ICC World Twenty20

The Final of T20 World Cup between Australia and England will be played on 16h May 2010 at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.

ICC World Twenty20 2010 Live Cricket Scores

The ICC World Twenty20 2010 will be held in West Indies from 30th April 2010 to 16th May 2010, with the very best players in the world representing their countries, showcasing Twenty20 cricket on a global stage. The tournament will take place in four venues across Caribbean  archipelago. There are 12 teams participating in the tournament including 10 test playing nations and 2 associative member counties: Ireland and Afghanistan, who were qualified through ICC world twenty20 qualifier.

Live Cricket Scores

Australia go into the match with sky-high confidence after chasing down a seemingly improbable 191 against Pakistan in the semifinals last night.

But it would hardly be a stroll in the park for Michael Clarke’s men as England have played some outstanding cricket in the championship and just like Australia, they have been unbeaten since the Super Eights stage.

England, who were hardly seen as title contenders before the start of the tournament, have been a revelation with an array of attacking batsmen and bowling all-rounders.

They bat deep and have bowled with purpose and discipline right through the competition. Their fielding has been good as well.

But Paul Collingwood’s men cannot match the Australians in talent and versality despite having the tenacity and confidence to take on their arch-rivals.

However, the fast and bouncy Kensington Oval wicket will pose a challenge to the English batsman, who haven’t faced the kind of pace which Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait generate, in this competition yet.

The tearaway Australian quicks have consistently bowled at over 145 kph and have extracted disconcerting bounce from the bone-hard surface.

But this being their first major championship final in six years, England would be as keen as Australia to take the title back home. But to achieve that, they would have to play their best cricket yet.

“The boys have been responding well every time. The batsmen on top of the order have been giving great starts. Sometimes we need to finish the pieces of jigsaw,” said Collingwood.

“We have very good players. We have selected players on potential and they have done fantastically well. We are confident they can deliver,” he added.

Clarke, meanwhile, also has his eyes firmly set on the elusive Cup.

“We have worked hard over the last 12 months to win the one cup that we haven’t. The boys are keen that we achieve what we had set out for. So we will come and play our best cricket,” said Clarke.

But the Australian captain admitted that England would be a hard team to beat and the one man they would have to watch out for is Kevin Pietersen, who is in excellent form.

The hard-hitting batsman, who recently became a father, has scores of 72 not out, 53 and 42 not out in the last three innings.

Clarke said the key to Australia’s success would be to get rid of Pietersen at the start of the innings.

“Kevin (Pietersen) is a wonderful player in each form of the game. He has been hitting the ball well here. To get him out early would be good for us,” averred Clarke.

Pietersen has dominated the bowlers, even stepping out and hitting the fast bowlers over the top with impunity. It will be interesting to watch how the Aussies tame his aggression.

“As this event has shown they are very competitive. They have great talent and have plenty of match-winners. It will not be easy to beat them,” said Clarke about the challenge awaiting his team.

Considering the form that Shane Watson, David Warner, Cameron White and Michael Hussey are in, Clarke has little to worry on the batting front. But the skipper would be slightly concerned about his own form as he is yet to strike big in the event.

England have a decent pace attack with Stuart Broad being the in-form strike bowler.

The two teams have ended the sub-continental supremacy in the event and given the history between the two rivals, the contest promises to be an exciting one but Australia go in as favourites as their team has the depth to deal with England’s tenacity.

Teams (from):

Australia: Michael Clarke (captain), David Warner, Daniel Christian, Cameron White, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Nathan Hauritz, Shaun Tait, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, David Hussey, Steven Smith, Dirk Nannes, Ryan Harris, Tim Paine

England: Paul Collingwood (captain), Graeme Swann, Ryan Sidebottom, James Anderson, Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright, Ravi Bopara, Eoin Morgan, Tim Bresnan, Michael Yardy, Stuart Broad, James Tredwell, Ajmal Shahzad, Michael Lumb, Craig Kieswetter.

Set just 129 to win, after tight bowling restricted Sri Lanka — last year’s losing finalists — to 128 for six, England finished on 132 for three as they won with four overs to spare.

Kevin Pietersen, on his return to the side after he attended the birth of his son in London, finished on 42 not out and ended the match in style with a six and a four in successive balls off fast bowler Lasith Malinga.

England, who have never won a major one-day international tournament, are now through to their first final since hosting the 2004 Champions Trophy.

