England under UTBash

[UTBash]

Update

Super 8 Group 1

Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 14 runs. (Kanishka 74, Chandimal 62)
India beat Ireland by 99 runs. (Kohli 62*, V Kumar 4-38)
India beat New Zealand by 5 wickets. (Williamson 55*, Kohli 62*)
Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 5 wickets. (Chandimal 67*)

Sri Lanka and India through before playing their final games! Kohli and Chandimal in formiddable form!

Super 8 Group 2

Pakistan beat South Africa by 4 wickets.
West Indies tied with England. (Gayle 58, Cook 74*)
South Africa beat West Indies by 83 runs. (Smith 66, Du Plessis 78*, Kemp 4-5)
Pakistan tied with England.

Nobody is out of this group yet!

[UTBash]

England vs South Africa (Super 8)

Team News: No changes as I put my faith in the batsmen once more in this MUST win game.

South Africa win the toss and bat.

Just 4 South Africans reached double figures as they made 133-8. Anderson picked up 3 wickets and Swann picked up a couple as he went for just 20 from his 5, now the turn on our batsmen!!

We reached half way on 69-1, with Cook the only man to go for 38 from 25. They were making a good partnership and an over of 15 off Pienaar left us needing 20 from the last 5 overs. Morgan finished off in the 19th over with a 6 as he finished on 39 from 34. Kieswetter fell in the over before on 59 from 48. We're through to the semi finals!!



Batting Award: Craig Kieswetter. The hard hitting keeper-batsman has answered all questions asked of him since being called into the starting XI.

Bowling Award: Graeme Swann. Very economical as usual and picked himself a couple of wickets up again.

Key man watch: Graeme Smith. We did well to stop him on 14, and stop his world cup as we knocked his side out!

[UTBash]

Update

Super 8 Group 1

Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 14 runs. (Kanishka 74, Chandimal 62)
India beat Ireland by 99 runs. (Kohli 62*, V Kumar 4-38)
India beat New Zealand by 5 wickets. (Williamson 55*, Kohli 62*)
Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 5 wickets. (Chandimal 67*)
New Zealand beat Ireland by 7 wickets. (Ryder 61*)
India beat Sri Lanka by 13 runs. (Kohli 56*, Sidana 75*)

Sri Lanka and India advance, whoever we get, we have our work cut out with the form their batsmen are in!

Super 8 Group 2

Pakistan beat South Africa by 4 wickets.
West Indies tied with England. (Gayle 58, Cook 74*)
South Africa beat West Indies by 83 runs. (Smith 66, Du Plessis 78*, Kemp 4-5)
Pakistan tied with England.
Pakistan beat West Indies by 68 runs. (U Akmal 74*, Abbas 4-31)
England beat South Africa by 8 wickets. (Kieswetter 59)


Semi Final Draw

England vs India
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan


So, we have India, and Kohli to deal with. Lets hope we can bat better than last time and have our revenge.

[UTBash]

England vs India (Semi Final)

Team News: No changes!

We won the toss and bowled first!

It was the first time a side had took our bowling on, as India were 53-0 at the end of the 6 over powerplay! Wickets inevitably fell and we had Kohli for just 9 but the batsmen around him ably took on his role. India maintained their run rate to reach 159-7! Swann and Anderson bowled very well!

We came out of the starting blocks well too, 51-0 from our powerplay! A big over of 15 for the 17th over left us needing just 15 from 3 overs, with 10 wickets in hand! We could almost taste the final. The next over was hit for 12 and Cook and Kieswetter passed the previous all time opening partnership record for England which was 153. We needed 3 from 2 overs. 4 balls later and it was game over. We had risen to the occasion to pull off an amazing 10 wicket victory over India who had been unbeaten in the world cup so far!. Cook was 81 from 58 and Kieswetter 77 from 55.



Batting Award: Alastair Cook. Only ahead of Kieswetter on the basis of more runs scored, what a fantastic partnership by the two of them. Cook was just 4 short of the all time top score by an England batsman in T20i's.

Bowling Award: James Anderson. He was the best bowler, 3 wickets and only 25 runs in a world cup semi final is a great effort against a strong side.

Key man watch: Ravi Ashwin. 4-0-36-0, enough said.

[UTBash]

T20 World Cup Final Preview

England vs Sri Lanka (Preview)

Tournament Form

W - Win
T - Tie
L - Loss

England: WLTTWW
Sri Lanka: WWWWLW

Main 3 In Form Players

England:
Craig Kieswetter - 3 innings, 173 runs @ 86.50. SR of 126.27.
Alastair Cook - 6 innings, 258 runs @ 86.00. SR of 121.68.
James Anderson - 11 wickets @ 10.64. Economy rate of 5.85 RPO.

Sri Lanka:
Gamindu Kanishka - 6 innings, 237 runs @ 47.40. SR of 141.89.
Dinesh Chandimal - 6 innings, 196 runs @ 39.20. SR of 140.99.
Lasith Malinga - 10 wickets @ 17.10. Economy rate of 7.33 RPO.

