Cricket World Cup: Over-by-over: New Zealand's Innings

Sometimes it's your heroes who let you down the most. I suppose they're the ones with the furthest to fall. If you want to look for turning points in this match, here's one for you: Shane Bond dropping Mahela Jayawardene at deep backward square, allowing him to add 38 crucial and demoralising runs to the total. Nevermind that Bond's overs went for 59 runs, that may well be his most significant contribution to this World Cup.

Cruel isn't it? But then, is there anything crueller in sport than a semi-final? And are there any semis in sport more barbarous than these two? It's taken 50 days and 12 matches for these four teams to come this far. Now, a single error, one bad shot, six bad balls, one dropped catch, could cost them the whole caboodle. Goodbye, so long, and thanks for all the memories. See you in four years.

That's what the Kiwis are looking at right now. They've fifty overs to avoid that fate, fifty overs as important as any they've ever played in their careers. They need 290 to do it, which is more than anyone had managed to chase in this tournament until England overhauled the Windies 300 last Saturday. And England had Paul Nixon.

New Zealand have had it crueller than most too: this is their fifth semi - and, as I and every other journo will no doubt have told you, if they get through it they'll be in their first World Cup final. At least today they've got a break from their norm. Three of their semi-final losses came after they'd batted first, when they were successively scuppered by Michael Holding and Andy Roberts, battered down by a young Inzamam-ul-Haq and, in the worst of the three, thrashed to all parts by Saeed Anwar.

"Perennial bridesmaids" is what the lazier amongst the brotherhood of hacks would call them, neatly ignoring the fact that perennial means either a) having a life span of two years or b) eternal, and that unlike most bridesmaids there is nothing giggly, blushing or flirtatious about them, unless your idea of a good time is ending up in a closet while Scott Styris hitches his dress up around his waist.

Happy as I am to read Satyajit Mujumdar rather erudite missive on the "democratic institutions etc which have lent India an advantage in today's Anglo-inclined economy" I have no idea why it is in my inbox - is that really what Sean was up to this afternoon? Where were the innuendos?

1st over: New Zealand 2-0 (Fulton 1 Fleming 1) Vaas opens with a prodigously swinging delivery that curves back from a length and thumps Fulton high on his pad. The second ball is equally disconcerting, and it takes the split-seconds worth of sound made by the snick of Fulton's inside edge to save him from the lbw shout. A single puts Fleming on strike, where once he was rehearsing his forward defensives at the non-striker's end, Vaas pings the ball off the shoulder of his bat and away past second slip to allow him a scratchy single of his own.

WICKET! Fleming 1 lbw b Malinga (2nd over: New Zealand 2-1) Malinga returns prompting Sukamal Basu to produce this casual abuse for the umpire, as you do: "Haven't been folowing todays game but having heard Rudi Koertzen is having his usual shocker (see Ashes 06-07 series) I suggest the DJ at the ground plays The Specials' Message to you Rudy - 'Stop your messing around (ah-ah-ah), Better think of your future (ah-ah-ah), Time you straighten right out (ah-ah-ah), Creating problems in town (ah-ah-ah) - PS Having you seen him without his hat? - you can leave your hat on Rudy." And indeed you can raise your finger too: Malinga spits an absurdly fast ball back from off-stump and it swings back in to hit Fleming just in front. He's out. Taylor is in. The contrast with Jayawardene's efforts couldn't be more marked. Jeez, Malinga is looking unplayable - Taylor plays three inches down the wrong line of what Michael Holding describes as a 90-mph leg break. Wow.

3rd over: New Zealand 3-1 (Fulton 2 Taylor 0) There are some angry people out there today: "Rudy should be sent off to pasture, if not the glue factory" suggests Sunil x, with typical understatement. None of the umpiring has been so pleasingly dodgy as Asad Rauf's against Australia last friday, after Matty Hayden had cracked his wrist watch with a straight drive. Sangakkara has come up to the stumps now, and as Vaas' sixth ball goes through Taylor's gate and past Sangakkara the batsman almost runs himself out with some particularly hare-brained play.

4th over: New Zealand 10-1 (Fulton 5 Taylor 0) Malinga has bowled eight balls so far, and each of them has been unplayable. His ninth is so astonishing that it zooms past the outside edge and beats Sangakkara to run away for four byes. Michael Holding is just dumbstruck in the commentary box, and as Fulton knocks an inadvertant edge towards but short of first slip, I can see why. His last ball is his first bad one, and it's knocked for one down to fine leg.

