattinson's composure appeared to be slipping with each unsuccessful shout, but minutes before tea, his move around the wicket had Jadeja bowled shouldering arms. Dhoni remained, however, conserving his wicket in the lead-up to the interval then advancing again as the evening session commenced.

 

Others fell by the wayside - R Ashwin edged Lyon onto the stumps via his boot, and Harbhajan Singh gifted Henriques a first Test wicket with an unseemly waft that did not impress Dhoni - but Bhuvneshwar provided sturdy support. Dhoni toyed with the strike, taking singles at times and spurning them at others, and invariably connecting cleanly when he deigned to swing for the fences.

 

Australia's bowlers and fielders gradually wilted, Ed Cowan missing a tough chance from Bhuvneshwar while others misfielded, and Pattinson's pace dipped as steadily as Lyon's bite. All the while, the lead grew from pesky to match-defining dimensions. Such a possibility had seemed so unlikely at the moment Tendulkar fell.

3rd Test Day 2 SA v Pak

Lunch Pakistan 9 for 0 (Farhat 8*, Hafeez 1*) trail South Africa 409 (De Villiers 121, Amla 92, Philander 74, Rahat 6-127) by 400 runs

Rahat Ali didn't earn too many admirers after his lacklustre debut in Johannesburg earlier this month, and his shelling of an absolute sitter off AB de Villiers made him a laughing stock, but he silenced the doubters with a six-for that ended South Africa's first innings at 409. With debutant Ehsan Adil struggling with a leg injury, Saeed Ajmal understandably not at his most dangerous this early in the Test, and Mohammad Irfan tiring towards the end of the innings, Rahat was the most successful in an inexperienced Pakistan attack.

Despite Rahat's strikes, South Africa will be satisifed with their total after choosing to bat. De Villiers completed his 16th Test century, and Vernon Philander went on to his career-best score of 74 as they stretched their seventh wicket partnership to 129 on the second morning. The breakthrough finally came for Pakistan more than an hour into the day's play when Philander nicked a low catch to Mohammad Hafeez at first slip.

 

With eight wickets down, the Centurion crowd braced for de Villiers to unfurl his full repertoire of outrageous strokes before South Africa were bowled out. De Villiers obliged with a daring lofted shot over extra cover but soon after, he was spectacularly caught by Asad Shafiq at the midwicket boundary. The South African innings quickly folded after that, though their score should pose quite a challenge for Pakistan's struggling batsmen on a two-paced pitch.

 

Pakistan's opening partnership hasn't lasted long in any of their four previous innings this series, but Hafeez and Imran Farhat, who has taken the place of Nasir Jamshed, saw off the five testing overs from Philander and Dale Steyn before the break.

Tea Pakistan 91 for 4 (Younis 13*, Shafiq 2*) trail South Africa 409 (De Villiers 121, Amla 92, Philander 74, Rahat 6-127) by 318 runs
A familiar tale repeated itself at Centurion as the fragile Pakistan batting failed to cope with South Africa's four-pronged pace attack on a two-paced pitch. South Africa took four wickets, including two for debutant Kyle Abbott, in the second session to extend the advantage handed by their resistant lower order, and leave Pakistan looking to avoid the follow-on.

The visitors will draw some encouragement from the performance of the two batsmen in the middle, Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq, in Newlands where they both hit centuries after the top order had crumbled.

 

Pakistan's openers have had a torrid time all series, and their highest partnership in four innings was 10. This time, with Imran Farhat taking the place of the struggling Nasir Jamshed, they began far more solidly, keeping out everything South Africa threw at them for over an hour. Farhat has had his share of doubters in a stop-start career, but began fluently with a drive through cover first ball and following it up with a crisp glide behind point. Mohammad Hafeez was more watchful, managing to survive some jaffas early on.

 

South Africa's bowlers, yet again, showed their ability to turn the game around in a jiffy.

 

From a steady 46 for 0, Pakistan slipped to 56 for 3 in the space of the 13 deliveries. Vernon Philander started the slide, by getting Farhat lbw with a full delivery. Abbott then became the second debutant in the game to get a wicket in his first over as Hafeez slapped the ball to gully where Dean Elgar scooped up a low catch. Azhar Ali followed next ball, as a Philander delivery stayed low and Ali's limp attempt at defence ended in an inside-edge onto the stumps.