Key Player Watch

Graeme Swann
Not required to bat.
8 wickets @ 14.00. Economy rate of 5.60 RPO.

Angelo Mathews
6 innings, 177 runs @ 35.40. SR of 155.25.
3 wickets @ 27.33. Economy rate of 10.25 RPO.

Final Line Ups

England
Alastair Cook (c)
Craig Kieswetter (wk)
Eoin Morgan
Ian Bell
Alex Hales
Jonny Bairstow
Tim Bresnan
Samit Patel
Stuart Broad
Graeme Swann
James Anderson

Sri Lanka
Mahela Jayawardene (c)
Gamindu Kanishka
Angelo Mathews
Dinesh Chandimal
Kumar Sangakarra
Roshen Silva
Thisara Perera
Hasantha Fernando
Dilruwan Perera
Rangana Herath
Lasith Malinga


The Toss: Sri Lanka win it and choose to bowl.

[UTBash]

England vs Sri Lanka (Final)

We start well, hitting 10 from Malinga's first over. Unfortunately, Thisara Perera dismissed Kieswetter in the 2nd for 12. 14-1 from 2. Malinga continued with his wayward bowling as we hit another 8 from his over, but Morgan was struggling, scoring 2 from just 7 so far. His confidence grew in the next over as we hit another 7 from this. We finished our powerplay overs on 47-2 with both openers back in the pavilion. At the half way point we were 68-2, with Morgan growing by every over, Bell was struggling slightly. Dilruwan Perera and Fernando bowled well in the middle, going for 17 and 24 to slow us down. Our final over helped us over the 140 mark as Bairstow hit the final 5 balls for 19 after Bell took a single from the first. Bell finished on 45 from 36 and Bairstow on 37 from 25.

After the powerplay, Sri Lanka were 39-0 and the required run rate was up to 7.5 an over, but the dangerous Kanishka was still at the crease. Bresnan's 3 powerplay overs went for just 15! Patel took the first wicket and it was the big one of Kanishka for 29 off 28. Sri Lanka were 51-1 from 7.3. From this point we were put under pressure by Mathews and Jayawardene as we struggled to find one tight over to change the game around. They required 61 from 9 overs. Mathews was on 24 from 15. The 14th over was just the one we needed, with Swann picking up the wicket of Jayawardene and going for 3 runs. I felt we needed another similar over though. The next over, by Anderson, went for just 4 and the following from Swann went for just 5. They now required 29 from 4, at 7.2 per over. From the 14th through to the 18th, we didn't allow an over to go for more than 6 runs. This left them needing 18 from 12 balls, with Bresnan and Broad having an over left each.

I asked Broad to bowl the penultimate over. Mathews was on 45 from 36, Chandimal on 10 from 14. It was a great over by Broad, going for just SIX and taking the massive wicket of Angelo Mathews! It wasn't over by any means though, and as Bresnan started his run up they needed 12 from 6 balls.......

First Ball: Two to Chandimal, 10 from 5 needed.
Second Ball: One to Chandimal, 9 from 4 needed.
Third Ball: Two to Sangakkara, 7 from 3 needed.
Fourth Ball: NOT OUT! An LBW appeal is turned down. 7 from 2 needed.
Fifth Ball: WIDE BALL. Bresnan is looking nervy, 6 from 2 needed.
Sixth Ball: One to Sangakkara, 5 from 1 to win! A maximum is needed.
Seventh Ball: FOUR to Chandimal! Another TIE but massive heartbreak for England as Sri Lanka win on wickets remaining!!!

Once again so close, yet so far!! Why do I always tie Well done Sri Lanka winning on home soil.


Batting Award: Jonny Bairstow. If he didn't hit 19 from the last 5 balls we would've lost comfortably.

Bowling Award: Graeme Swann. Another good performance from the veteran offy!

Key man watch: Mathews delivered when needed, leading with a good 47 from 39 balls.

[Imager36]

Oh my... wow. That's heartbreak. This game needs super overs. Retrospective ones, if possible.

[Chasjs]

So you've played 11 T20s so far and had 4 ties. That is insane. How's your blood pressure doing?

Come to think of it, I think I've won the WT20 on wickets remaining before

[cricfan1]

Superb match his blood pressure will be uncontrollable


Super over need now .......

[UTBash]

2012 World Cup 20 (STATISTICS)

For the stats here, I will put the top 3 players for certain categories which I've chosen.

Most Runs
1. Alastair Cook (ENG) - 268 runs @ 67.00
2. Gamindu Kanishka (SL) - 266 runs @ 44.33
3. Virat Kohli (IND) - 256 runs @ 85.33


Most Wickets
1. Nayyer Abbas (PAK) - 14 wickets @ 11.43
2. Stuart Broad (ENG) - 12 wickets @ 15.17
3. Samit Patel (ENG) - 12 wickets @ 16.42

Hardest Hitters (MIN. 100 runs)
1. Umar Akmal (PAK) - SR of 173.24
2. Younis Khan (PAK) - SR of 170.09
3. Roshen Silva (SL) - SR of 163.99

Most Economical Bowlers (MIN. 10 overs bowled)
1. Graeme Swann (ENG) - Economy of 5.67rpo
2. James Anderson (ENG) - Economy of 6.21rpo
3. Nikita Miller (WI) - Economy of 6.30rpo

So, there's some brief stats for you. Now for the awards....

