Luke Wright and Steven Finn starred in a much-improved England performance as they beat New Zealand by six wickets to put the defence of their Twenty20 crown back on track in their ICC World T20 Super Eight clash at Pallekele on Saturday.
The win however did not ensure their progress to the semi-final and Stuart Broad’s team will need to beat hosts Sri Lanka whom they meet on Monday if they are to book a trip back to Colombo for the semi-finals.
Finn took three for 16 and then Wright (76) engineered a well-drilled chase – achieved with seven balls to spare – meaning England have at least given themselves a second chance after their defeat against West Indies at this same venue two days ago.
Finn took two with the new ball, including danger man Brendon McCullum, and then returned in the 17th over to see off another of the Kiwis’ best hitters Ross Taylor.
New Zealand had no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss but were immediately pegged with the loss of two quick wickets.
Finn struck with the third ball of his first over when he pinned Martin Guptill in front with a swinging yorker that had lbw written all over it. Finn struck again in his second over with the prized wicket of McCullum who miscued his stroke and only succeeded in edging a skier straight to Wright at deep third-man.
Graeme Swann then got into the act and had Rob Nicol mistiming a slog-sweep into the hands of deep midwicket.
Kane Williamson battled valiantly for 17 off 23 balls but just as he seemed to be settling down he edged Danny Briggs to keeper Kieswetter.
At 67 for four in the 12th over the Kiwis were way behind the pace and needed to up the tempo.
Skipper Ross Taylor then combined with Franklin in a crucial 40-run stand for the fifth wicket before Finn returned to account for Taylor (23) who was caught at mid wicket as he attempted to increase the scoring rate.
At 107 for 5 in the 17th over New Zealand was still woefully short of a competitive total but Franklin and Nathan McCullum added 47 off the last 20 balls to take the Kiwis to a par score of 148. Franklin made exactly 50 off 33 balls with 2 sixes and 4 fours before he was run out off the penultimate ball of the innings.
The New Zealand total looked a little better when Craig Kieswetter fell early in England’s innings – bowled by Daniel Vettori after making just four off 14 balls.
They slipped to 38 for 2 when Alex Hales who had taken 16 off Tim Southee’s first over went on the charge to McCullum and missed an off-break, which crashed into his stumps.
Wright was then joined by Morgan, and the third-wicket pair barely put a foot wrong in a stand of 89 in 10 overs.
On a pitch favouring spin, they allowed New Zealand’s frontline slow bowlers to concede only 42 runs in eight overs – but made sure they took toll of pace.
The run rate never spiralled thanks to fine placement, by Morgan in particular in his near run-a-ball 30, and at least one successful big shot in each over.
Wright drove especially well – and when the hapless Southee returned for his second spell, Wright welcomed him with two sixes – one to bring up the hundred and a second high over wide long-on to reach his half century.
Morgan eventually fell – brilliantly caught at long on by a diving Doug Bracewell off Kyle Mills – and Wright followed him, holing out to cover in the penultimate over.
But there was no longer any doubt about an outcome which ensures England will defend their only ICC title to date with at least a degree of honour.

