Kevin Pietersen

T20 international, Abu Dhabi
England 129-6 (20 overs) beat Pakistan 124-6 (20 overs) by 5 runs

England beat Pakistan in a dramatic finish in tonight’s T20 match in Abu Dhabi, and in the process have won the series 2-1.

England won the toss and elected to bat first on a slow surface that offered spin in both innings of the match.

Kevin Pietersen batted through the innings helping England to 129-6 from their 20 overs. Pietersen finished 62 not out from 52 balls in difficult conditions. Pietersen hit the last ball of the England’s innings for six, which proved to be a pivotal moment in the match. England’s second top scorer was Craig Kieswetter who made just 17.

Saeed Ajmal was yet again the pick of the Pakistani bowlers, as he took 4-23 from 4 overs. England will be pleased to see the back of Ajma, after continually struggling to pick the Pakistani off-spinner this winter.

If England were to defend this total they would have to bowl well as a unit, and they certainly achieved this. Samit Patel and Graeme Swann were making life difficult for Pakistan in the middle overs, but it was Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach who held their nerve in the final two overs with Pakistan needing 17 for victory.

Pakistan needed six of the last ball of the game, but Misbah was bowled by a Dernbach slower ball handing England victory and sparking wild celebrations on the pitch.

After an embarrassing series defeat in the Test matches, England can leave the UAE with their heads held high after winning both forms of the shorter version of the game.

The Scoop 27/02/2012

by privatemusings

Australian fast bowler Peter Siddle has signed for Essex for this summer’s Twenty20 competition.

Siddle who originated from Victoria will join up with the county in mid-June when Essex’s campaign gets underway.

Despite being a regular in Test match cricket, Siddle has only represented Australia in the shortest form of the game twice.

Speaking on Essex’s club website, head coach Paul Grayson said: “We are delighted to have signed Australia’s premier bowler in Test cricket.”

Siddle has taken 114 wickets for Australia in 31 Test matches, at an average of 29.03. After an excellent summer down under against the touring Indian’s, the 27 year-old is now ranked the 5th best bowler in the world in that form of the game.

The Scoop 27/02/2012

by Associateaffiliate

Hampshire County Cricket Club have announced that their Rose Bowl ground near Southampton will now be named the Ageas Bowl.

The insurance company have signed the naming rights deal with Hampshire where they have played county cricket since 2001. Last year saw the ground host Test cricket for the first time when England played a match against Sri Lanka that ended in a draw.

In 2011, Eastleigh Borough Council voted in favour of buying the stadium for £6.5m and agreed to rent it back to the cricket club.

Plans are also now in place to spend £32m on a hotel within the grounds. This project had been delayed following a legal challenge by a group of local hoteliers.

The Scoop 27/02/2012

For India to gain a bonus point, they will have to score at a rate that is 1.25 times what Sri Lanka do.

For example, if Sri Lanka bat first and score 250 in the fifty overs I.e a run rate of 5 then India will need to chase it down in 40 overs to gain a bonus point. Conversely if India bat first and make 250, Sri Lanka will have to be restricted to under 200. It is not an easy task at all for a team that has been struggling with various problems. It is for the same reason that Sri Lanka start as firm favourites.

Sri Lanka:

Sri Lanka, under Mahela Jayawardene, have shown tremendous resilience so far in the tournament. They began the tournament slowly. Their first win came in only their fourth match but have peaked gradually since then to a good position. The skipper himself has been in sublime touch and his confidence is surely rubbing off on the team. The move to open the batting seems to have done wonders to his confidence. Dinesh Chandimal has been the pillar of the middle order. The young right hander has shown a lot of stomach for a fight and his 80 in Sri Lanka’s win against Australia in their previous game drew effusive praise from both skippers. Kumar Sangakkara has been conspicuous by his absence especially with Sri Lanka doing so well. His highest score so far in the tournament has been just 31 and the classy left hander will be desperate to make amends going into the business end of the tournament.

In Thisara Perera, Angelo Mathews and Farveez Maharoof, Sri Lanka have three all-rounders well suited for the conditions in Australia and thus add a lot of balance to the squad.

The bowling too has a well-rounded look to it. Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulaekara, Rangana Herath and the part time off breaks off Tilakaratne Dilshan pose varying challenges for the opposition.

The fielding too has been above par throughout and has been one of the key factors for Sri Lanka turning things around in the tournament. Mahela will be pushing his men to maintain the same intensity against India too to go through to the finals.

