Captain Kane Williamson secures 23th century tests. Video / Spark Sport
Hitting expert, Kane Williamson, added to his canon this morning as he passed 100 for the 23rd time in tests.
He now has four centuries more than the next best Ross Taylor, who scored 70 on the first day of this test. The late Martin Crowe has 17 while Brendon McCullum and John Wright complete the top five with 12 each.
The New Zealand captain started the day in the 94th minute and it took 25 minutes to score his first goal, a scuffed leg pull for twice.
He went to the three figures with tick marks driving through the cover of Naseem Shah.
His century brought him 261 balls, very slow by his standards, but very necessary.
Henry Nicholls, who recently got his highest test score in the second test against the West Indies, was with him in the 52nd fold, the 10th half-century test which he plans to convert to the seventh tonne test.
The pair put up 106 for the fourth goal and New Zealand is well placed at 239-3.
It was Williamson’s first test round and first century as a father, with wife Sarah giving birth earlier this month, an event which saw him miss his second test against the West Indies.
This is the second time he has scored in back-to-back innings in centuries.
The only other time he did was when he scored 242 not against Sri Lanka in the Reserve Basin in January 2015, then backed him up with 132 high-class at Lord’s in May of that year.
In many ways, this reflects the 22nd century where he hit the stump on the first day in one shot of a milestone after spending most of the day in attrition battles with bowlers.
Kane Williamson (L) and Ross Taylor (R) of New Zealand on the first day of the First Test match in the series between New Zealand and Pakistan. Photo / Getty Images.
If anything, the struggle here was greater than that against the West Indies in Hamilton. Although the field conditions are not favorable enough for a bowler like at Seddon Park, here the attack led by 20-year-old leftist Shaheen Shah Afridi is more skilled and relentless.
“It’s just Kane, right? He’s fighting really well. It’s great to play with him and get through that early stage,” said Taylor when asked to analyze Williamson’s performance on the first day.
“He fought all day, apart from three balls. His temperament, timing, obviously you need a little bit of luck here and there but I think he fights really well.”
Williamson left playing legends Wally Hammond, Colin Cowdrey, Geoff Boycott, Ian Bell, AB de Villiers and Mohammad Azharuddin behind on the 22nd and joined a select group that included Javed Miandad, Justin Langer, Kevin Pietersen and Virender Sehwag.
The difference is that all these players have reached 100 tests. This is Williamson’s 82nd.
Kane Williamson of bat New Zealand on the first day of the First Test match in the series between New Zealand and Pakistan. Photo / Getty Images.
Only 26 players in cricket’s 143-year trial history have scored three more than Williamson.
He’s scored 16.2 percent a century from the time he came into the fold, good enough for a 13th best. Of the current players, only Steve Smith (19.5) and Virat Kohli (18.4) have turned their more innings into the 100s.
Team New Zealand’s plan to test themselves against the opposition in the first official practice race ahead of the American Cup World Series was thwarted twice by the winds on Monday.
By Michael Burgess
The New Zealand team didn’t get a chance to flex their muscles on Monday, after INEOS Team UK pulled out of the trial race scheduled for the start.
After training without an opponent last Friday – as all three challengers chose to stay on land, for various reasons – it was another largely unproductive session for the Kiwis, in terms of boat-on-boat duels.
But the mysterious problems plaguing the England team continue and unresolved issues quickly become the most compelling story in preparation for this weekend’s World Cup America.
After not taking part in last week’s trials – due to unspecified hardware issues – Ben Ainslie’s team appeared set to depart on Tuesday, heading to Field A with three other teams, which are located between Rangitoto Island and the East Coast Gulf.
The New Zealand team again couldn’t flex their muscles against the opponent. Photo / Dean Purcell
They started their pre-start maneuver against Team New Zealand, but pulled the pin less than two minutes into that phase. It seemed that they stopped immediately after completing one insult.
The British ship, supported by the largest single sponsor in shipping history, then returned to the Viaduct port base under the crane, while Te Rehutai completed one stage of the course.
That means the English team only has one more chance to finish the test races (Tuesday) before the World Series kicks off on Thursday.
The mystery deepens around the hardware issue that INEOS Team UK is reporting after another non-start. Photo / Dean Purcell
Team New Zealand’s first test scheduled for Monday – also against England – was canceled due to a lack of wind on a frustrating afternoon at Auckland harbor.
The only consolation for the Kiwi syndicate is that they have at least spent more valuable time on the water, and have once again looked chic in their brief period on track.
