Napalm?? I think it is something else burning...... bernol dedo isko
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Babar Azam ton helps Pakistan to down New Zealand and keep semi-final hopes alive for 2019 World Cup
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Napalm?? I think it is something else burning...... bernol dedo isko
gazza619
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*Pakistan revive memories of 1992 as they keep themselves in contention*
Pakistan, a historically unpredictable team specialising in theatrical comebacks, remain in World Cup contention after overwhelming previously unbeaten New Zealand in a group match which will revive unwelcome memories for the Kiwis.
Imran Khan’s 1992 side, famously enjoined by their captain to fight like “cornered tigers” after only two wins in their first six matches, an identical record to the present team, beat another hitherto undefeated New Zealand side in the semi-finals.
Pakistan went on to defeat England in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the current Pakistan Prime Minister’s farewell match.
Seven years later Shoaib Akhtar bowled at lightning speed in Manchester to reduce New Zealand to 241/7 in another semi-final, a total Pakistan exceeded for the loss of just one wicket.
Now Pakistan, with seven points from as many matches, can still quality for the semi-finals if results go in their favour after an exuberant performance with bat and ball greeted by full-throated applause from an overwhelmingly Pakistan crowd on a misty, cool day in the English midlands.
Shaheen Afridi, the towering 19-year-old who is the third youngest player at the tournament, set the tone for Pakistan with a marvellous spell of 3/11 from seven overs, including three maidens. Bowling over the wicket at high pace, Shaheen hit a perfect length after Mohammad Hafeez had opened with two overs of exploratory off-spin.
Another left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz was also swift and hostile and spinners Hafeez and Shadab Khan kept the brakes on in the middle of the innings.
After initial struggles against the speed of Lockie Ferguson and the left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner, who got some abrupt turn and lift, the Pakistan batsmen cut loose with Babar Azam and Haris Sohail scoring at will against one of the tightest and most disciplined attacks in the tournament.
New Zealand went into their penultimate group match with an unchanged side but with question marks over their top-order batting after relying on consecutive centuries from captain Williamson to get them over the line against South Africa and West Indies.
Williamson recorded his 14th consecutive score over 40 in one-day internationals in England dating back to 2013 but his dismissal one run later threw the struggles of the other top-order batsmen into sharp relief.
Martin Guptill, so prolific in his team’s advance to the final four years ago, again appeared to be pressing too hard, dragging the first ball from Mohammad Amir in the second over of the day on to his stumps while aiming an extravagant drive though the off.
The restricted footwork of his opening partner Colin Munro in conditions assisting the bowlers through the air and off the pitch was again exposed and after Ross Taylor, the most consistent New Zealand batsman after Williamson fell early, the out-of-form Tom Latham continued to struggle and he was caught behind pushing tentatively forward.
Williamson’s dismissal, also caught behind this time from an extravagant leg break from Shadab Khan reduced New Zealand to 83/5 from 26.2 off their 50 overs. Despite his comparative failure, Williamson retains the highest percentage of runs by any batsman at the World Cup with 31 per cent.
New Zealand reached a competitive total solely through the efforts of all-rounders James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme, who posted their country’s first century partnership for the sixth wicket at a World Cup.
Left-hander James Neesham, one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in the New Zealand side and a man now determined to enjoy the remainder of his international career, after seriously contemplating retirement 18 months ago following a form slump, played sensibly, using his long reach to good effect to knock the ball about for singles.
De Grandhomme struggled initially before clumping some emphatic boundaries through the onside. Neesham started to loft the ball and finished with a flourish, hitting a six off the final ball to end three runs short of a century.
With daunting final group matches against defending champions Australia and home team England, New Zealand will give serious thought to selecting Henry Nicholls in place of Munro to open the innings and recalling their vastly experienced pace bowler Tim Southee ahead of Henry. Pakistan, by contrast, with potentially easier fixtures against Afghanistan and Bangladesh, looked a team for all seasons in Birmingham and will be full of confidence that they can continue to defy the odds.
Pakistan, a historically unpredictable team specialising in theatrical comebacks, remain in World Cup contention after overwhelming previously unbeaten New Zealand in a group match which will revive unwelcome memories for the Kiwis.
Imran Khan’s 1992 side, famously enjoined by their captain to fight like “cornered tigers” after only two wins in their first six matches, an identical record to the present team, beat another hitherto undefeated New Zealand side in the semi-finals.
Pakistan went on to defeat England in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the current Pakistan Prime Minister’s farewell match.
Seven years later Shoaib Akhtar bowled at lightning speed in Manchester to reduce New Zealand to 241/7 in another semi-final, a total Pakistan exceeded for the loss of just one wicket.
Now Pakistan, with seven points from as many matches, can still quality for the semi-finals if results go in their favour after an exuberant performance with bat and ball greeted by full-throated applause from an overwhelmingly Pakistan crowd on a misty, cool day in the English midlands.
Shaheen Afridi, the towering 19-year-old who is the third youngest player at the tournament, set the tone for Pakistan with a marvellous spell of 3/11 from seven overs, including three maidens. Bowling over the wicket at high pace, Shaheen hit a perfect length after Mohammad Hafeez had opened with two overs of exploratory off-spin.
