Different paths for Pakistan and Kiwis to semi
New Zealand, cricket's quiet achievers, and Pakistan, the game's most unpredictable side, clash in the opening Twenty20 World Cup semifinal on Wednesday after making their way to the knockout rounds in starkly contrasting campaigns.
The Black Caps hammered hosts and champions Australia in their tournament opener, had a match washed out and lost a high-quality contest to England before reaching a fifth successive white-ball World Cup semifinal as group winners.
Pakistan's journey started with a remarkable loss to India in front of 92,000 fans at Melbourne Cricket Ground that was followed by an equally dramatic upset at the hands of Zimbabwe and a rain-disrupted win over SA. They scraped into the last four by beating Bangladesh but only after a stunning upset of the Proteas by the Netherlands in the final round of group matches had cleared the path.
You get the impression, however, that this is pretty much the way Pakistan like it.
“Shadab [Khan] actually said something very significant in the dugout the other day. He said: ‘Welcome to Pakistan cricket',” Pakistan coach Matthew Hayden said on Tuesday.
“Meaning that on any given day, anything can happen. When Netherlands beat SA, it was a significant moment for us in the tournament and as a result of that, I feel that there was very much an uplifting of tempo in our group.”
If Pakistan will be looking to ride the momentum of their great escape from the group, New Zealand will be relying on a tried and tested philosophy as they seek to reach the final against India or England.
“We’re just focusing on one game at a time as we have done throughout this tournament,” said captain Kane Williamson.
“And now we’re in a semifinal, which is a nice place to be, but it’s about cricket and the type of cricket we want to commit to and keep playing and that will be our focus.”
Blue skies are forecast for the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday for what could be an intriguing contrast between two well-balanced teams boasting some fine pace bowling.
For some, the match has echoes of the 1992 one-day World Cup in Australia, in which Pakistan scraped into the last four before beating tournament favourites New Zealand in the semis and England in the final.
Williamson was reluctant to describe one of Pakistan’s finest hours in white ball cricket — they also won the T20 World Cup in 2009 — as being any sort of precedent.
“I was two [years old],” the skipper deadpanned. “There’s also a rich cricketing history in New Zealand. A number of great moments.”
● England must win more silverware to be considered a truly great limited-overs team, allrounder Moeen Ali said, as the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup champions prepare to face India on Thursday in the semifinals of the latest edition.
England, who won the 50overs version three years ago, failed to hit top gear in Australia and reached the last four with a scrappy win over Sri Lanka.
“There’s a lot of talk about us being a great white-ball side and the England team has been really good, but we’ve only won one tournament,” Moeen told British media.
“It’s important we start winning more as a team and as a country. Then we can call ourselves a top side.”
While England have not been firing on all cylinders at the World Cup, Mooen backed them to peak at the right time.
“We wanted to get to the semis. In the past we’ve played well and got through,” he said.
“This time I don’t think we’ve played well but we’ve got through and the best is yet to come with this side. I don’t think we’ve been near where we
want to be but now’s a great opportunity to put that right.
“You always talk about peaking at the right time and if you scrape through it means you can get better. If we play our best cricket in the next two games I believe we can win the World Cup.”