Ajantha Mendis set a T20 record with his 6 for 8 haul against Zimbabwe

After a rather quiet start the World T20 championship is set to liven up quite a bit when hosts Sri Lanka take on one of the pre-tournament favourites South Africa in a key clash in Hambantota on Saturday.
The organisers have announced that all tickets for the 35,000 capacity stadium have been sold out – a clear indication that the home fans prefer to watch their own team despite the the fact that the stadium is six hours away from the city of Colombo where another mouth-watering clash between West indies and Australia takes place at the Premadasa Stadium.
Both sides have got their bullying out of the way, having beaten Zimbabwe by 82 runs and 10 wickets respectively, and Sri Lanka and South Africa are now ready to do business. That may sound odd considering that both having both already qualified for the Super Eights but neither have been challenged properly yet and will want to test themselves before a tough next round.
Sri Lanka will be happy with the form of one of their most important bowlers, AjanthaMendis. His 6 for 8 are figures unlikely to be repeated but Mendis showed he is back in a big way. He deceived the Zimbabwe batsmen with an assortment of carom balls and googlies and while the South African line-up may not be so easily hoodwinked, some of them are known to have a weakness against spin.
South Africa’s middle order remains untested after only Richard Levi and HashimAmla batted against Zimbabwe and they are yet to face any pressure, a catalyst for some of their worst major tournament showing. Sri Lanka will look to target that area of the opposition’s game because every other part of it seems solid.
South Africa’s seamers were effective on the Hambantota pitch and even though their spinners were not called into action too much, they have enough options available to them to be able to afford one bowler having a bad day. The hosts have similar variation in their ranks, with enough all-rounders to have all bases covered and with the advantage of their middle order having had a decent run.
Sri Lanka may not want to make any changes to a winning team but both all-rounders Mathews and Perera were not fully match fit in their opening game and the selectors may want to give this key duo a longer rest in what is largely a ‘dead’ match as both sides have qualified for the next round.
If this happens, the hosts would do well to throw young spinning sensation AkilaDhananjaya into the mix and he could form a spinning trio with the two mendis’s.
By all accounts the match-ups between the teams pre-empts a much closer contest than the group has seen so far. Even though it will not be decisive in terms of who the team play in the next round it will be important in determining who has more might for the big duels ahead.

McCullum is congratulated by Ross Taylor

Brendon McCullum underlined his status as the most feared batsman at the ICC World Twenty20 by smashing a record 123 runs off 58 balls to give New Zealand a comfortable 59-run win over Bangladesh in Pallekele.
The Black Caps had been restricted to 19 when McCullum came to the crease after 3.2 overs, but he quickly upped the pace, hitting 11 fours and seven sixes to help his team post a total of 191 for three.
Bangladesh began their reply terribly, losing their first four wickets for 37 runs and despite a half century from NasirHossain, they fell short of their target in making 132 for eight.
AbdurRazzak bowled Martin Guptill for 11 and restricted James Franklin at the other end to give Bangladesh a good start, but McCullum took the game by the scruff of the neck.
The 30-year-old, who moved to the top of the Twenty20 batsman rankings last week, racked up a 50 partnership with Franklin in little over five overs and reached his own half-century after just 29 balls with some aggressive strokes.
The removal of Franklin by MashrafeMortaza in the 15th over did not suppress McCullum as the former Sussex man swatted the medium pacer over long-off for six in the same over.
McCullum smashed 51 off the last five overs to register the biggest score in Twenty20 history, beating the previous record of 117 set by South Africa’s Richard Levi.
Bangladesh got off to a terrible start in their run chase, with TamimIqbal cutting Kyle Mills to Guptill after three balls and the seamer snared Shakib Al Hasan in the third over to leave the Tigers on 19 for two.
Mills then dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim for four and Tim Southee trapped Mohammad Ashraful (21) lbw to leave Bangladesh four down in the seventh over.
Mahmudullah and Hossain steadied the ship with a 50 partnership but Nathan McCullum’s off-spin removed the latter for 15.
Any fears of an unlikely comeback were dismissed in the 18th over when Guptill caught Hossain off Southee on the boundary.
Jacob Oram then got in on the act with a wicket and Southee added his third victim to seal an impressive win for New Zealand that leaves Bangladesh needing victory over Pakistan to stay in the tournament.

The Afghans lost their opening game against India but won many hearts with their spirited play

