Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series

[kevshat]

Having played out twenty20 and test series thus far Pakistan now complete their tour of New Zealand with a 6 match ODI series which begins on Saturday morning UK time. It's all live on Sky in the UK although when it clashes with the England/Aus series it goes behind the red button. Both series so far have been good watches and I'm sure this one will be too. Schedule:

Sat Jan 22 01:00 GMT | 14:00 local 01:00 GMT	1st ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan Westpac Stadium, Wellington	14 - 17° C Forecast Mostly Cloudy/Wind Click here for 10-day-Forecast
Wed Jan 26 22:00 GMT (prev day) | 11:00 local 22:00 GMT -1d	2nd ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan Queenstown Events Centre	8 - 22° C Forecast Mostly Cloudy Click here for 10-day-Forecast
Sat Jan 29 01:00 GMT | 14:00 local 01:00 GMT	3rd ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan AMI Stadium, Christchurch	N/A
Tue Feb 1 01:00 GMT | 14:00 local 01:00 GMT	4th ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan McLean Park, Napier	N/A
Thu Feb 3 01:00 GMT | 14:00 local 01:00 GMT	5th ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan Seddon Park, Hamilton	N/A
Sat Feb 5 22:00 GMT (prev day) | 11:00 local 22:00 GMT -1d	6th ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan Eden Park, Auckland	N/A

