New Zealand's preparations for the ICC World Cup are the best they had been in Daniel Vettori's four previous campaigns and they can enter the tournament they co-host with Australia with confidence, the former captain said.
A floundering England will be looking to avoid a potential banana skin when they take on minnows Scotland in a crucial Pool A cricket World Cup match at the Hagley Oval, in Christchurch on Monday.
Danni Wyatt scored her second one-day international century as champions England crushed South Africa by 137 runs in Christchurch on Thursday to set up a mouthwatering Women's World Cup final against heavyweights Australia.
Taylor, who missed the third game in Wellington with a quadriceps injury, was limping badly after he appeared to suffer a similar strain but still combined with Tom Latham (71) for 187 runs as New Zealand scored 339 for five in 49.3 overs to chase down England's 335 for nine.
Shrinivas Chandrasekaran, a Mumbai-based software engineer who works as a video analyst with the Bangladesh cricket team said that initially they didn't even realise that it was a terror attack.
Hanuma Vihari says poor shot selection led to India getting bowled out for a below-par 242 against New Zealand on a "fair pitch", in the second Test, in Christchurch, on Saturday.
Children mingled with cricketing greats in "backyard" matches and Maori warriors shared the stage with dancers as the Cricket World Cup opened with a vibrant and quirky ceremony in Christchurch.
Captain Joe Root was dismissed off the last ball of the fourth day moments after he had been struck on the hand by a Trent Boult bouncer to put New Zealand firmly in the driving seat to win the rain-affected first Test at Eden Park.
Pakistan's seam attack dragged their side back into the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday by capturing seven wickets before lunch, bowling the hosts out for 200 on the third day. Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Amir shared the wickets as the hosts were bundled out with a lead of 67 runs. New Zealand had bowled Pakistan out for 133 before tea on Friday at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
All-rounder Colin de Grandhomme took six for 41 in the best haul for a New Zealand cricketer on debut as the hosts dismissed Pakistan for 133 before tea on the second day of the first test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday. The 30-year-old seamer, a surprise selection in the squad, also became the eighth New Zealander to take a five-wicket haul on debut. New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Jeet Raval, who is also on debut, will begin New Zealand's reply after tea was taken early.
New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said the country would now also need to accept they were no longer immune from acts of extreme violence and that would need to be factored in when they hosted sports events and teams.
Australia have achieved what Steve Smith set out to do when he assumed the captaincy last year by climbing to the top of the test rankings after beating New Zealand on Wednesday with the batsman admitting the trick now "was to stay there". The seven-wicket victory coming just after lunch on the final day at Hagley Oval sealed a 2-0 series win against Brendon McCullum's side and confirmed Australia's ascendancy to the pinnacle of test cricket for the first time since July 2014. "It's a good start for us. We want to win every series we play and winning away from home is a big goal of mine and the team's," Smith told reporters. "We came here at the start of the series wanting to win 2-0 and we knew if we did that we would be number one in the world. "I guess the challenge for this group now is to extend that gap and try and play some very good cricket home and away." Smith, who first captained the side for three tests against India in Michael Clarke's absence at the end of 2014, assumed the role in a full time capacity after his predecessor retired following the Ashes series loss to England last year.
New Zealand quick bowler Neil Wagner defended his use of the bouncer but admitted to feeling "shaky" when he felled Steve Smith with a blow to the head in the second Test in Christchurch on Sunday.
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor's health would not be risked for the series-deciding one day international on Saturday as the team looks ahead to two Tests against England, coach Mike Hesson has said.
Trent Boult took the prized wicket of AB de Villiers then bowled Dwaine Pretorious in the penultimate over as New Zealand secured a series-levelling six-run victory in the second One-day international against South Africa on Wednesday.
Australia sauntered into the ICC Under-19 World Cup final by dashing Afghanistan's dream run with a six-wicket victory, built around Jack Edward's half-century after some splendid bowling, in Christchurch, on Monday.
Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has said that it was unfair to compare him with India's Virat Kohli as both batted at different positions.
