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The hosts struck with the first ball of the day at the SCG but it was harder going after that

AAP24-Nov-2024Adopted Tasmanian Tim Ward has his side into a promising position on the opening day of their Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales, as three Blues juniors impressed against their old state.In his second game back in Tasmania’s team after being dropped last summer, Ward hit 91 at the SCG on Sunday, before falling late in the day when caught down the leg side.His runs came as Nivethan Radhakrishnan and Jordan Silk also hit half-centuries, giving Tasmania a chance to finally lay the foundation for their first Shield victory of the summer.Ward, Radhakrishnan and Silk never played a senior match for NSW in their career, but all were raised in Sydney and came through the Blues’ system before moving south. On Sunday, each had success on their return home, with Ward’s runs particularly timely.The 26-year-old was the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year in 2022, and part of the Australia A team in 2023 after a strong start to domestic cricket. But he fell out of form last summer, and found himself dropped late in the season after three consecutive ducks.Ward again began this season on the outer, before hitting 51 on return for Tasmania against Queensland in the last round. The No. 3 continued that form into Sunday, after Jackson Bird had Jake Weatherald edging to gully from a poor shot on the first ball of the match.Ward drove Sean Abbott for four early in the day, and later jumped down the deck to hit Adam Zampa for six over midwicket. But for the most part it was an innings of steady accumulation, before his 246-ball vigil was ended when he was caught behind off Abbott.Radhakrishnan’s runs also came after being recalled to the struggling Tasmania side. Playing in just his second first-class match, the 21-year-old who rose to prominence as an ambidextrous spinner, impressed with the bat for Tasmania in his 55.He cover-drove Jack Edwards for one four and hit him behind point for another in the same over, before using his feet to hit Green to the long-on rope. But he was out to the spinner four balls later, when trapped on the pads to one that went straight on.Silk then walked to the wicket and hit 74, before he too was caught behind off Abbott inside the last 20 overs of the day.Abbott finished the day with 2 for 55, after earlier having Radhakrishnan dropped twice in the slips and once by wicketkeeper Josh Philippe in the first session.

Elder statesman’s 73 combines with 22-year-old Zain-ul-Hassan’s 4 for 25 as Glamorgan address one-day slump

ECB Reporters Network13-Aug-2023The strength and class of Colin Ingram overcame a challenging pitch at Hove to give Glamorgan their second win in the Metro Bank One Day Cup at the expense of Sussex.Ingram, returning to the side, hit 73 off 75 deliveries, with eight fours and a vast six over mid-on, as Glamorgan chased down a modest target to win with 21 balls remaining. But it might have been a different story if the powerful left-hander had not been dropped by Harrison Ward at point off Sean Hunt when he had made just three.Glamorgan lost opener Tom Bevan in the second over, bowled by Fynn Hudson-Prentice for a duck. But then Ingram and Eddie Byrom (69) piled on 145 for the second wicket in 23 overs to put Glamorgan on top.Glamorgan continued to lose wickets – with cameos coming from captain Kiran Carlson and Ben Kellaway – against a tight ring of Sussex fielders. But a typically cool-head innings by Sam Northeast, who made an unbeaten 40, saw his side home.Both sides had gone into the match with one victory in four matches and needed to win all their remaining fixtures to have any realistic chance of progressing to the latter stages of the competition.Sussex decided to strengthen their batting by bringing in Ward for his first game in the competition this season. Sussex had chosen to bat but their innings was a strange affair, the best of it coming in a stand of 113 in 15 overs between James Coles (59 off 56) and Hudson-Prentice (66 off 54).Ward and Tom Haines made a ponderous start, with just 14 runs coming off the first five overs. But they accelerated with such purpose that they scored 50 off the first ten-over powerplay and looked set for a total of well over 300.They lost momentum when the unfortunate Ward, who had struck a six and five fours in a 32-ball 35, was run out responding to Haines’ call for a quick single that really didn’t exist, especially as the ball went to such a fine fielder as Carlson.After that, Sussex’s top-order batters struggled on a slow pitch, which Glamorgan exploited by bowling 29 overs of spin, with Carlson and Kellaway impressive, though the slow left-armer Prem Sisodiya proved a little expensive.Durham had scored 427 on this track earlier in the month. But yesterday, until Coles and Hudson-Prentice got together, and Glamorgan batted later in the day, scoring quick runs looked tricky, with the ball not coming onto the bat.Tom Alsop, cutting at a delivery that was too straight and full for the purpose, fell cheaply, Haines was bowled by what appeared to be a slower delivery from Zain-ul-Hassan and Tom Clark, playing too soon, was caught off a leading edge. Cheteshwar Pujara, who averaged 89 in this competition last year, and already has two centuries in the current campaign, normally scores steadily while others bat around him.But now, needing to be more aggressive, he stepped down the pitch and crashed the ball straight and was caught and bowled for 27. At 142 for five in the 32nd over the Sussex innings had reached its low point before Coles, who struck five fours, and Hudson-Prentice, who hit three fours and two sixes, pulled the innings round. But it never looked likely to be enough against a strong Glamorgan batting side.

