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After walloping India Green in the last league game, India Blue repeated the dose in the final to win the Challenger Trophy in emphatic fashion in Indore

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2010
ScorecardTanmay Srivastava cracked a well-paced ton•Getty ImagesAfter walloping India Green in the last league game, India Blue repeated the dose in the final to win the Challenger Trophy in emphatic fashion in Indore.The game had a sense of déjà vu from start to finish: Tanmay Srivastava, opening in place of Shreevats Goswami who had fallen for a duck in the previous game, almost suffered the same fate when he edged Dhawal Kulkarni down the leg side in the opening over. Naman Ojha, however, failed to hold on to the offering and Srivastava was on his way. Shikhar Dhawan began aggressively once again, but it was Srivastava who took control with a well-paced century. After the inevitable lull in the middle overs, Manoj Tiwary once again launched a late assault to leave India Green gasping.Dhawan began the fireworks, pulling Kulkarni for six in the fifth over, and slamming him for three consecutive fours in the seventh. Srivastava was more watchful, feeling his way to 17 at the ten-over mark. Abhimanyu Mithun removed Dhawan in the 12th over, and in the process stalled the momentum of the innings . Ajinkya Rahane, who had been in top form coming into the game, scratched around to score seven off 22 balls, as India Green threatened to rein things in. Yuvraj Singh could not make an impression either and his exit in the 26th over left India Blue struggling at 118 for 3.Srivastava, however, had reached his half-century by now, and was about to turn the tide along with Tiwary. The pair laid the platform with a mixture of deft placement smart running before opening up in the 40th over. Srivastava brought up his ton with three successive boundaries off Mithun and the pair took the batting Powerplay in the next over. Srivastava, however, could not cash in and was stumped off Ashwin. There was no stopping Tiwary, though, as he accelerated with mathematical precision in the final ten. With wickets falling at the other end, he kept the flag fluttering with a boundary each in the 43rd, 46th and 49th overs. He smashed Mithun for a six and a four in the final over before perishing for 84 in search for the final flourish. Piyush Chawla finished the innings by paddle-scooping Mithun for six more, setting India Green a daunting chase under lights.Their response was meeker than yesterday’s, as RP Singh and Chawla bullied them with regular wickets. Robin Uthappa briefly threatened to repair the innings, but his exit for 30 signaled the end of the game as a contest. The final rites were administered in the 37th over as India Green folded for 147. Their captain, S Badrinath, later noted that his side has conceded 30 runs too many, but in reality, the gap between the two sides was much wider than that.

Alistair Campbell, the Zimbabwe selector, is confident the younger batsmen in the squad will benefit immensely from playing with one of Zimbabwe’s most experienced cricketers

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2010Alistair Campbell, the Zimbabwe selector, has said that he wants Grant Flower to play the 2011 World Cup and is confident the younger batsmen in the squad will benefit immensely from playing with one of Zimbabwe’s most experienced cricketers.Flower, 39, made a shock international return more than six years after he last played for Zimbabwe by being included in the squads for the tour of South Africa next month. Campbell, however, said Flower’s return would be assessed on a case-by-case basis as the batsman himself had concerns about his fitness.”The agreement we have is that we’ll just play it tour by tour and see where he’s at,” Campbell told . “He says he’s got a few niggling injuries and the like, but he’s committed to this tour [South Africa] and for our domestic Twenty20 tournament, and then we’ll play it by ear from there. I wouldn’t say he’s got a couple of years, but I would dearly love him to play up to and including the World Cup – that’s always been my aim.”Before he was recalled as a player, Flower was set to be the Zimbabwe’s batting coach but his comeback was triggered by his performance for Essex during the 40-over tournament in England, where he scored 527 runs at 65.87. Campbell also said the experience of playing with Zimbabwe’s younger cricketers would help Flower when he embarks on a coaching career.”It’s not easy – you don’t find many player-coach roles that do work – but the thing in this role is that he’s not the head coach, he’s just the batting coach,” Campbell said. “I think it will be a really good start for his coaching career if he can be at the front line with some of those youngsters and get to know how they react under pressure. Also just to be that wise old head on the field, which we seriously need at the moment. Particularly with guys like [Brendan] Taylor, [Hamilton] Masakadza and [Tatenda] Taibu, I just think that they will feed off him and respond to him being out there.”Flower was one of Zimbabwe’s leading players during his 12-year international career, in which he played 67 Tests (3457 runs at 29.54) and 219 ODIs (6536 runs at 33.69). In 2004, he became one of the key players to leave in an exodus following Heath Streak’s removal from captaincy. He is the latest of several high-profile players who have become part of Zimbabwe cricket this season. Fast bowlers Allan Donald and Jason Gillespie have taken domestic coaching assignments, and former New Zealand allrounder Chris Harris has been put in charge of the national Under-19 team.

