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Semi-final against India awaits host nation after knocking off paltry target of 72

Valkerie Baynes04-Aug-2022England will play India in the Commonwealth Games semi-finals after a fiery start from Katherine Brunt spurred them to a thumping win over New Zealand in their final group stage match at Edgbaston.New Zealand will face gold-medal favourites Australia in Saturday’s other semi-final after crumbling to their third-lowest T20I total as Brunt, Issy Wong and Sarah Glenn claimed economical hauls of two wickets each.Playing without Heather Knight, their captain who was ruled out of the entire tournament with a hip injury that is expected to take some months to heal, Alice Capsey top-scored for England for the third straight match as the hosts overhauled a tiny target with 50 balls to spare, treating the 10,892-strong crowd to a stirring home victory.NZ bear the BruntBrunt set England off to the perfect start when she sent Sophie Devine’s leg stump cartwheeling with a brilliant offcutter as the batter tried to defend on just the fourth ball of the match.In Brunt’s second over, she removed Amelia Kerr with an equally impressive delivery that beat the bottom edge as Kerr tried to heave over the leg side and clipped the top of middle stump in what turned out to be a wicket maiden, leaving Brunt with 2 for 2 from as many overs at that point. She ended the match with 2 for 4 from three overs.No let-up from EnglandWhen Wong entered the fray soon after, she struck with her fourth ball as Suzie Bates – by now New Zealand’s great hope – picked out Nat Sciver at midwicket. All of a sudden, the White Ferns were 12 for 3, and they only managed to stretch their score to 21 for 3 by the end of the powerplay.Their woes deepened when Brooke Halliday ran herself out, charging down the pitch after Maddy Green had worked Sciver to the leg side but not taken more than a half step before holding her hand up. By the time Green screamed, “no, no!” her team-mate was virtually standing next to her and had to keep walking on to the dugout as Sciver gathered wicketkeeper Amy Jones’ throw and whipped off the bails at the non-striker’s end.Wong claimed her second when Hayley Jensen chipped to Danni Wyatt at point to leave New Zealand 35 for 5 at the halfway point of their innings. Spinners Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn – the latter taking two wickets in two balls – put England on the brink of bowling their opposition out before 10th-wicket pair Hannah Rowe and Fran Jonas managed to bat out the 20 overs.Runs reeled inEngland’s run-chase stuttered when Wyatt skied the last ball of the opening over, bowled by Jonas, towards midwicket and keeper Isabella Gaze ran into the gap to take the catch.Capsey, the 17-year-old England have thrown into the No. 3 position whenever they lose a wicket in powerplay – she is their leading scorer of the Games with 117 runs and second only to Bates overall – set out to marshall the pursuit once more. Fresh off her maiden international half-century in the previous match against South Africa, Capsey sent highly experienced White Ferns seamer Lea Tahuhu to the boundary four times in one over, thrice with authority through the off side before swinging her through square leg.Compounding New Zealand’s problems, captain Devine brought herself into the attack but was found to have overstepped when she had Capsey well caught on the ramp by Rowe. The damage was limited, however, when Capsey chipped Kerr to Devine at mid-off in the next over without adding to her 19-ball 23.Sophia Dunkley remains yet to pass 20 in this competition after she was bowled by a Kerr googly for 19 but then Jones, supported by Sciver, made light work of the deficit, finding the boundary four times to see their side home inside 12 overs.

Despite the Pakistan T20I side being in flux in recent times, the head coach has backed them to come good in SA

Danyal Rasool25-Mar-2021Head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has dismissed concerns Pakistan are heading into the T20 World Cup later this year unsure of their best side, pointing to a “nucleus of seven-eight players that were almost the same”. With the side ringing the changes once more for the T20I squad, the current Pakistan unit is a far cry from the one that was ranked No.1 when Misbah took over as head coach in 2019. There have been several changes from one series to the next, though Misbah felt the side – especially the batting line-up – now had a “settled” look to it.”Your nucleus is important in T20I cricket,” Misbah said during a virtual press conference, “and about seven-eight players that we have are almost the same wherever we play. Even in a 15-man squad, about 10-12 players remain the same. The batting nucleus remains the same, with only one-two changes in terms of form. This team, and the overall line-up of our T20 batting looks settled. Shaheen Afridi, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Haider Ali, these form the core of our side. In terms of players, we are very much clear about where we are going to be come the World Cup.”Related

