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The home side have again been able to keep the opposition low on runs and under pressure

Andrew McGlashan30-Dec-2019It has been a tough season for visiting captains to Australia against a dominant bowling attack. Between them, Kane Williamson and Azhar Ali have scored 119 runs in eight innings. It is not the only reason the home side are on the verge of a summer clean sweep, but it’s a big part of it.Williamson has one Test left, at the SCG, to turn the numbers around in what has been a series to forget. Some of the problems have been out of his control (injuries to Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson and the shot selection of some of his top order) but his captaincy has been under the microscope and the runs, that so often come in a torrent, have turned into a trickle.ALSO READ: McCullum counsels Williamson amid New Zealand strugglesOn another day the lbw decision in the second innings in Melbourne – that was shown to just be clipping the top of leg stump – would have gone his way, but such is the game in tough times. After a promising start to the first innings in Perth he fell to a spectacular catch at second slip by Steven Smith then gloved the first ball from Nathan Lyon to short leg in the second. His dismissal in the first innings at the MCG, a skewed top-edge pull, was one of more un-Williamson-like shots you will see.Former captain Brendon McCullum was critical of Williamson during the second Test although made the point of having a one-on-one conversation with him.”It’s not just Kane. Many of our players have had a pretty tough time over here and that’s the pressure that gets put on,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “You saw his dismissal it was pretty unlucky, and on another day it can be given not out and he carries on and could have got a hundred.”Kane is fine. Like all players you go through ups and downs and some times are more challenging. This is obviously a challenging part of his career, as it is with all players.”Kane Williamson walks off after his dismissal•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

For Australia it has been a case of a plan very much coming together. “It’s one of the things we most talk about in our strategy, make sure we keep the opposition captain under pressure so we are doing that at the moment,” coach Justin Langer told Cricket 360. “He’s a very, very good player, one of the gentlemen of the game, so if we can do that for the rest of the series it gives us a big advantage.”There has been an acknowledgment in recent years that Williamson, who captains across all formats, needs his workload managing. After this tour, New Zealand have a full visit by India before returning to Australia for ODIs then hosting them for T20Is to complete the season. Williamson missed the T20I series against England in November due to a hip problem but has also sat out the occasional match, although with the T20 World Cup less than a year away that will be a tricky balancing act. “Everything is always up for discussion and it’s always healthy to debate,” Stead said.In terms of the immediate prospects for the Sydney Test, New Zealand’s batsmen were given a template of how they can succeed from the unlikely source of makeshift opener Tom Blundell whose second Test century – following his debut hundred against West Indies when he was the wicketkeeper – was a stirring display for the embattled team.”The way he went about crafting his innings was exceptional in only his third test match, and first as an opener, showed the way that we have to find more from our guys,” Stead said. “He’s sat on the sidelines the last couple of series but you can see the improvements that are being made. It’s fantastic for him and our team that he showed the capabilities are there for us to perform against a great Australian team.”As far as how the squad as a whole is managing after two crushing defeats in a series that started with such high expectations for a side that had reached No. 2 in the world, Stead said team spirit remained intact and paid tribute to the vast numbers of travelling supporters who cheered them to the end at the MCG.”We were obviously beaten up a wee bit by Australia again. I want to acknowledge how well they played; we’re up against a quality team at the very top of their game. We’re a tight knit bunch and it’s not the first time we’ve been beaten and won’t be the last. Our ethos is about trying to find small improvements, day in and day out.”In my time involved in cricket in New Zealand I’m not sure I’ve ever seen or experienced anything like that. Our players acknowledged the crowd at the end, and if we could replicate that at every test ground…it felt like the Barmy Army that lifts England. Hearty congratulations to those people who got out and kept supporting us. When times were tough they kept singing and chanting and it was pretty special.”

