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Windows 10

2014-10-02T14:42:00.001-07:00

Windows 10 is the name of the future operating system from Microsoft, that should get on our computers at the end of next year. Therefore, the company will not name the next version of Windows 9 or Windows X or Windows One as everyone expected. New Windows 10 looks pretty good with Windows 7.

Windows 10 is the name of the future operating system from Microsoft, that should get on our computers at the end of next year. Therefore, the company will not name the next version of Windows 9 or Windows X or Windows One as everyone expected. New Windows 10 looks pretty good with Windows 7.

Windows 10 is the name of the future operating system from Microsoft, that should get on our computers at the end of next year. Therefore, the company will not name the next version of Windows 9 or Windows X or Windows One as everyone expected. New Windows 10 looks pretty good with Windows 7.

Windows 10 is the name of the future operating system from Microsoft, that should get on our computers at the end of next year. Therefore, the company will not name the next version of Windows 9 or Windows X or Windows One as everyone expected. New Windows 10 looks pretty good with Windows 7.

Windows 10 is the name of the future operating system from Microsoft, that should get on our computers at the end of next year. Therefore, the company will not name the next version of Windows 9 or Windows X or Windows One as everyone expected. New Windows 10 looks pretty good with Windows 7.

Jayasuriya, Vaas in Preliminary World Cup Squad

2010-12-13T07:46:00.001-08:00

Sri Lanka have sprung a couple of surprises by including Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas in their 30-member preliminary squad for the 2011 World Cup. Seamer Nuwan Pradeep is the only uncapped player in the list, which will be pruned to 15 ahead of the tournament to be hosted in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Jayasuriya has rarely featured in Sri Lanka's plans in recent times, and managed just 15 runs in six outings during the 2010 World Twenty20 in West Indies. The two-match T20 series against New Zealand that followed was his last international assignment; he has since been ignored for all formats of the game. Vaas, who, like Jayasuriya, was a part of Sri Lanka's successful 1996 World Cup side, has been out of the national team since July 2009, and last played an ODI in August 2008.

All 14 teams participating in the tournament have to announce their preliminary line-ups by December 19, and zero in on the final fifteen before January 19 next year.

Preliminary squad: Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal, Tharanga Paranavitana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Thilina Kandamby, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Jeevan Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Malinga Bandara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Dammika Prasad, Chaminda Vaas, Chanaka Welegedara, Nuwan Pradeep, Thilan Thushara

Tamim Steers Bangladesh to Series Win

2010-12-12T05:40:00.001-08:00

Tamim Iqbal's explosive 95 blew away Zimbabwe on a slow Chittagong pitch on which the visitors had limped to 188 for 6, giving Bangladesh a six-wicket victory and a sixth-consecutive series win over Zimbabwe. On a track where the rest of the batsmen managed ten boundaries, Tamim clattered seven sixes and five fours after starting cautiously and surviving some anxious moments. Despite three of the top five batsmen contributing 13 runs between them, and Junaid Siddique taking 105 deliveries to reach a half-century, Tamim's charge allowed Bangladesh to canter to victory as they took the series 3-1.

He had curbed his natural attacking instincts after Imrul Kayes fell to the fourth delivery of the chase, before opening up with a pull over square leg off Chris Mpofu in the seventh over. Mpofu's next over was an example of how the chase progressed - in sporadic spurts amid fortuitous let-offs. Tamim went for his favourite heave down the ground off the first delivery, but got an inside-edge that went just past the stumps for a boundary. The third delivery was lifted cleanly over long-off for six, before Mpofu made a mess of a straightforward chance as Tamim chipped a slower one in the air.

Tamim continued to take his chances, treating the spinners with disdain and repeatedly targeting the area between deep midwicket and long-off. He also played-and-missed in between, highlighting the slow nature of the pitch though it had quickened up a touch compared to when Zimbabwe were batting. Flicks and drives just cleared the infield, but what stood out in Tamim's effort was the urgency with which he approached the modest target, in stark contrast to Zimbabwe's batsmen who had crawled at around two an over for more than half their innings.

Siddique's effort was far scratchier as he struggled to find the gaps. But Tamim's briskness at the other end meant he could get away with working the ball around. Elton Chigumbura rotated his bowlers but it didn't have any effect on Tamim, who reached his half-century in the 20th over off 61 balls. Zimbabwe didn't help themselves as Tamim was left off once again, Tatenda Taibu failing to catch the bottom-edge off Ray Price. Tamim responded by moving from 50 to 95 in 34 deliveries, smashing five more sixes before falling while attempting yet another six, holing out to Graeme Cremer who took a diving catch running in from the deep midwicket boundary. By then, however, Bangladesh needed only 50 off 21 overs.

Taibu and Craig Ervine had earlier put on Zimbabwe's highest partnership of the series but their progress was painfully slow, before a late charge in the batting Powerplay took the visitors to 188 on a surface that didn't turn much. Only nine boundaries were hit - six of them in the final six overs - partly because of the low and slow nature of the surface and the damp outfield, but largely due to the lack of intent Zimbabwe displayed.

The first boundary came in the 24th over when Taibu stepped out and lifted Naeem Islam over mid-off. The batsmen showed more purpose after that and the duo had added 95 before Ervine fell, going for another reverse-sweep and getting a top edge that Mushfiqur Rahim gobbled up. Taibu, who made his first half-century of the series, continued to hustle between the wickets. From 137 for 4 after 44 overs, Zimbabwe took 42 off the batting Powerplay, using the lofted shot over the infield to good effect.

Zimbabwe's downward spiral had continued in the morning after Chigumbura opted to bat, and their confused state was typified by some mindless running. Bangladesh usually rely on their spinners to contain the runs but today their quicks, Mashrafe Mortaza and Shafiul Islam, did that job by being on target right from the start.

Zimbabwe helped Bangladesh with repeated attempts at self-destruction, the first of which came as early as the first legitimate delivery of the match, also the first free-hit of the series. Brendan Taylor pushed a full swinging delivery to extra cover and rushed more than halfway down the pitch before he glanced at Hamilton Masakadza, who was rightly rooted at the non-striker's end. Suhrawadi Shuvo had already swooped down on the ball, and waited for an instant before aiming at the striker's stumps and scoring a direct hit.

Mortaza deserved some rewards for his efforts, and soon trapped Masakadza and Dabengwa leg-before. Zimbabwe had slipped to 21 for 3, and the 11th over was already on. They never really recovered after that, and Tamim's blistering knock in his first series after wrist surgery shut them out completely.

Dubai Truck Driver in Pak Cricket Camp

2010-12-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

A Pakistani truck driver, who works in Abu Dhabi, has become the focus in the training camp set up in Lahore for the national cricket team ahead of its tour of New Zealand. Abdul Haq has found himself in the media limelight in a matter of days after he showed up at the Pakistan team's nets in Abu Dhabi last month during the series against South Africa.

So impressed were the coaches and manager of the team with his ability and pace that they had him included as a practice bowler when the camp was set up for the New Zealand series in Lahore last week.
"It is like a dream to be bowling to the Pakistani players. I am learning a lot just being here and getting a lot of tips from Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed," Haq said.
The lanky 27-year old from the tribal area of South Waziristan was forced to leave Pakistan and find work as a truck driver in Abu Dhabi last year due to economic requirements. "I had played some matches in domestic cricket grade-two but gave up hope and left for Abu Dhabi because I needed to earn money for my myself and my family," Haq said.

