The humiliation was complete, but only moments after it seemed West Indies had done enough to avert it. Partly misfortune but mostly indiscipline cost them the fifth and final ODI in Port of Spain to ensure South Africa swept an ODI series 5-0 for the third time against West Indies. The wickets of half-centurions Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy had helped the hosts wrest control of the game, but Jerome Taylor’s inopportune injury, Dwayne Bravo’s poor death bowling and Kieron Pollard’s nervy last over deprived the hosts of an elusive face-saving win.

South Africa’s lower order had been untested this series due to the success of their frontline batsmen, but prevailed through a combination of luck and mettle. Jerome Taylor, who bowled Duminy in the 44th over to put his team ahead, tormented Ryan McLaren with deliveries outside off stump that the batsman consistently struggled to hit. The effect was increasing pressure on the visitors that was relaxed when Taylor’s back troubles returned to haunt him.

As Taylor walked off the field, Bravo and Pollard, two bowlers adept at changing their pace, had to shoulder the responsibility of restricting South Africa. But the more experienced among them erred in strategy and direction, opting to target the stumps as opposed to Taylor’s ploy of troubling the batsmen outside off. He conceded three wides, was struck for a boundary through midwicket and chipped over the in-field in the 47th over which cost 13 and brought the equation to 19 off 18.

Pollard’s next over, which only went for two, restored West Indies’ advantage with the wickets of Johan Botha and McLaren. But Bravo again let it slip, bowling too wide to be sliced for four before gifting a full toss to van der Merwe who drove him past mid-off for another boundary. He made amends somewhat with the wicket of Charl Langeveldt to make it nine down, but Pollard’s nerves failed him in the last over off which the visitors needed seven. He doled out a short delivery that van der Merwe dispatched over square leg and gave the No.11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe just the delivery he needed to launch his ODI batting career – a short and wide delivery cracked through the covers to seal West Indies’ fate with two balls to spare.

The chase, however, was set up by Kallis, who played with an assuredness conspicuous in its absence when West Indies were batting. Joining Hashim Amla after the early loss of Graeme Smith, he quickly settled in with consecutive boundaries off David Bernard. When the field spread, he had no trouble working the field, an approach he stuck to despite the loss of two prolific partners in Amla and AB de Villiers within a space of five overs. The situation was a tough one to adapt to for a player searching for form, but Duminy found his game in typically busy fashion, as he struck just one four in his 52, while supporting Kallis in a 58-run fourth-wicket stand. Though their wickets shifted the balance, the depth in batting ensured they had achieved enough.

West Indies’ performance with the bat in the final two ODIs improved markedly but there remained existing glitches that South Africa’s bowlers managed to exploit. In conditions favourable for batting, they went through periods of stagnation, a problem highlighted by Chris Gayle at the end of the previous game as well, despite them reaching 303. It was largely due to a Narsingh Deonarine-initiated late surge that West Indies scored 252, with assistance from Pollard and Darren Sammy.

The bounce remained true and the South African seamers consistently pitched short of a good length. While getting the ball to cut both ways and testing the batsmen with variations in pace, they were helped by one end being held up by Shivnarine Chanderpaul. For three consecutive overs did Gayle pick a single off the first ball, only to watch his partner gobble up the remaining deliveries. The agony was cast aside with each batsman striking Tsotsobe for fours in the eighth over, but Gayle failed to consolidate his start yet again, mistiming an attempted pull off a slower ball straight to mid-on in Ryan Mclaren’s first over.

The introduction of spin choked West Indies further. Now it was Darren Bravo who didn’t get going. Attacked by Botha from round the wicket and van der Merwe’s nagging lengths, Darren Bravo failed to break free. Such was the difficulty in pinching the singles that his batting was confined to dabbing the ball around the in-field, with just eight runs scored off his first 31 deliveries. When he finally decided to open up, and played a convincing lofted drive, he was pouched brilliantly by Mark Boucher at extra cover, without the keeping gloves for the first time in his 292-ODI career.

Though Deonarine, backed by Pollard and Sammy’s power-play at the end of the innings, combined muscle with an innovative quest for runs to help score 86 off the last eight overs, the failure of Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo to push on despite wickets in hand meant the eventual score was always one that an in-form South Africa would back themselves chasing.

Siddhartha Talya is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo

Hashim Amla achieved another personal milestone in his flourishing international career when he anchored the Proteas’ Standard Bank ODI squad to a seven-wicket victory over the West Indies at the Windsor Park Stadium, Dominica, on Sunday.

