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Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Champions League Twenty20, 2012/13 / Fixtures
Champions League Twenty20
Qualifying Pool 1: Auckland v Sialkot Stallions at Johannesburg - Oct 9, 2012
Sialkot Stallions 130/9 (20/20 ov); Auckland 136/4 (17.1/20 ov)
Auckland won by 6 wickets (with 17 balls remaining)
Qualifying Pool 2: Uva Next v Yorkshire at Johannesburg - Oct 9, 2012
Uva Next 150/7 (20/20 ov); Yorkshire 151/5 (19.3/20 ov)
Yorkshire won by 5 wickets (with 3 balls remaining)
Asian Cricket Council Trophy Elite
Group A: Bhutan v Malaysia at Abu Dhabi - Oct 9, 2012
Bhutan 84 (32 ov); Malaysia 88/2 (13 ov)
Malaysia won by 8 wickets (with 222 balls remaining)
Group B: Hong Kong v Nepal at Dubai (GCA) - Oct 9, 2012
Nepal 225/7 (50 ov); Hong Kong 100 (37 ov)
Nepal won by 125 runs
Group B: Kuwait v Saudi Arabia at Abu Dhabi - Oct 9, 2012
Kuwait 318/7 (50 ov); Saudi Arabia 175 (37.3 ov)
Kuwait won by 143 runs
Group A: Maldives v Oman at Al Dhaid - Oct 9, 2012
Oman 225/6 (50 ov); Maldives 102 (26 ov)
Oman won by 123 runs
'This is for the Caribbean people'
The West Indies captain sauntered into the media room draped in the
maroon West Indies cricket flag. He kept the World Twenty20 trophy
proudly in front of him on the table. "My trophy is so big I can't see
you," he joked with the first questioner.
He spoke about treasuring the achievement for the rest of his life. He
was asked whether his performance with both bat and ball in the final
was an answer to the critics who had questioned his place in the side
all along. He said when even Christ was crucified without fault, he
himself was nothing. It was a much-criticised, large-hearted man
speaking from his heart, and Sammy didn't hold back tonight.
"We will definitely cherish this moment. I will for sure," Sammy said.
"We're going to relive it every day of our lives. This is the best
moment for me in any cricket. This here (the trophy) is for the
Caribbean people. West Indies fans all over the world have been craving
success. I know they're partying from Jamaica down to Guyana. And we
know how to party. I think they'll need a lot of bartenders."
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Sammy - 'Reality is now sinking in'
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"And I always say I live my life one way. Christ came to this earth, did
nothing wrong and yet was crucified. I'm nowhere close to that man.
"Anybody could have an opinion about me. I like it. My shoulders are
broad enough. It's been like that from the time I started cricket. Once I
wear this [West Indies] crest (pointing to his shirt), I wear it on my
heart. That's what matters. If I turn up and don't have a good day, I
suck, I'll come the next day and try and put in a better performance. I
don't play for glory. I play for the Caribbean people."
Sammy was asked what had won the game for West Indies, after they had
been 32 for 2 at the halfway stage of their innings. He spoke about
belief, and he spoke about God. "We have a strong belief in God. He
works in mysterious ways. He performs wonders," Sammy said. "Like I kept
saying in every press conference, there's a belief we had in the team.
Yes, we expected them (Sri Lanka) to give us a good fight and they did.
"Throughout the last year or so, we've been showing that never-say-die
attitude, but we've not been winning games. In this tournament, we've
won games. Every man believed that whoever was out there could do the
job. Today, it was Marlon Samuels and (Dwayne) Bravo steadying the ship.
In the end, every run counts. The bowling discipline was just
brilliant, and the fielding. I said we needed our A-plus game, this here
is proof of it."
After Marlon Samuels' 78 had carried them to 137, Sammy said West Indies
believed they had a chance. "The coach was saying that if we get the
score we got in Pallekele (129 for 5 against Sri Lanka) on this wicket,
we'll win the match," Sammy said. "The momentum we had from our batting
carried through to our bowling. It was Dwayne Bravo's birthday, so in
the huddle, I gave him the chance to say the last words before we went
on the field. He said, 'let's go out there and give it our all. If we do
that and play how we can play, these runs are going to be a fighting
total'. Ravi (Rampaul) started it off with his first ball, and we never
looked back from there.
"We have some of the most experienced Twenty20 players. Once we play the
way we can, we'll always be a force to reckon with. We didn't brag
about it but we believed we could go out there and take it one game at a
time. I said hurdle by hurdle, and today was the final one. The coach
said we're climbing to the top of a mountain, and that's where the prize
is. We've got to go and take it. Today, we did that. We had different
persons coming up with performances in different matches. The team has
gelled well in this tournament. Signs of progress have been there, but
this is the icing on the cake."
There have been questions raised about the unity of the squad in the
past, and the board and the players have had numerous disputes, but
Sammy hoped this victory could be the start of something new for West
Indies cricket. "This is the moment here," he said. "Issues done and
buried. Twenty20 World Cup, 2012, Sri Lanka - West Indies champion."