Another left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz was also swift and hostile and spinners Hafeez and Shadab Khan kept the brakes on in the middle of the innings.
After initial struggles against the speed of Lockie Ferguson and the left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner, who got some abrupt turn and lift, the Pakistan batsmen cut loose with Babar Azam and Haris Sohail scoring at will against one of the tightest and most disciplined attacks in the tournament.
New Zealand went into their penultimate group match with an unchanged side but with question marks over their top-order batting after relying on consecutive centuries from captain Williamson to get them over the line against South Africa and West Indies.
Williamson recorded his 14th consecutive score over 40 in one-day internationals in England dating back to 2013 but his dismissal one run later threw the struggles of the other top-order batsmen into sharp relief.
Martin Guptill, so prolific in his team’s advance to the final four years ago, again appeared to be pressing too hard, dragging the first ball from Mohammad Amir in the second over of the day on to his stumps while aiming an extravagant drive though the off.
The restricted footwork of his opening partner Colin Munro in conditions assisting the bowlers through the air and off the pitch was again exposed and after Ross Taylor, the most consistent New Zealand batsman after Williamson fell early, the out-of-form Tom Latham continued to struggle and he was caught behind pushing tentatively forward.
Williamson’s dismissal, also caught behind this time from an extravagant leg break from Shadab Khan reduced New Zealand to 83/5 from 26.2 off their 50 overs. Despite his comparative failure, Williamson retains the highest percentage of runs by any batsman at the World Cup with 31 per cent.
New Zealand reached a competitive total solely through the efforts of all-rounders James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme, who posted their country’s first century partnership for the sixth wicket at a World Cup.
Left-hander James Neesham, one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in the New Zealand side and a man now determined to enjoy the remainder of his international career, after seriously contemplating retirement 18 months ago following a form slump, played sensibly, using his long reach to good effect to knock the ball about for singles.
De Grandhomme struggled initially before clumping some emphatic boundaries through the onside. Neesham started to loft the ball and finished with a flourish, hitting a six off the final ball to end three runs short of a century.
With daunting final group matches against defending champions Australia and home team England, New Zealand will give serious thought to selecting Henry Nicholls in place of Munro to open the innings and recalling their vastly experienced pace bowler Tim Southee ahead of Henry. Pakistan, by contrast, with potentially easier fixtures against Afghanistan and Bangladesh, looked a team for all seasons in Birmingham and will be full of confidence that they can continue to defy the odds.
gazza619
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*26 June - Birmingham - New Zealand player Jimmy Neesham post-match press conference*
Q. You're a beaten team. What was the turning point to the match? What do you think about that?
JIMMY NEESHAM: I think probably being 46/4 was a pretty significant moment in the game. I think any time, obviously, you get the new ball moving. Pakistan's bowling is obviously really impressive. Yeah, to sort of try and dig ourselves out of that hole took a lot of doing, but I think we potentially got to a score that was defendable. Obviously, the way Babar Azam and Haris Sohail batted didn't allow us to get some momentum and try to get into their middle order.
Q. Do you hope to go in the final? Semifinal?
JIMMY NEESHAM: Yes, absolutely. I think you'd be pretty naive to expect to go through the whole tournament unbeaten, I think. There's too many quality teams going around to expect to win every game. We prepared for a tournament where we'd probably lose one or two games, but for us it's all about making it to the semifinals, and you're only two good games away from lifting the trophy.
So for us nothing changes. We'll prepare for the next game the same way we've prepared for the last six.
Q. Do you feel the team may have missed a trick by not playing Ish Sodhi today?
JIMMY NEESHAM: I think we can only obviously work on what we're told leading into the game. We probably selected the team based on the information we had. In hindsight, it's easy to say an extra spinner would have been useful, but I think with the balls we had, the quality we had at the bowling crease was enough to defend that total, and unfortunately, it just didn't fall our way today.
Q. This is a new left-hand fast bowler for Pakistan, Shaheen Shah. How difficult was it to face him when the ball was moving around?
JIMMY NEESHAM: He's obviously a quality bowler, I think. He had a really good run to the '19 World Cup not too long ago, and he sort of kept taking good strides on the international team. I think facing him is quite similar to facing Mustafizur from Bangladesh, the way his slower ball actually bounces at you, and I think today it obviously suited his style of bowling well and he put us under a lot of pressure.
Q. Do this match is looking like an episode of toss winning? The team that has won the toss, they have lost the match. Do you think it's the role of the toss today also?
JIMMY NEESHAM: Well, the team that loses the toss wins, it's pretty good for us. I don't think we have a very good record with the toss over the last couple of years. I don't tend to watch the toss, to be fair, in the morning. I prepare for doing whatever we're doing. As an all-rounder, you're generally in the game either way. For me, it's all about preparing the best I can in the morning and doing whatever we're doing.
Q. There was a lot of talk about Babar Azam not having fulfilled his potential. Were you wary of him before his coming out to the crease? Were you thinking that this could have been his day?