Newcastle United have been handed encouragement over a potentially major deal for Sven Botman in the summer…

What’s the talk?

The Magpies target has admitted that he would be interested in joining the club, whilst also hinting that he will be on his way out of Lille at the end of the campaign.

He told Voetbal International, via TBR: “Newcastle is working on a great project and I thought it would be fun to be a part of it.

“Especially if you look at where Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain once started.”

Fabrizio Romano also quoted him as saying: “I can confirm both Newcastle and AC Milan were concrete options this winter. Both were good options for me. I assume that I will take a good step in my career next summer.”

Excitement

These comments will surely leave Eddie Howe excited ahead of the next transfer window as they suggest that a transfer could well be on the cards for the 2022/23 campaign.

It could be a major deal for the Magpies as Botman has the potential to be a sensational signing for the club in the short and long term. He is a player who has proven his quality at Ligue 1 level and could be an asset in the Premier League next season, whilst he also has scope for development and could be someone Howe looks to improve over time.

In the French top-flight this term, he has averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.15. Botman has won an outstanding 71% of his individual duels throughout the campaign so far, making 4.9 clearances and 2.0 tackles and interceptions per game.

This shows that he already has the ability and consistency required to perform at the top level. Meanwhile, no Newcastle defender has averaged a score higher than 6.77 this term, although Dan Burn managed a rating of 6.96 for Brighton prior to his deadline day switch.

At the age of 22, the Lille beast has plenty of time left ahead of him to add to his game and improve as a defender. This means that he could be an excellent investment by the club, as he could either be sold for a huge profit in the future or end up playing and excelling, in the side for many years to come.

Therefore, Howe will be excited by Botman’s comments as they open the door to a summer transfer and it could be a major deal for the Magpies based on the aforementioned benefits that he could bring. It is now down to PIF to be proactive by attempting to snap him up as quickly as possible at the end of the season.

AND in other news, “I heard a slight whisper”: Downie drops big NUFC claim on live TV, Howe surely gutted…

Crystal Palace have not made any official bids or opened talks with any potential signings this month so far, and that includes the view of securing permanent deals for their current loan players too, with one, in particular, becoming a doubt for securing a longer stay at the club.

What’s the word?

Sky Sports journalist, Michael Bridge, has revealed that the Eagles are “nowhere near” the clause that forces them into signing striker, Jean-Philippe Mateta, on a permanent deal at the club.

Bridge told GIVEMESPORT:

“The deal at the moment with buying Mateta in terms of how many games he’s played for Palace, they’re nowhere near it. So, they’re under no pressure with that at the moment.”

Mateta has been linked already with a move away from the club during the current transfer windows, as it was reported that his parent club, Mainz, were ready to recall the player for him to go back out on loan to Saint Etienne, but it was then further reported that Palace blocked the move.

Fans may be fuming

With Christian Benteke reportedly on the move to Burnley after an offer was made for him over the weekend, Palace fans will surely be rather puzzled and angered to see further unsettlement in their forward line, especially when the side is picking up more draws than wins at the moment with nine draws on the board in the Premier League this season.