He said that he now aspired to play for Pakistan. "The coaches have asked some departmental teams to look at me and sign me on. They have also told me to keep on practicing regularly," he said. Sources do not rule out the possibility of the national selectors naming the unknown Haq in the preliminary squad for the World Cup as Pakistan cricket has a history of selecting unknown players and pushing them into the limelight.

"There is no doubt he has talent and potential but is pretty raw," Waqar said. Not surprisingly Haq's heroes are Imran Khan and Waqar Younis himself. "I grew up watching them on television and to just be bowling under his guidance is a big plus for me," Haq said.

Sri Lanka favourites in summit clash

2010-06-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

India may have had the better results during the spate of contests against Sri Lanka over the last couple of years but, in this Asia Cup, the hosts have looked significantly superior. They have a more settled batting line-up, greater potency in their bowling attack and impressive reserves who filled in admirably during the dress rehearsal when the bigger names were missing. India's performance lacked the assuredness of their opponents, and they begin Thursday's final with more glitches to rectify.

The foremost concern with India's batting is the middle order. Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli have not matched the consistency of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, while Ravindra Jadeja, an allrounder, has only kept his place with his tidy left-arm spin. His counterpart Angelo Mathews, on the other hand, has lived up to his role successfully. The worry over Virender Sehwag's absence was eased by a solid innings from his replacement Dinesh Karthik on Tuesday, but Sri Lanka's opening combination of Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan has inspired greater confidence.

The return of Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh will strengthen India's bowling but those changes will be driven more by necessity and limited choices. Against the best-available Indian batting line-up, Farveez Maharoof did more than enough to ensure that team selection for the final remained a less than straightforward issue for Sri Lanka. With Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara and Muttiah Muralitharan in good form, amid stability in the batting, India need a quick turnaround to unsettle Sri Lanka's conviction.

Watch out for...

Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli: Both batsmen squandered opportunities during the dress rehearsal, making their position in the batting order vulnerable to change. Adaptability, however, is something the pair should be comfortable with. They are also invaluable for their agility in the field, but their under-performance with the bat has contributed to India's fragility.

Sri Lanka's pace attack: The hosts have plenty of options to work with in this department. Kulasekara and Malinga have been impressive up front, with the latter ensuring the wickets have been accompanied by a decline in scoring. The nagging cutters from Maharoof in tandem with Rangana Herath's spin put the brakes on India on Tuesday. Mathews possesses a similar approach which, if complemented with Murali's variations, offers Sri Lanka an excellent combination in the middle overs.

Ravindra Jadeja: "Jadeja needs to contribute more with bat," Dhoni said. "When he came into the team, he was more of a batsman who could bowl. But now he has turned into more of a specialist bowler." For someone with a batting average of 33.78 and a bowling average of 44.08, such a statement from a captain - unless construed as a compliment for improved bowling - must sting.

Team news

India should play their first-choice attack of Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra, who will return after recovering from back spasms. A half-century in the previous game could earn Rohit Sharma a promotion.

India (possible) : 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Dinesh Karthik, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Maharoof's five-for and hat-trick could prompt the selectors to choose him ahead of Chanaka Welegedera. Thilan Samaraweera has batted just once this series and it remains to be seen if Thilina Kandamby is picked in his place.

2nd Semi-Final PAK V AUS Preview and Team News

2010-05-14T02:31:00.000-07:00

Much about the way these two teams have arrived at this juncture suggests that we could have on our hands a repeat of last year's tense, compelling semi-final between South Africa and Pakistan.

Even more than last year, Pakistan's progress this time has been deeply unimpressive. They have only won two games from five and are still not sure of their best XI. Australia, like South Africa last year, have uncomplicatedly and with little fuss pushed aside teams unfortunate enough to get in their way: blast them at the top of each innings.

In reality nothing stands further from the truth. This is, after all, Australia and Australia is Australia precisely because it is not South Africa: in that alone waits a book on why two cultures so similar are so different. South Africa die on such days, wracked by demons of rigidity. Australia live for such days, the pressure of semi-finals and finals sharpening their focus even more. On these occasions they are at their most Australian.

They also seem to have finally worked out the format, or at least applied their own interpretation to it. Very fast bowlers, good solid ones, appear to be the key in a format which is often credited - mistakenly - to have saved spin. Their openers are the most brutal and their middle order most adept at recovery. Even negatives are really a positive: Michael Clarke has only 48 runs in the tournament at a strike rate of 70, yet it is difficult to argue against Malcolm Conn's assessment of him as this format's Mike Brearley currently.

Further, they have spanked Pakistan all shades of black and blue for the last ten internationals running between the two, including the group game earlier, also incidentally, at St Lucia. And historically, they are also the team least bewildered by Pakistan's mood swings: if Pakistan are awful, they are duly thrashed. If Pakistan are brilliant, they are duly bested.

All of it bodes less well than it did last year for Shahid Afridi's men. They have at least improved in their last two games and their smartness, as ever, has been in performing when it matters most. In taking the losses to England and New Zealand to the very death, they secured a minor victory in a tournament where even good sides have often been very bad.

Hope springs mostly from their bowling and spin in particular. If something remarkable is to happen, Saeed Ajmal can easily be imagined at the centre of it and Abdur Rehman not far away. And it may not be the worst time for Afridi to slip back into wicket-taking mode.

Could it also be just the right kind of time to thrust Hammad Azam into international cricket? Everyone else in the squad has been tried and Mohammad Hafeez, the most surprising name among the nine to feature in all five matches, must be vulnerable.

Team News

Why would Australia fix it when it clearly isn't broke?

Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson 2 David Warner 3 Brad Haddin (wk) 4 Michael Clarke (capt) 5 David Hussey 6 Cameron White 7 Michael Hussey 8 Steve Smith 9 Mitchell Johnson 10 Dirk Nannes 11 Shaun Tait

Pakistan, in contrast, need to answer a number of questions. How long to persist with Misbah-ul-Haq, scorer of 68 runs and holder of a sub-100 strike rate? Is there a suitable replacement? If Mohammad Hafeez hasn't sparked for five games, will he do so now? It is St Lucia, but just one fast bowler, in a Pakistan side?

Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt 2 Kamran Akmal (wk) 3 Khalid Latif 4 Hammad Azam/Mohammad Hafeez 5 Umar Akmal 6 Misbah-ul-Haq 7 Shahid Afridi 8 Abdul Razzaq 9 Abdur Rehman 10 Mohammad Aamer 11 Saeed Ajmal

1st Semi-Final ENG V SRI Preview and Team News

2010-05-13T04:51:00.002-07:00

While England have not made the final of a ICC global tournament since 2004 Sri Lanka have been beaten finalists in both last year's World Twenty20 and the 2007 World Cup.

Yet ahead of the match it's England who are the more bullish having topped their Super Eights group with three comfortable wins. They are on the verge of fulfilling their transformation that began after losing 5-1 to Australia last summer. Gone is the stuttering top order hoping to 'keep wickets in hand' and in its place is a fearless line-up led by two dashing hitters at the top and followed by the classiest middle-order pair of the tournament, Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, looked unsteady to begin with but have found increasingly assurance as the tournament went on. Mahela Jayewardene's graceful striking has completely carried Sri Lanka's batting - his 292 runs are more than anyone else in the tournament and over double the next highest Sri Lankan tally of 123 from Kumar Sangakkara - but they showed they could perform without him when they beat India. Nevertheless how England's nagging fast-medium attack fare against Jayewardene could well determine the outcome of the game.

Team News

Kevin Pietersen returns just in time after seeing the birth of his first child and will replace Ravi Bopara. Throughout the tournament Ryan Sidebottom has looked set to miss out for England's supposed attack-leader, James Anderson, but the selectors have refused to change.