They will face the winners of Friday’s second semi-final here between defending champions Pakistan and Australia in Sunday’s final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Only Angelo Mathews, with 58, offered much resistance against England’s bowlers before he was run out of the penultimate ball.

Sri Lanka’s next best score was 16, achieved by both captain Kumar Sangakkara, who won the toss, and Chamara Kapugedera.

Paceman Stuart Broad led the attack with two wickets for 21 runs off his four permitted overs. Both left-arm quick Ryan Sidebottom and Broad took a wicket first ball as Sri Lanka collapsed to 26 for three.

Spinners Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy then ensured runs remained hard to come by with a combined eight overs that cost just 41 runs.

At the start of their run chase, England were confronted by a trio of spinners as Sri Lanka looked to exploit their supposed vulnerability against slow bowling on a pitch offering some turn.

But Craig Kieswetter, driving strongly, and left-hander Michael Lumb settled any lingering nerves with an opening stand of 68.

However, that partnership should have ended on 40 when Kieswetter cut the ball to backward point and Lumb set off for a non-existent single.

Lumb was almost at the other end of the pitch before he was sent back but Ajantha Mendis fumbled the return to the bowler’s end stumps, with Lumb yards out, and the chance had gone.

Two balls later Kieswetter struck unorthodox spinner Mendis straight back over his head for four and ended the over with another boundary, a fine leg-glance.

Kieswetter was eventually yorked by Malinga for 39 and Lumb bowled for 33, walking across his stumps, by seamer Thissara Perera.

But the damage had already been done.

Sri Lanka collapsed to 26 for three against England seamers Tim Bresnan, Sidebottom and Broad.

They were seven for one at the start of the second over when left-arm quick Sidebottom removed Jayasuriya for just one after the veteran fended outside off stump and edged straight to England captain Paul Collingwood at second slip.

New batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan on nine then miscued a hook off Bresnan and was well caught by a diving Luke Wright, running in from deep backward square leg, to leave Sri Lanka 20 for two at the end of the third over.

Sri Lanka’s collapse continued when Broad, as Sidebottom had done, took a wicket first ball.

Mahela Jayawardene, the tournament’s leading scorer with 302 runs, including a century against Zimbabwe, fell for just 10 when he edged a well pitched up ball outside off stump and was caught by wicketkeeper Kieswetter.

Swann and Yardy kept the pressure on and Sri Lanka couldn’t break free.

ICC World Twenty20

The 1st Semi-Final match of T20 World Cup between Australia and Sri Lanka will be played on 13th May 2010 at Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia.

ICC World Twenty20 2010 Live Cricket Scores

The ICC World Twenty20 2010 will be held in West Indies from 30th April 2010 to 16th May 2010, with the very best players in the world representing their countries, showcasing Twenty20 cricket on a global stage. The tournament will take place in four venues across Caribbean  archipelago. There are 12 teams participating in the tournament including 10 test playing nations and 2 associative member counties: Ireland and Afghanistan, who were qualified through ICC world twenty20 qualifier.

Live Cricket Scores

England’s display in the tournament has been a revelation of sorts with Paul Collingwood and his men winning all three Super Eight stage matches with consummate ease.

With their maverick top order batsman Kevin Pietersen returning to the ranks after a brief break to watch the birth of his first child, England’s batting order would have a formidable look about it.

Pietersen has been in sensational form but even without him, England hardly broke a sweat as they upended New Zealand to prove that they don’t rely on an individual or two to see them through.

In Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb, England have an opening pair which scores at a brisk rate and with Pietersen, set to return at Ravi Bopara’s expense, and Collingwood to follow, their batting line-up is quite capable of laying the foundation for a big total.

In the middle order, the exciting Eoin Morgan, Luke Wright and all-rounder Tim Bresnan have the penchant to assert themselves early which suits the team.

Their bowling department also has the necessary variety.

Bresnan and his new-ball colleague Ryan Sidebottom have more often than not given the early breakthrough while Stuart Broad has been among the wickets as well.

In the slow bowling department, Michael Yardy has been parsimony personified while Graeme Swann has struck regularly.

England’s might notwithstanding, it is not going to be a cakewalk against the Sri Lankans who are high on confidence after sneaking through to the last four stage.