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Australia keep Women's World T20 title
Australia Women 142 for 4 (Cameron 45, Sthalekar 23*) beat England Women 138 for 9 (Edwards 28, Jonassen 3-25)
Australia have retained the Women's World T20 trophy with a 4-run win over England in Colombo. Australia, who won the 2010 tournament in the Caribbean, impressed with the bat, with the ball and in the field to inflict just England's second defeat in their previous 25 completed T20 internationals.
While England's record over the last 18 months or so has been excellent, they looked nervous in this game. Australia were on top throughout. Having set a challenging total, they bowled with discipline and just about held their nerve as England, as their run chase became increasingly desperate, fell to a series of catches in the deep.
Perhaps England might still have stolen a win in the end. Australia, with their nerves becoming more apparent by the moment, put down four catches of varying difficulty in the final few overs - Blackwell's dropping of Arran Brindle the most memorable of them - and with Erin Osborne donating a head-high full-toss for a no-ball in the final over - England could have won had Danielle Hazel hit the final ball for six. She could only mis-time it to midwicket, however, allowing Australia's women to clinch the trophy.
In truth, England had done well to go so close. They had been behind the rate throughout their innings and, but for some bucolic hitting from Jenny Gunn in the dying overs, the margin would have been much greater. Gunn, thumping a four and a six off Julie Hunter, had reduced the equation from 35 required from three to 16 from the final over and, despite Osborne's no-ball and Jess Jonassen dropping a simple catch, England had always left themselves too much to do.
England may also reflect that their decision to insert Australia after winning the toss backfired. While England have an excellent record batting second, by giving Australia first use of a fine batting surface, they allowed them to build a commanding total and then succumbed to the pressure of chasing against a disciplined attack and tight fielding unit. Only three times in their 63 match T20 history had they successfully chased more than 142 to win and, on the biggest stage, it proved beyond them. England will surely also rue the eight wides and no-ball they sent down. Bearing in mind the eventual margin of victory, those extra were to prove costly.
Australia's opening batsmen set the tone with a partnership of 51 in 41 deliveries. Meg Lanning, taking advantage of some uncharacteristic loose bowling from Katherine Brunt, took 16 from the third over of the innings. Twice she drove Brunt - who also donated a front foot no-ball during the over - through the cover for boundaries, while Alyssa Healy pulled another boundary though square leg. With England's spinners unable to stem the flow of runs, Australia reached 47 for 0 after their six Powerplay overs.
The introduction of Holly Colvin's left-arm spin brought the breakthrough. Lanning, attempting to hit over the top, could only clip a return catch to the bowler while Laura Marsh, the fourth spinner introduced into the attack by the eighth over of the innings, might have had Healey caught at deep-square leg but the pull dropped just short of Shurbsole. At the halfway stage of their innings, Australia were 68 for 1.
Jess Cameron was soon into her stride. Having swept Marsh to the boundary, she then skipped down the pitch to drive her for another. While Healey was bowled after missing an attempted pull, Cameron, whose innings of 45 from 34 deliveries was Australia's highest of the tournament, brought up the 100 with a very well executed reverse sweep for four off Marsh, before slog-sweeping Shurbsole for six, then ramping and pulling her for fours in an over that cost 17.
While Colvin, the pick of the bowlers, had Cameron taken at long-on, Alex Blackwell swept another four off Wyatt and, in partnership with Lisa Sthalekar, picked up the ones and twos as Australia set a challenging total of 142.
England were always behind the rate in their chase. While they picked up a boundary in each of the first four overs, they were unable to accumulate any singles and Marsh, frustrated by the escalating required run rate, perished when she mis-timed a drive and gave a return catch to the bowler.
Charlotte Edwards looked in fine form, though. Having hit the first ball of the innings for four, she clipped another over midwicket when Perry drifted on to her legs and greeted the introduction of the offspin of Osborne by taking two steps down the pitch and lofting the bowler over long-on for six. Two balls later, she lofted four more over the head of the same bowler and, after their six Powerplay overs, England were 34 for 1.
The end of the Powerplay resulted in the field spreading, however, and Edwards' attempt to hit Sthalekar's teasing off-breaks over the top resulted in a catch to long-on. Ellyse Perry produced an outswinger to account for the dangerous Sarah Taylor, edging an attempted drive, and with Lydia Greenway also falling to a catch in the deep and Danny Wyatt brilliantly caught at cover by a diving Blackwell, England were always behind the game.
West Indies bat; SL pick Dananjaya
Toss West Indies chose to bat v Sri Lanka
Darren Sammy and West Indies got their wish when the coin landed "heads", and they decided to bat in the World Twenty20 final in Colombo. Not only did Sammy say it looked like a Trinidad pitch, but West Indies would have hated to chase after having batted first in every completed match they have played in this tournament.
West Indies retained the XI that smashed Australia in the semi-final, which means they kept faith in Johnson Charles, and that Chris Gayle was fit enough after his side strain.
