da bwin： New Zealand started their World Cup campaign with a resounding victoryagainst the Dutch in Matara on Wednesday
Simon Williams13-Jan-2000New Zealand started their World Cup campaign with a resounding victoryagainst the Dutch in Matara on Wednesday. The match, which was delayeddue to heavy overnight rain finally started at 1pm. Holland won thetoss and elected to field, only to watch the New Zealand compile animposing 206 in 32 overs. This was followed by a ruthless fieldingperformance by the New Zealanders which restricted the ICC qualifiersto 55 for 9 at the close.Earlier in the day, the New Zealand openers having been put into bat,raced to 50 off just 51 balls. A crowd of some 200 Sri Lankans weretreated to the type of pinch hitting display that was born of theirown. Janie Howe set the tone with two memorable boundaries shots inthe third over – the first ball flicked through mid-wicket and thenthe next pulled in front of square.The Dutch side was visibly nervous in the field. None of the bowlerswere able to make early use of the damp pitch. Two run out chanceswere missed before Robert Lynch was caught short of the crease by asharp pick up and throw by Franklin Nyman at backward squareleg. Nyman was also involved in the next wicket, Howe, caught drivingto cover for a classy 43.Credit must be given to Holland for the way that they stuck at it. TheNew Zealand middle order sacrificed their wickets in the search forquick runs, captain of the Kiwis, James Franklin, looked a specialtalent at the end, unbeaten on 38 in a total of 206 for 6.Speaking to CRICINFO in between innings, Pene Van Lerschot, chairmanof the Netherlands selectors said, ” that was exactly the type ofpressure we are looking for and need experience against, with runsbeing scored at a quick pace. We must do the same when we bat and putthe pressure on the New Zealand fielders.”Chasing in the tournament will not be easy for any of the teams. Itproved too much for Holland. New Zealand were exemplary in thefield. In the 12th over four of the top order batsmen were back I thepavilion – Bins for 1, Van Bunge for 2, Ierschot for 5 and Nawaz for6. With the total on 28 the captain, Franklin, compounded thepressure, varying his bowlers well. Two close catchers were in placethroughout and there was plenty of vociferous appealing. A furtherthree wickets fell in successive balls. Holland ended on 55 for 9.In short Holland never got to grips with the superb NZ bowling andfielding. They go into the next two group matches needing to dig deepin order to avoid similar defeats against India and Bangladesh.New Zealand are a very organised unit and look like being a threat tothe very best. Speaking of his teams win, Paul Smith, the New Zealandmanager said, “they played excellent cricket all round. We had aparticular strategy in terms of shot selection and field placements,which the guys stuck to well. We have two tough games to come againstsides with local knowledge. At the end of the day I am just reallypleased to have got a game in today. The ground staff did a greatjob.”