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series One early bet for the series. Might come back with more after I think about it. 4pts Pakistan to win ODI Series 13/8 Stan James I think Pakistan are a very big price here. I guess part of the price is because in a 6 match series the draw is in play but even so I'm more than happy to take this 13/8 on the tourists. New Zealand used to be a very efficient one day side but that was a side which had the likes of Oram smashing it to all parts and tight as a ducks arse with the ball, Bond blowing batsmen away and people like Astle and McMillan making solid contributions with the bat. Now they've got a very inexperienced batting lineup and an even younger bowling attack. It's the bowling attack that's the issue for the Kiwis as it can't maintain pressure on the opposition for long enough. New Zealand have lost their last 11 completed matches in this format which is a shocking run really and although they've changed coach recently, I've seen nothing in the summer so far to suggest that's going to turn around to the extent that they'll suddenly win 3 from 6 here. For me this is Pakistan's strongest format of the game and I think they've picked a good squad here. Being picky I'd have liked to have seen Fawad Alam in there for them to bat around but they've picked Younis and Misbah for that role. Although Pakistan have lost their last two series, they've been against England and South Africa, both of whom are better than this New Zealand outfit and both were 3-2 so there is clear progress being made. As with the twenty20's, a lot of these ODIs are on rugby grounds where if the innings is set up properly, the likes of Afridi, Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq could tear New Zealand apart. At 13/8, on recent ODI form I think Pakistan are a good bet in this series.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series There is one more. Purely based on price pretty much. 1pt M.ul-Haq Top Pakistan Series Batsman 10/1 Bet365 I think Misbah is a massive price here if he plays the 6 matches. I guess that's the question but I'm prepared to burn a point just to see how many he plays. He's in supreme nick with the willow having top scored for Pakistan in the test series where he scored a 50 in every innings he had in that series. We always know there's an element of collapse in this Pakistan side and I would imagine Misbah will be employed in the middle order to set the innings up for the 3 biffers who would follow him. He's a good player of spin and a pretty decent player of seam too. He's unlikely to smash a side away but that won't be his game and in a way that's a good thing. The likes of Umar, Afridi and Razzaq will all have good days in this series but consistency over 6 matches could well see Misbah go close. Younis is a worthy favourite in this market but I can't be having Misbah, who would bat one below Younis when he plays, at 3 times the price. This 10/1 is as short as 11/2 elsewhere. My own price is somewhere in the middle but at 10/1 I'll take a chance on the test skipper leading the way in the 50 over format.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series 3 for me in the opening ODI. Not a huge array of markets around. Hopefully that changes as the series goes on. 3pts Y.Khan to beat B.McCullum 10/11 Bet365 This looks like an interesting match up. If all the talk is to be believed then Brendon McCullum will bat down at 6 in this match and that could play into Younis' hands here. Younis will bat at 3 and if he gets in and makes a score of 50 and above you would think McCullum is going to struggle to have the time to better that. Younis' role in this side is to be the one to play around so I don't think we're going to have the problem of him slogging too soon and missing out. Younis hit 2 50's in the ODI series against South Africa and he was in excellent touch here in NZ in the test matches, averaging 59 for the series. So he's in good nick. Brendon McCullum looked in good touch too in the test series but he gave the bowlers a chance all the while and that's his game. He's going to be no different in this match. To summarise, I think Younis is the more solid batsman and batting 3 places higher in his side gives him a massive advantage so I'll take the Pakistan man in this match up. 2pts T.Southee Top New Zealand Bowler 7/2 Blue Square Tim Southee seems to enjoy bowling at the Westpac. He's played two ODI's here and he's taken 2/36 and 4/36 in those matches. So the place suits him. It's hard to know what to expect in terms of conditions in this match. It's a drop in pitch here so it should be good to bat on but the last 5 1st innings in ODI's here have been 148, 130, 128, 188/4 when rain came and 241/9. So whatever it is there's something there making it tricky to bat on. New Zealand's attack isn't as strong as it could be. Kyle Mills isn't in the side and the likes of McKay and even the pacy Milne aren't in this side. Southee could well be the leader of the attack. He'll take the new ball and given his record on the ground and the fact Vettori could be nullified a bit more than usual given Pakistan's quality of playing spin, I think the 7/2 here could end up being a bit of value. 1pt ew A.Razzaq Top Pakistan Batsman 12/1 Coral (1/5 1,2,3) Abdul Razzaq's a big price. We saw out in the UAE what he can do to a very impressive South African bowling attack and he showed us that even more in the 3rd twenty20 against New Zealand earlier in the tour. If all goes to plan the top order will set the innings up for Razzaq to come in and blast a cameo to all parts. If it goes a bit tits up we saw in that South Africa series that he can knock it around and then go bonkers when he's in so he can play both roles. This ground isn't going to be anywhere near big enough if the veteran all rounder gets going and with one or two question marks over those likely to bat above him, I'll take the all rounder to come in the top 3 here with a solid chance of top scoring if all goes to plan.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Going to see where the land lies after the 1st ODI before I get involved in these. Actually thought NZ would walk the test series with Pakistan having no chance, especially with them being at home but look what happened there! Best of luck Kev. Will add my 2nd ODI lines nearer the time.

[Otter4]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Top work keV!!!

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Cheers mate. Wasn't sure if Bet365 were paying out on Younis as McCullum didn't bat but they have so a nice +7.73 start to the series.

[Wales08]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Cracking start Kev! :notworthy