West Indies skipper Jason Holder is expecting plenty of entertainment against Pakistan when the two most mercurial sides in international cricket face off in the World Cup in Christchurch.
Kane Williamson, leading New Zealand in a Test for the first time at home, scored his 24th half century to guide the hosts to an eight-wicket victory in the first test against Pakistan in Christchurch on Sunday. Chasing a target of 105 for the win, Williamson was dismissed on 61 with the hosts just a run shy of victory. Jeet Raval (36 not out) hit a four to push New Zealand over the line on 108 for two shortly after lunch on the fourth day. New Zealand had bowled the visitors out in their second innings for 171 about an hour into the day's play at Hagley Oval.
Hanuma Vihari wanted to utilise the summer months playing county cricket in England but the COVID-19 pandemic has put paid to the India all-rounder's plans for the time being.
New Zealand pace spearheads exploited a tricky Basin Reserve wicket to bowl India out for under 200 twice with Jamieson's height and delivery angle providing plenty of problems.
New Zealand's worst peacetime mass killing rippled through the country's top-class sports on Saturday with two high profile events cancelled and the first class cricket title being decided without a ball being bowled in the final round of matches.
England's batsmen must try and emulate Moeen Ali's carefree approach if the team are to have any chance of lifting the World Cup, according to former captain Nasser Hussain.
Brendon McCullum hoped his winning the Sportsman of the Year award would give his team mates a massive boost.
Both Australia and New Zealand played down any significance of the umpires warning the visitors for throwing the ball to wicketkeeper Peter Nevill on the bounce in order to aid its deterioration during the third day of the second Test on Monday.
James Pattinson has the full support of the Australian team in his battle against over-stepping and they expect him to come out and "blow the game apart" in New Zealand's second innings, according to off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Shubman Gill scored a magnificent, unbeaten hundred as India amassed 272 for 9 against Pakistan in the second semi-final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Christchurch on Tuesday.
The 14 grounds that will host matches during the February 14 - March 29 tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Brendon McCullum - playing his last Test match- produced a sensational display of stroke-play, blasting to the fastest hundred in Test cricket history. McCullum took 54 balls to reach the three-figure mark, two less than the previous record. Viv Richards and Misbah-ul-Haq held the previous record with 56-ball hundreds. In terms of time taken, McCullum's hundred in 78 minutes is the joint fourth fastest in Test cricket. Statistician Rajneesh Gupta glances at the records of the fastest hundreds in Test cricket:
All-rounder Andre Russell hit a whirlwind 13-ball 42 not out, including three sixes from a Sohail Khan over, before taking three wickets with the ball to help West Indies demolish Pakistan by a huge margin of 150 runs.
Lasith Malinga is fit for Sri Lanka's opening World Cup clash against New Zealand.
Corey Anderson scored a composed 81 as New Zealand lurched to a three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Sunday in the first of seven One-day Internationals between the two sides before next month's World Cup.
Fresh off New Zealand's most successful Test year, captain Brendon McCullum is urging his team to start 2015 in the same fashion when they face Sri Lanka in the second game of their two-match series on Saturday.
England's bid to win the second Test against New Zealand and level up the series was hindered by bad light on Monday when play was abandoned early with the hosts 42 without loss chasing an unlikely 382 for victory.
Jasprit Bumrah doesn't want to indulge in a 'blame game' which he believes is an exercise in futility. He had copped a bit of criticism for his dry spell in the ODI series as well as the first Test but Bumrah said that he doesn't bother as long as he knows that he is bowling well.
Factbox on New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who on Tuesday announced his decision to retire from all forms of international cricket in February.
Brendon McCullum, who led New Zealand through an exhilarating two years of success, will retire from international cricket in February after the two-Test series against Australia, the 34-year-old batsman said on Tuesday.
Sachin Tendulkar gave batsmen a peek into his mantra for success.
Trent Boult and Neil Wagner quickly wrapped up Sri Lanka's second innings on Sunday as New Zealand clinched the series 1-0 with a dominant 423-run victory in the second Test.
James Vince's knock of 59 runs enabled England to defeat New Zealand by seven wickets
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