Sri lanka made one change, though. Mahela Jaywardene said it was an incredibly difficult decision to leave out left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for the young "mystery" spinner Akila Dananjaya. Sri Lanka were playing their fourth world tournament final in five years, but were also looking for their first win.
West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Darren Sammy (capt), 7 Andre Russell, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Samuel Badree
Sri Lanka 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Jeevan Mendis, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Akila Dananjaya
Saturday, 6 October 2012
All-round Windies storm into final
Gayle, Pollard help West Indies crush Australia
West Indies 205 for 4 (Gayle 75*, Pollard 38) beat Australia 131 (Bailey 63, Rampaul 3-16) by 74 runs
So lopsided was West Indies' obliteration of Australia in the second semi-final of the World Twenty20, the victors had near enough to 13 overs to bask in their looming progress to the final against Sri Lanka.
Matthew Wade's departure in the eighth over of Australia's reply to 205 for 4 left George Bailey's team at a forlorn 43 for 6, their campaign collapsing in a few fevered minutes. Bailey was left to offer his team's last gesture of defiance, a breathless 63 from 29 balls, but it served only to narrow the margin.
That they were chasing such a tall tally was down to Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard. Gayle was starved of the strike early and later battled an apparent muscle strain, but in between produced an innings of controlled aggression that helped foster a trio of partnerships with Pollard, Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo. Pollard clumped three of four sixes to be brutalised from Xavier Doherty's final over of the innings, a sequence that broke Australian spirits.
This much was clear in the early overs of the chase, the only blow landed by any batsman other than Bailey were the verbal ones delivered by David Warner before the innings had even begun. Australia entered the tournament resolved to fight with Test match zeal for the T20 trophy, but they have ultimately exited the event at an earlier stage than Michael Clarke's team had done at the 2010 tournament in the Caribbean.
Darren Sammy's team have some concerns over Gayle's fitness, and will be a little perturbed to have lost focus momentarily during Bailey's rearguard, but will otherwise enter the final with the confidence earned from a thumping result. West Indies' bowlers showed plenty of wit and variation on a dry surface, Ravi Rampaul catching the eye by using the short ball to make Australia's belatedly included David Hussey look nobody's idea of a saviour.
Warner and Shane Watson - until a few days ago the prohibitive favourite to be the Player of the Tournament - were both winkled out by the flat leg spin of Samuel Badree. Warner's dismissal required video evidence to confirm that the stumps had been flicked after the batsman missed a cut shot, but there was no room for doubt about Watson's exit, losing his leg stump as he tried to pull a skidder. What followed would confirm the suspicion, maintained all tournament, that Australia's batting fell away beneath them.
Michael Hussey had performed a miracle to get Australia through their semi-final against Pakistan in 2010, but this time skied Samuels having made just 18. Cameron White glanced Rampaul into the gloves of Denesh Ramdin, and David Hussey's two deliveries in the tournament provided a reminder that his technique against the short ball is some way short of international standard, irrespective of a handsome record in all domestic formats.
Bailey's subsequent counter-attack seemed driven by frustration as much as anything, and may serve at least to shore up his place as a batsman in Australia's limited-overs plans for the future. But the final margin will stick uncomfortably in the gullet of Bailey and his entire squad, as their tournament ended with a disheartening whimper.
Such a scenario had seemed remote when West Indies made a sedate start on a fair surface. Gayle began carefully, wary of the new ball swing on offer for Mitchell Starc, and watched from the other end as Johnson Charles heaved without foot movement and edged behind.
The non-striker's end was the vantage point from which Gayle watched an inordinate amount of deliveries, as Australia's bowlers and fielders did their best to keep him away from the batting crease. His brief encounters with Doherty were satisfying enough, but Brad Hogg was a little more successful in keeping the runs down with his indecipherable googlies.
By the time 10 overs had elapsed Gayle had faced only 18 balls, while Samuels and Dwayne Bravo, chosen ahead of his brother Darren, took a greater share. Samuels managed a quartet of clean blows before being outsmarted by Pat Cummins and bowled by a slower ball. Bravo soaked up plenty of dot balls but summoned a six whenever he was becalmed.
Australian sloppiness also helped West Indies keep momentum. Wade missed a full toss to allow four byes, Starc swung one delivery down the legside for five wides, and both Hussey brothers allowed bouncing shots to burst through their hands on the boundary.
The innings still required a supercharge, and it arrived in the 15th over, delivered by Hussey. Gayle sent one delivery into the stratosphere, and pinched another two boundaries for the over to be worth 19. In the next, Bravo crunched a steepling six but perished to a flatter hit next ball, the partnership ending at 83 from 51 balls.
Pollard offered sound support in the closing overs as Gayle finally enjoyed a greater share of the strike, though he was by this time clearly hampered by an apparent abdominal strain. It mattered little in the final over, however, as Gayle slammed a full toss for six first ball then left Pollard to collar three more. Pollard's dismissal from the final ball of the innings was scant consolation for Doherty, and Bailey will wonder at length whether he might have handed the ball to someone else.
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