Today Fixtures Barclays Premier League

Saturday 22nd September 2012

Swansea V Everton              12:45
Chelsea V Stoke                   15:00 
Southampton V Aston Villa    15:00
West Brom  V Reading          15:00
West Ham V Sunderland        15:00

Wigan V Fulham                    15:00

 
 
 
 
 

Today: Srilanka vs South Africa & Australia vs Westindies

                          Match  7th

at 03:30 Pm Local  Hambantota,

                         Match 8th





                                                                                                                                                                           
at 07:30 Pm Local  Colombo

Wright's 99 helps England start impressively

The World Twenty20 continued to conform to expectation - disappointingly so, some will say - as England began the defence of their title with a 116-run hammering of Afghanistan. Luke Wright could not quite follow Brendon McCullum's hundred earlier in the day, but produced a blistering 99 off 55 balls after the holders overcame a slightly tricky start in highly convincing fashion.

Wright became the second England batsman to be stranded one short of a Twenty20 hundred following Alex Hales' innings against West Indies earlier this year. Wright only returned to the line-up at the tail-end of the English season and had not really been earmarked for the No. 3 role until Ravi Bopara's rapid loss of form but, having made a brace of useful 30s in the warm-ups, provided further evidence of his development over the last year. He powered past his previous best of 71 against Netherlands, at Lord's, during the 2009 World Twenty20. England, famously, lost that match but there was never a risk of a repeat.

Unsurprisingly, Afghanistan came out swinging with predictable results. Mohammad Shahzad picked out mid-off, Shafiqullah skied to cover and the captain Nawroz Mangal was brilliantly held by Stuart Broad off his own bowling. Much has rightly been written and said about the fairytale of Afghanistan's rise, but this was a harsh of reality check as they slid to 26 for 8. However, they avoided the heaviest defeat in T20 which is Kenya's 172-run defeat against Sri Lanka in 2007 and Gulbodin Naib, with a gutsy display, ensured they passed Kenya's lowest T20 total of 67.

England, though, did exactly what they needed to. Wright was chiefly responsible for some fierce acceleration as they scored 124 off the second 10 overs of their innings after a slow start against some lively new-ball bowling. He started the final over on 95 and needed three off the last ball to make England's first T20 hundred but could only club a brace through midwicket.

He received solid support from Hales and Eoin Morgan while Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow contributed rapid cameos. There were some costly overs during the innings, most notably 32 off the penultimate from Izatullah Dawlatzai which included two no-balls - the same figure that Wayne Parnell went for at Edgbaston earlier in the month putting it joint second in T20 records. It was also another poor fielding display from Afghanistan - Wright was dropped on 75 - as basic skills let them down as they did against India

It had not been easy start for England as Shapoor Zadran, who troubled India's top order, produced a superb opening over. Craig Kieswetter appeared confused by the two-paced nature of the pitch and played out five dot balls before dragging into his stumps to complete a rare wicket maiden. Hales slashed his first delivery just over slip in a far from assured beginning and after four overs the score was 15 for 1.

Then the game started to change. Having gauged the nature of the pitch, Hales and Wright located the boundary as Shapoor's third over cost 23 although four of those were byes when the wicketkeeper was beaten by the bounce. The final ball of the over was launched into the stands by Wright as England began to take control with the last two overs of the Powerplay bringing 37.

Hales was unfortunate to be dismissed when Wright's straight drive was deflected into the non-striker's stumps by Karim Sadiq. At 84 for 2 after 12 overs the innings hadn't escaped Afghanistan, but Wright dented Samiullah Shenwari's figures with a six over long-on and followed that by fetching another delivery through midwicket.

Mohammad Nabi, the offspinner, bowled his first two overs for 10 but finished with 0 for 46. Morgan flicked him over deep midwicket - his one convincing shot - and Wright went four, six, four off three consecutive deliveries. There was more of that to come with Buttler continuing where he left off against South Africa and Bairstow drilling his first ball into the stands.

Despite having a vast total on the board it was important England did not slack in the field. The quick bowlers made an early impression, zipping the ball through from back of a length with Kieswetter taking a number of deliveries above his head. There was very little for the batsmen to drive although Steven Finn pushed a few deliveries down the leg side.

Broad decided to use his bowlers by the gameplan so Jade Dernbach was given one up front before the captain brought himself on. After a difficult home season of catching and fielding they began well in that department, with Buttler producing a sharp dive and throw from midwicket to run out Sadiq then, next ball, Bairstow held a stunning catch running in from fine leg against a top edged hook from Asghar Stanikzai.

Graeme Swann started with two maidens then was taken for 16 by Naib who often declined singles and showed why by picking off two sweet sixes against Dernbach to mean there would be no record low for Afghanistan and to help himself to the highest score by a No. 8 in T20 internationals. Nobody should read too much into the result, but it was a good statement by the defending champions.

