All posts by h716a5.icu

It took Sri Lanka four games and a series loss to get their batting to fire to its potential as they chased down a stiff 300 in Kimberley

The Report by Abhishek Purohit20-Jan-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Tillakaratne Dilshan finally batted with his usual freedom•AFPIt took Sri Lanka three consecutive defeats to get their batsmen firing in unison. Tillakaratne Dilshan finally played with freedom to give the chase momentum, Dinesh Chandimal anchored it in the middle overs, and Thisara Perera stunned South Africa with sustained hitting to overhaul a stiff target in Kimberley. Perera had also struck crucial blows earlier with the ball, making South Africa lose their way in the final quarter of their innings, when 350 had looked achievable at one stage.In the end, that late batting stumble on a flat pitch was where South Africa lost the game, after having been 171 for 1 in the 24th over and 242 for 3 in the 39th. They did have Sri Lanka requiring more than 100 at close to seven an over but the visitors always had wickets in hand, and Perera sealed the chase with a volley of sixes. He also pressurised South Africa’s fielding, which unravelled in a series of dropped chances and missed run-outs.Perera, playing his first game of the series, was promoted ahead of Angelo Mathews with Sri Lanka on 194 for 4 at the start of the batting Powerplay. When Perera was trapped lbw by Wayne Parnell off the sixth ball he faced, it looked like Sri Lanka had only heaped more pressure on Mathews. But Parnell was found to have overstepped by a big margin on referral, and it was to be Perera’s night. He almost hit his next delivery straight back to Robin Peterson but recovered to slam the next two for a six and a four.Perera swung the game in Sri Lanka’s favour with consecutive blows over the midwicket boundary off Peterson in the 43rd over, the second bringing up his maiden ODI fifty off 30 deliveries. With 34 now needed off 42, Perera soon took Sri Lanka to the highest ODI total in Kimberley with a straight six off JP Duminy in the 49th over.Smart stats

This is the sixth time overall and the first time against South Africa that Sri Lanka have managed to chase down a target of 300 or more. It is also their first successful chase over 300 since their win over India in Nagpur in 2009.

South Africa suffered their first defeat at the venue in six matches. It is also the first time they have batted first in Kimberley. In their previous meeting against Sri Lanka at the venue in 2002, they won by eight wickets.

Thisara Perera’s 69 came off only 44 balls. The strike rate of 156.81 is the highest for a Sri Lankan batsman against South Africa for an innings of fifty or over. It is also his first half-century in ODIs.

Tillakaratne Dilshan scored only his third half-century since the World Cup. In 20 innings, he has scored just 399 runs at 19.95.

AB de Villiers’ 96 is the second-highest score by a South African captain in a defeat after Graeme Smith’s 141 against England in 2009. de Villiers’ strike rate of 126.31 is second on the list of top strike rates for fifty-plus innings by South African captains in losses.