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series 4 for me tonight. 3pts NZ Highest 1st 15 Overs 5/6 Stan James New Zealand walked this market at the Westpac and while I don't expect it to be as comprehensive tonight I still think they'll win it. I think the two sets of openers are a bit chalk and cheese. It isn't Hafeez's natural game to aggressively attack and while Kamran Akmal can do that role he's not played much cricket recently and he's massively susceptable against a moving ball. Tim Southee and James Franklin can make the ball move so that's not ideal. An early wicket brings in Younis Khan who can also be very one paced. Contrast that to Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder opening up for New Zealand. Guptill killed the Pakistan attack in the twenty20's and Jesse Ryder is pure stand and deliver and against the pace of Akthar he has the perfect bowler to target. The way Ryder wields the willow any touch with the bat will see the ball fly. Jamie How is due to come in at 3 which is a bit of a negative but he showed in the Champions League that he's got some shots too. Umar Gul doesn't tend to take the new ball when he plays so that's a massive advantage. The Pakistan opening bowlers have gone round New Zealand in all the limited overs matches either side of the test series and there's no reason that won't continue tonight so it's NZ after 15 for me. 4pts D.Vettori's Performance Pts - 40&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Daniel Vettori has a pretty decent record on this ground in ODI's. He's taken a 5/7 here against Bangladesh and he's scored a 50 with the bat so we've got very much two scoring forms here from him. Being captain you can't rule out a catch either with him likely to be close to the bat. Unlike the Westpac which seamed all over the shop this place is a spinners ground. Bowlers such as Dilshan and Shoaib Malik have wickets on this ground which emphasises the fact it favours spin. Most of the spinners who've bowled here have been very economical which means that it's hard to play spin on this wicket. Queenstown was described by Vettori as very dry in the build up to this game so it's almost a certainty this will turn and if he does that's Vettori in the game. An average game with bat and ball sees him cover 40. A good game with either sees him smash it so I'm on the overs here. 3pts Y.Khan's Performance Pts - 30&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Younis Khan was one of the few Pakistan batsmen who looked ok in the first ODI until he got an unplayable ball in the mid twenty20's. He shouldn't have anything like that to worry about on this wicket though so I think he can get stuck right in tonight. Given the makeshift nature of the Pakistan opening pair there's every chance Younis will be in quite quickly so he should have ample time to rack up 30 runs in his own steady style. Should be fail to get to 30 though he often fields in the slips so he'll still be in the game in the field. He bowled a few overs in the test series and with this wicket favouring the slower bowlers he may be invited to whirl the arm over tonight. They're both bonus point opportunities though. Younis' form in the tests was good and barring any early doors jaffas I think Younis will go to 30 with the bat. 1pt D.Vettori Top New Zealand Bowler 3/1 Blue Square As I said above I fully expect this wicket to turn and I think Vettori comes right into the game then, especially if he can be bowling at the likes of Afridi and Umar who will look to target him, often recklessly. Whoever he's bowling at though he's going to be difficult to face and with the seamers unlikely to have as big an effect here as they did at the Westpac then 3/1 is a more than fair price about the Kiwi skipper.

[Otter4]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Good luck Kev, I'm with you on the first 15 over bet! Especially as there are rumours that Kamran Akmal is being dropped down the order. NZ won the toss, the match has been delayed and it is overcast! With Southee in the form tha he is in, he could rip through this top order, and certainly stem the flow of runs from 2 batsmen not known for their aggression; especially with Younis and Misbah lower in the order. NZ on the other hand have Ryder, Guptill with a certain Ross Taylor batting at 3! 9 point bet for me @ 4/6 Will hill Umar Akmal @ 11/2 top bat - will hill 1 point Im expecting early wickets in this match, so am going to back Akmal to play an aggressive innings and score some quick runs before he gets out on what is traditionally a bowlers wicket.

