Ruhuna, Kandurata, Wayamba and Basnahira South qualified to play in the semi-finals of the Inter-provincial Limited Overs to be played on Friday

Sa'adi Thawfeeq17-Feb-2010Ruhuna, Kandurata, Wayamba and Basnahira South qualified to play in the semi-finals of the Inter-Provincial Limited Overs to be played on Friday (February 19). Ruhuna will take on Basnahira South at Moratuwa while the other semi-final will be a repeat of the final round-robin match between Kandurata and Wayamba. It will be played at the NCC.At the completion of the round-robin league stage, Ruhuna ended on top of the standings after their final game at P Sara Oval against Basnahira South ended in a no-result due to rain. Chasing Basnahira South’s total of 230 for 8, Ruhuna were not happily placed being 61 for 4 after 15 overs when the interruption occurred. Basnahira South and Basnahira North tied with 10 points for fourth spot. But as Basnahira South had won the round-robin league match against their opponent they qualified for fourth place, although Basnahira North had a better net run-rate.It was hard on Basnahira North because they had beaten SLC Combined XI in their final match by three wickets at De Zoysa Stadium and had all but qualified to play in the semi-finals.Kandurata, who had held onto the lead right from the start of the competition eventually ended in second place when they suffered their second defeat. Kandurata was unfortunate to lose on the D/L method by two runs at Pallekele after rattling off an impressive 312-4, during which opener Kaushalya Weeraratne hit a brilliant 143 off 158 balls (16 fours, three sixes) and Chamara Kapugedera an attractive 88. Wayamba scored their runs at a good pace keeping an eye on the weather and when rain stopped play they were 147 for 3 off 25 overs which under the D/L method was two runs ahead of the target. The final is scheduled for Sunday (February 21) at Moratuwa.

Mumbai Indians can bounce back, for Sachin Tendulkar is in tremendous form, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard boost their all-round strength and Zaheer Khan is proving highly consistent

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Mar-2010They are owned by the richest Indian in the world. They are led by the best cricketer of this generation. They have one of the best fast bowlers in their ranks. But Mumbai Indians, despite their high profile, failed to reach the knockout phase in the IPL’s two editions thus far.An array of reasons can be cited behind for their struggle: In the first season, Mumbai did well to hold together after the Harbhajan Singh slapping incident. But what hurt them the most was the absence of Sachin Tendulkar from the first half of the tournament due to injury. There was also plenty of chopping and changing of the line-ups, and the inexperience of the domestic players was apparent on more than one occasion despite Tendulkar and Shaun Pollock’s best efforts to inspire the team through their leadership.In 2009, Zaheer Khan was bought from Royal Challengers Bangalore, adding strength to the bowling department. Zaheer also filled the spot vacated by Pollock, who took up the role of mentor. Jonty Rhodes added vitality to the training sessions with his agility and reflexes. JP Duminy was signed up for a whopping US$950,000 after his heroics in Australia, but, on home soil, was unable to finish off games or give that final thrust to innings when left on his own. It did not help that Zaheer injured himself in the field midway through the tournament, and Sanath Jayasuriya failed to provide the usual fireworks in the beginning. Mumbai ended on the second rung from the bottom.But things look more positive the third time around. Tendulkar is in tremendous form with the bat and even if he is yet not a formidable batsman in Twenty20 cricket, the defining innings doesn’t seem far. Mumbai’s middle order is bolstered by the presence of the Trinidad pair of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, both supremely athletic allrounders having the ability to win games on their own. Zaheer is currently among the most consistent fast bowlers and if he is well backed-up by Lasith Malinga, with Jayasuriya firing at the top with Tendulkar, Mumbai can bounce back.The buzz
The blue on the jersey has been shaded to a darker tone. The inspiration behind the new design was the state-of-the-art Bandra-Worli sea-link, which connects the northern suburbs to south of Mumbai. The idea was to create a design that would not only be new, but also resemble the enterprise and growth of Mumbai – the golden stripes across the bust of the shirt depicts the two pillars of the sea-link and the blue is the shade of the Arabian sea. The team has also found support from sponsors, whose count has increased to 14, five more than last year.Another first is the sale of wrist bands in the Mumbai colours, autographed by Tendulkar, the proceeds of which will be passed over to provide education for underprivileged kids supported by five NGOs.New faces
Mumbai stamped their authority as the richest franchise in the League, bagging Kieron Pollard in the silent tie-breaker for an undisclosed sum, rumoured to be as high as that of the richest players in the IPL. Robin Singh leads a new coaching set-up, with Paras Mhambrey as his deputy. The pair did not waste time in picking few of the best players from the unofficial Indian Cricket League – Ambati Rayudu and R Sateesh, Rahul Shukla, Ishan Malhotra, Ali Murtaza, and Aditya Tare have been fast-tracked into the primary squad.Kieron Pollard’s success in the Champions League has taken him a long way•Getty Images

