All posts by n8rngtd.top

England's top order must respond – Bell

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Ian Bell has acknowledged that England’s top-order batsmen will have to perform far better if they are regain a footing in the ODI series against India

George Dobell21-Jan-2013Ian Bell has acknowledged that England’s top-order batsmen will have to perform far better if they are regain a footing in the ODI series against India. England suffered their second crushing loss in succession in the third ODI on Saturday to allow India to take a 2-1 lead with two games to play and Bell knows that, with England having been bowled out for totals of 158 and 155, they will need to improve substantially if they are to prevent India securing a series victory in Wednesday’s game in Mohali.It is no coincidence that England won the first game of the series following a dominant performance from their top-order. Bell and Alastair Cook posted an opening stand of 158 within 28 overs to allow the middle-order to accelerate in the later stages of the innings.While Bell accepted that India’s opening bowlers had performed admirably in the last couple of games, he stressed the need for one of England’s top-order to bat through most of the innings to provide a platform for the middle-order. He hopes that the cooler conditions in Mohali might benefit England.”If we are going to get 150, that’s not going to challenge India at all in these conditions,” Bell said. “We need to get runs on the board and get a senior batsman batting for the majority of the overs.”We haven’t done that in the last two games and if we do that we can push India. In the final two games we need to get into a position to hurt India at the back end of the innings.”Their opening bowlers are very good,” he added. “They have plenty of skills and swing the ball both ways. They have made us work really hard. But we need a foundation for our big hitters in the middle to get us going.”It’s a little bit more familiar here than the last couple of games and obviously that’s nice. It’s been very nice here, very English really. That sure helps everyone.”The situation also presents the first significant test of Ashley Giles’ new career as an international coach. While Giles’ first series as England’s limited-overs coach was always likely to prove demanding – England’s limited-overs record in India offered little room for optimism – the extent of the last two defeats has been alarming.But, while Giles will consider changes to the England side ahead of the fourth match, he is also keen not to over-react. He knows, both from the ups and downs of his time as an international player and from his time as director of cricket at Warwickshire, that a calm appraisal of such adversity is infinitely preferable to any hint of panic or knee-jerk reaction.”I never, or probably only a couple of times, stamped my feet when I was at Warwickshire,” Giles said. “If the coach is on an emotional rollercoaster you end up with a team that is second guessing what your reaction will be if you win or lose. That’s not how I want to be.”Honesty is the important thing. You have to analyse where you’ve gone wrong, look at your personnel, pull those things together and ask ‘are we getting it right? Is this the right mix? Are they the right people?’ That’s the unemotional way of looking at it.”The hairdryer treatment works occasionally but not very often, not if you’re in it for the long term. If I did that after my third game, there would be a lot of worry.”However, Giles did provide the strongest hint yet that there may be changes to the England side. Concern over Craig Kieswetter’s form – though it has not been much worse than Eoin Morgan’s – has raised the possibility to him making way for his Somerset team-mate, Jos Buttler, though doubts about the latter’s wicketkeeping could count against him.While England’s batting has been their main downfall in the last couple of matches there will also be a temptation to make some changes to the bowling attack. Jade Dernbach has conceded his runs at a cost of an average cost of 7.79 an over in the series to date and, after 21 ODIs, concedes more runs per over than anyone to have bowled over 1,000 ODI deliveries: an average 6.28 runs per over. Mohali may provide an opportunity to take a look at Stuart Meaker.”That statistic is tough on Jade because he’s played a lot of cricket in India and it’s a hard place to come and play,” Giles said. “But again you have to adapt. What the Indians have done very well is hold lengths and lines, so you have to go at them to try to score. Really that’s what we’ve got to do.”Perhaps the most obvious message to England in the series to date is how much they miss Jonathan Trott. England won 12 out of 13 ODIs involving Trott in 2012 and, in that time, were never dismissed for under 200. In three out of four games without him, however, they have failed to reach 200 and been defeated in all three. Rested for this part of the tour, he returns to the side in New Zealand.In his absence, England might promote Joe Root to bat at No. 3. Root has faced more deliveries than any other England batsman in the last two games and might offer stability at the top of the order and provide Morgan and Kevin Pietersen with some protection from the newer balls. Long-term, though, Root is the only member of the top five unlikely to feature in England’s Champions Trophy side, so Giles is expecting more from his experienced players.”Changes are something that myself, Alastair Cook and the coaches will talk about,” Giles said. “We’ve got options and part of this trip is to look at those options, because we’re missing some senior players. This is where you find out about people, under pressure.”This group has been very refreshing and what we want to avoid is them just feeling beaten up. We have to pick the best team to win the next game of cricket. That will be a hot topic over the next day or two.”

