Victory over India

The New Zealand side has triumphed over India and we might now start to think that the team is on the rise again. Cricinfo clearly thinks so in this analysis of “the big boys”. It is notable that the big boys in this article, and in this match, were Nathan Astle, Dan Vettori and Stephen Fleming. Shane Bond doesn’t even get a look in, and that is a good thing given we were starting to look like a one-man team.

Top performers for New Zealand in this series with the ball were Shane Bond (11 wickets at an average of 8.63 and an economy rate of 3.11), Dan Vettori (7 wickets at 21.11 and an economy rate of 4.11), Kyle Mills (6 wickets at 22.83 and an economy rate of 4.08) and Jake Oram (7 wickets at 28.00, but an economy rate of 5.32 and far too many loose deliveries).

With the bat in hand there were a number of stand-outs. Nathan Astle (192 runs at 64.00 with a strike-rate of 75.88), Stephen Fleming (224 runs at 45.00 and a superb strike-rate of 94.53) and Lou Vincent (246 runs at 61.50 and a staggering strike-rate of 128.12) topped the list. Craig McMillan (159 runs at 31.80 and a strike-rate of 97.54) and Brendon McCullum (130 runs at 43.33 with a staggering strike-rate of 146.06) put willow to leather in typically robust fashion, while Scott Styris (167 runs at 41.75 and a strike-rate of 71.98) only embarrassed himself when the team really needed him. Hamish Marshall (27 runs at 6.75) had a miserable run and Jake Oram (55 runs at 13.75) didn’t do too much better.

The performances have meant that the ICC bowling tables have taken a fair old battering. Dan Vettori is now the 9th best one-day bowler in the world, while Shane Bond returns to the table after a year’s absence and rockets to number 14. Even Kyle Mills has hit the tables hard and is now at a career high placing of 24. The only disappointment was that Jake Oram has slipped out of the top 10 and now sits in 11th place.

New Zealanders haven’t been boosted nearly as much on the ICC batting table, with Stephen Fleming still our top placed batsman with a rating of 22. Astle, Cairns, Marshall and McMillan are playing musical chairs, swapping positions with each other willy-nilly, and occupy a patch in the ratings between 33 and 37. Lou Vincent’s 172 against Zimbabwe proved almost worthless in terms of the ratings and he is still in the basement at 68.

Stats are one thing though, the games themselves are another. Last night’s victory was not just an excellent result statistically, it was also an excellent match to follow. The Indian innings was a cat and mouse affair as the New Zealanders kept clawing the Indians back just as they looked to accelerate away. Dan Vettori can take much of the credit for that in an exceptional spell. Shane Bond was unlucky and beat the edge a dozen times before taking a wicket and his battle with Ganguly made for great viewing – Ganguly looked deeply uncomfortable and his back leg kept making involuntary retreating motions, especially after he copped a short ball which hit his arm and helmet. The sight on Bond hobbling off the park before the end of his spell was a deeply worrying one, but the news this morning is that it he twisted his knee slightly and that the injury was a minor one.

Anyway, I could ramble on for a while. Which is all a bit pointless given that other people have already rambled for me. Go here to read the Cricinfo match report, here to read what the New Zealand Herald has to say and here to see the Indian press call their side chokers.