• Buoyed by limited-overs record, Misbah quietly confident of Pakistan's chances in South Africa

• Misbah defends Sharjeel selection, insists fitness not compromised

If the names Misbah mention appear to provide stability now, that wasn’t always the case in the past two years. In his first squad as chief selector and head coach – a T20I series against Sri Lanka, Misbah named a number of players currently out of the side for a number of reasons, including Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Usman Shinwari, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir and Haris Sohail. The squad for the following T20I series – in Australia – saw another revamp, with Mohammad Hasnain, Khushdil Shah, Musa Khan Abdul Qadir and Mohammad Irfan being included. Pakistan went on to lose all completed T20Is in both series.The chopping and changing has continued, though not quite to that extreme, of late. However, there continue to be concerns around the form of a number of middle-order players who were considered staples of the T20I side. Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil have struggled to find form in the format, while Haider Ali lacks consistency. Mohammad Hafeez, not part of those initial squads, is now a key part of Pakistan’s plans, as is Mohammad Rizwan, whose sudden form has blindsided just about everyone. Misbah, however, expressed satisfaction with the progress of the side, saying the immediate focus remained on the tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe.”We’re looking ahead to this challenge at the moment,” he said. In terms of bounce and pace, it’s different in South Africa. The Wanders and Centurion are grounds we have performed well at in the past in white-ball cricket. Besides, with the emergence of fast bowlers like Shaheen and Hasnain, as well as allrounders like Faheem, the balance of our side is really good. We also have good spinners. In the past, we might have had problems with our balance, but we’re in a good position to hopefully win the white-ball series there.There will be plenty in Pakistan still upset that a side which was nailed-on favourites for this T20 World Cup now go to the tournament at a time when they are mid-table, at best, but the extra year afforded to them by the pandemic has allowed a relatively young squad to begin to settle once more. They might have a challenge getting so far as the semi-finals – let alone walking away with the trophy – but Misbah seems to feel there is more to be optimistic about than he might have cared to admit a year earlier.

The Strikers are looking to bounce back from a poor season and all eyes will be on AB de Villiers when he joins the Heat

Alex Malcolm and Andrew McGlashan13-Dec-2019

Adelaide Strikers

Captain: Travis HeadCoach: Jason GillespieOverseas players: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Phil Salt (England)Full squad: Wes Agar, Alex Carey, Travis Head, Rashid Khan, Jake Lehmann, Michael Neser, Harry Nielsen, Liam O’Connor, Phil Salt, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Jonathan Wells, Cameron White, Nick Winter, Harry ConwayLast season: 7thThe Strikers went from champions to second from bottom in a campaign that never really got off the ground with a four-game losing streak mid-season ending their hopes of a successful title defence.What’s changed for the season?Gillespie has used his Sussex knowledge to bring in top-order batsman Salt, who briefly featured in the England T20I squad earlier this year. Ben Laughlin, a long-time part of the Strikers attack, has moved to the Brisbane Heat for family reasons, with Harry Conway coming into the squad. Cameron White, in what is likely to be the final fling of his career, brings winning experience from the Melbourne Renegades.Australia impactHead and possibly Michael Neser will be featuring in the Test side until early January, and Alex Carey will be lost to the ODI tour India mid-tournament. There is a chance that if Neser remains in the Test squad he could be released for BBL duty if not needed against New Zealand.Player to watchWes Agar has been bowling very well in Marsh Cup and Sheffield Shield cricket this season and, after just two matches for the Strikers last summer, could get greater opportunity in this campaign particularly with the departure of Laughlin and if Neser is on Australia duty.Key stat (Gaurav Sundararaman)Rashid Khan‘s form might have dipped in other T20s and ODIs in 2019 but his performance in the Big Bash is extraordinary. In the last two seasons, Rashid has taken 37 wickets at an economy rate of 5.93 and 45% of his deliveries are dots.AB de Villiers unleashes while down on one knee•Getty Images