Redbacks blow final berth

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

South Australia completed a spectacular blow-out in the finishing straight of the domestic limited overs competition, losing by 18 runs to New South Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2013
ScorecardSouth Australia completed a spectacular blow-out in the finishing straight of the domestic limited overs competition, losing by 18 runs against New South Wales at Adelaide Oval to drop out of the tournament after leading its standings with three matches to go.

Christian reprimanded

Dan Christian, the Redbacks allrounder, was handed a reprimand for a breach of Cricket Australia’s code of behaviour during the match. Christian pleaded guilty to the charge of “using language that is obscene, offensive or insulting and/or making an obscene gesture” for an incident in the 39th over of the New South Wales innings. Earlier this summer Christian was suspended by SA for repeatedly causing damage to the change rooms upon being dismissed, but that prior did not count against him in this case.

The Blues were out of contention for the final the moment SA ensured a bonus point could not be won, but the hosts’ third consecutive defeat was galling given they had only required one win from three matches to secure a place in the final against Victoria.The Bushrangers now await the identity of their opponent, which will be either Queensland or Western Australia, who face Tasmania in the final qualifying match.Brad Haddin was primarily responsible for the NSW win, cracking a crisp century speckled with 17 boundaries and a pair of sixes in a memorable counter-attack after his side had slipped to 4 for 77 in the face of accurate early SA bowling.Peter Nevill provided support, while Sean Abbott put the finishing touches on the innings with a busy contribution in the closing overs.SA promoted Dan Christian in an effort to make a rapid start, but he made only 12 before falling to Doug Bollinger, and while Michael Klinger built the total steadily in the company of the debutant Alex Carey, the Redbacks’ little-tested middle order always looked vulnerable.They were to prove exactly that, the tally sliding from 1 for 87 to 6 for 139 as Abbott and Bollinger gained reverse swing with the old ball. Johan Botha and Tim Ludeman pushed SA back into a position from which victory was possible, but the earlier losses meant only one wicket was needed for the Blues to crash through.Abbott claimed it when Botha sliced to the man posted on the point boundary, and Gurinder Sandhu cleaned up the tail with some skill to complete SA’s slide out of contention.

Comfortable wins for Lions, Cobras

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

A round-up of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge matches played on February 24, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2013
ScorecardLions continued their unbeaten run in the tournament with a convincing 47-run win against Warriors in Potchefstroom. After putting up 162 in their 20 overs, Lions, led by Hardus Viljoen’s 3 for 12, dismissed Warriors for 115 in 18 overs.Put into bat first, Lions got a strong start through a 53-run stand between Quinton de Kock and Gulam Bodi. They lost Bodi and Neil McKenzie within three overs but de Kock kept them steady. De Kock and Sohail Tanvir were then run out off consecutive deliveries and Jean Symes was soon bowled for seven. Temba Bavuma and Dwaine Pretorius put on 61 runs in 34 balls for the sixth wicket which propelled Lions to 162.Warriors were jolted in the first over by Tanvir, who dismissed JJ Smuts for a duck. There was a brief stand between Christiaan Jonker and Colin Ingram, but Lions struck to remove both and Wayne Parnell – all at the score of 34. Viljoen accounted for two of those wickets. Warriors lost regular wickets from there on and apart from a 23-ball 35 by No. 8 Simon Harmer, there wasn’t much resistance as they were restricted to 115.
ScorecardA quick unbeaten 80 by Richard Levi helped Cape Cobras comfortably overhaul Dolphins’ total with more than three overs to spare at Newlands. Chasing a middling 135, Levi scored at run-a-ball for the first five overs, but changed gears with two fours and a six off the first three balls of the sixth. He got to his half-century off 31 balls and with Dane Vilas, who came in at the fall of opener Stiaan van Zyl in the fifth over, forged an unbeaten century stand to give Cobras their third win in four matches.Dolphins, who had chosen to bat, were in early trouble at the start of the match. They lost their top three with only 22 runs on the board. But they rebuilt the innings, although at a slow pace, through an 84-run fourth-wicket stand between Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Ravi Bopara, who was the dominant of the two. Bopara cleared the boundary thrice in his 44-ball 60 and was out of the last ball of the innings.