Now chairman of selectors for Delhi senior and Under-23 teams, Bhandari has been assaulted by a group of men wielding hockey sticks and iron rods at a practice match in Delhi

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2019Amit Bhandari, the former India bowler and now chairman of selectors for Delhi senior and Under-23 teams, is in hospital after being attacked by men wielding hockey sticks and iron rods, during a practice match in Delhi on Monday. Bhandari, who suffered head and ear injuries, was watching a selection trials match with two other selectors at the St Stephen’s Cricket Ground for practice matches among senior Twenty20 probables. Bhandari was later taken to Sant Parmanand Hospital in Civil Lines in Delhi.The accused and his brother have been arrested, according to a report. “At around 1.15 pm (Monday) at St Stephens ground where trials were going on, one person Anuj Dheda, who was not selected, came and asked about his rejection and slapped Bhandari. Some 10-15 more boys came and hit him,” Nupur Prasad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) told PTI. “Based on the complaint, a case has been registered and the accused and his brother Naresh were arrested,” the DCP said.The attack took place when the first match of the day was about to end. There was a second match scheduled. Eyewitnesses said when the players and other DDCA officials tried to intervene they were threatened they would be shot. A player present at the game said Bhandari was lucky he was able to run away and maintain distance with the attackers otherwise the injuries could have been much worse.Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Bishan Singh Bedi, three of Delhi’s foremost cricketers, condemned the incident and called for swift action. Gambhir went as far as to declare he would “personally ensure” the issue was dealt with, while Sehwag said it marked a “new low”.

Rajat Sharma, the president of DDCA, said they were trying to ascertain if this was a selection-related attack. “We are trying to procure all details of the incident,” Sharma told PTI. “As far as I have come to know, it is regarding one disgruntled player, who didn’t make it to the probables list for the National Under-23 tournament. The SHO [Station House Officer] from the local police station has reached the ground, and I have personally spoken to the Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik. The guilty will not go unpunished. I promise exemplary action against whoever is found involved in this misdeed. We will register an FIR.”

A CA investigation has found no evidence for further pursuit of the claim that an Australian player used a racial taunt against the England allrounder during the 2015 Ashes series

Daniel Brettig24-Sep-2018A Cricket Australia (CA) investigation of Moeen Ali’s allegation of a racial slur from an Australian player during the 2015 Ashes series has found no evidence for further pursuit of the claim.In an extract from his new book, Moeen stated that an Australian player had called him “Osama” during the first Test of the series, in Cardiff, and that he had told the England coach Trevor Bayliss, who then raised the matter with Australia’s then coach Darren Lehmann. However, the unnamed player involved denied the allegation, claiming he had called Moeen a “part-timer”.When Moeen’s account of events came to light, CA indicated that the governing body was in touch with the ECB, and that a further investigation would take place. The CA integrity unit, until recently headed by Iain Roy but now helmed by Sean Carroll, subsequently interviewed numerous Australian players from the 2015 Cardiff Test and team management, while also communicating with the ECB’s own integrity unit.The investigation concluded on the weekend, and it is understood that no other player said they heard the alleged remark. “We have followed up with the ECB and our team management and confirmed that the incident was investigated at the time, with a response provided to Moeen,” A CA spokesman said.”Moeen elected not to progress the matter any further and we have not been able to ascertain any new additional evidence through our enquiries. As such, the matter is considered closed. We take a zero-tolerance approach to remarks of this nature; they have no place in our sport, or in society and any allegations raised with us are treated seriously and respectfully.”Representatives of our country are expected to uphold a high standard of behaviours and values, and they are fully aware of the consequences should they fail to do this.”Bayliss has said that Moeen did not want the matter to be taken further, a process that would have involved the ICC and the racial vilification clauses of its code of conduct. “He didn’t want it to go any further. He was happy for it [to be dealt with between the two teams],” Bayliss told News Corporation. “He’s a very softly-spoken sort of a bloke. He doesn’t want to create too many problems for anyone.”I’m not going to make too much of it, it was bloody three years ago, let’s move on. [Cricket Australia] can do what they like I suppose, everyone has sort of forgotten about it and moved on since then. I don’t see it as any real big deal. It was a hard-fought series. But no, I thought [relations after that point] were OK. You’re not party to what goes on out on the field and certainly nothing else was reported or anything through that series so we just left it at that.”Under the CA code of conduct, the governing body would have had the option of re-opening the matter and laying a charge if new evidence had been found by the integrity unit.Meanwhile, CA’s own cultural reviews are believed to be in their closing stages, with the report on the organisation’s wider operations submitted by Simon Longstaff, the director of the Ethics Centre and has been viewed by the directors of the governing body’s Board. This review of the organisation is expected to be made public. According to the reviews’ terms of reference:”The first, overarching independent review will investigate whether any wider cultural, organisational and/or governance issues within CA, and more broadly within Australian cricket, should be addressed to ensure these events never occur again, either on tour or whilst playing in Australia. This review will investigate links between player behaviour (particularly on this tour of South Africa) and the organisational, governance and culture within CA and Australian cricket.”The separate player review will, in consultation with a small panel of current and past players, consider a behavioural Charter for the Australian men’s cricket teams that balances the performance demands of elite cricket with expectations of all Australians in regard to on- and off-field role modelling.”It is expected that at various stages the findings from this Wider Cultural, Organisational &/or Governance review will cross-check with the work of the panel that is exploring a Charter for the Australian men’s team – and, where appropriate, incorporate any findings or relevant information into its work.”The review of the Australian men’s team, conducted by the former Test opener Rick McCosker, is set to be submitted shortly, with a concurrent drafting of a charter for player behaviour also near to completion, as indicated by the national team captain Tim Paine before his departure for the tour of the UAE to play Pakistan last week.”Cricket Australia has committed to sharing the findings from the concurrent reviews before the season begins,” a CA spokesman said. “There are still a number of steps to be taken before the process is complete. At such time, we will engage key stakeholders, among them the media. It would be inappropriate to comment on speculation or provide a running commentary while the process is ongoing.”