New Zealand and Bangladesh also scheduled to visit West Indies in packed summer calendar

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2022A white-ball series with India headlines West Indies’ cricket calendar over the next three months, with New Zealand and Bangladesh also scheduled to visit.According to a CWI statement on Wednesday, India’s white-ball tour will comprise three ODIs and five T20Is spread across four venues, including one in the United States. All three ODIs will be played at Queen’s Park Oval, in Trinidad on July 22, 24 and 27. The two teams will then face off in a five-match T20I series, the first of which will be played at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad on July 29, the venue’s first-ever men’s T20I. The second and third T20Is will be staged at Warner Park, in St Kitts before the teams head off to Lauderhill, in Florida for the last two matches, on August 6 and 7.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“The upcoming summer is expected to feature 30 days of top-quality entertainment for our fans as we look ahead to hosting three teams of differing styles in all three formats, which will sure to whet the appetite,” Johnny Grave, CEO of CWI, said.”This is the busiest year of cricket ever in the West Indies. In January, we hosted Ireland and England in white-ball formats, and also successfully staged the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022, which featured 16 teams traversing the region. We also witnessed the Apex Test Series, against England, which West Indies won in great style and with real fight.”West Indies are currently in Netherlands playing a three-match ODI series and will travel to Pakistan for three ODIs. They will then host Bangladesh in a two-Test series between June 16 to 28, with both matches part of the World Test Championship. The two Tests will be followed by a three-match T20I series, with the first two games being held at the refurbished Windsor Park, in Dominica, for the first time since the venue was damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017. The Bangladesh tour will conclude with a three-game ODI series, with Guyana staging all three matches.New Zealand’s tour to the West Indies, which was rescheduled from 2020 due to Covid-19, will comprise of three T20Is and three ODIs, from August 10 to 21. While the three T20Is will be played in Jamaica, from August 10 to 14, Kensington Oval, in Barbados, will host the three ODIs on August 17, 19 and 21.”We know our supporters will be delighted with the news that the matches are being played all across the region as well as those living in the USA will be able to see their favourite players in action,” Grave said.”We are mindful that Covid-19 is still present, and we again want to thank the various governments and other stakeholders who have worked with us to ensure the matches will be played in a safe environment.”All nine ODIs will be part of the Super League, which determines the chances of a team gaining automatic qualification to the World Cup in 2023. Only the top seven teams at the end of the season, and hosts India, will get direct entry. The remaining five teams will have to play in a qualifying tournament along with five associate teams. The top two from the qualifying tournament will then progress to the World Cup. West Indies are currently No. 10 on the Super League points table.