Unlike England, consistency has not been Sri Lanka’s strong point in the tournament and even after beating India, they had to wait for an Australian triumph over the West Indies before a semifinal berth could be theirs.

The islanders, however, would take heart from their success against India, especially with Tillakaratne Dilshan returning to form and youngsters like Angelo Matthews and Chamara Kapugedera coming to the party.

Captain Kumar Sangakkara also looked in fine touch against India and he would hope Mahela Jayawardene, who had a brilliant run in the tournament before it was punctuated by two poor outings, to hit form tomorrow.

In Lasith Malinga, Thissara Perera and Angelo Mathews, they have quite a potent attack and Sangakkara would expect them to trouble the English batsmen on Thursday.

Man-of-the-match Pietersen’s high-class 53 was at the heart of England’s 168 for seven against the land of his birth at the Kensington Oval.

South Africa, in reply, suffered a dramatic top-order collapse against England spinners Graeme Swann (three wickets for 24 runs) and Michael Yardy (two for 26).

The Proteas lost four wickets for 19 runs as 34 for one was transformed into 53 for five.

JP Duminy, the only batsman in the innings to score more than 19, made 39 but by that stage the game was all but beyond South Africa’s grasp.

He became one of a trio of wickets for Ryan Sidebottom (three for 23), who ended the match with an over to spare by bowling Morne Morkel as South Africa were dismissed for 129.

Victory left England with two wins from two second round matches after Pietersen made an unbeaten 73 in a six-wicket win over defending champions Pakistan on Thursday.

However, it is possible for three of the four sides in a pool that also features New Zealand to end the second round, which concludes for Group E teams in St Lucia on Monday, with two wins each.

If that is the case, net run-rate will decide which two teams go through to the last four.

But if Pakistan beat South Africa, England will be in the semi-finals before their match against New Zealand.

South Africa’s slump against spin started when Herschelle Gibbs, on eight, top-edged a sweep off left-armer Yardy’s first ball and was brilliantly caught by a diving Sidebottom, running back at short fine leg.

Proteas captain Graeme Smith then holed out when his slog-sweep off Swann was caught in the deep by Michael Lumb.

Albie Morkel, who’d hammered 40 off just 18 balls in South Africa’s 13-run win over New Zealand here on Thursday, was out for a duck after a Yardy delivery turned past the outside edge and clipped the top of off-stump.

AB de Villiers did not last long either before skying Swann to England captain Paul Collingwood at midwicket.

Earlier, Pietersen shared a stand of 94 in just under 12 overs with fellow South Africa born batsman Craig Kieswetter, who made 41, after Collingwood won the toss.

The pair relished the pace of fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, whose combined eight overs cost a hugely expensive 90 runs.

Steyn, arguably the world’s leading quick, was treated with disdain in a four-over spell that went for an extraordinary 50 runs.

Pietersen struck a huge six over long-on off Steyn and then casually advanced down the pitch to drive him for four.

But former South Africa Under-19 wicketkeeper Kieswetter had made just seven when he guided Morne Morkel straight to third man only for the Proteas’ joy to be cut short because the delivery was a no-ball.

It may not have been as expensive as the ‘wicket’ Morne Morkel took in the first round, when India’s Suresh Raina was on five before going on to complete a hundred, but it was an expensive mistake nonetheless.

Pietersen’s 33-ball innings, which featured a six and eight fours, ended when he top-edged an attempted sweep against off-spinner Johan Botha, who took an impressive two for 15.

Pietersen, who put on 60 for the third wicket with captain Paul Collingwood (16), gave England a scare when he clipped his leg with his bat on 16 and he was dropped on 34.

Pakistan put down five catches, with Saeed Ajmal dropping three, in an error strewn display.

In total, Pietersen faced 52 balls with two sixes and eight fours as his side finished on 151 for four in reply to Pakistan’s 148 for nine.

England won with three balls to spare in a match their star batsman ended with a boundary, off Ajmal.

The off-spinner wasn’t bowled out until the final over despite troubling England.

England had a huge slice of luck early in their reply when in the first over of their innings Craig Kieswetter, on nought, struck Abdul Razzaq straight to mid-on only for Ajmal, who appeared to have caught the ball, to drop it as he tried to throw it up in celebration.

But it was left-hander Michael Lumb who did the early damage for England.

However, both batsmen cashed in as 19 runs came off the fourth over, from left-arm quick Mohammad Aamer.