It was a result that kept the Proteas on target for a 5-0 series clean sweep. They now lead 4-0 with the final match to be played at Trinidad’s Queen’s Park Oval on Thursday (3.30pm SA time start).

Amla made 129 off 115 balls (9 fours and 2 sixes) for his third ODI century and his second of this series to collect his third man of the match award on this tour.

What made the innings personally significant for Amla was that this was the first time he had been able to set up a Proteas’ chase of such a formidable nature as the 304 runs required on this occasion rather than a target through batting first.

“I did get an unbeaten 80 when we chased down 223 to clinch the series against Australia at Adelaide in 2009,” he commented, “but that was a far less demanding target than today’s one, particularly when the conditions of extreme heat are taken into account, and I have been hoping for the opportunity to do this sort of job for some time.
“I felt it was important to take my career forward to a new level.”

But for heat exhaustion which undoubtedly was a major contribution to his dismissal and caused him to be put on a drip in the changing room afterwards Amla would probably have batted through the innings and thus achieved another milestone of spending the entire 100 overs on the field.

In the end he fell just 11 runs short of his career best 140 against Bangladesh at Benoni in 2008 and this performance will certainly lift him into the top 10 on the ICC Reliance Mobile ODI batting ratings for the first time in his career. He was ranked No. 12 after the second match of this series.

With typical modesty Amla gave more credit to AB de Villiers for getting him through a difficult period of exhaustion and dehydration than in taking credit for a magnificent achievement.

“AB is a magnificent cricketer in many ways. He realized how tired I was getting and he said he would back me to go for my shots by making sure that he stayed in to maintain the momentum of the innings. He said: ‘go for your shots but just play good cricket shots and don’t worry about running twos. We will just settle for singles. I will keep up my end in case you get out’.”
So it turned out to be as De Villiers and JP Duminy batted the game out although in the words of captain Graeme Smith both players would have preferred a less conservative finish that saw the game go down to the very last ball.

Smith said that he had been pleased with the performance of his bowlers and fielders for the first 34 overs of the West Indies innings up to the second drinks break but felt that the weather had taken its toll thereafter.

“There is no doubt that two games in three days in such testing conditions takes a lot out of the players but it is always nice to win and still have things to work on and improve.
“Our confidence levels are improving all the time and a 5-0 series win will be the best way we can come back after we were all so badly affected by our poor showing at the ICC World Twenty20.”

Dale Steyn was rested for Sunday’s match which also marked De Villiers’ 100th ODI appearance and it is possible that there will be more squad rotation on Thursday.

Source: South Africa Cricket

South Africa wrapped up their sixth successive bilateral series against West Indies after their well-oiled pace machine steamrolled the home side on a barely responsive track in Dominica. AB de Villiers’ fluent half-century was the centerpiece of what had seemed a small South African total, but a string of soft dismissals undermined the chase and extended West Indies’ winless streak against Graeme Smith’s side to nine.

West Indies made a bright start to their pursuit of 225 but Chris Gayle fell in the sixth over after two balls that highlighted his hit-or-miss style: an awesome strike shipped the first delivery over midwicket for six, the next ball was met with a footwork-free slash which ended up as a top edge to slip. His opening partner, Dale Richards, played a nervy innings interspersed with some confident hits like the eye-catching drive over mid-on for four off Charl Langeveldt.

At 58 for 1 after 11 overs West Indies were coasting, but the introduction of the bowler of the series so far, Morne Morkel, gave the visitors hope. In his first over, he had Richards edging to Jacques Kallis as the batsman tried for the umpteenth time to guide the ball to third man. In his next over, he proved too quick for Darren Bravo, who was struck in front of middle stump. The home side were now 63 for 3, and Morkel’s figures after two short spells were 4-0-5-2 .

The potentially explosive but brittle West Indian batting now needed the experienced Shivnarine Chanderpaul to anchor the innings. His brand of no-risk cricket – cutting out the showbiz shots and poking the ball into the gaps for singles – took West Indies to 85 for 3 after 20, before Kallis had him nicking to the keeper. de Villiers pouched another one soon after when a pacy Steyn bouncer flew off Dwayne Bravo’s glove.

The asking-rate was still manageable and West Indies had a chance if their big-hitters, Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy, knuckled down and played some sensible cricket. However, they were tied down by a barrage of short balls from the South African quicks and they decided to take the batting Powerplay in an attempt to pick up some boundaries.

