sh Cup, the biggest cup compsh Cup, the biggest cup comp | Forum

Match factsNovember 17-21, 2016 Start time 1030 local (2130 GMT previous day)Big PictureFor once, Pakistan arent attracting pre-series headlines. Adidas Gazelle Damen Günstig . There has been no turmoil on this trip. No stirred-up talk of an embattled captaincy or selection chaos. Mohammad Amirs re-entry into international cricket is old news. The only distraction has been Monday mornings 7.5-magnitude earthquake, but even that has barely affected Christchurch, even if it did give the visitors a jolt in Nelson.If there has been an uncommon dearth of diversions, it is partly because the cricket is so tantalising. Pakistan, arguably the best all-conditions team on the planet, will embark on a long southern summer in which, with some luck, they will have a tilt at the top ranking. New Zealand, battered in India and South Africa, seek to re-impose themselves on the seam-friendly venues where a formidable home record had recently been composed.Having not lost a Test series since August 2014, Pakistan should enter the contest as favourites, only, such is the sway of home advantage in recent years, that New Zealand will not feel like underdogs on their soil.Tim Southee returns to the side with a fresh first-class five-for, after having sat out the India Tests with injury. Neil Wagner and James Neesham have also displayed good domestic bowling form. Todd Astle may not be in the league of Yasir Shah, but he does have a five-wicket haul at Hagley Oval in the past three weeks. None of this may matter when an experienced Pakistan middle order gets moving, but after a dispiriting stint in India, these are the mildly-pleasant tidbits of information New Zealand are repeating to themselves in the mirror.Although they had lost the Sharjah dead rubber to West Indies, there is a restrained confidence to the Pakistan side, perhaps stemming from memories of that 2-2 result in England, or even from their most-recent series in New Zealand, which they had won. Of the likely attack, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz have both played in the country. Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq have all done likewise.New Zealands best hope may lie in harder, faster pitches, the likes of which helped England triumph over Pakistan in Edgbaston; the complication, being of course, that their own top order, which is low on form and carrying a newbie in opener Jeet Raval, must also withstand the bowling of Amir, Wahab and the like.Form guideNew Zealand: LLLLD (last five completed matches, most recent first)? Pakistan: LWWWLIn the spotlightThis year Ross Taylor has scored 456 Test runs at an average of 57, only 364 of those runs came against Zimbabwe, who had not previously played a Test in 20 months. Against other opposition, he has not scored a half-century since the 290 at Perth, over a year ago. Though his place in the side is secure for now - he was hardly the only New Zealand batsman struggling in India - Kane Williamson will hope his senior batsman will take the lead in yanking the top order out of its funk.On the other end of the form spectrum, Azhar Ali is coming off a sublime series against West Indies, in which he hit 302 not out, 79 and 91. Following a tough 2013, Azhar has averaged over 50 in each of the past two years, and has a 2016 average of 64.08, after 14 innings. He now has the opportunity to transition from being a good player to an outstanding one. Healthy returns in New Zealand will add heft to an improving record.Teams newsKane Williamson confirmed opener Raval will debut on Thursday, while Astle also looks set for his second Test. New Zealand have three spots for four fast bowlers, and, of those, Matt Henry looks likeliest to miss out. Allrounder James Neesham may also play ahead of Colin de Grandhomme.New Zealand (possible): 1. Jeet Raval, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 James Neesham, 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Todd Astle, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Trent BoultPakistan are also faced with decisions on their attack. As the pitch appears seam friendly, Sohail Khan may feature alongside Amir, Wahab and Yasir. Babar Azam may make it into the side on the strength of his half-century on debut against West Indies, failing which Mohammad Rizwan could be in store for a debut.Pakistan(possible): 1 Sami Aslam, 2 Azhar Ali, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Babar Azam/Mohammad Rizwan, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Yasir Shah, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Sohail KhanPitch and conditionsThe Hagley Oval surface has generally been spicy on the first three mornings, before flattening out towards the end of the day, and the Test. Rain is forecast for Thursday and Friday, but it is expected to clear by the weekend.Stats and triviaBoth Misbah and Alastair Cook have 24 Test victories as captain, making them the most successful leaders still active in the game. Both men have the chance to edge ahead, with Englands match with India also starting on ThursdayThe Christchurch Test is Williamsons first as captain, at home. He has begun his leadership career with two victories, one draw and three lossesNew Zealand have not beaten Pakistan in a series since 1985. In 53 Tests between the teams, New Zealand have won just eight matches; Pakistan have won 24.QuotesHome advantage is a good thing, I think, but it provides opportunities for both sides, and a side like Pakistan who have toured well for a while now will know that. Theyll expect their seamers to do well.Kane WilliamsonWe need to make sure that we bat with discipline and put good scores on the board. Our bowling is very much capable of performing well in any sort of conditions.Misbah-ul-Haq Adidas Lite Racer Deutschland . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans.  The promotion boasts 14-straight years of business and is operated by MFC president Mark Pavelich, who is often overlooked in this country for the foundation hes established for MMA in Canada. Nmd Schuhe Günstig Kaufen . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. http://www.nmdschuhesale.de/ . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Pakistans Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has said he is still undecided about his retirement plan and it is a decision he will take on his own, not with the PCB, after deciding his utility as a captain and as a player for the team. He also said he did not have to announce his retirement beforehand and could end his career whenever he wanted, as he was not looking for a farewell.In April this year, Misbah had marked the upcoming Australia tour as possibly his last, with Pakistan playing series against England, West Indies and New Zealand before that. His fitness helped him play all those series, though he recently missed the Hamilton Test against New Zealand following the death of his father-in-law - he had also been given a one-match suspension by the ICC for his sides slow over rate in Christchurch. He is set to depart from Lahore on Saturday to join the squad in Brisbane ahead of the three Tests against Australia.Misbah, 42, understands that age is catching up with him but his fitness and passion for the game are intact. I am at a certain stage of my career where I only think what I can give back to my team, Misbah told ESPNcricinfo. I am thinking but havent reached any conclusion, but my whole thought process is all about the team - if they can move on without me or not. And how I can do more as a senior to inspire and make this team stand on its own.I do believe these boys have the capability to take responsibility and can deliver. So I am actually thinking if its a good to leave at this stage. But this is a decision I want to take on my own and I dont think I need to pre-announce it. I dont think that it is necessary for me to mark any series my last but I can take it any time without even having a farewell. I dont have to make my retirement plan a big issue by beating drums all over.Misbah was reportedly requested by PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to continue playing beyond the Australia series but he quashed any such propositions and said its eventually his own decision. The PCB made Azhar Ali, who has been playing under Misbah since 2010, the vice-captain, but he seems to have lost favour among board officials, who now want Misbah to continue until they identify another successor.Both Azhar and Sarfraz Ahmed are good choices but the formers batting suffers whenever he leads the side, Khan said recently. Allrounder Imad Wasim can also be a candidate as he haas impressed the PCB with his ability to handle pressure at crucial stages of matches. Adidas Nmd r2 Deutschland. Pakistan became the No. 1 ranked Test team earlier this year but soon slipped to No. 4, due to the defeat against West Indies in Sharjah and the 2-0 whitewash in New Zealand. They next tour Australia, where they have never won a Test series in 52 years. In their last three outings to Australia, they lost all three Tests in each of the series, in 1999, 2004 and 2009.Misbah believed that the set of players selected for the Australia tour formed a winning squad. The alarming situation is that our main batsmen are out of form. Otherwise these boys have beaten England in their own conditions, he said. In New Zealand, we were not able to get time to adjust and the pitches were all in favour of bowlers. Even the New Zealand batsmen struggled most of the time because conditions were unplayable. But in Australia, you have a lot of opportunities to score runs and you either get out or play your strokes.Its not like we are not capable enough to compete against Australia in Australia. We are. Yes, we are low on confidence after losing three straight Tests and its tough to regather ourselves but we have to and we will. Our batsmen have done it in the past, our bowlers are good but they need to be pushed hard and they have to take responsibility. So, overall this team has everything you need to win a game and I am sure we are very much capable.Pakistan recently moved Azhar from the No. 3 position, his regular batting slot where he has batted in 45 of his 54 Tests. He averages 44.32 at No. 3 with 10 hundreds. Similarly, Asad Shafiq was displaced from the No. 6 spot, where he played 45 out of 50 Tests. Misbah realised that moving Shafiq cost Pakistans lower order but with Babar Azam coming in, the No. 3 conundrum could be solved.For the sake of team requirement we had to move him [Azhar Ali] up as we needed to have an experienc. So we moved Asad, but it was never a long-term prospect as we now have Babar Azam building up for No. 3 position and he has shown the promise. We also realised that we were missing out much-needed partnerships between Asad and Sarfraz so now he can go and bat at his regular number. ' ' '