Sydney Sixers tame Nashua Titans to enter CLT20 Final

By Sheriff Michaels

Sydney Sixers to meet Highveld Lions in CLT20 Final

CENTURION, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 27, 2012: High-flying Sydney Sixers left it late to defeat Nashua Titans by two wickets on final delivery of their Semi-Final encounter in the Champions League Twenty20 2012 at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday.

Sydney Sixers have joined Highveld Lions in the Champions League Twenty20 2012 Final which will be played on October 28 (Sunday) at Johannesburg.

After winning the toss, the South African domestic Twenty20 champions Nashua Titans decided to bat first and put on a formidable total of 163 runs on the board for the loss of five wickets after losing half of their batsmen for mere 82 runs from 13.3 overs.

Nashua Titans’ top-scoring batsman in CLT20 Jacques Rudolph (1 from 5) failed to live up to the expectations and his partner Heino Kuhn (13 from 15 – 3 fours) also couldn’t put up a good show with the bat as the opening pair was back in the pavilion with total at 22 from four overs.

Skipper Martin van Jaarsveld (5 from 4 – 1 four) and an in-form Farhaan Behardien (14 from 21) couldn’t provide the goods for the home side as a quagmire of problems started haunting the domestic T20 champions big.

Nashua Titans were reeling at 82/5 after 13.3 overs as all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe (1 from 3) lost his wicket to Henriques and needed someone to raise his game to the big occasion.

However, opening batsman Henry Davids (59 not out from 44 – 3 fours, 3 sixes) and David Wiese (61 not out from 28 – 6 fours, 4 sixes) played the innings of their lifetimes and hit 81 runs from final 45 balls and hit 72 runs off the last four overs to give their side a reasonable chance of setting up a rematch of the South Africa’s domestic T20 competition final.

Josh Hazelwood proved his mettle yet again for the Sydney Sixers with figures of 1 for 19 from his four overs as Titans batsmen found it difficult to get him away to the ropes. Mitchell Starc proved a little expensive for his two wickets for 33 runs while his fellow fast bowler Pat Cummins proved the biggest failure with the ball for the Australian domestic T20 champions as he went for 51 runs from his four overs. Steve O’Keefe was methodical with the ball as he allowed only 19 runs from his 24 deliveries while Moises Henriques grabbed a wicket for 36 runs.

Sydney Sixers got off to a confident start with Steve O’Keefe (32 from 21 – 6 fours) and Michael Lumb (33 from 19 – 6 fours, 1 six) scoring 54 for the opening wicket partnership from only 4.5 overs.

The opening wicket partnership took the sting out of the target as the asking run-rate dropped down to 7.33 runs per over from original 8.2 runs per over.

Nic Maddison (20 from 15 – 2 fours, 1 six) kept the momentum and with O’Keefe added 31 valuable runs for the second wicket from 21 balls as match started to slip away from Nashua Titans.

However, three quick wickets of Nic Maddison, skipper Brad Haddin (3 from 5) and Steve O’Keefe brought Nashua Titans back in the reckoning and when Steve Smith (3 from 6) was run out at 113 runs, the Sydney Sixers had already lost half of their side still having to do a lot to win the affair.

Asking rate was not really a problem but wickets were tumbling down quickly which put Sydney Sixers under tremendous pressure and their lower middle-order batsmen needed to take rearguard action. Moises Henriques (28 from 18 – 1 four, 2 sixes) and Ben Rohrer (21 from 24 – 1 four) kept Sydney Sixers in the hunt but when Henriques was removed by Mbhalati, Nathan McCullum (Duck) came as a wicket-tumbling package for the Nashua Titans.

The game became more intriguing with Rohrer getting out on second ball of the penultimate over thus leaving everything on the young shoulders of two fast bowlers Pat Cummins (14 not out from 10 – 1 six) and Mitchell Starc (0 not out from 1) as a couple of leg byes were followed by a smartly taken bye on final delivery of the match which made them cross the line with two wickets in hand.

