A superb match needed a Super Over to split the teams and New Zealand prevailed to repay Brendon McCullum for his amazing century. McCullum became the second-highest scorer in a Twenty20 international with an unbeaten 116, but after Michael Clarke and Cameron White exploded in the reply the scores were tied at 214 after 40 overs.

A six-ball tiebreaker was required and the calm Tim Southee delivered another tight over to allow only six runs for White, David Warner and Brad Haddin. Shaun Tait’s waywardness, including two wides, assisted the locals and Martin Guptill finished the game with a four over point from the third legitimate delivery.

The hosts were upset by a meek performance in Friday’s one-sided defeat, but McCullum showed his might with an unforgettable 56-ball demolition on a small ground that was rocking at the start and the end. Things were much quieter as Clarke organised the chase with 67 from 45 and White provided some much-needed muscle with 64 off 26 in a pursuit that was almost perfectly timed. However, Clarke and White could only scurry two from the final ball when three were required, with Clarke run out well short of his ground.

Needing two off almost every delivery throughout the second innings, the Australians managed to stay on track after Warner departed for a McCullum-style 20 off 10. Haddin (47 off 37) and Clarke, who was travelling much quicker than his usual pace, were able to stay close to the rate so they required 125 from the final 60 balls.

James Franklin slowed things down briefly with the wickets of Haddin and David Hussey (10) before White’s brute force arrived. White warmed up with a six over cover off Daniel Vettori, then caressed an inside-out clearance in the same area and was dropped on the boundary attempting a third.

He then powered two fours and a six off Franklin before flicking Shane Bond into the spectators at square leg. The 13 that came from Bond’s final over left Australia wanting 36 off 18 deliveries, but the first of three magically controlled Southee efforts made it 30 from 12.

White survived a run-out and found two boundaries and a six down the ground off Jacob Oram to cut the margin to 12. In Southee’s final over the bowler showed the maturity of a 30-year-old, not a boy who is 21, by delivering more pin-point yorkers to keep his side in the game.

And he proved it wasn’t a fluke by doing it again in the Super Over. The result levelled the series and delivered Australia their first loss of their summer while setting up an intriguing five-match one-day contest beginning on Wednesday.

Despite the flurry of absorbing action at the end, it was McCullum’s fireworks over the first half of the match that were the highlight. He showered boundaries around the tiny stadium and the change in attitude left the Australians, who had rested Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson, wondering if there was any way to stop the run avalanche. They were able to slow it a couple of times, but McCullum carried his team through the loss of six wickets and achieved the side’s highest total.

His hundred came up in 50 balls, equalling the record of Chris Gayle, the only other century-maker in this format. It was achieved with a single to deep cover, at which point the batsman ripped off his helmet to take in the applause, but he was not finished and carried his bat. Nathan McCullum joined his brother at the end, getting 14 in a 50-run stand in 3.2 overs on an afternoon that stunned everyone.

The big crowd of 26,148 was sprinkled by McCullum’s eight sixes and he backed up with a dozen fours during the barrage. Four of the boundaries came with “McScoops” past or over the wicketkeeper, but that was nothing compared to the two sixes he managed to shovel behind himself off Tait. It was brave and brutal – one of the clearances off Tait came from a 155kph thunderbolt.

McCullum proved he wouldn’t be intimidated by Australia’s quick bowlers when he charged the third ball of the day from Tait (2 for 40) and bashed him for four through cover. There were 10 runs from the eventful over, which also contained the ugly bowled of the out-classed Peter Ingram for 0 and Tait sending a finger signal to McCullum.

In the second over McCullum planted a six through cover off Dirk Nannes’ opening delivery, was almost caught next ball top edging a pull, and quickly flicked him to fine leg for a boundary. The new-ball bowlers couldn’t match Friday’s performance as they gave up 42 in the first four overs.

McCullum ended up on his back after his first attempt to scoop Nannes over the wicketkeeper, but he managed it the second time, with the ball just missing Haddin on the way to the boundary. He followed up by unleashing a huge six to midwicket to show he could mix the unorthodox and the traditional. Nannes returned for the 16th over and McCullum enjoyed swinging him twice into the stands on the legside as the bowler went for 51 off four.

