NAPIER, New Zealand, 14 January 2004 — For the first time in the series, New Zealand cricket captain Stephen Fleming sees Pakistan under pressure as they go into the fourth one-day match here today with the pendulum of favoritism swinging back in New Zealand’s favor.
Following on from his match-winning 115 not out in Christchurch last weekend, Fleming is intent on backing up with another match-winning knock to close out the five-match series 3-1 and give New Zealand a rare victory over Pakistan just a month after being on the receiving end of a 0-5 hiding.
To do that, the New Zealand Black Caps must exploit Pakistan’s preference to play just five bowlers by seeing off the frontline pair — Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami — then launch into the rest of the attack.
Akhtar, the star paceman, reached 159 kilometers per hour in Christchurch and will be a big threat again on what should be another hard and fast surface.
Fleming said it was up to New Zealand to turn Akhtar’s extreme pace to their advantage. “They’ve got three quality backup bowlers (Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood and spinner Shoaib Malik) but once you’ve faced 150-160kmh, you’ve got to be a pretty special bowler to then follow in because guys, if they get through it, are going to look to pick up the pace,” Fleming said.
“There’s certainly pressure on their bowlers three, four and five.”
That was the formula New Zealand adopted in Christchurch where they won by seven wickets to give their confidence a much needed boost after snatching a surprise win in the first game of the series and being comprehensively outplayed in the second.
They are also buoyed by their sound record at McLean Park here where they have won 13 and lost six.
Fleming too has happy memories of the ground, having scored 90 on debut against India in 1994 and his only other century in New Zealand — 111 not out against Australia in 1998. He averages 64.4 from 14 matches here and said the big challenge for him was to back up from the sapping 213-minute knock in the Christchurch heat.
