England v West Indies, 2nd Twenty20, The Oval

West Indies stun England to level series

West Indies 113 for 5 (Samuels 35*, Patel 2-22) beat England 88 (Mathurin 3-9) by 25 runs Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Garey Mathurin, a previously unknown left-arm spinner from St Lucia, produced a remarkable spell of 3 for 9 in four overs as West Indies secured a shock 25-run victory in the second Twenty20 at The Oval. After being asked to bat first on a slow and low turner, they struggled to a total of 113 for 5 and looked set for a second heavy defeat in three days. But instead, they rallied supremely to bowl England out for 88 with more than three overs of their allocation to spare.

With England set to embark on a tour of India next week, and with the defence of their World Twenty20 crown taking place in Sri Lanka in 12 months' time, this was a match that will have caused a few jitters in the team thinktank. On the same pitch that proved receptive to spin in Friday's opening game, both teams stacked their side with slow bowlers, but it was England's new-look order that ultimately dealt with the conditions the worst.

England's innings began inauspiciously, as Mathurin's high action and appreciable turn gave Friday's matchwinner Alex Hales a strokeless start to his innings. He had managed just two runs from his first eight balls when Krishnar Santokie, another West Indian debutant, and this time one who hasn't played first-class cricket, bowled him with a beauty that nipped through his defences and into off stump.

Four balls later, Mathurin made his first big impression, as Craig Kieswetter - with two fours to his name - was so bamboozled by a slider that he stood his ground after being bowled, in the vain hope that the keeper had been the one to whip off the bails. Ravi Bopara was then spun out by a beauty in Mathurin's next over, and at 26 for 3 at the end of the Powerplay, the match was exquisitely in the balance.

Ben Stokes did his utmost to change the dynamic of the innings, as he greeted Devendra Bishoo with the most violent assault of the night - a six and two fours in the space of a first over that went for 17, but at the other end, Mathurin twirled away without anything being allowed to break his zone. Jonny Bairstow, the hero of the Cardiff ODI, might have been tempted to block out the final four balls of his spell, but instead he dropped to his knees for a sweep, and was bowled for 4.

Stokes continued to provide England with a boundary-finding option, but as had been the case in the West Indian innings, working the singles proved to be a problem, not least when the less-than-fleet-footed Samit Patel entered the fray. He was run out by a direct hit from gully as he belatedly set off for a leg bye and, one over later, Stokes responded to three dot balls in a row with a missed sweep that left him lbw for 31.

The arrival of Tim Bresnan at No. 8 was arguably the most encouraging sight for England at such a stage, but even his big-match experience couldn't rescue his side. He drove on the up to that man Mathurin at long-off to depart for 2 from 4, and instead it was the rookie alliance of Jos Buttler and Scott Borthwick who hauled England back from the depths of 60 for 7. With more pace on the ball now that the spinners' overs were running out, they added 23 in 17 balls before a brilliant shy from Darren Sammy at mid-on left Buttler stranded short of his crease, and England deep in the mire.

Another calamitous run-out followed one over later as England began to panic. Graeme Swann turned down a single to cover with Borthwick stranded at the wrong end of the pitch, and the captain hadn't scored from either of his two deliveries by the time England's No. 11, Jade Dernbach, was also sent on his way via a run-out. Earlier in the match, Swann had chosen not to bowl his full quota of overs to give his team-mates the practice. It was a quiet night for the noisiest man in the camp.

On a bad night for England full-stop, Borthwick's performance with the ball was undoubtedly the highlight. In a solitary over against Ireland last month, he conceded 13 runs in unfavourable conditions. Tonight he went for 15 in a full four-over quota, without conceding a single boundary. His maiden international wicket was a collector's item as well, a perfectly pitched googly that bamboozled Johnson Charles, West Indies' opener, and bowled him for 21.

After allowing West Indies to rattle to 42 for 0 in four overs against the seamers on Friday, Swann cannily chose to open with the spin of Patel. His first ball was swept for four by Charles, the last of his quota was nailed through the covers for another boundary, and in between whiles he was clubbed for six by Charles over long-on. But the remainder of his 21 deliveries conceded a grand total of six runs, as West Indies found no way to keep the strike rotating.