After losing the strike in the middle stages when some of his team-mates disappeared, McCullum focused by blasting a fierce straight four off Steven Smith and brought up his half-century in the same over when he pulled to midwicket. He dusted off the scoop to surprise Daniel Christian and then pulled him for six behind square – 57 of his runs came in that segment.

Gareth Hopkins (36 off 17) was the perfect ally for McCullum as they put on 68 in five overs to regain their explosive momentum. McCullum kept going till the end and had a chance to seal the game in the Super Over, but he was as happy as every other local when Guptill squared the series.

Peter English is the Australasia editor of Cricinfo.

It was a different country but the same result for Australia as they breezed to a six-wicket win over an out-classed New Zealand in the first Twenty20 in Wellington. After an unbeaten home summer the visitors started their tour with another convincing display built on very fast bowling and powerful opening batting.

New Zealand were knocked over for 118 by the speed of Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes and Mitchell Johnson and their chances of defending the small total were basically extinguished as soon as David Warner and Shane Watson blasted 28 from the first two overs. The openers were dismissed quickly and Johnson’s promotion to No. 4 failed, dropping the visitors to 39 for 3, but the small target allowed them to take their time and the win came with 24 balls to spare.

David Hussey, who hit Nathan McCullum for three fours in a row, was the aggressor in the 67-run partnership with Michael Clarke, who accumulated calmly for 18 off 26. Hussey finished with 46 from 36 balls and left shortly before the end when he drove McCullum to cover. Cameron White ended the game with a four and a straight six off Martin Guptill in a strong sign-off.

Warner didn’t have a chance to try batting right handed, but he made an impact with his usual stance by introducing himself to Shane Bond with a lofted straight four and a six to square leg in the first six balls. The situation was worse in the next over for Daryl Tuffey, who was taken for 18 by Watson’s four fours and a two.

They both left with 19 – and strike-rates of more than 150 – after Warner was bowled trying to slog another six from Bond and Watson was lbw to Daniel Vettori, who brought himself on in the fourth over. Vettori is always a threat against Australia and they got a sign of what life will be like over the next month as he allowed 1 for 13 from four. Bond touched 150kph in his opening spell to join the pace party and finished with 2 for 32.

Johnson’s three early wickets left New Zealand at an uncomfortable 54 for 4 and the intervention of James Franklin, who collected a composed 43 off 42, was required to get them past 100. Only two other batsmen, Guptill (30) and Gareth Hopkins (21), reached double figures as the hosts were over-run.

Johnson, who finished with 3 for 19, joined in a frightening partnership with Tait and Nannes as the trio operated around 150kph. Tait and Nannes collected two wickets while Watson also chipped in with a couple of victims in a comprehensive performance from the attack.

Brad Haddin began the day in spectacular style when he dived to his right for a one-handed catch to remove the dangerous Brendon McCullum from the fourth ball. Johnson, the first-change, bowled Peter Ingram with his opening delivery to have the hosts 13 for 2 in the fifth over and he was also involved when Ross Taylor (9) was unlucky to be given out lbw by Billy Bowden. Taylor, a player who is so important to his side, was hit on the foot well outside off stump and departed at 3 for 33.

Finding the boundary was the hard thing for the home side and Australia’s tight bowling prevented a quick start and a competitive score. Guptill broke free a handful of times but was taken by Johnson after Watson ran back to claim a top edge at midwicket.

A quick stand of 50 in 5.1 overs between Franklin and Hopkins was crucial in gaining some momentum for the hosts, but they quickly fell back and were dismissed on the final ball of the 20th over. They will need to improve dramatically for the second match in Christchurch on Sunday if they are going to end Australia’s winning streak.

Peter English is the Australasia editor of Cricinfo.

David Warner hammered the second-fastest Twenty20 international half-century to hand Australia an eight-wicket win over West Indies and complete their dreams of an unbeaten summer. Warner raced to fifty from 18 deliveries, beating his own 19-ball effort from last season, as Australia reeled in the target of 139 with a ridiculous 50 deliveries to spare.

