Pak NZ 4th ODI Run Fest Expected in Napier

Napier: New Zealand's last visit to Napier resulted in a thrilling two-wicket victory over Australia in March, thanks to a blazing 49 not out by Scott Styris as the Black Caps chased 276.

It was New Zealand's 20th win from 33 ODIs at McLean Park.

Against Pakistan in Napier, New Zealand have a 4-0 score line, with their most recent meeting an eight-wicket canter in 2004.

No first-class or domestic one-day cricket has been played on the dual-purpose ground this summer, but run fests have been the recent norm.

A tied ODI against England in 2008 produced equal scores of 340 for England and New Zealand.

The cricket capacity is about 12,000, with the remodelled ground now able to hold up to 16,000 rugby patrons for the World Cup

How and Kane Williamson will both play in the middle order. Bennett and Southee will be the seamers while Vettori and Nathan McCullum are the spinners in the XI.

Jesse Ryder has a great strike-rate (95.41) in ODIs but he has a better grasp of how to build an innings in Tests. If he can reprise that temperament in ODIs, his transformation into a world-class ODI player would be complete. The back-lift is minimal, the foot work precise, and the shot-selection is maturing rapidly. Ryder can be the backbone of this line-up in the World Cup.

Umar Akmal has the shots, but does he have the temperament? There is a thin line between arrogance and confidence and he seems to be forever living on that edge. Pakistan would hope that Umar can fast track the transformation from boy to man and be more consistent.

Waqar Younis, Pakistan's coach, said there would only be one change: will the spinner Abdur Rehman get a chance, or will they try to bring in Asad Shafiq or Shoaib Akthar?

Teams from

New Zealand Daniel Vettori (capt), Hamish Bennett, Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum (wk), Nathan McCullum, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Scott Styris, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor (vc), Kane Williamson

Pakistan Shahid Afridi (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Tanvir Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Younis Khan

Pitch & conditions
Turf manager Phil Stoyanoff has got a pretty good reputation for producing belters. Conditions should be top notch again.

Stats and trivia

• Seven of the last 10 ODIs in Napier have been won by the side batting first.
• Afridi's five sixes in the third ODI took his tally to 285, the record for most sixes in one-dayers. Sanath Jayasuriya is second with 270. It was also the 16th time that Afridi hit five or more sixes in an innings. Jayasuriya did it 11 times.
• Younis Khan averages only 29.30 from 18 games against New Zealand. In New Zealand, he averages 18 from three games.

Match facts
Tuesday February 1, 2011 (day/night)
Start time 14:00 local (01:00 GMT)