Brendon McCullum ton razes Bangladesh

 

Brendan McCullum broke a few Twenty20 international records in New Zealand's 59-run win over Bangladesh in the Group D opener in Pallekele, but his spectacular 123 off just 58 balls more importantly gave his team the breathing space in the tournament's toughest group. McCullum broke the record for the highest score in Twenty20 internationals when he went past Richard Levi's 117 made earlier this year (which, coincidentally, came against New Zaland), and has also become the first batsman to score two hundreds in this format.

The innings was more than enough to ward off any threat from the Bangladesh batsman, who were facing their second-highest chase. Kyle Mills gave them no chance of a quick recovery by removing Tamim Iqbal off the third ball, the left-hand batsman rigid at the crease and caught easily by Martin Guptill. In his next over, Mills took the wicket of Shakib Al Hasan, who continued his poor day by chipping one to Kane Williamson at cover. The same combination removed captain Mushfiqur Rahim, the catch taken at deep midwicket. Tim Southee continued his good form by also picking up three wickets, but it would be Mills' performance that would be most encouraging for New Zealand, after he had crashed into McCullum in their last competitive Twenty20 just ten days ago.

McCullum, too, looked well over the effects of that collision. In an hour and 12 minutes, he produced not only a scintillating display of big-hitting but also showed how to change gears in a 20-over innings without wasting too many deliveries. His knock is the prototype that all modern-day coaches would want batsmen to strive for, though some of McCullum's shots can hardly be imitated without his energy, authority and imagination.

Bangladesh lacked the authority because they were not the ones in command while fielding. Mushfiqur would be disappointed with his fielders letting him down. The number of fumbles and misfields from the beginning showed how stiff they were and it also meant that a costly overthrow (by Mashrafe Mortaza in the seventh over) or a dropped catch of McCullum (by Mashrafe in the 19th) was only a matter of time.

But Mushfiqur too was at fault by only sticking to Plan

A, which was to rotate the left-arm spinners according to the phases of the Twenty20 innings. He didn't actually rotate his bowlers according to who was at the crease or the acceleration of the batsmen. When McCullum was new at the crease and had trouble getting after Abdur Razzak, Mushfiqur Rahim took off the senior left-arm spinner so that his two overs could be used later. It was becoming quite obvious who would bowl when and, as a result, the batsmen could easily read what the bowler was about to dish out - after Razzak had bowled two good overs at the top, it was quite obvious that Mushfiqur would ask him to bowl the final over.

Sometimes, though, a batting performance like McCullum's doesn't leave the captain with much choice. From the classic backfoot punch through the covers to finishing off the New Zealand innings with two pulled sixes, McCullum was the firestarter, anchor and finisher of the innings.

He freed his arms for the first time when he slapped Shafiul Islam dutifully through the covers. In the next over came his first six, a typical smash over the covers, and he followed it up with his second an over later. More than those two sixes though it was how he deflated Bangladesh's energy by going after their best bowler. With Shakib conceding 20 off his first two overs, including two big sixes, Bangladesh started to look less inspired as their best player was made to look pedestrian.

McCullum unfurled three boundaries in the next two overs off Elias Sunny and Ziaur Rahman as he spread his range to almost all corners of the large field in Pallekele. He reached his fifty off 29 balls but remained wary of what was at stake as he went quiet in Razzak's third over. That should've been Mushfiqur Rahim's cue to give him another over to keep the run-rate down, but the next five overs went for 62 runs, which included McCullum pounding a flat-bat strike for six off a Mashrafe bouncer. He also rode out Franklin's fall, and with captain Ross Taylor feeding him the strike at every opportunity, a century looked right around the corner.

The next burst was against Shafiul, who was hit for fifteen in the 17th over; the next three overs went for 15, 17 and 16 as Bangladesh fell apart. McCullum, in the meantime, reached his century with a routine pull to the midwicket boundary off the 51st delivery he faced, racing from 50 to the century in just 22 balls.

McCullum fell off the last ball of the innings to give Razzak his second wicket but he had damaged Bangladesh badly enough. Apart from having the highest individual innings score and being the highest run-getter in T20Is, McCullum also holds the record now for the most boundaries (150) and sixes (64) in this format.

With Bangladesh struggling at 37 for four in the seventh over, Nasir Hossain took the opportunity to score his second Twenty20 international fifty, but was dismissed just one ball after he had reached the milestone. He gave a good account of his skills, crashing six boundaries and a six, but he is still far away from the sort of batsman who can create panic or change the course of the game.