That Perera had a manageable asking-rate to contend with was down to Dilshan. With his captaincy on the line, and having made 0, 0 and an uncharacteristically subdued 33 in the first three ODIs, Dilshan’s approach was anything but muted. His fluent 83-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara set the tone for Sri Lanka’s response.South Africa tried to bounce Dilshan out but he pulled his second delivery for four, whipped his fourth over square leg for six and soon scooped Vernon Philander for six over fine leg. Despite Upul Tharanga falling early to Tsotsobe, Dilshan and Sangakkara never allowed the asking-rate to climb over six.Sangakkara’s first attempt to take on the left-arm spin of Peterson seemed to have paid off when he lofted the bowler cleanly towards the midwicket boundary. But Alviro Petersen pulled off an astounding leaping catch near the rope and Sangakkara could scarcely believe his misfortune.Chandimal ensured Sri Lanka did not lose momentum. Two balls after Sangakkara fell, Chandimal stepped out to slam Peterson over the long-on boundary. Both Dilshan and Chandimal kept taking singles, and the stand was already worth 68 before Dilshan slapped Tsotsobe straight to short extra cover to depart for 87.Lahiru Thirimanne followed soon but Perera arrived to take control of the innings, and despite Chandimal falling to Tsotsobe for 59, he ensured Sri Lanka had enough firepower to register their first win of the series.It was Perera who brought Sri Lanka back after de Villiers had threatened to blow them away in a feast of exquisite boundary hitting. Perera removed Duminy and de Villiers in successive overs as South Africa stumbled from 242 for 3 to an ultimately underwhelming 299. Until de Villiers fell for 96 in the 41st over, South Africa had control over a listless Sri Lanka attack and were racing towards a total of about 350.The under-pressure Graeme Smith made only his second half-century in 17 innings and his 84-run opening partnership with Alviro Petersen prepared a solid base for the middle order. de Villiers promoted himself to No. 3 and raced to 50 off 31 deliveries, peppering the extra-cover boundary with lofted shots.Smith, who had been subdued throughout the series, was allowed to find much-needed form as Sri Lanka fed his strength by bowling on leg stump. From the moment he worked Lasith Malinga for consecutive boundaries, through fine leg and midwicket in the third over, Smith’s struggle was over. In all, 57 of Smith’s 68 runs came on the leg side.While Smith had the poor lines to cash in on, de Villiers needed no help from the bowlers. He put on a display of effortless hitting, making room and carving the offspin of Sachithra Senanayake and Dilshan over extra cover. It made no difference where the spinners bowled – even deliveries fired in on leg stump met with the same fate as they disappeared over extra cover.Kulasekara gave the visitors some respite when he trapped Colin Ingram leg-before. The scoring-rate, which was comfortably above seven, now started dipping. Duminy was unable to keep up the pace, and even de Villiers tapered off, making his final 46 runs off 45 deliveries.After Perera’s double-strike, Faf du Plessis came and went, but the lower order sensibly batted out the remaining overs to push South Africa to one short of 300. As it turned out, they hadn’t budgeted for Perera’s six-hitting prowess.

Ashantha de Mel, the former Sri Lanka fast bowler, has been named the chairman of the country’s new selection panel, which replaced the one headed by Duleep Mendis

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2012Ashantha de Mel, the former Sri Lanka fast bowler, has been named the chairman of the country’s new selection panel, which replaced the one headed by Duleep Mendis. The appointment, made by the sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, could be the first in a series of changes in Sri Lankan cricket, which could include the axeing of the coach Geoff Marsh and captain Tillakaratne Dilshan after the poor performance in South Africa.Don Anurasiri, Amal Silva and Hemantha Wickramaratne are the other members of the new selection committee, which has a one-year term. Although the tenure of Mendis’ panel was going to end in February, the appointment of the new panel will come into effect on January 20.Anurasiri is the only member from the old committee, but de Mel and Silva have served as selectors before. Wickramaratne, a left-hand batsman who played in three ODIs in the early nineties, is new to the role.Mahela Jayawardene is also likely to be asked to take over the captaincy from Dilshan after the South Africa tour. When asked in Kimberley, on the eve of the fourth ODI, whether he would accept the offer, Jayawardene said, “I will have to think about it. I will need some time.”The news about the selection committee came less than two hours after Aluthgamage denied a report in the , a Sri Lanka newspaper, that changes to the committee, captain and national coach would be made. “No decision has been taken so far to replace or to change the selection committee and the management of Sri Lanka Cricket or the captaincy of the Sri Lankan cricket team,” he had said in a statement.Aluthgamage, however, said it was the “responsibility of the Sri Lankan government and the Sports Ministry” to take “stern and appropriate action” to ensure Sri Lanka becomes “the number one team in the world.” Upali Dharmadasa, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket, has already been asked to submit a report to the ministry on the team’s poor performances since the 2011 World Cup.Sri Lanka struggled since the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan in July 2010, winning just one Test over the last 18 months, though that was a historic maiden victory in South Africa. They have also lost one-day series against England, Australia, Pakistan and now South Africa after being runners-up in the World Cup.

