December 5, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 10, 1424

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RAWALPINDI, Dec 4: Bruised and battered, New Zealand are in for more hammering as they go into the fourth One-day International against Pakistan at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Down 0-3 in the five-game series, the under-strength New Zealand are still a determined bunch though and despite successive defeats, stand-in captain Chris Cairns feels his players are putting in their best. “Everybody is trying their guts out and if we can pull off a victory it will be fantastic.”

Without regular captain Stephen Fleming and eight other key players including Shane Bond and Nathan Astle, the Black Caps lost the series on Wednesday in Faisalabad, beaten by 51 runs.

“I have been in this situation before for New Zealand and every time you walk on the park you are looking to put in,” he said as the tourists arrived here on Thursday afternoon for the match that will be a day-nighter.

The fifth game is also in Rawalpindi on Sunday.

New Zealand are unlikely to make any changes for the match but Cairns said it would be important that pacer Daryl Tuffey, who has missed two of the first three matches got some overs. “He is still an asset for New Zealand cricket and needs to be bowling.”

Cairns who was named to lead the side in the absence of Fleming, who had to miss the tour because of an abdominal injury, pointed out that his side’s inability to take wickets, break partnership and putting pressure in the middle overs had proven costly.

But the tourists, who aborted their tour last May after a bomb blast outside their hotel in Karachi killed at least 14 people, have found Hamish Marshall’s form of great help.

Marshall, just 24 years of age, impressed his captain by striking 55 on his debut in the first match in Lahore on Saturday and did even better on Wednesday, cracking an unbeaten 101.

“He’s got an opportunity he probably wasn’t even thinking of. It hasn’t only been his batting, his fielding has been dynamic, some of the best around. He has got a great work ethic and I’ve been really impressed,” the New Zealand skipper pointed out.

Cairns said that if it had been a full-strength New Zealand team, it would have been a different story all together. “The side we have here does not have as many match-winners as Pakistan.”

The touring team has seven new players.

With an unbeatable lead in the series, Pakistan are now looking to finish off New Zealand by completing a whitewash.

“Yes, it would be nice to win 5-0 and I think it shouldn’t be something too difficult to achieve,” Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan skipper, said.

Inzamam, who on Wednesday became only the seventh player to have played 300 One-day Internationals, could achieve more honours on Friday. He needs only 23 runs to surpass Indian Mohammad Azharuddin (9378) to become the second highest scorer in one-day cricket behind Sachin Tendulkar (12685). The Pakistan captain currently has 9356 runs.

Inzamam said that both Umar Gul and Azhar Mahmood, who have not played in the series so far could be given a chance in the remaining two matches. “Yes you might see them in action.”

Pakistan won the first match of the series in Lahore by three wickets and followed that up with a 124-run rout of the visitors before gaining an unassailable lead in Faisalabad.

Teams (from):

Pakistan: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Imran Farhat, Saleem Elahi, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Moin Khan, Danish Kaneria, Shabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul.

New Zealand: Chris Cairns (captain), Tama Canning, Craig Cumming, Chris Harris, Paul Hitchcock, Richard Jones, Hamish Marshall, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Mathew Sinclair, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Matthew Walker, Kerry Walmsley, Michael Mason.

Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Dave Orchard (South Africa).

TV umpire: Asad Rauf (Pakistan).

Match referee: Denis Lindsay (South Africa).