It was arguably the best match of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 and both teams were evenly poised to win it but Sydney Sixers showed better understanding of how to tackle pressure in a pressure-cooker situation and managed to steal victory from the jaws of defeat.

Alfonso Thomas took two wickets for 36 runs while Eden Links (3-0-24-1), Ethy Mbhalati (4-0-34-1), Cornelius de Villiers (3-0-31-1) and Roelof van der Merwe (4-0-23-1) all took one wicket apiece.

Steve O’Keefe was declared Man of the Match for an all-round performance as the mouth-watering Australia vs South Africa final of the Champions League Twenty20 will be played on Sunday.

Man of the Match Steve O’Keefe told the presentation party, “Opening the batting was good fun. Hadds (Brad Haddin) came to me three days ago if I wanted to open, and I jumped at the opportunity. Probably the first time I have been Man of the Match without taking a wicket, but I will take it. Not our most clinical performance, but we have a final coming up”.

Sydney Sixers skipper Brad Haddin said, “We got our jail-free card. No matter what format you play, you have got to execute your skills. We panicked a bit, I think, but we are going into the final. We can think of anything of this game, but the bottom line is we have a final to play this Sunday. We have played Lions before, and they are similarly stacked as us. I think the two best teams have made it to the final”.

Nashua Titans captain Martin van Jaarsveld told the presenter, “Really disappointed but really proud how we kept fighting. With the bat we were down and out. I have been talking him up through the tournament, and boy did he shine tonight. Our execution up top is not where we'd like it to be, and that's where we lost. A bitter pill to swallow!”

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CLT20: Auckland Aces crash out, Titans complete SF line-up

By Sheriff Michaels

The Journey Ends for Auckland Aces after Sterling Show at CLT2012

CENTURION, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 23, 2012: Perth Scorchers registered their first victory at the Champions League Twenty20 2012 on Tuesday when they kicked Auckland Aces out of the competition with a 16-run victory at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.

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The Auckland Aces needed to win this match to stay alive in the competition and they might have got a great chance because the other match of the day between Delhi Daredevils and Nashua Titans was washed out after the toss.

Delhi Daredevils and Nahua Titans qualified into the Semi-Finals of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 from Group A while Sydney Sixers and Highveld Lions joined them from Group B.

First Semi-Final will be played between Delhi Daredevils and Highveld Lions on October 25 at Kingsmead in Durban while Sydney Sixers will take on Nashua Titans in the second Semi-Final scheduled for October 26 at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

Final of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 will be played on October 28 at Johannesburg.

Perth Scorchers skipper Marcus North won the toss and decided to bat first. Auckland Aces would also have loved to bat first to register a thumping victory over the BigBashLeague side but it wasn’t to be the case.

Perth Scorchers scored 140 runs for the loss of seven wickets from their 20 overs before Auckland Aces succumbed to a pressure of their own minds to manage only 124 for eight from their quota of 20 overs, thus falling 16 runs short of the target.

Former South African opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs (6 from 6 – 1 four) continued to prove a failure on his home ground but skipper Marcus North (37 from 35 – 4 fours, 1 six) and Simon Katich (21 from 23 – 2 fours) undid the early loss with 55 runs partnership for second wicket.

Both batsmen went back in a quick succession but former England captain Paul Collingwood (38 from 27 – 5 fours) and Tom Beaton (22 from 19 – 1 four, 1 six) upped the tempo during second half of the innings and despite of a late collapse the Perth Scorchers managed to score a fighting 140 runs total on the board.

Michael Bates was the standout performer for the Auckland Aces with the ball as he captured four wickets for 34 runs while Kyle Mills was also useful during his miser spell of none for 14 from four overs. Azhar Mahmood also bowled well during his spell of none for 24 from four while Bruce Martin (4-0-25-0) also kept a lid on scoring rate.

Chasing 141 for victory and a possible qualification, the Auckland Aces got off to a worst start by losing hard-hitting Lou Vincent for only two runs.