West Indies’ total looked semi-competitive until the first over of the chase when Warner and Shane Watson took 26 off Kemar Roach, who bowled too short and allowed Warner to swing through midwicket. There were three sixes in the over – as many as the visitors hit in their entire innings – and the contest was all but decided.

By the time Warner had cleared the boundary off Darren Sammy in the second over, he had 33 from eight deliveries and Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball half-century record was conceivably in danger. He struck seven sixes in total, all in the midwicket to long-on region and including at least one off each of the six bowlers he faced, before he holed out for 67 from 29.

At the other end, Watson was so good that he too entered the list of quickest fifties, when he reached the mark from 26 balls, but he was utterly cast into the shadows while Warner was at the crease. Watson finished with an unbeaten 62 from 33 and after Brad Haddin fell with one run needed, the debutant Daniel Christian struck a four to complete the triumph.

The win ended the summer on a high for Australia, who since the introduction of ODIs in the 1970s had only had one other summer – 2000-01 – when they didn’t lose a match. Warner and Watson blazed home but the result was really set up by an outstanding effort in the field as they again caused problems for West Indies’ top order.

The debutants Ryan Harris and Christian grabbed two early wickets each and Steven Smith was everywhere in the field, producing one of the most memorable catches of the summer. The trouble started when Chris Gayle tried to flick Harris over square leg and top-edged to Smith at third man for 12.

Harris followed two balls later with Runako Morton, who edged to Cameron White at second slip for a golden duck. White’s catch was sharp but there was far better to come from Smith, who had impressed in the first game on Sunday with two athletic takes on the boundary.

He eclipsed those efforts with a leaping catch at deep midwicket to give Christian his maiden international wicket when Travis Dowlin’s heave off middle stump looked to be sailing for six. Dowlin was the man who appeared most likely to guide a West Indies recovery and he made an admirable 31 from 32 balls without ever truly finding perfect touch.

Dowlin needed more assistance from the middle order but Morton, Kieron Pollard, Wavell Hinds and Dwayne Smith at Nos. 3 to 6 all failed to reach double figures. Hinds fell victim to Australia’s slick fielding when he tried to get off the mark with a perilous single only to see White at point throw to Smith at the bowler’s end where the batsman was short.

There was a late recovery from Narsingh Deonarine (36 not out) and Sammy, who hit 26 from 11, but the inadequacy of their total was shown by Warner and Watson. It was a memorable way to end a summer of Australian dominance.

Brydon Coverdale is a staff writer at Cricinfo.

Shaun Tait proved he can still be a force at international level as he helped Australia to a tense two-run win that completed a clean-sweep across all three formats against Pakistan this summer. Tait bowled the fastest ball ever recorded in Australia and grabbed 3 for 13 including the key wicket of Kamran Akmal, who had threatened to end Australia’s streak with his highest Twenty20 score.

Pakistan’s trip has been notable for terrible fielding and the inability to capitalise whenever they got on top of Australia. This time their fielding was sharper than it had been at any stage over the past couple of months but their failure to keep Australia down remained a major issue. Despite dismissing Australia for 127 and being on track at 4 for 98 in the 15th over, they found a way to lose.

The problems began when Kamran chipped to mid-on for 64 from 33 balls to hand Tait his third wicket. Steven Smith then delivered two important breakthroughs on debut when he had Fawad Alam caught at slip and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan stumped, and the wickets kept tumbling. In the end, Pakistan needed 10 from the final Shane Watson over. Umar Akmal was on strike, having been the key after the loss of his brother, but when he holed out from the first ball the result was all but sealed.

It was a shame that Kamran’s team-mates couldn’t reward him after he led an impressive fightback when the visitors had stumbled to 2 for 10. Kamran was a one-man resistance movement and raced to a 25-ball half-century, the quickest ever by a Pakistan batsman in a Twenty20 international.

His fifty came up with a typically muscular pull for six off Dirk Nannes and at the time Pakistan were 4 for 81 and no other batsman in their line-up had reached double figures. It was an incredible turnaround for a man who was dropped from both the Test and ODI sides during the tour and had a best international score of 34 in any format on the trip.