JIMMY NEESHAM: What does he average in ODI cricket?
Q. His is very high, but in this tournament, I'm talking about.
JIMMY NEESHAM: Oh, this tournament. Look, I think in such a small sample size, you'd be naive to expect good players to score runs in every game. We know the quality they have in their batting lineup. It's only a matter of time when you've got players of that quality before they do score runs.
We've potentially got a few guys like that in our lineup at the moment who externally have a lot of pressure on them, but internally in our team, we believe in their ability. The nature of the game is you're going to have lean trots here and there, but it's all about the quality of the player.
Q. Obviously, you and Colin de Grandhomme pulled the innings around for New Zealand there. Was it tough to judge exactly when exactly to go big? Because, obviously, in the last four overs, you did really go big. What was the chat there in terms of deciding when to really tee it off?
JIMMY NEESHAM: We targeted the 43rd when we came together. I think, when you look at the quality of death ball that Pakistan have, you really want to try and avoid exposing your tail to coming out and having a start against, especially reverse swing.
Yeah, so we knew our death phase wouldn't be as long as it potentially would be if we had more wickets in the tank, but we still believed that, with the power we have, we could still make hay in those last seven overs. I think we got 85 over the last ten, which I think we would have taken five down going in.
Q. Jimmy, despite the fact that New Zealand lost the game, but you set two marks. 97 of the highest at Number 6, batting 132 is the highest partnership for the second. How do you feel about it?
JIMMY NEESHAM: It's something I'll probably reflect on after the tournament is finished. I think, obviously, the whole point of trying to graft out our partnership like that is to try to get ourselves in a position to win the game. I feel like we potentially did that. We potentially had a score that was defendable. Obviously, in a game where you lose, you don't take a whole lot of pleasure out of stuff like that.
Q. Did the pitch play as you expected? You won the toss, you batted. Did it play as you expected, and generally are the pitches in this World Cup different from the ones you've been playing on before the tournament?
JIMMY NEESHAM: I don't really expect anything going to play on any pitch, I think. That's all about, I suppose, being a Number 6 batsman is your adaptability, and I think the beauty of it is you get to see four or five guys have a go at it before you go out and have to do it yourself. It obviously looked pretty difficult for the guys at the top of the order.
So for me, it was all about obviously trying to generate a partnership, trying to absorb some of that pressure and then get to the back end of the game where you can try and, I suppose, put that pressure back on the bowlers.
Potentially, the wicket was not as good as we were told it was going to be, but you've just got to deal with it.
Q. Jimmy, can you just tell us about -- there's a phase in that second innings where you had it under control, and about 15, 16 runs were scored over five overs. And then Colin Munro came out to bowl the one over, and then you had about 17 runs scored over the next seven, eight balls. Would you be able to tell us what is the thought behind that and if that's where the game sort of ran away?
JIMMY NEESHAM: Well, I was at deep backward square leg, so I can't tell you the thinking that was going through, but obviously the wicket was slow. It was tough to time the slower balls. And he has the ability to bowl sort of knuckle balls and slower balls wicket to wicket. So I can see how that would be quite a challenging style of bowler to face.
I think the nature of having a total of that amount on the board is you will have periods where you're building pressure, but it's a case of is it going to be a wicket or is it going to be a release of pressure because it's not going to go on forever?
We obviously saw a chance to get a wicket in that period. It didn't happen. I don't know what we'd do in hindsight.
Q. Jimmy, what do you say to Martin and Colin at the top of the order at the moment? They do seem to be going through quite a tough patch.
JIMMY NEESHAM: I don't say anything to them. I think -- look, they're quality players. They both play very differently to how I play. I don't really have a whole lot of knowledge when it comes to opening the batting. I've done it very rarely. So I think they're quality players. Guys go through lean trots. It's the nature of the game.
I think we'll have a lot of, I suppose, time to work hard preparing for the next game. We'll prepare the same way we do for every other game, and we're basically in a situation now where it's one win from two, and we'll be in the semifinals. That's obviously our goal is to win the tournament.
Q. Jimmy, I know you said that you would rather score a 5 in a winning cause than 90 in a losing cause. But just in this innings, the length of the innings, you've batted through, almost through the innings, saw the team through the crisis, and gave yourself a total and put up a good fight. That must be pleasing. Is it?
JIMMY NEESHAM: I'm pretty tired now. That's sort of my emotions at the moment, I think. Yeah, obviously, you -- I suppose there's external noise about whether you have the ability to guide an innings like that, and I sort of have the belief in my own ability that I have the ability to come out at 40-4 and guide our team to 2 under plus and also the ability to come out at 310-3 with two overs to go. So it's just about putting it out there, I suppose, and having belief in your own processes.
Obviously, we had a large period of time where we had to soak up pressure. That was the nature of the wicket and the nature of the bowling attack. We certainly had a belief, if we could get through that hard period, we'd be able to score some runs at the back end, and obviously that's what ended up happening.
Q. Next match obviously a big derby against Australia. How do you go about shaking this off and preparing for Mitchell Starc and company at Lord's?