Watch out for
Sachin Tendulkar. He is in stupendous form and will be hungry to prove his worth in a format he hasn’t dominated.Missing in action
The Caribbean pair of Bravo and Pollard would be absent in the opener against Rajasthan Royals, for they will be wrapping up the ODI series against Zimbabwe, which ends on March 14.X-factor
Pollard can provide the firepower lower down the order, something Mumbai expected from Duminy last yearStrength
A formidable batting order: Tendulkar, Jayasuriya, Shikar Dhawan, Bravo, Pollard and Abhishek Nayar.Weakness
Barring Zaheer , the rest of the fast bowling department, including Malinga, have been inconsistent. But Zaheer, who has been the Indian bowling captain for the last two years, has the ability to hold the attack together, and along with Harbhajan in the middle overs, can lead the rest of the pack in the right direction.IPL 2009 – the key figures
Final position: SeventhTop scorer: JP Duminy with 372 runs at 41.33 and strike-rate of 114.46Top wicket-taker: Lasith Malinga with 18 wickets at 17.33 and economy-rate of 6.33Best result: Eight-wicket win over PunjabWorst result: Nine-wicket defeat to BangaloreHighest team score: 187 for 6 v KolkataLowest team score: 116 v DelhiPrediction for 2010
Mumbai have the ability to make the semi-finals, but a return to the spot they ended at in 2008 is more realistic.

Mumbai Indians, already in the semi-finals, sent a strong message to their rivals by crushing second-placed Bangalore, whose net run-rate also took a beating

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran17-Apr-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
JP Duminy’s quickfire 42 powered Mumbai to 191•Indian Premier League