After being benched from Bermuda’s first two matches for disciplinary reasons, Kamau Leverock blasted 66 off 43 balls to set up a 58-run win over Jersey

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Kuala Lumpur02-May-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsICC/Ian Jacobs

After being benched for Bermuda’s first two matches at the WCL Division Four for disciplinary reasons, star allrounder Kamau Leverock reminded Jersey of his talent with a devastating 66 off 43 balls to set up a 58-run win over Jersey at Kinrara Oval.Returning to the scene of Saturday’s training-session tirade that earned him a two-match ban, Leverock punished Jersey’s bowling attack after they had sent Bermuda in at the toss. Leverock, and his opening partner Okera Bascome, each hit a four and two sixes off Cornelis Bodenstein and Anthony Hawkins-Kay to take Bermuda to 32 for 0 in two overs. Leverock brought up a 28-ball fifty in the 10th over, off Charles Perchard.Leverock’s onslaught against Jersey’s bowlers was reminiscent of a similar shellacking two years ago, at the last Division Four in Los Angeles, when he smashed 137 off 111 balls.Elliot Miles eventually ended the opening stand at 52, but Leverock and captain Terryn Fray put on another 58 for the second wicket to take Bermuda to a commanding 110 for 1 in 15 overs.Bermuda’s scoring rate fell dramatically after Leverock’s dismissal, going at under four an over the rest of the way, until they were bowled out for 242 in the final over. The left-arm spin trio of Miles, Ben Stevens and Nat Watkins combined to take eight of the ten wickets.On what has been a good batting surface at the Kinrara Oval through the tournament, Jersey stuttered in reply, falling to 32 for 3 inside the Powerplay. Stevens once again provided a major contribution with the bat to give Jersey hope, top-scoring with 42 off 52 balls at No. 3. But Jersey were hurt by a number of batsmen failing to convert their starts in the middle and lower order.Offspinning allrounder Dion Stovell, who took the new ball and dismissed Peter Gough in the fourth over, came back to spin out the tail, finishing with 4 for 33 as Jersey were bowled out in the 43rd over for 184.

