New Zealand Story

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Sorry for the prolonged absence from the forum but I've been busy with exams and I had forgotten about my Cricket Captain 2008 game that was lying in my room unused, unfotunately I have lost all of my previous game data :mad: so I have had to begin a new story I hope people will enjoy it.

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New Zealand have unveiled Chris Miller as there new coach for the 2008 season, Miller will have a tough job on his hands with a New Zealand team that has a number of glaring weaknesses. His first jobs will be to shore up the rather frail batting line up and to find at least one strike bowler to replace Shane Bond and help relieve the pressure on Captain Daniel Vettori.

New Zealand will play three seperate series this year starting with the tour of England, this will be a big challenge for New Zealand and they will have to put in some very good performances if they are to come out on top.

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New Zealand have announced there 18 man party for the tour of England.
1. Daniel Vettori (capt)
2. Brendan McCullum (vice capt)
3. Ross Taylor
4. Jesse Ryder
5. Daniel Flynn
6. Peter Fulton
7. Matthew Bell
8. Jacob Oram
9. Jamie How
10. Neil Broom
11. Gareth Hopkins
12. Kyle Mills
13. James Franklin
14. Jeetan Patel
15. Chris Martin
16. Tim Southee
17. Mark Gillespie
18. Nathan McCullum

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New Zealand will prepare for the tests against England with 3 3 day warm up games against Kent, Essex and the MCC, they also have a game against Northamptonshire between the second and third tests. They then have one one day friendly against Worcestershire and a T20 International before the start a 5 match One day series.
The bad news for New Zealand is that there Talismanic Captain Daniel Vettori is out for 2 weeks but he will hopefully be back playing for the first test.

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New Zealands squad for the first tour game against Kent.
New Zealand have decided to take a full strength team into the friendly against Kent, with only Daniel Vettori missing because of Injury. Brendan McCullum will captain the side in his absence and they have chosen not to select a spinner for this match with Mark Gillespie, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills and Chris Martin taking the bowling slots, they will look for support from Jacob Oram and Jesse Ryder with these two having to combine to form a 5th bowler to allow the four main seamers to rest. The New Zealand batting line up will be closely scrutinised with many considering it flimsy. The opening pair of Fulton and Bell will be looked on to set a good platform for the middle order.

1. Peter Fulton
2. Matthew Bell
3. Jesse Ryder
4. Ross Taylor
5. Daniel Flynn
6. Brendan McCullum (capt, WK)
7. Jacob Oram
8. Kyle Mills
9. Tim Southee
10. Mark Gillespie
11. Chris Martin
The weather looks as though it will suit swing bowlers with a lot of cloud being forcast over the three days, the pitch however looks very dry for April and will offer very little seam movement.

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New Zealand managed to recover from a first innings collapse and post 318 in their first innings with Ross Taylor and Kyle Mills putting on a vital partnership of 90 for the 7th wicket, New Zealand had looked in a bit of trouble when after an aggresive start from Fulton and Bell they had collapsed from 2-72 to 6-153 and when Mccullum was out for 12 it looked as though the New Zealand side may not make 200 after choosing to bat fist on what was really a placid surface. However Taylor (121no) and Mills (53) but on a superb partnership that helped too pull New Zealand through to 318.
Kent got off to a flyer in their innings with Chris Martin proving very expensive and going at nearly 5 an over but Mark Gillespie bowled superbly to take 5-40 as Kent steadily lost wickets all the way through their innings with only Rob Key (51) making a score of more than 30 and they finished with only 214. Martin returned and bowled a much better second spell picking up Azhar Mahmood and James Tredwell to finish with figures of 2-59 from his 14 overs.
New Zealand were not convincing in there second innings and lost regular wickets with only Fulton (49) staying at the crease for any length of time, Oram McCullum and Mills chipped in with some quick runs lower down the order as New Zealand declared at 206-6 setting Kent 311 to win in 2 anda half sessions of play.
Kent lost an early wicket as Chris Martin began much better in the scond innings bowling Rob Key for 6. yet Kent were not going to collapse easily and Denly and Dexter put together a good 63 run partnership make a draw a certainty. Gillespie still had time to impress taking 3-59 to finish with very good match figures of 7-99. but KEnt finished on 192-5 as the game was drawn.

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New Zealand's batting looked decidedly flimsy and they will look to improve in the next two tour games, there bowling however looked strong even in the absence of Daniel Vettori with Gillespie and Mills being particularly impressive. Martin was very wayward however and will need to be able too exert more control if he is too trouble the England batsmen in the coming test series.
New Zealand have made one change to the squad too face Essex with Jamie How coming in to replace Matthew Bell at the top of the order.

[6ry4nj]

Three warmup games? That's excellent! In the two versions I own (06 and 09), I've only ever got one 3-day warmup per tour! Three is much more realistic. It wasn't so long ago when teams touring Australia would play all (6) of the domestic sides for at least 3 days each, at some stage of the tour.

So, I suppose this story is starting in 2008? I didn't think Southee went back that far. My, how time flies!