Shubman Gill 91, Rishabh Pant 89*, Cheteshwar Pujara 56 hand Australia their first defeat at Gabba in 32 years

Varun Shetty18-Jan-2021Maverick turned mature and only three overs of the final Test of a superlative series were left when India produced a win for the ages at the Gabba. Punctuating the end was Rishabh Pant, newly minted superstar, who could barely hold it together at the presentation when he called this one of the best things to ever happen to him.In cricketing terms, that thing was an expertly paced unbeaten 89 that helped shatter a 32-year streak of Australia not losing at this ground and sealed for India a 2-1 series win with three wickets in hand.Pant’s dashing best came during the last hour of play, after a series of partnerships had taken India to within 63 runs of victory at which point they had lost Mayank Agarwal. The burden of either pushing for a win or shutting the gates fell on Pant and debutant Washington Sundar.To put it in terms that would be lost on their older team-mates, the two left-handers woke up and chose violence.The final push began with Sundar taking on Pat Cummins, who had become the singular threat to India’s ambitions as the rest of the bowling tired out. Sundar got his first boundary against Cummins, a neat check-punch past mid-off, that signalled a change in tempo for India. What had been an endeavour to take the day as deep as possible, with as much sensible cricket as possible, would suddenly become a lively exercise in trying to hunt down the target as quickly as possible.Cummins’ plan to counter that was to tuck Sundar up at his chest, only to be hooked for six. When the next ball flew over the cordon off the outside edge, all bets were off.What that meant was Pant, having resisted going across the line for more than an hour following a stumping survival, was ready to open up the leg side against Nathan Lyon. The offspinner had shown no signs of trying to attack Pant in the last session, bowling wide from around the wicket to him with only a slip as a close-in fielder. If it was a play on Pant’s patience, it would come apart in the 94th over as Pant walked across his stumps to ramp him fine. A boisterous sweep to the deep midwicket fence came next ball, a crack in the pitch turned Lyon’s offbreak into a gigantic legbreak that was too much for Tim Paine, and that 15-run over took India within 24 runs of victory with six overs left.Australia’s chances were, at this point, directly dependent on how chaotic the end would be. Sundar reverse-swept Lyon onto his own stumps, and hope sprung when first-innings batting hero Shardul Thakur miscued a slog to midwicket.But chaos is how Pant makes a living. In the last over of the innings, he fell on his backside for a pulled boundary, survived a splice to sweeper cover as he looked to finish with a six, and managed to cross over when Thakur’s slog was still in the air. Josh Hazlewood had two balls at him, and an injured Navdeep Saini at the other end. He fired a full one down the leg side that Pant looked to sweep, one-handed, and missed. Pant was indignant at not being awarded a wide for it but was composed enough next ball to reach out and pat a tired attempted yorker past the bowler for the win.Tired bowling had been the theme of the day for Australia. At the start, India made use of batting conditions that were a significant improvement on the previous day when Australia’s batsmen copped several deliveries that lifted up at them. That was perhaps the consequence of Australia being fuller, or because of the moisture from overnight rain. But that played into Shubman Gill’s scoring options. With no demons and no lateral movement despite an overcast morning, the opener pushed into his forward stride often and with assurance as he single-handedly kept the score moving after Rohit Sharma had been nicked off early.For Cheteshwar Pujara at the other end, the brief seemed to be to simply do what he does and be strong in defence. This seemed to be India’s game plan for the day – to take the match deep on both time and runs. For that, Gill and Pujara formed the perfect pair on the day.On the flip side, what it did allow was time for Australia to adjust to try and use the cracks in the surface. That was the start of a day full of stingers for Pujara, who was hit thrice on the helmet, apart from a blow to the thumb that had him floored for over five minutes; several bruises in the mid-riff and upper body would also come his way as he endured to 8 off 94 at one point.At the end of the 52nd over, Pujara had faced 62 short or short-of-good-length balls from the fast bowlers and been out of control against only ten of them. Of the ones he didn’t control, Pujara looked up for taking the blows; and ultimately, it was a strategy that came at a cost for Australia’s bowlers, as fatigue set in.Pujara’s manner against the short ball was merely a reflection of how he chose to tackle it, rather than a sustained, effective strategy that would bring Australia close to getting him out. In contrast, Gill welcomed the short bowling, particularly from Mitchell Starc, whom he banished from the attack for the best part of 25 overs with a hooked six, a slash over gully and a pull through midwicket off consecutive deliveries in the 46th over. On the last ball of that over, which went for 20, even Pujara piled on the fast bowler with a boundary through point. In all, Starc bowled 16 overs and went for 75 without a wicket.That period of counter-punching ended with Gill losing his shape, however, and edging Lyon to slip as he tried to drive big through the off side. There were still 52 overs left and just under 200 runs to get for India when he fell, and a forecast for drizzle in the middle session as well.None of that seemed to play on Ajinkya Rahane’s mind, the captain coming out slashing and scything as India persisted with their two-pronged strategy of batting for time on one end and runs on the other. That 22-ball 24 from Rahane ended when he took on Cummins and edged behind trying to play a late cut. It would be the last time India attempted to attack Cummins at all, but the tiring bodies at the other end would continue to be targeted.Pant was promoted to No. 5, as he had been in Sydney, and showed the kind of resolute batting that can be masked by the rest of his power game. In putting on 61 with Pujara, who was trapped by Cummins as soon as the second new ball was taken, Pant rarely took the minimal baits Australia had set for him. When he did, trying to clear a mid-on fielder who had just been brought in, Paine failed to gather the ball Lyon had spun past Pant. Though it’s never fair to say a singular event could have changed the match one way or another, it did form a poignant moment in the game. The Australian captain, who had said during the last Test that he couldn’t wait to get India to the Gabba, was the one to miss a chance that might have preserved the most dominant record in the Australian summer.