Would welcome Hussey back, if he returned – Arthur

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Australia coach Mickey Arthur has said the selectors would welcome Michael Hussey back if he decided to make a return for this year’s Ashes series, given the lack of experience in Australia’s Test squad

Brydon Coverdale in Delhi19-Mar-2013Australia coach Mickey Arthur has said the selectors would welcome Michael Hussey back if he decided to make a return for this year’s Ashes series, given the lack of experience in Australia’s Test squad. However, Arthur said he was confident that in time the younger members of Australia’s team would be capable of filling the vacuum left by the retirements of Hussey and Ricky Ponting, although their absence had contributed to the slipping team culture over the past few months.Arthur also conceded he had put his job on the line with the uncompromising decision to leave four players out of the Mohali Test due to their failure to complete a task in which they were asked for ideas on how they and the team could improve. But he said such a move was necessary to bring the culture of the team back to where it needed to be following the departures of Ponting and Hussey, whose intense work ethic served as examples to their younger colleagues.A Hussey comeback appears unlikely given his decision to retire was made largely due to his desire to spend more time at home with his young family, and the Ashes tour would require him to be away for two and a half months. But the Australians have missed Hussey badly during the ongoing Indian tour and given that he has remained a solid run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield, Arthur said the door would be open if he wanted to return.”We’d certainly listen to Mike Hussey if Mike Hussey came knocking at our door,” Arthur said. “But that’s a hypothetical at the moment. He’s retired. We’ve moved on now, you know. Yeah we miss him. We miss the aura of Ricky Ponting. But I’m hoping that these younger players will take over that mantle in time to come. They’re nowhere near ready yet.”But in time to come they’ve got to step up and take on those mantles because they’re going to be the role models for the next generation of cricketers. I’m confident we’ve got the best players here. These guys just need to be given that confidence and just need to stand up. I’m pretty sure they will.”However, the young squad did need a rev up from Arthur, captain Michael Clarke and team manager Gavin Dovey last week when those four players were left out of the team. The bold decision was described by Arthur as a line in the sand after standards had slipped among the wider playing group during the Indian tour, from players being late to meetings to wearing the wrong uniforms, to giving back-chat.The decision has split opinion in the cricket world and although Cricket Australia’s board backed the team management in their move, Arthur is well aware that it could be a make-or-break moment in his coaching career. Arthur took the reins of the Australia team in late 2011 but it is 2013 that will define the Arthur-Clarke leadership team, with two Ashes series coming up. Things have not started well in India.”I would say I’ve put my neck on the line,” Arthur said. “But I’ve put my neck on the line because I’m really passionate about Australian cricket and I’m very passionate about this team. I want this team to achieve ultimate success and that’s to get to number one in the world. It was needed. It had to happen and the responses have been fantastic. I’m comfortable. It was a week of massive pain. It really was. But I’m comfortable.”I sit here now knowing that this team is going in the right direction. People will say why did it take so long. It took so long because the team was running itself, because we had some senior players around it; we don’t have those senior players around this team any more. This team needed to be shown direction and it got a pretty clear message of that before this Test match.””We’ve got to understand where we’re at at the moment with a very young group of players that needs to be shown the right way to go. If you’ve got older, senior players the team governs itself and then it’s easy just to run and coach. If you’ve got a young team you need to grab the team and really make the players understand what their responsibilities and ownerships are of the side.”Although Arthur is happy with the response from within the squad after the tumultuous past week, his hardline stance has brought him plenty of criticism from former players, fans and the media. In fact, the online abuse became so bad that Arthur decided on Tuesday to delete his Twitter account.”I think if you’re on it you just open yourself up to that [abuse],” he said. “There has been some very positive stuff as well, but it’s not worth it. I’ve got bigger things to worry about than Twitter to be honest.”

Crook demonstrates Northants' potential

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Northamptonshire weren’t touted as promotion contenders but few counties have started 2013 better. Rain denied them victory at Glamorgan last week and here the vaunted Essex batting line-up were dismissed for 183.