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s final league game was delayed by an hour due to a couple of low-intensity blasts outside the stadium. The organisers decided to go ahead with the match, and spectators were ushered into the stands amid heightened security.Once the match began, Mumbai Indians, already in the semi-finals, sent a strong message to their rivals by crushing second-placed Bangalore, whose net run-rate took a beating but remained just high enough to make them favourites for a semi-final spot. Mumbai also brushed aside any criticism about them being overly reliant on orange-cap holder and captain Sachin Tendulkar, whose rare failure didn’t prevent the table-toppers from amassing 191 on a greenish track.Ambati Rayudu has been the best of the ICL returnees this season, and added to his growing reputation with another power-hitting cameo that jumpstarted Mumbai after a dawdling start. Kieron Pollard briefly showed why he was so sought-after during this year’s auction, after which JP Duminy’s clinical finishing silenced the home crowd, as it had when he lashed an unbeaten 99 in the Champions League.Needing to score at nearly 10 an over from the outset, Bangalore were rarely in the chase, plodding to 12 after three overs and losing both openers on 34 in the Powerplay. There was still hope for a deep Bangalore batting line-up, but once Harbhajan Singh removed both Kevin Pietersen and Rahul Dravid in quick succession, the required-rate spiralled above 13. That proved too much even for the home side’s biggest hitters, Robin Uthappa and Ross Taylor, both of whom were foxed by slower ones, and Bangalore’s focus shifted to reducing the margin of defeat and keeping their net run-rate from slinking too low.Bangalore’s best phase of the match was the Powerplay after choosing to bowl. Tendulkar walked out with his fourth opening partner in four matches, Ryan McLaren, but the new combination could only squeeze 30 runs in six overs off the home side’s quick bowlers. McLaren made slow progress and Tendulkar wasn’t at his best either, falling just before the end of the Powerplay to a low catch by Ross Taylor at deep square leg.It was in the ninth over that Mumbai switched to top gear. Rayudu launched an onslaught on Pankaj Singh, preferred again to Praveen Kumar, lashing 22 off the over to boost the run-rate to a more Twenty20 level. He benefited from Bangalore’s clumsy catching, when Vinay Kumar palmed an overhead chance over the rope at long-on.A couple of quiet overs followed before Rayudu decided to take on the tournament’s most economical bowler, Kumble. He clubbed consecutive sixes over long-on off the Bangalore captain, and backed that up with a couple of fours against Kallis, before a sharp, short delivery forced him to offer a return catch.Despite that sustained hitting, the crowd wasn’t expecting a target near 200 after the sluggish Mumbai start. But Pollard, who murdered the Delhi Daredevils attack in his previous match, continued in the same vein, slamming three consecutive sixes to round off a forgettable day for Pankaj. Kumble, though, made it a short stay for Pollard by tricking him with a quicker delivery, trapping him lbw.Bangalore thought they had got rid of the danger man but Duminy continued his love affair with the Chinnaswamy Stadium with a controlled cameo. He started by thumping Kevin Pietersen over long-off and then caned Kallis’ length deliveries for 19 runs in the 18th over. A boundary each in final two overs pushed him to 42 off 19, and Mumbai had taken 113 off the final nine overs.

Nicky Boje, the former South Africa allrounder, has announced he is to step down as Northamptonshire’s captain with immediate effect

Cricinfo staff17-May-2010Nicky Boje, the former South Africa allrounder, has announced he is to step down as Northamptonshire’s captain with immediate effect. He will be replaced in the role by another allround South African import, Andrew Hall, with Niall O’Brien as vice-captain.Boje, 37, had captained the county for two years, leading them to a Twenty20 Finals Day and to within one point of promotion in the County Championship last season. But Northants made a stuttering start to their county campaigns this season, with inconsistent results in the County Championship, and three losses in their first three Clydesdale Bank 40 games.”It is after much thought and consideration I have decided to step down as Captain,” said Boje. “I feel it is in the best interest of the team and it is vital that my own contribution as a performer is maximized for the remainder of the season.”I have really enjoyed the experience of captaining the team for the past two years and I’m proud with the progress that has been achieved during that period. I am now looking forward to the remainder of the season and making my contribution as a player to the brand of positive, entertaining and exciting cricket ahead.”

Sulieman Benn has riled opponents and match referees in the past, but he has hit a new low after being asked to leave the field by his captain Chris Gayle

Cricinfo staff31-May-2010Sulieman Benn has riled opponents and match referees in the past, but he has hit a new low after being ordered off the field by his captain Chris Gayle. During West Indies’ seven-wicket loss to South Africa in Dominica, Benn upset Gayle so much by failing to follow instructions that he was told he was no longer required.”I actually asked him to leave the field,’ Gayle told reporters after the game. “As a captain, it was a situation like you ask a particular bowler to do it and he said he had never done certain things before. That’s why you have practice sessions, to practise. I asked him to simply bowl over the wicket. I don’t see why it should be a problem.”He wasn’t up for it and if you’re not up for it, why give that particular bowler the ball. I just see it that he [Benn] doesn’t want to take part. It was my call to actually ask him to leave and tell him that he is not needed anymore.”Benn’s behavioural issues came to a head during the Perth Test in December, when he was suspended for two ODIs following a clash with Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin. He had previously been fined and forced to have counselling after what was labelled “insubordinate” behaviour during a West Indies A tour of England in 2002.His fiery nature has also been on display at club level, when he was fined after an altercation with an opponent while batting for his Barbados club Spartan. It is unclear whether Benn will play any part in the fifth and final ODI against South Africa in Trinidad on Thursday.The fourth ODI had a dramatic finish with Dwayne Bravo bowling three consecutive dot balls in the final over, leaving South Africa with one to get off the last delivery. AB de Villiers then played the ball to midwicket and sprinted the single as Darren Sammy fumbled. Gayle praised Bravo for his bowling effort but said that, despite making 303, West Indies should have scored a lot more.”Credit must go to Bravo for the way he bowled the final over,” Gayle said. “But to get 300 runs, and lose was not good. We should have scored at least 30 or 40 more runs based on the start that Dale [Richards] and I gave the team, but we were very disappointing in the middle overs again, too many dot balls. We also missed a few catches, and this is the inconsistency. At times, we do well with the bat, and then turn up and do something completely different with the ball.”