The pair announced their engagement via an Instagram post and a newspaper interview

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2019England women team-mates Natalie Sciver and Katherine Brunt have announced their engagement on National Coming Out Day.The pair revealed the news via an Instagram post and a newspaper interview, Brunt having made the proposal to Sciver on New Year’s Eve last year. They had informed their team-mates immediately, but had not gone public with their relationship till now.Brunt told that she had found telling her parents about their relationship “really difficult”, but that she had “seen sense” as she got older.”My parents are different to Natalie’s,” she said. “They are quite Christian so it is not something that is done and that’s why it has held me back. They don’t believe in the way I choose to live my life, basically, so it has been quite difficult.”Having to tell my parents was really difficult because I care a lot about them so it was something I put off for a long, long time. But as I have got older, I have seen sense and realised that it is not about that, it is about being yourself and living life properly.”My parents love me: there is no questioning that. They will always be there for me and support me. They are still my parents and they still love me, so it is a compromise I have to take but I am ok with that.”Sciver and Brunt announced their engagement via an Instagram post and a newspaper interview•@natsciver/Instagram

The two first played for England together in 2013, and have both been regulars in the side ever since. Brunt first asked Sciver to be her girlfriend in the hours immediately after the World Cup final win against India in 2017 on the Lord’s balcony, and proposed 18 months later.The pair has also played together at Perth Scorchers in the WBBL, and were both announced as signings for the Trent Rockets at last week’s launch of The Hundred.They plan to get married after England’s series against India next September.Sciver and Brunt join a number of high-profile couples in the women’s game, including South Africans Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp, and New Zealand pair Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu.