5th over: New Zealand 10-1 (Fulton 5 Taylor 0) Ed Valiente, who sounds like a dancehall star himself is whining: "A message to you Rudie" is not a Specials song. It's by Dandy Livingston. Sorry to go on about this but a few weeks ago there was an OBO thread about reggae songs and it was a case of Guardian-readers-only-know-Bob-Marley-and-punk-two-tone-covers. And the World Cup is taking place in the West Indies. A bit of respect for the greatest island music in the world!". Now I've not got anything to say about this maiden over, because, Ed, I'm a big fan of "greatest island music in the world" myself, and I think that while it may have been a hit for Dandy Livingston, I'm pretty sure he didn't write it - Prince Buster maybe?

6th over: New Zealand 12-1 (Fulton 6 Taylor 1) Number of times so far that Michael Holding has said "wow" about Malinga? Four. Each ball is either landing on off stump and rearing on, or two inches outside off stump and zinging away towards the slips.

7th over: New Zealand 13-1 (Fulton 6 Taylor 1) Dealing with reggae as we are, did anyone here Eddie Grant translate the England XI into a team of dancehall superstars on Radio 5 the other day? Truly excellent stuff it was. From Grant that is, rather than England. 'Boi! Vaughan' was my favourite, but then I can't quite do the thick lustre of Eddie's accent in print. Highly dubious point this, if you ask me, which you're not: "Even taking into account the enormous drag factor of Scott Styris the New Zealand team is the handsomest at the tournament. It might cheer them up to know this if they lose." I'm sure they'll be cheered up no end in the face of all that national scorn and disappointment, Heather.

8th over: New Zealand 14-1 (Fulton 6 Taylor 1) It's the most Taylor can do to grin and push his bat down off stump hoping not to give his wicket away. He has a hopeless swish at Malinga's third. He really needs Fleming out there to give him some advice... and that's the worst yet, he steps away to leg stump and throws his bat into thin air as yet another ball speeds past him. One good yorker now and this guy is toast, he's shot away in the head right now.

9th over: New Zealand 21-1 (Fulton 7 Taylor 5) A single puts Taylor back on strike and finally some width, he frees his bat and swipes four runs away through point. He must feel like a man with a migraine who's just swallowed two packs of paracetamol. And a man who might tell us what that might feel like? Phil Dennison, Facility Director of the Department of Chemistry University of California as his email tells me. Only he doesn't want to talk about that, but this: "The song in question was indeed written by Robert Livingstone Thompson, and, slightly interestingly, was originally titled 'Rudy, A Message To You'. And apparently Rico Rodriguez played trombone on the original as well as on the Specials re-titled version." Ta da!

10th over: New Zealand 30-1 (Fulton 14 Taylor 5) Jayawardene takes off Malinga and brings on Dilhara Fernando. This is either boastful or shrewd: it may allow the Kiwis to rally, but then, at least he knows he's got six more overs of the slinger yet to come. A sweet shot from Fulton, punching four past Fernando's right hand and away through long-on. Rudi is delivering a message of his own now - he's given Fernando a warning for running on the pitch. Another two of those and Sri Lanka will have to make up his ten-over allotment from somewhere else. Fernando is a thrown a little awry and delivers a huge no ball. Fernando has had his second warning now as well! This is potentially brewing into something crucial. One more warning and he'll not be able to bowl another ball. And Koetzen has called him for no ball again! Weird scenes inside the gold mine folks.

WICKET! Taylor 9 lbw Vaas (11th over: New Zealand 34-2) How about this for an offer? Ed Valiente is still insisting that the man behind the message is Dandy Livingston but "Incidentally, if there are any OBO/reggae fans in Helsinki, do come and listen to me play reggae this Friday." Click here for more of that and Ed, if I wasn't due to be in London this Saturday covering the Final of this thing, then I'd probably not be there with you. But I'll at least spare you some well wishes. Oh! and Taylor has gone! I'm cut off mid-ramble, and it looks like Taylor has been cut off mid-innings by Simon Taufel. He tried to hit Vaas away across the line but the ball jagged back towards off. Replays suggest it was going past the stumps but the finger goes up anyway. Scott Styris survives an lbw shout of his own from the next.

12th over: New Zealand 39-2 (Fulton 15 Styris 4) Fernando stays on - a poor decision that - and comes around the wicket. His first ball is glanced fine for four by the rambunctious Styris. Sarah Bacon, our resident charming Aussie: "Ah, schadenfreude. What a pretty word. All I need now, should the Kiwis bottle it (as expected) is George Gregan to run onto the pitch towards the close of the game and yell "Four more years, boys, four more years!", as he did to the All Blacks in the 2003 Rugby World Cup semi-final." Did he really do that? You know all I need now is for the Lankans to scatter the bails of your over-pumped biffers to all parts come this Saturday's final.