Richard Levi hit the most sixes in a Twenty20 innings – 13 – on his way to the fastest hundred in the format, off 45 balls, dominating the second match at a sold-out Seddon Park

The Report by Firdose Moonda19-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRichard Levi broke Chris Gayle’s record for the most sixes in a Twenty20 international innings•Getty ImagesA combination of a flat pitch and especially small boundaries provided the ideal opportunity for a powerful batsman to break a record at sold-out Seddon Park. And Richard Levi, playing only his second international match, took it. He hit the most sixes in a Twenty20 innings – 13 – on his way to the fastest hundred in the format, off 45 balls, and made New Zealand’s 173 look at least 50 short of a par score.So brutal was Levi during his 117 off 51 balls, a maiden Twenty20 international century for South Africa, that the run-rate rarely dropped below 10 after the first over. They cruised to the target with four overs to spare, leveling the series 1-1 with the decider in Auckland.Levi was fortunate in the first over, when a top-edged sweep carried well over the fine-leg boundary. Nathan McCullum was the bowler so the ball didn’t even have much pace on it. Seddon Park was that small. Levi’s next boundary was more convincing, a mow off Doug Bracewell high into the stands at backward square leg, and he barely mis-timed any after that. He took on everyone, including the feisty Tim Southee, who tried to repeat the short-ball attack that dismissed Levi in Wellington. It did not work in Hamilton.Hashim Amla holed out to long-off and Wayne Parnell, promoted to No.3 to have a go, was stumped, but neither of those dismissals deterred Levi. One of his sixes smacked the television floor manager on the back of the head, another went over the team dug-outs, another was flat-batted off a slower ball and a fourth bounced on the road outside the ground. South Africa had scored 63 for 2 before the fielding restrictions were lifted.Not that it mattered. Levi brought up his fifty off 25 balls with his only single on the off side at that point. Most of his sixes were down the ground or over the leg-side boundary. His next fifty runs came even quicker – off 20 deliveries – and Levi broke Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum’s 50-ball record for the fastest T20 century.New Zealand were unable to force Levi to play on the off-side but as his innings progressed, Levi hit them in that area as well. Southee conceded 40 runs in four overs and Bracewell 37, his second and last over containing two sixes and a four from Levi.AB de Villiers was a spectator to the display of muscle, but even as a supporting act, he managed 39 off 36 balls. He also hit the last four, through mid-on, to earn his first win as Twenty20 captain.That New Zealand made only so much in near perfect batting conditions, however, was down to South Africa’s much-improved performance in the field. de Villiers managed his bowlers better than he did in Wellington to restrict the hosts, when they had looked set for much more after reaching 79 for 1 in ten overs.The only wicket to fall in the first half of New Zealand’s innings was via a run-out. Rob Nicol took on de Villiers’ arm after he missed a pull against Marchant de Lange and the ball landed behind the stumps. Guptill raced through in time but de Villiers threw at the bowler’s end and his direct hit had a diving Nicol well short. And after the loss of their lynchpin, Guptill, New Zealand stuttered through the second part of their innings.Guptill had continued his good form and was on track to score his seventh consecutive international half-century, but fell for 47, top edging a hook to deep backward square. It gave the debutant de Lange his first international T20 wicket in just his second game in this format.Guptill’s dismissal allowed South Africa to drag New Zealand back and claim the wicket of Brendon McCullum. Johan Botha, who had opened the bowling, was the architect of stemming the run flow. He and JP Duminy helped keep New Zealand to 41 runs between overs 10 and 15.New Zealand were in danger of falling well short of a par score, when Franklin stepped up. Fresh from his 60 against Zimbabwe at this venue four days ago, Franklin cleared the boundary four times in his 10-ball 28. Parnell and de Lange, however, were able to keep New Zealand to 14 in the last two overs against an unsure Colin de Grandhomme.In the end, however, no total may have been large enough for Levi.