[infamous]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series 10pts Pakistan to have the highest 15 over score @5/6 with PP Big bet for me here and I am going mainly on gut instinct/knowledge. New Zealand are missing Ryder today, and have dropped McCullum down the order. That means that they will be opening with How and Guptill. Both are fairly decent batsmen, but more often than not they prefer to get themselves in. Pakistan on the other hand will be opening with Hafeez and Ahmed Shezhad. They scored 31 off just 4.2 overs before the 2nd ODI was rained off, which to me suggests intent from the off. The game is played at Christchurch where Pakistan won the t20 by over 100 runs. Obviously this has little relevancy when analysing a ODI, but in that t20 Hafeez and Shehzad were the 2 top Pakistan scorers. Perhaps shows that they were comfortable batting there. I was initially going to take Pakistan to win the match overall due to the fact that Vettori is also not playing for NZ. However you always worry about a collapse in the middle order with Pakistan hence me swerving that one. As a side they are built to get off to a decent start with the openers, build with a slow middle order, and then go again with big hitters at the end of an innings. As I don't trust the latter 2, I'm happy to take the 15 over bet here.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series All bets were void in the last match. Mulling over a couple in tonight's ODI but I'm smashing this one now. 6pts New Zealand vs Pakistan 3rd ODI - Over 10.5 6's Evs William Hill You would think this line looks pretty big for an ODI but I think it's very small. This match takes place at the AMI Stadium in Christchurch, the scene of the 3rd twenty20 between these two sides. There were 7 6's in that match but New Zealand were bowled out for just 80. They have a better batting lineup out tonight however. The pitch that night was pretty good. Pakistan put up 183 on it which is a decent effort for them on past evidence. I think they'll love this wicket. It has a bit of bounce in it but nothing drastic. It comes on nicely and more importantly for us on this line, the boundaries are small as you would expect on a rugby ground. Two years ago India and New Zealand played an ODI here which contained no less than 31 6's so when things click on this ground they most definitely click. Even prior to that England and NZ played a match here and England only made 242 in the first innings which wasn't chased down but there were still 12 6's. Last year NZ hit 7 6's in chasing down 240 against Bangladesh so this is a ground where 6's are very prevelent. Sometimes you get these drop in wickets which can be a bit hit and miss but it didn't look too bad in the twenty20. You can never totally rely on Pakistan and their batsmen but they put up a good show in that twenty20 so hopefully that will give them some confidence. If they bat first and bat the 50 overs then at worst they should cut this total in half which should be enough the way New Zealand have smashed their attack in these limited overs matches. There's no Ryder in this game but on the plus side there's no Vettori either. In Guptill, Taylor, Styris, Oram, McCullum and even Mills, New Zealand have stacks of hitters. Pakistan have 3 of the biggest of them all in Boom Boom, Razzaq and Umar Akmal. Misbah, Kamran and Shehzad are no mugs though so with all the hitting power on a small ground I think the 11 required 6's is well within reach here.

[Otter4]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series 29 Jan 2011 - New Zealand v Pakistan - 3rd ODI - Top Home Bowler Hamish Bennett @*7/2 1 point hills I just have a feeling that this guys pace and hit the wicket style will cause the Pakistani batsmen problems and am expecting some loopy catches up to fielders in the ring. No vettori strengthens the bet IMO. I think this is a decent price for a bowler who is pacy, and who is in quite a weak bowling attack! I'm following you kev on the sixes bet as well for five points - like you say the outfield is small, there is a good track record for sixes being scored - my only real negatves are the fact Ryder is absent and mccullum may not get so much time at the crease but with the nz bowling attack I'm hoping Pakistan will do some damage! Hills price has moved out to 6/5!

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series 2 more for me. 3pts J.Oram's Performance Pts - 35&Over Evs Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Jacob Oram is still a decent all round cricketer. He's out of touch with the bat but he can mishit it for 6 here and on what is usually a good batting wicket there's no reason why he can't slog his way to 35 with the willow. I'm sure he will bat at some point if NZ bat first as he'll be used to maximise their innings runs but it's with the ball he'll probably be most effective. This isn't really a ground for bowlers but I think Oram keeps it tight enough that he can build pressure on a batsman and make them do reckless things. He'll probably bowl a few overs in the powerplays so could grab a couple of cheap wickets but if not his tight bowling can cause a batsman to play a shot that just isn't there in the quest for quick runs. With these boundaries short then even on the edge of the ground he'll be in the game for catches so there's more than enough potential for the all rounder to snaffle 35pts in this 3rd ODI. 1pt ew A.Shehzad Top Pakistan Batsman 5/1 Coral (1/5 1,2,3) This price is just too big for an opening batsman. That's any opening batsman with the powerplays that they bat in these days. It's even bigger when you consider that he hit 54 off 34 in the twenty20 match here and looked in glorious form with the willow in the short bit of play in Queenstown. He's an attacking opener so the longer he's there the further out of reach he'll become, especially with Pakistan's 2, 3 and 4 not being very aggressive at all. He seems in decent nick and with first dibs at scoring big I'll take the young opener for Pakistan in this 3rd ODI.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Winners all round last night :clap:clap. +7 for me last night and up to +14.73 overall with 3 matches to go. Looking forward to Napier on Tuesday :dude.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Impressive shout on the 6's there Kev, was going to follow myself but for some reason I pussied out. Was also looking around yesterday at the Player Performances and was very tempted by Umar Gul (40 & Over), Tim Southee (40 & Over) and Scott Styris (33 & Over) but once again, for some reason, didn't back myself. :unsure Yet the all came in. :wall Annoying but only myself to blame. Nice shout on Bennett too Otter. :clap

