just_cricket
Associate Captain
The Grand Final: Official Preview
Strong Kiwi Flavour for Grand Finale
Match Facts:
Saturday, February 4
Start Time 17.30 (07.30 GMT)
The Big Picture:
The public interest in New Zealand cricket has greatly risen as a result of this high profile tournament, especially as two of their teams have done what no Australian side could do and make the grand final.
Australian fans from the provinces in question would have loved to see a showdown between the Stingers and Wasps at the MCG to cap the tournament, off, but any such fantasies were quickly banished as both high profile sides bowed out in the pool stages.
But for New Zealand fans the final clash will be close to a NZ fantasy ? to see players like Tendulkar and Jayawardene fight for New Zealand based sides they call their own at the hallowed Christchurch turf, along with many celebrity Black Caps such as Vettori, McCullum and Bond - will be a treat for NZ supporters and even any real cricket fans from across the Tasman.
In the match itself both teams? confidence will be sky high after convincing performances to earn the right to play in the final, but certainly the Stallions hold a slight advantage coming into the final as highest qualifiers, and with a slightly better record of wins and losses than their Northern counterparts. However, now history means very little ? it is right here, right now that the important bit of history will be made. This is what both teams have to be thinking.
Pitch and Conditions:
AMI Stadium has recently been a very good, hard batting track but with just a bit in it for the bowlers ? as the Stallions have shown with their good ability to take wickets. A par score is probably somewhere around 150-160, especially in a final where ?runs on the board count?, as they say.
Form Guide:
(Most recent first)
Northern Eagles: WWWWL
Southern Stallions: WWWLW
Watch out for:
Neil Wagner: Largely unknown before this tournament, but has been half of easily the best performing opening bowling pairings along with Shane Bond. A left armer, who can bowl effectively from both sides of the wicket and has good aggression.
Amit Mishra: Not one of the Stallions? star buys and while recognized on the international circuit, he is certainly not what you?d call a big profile player. However he has fitted in very well with the Stallions? outfit and is in the top 5 in terms of wickets taken by spinners in the tournament.
Dinesh Chandimal: A talented strokemaker from Sri Lanka, has only recently got his chance in the Stallions batting line up but will be looking to take the chance. He looked a good player against New Zealand in the 2010 World T20 in the West Indies, and it is at times like these that players of the future announce themselves to the world.
Key Contests:
Eoin Morgan v Daniel Vettori: The master of containment in the middle and later stages of limited overs versus the new limited overs batting wizard during those stages ? if Vettori gets to bowl at Morgan for a reasonable length of time, this will be a fascinating battle indeed.
Sachin Tendulkar v Shane Bond: Two of the best exponents of what they do in the world. Bond?s swing with the new ball has been to much for most batsmen, and Tendulkar?s mastery has been equally as impossible to come up against for opposition opening bowlers. Both players will be targeting each other as an opportunity to win a major battle.
Kane Williamson v Stallions Middle order: The young batting all rounder has had a larger role for the Eagles in this tournament as an off spinner ? but can his canniness stand up to talented Stallions? strokemakers? Put it this way ? it won?t be a stalemate.
Numbers Game:
3/3: The number of matches at AMI Stadium in Christchurch (where the final is being held) won by the team batting first
99.60: The average partnership of Eagles? openers Umar Akmal and Sachin Tendulkar (and that?s not even allowing for the two occasions on which their stand was unbroken ? if you count those as ?not outs? then their average stand is a whopping 166!)
1: The number of times the Stallions? opening bowlers Shane Bond and Neil Wagner haven?t taken a wicket within the first 4 overs, from 5 games.
Quotes:
?We?ve had some great performances from a number of our players so we need to fight hard as a team and have belief in each other. It might be a clich? but that?s because it?s what works?
Stallions captain Brendon McCullum doesn?t mind sounding clich?d if his side can pull through.
?Most players in our team have contributed to some degree at some point so no one needs to prove themselves, it?s just a matter of playing our best cricket ? no one can ask for more than that?
Eagles captain Daniel Vettori reckons the team has done enough to be here, so it?s the final alone that counts now.
Match Facts:
Saturday, February 4
Start Time 17.30 (07.30 GMT)
The Big Picture:
The public interest in New Zealand cricket has greatly risen as a result of this high profile tournament, especially as two of their teams have done what no Australian side could do and make the grand final.
Australian fans from the provinces in question would have loved to see a showdown between the Stingers and Wasps at the MCG to cap the tournament, off, but any such fantasies were quickly banished as both high profile sides bowed out in the pool stages.
But for New Zealand fans the final clash will be close to a NZ fantasy ? to see players like Tendulkar and Jayawardene fight for New Zealand based sides they call their own at the hallowed Christchurch turf, along with many celebrity Black Caps such as Vettori, McCullum and Bond - will be a treat for NZ supporters and even any real cricket fans from across the Tasman.
In the match itself both teams? confidence will be sky high after convincing performances to earn the right to play in the final, but certainly the Stallions hold a slight advantage coming into the final as highest qualifiers, and with a slightly better record of wins and losses than their Northern counterparts. However, now history means very little ? it is right here, right now that the important bit of history will be made. This is what both teams have to be thinking.
Pitch and Conditions:
AMI Stadium has recently been a very good, hard batting track but with just a bit in it for the bowlers ? as the Stallions have shown with their good ability to take wickets. A par score is probably somewhere around 150-160, especially in a final where ?runs on the board count?, as they say.
Form Guide:
(Most recent first)
Northern Eagles: WWWWL
Southern Stallions: WWWLW
Watch out for:
Key Contests:
Eoin Morgan v Daniel Vettori: The master of containment in the middle and later stages of limited overs versus the new limited overs batting wizard during those stages ? if Vettori gets to bowl at Morgan for a reasonable length of time, this will be a fascinating battle indeed.
Sachin Tendulkar v Shane Bond: Two of the best exponents of what they do in the world. Bond?s swing with the new ball has been to much for most batsmen, and Tendulkar?s mastery has been equally as impossible to come up against for opposition opening bowlers. Both players will be targeting each other as an opportunity to win a major battle.
Kane Williamson v Stallions Middle order: The young batting all rounder has had a larger role for the Eagles in this tournament as an off spinner ? but can his canniness stand up to talented Stallions? strokemakers? Put it this way ? it won?t be a stalemate.
Numbers Game:
3/3: The number of matches at AMI Stadium in Christchurch (where the final is being held) won by the team batting first
99.60: The average partnership of Eagles? openers Umar Akmal and Sachin Tendulkar (and that?s not even allowing for the two occasions on which their stand was unbroken ? if you count those as ?not outs? then their average stand is a whopping 166!)
1: The number of times the Stallions? opening bowlers Shane Bond and Neil Wagner haven?t taken a wicket within the first 4 overs, from 5 games.
Quotes:
?We?ve had some great performances from a number of our players so we need to fight hard as a team and have belief in each other. It might be a clich? but that?s because it?s what works?
Stallions captain Brendon McCullum doesn?t mind sounding clich?d if his side can pull through.
?Most players in our team have contributed to some degree at some point so no one needs to prove themselves, it?s just a matter of playing our best cricket ? no one can ask for more than that?
Eagles captain Daniel Vettori reckons the team has done enough to be here, so it?s the final alone that counts now.
Great article! An extremely amusing take on things.