Tim Wigmore at Wantage Road17-Apr-2013
ScorecardSteven Crook continued his excellent start to the season•Getty Images

Northamptonshire weren’t touted as potential Division Two promotion contenders but few counties have started 2013 better. Only rain denied them victory after bowling Glamorgan out for 134 last week and here the vaunted Essex batting line-up were dismissed for 183.The shoddy shot selection of Essex’s top order was partially to blame for their fate but significant credit must go to Northants’ seamers. Steven Crook was outstanding, claiming Mark Pettini caught at second slip to a ball that reared up and then James Foster clean bowled to a delivery that moved late in the same over on the stroke of lunch. Ravi Bopara was utterly becalmed by Crook’s unrelenting line in his 31-ball 6 and edged behind just three balls after being dropped at second slip to another tentative forward prod. Since returning to Northants, Crook has now taken nine Championship wickets at under ten apiece.Crook’s career path may have been unconventional – he briefly retired from cricket a few years ago – but his bowling success, based on a strong, repeatable action and a consistent line just outside off stump, is certainly not.Northants have quietly assembled a formidable seam attack at Wantage Road. Australian Trent Copeland bowls a consistently threatening off stump line, which accounted for the stylish Tom Westley; David Willey showed the priceless left-armer’s virtue of swinging the ball back from around the wicket; and Andrew Hall’s relentless wicket-to-wicket bowling trapped Essex’s overseas player Rob Quiney lbw. Together, they easily vindicated Stephen Peters’ decision to bowl after winning the toss.Peters would have been particularly thrilled that three bowling changers yielded wickets within two balls. As Crook later said, “We’ve bowled well as a unit and we’ve got some variation in our attack – we’re not all doing the same thing.”That Essex even mustered 183 was the result of Graham Napier’s belligerent unbeaten 73. With Essex in disarray at 138 for 9, Napier responded as is his wont, thrashing five sixes in ten balls. A couple were harrumphed over long-on, and there were a trio of upper cuts for six as Napier sagaciously targeted the short third man boundary. It’s not often that a bowler can feel frustrated with figures of 4 for 39, but that was Crook’s fate after Napier plundered him for 22 in an over.Napier, who said he had never played in windier conditions, was almost as impressive with the ball, bustling in with considerable pace to take 3 for 30. Indeed, had substitute Tom Craddock taken Rob Newton – who has batted pleasingly for his unbeaten 35 – just before the close, Essex might even be dreaming of a first innings advantage.But Napier and Reece Topley might have benefited from a little more support. While Topley was impressive, fellow left-armer Tymal Mills bowled too many short deliveries on leg stump. Maurice Chambers was also inconsistent, going for 27 in five overs, and was a little fortunate to dismiss Alex Wakely, caught at square leg of a lackadaisical flick. But he was also unlucky not to get another wicket: he got a ball to rear up to Rob Newton’s glove, and it bounced onto off stump without dislodging the bail. As wags immediately remarked, it was a case of Newton defying gravity.Fifteen dismissals in the day might suggest this was a pitch with excessive zest but, although good bowlers can find seam movement and bounce, it is an excellent cricket wicket. Indeed, if there is a problem with the conditions it is with the wind. Napier avoided blaming the wicket for Essex’s first innings total, saying only “it’s a strange pitch – when it’s done something it’s done a lot”.That the wicket rewards good batsmanship was highlighted by Stephen Peters, who played the late-cut deliciously in his 60. It is often remarked that Peters hasn’t enjoyed the career expected after scoring a match-winning hundred in the Under-19 World Cup Final in 1998 but he remains one of the most aesthetically pleasing batsmen on the county circuit.

India's July tour to Zimbabwe 'on hold'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

India have put their ODI tour to Zimbabwe that was scheduled for July “on hold” due to the “fatigue factor”

