Series at stake for rusty hosts 2011-2012

Rain did not help, but South Africa were caught very much on the hop by Australia in the first ODI at Centurion. After Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke stood up to some strong early bowling in a manner that allowed Duckworth-Lewis to work heavily in the tourists' favour, Doug Bollinger, Mitchell Johnson, Pat Cummins and Xavier Doherty had their way with the ball against some indifferent batting in greasy conditions.

Having had a six-month break from international cricket, South Africa will be better for the run and will not be making too many changes to the team. However they must win at St George's Park in order to stay in the series, being played over a tightly-squeezed three fixtures much as the Test series was chopped back to two matches by the financial weight of the Champions League Twenty20.

Australia, by contrast, will simply want to keep up the impressive momentum built first in Sri Lanka then added to in Pretoria. Clarke is marshalling a unit that gathers confidence with each match, so much so that the visitors did not seem too badly off without the injured duo of Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson in the first match. Their returns would only strengthen a team that has also been enthused by the rapid progress of the teenagers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Marsh.

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England seek consolation in heated series 2011-2012

The phrase 'to play for pride' is grossly overused, usually to lend a dead rubber some importance. But such has been the nature of the battle between India and England over the past few months that the sentiment may actually have some credence going in to the fourth ODI in Mumbai. MS Dhoni may not like the word "revenge" but surely he wouldn't mind "redemption" being used to describe India's performance at the end of the series. The magnitude of their failure in England means a simple series-win may not be enough to grant it. The fans want an emphatic scoreline.



There could hardly be a better place for India to underline their recovery from the disastrous summer tour. Though it seems like it has been an eternity since, it was only six-and-a-half months ago that Mumbai witnessed one of India's biggest wins.

But England have had a couple of special moments in ODIs at the Wankhede Stadium too: back in 1987 they beat India to go through to the World Cup final, and in 2002, Andrew Flintoff famously ripped his shirt off and did a victory-lap around the ground after bowling England to a series-levelling five-run win.

Since then England have lost 13 of 14 completed one-day internationals in bilateral series in India, and the frustration is beginning to show in the body-language of their players. There have been a few verbal confrontations between the players during this series, and Tim Bresnan was fined for snatching his cap from the umpire in the third ODI. Andy Flower, the England team director, has defended his team's attitude but will know a win is the only tonic for some hurt egos.

In order to achieve that, though, England need to accept certain realities of playing India in India, the first of which is that scores of 300, while winning totals in other countries, are often just par for the course on Indian pitches. After the Mohali ODI, Alastair Cook, the England captain, said their score of 298 was defendable, a statement made mainly to justify Jonathan Trott's innings of 98 not out from 116 balls, considered too slow by some. Cook would do well to listen to what Kumar Sangakkara, a man who knows all about playing against India in their home conditions, said after the World Cup final: "Anything less than 350 is not safe against India."

Aiming higher does not necessarily mean having to drop Trott, but it does mean that pretty much no-one else can afford to score at less than a run-a-ball. A series strike-rate of 84.31 from someone like Craig Kieswetter, in the side to provide rapid starts, simply won't cut it.

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England seek consolation in heated series 2011-2012

Kumar Sangakkara and Prasanna Jayawardene defied Pakistan for six hours, batting almost till tea on the final day to earn a draw for Sri Lanka. After losing five wickets on the fourth evening while still needing 81 runs to make Pakistan bat again, Sri Lanka benefited from six dropped chances in the second innings. Pakistan's bowlers toiled as much as the heat allowed them to, but their effectiveness was blunted by an unyielding pitch, abysmal catching and resolute batting. Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene achieved personal landmarks, with the former reaching his eighth Test double-century, putting him behind only Don Bradman and Brian Lara.


The sixth-wicket partnership between Sangakkara and Jayawardene - easily the highest for Sri Lanka against Pakistan - ate away whatever advantage remained with Pakistan after yesterday's five dropped chances. Azhar Ali finally ended Pakistan's despair after 73 fruitless overs, trapping Sangakkara leg-before with a legbreak just before tea. Aizaz Cheema had Jayawardene caught behind with the third new ball but it was too late to make up for the largesse of all those missed chances in a match affected by some average umpiring from Tony Hill. Umar Gul cleaned up the tail, leaving Pakistan an improbable 170 to get in 21 overs. Pakistan's top order did not give the slightest impression of going for it, and the game was called off after ten rather pointless overs as Tillakaratne Dilshan let the game meander beyond the start of the final hour.

Sri Lanka could afford to indulge in such psychological banter after Sangakkara and Jayawardene had carried them to safety, the slowness of the pitch allowing them to defend without much trouble. Sangakkara - who had looked near-immoveable after a couple of reprieves yesterday - allowed Jayawardene to take charge, but still put the loose ones away, reaching 200 with a nudge to the fine leg boundary off Cheema in the 143rd over. Jayawardene lofted Ajmal for a straight boundary in the 148th over to bring up a potentially match-saving century after having got a duck in the first innings. Not at any stage did they show even a hint of getting bogged down, unlike batsmen from both teams in the first innings.

Jayawardene, dropped by Wahab Riaz on 11 last evening, was much more positive today, breaking free with a swept boundary when Saeed Ajmal tried to tie him down early with two fielders around square leg. A tiring Junaid Khan - who had kept charging in with energy and going past the outside edge - was pulled emphatically over midwicket.