However, Martin Guptill (36 from 32 – 3 fours, 1 six) and Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood (23 from 21 – 4 fours) resurrected the innings as they slowly picked up the pace to add 49 valuable runs for the second wicket before Guptill lost his mind to gift his wicket away to Michael Beer with wicketkeeper Ronchi taking a useful catch.

Anaru Kitchen (6 from 6 – 1 four) soon departed and when Azhar Mahmood lost his cool and wicket the Auckland Aces were completely rattled as they lacked someone who could steer the innings to an unlikely looking victory.

Colin Munro (23 from 18 – 1 four, 1 six) did his best to rescue the wrecked ship but lacked support from the other end as Colin de Grandhomme (4 from 4), skipper Gareth Hopkins (9 from 12 – 1 four), and Ronnie Hira (2 from 3) all lost their wickets in a bid to up the scoring rate.

In the end, the Auckland Aces could score 124 for eight and were knocked out of the competition.

Michael Beer, who took three wickets for 13 runs from his four overs, was declared Man of the Match while Joe Mennie (4-0-23-2), Nathan Coulter-Nile (4-0-26-0), Ryan Duffield (3-0-17-1), and Brad Hogg (4-0-30-1) all bowled exceedingly well to defend a lower total successfully.

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Why Brad Haddin should not be recalled

By Adrian Meredith

MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) October 23, 2012: Australian captain Michael Clarke, vice captain Shane Watson and even chairman of selectors Inverarity have all said that Brad Haddin is in the mix for selection for the Australian test squad.

So allow me to say why this is a very bad idea!

First off, there is his age. At 34 years of age, Brad Haddin is far from a young fellow. Indeed, he is turning 35 this week. That is just about retirement age for professional cricketers. Matthew Wade, in comparison, is 24, soon to hit his expected peak (about age 28 or so). Wade should be getting better and better while Haddin should be getting worse. If all things were equal, you would pick the 24 year old ahead of the 34 year old every time.

Next, Wade is in great form. In his last match he scored 89 and took 7 catches (4 and 3). He averages 39.60 in his 3 test matches and has been taking dismissals well.

Wade is a far superior keeper. Wade is clearly the best keeper in Australia, while Haddin at best was number 4. Wade has always been 1st or 2nd best - most dismissals in a season and most dismissals per match.

While when Wade first started out, Haddin was a better batsman, right now Wade is superior.

Wade is in the team. Why drop him?

Haddin left the team due to his poor form. Granted that he finally left due to family reasons but he was likely to be dropped anyway. If you are dropped due to poor form, you need to do something astounding to return. Haddin hasn't done that.

Brad Haddin's recent form has him scoring 114 & 7 (as well as 2 catches) in the last first class match - and has followed that up with some decent scores in T20s. But in his 7 first class matches before that he failed to get to double figures once!

As far as having Haddin in as a specialist batsman, he isn't good enough, not by a long shot. At his peak, Haddin could have played in T20s and even ODIs but now there is no justification for him to play in any version.

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CLT20: Rain washes out Mumbai Indians vs Yorkshire

By Sheriff Michaels

Rain puts Mumbai Indians, Yorkshire under tremendous pressure in CLT2012

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 19, 2012: Rain played spoilsport for the second evening on the trot at the Champions League Twenty20 2012 on Thursday.

Due to inclement weather, an important Group B match between Mumbai Indians and Yorkshire was abandoned and both teams secured two important points from it.

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale won the toss and asked Mumbai Indians to bat first.

Mumbai Indians lost Sachin Tendulkar (7 from 10 – 1 four) early in the innings but West Indian hard-hitting batsman Dwayne Smith (37 from 26 – 4 sixes) put on exhibition his ferocious lofty hits and together with Rohit Sharma (25 from 23 – 1 four, 1 six) added 36 runs for the second wicket.

However just when Mumbai Indians looked settled to score a big total they lost Dwayen Smith and Rohit Sharma in the space of three overs to put themselves under pressure.