Ajmal then gave Lumb, on 23, a reprieve, when he dropped another catch hit straight to him.

But the spinner did help end a first-wicket stand of 44 when he had Lumb (25) stumped by Kamran Akmal for 25.

Kieswetter, like Lumb and Pietersen born in South Africa, also fell for 25, well caught by Umar Akmal at long-on off Razzaq.

Pietersen recovered from his injury to strike Razzaq for two fours in three balls and he was given a life on 34 when a drive off Ajmal was tipped over the boundary for six by Fawad Alam.

He completed a 37-ball fifty with a straight six off Pakistan captain and leg-spinner Shahid Afridi

Earlier, Pakistan started well after being sent in but lost three wickets for six runs as they collapsed from 71 for one to 77 for four with the hard-hitting Afridi run out first ball for nought.

They might have been in even worse trouble had not Umar Akmal been given a life on five when wicketkeeper Kieswetter missed a stumping chance off left-arm spinner Michael Yardy.

Umar Akmal went on to make 30 before he was well caught on the boundary by Pietersen, running round from long-on, off left-arm quick Ryan Sidebottom.

England put the break on Pakistan’s scoring rate until an expensive final over from seamer Tim Bresnan went for 15 runs, with tailender Ajmal striking a six over the wicketkeeper’s head.

Afridi’s first ball run out summed up Pakistan’s day.

He pushed the ball straight to cover, set off for a non-existent single and was sent back before giving up as Kieswetter collected Luke Wright’s throw.

Both sides are back in action here on Saturday when Pakistan face New Zealand and England play South Africa.

Flower’s men face the title-holders at the Kensington Oval here on Thursday, having scraped through to the second round after losing in a rain-affected match to the West Indies, despite scoring 191 for five, and qualifying on superior run-rate after a washout with Ireland.

Pakistan lost to Australia but beat Bangladesh and the Tigers’ defeat by the Aussies on Wednesday secured the title-holders’ Super Eight spot.

“Pakistan are a very dangerous side, with a history of winning a good percentage of their Twenty20 games,” said Flower. “But I think we’re pretty dangerous as well.

“It would be a scalp. They have lots of talent, and a lot of variety in their attack. But the (England) guys have shown attacking intent.”

England have so far owed much to Dublin-born batsman Eoin Morgan’s contributions of 55 against the West Indies and 45 against his native Ireland.

Flower though believes there is more to come from Morgan.

“I wouldn’t want to pigeon-hole a guy at all, because I think there are all sorts of things he could achieve in his career – and he’s only just started it,” said former Zimbabwe batsman Flower.

“Whether he goes on to play Test cricket or not, we don’t know. But he’s obviously a guy who’s very good at handling pressure.

“He’s got a good brain on him and he’s very talented.”

Flower added: “Anyone who can hit the ball as cleanly as he does, and hit some of the shots he does, obviously has a great combination,” added Flower.

“We’re very thankful to have him.”

Morgan’s ingenuity with the bat has caught the eye but it is the mental side of his game that has impressed Flower as much as anything else.

“He’s measured things brilliantly. I think it shows a great understanding of the game.

“I think he’s captained quite a lot through his age groups in Ireland, and I think some of that understanding of the game comes through in his batting.

“He has freedom to express himself, and we don’t want to rein that in. We want him to be free to make his own decisions.”

ICC World Twenty20

The 13th match of T20 World Cup between Pakistan and England will be played on 6th May 2010 at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

ICC World Twenty20 2010 Live Cricket Scores

The ICC World Twenty20 2010 will be held in West Indies from 30th April 2010 to 16th May 2010, with the very best players in the world representing their countries, showcasing Twenty20 cricket on a global stage. The tournament will take place in four venues across Caribbean  archipelago. There are 12 teams participating in the tournament including 10 test playing nations and 2 associative member counties: Ireland and Afghanistan, who were qualified through ICC world twenty20 qualifier.

ICC World Twenty20 2010 Live Cricket Scores

The ICC World Twenty20 2010 will be held in West Indies from 30th April 2010 to 16th May 2010, with the very best players in the world representing their countries, showcasing Twenty20 cricket on a global stage. The tournament will take place in four venues across Caribbean  archipelago. There are 12 teams participating in the tournament including 10 test playing nations and 2 associative member counties: Ireland and Afghanistan, who were qualified through ICC world twenty20 qualifier.