International sports, Twenty20 cricket
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados (GenevaLunch) - England scored a rare victory in the short version of the game when they won the Twenty20 World Cup in Barbados, 16 May. They won by seven wickets with three overs to spare thanks to a tight performance in the field and a thrilling batting display by Kevin Pietersen and Craig Kieswetter, England’s pair of South African born cricketers.
Australia batted first and were soon in trouble being 8 for 3 after a couple of overs. They fought back to 147 for 6 thanks to 59 runs from David Hussey. England survived the early loss of Lumb and Kieswetter with 63 and Pietersen, 47 made the game safe for England.
Zimbabwean Coach Andy Flower has welded the England team into a formidable Twenty20 machine, with dynamic batting from the start, tight bowling and energetic fielding. Flower has managed to get the best out of players like Eoin Morgan, a recruit from Ireland, and has managed the bowlers with skill.
The big losers of the Twenty20 World Cup were the Indian superstars, who seemed tired out by their efforts in the IPL.
Links to other sites: cricket.yahoo.com, cricket20
International sports, cricket
Garfield Sobers Stadium, Barbados (GenevaLunch) – Kevin Pietersen, England’s South African refugee, led his new countrymen to victory over his old ones at the World Cup Twenty20 in Barbados, 8 May. He struck a rapid 53 runs in 33 balls, enabling his team to reach 168 for seven. South Africa were always struggling to keep up with the run rate and lost wickets regularly. They ended on 129 all out.
Newlands, Capetown, South Africa (GenevaLunch) - The English bowlers made a dramatic start to the second day of the third Test against South Africa when the last four South African wickets fell in16 balls. Graham Onions took the most important wicket when he dismissed Jacques Kallis for 108 with his first ball. James Anderson took the next three to end with five for 63. South Africa ended on 291.
The South African bowlers quickly struck back, dismissing Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen in the opening session.
Pakistan ended the second day of the Melbourne Test well on top. After dismissing Australia for 127 they ended on 331 for nine.
Links to other sites: Yahoo cricket, BBC, Times
Centurion Park, Pretoria, South Africa (GenevaLunch) – England just held on to claim a draw in the first test between England and South Africa. The middle order batting collapsed after Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott, both South African-born but playing for England, seemed to have made the game safe. As it turned out Paul Collingwood and Graham Onions had to survive the last few overs in a nail-biting finish. The final scores were South Africa 418 and 301 for 7, England 356 and 228 for 9.
Links to other sites: Guardian, Yahoo cricket.
The Oval, London (GenevaLunch) - England are the firm favourites to win the final Test and regain the Ashes. They batted steadily, with the innings held together by South African-born captain Andrew Strauss and South African-born debut batsman Jonathan Trott, filling in for the injured South African born Kevin Pietersen.
London, England (GenevaLunch) – England are in a dominant position after three days of the second test at Lords: the first test ended in a draw. They lead by 515 runs with two days to play. The Australian tail enders held up the English attack but fell just in time for England captain Andrew Strauss to have the chance to enforce the follow-on. However he prefered to bat again, possibly influenced by the easy batting conditions, the fitness of Andrew Flintoff or simple cowardice.
Jamaica (GenevaLunch) – The England team were thrashed in the first test at Sabina Park despite having the two most expensive players in the world.
Sydney, Australia (GenevaLunch) – Australia took control on the third day at Sydney. They ended with a lead of 151 runs with all their second innings wickets intact. South Africa have already won the series and might be more concerned about the loss of captain Graeme Smith, who might be out for a few months with a broken finger.
Meanwhile it looks like England coach Peter Moores is likely to lose his job after a power struggle with captain Kevin Pietersen. Details, Guardian, UK
