ICCWT20: England warm up with 9-run win over arch-foes Australia

By Fathima Zanaida

Alex Hales proves his worth yet again

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (TheSportsNext) September 17, 2012: ICC World Twenty20 defending champions England showed exuberance in their nine-run victory over arch-rivals Australia at Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo on Monday.

The top-performers of the match were Alex Hales from England Michael Hussey from Australian as the two batsmen played central role in making the match very interesting one.

Australian skipper George Bailey won the toss and invited England to bat first to test his young bowlers in Sri Lanka conditions.

England lost Craig Kieswetter (8 from 15 – 1 four) early in the innings but Alex Hales (52 from 38 – 7 fours) – who has replaced the controversial Kevin Pietersen in the team – made his presence felt and proved his selection right with a gutsy half century at ICCWT20.

Mike Hussey

Alex Hales and Luke Wright (35 from 29 – 3 fours, 1 six) added 88 runs for the second wicket from 57 balls which provided the strong England middle-order a perfect platform to launch a strong attack in the death overs of the innings.

England scored 69 runs from the final seven overs of the innings where Eoin Morgan (30 from 16 – 4 fours, 1 six) and Jamie Bairstow (18 from 10 – 4 fours) enjoyed freedom to hit out.

England finished with an impressive total of 172 for six from their 20 overs as Mitchell Starc captured two wickets for 32 runs while Brad Hogg also grabbed two wickets for 39 runs.

Australia needed a brisk start to chase down a massive target but lost David Warner (Duck) in the first over as Steven Finn got rid of the aggressive left-hand batsman.

Alex Hales

However, Michael Hussey, who has been given the responsibility by the Aussie team management to use his experience to streamline batting line-up, joined forces with opening batsman Shane Watson (37 from 26 – 1 four, 3 sixes) to added 74 runs for the second wicket.

Michael Hussey continued his good work after Watson’s departure but a bad decision by his captain George Bailey to send an out-of-form Cameron White (9 from 11 – 1 four) who couldn’t as the pair could only manage 23 runs from 28 balls at a point when Aussies needed to increase the run-rate for ICCWT20.

Glenn Maxwell (18 from 13 – 1 six) then used long handle to some effect before losing his wicket to Finn but George Bailey (3 from 5) failed to provide that final punch as Australia could manage 163 runs for the loss of six wickets from their 20 overs.

In the end, England – who had defeated Australia in the ICC World Twenty20 2010 Final – maintained their advantage over their arch-rivals as they won the match by nine runs.

Michael Hussey scored 71 runs from 51 balls hitting five sixes and three boundaries but failed to help Aussies cross the line.

Steven Finn was the pick of the bowlers for England as he took two wickets for 26 runs while Graeme Swann also bowled exceptionally well to capture one wicket for only 21 runs.

Michael Hussey

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ICCWT20: Explosive Dale Steyn saves the day for Proteas in warm-up

By Fathima Zanaida

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (TheSportsNext) September 17, 2012: An impressive spell of fast bowling by Dale Steyn and a captain’s knock by AB de Villiers helped South Africa defeat a high-flying New Zealand side by only nine runs in their ICC World Twenty20 Warm-Up match played at Colts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo on Monday.

South Africa survived a late scare when New Zealand captain Ross Taylor freed his arms and hit seven sixes as well as two boundaries to make it tough for the bowlers but as soon as he perished, the match belonged to the Proteas.

New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor won the toss and asked South Africa to bat first and they scored an impressive total of 186 for six from their 20 overs.

South Africa started in a positive manner with openers Richard Levi (24 from 20 – 2 fours, 1 six) and Faf du Plessis (24 from 20 – 2 fours, 1 six) gave them a rollicking start.

However, Adam Milne pegged South Africans back with a double blow as he got rid of both the openers while Rob Nicol got rid of dangerous Hashim Amla (9 from 9 – 1 six) as South Africa looked rattled at three down for 61 from 8.2 overs.

However, skipper AB de Villiers (54 from 30 – 5 fours, 2 sixes) joined forces with JP Duminy (30 from 24 – 2 fours, 1 six) for a 62-run fourth wicket partnership that resurrected the innings.