 

Pakistan's two senior batsmen, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis, were in the middle, but were soon separated as Abbott got the ball swerve away after pitching on off stump, prompting an edge to the slips.

 

In the morning session as well, the batsmen resisted for a while before four wickets went down fairly quickly. AB de Villiers completed his 16th Test century, and Philander went on to his career-best score of 74 as they stretched their seventh wicket partnership to 129. The breakthrough finally came for Pakistan more than an hour into the day's play when Philander nicked a low catch to Hafeez at first slip.

 

Rahat Ali hadn't earned too many admirers after his lacklustre debut in Johannesburg earlier this month, and his shelling of an absolute sitter off de Villiers made him a laughing stock, but he silenced the doubters with a six-for that ended South Africa's first innings at 409. With debutant Ehsan Adil struggling with a leg injury, Saeed Ajmal understandably not at his most dangerous this early in the Test, and Mohammad Irfan tiring towards the end of the innings, Rahat was the most successful in an inexperienced Pakistan attack.

 

Despite Rahat's strikes, though, South Africa would have been satisified with their total after choosing to bat on a track which had plenty of uneven bounce.

Pakistan 156 (Abbott 7-29) and 14 for 1 trail South Africa 409 (De Villiers 121, Amla 92, Philander 74, Rahat 6-127) by 239 runs
It's been a heady couple of days for Kyle Abbott. On Friday, he got the exhilarating news that he would make his Test debut, after Jacques Kallis was ruled out with a calf injury. On Saturday, he grabbed that chance in the most spectacular manner, ripping through Pakistan's brittle batting to end with 7 for 29, the best figures by a South African in his first Test innings.

He's still only South Africa's sixth-choice fast bowler, but at Centurion he was the one proudly leading the team off the field after Pakistan were bundled out for 156. Dale Steyn, the premier quick bowler in the world, walked across and gave Abbott the innings ball to treasure.

Over the past year, Abbott worked on his fitness and shed plenty of kilos, before forcing his way into the national reckoning with a chart-topping haul of 49 wickets for Dolphins in South Africa's domestic competition.

 

A bustling bowler operating in the mid-130s kph range, he was accurate around off stump and consistently got the ball to zip away from the right-handers on a pitch that had variable bounce. It was that movement that confounded the Pakistan batsmen, with six of his victims edging to the slip cordon or gully. It was also a damning statement on the technique of some of the batsmen, as they regularly tried to defend with an open blade, resulting in outside edges that were eagerly snapped up behind the wicket.

 

Unlike every other innings in this series, Pakistan's openers actually managed to provide a solid start. Their highest partnership in four previous innings was 10, but this time Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat, taking the place of the struggling Nasir Jamshed, kept out everything South Africa threw at them for over an hour.

 

South Africa's bowlers, yet again, showed their ability to turn the game around in a jiffy. From a steady 46 for 0, Pakistan slipped to 56 for 3 in the space of the 13 deliveries. Vernon Philander started the slide, by getting Farhat lbw with a full delivery. Abbott then became the second debutant in the game to get a wicket in his first over as Hafeez slapped the ball to gully where Dean Elgar scooped up a low catch. Azhar Ali followed next ball, as a Philander delivery stayed low and Ali's limp attempt at defence ended in an inside-edge onto the stumps.

 

Asad Shafiq, one of Pakistan's more successful batsman this series, was then trapped lbw by a pumped-up Steyn in the first over of the final session. Sarfraz Ahmed, whose batting has looked woefully short of international standard this series, resisted briefly, and with the help of Younis Khan, Pakistan's perennial saviour, he took the score to 132 for 5.

 

Just as Pakistan fans were beginning to hope that the follow-on could be avoided, Abbott took over, and the final five wickets were rolled over in 40 deliveries. He began by getting Sarfraz to nick to Graeme Smith at first slip and the very next delivery it was an action replay as Saeed Ajmal went for a golden duck. The smile kept getting wider as the spell continued and more lower-order batsmen gave catching practice. The final wicket was that of Younis, who had hung around gamely for 33 before falling lbw.