A seven-wicket morning session gave way to a more promising position at the close, but Warwickshire hold whip hand in make-or-break tussle

David Hopps at Lord's22-Jul-20182:03

Clark’s stunning Roses hat-trick stuns Yorkshire

ScorecardIt’s mid-season, the Championship is back, and it’s time for cricketers the length and breadth of the country to change their identity. On Friday night they are Twenty20 cricketers, brash smart alecks the lot of them; on Sunday morning they are back to the four-day grind with nothing more than a Saturday morning lie-in in between. They’ve spent the past few weeks exploring the distant horizon, telling themselves anything is possible. Now reality is back.Warwickshire did not just change formats over the weekend, they changed their name and half their side. They edged the first day but not by much, finishing 152 for 4, a deficit of 84, held together by a battling unbeaten half-century by Will Rhodes, his fourth of the season, who pushed a few false strokes to the back of his mind and dug in gamely.At lunchtime, outside the Bread Shop on St John’s Wood High Street, a man enquired with infinite politeness about the lunchtime score and seemed relieved to have found a fellow enthusiast. “Middlesex are 101 for 7.” In the interest shown in that one sentence, there is so much investment in life. But it sounded like a bad day and there followed a look of resignation with the thank-you. Middlesex’s change of identity had not begun well.The Bread Shop specialises in spelt, an ancient grain, a sub-species of wheat, which its advocates claim regulates metabolism, aids in the creation of sex hormones, increases circulation, build strong bones, boosts immunity and counters the swinging ball. Well, maybe not the last one. But Middlesex need some spelt; too often this season they have looked as unappetising as a mass-produced white loaf.After the length of a T20 innings, Middlesex were 80 for 7. In place of the white ball, which lives its life in straight lines, the red ball hooped around corners, behaving – as Marilyn Manson once optimistically described life – as a bucket of mystery.Oliver Hannon-Dalby helped Warwickshire chip away•Getty Images

Oliver Hannon-Dalby, a spindly fellow who walks around the outfield in a stately off-white sunhat like an Edwardian gentleman, swung the ball in to hit the stumps of two left-handers, Nick Gubbins, a superb delivery, and Eoin Morgan, who left a considerable gate; Chris Wright found lift to find the edge of Paul Stirling (promoted to opener without conspicuous success) and Stevie Eskinazi, and there were slip catches, too, to bring wickets for Ryan Sidebottom as John Simpson and James Harris followed. Middlesex lost six wickets for 25 in 55 balls.Considering that Middlesex need something spectacular to return to Division One, this deepened their predicament. Pre-season favourites for the Division two title, they began the second half of the season 45 points adrift of the top two. Their defeat against one of the top teams, Kent, was followed by the departure of their head coach Richard Scott. Against the leaders, Warwickshire, at Lord’s, it was very much a case of now or never.Not every Warwickshire bowler had a satisfying day. Chris Woakes is seeking to build up his rhythm ahead of the India series after hamstring trouble, but he disappeared at more than five an over, becoming increasingly frustrated by a series of refused lbw appeals.James Fuller, fresh from his six wickets in the Blast at the Ageas Bowl on Friday night, benefited from most of them. He registered only his fifth first-class half-century and his first for two years, batting at No 9, a spelt-laden affair as he shared stands of 86 with Max Holden and 51 with Ollie Rayner. His redoubtable resistance included a six over midwicket against Woakes and a curious advance to fly swat him down the ground, not altogether appreciated by the bowler. He was last out to a full toss from Hannon-Dalby.Middlesex supporters have not lost a sense of decorum as their season refuses to catch fire. The fall of Warwickshire’s first wicket brought in Ian Bell who now invites the ripple of gratitude afforded to all prominent England players presumed to be of past vintage.Those whose career may be most spent (although Bell, in the form he is in, could easily play past 40) are keenly watched. The squat onto his haunches before he faced the first ball was familiar and why does he look around to fine leg as his final act? Was he once out hooking first ball in the days when he shaved once a week? If not, what does he expect to see there? An ice cream van? A group of clowns heading to a children’s party? An open sewer which might potentially be a hazard to life and limb?From the first ball, he on-drove Harris sumptuously; from the third, his off-drive was crisp and clean. Even his play-and-miss in between felt like a practice shot. But in the next over, Tim Murtagh mesmerised him with one that held its line up the hill. The day gave way instead to Rhodes, and Jonathan Trott and a hard-won Warwickshire advantage.