However, the West Indian challenge was soon snuffed out in the 30th over from Langeveldt in which three wickets went down. Pollard’s international career remains a pale imitation of his glittering domestic Twenty20 one, and he wasted another chance to win over West Indian fans by slashing straight to backward point when on 10. Sammy followed four deliveries later, looking for the big hit but only edging to the keeper.

The softest dismissal of the innings was of Jerome Taylor off the final delivery of that Langeveldt over: he screamed ‘Go, go, go’ to his partner after pushing the ball to mid-off but jogged for most of what he thought was a simple single, before sprinting the last few yards which didn’t prove enough to beat a direct hit from Steyn. West Indies were 118 for 8 and the series was gone.

The home side’s batting was in sharp contrast to their spirited bowling and fielding earlier in the day, their best effort in the field this series. Though the South African top-order was mostly untroubled in the initial Powerplays, Gayle’s men fought back to bowl the visitors out with nearly three overs remaining.

Despite a quiet spell midway through the innings following the loss of Smith and Jacques Kallis in the space of five overs, South Africa were well placed at 146 for 3 after 31 overs, with de Villiers confidently moving towards yet another half-century. However, two of their youngsters, Alviro Petersen and David Miller, couldn’t deliver when needed and South Africa slid into a hole.

That meant de Villiers had to play out the final 15 overs with players who weren’t quite accomplished with the bat. He regularly waltzed down the track even to the quicker bowlers and placed the ball adroitly to score at a brisk pace even when the rest floundered. It seemed South Africa were set to hit top gear when he clobbered a huge six over midwicket in the 38th over, but the bouncer which struck Johan Botha above the eye snapped the momentum.

Another burst of wickets followed, including the run-out of de Villiers to a slide-rule throw from Benn at mid-off. South Africa had no specialist batsmen left for their batting Powerplay and ended up with just 224, but their aggressive fast bowling ensured it was enough to clinch the series.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

West Indies saved their worst for last as they were knocked out of their home tournament with a crushing six-wicket defeat by Australia. The hosts were in trouble as soon as the captain Chris Gayle fell second ball and flopped to 105, which their unbeaten opponents eased past in 16.2 overs.

Australia’s next engagement is Friday’s semi-final against Pakistan while Sri Lanka, who qualified in the first game of the day in St Lucia, face England on Thursday. Sri Lanka’s five-wicket victory over India left West Indies needing to win by 24 runs to reach the last four ahead of Kumar Sangakkara’s side, but that quickly proved impossible.

All Michael Clarke’s men needed to do to qualify on top of Group F was avoid a heavy loss. Instead they produced another muscular performance as they chase their first global Twenty20 title.

David Warner blasted four boundaries and a huge six over long-on in 12 balls to kick-start the pursuit. He fell for 25 when edging Jerome Taylor and when Shane Watson (5) played-on to Sulieman Benn in the next over the hosts started to wonder.

The slim hope was brief as Brad Haddin took over once he got comfortable to secure the result and give Australia their fifth win in the tournament. Haddin finished with 42 off 46, departing a ball before Gayle delivered five wides to end the match. David Hussey was 10 not out as the tourists finished at 109 for 3.

The only worry for Australia entering the next stage is the ability of Clarke to lift the pace when required. Given a risk-free opportunity to show some muscle, he chipped the ball around in his usual style to collect 16 from 24 before being run-out by Dwayne Bravo’s direct hit from backward point.

West Indies did not recover after losing Gayle, who played on to Dirk Nannes, and Australia’s well-rounded attack picked off his team-mates with ease as the innings ended six balls early. West Indies slumped to 60 for 5 in the 10th over as they were out-gunned, with Mitchell Johnson collecting 2 for 22, before the legspinner Steven Smith snuffed out any chance of a revival. Smith was on a hat-trick when he removed Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy on the way to an impressive 3 for 20.

Ramnaresh Sarwan, the No. 3, tried to hold the innings together with 26 off 32 balls, but there was too much damage at the other end and he exited in the 15th over. Nikita Miller (10 not out) and Benn (9) were left to add 20 for the last wicket to take West Indies to triple figures.

The other opener Shivnarine Chanderpaul (24) raised the rate after Gayle’s exit before attempting to force Johnson down the ground, where David Hussey dived for an athletic take at mid-on. West Indies were 52 for 3 when Bravo was unlucky to be run out for 6 after Sarwan drove back to Johnson and the ball brushed the bowler’s fingers to ricochet on to the stumps. An over later Narsingh Deonarine hadn’t scored as he found Michael Hussey at deep square leg to give Smith his first wicket.