Pakistan's frustration slowly turned into resignation, a shame given the way they dominated this game for four days, apart from their fielding, which ruined the untiring efforts of their bowlers in the end. As in the first innings, Cheema epitomised Pakistan's willingness to give it everything on a pitch which held up so well in the heat, it could have been good for five more days.

An over from Cheema, the 137th of the innings, told Pakistan's tale of luckless perseverance. After four testing deliveries, Cheema bowled a loopy slow delivery that completely befuddled Jayawardene outside off stump. A ripping reverse-swinging yorker followed but Jayawardene somehow managed to dig it out, almost falling over. The unwavering Cheema was back in his next over with another slower ball followed by another accurate yorker, only to be denied without fuss by Jayawardene. This after Cheema had been denied by umpire Tony Hill after hitting Jayawardene on the pads right after lunch.

Azhar's unexpected strike at the stroke of tea brought relief for Pakistan and they eventually got through the tail with the third new ball but not before Rangana Herath had been grassed by Gul at extra cover, the sixth drop of the innings. Herath stretched the innings till 168 overs, leaving Pakistan to rue their generosity on the field and in hindsight, their cautious approach with the bat in the first innings.

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Parnell and Theron script stunning win 2011

South Africa 148 for 7 (Botha 34, Theron 30*) beat Australia 147 for 8 (White 39, M Marsh 36, Tsotsobe 2-11) by 3 wickets

Wayne Parnell & Rusty Theron rescued South Africa from a seemingly hopeless position to snatch victory in the second Twenty20 and draw the series 1-1. Australia had the match all but won with five overs remaining, as South Africa needed 61 with three wickets in hand, an unlikely goal that Parnell and Theron reached with five balls to spare.

In a breathtaking finish, the victory arrived with a slog-swept six over midwicket from the first ball of the final over, Theron's eyes having lit up when Cameron White handed the ball to David Hussey. But White had bowled out all his frontline men in the search for those last few wickets, and his choice was down to Hussey or the medium pace of the debutant Mitchell Marsh.

It hardly mattered, though, as Parnell and Theron effectively sealed the match by taking 55 from the previous four overs, including 18 off an over from Steve O'Keefe, who was deposited over the midwicket and square-leg boundaries by Parnell. Theron finished unbeaten on 30 from 16 balls, but it was Parnell's 29 from 11 that really jolted the Australians. 

The pair put on 64 in 4.3 overs, having come together when Heino Kuhn sent a return catch to James Pattinson (2 for 17), and at 84 for 7, the target of 148 seemed out of reach. But Theron drove and flicked a couple of boundaries off Doug Bollinger, and the teenager Patrick Cummins betrayed a few nerves in his last over, as the equation became more encouraging for the hosts.

Earlier, Cummins had delivered a double-wicket maiden that left South Africa in major trouble at 18 for 3. Colin Ingram played on when he tried to drive a wider ball from Cummis and then JP Duminy, who failed to score, edged a pearler to slip, where Hussey flew to his right to take an equally impressive catch.

Bollinger had bowled Hashim Amla in the first over, and the chase was well and truly off the rails. But Graeme Smith and Johan Botha, sent in at No.5, steadied and at least gave South Africa platform. Botha's 34 from 28 balls was important, but when he reverse-swept O'Keefe to point, the hosts looked to have missed their chance.

Their brilliant recovery meant that a fine bowling effort, led by Lonwabo Tsotsobe, was not wasted. After White won the toss and chose to bat, the South Africans kept Australia in check, especially Tsotsobe, whose 2 for 11 was the most economical four-over spell ever completed by a South African in a T20 international.

A late blitz from Marsh, who at 19 was playing his first game for his country, pushed the Australians to 147 for 8. Marsh took 20 off the final over from Morne Morkel, including three sixes, one a monster over midwicket, and he ended up with 36 from 21 balls.

His runs were important after the loss of the White, who top scored with 39, but fell to a great piece of work from Parnell, who kicked the ball on to the stumps in his follow through to have White run out trying for a quick single. Australia were 106 for 6 at the time, having found no momentum as Tsotsobe and his colleagues built the pressure with dot balls and were rewarded with wickets.

Australia had crawled to 4 for 1 after two overs as Tsotsobe gave the batsmen nothing. The early pressure ensured David Warner's tour went from bad to worse; having been run out for a duck in the first game he again failed to score, caught at mid-off when from his ninth delivery he advanced to Morkel and tried to clear the infield.

His opening partner Matthew Wade, promoted due to a minor hip injury that ruled Shane Watson out of the game, produced a sizzling cut for six off Morkel but fell for 10 when he edged behind advancing to Tsotsobe. Shaun Marsh led Austalia's recovery and took ten from Parnell's first two balls, including a cracking six over cover, but on 29 he top-edged off Theron and was taken by Kuhn running towards point.

Theron finished with an impressive 2 for 28, while Parnell's figures of 0 for 44 from four were unflattering. By the end of the match, South Africa were thrilled with the performances of both men.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 overs NB/Wides Australia 57 8 8 28/2 44/3 0/6 South Africa 57 13 5 30/3 49/0 0/6

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