Neil Wagner credited fellow left-armer Trent Boult for New Zealand’s progress on the first day of the Durban Test

Firdose Moonda in Durban19-Aug-2016Trent Boult bristled when he was reminded of the back niggle that kept him out for a part of last year’s international action.”What injury?” was his response, when asked if he considered himself to be back at his best. Then, he brushed it off as something confined to ancient history, not a mere 12 months ago, and insisted it had no impact on the speeds he was bowling.In Zimbabwe, Boult averaged in the late 120s. Perhaps what he could not say was that the surfaces and the opposition – unresponsive and inexperienced – did not require him to bend his back. Perhaps he knew he needed to save that for South Africa. And he has.Be it the natural progression that comes with recovery, or a conscious effort to be more clinical, Boult was just as difficult to get away and more dangerous in Durban. His first two spells cost just 18 runs and yielded two wickets, both off good deliveries and not poor shots, and it was only in the third spell, when he searched for reverse swing that things became a little untidy.More notable was the fact that he was quicker than he was in Bulawayo – with an average speed of 134 kph and hitting 141.5 kph for the day’s fastest ball – and he continued to find late movement, forcing the batsmen to pay full attention to every ball. “Trent bowled really well to start, and that set the day up for us. He looked like he was in great rhythm,” Neil Wagner said.Boult got rid of two of South Africa’s most assured batsmen – opener Stephen Cook and Hashim Amla – and bored their way into a still-fragile middle-order, which could not ride out pressure for long enough to post substantial scores. Fortunately for New Zealand’s other bowlers, they did not need to emulate Boult to get reward. “Quite a few of us got out to deliveries in ways that could have been avoided,” Amla said.Dean Elgar, JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock were the guiltiest parties. All three squandered starts with careless strokes, which seemed to be in line with South Africa’s policy of starting more strongly than they have in the past. Instead of criticising it, Amla examined the merits of the more aggressive approach, while adding that South Africa would need it to pay off before they can completely embrace it.”I tried to bat normally. It wasn’t a conscious effort to score quickly. If I look at anybody else, they were hitting the half-volleys and cut shots. That’s what you need to do to score runs,” Amla said. “Someone like Quinny [Quinton de Kock] has been around for three or four years and he is aggressive by nature. He plays that way. He got a quick 30 and had he not got out, we would have been in a good position. As he becomes more experienced, he will work it out. He played exceptionally well to get us some momentum, but, unfortunately, he didn’t bat through.”Now South Africa find themselves in what Amla has admitted is “not a great position,” as they look to “scrape some runs tomorrow morning,” against a New Zealand attack that can see the finish line and understands that it needs to approach it as Boult did on day one. “With the wicket having a little bit more bounce here, your margin of error was a little smaller in Bulawayo,” Wagner said. “As a bowler, you can get a little bit carried away here, but I thought everybody bowled exceptionally well in partnerships today. We are pretty happy with where we are, but we know we still need to get two crucial wickets tomorrow and then go in with the bat and apply ourselves.”

The Big Bash League’s marquee player Shane Warne will miss the Melbourne Stars clash with the Adelaide Strikers after travelling to the UK for Christmas

Alex Malcolm26-Dec-2012The Big Bash League’s marquee player Shane Warne will miss the Melbourne Stars clash with the Adelaide Strikers after travelling to the UK for Christmas.The Stars sent a press release late on Christmas Eve saying that their captain had “pre-existing commitments in the United Kingdom” and would miss the match scheduled for Thursday December 27.Warne made no secret of his location announcing on twitter: “Am spending my first Christmas away from Melbourne in 43 years I was hoping for a white Christmas in the UK & build snowmen too – sob !!! X”.It has been widely reported that part of Warne’s contract to play in the Big Bash League has been funded directly by Cricket Australia. Neither CA nor the South Australian Cricket Association has commented on Warne missing the match in Adelaide where a large crowd is expected.Former Stars captain Cameron White will take the reigns for the important clash with the Strikers, in which either side could all but sure up a semi-final berth.”It was something that was pre-arranged I think,” White said about Warne’s absence.”It is something that the team always knew was going to happen. He’s actually bowling quite well at the moment. But the team is very comfortable with the situation.”The two teams enter the match in fantastic form. The Strikers thumped the Sixers by nine wickets in Adelaide last Sunday to notch their third win of the tournament. Their attack featured three spinners in Johan Botha, Cameron Boyce and Brad Young, as well as the express pace of Shaun Tait.The Stars have their own firebrand, the form bowler of the tournament Lasith Malinga. But in Warne’s absence the spin duties will be left to the part-timers of White, David Hussey, and Glenn Maxwell, unless they select the inexperienced left-arm orthodox bowler Clive Rose. The Stars will get Luke Wright back from international duties with England.Shane Warne is scheduled to return for the Stars match with the Brisbane Heat on January 3.