In a match where Tait broke the 160kph barrier and his new-ball partner Nannes was fast and accurate, the first-change Mitchell Johnson was a welcome relief and Kamran helped blast 20 off Johnson’s first over. Despite the support of his brother Umar (21), there wasn’t enough of a spread in the runs from the rest of the Pakistanis.

The trouble began with the quick loss of both the openers. Nannes’ first over was a maiden that included the run-out of Imran Nazir as the pressure built, and Tait didn’t drop below 150kph in his opening spell. He hit 160.7kph, which was the fastest ball recorded in Australia, and from a 152kph offering had Imran Farhat caught at slip for 8.

That undid much of the good work from Pakistan in the field after they dismissed Australia with eight balls to spare. Only twice in a 20-over match had Australia scored less than their 127 and it was thanks to great bowling from Umar Gul and a sharp fielding effort from his team-mates. Three run-outs hurt Australia badly, including two that resulted in flat, accurate throws from the outfield from Umar Akmal.

But the most impressive was Fawad’s effort to get rid of Cameron White for 4. A Gul short ball lobbed off White’s body to point where Fawad took the catch, but while the umpire was turning down the appeal, White wandered out of his crease and was brilliantly snared by a smart throw.

It was the second good thing that Fawad did in the field after he held a sharp chance at point to send Michael Clarke on his way for 32 from 26 balls. Clarke’s innings was useful but didn’t exactly disprove the doubters who believe he is unsuited to Twenty20 cricket.

He began in promising enough fashion with a cracking cut for four from his first delivery but there was only one more boundary and most of his runs came from scrambled ones and twos. Neither of Australia’s debutants had innings to remember – Travis Birt was out second ball when he missed a paddle sweep and was bowled, and Smith was bowled by Rana’s slower delivery for 8.

The Twenty20 specialist David Warner made a handy 24 but his dismissal sparked a mini-collapse of 5 for 27. The last of those wickets was Brad Haddin, stumped down the leg side. It was one of several good things Kamran did for the match. He simply didn’t have enough support with the bat.

Brydon Coverdale is a staff writer at Cricinfo.

New Zealand put a small part of their tour blues behind them by clinching a thrilling three-run win over Sri Lanka in the first of two Twenty20s at the R Premadasa Stadium. The coloured clothing was out and with it a fresh look to New Zealand’s Twenty20 unit, but it was Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram, with a hat-trick, who ultimately gave the tourists something to smile about.

With the openers dismissed early, the pressure was on Taylor, who carried the team almost single-handedly with a busy innings until the 18th over after which, Lasith Malinga returned to stifle the tail. A total of 141 appeared under-par when Tillakaratne Dilshan blazed to 57 off 28 balls, but Vettori reminded everyone of his worth in Twenty20s with a niggardly spell and, aided by some dedicated fielding, New Zealand hauled themselves back in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Dilshan’s assault on Shane Bond in the first over had the crowd in raptures, and New Zealand almost cowering. What was touted to be a seminal moment in New Zealand’s bid for a comeback was smashed in four deliveries as Dilshan welcomed Bond back to international cricket with disdain. After bouncing Dilshan first ball, Bond was slapped for four consecutive fours.

It didn’t look good for New Zealand when Dilshan unfurled his patent scoop to Kyle Mills’ second delivery and got four, but there was a moment of relief when Sanath Jayasuriya top-edged to Bond at fine leg three balls later. Bond’s second over only cost four, but Dilshan resumed against Mills in the fourth over, pulling and lofting sixes.

Then New Zealand launched a stirring comeback. Jesse Ryder’s direct hit got rid of Mahela Jayawardene, after which Vettori got Kumar Sangakkara in his first over. Ian Butler struck in successive overs as Ryder cupped an excellent catch at backward point to cut off Dilshan and Chamara Kapugedera missed an ugly slog. At this stage Sri Lanka were 85 for 5 with 57 needed from 60 balls.