Dinesh Karthik (12 from 8 – 2 fours) and Ambati Rayudu (15 from 10 – 2 fours) also failed to deliver goods and it looked all but over for the Mumbai Indians before skipper Harbhajan Singh and another West Indian basher Kieron Pollard (37 not out from 20 – 3 fours, 2 sixes) used the long handle to a great effect to score some quick runs.

However, the innings was stopped after 17.5 overs by heavy rain when the Mumbai Indians had scored 156 for six and were looking all set to score in excess of 180 runs.

Yorkshire bowling was pretty average and other than Sam Patterson (3-0-12-0) all the other bowlers were mustered by West Indian duo in the Mumbai Indians. Adil Rashid gave 42 runs for his two wickets while Azeem Rafiq also captured two wickets for 36 runs from his four overs.

After getting two points from this game, the Mumbai Indians now are third in the table with two points as a better net-run-rate keep them a place in front of the Yorkshire. Chennai Super Kings are yet to win a game and are languishing at the last place in Group B.

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Sydney Sixers complete hat-trick of victories in CLT20

By Sheriff Michaels

Sydney Sixers into Semi-Finals of Champions League Twenty20 2012

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 19, 2012: Big Bash League’s Sydney Sixers recorded their third successive victory in the Champions League Twenty20 2012 on Thursday to book them a place in semi-finals of the competition.

The Sydney Sixers defeated South Africa’s Highveld Lions by five wickets at Newlands in Cape Town which means they have won three of their four matches. After defeating Chennai Super Kings, Yorkshire, and Highveld Lions, the Sydney Sixers have left their only game against Mumbai Indians who are on the brink of elimination following a series of dismal performances.

Batting first, Highveld Lions could manage 137 for nine from their 20 overs and Sydney Sixers achieved the target from 19 overs for the loss of five wickets.

Sydney Sixers captain Brad Haddin won the toss and decided to bowl first keeping in mind Highveld Lions’ liking to chase down scores and his decision proved quite right by his bowlers.

Australia’s left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc was the star of the show for the Sydney Sixers as he bagged three wickets for 19 runs from his four overs but Josh Hazlewood did the early damage as he finished with two for 18 from his four.

Gulam Bodi (61 from 44 – 4 fours, 3 sixes) once again clubbed bowlers on the favored leg-side consistently but he lacked support from the other end as skipper Alviro Petersen (5 from 6), Quanton de Kock (4 from 14), Niel McKenzie (17 from 16 – 2 fours), and Zander de Bruyn (4 from 10) all failed to impose themselves at the crease.

A late cameo by Jean Symes (23 from 16 – 3 fours, 1 six) and Chris Morris (14 not out from 9 – 2 fours) helped the Highveld Lions to a fighting total of 137 for nine.

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, who was playing his last match in the Champions League Twenty20 2012, once again delivered with the ball and bat as he not only took two wickets for 25 runs but also made quick-fired 47 runs from mere 38 deliveries hitting four boundaries and three sixes.

Sydney Sixers openers Michael Lumb (22 from 22- 4 fours) and Shane Watson (47 from 38 – 4 fours, 3 sixes) gave their side a useful start by scoring 60 runs for the opening partnership from 8.3 overs before left-arm off-spinner Aaron Phangiso came on his own.

Aaron Phangiso first got rid of Michael Lumb and then removed Dominic Thornley on a first-ball-duck. Soon he captured the prized scalp of Shane Watson and brought his side back into the contention.

However, Sydney Sixers skipper Brad Haddin (32 from 21 – 1 four, 3 sixes) and Steven Smith (25 not out from 25 – 2 fours) made sure that the good work of openers doesn’t get wasted and despite of losing another couple of wickets towards the end of the innings they managed to achieve the target from final delivery of the 19^th over.

Dirk Nannes bowled beautifully for a spell of one for 16 from four overs while Aaron Phangiso was the pick of the bowlers for the Highveld Lions as he captured three wickets for 14 runs from his four overs. Rest of the bowlers were pretty ordinary with Pakistani left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir (4-0-29-0) once again failed to impress while Jean Symes was belted hard by the Sydney batsmen as he leaked 36 runs from three overs. Chris Morris also proved an expensive option as he gave away 35 runs from his three overs.

