Star batsman Williamson, who recently recovered from a nine-month-old knee injury, returns to lead New Zealand in the upcoming five-match T20 series against Pakistan, starting on January 12. He had skipped the previous ODI and T20 series against Bangladesh as a precaution. In the third game of the Pakistan series, on January 18, all-rounder Mitchell Santner will captain the team in Williamson’s absence. Devon Conway, who missed the white ball series against Bangladesh, is back, along with pace bowlers Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson making their international comebacks since the World Cup. Unfortunately, Kyle Jamieson and Michael Bracewell are unavailable due to ongoing injuries, and all-rounder Rachin Ravindra is rested after a remarkable performance at the World Cup, as confirmed by Coach Gary Stead.

“Rachin’s a young player who has immense value to New Zealand Cricket and we therefore want to look after his wellbeing,” Stead said.

“He’s the only player or staff member to have been touring non-stop for the past five months across five countries and that’s simply not sustainable.

“He’s still very much part of our thinking for the T20 World Cup in June and will come back into the reckoning for the T20 series against Australia in February.”

New Zealand:
Kane Williamson (capt), Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Josh Clarkson, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Ben Sears,Mark Chapman,Lockie Ferguson.

South Africa decided to focus on their Twenty20 competition instead of going on a planned tour of New Zealand. Waugh is disappointed and feels they don’t care. South Africa picked a 14-man squad with seven new players and a new captain, Neil Brand, who hasn’t played international cricket yet. Waugh worries that important events like the Boxing Day Test might have difficulties in the future.

“It’s going to happen if the South African Cricket Board are any indication of the future, keeping their best players at home,” he said. “If I was New Zealand I wouldn’t even play the series. I don’t know why they’re even playing. Why would you when it shows a lack of respect for New Zealand cricket?

“It’s pretty obvious what the problem is. The West Indies aren’t sending their full-strength side [to Austalia this summer]. They haven’t picked a full-strength Test team for a couple of years now.

“Someone like Nicholas Pooran is really a Test batsman who doesn’t play Test cricket. Jason Holder, probably their best player, is not playing now. Even Pakistan didn’t send a full side [to Australia].

“If the ICC or someone doesn’t step in shortly then Test cricket doesn’t become Test cricket because you’re not testing yourself against the best players.

“I understand why players don’t come. They’re not getting paid properly. I don’t understand why ICC or the top countries who are making a lot of money don’t just have a regulation set fee for Test matches which is a premium, so people are incentivised to play Test Cricket.

“Otherwise they just play T10 or T20. The public are the ones who are going to suffers because it’s not the full side playing, so it’s not Test cricket.

The rich Board of Control for Cricket in India asks for and gets a bigger portion of ICC money, even though many other countries lose money on Test cricket.

In a challenging pursuit of a modest target, the host faced a setback against the Tigers as Shoriful Islam and Mahedi Hasan both took two wickets, leaving New Zealand at 49-5.

Mahedi Hasan removed Tim Seifert (1) and Daryl Mitchell (1), while Shoriful claimed the crucial wickets of Finn Allen (38) and Glenn Philips (1).

Neesham and Santner’s resilient partnership of 46 runs steadied New Zealand, reaching 95-5 in 14.4 overs before rain interrupted play. Neesham (28) and Santner (18) remained unbeaten.

Santner earlier took four wickets, limiting Bangladesh to 110 runs. Bangladesh struggled from the start, losing top-order batsmen in the powerplay. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto top-scored with 16 runs.

Soumya Sarkar (4) was the first to depart, trapped leg-before by Tim Southee. Shanto and Rony Talukdar tried to rebuild, but Santner’s four-wicket haul disrupted their efforts. Towhid Hridoy (16), Afif Hossain (14), and Shamim Hossain (9) couldn’t rescue Bangladesh.

The visitors won the opening T20I by 5 wickets, securing their first-ever T20I win in New Zealand. The second match was washed out. Despite losing the ODI series 1-2, Bangladesh bounced back to claim a historic ODI win on New Zealand soil in the final match, led by Najmul Hossain Shanto.