Angelo Mathews took fours off Jacob Oram, but the pressure built up by Vettori was excruciating. Having given three runs in his first over, Vettori wheeled away off an nagging line and conceded five in his second and, crucially, just a single in his third. The debutant Gihan Rupasinghe found Vettori tough to score off and, backed by some alert close-in fielding, was frustrated into sweeping and missing. With his final delivery, Vettori trapped Rupasinghe lbw for 15 off 21 balls to finish with figures of 4-0-11-2.

With 20 needed off 19, Mathews popped a return catch to Oram. Suddenly New Zealand, who till now had been athletic in the field, started diving over the ball and failing to back-up errant throws. Scampered single and doubles kept Sri Lanka ticking. With 13 to defend off 12, Vettori called back Bond. It was a wicketless return for Bond, but four singles in the final over sure beat four fours. Two wickets in the first two balls of the final over – that gave Oram his hat-trick – left Sri Lanka’s last pair too much to do.

New Zealand’s bid to gain momentum after last week’s Test series defeat looked like it had hit a potential roadblock as they were kept to 141. Brendon McCullum appeared in the mood to get back into form, slashing a wide delivery from Malinga over point, but the combination of Ryder’s straight drive and Nuwan Kulasekara’s fingertips cut short his nine-ball innings. Ryder couldn’t lift the tempo in a lovely second over from Malinga, full of crafty changes of pace, and with Kulasekara cutting down the boundary options, he gave himself room and lofted a catch into the hands of Malinga Bandara running back from mid-off.

Taylor and Martin Guptill were left to consolidate matters, and when Sangakkara called on Mathews, Taylor weighed in with consecutive boundaries, slashing past point and driving wide of cover. Another fortuitous deflection followed off Ajantha Mendis, when Guptill drove and edged past slip. New Zealand took 38 off the Powerplay overs.

Taylor’s entertaining 60, including five fours and a six, went well with the festive atmosphere at the ground but he lacked support. Guptill, who was dropped by Mathews in the deep off Jayasuriya, launched Bandara for a straight six but miscued the next delivery to deep midwicket for 29. Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin was to Taylor’s liking and he slog-swept for four and six in successive deliveries in the 15th over.

Oram looked as if he was at the wrong party before he fell for 8 off 13 deliveries, holing out to Kulasekara at mid-off in Mendis’ final over. Trying to get some momentum going, Taylor fell in Mathews’ next over, giving Kulasekara another catch in the deep. Mathews returned a flat throw to help run out Peter McGlashan and Malinga returned to york Kyle Mills and Vettori with consecutive deliveries in the 20th over.

But Malinga and Dilshan’s efforts were not enough to deny a New Zealand side piloted to victory by two of their established stars.

Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

Pakistan 172 for 5 (Afridi 50, Nazir 40) beat Sri Lanka 120 (Sangakkara 38, Ajmal 3-18, Naved 3-19) by 52 runs…

Pakistan will want to take the Premadasa Stadium with them wherever they go. After groping in the darkness for the better part of the tour, they finally unearthed gold when they landed here for the last two one-dayers and tonight they signed off in style with a comprehensive 52-run win in the one-off Twenty20. It was touted as the rematch after the World Twenty20 final in June but Sri Lanka failed to even the score. Their nemesis from Lord’s – Shahid Afridi – stood in their way again with 50, a tight spell and a run-out to boot.

Sri Lanka’s nemesis in the World Twenty20 final at Lord’s, Shahid Afridi, returned to haunt them yet again with an attacking half-century to guide Pakistan to a challenging total in the one-off Twenty20 in Colombo. After losing a wicket first ball, Imran Nazir stabilised things early on, Afridi and Umar Akmal helped Pakistan gain control in the middle overs and Abdul Razzaq’s late blitz pushed them to a challenging total.

Batting under lights at the Premadasa Stadium hampered the Sri Lankans in the one-dayers, when they struggled to cope with the movement. While Pakistan would have been expected to start their innings with a bit of caution, they went about slamming away from the start. That’s after Kamran Akmal played all around an inswinger from Nuwan Kulasekara and lost his stumps off the first ball of the match, the third such instance in this series. Kamran had only himself to blame, unlike the fifth ODI where the umpire was the culprit.