A round-up of the fourth day’s action of the ICC World Cricket League Americas Region Division One in Bermuda

Cricinfo staff02-Jun-2010An all-round performance by Gary Savage helped Argentina beat Cayman Islands by 13 runs at the Sea Breeze Oval and secure their first win in the tournament. Batting first, Argentina were in trouble initially at 33 for 3 before Savage walked in and set about building important partnerships with the middle order. He added 81 with Grant Dugmore for the fourth wicket and 82 for the sixth with Alec Ferguson. Ferguson went ballistic, smashing five sixes and six fours in his unbeaten 62 off only 22 balls. Savage also made the same score, but he focused on dropping anchor and faced 123 balls. He was dismissed by Marlon Bryan, who took four wickets. Cayman Islands were off to a terrible start, losing four wickets for 21 as Lucas Parterlini and Savage made early inroads. The lower order started showing some resistance when Kevin Bazil and Ronald Ebanks added 60 for the seventh wicket. A last-ditch effort by Conroy Wright wasn’t enough as Argentina sneaked through by 13 runs. Wright scored 58 while Savage rounded off a good day with 3 for 28.Continuing with all-round performances, Bahamas had no answer to Hiral Patel and Rizwan Cheema, who starred for Canada at the St George’s Cricket Club. Hiral Patel took 3 for 15 to bundle out Bahamas for a paltry 98, and Cheema smashed a 43-ball 85 to seal the game in nine overs. Only three Bahamas batsmen went past double figures, with Narendra Ekanayake top scoring with 31. A combined effort helped Canada end the innings within 37 overs. The chase lasted just 47 minutes as Cheema pounded eight sixes and eight fours to seal the game by ten wickets.The hosts Bermuda suffered their first loss of the tournament, going down by six wickets to their neighbours United States of America at the National Stadium. Lennox Cush and captain Steve Massiah set up the victory, sharing six wickets between them to restrict Bermuda to 188. Bermuda had set the foundation for a bigger score when Steven Outerbridge and Jekon Edness added 76 for the second wicket but lost their way after that. Massiah started the collapse before Cush took four wickets to restrict them to a score under 200. Sushil Nadkarni led the chase with 57, which included four sixes, before Massiah took over. His 67 came off 103 balls with seven fours.

At least two boards are said to have given assurances to David Morgan, the outgoing ICC president in the last week, that they would support Howard only to change their minds eventually

