South Africa Scrape Past England In World Twenty20 Thriller

Cricket

BY CENA HARPIN

South Africa defeated England by just 3 runs to eliminate them from the 2014 World t20 Tournament. Many thought the South Africans were going to demolish England, but the Three Lions definitely gave South Africa a hard fight. 



South Africa one the toss and elected to bat first. At the end of their 20 overs, the South Africans managed to score a total of 196 runs, with just 5 wickets being conceded. AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla were the two stand out batsman in the innings, with de Villiers knocking 69 runs off just 28 balls, and Amla scoring 56 runs off 37 balls. The England wicket takers were Tim Bresnan, Chris Jordan, Stuart Broad, and spinner bowler, James Tredwell. SA also conceded another wicket to Ravi Bopara, one got rid of Duminy with a run out. A strong innings from South Africa dented England’s hopes of chasing the total down.  

England started their batting innings fairly strong, with openers Alex Hales and Michael Lumb creating a solid 46 run partnership, until Lumb was caught by Miller off the bowling of Parnell. Ali scored just 10 for England, Morgan scored 14, and Buttler knocked a total of 34 runs. After being 175-7 in 19.1 overs, England still needed a fair few amount of runs, and it seemed very unlikely. And after completed their 20 overs of batting, England reached a total of 193-7, but it wasn’t enough to win, as South Africa won by 3 runs.

This was a very competitive match, and England have nothing to be ashamed of. They almost slayed the South Africans, but they just couldn’t get to their target of 197. 

South Africa now look on to the final of the World t20 tournament, but the big question is, can they get the job done and become the 2014 World t20 champions? Be sure to give your thoughts in the comment box below, and thanks for reading! 

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England Edge Out Sri Lanka In World T20 Contest

Cricket

BY CENA HARPIN

After a miserable few months for England, they finally hit back and defeat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the World t20 tournament.     

Alex Hales delivered a standout performance on the night. GETTY IMAGES

The man of the match in my eyes, was easily the upcoming star, Alex Hales who was 116* from just 64 balls. An absolutely outstanding innings from the English youngster, who is progressing after every single match.

Sri Lanka scored a total of 189/4, with Jayawardene and Dilshan being the top scores for SL. Jayawardene scored 89 runs off 51 balls, until he was bowled by Chris Jordan, ending his near century innings, and Dilshan scored a total of 55 runs coming off 47 balls, until he was caught by Chris Jordan, off the bowling of Jade Dernbach. Jordan and Dernbach shared 2 wickets each, as SL only conceded 4 wickets. 

England got to their target of 190 in 19.2 overs, with only a few balls left until the end of the match. The two top scores for England were Alex Hales who knocked 116* (64) and Eoin Morgan who played very well, picking up 57 runs off 38 balls. 

After a miserable run in 2014, England hit back with a much needed victory over Sri Lanka, in the World t20 tournament. Can England progress and win the t20 tournament? Be sure to give us your thoughts in the comment box below, and thanks for reading!

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Could This Be The Worst Year Ever For England Cricket?

Cricket

BY NISAR KHAN

England’s Ashes woes culminated in January, as the Three Lions looked to rebuild and bounce back. However, with their World Cup failures now unfortunately becoming imminent, could this set up for the worst ever year in England cricket?

England have been embarrassed on numerous occasions already

The downspiral began with the problematic Ashes tour down under in Australia. England were brutally defeated by the savage Aussies, dismantling them throughout the test and ODI series. Following that, Kevin Pietersen’s controversial departure would diminish the already descending England cricket reputation. The showings in West Indies were not too good, either. 

As England lost to New Zealand, it seemed like they were off the pace again. Yes, you could argue that England were hard-done-by with the umpiring speculation and so on, but simply, it could be part of many more losses to come.

If England manage to qualify, they could go towards a big resurgence, but this could become such a bad year with the futures lying in wait. 

Jonathan Trott’s controversial leave during the tour also brought about a lot of speculation and has seemed to find its place in the growing stigma towards England cricket. 

With the Indians touring in the Summer, England will want to spare any more embarrassment, but can they do so? 

If they thought The Ashes shift-up was of big changes, losing on another downspiral that could last throughout the year may cause the biggest outrage in English cricketing history. Now that’s a stretch, but if you look at it, are they stable enough?

What also goes against the Three Lions is that other teams, such as West Indies and India are on some good form that may not make England look bad in the games, but rule them out of World Cup contention which brings damages of its own. 

England are in for a tough year if they can not regenerate quickly. This could lead to a huge downspiral in their reputation and support, and it may be sudden.

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Hosts Bangladesh Dispatch Nepal, Afghanistan Knock Hong Kong Out Of Twenty20 World Cup In Day 3

Cricket

BY NISAR KHAN

With the third day of action commencing in the Twenty20 World Cup, the hosts Bangladesh got back-to-back wins, while it was the opposite for Hong Kong in Group A. Plus, England were in action against West Indies.

England suffered another setback in their warm-up match against the West Indies. AFP / GETTY IMAGES

Bangladesh edged even closer to the World Cup main draw as the hosts comfortably dispatched Nepal for the second win in the group. 

