Month: March 2016

Big picture At the 50-over World Cup, New Zealand are often a bridesmaid, never the bride. Seven times they have reached the semi-finals, though not until last year did they win one and gain maid-of-honour status. But at the World T20, not since the first tournament back in 2007 have they so much as passed the group stage. Forget being a bridesmaid, New Zealand go home before the speeches even…

Sri Lanka, England’s last group opponents, lost their final ICC World Twenty20 warm-up by 15 runs to tournament late-arrivals Pakistan. Pakistan, having chosen to bat first, posted 157 for five thanks chiefly to number three Mohammad Hafeez’s unbeaten 70 at Eden Gardens in Calcutta. Four wickets for Pakistan left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, including Dinesh Chandimal for 30 and Sri Lanka top-scorer Lahiru Thirimanne for 45, undermined a reply that ended on 142…

Jason Roy is expecting an intense final ICC World Twenty20 warm-up match when England’s players square off against each other in Mumbai tomorrow. England, who defeated New Zealand in a practice match yesterday, finalise their preparations for Wednesday’s opening Group 1 game versus West Indies by taking on a local side at the Brabourne Stadium. That team will be made up of local-based players plus four England internationals who fail…

Dharamsala (India) – Tamim Iqbal’s maiden Twenty20 century helped Bangladesh storm into the World T20 Super 10s with a resounding 54-run win against Oman via the Duckworth/Lewis method in the last qualifier in Dharamsala Sunday. Bangladesh’s Tammim Iqbal Khan reacts after scoring a century during the qualifying match for the World T20 cricket tournament between Bangladesh and Oman at The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on March 13,…

Andile Phehlukwayo’s power-packed 40 nearly helped Dolphins overhaul a fourth-innings chase of 354 © BCCI Bad light curtailed a thrilling chase at Kingsmead, where Dolphins fell 18 runs short of a mammoth target of 354. The evening’s events seemed highly unlikely when they were reduced to 2 for 1 at lunch, but out came Vaughn van Jaarsveld and took control with a measured century. He took the side to tea…

Jason Roy warmed up for the start of England’s World T20 campaign with a half-century against New Zealand © Getty Images Jason Roy is aiming to combine his free-spirited batting with “tactical nous” as he and England seek to put behind recent limited-overs defeats in South Africa going into the World T20. England went down 3-2 in the ODIs – after holding a 2-0 lead – and lost both their…