[Otter4]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Nice work again guys!- must admit i was a little concerned about the sixes when Misbah and Hafeez were plodding; I was desperate to get the big boys in and they didn't disappoint! Bennett was a funny one, I felt relieved to see him a tie the bet cos he bowled some filfth, but aggrieved he only bowled the 7 overs; still profit is profit allbeit a reduced profit! Go for the player performances bigmac; you seem to be pretty decent at them!

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Been a bit quiet in this series so far. Still paper trailing ahead of the World Cup. Tips for tomorrow are as follows: - 6pts Umar Gul (Player Performance) - 40 & Over Bet365 Umar Gul is a Pakistan's best bowler by a fair margin. He is good with the new ball and can be very economical when needed. He is also very lethal at the death with a brilliant full and swinging yorker in his armoury. He is more than capable of taking two wickets tomorrow as he did so last time out after just coming back from a lengthy spell on the sidelines with injury. He isn't completely useless with the bat in his hands too. I don't expect him to bat for a great deal of time coming in at #10, however he can swing the bat if needed. As I mentioned earlier though, I expect this to be cleared with the ball alone. Napier has been nice to the quicks in recent history so I am hoping Gul can exploit some early movement and pick up a couple. - 5pts Pakistan to Hit the Most Sixes @ 6/5 Stan James Pakistan have a very destructive batting line up. If they're in the mood, Hafeez, Shehzad, Akmal, Razzaq & Afridi can all batter that white Kookaburra into the stands with a swing of the arms. If you compare that to the New Zealand side, Guptill, Ryder & Mcculum only really strike you as their natural big hitters. Napier is a proper cricket ground, however rugby is played there and the dimensions aren't the biggest in world cricket. It was a toss up between this market and The Total 6's market, however the general Over/Under margin sat at 11.5 which is a touch too high for me. Pakistan sailed this in the last match and if they bat first and if Afridi and Razzaq can get some time to free their biceps in the powerplays, I'm sure they'll sail it again. - 1pt ew Scott Styris Top New Zealand Batsman @ 6/1 1/5 (1-3) Coral Scott Styris is a ODI veteran with a fairly impressive record at Napier. His last four innings there have been scores of 49, 20, 41 & 41, which should be enough to get him at least a place if he repeats any of those 40-somethings tomorrow. He will come in at #5 which very slightly might be an issue but in light of the not-so-great recent form from New Zealands Top order batmsen, I reckon he can do it. His Player Performance line is also something that interested me at only 38, however he often only bowls a few overs so I didn't want to chance it just incase. 7pts New Zealand Highest 15 Over Score @ 10/11 Blue Square Pakistan seem to have a gameplan whereby they plod along for the first 20 overs ensuring that they keep their wickets intact and then up the ante towards the end of the innings when the Akmals, the Razzaqs and the Afridis come in. All four of their top four batsmen have ODI Strike Rates of Under 65.00 contrary to the fact that all four of New Zealands Top Four have strike rates of over 65.00. Pakistan scored 297 runs in 50 overs last time out but only scored 43 runs in the first 15 overs! Shehzad was stroking the ball around on the miniscule pitch in the abandoned match however, the others around him (Hafeez, Younis Khan and Misbah) are painfully slow scorers. If oyu had this pick in the other two ODI's where results were scored, you wouldve had a winner. Fairly big bet on NZ coming up trumps again.

