Opinion: Black Caps need to be tested

Kane Williamson mixing with fans after the win over the Windies at Bay Oval. PHOTO/PHOTOSPORT

Is anyone able to give the Black Caps a decent game?

No sooner have we said goodbye to the woeful Windies who were equally inept in all three forms of the game than the highly fancied Pakistan team arrived.

Winners of the Champions Trophy in England last year with a memorable spanking of India in the final, they hit New Zealand with nine straight ODI victories behind them.

Pakistan opened their tour with the first of five ODIs against the Black Caps on Saturday and were no better than the Windies. They conceded 315 to a rampant Black Caps batting line-up and then slumped to 54-5.

An undefeated 82 off 86 balls from opener Fakhar Zaman helped the score to 166-6 off 30 overs before the rains came to wash the match out.

The Black Caps won easily on the Duckworth-Lewis system and, but for Zaman, would have embarrassed Pakistan.

He is a player of immense talent and made his mark with a century at Lord's to help Pakistan beat India in the Champions Trophy final in June.

To be fair to Pakistan, this is one of the strongest Black Caps teams in recent seasons. With Tauranga's champion batsman Kane Williamson leading the way with 115 off 117 balls, 315 was a significant target.

It was Williamson's 10th ODI century and only eight others still playing have as many. He has scored 4831 ODI runs for New Zealand at 46.90 to go with a test average of 50.62.

Let's not forget he is still only 27 with many, many seasons of run scoring to come.

He is so understated about his achievements. He dismantles bowling attacks with the finesse of a plastic surgeon and it is easy to lose touch with just how good he is.

There is an understated style about him New Zealanders love. Compare the way Williamson behaves on the pitch compared with Australia's best two players David Warner and Steve Smith with their ridiculous over-the-top century celebrations.

Back in Williamson's home town there has been plenty to celebrate with the magnificent Bay Oval starring in the two Twenty20 internationals between the Black Caps and Windies last week.

The revamped ground has a capacity of about 11,000 now with the increased banking done with little fuss over the winter. But the new digital scoreboard and the six lighting towers rightly got all the attention and have no peer in New Zealand.

My colleague at the NZ Herald Andrew Alderson wrote a topical piece while he was here that the Bay Oval is now ready for test cricket. He is right on the money as always with next season a distinct possibility.

The upgraded media tower is another major plus for those of us working at games. The print media room was directly above and looking down the pitch during the second T20 match. Just stunning to watch from that vantage point.

However, over-use is a concern for the Bay Oval. The pitches will be under extreme duress with six games to be played in the Under19 Cricket World Cup in seven days starting this Saturday with New Zealand and defending champions West Indies.

Let's hope the younger players from the Caribbean perform better than the dross served up by their senior team.

Black Caps v Pakistan, ODI, Nelson, today 11am