13th over: New Zealand 40-2 (Fulton 16 Styris 4) Donuts McMillan is off the pitch till at least no7 in the Kiwi order because of all the time he's been off nursing a pulled stomach muscle. Insert your own fat man jokes anywhere around here. These two have been the New Zealander's most reliable batsmen. If there is likely to be a big stand that turns this game around I suggest we might be about to see it. 250 needed to win from 37 overs.


14th over: New Zealand 43-2 (Fulton 19 Styris 4) Fulton whips two away to leg. Clare Davies pounces on a Doors reference embedded somewhere on this page. Dificult to say who was quicker.

15th over: New Zealand 53-2 (Fulton 21 Styris 10) A ha, Scott Styris play his second scoring shot, and like the first, it was a four. He steps forward and smashes a good length ball on middle stump away in front of square with vicious efficiency. Shyam Krishnan quips: Thank goodness Taufel decided to put Taylor out of his misery and make amends for the appalling decision against Dilshan in Sri Lanka's innings. With neutral umpires doing so badly, I wonder why they don't have one umpire from each country playing the match, so that they can 'even' out bad decisions their colleagues make!" At the risk of being a bore, it's easy to forget how fatigued the umpires must be getting - Smyth and I are, the players are, and I expect some of you are too. There have certainly been more poor decisions as this tournament has continued.

16th over: New Zealand 62-2 (Fulton 22 Styris 16) I arrive back from a frantic scramble to the drinks dispenser in the basement in time to see Styris smash a pull from out of his crease and back over Fernando's head and down the ground for six.

17th over: New Zealand 66-2 (Fulton 25 Styris 18) The game is about to get a lot more dificult for the Kiwis, as Malinga returns to the attack. WICKET! No, no it's not: forgive the capitals but you should have seen Murali's run dive and fantastic catch as Styris spewed a leading edge up to mid-on. Malinga's foot was well over the line though, and the umpire's arm swung up to signal no ball. And, here, from Sarah Bacon is a little proof that yes, George Gregan really did say that.
18th over: New Zealand 70-2 (Fulton 29 Styris 18) Mark this point. Murali is on. New Zealand's two best batsmen versus Sri Lanka's two best bowlers. Fulton, who has an excellent record against Murali, skews an outside edge down to third man for four. Gary Naylor "confesses to rather liking that George Gregan quote - why don't more players talk like fans? The first player who delivers a post-match interview replacing the platitudes and "good areas" with "we whupped 'em - we're gonna win this f***in thing!" will be an instant Youtube superstar. A job for Nixon I feel." Hmmm, didn't really work for Kevin Keegan did it?

19th over: New Zealand 90-2 (Fulton 38 Styris 26) Fernando returns - at Taufel's end. His first is a no ball that Styris brutalises a mile down the pitch and into the stands for six. His next is another no ball. To make things yet more tense, the commentators are making a lot of noise about the cloud closing in on Sabina Park, threatening an early close to play through absence of light or excess of rain. As it stands, the Kiwis are twenty runs behind where they need to be to win on D/L. Fernando, in the midst of one of the truly awful big-stage spells, chucks a wide down leg and is then clipped away for two runs past mid-off. The pair swap singles, and then Fulton clips him away for four through deep backward square. This was a terrible over, that cost twenty runs and a whole lot of momentum.

20th over: New Zealand 100-2 (Fulton 39 Styris 33) "NZ need to be at 102/2 after 20 overs in case rain curtails play" thanks to Sunil x for that, and there's six of them! Startling! Styris skips a yard down the pitch and lofts Murali's doosra high and long over the ropes at long-on. A brilliant shot from a player in the form of his life.

21st over: New Zealand 103-2 (Fulton 40 Styris 36) Sanath Jayasuriya comes on, hoping to emulate the 3 for 24 he picked up after being caught out for just one back in the 1996 semi-final against India. It's a quiet start, with just three runs coming. Could this match be brewing up any more tensely than it is?

WICKET! Styris 37 c Jayawardene b Dilshan (22nd over: New Zealand 105-3) Dilshan replaces Murali, which smacks of letting the pressure off a little too much given how much a wicket would change this situation. And that is exactly what he wanted it to smack of! Once again easing the pressure turns out to be the best way to get the vital wicket. Styris has chipped the ball loosely up to mid-on, where Jayawardene takes a simple catch with considerable glee.