 

Younis didn't have much time to put his feet up, however, as Hafeez's horror tour ended with a golden duck in the second innings after Smith enforced the follow-on. Less than 15 minutes after having stuck around with the tail, Younis was back out to battle South Africa's fearsome pace pack.

 

Pakistan had had a bit to smile about in the morning session. Rahat Ali hadn't earned too many admirers after his lacklustre debut in Johannesburg earlier this month, and his shelling of an absolute sitter off AB de Villiers made him a laughing stock, but he silenced the doubters with a six-for that ended South Africa's first innings at 409.

 

With debutant Ehsan Adil struggling with a leg injury, Ajmal understandably not at his most dangerous this early in the Test, and Mohammad Irfan tiring towards the end of the innings, Rahat was the most successful in an inexperienced Pakistan attack.

 

Before Rahat's strikes, de Villiers completed his 16th Test century, and Philander went on to his career-best score of 74 as they stretched their seventh wicket partnership to 129, and South Africa reached a total that they could be satisfied with.

 

Abbott made certain they had nothing to worry about, as he exemplified the depth of South Africa's talent pool and put them on their way to complete a summer of total Test success.

 

1st Test Day 2 IND v Aus

Tea India 84 for 2 (Tendulkar 38*, Pujara 33*, Pattinson 2-16) trail Australia 380 (Clarke 130, Henriques 68, Warner 50, Ashwin 7-103) by 296 runs

James Pattinson breathed fire for Australia before Sachin Tendulkar made his most ominous start to a Test innings in recent memory as India reached 84 for 2 in reply to the visitors' 380 at tea on day two in Chennai.

It is often said that no judgement should be made on a pitch until both teams have bowled on it, and the extra velocity of Australia's fast men brought life to the surface that had India's openers M Vijay and Virender Sehwag hopping about before both chopped a rampant Pattinson onto the stumps.

At 12 for 2 India were in some disarray, but Tendulkar punched his first two deliveries to the cover boundary, and with the composed Cheteshwar Pujara he succeeded in blunting Australia's attack for the remainder of the session while scoring at a healthy rate.

 

India's innings had been delayed until after lunch by the obduracy of the Australian tail. Michael Clarke went on from his overnight 103 not out to 130, going past Greg Chappell on Australia's list of run aggregates along the way, and Peter Siddle dead-batted to a stodgy but valuable 19 from 94 balls. Pattinson and Nathan Lyon then managed to extend the session, each ball a little victory for the pair. Lyon ultimately succumbed when his sweep was well held at leg slip.

 

R Ashwin again bowled teasingly, and Lyon's wicket gave him a new innings high-mark in Tests. Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh struck earlier in the morning, the latter improving somewhat on his diffident performance on the first day of the series. Redolent of a desert, the pitch required constant vigilance by the batsmen, and does not look like improving.

 

Vijay and Sehwag walked out for the start of the afternoon session aware that Australia's most threatening bowlers would be employed immediately. Mitchell Starc took the first over and bowled tidily without extracting his pet inswing to the right-hand batsmen, relying on the occasional short ball for the element of surprise.

 

At the other end Pattinson charged in for his first Test since a side strain removed him from Australia's attack in Adelaide last November. Clearly given licence to bowl at his fastest in short bursts by his captain Clarke, Pattinson touched 150kmph during a three-over stint that exhilarated everyone but the Indian opening batsmen.

 

Entering the match with modest domestic form, Vijay was beaten for pace by a full ball that tailed back fractionally and plucked out leg stump via the inside edge. Sehwag never seemed at home, and a late defensive prod on a ball angled back into him resulted in a dismissal that looked bizarre but also felt inevitable.

 

It was reminiscent of Graham Gooch's famed handled the ball dismissal in an Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 1993, only this time the batsman allowed the ball to drop onto the stumps rather than pushing it away with an illegal glove. Having worn his spectacles to the middle, Sehwag strolled off perhaps in search of a new optometrist.

 

Tendulkar marked his guard with few recent Test match runs behind him, and a clear pattern in his recent dismissals - the stumps were bound to be attacked. But he confronted Pattinson's first two balls with such assurance that the complexion of the innings changed almost immediately, Australia's bowlers and fielders given pause by the poise of an ageing master, as he set his soundest foundation for quite some time.