Firdose Moonda and Amol Karhadkar15-May-2013India have put their ODI tour to Zimbabwe that was scheduled for July “on hold”. A BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo that the “fatigue factor”, which will follow the Champions Trophy and a tri-series in the West Indies between June 28 to July 11, was the reason for the board’s decision to put the series on ice.The Future Tours Programme had pencilled in three ODIs to be hosted in Zimbabwe but there was talk of that being extended to five. The BCCI has given an assurance it will “respect” its commitment to Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) and intends for India to travel there at some stage, but it has not set a deadline for taking a call on when to reschedule.Both ZC and broadcasters SuperSport are unaware of the proposed postponement. Zimbabwe’s cricketers are under the impression they will start training to compete against India in two weeks’ time, having just completed what Brendan Taylor called a “satisfactory” series against Bangladesh, while a spokesperson for the television production told ESPNcricinfo they had not heard about any reschedule and are “due to host broadcast and transmit the series”.An India no-show will have wide-ranging consequences for Zimbabwean cricket, most notably financially. ZC is running on close to empty and is in severe debt. Match fees to some players are still outstanding and there has been no clarity on the scheme for funding franchise cricket next summer.The cost of hosting Bangladesh in April and early May will not have helped that situation. There are also scheduled tours by Pakistan in August and Sri Lanka in October, for which they will likely make a loss.Some of the money could have been recovered by the big drawcard of India because of the substantial television rights fees they bring with them. It could also have helped ZC clear some of their outstanding bills. One of them is some of the commentators who worked on the Bangladesh series. They were not paid by ZC at the time but told they would be reimbursed after the India series.Another cost they could have thought of covering is putting up the floodlights at Harare Sports Club, something that has been in the works for close to three years. The pylons have stood bare for several years while the lighting units were stuck at customs because ZC was unable to pay the money for their release. They were due to go on auction but ZC were able to secure them before that. During the second Test against Bangladesh they arrived at the ground but there is still no timeline for when they will go up. A source close to ZC estimates it will cost in the region of US$250,000 to install them. ZC will also need to secure a power source if they hope to play day-night cricket.

Trivedi records statement in Delhi court

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Rajasthan Royals bowler Siddharth Trivedi has recorded a statement at the Saket District Court in Delhi in relation to the case against his three team mates

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2013Rajasthan Royals bowler Siddharth Trivedi has recorded a statement at the Saket District Court in Delhi in relation to the case against his three team-mates – Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan – who were arrested on charges of fraud and cheating during IPL 2013. Trivedi will be a witness for the prosecution.Trivedi made his statement before a magistrate, which under section 164 of the Indian Penal Code means it is admissible as evidence. “He is not seen as a suspect, he had a periperal role and he never acted, he was refusing all the time,” SN Srivastava, a Delhi police official, told . “In their cases they had agreed to perform or under perform, in Siddharth Trivedi’s case he never agreed to perform at all.”Srivastava also said “nothing has come on any other player at this stage”.ESPNcricinfo understands Trivedi had declined multiple approaches by bookies and had also reported an approach by a bookie to the Anti Corruption and Security Unit during IPL 2012. Last year, Trivedi was among more than a dozen cricketers approached by undercover India TV reporters acting as bookies during a sting operation and was among those who turned them away. On Thursday, Trivedi travelled from his home in Ahmedabad to Mumbai and reached Delhi, it is believed, early this morning to record his statement before the court.The three players were arrested on May 15, soon after Royals played Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, for the alleged fulfilling of promises made to bookmakers during this year’s tournament. The players were allegedly promised money ranging from US$36,000 to $109,000 for their participation in spot-fixing.They were charged by Delhi Police under three laws of the Indian Penal Code: Section 409, which deals with criminal breach of trust and is a non-bailable offence; Section 420 which deals with deal with fraud and cheating; and Section 120B, which deals with deals with criminal conspiracy. The Delhi Police had registered cases against the players under Sections 420 and 120B. The charge under 409 was added to the list following Rajasthan Royals’ complaint against the three.

Ireland on top despite second innings wobble

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Ireland took control of the Intercontinental Cup match against Netherlands after building up a healthy 252-run lead at the end of the second day in Deventer

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGeorge Dockrell took three wickets as Ireland dominated Netherlands on the second day of their Intercontinental Cup match•ICC/Sander Tholen

Ireland took control of the Intercontinental Cup match against Netherlands after building up a healthy 252-run lead at the end of second day, on which 14 wickets fell, in Deventer.After bowling out Ireland for 332 on the first day, Netherlands needed an innings similar to John Anderson’s yesterday to get close to Ireland’s total, but they lost their first wicket in the 15th over when Lesley Stokkers was caught by Andrew Balbirnie off a John Mooney delivery. The situation got worse for Netherlands as they lost their next four batsmen for the addition of 27 runs to end the first session on a precarious 58 for 5. Ireland’s bowlers shared the spoils, with Mooney accounting for the openers.Netherlands continued to lose wickets through the second session and were it not for two brief, but crucial, partnerships they could have fallen before their eventual score. The first was a 30-run stand for the sixth wicket between Tom Cooper and Peter Borren and the second, a 38-run partnership between Cooper and Pieter Seelar. Cooper was the last batsman to be dismissed, stumped on a George Dockrell delivery, soon after he completed his half-century.Ireland had the option of asking Netherlands to follow-on, but with 35 overs remaining in the day, they came out to bat. The decision seemed to backfire as Ireland lost their first wicket in the second over. John Anderson and James Shannon helped the team to settle with a half-century stand, but Netherlands struck thrice in the last half an hour to limit the damage.