That didn’t deter Nazir and Shoaib Malik, who regularly went down the track as a tactic to smother the swing. Malik was particularly disdainful against Thilan Thushara, slapping and scooping him over his head to set the innings into overdrive and his partner carried on from where he left off in the ICL.

Just as the partnership gathered threatening proportions, Malik fell to a moment of indiscretion. Facing Lasith Malinga, he shuffled across his stumps, then exposed all three of them, swished at thin air and saw his off stump pushed back.

Nazir’s stint, although brief, was exciting and fortuitous. A mis-hit off Thushara ought to have been taken at mid-on by Malinga, who got underneath the ball but fluffed the catch. Malinga had another chance to send him back but the umpire failed to detect a thin edge amidst the din. The micro battle finally ended when Malinga, fittingly, took an easy catch at long-off to send him back for 40.

Afridi wasn’t very convincing at the start of his innings, slashing and swishing at deliveries far too early. He also survived a very confident shout for lbw off Murali, with the ball appearing to turn enough to clip the leg stump. As he got his eye in, though, the shots flew off his bat. He chipped down the track to Murali and carved them inside out over extra cover but the shot of the evening was a stylish one-legged whip off Malinga that just cleared the deep midwicket boundary.

Umar too carried on from where he left off in the one-dayers, using his feet to clear the infield. His stand with Afridi yielded 66 in a little more than seven overs but he fell off a tame top edge while attempting a cheeky paddle off Angelo Mathews.

Afridi fell shortly after getting to his third consecutive fifty in Twenty20s, failing to clear Kulasekara at long-off. Razzaq then finished the innings with a cameo and Pakistan gave themselves a good chance of rounding off the tour on a high.

Kanishkaa Balachandran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

Promising fast bowler, Stuart Broad believes England is finally coming out from underneath the shadow of influential all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and has the potential to win the ICC World Twenty20 even without him.

Flintoff is recovering from a knee operation after being injured playing in the Indian Premier League last month. The availability of the talismanic all-rounder is yet to be confirmed for the June 4 event.

Earlier, England’s hopes of success would rest largely on the performance of Flintoff , who balanced the side with his ability to bowl at key parts of the innings and often contributed with runs down the order.

“We are definitely equipped to win the World Twenty20 without Fred,” insisted Broad. “We’ve played a lot of cricket without him in the last couple of years. I know I haven’t played a huge amount with him.”

“He’s obviously a very important player for us with bat and ball but players step up and take responsibility when he’s not here, that’s very important,” Broad said.

“We need to gain confidence of winning without Fred so when he comes back into the side there will be a lot of belief and confidence there,” he added.

Flintoff’s absence in the recently concluded one-day series against the West Indies had very little impact on the outcome, as the hosts comfortably sealed the series 2-0, after the first game was washed out. England dominated in all departments and clearly looked a top side.

“It’s obviously a very short series, but winning is very important all the time just to keep momentum going,” Broad said about the series.

“I think we’ve done that well when he’s not been in the side and that can only be good because when we get in a pressure situation with Fred in the side, Andrew Strauss will have options.”

Broad is one of those players captains Andrew Strauss and Twenty20 skipper Paul Collingwood look to fill the void left by the giant all-rounder. Broad has been doing the duties with the new ball with James Anderson, and if Flintoff misses the Twenty20 tournament, the responsibility will straightway fall on his shoulders.

“The extra responsibility is something I thrive on. I like taking the new ball and setting the tone in the first 10 overs,” he said.

It is pertinent to note that Broad had to put up with the humiliation of being hit for six sixes early in his international career and ironically in the maiden ICC World Twenty20 event in South Africa, when Yuvraj Singh scored 36 of his one over in Durban.

Since that moment, Broad has shown remarkable confidence and determination to reach the point where he has emerged as England’s leading strike bowler with 79 ODI wickets from 49 games.

England’s Test captain, Andrew Strauss, will play no part in Middlesex’s Twenty20 Cup campaign, after it was decided by the England management that he should concentrate solely on first-class cricket ahead of the Ashes, which begins in Cardiff on July 8.