Even Marlon Samuels, the most renowned batsman on display, found it tough to raise his game in the circumstances. He struggled for timing initially and had made 11 from 20 balls before drilling his first boundary at the end of the 15th over, and though he lifted his game in the closing stages, a run-a-ball 35 appeared to have done little more than hoist the West Indies total into triple figures. That, however, proved to be decisive.

England's fielding, such a strong factor in their victory on Friday, was once again sharp, with Hales sliding round the deep midwicket boundary to cling onto a slog from Christopher Barnwell, before Borthwick at long-off swallowed a firm lofted drive off Sammy to give Bopara his fifth wicket of the series, and his first of the night. Dernbach was England's other wicket-taker, with an early lbw to remove Dwayne Smith, but at the end of a memorable summer, it was West Indies who were left to cavort around the outfield. Their season is only just beginning, but what a fillip this will be as they head off towards Dubai, Bangladesh and beyond.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s PP1 16-20 overs NB/Wides West Indies 58 7 2 25/2 39/1 0/2 England 57 8 1 26/3 3/1 0/1

 

South Australia v Warriors, CLT20 2011, Hyderabad

Smuts leads Warriors to big win

Warriors 171 for 5 (Smuts 88, Harris 2-23) beat South Australia 121 for 6 (Klinger 34, Tsotsobe 2-30) by 50 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A dominant performance by the Warriors helped them win their second match in three days, this one a composed and clinical victory over South Australia. JJ Smuts' smashing 88 propelled them to an imposing total that proved too much for South Australia to chase. Smuts batted for all but seven balls of the innings and shared in two meaty partnerships, with Colin Ingram and Mark Boucher, that formed the foundations of their innings. The Warriors bowlers had plenty of runs to play with and, unlike their opponents, made good use of variation on a slow, dry pitch to frustrate the South Australia batsmen.

South Australia had early success when Ashwell Prince was bowled by the pacy Shaun Tait in the second over. But they were unable to build on that, as Smuts and Colin Ingram hit top gear in the Powerplay. Smuts dispatched Adil Rashid, who opened the bowling, and showed no fear in taking on Tait, regardless of whether he bowled full or short. Ingram swept impressively, particularly against Nathan Lyon, and the pair raced to 59 from six overs.

Lyon and Aaron O'Brien gave away only one boundary from the next two overs, but it was when Harris came on that the runs dried up. He bowled a good wicket-to-wicket line and frustrated Ingram, who tried to take him on at the start of the 11th over. The South African latched onto a short ball but didn't have enough on it to carry cow corner and was caught.

With Smuts tiring and Boucher battling to find his feet upfront, Christian and O'Brien pulled the run-rate down to under eight an over. Smuts continued to punish the short balls and Boucher finally got going with a lofted shot over O'Brien's head that went for four.

Tait's inconsistency allowed both Smuts and Boucher to ready themselves for an innings-ending burst. Smuts dealt with his full deliveries in smashing style and Tait bowled a no-ball, sprayed five wides down the leg-side and battled to get the yorker right consistently. It was into Tait's hands that Smuts eventually fell though. He looked well placed to get a century, but was dismissed trying to play an innovative scoop over short fine leg off Harris. Christian took two wickets in the final over to stop the Warriors from exploding at the end.

Against a dynamic attack, South Australia never really looked in the chase. Lonwabo Tsotsobe was able to get a hint of movement and angled the ball across the right-hander. Daniel Harris was uncomfortable with the angle and when he tried to bash one through the covers, got a nick and was caught behind. Tsotsobe's accuracy earned him a second wicket, that of Tom Cooper, who fed a simple catch back to him.

Rusty Theron was at his best, mixing up the yorkers and slower balls with ease. He was rewarded when Callum Ferguson failed to read the change of pace and hit a slower ball straight to Ingram on the edge of the circle. With South Australia falling far behind the required run-rate, the captain Michael Klinger decided to take the on the spinners. He smacked Nicky Boje over long on but was trapped lbw by a sharply turning Johan Botha delivery.