England (probable) 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Craig Kieswetter, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Michael Yardy, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Ryan Sidebottom.

Sri Lanka have been far less settled through the tournament so far. Mendis missed out against India but could return for an England side less used to him.

Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Mahela Jayawardene, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt, wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Sanath Jayasuriya, 7 Chamara Kapugedera, 8 Suraj Randiv, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Chanaka Welegedera.

West Indies V India Match Preview and Team News

2010-05-09T03:10:00.000-07:00

One of these teams brings most of the TV revenue. One of them is bringing in the crowds at the actual venues. Both of them got mauled in their first Super Eights match: India by 49 runs, only to be outdone by West Indies, who fell 57 runs short. One of them will be out by the time they are through with each other. Barring, of course, complex and improbable permutations, which are made more complex and improbable thanks to the huge margins of defeats and consequently poor net run-rates.

In terms of commercial value, India have won. The match begins at the unTwenty20 hour of 9.30am to cater to the huge TV audience in India instead of putting the host team in an afternoon match so that it is more convenient for the people to turn up at the Kensington Oval.

This will also be West Indies' first early-morning start in the tournament, and might take some adjusting. Their fast bowlers won't mind, though. Kemar Roach and Jerome Taylor would have liked what they saw when Australia bounced India out. They will need all the help from their fielders, though, who were hopeless against Sri Lanka. Even on bouncy tracks, you don't give Indian batsmen too many chances. Suresh Raina, for example, showed how dangerous he could be when South Africa didn't quite finish him off after having him in all sorts of trouble in their first-round match.

With India's batting and West Indies' fielding getting all the flak, their other disciplines can't get away either. India bowled horribly against Australia, which originally set up the defeat. West Indies were lucky to win against England, and their other two full-innings scores have been 138. One of them against Ireland. There is a whole lot of improvement to be done for both the sides, there is one day to figure it out, and there will be only one live slot available after the match.

Team news

Rohit Sharma, with his lone hand of 79 against Australia, should have assured himself a place. Ravindra Jadeja, on the other hand, went for 38 runs in two overs, missed a catch, and ran himself out by running away from the stumps. Jadeja, when used in the middle overs, has been a valuable left-arm spinner for Dhoni, and it will be interesting to see what effect one horrible day has on his place. India, anyway, played one batsman too many against Australia, so either of the spinning "allrounders", Yusuf Pathan or Jadeja, could be left out to bring in a specialist bowler. The choice of that specialist bowler should be interesting too: by not picking him on a bouncy track, Dhoni has shown a bit of a lack of confidence in R Vinay Kumar, so Piyush Chawla could be in the fray too. Injured Praveen Kumar's replacement Umesh Yadav isn't likely to reach there in time for this game.

India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Yusuf Pathan/Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Piyush Chawla/R Vinay Kumar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Even though Jerome Taylor went for 28 in three overs on his comeback, there is no way West Indies are going without two genuine quicks against India. Given Andre Fletcher's struggles behind the stumps, they could give the specialist keeper, Denesh Ramdin, a game. Wavell Hinds is wasted coming in at No. 8 anyway. And whether Fletcher the batsman is worth a place is open to debate.

West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Andre Fletcher/Wavell Hinds/Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Sulieman Benn, 10 Jerome Taylor, 11 Kemar Roach.

England beat South Africa by 39 runs

2010-05-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

England completed a clinical 39-run win over South Africa at the Kensington Oval to get one foot in the semi-finals. The win was set up by a blistering half century from Kevin Pietersen, who added 94 for the second wicket with Craig Kieswetter as England got the better of South Africa's pace-heavy attack to post 168 for 7. England's spin duo of Michael Yardy and Graeme Swann then picked up 5 for 55 between them to run through the middle order, and were well backed up by the seamers as South Africa were rolled over for 129.

South Africa seem to bring out the best in Pietersen, and his match-winning knock today came in the nick of time as he will return to the UK in the next 24 hours to be present at the birth of his son. Provided there are no complications, he will return to the Caribbean in time for the semi-finals, which England now have a very strong chance of reaching.

The first signs that South Africa had misread a slightly tacky surface in opting for an attack based around quick bowling came when Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel were carted for 90 in a combined eight overs in the midst of Pietersen and Kieswetter's barnstorming partnership, while Johan Botha went for a miserly 15 and picked up wickets at important moments.

Steyn was smeared for three momentum-seizing boundaries in his first over and Morkel, perhaps trying too hard to live up to the pre-match hype about the pace and bounce of the Barbados pitch, overstepped twice in his first over. He bounced back to find the edge of Pietersen's bat with a rising delivery on off stump, but was left livid as Mark Boucher behind the stumps and Jacques Kallis at slip watched leaden-footed as the chance flew between them.

A clearly flustered South African unit looked to Charl Langeveldt to stem the flow, but after giving away an unnecessary five wides with a ballooning half-tracker in his first over, he was dispatched for 16 in his second - including a monstrous mow over long off by Kieswetter - to leave England well-placed at 65 for 1 after the Powerplay and the two batsmen peacocking haughtily mid-pitch.

The introduction of Kallis's experienced head to the attack, and the return of Botha, introduced a measure of calm to proceedings but South Africa's uncharacteristically sloppy fielding performance continued when JP Duminy put down a lollipop at deep midwicket to give Kieswetter a life.

Graeme Smith, desperately searching for a wicket, brought Steyn back into the attack, but his comeback over was duly carted for 16 as Pietersen charged to his half century from just 30 deliveries. Smith stuck with the economical Botha, and the entire South African team breathed a sigh of relief when a catch finally stuck as Pietersen was picked up at short fine leg to give the offspinner his second wicket.

When Kieswetter got underneath a lofted mow and Steyn held the chance at long on. South Africa sensed an opening, and when Paul Collingwood and Luke Wright fell on either side of another leaky over from Steyn, it looked as though they could keep England to a relatively modest total. And indeed, with Langeveldt finding the blockhole with unerring accuracy at the death and Eoin Morgan suffering a rare failure to finish an innings, South Africa's seamers came back from a shaky start to restrict England after it had looked like a total of 200 was on the cards.

South Africa's Powerplay was the antithesis of England's as Smith and Kallis chose to bide their time rather than attack and Tim Bresnan provided the metronomic accuracy to restrict the flow of runs. The pressure soon told, as Kallis toe-ended a drive straight to Pietersen at mid off in the fifth over.

It had been spin that made the breakthrough for South Africa when Pietersen and Kieswetter's power hitting was threatening to take the game out of their reach, and when Yardy struck to remove Herschelle Gibbs with his first ball of the match it was apparent that spin would be the deciding factor in this match. Yardy's wicket owed everything to Ryan Sidebottom's remarkable leaping catch running back from short fine leg.

Graeme Swann was brought into the attack in the very next over and almost immediately had Smith in trouble with his guileful variations as the South African captain was caught at deep midwicket off a desperate, top-edged sweep.

Albie Morkel was next, propping half forward to a delivery from Yardy that turned in a touch only to be bowled through a massive gap between bat and pad. The procession continued in Swann's next over as AB de Villiers went to pull a short ball over midwicket but top-edged and was well-caught by Collingwood to leave South Africa on 53 for 5 needing more than 11 runs an over.

They could soon have sunk further into the mire had Kieswetter not fluffed a simple stumping chance, but the miss was not a costly one, as Boucher chipped to midwicket soon after to hasten South Africa's slide. Sidebottom completed a superb day in the field with two wickets in his final over - the first from a sharp caught-and-bowled chance - to wrap up a resounding win and take England one step closer to the semi-finals.