By Richard Browne
The T20 World Cup, has dawdled into life, confirming nothing more than the schedule of not carrying points through to the super 8’s would leave the opening gambits short on edge of the seat excitement and that Sri Lankans are picky about what games they actually grace by visiting the stadium.
The two minnows have had contrasting starts: Ireland looked overawed and lacked the clear thinking under pressure that has raised their game to a hazy place between associate and Test playing level. Early wickets against the Australians knocked the stuffing out of them and with a lengthy tail, one of the top 5 needs to build a substantial innings. The experienced O’Brien brothers started something but couldn’t see it through and the Irish looked uncomfortable at not being out and out underdogs, although they did give as good as they got when it came to the sledging wars with the Australians, who after all the jibes about their ranking (they are tenth and behind Ireland), looked very fired up.
Afghanistan played with the heart and passion the cricket world has come to expect from them in the game against India. This tournament will be a very interesting barometer to see how they are progressing as a cricketing nation. Taking the romance aside from their story they have been at the top end of the associates for a few years now and with some of their star players reaching maturity and gaining meaningful experience, a strong showing here and a win against an established nation, could cement their top 12 place in a way that say Canada and the Netherlands have never managed to do.
Reports from Afghanistan suggest that cricket is getting more and more of a following amongst teenagers and bowlers like the Zadran’s are looking better with each tournament. More international exposure between international tournaments would be greatly beneficial to the Afghans and some assisted ICC help in getting some of the players into the worlds domestic T20 tournaments would be a great starting point. Having one Afghan in each of next year’s SLPL teams would be a superb start.
Zimbabwe have been the greatest disappointment. Their linchpin Taibu retired recently and suddenly to devote his life to god and not cricket, but the core of an improving team remains. What has been really disappointingintotheir two losses has been the poor standard of their fielding. Zimbabwe sides have pretty much always been strong at fielding and this has kept them competitive, backed up by tight bowling and grittybowling. They turned fielding into their chief offensive weapon and without it look like they are in a whole world of trouble.
The tournament is too young and at the moment too cagey to see if any new shots, mystery balls or outrageous tactics have been produced for the tournament. When it comes to the tactical side of things, already into a decade in the format it is starting to look jaded when it comes to tactical innovations.
There is a feeling tooamong the only partially acquainted that T20 cricket is too quick for tactics to really come into it and that whoever starts the best will normally win. Captains and coaches say differently and the truth lies somewhere in the middle. What this tournament may show though is the next big thing; ten over aside cricket.
England and South Africa recently played a Ten over match when rain hit their T20 match in Manchester. Although the match couldn’t be finished because the rain returned, the cricket was high octane, highly skilled and had the instant gratification that fast food vendors can only dream off.
If T20 was in part a cry for help to get away from the general drudgery of the now infamous middle overs of a 50/50 innings, reducing the overs from twenty to ten, will have the same effect, Everyone now realizes twenty overs is a long enough time to build an innings whenoriginallyeveryone was just effectively went out and try to smash it. Ten overs really is not a long time and with the huge skill levels now seen in batting combined with the awesome power of the modern batsmen, ten over cricket may find itself as the new twenty, in a game that would last as long as a football match. If we see rain in the next fortnight, we will see ten over cricket.

A winner of the lucky draw receives his prize

Ardent cricket fans grabbed their chance to join in the excitement as they grabbed a once in a lifetime chance to see the T20 World Cup Trophy and meet their favourite Sri Lankan cricketer. As a ‘bonus’ several others even won free tickets to the world cup matches as well.
This was all made possible largely due to the efforts of the dynamic team of HERO-Abans. HERO, a main sponsor of the ICC T20 World Cup 2012, recently launched their extensive range of HERO Bikes in Sri Lanka, through Abans – the authorised reseller, offering the extensive range of HERO bikes to bike lovers through a vast network of Showrooms and Dealers Islandwide.
The magnificent ICC T20 World Cup Trophy (which was given by the ICC to HERO) was presented to Abans representatives by HERO Officials on 8th September at Kandy City Centre.
The young and the old were all equally restless and excited as they all came pouring into their nearest trophy display centre from the 8th – 11th September, with their friends and family to get a glimpse of their favourite cricketer, grab his autograph, take a picture with him and of course, with the T20 World Cup trophy.
Several thousands more flocked in en-route as the trophy traveled to selected areas in the country making short stopovers on 10th September at Ingiriya / Horana / Kesbewa / Piliyandala / Boralesgamuwa, on 11th September at Negombo / Katunayake / Ja Ela / Kandana / Wattala, on 13th September – Homagama / Maharagama / Nugegoda / Malabe / Kaduwela / Athurugiriya / Thalawathugoda / Rajagiriya / Borella, on 15th September – Moratuwa / Kalutara / Aluthgama / Ambalangoda / Galle / Matara, on 16th September – Tangalle / Ambalantota / Tissamaharama / Hambantota and on 17th September at Embilipitiya / Godakawela / Kahawatta / Pelmadulla / Ratnapura.
These en-route stops allowed cricket fans who missed the action at the trophy display centres, to take pictures of the trophy, which they would definitely treasure for years to come. The Trophy display centres each held raffle draw, which saw numerous people win tickets to exciting world cup matches. The Chief Guest for each trophy display centre were; Jeewan Mendis (Kandy City Centre – 8th September), Lasith Malinga (HERO-Abans Signature Showroom, Peliyagoda – 9th September), Mahela Jayawadena (HERO-Abans Signature Showroom, Peliyagoda – 10th September) and Angelo Mathews (HERO-Abans Signature Showroom, Kollupitiya – 11th September).
The crowd that flocked in was treated to music, cheering and entertainment by clowns and various fancy dress characters. Lucky draws were held and many fans won limited edition T-Shirts, Caps and exciting gifts. Undoubtedly, there were many cherished memories and much memorabilia that were created during this promotion. HERO-Abans have lived up to many cricket fans expectations and we all excitedly await the next big thing that they surprise us with in future.