JIMMY NEESHAM: The mood in the dressing room is good. Guys were joking and laughing when I left. We're not the type of team that takes losses really hard. I think we'll have a couple of beers tonight as a team and kind of talk about how that game went, and then we'll pretty much park it, and we'll hit our scouting tomorrow morning pretty fresh.
Australia are a team we played a lot of over the last two or three years. We know how they go about the game. They're obviously a really good team. But we certainly wouldn't prepare for them any differently than we would any other game.
Q. Jim, you've had a nice easy run against Australia and England. Would it be fair to say that you're in a better position than England at the moment to qualify for the semifinals? Would you rather be in your position than theirs?
JIMMY NEESHAM: Well, we have more points (laughter). I think that's probably what you want in a league scenario. Look, as I mentioned before, we don't spend any time paying attention to how other teams are going or how they prepare. For us, it's about looking after our own backyard. We've obviously been playing really good cricket over the tournament so far. Today was a bit of a blip, but that certainly won't change the way we prepare for the last two games.
Q. You're a beaten team. What was the turning point to the match? What do you think about that?
JIMMY NEESHAM: I think probably being 46/4 was a pretty significant moment in the game. I think any time, obviously, you get the new ball moving. Pakistan's bowling is obviously really impressive. Yeah, to sort of try and dig ourselves out of that hole took a lot of doing, but I think we potentially got to a score that was defendable. Obviously, the way Babar Azam and Haris Sohail batted didn't allow us to get some momentum and try to get into their middle order.
Q. Do you hope to go in the final? Semifinal?
JIMMY NEESHAM: Yes, absolutely. I think you'd be pretty naive to expect to go through the whole tournament unbeaten, I think. There's too many quality teams going around to expect to win every game. We prepared for a tournament where we'd probably lose one or two games, but for us it's all about making it to the semifinals, and you're only two good games away from lifting the trophy.
So for us nothing changes. We'll prepare for the next game the same way we've prepared for the last six.
Q. Do you feel the team may have missed a trick by not playing Ish Sodhi today?
JIMMY NEESHAM: I think we can only obviously work on what we're told leading into the game. We probably selected the team based on the information we had. In hindsight, it's easy to say an extra spinner would have been useful, but I think with the balls we had, the quality we had at the bowling crease was enough to defend that total, and unfortunately, it just didn't fall our way today.
Q. This is a new left-hand fast bowler for Pakistan, Shaheen Shah. How difficult was it to face him when the ball was moving around?
JIMMY NEESHAM: He's obviously a quality bowler, I think. He had a really good run to the '19 World Cup not too long ago, and he sort of kept taking good strides on the international team. I think facing him is quite similar to facing Mustafizur from Bangladesh, the way his slower ball actually bounces at you, and I think today it obviously suited his style of bowling well and he put us under a lot of pressure.
Q. Do this match is looking like an episode of toss winning? The team that has won the toss, they have lost the match. Do you think it's the role of the toss today also?
JIMMY NEESHAM: Well, the team that loses the toss wins, it's pretty good for us. I don't think we have a very good record with the toss over the last couple of years. I don't tend to watch the toss, to be fair, in the morning. I prepare for doing whatever we're doing. As an all-rounder, you're generally in the game either way. For me, it's all about preparing the best I can in the morning and doing whatever we're doing.
Q. There was a lot of talk about Babar Azam not having fulfilled his potential. Were you wary of him before his coming out to the crease? Were you thinking that this could have been his day?
JIMMY NEESHAM: What does he average in ODI cricket?
Q. His is very high, but in this tournament, I'm talking about.
JIMMY NEESHAM: Oh, this tournament. Look, I think in such a small sample size, you'd be naive to expect good players to score runs in every game. We know the quality they have in their batting lineup. It's only a matter of time when you've got players of that quality before they do score runs.
We've potentially got a few guys like that in our lineup at the moment who externally have a lot of pressure on them, but internally in our team, we believe in their ability. The nature of the game is you're going to have lean trots here and there, but it's all about the quality of the player.
Q. Obviously, you and Colin de Grandhomme pulled the innings around for New Zealand there. Was it tough to judge exactly when exactly to go big? Because, obviously, in the last four overs, you did really go big. What was the chat there in terms of deciding when to really tee it off?
JIMMY NEESHAM: We targeted the 43rd when we came together. I think, when you look at the quality of death ball that Pakistan have, you really want to try and avoid exposing your tail to coming out and having a start against, especially reverse swing.
Yeah, so we knew our death phase wouldn't be as long as it potentially would be if we had more wickets in the tank, but we still believed that, with the power we have, we could still make hay in those last seven overs. I think we got 85 over the last ten, which I think we would have taken five down going in.
Q. Jimmy, despite the fact that New Zealand lost the game, but you set two marks. 97 of the highest at Number 6, batting 132 is the highest partnership for the second. How do you feel about it?
JIMMY NEESHAM: It's something I'll probably reflect on after the tournament is finished. I think, obviously, the whole point of trying to graft out our partnership like that is to try to get ourselves in a position to win the game. I feel like we potentially did that. We potentially had a score that was defendable. Obviously, in a game where you lose, you don't take a whole lot of pleasure out of stuff like that.