Osman Samiuddin01-Jul-2010Support for John Howard’s appointment to the vice-presidency of the ICC fell away “significantly” in the last week with at least a couple of the boards, which eventually opposed the move, changing their stance in that time. What brought about the change, however, is not yet clear.Howard’s appointment was rejected on Wednesday by six of the ICC’s ten Full Members, thought to consist of the subcontinent boards of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as well as South Africa and the West Indies. Zimbabwe is said to have provided the most vocal opposition privately and led the movement and, though they didn’t sign the letter that brought matters to such a head, they are believed to have played a prominent part in the decision.At least two boards are said to have given assurances to David Morgan, the outgoing ICC president in the last week, that they would support Howard only to change their minds eventually. “There had been a significant shift downwards in the level of support – that is a shift of support away from John Howard in the last week,” Morgan told Cricinfo, though he didn’t identify where the support fell away, or why it did.Ehsan Mani, the former ICC head who remains close to senior figures within the ICC, said the PCB and BCB – who had said they would seek government advice over the issue – had assured Morgan recently of their support, but backed down. “Both Bangladesh and Pakistan had assured David Morgan recently that they would support John Howard and I find it strange that they eventually opposed the move,” Mani told Cricinfo. “Were their arms twisted over the course of the last week? What made them change their stance?”None of the opposing members or the ICC has spoken publicly about the objections and under ICC rules they are not required to. Sri Lanka’s concern arose from Howard being a figure from outside cricket’s administrative fraternity. Others such as Zimbabwe and South Africa are believed to have based their disapproval on Howard’s past political leanings, particularly with the government of the former.The anger within the Australia and New Zealand boards, however, stems from not being given any concrete objections privately either. “There’s been no clear indication of what objections there were and that is disappointing in many ways to Australia and New Zealand,” said Morgan, who stepped down from his post on Thursday.”They went through a rigorous process to choose between two excellent candidates and I am disappointed that I was unable to push that nomination through. The new president [Sharad Pawar] and I had supported the nomination [the ICC press release of the time had expressed support to the rather than the nomination] but unfortunately I was unable to see it through,” Morgan said.The issue doesn’t show signs of being resolved any time soon. CA, it is understood, will continue backing Howard, though the ICC again urged the two boards to reconsider their nomination by August 31. Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, refused to be drawn into speculating what would happen if Howard’s name was put up again. “I think that’s speculative and we must wait for August 31 and see what comes forward,” he said at a press conference in Singapore.Morgan believes one casualty of this conflict may be the system of putting forward a candidate for the post, which has already been through a number of guises since the mid 1990s. Currently nominations are put forward by a pair of regionally-aligned countries on a rotational basis: Howard was Australia and New Zealand’s choice. Pakistan and Bangladesh are next in line to put forward a nomination; one candidate will emerge from India and Sri Lanka; England and West Indies, and South Africa and Zimbabwe are the remaining regional pairings. In the past more general systems have been used, as well as variants of a regional policy.”The rotational system was used for the first time this time,” Morgan said. “There is a commitment to retain it but I have my doubts that it will stand.”There are broader concerns from yesterday’s development, in particular the apparent realigning of loyalties along lines that were thought to have mattered less in the last decade, those of race. The power of the Asian bloc was said to have weakened as the BCCI and CA drew closer in recent years to benefit from a profitable and exciting rivalry.But CA chairman Jack Clarke said yesterday that his board would be “cautious” in their dealings with the BCCI in future. “I think the lessons to be learnt for CA would be big ones after this incident,” Mani said. “Australia threw all their eggs into one basket over the last few years and it’s come back to bite them because they lost support from other boards while pursuing the BCCI.”But I think it is important for cricket to do some serious soul-searching and for the administration to draw a line somewhere about how one board can effectively have so much strength to be able to run the entire game. There needs to be a counter-balance.”

England’s fast bowlers will start practising with the Kookaburra balls that will be used during the Ashes as soon as the Test campaign with Pakistan is over