[Otter4]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Going for a few speculative punts on this one; Gul top Pakistan bowler 11/4 - 1 point Hills Pakistans best bowler and Mr. Reliable. He will bowl economically and create pressure, whilst also making the most of any swing or movement that is on offer. Bowling at the death will also allow him to pick up some cheaper wickets with his devastating yorkers. Bennett Top NZ bowler - 1 point @ 4/1 Hills I don't actually think he bowled very well in the last match but still brought home the money. He is their fastest bowler but strangely had to bowl into the wind in the last match which nullified his extra pace. His price has dropped out to 4/1 from 7/2 which I think is largely down to the return of Vettori, however the likelihood is he will be bowling to at least one, if not both of Misbah or Younis who have been very safe and deliberate in the mannner of batting in the middle overs, so hopefully they can blunt Vettori's potency. Another likely advantage to this bet is the expected resting of Mills which will mean Bennett is the number 2 paceman behind Southee, so therefore should open the bowling - a huge positive! I cant find any value with the top bats so will leave those alone and Hill's have not priced up the 6's bets which could be down to a big loss in their last match?

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Two for me going into this 4th ODI. Happy with my position in this series so don't want to push it on what I expect to be a batsman dominated match. 4pts R.Taylor's Performance Pts - 35&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Ross Taylor loves playing at McLean Park. In his last 7 ODI's on this ground he has covered this total and I see no reason why he can't continue that again here. He looked in decent nick with the bat in the first match admittedly in a game New Zealand had won long before he got to the crease. I think on what is always a superb batting wicket that 35 runs is far from beyond Taylor. Guptill and Ryder will open so Taylor should come into bat in a good state of the game. He's also always fielding around the bat so catches are perfectly possible be it at slip, mid wicket or short extra and they could bump up the total he gets. I'm not normally a fan of performance bets when there's only one main method of scoring but this is a top batting wicket and I expect the NZ vice captain to cover 35pts with the bat alone. 3pts Over 11.5 6's 5/6 Skybet I'm not as confident about this 6's bet as I was in Christchurch in the last game but I still think it will come in. The boundaries here in Napier are pretty short considering this is a cricket ground and the wicket is always good for batting. If Pakistan bat first and set their innings up again then this line will be covered easily. New Zealand have Jesse Ryder back and he should help the big hitting too. I think we have the personnel and we will definitely have the wicket and the boundaries and so as long as Pakistan come to the party with the bat I'm confident we'll have the 12 required 6's too.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Rotten match that one but a boost to both outrights so silver linings and all that. -7 for the game after Taylor was annoyingly 1pt short of his performance total with the 6's never a runner. Pakistan are now good to land the series at a top price and Misbah has shot 47 runs clear of Hafeez with two to play in what looks a two horse race now. +7.73 going into the 5th ODI.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Horrible. 8 tips on the ODI in this thread and only one winner. :\ Umar Gul never showed up, Styris decided to perform with the ball and not the bat and don't even get me started on the 1st fifteen overs. -9.00 for me. Shocker.

[Otter4]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series rubbish! thought Bennett had tied the bet for me with 2 overs left but Styris had to get a meaningless wicket! I suppose we cant get lucky all the time!