Brisbane Heat

Captain: Chris LynnCoach: Darren LehmannOverseas players: Tom Banton (England – first eight games), AB de Villiers (South Africa – expected from January 9), Zahir Khan (Afghanistan), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)Full squad: Tom Banton, Max Bryant, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, AB De Villiers (overseas replacement), Cameron Gannon, Sam Heazlett, Zahir Khan, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Ben Laughlin, Josh Lalor, Chris Lynn, James Pattinson, James Peirson, Jack Prestwidge, Matt Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (overseas replacement)Last season: 5thThey had a lot of hype about them but failed to fire, missing the finals by a game. Their much-vaunted top order made a lot of bright starts but fizzled out quickly and the order was chopped and changed throughout the tournament. They saved their best work for the last two games with two magnificent chases but it was too little too late.What’s changed for the season?A new coach and a few new bash brothers. Darren Lehmann, who led the Heat to the title in BBL02, takes charge again after Daniel Vettori stepped down. The signing of AB de Villiers and Tom Banton made a huge stir. They will play half the tournament each with de Villiers available for the finals. The Heat have the best batting line-up in the BBL but historically the best bowling teams have won the tournament and they will need to bowl well. Laughlin’s return to Queensland from the Strikers having won a title in Adelaide is a nice addition.Australia impactJames Pattinson’s availability early in the tournament is subject to his Test duties but he could play more games than the Heat had planned for, given the form of Australia’s incumbent Test quicks. Joe Burns and Marnus Labuschagne will be unavailable in the early part of the tournament but both may even struggle to get a game for the Heat given the batting depth. It is unlikely many Heat players will head to India with the ODI team, although Labuschagne was named joint player of the Marsh Cup and Australia may want to look at him in a second format if they experiment with the side.Player to watchMax Bryant is the obvious choice. He has so much potential but capitalising on starts and finding consistency as a young player is his biggest challenge. He has had a lean season in 50-over cricket for Queensland but a couple of early scores in the BBL and he could go have a huge tournament.Key stat (Gaurav Sundararaman)Tom Banton comes into this competition with very high expectations. Out of the 41 players to have faced 200 balls in powerplays in 2019, Banton has the best strike rate of 160. He scores big and at a brisk pace. The Gabba pitch could be perfect for Banton to showcase his skills.

Hamilton Masakadza retains captaincy across all formats for the South Africa and Bangladesh tours