Despite his current fine form in both Tests and 50-over internationals, Strauss opted to stand down from England’s World Twenty20 squad because the format didn’t suit his accumulative style. Now, despite Middlesex being the reigning Twenty20 Cup champions, he will remain on the sidelines until the resumption of the County Championship on June 6.

“Andrew Strauss will not take part in Middlesex’s Twenty20 Cup campaign in order to focus on the longer form of the game ahead of the Ashes,” the England team director, Andy Flower, said in a press release.

Strauss is one of four players currently involved in the ODI series against West Indies who will be unavailable to their counties ahead of the forthcoming World Twenty20. The England new-ball pairing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad have also been told to rest, along with Matt Prior, who is not in the Twenty20 squad, but who damaged his right ring finger during the closing stages of the second Test in Chester-le-Street.

“Anderson and Broad will be rested from this week’s Twenty20 Cup fixtures due to their recent heavy workloads … against West Indies,” Flower said. “We believe they will benefit from a brief rest ahead of the ICC World Twenty20. Prior will be rested from the Twenty20 Cup as he needs to allow time for his injured finger to recover properly.”

Prior and Strauss will be available to Sussex and Middlesex respectively for their County Championship fixtures against Yorkshire and Essex, starting on June 6. For the remaining 13 players involved in England’s Twenty20 campaign, they will be permitted to turn out for their counties from Wednesday through till Friday, before joining up with the national squad on Saturday.

England’s ICC World Twenty20 squad

Paul Collingwood (capt, Durham), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire), James Foster (Essex), Robert Key (Kent), Dimitri Mascarenhas (Hampshire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Graham Napier (Essex), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Luke Wright (Sussex).

Source: Cricinfo

Cricket fans in 218 countries have the chance to see the best players in the world in nation-versus-nation action as ESPN STAR Sports builds up for the big event in England

Men’s event likely to be most-viewed cricket tournament in history as women’s game will receive further profile boost

Commentary available in 10 languages in Europe through Eurosport including Russian, French, German, Polish and Turkish as well as many other languages around the globe

The ICC World Twenty20 2009 about to get underway in England will be broadcast in a total of 218 countries across six continents, it was confirmed today.

The 17-day tournament will feature 12 teams with all the top international players in the world taking part in nation-versus-nation action, and with tickets for the big event fast disappearing, fans who are unable to support their teams at the grounds will be afforded the best possible coverage courtesy of the ICC’s global broadcaster partner ESPN STAR Sports (ESS).

All 27 matches in the men’s event will be covered live by ESS while both women’s semi-finals and the final will also be beamed around the globe giving unprecedented exposure to women’s Twenty20 cricket.

In addition, 10 of the warm-up matches will also be televised live including the eagerly awaited India v Pakistan game, which will take place at The Oval on 3 June.

The commentary team includes some of the most insightful voices in the game including Nasser Hussain, David Lloyd, Sanjay Manjrekar, Harsha Bhogle, Alan Wilkins, Ian Bishop, Wasim Akram, Ranil Abeynaiyke, Athar Ali Khan, Ian Bishop, Simon Doull, Jeremy Coney and Kepler Wessels.

Also, following her highly successful stint commentating during the ICC Women’s World Cup earlier this year, former Australia batter Melanie Jones, twice a Women’s World Cup winner in 1997 and 2005, will join the team for the women’s matches.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: “We expect the ICC World Twenty20 to be the most viewed cricket event in the history of the game, which is a huge achievement considering it is just the second-ever staging of the ICC World Twenty20.

“Apart from providing entertainment and an economic boost to the global game, the ICC World Twenty20 is one of the ways we are reaching out and spreading the message of cricket across the world.

“ESS’s unrivaled coverage of the event brings the game alive in millions of homes and helps to create an interest where there was none while reinforcing the passion where it already exists,” said Mr Lorgat.

ESS Managing Director Manu Sawhney said: “We are very pleased to bring top-class international cricket action to more than 100 million fans in more than 218 countries across the globe as the second edition of the ICC World Twenty20 kicks off in England next month.