New Zealand beat Pakistan by 1 run

2010-05-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

In a tournament of largely one-sided matches, New Zealand pulled off their second nail-biting victory and their first Twenty20 win over defending champions Pakistan, who are now on the brink of elimination. After rescuer-in-chief Daniel Vettori revived his side following the failure of big names, New Zealand survived an Abdul Razzaq onslaught and Salman Butt's level-headed batting to come through by one run and boost their chances of making the semi-finals.

Pakistan's army of spinners was outstanding in Barbados to keep New Zealand down to what seemed a below-par total, but once captain Shahid Afridi was dismissed in the 10th over following a middle-order collapse, the score was 58 for 5 and New Zealand looked in charge.

Butt and Razzaq were the last recognised batting pair, and they played calm cricket, picking 19 off four overs, during which New Zealand's advantage increased. Razzaq had patiently made 5 of 16 deliveries when he gave yet another exhibition of his ability to transform Twenty20 matches, blitzing two mammoth sixes and a four off Vettori in four balls. He had trouble against Shane Bond's short and slow deliveries, missing four in a row, before finishing off the over with a humongous hit that just about stayed in the stadium.

With 26 needed off 18, and two dangerous batsmen at the crease, the Pakistan dug-out was a happier place. Time for the match to swing again: Nathan McCullum, who has been New Zealand's best player this tournament, got one to bounce extra and Razzaq's attempt to again clear long-on ended up as a catch to deep midwicket.

Butt reached his half-century off the next delivery, and caressed the first ball of the penultimate over beyond deep extra cover for six to keep the game on edge. A series of singles rounded off the over, and made it 11 needed off the final six balls.

Ian Butler, preferred over Jacob Oram, stepped up to bowl. The first four deliveries reflected the game's fluctuating pattern: dot, four, dot, four, as Butt swung-and-missed twice and connected twice. To continue the pattern, Butt missed the next delivery, a yorker just beyond leg stump, but the batsmen sneaked a bye, though Gareth Hopkins hit direct at the keeper's end.

Two required off the final ball, with Abdur Rehman on strike. After lengthy discussions about the field, Butler charged in and served up a length ball on the pads - ripe for the hitting, but it was only struck as far as Martin Guptill at deep square leg. That confirmed Pakistan's defeat and ruined Rehman's first international match in nearly three years, one in which he had been terrific with the ball earlier on.

Rehman had put the skids on New Zealand's top-order after Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder provided New Zealand their first substantial start of the tournament. Guptill was one of several batsmen who were unable to come to terms with the spinners, being beaten several times by Rehman before falling to a diving one-handed catch at long-on by Umar Akmal.

The biggest blows for New Zealand came soon after, in the space of seven deliveries. McCullum, quieter after a series of early fours, top-edged a sweep to deep square leg, following which Ross Taylor, still to make an impact in the World Twenty20, nicked Mohammad Sami to the keeper. New Zealand slid to 58 for 4 in the tenth over, bringing in Vettori to do his familiar firefighting.

Against Shahid Afridi, who was varying his pace cleverly, and Saeed Ajmal, called on to play the Umar Gul-role of bowling four overs straight towards the end of the innings, Vettori was happy to play a series of sweeps and flat-batted hits down the ground to make more than twice his previous Twenty20 high. Vettori chalked up his first two sixes in international Twenty20, and Nathan McCullum finished off the innings with a swipe over midwicket which proved vital in a match so close that the difference between the two team's scores was never more than three at the end of each of the final five overs.

Still, on a pitch that didn't have much sideways movement, and with plenty of true bounce, 133 should have been easily overhauled. But Pakistan's main batsmen, with the exception of Butt, had a tough time against New Zealand's quick bowlers. Kamran Akmal inside-edged a slower ball from Kyle Mills, Mohammad Hafeez was undone by a kicker from Bond, and a short ball from Mills took out Umar for a golden duck. Misbah-ul-Haq's misery ended when he was lbw on his 13th ball for 3, and Afridi fell to a forward-diving blinder from Nathan McCullum at midwicket . Pakistan's top-order matched the limpness of their New Zealand counterparts and set up a low-scoring thriller for the Barbados crowd which has witnessed four one-side matches in two days.

Pakistan V New Zealand Match Preview and Team News

2010-05-08T01:32:00.000-07:00

Both New Zealand and Pakistan were out-played in their opening Super Eight games and the loser of this match will almost certainly be heading for the exit. Pakistan, the defending champions, have the most reasons to worry after an unconvincing opening week in which they lost twice and only managed to beat Bangladesh.

They began the Super Eights with a six-wicket defeat by England after their batsmen posted 147. Two losses in a row would weigh down most teams but with Pakistan there is always the chance of a magical follow-up. Their first goal is to fix some sloppy fielding - five catches were dropped against England - and then to find a batsman who can blast a rapid half-century to take them to a score of 170-plus.

New Zealand started the tournament with two wins to top their group, but life became harder against South Africa and their chase fell 13 runs short. Their bowling is a problem and Daniel Vettori wants it fixed.

"We have to improve on that pretty quickly, going into two must-win games now," he said. Teams cannot afford back-to-back slip-ups at this stage and this match will help determine whether New Zealand reach their almost traditional semi-final spot at a major tournament.

Team news
With Vettori's problems with the bowling, New Zealand may consider bringing in Kyle Mills for Tim Southee. Southee was taken for three sixes in an over by Albie Morkel as his 120-125kph medium pacers went for 39 in three overs. While Southee's yorkers are usually valuable at the end of the innings, the side might prefer the extra experience of Mills. The coach Mark Greatbatch said they would consider one or two changes.

New Zealand (possible) 1 Brendon McCullum, 2 Jesse Ryder, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Gareth Hopkins (wk), 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Shane Bond.

Pakistan have Mohammad Sami in the squad if they want to re-jig their fast-bowling attack again. Mohammad Asif came in against England and went for 43 off fours overs, having replaced Sami. Some effective support for Mohammad Aamer would be extremely useful.

Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Shahid Afridi (capt), 6 Misbah-ul-Haq, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Fawad Alam, 9 Mohammad Aamer, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammad Asif.

Sri Lanka wrapped up a crushing 57-run win over West Indies

2010-05-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka wrapped up a crushing 57-run win over a disappointingly lacklustre West Indies in Barbados after Mahela Jayawardene's sublime unbeaten 98 from 56 balls took them to 195 for 3. Jayawardene took full toll of a shambolic West Indian fielding performance in a 166-run partnership for the second wicket with Kumar Sangakkara - the highest of the tournament so far - and when Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle fell early in West Indies' chase, the fight went from their batsmen.

The inept West Indian batting was merely a continuance of their fielding effort, as the rot set in when five straightforward chances went down to allow Sri Lanka to take their score into the stratosphere. Jayawardene, whose superb form carried his side into the Super Eights, displayed silky touch and superb manipulation of the bowling in his innings, and Sangakkara, while not quite in Jayawardene's league at the moment, matched him almost shot for shot.

Jerome Taylor, on his return to international cricket after a six-month lay-off, should have had Sanath Jayasuriya, opening in place of the wretchedly out-of-form Tillekaratne Dilshan, caught by Kieron Pollard at backward point from his second ball. It was a regulation chance for a fielder in that position, but Pollard couldn't hold on to it, and the lapse set the tone for West Indies' performance in the field for the rest of the afternoon.

After Kemar Roach got rid of Jayasuriya, Taylor suffered another lapse from his fielders in his second over, as the normally-reliable Gayle put Sangakkara down at slip before he had scored. Jayawardene lifted the very next ball handsomely over wide long on for six. With that, the moment had passed and the rest of the match was entirely Sri Lanka's.

Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene flashed airily at the odd delivery, but were level-headed enough to keep their composure and capitalise on the bad balls that came, predictably, at least once an over. As the partnership gained momentum, West Indies seemed almost resigned to the fact that a large total was in the offing, and a missed caught-and-bowled chance from Pollard's first ball of the match barely registered.

As West Indies' fielding became ever more ragged, a fourth chance was missed as Benn found bounce and turn to elicit a rare mistake from Jayawardene, who was tempted out of his crease by a flighted delivery. But Fletcher fumbled the take, allowing Jayawardene to scramble back. Three balls later, things became even more farcical as Jayawardene top-edged Benn almost straight up in the air, and Fletcher and Wavell Hinds, the two closest fielders, both stood back and watched the ball plummet down, each expecting the other to go for it.

It looked as though Jayawardene would be able to reach his second hundred of the tournament when he took 10 runs from Bravo's final two balls to reach 97 with six balls still to be bowled. He was stranded at the wrong end in the final over, unable to reach the landmark, but through him Sri Lanka were able to post a massive total.

Chanderpaul began with a paddled six over deep backward square and a cracking off drive in Angelo Matthews' first over, but was out next ball, top-edging an ugly swipe to be caught at short third man. Gayle followed him two balls later, undone by a touch of extra bounce and nip off the seam by the impressive Nuwan Kulasekara, and West Indies were 23 for 2. His wicket stunned the large crowd into silence, and a similarly shell-shocked Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo trundled along at under a run a ball for the first 30 runs of their partnership.

Their stand eventually crept past fifty, but soon after Bravo flapped Lasith Malinga straight to Matthews at cover with 120 needed off just 56 balls. With the hitting power of Pollard to come, it was still just possible that West Indies could get close, but inexplicably Andre Fletcher was sent in ahead of him, and struggled to get the ball off the square.

When Sarwan departed, chipping a tame return catch back to Mendis, Pollard finally arrived, but the Sri Lankan spin attack, together with Malinga's pinpoint yorkers, strangled every attempt to reach the boundary. The required run-rate rocketed up beyond 20, and even before Pollard skied Mendis to wide long on, the result was a foregone conclusion.

Awesome Australia outclass India

2010-05-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

The match started with a maiden. Silence before a storm that absolutely blew India out of its way. Six-hitting has seldom been made to look easier: David Warner and Shane Watson just kept clearing their front legs, creating room, and kept lofting the Indians over various parts of the Kensington Oval. Finding gaps and all they didn't care about. Between them they hit 13 sixes and only three fours, and by the time they were done, 142 runs had been scored in 14 overs. Australia's last four overs for 23 runs were silence before another storm: during which their awesome attack annihilated India, except for Rohit Sharma, the only one of eight batsmen to reach double figures.

The same ample and true bounce that worked for Australia hurt India. That the ball came on, coupled with the short boundaries, gave Watson and Warner the confidence to go for their big hits. The Indian batsmen, though, with no option to duck or leave thanks to the huge chase, were almost always in bad position when playing the short deliveries. And they got plenty of them at a healthy pace.

That Rohit was playing in the first place, an extra batsman keeping India's attack down to two seamers, could be argued to be a defensive move even before the match started.

Out of a spinner-dominated attack, Harbhajan Singh was a bowler apart: he bowled that initial maiden and went for just 15 in his four overs. By comparison, Ravindra Jadeja, who will want to delete May 7 from the 2010 calendar, went for 36 in six deliveries spread over two overs. That after he had dropped Watson when only on 7, and before he ran himself out by running away from the stumps. That Jadeja was brought to bowl a second over after being hit for three successive sixes exposed a rare tactical error from MS Dhoni: he had not left himself with a great choice of bowlers.

The subdued start that Watson got off to against Harbhajan, though, would have given Dhoni false confidence. After facing seven consecutive dot balls first up, Watson just exploded, pulling Ashish Nehra way over long-on for six. The template had been set. Both the batsmen sat back, took their leading legs out of the way, and hardly hit anything off anywhere but the middle of the bat.

Jadeja contributed to the onslaught, bowling short repeatedly, and Watson brutalised him over midwicket, cow corner and square leg. By the time Jadeja came back, in the 10th over, Australia had consolidated on the start, Zaheer Khan had looked ineffective, and Warner had warmed up, reaching 29 off 25 with Watson on 47 off 29. Three balls later, he came level with Watson, with sixes either side of a widish long-on and a huge one over midwicket. Both the barrels had started firing, and we were in for a contest as to who would hit more sixes.

Watson, already ahead by one, hit Yusuf Pathan for another big one in the next over, but was bowled immediately after by a delivery that kept low. Warner showed no signs of slowing down, hitting Yusuf and Yuvraj Singh for three sixes in the next three overs before edging one that bounced extra.

Yuvraj, Nehra and Zaheer, who bowled well at the death, kept India one short of the dubious record for most sixes in an innings, 17. Soon Rohit would find himself in a fight to avoid the biggest defeat in a Twenty20 international featuring two major sides.

Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait were simply too quick for the top order. Limp shots, batsmen jumping to negotiate accurate bumpers, bottom hand coming off while playing them, lobbed catches inside the circle, a superb yorker and a bit of silly running thrown in, and India were 50 for 7. M Vijay got an edge trying to drag Nannes from outside off, Gautam Gambhir was hurried and had by a Nannes bouncer, Suresh Raina followed a top-edged six with another top edge off Tait that went nowhere and could even had hit his stumps had Michael Clarke not caught the skier.

Rohit's clean and assured hitting, 79 off 46 balls, not only delayed the defeat, it also made a case for his selection ahead of either Jadeja or Yusuf and kept the net run-rate damage down.

ICC T20: Its Pak vs Eng in Super8

2010-05-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

Defending Champion Pakistan will take on England in the first match of Super Eight stage in the ICC World T20 tournament.

If Twenty20 cricket is routinely unpredictable, played by England and Pakistan it's an absolute lottery. No sooner had England treated their fans to a fearless run-fest against West Indies than they were grinding out a tetchy 121 against Ireland. Similarly, Pakistan, the defending champions, put on an assured performance to beat Bangladesh by 21 runs but were completely outgunned by Australia a day later. It's no surprise, then, that the last time these sides met, in Dubai in February, the series was shared one apiece.

Given South Africa's patchy form Group E is wide open and the conditions in Barbados should suit the positive style both Pakistan and England prefer. Shahid Afridi's rigid captaincy, sticking to a dressing-room plan to bowl Mohammad Hafeez in spite of the evidence did as much as anything to undermine his side's hopes against Australia. Pakistan need Afridi to bring the freedom he plays with to his leadership if Pakistan are to threaten England's batting.

England, for their part, remain untested in the field. Their punt on Ryan Sidebottom's left-arm angle has failed to come off in two brief outings and on the faster surface in Barbados he may find himself under pressure from James Anderson. The one man who seems almost certain to deliver is Eoin Morgan. His rise in the limited-overs format has coincided with England's and he could prove the difference.

Team news

Mohammad Sami was destroyed by Australia, which will surely point the Pakistan selectors in the direction of Mohammad Asif, who, it should be remembered, has an impressive record against Kevin Pietersen.

Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Shahid Afridi (capt), 4 Abdul Razzaq, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Mohammad Hafeez, 7 Umar Akmal, 8 Fawad Alam, 9 Mohammad Asif, 10 Mohammad Aamer, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

With Pietersen still available, England's only issue is their fast bowling, with James Anderson looking likely to step in for Ryan Sidebottom.