Cricinfo staff01-Aug-2010England’s fast bowlers will start practising with the Kookaburra balls that will be used during the Ashes as soon as the Test campaign with Pakistan is over. David Saker, the England bowling coach, comes from Victoria and understands the differences between the countries and the conditions.”His knowledge not only about the Kookaburra ball but also about Australia and their venues and players is very important to us,” said England’s coach, Andy Flower, following the team’s first-Test victory over Pakistan. “We are not practising with Kookaburras at the moment because we are focussing on this series but we will have our preparation time in this country before we leave. The guys have quite a lot of experience with the Kookaburra ball and we will deal with one challenge at a time.”The Australians struggled with swing in the drawn series with Pakistan last month and Saker said his fast men would be working on shaping the Kookaburra balls before the trip Down Under. ”It definitely still swings,” Saker told the Sunday Age. “It obviously doesn’t swing as much as the Duke ball, but some of that’s got to do with the English conditions.”Saker believes swing is the best way to bring down a batting order and wants his bowlers to achieve the movement when they attempt to retain the Ashes they won at The Oval last year. ”We’ll be endeavouring to try to move the ball in the air for sure, but also we’ve got two pretty tall, strong pace bowlers [Stuart Broad and Steven Finn] who can get the ball through,” he said. “There’ll be different ways we’ll attack the Australians, for sure.”Finn, 21, was rested before the England-Pakistan series to build up his strength ahead of a busy period. ”We’ve done that with Stuart Broad and he’s come back bigger, stronger and bowling faster than he’s ever bowled,” Saker said.”There was a lot of criticism from a lot of people outside the English set-up, but the people that were involved in pulling him out of that and getting him stronger were all pretty adamant that he needed that. You mightn’t see the improvement straight up but there’s no doubt we, as a group, think it’s going to be beneficial down the track.”

Cricket Australia could be sorely disappointed if it hopes its new split-innings format will eliminate the slow-moving middle overs from one-dayers

Brydon Coverdale13-Aug-2010Cricket Australia could be sorely disappointed if it hopes its new split-innings format will eliminate the slow-moving middle overs from one-dayers. The concept was trialled in England’s county second XI competition this year and it often resulted in a cautious brand of “handbrake” batting at the end of the first innings and the start of the second.Cricket Australia’s format will give teams only 10 wickets across the entire match, so the first innings could be a grind as the top order builds a platform without losing too many batsmen. The Victoria legspinner Bryce McGain has been playing with Essex this month and said the feedback he received from the men involved in the county trial was that momentum was difficult to generate.”The tactics that they used here – and I spoke to quite a number of guys who experienced it – was that they really wound back those last four or five overs because they didn’t want to lose a wicket,” McGain told Cricinfo. “Then when you went back in, the batsmen had to get back in so it took four or five overs to get things started again.”The experience that the English players had was that when you’re building momentum it actually put a handbrake on. It will be interesting to see how it pans out. Maybe the Australians will do it tactically a little bit different, but it will certainly make it interesting.”The Australian board is adamant that moving to a split-innings 45-over format was prompted by feedback from the public, but the players remain unconvinced about the changes. The Australian Cricketers’ Association said 78% of its surveyed members were against the idea, and there have been mixed responses in the Twitter-sphere.Graham Manou, who took part in a split-innings practice match this week, wrote on his Twitter page: “Well I’m certainly going to need some convincing that the split 40 over games are good cricket and more importantly spectators.”One of Australia’s most successful one-day bowlers in recent history, Nathan Bracken, tweeted: “Not a massive fan of it. Could make some games very boring if a team gets a bad start.”But it was not all negative reaction from the players. Aaron Finch, the young Victorian batsman who established himself as a strong limited-overs cricketer last summer, wrote that the format was “Something new and exciting for both fans and players! Can’t wait”.One of the major sticking points for Australia’s ODI players is the decision to implement the new format a few months before a 50-over World Cup. Australia’s World Cup squad will be announced in December, before the seven-match one-day series against England, meaning that fringe players have virtually no chance to press their claims in the regular format.During the planning stages, Michael Hussey was a vocal critic of the move and last month he questioned Cricket Australia’s timing. After the Lord’s Test against Pakistan, the Australian squad was briefed by James Sutherland on some of the possible changes, which were at that stage unconfirmed.”We’ve got to be a little bit careful,” Hussey said in July after the briefing. “We’ve got to make sure we try and get as many players prepared for the 50-over World Cup as we can. I’m not sure the timing is great. There’s a lot of young guys out there that would see themselves as a chance of making the World Cup squad and they probably need as much exposure to 50-over cricket as possible.”