Firdose Moonda13-Sep-2018Brendan Taylor, Craig Ervine and Sean Williams have been included in Zimbabwe’s squads to tour South Africa and Bangladesh, ending a self-imposed hiatus. The trio had opted out of the T20 tri-series at home, which included Australia and Pakistan, and the subsequent five-match ODI series against Pakistan in June-July because of unpaid salaries.Since then, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has been put on an ICC-structured funding plan, has restructured its debt and cut expenses, including staff contracts. Players were paid and three of the five players who had boycotted the previous fixtures were back in the fold. The other two, though, were yet to return. Graeme Cremer was not considered as he recovers from knee surgery while Sikandar Raza was not picked after his central contract was not renewed following a dispute with ZC. Raza, however, remained available for selection.Allrounder Solomon Mire and fast bowler Kyle Jarvis, who had recovered from gluteal tear and hand injury respectively, found places in the squads. Hamilton Masakadza, meanwhile, retained captaincy across all formats.Zimbabwe will play three ODIs and three T20Is in South Africa, followed by three ODIs and two Tests in Bangladesh. Offspinner Tinashe Kamunhukamwe and 20-year old wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Murray were only included for the ODIs against South Africa. They will be replaced by the more experienced John Nyumbu and Tarisai Musakanda in Bangladesh. Opening batsman Cephas Zhuwao will also join the group for the ODI series in Bangladesh.Zimbabwe will have five changes between their ODI and T20I squads in South Africa. Ervine, Kamunhukamwe, Tiripano, Murray and Richard Ngarava who are in the ODI squad, will sit out of the T20Is, making way for Musakanda, Chamu Chibhabha, Christopher Mpofu, Chisoro and Neville Madziva. Mpofu and Chibhabha were only considered for the T20Is in South Africa and will not travel to Bangladesh.Legspinner Brandon Mavuta, who played one T20I for Zimbabwe in the recent tri-series, was named in the all four squads. Left-arm seamer Ngarava, who has played eight ODIs, is in line for a Test debut.The twin series in South Africa and Bangladesh are coach Lalchand Rajput’s first since he was appointed in permanent capacity in late August, and first since ZC’s financial restructure. He is the only coach currently contracted to ZC, with details of his assistants yet to be released. ZC is slowly starting to set up staff contracts and has also advertised for franchise general managers for the four domestic teams, with the home season set to start in November.Zimbabwe ODI squad for South Africa tour: Hamilton Masakadza (capt), Solomon Mire, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams, Peter Moor, Elton Chigumbura, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Brandon Mavuta, Richard Ngarava, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Wellington Masakadza, Ryan Murray, Tendai ChataraT20I squad for South Africa tour: Hamilton Masakadza (capt), Solomon Mire, Neville Madziva, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams, Peter Moor, Elton Chigumbura, Tendai Chisoro, Kyle Jarvis, Brandon Mavuta, Christopher Mpofu, Chamu Chibhabha, Wellington Masakadza, Tarisai Musakanda, Tendai ChataraODI squad for Bangladesh tour: Hamilton Masakadza (capt), Solomon Mire, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams, Peter Moor, Elton Chigumbura, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Brandon Mavuta, Richard Ngarava, John Nyumbu, Wellington Masakadza, Tarisai Musakanda, Tendai Chatara, Cephas ZhuwaoTest squad for Bangladesh tour: Hamilton Masakadza (capt), Brian Chari, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams, Peter Moor, Regis Chakabva, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Brandon Mavuta, Richard Ngarava, John Nyumbu, Wellington Masakadza, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara

Three of the tournament’s top five teams face off in Saturday’s games at the Women’s World Cup

The Preview by Sreshth Shah07-Jul-2017We are into the second half of the Women’s World Cup and with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies needing a miracle to qualify to the semi-finals, the focus has shifted to the top five teams and three of them will be in action on Saturday.

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South Africa and India face off in Leicester in a rematch of the recent World Cup Qualifier final in Colombo. That game went down to a last-ball finish, with India hitting a six to seal victory, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if this one turns out to be equally thrilling.Five wins seems the bar for teams to feel confident of being in the final four in this Women’s World Cup. South Africa currently only have two, having endured a washout. While their batsmen have been quite reliable, recording the first instance of a team making 300 in a chase even if they couldn’t win it, the bowlers have been rather up and down. Last Sunday, West Indies were dismantled for 48, but three days later, England were allowed to make 373, helped by a stretch of 209 balls in the middle overs without a wicket. Considering South Africa are up against India, another batting powerhouse, Dane van Niekerk has some issues to sort out.Batsman Andrie Steyn, meanwhile, suffered an ankle injury at training and has been ruled out of the tournament. Medium-pacer Odine Kirsten, who picked up 4 for 10 in her last ODI in January, has been called up as replacement.India, with four wins in four games, already have one foot in the final four. Opener Deepti Sharma scored a crafty 78 against Sri Lanka, and the ever-dependent Mithali Raj has been hitting fifties for fun – she now stands on the cusp of history, 34 short of becoming the top-scorer in women’s ODIs. But India will still be wary that in the two games Smriti Mandhana has fallen early, they have not been able to score as quickly as they usually do.India’s spinners, led by their joint-leading wicket-taker Ekta Bisht, have done particularly well to defend whatever their batsmen have scored, be it 169 or 232. The contest between them and South Africa’s hard-hitting openers Laura Wolvaardt and Lizelle Lee will be fun to watch.In three matches, New Zealand’s top-scorer Suzie Bates has struck two fifty-plus scores and has been dismissed only once•ICC/Getty Images