Mohammad Akram has been named Pakistan’s bowling coach for a period of one year

Umar Farooq24-Aug-2012Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Akram has been named Pakistan’s bowling coach for a probationary period of one year. He will join the squad in the UAE for the series against Australia, Intikhab Alam, the PCB director, announced today.Pakistan was without a bowling coach since the former fast bowler Aaqib Javed resigned to be UAE’s head coach after the series against England last year.”After a lengthy deliberation we have decided to appoint Mohammad Akram as Pakistan bowling coach,” Alam said. “Stuart Barnes [of] England was also shortlisted but unfortunately [Barnes] was not available immediately and we found Akram more suitable for the role.”Akram, who played nine Tests and 23 ODIs for Pakistan between 1995 and 2001, is settled in England and has represented Essex, Sussex, Surrey and Northamptonshire. He played 125 matches and picked up 415 wickets in his 15-year first-class career. However, he hadn’t been involved with any of the first-class teams in England and Pakistan in a coaching capacity.The appointment, therefore, didn’t meet the criteria that were advertised for the position, requiring at least five years of experience with the elite cricketers at international level. Alam, however, said he was convinced that Akram’s playing experience in county cricket and his engagement with universities in England as a consultant was enough to warrant his selection.”He is a decent and experienced coach, and has good reputation,” Alam said. “We have appointed him [for] a period of one year in which he will remain under our observation and if things go well with him, his contract will definitely be extended. The scope of the job isn’t restricted to the national side but his services will be expanded to the academies and the regional level as well.”Akram, 37, was overshadowed by the presence of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis while playing for Pakistan. He had more success on the first-class circuit, but was charged with ball-tampering – a Level 2 breach of the ECB disciplinary code – during his Sussex stint in 2004 . He’s been living in England since his last international appearance for Pakistan in 2001 and completed his last county deal with Surrey in 2007.Akram hadn’t expressed his interest in coaching until 2009, opting to do commentary instead. “It would be a good challenge for him to deliver and we can understand that he has the potential to take care of our bowlers,” Alam said. “We are all with him and hope he will meet our expectations and produce results.”

Paul Collingwood has serious ambitions to regain the England place as he jets around the world playing Twenty20

