New Zealand v Pakistan: Fourth ODI Preview

Pakistan will be desperate to get a win on the board when they face New Zealand at Seddon Park on Tuesday morning. 

The five-match series heads to Hamilton, where New Zealand will attempt a record 11th consecutive victory after last year’s string of clean sweeps against the West Indies – and January’s dominance over Pakistan.

Pakistan pledged better in Wellington and surrounds, but have severely under-delivered – and are going to suffer a series whitewash if they don’t promptly rectify their batting problems in particular.

New Zealand v Pakistan | Tuesday, 16 January | Seddon Park, Hamilton | 3:00

To Win Match
New Zealand 31/100  | Tie 35/1 | Pakistan 51/20

New Zealand
The Kiwis have gained a substantial amount of momentum over the past two months – and will be mindful of not choking when it arguably counts most. While the series result has been wrapped up, they have straight victories 11 and 12 to complete.

Tuesday will see batsman Ross Taylor become the seventh New Zealander to play 200 ODIs. The milestone is particularly significant for a man whose career was threatened by eye surgery about a year ago.

All-rounder Colin de Grandhomme will likely be welcomed back to the XI. He remained sidelined in Dunedin, where the hosts preferred an additional spinner, but an extra seamer should be the requirement in Hamilton.

The New Zealanders have won four of their last five ODIs at Seddon Park, where batting second has served teams quite well since the turn of the decade. Skipper Kane Williamson could be torn if triumphant at the toss.

Temperamental weather, which interfered with the West Indies series and threatened last week’s third ODI, shouldn’t hamper Tuesday’s proceedings, provided Thursday’s very wet forecast doesn’t arrive sooner than expected.

Pakistan
The tourists will find it incredibly difficult to bounce back from Saturday’s rout, which saw them bowled out for a lowly 74. A significantly improved performance with the bat needs to be at the fore of the agenda.

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson publicly acknowledged how good his side are at adapting to changing conditions. Pakistan would do well to take example from this, instead of just sticking to a static gameplan.

Conditions in Hamilton will be considerably different to those experienced Dunedin and, with extra bounce from a lively pitch anticipated, now seems the right time to return seamer Hasan Ali to new-ball duty.

Chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq’s remarks need to heeded, too: the senior statesmen, Shoaib Malik and others, need to deliver. The heaps of potential among the new players, meanwhile, needs to materialise.

With the series lost, Pakistan might take Tuesday as their cue to recall all-rounder Aamer Yamin, who is in the squad but hasn’t played an ODI since October 2015. The visitors could do with his lower-order hitting and handy right-arm seam.

Verdict: New Zealand 31/100
The home side are not showing any signs of relenting – and will likely gift Taylor a record 11th victory on the trot for his 200th ODI. They can then look to complete a five-nil whitewash in Wellington on Friday.