There was yet another vibrant crowd as masses of support flowed out for the Group A toppers, with an eight-wicket emphatic victory. 

The game was wrapped up with 27 balls to spare, and Bangladesh won the game in some style as Shakib Al-Hassan slogged it over the boundary for a game-winning six. 

After Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bowl, Nepal were restricted to a subdued score of 126, headlined by 41 runs from Paras Khadka and Sharad Vesawkar added 40 to the total. 

An excellent bowling display by the hosts was topped by Al-Amin Hossain’s 17-2 figures and was key in blockading any further Nepal scoring in the final over.

However, Nepal’s hopes were hindered early with opening batsman Khakurel scoring 8 and Pun & Malla were out within three balls, scoring just 25 between them.

The game was won not only on first impressions but less than 10 overs in with a really strong opening bat. Haque was scoring boundaries at ease with Iqbal before he was out in the 11th over, and by that time Bangladesh had their foot in the doorstep of victory – and more importantly, in the progression to the Super 10 stage.

Hong Kong were eliminated from the qualifiers as Afghanistan outplayed them to win by seven wickets, and more importantly, kept their hopes of qualification alive. 

An astonishing knock from Shafiullah with 51 runs from 24 balls meant that Afghanistan would beat Hong Kong’s 153 runs with two overs to spare.

Hong Kong put on a decent batting performance though, as they put on a decent total of 152, with the biggest contributor being Mark Chapman’s 38 runs as Hong Kong elected to bat. 

Shapoor Zadran and Mohammad Nabi both got 27-2 with impressive bowling displays, a key part of halting Hong Kong’s momentum as they looked to conjure up an unbeatable total. 

Hong Kong are out, but Afghanistan remain in and their fortunes could turn with a Bangladesh loss and them winning on Thursday. 

West Indies continued their hot form going into the tournament, along with wiping away any doubt that came from their under-par loss to England as they overpowered the Three Lions with a remarkable display from Gayle.

The loss brought about more doubt and misery for England, who are still shaken up from a humiliating Ashes loss over Christmas. 

West Indies left a generous 23 balls to spare but were much less generous in there wicket taking making for a comfortable 7-wicket victory.

As we near the Super 10 phase of the tournament, West Indies go in on a hot streak while Bangladesh are close to joining them. However, with Afghanistan’s win, Group A is all but over.

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How Will England Bounce Back From Meltdown in Australia?

Cricket

BY NISAR KHAN

While the New Year reigned in with the intention for a fresh start, it was merely a continued meltdown for England’s cricket team, as their problematic tour of Australia drew to a close. Some drastic team changes and a shadow of doubt was cast upon for the rest of the year. With the World Cup on the horizon, how can England bounce back?



England were demolished by Australia in their tour down under from November to February. IMAGE COURTESY: Telegraph.co.uk

Andy Flower would depart from his post as England cricket coach merely days following the tour, and it would be a start of more crumbles to come for the England side. 

“[It’s time] to rebuild with a new set of values and goals”, said the former coach, speaking in the press conference. Flower would also note that he would remain a part of the coaching structure in some form, but far from his recent post.

There is no doubt that Andy Flower’s time as coach was a successful one, winning three Ashes series, taking England to World #1, winning the Twenty20 World Cup and numerous test wins. However, the problems at Australia would outweigh that calling for change in the England cricketing hierarchy. 

Then came the controversial call, the end of Kevin Pietersen’s England career. It dominated the back pages as the England Cricket Board were questioned by the media and fans as to why the cricketer was sacked, having been an influential part of the squad for many years, and possibly many more had he not been dispatched. 

During an emergency meeting with the cricketers and coaches, Kevin Pietersen allegedly went on an “anti Andy Flower” rant (per the Telegraph). This was said to be “the final nail in his England career”, writes Nick Hoult.

We would eventually get answers as to why Kevin Pietersen was relieved of his duties. The board stated that it was the disagreements with captain Alistair Cook and an alleged lack of support that put it to an end. After some time, the ECB would succumb to the calls and release a rather unsatisfying statement:

“It has been a matter of great frustration that until now the England and Wales Cricket Board has been unable to respond to the unwarranted and unpleasant criticism of England players and the ECB itself, which has provided an unwelcome backdrop to the recent negotiations to release Kevin Pietersen from his central contract.

The England team needs to rebuild after the whitewash in Australia. To do that we must invest in our captain Alastair Cook and we must support him in creating a culture in which we can be confident he will have the full support of all players, with everyone pulling in the same direction and able to trust each other. It is for those reasons that we have decided to move on without Kevin Pietersen.”

From the statement provided, we had little to rest the burning questions, with Kevin Pietersen’s release still not really justified. In fact, it just made it a more precarious situation for the board.

Kevin Pietersen’s departure would only worsen the problems from Australia, with more criticism epitomizing towards the captain Alistair Cook and the board. England now have to improve their cricket along with public image, a tough task with the Twenty20 World Cup looming.

If England are taking measures like that to ‘rebuild’, they might as well go all out. A sufficient re-structure of England cricket will quieten the critics, while also keeping a clear image of the leadership needed going forward. 