Cameron Borgas looked to do the same thing and cracked Smuts for a four and a six, before holing out to long-on, where Tsotsobe took the catch. Wayne Parnell was only introduced in the 11th over and continued in the same vein as his colleagues, making good use of the short ball. In his second spell, he started with a good length ball and bowled Tim Ludeman. Christian hung on until the end but was unable to pull off the spectacular as Parnell and Botha wound the match down and the Warriors completed a comfortable win.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 overs NB/Wides Warriors 33 16 1 59/1 52/3 1/10 South Australia 37 8 2 35/3 25/1 0/4

 

Kolkata Knight Riders v Somerset, CLT20, Hyderabad

van der Merwe leads Somerset to tight win

Somerset 164 for 5 (van der Merwe 73, Trego 28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 161 for 3 (Kallis 74*, Yusuf 39*, Gregory 2-9) by five wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Jacques Kallis showed technical prowess, Yusuf Pathan great power, but the pugnacious Roelof van der Merwe mastered the slow and low track the best to help Somerset chase a daunting 162. Kolkata Knight Riders' late surge with both bat and ball made them work hard for the win, Kolkata looted 78 off the last six overs, and quick wickets meant Somerset had to struggle for 43 off their last seven.

Even when Kallis and Yusuf went berserk, van der Merwe was the only man to hold his own. He went for just 14 from the 18th and 20 overs despite two dropped catches, one of which went for four. With the bat in hand he was an absolute jack in the box, reverse-sweeping sixes, managing to mishit over the infield, drop-kicking his favourite cricketer Kallis over midwicket, late-cutting the spinners delicately, and scoring the third-fastest Champions league fifty.

It would have been easy for Somerset to feel disheartened after part-timer Arul Suppiah conceded 30 off the 15th over, or feel hard done by Brett Lee's getting away with clear overhead bouncers and Alfonso Thomas' being penalised for a border-line slower bouncer with Kallis down on his knees. Especially when Thomas followed that harsh call with a high full toss that Kallis duly deposited for a six.

Somerset, though, got stuck in. And like with the ball van, der Merwe was the man with the bat. He came in to bat when Iqbal Abdulla struck with the first ball off the second over, but dominated so much that Peter Trego managed only 23 out of a 105-run second-wicket stand. He began with an edge through the vacant first slip region, but proceeded to counter Abdulla and Shakib Al Hasan with lovely late-cutting. It frustrated Kolkata so much that Manoj Tiwary - wired up for live-time interviews - berated his spinners on air for not turning the ball at all. The reverse-swept six off Shakib worked a treat.

Kallis, who had worked hard in the first innings for his 74, was picked up for a six over midwicket and then upper-cut over the keeper's head. That it was his devotee hitting him out of the attack made it more interesting to watch. At that time Somerset had reached 107 in 10 overs, and all they needed was milking. Kolkata, though, weren't quite bovine, and Shakib brought them back. He dropped a caught-and-bowled from Trego but produced a direct-hit to run him out. The one from van der Merwe in the same over he gleefully accepted.

With two new batsmen in, the pitch was back to being a mud-wrestling arena. The ball held up from the middle of the pitch, and stroke-making was difficult again. Nick Compton, Arul Suppiah and Steve Snell kept their cool for long enough to see them through with two balls to spare.

It was similar sensible batting from Kallis that had kept Kolkata alive in the first quarter of the game. With Somerset bowlers using the slow track well and the fielders giving hardly anything away, Kallis had to use all his technique and judgement. It took him 39 deliveries to reach a strike-rate of 100. That was in the 14th over, when he hit his first six to take Kolkata to 82, off the 82nd legal delivery. In the next over, Thomas, the exemplary Somerset captain, gambled. He asked part-time spinner Suppiah to bowl. He was the seventh bowler used, and the run-rate of six an over then didn't suggest Somerset needed overs to be made up. Perhaps Thomas was greedy with the slow track now.

Yusuf seized the moment. He stood still, waited for the full flat deliveries and kept swinging to leg, hitting four consecutive sixes. Eighty-three had become 113 in one over, and clearly the fielding side, who had played smart cricket until then, was rattled. Catches were dropped, overthrows conceded, Kallis joined in in the fun too, but van der Merwe was still in their face. He would continue to be there with the bat too.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 overs NB/Wides Kolkata Knight Riders 33 7 9 36/2 48/0 1/6 Somerset 32 17 2 63/1 34/1 (16.1-19.4) 0/5