Pakistan vs. New Zealand: Winners and Losers from the Test Series

A riveting series between Pakistan and New Zealand came to and end yesterday as New Zealand triumphed in an eventful Test that was overshadowed by the tragic passing of Phillip Hughes last week.

Some excellent cricket was played by both sides in a series that started with Pakistan picking up where they left off in the demolition of Australia.

The Kiwis then located their combative spirit to draw the second Test and tie the series with victory in the third and final Test.

In conditions that favoured those brandishing willow, there were plenty of runs to savour, with 12 centuries shared between 10 batsmen in the three-Test series.

For others, the run glut merely sharpened the focus on their failure to build an innings of substance.

Despite the dominance of batsmen, it was an eye-catching performance with the ball in hand that ultimately turned the series to set up victory for the tourists in the final Test.

Read on for a breakdown of the winners and losers from the drawn Test series between Pakistan and New Zealand.

Winners: Pakistan's First Choice Opening Batsmen

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Pakistan's surprise destruction of Australia in October and November was largely built on the foundations provided by the middle order, but it was their first-choice opening pair who got them off to a flier in the series against New Zealand.

Against Australia, No. 4 Younis Khan was irrepressible in notching two centuries and a double-hundred in four innings while Azhar Ali, batting at No.3, and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, batting at five, both weighed in with a century in each innings in the second Test.

The opening pair of Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad were less impressive, with the latter's ton in the second innings of the first Test representing the only time either passed 50 across seven combined innings.

In the first Test against New Zealand at Abu Dhabi the openers put that right, sharing an opening stand of 178 with Hafeez making 96 and Shehzad going on to a career-best 176.

Shehzad was unable to continue in the series after sustaining a minor fracture to the skull from a bouncer at the end of his innings which he is thankfully expected to fully recover from.

The second innings saw Hafeez match his injured opening partner with a hundred as he powered his way to 101 not out in the second innings to set up victory.

Hafeez, too, missed the second Test, laid low with a hamstring injury, but he soon picked up where he left off in the third Test in Sharjah with a masterful knock of 197.

"

Quite a performance from Mohammad Hafeez in Sharjah: 176* out of Pakistan's 279 for 3 v NZ

— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) November 26, 2014"

When he is next reunited with Shehzad, Pakistan will hope the pair will resume their outstanding form and continue to provide solid foundations for their reliable middle order.

Losers: Pakistan's Back-Up Opening Batsmen

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Less successful than Hafeez and Shehzad were the two openers called upon to replace them when injury struck, neither of whom can claim to have given the selectors a headache when the first choice pair are both available.

Twenty-five-year-old Shan Masood played both the last two Tests in place of Shehzad and would have been disappointed not to build on the promising innings of 75 on debut Test against South Africa last year.

While he was perhaps unlucky to receive a ripper from Ish Sodhi in his first innings which bowled him for 13 and can be commended for playing positively for 40 in the second innings, he struggled at Sharjah in the following game.

Masood was again bowled by a spinner for 12 but this time was at fault, leaving a gaping hole between bat and pad. In the second innings, he was caught on the crease during Trent Boult's hostile opening spell, edging to third slip for just four.

Thirty-three-year-old Taufeeq Umar brought far more experience to the side but even fewer runs. Playing his 44th Test in a 13-year career and his first since July 2012, Taufeeq was stumped for 16 in the first innings and feathered a catch behind for four in his second knock.

"

Disappointing performance by #Taufeeq Umar who didn't only fail with bat in both innings but also dropped catches while fielding. #PAKvNZ

— Shahzad Tirmizi Syed (@shahzadtirmizi) November 21, 2014"

Masood will surely get another chance at some stage, though it is hard to say the same for Taufeeq, who was immediately discarded when Hafeez regained fitness for the final Test.

Nonetheless, Masood will likely have been disappointed not to have scored the sort of runs that would have made him a viable alternative to the injury-hit first-choice opening pair with everyone fit and firing.

Winner: Tom Latham

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Young New Zealand opener Tom Latham gave notice of his talent in some style with hundreds in back-to-back Tests in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The 22-year-old from Christchurch had signalled his obvious potential with three consecutive fifties in June's tour of the West Indies in only his second and third Tests. In the United Arab Emirates, he took his performance up a notch.

He scored a fine 103 in the first innings of the first Test and repeated the feat with a splendid unbeaten 137 on Day 1 of the second Test before he was dismissed on his overnight score the following morning. In each innings, none of his teammates were able to pass 50.

"

Reward for 'keeping it simple' another quality test hundred by Tom Latham. Application to the task in the toughest cricket environment. ✅💯

— Bryan Waddle (@bawads) November 17, 2014"

Though he will have been disappointed to have missed out in the final Test at Sharjah as New Zealand batsmen gorged themselves on runs to reach 690, their highest ever total, his runs were all the more impressive for coming at a time when others struggled.

A bright Test future appears to lie ahead for Latham, and with captain Brendon McCullum striding out to bat with him at the start of each innings, he has an excellent opportunity to learn from one of the best in the business.

Loser: James Neesham

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Like Tom Latham, James Neesham made his debut against India in Wellington in February of this year and came into the series with four Tests under his belt including the June series in the West Indies.

Unlike Latham, Neesham went backwards in the series in Pakistan.

Where Latham had shown promise prior to this series, 24-year-old batting all-rounder Neesham had positively burst on to the scene with consecutive hundreds in his first two Tests against India and West Indies.