Peter Burling’s team also had four days of training without hardware damage or problems, unlike other teams.
The breeze meant only one trial was completed on Monday, but it was exhilarating for Luna Rossa fans.
In breezes of between eight and ten knots, it was an impressive performance from Jimmy Spithill and his crew, beating American Magic from the start and extending their lead on both legs.
It’s too early to draw definitive conclusions, and syndicates have different goals in practice races, as they try different things. But these trials support the general consensus that Luna Rossa will be strong in lighter air, while the Patriots might do better in tougher conditions, as the New York-backed team has seen training well at 20 knots or more in recent weeks.
American Magic and Luna Rossa on the water on Monday. Photo / Dean Purcell
On Monday Luna Rossa won the start and was about 10 seconds ahead at the first mark. Dean Barker and the Americans tried to break through but were unable to close the gap.
The Europeans had extended their lead by the second mark to around 30 seconds, before the trial was over.
The challengers are still in the process of learning what additional work will be in the lead up to the expected summit for the Prada Cup in January and February next year.
American Magic was defeated in the only practice race completed that day. Photo / Dean Purcell
“Every day when you go, you learn something new and we just started this race,” Luna Rossa chief executive Max Sirena told the Herald last week.
“We know the improvements will be enormous across all teams and the ship’s performance will change according to weather and wind strength.”
COLOGNE, Germany and WASHINGTON – Four aircraft makers have submitted final bids for a $ 6.5 billion Swiss aircraft program, with Airbus and Lockheed Martin touting different approaches to assembling their aircraft locally.
November 18 is the deadline for a hopeful quartet of vendors, which also includes Boeing and Dassault, to deliver a vision – and pricing – for one of Europe’s largest procurement programs.
Switzerland is looking for between 36 and 40 new aircraft to monitor the country’s airspace. The level of participation of local industry is a major factor for Swiss people who are known to be independent-minded.
Airbus got help from four Eurofighter operators – Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK – who sent their ambassadors in Switzerland to a November 19 press conference to discuss prospects for a bigger industrial and political partnership that would follow Eurofighter elections.
Switzerland is expected to make a decision as early as summer 2021, following a referendum vote this September that narrowly illuminates the budget.
Airbus’ bid includes the final assembly of all aircraft via partner companies in Switzerland, details of which the companies will announce in December.
Michael Flügger, Germany’s ambassador to Switzerland, touted the possibility of cooperating in Eurofighter-based airspace patrols along the Italian-Swiss-German axis. In addition, he said, the joining of Switzerland with an airplane club means the country can “export” the noise of training flights to remote areas of other partner countries.
Franz Posch, who heads the Airbus campaign in Switzerland, told reporters that the company’s plans to assemble 40 notional planes locally would “more than meet” the offset requirements set by the Swiss government.
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Lockheed Martin, with its F-35, also has high hopes for Swiss competition, hoping to expand the aircraft’s user base in Europe. The company’s offer includes a basic program of 36 jets, with options for four additional aircraft, said Mike Kelley, who is leading the company’s F-35 effort in Switzerland, at a Nov. 19 round table meeting with reporters.
While Switzerland will be able to buy parts through a spare parts pool shared by all F-35 operators, the offer also contains a six-month-used spare parts package – a separate spare part pot to be managed by the Swiss government, necessary to meet Swiss autonomy requirements. .
To meet industry participation requirements, Switzerland will have the opportunity to domestically produce about 400 canopies and transparencies for the F-35 aircraft, and Lockheed will establish a European center for maintenance, repair and overhaul of the F 35 canopy and transparency in Switzerland. In addition, the country will undertake specific F-35 engine and airframe maintenance projects focused on maintaining the operational autonomy of the Swiss Air Force, Kelley said.
Lockheed also plans to partner with Swiss industry to create a cyberspace excellence center, which will prototype a unique data network for Switzerland and build a test site that will allow Swiss companies to test cyber capabilities in a secure environment.
On top of these efforts, Lockheed is offering Switzerland one final industry participation opportunity. For an additional fee, Switzerland will be able to carry out the final assembly of four F-35 aircraft at the existing RUAG facility in Emmen, enabling Swiss technicians currently working on its aging Hornet fleet to build deeper knowledge of aircraft design.
The options will add “significant costs” to the total program, said Kelley, but could allow for overall savings over the life cycle of the program.