England (probable) 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Craig Kieswetter, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood (capt), 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Michael Yardy, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.

Australia V Bangladesh Match Preview and Possible Teams

2010-05-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

Australia have almost ensured there will be no repeat of their first-round exit in this event last year following their convincing performance against Pakistan on Sunday. The 34-run success means they will have to be embarrassed by Bangladesh to be knocked out during a game they hope will be played on a surface offering much more bounce that the pitches in St Lucia.

The group moves to Barbados for the final match of the opening phase and Bangladesh are praying for a strong victory in order to qualify. They were beaten by Pakistan by 21 runs on Saturday, leaving their net run-rate at -1.05, and are chasing a minor miracle given they have lost 11 Twenty20s in a row.

Australia are now feeling like they would in a 50-over World Cup. A strong start has given them confidence and most of their major operators are in good touch. Shane Watson and David Hussey posted half-centuries against Pakistan while Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes and Mitchell Johnson combined for eight wickets. Johnson is in doubt for this match due to an elbow infection but if the attack clicks again a spot in the second round will be a formality.

POSSIBLE TEAMS

Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 David Hussey, 5 Cameron White, 6 Brad Haddin (wk), 7 Michael Hussey, 8 Steven Smith, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Dirk Nannes, 11 Shaun Tait.

Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Naeem Islam, 7 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 8 Mashrafe Mortaza, 9 Suhrawadi Shuvo, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Abdur Razzak.

Win for England in a Rainy Match

2010-05-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

England inched their way into the Super Eights after a tense washed-out contest at Providence, as the same Guyana weather that had contributed to their downfall against West Indies came to their aid in a fraught and low-scoring contest against the underdogs of Ireland.

After being limited to a mediocre 120 for 8 following a superb bowling display led by Trent Johnston, England had restricted Ireland to 14 for 1 after 3.3 overs of their reply, but persistent bad weather denied them the chance to complete their run-chase, and so England went through by virtue of a superior run-rate.

It was a cruel way for Ireland's campaign to come to an end, because on a slow and cracked surface, their battery of medium-pacers had forced England to scrap for each and every single. And, in an ironic twist, the only man who came close to mastering the requirements was none other than the former Irishman, Eoin Morgan, who stood firm with a determined 45 from 37 balls.

The scenario was much as it had been when the teams last met in an international fixture, on a sticky surface at Belfast back in August, and then as now, the veteran Trent Johnston led the line impeccably. With lateral movement from a tight and full length, he claimed 1 for 14 in his four-over spell, with just a solitary boundary in his 24 deliveries, as Michael Lumb pulled a fractional short ball through midwicket for four.

Whereas Lumb and Craig Kieswetter had started like the clappers against West Indies on Monday, this time they found the shackles hard to break. Boyd Rankin spoiled his figures with a brace of leg-stump long-hops that Lumb clipped round the corner for two welcome boundaries, but that same shot soon proved to be his downfall, as Boyd Rankin stooped at short backward square to cling onto a sharp chance from the first ball of Kevin O'Brien's spell.

One ball earlier, Kieswetter had been badly dropped by Andre Botha as he edged a lifting seamer from Johnston through the slips, but he couldn't make his good fortune count. In Johnston's next over, he set off for a suicidal single to short midwicket and was rightly sent back by the stationary Kevin Pietersen. As he dived, his bat bounced in the crease, and after a lengthy analysis the third umpire, Asad Rauf, sent him on his way for 13.

In the same Johnston over, England's innings really hit the skids as Paul Collingwood edged a fizzing seamer to Botha at slip, who this time made no mistake to send the captain on his way for a third-ball duck. At 32 for 3 at the end of the Powerplay overs, England had made almost half as many runs as they had managed in their first six overs against West Indies, for the loss of three more wickets.

And three soon became four as Pietersen - who had been engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse with the 17-year-old left-arm spinner George Dockrell - picked out John Mooney with an exocet to deep square leg off O'Brien, in a near-replica of his dismissal in the West Indies game. At the halfway mark of the innings, England were floundering at 49 for 4, with all of their hopes invested in a certain former Irishman, Morgan.

Morgan did what he could in the trying circumstances, clipping Alex Cusack through short fine leg before bludgeoning Dockrell through midwicket, but at the other end, Luke Wright found the conditions especially tough to negotiate, and Dockrell tied him in knots in a masterful fourth over, consisting of five dot-balls in a row followed by a wild top-edged mow that landed in no-man's land for a single.

Ireland's reply was an anxious affair for both sides. England started diligently enough through Tim Bresnan and Ryan Sidebottom, but having conceded four runs from eight deliveries the rains arrived to force a 30-minute delay - much to Andy Flower's chagrin, who was seen banging the dressing-room table in disgust.

No overs had been lost when play resumed, and four balls after the resumption, Lumb took off at deep midwicket to cling onto a full-blooded pull to remove Paul Stirling for a duck, but Niall O'Brien belted two fours in a row moments before the second interruption to improve Ireland's hopes of a favourable Duckworth-Lewis calculation.

Had the match been able to resume 15 minutes before the cut-off time of 4.59pm local time, Ireland would have been set a target of 61 in nine overs. But it was not to be, as rain saved England, only 24 hours after apparently robbing them blind. Twenty20 is indeed an unpredictable form of the game.

New Zealand in Super Eights after easy rain-hit win

2010-05-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

Zimbabwe came into the tournament as one of the form teams after shocking Pakistan and Australia in the warm-ups, but they subsided to one of the lowest Twenty20 totals against New Zealand to become the first team to bow out of the competition. After making a sprightly start, they collapsed spectacularly - losing eight wickets for sixteen runs - to ease New Zealand's path to the Super Eights.

With rain hampering play in Guyana for the second day in a row, Zimbabwe's entire campaign in the West Indies lasted only 48.2 overs. Though the end was not as farcical as the near-darkness climax to the 2007 World Cup final, they was plenty of confusion before the match ended: after play was initially halted 8.1 overs into the chase, teams came back onto the field an hour and a half later, expecting to play a couple of overs and complete the game, the players stood around for a few minutes before officials decided no more play was possible declaring New Zealand winners.

On the field, Nathan McCullum was the hero for New Zealand again. After his all-round heroics against Sri Lanka on Friday, he swept through the Zimbabwe middle-order to collect his second successive Man-of-the-Match award. The quick offspinners of Scott Styris also scooped up three wickets in an over to hasten the end of the innings.

Such a limp finish didn't seem likely after Zimbabwe's openers defied New Zealand on a Providence pitch offering plenty of turn. At 57 for 1 in the seventh over, things were looking good for Zimbabwe, but a sharp bit of fielding from Jacob Oram and Gareth Hopkins started the slide. Hamilton Masakadza, one of the biggest-hitters in the Zimbabwe line-up, swung the ball towards deep square leg, where Oram moved quickly to his left and fired in a slightly wayward throw; Hopkins collected yards in front of the stumps and under-armed it to catch a diving Masakadza short.

There was no resistance after that: Andy Blignaut, playing his first international game in five years, had started confidently after being pushed up to No. 3, but made a mess of a slog sweep to be bowled by Vettori.

McCullum's next over dealt the killer blows, as he nipped out three wickets with his loopy offbreaks. Elton Chigumbura slammed the first ball straight to long-on, Charles Coventry punched loosely back to the bowler two balls later, and Craig Ervine didn't get near the ball after charging out of the crease to be stumped off the final delivery. Zimbabwe had sunk to 63 for 6 after nine.