Q. Did the pitch play as you expected? You won the toss, you batted. Did it play as you expected, and generally are the pitches in this World Cup different from the ones you've been playing on before the tournament?
JIMMY NEESHAM: I don't really expect anything going to play on any pitch, I think. That's all about, I suppose, being a Number 6 batsman is your adaptability, and I think the beauty of it is you get to see four or five guys have a go at it before you go out and have to do it yourself. It obviously looked pretty difficult for the guys at the top of the order.
So for me, it was all about obviously trying to generate a partnership, trying to absorb some of that pressure and then get to the back end of the game where you can try and, I suppose, put that pressure back on the bowlers.
Potentially, the wicket was not as good as we were told it was going to be, but you've just got to deal with it.
Q. Jimmy, can you just tell us about -- there's a phase in that second innings where you had it under control, and about 15, 16 runs were scored over five overs. And then Colin Munro came out to bowl the one over, and then you had about 17 runs scored over the next seven, eight balls. Would you be able to tell us what is the thought behind that and if that's where the game sort of ran away?
JIMMY NEESHAM: Well, I was at deep backward square leg, so I can't tell you the thinking that was going through, but obviously the wicket was slow. It was tough to time the slower balls. And he has the ability to bowl sort of knuckle balls and slower balls wicket to wicket. So I can see how that would be quite a challenging style of bowler to face.
I think the nature of having a total of that amount on the board is you will have periods where you're building pressure, but it's a case of is it going to be a wicket or is it going to be a release of pressure because it's not going to go on forever?
We obviously saw a chance to get a wicket in that period. It didn't happen. I don't know what we'd do in hindsight.
Q. Jimmy, what do you say to Martin and Colin at the top of the order at the moment? They do seem to be going through quite a tough patch.
JIMMY NEESHAM: I don't say anything to them. I think -- look, they're quality players. They both play very differently to how I play. I don't really have a whole lot of knowledge when it comes to opening the batting. I've done it very rarely. So I think they're quality players. Guys go through lean trots. It's the nature of the game.
I think we'll have a lot of, I suppose, time to work hard preparing for the next game. We'll prepare the same way we do for every other game, and we're basically in a situation now where it's one win from two, and we'll be in the semifinals. That's obviously our goal is to win the tournament.
Q. Jimmy, I know you said that you would rather score a 5 in a winning cause than 90 in a losing cause. But just in this innings, the length of the innings, you've batted through, almost through the innings, saw the team through the crisis, and gave yourself a total and put up a good fight. That must be pleasing. Is it?
JIMMY NEESHAM: I'm pretty tired now. That's sort of my emotions at the moment, I think. Yeah, obviously, you -- I suppose there's external noise about whether you have the ability to guide an innings like that, and I sort of have the belief in my own ability that I have the ability to come out at 40-4 and guide our team to 2 under plus and also the ability to come out at 310-3 with two overs to go. So it's just about putting it out there, I suppose, and having belief in your own processes.
Obviously, we had a large period of time where we had to soak up pressure. That was the nature of the wicket and the nature of the bowling attack. We certainly had a belief, if we could get through that hard period, we'd be able to score some runs at the back end, and obviously that's what ended up happening.
Q. Next match obviously a big derby against Australia. How do you go about shaking this off and preparing for Mitchell Starc and company at Lord's?
JIMMY NEESHAM: The mood in the dressing room is good. Guys were joking and laughing when I left. We're not the type of team that takes losses really hard. I think we'll have a couple of beers tonight as a team and kind of talk about how that game went, and then we'll pretty much park it, and we'll hit our scouting tomorrow morning pretty fresh.
Australia are a team we played a lot of over the last two or three years. We know how they go about the game. They're obviously a really good team. But we certainly wouldn't prepare for them any differently than we would any other game.
Q. Jim, you've had a nice easy run against Australia and England. Would it be fair to say that you're in a better position than England at the moment to qualify for the semifinals? Would you rather be in your position than theirs?
JIMMY NEESHAM: Well, we have more points (laughter). I think that's probably what you want in a league scenario. Look, as I mentioned before, we don't spend any time paying attention to how other teams are going or how they prepare. For us, it's about looking after our own backyard. We've obviously been playing really good cricket over the tournament so far. Today was a bit of a blip, but that certainly won't change the way we prepare for the last two games.
gazza619
Test Debutant
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- Jul 30, 2012
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- 13,864
New Zealand in relaxed mood despite losing first game of the World Cup, says Neesham
New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham says the Blackcaps will not be unduly affected by their first defeat at the World Cup as they prepare for their final two group games against defending champions Australia and home side England.
New Zealand were beaten by Pakistan at Edgbaston by six wickets
Next up for New Zealand are defending champions Australia followed by hosts England
New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham says the Blackcaps will not be unduly affected by their first defeat at the World Cup as they prepare for their final two group games against defending champions Australia and home side England.
New Zealand, who play Australia at Lord’s on Saturday, were beaten by Pakistan at Edgbaston by six wickets with Neesham finishing unbeaten on 97 after captain Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat.