Justin Ontong (Duck) failed to open his account but Farhaan Behardien (24 not out from 12 – 2 sixes) and Albie Morkel (15 not out from 4 – 2 fours, 1 six) provided a late flurry of boundaries that lifted South Africa to a formidable total of 186 runs.

Adam Milne was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand as he captured two wickets for 26 runs while James Franklin also picked up two wickets for 31 runs.

New Zealand never looked comfortable chasing the hefty target as James Franklin (12 from 11 – 2 fours), Martin Guptill (8 from 5 – 1 six), and Brendon McCullum (9 from 6 – 2 fours) perished within the powerplay overs.

However, skipper Ross Taylor (75 from 42 – 2 fours, 7 sixes) played exceptionally well and not only kept one end intact but with Rob Nicol (37 from 36 – 1 four, 1 six) was able to develop a strong 94-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

With the asking run-rate climbing all the time, New Zealand remained under stern pressure to keep up with it and kept losing wickets as Ross Taylor was grabbed Lonwabo Tsotsobe and once his wicket fell things looked pretty certain in favor of South Africans.

However, New Zealand’s late-middle-order batsmen kept up the fight and Nathan McCullum (14 from 12 – 1 six) and Kane Williamson (7 not out from 5) kept hitting the ball till the last over but the target had already gone out of their reach.

In the end, BlackCaps could only manage 177 for eight from 20 overs and South Africans recorded an impressive 9-run victory for ICCWT20.

Dale Steyn was the star of the show for the Proteas who took four wickets for only 25 runs while Lonwabo Tsotsobe also bowled well for a wicket for 24 runs.

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ICCWT20: Gayle-storm blows Afghanistan away in warm-up

By Fathima Zanaida

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (TheSportsNext) September 17, 2012: The world’s most explosive batsman Chris Gayle put on show his skills on Monday when he manhandled Afghanistan to help West Indies record an easy victory in their warm-up match of the ICC World Twenty20 2012 (ICCWT20) at P Sara Oval in Colombo.

Chris Gayle blasted 65 unbeaten runs from just 48 deliveries hitting four staggering sixes and five boundaries and showed no respect to any of the Afghan bowlers.

Afghanistan could never prove themselves a good match for their West Indian opponents as not only their bowlers but even batsmen couldn’t raise their game to the optimum level.

West Indies used their fast bowlers to demolish Afghanistan first up after Nawroz Mangal won the toss and decided to bat first.

Afghanistan could only managed 122 for seven from their 20 overs and only Asghar Stanikzai (53 from 50 – 5 fours, 2 sixes) impressed the cricket fans as well as experts with his resilience but none of the other batsmen could support him and the second highest total was 15 from captain Nawroz Mangal.

West Indian express fast bowler Fidel Edwards showed no mercy at all and captured three wickets for 24 runs from his four overs while winner of ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year Award Sunil Narine also made his presence felt by taking two wickets for just 23 runs. Ravi Rampaul and skipper Darren Sammy also captured a wicket each for 26 and 15 runs, respectively.

West Indies opening pair of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith (13 from 20 – 2 fours) started the innings in a cautious manner. Mohammad Nabi got rid of Smith when the total reached 29 in the sixth over.

While the incoming batsman Johnson Charles (12 from 19 – 1 four) found it difficult to pick up pace, Chris Gayle came to his own and hit four towering sixes to pace up the innings and later got perfect partner in Marlon Samuels (15 not out from 12 – 1 six) as the duo completed the target with 25 balls to spare.

Mohammad Nabi was the only impressive bowler for Afghanistan as he took both the wickets for 29 runs from his four overs.

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ICCWT20: Ireland win battle of minnows over Bangladesh

By Fathima Zanaida

Kevin O'Brien captured three wickets to dent Bangladesh

COLOMBO, Sri lanka (TheSportsNext) September 17, 2012: Kevin O’Brien and Paul Stirling fired Ireland to an impressive but intriguing victory over Bangladesh by five runs in their ICCWT20 warm-up match played at Moors Sports Club Ground in Colombo on Monday.