Firdose Moonda13-Feb-2012Paul Collingwood has insisted he isn’t jetting around the world playing Twenty20 cricket just to inflate his bank account but has serious ambitions to regain the England place he lost after last year’s World Cup.On Monday he was unveiled as captain of a new franchise in South Africa’s Twenty20 competition, named Impi, where he will ply his trade before linking up with Rajasthan Royals in the IPL having recently completed his stint with Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. Then there is his county career with Durham which will resume in mid-May following the spell in India.Collingwood remains the only England captain to win a global one-day trophy with the 2010 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. In September, England defend their title in Sri Lanka and, although chances of a recall are remote, Collingwood hasn’t given up hope of being there.”I am very ambitious and motivated to try and get back in. I know I will have to have six amazing months if I want to do that though,” Collingwood told ESPNcricinfo. “England know what I can do when I am in form and I know when I am out of form, I look pretty horrible.”Collingwood actually had a lean BBL, scoring 113 runs in seven innings and bowling three overs in nine matches, but believes his experience could play a part in turning around England’s one-day fortunes. They have struggled away from home, losing all five matches in their ODI series in India last October and going down 6-1 to Australia in January either side of the quarter-final exit at the World Cup.With a not-so-subtle hint towards England’s recent problems in India and UAE, Collingwood said he was “a decent player of spin” and admitted it wasn’t easy to see his former team-mates struggle.”They are still hunting for the right formula and it is a bit frustrating watching from the sidelines,” Collingwood said. “But it’s nice for players to have some security like I did when I was playing.”For now, though, he is concentrating on furthering his 20-over career in as many ways possible. “I see the IPL as a great learning curve because you get to play with against players from around the world, some of them who you have never even spoken to before,” he said. “You can take a lot of confidence from playing in a tournament like the IPL. I see it as a six-week crash course in 20-over cricket.”Although England did not get a single player sold in the recent IPL auction, Collingwood said he thought that was only as a result of schedule clashes and did not reflect the pedigree of English talent.Twenty-over leagues have mushroomed around the world with Zimbabwe and Bangladesh also launching marquee competitions but Collingwood does not think the franchise concept will work in England. “Cricket has a lot of tradition in England and the counties have been around for a long time. It’s very difficult to change traditions like that.”

The batsman Adrian Shankar has been released by Worcestershire after barely two weeks with the club and there is more to the departure than a simple change of mind

George Dobell26-May-2011Worcestershire have released batsman Adrian Shankar after barely two weeks with the club – and passed his registration documents to the police after it emerged there was more to the departure than a simple change of mind.The background of Shankar, who represented Worcestershire in the CB40 and County Championship last week, and whose deal was terminated without further comment on Thursday, has started to unravel. It has emerged he is actually three years older than he told the county and talked his way into a two-year contract through a mixture of bluff and bravado.Worcestershire only signed Shankar on May 10. In the press release that announced this, the club stated that Shankar was 26 years old and had just returned from a prolific winter in Sri Lanka. It also stated that he was in demand from several other counties.None of it is true. Shankar is actually 29 and, while he may have played some cricket in Sri Lanka, it was not at first-class or an equivalent level.”Adrian Shankar was signed by Worcestershire CCC on the 10th May after agreeing terms,” said the club in a subsequent statement. “It quickly became evident that documents provided in order to satisfy the club’s obligations to the England and Wales Cricket Board were unacceptable. This documentation has now been passed to West Mercia Police for investigation and no further comment will be made by the club while the investigation is taking place.”Shankar left Bedford School (he played in the same team as Alastair Cook) after his A Levels in 2000, made his second XI debut in 1999 (for Nottinghamshire) and his first-class debut in 2002. He’s subsequently played second XI cricket for Sussex, Worcestershire, Lancashire and Middlesex.Were the details he gave Worcestershire correct, it would have meant he made his second team debut aged just 14. But when Shankar registered at Cambridge and Bedford, he gave his date of birth as May 1982. Only much later did it change to May 1985.It seems he produced identification proving that he was born in 1985, but he has explained his past by suggesting he might have been the youngest Cambridge University captain in history. Until yesterday, even the Cambridge University Cricket website (www.cucc.net) carried that version of events. Meanwhile, a little research proved that several of the players he was supposed to have played against in Sri Lanka were actually playing elsewhere on the same days.Shankar has also said that his career progression has been held-up by an 18-month bout of glandular fever, that he played tennis to national standard as a junior and that he was in the Arsenal academy at the start of Arsene Wenger’s tenure.On the field Shankar is, at best, an ordinary player. After a decade in the game, he had a first-class average of just 19 and has passed 50 only once in 21 innings. He made 143 in the Varsity Match of 2002 (as a 17-year-old, if you believe his version of events) but, as Chris Scott, the Cambridge UCCE coach, said: “The bowling was unbelievably bad. He was a poor player and there’s no way I would have recommended him.”Oddly, however, when Shankar signed for Lancashire, the Cambridge coach was quoted in a press release referring to him as one of the finest young players the side had seen since John Crawley. “I phoned Lancashire and made it clear that I’d never said anything of the sort,” Scott said. “No-one at Worcestershire or Lancashire asked my opinion before they signed him.” Instead of smelling a rat, however, Lancashire simply removed the offending paragraph.Does any of this matter? Is it just an example of a determined man refusing to give up on his dream?Perhaps. But Shankar was also taking another man’s place in the Worcestershire team. And, by claiming to be 26, Shankar slipped in under the threshold to qualify for the young player incentives handed out by the ECB to first-class counties. He therefore gave himself an unfair advantage in the fight for a place in the Worcestershire team. His swift release was no surprise.The episode also raises questions about Worcestershire. It seems incredible that no-one at the club thought to check Shankar’s story. Five minutes spent on the web would have been enough to raise suspicions; ten minutes on the phone would have confirmed them.Instead, however, Worcestershire contented themselves with a photocopy of a passport and took Shankar’s word for his former achievements. They even threw Shankar straight into their first team – as an opening batsman – without even taking a look at him in a Second XI game (though he did play for their second team in 2003). He was out for a third-ball duck against Middlesex and, batting in the middle-order in the Championship against Durham, was unbeaten on 10 when injury ended his innings.