Mitchell Starc was declared Man of the Match for yet another staggering spell of fast bowling and he told the presentation party, “Playing a lot and working on a few little things, ball is coming out of the hand nicely. Like bowling at the death! Wickets in Colombo [during the ICC World Twenty20] were nice for the quicks early on. Good to bowl here with the pace and bounce. All of us [Sixers fast bowlers] are good mates."

Sydney Sixers skipper Brad Haddin said, "We didn’t start well with the ball, we fought back well, happy with the total we got to chase. We have got good cover for Watson, wish him well for the Test series. Yes, we are thinking about the semi-finals now."

Highveld Lions captain Alviro Petersen stated, "Just a couple of bad overs with bat and ball. T20 cricket is all about that. Phangiso is an underrated bowler, he has done well for us in the past couple of years."

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Kolkata Knight Riders crash out of CLT20

By Sheriff Michaels

Kingsmead Wash-Out knocks Kolkata Knight Riders out of CLT20

DURBAN, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 17, 2012: The Indian Premier League Champions Kolkata Knight Riders became first team to get eliminated from the Champions League Twenty20 2012 on Wednesday when inclement weather made play impossible at Kingsmead in Durban.

The match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Perth Scorchers was washed out only after 14 overs in the first innings where the Big Bash League’s side had scored 91 for two.

Former South African opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs (Duck) failed for the second straight time to impressive anyone but Shaun Marsh (38 from 40 – 3 fours, 1 six) and Simon Katich (43 not out from 32 – 4 fours) held the innings together.

The duo added 70 runs for the second wicket before Jacques Kallis bowled a superb Yorker to get rid of Shaun Marsh who was replaced by his younger brother Mitchell Marsh (5 not out from 10).

When the match was called off due to rain, the Perth Scorchers had scored 91 for two from 14 overs.

The Kolkata Knight Riders, who have already lost their first two matches, had to win this match and as the match is washed out they are now out of the competition. The IPL6 champions managed to score only one point from three games.

The Indian Premier League champions will played their penultimate game in the CLT2012 against Group A toppers Nashua Titans at Newlands in Cape Town on October 21, 2012.

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CLT20: Highveld Lions push Chennai Super Kings on the brink

By Sheriff Michaels

Highveld Lions defeated two IPL sides: Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 16, 2012: Highveld Lions won their second straight match at the Champions League Twenty20 2012 at Newlands in Cape Town on Tuesday, this time beating Chennai Super Kings by six wickets.

The match took several twists right throughout where Chennai Super Kings looked struggling to score 130 runs at one stage but ending up with a total of 159 runs and then restricted Highveld Lions to 33 runs after eight overs but they eventually managed to keep up with the asking run-rate over 10 runs an over to clinch an unbelievable victory.

Highveld Lions skipper Alvio Petersen won the toss and showed no hesitation in sending Chennai Super Kings into bat as he was well aware of their batting strength and abilities of his strong middle order batsmen.

Chennai Super Kings had six batsmen scoring above 20 runs but none of them went on to play that big innings as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (34 from 26 – 2 fours, 2 sixes) was the only man to score in the 30s.

Faf du Plessis (25 from 20 – 2 fours, 1 six) and Murali Vijay (22 from 26 – 2 fours, 1 six) opened the batting for the Chennai Super Kings and the duo took the total to 44 when Morris got rid of du Plessis on fourth delivery of the sixth over.

Suresh Raina (20 from 16 – 2 fours, 1 six) was promoted up the order at number three position and he along with Vijay took the score to 69 before losing his wicket on final delivery of the 10^th over.

Chennai Super Kings needed to win this match and had to score in excess of 160 runs to make it difficult for the Highveld Lions and at halfway stage of their innings they were looking like scoring somewhere around 130-140 runs.

However, Mahendra Singh Dhoni made a smart move by promoting himself up at number four position and it gave him enough time to get his eyes in and he got his feet to move perfectly well in the dying stages of the match where Ravindra Jadeja (21 from 16 = 2 fours, 1 six) and Subramaniam Badrinath (27 from 14 – 2 sixes) played handy knocks to clinch 89 runs from the final 10 overs.