Johnson’s second came with Denesh Ramdin’s edge behind on 1 and Pollard was stumped from a beautiful ball from Smith, who confused the batsman with a drifting legspinner. Smith then caught-and-bowled Sammy and when Sarwan fell to David Hussey (2 for 3), West Indies’ chances of a home success were gone.

Peter English is the Australasia editor of Cricinfo

Chris Gayle finished agonisingly short of becoming the first man to make two international Twenty20 centuries, but by the time he was run-out, he had already swiped West Indies to a total that provided too tall for India’s batsmen who yet again floundered against the short ball. The defeat leaves India facing an early exit for the third straight global tournament, and the same questions about batting technique which were raised followed the elimination from last year’s World Twenty20 will be asked again.

After Gayle’s slaphappy innings, in which almost all his runs came on the leg side, India’s top-order weren’t given anything to drive by West Indies’ new-ball bowlers. They faced the barrage of bouncers promised before the match, and even the short deliveries of the gentle medium-pacers Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo discomfited them initially.

The home side’s fielding was also a dramatic improvement to the error-strewn show against Sri Lanka, with Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard being exceptional. India’s batting slide started with an athletic forward-diving catch by Pollard at square leg to dismiss opener M Vijay, who again failed to replicate his IPL form on the more demanding tracks in the Caribbean. Gautam Gambhir was also having a tough time, and just after edging a bouncer from Kemar Roach in the fifth over between slip and the keeper, he failed to evade a scorching short ball to glove to Denesh Ramdin.

Two overs later, Rohit Sharma, the only batsman to enhance his reputation in the pasting by Australia, was controversially dismissed after the ball lobbed off his arm to the keeper. He stood his ground and asked Billy Bowden to call for the third umpire. After consultation with Simon Taufel, Bowden upheld his original decision, and India were down to 38 for 3, and the asking-rate was in double digits.

There were fitful efforts to resuscitate the chase: first by Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, who showed glimpses of their top-class hitting in a 42- run stand, but both holed out in the space of five deliveries. MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan, two of the quickest scorers, swung a few sixes, and with 32 needed off the final two overs, it wasn’t only the most one-eyed of fans who were hoping for a win. However, Bravo’s slide-rule throw from long-on ended Dhoni’s stay and with it, the big crowd in Barbados knew an important win was sealed.

Unlike West Indies’ effort, the Indian fielding, usually a barometer of their performance, was shoddy, spilling two chances, one of which proved extremely expensive – Dhoni and Pathan colliding into each other as they went for a skier near square leg when Gayle was on 47, after which he blasted 51 off 26 deliveries.

Gayle was just opening out when that catch went down; he had warmed up with a whip over long-on for six in the eighth over and followed it up in the next with the biggest six of the tournament, off Pathan, which bounced on the roof. He then extended Ravindra Jadeja’s poor tournament by smearing his second ball, a full toss, for a flat six. Next up was Zaheer Khan, who was flicked over square leg for four, then Yusuf was clubbed down the ground so flat that the non-striker Sammy fell to the ground to take evasive action.

Then, Dhoni’s gamble of giving Raina the 17th over went awry, when Gayle smacked a couple more leg-side sixes. Gayle found the roof behind midwicket again in the next over, and looked set for a century when he entered the final over on 96. However, after Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan were sent back by Ashish Nehra, he tried to scramble back a second on the fourth delivery, but the end of his bat bumped in the air as he dived full-length to try and make his ground, and was run-out.

He was given good support by three partners through the innings. First Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who never really hit top gear though he showed off a range of reverse-sweeps, set up the base with a steady 80-run stand. West Indies then sent in a pinch-hitter Sammy, who played an array of proper cricketing shots, the highlight of which was a chip for six over long-off, to collect 19 off 10 deliveries. Finally, Pollard showed his batting is as much about power as timing during a quick cameo.

West Indies can bask in the glow of overwhelming India, but their celebrations will be tempered by the knowledge that they are still likely to need to beat a red-hot Australia to progress to the semi-finals.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

Mahela Jaywardene’s superb form at the World Twenty20 continued as he made an unbeaten 98 in Sri Lanka’s 57-run win over the West Indies in the Super Eights on Friday.