Bringing your HEROES closer to you . . . HERO-Abans!!!

Broad – claims Pietersen’s absence is irrelevant

Stuart Broad’s England must disprove the doubters who still insist their defence of the ICC World Twenty20 is bound to suffer for the absence of Kevin Pietersen.
Broad has long claimed that Pietersen’s unavailability is an irrelevance, because England have known for almost four months the mercurial batsman would not be part of their campaign.
It has been a party line too to point out that those who have returned, or been promoted, to the Twenty20 team have already excelled and demonstrated potential to do even better. England will begin their tournament proper, after two warm-up victories, against Afghanistan at the Premadasa Stadium on Friday – where the first evidence will emerge as to whether they have so far been emitting empty words or statements of intent.
Pietersen is exiled over his breakdown of relations with the England and Wales Cricket Board, but not to some lonely outpost. Instead, his million-dollar-plus contract as a pundit for the same tournament he dominated in England’s march to glory in the Caribbean two years ago means he is perhaps uncomfortably close – airing his views on all competitors, including Broad’s hopefuls, from a Colombo studio.
Broad has been unable to shake off questions about Pietersen all month, and so it was again today as he and his team fine-tuned preparations to try to win only England’s second International Cricket Council global trophy.
Asked directly whether the England dressing room is a happier place without the South Africa-born batsman, Broad said: “No. “KP’s been around for a long time and obviously done fantastically well for us.
“His battles with the ECB at the moment mean he’s not here, and we have to put up with that and get on with it.
“The 15 guys in the squad are excited to be here, up for the challenge – and that’s what you want coming into a tournament.”
Has he seen much of Pietersen’s television stints over the past two days, though?
That too is a ‘no’. Although Broad appears to have taken time to watch as much of the matches played so far, he has found other entertainment when Pietersen has taken the mic.
“I’ve got this Formula One (video) game at the minute,” said the England captain.
“I’m a bit addicted to it … so I’ve not seen anything.” In Pietersen’s place, Broad emphasises, are not just handy cricketers but ones capable of beating the rest of the world again.
“We’ve not just got players who can ‘do a job’; we’ve got world-class match-winners in the side,” Broad said. “Yes, we’ve got guys who haven’t played a lot of international cricket. But we’ve got eight of us who won the ‘World Cup’ two years ago – and players who can clear the ropes … guys down to number nine who can do that. I think you need that in Twenty20 cricket.” England’s hard-fought warm-up wins over Australia and Pakistan, and those other televised contests so far, have whetted his appetite. “I’ve seen a few games on the TV. That just builds your excitement,” Broad said. “We’ve prepared really well, won both games over here – and both have been really good tests for us as well.
“In the first game against Australia, I thought we batted fantastically – maybe could have fielded and bowled a little bit better. “Then against Pakistan, you’re not going to see a better fielding and bowling display than that – to defend 111.
“I’m really delighted. The morale in the camp is brilliant … preparation has gone as well as we could have hoped.”
England endured a shaky start in the West Indies in the 2010 tournament, but produced a surge of victories when they had to. This time, Broad hopes they can simply carry on winning.
“That’s three on the bounce we’ve won now, and played some really good cricket as well,” he said. “It’s important if you can build momentum throughout the tournament.
“That’s part and parcel of the game. As a bowler, we know the most important thing – whether you get hit out of the park, or you bowl a dot ball – it’s all on the next ball. “Whether you’re playing against Afghanistan, or the best team in the world, your principles don’t change.”