New Zealand’s on-field misery matched the Wellington weather as South Africa sauntered to 246 for 2 after rain accounted for almost four hours of play for the second consecutive day

Andrew Fernando24-Mar-2012
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJP Duminy, playing his first Test in two years, showed skill in picking gaps in the field•AFPNew Zealand’s on-field misery matched Wellington’s weather, as South Africa continued their domination via an unbeaten 140-run partnership that took them to 246 for 2. Alviro Petersen went to stumps four short of a third Test hundred, while JP Duminy was on 76. Not even a furious tailwind from the Vance End, nor heavy cloud cover, could conjure a breakthrough for New Zealand, after rain accounted for almost four hours of play first up. Seven overs into the second session, evening gloom set in to end a frustrating day for the hosts, who are quickly running out of time to affect a series-levelling win.Alviro Petersen had been obdurate on the first day, as he fought to make his first substantial contribution of the tour, but adopted a brighter approach early on the second with a fifty beckoning. Chris Martin’s fourth ball was slapped through midwicket, before an edge from an attempted cover drive brought up the milestone. Positivity paying off, he continued in the assured vein, missing few chances to pierce the field when New Zealand erred.Duminy eased to his half-century too, crisp cover-drives characterising his first Test innings in two years as South Africa’s third-wicket stand swelled beyond 100. Adept at finding gaps in the field, Duminy matched his lively partner for pace and outlook. An inside edge over the stumps and a top-edged hook that took him past 50 were the only bumps in an otherwise uncomplicated innings.Ross Taylor might have rued not placing a third slip when second-slip Martin Guptill dived over, then palmed two edges off Petersen, but in between the chances, the New Zealand bowlers rarely looked like taking wickets in the wind. Martin swung the ball modestly early on, but could not maintain the movement for long, while Mark Gillespie’s gun-barrel straight deliveries were navigated without complaint. Daniel Vettori battled the northerly for much of the day, darting balls in to keep his end secure rather than attacking with flight. But even he could not help being unsettled by the gusts, as he regularly offered long hops the batsmen happily dispatched square.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL game between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians in Mohali

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya24-Apr-2012Match factsWednesday, April 25, Mohali
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Mumbai need Rohit Sharma to contribute more•AFPBig PictureIn this round of back-to-back matches, Kings XI livened up the tournament with their win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. The talking point for Mumbai Indians – who’ve lost two in a row – in that game was their selection of just three foreign players, though their overseas bench was weakened by injuries to Lasith Malinga and Herschelle Gibbs. The overseas batting options, barring perhaps Gibbs, are not automatic picks given there being plenty of strength in the Indian contingent, but the performance of James Franklin at the top of the order is a welcome development for them. The game against Kings XI was lost in the last five overs of the Mumbai Indians innings, which produced just 34 runs, something they’ll seek to rectify in Mohali.Kings XI did well in the absence of Adam Gilchrist, who is yet to recover completely from a hamstring injury, with openers Mandeep Singh and Nitin Saini giving them a good start in the chase. Their strength is a powerful middle order that includes Shaun Marsh, David Hussey and Azhar Mahmood and being the seniors in the side, the responsibility is theirs to guide an otherwise young team. Whoever wins will take their tally of victories to four, something at least six other teams have either achieved or bettered this season, showing how the clamour for a place in the final four is getting more intense.Form guide (most recent first)
Mumbai Indians: LLWWL
Kings XI Punjab: WLLWWPlayers to watchRohit Sharma’s last-ball six off Daniel Christian to win Mumbai Indians a thrilling game against Deccan Chargers was his highlight of the season so far. Since then, he hasn’t lived up to that form, getting out to avoidable shots in the previous two games when the situation demanded some restraint. Consistency is something he’s lacked this IPL.Parvinder Awana has bowled with good pace, got the ball to move both ways and kept things tight while opening the bowling. He plays for Delhi on the domestic circuit, and was their highest wicket-taker in this Ranji Trophy season. He was the top wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic one-day tournament, and so far he’s repaid Kings XI’s faith with six wickets in three games at an economy-rate of 6.25Stats and trivia The average score for a team batting first at the PCA Stadium in Mohali in the IPL is 169. Eight times have teams won batting first. Dinesh Karthik will be approaching a Twenty20 landmark – he needs two more games to play100 T20 matches.Quotes”We are sitting probably sixth or seventh on the league table. If we just keep collecting the wins here we can make it to the finals. If we stick to good basic cricket we can shock a few teams.”