Persistent rain disrupted the second T20I match between Bangladesh and New Zealand today at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. The game was limited to only 11 overs before being called off. Despite the umpires waiting until the end and considering a five-over contest, the rain didn’t let up, leading to an early end to the match. Just 66 balls were bowled during this brief period of play. The third and final T20 is scheduled for Sunday at Mount Maunganui, where Bangladesh has a chance to secure their first series win in New Zealand in any format.

“We’re grateful for this opportunity and will do our best. We have full confidence in winning the series, In Sha Allah. In this series, we focus on the positives and don’t see any negatives. Catch-misses can happen, and we’re taking it in stride. Hoping for a better performance in the next match, In Sha Allah,” said Rishad after the match. He bowled economically, giving away only 10 runs in three overs without taking any wickets.

Tim Seifert scored 43 runs off 23 balls for the Kiwis before getting caught, ending his second-wicket partnership of 49 with Daryl Mitchell just as rain began to fall.

Seifert praised young Rishad, saying, “He bowled very well. Despite the strong Save wind, he bowled into it and hitting straight was tough. The boys played him well, and credit to him for bowling well in the first two overs.”

Shoriful Islam and Tanzim Hasan Sakib teamed up to dismiss New Zealand’s openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert. Bangladesh’s captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, won the toss and chose to bowl first in the second T20I at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, on Friday. In a change for Bangladesh, Litton Das got injured in the first T20I, which Bangladesh won by five wickets. Shamim Hossain took his place in the playing XI. New Zealand stuck with the same lineup, fielding an unchanged XI.

The playing XIs are as follows:

New Zealand (Playing XI):Tim Seifert(w), Ben Sears,Mitchell Santner(c),Dary Mitchell, Finn Allen, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Ish Sodhi, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Tim Southee.

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Rony Talukdar(w), Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Shamim Hossain, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Towhid Hridoy,Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman,Shoriful Islam, Rishad Hossain.

Bangladesh got off to a strong start, taking three wickets in the first nine deliveries against New Zealand. Mahedi Hasan dismissed Tim Seifert’s stumps with a spinning delivery in the opening over. Shoriful Islam then made a double breakthrough, getting an edge from Fin Allen and trapping Glenn Phillips in front. Mahedi returned to remove Daryll Mitchell in a similar fashion to Seifert. After six overs, New Zealand was 36 for four.

Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain broke the partnership between Mark Chapman and James Neesham by dismissing Chapman for 19. Neesham and captain Mitchell Santner steadied the innings with a crucial 41-run partnership. Shoriful claimed his third wicket by dismissing Santner, caught by Soumya Sarkar. Neesham continued, but a misguided wide yorker from Mustafizur Rahman turned into a full toss, resulting in the end of his 48-run innings at deep cover point.

Shoriful finished with figures of 3-26, while Mustafizur took 2-15. Mahedi, who bowled early, secured two wickets for 14 runs, and Rishad Hossain contributed with one wicket. Debutant pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib was a bit expensive, conceding 45 runs for one wicket in four overs.

Bangladesh won the last match against New Zealand by 9 wickets, avoiding a whitewash and securing a 2-1 victory. They bowled out the host for just 99 runs.

“We have a great opportunity ahead, and everyone is excited. We have made a good preparation as a team. Some of the T20 players were already here. Hoping for a good match tomorrow,” Shanto told the media.

“Everyone playing as a team is very important. Not expecting anything extra. We will stick to our basics and try to implement that. I think everyone is ready to do that,” he said.

The captain is looking for support from both the fast bowlers and spinners in the T20Is.

“Of course, pace bowlers have an advantage here. Still we are playing a different format. I hope they will try to do something good for the team in both the pace and spin departments,” he added.

Bangladesh will play against the BlackCaps in the first T20I on Wednesday.

Sadia Iqbal and Aliya Riaz were the key players as Pakistan defeated New Zealand in a Super Over after the thrilling third ODI ended in a tie in Christchurch. With this victory, Pakistan prevented New Zealand from securing a series whitewash, as the first two games had been won by the hosts.

During Pakistan’s chase of 252, they looked like favorites for most of the match, but a late collapse meant they needed eight runs in the last over with just one wicket remaining. Lea Tahuhu bowled the final over well, but an unlucky four byes were conceded. With two runs needed off the last ball, Najiha Alvi managed to hit the ball to deep backward square, leveling the scores for Pakistan.