West Indies – among the favourites to clinch title

By HarshaBhogle
There was a time when the subcontinent was mystery, assigned dark and exotic shades. It was the land of the unknown, rendered even more so by inventive prose. You got the feeling that visiting teams were waiting for the unexpected, that, peculiarly, they expected it, and were almost ready to succumb to it. Either they weren’t aware of how to combat the conditions or, more likely, they were just unwilling to. A tour to this part of the world brought out the best in cricket writers, rarely in cricketers.
A couple of days ago I saw two giant New Zealanders, they of the land that had seemed beyond the unknown to us, understand the subcontinent like it was their own. And it struck me that the mystique had gone. Jacob Oram and James Franklin seemed so at ease that they might have been bowling at Eden Park, indeed that the Feroz Shah Kotla might have been as familiar to them as Eden Park was. The world had shrunk and India was now the playground of the cricket world. Two New Zealanders had beaten India playing an Indian game.
And so, as the World Twenty20 begins across the Palk Strait, I wonder if knowledge of local conditions is a qualification anymore; whether slow bowlers who take the pace off the ball speak only in our accents. Wristy players with exotic shots now hail from Ireland, mystery spinners from Trinidad, and even those from Dunedin and Hobart are increasingly at home in Pallekele and Visakhapatnam.
And so this is as open a World T20 as any you will see. You could argue, and you would argue fairly, that the smaller a match the more open it is anyway, but in earlier editions the format was still unfamiliar and there were times when the slow, low pitches of the subcontinent could negate teams like New Zealand, South Africa and England. Not anymore. The IPL is now five years old, the Big Bash has gathered steam, there is excitement around England’s T20, and little leagues have sprung up in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. As cuisines go global, so does short-form cricket.
The groups don’t matter anymore, and the rankings still have insufficient data to make for fair and informed assessments. As Australia have shown, the number ten ranking can be made to look both correct and ridiculous in the space of two days. Look at their matches against Pakistan. In the 2010 World Twenty20 semi-final they got 80 in six overs; recently they struggled to make that many in 20 overs, and a couple of days later they bowled Pakistan out for 74. Any of those days could have been a final, so predictions will be foolhardy.
That is especially so because the news coming out of Sri Lanka is that the pitches have a bit of the spice normally associated with the fish curries there; that the ball is allowed a decent carry in Pallekele, and that spinners of doubtful pedigree will have to do more than just turn a door knob to get help from the pitches.
I hope that assessment is right because good pitches will favour better cricketers. I also hope that boundary ropes are placed a respectable distance away from the batsman.
The unpredictability makes this edition even more alluring. West Indies, once the home of fast bowling, could play with Samuel Badree, Sunil Narine, Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy (three of them slow, one just going past that definition); Sri Lanka could throw up another couple of unorthodox sensations to go with LasithMalinga and AjanthaMendis( Ihave been told to keep an eye out for DilshanMunaweera and AkilaDananjaya); and even South Africa, the land of the braai and seam-up bowlers, might play three slow bowlers. With SohailTanvir and Umar Gul in form, Pakistan are the one team that need not bother about the surface, having bowlers to suit all kinds.
If the tracks are indeed really good, India will be forced to play with five bowlers, which is how it should be anyway. A team that has six quality batsmen and can play IrfanPathan, R Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh thereafter shouldn’t need the security of another batsman at No. 7. If there is a weakness in this team, it is the absence of a death bowler, and the selection of Zaheer Khan, never the most enthusiastic T20 cricketer, is probably an attempt to fill that position.
For the first time in years the team to watch out for is West Indies. I suggested a couple of years ago that T20 might be the path to the revival of West Indies cricket, and they certainly seem to play it with the joie de vivre that the format encourages. A team of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Darren Bravo (or Lendl Simmons), Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, DeneshRamdin, Sammy, Andre Russell, Narine and Fidel Edwards (with Ravi Rampaul and Samuel Badree around) offers much for the senses. Gayle will still be the talisman, the enforcer, but there are many match-winners down the line. And almost all of them have played a lot on the subcontinent.
To me, this World Twenty20 will be a search for the joy in West Indies cricket. Anyone can win it but West Indies will bring more smiles to faces.
(courtesy :cricinfo)