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Bit of a shambles from me last time out but I will get most of that loss back if Pakistan win tonight. I'm going with 3 in this 5th ODI. 4pts Pakistan Most 6's 6/5 Stan James Pakistan continue to be a big price here. Seddon Park is definitely a ground where 6's will be hit but New Zealand's main 6 hitters seem to be either out of form or way down the order. Ross Taylor is a big hitter of a cricket ball when on form but he looks well out of form. Jesse Ryder appears to be carrying an injury and it's no certainty that he'll even play here. If Jamie How plays that's a blow to NZ's 6 hitting. Brendon McCullum is down the order as it stands and I think he's better hitting the pacemen than the spinners so there's a lot to worry about with NZ in terms of the 6 hitting contest. Pakistan have no such worries. In Umar Akmal, Afridi and Razzaq they have 3 of the biggest hitters in the business while the likes of Hafeez, Shehzad, Kamran and Misbah can clear the ropes as can the tail. Pakistan have won the last two 6's contests - 9-5 in Christchurch and 3-2 in Napier and have won batting 1st and 2nd. That's no huge surprise as their attack is quicker and can be harder to slap through the line over the top. It's their natural games to be expressive and expansive and at 6/5 I'll take the green six hitting machine to win this 6's battle too. 3pts B.McCullum's Performance Pts - 42&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 25pts per stumping. Brendon McCullum is batting down the order for some reason but if Pakistan bat 1st and put up a biggie I wouldn't be surprised to see the keeper shoved up to open the innings, especially if Jesse Ryder doesn't play. However even at 6 he's in the game because Pakistan's attack is chipping away nicely. He averages 90 in ODI's on this ground from 5 knocks which include 86*, 80* and 77 so this is a ground he enjoys swiping the ball on. In the twenty20 match here, Saeed Ajmal and Nathan McCullum took 7 wickets so I think this one could turn a bit. The weather on the North island has been ok so I think the wicket could be dry enough for a bit of turn so I won't rule out a stumping. He's quick as anything behind the stumps and his athleticism means he can take catches others can't. I'm sure he'll contribute something with the gloves but he's covered this total with the bat before and with a good 37 under his belt in that last game with the bat I'll take him to cover 42pts here with a bat and glove combo. 1pt N.McCullum Man of the Match 33/1 Bet365 I think this is a pretty big price on Nathan McCullum. Daniel Vettori looks like missing this match so he comes into the match as NZ's main spinner and having taken 4/16 in the twenty20 match here he can obviously get something out of this wicket. He made his maiden half century with the bat in the last game and it was much needed. If New Zealand are struggling he'll need to come to this party with the bat too as you would imagine 290+ is a minimum requirement on this Seddon Park wicket. As I said above I think it will turn and if McCullum can combine his 4/16 bowling performance here in the twenty20 with his half century batting performance in the last game then this 33/1 price will look quite big. I think he'll be in the game enough to be a runner here at a very tasty price.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Apologies for the lateness here: - 6pts Pakistan To Hit the Most Sixes @ 6/5 Stan James Echoing the above really. Pakistan should win this at a canter and have the personnel in their squad too. The boundary here is small and the last five ODI's have seen 10 or more sixes. The Under/Over line is at 11.5 though and the weather is reportedly overcast so I'm not going to venture into calling how many. I do know that the Akmals, Afridi, Razzaq, Shehzad, Hafeez and even Umar Gul can strike oneand at this price, I'll take it all day long. - 1.5pts Wahab Riaz Top Pakistan Bowler @ 10/3 BlueSquare Been impressed with Wahab in this series. He has taken 5 wickets so far and has generally bowled good lines to accompany the wickets. He changes his lengths quite often and has a great bouncer in his armoury. The Kiwi batsmen at the moment are all losing their wickets very cheaply and the variation Riaz serves up will be another test for them today. I expect him to at least chip in with one and if he snags another, he'll be well up there with Top Bowlers for Pakistan. Akhtar is in today, but he looks a shadow of his former self and I don't particularly rate Tanvir THAT highly. Hopefully Riaz does the business here and turns my tipping in this series round.