England will want to sharpen their skills in the second match ahead of the five ODIs, but such is the confidence in the team it is hard to see past another home victory

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan06-Sep-2010

Match facts

September 7, 2010, Cardiff
Start time 6.00pm (1700GMT)Spirits remain high in the England squad as they keep their focus on maintaining their Twenty20 winning streak•PA Photos

Big picture

A cricket match was completed at Cardiff on Sunday which, given what had happened over the last week, was something to be very grateful for. England, in their first Twenty20 outing since winning the world title in May, were impressive with the ball and in the way Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy chased down the target, while familiar Pakistan failings came to the fore in the field.However, the hosts will know it wasn’t a perfect performance. Three catches went down and the batting subsided to 62 for 5 as Pakistan threatened to turn the game around. England will want to sharpen their skills in the second match ahead of the five ODIs, but such is the confidence in the team it is hard to see past another home victory.Pakistan need to rethink their strategy because it was a complete waste to leave Abdul Razzaq in the dug-out for 20 overs and Shahid Afridi needs more time in the middle. One of them has to bat in the top three. Shoaib Akhtar bowled quickly to rattle England’s top order, but his fielding was an embarrassment with the drop of Morgan the turning point in the game.

Form guide (last five completed matches; most recent first)

England WWWWW

Pakistan LLWLW

Watch out for…

Craig Kieswetter is facing his last international innings of the summer and, if Steve Davies takes his chance over the next two weeks, what could be his last international innings for quite a while. England’s next Twenty20 isn’t until January following the Ashes and Kieswetter’s form has been on the slide since the World Twenty20. He was undone by Shoaib’s pace in the opening game, but has the backing of Paul Collingwood to continue with his attacking mindset. However, he really needs a substantial innings to remain central to the team’s future plans.Shahid Afridi has returned to lead Pakistan in the midst of a crisis and has tried his best to move the talk away from spot-fixing allegations. He remains one of the finest Twenty20 cricketers in the world, but couldn’t have much impact with the bat on Sunday as England’s death bowling proved hard to get away. With the ball, though, he caused problems with two wickets and almost turned the game around. If anyone can change Pakistan’s fortunes it’s Afridi.

Team news

There is no reason for England to change a winning formula so James Anderson is likely to remain on the sidelines of the Twenty20 team. However, Luke Wright needs a much-improved display after dropping a catch and making a duck on Sunday while the captain could also do with a few runs.England (probable) 1 Craig Kieswetter, 2 Steve Davies (wk), 3 Ravi Bopara, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Michael Yardy, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Ryan SidebottomIt’s always a guessing game with Pakistan, but given the lack of options in a reduced squad the same XI is likely to take the field. However, it would be very strange if they didn’t alter the batting order to make better use of Afridi and Razzaq.Pakistan (probable) 1 Shahzaib Hasan, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Fawad Alam, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shahid Afridi (capt), 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Umar Gul, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Shoaib Akhtar

Pitch and conditions

There was more turn than anyone expected in the first match and this game will be played on the same surface so the spinners are likely to be key again. The large boundaries cut down on the fours and sixes – there were none of the latter – and when even Afridi can’t clear the ropes you know it’s hard work. Heavy rain is forecast on Monday and showers on Tuesday, but the new outfield drains well.

Stats and Trivia

• Pakistan’s 126 for 4 on Sunday was the first time they hadn’t hit a six in a Twenty20 international.
• Graeme Swann, who took 2 for 14 in four overs, is now England’s second-most economical bowler in Twenty20s behind Andrew Flintoff for players with at least six caps.

Quotes

“I didn’t have to say anything. You just look at each other, and those smiles go on your faces. We’ve got great memories of that. But from a captain’s point of view you’ve got to try to tell the guys to restart … and we did it 100%.”
Paul Collingwood enjoyed having most of his World Twenty20 winners back together“We missed some opportunities, like catches and run-outs. So next time I hope we will avail these opportunities. In this kind of cricket, fielding is a main weapon if you want to win.”