New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor is reading little into Pakistan's stumble in their opening tour match as the two sides prepare to meet in Auckland tomorrow in the first of three Twenty20 cricket internationals in The National Bank Series.
The visitors were bowled out for just 91 runs in a T20 fixture against Auckland Aces on Thursday, and Auckland completed the run chase with five wickets and almost seven overs remaining
But Taylor doubted that the Black Caps would learn a lot from the Pakistanis' first outing "I'm sure Pakistan will be raring to go on Boxing Day," he said
"They are the only team to make the semifinals in every Twenty20 World Cup, so they're very good when it comes to the format.
"Taylor, who is standing in as captain for the injured Daniel Vettori, will lead a squad containing three newcomers in Wellington allrounder Luke Woodcock, Canterbury batsman Dean Brownlie and teenage Central Districts fast bowler Adam Milne Given the squad size of 14, one point of interest is how much game time the uncapped trio will get during the series.
The selection of Milne, with his ability to deliver at 140kph regularly, is of particular note Taylor got to play with the youngster for the first time in Central Stag's win over Northern Knights in a HRV Cup match in New Plymouth on Thursday Milne's two overs came at a cost of 23 runs, but Taylor said the slow Pukekura Park pitch worked against him.
"He's 18 and very raw, but he has a lot of potential and his pace is something we've wanted in New Zealand cricket for a while," he said.
"He's a level-headed guy and I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes.
"Against Northern, Taylor struck an unbeaten 35, which included three sixes and two fours in the 29 balls he faced, as he helped to guide Central home. After his difficult run in India in October and November, when he averaged just 27 in both the test and the one-day series, he was pleased to get some batting in before facing Pakistan "I guess it was good to have a little bit of time in the middle," he said
"Twenty20 cricket is sometimes hit and miss, but I was happy to face a few balls.
"Taylor was looking forward to being back on home soil and he wasn't hitting panic button despite his recent struggles at the crease.
"You never like not to be scoring runs," Taylor said "I put a lot of pressure on myself to score runs. I'm not going to change my game drastically or anything.I'll just continue to make small improvements.
"There was plenty of anticipation in working with new coach John Wright, whose appointment was announced this week As skipper, Taylor had already been in discussions with Wright, a former New Zealand test opener and one-time coach of India, before the BLACKCAPS scheduled assembly in Auckland today.
"He'll come in with fresh ideas and the record he had with India was outstanding," Taylor said.