 

Pujara lost little by comparison, technically compact but never missing a chance to score, and together with Tendulkar he pushed India out of the worst of the danger. The only major tremor took place in the final over of the session, Tendulkar padding up to Lyon's offbreak and surviving a prolonged appeal for reasons known only to the umpire Marais Erasmus.

 

 India 182 for 3 (Tendulkar 71*, Kohli 50*, Pattinson 2-25) trail Australia 380 (Clarke 130, Henriques 68, Warner 50, Ashwin 7-103) by 198 runs

Tendulkar's non-shot against Lyon will stick in the memory of the Australians should he go on to a century on day three, much as Clarke's escape from a bat-pad appeal gave India reason to feel wronged on the first afternoon.

 

Australia's bowlers found some reverse swing not long after tea, Moises Henriques and Siddle both bending the ball usefully. But it was Pattinson who found a way through Pujara, though with a delivery never intended to curve. Delivered across the seam, it skidded through low and beat Pujara's slightly lax defensive stroke, leaving India precariously placed at 105 for 3.

 

But the breach was not fully exploited. Pattinson again returned to outfield duty after only three overs, Lyon remained inconsistent, and the rest were lacking in danger if not effort. Clarke eventually brought himself on from over the wicket, and had the ball biting out of the rough. But he was unable to land there enough to maintain pressure, and the day petered out with Tendulkar looking every bit as assured as his first two balls had been.

3rd ODI NZ v Eng

England won toss & bowl first

New Zealand 1 BJ Watling, 2 Hamish Rutherford, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Brendon McCullum (capt & wk), 7 Andrew Ellis, 8 James Franklin, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Kyle Mills

England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn

 

Eng 185/5 beat NZ 185 by 5 wickets and win series 2-1

If occasionally knocking over the bowler's end bails can be deemed a weakness, it is the only blemish against Steven Finn at the moment. His new, shorter, run up is designed to address that issue and it has taken none of the pace and aggression away from him, qualities which were too good for New Zealand as England comfortably won the deciding ODI.

The win secured their first ODI series in New Zealand since 1992 and was the result of a fine bowling display led by Finn. His excellence included three wickets that laid a platform for England to dominate in the field. He and James Anderson conceded just 18 in the opening 10 overs and New Zealand never recovered, being bowled out for a total nowhere near competitive on a dry, hard, flat surface.

 

England should have completed a rout but stuttered slightly towards the end of the chase. For the most part they played with the fluency expected on an excellent drop-in pitch. Brendon McCullum also did justice to the conditions with another fine captain's innings, his third consecutive half-century, but the rest of New Zealand's batsman were undone by England's dangerous, disciplined attack, the best of whom was Finn.

 

The wicket was tailor-made for him and he was often unplayable. His opening spell went for just five and created a crawl through the Powerplay. A regular fall of wickets stymied the recovery and Brendon McCullum's 79 in 68 balls was a lone hand.

 

England could have asked for no better after Alastair Cook decided to bowl. On a tiny ground - boundaries so short the venue would not be ratified by the ICC if it were a new ground - it was a remarkable performance with the ball. Finn and Anderson produced another opening 10 overs where New Zealand went nowhere and the mood remained throughout the innings.

 

Only when McCullum opened up in the second Powerplay did New Zealand ever look like making the progress demanded of them to be competitive. But when he was superbly taken by Anderson at deep midwicket to be last man out, New Zealand had wasted seven overs of their innings and were looking down the barrel of defeat.

 

Chasing such a small target against an attack with few threats, England encountered few problems. New Zealand's seamers are at least five-miles-an-hour slower than England's and provided none of the control that saw the first innings so stifled. England went at five an over in the Powerplay.

 

They allowed the chase to descend from overwhelming to workmanlike with some lazy strokes - Cook and Jonathan Trott both caught behind driving outside off - but it was beneficial that Eoin Morgan was able to enjoy time at the crease. He drove well off Tim Southee before lifting him over midwicket for six and striking Nathan McCullum over long-on: 39 from 24 balls was a strong reminder of Morgan's ability at a time when everyone's place is under scrutiny because of Joe Root's emergence. Root again led England home with a composed, mature innings.

 

But the depth of England's batting was in stark contrast to New Zealand, who were badly exposed against the new ball. McCullum was left stranded and his form would suggest he would be better utilised at the top of the order.