In addition, he registered a half-century in each innings in his last Test in Barbados and would have been full of confidence coming into the series.

However, in the UAE, Neesham found things much tougher going. In the first Test he was stumped for 11 off the bowling of Mohammad Hafeez then edged seamer Rahat Ali behind for a duck second time around.

In the second Test, he was out mistiming a drive for 17 and, as can often happen when lacking form, was on the receiving end of a beauty from Zulfiqar Babar and bowled for 11 in the second innings, leaving him with an average of 9.75 from four innings.

His seam bowling was only required for 29 overs and yielded just one wicket for 63 runs, and he was ultimately deemed surplus to requirements as the Black Caps opted for an extra spinner in the third Test and recalled veteran Daniel Vettori from his injury-enforced two-year hiatus from Test cricket.

Winner: Brendon McCullum's Captaincy

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New Zealand's spirited recovery to level the series continues their upward trajectory under the captaincy of Brendon McCullum, and his own stunning form as skipper continues to inspire his side.

After watching Australia get thumped 2-0 on the same shores, many would have expected to see New Zealand go the same way following a crushing 248-run defeat in the first Test in Abu Dhabi.

But McCullum has forged this New Zealand side very much in his own granite image, and they are made of sterner stuff these days.

Following the drawn second Test, Pakistan started the third Test brightly to reach 311/4 and Kiwi hopes of salvaging the series appeared to be fading.

A collapse from Pakistan that saw six wickets tumble for just 40 runs opened the door, and McCullum emphatically kicked it in, leading from the front with 202 from just 188 balls to set his side on the way to a decisive first innings total of 690.

"

Brendon McCullum reach 200 off 186-ball, the fastest double-century by any captain in Test history. #PAKvNZ

— Cricket Record (@cricinfo_record) November 29, 2014"

The Kiwi skipper's positive attitude has proven infectious, creating a culture of self-belief that helped the Black Caps turn the third Test on its head.

They finished the job with a ruthless bowling display that saw them skittle Pakistan in a little over two sessions to complete an innings victory to square the series. This series was another stepping stone in the right direction, and under McCullum, the Test side have not made a wrong turn for many months.

Losers: Pakistan Supporters

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The great shame of Pakistan's eye-catching form of late and their generally excellent form in home series is that they're not playing at home.

No Tests have been played in Pakistan since a 2009 terrorist attack targeting the Sri Lanka team bus. In-form batsman Younis Khan recently expressed his regret that his efforts have not been witnessed by large home crowds, as per Agence France-Presse (h/t NDTV Sports):

"

'It would have been fantastic had all this happened in Pakistan before my own people,' said an emotional Younis. 'It's always a good feeling playing before your home crowd as I did in 2004 against India, then in the next two years so I wish it could happen again in Pakistan before my own people.'

"

Twenty20 internationals played in the evenings in the United Arab Emirates have drawn significant crowds including a sellout T20 with Australia watched by more than 20,000 in Dubai. 

By contrast, Tests have been greeted with empty stadia, as per the AAP (h/t The Australian): "Test cricket is played during the day, when thousands of guest workers and passionate cricket fans are unable to attend matches in the United Arab Emirates."

Pakistan have made the best of their adopted home and have yet to lose a series in the UAE as per ESPN Cricinfo. They have twice drawn with South Africa, drawn one series and won another against Sri Lanka, and have whitewashed both England and Australia 3-0 and 2-0 respectively.

The enthralling drawn series with New Zealand featured some compelling passages of Test cricket, a number of thrilling individual innings and bowling performances and was live as a contest until New Zealand completed their comeback on Day 4 of the final Test.

It was too good an advert for Test cricket to be played in front of sparse crowds, and the sooner it is safe for Test cricket to return to Pakistan the better.

Winner: Mark Craig

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Spinner Mark Craig's series got off to a fairly inauspicious start with 0/126 as Pakistan racked up 566 in their first innings of the opening Test in Abu Dhabi.

He was wicketless from five overs as the home side cruised to their victory target in the second innings and was outbowled in the first innings of the second Test by fellow slow bowler Ish Sodhi. The leg-spinner took 2/92 from 29 overs as Craig laboured to figures of 1/117 from his 28.

In his short Test career, Craig had shown the capacity for match-winning displays, spinning the Kiwis to victory in Jamaica with 8/188 and this tendency would resurface spectacularly in the third Test.

Craig was introduced early in an attempt to break the opening stand, and he struck with his fifth delivery, bowling Shan Masood through the gate in the 17th over. Azhar Ali gifted Craig a second wicket, poking at a wide one, and after centurion Mohammad Hafeez fell to Sodhi for 197, Craig ran riot.

His flight and drift tied up the Pakistan lower order in knots as he took the five remaining wickets for just 21 runs in the space of 10 decisive overs.

With runs on the board in the second innings, Craig could afford to attack, and though expensive, he took the key wickets of Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq as Trent Boult ran through the rest of the top order.

It was fitting after such a destructive display that Craig took the final wicket to seal victory, dismissing Rahat Ali for combined figures of 10/203.

"

Mark Craig is the Man of the Match for his 10 wickets in the Test, and a fifty pic.twitter.com/tZL3GRnNTJ

— PTV Sports Official (@PTVSp0rts) November 30, 2014"

Craig claimed the second Man of the Match award of his fledgling six-Test career, cementing his place in the side for the foreseeable future.