 

Bangladesh found themselves on the losing side despite of an aggressive knock by former skipper Shakib Al Hasan who fought till the end but lacked support from the other batsmen.

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and asked Ireland to bat first. Irish openers Paul Stirling (71 from 41 – 5 fours, 5 sixes) and skipper William Porterfield (17 from 11 – 2 fours) got their team off to a promising start and collected 46 runs in the opening wicket partnership from just 28 balls.

Paul Stirling played with aggression

Ed Joyce (39 from 36 – 5 fours) then joined dangerous-looking Stirling after skipper was run out and the pair added another 64 runs for the second wicket from only 40 balls as they looked all set to post a massive total for the Bengalis.

However, some impressive bowling changes by Mushfiqur Rahim disrupted the flow of Ireland innings and they lost the script with Gary Wilson (13 from 15 – 1 six), Kevin O’Brien (Duck), Nigel Jones (Duck), and Trent Johnston (10 not out from 9) failed it tough to impose big hits and Ireland had to settle with a total of 164 for six from their 20 overs.

Mashrafe Mortaza captured two wickets for 33 runs but star of the show was Shakib Al Hasan who grabbed two wickets for only 21 runs and proved too difficult to get away for the Irish batsmen, especially towards the end of the innings. Elias Sunny also bowled with control and bite as he took one wicket for only 21 runs from his four overs.

Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh had enough batting resources to achieve the target and opening batsmen Tamim Iqbal (35 from 28 – 3 fours, 2 sixes) and Mohammad Ashraful (7 from 3 – 1 six) looked in a hurry before latter became first victim of Trent Johnston.

Shakib Al Hasan (52 from 23 – 3 fours, 5 sixes) relished the opportunity to bat in the top-order and used his ability to swing hard and strike the ball cleanly to punish Irish bowlers as Bangladesh raced to 79/1 from 7.4 overs, a position where they fancied their chances to win the match.

Still needing 85 runs from 75 balls, Bangladesh looked favorites to win the match but Alex Cusack got rid of Tamim Iqbal which opened the floodgate of wickets for Ireland as Bangladeshi skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (7 from 12), Mahmudullah (7 from 6 – 1 four), and Nasir Hossain (1 from 3) all succumbed to pressure of the rising asking rate.

Ziaur Rahman (26 from 22 – 2 fours, 1 six) and Mashrafe Mortaza (14 from 17 – 1 four) then controlled things before letting it slip away in the final two overs and the Bangladesh innings was culminated at 159 for nine from 20 overs.

Kevin O’Brien led the bowling effort of Ireland as he captured three wickets for 24 runs, while Trent Johnston and Alex Cusack grabbed two wickets apiece for 25 and 28 runs, respectively.

Shakib Al Hasan once again tries his best but fails to help his side cross the line

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Pakistan, India flex muscles in ICCWT20 warm-up today

By Fathima Zanaida

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (TheSportsNext) September 17, 2012: The traditional bitter arch-rivals Pakistan and India will relive the cricket acrimony in the warm-up match on Monday ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 cricket tournament which starts from Tuesday in Sri Lanka.

A total of five warm-up matches will be played on Monday where apart from India-Pakistan clash, other mouth-watering encounters include Australia vs England, New Zealand vs South Africa, and Bangladesh vs Ireland while Afghanistan will play against West Indies.

Another high-voltage warm-up match between arch-foes England, the reigning T20 champions, and Australia, the runners-up of ICCWT20 2010, will be played at 04:00 GMT (09:30 Local Time).

Bangladesh vs Ireland warm-up match will start at 04:00 GMT (09:30 Local Time), Pakistan vs India warm-up match will commence at 08:30 GMT (14:00 Local Time), New Zealand vs South Africa warm-up match will begin at 04:00 GMT (14:00 Local Time), whereas West Indies vs Afghanistan warm-up match will start at 08:30 GMT (14:00 Local Time).

The first match of ICC World T20 would be played between hosts Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at Hambantota Tuesday.

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