In the end, Chennai Super Kings scored fighting total of 158 for six wickets from their 20 overs. It was a total where one could expect Chennai bowlers to restrict any opposition with some surprise package spinners in the attack.

Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir once again proved an expensive option as he leaked 36 runs from his four overs for a wicket. Australian left-arm pacer Dirk Nannes proved even costlier as late hitting by Subramaniam Badrinath spoiled his figures as the left-armer gave away 46 runs from his four overs for a wicket.

On the other hand, Chris Morris and Aaron Phangiso proved effective with the ball for the local side as they allowed only 41 runs from their eight overs taking three wickets. Morris took 1/24 while Phangiso registered figures of 2/17.

Chasing a massive target required someone to play an anchoring role and a lot was expected from Highveld Lions’ skipper Alviro Petersen but Australian left-arm fast bowler Doug Bollinger removed him for a Golden Duck.

However, Gulam Bodi (64 from 46 – 5 fours, 4 sixes) put his head down as hero of their previous match the young Quinton de Kock (5 from 8 – 1 four) was undone by Bollinger, thus leaving Highveld Lions struggling at two down for only eight runs on the board.

Gulam Bodi found it tough to get going under lights but never lost his cool and he waited for the ball to lose its sheen and swing and a No Ball right towards the end of the PowerPlay proved the turning point in changing complexion of his game.

Once he hit that six, he never turned back and started smashing all the Chennai Super Kings bowlers with authority in company of an experienced Niel McKenzie (32 from 34 – 4 fours) as the duo added 93 crucial runs for the third wicket from 64 balls to scroll their way back into contention.

Highveld Lions still needed 58 runs from 39 balls when Albie Morkel got rid of threatening Gulam Bodi and soon Ravinchandran Ashwin took the prized scalp of Niel Mckenzie leaving the local side in a spot of bother at four down for 115 runs from 16.2 overs.

Two young batsmen Jean Symes and Chris Morris were at the crease now but victory was still 44 runs away and they had only 22 balls to do the job.

Jean Symes (39 not out from 23 – 5 fours) took the role of hitting it consistently across the boundary while Chris Morris (12 not out from 7 – 1 six) also gave him a great helping hand as the pair achieved the winning run with three balls to spare.

The victory on one side has propelled the Highveld Lions close to Semi-Finals qualification while on the other it pushed Chennai Super Kings on brink of elimination as it was their second straight defeat in the competition.

Doug Bollinger, who is the most-capped player in CLT20, was impressive with the new ball as he finished with two for 18 from his four overs. His fellow Australian right-arm pacer Ben Hilfenhaus also bowled a miser spell of none for 24 from four overs. However, South African all-rounder Albie Morkel and India’s premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin proved a little too expensive for the Chennai Super Kings as they reported figures of 3.3-0-35-1 and 4-0-42-1, respectively.

Left-arm off-spinner Aaron Phangiso was declared Man of the Match for his brilliant spell of off-spin bowling against a batting line-up which is renowned for tackling spinners better than anyone else.

Aaron Phangiso told the presentation party, "It was a nice wicket to bowl on, one of those days where the ball came nicely out of the hand. It is one of those wickets, it was a bit slow, you got to slow up your pace."

Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said, "We got off to a very good start, we lost too many wickets in the middle, so we were not able to slog the way we could have, but we still got the score we wanted. I think 160 was a good score. The timing of the no-balls was crucial. Small things matter. All of a sudden the momentum shifted, they were able to score a lot more freely. The quicks were bowling well [so gave them three overs each at the start]."

Highveld Lions captain Alviro Petersen stated, "Halfway through the game I thought we gave 15 runs too many. The batsmen stayed calm. Bodi played exceptionally well with McKenzie and the two young men finished it for us. It was a case of getting to the last three overs. Guys at the end showed some mettle and steel. Generally 10-15 overs is a sort of dead period, you tend to knock it around, but Gulam never allowed the rate to go beyond 10-11 runs an over."