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Good night in this thread with Pakistan hitting the most 6's and Wahab winning too. Pakistan claiming the series was good for me. I was +0.8pts for the match added to the +6.5 for Pakistan winning the series puts me +15.03 with Misbah taking a 25 run lead into the final ODI in what looks a 2 horse race between him and Shehzad. Final game of the series is tomorrow night.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series More like it. Got a bit tetchy at the end there when Gul and Wahab were bowling out the last few overs but he got the job done. :ok +12.195 for the ODI which takes me to +3.195 for the series. Back tomorrow.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Going to be out later on so getting mine up now. Looking to end this series on a high after a pretty good day in the last ODI. Not too much going on for me in the last ODI. Can't pick a winner so: - 6pts Pakistan to hit the Most Sixes @ 11/10 BlueSq Some bookies have really come in on this line and with good reason too. Pakistan have won this three times on the spin and I would've thought that more bookies would've followed Bet365's footsteps in taking this down to 20/21. This ground is a regular for Sixes being hit. In the last 7 completed ODIs here, there have been a total of 84 sixes working out at 12 every match. WillHill have their Over/Under line enticingly set at 10.5 but I can't trust this mis-firing New Zealand batting line-up to deliver the big hits at the moment. In the fairly T20i that these two played here, there were 16 sixes. Yeah you can't really compare T20 to ODI's but it shows that the ropes can be cleared. Happily take this at odds against and am hoping the trend continues once more. - 4pts Umar Gul (Player Performance) - 37 & Over 5/6 Bet365 We've said it before and we'll say it again. Umar Gul is Pakistan's best bowler and he is definitely able to take two wickets tomorrow. He did it in the last match and I'm sure he will do it again tomorrow. He has a great yorker, and is lethal at the death. You've heard it all before. - 0.25pts Kamran Akmal (Player Performance) SELL at 42 Sporting Index Never really had the bollocks to have a dig at a spread bet before. The beauty of paper trailing though allows you to experiment in such things and I will certainly have a go here. Kamran Akmal is Pakistan's #3 and in four innings this series he has scored 51 runs with a Top Score of 20. He opened the batting in the first match and he got 8. He was moved to number three from then on and has scores of 6, 20 and 17. Not good enough for any batsman so far up the order. On top of this, believe it or not he has actually only taken one catch this series as a wicket-keeper. In five matches this series, he has acquired a total of 61 performance points which is dire. He will definitely go to the World Cup with Pakistan and despite his bad performances so far, he isn't really under pressure to impress anyone. Plenty of risk as always with spread betting but I'm hoping he has another shocker tomorrow.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series I don't want to edit my post so I shall say it here. Spreadex have the Akmal line at 43 so I'll go with that one instead of the 42 at Spin. One highlight from the last ODI though. Wahab Riaz with a peach to James Franklin. So good I had to post it. Enjoy.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: New Zealand vs Pakistan - ODI Series Haven't looked fully into this match a) because it's a dead rubber and b) because I'm off to the Luton match very shortly but I'll take this one as I've waited all series for it. 6pts New Zealand vs Pakistan 7th ODI - 10 or more 6's 5/6 Sportingbet This line looks very low to me. The last two ODI's at Eden Park have seen 12 and 13 6's in them and they've not even been high scoring. There hasn't been a score of 275 in either of them so that in itself says this line is too low. In fact, the 3rd last ODI here, between India and New Zealand saw India put up a 1st innings score of just 149 yet the match still had 11 6's in it. Eden Park being a rugby ground is always going to have short boundaries and that particular ODI goes to show how easy it is to hit 6's here. In the twenty20 here earlier in the series Pakistan put up just 143/9 but the match still had 16 6's in it which further emphasises what I've said about 6's being easy to come by here. We've got so much firepower on show in this match it's untrue and I can't believe for the life of me that there won't be 10 6's in this match. Pakistan have been setting their 1st innings up nicely in this series and if this is set up for Afridi and co it'll be covered in their innings alone. New Zealand have Taylor coming back to form, Ryder who can't keep finding bizarre dismissals and the likes of Oram, Styris, McCullum and Guptill who can all smoke a cricket ball. If this wasn't a dead rubber it would be a maximum 10pt bet but as it's a dead rubber I'll exert a bit of caution and just smash it with a solid 6pt punt.