“We will prepare the same way we do for every other game and we’re basically in a situation now where it’s one win from two and we will be in the semi-finals which is obviously our goal,” Neesham said.
“The mood in the dressing room is good, the guys were joking and laughing when I left. We’re not the type of team that take losses really hard. We’ll have a couple of beers tonight as a team and kind of talk about how that game went and then we’ll pretty much park it.
“Australia are a team that we’ve played a lot over the last two or three years. We know how they go about their game, they’re obviously a very good team but we certainly won’t prepare any differently for them that we would for any other game.”
Neesham said losing four quick wickets after winning the toss and electing to bat had probably been the turning point in the game but added it would be naive to expect to go through the tournament unbeaten.
“There are too many quality teams going around to expect to win every game. We prepared before the tournament that we would probably lose one or two games but for us it’s all about making it to the semi-finals and then you’re only two good games away from lifting the trophy.
“So for us nothing changes, we will prepare for the next game that same way we prepared for the last six.”
Asked if New Zealand had made a mistake by omitting leg-spinner Ish Sodhi on a pitch that took significant turn, Neesham said the team had been selected on the information it had received before the game.
“In hindsight it is easier to say an extra spinner would have been useful but the bowlers we had, the quality we had at the bowling crease was enough to defend that total. Unfortunately, it didn’t fall our way.”
Neesham said he and fellow all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme (64) had decided to go on the attack in the 43rd over and added the decision had been made primarily because they did not want the tailenders to be exposed to the Pakistan fast bowlers given with their ability to reverse swing the ball.
“We believed we could make hay in the last seven overs, we thought potentially we had a score that would win."
New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham says the Blackcaps will not be unduly affected by their first defeat at the World Cup as they prepare for their final two group games against defending champions Australia and home side England.
New Zealand were beaten by Pakistan at Edgbaston by six wickets
Next up for New Zealand are defending champions Australia followed by hosts England
New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham says the Blackcaps will not be unduly affected by their first defeat at the World Cup as they prepare for their final two group games against defending champions Australia and home side England.
New Zealand, who play Australia at Lord’s on Saturday, were beaten by Pakistan at Edgbaston by six wickets with Neesham finishing unbeaten on 97 after captain Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat.
“We will prepare the same way we do for every other game and we’re basically in a situation now where it’s one win from two and we will be in the semi-finals which is obviously our goal,” Neesham said.
“The mood in the dressing room is good, the guys were joking and laughing when I left. We’re not the type of team that take losses really hard. We’ll have a couple of beers tonight as a team and kind of talk about how that game went and then we’ll pretty much park it.
“Australia are a team that we’ve played a lot over the last two or three years. We know how they go about their game, they’re obviously a very good team but we certainly won’t prepare any differently for them that we would for any other game.”
Neesham said losing four quick wickets after winning the toss and electing to bat had probably been the turning point in the game but added it would be naive to expect to go through the tournament unbeaten.
“There are too many quality teams going around to expect to win every game. We prepared before the tournament that we would probably lose one or two games but for us it’s all about making it to the semi-finals and then you’re only two good games away from lifting the trophy.
“So for us nothing changes, we will prepare for the next game that same way we prepared for the last six.”
Asked if New Zealand had made a mistake by omitting leg-spinner Ish Sodhi on a pitch that took significant turn, Neesham said the team had been selected on the information it had received before the game.
“In hindsight it is easier to say an extra spinner would have been useful but the bowlers we had, the quality we had at the bowling crease was enough to defend that total. Unfortunately, it didn’t fall our way.”
Neesham said he and fellow all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme (64) had decided to go on the attack in the 43rd over and added the decision had been made primarily because they did not want the tailenders to be exposed to the Pakistan fast bowlers given with their ability to reverse swing the ball.
“We believed we could make hay in the last seven overs, we thought potentially we had a score that would win."
Hasan123
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Be happy that we won. It's a WC. We are average team but we have to back these players. Why are you more upset about England losing than Pakistan? Just put your ego aside for a few weeks.
Predictable as always! Gets a little boring after a while.
Great win, but let's keep taking it one step at a time. We need our Indian friends to rightfully bury England on Sunday and then win everything that comes along. Let's hope for the best!
Usman Chadda
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Proud of this comeback so far. So. Very. Proud.
Immense character shown by each and every individual in this team. They have it in them to get to the semi-finals, but they have to continue with the same confidence. Afghanistan and Bangladesh will both test us, specially if we get a similar wicket to today.
Also, anyone notice how calm Sarfraz was hitting the winning shot? This guy is focused on only one thing right now, and in sha Allah he helps us get there.
Immense character shown by each and every individual in this team. They have it in them to get to the semi-finals, but they have to continue with the same confidence. Afghanistan and Bangladesh will both test us, specially if we get a similar wicket to today.
Also, anyone notice how calm Sarfraz was hitting the winning shot? This guy is focused on only one thing right now, and in sha Allah he helps us get there.
Technics 1210
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Babar's 100 was one of the best centuries in this WC (light years ahead of Rohit Sharma's century).
Every single report I am reading in UK news agencies is praising Pakistan, but is scared of Pakistan too, given the permutations which can knock out England.