The BCCI and PCB will meet in Dubai on May 29 to discuss the MoU to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023

Sidharth Monga25-May-2017The BCCI and PCB will meet in Dubai on May 29 to discuss the MoU to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023. Because of the strained relations between the two countries, the BCCI has not had the federal government’s clearance to honour the MoU, which was signed in 2014. India didn’t play the proposed series in 2015, and look set to give it a miss in 2017 too.Earlier this month, the PCB had sent a notice of dispute to the BCCI, claiming losses for the BCCI’s refusal to tour in 2015. Although the BCCI indicated this MoU was “just a letter” and not a formal “contract”, it wrote to the government of India again about two weeks ago. Amitabh Choudhary, the acting BCCI secretary, said he communicated the same to PCB’s chairman Shaharyar Khan. Choudhary said the PCB’s response invoked a provision in the MoU for dialogue should a series not go ahead. Choudhary will represent the BCCI in the meeting with Shaharyar and/or PCB’s legal representatives.”We still remain committed to playing,” Choudhary said, “but the position doesn’t change: the series cannot go ahead without the permission of the government of India. After PCB wrote to us, we have written to the government of India again, and are awaiting the response. I believe the dialogue should go on, which is why we are meeting.”However, India continue to play Pakistan in multi-team events, as they did in Kolkata in the World T20 last year, and will do again in Birmingham during the Champions Trophy, six days after this meeting between the two boards.India were supposed to play away against Pakistan in 2015, and are scheduled to host them in 2017. In 2015, the BCCI had offered PCB a series at home, which the PCB declined. India in turn refused to play Pakistan’s home series at a neutral venue without specifying any reasons. “We are not asking any permission from the government,” the then BCCI president Shashank Manohar had told ESPNcricinfo. “We are not playing in UAE. That is certain. There are reasons. But I don’t want another debate on that. So I will not tell you the reasons.”

Wayne Parnell won all of Cabe Cobras’ limited-overs awards after an impressive 2015-16 domestic season, which earned him a recall to South Africa’s squad for the triangular series in West Indies

Firdose Moonda31-May-2016Wayne Parnell did not have the best start to his international comeback, conceding 35 runs in four overs in a fifty-over warm-up match against the WICB Presidents XI, but he was the big winner in absentia at the Cape Cobras Awards presentation. Parnell scooped four awards including Player of the Year, one-day cup Player of the Year, twenty-over Player of the Year and players’ Player of the Year.After being left out of South Africa’s national squads in all formats, the 2015-16 season afforded Parnell an opportunity to spend a full summer playing domestic cricket. Although he spent the early part of the season nursing a foot injury, he played a crucial role in helping Cobras reach the one-day cup final, and finished as the third-highest wicket-taker with 16 wickets at 23.00 and an economy rate of 4.83.Parnell, who opened the batting in some of the T20s, scored 237 runs in the Ram Slam competition at an average of 47.40 with a strike rate of 133.14. He also took eight wickets. His all-round performances earned him a recall for the one-day triangular series in West Indies, which starts on June 3. “I have not seen Wayne play this well for many summers. It is a just reward for good, consistent performances,” Paul Adams, Cobras coach said.The first-class Player of the Year was awarded to Dane Vilas who finished second on the run-scoring charts. Vilas scored 761 runs at 69.18, including an unbeaten 216 in a record fifth-wicket partnership of 393 with JP Duminy. That came after Vilas was dropped from South Africa’s Test squad following a poor tour of India.”Dane picked himself up so quickly after being dropped from the South African team. People forget that he is not only a wicketkeeper, but a dynamic presence with the bat,” Adams said.Adams lost out to Western Province Women’s coach Cobus Roodt in the Coach-of-the-Year category. Western Province Women won both the fifty-over and twenty-over competitions while Shandre Fritz, who was the third-highest run-scorer in the fifty-over tournament and seventh in the T20s, was named Women’s Player of the Year.