CPL should aim for window – Muralitharan

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Muttiah Muralitharan believes the debuting Caribbean Premier League has a bright future but should aim for a window in international cricket to be able to attract the best talent from across the world

Renaldo Matadeen10-Aug-2013Muttiah Muralitharan, the former Sri Lanka offspinner, believes the debuting Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has a promising future but should aim for a window in international cricket to be able to attract the best talent from across the world.”The organizers should get a window on the international cricket calendar to add better players on contract,” said Muralitharan, who is playing for Jamaica Tallawahs in the ongoing CPL. “Also, seek assistance and funding for pitches. Hopefully, it will get better.”Muralitharan drew parallels to T20 leagues such as the IPL, where he played alongside Chris Gayle, Ravi Rampaul and Christopher Barnwell for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and the BBL in Australia, where he played with Marlon Samuels for Melbourne Renegades.Muralitharan urged the Caribbean region to optimize home-grown talent, saying he was not in favour of overseas coaches. “I don’t recommend foreign coaches. Local coaches are good enough because they know the players involved. The international players are here to add hype to the tournament.”He was not so impressed with the standard of the playing surfaces, though. “The pitches have been a bit challenging. Some have not been so great but some have been better. It will only get more interesting.”Jamaica captain Gayle dubbed Muralitharan as one of the biggest assets in the dressing room. “He brings a lot of experience and positivity to the team and the younger players, even myself,” Gayle said. “He and Ahmed (Shehzad) inject a lot of life into us in the hotel and they’re always holding court and making us laugh. When we hear them speaking to each other, it’s fun but they’re serious out there. Murali helps me lead by example.”On his immediate future, Muralitharan, who retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup, admitted uncertainty. “I’m normally with the Big Bash (this December) but after that, I don’t know.”

Spinners set up narrow win for Kandurata

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

An eleventh-hour surge put Basnahira Greens in touching distance of victory, but ultimately Kandurata Maroons’ 124 for 8 proved just enough on a used Premadasa pitch that has steadily deteriorated

Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Aug-2013
ScorecardAn eleventh-hour surge put Basnahira Greens in touching distance of victory, but ultimately Kandurata Maroons’ 124 for 8 proved just enough on a used Premadasa pitch that has steadily deteriorated. As has been the case during the tournament so far, the chasing side could not secure a situation of dominance throughout the innings, and for Basnahira, it was the five wickets they lost between the 9th and the 14th over that sealed their fate.Kithuruwan Vithanage attempted a valiant resurgence from No. 6, hitting 37 not out from 30, but in the end, spinners Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Shehan Jayasuriya had dismissed too many of his teammates for his innings to pay off. Basnahira lost by two runs, leaving Kandurata with two victories in as many matches.Although his spinners had been the most effective bowlers on this surface, Lahiru Thirimanne opted to hand Dhammika Prasad the last over of the innings, with Basnahira needing 21. Isuru Udana struck two sixes off the first two balls – the first a monumental straight strike – and having not threatened Kandurata’s total for most of the chase, Basnahira needed only 9 from the last four deliveries. Basnahira managed only two runs from the next three balls, with Udana falling off the penultimate ball. Vithanage needed to hit a six off the final delivery to tie the match, but could only get it behind point for four.Jayasuriya could not make an impact with the bat, earlier in the match, but his spell of 3-0-7-3 broke the back of Basnahira’s chase, which had begun steadily. In between Lokuarachchi had Angelo Mathews stumped for the second time in the tournament, and also dismissed Janaka Gunaratne and Sachithra Senanayake – both dangerous batsmen. Lokuarachchi finished with figures of 3 for 25 from his full quota.Earlier, Milinda Siriwardana had propelled Kandurata’s innings beyond 120, after it had threatened to stagnate during the middle overs. His unbeaten ninth-wicket stand with Prasad was worth 23, and the pair took 21 from the last 12 deliveries, with Siriwardana playing primary aggressor.
Opener Upul Tharanga had helped lay the foundation for the innings with 27, before Lahiru Thirimanne ensured the scoreboard kept moving during the middle overs, with a 17-ball 22.