Pakistan living up to its reputation of being the most dangerous side in the world!
Love it!
Every single report I am reading in UK news agencies is praising Pakistan, but is scared of Pakistan too, given the permutations which can knock out England.
Pakistan living up to its reputation of being the most dangerous side in the world!
Love it!
AZulfi
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It is an open secret that Pakistan do not chase well in ODIs. In fact most teams don't barring perhaps Australia (toughest players mentally) and India.
Today's batting performance under tremendous pressure was very special. Both Babar and Haris were superb. They played and missed a few times as the wicket was both seaming and spinning a bit but both largely played risk-free cricket and timed their innings to perfection. Some delightful shots played by Babar and it was really good to see bat right thru and guide his side to victory. This last bit was missing from his batting up until now. The inclusion of Haris has injected much needed energy into this otherwise fragile batting line-up
Imam got an awkward lifter. I believe there's little that he could have done about it. The rest all contributed to their own downfall. Both Fakhar and esp. Hafeez threw their wickets away and then that needless run out when the target was almost achieved.
Then in bowling superb effort by Shaheen, Amir and Shadab. At 83-5, Sarfraz blundered by not having his main bowlers on for a few more overs to get a couple more quick wickets. 7-down at that stage and NZ might not have surpassed 200. Some great catches taken today. A good day in the field as well. All in all a very satisfying win
This successful chase under real pressure should give our players a lot of confidence. Must not lax now and plan meticulously for our remaining two games against Afghanistan and Bangladesh. I will keep the same winning combination
Today's batting performance under tremendous pressure was very special. Both Babar and Haris were superb. They played and missed a few times as the wicket was both seaming and spinning a bit but both largely played risk-free cricket and timed their innings to perfection. Some delightful shots played by Babar and it was really good to see bat right thru and guide his side to victory. This last bit was missing from his batting up until now. The inclusion of Haris has injected much needed energy into this otherwise fragile batting line-up
Imam got an awkward lifter. I believe there's little that he could have done about it. The rest all contributed to their own downfall. Both Fakhar and esp. Hafeez threw their wickets away and then that needless run out when the target was almost achieved.
Then in bowling superb effort by Shaheen, Amir and Shadab. At 83-5, Sarfraz blundered by not having his main bowlers on for a few more overs to get a couple more quick wickets. 7-down at that stage and NZ might not have surpassed 200. Some great catches taken today. A good day in the field as well. All in all a very satisfying win
This successful chase under real pressure should give our players a lot of confidence. Must not lax now and plan meticulously for our remaining two games against Afghanistan and Bangladesh. I will keep the same winning combination
Visaal-E-Yaar
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Babar and haris we love you. That six from haris to boult oh man it was just outstanding. Imam and fakhar need more work. Amir was not up to the mark. He conceded extra 25 runs.
Great win for Pakistan with their backs to the wall.... Pakistan is just peaking at the right time and hopefully it's not too late. They still need to win two more games and pray that SL and Eng lose atleast one.
We cannot control what happens to Eng and SL so just needs to stay focus on the next game.
GO PAKISTAN.......
We cannot control what happens to Eng and SL so just needs to stay focus on the next game.
GO PAKISTAN.......
UP
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Finally Babar has woken up after 3 years since his debut. Need him to fire consistently.
What to do with Fakhar?
What to do with Fakhar?
Aman
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Good win for Pakistan.
I'm just thankful the game went deep, I thought we were in real danger of having our NRR killed after that start.
I'm just thankful the game went deep, I thought we were in real danger of having our NRR killed after that start.
Mamoon is still overcoming englands recent loss. Lol
Bro give it a rest tho. Enjoy the win.
Usman Chadda
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Let him be
jnaveen1980
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Good chase by Babra & Haris. Especially Haris who relieved the pressure from Babar. That one six against Santner probably in the context meant nothing. But that one six led to series of bizarre bowling changes from Kane Wiliamson.
Congrats to pakistan. Great boeling and a superb chase under pressure.
Imo NZ made a big blunder by not selecting sodhi ahead of henry.
Overall it was a very good fightback from NZ though, losses happen. We should still be safe to make the semis. Would love to see pakistan make it ahead of England too!
Imo NZ made a big blunder by not selecting sodhi ahead of henry.
Overall it was a very good fightback from NZ though, losses happen. We should still be safe to make the semis. Would love to see pakistan make it ahead of England too!
Ahmed216
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For an average team like Pak this is a very good comeback
Nothing to do with run rate.
England lose one, we win 2, we are in. ( Unless SL win 3 out of 3)
DHONI183
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Wow wow, Pakistan are in with a serious chance to make it to the semi-finals! I can´t believe that they´ve won by chasing down a target of 238 - a mammoth target given the standards of this batting line-up and also Pakistan´s history of chasing down totals.