Somerset maintained the pressure on Friends Provident t20 South Group leaders Sussex by coasting to an emphatic fourth win of the campaign by 84 runs

20-Jun-2010

ScorecardSomerset maintained the pressure on Friends Provident t20 South Group leaders Sussex by coasting to an emphatic fourth win of the campaign by 84 runs with nine balls to spare over Kent in Beckenham. In a repeat of last season’s semi-final, the Sabres rattled up an impressive 189 built around an unbeaten 77 from Man of the Match James Hildreth and Jos Butler’s 48 not out.The visitors defended their total strongly as local lad Ben Phillips came back to taunt his former club with 2 for 24. Somerset, having been invited to bat, sprinted to 32 inside four overs only to lose captain Marcus Trescothick for 12 after he pulled a slow-ball bouncer from Azhar Mahmood into the hands of Alex Blake at deep midwicket.Nick Compton (24) looked comfortable in helping double the total until a stunning overhead stop and rapid throw to the wicketkeeper by Martin van Jaarsveld at cover left him short of his ground and run out.Third wicket pair Hildreth and Zander de Bruyn (nine) posted the Sabres’ 100 in the 13th over, but in the same over De Bruyn miscued an attempted pull shot to short midwicket where Malinga Bandara accepted a good, low chance. In the following over Bandara bamboozled Kieron Pollard (one) with a googly that beat his defensive push and brushed off stump to make it 109 for 4.Unhindered by the losses, Hildreth charged on to a 43-ball 50 and batted through to reach a competition best 77 from 55 balls with 13 fours. He found a willing ally in teenage right-hander Butler, who even out-foxed the wily Mahmood during a cameo 48 from 22 balls as the fifth-wicket pair added 80 in 6.2 overs.The former England Under-19 finished the innings in style, hoisting the final delivery of the innings for six in an expensive last over from Bandara that cost 17.Kent announced their intentions early when Rob Key launched a six into the crowd over square leg, but within 21 balls both he and opening partner Van Jaarsveld (six) were back in the pavilion.
Van Jaarsveld drove to mid-off then Key, on nine, miscued a heave to leg high to De Bruyn at long-on off Phillips who, having seen Blake hook a six to long leg, sent down another short one that the left-hander edged high to Buttler.Pollard then replaced Phillips at the North End to take two key wickets in his first over. Geraint Jones (25) uppercut a short one to Phillips patrolling the ropes at deep cover then in-form Darren Stevens (six) lofted a slower ball to cover and marched off – Kent’s slender chances of victory went with him.Alfonso Thomas, with 3 for 15, and Pollard who finished with 4 for 15, duly ran through the Kent tail as the hosts lost their last five wickets for 13 runs.