The day’s second match features a potential mismatch. New Zealand‘s captain Suzie Bates began her campaign with a century and their wicketkeeper Rachel Priest smashed the fastest fifty in Women’s World Cup history and finished with 90 off 55 balls. By contrast, Pakistan‘s batsmen are barely maintaining a strike-rate of 50.New Zealand enter their fifth group match at fourth place after they thumped West Indies emphatically on Thursday. That meant they jumped above their other rivals from the Southern Hemisphere into the final qualifying spot, despite South Africa’s destruction of the same opponents only a few days earlier.Lea Tahuhu’s swing bowling at the top has troubled unsure batsmen and Pakistan’s top-order features such wobbliness. Tahuhu, who passed 50 ODI wickets on Thursday, will be featuring in her 50th ODI on Saturday. “When I started off, I was in and out of the team a little bit and in the last two years I have been really able to cement a place in the team and look to lead this bowling attack,” she said. “I take great pride in it and it will be a special thing to play my 50th game. It was nice to get to 50 wickets [against West Indies] but at the same time it was nice to get a good team win.”Combine Tahuhu’s pace with the wily spin of Amelia Kerr and the returning Leigh Kasperek and you have a well-rounded bowling unit. Their batting has been slow to start off at times, like in the game against Australia, but if Thursday’s win was any indication New Zealand’s batting has gone up another gear. Rachel Priest played like she was in a hurry to get to her team hotel while Suzie Bates once again oozed class with her batting. The two set up a sturdy middle order that has yet to come to the party in this tournament. With the group stages winding down, their strategy will have to ensure their net-run rate continues to remain better than South Africa at the very least.Pakistan have fallen away after their spirited, nail-biting opening display. Over their next three games, Pakistan have lost by over 90 runs every time. A high dot-ball percentage has hurt their scoring. Their top scorer of the tournament, Nahida Khan, has only 105 runs in four innings. Their highest total in their last three matches has been 131. They need their batting to click if they are to have any chance of arresting their losing streak.Their bowling has been far better, but has been let down by poor fielding. Sana Mir continues to break crucial partnerships, and how she uses herself and the other spinners will hold the key in their search for their first win. What has been most disappointing, though, has been Pakistan’s seeming lack of intent in searching for the win. Against Australia, chasing 291, it appeared that Pakistan simply looked to bat out their 50 overs; they eventually lost by 159 runs.

Jack Shantry turned the clock back to a match played more than 100 years ago when scoring a career-best 106 in a remarkable Worcestershire recovery against Gloucestershire

ECB Reporters Network30-May-2016
ScorecardJack Shantry enjoyed a glorious day with the bat, not the ball (file photo)•Getty Images

Jack Shantry turned the clock back to a match played more than 100 years ago when scoring a career-best 106 in a remarkable Worcestershire recovery against Gloucestershire in the Specsavers County Championship at New Road.History repeated itself when Shantry romped to a second 50 from 14 balls in completing a hundred from the No 10 position – just as Dick Burrows had done in a similar transformation against Gloucestershire in 1907.Burrows made 112 as the county recovered from 78 for 4 to total 447 and this time they climbed back from 34 for 5 to reach 439. Almost spookily, each innings spanned 113.1 overs.Shantry, who made his previous century in a promotion-clinching win against Surrey in 2014, followed up his latest exploits by bowling Gloucestershire opener Chris Dent in an opening spell of 13-3-22-1.Having claimed maximum batting points for the fifth time in six attempts, Worcestershire were in a position to dictate, but the West Country side were kept afloat by Graeme van Buuren’s maiden championship century in reaching 226 for 5, still 213 behind at the close.The 25-year-old South African put on 120 with Gareth Roderick (60) and continued to bat sensibly and soundly in making 104 not out with 11 fours from 206 balls in his hundred.However four wickets fell in the final session. Roderick was lbw, playing round the front pad to Brett D’Oliveira, and Michael Klinger was a second victim for Shantry, also given out lbw after making 5.Worse followed for Gloucestershire with Hamish Marshall (34) well caught by Ross Whiteley at mid-wicket off Joe Leach and George Hankins (8) was taken behind the wicket attempting to pull Ed Barnard.So far the match has been shaped by the depth of Worcestershire’s batting. Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, called it “an amazing turnaround” which was made possible by Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s “excellent” partnerships with Ben Cox and Barnard on the first day.Kohler-Cadmore was eventually caught behind off Liam Norwell for 169 after picking off 35 fours in a six-hour stay.When he was out, having added 16 to his overnight score, Shantry had just got away with a miscue which looped wide of the slips and landed safely as Norwell came in from third man.On 39 at the time, the left-hander launched an onslaught against Craig Miles, the paceman conceding 44 in two overs, and in all he hit 11 fours and six sixes before he was bowled by Norwell (four for 70).Shantry’s domination was such that last man Charlle Morris did not score a run while facing of 21 of the 59 balls in their partnership of 69.