Nagaland state government has built a new cricket stadium in Dimapur

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2012The Nagaland state government has built a new cricket stadium in Dimapur. The Sovima Cricket Stadium, built at a cost of Rs. 10.33 crores, is the second cricket ground in the north-east region of India after Guwahati in Assam.”We are happy that finally our stadium is ready. I believe that cricket is going to go a long way because now we have good facilities,” Athasie Angami, the head coach of the Nagaland Cricket Academy, told .The stadium, which took eight months to build, will allow young players to train in Nagaland, as opposed to having to travel to Guwahati and other places for matches and coaching camps.”Now, our boys will not have to go out from Nagaland to practice. They can learn here and we will be able to better quality players from here,” A Rehman, secretary, Nagaland Cricket Academy, said. “And hopefully more and more Naga boys will come out with flying colors in the field of cricket.”The stadium recently hosted a match between the Under-16 Dimapur district team and the Sovima Youth Cricket Club.

The Edgbaston Test met a watery end as the final day was washed out, leaving England 2-0 winners against West Indies in the three-Test series

The Report by David Hopps11-Jun-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThere had never been any prospect of play on the final day•Getty ImagesThe Edgbaston Test met a watery end as the final day was washed out, leaving England 2-0 winners against West Indies in the three-Test series.Umpires Tony Hill and Kumar Dharmasena, who were widely criticised for taking the players off for bad light on Sunday, delayed the abandonment until 3.00pm as persistent rain fell upon Birmingham once more and any prospects of play seemed minimal. England were 221 for 5 in reply to West Indies’ 426Only 187.3 overs were possible in the Test which also lost its first two days to rain, the first time this had happened in a Test in England since 1964.England and West Indies will now contest three one-day internationals in the NatWest Series as well as a Twenty20 international, starting at West End on Saturday. Further unsettled weather is forecast for the rest of the month.The West Indies will hope for better luck with the weather in their sole warm-up against Middlesex at Lord’s on Wednesday which is set to mark the return of Chris Gayle.

England’s elite players would have more of a say in the management of their workloads under proposals that are being drawn up by PCA

David Hopps at The Oval19-Jul-2012England’s elite players would have more of a say in the management of their workloads under proposals that are being drawn up by the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) ahead of the redrafting of central contracts next year.If PCA proposals are accepted, England would shift slightly towards the sort of squad system that has become an accepted part of Premier League football, as the most senior and successful players such as Kevin Pietersen were given more licence to miss matches regarded as less important.Angus Porter, chief executive of the PCA, facilitated unsuccessful negotiations last week between Pietersen and his representatives and Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, which failed to end the stand-off which has led to Pietersen’s premature retirement from all England limited-overs cricket.Pietersen wanted rest from more one-day matches and also proposed missing at least one of England’s May Tests to enable him to play a full IPL season.Porter remains adamant that a more formalised rotation system is essential if England’s top players are to maximise their time in the game. The current three-year agreement expires in autumn 2013 and the PCA and ECB are anxious to draw up a new deal before next summer’s Ashes series.”This is an issue we need to get to grips with and one that we will be discussing in the next central contracts negotiation,” Porter said. “We all recognise that with a really hectic schedule managing workloads is important particularly for senior players who have played the longest and who play in all formats of the game.”We need to find a way to provide a little bit more structure to what is already happening – to develop England cricket as a squad game where you not only try to win every game but you try to keep the talent fresh and at the top as long as possible.”Some kind of process that introduces some form of flexibility for those players who have been at the top for a good length of time is desirable and consistent with that.”Porter also pointed to the example of the ATP circuit where leading tennis players are exempt from less prestigious tournaments and so delay their retirement as a result. Roger Federer, who defeated Andy Murray in the Wimbledon men’s final earlier this month, may already have retired without the management of his playing demands.Reducing the amount of international cricket is virtually impossible under the self-perpetuating system where the Future Tours Programme is fixed until 2020 and TV rights have been sold well ahead – Sky TV in the UK have a deal until 2017 with a further two-year option – on the basis of these deals. That only leaves the options of rest and rotation and a more orderly fixture list.”The existing rules work well in some cases – Andrew Strauss is a good example of somebody who has benefited – and less well in others,” Porter said. “It is not inconceivable that they might allow players to retire from Test cricket and play in both forms of one-day cricket.”What central contracts could not resolve, said Porter, was the ECB’s uneasy relationship towards IPL.”I do think the ECB and the other boards have to grasp that nettle, accept the IPL exists and identify a window for it so we do not always have to manage the consequences of an event which without constraint will continue to grow and move around the schedule. It shouldn’t be the most difficult thing in the world.”IPL is this dirty great big thing that is not fixed in time and space in the FTP and until or unless the Boards and the ICC get to grips with it, accept that it is here to stay and identify a window of a sensible length for it, it is impossible for any of us to plan.”That will become increasingly evident between 2014 and 2016. ICC one-day tournaments are scheduled in March and April for each of those years, pushing IPL even later into the year – infiltrating England’s international season to an even greater extent.”Like most traditionalists, I believe that Test cricket is the priority,” Porter said, adding that it was an understandable ambition for England players to want to take part in “the most lucrative, high-profile and fantastic tournament. Being practical about it, IPL is different and is bigger. It is not impossible for us to do something about it if we can get the IPL placed in a window. “Unless accommodation between English cricket and IPL is found, Pietersen, depicted by many as a self-obsessed maverick, might turn out to be the harbinger of a battle-scarred future as future England players are frustrated in their desire to play in cricket’s most glamorous and rewarding T20 tournament.Porter, closer to the negotiations than most, said: “I can’t take issue with either side in the argument. Both have been very reasonable in their points of view and have tried to find some middle ground but you come back to the fact that at the moment there is an irreconcilable issue that IPL clashes with test cricket and the ECB regards Test cricket with absolute primacy. Much as they want to be reasonable they can’t and won’t budge.”

Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan’s vice-captain, has said his side is “professional” enough to adapt to the UAE heat

Umar Farooq27-Aug-2012Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan’s vice-captain, has said his side is “professional” enough to adapt to the UAE heat. Pakistan haven’t won an ODI series against Australia since 2002 but Hafeez said he wasn’t looking too much into past records.”We always try not to keep the past in mind and we’re thinking [about this] as a new series,” Hafeez said. “Pakistan have been playing away for the last three years and every time we come to this part of the world we always have to adjust. As professionals, we have to adjust according to the situation and conditions. Pakistan have been a better side in last one-and-a-half years and hopefully we’ll give our best shot.”Captain Misbah-ul-Haq said the fact that they have not beaten Australia in so long could inspire his team. “Whenever there is such an [instance], it charges the team up extra, [and that helps because] it needs an extra effort to combine and beat an opponent who we have not beaten for some time.”Pressure is always there, because we are going to play against a top team. But if we win, then we have an advantage and it will help us in future. It helps us improve when we play a top team.”Pakistan have left out Umar Gul and Younis Khan for this series and dealing with their absence could be a challenge. The middle order includes captain Misbah-ul-Haq, while the spinners – Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Hafeez – are likely to be relied on heavily.”Our spinners got some success here against Sri Lanka and England… Ajmal is one of the best in the world and [we have] Afridi. So we have got good spinners for the conditions,” Hafeez said. Hafeez, recently, replaced South Africa seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe as the No.1-ranked bowler in the ICC ODI rankings.Pakistan’s players didn’t get a chance to watch the one-off ODI between Australia and Afghanistan in Sharjah but the contest was on their minds when discussing tactics. “Seven or eight wickets fell to quick bowlers, but maybe they [Australia] will be playing more spin on Tuesday,” Dav Whatmore, Pakistan’s coach, said.”Pakistan’s attack won’t revolve around spin, but it’s a fairly decent component of our attack and that will certainly be true for us. We are going to bowl more spin than the quicks and it’s important that we do that well. In return, whatever they deliver we need to be on our toes to ensure we are good enough to chase totals or set good totals.”Whatmore suggested his team would have the upper hand against Australia, who are without the injured Shane Watson and fast bowler Brett Lee, who retired last month. “Australia have had a retirement or two and an injury so I suppose we can have an edge to start with,” said Whatmore. “The timings are different, but it’s interesting given the time of the year and the exhausting schedules.”The opposition is licking their wounds a little bit from their recent performances, Watson is not in the ODIs and Brett Lee has retired and results are not going their way but they can come back pretty hard and try reverse that.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the first T20 international between England and South Africa at Chester-le-Street

