Rival captains put faith in their teams

Abu Dhabi: The Cool and Cool Cup, which Pakistan and New Zealand will battle to win during the three one-day matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, was unveiled by the captains of both the teams at the Radisson Blu Hotel on Yas Island yesterday.

Pakistan skipper Younus Khan revealed that his team will walk into the ground hungry for success. "We had a hard time in the Champions Trophy and so we are hungry to win here. We will give them a hard time," said Khan.

Meanwhile, Daniel Vettori, the skipper of the New Zealand team, said: "We will want to build on the confidence we gained from the Champions Trophy and despite the injuries to our key players we are confident that we can do it."

Vettori is happy with the training sessions they had at the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium since their arrival on October 28.

"We have got used to conditions which are different from ours. It was a bit warm when we started off but we have got used to it now," said Vettori, who believes that if the wicket in Abu Dhabi is similar to Dubai then they will be able to score a lot of runs.

However, Vettori feels that a warm up game for the team would have been ideal before the series.

Khan expressed his satisfaction with the preparation for the series. "We had some training sessions and the nice thing is that everyone is fit," he said.

Though the conditions here will be similar to Pakistan, Khan said: "We will go into the series with a 50-50 chance. New Zealand is a tough team to beat especially in One-day cricket."

Khan went on to name the New Zealand players who can tilt the balance. "They have Shane Bond, Kyle Mills, Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori. They are all dangerous players in one-day cricket. So to beat New Zealand we will have to bowl and bat well and particularly field very well. It is tough to have a specific plan against New Zealand," said Khan.

New Zealand pacer Kyle Mills is a doubtful starter and may miss the opening match of the Cool and Cool Cup against Pakistan. "Mills is nursing a sore shoulder and it will be sad if we may have to miss him for the first match," said New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori.

The New Zealand team is already hit by injuries to their star players like Jesse Ryder, Grant Elliott and Daryl Tuffey. "We are no worried about their absence and they have been replaced by Scott Styris, Bradley John Watling and Tim Southee.

Vettori remarked that Southee, who bowls pace may play in today's match. "He has been performing very well and he deserves a place in the team."

When asked in which position would Brendon McCullum, who was removed from vice captaincy to focus on his batting, bat today, Vettori said: McCullum will open the innings in the One-day match tomorrow."

Injuries: Kiwis may miss Mills

New Zealand pacer Kyle Mills is a doubtful starter and may miss the opening match of the Cool and Cool Cup against Pakistan. "Mills is nursing a sore shoulder and it will be sad if we may have to miss him for the first match," said New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori.

The New Zealand team is already hit by injuries to their star players such as Jesse Ryder, Grant Elliott and Daryl Tuffey. "We are not worried about their absence and they have been replaced by Scott Styris, Bradley John Watling and Tim Southee."

Vettori remarked that Southee, who bowls pace, may play in today's match. "He has been performing very well and he deserves a place in the team."

When asked in which position would Brendon McCullum, who was removed from vice captaincy to focus on his batting, bat today, Vettori said: "McCullum will open the innings in the one-day match."