Did the New Zealand captain deliberately finish the quota of his frontline bowlers early so as to test the ability of the rest of the attack in the slog overs? I thought Stephen Fleming almost paid dearly for that move because the 10 overs cost his side 100 runs and from a hopeless position at one stage, they were back in the match after scoring 250. The target must have given jitters to Fleming but thankfully, his team had enough batting depth to overcome the unnecessary big target after the bowlers took a mauling at the death. It is crucial for the Kiwi captain to keep at least 3 overs apiece of Bond and Oram during the slog overs in future games. Though Zimbabwe lost the match, I was quite impressed with the way young ’keeper-batsman Tatenda Taibu is shaping up at this level. Taibu showed remarkable improvement as a batsman and tremendous temperament that symbolises his growth as an international cricketer. Besides Taibu, skipper Heath Streak and Sean Ervine built up a partnership at a time everything looked lost for the co-hosts. Both of them went on the rampage against the Kiwi attack, which looked rather tired and devoid of ideas. It was left to Fleming to provide a flying start when his team came to bat and full credit to the skipper for living up to his impressive form in this tournament again. Fleming’s stroke-filled knock made things easier for the other batsmen who followed. The likes of Astle and Cairns do not require a second invitation to pile on the agony for the opposition bowlers. And, since the Zimbabwean attack looked far from threatening and incapable of stemming the run-riot, it was all over bar the shouting. While Astle batted sensibly and controlled the innings, Cairns’ innings was full of robust shots. It was an awesome display and the Kiwis won it quite comfortably in the end. Though, there was a lesson to learn from this game for the New Zealand captain. And that is, it is foolhardy to experiment with the attack in one-dayers, and that too in a tournament of such magnitude, irrespective of the quality of the opposition. It is simply stupidity even if Fleming did it unknowingly.