Tournament Awards

Batting Award: Alastair Cook. It has to be him, one of the batters of the tournament and our most consistent, scoring 3 half centuries.

Bowling Award: Graeme Swann. He was our 4th highest wicket taker, but still had the best average due to his exceptional economy rate. I said he'd be our key man and he was, with the ball anyway!

[UTBash]

England test squad for India tour

We've recalled our main test side, apart from Matt Prior, and added a few young and inexperienced players to the squad. We travel with 3 spinners in a series i expect to be dominated by spin. Joe Root and Alex Hales are the back up opening batsmen and Bairstow and Kieswetter are our keeping options. Despite being unused in the world cup, James Taylor retains his place in our squad.

England Squad

Opening Batsmen
Alastair Cook
Andrew Strauss
Alex Hales
Joe Root

Middle Order Batsmen
James Taylor
Ian Bell
Kevin Pietersen
Jonathan Trott

Wicket Keepers
Jonny Bairstow
Craig Kieswetter

All Rounders
Stuart Broad
Tim Bresnan

Bowlers
Steven Finn
James Anderson
Jade Dernbach
Graeme Swann
Scott Borthwick
Simon Kerrigan

I already regret not including Samit Patel.

First up, two 3 day friendlies against Karnataka and Mumbai CC.

[UTBash]

First Class Friendlies

I won't go into much detail for these games, but I will say they gave me an opportunity to try out every player.





Both games showed that spin will be key this series, Jonny Bairstow was the pick of our players, scoring a double hundred and a 70 odd.

[UTBash]

First Test vs India Teams

We both field similar teams. Kerrigan is to make his debut.

[UTBash]

First Test vs India.

We lost the toss and were made to field.

Day 1
Our first away test match got underway well, India 0-1 from four overs! After 14 overs, they were 31-3, with Finn taking 1-8 from 7. Tendulkar and Kohli started a fightback though, adding 85 to the total together. It wasn't over there as Irfan Pathan joined the run scoring rebuild, followed by Ashwin, showing he was also handy with the bat. They finished the day on a decent 342-6 on a frustrating day for us in the end.

Day 2
Swann took all 4 of the last 4 wickets to bowl India out for 421, a good total. Kohli and Pathan scored hundreds and Ashwin scored 90. We finished the day 2 wickets down in a promising postion.

Day 3
Only Pietersen and Cook passed 20, and both fell painstakingly close to scoring centuries. We finished the first innings trailing by 127 in a bad position. Their debutant Tyagi was the pick of the bowlers with 4-29 from 15 overs. India started off well, but their set batsmen failed to push on once again.

Day 4
Kohli once again scored runs as we restricted them to 314 all out half way through the day. The game was gone though, we required 440 to win. We needed to just bat for as long as we could. We finished on 141-4, things looked ominous on a 4th innings pitch in India.

Day 5
We were bowled out in the afternoon session for 247 and India recorded an easy win. KP passed fifty once again.



Series State: India lead 1-0 with 3 games remaining.

Batting Award: Kevin Pietersen. One of two batsmen to adapt to Indian conditions, he passed fifty twice in this game and was just short of 100 in the first.

Bowling Award: Steven Finn. You may think Swann deserves it but considering 4 of his 5 for were the last four batsmen and Finn didn't actually bowl too bad in the first innings, it's a justified choice.

[UTBash]

Second test vs India.

Team News: No changes for either team.

I lost the toss with the same result once again, I have a feeling the toss is very important in India.

Day 1
A better first day for us, they finished on 297-7. Tendulkar made some more handy first innings runs and Swann was leading the way for us with 3 wickets. This was a better bowling performance by us as we kept it tighter and didn't bowl a single wide or no ball.

Day 2
Another good Kohli innings and wag of the tail by India helped them to 372 all out, Swann took 6. We once again struggled to make a big impact with the bat on day two, slumping from 99-0 to 195-5. The only man to pass fifty was Cook.

Day 3
A partnership of 129 between Bell and Bresnan gave us the help we needed to get within touching distance of their total, and we did, finishing just one run behind them for the first innings. Finn took a couple of early wickets but they rebuilt to pass 100 for just 2 down by the end of the day.

Day 4
India showed that they were used to the difficult conditions as they battled through to make 363, leaving us need 364 to win. The wicket and maybe time was slightly against us. We closed the day on 72-0

Day 5
As the saying goes, one wicket bring two, and in this case, many. From 80-0 to 80-3 and from 145-4 to 191 all out. India away are proving to be difficult. However we were still capable of drawing the series and picking up a point for the rankings table.



Series State: India lead 2-0 with 2 games left.

Batting Award: Ian Bell. Currently the only Englishman to score a century in the 2 games we've played in India.

Bowling Award: Graeme Swann. A good 6 for in the first innings but once again couldn't mirror this in the 2nd innings.