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Southee played his first test in the 2008 series against England at home England, he was only 19 and had just made his name at the U19's world cup taking the most wickets in the tournament

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New Zealand Drew there match at Essex. Chris Martin was once again ineffective and looks the most likely to make way for daniel vettori, Daniel Flynn has not made a score of more than 10 and so will be dropped for the final tour game alkong with Martin with Jeetan Patel and Neil Broom coming in. There were some very good performances in this game though, apart from Martin all the bowlers looked good with GIllespie yet again looking very impressive, Jesse Ryder played two superb innings in contrasting circumstances to nail the no 3 spot for this tour and Jamie How scored a very good century and put on a good partnership with Fulton who has made starts in every game but has failed to capitalise so far.
The squad for the final tour game against the MCC
1. Peter Fulton
2. Jamie How
3. Jesse Ryder
4. Ross Taylor
5. Neil Broom
6. Brendan McCullum (wk, capt)
7. Jacob Oram
8. Kyle Mills
9. Tim Southee
10. Jeetan Patel
11. Mark Gillespie

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New Zealand beat the MCC fairly comfortably in their final warm up game with Mills and Gillespie taking 9 wickets between them to restrict the MCC to 246 in their first innings then the New Zealand batsmen all made contributions as they reached 323-4 before declaring 77 runs ahead, Neil Broom justified his selection as he made 75 not out and there was also a first 50 of the tour for Peter Fulton.
Mills once again was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers picking up 4 more wickets taking his match figures to 9-154 as the MCC were bowled out for 308. New Zealand made the runs needed for victory quite easily with How making 78 and Ryder finishing on 98 no, the New Zealand team will be confident of being competetive in the Test Series but they are still waiting on news of Whether Daniel Vettori will be fit for the first test.

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New Zealand have been greatly boosted by the news that captain Daniel Vettori will be fit for the first test against England, it is expected that he will replace Jeetan Patel while the side will remain largely unchanged from that which beat the MCC in there last warm up match.

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As expected new Zealand have made only the on change to there side with Daniel Vettori replacing Jeetan Patel
1. Peter Fulton
2. Jamie How
3. Jesse Ryder
4. Ross Taylor
5. Neil Broom
6. Brendan McCullum (wk)
7. Jacob Oram
8. Daniel Vettori (capt)
9. Kyle Mills
10. Tim Southee
11. Mark Gillespie

The England team is as follows
1. Alastair Cook
2. Andrew Strauss
3. Kevin Pietersen
4. Ian Bell
5. Owais Shah
6. Matt Prior
7. Andrew Flintoff
8. Ryan Sidebottom
9. Steve Harmison
10. Monty Panesar
11. Matthew Hoggard
This England Team looks very Strong on paper and Its only worries will be the lower middle order and the rather long tail that they have especially since Prior has been in poor form this season but there bowlers have made a superb start too the season with Panesar averageing 15 and Flintoff 16, this will be a huge test for the New Zealand batting lineup as this is possibly the best bowling attack around in World Cricket.
It looks as though this will be a tricky game for batsmen with plenty of cloud cover and a slow outfield, the pitch itself looks fairly dry however and should give the spinners some puchase.

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New Zealand made a great start too this match after putting England into bat with Kyle Mills removing Strauss in the first over for none, New Zealand kept the pressure on and were also able to remove Cook (22) and Pietersen (30) but Bell and Shah battled well to the close with England finishing on 103-3 and Bell unbeaten on 36 looking in excellent form

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England were circumspect after the Luch break with Vettori bowling very well and Shah was dropped on 16, Bell however continued too look good and raced past his 50 and he and Shah put on 123 before Shah edged a perfect outswinger from Southee to 1st slip. Bell continued too look good reaching 80 before he was bowled by Gillespie who bowled superbly with the old ball, Gillespie removed Flintoff and Sidebottom in consecutive balls to leave England in real trouble at Tea on 207-7.

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New Zealand looked too attack as the final session started on day 1 of the first test and Southee beat the bat a number of times, Prior looked to be counter attack and hit 5 fours and a 6 in his 43 before being out to Vettori and once Prior was out it was only a matter of time before the England innings ended, they managed to claw there way to 242 with Bell and Shah top scoring. All New Zealands bowlers chipped in with Mills (3-57) and Gillespie (3-46) being the best of them. New Zealand faced a tough hour against the new ball though and they need How and Fulton to bat out to the end of the day.
England gave Hoggard and Sidebottom the new ball looking to take advantage of the cloud cover and they troubled the New Zealand openers and Sidebottom eventually got th breakthrough with Fulton being bowled for 8 yet New Zealand were able to battle through to the close of play without losing any more wickets and they finished the day on 34-1

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How was dropped early on day 2 when he only had 18 to his name but he was out later bowled by Hoggard for 28 New Zealand were in a bit of trouble at this point and when Panesar got Ryder for 25 and Taylor was out for 31 England would have been looking to wrap up the innings for around 200 but McCullum and Broom stayed in till Lunch and New Zealand were still in a strong position at 152-4 with plenty of batting still to come.