Babar deserves a tremendous amount of credit for such a wonderfully paced and planned innings. Truly the most meaningful innings of his career. So kudos to him. However, don´t forget that he has looked on track for such an innings throughout the tournament only to get out by getting in a shell in the 60s etc., and most of the times what led to his downfall was a collapse underway on the other end. This is where Haris Sohail deserves a lot of credit. Him getting stuck at the other end, yet keeping the ones and the twos going with the odd boundary, eased up Babar a bit I feel. So it was a most ideal partnership! Haris has got such a unique stance at the crease that it allows him so much time to play the ball. Really loving this guy! What a great addition has been his form!
I felt Pakistan let New Zealand off the hook yesterday after having them five down so early. The intensity was lacking and it seemed as if they´d relaxed a little. You can´t afford this everyday. My brother-in-law was of the idea that Pakistan should go for the kill by bringing in Amir at that stage, but I think that taking such a risk can prove costly as well. What if they´d played out the overs and then taken some of the lesser bowlers to task in the last few overs? So this McCullum-style captaincy carries its risks. So I fully understand why Sarfraz didn´t go for it.
New Zealand must address Munro´s role and place in this team. I can´t remember the last time this guy did justice to the countless opportunities that he´s given. A nothing batsman to be honest. All too much hit-or-miss, and miss-and-miss in reality actually. They must address this problem and bring in someone more capable and more serious if they´ve the option.
All in all, you know it´s Pakistan´s match if they drop only one or two catches, and you know it´s Pakistan´s tournament if they don´t drop a catch at all in a match, like yesterday. Keep the World Cup 1992 similarities coming, fellows!
Babar deserves a tremendous amount of credit for such a wonderfully paced and planned innings. Truly the most meaningful innings of his career. So kudos to him. However, don´t forget that he has looked on track for such an innings throughout the tournament only to get out by getting in a shell in the 60s etc., and most of the times what led to his downfall was a collapse underway on the other end. This is where Haris Sohail deserves a lot of credit. Him getting stuck at the other end, yet keeping the ones and the twos going with the odd boundary, eased up Babar a bit I feel. So it was a most ideal partnership! Haris has got such a unique stance at the crease that it allows him so much time to play the ball. Really loving this guy! What a great addition has been his form!
I felt Pakistan let New Zealand off the hook yesterday after having them five down so early. The intensity was lacking and it seemed as if they´d relaxed a little. You can´t afford this everyday. My brother-in-law was of the idea that Pakistan should go for the kill by bringing in Amir at that stage, but I think that taking such a risk can prove costly as well. What if they´d played out the overs and then taken some of the lesser bowlers to task in the last few overs? So this McCullum-style captaincy carries its risks. So I fully understand why Sarfraz didn´t go for it.
New Zealand must address Munro´s role and place in this team. I can´t remember the last time this guy did justice to the countless opportunities that he´s given. A nothing batsman to be honest. All too much hit-or-miss, and miss-and-miss in reality actually. They must address this problem and bring in someone more capable and more serious if they´ve the option.
All in all, you know it´s Pakistan´s match if they drop only one or two catches, and you know it´s Pakistan´s tournament if they don´t drop a catch at all in a match, like yesterday. Keep the World Cup 1992 similarities coming, fellows!
zee-za-man
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OP should've mentioned Harris Sohail in the title thread. This is by far Haris Sohail's best innings in the tournament.
Azam literally exposed Sohail to Santner when his bowl was breaking more than 3-4 degrees, he was getting massive spin which almost got Babar when he nicked it to Latham who failed to take the half- chance.
Haris not only negotiated it, he finished the game.
This win was possible thanks to Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Sohail more than Babar.
Azam literally exposed Sohail to Santner when his bowl was breaking more than 3-4 degrees, he was getting massive spin which almost got Babar when he nicked it to Latham who failed to take the half- chance.
Haris not only negotiated it, he finished the game.
This win was possible thanks to Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Sohail more than Babar.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations Boys on the amazing win! Undoubtedly the better side today. Babar Azam, Harris Sohail and Shaheen I'm so proud of you.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ICAPakistan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ICAPakistan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CWC19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CWC19</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PakVsNZ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PakVsNZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/vvzLNWPIOh">pic.twitter.com/vvzLNWPIOh</a></p>— Misbah Ul Haq (@captainmisbahpk) <a href="https://twitter.com/captainmisbahpk/status/1143971123522146304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
marlonbrowndo
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Babar Azam would’ve been batting at 6 right now if Misbah was the captain. His strike rate is more than 70
MRSN
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It requires a lot of calmness to put a full toss away when everyone is in circle and you need 1 from 11 balls. Lol
MRSN
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Baber would have never featured in his team. He loved YK and Asad Shafiq as no.3 batsman.
MRSN
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Agreed. Though Harris is quality. His class batting has revived our hopes.
Well said! Love Haris Sohail what a beautiful batsman to watch.
WOW. Shame on you. Not even acknowledging Haris Sohail. Let me guess you are probably one of the many posters on here who would call him crap. HAHAHA.
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Time to move on to bigger challenges!
QalandarFan
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Bro chill he's done good with 40's against England, South Africa, and India. That's pretty consistent for a Pakistan opener, and at a good strike rate. Not like he's out there like Shezzy boy scoring these 40's of 75 balls. He just needs to play a bit more smarter.
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