India:

The tour has gone from bad to worse for India. The comments of the skipper MS Dhoni has been hogging headlines after the Sydney ODI against Australia. India feel strongly that they have been short changed in many umpiring decisions. This has shifted focus from their various on-field shortcomings.

Foremost amongst them has been the abysmal performance of their batsmen. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have not been able to produce even one knock of significance between them. Virat Kohli managed a couple of impressive fifties but has been below par otherwise. The same holds true for Gautam Gambhir too. Suresh Raina falls under the same category of Sehwag and Tendulkar. With such collective failure in batting, it is no wonder that India find themselves languishing at the bottom of the table. They still have a slender chance of qualifying but a lot will depend on whetehr the batsmen can turn things around overnight.

The raw bowling attack has shown some good signs and have bowled well in phases throughout the series. In the absence of Zaheer Kahan though, there is a distinct lack of leadership. Only Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan have played in ODIs before in Australia and both are battling indifferent form.

The youngsters though have shown that they can do well with more experience. R Ashwin and Umesh Yadav have been the most impressive amongst the group and India will do well to persist with them for a longer period.

Quotes:

You never know. I’ve played against him on so many occasions, he’s produced some brilliant individual performances – Mahela Jayawardene on the threat Sachin Tendulkar poses.

That would be saying I am very optimistic, seeing that we have not consistently done well with the bat, which means whatever the opposition scores we will have to score in 40 overs, which will be a very difficult task – MS Dhoni on India bagging a bonus point.

Watson opts to bat in his first match as skipper

Michael Clarke was ruled out for the game due to a persisting back problem. Shane Watson, meanwhile, returned to the side for his first game of the summer after an extended break due to an injury, and he substituted for Clarke as the captain of the side. He won the toss and opted to bat first. India decided to go in with the trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir while Dhoni returned to the side after the one-match ban.

Good start by India:

Praveen Kumar got India off to a good start, picking up the wickets of Watson and the in-form Peter Forrest early. Watson fell on 5, mistiming a pull to give Umesh Yadav at mid on a simple catch while Forrest trying to drive Praveen off the back-foot, played on to the stumps. Australia soon became three down for 57 when Michael Hussey was run-out on 10 due to an indecisive bit of calling by David Warner.

Warner goes after a steady knock:

The situation demanded for a partnership and Warner, who was due for runs, was joined by David Hussey as the pair built steadily for Australia. David Warner went on to register his first half-century of the series and took Australia past the 100-run mark before falling to Ravindra Jadeja on 68. Attempting a sweep, Warner got a top edge and the ball went high in the air. Both Suresh Raina and Irfan Pathan, who ran for the ball, clashed in the process but Raina managed to hold on to a superb catch. Irfan was hurt on his chest and had to walk off the field before returning in a while.

Run-out controversy I:

David Hussey could have been out on 17, obstructing the field, but the on field umpires, after a lengthy discussion with the television unpire, thought otherwise. Wade hit Ashwin to cover where Raina picked up the ball and threw it to the striker’s end and the ball struck Hussey who was trying to make it to the crease. He blocked the ball which was headed towards him, more as a measure of self-defence.

India restrict Australia after a good stand:

The obstructing incident apart, David Hussey was largely untroubled as he put on a good partnership with Matthew Wade to take Australia forward. Wade brought up his second fifty of the series before nicking Umesh Yadav to MS Dhoni to depart on 56. Hussey (54) was the next to fall after getting to his 4th fifty of the series. It was again a case of a well-set batsman falling after reaching his half-century as Hussey became Yadav’s second victim with Dhoni taking his second catch of the game. Later, it was Sehwag’s turn to be amongst the wickets as he dismissed Clint McKay and Brett Lee in quick succession. Daniel Christian did well in the end, scoring an useful 24 before giving Sehwag his third wicket as Australia ended up with a total of 252/9.

Sehwag’s woes continue:

If Australia did not get the start they would have liked with the bat, India too had an unsatisfactory beginning with Sehwag failing yet again. Trying to play Ben Hilfenhaus on the up, Sehwag (5) drove uppishly and the bowler held on to a good catch. Meanwhile, Tendulkar began in a positive fashion, playing his drives confidently. But he got out just when he was looking set to register a good score.