23rd over: New Zealand 110-3 (Fulton 41 Oram 1) Fulton clips one to leg, Oram punches another out to point. "Did anyone see the post-match interview with Vaughan the other day? He didn't know Brian Lara had retured from tests until he was told on-air, and then he started giggling happily with relief. *That* was an honest response. Media training is one of the worst things about modern sport." To which, Heather, I can only suggest you have a look at this


WICKET! Oram c&b Muralitharan WICKET! McCullum c b Muralitharan (24th over: New Zealand 114-5) Muralitharan, the sniff of fresh nerves in his nostrils, comes on for a bowl at the new batsman. And Oram is easy prey! That is just a brilliant catch! Oram squirts the doosra away towards mid-off but before it can pass the stumps Murali has leapt across the pitch and toppled down in front of the ball, juggled off his right and into his left to complete it! And it's game over! Surely! McCullum has come and gone in the blink of Murali's devious mental processes! A golden duck! McCullum ducked down and tried to sweep another doosra and Chamara Silva sprinted around from short fine leg to take a fantastic catch. McMillan is in with a runner.

WICKET! Fulton 46 c Silva b Jayasuriya (25th over: New Zealand 115-6) It's a rout. So long boys, four more years for you lot. Fulton misjudges his clip, no doubt confused by the chaos around him, and the ball dobs up off his leading edge to mid-on where Silva takes another catch. Four wickets for ten runs in sixteen balls. Vettori is in and there are a lot of Kiwis crying right now.

WICKET! Vettori 0 lbw Muralitharan (26th over: New Zealand 116-7) Jayawardene swarms his fielders around McMillan, who gropes hoplessly at Murali's doosra, even if he does survive the hattrick ball. Remember, it's not just the hopes of millions at stake here, like Sugandh's working day: "I just hope this finishes quickly. I can then go to office tomorrow." Well you're a little bit closer to making it Sugandh, Vettori plays for the spin, but he's failed to pick Murali's doosra and the ball turns back away from his bat and thumps him on the pad. Up comes the finger. Vettori is disgusted, and who can blame him? Franklin is at the crease. This is hopeless stuff.

27th over: New Zealand 127-7 (McMillan 12 Franklin 1) "This is a collapse of English proportions!" Ross Moulden there, keeping things in thier proper perspective, "Lose their best batsman to one of the lesser bowlers, then the bug guys come back and the rest of the team just fold. And New Zealand don't even have Paul Nixon to salvage some respectability" Well blimey. Craig McMillan is a brave man: he kneels away to leg and slaughters six runs over mid-wicket with an extraordinary swipe. It sends him into shouts and grimaces of agony too, troubled as he is by a pulles stomach muscle. He nudges the next to fine leg for four, a less painful mode of gathering his runs.

28th over: New Zealand 133-7 (McMillan 16 Franklin 3) Murali has three for five since he returned. Which is more than enough to anger Davord G down in Auckland. "The NZ cricket team has gone through several embarrassing re-brandings, but the results on the pitch always stay the same. In the early 90s Martin Crowe presented us with the Young Guns, a crass nod, perhaps, to the dire eponymous Brat pack film with Emilio Estevez et al. After Crowe's departure they became known as the Black Caps (TM). But to those of us in the know, when it really matters in an important game, the Black Caps revert to their true selves...the CAP GUNS!"

29th over: New Zealand 137-7 (McMillan 17 Franklin 4) "There is a familiar feeling of inevitability to it, for New Zealanders... " mourns Alistair Connor "But there is comfort in losing to these fabulous Sri Lankans, untouchable with bat and ball. Much rather this than to be crushed by the Aussies in the final. There is no pride or honour for a New Zealander in being second best in the world, if the best is an Australian." Two runs from this over, and there is just a little breathing space after that mad rush of wickets.

30th over: New Zealand 138-7 (McMillan 18 Franklin 4) Another utterly baffling over from Murali leaves McMillan prodding, staring, glaring and generally just shrugging.

WICKET! McMillan 25 b Jayasuriya (31st over: New Zealand 147-8) Donuts looks all the happier against Jayasuriya, and smashes a huge six away down the ground with a mighty woodsman's swing of his bat. Sanath's a little too canny for such abuse though, and speeds the next one on a little to clean bowl him. "At least," Krishna Kumar suggests, "the fans of India and Pakistan did not have to wait five weeks with great expectations to finally see a revolting display in the semi-final like what NZ is doing now." Franklin swats two very futile runs away past mid-wicket.

WICKET! Bond 2 b Muralitharan (32nd over: New Zealand 149-9) "Constantly refreshing the OBO screen in rural Oklahoma, USA is depressing enough." You're right Micah Ayache, that'd get me down far enough, "But when there's not even decent beer to assist in salving my disappointment it is just too much to take. On ANZAC day and all..." Well this will cheer you up: Bond is skedaddled by an off-spinner that comes through his gate and his stumps are shattered. A chump's dismissal, though he's not the first. What a bad day he's had, the Kiwis one true star player and he's turned in his worst game in the World Cup semi final.