Paul Collingwood, the veteran former England allrounder who has already declared his ambition to coach at the highest level when he retires from playing, says that only “a ridiculous offer” would interest in him the current England vacancy

Jon Culley12-May-20151:35

Strauss backs Cook after ‘turmoil of last 18 months’

Paul Collingwood, the veteran former England allrounder who has already declared his ambition to coach at the highest level when he retires from playing, says that only “a ridiculous offer” would interest in him the current England vacancy.Yorkshire’s first-team coach Jason Gillespie and fellow Australian Justin Langer currently head the betting for next England coach and Andrew Strauss, the new director of England cricket, confirmed at his first news conference that Gillespie was a candidate.Were England to go in another direction, though, and shy away from putting an Australian in charge for an Ashes campaign, then Durham captain Collingwood would be a front-runner, especially given that he has already worked with England during a brief stint as assistant to former limited-overs coach Ashley Giles.Collingwood will be 39 in two weeks’ time but asked if he would be putting his name forward following the sacking of Peter Moores, he said his thoughts are on continuing his playing career, possibly even into next season.Paul Collingwood briefly served as England’s fielding coach under Ashley Giles•Getty Images

“I’m still playing cricket for Durham,” he said. “I have a contract until the end of the season and I’m looking forward to fulfilling that.”At the moment, unless some kind of ridiculous offer comes in, something I can’t refuse, I’m more than happy playing cricket for Durham, maybe even the season after this.”Collingwood, who has also coached with UAE and was Scotland’s assistant coach at this year’s World Cup, announced he would retire from playing at the end of last season only to change his mind.”I spoke about last year being my last one, but if I keep taking wickets and scoring runs and keep enjoying it, and bringing some good youngsters through here at Durham, it is going to be a hard thing to give up.”Captain when England won the only ICC trophy in their history at the 2010 World Twenty20, Collingwood impressed with his energy and man-management skills in leading Durham to the County Championship in 2013, during a traumatic season in which their director of cricket, Geoff Cook, was recovering from a heart attack.

Chris Gayle led a West Indies onslaught that floored Australia and set up a total beyond the West Indies’ wildest imagination