The opener’s entrancing innings at the Kensington Oval was the centrepiece of Sri Lanka’s total of 195 for three – the best by any side this tournament.

But the West Indies helped last year’s losing finalists greatly by missing six chances during a wretched fielding display as they lost for the first time this tournament.

Jayawardene, given two reprieves, faced 56 balls with four sixes and nine fours as he followed up his 81 against New Zealand and 100 against Zimbabwe with another dominant innings.

The former captain’s average for the tournament now stands at a scarcely credible 139.5.

Jayawardene was joined in a stand of 166, the second best in all Twenty20 internationals by captain Kumar Sangakkara, who made 68 after being dropped on nought and 27.

Only Loots Bosman and Graeme Smith, with 170 for South Africa against England at Centurion last year, have enjoyed a bigger stand at this level.

West Indies lost two wickets early on as Shivnarine Chanderpaul and hard-hitting captain Chris Gayle both fell cheaply, with Sri Lanka holding their catches as the hosts slumped to 23 for two.

The innings never really recovered from that double blow and West Indies limped to 138 for eight off 20 overs.

Ramnaresh Sarwan (28) and Dwayne Bravo (23) were the only batsmen to pass 16 in an innings where extras was the third-best contributor with 17.

Spinner Ajantha Mendis took three wickets for 24 runs from his maximum four overs and paceman Lasith Malinga three for 28.

Senior spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, back in the side after recovering from a groin injury which officials feared might end his participation in this tournament, took none for 26 from four overs but his presence in the team was a huge boost to Sri Lanka regardless of his figures in this match.

After Sanath Jayasuriya fell cheaply, having being promoted back to his old opening slot, Gayle set the tone for what followed by dropping rival skipper Sangakkara, on nought, when he grassed a slip chance, despite getting both hands to the ball after an edge off paceman Jerome Taylor

Left-hander Sangakkara, who won the toss, was given another let-off when Kieron Pollard failed to hold a tough caught and bowled chance.

Sangakkara eventually holed out having faced 49 balls with three sixes and five fours.

Jayawardene, enjoying a new lease of life as a Twenty20 opener, showed his class early on when he advanced to loft fast bowler Taylor for six over long-on.

But he too was given a couple of lives, with left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn the unfortunate bowler on both occasions.

Jayawardene, on 65, was well beaten by a Benn delivery, only for occasional wicketkeeper Andre Fletcher to miss the stumping.

And, in the same over, Jayawardene had added only one to his score when a top-edge was skied behind but neither Fletcher nor short third man Wavell Hinds went for the catch and the ball fell safe.

No-one has yet made two Twenty20 international hundreds but the unselfish Jayawardene refused to hog the strike in the last over as Tillakaratne Dilshan ended the innings with a four.

Both teams are back here on Sunday, with the West Indies playing India and Sri Lanka facing Australia, who thrashed the Indians by 49 runs earlier Thursday.

Source: NDTV Cricket

England women’s defence of their ICC World Twenty20 title is over after they crashed out of the tournament following a two-run defeat to West Indies in St Kitts.

Charlotte Edwards’ team looked set to get their campaign back on track after an opening defeat to Australia.

At 65 without loss from nine overs, they were well placed to overhaul a target of 123 against the hosts.

But the loss of openers Sarah Taylor for 33 and Edwards for 31 instigated a desperate collapse as England slumped to 66 for four.

They struggled to regained the early momentum as wickets fell regularly.

Lydia Greenway, who finished unbeaten on 26, tried her best to steer England home but, with victory possible from the final ball, Katherine Brunt was run out to leave England agonisingly short on 120 for nine.

Laura Marsh had earlier taken 3-17, including the wicket of top-scorer Juliana Nero for 32, to restrict West Indies to 122 for eight.

England captain Edwards said: “A lot of credit has to go to West Indies. I thought they bowled really well in periods and some loose shots means the pressure builds up in Twenty20 and time runs out in the end.”

Coach Mark Lane said: “We’ve played some brilliant cricket over the last two years, but we’ve come across a bit of a stumbling block over here in the West Indies.

“The standard of women’s cricket has really kicked on over the last 12 months.”

Australia – England’s conquerors on Wednesday – booked their place in the semi-finals alongside West Indies with a 24-run win over South Africa that ended the Proteas’ hopes of progressing.

Shelley Nitschke hit 44 off 32 balls at the top of the order and Leah Poulton 39 off 25 as Australia were bowled out 155 with three balls unused.