“We remain committed to bring alive the game for fans and have lined up one of the most comprehensive and entertaining presentations possible that includes including high-definition coverage, innovative camera angles and some of the best experts from the world of cricket.

“We are confident of setting new benchmarks in the distribution of the game along with our partners across the globe.”

Former India batsman and ESS commentator Sanjay Manjrekar added: “The ICC World Twenty20 is where only the very best play against each other in a form of cricket that is redefining the entire sport.”

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said: “The first edition of the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa was a brilliant tournament. It proved that Twenty20 was not just a slog-fest but had plenty of top-quality cricket played in highly-pressurised situations which tested the skill and temperaments of the best players.”

In total there will be 28 cameras used as standard during each match of the event in three venues at Lord’s, the Oval and Trent Bridge. That is not including six Hawk Eye cameras that will give viewers an intimate perspective on all the key moments in the tournament.

In the United Kingdom, national broadcaster the BBC will show an extensive highlights package daily during the tournament, ensuring that the event will receive an audience on terrestrial television as well on ESS’s UK broadcast partner Sky Sports.

With teams representing European territories outside the UK, including Ireland and the Netherlands, Eurosport will also be showing 12 matches live on its normal feed with the remainder available on a pay-per-view basis. That will ensure cricket reaches the homes of millions of Europeans with multi-lingual commentaries being presented in 10 languages including, including Russian, French, German, Polish and Turkish.

Other languages covered off by commentary in Europe are Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Romanian and Serbian.

There will also be live ball-by-ball coverage of the event on radio and the internet while SNTV and Reuters TV will be providing regular news access to ensure anyone in the world who wishes to keep up to date with goings on in England can do so at the turn of a dial, a flick of the switch or click of a mouse.

Note: Prominent broadcasters include ART Prime Sports, who will beam the telecast in the Middle East and North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen). ATN will show it in Canada, BSKYB will showcase the event in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Caribbean Media Corporation will take the beam forward across the West Indies. Eurosport will telecast in Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, France, Monaco and the Commonwealth of Independent States including Russia. DirecTV (Willow TV) will bring the action to millions of fans in the USA. BTV (terrestrial station) will show it in Bangladesh, Hum Tum TV will cater for fans in Japan while ESPN STAR Sports will broadcast in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan.

Sachin Tendulkar has stressed the need for adequate rest for Indian players ahead of the World Twenty20 in June, particularly so for the openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who failed to fire in the IPL. Tendulkar was by and large satisfied with the way Indian players performed in the IPL but pointed out that Sehwag and Gambhir had not been consistent. The pair only managed two half-century partnerships in nine innings together, and struggled with their form. Both batsmen were among the top ten run-getters last season, but Gambhir finished with a disappointing average of 22 from 15 games this year, and Sehwag with 19.38 from 11.

“I think individually the boys are doing well,” Tendulkar said upon arrival in India. “Look at Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS (Dhoni)… In the bowling department, Zaheer was doing well before he got injured and RP Singh has come up in leaps and bounds.

“Only our opening combination of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag hasn’t fired,” Tendulkar said. “I think the key would be how soon they can shed the fatigue factor. They have been playing back to back for a long time now and it would be difficult to keep up the tempo.”

The World Twenty20 is scheduled to begin on June 5 and India face Bangladesh in their first league game the next day. Asked if the IPL served as an ideal preparation for the tournament, Tendulkar said: “… It is. You are playing the same format and you are playing against the best bowlers and also not in home conditions. So, I think this is a good preparation except that the players should take adequate rest between the IPL and the ICC World Twenty20.”

Tendulkar was also sure he didn’t intend to represent India in the Twenty20 format. “I never thought that I would play the ICC World Twenty20. MS Dhoni and his Twenty20 team have done wonderfully well and I just hope they continue to do so. I have no plans to play T20 for India,” he said.

Tendulkar led an unsuccessful campaign as captain of Mumbai Indians, losing eight out of 14 games, and failing to make it to the semi-finals. “We blew hot and cold,” he said about his team’s performance. “There were times when we could have done better than we did. I think it is a batsman’s format and in our case it was the batsmen who let us down.”

Source: Cricinfo