After Timycen Maruma and Greg Lamb watchfully played out a few overs, Styris scalped three in four deliveries in the 13th over to erase Zimbabwe hopes of reaching triple-digits. Vettori returned to finish off the innings by bowling Ray Price which meant Zimbabwe had been bowled out with nearly five overs to spare.

It was the second shortest completed innings in Twenty20s, and marked a total reversal of fortunes from the strong position they were placed in by Tatenda Taibu and Masakadza. Surprisingly, it was Taibu who dominated the partnership, with a combination of nifty footwork and improvised strokeplay, such as the bent-knee carve over backward point for four off Shane Bond after making plenty of room. He fell slapping a short ball straight to square leg, but Masakadza kept the run-rate high with typically muscular strokes before his run-out sparked the slide that sent Zimbabwe out of the competition.

Their exit was confirmed by some sensible batting from New Zealand, who were always mindful of the D/L score during the chase. Brendon McCullum powered a couple of midwicket fours and there was a trademark scoop for three, but the rest of runs were mostly made in calm singles.

West Indies won by 8 wickets against England by D/L Method

2010-05-04T07:29:00.000-07:00

West Indies booked their place in the Super Eights with a controversial rain-assisted victory over England at Providence, as Chris Gayle justified his decision to bowl first with a fiery but shortlived 25 from 12 balls - an innings that proved sufficient, under the provisions of Duckworth-Lewis, to carry West Indies to a revised target of 60 in six overs, after England had produced arguably their finest batting display in the format's history to post an imposing 191 for 5.

England's defeat should not prove costly in the long run, so long as they overcome Ireland in their second group match on Tuesday, but it was nevertheless an unfortunate way for a beautifully poised contest to unravel - and for England it was a case of history repeating itself, after West Indies eliminated them from the last World Twenty20 in a similar scenario at The Oval in June.

The result was more or less a foregone conclusion from the moment that the D/L calculators were brought into play. While the method is unrivalled as a means of resolving rain interruptions in 50-over cricket, it is not so well suited to the hustle and bustle of the 20-over format. It just so happened that the match did come down to the wire - Andre Fletcher eventually sealed it with a pulled four through midwicket with one ball to spare - but it had been a nervy denouement. In a full-length contest, West Indies' challenge might well have petered out as soon as Gayle pulled Graeme Swann to short midwicket in the fourth over.

Instead, Gayle's brief intercession proved sufficient to puncture England's spirits after a hugely impressive performance with the bat. Eoin Morgan top-scored with 55 from 35 balls, and was joined in an 95-run stand for the fifth wicket by Luke Wright, who made 45 from 27, to close the innings with the same positive intent shown by their rookie opening pairing of Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter, who showcased their boundary-clearing abilities with scores of 28 from 18 balls and 26 from 14 respectively.

Nevertheless, with rain in the air, Gayle knew exactly how to pace his reply, and turned on the afterburner. Ryan Sidebottom was dispatched for 15 in an opening over in which he beat the bat three times and found the edge once, only to ruin his good work with a leg-side wide and two half-volleys that were belted over the covers for four and six. And at the other end, Shivnarine Chanderpaul turned his stance inside-out to sweep Graeme Swann over point for another six, as England conceded 30 runs in 2.2 overs, and with it, the contest.

Collingwood was understandably frustrated after the match, but England had plenty reason to be proud of their performance. Their total of 11 sixes was a national record for the format, and though neither of the new boys, Kieswetter or Lumb, was able to build on their starts, their alliance was an undoubted success, as demonstrated by England's Powerplay total of 60 for 1, the highest six-over score of the tournament (until West Indies trumped it in their brief reply).

Once they were gone, however, the older guard of Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen struggled to maintain the dominance, as Miller and Darren Sammy found a tidy rhythm to stymie the flow of runs, but when Morgan and Wright came together at 88 for 4 after 10 overs, they did so with the ideal blend of watchfulness and aggression. It wasn't until both men had their eyes in with five overs remaining that they really cut loose.

Kieron Pollard's first over was clobbered for 16 by Wright, including two sixes - one flat over Sulieman Benn's head at long-on, the other high over the midwicket scoreboard. Morgan then drilled Dwayne Bravo for four straight back down the ground, before sweeping him wristily over backward square leg for six, as the fifty partnership was brought up in 6.5 overs.

Ravi Rampaul, who had conceded 25 in his first two overs, was then clobbered for 27 in his third and final over, including three sixes in three legitimate balls - two for Wright and one, from a free hit, for Morgan, who followed up with a cheeky backhanded dink for four that left Collingwood chuckling at his audacity. He brought up his half-century from 32 balls before picking out Pollard in the deep with four balls of the innings remaining. It ought to have been enough for the contest at hand, but instead England will hope it is a marker for the tournament.

ICC T20 World Cup Schedule: T20 Today’s match

2010-05-03T03:39:00.000-07:00

ICC T20 World Cup Schedule: T20 Today’s match: ICC T20 World Cup is in full swing right now. There are two matches slated for the day.

The first match is going to take place between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. At the same time, the second match is going to be played between West Indies and England.

This is the second face-off for Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka team have lost their first match against New Zealand, so this match is going to be important for them.

Not only this, West Indies too is going to play their second match of the tournament. They have won their first match against Ireland.

In the mean time, Indian team have managed to beat South Africa at St. Lucia yesterday. In another match, the Australian team beat Pakistan at the same ground

Injured Murali out of World Twenty20

2010-05-03T02:39:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka's chances at the World Twenty20 have suffered a huge blow after offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan was ruled out of the tournament with a groin injury. He has been advised two to three weeks' rest, and no replacement has been named yet.

Murali, who is also the team's vice-captain, was injured during Friday's opening match against New Zealand in Gyyana, which Sri Lanka lost by two wickets. "Clinical tests revealed a grade one strain of his right adductor muscle," team physiotherapist Tommy Simsek said in a statement released by Sri Lanka Cricket in Colombo. Murali is the world's leading wicket-taker in Tests and one-dayers, and Sri Lanka's frontline spinner in all formats. He had a successful IPL season, part of the Chennai Super Kings squad that eventually won the tournament.

The defeat on Friday leaves Sri Lanka needing to win against Zimbabwe on Monday to avoid being eliminated from the tournament in the Caribbean.

T20 World Cup Results: Australia beat Pakistan by 34 runs

2010-05-03T00:49:00.000-07:00

Australia beat Pakistan by 34 runs: Australia managed to beat Pakistan by 34 runs in the sixth match of the T20 World Cup game here.

After winning the game, Australian captain Clarke said, “We got the victory and we batted really well to set up this victory.”

He said further, “The bowlers bowled well and the fielding was sharp. It was a brilliant performance by Watson and David Hussey.”

Clarke said further, “The fast bowlers, part timers and the spinners will play a big part in the tournament. This is a big ground and it will be a big challenge as to how we adjust when we play in Barbados.”

Pakistan captain Sahid Afridi said, “Australia played really well, especially David Hussey, Watson and Warner and 191 is a very hard total.”

He said further, “They played very well against the spinners and I tried some experiment with the bowling which had worked earlier but it did not work today.”

He said, “We lost some wickets early on and that is why the run-rate was going up all the time. The bowling and the catching has to improve if we have to go ahead in the tournament.”

TODAY'S 2ND MATCH: AUSTRALIA V PAKISTAN PREVIEW

2010-05-01T23:26:00.000-07:00

The defending champions play one of the first-round losers from 2009 in a match that will be crucial to the group. Pakistan started their tournament strongly with a 21-run win against Bangladesh on Saturday and are faced with the unusual situation of back-to-back games over the weekend.
Australia have had a leisurely start to the campaign, which has included some training, jet-skiing and a warm-up loss to Zimbabwe. In the past two Twenty20 tournaments they have been defeated in their opening games and the coaching staff has lectured them on the importance of beginning well.