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CLT20: Bowlers, Haddin help Sydney Sixers decimate Yorkshire

By Sheriff Michaels

An Imposing Victory Takes Sydney Sixers into Semi-Final of Champions League Twenty20 2012

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 16, 2012: A professional and dominating show by bowlers and blend of aggression and class by batsmen helped Australian Big Bash League’s Sydney Sixers to an astounding victory over England’s Yorkshire County Cricket Club in their Group B match of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 played at Newlands in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The victory also took the Sydney Sixers into Semi-Final of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 as they now have won both of their matches and Tuesday’s massive victory has boosted their net run-rate enough to make sure they end on top of the table.

A Captain's Knock by Brad Haddin

Sydney Sixers restricted the Yorkshire on 96 for nine from their 20 overs before overhauling the target for the loss of only two wickets with 67 balls to spare.

Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale won the toss and decided to bat first to give his bowlers a good total to defend against a high-flying Sixers batting line-up.

However, it wasn’t to be! The crucial Group B match proved a show of the worst and the best by batsmen of the both sides as on a pitch where Yorkshire batsmen failed to find their feet, Sydney Sixers top order batsmen enjoyed the bouncy nature of the track and expressed their skills freely.

Yorkshire opening pair of skipper Andrew Gale (8 from 18 – 1 four) and Phil Jaques (21 from 19 – 4 fours) failed to produce a rollicking start as both were back in the hut with total at 30 runs from 6.2 overs.

Joe Root (15 from 24 – 3 fours, 1 six) and Adam Lyth (18 from 25 – 1 four) tried to stabilize the dwindling ship but they could never find that acceleration button in their armor and scoring rate remained under five runs per over for the best part of the innings with wickets falling consistently.

Gary Ballance (8 from 17), Adil Rashid (1 from 2), Dan Hodgson (7 from 7 – 1 four), and Azeem Rafiq (Duck) all failed to find boundary rather regularly and when Mitchell Starc clean-bowled Steven Patterson (2 from 3) it was all over for Yorkshire who were restricted to 96 for nine from their share of 20 overs.

Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc captured three wickets for 22 runs while Pat Cummins and Shane Watson grabbed two wickets apiece for 22 and 27 runs, respectively. Josh Hazlewood also bowled tremendously well during a miser spell as he gave away only nine runs from his four overs for a wicket. Moises Henriques also looked good with figures of one for 10 from his two overs.

Shane Watson further augments his reputation

The 97-run target was never a challenging task for a team like Sydney Sixers, especially on a bouncy pitch at Newlands.

Although, Shane Watson (11 from 6 – 1 four, 1 six) failed to utilize the beautiful batting conditions, Michael Lumb (43 not out from 24 – 8 fours) and Brad Haddin (41 from 21 – 8 fours) pounced on the opportunity and added 78 runs for the second wicket from mere 42 balls to take Yorkshire completely out of contention.

The Sydney Sixers completed the target from fifth delivery of the eighth over which means they achieved their target with 67 balls to spare.

Brad Haddin was declared Man of the Match for his exhibition of a blend of class and aggression with the bat.

Yorkshire completely blown away!

Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale said at the presentation ceremony, "150-160 would have been a good score. But we didn't get off to a good start, and we were chasing the game from thereon. We have learned valuable lessons from today, have three games left, and will hopefully reverse the result on Thursday."

Brad Haddin, who is also skipper of the Sydney Sixers, told the interviewer after receiving his Man of the Match award, “We had a few things we needed to work on after the first game. The best thing about the three fast bowlers was they bowled differently, presenting different challenges to the batsmen. I am pretty lucky they are all looking to have a go. We still got to get better and better as the tournament goes on."

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CLT20: Super Azhar Mahmood lifts Auckland Aces over KKR

By Sheriff Michaels

Azhar Mahmood keeps reminding PCB of his worth at Champions League T20

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (TheSportsNEXT) October 15, 2012: A match-winning performance by Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood helped Auckland Aces defeat Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders by a comfortable margin of seven wickets with 14 balls to spare in Group A match of the Champions League World Twenty20 2012 played at Newlands in Cape Town on Monday.