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England started the session well with Sidebottom getting a ball to swing away from McCullum and Prior took a simple catch he soon had Oram on his way as well as he edged a delivery too Cook at slip with New Zealand still 77 runs behing England Broom and Vettori put on 30 for the 7th Wicket but Panesar had Vettori caught behind and New Zealand were now relying on Broom to bring themselves level with England, Broom reached his 50 off 96 balls, it was a hugely important knock for New Zealand who had gotten a lot of starts but then seen them thrown away. Flintoff had Mills caught behind with New Zealand still 20 short but Broom and Southee were still unbeaten at tea and Nez Zealand were 231-8

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Southee was out soon after the break caught spectacularly at second slip by Pietersen but Gillespie and Broom were able too see New Zealand past Englands target before Broom was caught in the deep off Hoggard for 61 and New Zealand had a 5 run lead after being all out for 247.
Strauss was again removed early in Englands reply as Gillespie got one to swing back and trap him LBW but Cook and Pietersen saw England too the close of play on 48-1

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New Zealand made the perfect start to day 3 with Mills removing Cook in the first over for 25 but Ian Bell again looked in superb form as he socred freely though he survided a difficult chance on 24 off Mark Gillespie. Bell's aggression seemed to enable Pietersen to unfurl his more expansive shots and the two batsmen had soon put on a 50 partnership in only 40 minutes of play. Both batsmen played well and made 50's before lunch and they survived a few close shouts to make it through to lunch with England now in control with a lead of 162 and 8 wickets in hand.

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Both batsmen looked to play there shots after lunch Pietersen brough up his hundred off 165 balls but Mills had him LBW soon after for 127. Bell was undeterred by the loss of Pietersen and brought up his own century off 168 balls and had put England in total control of the match. Southee had Shah caught behind with the new ball to bring New Zealands spirits up but England went into tea with a lead of 305.

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New Zealand began brightly after tea with Prior goling out to Gillespie in the first over and Southee getting Bell caught at slip for 118 and when Flintoff was out too Gillespie for 9 they were confident of knocking the tail over quickly but Panesar and Hoggard resisted them and put on 29 for th last wicket too leave New Zealand needing 355 to win. New Zealand had a tricky 15 minutes to face in the evening and lost Fulton in only the second over but Ryder and How survived to the close with New Zealand on 8-1

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New Zealand made a poor start too the fourth day with Jesse Ryder falling for 4 but Jamie How and Ross Taylor fought well to resist the England attack who were getting a lot of movement through the air but Monty Panesar was able to get rid of Taylor for 20 and New Zealand were almost out of the game but Jamie How continued to impress and brought up his 50 but Broom fell just before lunch as How struggled to find any support from his fellow batsmen.

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Brendan McCullum looked to counter attack the England bowlers but Jamie how was out to Sidebottom and when McCullum followed soon after and New Zealand looked to be all but beaten with 203 still needed to pull off a miraculous victory. Oram and Vettori fought hard and chipped steadily away at the total and at tea New Zealand needed only 130 to win with both batsmen unbeaten.

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The final session of day 4 was to be the crucial one.in deciding what had been a truly superb match the partnership between Vettori and Oram was to prove crucial and both men batted superbly both passing 50 and bringing up the 100 partnership but Panesar made the vital breakthrough with Vettori falling for 57, he also got Oram out in his next over to swing the game back in Englands favour. England then took the new ball but it did not help them as Mills and Southee were unbeaten at the end of the day and with a truly exciting finish guaranteed on the 5th day New Zealand needed 43 runs to win and England only needed 2 wickets.

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The final day dawned with a win being certain for one of the teams but New Zealand had the momentum after their amazing fightback yesterday afternoon. The batsmen started cautiously and steadily played themselves back in while England searched for the wicket bringing Panesar back on a 5th day pitch that was really offering him some purchase. Southee had a very lucky escape as he was dropped at second slip by Flintoff though it was a very difficult chance and Southee looked to capitalise on it as he continued to dominate the partnership but with only 15 runs needed Southee was trapped LBW by hoggard and the game moved into its final stage. Mills took over responsibilities and brought New Zealand home to End an absolutely captivating test match which won thanks to a brilliant lower order batting performance though creditt must go to Jamie How who battled hard to make a vital 74 at the top of the order.
Ian Bell was deservedly given the Man of the Match award for his two high quality innings.

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Scorecard
England 242 all Out
Bell 80 Gillespie 3-46
Shah 48 Mills 3-57

2nd Innings 360 all out
Pietersen 127 Gillespie 4-107
Bell 118 Southee 3-73

New Zealand 247 all out
Broom 61 Hoggard 3-48
Taylor 31 Sidebottom 3-59

2nd Innings 356-9
How 74 Panesar 3-90
Oram 62 Hoggard 3-90

MoM Ian Bell

I am absolutely extatic with the way this game turned out, not only was it a fantastic game of cricket but we were able to keep a very good batting lineup relatively quiet wit hGillespie again being the pick of my bowlers, he has been outstanding on this tour. There are some worries for me with the lack of any hundreds being the main one, I appreciate that it was a difficult batting pitch but we will need to do better next time, also Vettori was fairly ineffective with the ball taking only one wicket and not really threatening the batsmen but I'm not worried about him as he will be rusty having just returned from injury.