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BLACKCAPS spinner Luke Woodcock doesn't know if he will get another opportunity against Pakistan but either way he's more than happy with his one-day cicket international debut here on Saturday -- aside from the result, of course.
Pakistan and New Zealand yesterday headed to Napier for tomorrow's fourth match with the six-match series level at 1-1 after the tourists' comfortable 43-run win here on Saturday.
Few home players emerged with credit but left-arm spinner Woodcock certainly did.
He bowled well with good drift but without luck in 10 overs that went for 46 runs, and should also have had a first wicket at this level but wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum fluffed a stumping.
"It was nice to get that first game out of the way and contribute with the ball and perform my role through the middle stages," Woodcock, who scored 11 from 19 balls with the bat, said yesterday.
"I had a taste of it through the Twenty20s before Christmas so in terms of the nerves they probably weren't as bad, but it was a really good occasion and it was nice to get the first game under my belt."
There was understandably much angst about New Zealand's death bowling and a limp end to their run chase, but only those with blinkers on would deny that Pakistan -- and three players in particular -- were simply too good as they breathed life into the series.
Opener Mohammad Hafeez, with 115 from 144 balls, and the big hitting Shahid Afridi, who blasted 65 off just 25 balls, produced contrasting batting masterclasses while reverse swing king Umar Gul continued his reign over the New Zealand batsmen with another top-drawer performance.
Pakistan's total of 293 for seven proved more than enough as the hosts struggled to 250 for nine in reply, Gul the chief destroyer with a mightily impressive spell of two for 31 from 10 overs.
Hafeez deflected the credit onto Afridi, who combined with Umar Akmal (44 off 29) to tear New Zealand's bowlers to shreds with 125 runs flowing in the final 10 overs.
"Scoring a century, especially under these conditions, was special for me but the way Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal played in the last eight overs, that was something very special," Hafeez said.
"They really took the game away from the New Zealanders and for me that was the turning point."
New Zealand captain Ross Taylor, standing in for the rested Daniel Vettori, acknowledged they lost the game in the last 10 overs in each innings. Their death bowling was erratic and their batsmen, none of whom passed 50, could not find a way to counter Pakistan's reverse swing and wily changes of pace.
"We lost a lot of momentum in the last 10 overs and with the small grounds we're going to be playing on here and at the World Cup, we need to assess where our boundary options are and try to eliminate them when we bowl."
New Zealand were on track at 61 for one after 10 overs but lost two quick wickets before Scott Styris, with 46, and Kane Williamson, with 42, steadied the innings with a measured 81-run partnership.
Styris' dismissal triggered a mini-collapse, however, the hosts managing just 39 runs for three wickets between the 30th and 40th overs. They never recovered.
Hafeez had earlier guided his team out of early trouble, stroking 12 fours and two sixes in his knock, before Afridi and Akmal took over.
Afridi strode to the wicket in the 44th over and thrashed five sixes and five fours as all parts of the stadium were explored. His 19-ball half century was two balls shy of Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya's world record.
Akmal's innings was almost as impressive, the Pakistanis taking 72 runs off five power-play overs from the 43rd over as New Zealand's death bowling was found wanting.
NZPA