Today: Ban vs Nz and Afg vs Eng

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - GROUP C

Thursday 20th September 2012

	UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - GROUP C
Show last 5 matches and coverage	Fixture	Kick-off	Status
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	BordeauxvClub Bruges	18:00
	DniprovPSV Eind'ven	18:00
	FC CopenhagenvMolde	18:00
	FenerbahcevMarseille	18:00
	Hapoel Tel-AvivvAtl Madrid	18:00
	MaritimovNewcastle	18:00
	NapolivAIK Solna	18:00
	PlzenvAcademica	18:00
	UdinesevAnzhi Makhachkala	18:00
	VfB StuttgartvSteaua Buch't	18:00
	Young BoysvLiverpool	18:00
	Athletic BilbaovHapoel Kiryat Shmona	20:05
	B LeverkusenvMet'st Kharkiv	20:05
	FC TwentevHannover 96	20:05
	GenkvVideo Fehervar	20:05
	Inter MilanvRubin Kazan	20:05
	LevantevHelsingborgs	20:05
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	NK MariborvPanathinaikos	20:05
	Partizan BelgradevNeftchi	20:05
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	SportingvFC Basel	20:05
	TottenhamvLazio	20:05

An African derby in Hambantota

Hambantota will play host to an African derby as tournament favourites South Africa begin another campaign for major silverware, this time against neighbours Zimbabwe. AB de Villiers' men probably could not have asked for a gentler easing in and will view this match as the beginning of a journey that they hope will end on October 7 in Colombo, with a trophy.

Despite some in the South Africa team being on the road since June, they showed no signs of homesickness and most were delighted to be in the island nation. De Villiers posted photographs of the air-force helicopter the team travelled in and Dale Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe put up pictures of the beach in Hambantota.

They have found ways of keeping themselves fresh, asmall sign that mindset has changed under Gary Kirsten. South Africa have made promises that they are ready to perform under pressure and that, more than ability with bat and ball will be under scrutiny.

Knowing that mind games have been used successfully used against South Africa in the past, Zimbabwe will look to make the most out of their victory in the unofficial tri-series in June where they beat a South African side in the final.

Expect words on the field from Zimbabwe, who will be more motivated by who their opposition is than the context in which this match is played. Their flights to Harare are probably booked and boarding passes waiting to be stamped but Zimbabwe will want to make a point before boarding

Today: South Africa vs Zinbabwe

Hambantota: Perennial under-achievers at big-ticket ICC events, South Africa will start their campaign to shed the `chokers` tag when they take on minnows Zimbabwe in their opening Group C match of the World Twenty20 on Thursday.

The game should not prove too much of an ask for the Proteas as it would take a very special effort from Zimbabwe after being thrashed by hosts Sri Lanka in their opening match yesterday.

On paper, it is a battle of unequals with the A B de Villiers-led South Africa looking way too formidable for Brendan Taylor`s Zimbabwe. Whatever the department of the game, the South African stand far superior in talent and experience.

And it would be tough for Zimbabwe to bounce back from the opening-match thrashing against a quality opposition, for which winning this match would be good enough to make the Super Eight cut.

Zimbabwe`s batting completely fell apart against Sri Lanka and chasing 182, the line-up folded for 100 with four batsmen contributing nothing to the total and two others falling for single-digit scores.

But Taylor insisted that it was a one-off flopshow and his team is far better than what the scoreboard might suggest.

"We have played enough cricket to go back from today, rethink, have a good look, start training and come back a better side," he said last night.

Zimbabwe`s bowling effort too was pedestrian to say the least with the combined might of six managing to grab just one wicket.

In the absence of that one inspiring player which almost every team banks on, Zimbabwe can hardly be given a chance to staging an upset win and go through beyond the group stage.

South Africa, on the other hand, is a team which once again looks good enough to go the distance but will have to improve their ability to handle pressure.

"I think we have definitely put certain things in place to give ourselves the best chance. We have buckled in previous ICC events, so hopefully we can go all the way this time around," said batsman J P Duminy summing up what the under-achievers would have to do.

The Proteas seem to have adapted well posting a good warm-up win over New Zealand in which most of their key batsmen got good match practice.

The form of Richard levi, who clinched the ICC Twenty20 Performance of the Year, would be crucial along with the ever-reliable Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla.

They have the pace battery, led by Dale Steyn, to intimidate any opposition but it is the spin department which would be a slight cause of concern.

Teams (from):

South Africa: A.B. De Villiers (c), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, JP Duminy, Francois du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Zimbabwe: Brendan Taylor (c), Vusi Sibanda, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Malcolm Waller, Elton Chigumbura, Craig Ervine, Graeme Cremer, Ray Price, Kyle Jarvis, Chris Mpofu, Richard Muzhange, Brian Vitori, Prosper Utseya, Forster Mutizwa.

Match starts at 7.00 pm (pkT)