Showing posts with label wt20. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wt20. Show all posts

Saturday, 2 April 2016

Captain Morgan Faces Gayle Force

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England and West Indies will attempt to make history when they contest the World Twenty20 final at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.


No team has won the competition more than once since its inception in 2007.

India, Pakistan, England, West Indies and Sri Lanka have all won the title.

England lost to the Windies in their first group match but have since won four in a row, while West Indies lost to Afghanistan having qualified for the semi-finals, where they beat India.

England's Eoin Morgan: "We know it's not going to be a normal game, even in the semi-final, there was quite a lot of hype around the expectation of playing in a final.

"I want all of our players to embrace it. Everything's going to feel a little bit rushed to start with. It's important that we're in a really good frame of mind to slow things down when needed and more importantly execute our skills.

"Given the strides we have made in the last 12 months in white-ball cricket, I think this would be a great reward for the mindset we've shown, the dedication and the hard work we've put in."

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy: "England is a team we respect. We know the calibre of players they have in the dressing room, they have a lot of match-winners as well.

"But we tend to focus on what we can on the cricket field and as a group we believe that once we do what we know we can do on the cricket field it is going to be difficult to defeat us.

"Since that loss to us England have moved in leaps and bounds, that's why they are in the final. I always want cricket to be the winner and hope the fans are entertained and it will be a very exciting match, but at the end I just want West Indies to be victorious."

The first official T20 matches comprising 20 six-ball overs per side took place in the 2003 English county cricket season and the first T20 international was played between New Zealand and Australia in Auckland in February 2005.

The inaugural World T20 was played in 2007 and won by India but after six tournaments in the first nine years, there will be a four-year gap before the next one in Australia in 2020.

This will be the teams' 14th meeting in T20 cricket. West Indies have won nine, including all four at the World T20. No team has beaten England more in T20 history than those nine wins by the West Indies

Chris Gayle has scored more T20 runs against England than any other player (345)

England captain Eoin Morgan has been out first ball in two of his last three innings

West Indies captain Darren Sammy has scored just six runs in two innings and bowled only once in the tournament

Four of David Willey's wickets in this event have been openers, the most of any bowler

50% of balls bowled by Ben Stokes in overs 16-20 have been dots, more than anyone else in the event to have bowled more than three overs in that period

Four of the five T20 finals have been won by the side winning the toss

Two of those finals have won by the side batting first, three by chasing teams, including England in 2010

Eden Gardens has been staging international cricket since 1934 and hosted its first T20 international in 2011.

The highest score made there in a T20 was the 201-5 Pakistan posted against Bangladesh in this event.

Bangladesh hold the unwanted lowest-score record, with their 70 against New Zealand last month.

Neither finalist has yet played at the ground in this tournament, England playing all their games to date in Mumbai and Delhi, West Indies playing at Mumbai, Bangalore and Nagpur.

Temperatures are expected to be around 31 celsius for the final, which is a night game, beginning at 19:00 local time, with a capacity crowd of 66,000 expected.

Routes to the final:

ENGLAND
lost to West Indies by six wickets, Mumbai: Eng 182-6; WI 183-4 (18.1 overs)
beat South Africa by two wickets, Mumbai: SA 229-4; Eng 230-8 (19.4 overs)
beat Afghanistan by 15 runs, Delhi: Eng 142-7; Afg 127-9 (20 overs)
beat Sri Lanka by 10 runs, Delhi: Eng 171-4; SL 161-8 (20 overs)

Semi-final:
Beat New Zealand by seven wickets, Delhi: NZ 153-8; Eng 159-3 (17.1 overs)

WEST INDIES
beat England by six wickets, Mumbai
beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets, Bangalore: SL 122-9; WI 127-3 (18.2 overs)
beat South Africa by three wickets, Nagpur: SA 122-8; WI 123-7 (19.4 overs)
lost to Afghanistan by six runs, Nagpur: Afg 123-7; WI 117-8 (20 overs)

Semi-final:
beat India by six wickets, Mumbai: Ind 192-2; WI 196-3 (19.4 overs)

Line-ups:

England (probable): A Hales, J Roy, J Root, E Morgan (capt), J Buttler (wkt), B Stokes, M Ali, C Jordan, D Willey, A Rashid, L Plunkett.

West Indies (probable): J Charles, C Gayle, M Samuels, L Simmons, A Russell, D Bravo, D Ramdin (wkt), D Sammy (capt), C Brathwaite, S Badree, S Benn.

