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Hamilton: New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and Jesse Ryder are injury concerns for their side's must-win fifth one-day international against Pakistan in Hamilton on Thursday.
Vettori suffered a hamstring injury in the two-wicket loss in Napier on Tuesday that gave Pakistan a 2-1 lead in the series, while Ryder was a late withdrawal from that match after he suffered a bruised finger at the weekend.
"We'd be pretty hopeful about Jesse," coach John Wright told reporters in Hamilton on Wednesday. "I'm not quite so sure about Dan, I think it's just general stiffness but we'll have to have a look."
"He's probably more uncertain but we've got a physio who is very experienced so we'll act on the expert's advice."
New Zealand's entire World Cup squad are in Hamilton so they should be able to cope with late decisions on Vettori and Ryder, though the hosts had hoped to field their strongest line up for the final two matches of the six-game series.
"I've always believed at this level you pick your best side, that tends to solve a lot of problems because you have your best chance of winning and getting some momentum going," Wright said.
Players identify with the opportunity to play and those who miss out want to take their place, so I've always thought survival of the fittest.
Martin Guptill has looked assured, and has breezed away to solid starts throughout the series. The dismissals have been soft though - getting caught in the in-field while looking to work the ball away.
Misbah-ul-Haq keeps adding facets to his game that no one expects him to. His idea of breaking free in limited-overs games used to be an ungainly bent-knee swipe that almost always never went beyond midwicket. But he has shown that he can find the boundaries when needed.
Pakistan have been unchanged for the previous two games, and in a potential series-decider, could go in with the same XI again. Sohail Tanvir has been a bit expensive so far, but he also got his side home in Napier with three fours in six deliveries. That he comes in at No. 10 shows the depth Pakistan have in their batting.
Teams from
New Zealand Daniel Vettori (capt), Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Ross Taylor (vice-capt), Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum (wk), Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Scott Styris, Nathan McCullum, Hamish Bennett, Tim Southee
Pakistan Shahid Afridi (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Tanvir Ahmed, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz
Stats and trivia
Match facts
Thursday February 3, 2011 (day/night)
Start time 14:00 local (01:00 GMT)