33rd over: New Zealand 153-9 (Franklin 10 Patel 2) A mundane over from Jayasuriya. Have mercy and bring on Malinga, I say.

34th over: New Zealand 158-9 (Franklin 11 Patel 6) Patel hits the ball in and out of the hands of the bat pad fielder. Conrad Bean begins "It seems like a reasonable time now to ask how you think the Lankans will do against Australia. There is something to admire in a Lankan side that can give up 20 runs in a single over and then turn right around and spank the opposition for 6 wickets in the next few overs. Maybe they won't be intimidated by Punter's crew like everyone else." Damn right they wont, Conrad. I might even make them favourites...

35th over: New Zealand 163-9 (Franklin 11 Patel 11) Patel thumps a fine shot for a no11, over mid-on and down to the ropes for four. Great bowling versus great batting, that's how you could hone down an Australia-Sri Lanka final, and, well, I might have to go with the bowlers.

36th over: New Zealand 168-9 (Franklin 11 Patel 11) "A reply to Mr Krishna Kumar over 30 : Why is this display 'revolting'? It is a game and players win or lose. Just that the kiwis are facing a very good team in the form of their lives. It's not like they are not trying. Just a bad day at work. How ould you like your boss or client to describe your work as 'revolting'." Honourable stuff that from Vibhanshu Bisht, but if I was a Kiwi fan I'd be more than a little nauseated by today.

37th over: New Zealand 176-9 (Franklin 17 Patel 12) Well, this should end it. Malinga is on. Anyone fancy a wager on how many balls we'll get in this over? Supposing, that is, Malinga decides to bowl yorkers and not another length ball like his first. But he doesn't: more length, and Franklin cleverly chips him over fine leg for four. Two more balls and still not a yorker. Franklin almost gives up as he's stranded mid pitch with a throw whistling in from short fine leg, but it misses. "New Zealand's problem is that they've lost nine wickets" says the Sri Lankan commentator Ranjit Fernando, most helpfully.

38th over: New Zealand 179-9 (Franklin 17 Patel 12) "And while I'm at it, the Cap Guns will have only played two test matches in the last 18 months by the end of this year. They've completely run down the premier form of the game in order to compete at this world cup, which was always likely to end in tears in a one-off loss like this. Nice one, New Zealand Cricket!" Davord G is less forgiving than Kumar Sangakkara, who drops a thick edge behid by Franklin off of Dilshan's off spinner.

39th over: New Zealand 183-9 (Franklin 22 Patel 15) I've realised I actually stopped bothering updating these two's scores - apologies. Ian Hemmings really wants me to print this: "For any of my Kiwi friends reading this - in the words of Nelson Muntz (of 'the Simpsons' fame), a loud, "Haha" from Ian Hemming in Lincoln, Nebraska!" but I've really only done it so I can run the tag line from the bottom of his email: "Life is no way to treat an animal, not even a mouse."- Kurt Vonnegut. Somehow, this nonsense last-wicket stand has extended into another over.

40th over: New Zealand 195-9 (Franklin 27 Patel 24) Franklin sweeps Dilshan fine down to leg for four more. Strangely, Patel has thrashed six of his own, over mid-on with a mighty clout. That leads Dilshan into a wide.

41st over: New Zealand 206-9 (Franklin 28 Patel 29) Jayasuriya returns. And as he's knocked one away to leg, well, this all seems a little pointless. Is this just mercy stuff? Prolonging New Zealand's stay in the tournament for a few special extra overs? Patel jumps down the pitch and flashes a four away through cover. That brings up the fifty partnership. He bunts the next to long-off for two more.

WICKET! Patel c Fernando b Dilshan 42nd over: New Zealand 208 It's over! Sri Lanka are in the final! They've won by 81 runs. Patel slaps one down long-on's throat and he's out for 34.

Funny the things that can turn a game isn't it? If McMillan had been batting at five like he was due to, well, New Zealand would have been at least 130-4 with a lot of batting to come. As it was they were undone by a brilliant spell from Murali, who turned in a spell of three for five. That was only made possible by some shrewd captaincy from Jayawardene, bringing Dilshan on when Styris was looking threatening. On top of his brilliant 114, well, that makes him man of the match by a mile.

So long New Zealand. It's a Crowded House backed montage and a sorry exit for you. Again. Thanks for all your emails and I'll see you back here tomorrow for South Africa v Australia. Bye.