Umpires: 
R Tucker (Aus), K Dharmasena (SL).
Third umpire: M Erasmus (SA)
Match referee: R Madugalle (Ind).

Saturday, 20 February 2016

Kiwi McCullum Hits Record Ton

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Brendon McCullum has smashed the fastest ever Test ton in his final international match. McCullum reached three figures in 54 balls in Christchurch on Saturday, bettering the previous mark of 56 deliveries held by Viv Richards and Misbah-ul-Haq.

Australia had few answers as McCullum marched to the milestone in 79 minutes. He cracked four sixes and 16 fours to post his second Test ton against Australia. The 34-year-old brought up the record with a fourth consecutive boundary, charging down the wicket and slapping a ball from Josh Hazlewood over the covers.

The knock was all the more astonishing given how much the ball was doing on a lively green pitch, with McCullum walking out after a collapse of 11-3. His only chance came on 39, when Mitch Marsh plucked a one-handed catch at gully. Marsh celebrated wildly but umpires wanted to check for a no-ball, with footage revealing James Pattinson clearly overstepped.

McCullum received a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at Hagley Oval and was given a guard of honour by Australia when his innings started. The cheering was more thunderous when McCullum celebrated his ton, hugging teammate Corey Anderson.

The outgoing Black Caps skipper eventually fell for 145 from 79 deliveries, departing in much the same style as he’d employed to captivate the Hagley Oval crowd during his whirlwind stay, smashing a catch to Nathan Lyon in the deep off the bowling of a relieved Pattinson.


Monday, 8 February 2016

No KP at Twenty20 - Captain Morgan

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Eoin Morgan has unequivocally ended any faint hopes Kevin Pietersen might have had of being selected in England’s ICC World Twenty20 squad on Wednesday.

Pietersen’s exile from the England team since the end of the 2013-14 Ashes has been well documented, with the England and Wales Cricket Board director, Andrew Strauss, citing a “massive trust issue” in ruling out a return last year.

The batsman’s outstanding form for Melbourne Stars in the Ram Slam T20 in South Africa and Australia’s Big Bash League led to speculation of a recall for the 35-year-old in the shortest format of the game.

But limited-overs captain Morgan told the Daily Mail: “That door is completely shut. Kevin will not be picked. That’s from me.”

Pietersen responded on Twitter: “Interesting he’s saying it’s HIS call! Very interesting! Hmmmmm...!”

Earlier, Pietersen championed the cause of his Melbourne Stars team-mate Luke Wright, who has not played for England in nearly two years but also impressed in the recently-concluded BBL.

Monday, 17 March 2014

Last Ball Win for Ireland


Zimbabwe were going at almost 10 runs an over before being pegged back and they posted 163-5 from their 20 overs.

Paul Stirling's quick-fire 60 put Ireland in control and they required four runs from the final over to win.

Two wickets fell, and with a run needed from the last ball Stuart Thompson scampered through to take Ireland to 164-7 and a three-wicket win.

Ireland had appeared to be cruising towards their 164 target after opener Paul Stirling's 34-ball 60.

The Middlesex right-hander hit nine boundaries and a six and with captain William Porterfield (31) added 80 runs for the opening wicket but swing bowler Tinashe Panyangara brought Zimbabwe back in the game by taking two wickets in the 15th over.

Panyangara, who was taken for 18 in his first over by Stirling, also dismissed the dangerous Kevin O'Brien (17) in the 18th over and returned to bowl the final over of the innings with Ireland needing just four runs for victory.

In the final over, Ireland lost Ed Joyce (20) to Panyangara and Max Sorensen to a run out off successive balls but managed to scamper for a bye off the last delivery for the winning run with wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor missing a run out.

Earlier, captain Taylor hit six fours and two sixes in scoring 59 off 46 balls after Zimbabwe had been put in.

Elton Chigumbura hit 22 off 13 balls with two sixes in the last over to take Zimbabwe to a competitive total after Irish spinners George Dockrell (2-18) and Andy McBrine (2-26) restricted them in the middle overs.


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Monday, 8 October 2012

Windies Celebrate World T20 Win

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West Indies have been crowned World T20 champions following a 36-run victory over hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo.

The Windies were slow out of the blocks, with opener Johnson Charles departing without scoring. Chris Gayle was expected to accelerate the scoring, but he was trapped lbw by Ajantha Mendis after just three runs from 13 deliveries.

Samuels provided some fireworks in the 13th over when he smashed fast bowler Lasith Malinga for three sixes, taking the visitors to 69-2.