 

The inexperienced opening pair of BJ Watling and Hamish Rutherford lacked the technique to deal with Anderson and especially Finn. Watling faced him like a schoolchild in his first adult net session. He only lasted four balls from Finn. The first delivery whistled past his shoulder, the second jagged back sharply, the third seamed away beating the outside edge and the fourth was fended to second slip as Watling was beaten for pace.

 

Finn's opening five overs were unplayable. He found plenty of bounce and moved the new ball both ways. His second wicket was reward for his probing of Rutherford who eventually wafted at a wide delivery and edged behind.

 

The over was the second of consecutive wicket maidens as New Zealand made another limp effort of the opening Powerplay. Returns of 33 for 1 in Hamilton and 21 for 2 in Napier were trumped by 18 for 3 from the first 10 overs here.

 

Anderson matched his taller partner, with his opening five overs costing 12, and had Williamson caught behind when he uncharacteristically felt for a ball which held its line just outside off stump to take a thin edge.

 

Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad, though lacking the nip of Anderson or the pace of Finn, continued England's form with the ball. Broad found the crucial wicket of Taylor who cut at him and got a toe-end to the keeper. Taylor had calamitously ran Grant Elliot out two overs earlier.

 

It meant McCullum was forced to play carefully with whoever he could find at the other end. He eventually got going in the second over of the batting Powerplay, pulling Finn for two fours before flat-batting a six over long off as Finn went fuller and fuller. It was the first time the bowlers had come under pressure and raised the question of why New Zealand hadn't tried to attack England earlier in the innings. But the brief respite from tumbling wickets didn't last long.

1st ODI WI v Zim

25 overs West Indies 142 for 0 (Charles 71*, Powell 67*) v Zimbabwe 

Back from a difficult tour of Australia where they lost all five ODIs, West Indies settled in at home against a friendly Zimbabwe attack. Johnson Charles and Kieran Powell weren't tested much and received numerous loose deliveries in a century opening stand - the first for West Indies in ODIs since May 2011 - that came at a healthy rate.

After Brendan Taylor chose to field, fast bowler Kyle Jarvis and legspinner Natsai Mushangwe, playing only his second ODI, were the only Zimbabwe bowlers who bothered Charles and Powell to an extent. Jarvis began promisingly, his accuracy and slight movement in the air and off the pitch forcing the openers to be cautious. But Zimbabwe leaked runs consistently from the other end, and also conceded several boundaries through misfields in the deep.

Prosper Utseya opened with the second new ball and was hit out of the attack by Powell, who stepped out and lofted him over extra cover and straight down the ground. Mpofu replaced Utseya, and got the same treatment, as Powell lashed him through the off side for two fours in his opening over. Mpofu might have gone for more than the 20 runs he did from his two overs but the outfield, heavy from overnight rain, ended up saving a few boundaries for Zimbabwe.

Those two overs were the only ones Mpofu got till the halfway mark, and Taylor was forced to use his part-time bowlers, although the legspinner Mushangwe did get some turn and bounce out of the surface. The part-timers were bound to go for runs at some stage on the sedate pitch. Charles, dropped on 37 off a difficult, diving chance by Vusi Sibanda at midwicket off Utseya, cashed in against Hamilton Masakadza and Malcolm Waller. Cutting and sweeping for fours, he nudged past Powell's score as West Indies raced towards a huge total.

50 overs West Indies 337 for 4 (Charles 130, Darren Bravo 100*, Powell 79) v Zimbabwe 

Zimbabwe won the toss, and West Indies everything following that, as they bludgeoned their way to a huge total after being asked to bat in the first of three ODIs. Johnson Charles led the assault with a superbly paced hundred that came on the back of his maiden century in Melbourne against Australia. West Indies had lost all five ODIs on that tour, but settled in at home against a friendly Zimbabwe attack. Kieran Powell did the early running in a mammoth opening stand with Charles and Darren Bravo rounded off a hopeless outing for Zimbabwe with serious big-hitting towards the end that gave him his maiden ODI century.