Thus, they clearly need to take more goal-scoring opportunities and shipping on two offensive options in one window would be a strange way of doing that.

The 24-year-old Frenchman has only made 15 appearances for the club so far during his 18 month loan spell that started in January 2020 scoring three goals in just 589 minutes played over the last year. That is hardly mind-boggling but if they let him leave alongside Benteke, it would severely hamper Vieira’s options.

Eagles fans are keen for the striker to stay at the South London club, with many taking to Twitter to offer their opinion on his future at the club, one fan even tweeted: “Mateta needs to stay #cpfc.”

Vieira will need to make an important decision on the future of his forward line, with the club also linked to signing Eddie Nketiah and interest from other clubs for the signing of Benteke, the French manager will need to assess his options and work out if Mateta fits into his future plans for the club.

Despite not playing, there is an argument to make that the Eagles would be better off keeping him for the second part of the campaign.

In other news: Vieira could finally axe Benteke to sign Nketiah

Crystal Palace lost 3-1 to title-chasing Liverpool at Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon as the Reds closed the gap on first-place Manchester City to nine points after the Citizens drew 1-1 at Southampton on Saturday.

The hosts went behind after just eight minutes as defender Virgil van Dijk converted with a header directly from a corner before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain doubled Jurgen Klopp’s side’s lead before the interval.

Palace did halve the deficit through Odsonne Edouard but the defeat was confirmed when Fabinho converted from the penalty spot late on.

The defeat leaves Patrick Vieira’s side in 13th place after a tricky contest for the south London club.

Some of the Eagles’ players shone despite difficult circumstances, whereas others were below par with top scorer Conor Gallagher proving to be particularly underwhelming.

The 21-year-old has been a revelation for Palace since joining on loan from Chelsea in the summer, scoring seven goals and registering three assists in 19 Premier League matches.

However, the midfielder endured a tricky afternoon at Selhurst Park against Liverpool.

According to SofaScore, the Englishman lost possession 16 times whilst making 52 touches over the course of 90 minutes, an average of losing the ball every 3.2 touches.

Gallagher was also underwhelming in the attacking department, squandering a big chance whilst also managing just one shot, which was off target.

Although the 21-year-old enjoyed an 81% passing success rate, his crosses and long balls were well below standard, failing to complete any.

On an afternoon where Palace had 43.2% of the ball, there was a lack of grit in the middle of the park with Will Hughes also struggling, earning a match rating of just 6.1, as Liverpool dominated proceedings whilst Gallagher made five fouls, eventually receiving his fifth yellow card of the season, as well as only managing one interception and one tackle and no clearances or blocks.

Of course, the Selhurst Park faithful shouldn’t be particularly concerned by the Englishman’s display given the fact that they were playing the league’s second-best team who were impressive in south London.

Moreover, the midfielder has already been the star man on numerous occasions and seeing him run the midfield against one of Europe’s best sides and orchestrate a shock victory for the Eagles would’ve been a particularly tall ask.

What the performance will highlight, however, is that Gallagher will have to improve when playing the league’s top sides if he has aspirations of being a regular for Chelsea.

Whilst Crystal Palace don’t expect to get results against the likes of Liverpool, Thomas Tuchel’s side will if they are to be successful.

In other news: Palace remain interested in 22-y/o striker, he can save their season

Just one defeat away from a whitewash, the hosts are in dire need of a psychological boost ahead of the Tests