Azhar Mahmood took three wickets for 16 runs before executing the job with the bat by scoring unbeaten 51 runs from 42 balls as the Kolkata Knight Riders are now on the brink of crashing out of the Champions League Twenty20 2012 after witnessing two defeats in as many matches.

Gautam Gambhir, skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, won the toss and decided to bat first expecting the pitch to offer more purchase to his seamers in the night.

Gautam Gambhir (5 from 9 – 1 four) fell early once again but Manvinder Bisla (38 from 24 – 6 fours, 1 six) and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum (40 from 35 – 3 fours, 2 sixes) launched an effective counterattack scoring 62 runs from only 41 balls.

However, once their partnership was broken by Ronnie Hira in the ninth over, Auckland Aces skipper Gareth Hopkins asked Pakistani star all-rounder Azhar Mahmood to deliver some overs.

The medium-pacer started with a double-wicket maiden where he got rid of South African quality all-rounder Jacques Kallis (Duck) and Manoj Tiwary (Duck) as the Kolkata Knight Riders lost the momentum completely.

Soon Azhar Mahmood also sent Brendon McCullum back in the pavilion as the KKR innings fell apart and Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (15 from 22) and Yusuf Pathan (22 from 19 – 2 fours) had to resort to damage-control which never allowed them to use the long handle freely.

In the end, the Kolkata Knight Riders could only limp to a total of 137 for six from their 20 overs.

Azhar Mahmood took three wickets for 16 runs to lead Auckland Aces’ bowlers while Kyle Mills (1/23), Michael Bates (1/33), and Ronnie Hira (1/30) also bowled pretty well and none of the bowlers was over-expensive.

Chasing 138 for an impressive victory, the Auckland Acers opening batsmen came out in the middle with an effective plan and assaulted medium-paced bowling attack of Kolkata Knight Riders after Gautam Gambhir opted to sit his premier fast bowler Brett Lee out in the dug-out.

Martin Guptill (25 from 26 – 3 fours) and Lou Vincent (30 from 12 – 3 fours, 2 sixes) came out with all guns blazing and belted Lakshmipathy Balaji and Shakib Al Hasan all across the Newlands and raised to 37 from only three overs before Lou Vincent was captured by none other than Sunil Narine.

Azhar Mahmood (51 not out from 42 – 3 fours, 2 sixes) came at one-down position and he used his wits to stabilize the innings after fall of both the openers and with Anaru Kitchen (24 from 15 – 3 fours, 1 six) took the Auckland Aces close to victory before having company of Colin de Grandhomme (9 not out from 11 – 1 four) to execute a fine chase in Cape Town.

There was nothing much to talk about the KKR bowlers as Lakshmipathy Balaji went for 38 from his four overs for a wicket, Shakib Al Hasan gave away 34 from his four, and Pradeep Sangwan leaked 26 runs from his 16 deliveries. Sunil Narine was their most successful bowler as he took two wickets for 24 runs while Jacques Kallis also kept his line and length and let only 17 runs to slip away from his three overs.

Azhar Mahmood was declared Man of the Match for his brilliance with both bat and ball. This was his second consecutive Man of the Match award in the Champions League Twenty20 2012.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir said at the presentation ceremony, “Once you get the momentum you've got to continue. How they played in the first over gave them momentum. We need to play smart cricket, some better cricket and hopefully we can win both our remaining games”.

Auckland Aces skipper Gareth Hopkins stated, “Bowlers are picked to do a job so I back them. We do have part timers, but didn't need them today. We got off to a good start with the bat and we left it to the master Mahmood to finish it off as well as he does”.

Man of the Match Azhar Mahmood said, “We bowled really well as a unit. We prepared really well, two weeks before the tournament and it's paid off. Martin Guptill and Louie started off really well and I was able to finish off. Hopefully I can keep my form going”.

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