Michael Clarke is in charge of his first major tournament and has a team dotted with Twenty20 specialists, although there is a feeling the outfit is still too traditional to reach the finals. David Warner, Cameron White, David Hussey, Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes provide some specialist limited-overs knowledge and will be relied on to gain or recapture momentum.

The slow St Lucia surface will have a big say on the result and there is an outside chance of up to eight spinners being employed. Pakistan should have the upper hand in both the quality of slow bowlers and their ability to play their opponents' options.

Dealing with a pace trio of Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes won't be quite as comfortable. Pakistan have recovered well since their practice loss to Zimbabwe and seem desperate to extend their global reign.

Team news
The big questions centre around the make-up of the spinners. Should Nathan Hauritz be the first choice despite no wickets in the lead-up games? Do they want the big-hitting of Steven Smith as well as his legspinners? And can they both fit into the side? Michael Clarke and David Hussey will chip in with overs as well. Ryan Harris, a late replacement for Brett Lee, will almost certainly be allowed some extra rest but the other 14 players in the squad are available.

Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 David Hussey, 5 Cameron White, 6 Brad Haddin (wk), 7 Michael Hussey, 8 Steven Smith, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Dirk Nannes, 11 Shaun Tait.

After their impressive opening Pakistan have no reason to change, unless they want another slow-bowling option. Abdul Razzaq was expensive in two overs, giving up 23 runs, and could make way if the team management is in a tinkering mood.

Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Shahid Afridi (capt), 4 Abdul Razzaq, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Mohammad Hafeez, 7 Umar Akmal, 8 Fawad Alam, 9 Mohammad Sami, 10 Mohammad Aamer, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

TODAY'S 1ST MATCH: INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA PREVIEW

2010-05-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

India could complain about having to play two matches on the weekend and then having nothing to do over the rest of the week, but that's a price you pay for being the main commercial draw of the tournament. You play on the weekend, you play in prime time. Two of India's other three matches are on Friday and Sunday, and are meant to start at 7pm India time. They have had a good enough start to their tournament, with a win against Afghanistan, but starting against major opposition they would like to show they deserve the prime-time slots they get.
India would fancy their chances on the slower pitches against South Africa, but when the two teams last met, it was on a slow turner at Trent Bridge and India failed to chase 131. South Africa, always strong in big events, always underachieving in them, would like to ensure their place in the next round even before they play their easier match, against Afghanistan. Unless Afghanistan pull off a huge upset against South Africa, this match counts for little except for some momentum if India and South Africa meet later in a knockout match.

Team news
India made an interesting move against Afghanistan, picking both Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja ahead of a sixth specialist batsman. Apart from that mini dilemma, India should play the same XI.
India (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Rohit Sharma/Yusuf Pathan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.

South Africa will like to play both their spinners. The big decision will be the choice of opener, between Herschelle Gibbs and Loots Bosman.

South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Loots Bosman/Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Albie Morkel, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Charl Langeveldt.

PAKISTAN WON BY 21 RUNS AGAINST BANGLADESH

2010-05-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

Pakistan survived a Mohammad Ashraful scare to begin the defence of their world title at St Lucia with a 21-run win over Bangladesh. Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt had laid the foundations with a 142-run stand that should've put the game beyond Bangladesh. But Ashraful, with Shakib Al Hasan for company, took a real pop at an imposing 173-run target, before Mohammad Sami swung a slow-burning game decisively Pakistan's way.

Bangladesh had been poor for vast chunks of the game, first with the ball, and then in starting the chase. But Ashraful's forceful 91-run stand with Shakib brought them close enough to get Pakistan jittery with five overs to go. Sami, on his T20I debut, ensured it wasn't to be with a fine two-wicket over to effectively end the game.

Mohammad Aamer had throttled Bangladesh's start and Ashraful arrived with trouble brewing. Having typically tried all manner of unnecessary improvisation initially, Ashraful settled down to playing normal strokes. It's asked often why he doesn't play those more, and let this be another time. He quickly deposited Abdul Razzaq for a wonderful six over midwicket, but really cranked up the heat when he took on Pakistan's captain next.

The first ball of Shahid Afridi's spell, the 11th over, was driven exquisitely over extra cover but it was in his next over that he really shook Pakistan up. Again he lofted Afridi, but with such grace and timing that the ball fairly sailed over long-off. A couple of balls later, he went squarer and soon after brought up his fifty.

Shakib meanwhile was showing the world once again why he is such a special young man. He never panicked, which can't often be said of Ashraful, and went about choosing his spots almost at will. Saeed Ajmal was heaved for one and Mohammad Hafeez was slog-swept for two maximums and suddenly Bangladesh had recovered from 36 for 2 to 115 for two after 14.

As so often, however, it wasn't to be and the surprise was that it was Shakib who perished first. Afridi took a gamble in bringing back an uncertain Sami, but it paid off as Shakib fell and Mahmudullah followed a few balls later. Ashraful still went on, dishing out some serious stick to Afridi, before falling, inevitably, to an improvised paddle, signaling a brave end.

Pakistan's big bonus, alongside Sami's effort, was Butt's earlier contribution. He has appeared ill-suited to the format, unable to work gaps and not blessed with the power that gets poorer batsmen more runs. But he has a good ODI record and the intent was there from the start with a first-ball boundary. From thereon, at regular intervals he would dance down, move away, find gaps or go aerial and went about as quietly as you can in reaching fifty off 29 balls. There was no violence, just clear-headed intent and faith in his regular strokes.

His improved leg-side game was on display as well; in three successive overs after the 10th, he swept Shakib, slog-swept Abdur Razzak and slapped debutant Suhrawadi Shuvo over long-on for sixes.

Akmal gave him predictable company, almost immediately trying to set the agenda. A bold statement was made against left-arm spin - Bangladesh's most potent weapon - straight away, as he twice swept away Abdur Razzak in the second over.

He was the one who took risks, almost paying for it when a miscued pull was fluffed by Ashraful. They were to pay for it as Akmal did what he does best. Out came the cuts, the scything cover drives, the pulls and the occasional mind-boggling slap over extra cover. All the while singles and doubles flowed on the large ground, giving Akmal a comfortable 73.

Bangladesh were unable to string together an over of good balls. It wasn't until the 16th over, when they claimed Akmal finally, that they bowled an over without conceding at least one boundary. They recovered, not allowing any more in the final overs but the damage had been done.

from www.cricinfo.com

T20 World Cup 2010 Today's 1st Match: AFGHANISTAN V INDIA

2010-05-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

Afghanistan make their big-screen debut on Saturday's morning show, a sleeper that suddenly became a smash hit by defying every script written for them. A team from a war-torn, dysfunctional country, with half their players born in refugee camps, they narrowly missed qualifying for the 2007 World Cup but are making up for it with this tournament. They have surprised many an Associate team during their stunning rise from Division Five to a world event. Yet they will know that what they are going to face - the pace of Zaheer Khan, the spin of Harbhajan Singh, the might of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh - is nothing like anything they have faced so far.

India will know Afghanistan are not quite Bangladesh, but it was a first-match loss to perceived minnows three years ago that knocked them out of the 50-over World Cup. They have not played a warm-up match this time, know little about their opponents and will want to be as alert as against their other group-mates, South Africa. On the other hand, they would like this slow transition from the IPL to top-level international cricket. A win against Afghanistan, no matter what the margin, will more or less assure them a place in the next round. How the tournament would love an upset, though.