Cricket: No excuses says Taylor

Umar Akmal of Pakistan celebrates as Peter McGlashan is bowled during game three of the Twenty20 series. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand captain Ross Taylor had no excuses following his team's capitulation against Pakistan in the third Twenty20 cricket international in Christchurch yesterday.

The Black Caps, who won the three-match series 2-1, lost a valuable chance to maintain momentum going into the two-test series beginning in Hamilton on January 7.

They into struggled to contain a rampant Pakistan team, who put on 183 for six in their 20 overs after winning the toss.

In reply, the Black Caps constructed a truly horrendous batting effort to be all out for 80 one ball short of 16 overs.

The total was New Zealand's lowest in Twenty20 cricket, and came horribly close to the lowest by a test-playing nation, currently standing at 74 set by India against Australia in 2008.

The top four batsmen were out without scoring, and only Scott Styris, with 45 from 34 deliveries including six fours and a six, reached double figures.

Taylor, captaining the Black Caps as regular skipper Dan Vettori recovers from a back injury, said afterwards that it was a disappointing way to end the series.

"Pakistan batted well and put a very competitive total on the board, and when your four top batsmen get out for nothing, it's pretty hard chasing a target like that," he told Sky TV afterwards.

Taylor said there was no complacency in the team, despite comfortable wins in the first two Twenty20 internationals in Auckland and Hamilton.

"We wanted to win the series 3-0 after what's happened over the last few months and it's disappointing to put out a performance like that in front of a pretty good crowd."

New Zealand struggled with the ball early, Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez putting on 81 for the first wicket in a shade under nine overs.

The quicker bowlers especially suffered, Tim southee going for 53 for one off his four overs while 18-year-old Adam Milne managed 48 for one.

Only James Franklin emerged with any credit, picking up 12 for two off three overs, including the wickets of Shehzad for 54 and Hafeeze (34).

"After the start they had, we were pretty happy to be only be chasing 180, but they bowled extremely well," Taylor said.

"The pitch changed a little bit but the way Abdul Razzaq and Afridi bowled was just outstanding."

Afridi returned the best figures with 4-14 off 2.5 overs, while Razzaq was nearly as impressive with 3-13 off four.

With the first test barely a week away, Taylor is hoping the Black Caps will be able to bounce back from yesterday's sub-par effort.

"The test's not far away, and it's a bit disappointing to lose the momentum we had. But the test series is something where we did quite well in India, and hopefully we can improve on that back here in New Zealand."

A New Zealand selection, including Franklin, Chris Martin, Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder and Vettori, is scheduled to play the Pakistanis in a three-day match in Whangarei beginning on Sunday.

- NZPA