But the ideal situation will see them model out new systems for their series with West Indies, to see any improvements. Despite that, it’s far from a mock up – any failure could further critics and damage England even more.

England really have their work cut out to disprove many-a-critic and encourage fans that they won’t crumble. Should any further meltdowns occur, there England will be pushed on the verge of a demise.

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ICC Champions Trophy 2013: Semi Final 1 – England vs. South Africa

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England secured their place in the ICC Champions Trophy Final following a dominant 7-wicket win over South Africa at The Oval.

Some fine bowling by James Anderson and James Tredwell had South Africa in some deep trouble, taking 5 wickets together in total and only conceding 33 runs.

South Africa’s David Miller and Rory Kleinveldt made sure it was not as easy a task for England, as their 95-run partnership got South Africa to 175.

Once again, Jonathon Trott was on-point with his batting, as he scored 82 not out from 84 balls – yet another consistent innings of supremacy and intelligence utilizing the bat going along with scores of 43 and 76 earlier on in the Champions Trophy.

In what has been quite a challenging tournament for England, following the ball-tampering allegations, mild batting and injuries to Swann and Pietersen, England have made a bold statement paving their way to the final in emphatic fashion.

Captain Alistair Cook described Sunday’s final as a dream-come-true for him when he walks out to the pitch at Edgbaston.

The South Africans again slip up on high stakes, with under performing in the semi-finals. Just as they looked like they had some potential, they eventually suffered another downfall in a 50-over ODI.

Despite the openers falling early, England’s chase was a very comfortable one, as they found themselves well ahead of the required run rate and had plenty of overs to face before pressure even crept in.
 
England storm through the ICC Champions Trophy final where they will face either India or Sri Lanka at Edgbaston on Sunday.

Can England go all the way in the last Champions Trophy of it’s kind?

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IMAGE COURTESY: @SkySportsCricket Twitter, GETTY IMAGES

ICC Champions Trophy 2013 – England vs. Australia

England outclassed Australia in a 48-run victory at Edgbaston. With the absence of skipper Michael Clarke, the Aussies were a team depleted and were victim to an onslaught from England. 
 
England won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening duo of Ian Bell and captain Cook scored a partnership of 57 runs before Shane Watson dismissed Cook. Ian Bell was to prove an influential part of their victory laying the foundations for a high score as he fell 9 runs short of a century following a dismissal by James Faulkner. Ravi Bopara came in to stabilize the England innings after wickets started to tumble and scored 46* of 37 balls – an innings that also included England’s only six of the innings. England completed the 50 overs with a score of 269 – 6.

England outclassed Australia and romped to a 48 run win. A very fun game to witness as England fans. #CT13
— The Sport Matrix (@TheSportMatrix) June 8, 2013

Opening for Australia were David Warner and Shane Watson, and Warner fell victim to Stuart Broad – a wicket of which was part of an opening dominating fielding display by England in the first ten overs. The worst part of Australia’s collapse was conceding 4 wickets and only scoring 24 runs to compensate. James Faulkner and George Bailey batted well for their nation scoring 54 and 55 respectively, alas in vain. It was an uneasy day for Mitchell Johnson, who was victim the full force of the chants England’s cricket fans – including members of The Sport Matrix who were present at Edgbaston! Notably, it was a special day for Jimmy Anderson who became England’s leading ODI Wicket taker with 3 -30 in a stellar bowling performance. Australia quickly found themselves falling further and further behind an increasing run rate, and England cruised to a comfortable win.

The match seemed won halfway through Australia’s innings, their pace was simply not good enough. England cruised to a great win which gives them a vital edge in their group and also a psychological advantage come The Ashes next month. 

Thanks for reading this article. Image Credit: BBC Sport, DAWN.com
Stay tuned on TSM for Champions Trophy Coverage

ICC Champions Trophy 2013: Preview Series – England

England are the host team of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. Having just completed a one-day series against New Zealand, the Three Lions are set to do battle with Australia at Edgbaston. This article is part of The Sport Matrix’s Champions Trophy preview series where we analyze, predict and look at the combatants’ chances in the tournament.

Star Player: Eoin Morgan
Captain: Alistair Cook
World Cup Place: Quarter-Finals
Final Prediction: 3rd in Group

Squad:
James Anderson
Jonny Bairstow
Ian Bell
Ravi Bopara
Tim Bresnan
Stuart Broad
Jos Buttler
Alastair Cook
Steven Finn
Eoin Morgan
Joe Root
Graeme Swann
James Tredwell
Jonathan Trott
Chris Woakes

England are hosting an ICC tournament for the second time within 4 years after they were the 2009 hosts of the ICC World T20 World Cup. They have just completed and lost a 3-match series to New Zealand 2-1 and will face them again in Group A. They also face off with rivals Australia and TSM’s tournament favourites Sri Lanka in what could be the toughest group of the tournament. They are without Kevin Pietersen who was left out of the squad but they should have enough firepower to do quite well.

Is KP’s omission vital? Can the hosts win on home soil? Find out all this and more during the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 with TSM.