Boeing, meanwhile, has positioned its offering of its F-18 Super Hornet fleet as a logical extension of Switzerland’s existing F-18 infrastructure. “As an F / A-18 operator, Switzerland will have the option of reusing up to 60 percent of its existing physical and intellectual infrastructure, making the transition to the Super Hornet easier and more cost-effective over the life of the aircraft,” the company said in a statement.
The aircraft offer, the statement added, would “easily fit” into Switzerland’s current F-18 operating budget.
The cost reference came after Swiss officials stressed that the fighter aircraft portion of the Air 2030 air defense modernization program includes a cost ceiling of 6 billion Swiss francs (US $ 6.6 billion), taking into account potential price cuts along the way.
“Currently, Boeing is working with more than 100 current and new partners across Switzerland to identify the right opportunities for the new Fighter Aircraft industry plans,” the company said.
Dassault France, with its bid for the Rafale, was the only vendor who kept his cards close to his chest. Citing a commitment to confidentiality, a spokesman told Defense News that the company had no plans to describe its offer or the “nature of the relationship” between the Swiss and French governments for that purpose.
The fractured relationship between Team New Zealand and record challenger Luna Rossa appears to have hit an all-time low. Video / Luna Rossa / American Magic / Ineos Team UK / Emirates Team NZ
American Cup heavyweight Brad Butterworth said Team New Zealand had been “beaten” when the defender and challenger exchanged strokes during the regatta.
The NZ team on Thursday suffered a backlash when the American team The Cup arbitration panel ruled out two of the five courses for the event from Head of North Devonport.
This has cast doubt on the entire concept of the 36th America’s Cup of Nations, with TNZ claiming that the city view will be lost to world audiences, and the public will lose its best viewing experience.
TNZ sparked a war of words when it tweeted an attack on Luna Rossa on its official social media accounts, claiming that Italy was “destroying” the public’s ability to see next year’s early screen race.
American Cup challengers Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team at their ship launch earlier this week. Photos / Photosport
TNZ claims it is “angry that after three years of planning a ground-based stadium event” the Italian challenger has tampered with the concept. He accused Luna Rossa of carrying out a “campaign through the arbitration panel”.
But Butterworth, who was hired by Luna Rossa last month, told NZME that the British and American teams supported Italy’s position.
The usually confusing and bitter America’s Cup dispute centered on the use of B and C courses. Butterworth said the challengers found they would not have access to the area during the challenger’s Prada Cup, giving the home side a tactical advantage.
Application by The Challenger of Record @lunar to the Arb AC Panel to destroy the city’s public display @tokopedia the race has been successful. More to come. pic.twitter.com/awWq2Uz1Wr
This goes against AC rules which say it should be a 50/50 situation. If negotiations fail to resolve the situation, courses B and C – which offer prime public viewing – will be excluded for the challenger series and the Copa America itself.
“It’s pretty obvious to everyone that’s wrong here,” Butterworth said.
“This is a bit of bad manners and they have been arrested by the arbitration committee … everyone from the challenger side has raised their hands in horror … there have been submissions written by all teams in support of this action.”
Cruise ship legend Kiwi Butterworth – a four-time Copa America winner – is still hopeful that negotiations can bring both pitches back into play.
But he said communication with TNZ was difficult.
“It’s very difficult to get to the top echelons and talk to them on any given day,” he said.
“We have representatives from the Luna Rossa team, they don’t even talk to them about the event.
“The relationship is not great, it’s clear to everyone. But let’s try and fix it and get a solution because it’s a yacht race in the end.”
The America’s Cup arbitration panel has ruled out two of the five courses for next year’s event. Photos / Photosport
TNZ boss Grant Dalton declined to be interviewed by NZME, but his statement read: “Frankly we are very angry with this decision, this decision goes against everything we have been trying to achieve over the past three years without considering its effect on the New Zealand public and the city of Auckland. “
The TNZ statement said that “images with the city of Auckland in the background during the races have always been an important part of presenting Auckland and New Zealand to the world in events with significant global audiences, and another reason for the original racetrack design”.
While Butterworth said courses B and C had been removed “without the knowledge” of the challengers, Dalton emphatically rejected them in a statement to NZME.
“To suggest that this is an arrangement between defenders and local authorities is just making the difference and not being factually correct.”
Dalton said it was safe to “assume” that contractors hired by TNZ and Luna Rossa had informed Italians of the changes earlier this year.
New Zealand Team chief executive Grant Dalton. Photos / Photosport
Meanwhile, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has asked the syndicate to find a solution.
“We want the Copa America to be accessible to as many Auckland and New Zealanders as possible. I will encourage all parties to work together to find better solutions,” Goff said in a statement.