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya02-Jun-2010Match FactsThursday, June 3, 2010
Start time 09.30 local, 13.30 GMTThe Big PictureGraeme Smith has failed to convert starts in his last 11 internationals•AFPWest Indies are struggling, and their problems are not confined to performance. Their board CEO, Ernest Hilaire, delivered a scathing indictment of the state of affairs in West Indies cricket, telling fans they were in store for more “embarrassment” from their players in the years to come. Not just for the lack of quality, but an attitude that, he felt, favoured fame and wealth over excellence. Then came the incident involving Sulieman Benn, who was sent off the field by his captain Chris Gayle for disobeying instructions. All this during another disappointing series, which has helped South Africa recover from their Super Eights exit and continued West Indies’ frustrating run in front of their home crowds. Just one defeat away from a whitewash, the hosts are in dire need of a psychological boost ahead of the Tests.For South Africa, a win tomorrow will mark a continuation of the three-year dominance they’ve enjoyed over their opponents.Form guide (most recent first)West Indies: LLLLW
South Africa: WWWWWWatch out for…Graeme Smith: While several of his team-mates have cashed in on the tour, the South African captain has failed to convert starts. His scores in the four ODIs read 18, 37, 29 and 23, and thrice has he been dismissed by Dwayne Bravo. In his last 11 international innings, he has reached double-figures each time but his highest score remains 37. With three Tests to follow, he needs to get some confidence going.Chris Gayle: The captains share a similar predicament when it comes to individual form, but there has been little support from the rest for West Indies. Following his team’s failures with the bat in the first three games, Gayle had called on his batsmen to shoulder more responsibility. His own scores this series read 45, 26, 16 and 29 and with a significant burden to bear at the top in the Tests, he needs to hit form.Team newsWest Indies’ bowling lacked depth in the fourth ODI and they need Jerome Taylor, who was out of that game due to a niggle, back. David Bernard could be asked to sit out in the event of Taylor’s return.West Indies (possible): 1 Dale Richards, 2 Chris Gayle (capt), 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Darren Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Jerome Taylor/David Bernard, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Ravi Rampaul.South Africa didn’t need their best available line-up to beat West Indies in the previous game. But they will be eager to make a clean sweep of the series, and might be tempted to bring back Dale Steyn.South Africa (possible): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 JP Duminy/Alviro Peterson, 6 David Miller, 7 Johan Botha, 8 Ryan McLaren, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Charl Langeveldt/Dale Steyn, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.ConditionsThere are scattered thunderstorms forecast in Port of Spain tomorrow, increasing the possibility of a truncated fixture.Stats and trivia South Africa have swept the series 5-0 twice against West Indies, in 2005 and 2008. If they win tomorrow, it will be their second 5-0 victory in an ODI series in the West Indies. The Queen’s Park Oval at Port of Spain will be hosting its first ODI in more than two years. Teams have opted to field in the last six games here, winning three and losing as many.Quotes”For us, the players that comprise the limited-overs squad, it would restore a lot of confidence in us, after we performed so poorly in the T20 World Cup.”
“(Losing is) tough. Because in those four defeats, and if you take the two Twenty20s into consideration, five of those games we had a realistic chance of winning. Hopefully, we can put ourselves in a winning position again on Thursday.”
Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach.

It was a familiar refrain from West Indies captain Chris Gayle, as he put the blame squarely on his team’s batsmen after losing the first Test to South Africa by 163 runs at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain

Cricinfo staff14-Jun-2010It was a familiar refrain from West Indies captain Chris Gayle, as he put the blame squarely on his team’s batsmen after losing the first Test to South Africa by 163 runs at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. “It is the batting to be honest with you,” Gayle told the . “We batted poorly in the first innings and that actually cost us the game very quickly.”Despite losing in three and half days, Gayle defended the make-up of the squad. “It is definitely the right selection. We have two guys out [Adrian] Barath and [Ramnaresh] Sarwan, and [Travis] Dowlin did well for us in the last series against Australia, and Brendan Nash was outstanding for us in the Test series as well.”We are in the rebuilding process and we asked a couple of batsmen to bat at positions they are not accustomed to, but it is something in cricket and, as batsmen, whenever you get a chance, you have to make the best use of it. But we are not going to use it as an excuse … we have to try and make the necessary adjustments for the next Test match.”There were a couple of bright spots for West Indies in the performances of Sulieman Benn and debutant Shane Shillingford. Benn, who was ordered to leave the field by Gayle in the one-day series for refusing to bowl over the wicket, picked up eight wickets and made his highest Test score – 42 – in the second innings, while Shillingford snapped up four wickets. “It was a good effort from the spinners and we always knew it was a spinning track,” Gayle said.Gayle expected the same squad to travel to St. Kitts and said West Indies could give South Africa more of a contest as long as the batting clicked. “This was the first Test and you want to give everyone a good chance, but I think it will be the same squad. I don’t know what condition Barath is in and we don’t know what cricket he has played.”Hopefully we can pick it up in the next Test match and put our best foot forward. If we can get the runs on the board … any first innings total over 350 is good, and it will actually put us in a position to challenge for the win.”Gayle also credited South Africa for playing good cricket. “There is no doubt about it, South Africa are a more experienced team … give credit to those guys, they kept running in hard,” he said.Meanwhile Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, was all praise for his bowlers. “Our bowlers were running on fumes there at the end, and it was not made any easier for us with them struggling with the run-ups from one end and a soft landing. It was another hot day, and we have had to work a little bit harder.”The pitch was not conducive to really exciting Test match cricket. It was about a long, hard graft, and we did that well, and we have won in three and a half days, so I am happy.”

Sir Viv Richards believes that next week’s World Twenty20 will provide Caribbean cricket the perfect opportunity to lay the ghosts of the 2007 World Cup

Andrew Miller24-Apr-2010Sir Viv Richards believes that next week’s ICC World Twenty20 will provide Caribbean cricket the perfect opportunity to lay the ghosts of the 2007 World Cup, and he is optimistic that the lessons learnt both at the IPL and by Trinidad & Tobago during their successful run in last year’s Champions League Twenty20 will give West Indies an excellent chance of progressing in the tournament.”It’s a great opportunity to make some amends for the hiccup that we had during the World Cup that was held in the region,” Richards told Cricinfo. “It was a disaster in my opinion, there were so many things that went wrong, but you don’t want to look back too much. We have an opportunity to move forward now with this new exciting format, and the support in the West Indies will be passionate enough for the world to enjoy.”The 2007 tournament was a crushing disappointment on almost every conceivable level. The ICC’s draconian regulations led to a clampdown on musical instruments and other factors that have made West Indian cricket so vibrant over the years, while the ticket prices were simply too steep too allow any significant levels of local support.The death of Pakistan’s coach, Bob Woolmer, during the early weeks of the tournament cast a further pall over the self-styled “carnival of cricket”, while the early exit of such big-name teams as India and Pakistan took much of the anticipation out of the protracted latter stages of the competition, which was eventually won by Australia in a farcical finish in near-darkness.This time, however, Richards expects a rich fortnight of entertainment in a compact schedule across three venues in Guyana, St Lucia and Barbados. “It’s going to have much more of a Caribbean flavour this time and rightly so,” he said. “I definitely know the tickets will be much more affordable, so that will lead to more relaxed individuals. This is a trial to see how much we’ve learned from last time.”Guyana was one of the venues that came in for some criticism in 2007, with much of the area outside the purpose-built stadium still awaiting completion come the start of the competition. But three years later, Richards is confident they’ll put up a good show on behalf of the region. “They wouldn’t put it on the agenda if it wasn’t ready,” he said. “They are a passionate cricket-loving nation and they always attract good crowds, which is one of the reasons why they were chosen.”Richards’ own island of Antigua will not be hosting any games, however, but such is the lure of Twenty20 cricket, he was sure that there would be plenty interest in the tournament , especially given how much Sir Allen Stanford’s involvement ramped up the profile of the game’s newest format. And he also believed that the West Indies team would respond to the home expectations.”There is excitement in Antigua,” he said. “Remember the attendances we got for the Stanford 20/20. That was even before the IPL, and it was a real success, with big crowds throughout. Our grounds may not be as huge as the grounds in India, but they were a credit to our island. And for that US$20million purse [against England], the professionalism that the team showed proved that they can be successful. With this shortened version they can go places.”One team that has shown the potential of Caribbean cricket in recent times is Trinidad & Tobago, who were the surprise package of the inaugural Champions Trophy in India last year. With passion and panache, and stars such as Kieron Pollard and Ravi Rampaul, they made it all the way to the final of the competition, before losing to New South Wales, spearheaded by a pumped-up Brett Lee.”Trinidad were great representatives of the region, and it shows the region can compete at the very highest level,” said Richards. “That performance was a huge success, not just for Trinidad but the whole Caribbean region. For any young guys who saw that, it’s the sort of motivation they need to gain confidence, to believe that they can also be part of that success.”With the way things are in the world at the moment, it’s good for this tournament to be held in the Caribbean,” said Richards. “When a team goes away from home in soccer, when they get a draw they feel happy about themselves. But now West Indies are at home, with the public behind them, and lots of experience gained in India at the IPL, I’m sure they can be competitive.”Sir Viv Richards is a Johnnie Walker Responsible Drinking Ambassador and is part of a global “Walk with Giants” program, with the message: ‘Be a giant, and don’t drink and drive’