Lasith Malinga and Kumar Sangakkara

Sri Lanka’s former skipper Kumar Sangakkara and fast bowler LasithMalinga were on Friday named in the ICC ODI team of the year. Sangakkara has been Sri Lanka’s leading batsman and Malinga its leading bowler in ODIs over the last year.
Surprisingly, there was no place for South Africa’s  HashimAmla who has been in top form for the last one year in all formats and is also the top-ranked batsmen in ICC’s ODI rankings. Sri Lanka’s TillekeratneDilshan and India’s VirenderSehwag who were in last year’s team have also failed to retain their places.
The ICC named MS Dhoni as captain of the teamwhich also included two other Indians – opening batsman GautamGambhir and batsman ViratKohli who will occupy the number four slot. Gambhir must consider himself very lucky as he is ranked 16th in the ratings whilst South Africa’s AB de Villiers who is 3rd in the ratings has also been overlooked.
This is the fifth year in a row that Dhoni has been selected in the team. Both Sangakkara and Malinga were named in last year’s team as well. Sangakkara is ranked 4th in the ODI ratings whilst Malinga is curiously only 19th among ODI bowlers.
The team – chosen by a specially appointed panel – includes players from six countries – India (3), England (2), Australia (2), Sri Lanka (2), Pakistan (2) and South Africa (1).
The team was announced on the eve of the ICC’s annual awards event that will be held in Colombo on Saturday. It was picked by a panel consisting of former players and chaired by former West Indies legend Clive Lloyd and included former West Indian Carl Hooper, former Sri Lanka skipper and opener MarvanAttapatu, Australia all-rounder Tom Moody and England Women’s captain Clare Connor. The same panel had picked the Test Team of the Year last month.
The current number-one ODI team England is represented by their opener and captain Alastair Cook and fast bowler Steven Finn. Australia captain Michael Clarke leads his country’s representation, along with Shane Watson, who has been named the 12th man.
No. 1 ODI bowler SaeedAjmal and bowling all-rounder ShahidAfridi of Pakistan are the two spinners in the side. Sangakkara has been listed to bat at No. 3,  andMalinga’s death-bowling expertise has earned him the lead fast bowler’s role with Finn and South Africa’s only representation MorneMorkel.
The announcement was made by the ICC’s Chief Executive, David Richardson, at a special function ahead of the LG ICC Awards ceremony which will take place on Saturday night at the Waters Edge, Colombo.
ICC ODI Team of the Year (in batting order) GautamGambhir (Ind), Alastair Cook (Eng), Kumar Sangakkara (SL), ViratKohli (Ind), MS Dhoni (Ind, c/wk), Michael Clarke (Aus), ShahidAfridi (Pak), MorneMorkel (SA), Steven Finn (Eng), LasithMalinga (SL), SaeedAjmal (Pak), 12th man-Shane Watson (Aus)

Brian Lara and Enid Blakewell

West Indies batting great Brian Lara and England’s legendary woman player Enid Bakewell will be inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame during the world body’s annual awards on September 15.
“West Indies prolific batsman Brian Lara will join the 66 male members of the Hall of Fame while England’s Enid Bakewell becomes the third woman to be inducted,” the ICC said in a statement.
Lara and Bakewell will attend the ICC Awards at Waters Edge here and will be inducted formally.
The 43-year-old Lara is a living legend in international cricket with 11,953 runs from 131 Tests and another 10,405 from 299 one-dayers.
Lara holds several records, including the one for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, with 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994, which is the only quintuple hundred in first-class cricket history.Lara also holds the record for the highest individual score in a Test innings (400 not out against England at Antigua in 2004).
He is the only batsman to have scored a hundred, a double century, a triple century, a quadruple century and a quintuple century.The 71-year-old Bakewell, meanwhile, is a legend in her own right in the women’s game.
She scored a total of 1,078 runs, including four centuries and seven 50s in her Test career which spanned 11 years. She twice scored more than 300 runs in a three-Test series, hitting 412 in five innings against New Zealand in 1968 and 309 in six innings against the West Indies in 1979. She played 23 one-day internationals, taking 25 wickets and scoring 500 runs, which included two centuries.