The Preview by Alan Gardner07-Sep-2012Match FactsSeptember 8, 2012
Start time 2.30pm (1330 GMT)Stuart Broad will be the latest England captain to try and succeed against South Africa•Getty ImagesThe Big PictureWe’ve been here before: England’s seemingly-quite-resistible force against South Africa’s immovable Hashim Amla. This time the tourists are the No. 1-ranked side going into the series, however, and England are merely the reigning World Twenty20 champions. Both have solid records from sporadic outings in the shortest form this year and both will be looking to nail down their plans for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, which starts in less than two weeks’ time.For England, it means a change in captain and Stuart Broad will aim to become the first of the now-defunct triumvirate to hand South Africa a series defeat. Andrew Strauss retired from cricket after his side were steamrollered in the Tests, though Alastair Cook did marginally better, clinging on to the one-day top ranking and gaining a promotion into the bargain. Broad will probably settle for a trio of consistent performances from the squad, as well as the avoidance of injury.There is no respite for AB de Villiers, who had the wicketkeeping gloves thrust upon him at the start of the Test series and now continues to balance his own personal three-for in the T20s as captain, batsman and keeper. After two months away from home and with one eye on the subcontinent, he will need all his powers of multitasking and compartmentalisation to help drag his team towards the finish line.Form guide
(Most recent first, completed matches)
England WWWLW
South Africa WWWLWWatch out forAlex Hales scored 99 in his only international outing of 2012 so far but walked off the pitch at Trent Bridge looking distraught to miss out on a hundred. Still, making the highest T20I score by an Englishman is as good a way as any to start life as Kevin Pietersen’s replacement. Hales’ coach at Nottingham, Mick Newell, recently suggested his first-class returns had been wanting this season but he is a talented young opener who could offer England options in all formats.Without Jacques Kallis, rested for the ODI series, South Africa looked an unbalanced side. They will welcome back the ursine allrounder with wide open arms ahead of the World Twenty20, even though his sole T20I appearance in the last two years came during a one-off tribute match against India in March. Experience can count for a lot in T20 cricket and Kallis, an IPL winner with Kolkata earlier this year, is smarter than your average bearTeam newsBarring one high-profile exception, England have played the same team in all four of their T20 internationals this year. Graeme Swann should return after being rested for the last three ODIs against South Africa, while Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan are both carrying niggles, which could mean a first T20I appearance in three years for James Anderson. Ravi Bopara has struggled with the bat recently but made fifty in his last 20-over outing against West Indies.England (possible) 1 Craig Kieswetter (wkt), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Ravi Bopara, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Samit Patel, 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad (capt), 10 Steven Finn, 11 Jade DernbachSouth Africa have a similar squad to pick from as for the ODIs, with Kallis, Richard Levi and possibly Johan Botha likely to be the only different faces in the mix for a starting spot. Depending on his fitness, Albie Morkel could come back into the side, while South Africa have also experimented with batting Wayne Parnell up the order in de Villiers’ short reign as captain.South Africa (possible) 1 Richard Levi, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Justin Ontong, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Johan Botha, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne MorkelPitch and conditionsThe pitch at Chester-le-Street has not been a friendly one to batsmen all season and Australia struggled to 200 for 9 in an ODI there in July. Durham twice made 300 or thereabouts in 40-over games last month, however, and the prospect of sunshine breaking through the fluffy white clouds at some point in the afternoon should boost the chances for a high-scoring affair.Stats and trivia Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann are tied as England’s leading T20I wicket-takers, with 41 each. Richard Levi struck the fastest-ever T20 international hundred, from 45 balls, in only his second appearance. There have been six T20 meetings between the two sides – England have won two, South Africa three, with one abandonment… …which occurred when they were due to play each other at Chester-le-Street in 2008.Quotes”The planning started from Trent Bridge, when Kevin said he wasn’t available for the Twenty20 World Cup, and his replacement came in and got the highest score by an England batsman.”
“Twenty20s fly by. You can almost see the finish line now.”