Patel, Astle spin A team to victory
They’re in the box seat to be New Zealand’s test spin duo against Pakistan next month, and Ajaz Patel and Todd Astle made an early impact in tandem with the white ball in the United Arab Emirates.
Left-arm orthodox Patel and legspinner Astle snared 5-59 between them off eight overs as New Zealand A beat Pakistan A by seven wickets in a lowscoring Twenty20 match in Dubai yesterday.
Openers Glenn Phillips (53 off 44 balls) and George Worker (52 off 46) then added 107 for the first wicket as NZA chased down their target of 143 with one ball to spare.
For the spin duo it was an encouraging start, having bowled just 11 deliveries between them in NZA’s heavy defeat in game one, when they were skittled for 65 and lost by eight wickets.
Patel snared 3-30 and was on a hattrick after he removed Agha Salman first ball to a catch by his Stags teammate Worker. He also bowled Pakistan A opener and captain Umar Amin for 48 off 43 balls.
Astle took 2-29 in his full allotment, his two wickets in the space of three deliveries.
With frontline spinner Mitchell Santner still sidelined after major knee surgery, Patel, Astle and Ish Sodhi were the three named in the test squad to face Pakistan in three tests in the UAE, starting on November 16.
Patel, New Zealand’s domestic cricketer of the year, looks set for a test debut at age 30 while Astle probably has the edge over Sodhi in the longest format on evidence of last season’s selections. Astle played the pink ball test victory over England in March then was ruled out of the series clincher in Christchurch with injury.
There are also two Black Caps T20 spots up for grabs for the three-match series against Pakistan starting on November 1 (NZT).
Patel, Astle, Phillips and Worker are all contenders to fill those positions which were left open when the squad was named.
NZA play their next T20 match tonight and open their three-match oneday series against Pakistan A on Sunday.
Second Twenty20 match at ICC Academy, Dubai: Pakistan A 142-7 off 20 overs (Hussain Talat 51 off 42, Umar Amin 48/43; Ajaz Patel 3-30 off 4, Todd Astle 2-29/4) lost to New Zealand A 146-3 off 19.5 overs (Glenn Phillips 53/44, George Worker 52/46) by 7 wickets.