BBL2012: It's Lasith Malinga show as Melbourne Stars win by 10 wickets

By Nadene Smith

SYDNEY, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 12, 2012: Despite of inclement weather conditions halting the KFC Big Bash League action at Western Australian Cricket Association Ground in Perth on Wednesday the Melbourne Stars punished the Perth Scorchers by 10 wickets on Duckworth/Lewis Method.

Man of the Match, Lasith Malinga, produced a spell of his lifetime - the second best in the history of Twenty20 cricket - to dismantle the Perth Scorchers who were put into bat after Melbourne Stars skipper Shane Warne won the toss and decided to bat first.

Perth Scorchers were bowled out for mere 69 runs from 15.2 overs with only two of their batsmen scoring in double figures.

The damage was done by pacers who used the short ball to great effect at WACA Ground which is renowned for its assistance to the pacers.

Lasith Malinga was seriously exceptional as he took six wickets for just seven runs from his four overs of which one was maiden over. James Faulkner was also incredible with the new ball as he finished with figures of two for 16 from his four. Clint McKay was the only Stars bowler who was belted for runs as he leaked away 28 runs from his three overs. Skipper Shane Warne also delivered three overs and got one wicket for nine runs but without bowling his mystery Disco Ball.

In reply, Melbourne Stars opening batsmen looked in a hurry as Rob Quiney (1 not out from 1) and Luke Wright (23 not out from 11 – 4 fours, 1 six) took the Perth Scorchers bowlers by the horns and made full use of a drop catch by skipper Simon Katich.

The Melbourne Stars raced to 29 for no loss from just two overs before rain played the spoilsport and halted the game.

However, the Melbourne Stars got full purchase out of their super performance as the match officials reduced the game to five overs a side and when the teams returned to the ground the target for Melbourne Stars was only six runs which they had already passed and all they needed was a ball to be delivered and the game was called an official affair.

This was a strong performance by the Melbourne Stars after they were belted hard in their opening game of the Big Bash League 2012.

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Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 14 runs in 2nd ODI

By Fathima Zanaida 

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (TheSportsNEXT) November 4, 2012: Inclement weather once again left bad taste in the mouth of cricket lovers on Sunday when rain forced another cricket game to use the infamous Duckworth-Lewis Method as Sri Lanka took a 1-0 lead in the five-match One Day Internationals by winning the second ODI at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium by 14 runs.

Watching cricket action in Sri Lanka has been a tough thing this season as right from the Sri Lanka Premier League, the ICC World Twenty20 2012, and now the New Zealand tour to Sri Lanka all saw some of the potentially best matches either washed out or were decided on the Duckworth-Lewis Method.

The first One Day International of the series was washed out and the second match also succumbed to inclement weather conditions on Sunday when New Zealand gave them a great chance by scoring 250 runs for the loss of six wickets from their 50 overs.

New Zealand were looking good to make a match of this one as they had reduced Sri Lanka to 118 for three from 22.5 overs before rain played spoilsport at Pallekele and at that point in time the hosts were 14 runs above the par score as per the Duckworth-Lewis Method calculations.

Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews were at the crease and the Kiwi bowlers had already gotten rid of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara and scalp of Mahela could have made the match all the more interesting, but it wasn’t to be in the end.

Batting first, New Zealand scored 250/6, thanks to four major knocks led by skipper Ross Taylor who hit 72 from 62 balls smashing seven boundaries and two maximums.

BJ Watling (55 from 86 – 6 fours), Rob Nicol (46 from 74 - 3 fours), and James Franklin (35 not out from 40 – 1 six) also came good with the bat after New Zealand had to leave out Brendon McCullum due to a strain.

The BlackCaps innings had two major partnerships, one between Rob Nicol and and BJ Watling worth 83 runs for the second wicket and second between skipper Ross Taylor and James Franklin as they added 91 for the fourth wicket.

Lasith Malinga took two wickets for 39 runs while Rangana Herath proved difficult to get away as he bowled a miser spell of one for 28. Nuwan Kulasekara (10-1-50-1), Angelo Mathews (7-0-38-1), and Thisara Perera (7-0-52-1) also captured a wicket each.

Chasing 251-run target was not a walk in the park at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and the home side needed one of their three top batsmen, i.e. Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, and Mahela Jayawardene, to stay there right to the end.

However, it was rain which had the final say as Sri Lanka scored 118 for three from 22.5 overs when rain finally put an end to cricket action and with it New Zealand’s chances of winning the second ODI.

Lasith Malinga was declared Man of the Match for his disciplined and hostile bowling spell.

The two teams will contest the third One Day International at the same venue on November 6 (Tuesday).

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Afridi, Ajmal named in ICC ODI Team of the Year

By Fathima Zanaida

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (TheSportsNext) September 15, 2012: The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Saturday, announced its One Day International Team of the Year which included seven players from Asian countries including Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal.

 

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was included in the team for a record fifth year on the trot while other Asian players included Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga from Sri Lanka and Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir from India.

Other players included England captain Alastair Cook and pacer Steven Finn while Australian skipper Michael Clarke and South African fast bowler Morne Morkel also managed to find a place in the final team.

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