Samuels' partnership with Dwayne Bravo (17) ended when the latter was deemed lbw from the bowling of Ajantha Mendis, who finished the innings with four wickets.

Samuels finally departed on 78 from 56 balls while a useful knock from captain Darren Sammy (26) helped the West indies claw their weay to a respectable if hardly intimidating 137-6.

But Sri Lanka made an inauspicious start to their reply, with opener Tillakaratne Dilshan bowled by Ravi Rampaul, before captain Mahela Jayawardene steadied the ship, albeit at a mournful run-rate.

West Indies' second breakthrough came in the 10th over when Kumar Sangakkara (22) holed out to Pollard in the deep off the bowling of Samuel Badree. Angelo Mathews (1) was bowled by Sammy soon after.

Jayawardene's exit via a reverse sweep sparked a Sri Lanka collapse as the required run-rate spiralled. Jeevan Mendis (3) and Thisara Perera (3) were both run out before Lahiru Thirimanne was caught in the deep.

Nuwan Kulasekara's late flurry gave Sri Lanka hope of an improbable comeback, although when he fell for 26 so did their chances of success in front of a stunned and now almost silent home crowd.It is West Indies' first success in the tournament while Sri Lanka have now suffered final heartache twice after finishing as runners-up to Pakistan in 2009.

The visitors would have been in serious trouble had it not been for Samuels who helped himself to six sixes in the contest, only eight were scored between both teams.

The pairing of Jayawardene and Sangakkara (42) looked like laying a solid foundation for the hosts to build a match-winning innings, although it proved to be a false dawn.

Narine was the pick of the bowlers for the West Indies with 3-9 from his 3.4 overs while Sammy claimed 2-6 with Badree, Rampul and Samuels all picking up a wicket.


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Friday, 5 October 2012

Windies See Gayle Storm Australia

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West Indies reached their maiden World Twenty20 final with a 74-run win over Australia in Colombo.

Opener Chris Gayle batted through for 75 not out as West Indies piled up 205-4 after opting to bat first, the first 200-plus total of the tournament.

Australia were bowled out for 131 in reply, the only bright spot of which was skipper George Bailey's 29-ball 63.

Gayle faced 41 balls and accounted for six of his side's 14 sixes despite appearing to be in pain from an abdominal injury as the innings progressed.

Marlon Samuels (26) and Dwayne Bravo (37) both made useful contributions before Kieron Pollard added a late flourish with 38 off 15 deliveries, including three successive sixes as the final over, bowled by left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty (1-48), disappeared for 25 runs.

Australia slumped to 43-6 in reply, leg-spinner Samuel Badree (2-27) removing openers David Warner (1) and Shane Watson (7) and seamer Ravi Rampaul striking twice in his first over.

Bailey launched a furious counter-attack but was caught on the boundary trying to add to his four sixes and the tail quickly subsided as Australia lasted 16.4 overs in total.

West Indies will take on host nation Sri Lanka in Sunday's final at the same venue.


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Wednesday, 3 October 2012

Police Break-up Gayle's Hotel Party

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Sri Lankan police were called to break up a late night party in the hotel room of West Indies batsman Chris Gayle at the luxury Cinnamon Grand in Colombo.

Gayle and his team-mates Andre Russell, Fidel Edwards and Dwayne Smith were carousing with three British female guests when police intervened.

The women were removed by officers and briefly arrested. Although they were not charged, they were released on bail and the British High Commission in Colombo was informed.

The West Indies are progressing well through the Twenty20 event, with a victory over New Zealand on Monday earning them a semi-final slot against Australia on Friday.

Gayle, 33, is famed for his extrovert attitude as well as his hard-hitting batting, and he attracted comment for his dance-style celebrations after dismissing England’s Jonny Bairstow earlier in the tournament.

The left-hander is one of the most feared batsmen in all formats of the game with a penchant for big hits against both pace and spin. His 117 off 57 balls against South Africa in the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007 was the highest individual score in the competition until Kiwi Brendon McCullum hit 123 off 58 balls against Bangladesh in the current edition.

The West Indies management and the International Cricket Council, organisers of the World Twenty20, both confirmed the hotel incident but declined to comment further.

A police spokesman said: “Ministerial Security Division guards assigned to protect the players carried out the arrest and the three women were handed over to the Kollupitiya police station.”

However, a hotel employee insisted: “There was no wrongdoing on the part of the players or the women and we are surprised at the police action. It is not against the law to be a guest of a player.”


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