Pakistan eye first Test series win since 2007 as NZ struggle for form
January 13th, 2011 - 7:36 pm ICT by ANI
Wellington, Jan 13(ANI): While New Zealand struggle for form, Pakistan will set aside off-field controversies to chase their first series win for four years, when the second and final Test begins in Wellington on Saturday.
Unable to hold international matches at home due to security concerns and beset by corruption allegations, Pakistan have not won a Test series since defeating the West Indies in early 2007, The News reports.
But after crushing the Black Caps by ten wickets in the first Test at Hamilton, the visiting team is in prime position to go 2-0 up and record a clean sweep in the two-match series.
Pakistan team coach Waqar Younis paid tribute to his players for maintaining their focus on the pitch at a time when team-mates Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer faced corruption hearings in Doha.
“It’s not that we’ve been playing bad cricket, it’s just that the controversy has just been following us,” he rued.
“It’s very, very hard for the boys to keep going and keep hearing this, but I’m very proud of these boys, they’ve stuck to the task and every morning they get up and keep positive,” Waqar added.
The suspended trio are set to learn their fate when the anti-corruption tribunal resumes hearings into the spot-fixing case on February 5.
Meanwhile, New Zealand coach John Wright has labelled the Black Caps’ performance in the first Test as “unacceptable”. New Zealand’s entire batting line-up was dismissed for a paltry total of 110 in the second innings.
Critics, including former Test opener Mark Richardson, expressed concern that the focus on Twenty20 had turned Kiwi batsmen into one-dimensional players, prone to wild shots and poor decision-making.
The squads for the second Test are as follows:
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (captain), Brendon McCullum, Tim McIntosh, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder, Kane Williamson, Reece Young, Tim Southee, Brent Arnel, Chris Martin, James Franklin, Daryl Tuffey.
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz. (ANI)
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- Pakistan routs 'self-destructing' Kiwis by 10 wickets to win Hamilton Test - Jan 09, 2011
- Pakistan drop Razzaq, Kamran from ODIs, T20 side - Apr 06, 2011
- Tuffey replaces injured McKay in New Zealand test squad - Jan 05, 2011
- New Zealand include seven rookies among World Cup probables - Dec 22, 2010
- Pakistan on top after day one of Wellington Test against Kiwis - Jan 15, 2011
- Pakistan wins Test series against New Zealand 1-0 after drawing second Test - Jan 19, 2011
- Stop being selfish, Mohsin Khan tells Akmal - Oct 17, 2011
- 'Recuperating' Tanvir dropped from Pak squad for South Africa Test series - Nov 05, 2010
- Misbah replaces Afridi for Ireland ODI series - May 19, 2011
- Umar dons gloves in Pak squad's training session as Kamran looks on - Mar 11, 2011
- James Franklin left out of New Zealand Cricket contract - Jul 01, 2011
- Waqar expects wounded Kiwis to hit back hard on fast and bouncy Wellington track - Jan 13, 2011
- Pak-New Zealand test set for exciting final day finish - Jan 18, 2011
- Pakistan selectors retain Shoaib Malik for Sri Lanka series - Oct 03, 2011
Tags: aamer, arnel, black caps, brendon mccullum, chris martin, clean sweep, corruption allegations, daniel vettori, final test, guptill, james franklin, mark richardson, mohammad asif, pakistan team, poor decision, prime position, ross taylor, team mates, tim mcintosh, zealand coach