Murali Kartik claimed his first wickets for Somerset as Yorkshire were bowled out for 405 on the second day of the County Championship Division One match at Taunton

18-May-2010
Scorecard
Steven Patterson removed Nick Compton, then added useful runs from the tail•Getty ImagesMurali Kartik claimed his first wickets for Somerset as Yorkshire were bowled out for 405 on the second day of the County Championship Division One match at Taunton.The Indian left-arm spinner marked his debut as overseas signing by helping to wrap up the tail after the visitors resumed on 296 for 4. He finished with 3 for 106 from 35.5 overs, while Ben Phillips returned 4 for 76 from 36.Only David Wainwright, with 39, offered much resistance as Yorkshire failed to build substantially on their first-day efforts. It took a last-wicket stand of 46 between Wainwright and Oliver Hannon-Dalby to get them past 400.By the close Somerset had replied with 226 for 4, Arul Suppiah unbeaten on78 and Zander de Bruyn contributing 47. Hannon-Dalby claimed the prize wicket of Marcus Trescothick, who eased his way to 39 off 43 balls before being plumb lbw playing across a slower delivery.Nick Compton had made only 5 when caught behind off an inside-edge to giveSteven Patterson a deserved wicket. But Suppiah and De Bruyn then added exactly 100 for the third wicket before De Bruyn played on to an Adil Rashid googly.James Hildreth breezed to 31 before a lofted drive to mid-off gave theleg-spinner a second wicket, but Suppiah held firm, having reached a patient half-century off 134 balls, with seven fours.Earlier, Yorkshire lost Anthony McGrath without adding to his overnight score of 73. He was undone by some extra bounce from the tall Phillips and gave a catch to Peter Trego at gully.Patterson (25) saw Yorkshire to a third batting point, but Somerset had tosettle for a single bowling point as the scoreboard read 322 for 5 after 110 overs.The home side then made up for lost time by taking four wickets for just 20runs as their opponents plunged from 339 for 5 to 359 for 9.Patterson was caught in the slips off Alfonso Thomas, who then knocked backRashid’s off stump. Kartik claimed his first wicket for his new club whenJonathan Bairstow, on 17, drove a catch to Compton at short extra cover.Kartik then pinned Tino Best lbw for 15, but he was kept waiting until after lunch for his third wicket as Wainwright hit five fours in his 41-ball innings and last man Hannon-Dalby survived 39 deliveries to score 2.The innings finally ended in the afternoon session when Wainwright liftedKartik to mid-on where Phillips took a stunning catch left-handed at fullstretch above his head.

Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, has said his team’s victory in the Chappell-Hadlee trophy, was a fitting response to the 3-0 defeat inflicted by New Zealand two years ago

Cricinfo staff11-Mar-2010Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, has said his team’s victory in the Chappell-Hadlee trophy, was a fitting response to the 3-0 defeat inflicted by New Zealand two years ago. The hosts, then, had won the first game comfortably by ten wickets before going on to chase 300-plus targets in the next two.”It doesn’t matter how many series you play but you always remember the last series you played, especially if it’s a losing one,” Ponting, who didn’t play in that series, said. “That was just before the World Cup, and we were throroughly outplayed in that series and it led to people to write us off. We regrouped pretty well over there and obviously played well, and we’ve regrouped very well since we’ve been here.”Australia scaled down their revised target of 200 in 34 overs with almost three overs to spare, but the bulk of the hard work had been done by their bowlers, who hit back to bowl the hosts out for 238 after their openers had delivered a fiery start. Ponting, acknowledging the importance of change bowlers, lauded the performance of James Hopes and Nathan Hauritz, who shared five wickets to cripple the middle order and help consign New Zealand to a below-par score.”I think that’s pretty important out here,” Ponting said. “On this sort of ground, the new ball flies off the wicket and off the bat at a pretty good pace. And that’s what they [the New Zealand openers] did particularly well today, using the pace of our new ball bowlers really well, hit the boundaries and got the momentum going their way.”Then when Hauritz and Hopes came into the game, it was a lot harder to score. It was harder to hit those boundaries, we restricted them, took those boundaries away and created chances which we took. We got on a bit of a roll then, the momentum was in our favour.”Australia won their third consecutive game of the series to clinch the trophy, and Ponting, who led his team to its eighth successive ODI series win, said the turnaround, after the defeat in the first game, was a result of attacking cricket. The hosts have been bowled out in each of the last three games.”New Zealand got off to good starts in every game, it’s sometimes hard to reverse momentum in one-day games but we’ve been able to do that really well,” he said. “They got off to a fine start, we weren’t very good with the ball early on, so we just kept attacking and set attacking fields. We told the bowlers to keep hitting the areas and if they continued to play the big shots, we’ll take our chances and that’s how it worked out.”If you hit your spot and you challenge the batsmen to play big shots, or take risks to hit boundaries, then you have half a chance. The brand new ball didn’t do that today, we gave them too many soft balls to hit to the boundary and once we tightened things up a bit and challenged them, that’s when we were in the game a bit more.”Our fielding, too, has improved throughout the series and once you’ve put them under the kind of pressure that we did today, it becomes really hard to get back into the game. Our wicket-taking ability in the middle has been the difference in the game.”The Duckworth-Lewis system came into play again, and this time it was Australia who were left chasing a stiff target despite dominating with the ball. Ponting admitted the revised score had given New Zealand an opportunity to fight back, though his batsmen secured the target comfortably. “It was a bit stiff, I actually thought it might have been wrong,” Ponting said.”I thought that was about 30 runs too many. It just goes to show that none of those equations are going to be perfect. We probably needed to be rewarded more for having bowled them out in 44 overs. But when you’re chasing 200 in 34 overs on a ground like that – 200 in a T20 game is only a good score out here – we knew that if we didn’t buy ourselves out of the water early and lose too many wickets early, we should be able to manage the chase.”[Cameron] White played a very sensible and mature innings, and it was a good run-chase in the end.”Ponting hinted at changes for the final ODI in Wellington, and added the presence of experienced players in his side made his job easier despite the absence of Michael Clarke, who had to return to Australia for personal reasons. “It does present an opportunity to include some new names,” Ponting said. “A couple of guys are a little sore after the game tonight. We’ll see how they pull up in the morning. We’ll look at giving McKay a go. We need to look ahead at the Test matches.”I’m lucky to have people like Hussey and White, who have good cricket brains. . Although you’ve lost your vice-captain, there are plenty of experienced guys around. Little things like, I’d like to think, bring good teams closer.”