AP, Wellington :
Mohammad Amir’s comeback to international cricket after a five-year ban for spot fixing surged then stumbled as Pakistan lost by 70 runs to New Zealand in the first one-day international on Monday.
Amir took 3-28 as Pakistan reduced New Zealand to 99-6 before young batsman Henry Nicholls led a rally, continued by powerful late-order hitting, which carried the hosts to 280-8.
Just as he seemed to have proved that his long exile from cricket hadn’t dulled his talent, Amir suffered a foot injury when struck by a straight drive from Mitchell Santner. He was able to bat, but made a seven-ball duck as Pakistan slumped from 118-2 in the 27th over to be all out for 210 in the 46th.
New Zealand did not feel the effect of being a bowler short. Mitchell McClenaghan was felled by a bouncer late in the Black Caps’ innings, suffering cuts to one eye when the ball squeezed through a gap in his visor, and he did not return to bowl.
Spinner Grant Elliott, who stepped up to fill the vacancy left by McClenaghan, bowled first change and took 3-43. Trent Boult then took 4-40 to wrap up the tail.
Babar Azam made 62 from 76 balls to keep Pakistan in the hunt till the later overs and he had suport from Mohammad Hafeez (42) and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed who made 30 from 29 balls. But Pakistan needed at least one of those batsmen to go on and, when they didn’t, it lost its last five wickets for 40 runs.
“We started very well,” Pakistan captain Azhar Ali said. “We got six wickets for 99 runs.
“We were at that stage in the driving seat but we really missed a great opportunity to get New Zealand out cheaply. Credit goes to their lower order. To score 280 from that was exceptional.”
Amir joined with Irfan (2-43) and Anwar Ali (3-66) to help Pakistan dominate New Zealand’s top order, leaving it six wickets down after 22 overs. But the bowlers struggled to maintain good lengths later in the innings and were unable to stifle the Kiwi’s resurgence.
Nicholls, into the side as a late replacement for injured Ross Taylor, led the New Zealand rally with a spirited innings of 82.
He put on 79 for the seventh wicket with Santner (48) to turn the tide of the match, then Matt Henry made a career-best 48 not out in a late-innings slog with McClenaghan (31).
The late assault took off in the 46th over, bowled by Wahab Riaz, from which Henry hit two sixes and McClenaghan one. Henry went on to hit four sixes and four fours and McClenaghan two sixes and three four before being felled by the bouncer from Anwar.
“The way Henry (Nicholls) anchored the innings and the way our bowlers came in and whacked it around the park went a long way to giving us a competitive total,” New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said.
“Then with the ball we were smart. It was the sort of pitch on which it was tough to take early wickets but as soon as guys looked to take the initiative it was quite tricky to time.”
Amir resumed his international career on this New Zealand tour after completing a five-year ban for his involvement in spot fixing during a test match against England in August, 2010.
He bowled moderately during the three-match Twenty20 series, but on Monday he looked more the bowler he had been as an 18-year-old became the youngest bowler to take 50 test wickets before the ban halted a promising career.
