A boom and a whimper

It's the beginning of the 43rd over of the third and deciding ODI between Pakistan and New Zealand, and they're currently 196 for 8. And I've reached the unwelcome but unavoidable conclusion that New Zealand probably don't deserve to win this tonight. I'm still a fan, don't get me wrong, and I do think that Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor did a good job today - Taylor's circumspection was understandable given that he came in off two consecutive ducks in previous games, and he did get out at just about the point he would have started to accelerate the scoring rate. And, needless to say, my love for SuperDan Vettori continues to glow with the brilliance of a thousand suns, but as nice as it would be to see him rewarded for his herculean efforts with this side, New Zealand maybe need a bit of a boot up the arse to let them know they can't rely on him and one or two other players to carry them. Again, I should stress, there are a lot of positives about this team: they have an excellent bowling attack, especially as Shane Bond settles into the groove again after his long absence, and their fielding is superb.

Jonty Rhodes, eat yer bleedin' Saffie heart out.

As for their batting...yeah, not so much. McCullum, having found his form spectacularly in the last game, seems to be clinging to it like grim death, and he gave his team the best start they could have probably asked for. Which they then promptly flung away with both hands, playing as though with stalks of limp celery and displaying a bewilderment with Pakistan's admittedly effective (but hardly magical) spin attack that was frankly baffling. Pakistan's bowlers deserve full credit for their performance, but New Zealand did everything short of uprooting the stumps themselves, tying them up with a festive bow and then handing them over to the keeper to give their wickets away. Having got to 164 for the loss of just 3 thanks to McCullum's pyrotechnics and the steady presence of Aaron Redmond, New Zealand's middle and lower order collapsed to 211 all out.

The other walk of shame - back to the pavilion, for a duck, ten minutes after you left it.

Pakistan, it must be said, are just as capable as New Zealand of a catastrophic batting collapse, but 211 is only really a formidable total if you happen to be, say, Namibia playing Australia, or maybe if half your lineup are suffering from agonizing gastroenteritis brought on by dodgy room service. Making predictions in cricket is, as I've already said, a fool's game, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Pakistan should walk this.

...or will SuperDan and his crack bowling attack pull something special out of their collective hat and amaze us all?

Maybe. I just really wanted to use this picture.