Run-out controversy II:

Tendulkar was run-out on 14 and the dismissal added one more to the list of an incident filled match. Gambhir tapped one to point and took off for a single. Brett Lee, who was the bowler, came in Tendulkar’s way in his attempt to collect the ball. By the time Tendulkar could go around Lee and complete the single, Warner had taken down the stumps. Tendulkar headed back looking completely dejected and frustrated after having a word with the umpires as he felt they could have reversed the decision since Lee came in Tendulkar’s way.

Flurry of wickets:

Gambhir and Kohli tried to build a partnership to steady India but both fell in quick succession to leave India in trouble. Kohli (21) was the first to go, holing out to Christian off Watson, while attempting to whip one across the line. Gambhir (23) tried to drive Clint McKay away from the body but inside-edged the ball which first hit the pad before going on to hit the stumps. India’s chances of staying alive in the game lessened even more when Raina (8) fell to Watson. He too tried to drive away from his body but ended up edging it to the keeper.

India could have been reduced to six down for less than 100 but Watson gave MS Dhoni a lucky break, putting him down off Clint McKay when the Indian skipper was on 2. Earlier in the same over, McKay had induced an outside edge off Ravindra Jadeja but the ball landed short of Watson at first slip. Dhoni and Jadeja managed to take India past 100 before Christian tasted his first success with the ball when Jadeja, trying to punch one towards backward point, outside edged it to Watson who took a sharp catch.

Australia stepped closer to sealing the finals berth when the Indian skipper became the 7th wicket to fall. Dhoni (14) added 22 runs with R Ashwin before he was out leg-before to Hilfenhaus. The decision though was a marginal one as it appeared that the ball might have gone over the stumps although the technology suggested that the ball was just clipping the bail.

A Mini fightback before the collapse:

Ashwin and Irfan Pathan tried to get India back into the game as they put on a steady partnership. While Ashwin gathered the singles and twos, Pathan played the boundary shots including a six off Hilfenhaus. The pair added 30 runs before Ashwin fell to Xavier Doherty on 26. Trying to play one down to fine-leg for a single, Ashwin got a leading edge and stand-in skipper Watson took a simple catch at mid-on. Irfan hit Lee for a glorious straight-batted six over long on before falling to the same bowler. Pathan (22) mis-hit a full toss, getting a top edge to Mike Hussey at deep square leg who took a good catch. Soon it was all over for India and as Doherty picked up his second scalp by dismissing Praveen Kumar for 1. India, bowled out for just 165, could not prevent Australia from taking the bonus point.

by onewhohelps

Former England batsman Mark Ramprakash is to captain the MCC in the county season curtain-raiser in Abu Dhabi against Lancashire.

The four day match gets underway on the 27th March against last year’s champion county. The match will be played under floodlights using a pink ball as a test for potentially introducing a similar format in Test cricket.

The 42 year-old who has not represented the MCC since 1995 said: “It’s a great pleasure to be back in MCC’s colours after so many years, all the more so given I was originally picked to play in this match in 2010 but was unable to – it’s fantastic to get another opportunity.”

MCC squad: M Ramprakash (Surrey, capt), M Ali (Worcestershire), G Batty (Surrey), I Blackwell (Durham), L Gregory (Somerset), H Marshall (Gloucestershire), R Naved (Derbyshire & Pakistan), N O’Brien (Northants & Ireland, wkt), S Peters (Northants), G Rees (Glamorgan), A Richardson (Worcestershire)

The Scoop 24/02/2012

by PaddyBriggs

1st T20, Dubai
Pakistan beat England by 8 runs

Pakistan triumphed over England last night in Dubai to go 1-0 up in the three match Twenty20 series.

Batting first, Pakistan made a par score of 144-6 which Stuart Broad felt was a total England should have chased down. The home side were grateful to Shoaib Malik who scored a quick-fire 39 from 33 balls which helped bolster Pakistan’s total towards the back end of their innings.

Graeme Swann was the pick of the England bowlers with figures of 3-13 from 4 overs.

In reply, England looked in control at 80-2 needing just over 6 runs per over, with seven overs remaining. However, Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul were used by Pakistan at the death, and England came unstuck. England finished 8 runs short of their total. Ravi Bopara top scored for England with 39 from 32 balls, but when Gul dismissed the Essex batsman the match turned on its head.

Gul was awarded man of the match after recording figures of 3-18 from his 4 overs. The second match in this series is on Saturday and it is a must win match for Broad and his team.

The Scoop 24/02/2012