Charles and Powell weren't tested much after Brendan Taylor chose to field and received numerous loose deliveries in a century opening partnership - the first for West Indies in ODIs since May 2011 - that came at a healthy rate. Fast bowler Kyle Jarvis and legspinner Natsai Mushangwe, playing only his second ODI, were the only Zimbabwe bowlers who bothered West Indies to an extent. Jarvis began promisingly, his accuracy and slight movement in the air and off the pitch forcing the openers to be cautious. But Zimbabwe leaked runs consistently from the other end, and also conceded several boundaries through misfields in the deep.

Prosper Utseya opened with the second new ball and was hit out of the attack by Powell, who stepped out and lofted him over extra cover and straight down the ground. Mpofu replaced Utseya, and got the same treatment, as Powell lashed him through the off side for two fours in his opening over. Mpofu might have gone for more than the 20 runs he did from his first two overs but the outfield, heavy from overnight rain, ended up saving a few boundaries for Zimbabwe.

 

Taylor was forced to use his part-time bowlers early, although the legspinner Mushangwe did get some turn and bounce. The part-timers were bound to go for runs at some stage on the sedate pitch. Charles, dropped on 37 off a difficult, diving chance by Vusi Sibanda at midwicket off Utseya, cashed in against Hamilton Masakadza and Malcolm Waller. Cutting and sweeping for fours, he nudged past Powell's score.

 

Powell gave it away in the 29th over, top-edging a pull off a Mpofu half-tracker to deep square leg but Charles showed no signs of slowing down, heaving fours and sixes regularly. Darren Bravo arrived and played himself in for the batting Powerplay, which was to fetch 59 runs.

 

Taylor began the Powerplay with Mushangwe who was taken for a six each by Charles and Darren Bravo. Even as Darren Bravo continued to flay wide deliveries through the covers, Taylor turned to Jarvis who had Charles lbw on 117 with his second delivery, only for the decision to be overturned on review, with replays showing the ball headed down leg. Charles responded with more punishment for Mpofu before the seamer got a yorker right in the 39th over. Charles departed for 130 off 111 having converted a steady start into a sustained onslaught.

 

Darren Bravo was on 33 off 35 at this stage, and despite failures for the promoted Andre Russell and the stand-in captain Dwayne Bravo, he ensured West Indies did not slow down. Jarvis and Mpofu were taken apart with powerful straight hits as he went after everything, full, short, or good length.

 

Darren Bravo entered the last over on 92. He clubbed Jarvis to the deep midwicket rope to move to 99 off the penultimate ball and paddled the last, a slow bouncer, for a single to reach his hundred off just 71 deliveries.

 

West Indies halted on 337, and Zimbabwe had shown on the field they were playing their first international game since the World Twenty20 last year. It will be an enormous task to put up a markedly better show with the bat.

West Indies 337 for 4 (Charles 130, Darren Bravo 100*, Powell 79) beat Zimbabwe 181 for 9 (Waller 51, Narine 3-28) by 156 runs
To expect a markedly improved performance with the bat would have been too much. Sunil Narine needed three deliveries to strike, and either side of his brace, Kemar Roach and Tino Best picked up a wicket each to leave Zimbabwe reeling at 34 for 4.

Sibanda, who had made 147 in the warm-up match, began promisingly as he pulled Roach for a couple of boundaries, but was given out leg-before to Roach in the fifth over. Replays showed the ball was missing leg stump, but Sibanda chose not to refer the decision.

In the next over, Chamu Chibhabha inside-edged a Narine offspinner off his pad to short leg and walked. Hamilton Masakadza mishit a pull off a Narine straighter one for Roach to pull off a running, diving stunner of a catch at long-on. Taylor lofted a drive off Best straight to mid-off.

 

Craig Ervine halted the frenetic slide with an innings that contained some crisp sweeps and reverse-sweeps. With Malcolm Waller blocking out one end, Zimbabwe were steady for a while but the asking-rate continued to shoot up.

 

As the partnership went past 50, Andre Russell was brought on, and in his first over, had Ervine spooning a drive to short extra cover to depart for 41. At 92 for 5, Zimbabwe's chief concern now would have been to lessen the severity of what looked set to be a crushing defeat.

 

Waller played his part in doing so, playing some stinging cover drives to make a fifty. Zimbabwe had the scant consolation of batting out 50 overs as No. 8 Utseya stonewalled his way to 18 off 67.