Andrew Fernando in Colombo05-Oct-2012On a slow surface not far removed from the pitch that produced a dogfight in the first semi-final, Chris Gayle led a West Indies onslaught that floored Australia and set up a total beyond the West Indies’ wildest imagination. The ball often kept low, stuck in the surface and took vicious turn, but anyone who had watched West Indies maul Xavier Doherty and David Hussey might have thought it a batsman’s paradise.Gayle’s method of overcoming a difficult pitch was completely different from the response a similar surface drew from Mahela Jayawardene in Sri Lanka’s match against Pakistan. While Jayawardene sized up the pitch, put a mental ban on straight strokes, and relied on sweeps and reverse sweeps to push the scoring rate along, Gayle simply banked on brute strength to muscle six sixes and five fours in an unbeaten 75 from 41 balls*.On one of the most difficult surfaces in the tournament, West Indies blasted the first score in excess of 200. The women’s game that preceded the men’s semi-final on the same pitch produced three fewer runs across both innings than West Indies managed by themselves.”We didn’t expect that sort of big total,” Gayle said after the match. “Watching the games, it was a slow track and we knew that spinners would play a part. What helped us was actually that we captialised on the bad balls and we put their spinner under a bit of pressure, and it paid off for us. We’ve got power there and that helped us. We had a target to get about 150-160. To get 40 runs extra was a bonus for us.”Apart from George Bailey, Australia also found it a difficult surface to be aggressive on. Both openers were bowled by Samuel Badree deliveries that stayed very low, and Michael Hussey and Cameron White’s attempts to spur the run rate were spoiled by balls that held in the pitch longer than expected.Gayle also had a slow start, making only four from his first nine balls, but was irresistible once he grew accustomed to the pace of the wicket. Australia’s attack will feel they did not bowl as badly as the scorecard suggests, but Gayle bullied balls to the fence with such abandon that full toll was exacted of even the slightest errors.”The way they bowled to me, they put a couple of the deliveries in my slot,” Gayle said. “In this format of the game, as a bowler it’s going to be tough if you don’t get your yorkers right. You’re always going to play the penalty if you don’t get it right. The majority of the time their variation was very good. Cummins’ variation was good, and they did bowl well at us. But a bit of extra power, anything can happen out there.”Kieron Pollard’s 38 from 15 balls battered Australia’s bowlers further towards the end of the West Indies innings. With West Indies on 187 with four balls remaining, Pollard walloped three consecutive sixes off Doherty to propel West Indies beyond 200, having scorched a 149kph yorker from Cummins to the midwicket fence earlier in the innings. Prior to this knock, Pollard had made only 40 runs in the tournament in four innings. Gayle revealed he had encouraged Pollard to draw inspiration from the blistering innings that heralded his talent to a global audience: the thundering 54 from 18 in the 2009 Champions League T20.”They were playing his Champions League innings that he played for Trinidad against New South Wales on TV and I said to him, ‘Tonight I need the old Pollard back,’ and he played that part. There’s one more game, so hopefully he can give us that boost again and take us to the title.”Gayle’s impact on the match was also remarkable given how little of the strike he saw early in the West Indies innings. He faced only 41 balls in total, despite batting through the innings, and by the 10th over, had only seen 18 balls. Bailey said his side had planned to unleash Mitchell Starc on Gayle early, but they were unable to remove him because he spent most of Starc’s opening overs at the non-striker’s end.”Early on we tried and get him out and that was our ploy with Starcy,” Bailey said. “The last couple of games we’ve opened with left-arm spin and we’ve opened with Watto a little bit, but tonight we went all out with Starcy who’s been our best bowler in the tournament to try and get Chris Gayle out. Clever bugger, he just managed to not get on strike. He didn’t face much of the ball, but the guys batting around him batted very very well.”West Indies now face a final against Sri Lanka, who defeated them by nine wickets in the Super Eights, and by the same margin in a practice match before the tournament. Gayle said West Indies had learnt from those experiences and will back themselves to spoil the hosts’ party.”We’re definitely going to rock against Sri Lanka. We played against them in one of the Super Eight games so we know what to expect – the atmosphere, the noise and everything. It was really good to get that run against them even though we lost. We’re definitely going to win this trophy here. I just feel confident about it. We’re up against world class players in the Sri Lanka team, but it’s going to be good fun.” * October 6, 11.00GMT Chris Gayle’s score has been corrected