Rizwan Cheema and Junaid Siddiqui inspired Canada to a 62-run win over Suriname in their ICC Americas Regional Division One T20 game in Indianapolis

Peter Della Penna in Indianapolis03-May-2015Rizwan Cheema started his newest reign as Canada captain in winning fashion with a 62-run victory over Suriname in the first match ever played at Indianapolis World Sports Park on Sunday morning.Suriname won the toss and wisely sent Canada in to bat on a wicket never before used on a slightly overcast and cool morning but were unable to capitalize on a series of chances offered in a sloppy batting display. Cheema was the chief beneficiary, top-scoring with 34 off 31 balls in Canada’s total of 121 for 8 after being dropped on 0 at extra cover in the second over by star allrounder Sauid Drepaul.Cheema was the only player in Canada’s top six who scored at better than a run a ball as the middle order struggled to come to terms with the slightly sluggish nature of the pitch. Drepaul was on a hat-trick in the 18th over after Jimmy Hansra was caught at long-off for 15 and Hamza Tariq bowled for 16 mistiming a cut to make it 96 for 6 with 15 balls to go in the innings.Nikhil Dutta and Satsimranjit Dhindsa provided a late burst for Canada and though the output with the bat was average at best, it could have been much worse. By the end of the first innings, Suriname had dropped four chances and missed a stumping but still held hopes of an upset.However, Junaid Siddiqui sparked Canada in the field as he opened the bowling with back-to-back maidens, including the wicket of Shazam Ramjohn pinned on the crease for a duck to end the first over. He eventually finished with 2 for 7 from his four overs.Medium-pacer Khurram Chohan opened at the opposite end and struck three balls later to keep up the momentum for Canada, getting Muneshwar Patandin edging to Srimantha Wijeratne at slip for 1 to make it 2 for 2 nine balls into the chase. After 10 overs, Suriname were 30 for 4 with captain Mohindra Boodram lofting Hansra’s offspin to Cecil Pervez at long-on for 1 to end the 10th.Dutta arrived to start the 12th and struck with his first ball, getting Troy Dudnath stumped for 3 after the batsman overbalanced groping at a full and wide delivery out of reach. Dutta proceeded to rip through the rest of Suriname’s middle order and finished with 4 for 8 in four overs to be named Man of the Match. Wasim Akram Haslim was the only Suriname batsman to reach double figures, scoring 19 off 35 before he fell to Dutta in the 14th. Suriname eventually finished on 59 for 9.

Australia have retained the Women’s World T20 trophy with a 4-run win over England in Colombo

The Report by George Dobell07-Oct-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentaryJess Cameron’s score of 45 from 34 deliveries was Australia’s highest of the tournament•Associated Press

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.

Smart stats

• Australia won their second consecutive Women’s World Twenty20. In the previous final in 2010, Australia defeated New Zealand by three runs.

• The margin of victory (4 runs) is the second-lowest for Australia (in terms of runs) in the Women’s World Twenty20. It is also their narrowest margin of victory against England in Women’s Twenty20 internationals.

• Australia’s total of 142 is their third-highest against England in the Women’s World Twenty20. In their group game earlier in the tournament, Australia had scored 144 and lost by seven wickets.

• Jess Cameron’s strike rate of 132.35 during her 45 is the highest strike rate for Australia in a Women’s World Twenty20 game against England and the fifth-highest for Australia in the competition (40-plus scores).

• The 51-run stand between Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy is the third-highest opening partnership for Australia in the Women’s World Twenty20 and their second-best in this year’s tournament.

• Anya Shrubsole’s economy rate of 10.33 is the highest for an England bowler in a Women’s World Twenty20 game (min 3 overs bowled).

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.