In the subsequent Super Over, Aliya Riaz, who played a crucial innings of 44 in Pakistan’s regular innings, started with a boundary off the outside edge against bowler Amelia Kerr. Although no more boundaries were scored, Pakistan reached a total of 11 runs in the Super Over

Amelia got out on the second ball in New Zealand’s Super Over innings, hitting Iqbal’s delivery straight to long-off. Sophie Devine hit a six over midwicket, reducing the required runs to four off the last two balls. However, she then skied a catch to long-on on the next delivery.

In the earlier part of the match, New Zealand chose to bat and, after losing their openers early, stabilized with 50-plus partnerships between Devine (29 runs in 32 balls) and Amelia, and later between Amelia and Maddy Green.

Ghulam Fatima bowled Kerr for a score of 77 off 87 balls, and although New Zealand lost some wickets quickly afterward, a 40-run partnership between Green (65 not out in 69) and Jess Kerr (19 in 15) helped them reach a total of 251.

During Pakistan’s chase, they started slowly and lost opener Muneeba Ali in the sixth over, dismissed lbw by Hanna Rowe with only 11 runs on the board. Sidra Ameen accelerated the scoring, making 20 off her next eight balls before Tahuhu removed her for a 22-ball 24.

Bismah Maroof and Riaz built a partnership of 101 runs for the third wicket, putting Pakistan in control of the chase. While Maroof reached her half-century, Riaz fell just short as Jess took a good return catch, breaking their partnership.

Fatima Sana, leading Pakistan in place of the injured Nida Dar, played a spirited innings to ensure Pakistan didn’t lose momentum after Riaz’s dismissal. Despite losing Bismah Maroof for 68 runs in 86 balls, Sana continued to attack the bowlers, supported by Natalia Pervaiz. Devine eventually caught Sana behind for a quick 36 off 33 balls, with Pakistan still 54 runs behind New Zealand.

Pervaiz and Najiha Alvi then added 31 runs in 28 balls, bringing Pakistan closer. However, the Kerr sisters combined to dismiss Pervaiz for a 26 off 23 balls, leaving Pakistan needing 23 more runs.

In the next over, Tahuhu caught Umm-e-Hani off her own bowling, and Amelia made crucial contributions, running out Nashra Sandhu and dismissing Iqbal for a golden duck in the penultimate over. However, Alvi, who remained unbeaten on 23 off 26 balls, stayed composed and guided Pakistan to a Super Over.

 Kyle Jamieson Takes Break Due to Hamstring Stiffness

Kyle Jamieson has been given a break due to hamstring stiffness following his return from Bangladesh last week. Blackcaps coach Gary Stead emphasized that the decision was made with the broader schedule in mind, considering the extensive cricket ahead. The aim is to ensure Kyle is in the best possible condition without taking unnecessary risks.

Ben Sears Continues Stay with Kiwis

Initially added as cover for the Kiwis’ bowling unit before yesterday’s game, Ben Sears will extend his stay with the squad for the upcoming matches in Nelson and Napier.

New Zealand had a tough start to the game, losing two wickets in the first over to Shoriful Islam. Rachin Ravindra and Henry Nicholls were both caught without scoring. However, the team recovered well with a remarkable 171-run partnership for the third wicket between Will Young (who scored 105 off 84 balls) and captain Tom Latham (who made 92 runs). Young felt fortunate that Bangladesh used the part-time bowler Soumya Sarker in the death overs, as Sarker ended up conceding 61 runs in his six overs.

“Well, they bowled really well at the start. I think they bowled to get the two breakthroughs early is key and they bet a lot and was getting the ball to swing. I suppose at times it can be tough for touring teams to find the right length in New Zealand conditions and then a bit tough when you come back out and there’s ten overs to go and the main bowlers have used up a lot of their overs,”

“I think we were just quite lucky in the fact that their 6th bowler, as it were, had to get six overs out of that option later in the innings, which can be tough in New Zealand, the boundaries, rather, are quite small and if you’ve got set batsmen, it can be quite hard to defend. So, yeah, as I say, it worked for us today,” he added.