A round-up of the first round of matches from the domestic Supersport Series in South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2011Ryan McLaren put in a solid all-round performance as the Knights beat the Titans by six wickets in Centurion. The victory puts the Knights on top of log after the first-round.The Titans were off to a speedy start on the first morning, with Jacques Rudolph’s 80 off 81 balls ensuring the scored over 100 runs in the first session. While Rudolph was racing ahead at one end Johann van der Wath and McLaren were piercing through at the other. The pair took five wickets between them before lunch and van der Wath continued the charge after to bowl the Titans out for 227.Fourteen wickets fell on a fairly placid pitch at SuperSport Park with youngster Machant de Lange and CJ de Villiers reducing the Knights to 43 for 4. Ryan Bailey engineered the recovery with a patient 86 and formed two key partnerships, a fifth-wicket stand of 60 with Morne van Wyk and a sixth-wicket effort of 65 runs with McLaren. Bailey spent four and half hours steering the Knights to safety but it was McLaren’s almost six-hour stint at the crease that helped them build a lead.The Titans bowlers were all economical but struggled to penetrate and legspinner Shaun von Berg’s 3 for 100 was their best return. McLaren managed the tail well and his last-wicket stand of 50 with Quinton Friend was key to the Knights advantage. They were bowled out for 400 , a lead of 173.McLaren struck the first blow in the Titans reply, removing Tumelo Bodibe for 12, with the Titans still 136 runs behind. Rudolph continued to stake his claim for a national place with a fluent 54 and was assisted by Henry Davids’ defiant 95. The Titans suffered a middle and lower order collapse and lost their last seven wickets for 79 tuns. Dean Elgar was the unlikely danger man, with his left-arm spin claiming four scalps for 25.The Knights had a modest target of 98 runs to chase to win and stumbled slightly. De Lange’s impressive performance continued as the 20-year-old plucked three wickets on the third evening to force the match into a fourth day. The Knights returned to polish off 25 runs on the fourth morning and managed to score them before the weather intervened.At the Wanderers, the Lions openers Stephen Cook and Alviro Petersen made a circumspect start against the Dolphins on a green top, managing just 56 runs in the first session, with Cook departing for a laboured 12 off 73 balls. Imran Tahir had him caught at short leg with his second delivery. Petersen made a significant statement about his ability to continue as Test opener, reaching 156 on the first day. His innings started with a few streaky boundaries but smoothed out into a stylish knock.There were few meaningful contributions from the rest of the batting line-up and ex-Lions allrounder Robbie Frylinck bowled with a combination of discipline and pace to take 6 for 52. Even though their last five wickets fell for 57 runs, the Lions first innings total of 359 was a competitive one.If Petersen’s innings was powerful, Hashim Amla’s was heavenly as he batted with the usual serene calm to score his third double hundred. The beauty of his innings was that he offered no chances to the Lions toiling bowlers. He struck the ball with finesse, showing sublime early-season form. Vaughn van Jaasrveld, another Dolphin who was playing against his old team, complemented Amla well and raced to a century.The Lions lacked firepower, save for a spell from Craig Alexander late on the third day, where he managed to extract bounce with an old ball. Two pacy 48s, from David Miller and Frylinck, saw the Dolphins declare on 567, a lead of 208. With time running out and rain hanging in the air, there was not going to be enough time for a result and the Lions whittled down their deficit, with another half-century from Petersen, and built a lead of 52 to end the match in a draw.

Sachin Tendulkar has repeated his reservation against the use of the Umpire Decision Review System, saying that the technology it uses is not totally accurate

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Oct-2010Sachin Tendulkar has repeated his reservation against the use of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS), saying that the technology it uses is not totally accurate. “If we know that it is foolproof … you have to find something that is close to 100 per cent,” he was quoted as saying by .The use of UDRS at the 2011 World Cup has been approved in principle but it is yet to be used in India given the opposition of several Indian players, including Tendulkar and captain MS Dhoni, and the BCCI’s apathy. However, some officials of the BCCI and ICC will travel to Australia to watch the system being used during the upcoming Ashes series.Though impressed with the costly Hot Spot technology, Tendulkar said that he was still not convinced that the overall system was foolproof. “You cannot expect overnight results that can give you 100 per cent, it is quite good but we need to be convinced.”India were part of the first trial of the UDRS during their tour of Sri Lanka in 2008. They struggled with their referrals, getting only one of them right, while Sri Lanka successfully challenged 11 decisions. “There were occasions in the past where we were not convinced at all,” Tendulkar said. “I thought the lines were not correct and that’s my personal opinion.”The team has been reluctant to use the technology since, though Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan have expressed their support for the reviews recently.The ICC has maintained that studies have proved the system increases the percentage of correct decision-making from 92% to around 97%.