South Africa never threatened to match the required run-rate, though, and fell some way short despite Mignon du Preez’s unbeaten 53.

Source: ECB

West Indies won through to the second round of the World Twenty20 after beating England by eight wickets in a match whose context was completely changed by rain on Monday.

England made a challenging total of 191 for five, featuring 55 from former Ireland batsman Eoin Morgan, after being sent-in to bat by West Indies captain Chris Gayle.

But rain, which had interrupted Sri Lanka’s match against Zimbabwe here earlier in the day, returned after the West Indies had started their reply in barnstorming fashion to be 30 without loss at the Guyana National Stadium.

And when play resumed, the West Indies were left with a revised target of 60 in six overs, under the Duckworth/Lewis method for rain-affected matches.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul (15 not out) and Andre Fletcher (12 not out) saw the hosts to victory with a ball to spare as they scored the eight runs they needed off the last over, from fast bowler Stuart Broad.

England now have a winner-takes-all clash against Ireland, who suffered a 70-run Group D thrashing by the West Indies last week, here on Tuesday to decide which team will join the hosts in the Super Eights.

Left-hander Morgan faced just 35 balls and struck three sixes and six fours.

Together with Luke Wright, unbeaten on 45 off 27 balls, he put on 95 for the fifth wicket.

England started well thanks to their new South Africa born opening pair of Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter.

Lumb, on his international debut, took 16 off one Ravi Rampaul over.

Fast bowler Rampaul’s three overs cost a hugely expensive 52 runs in total.

Wicketkeeper Kieswetter struck three sixes in as many balls, one off Rampaul and two off Nikita Miller.

But in-form West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy checked England’s progress with two wickets in the tenth over, bowling England captain Paul Collingwood for six and inducing Kevin Pietersen (24) to hole out to midwicket.

With England 88 for four at the halfway mark, Morgan and Wright consolidated before going for their shots, Wright striking two sixes off Kieron Pollard’s first over.

Morgan then demonstrated his dexterity by sweeping Dwayne Bravo for six, with England scoring 76 runs in the final five overs of their innings.

Source: NDTV Cricket

West Indies thrashed Ireland by 70 runs as the hosts got their World Twenty20 campaign off to a winning start under the floodlights on Friday.

Qualifiers Ireland were bowled out for just 68, inside 17 overs, with man-of-the-match Darren Sammy taking three wickets for eight runs to add to the all-rounder’s top score of 30 in West Indies’ 138 for nine.

Ireland saw 17-year-old off-spinner George Dockrell take three for 16 after West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo, deputising for the injured Chris Gayle, won the toss and batted.

But their top order had no answer to fast bowler Ravi Rampaul, who sparked Ireland’s collapse with three for 17.

“I know Sammy is a clean hitter of the ball,” Bravo said. “I always had faith in the lower order and knew once we got over 130 it would be difficult for Ireland.

“With Darren and also Nikita Miller bowling it was always going to be very hard for them to get past us if we put the balls in the right areas.”

For Ireland captain William Porterfield, it was very much a game of two innings.

“We were right in it at half time, it was just disappointing with the bat,” Porterfield said.

“We lost four wickets in the first 21 balls. We were right on the back foot from there and the wicket was always going to get lower and harder to score on.

“We can be pretty positive about the way young George Dockrell bowled and it could be a straight shoot-out between ourselves and England when we play them,” Porterfield added.

Kemar Roach struck the first blow for the West Indies when he had Porterfield caught at second slip by Sammy for four.

Sammy again showed safe hands when he caught Paul Stirling for nought off Rampaul in the next over and when Rampaul had Niall O’Brien caught behind for six, Ireland were 11 for three.

A rain break offered brief respite but Ireland were soon in more trouble at 16 for four when Alex Cusack edged to Sammy.

The all-rounder came on in the ninth over and any doubts about the man-of-the-match award were settled when he removed Kevin O’Brien first ball.

Sammy took a fourth catch to get rid of Gary Wilson and ended the match when he bowled Dockrell, in a stark reminder of cricket’s highs and lows, for a duck.

Extras, with 19, was the best score of an innings where Wilson made 17.

The Netherlands got last year’s World Twenty20 off to a shock start by beating England at Lord’s and Ireland were dreaming of another giantkilling at the halfway stage.

Dockrell struck twice in three balls to remove opener Andre Fletcher and senior batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan before having Narsingh Deonarine caught behind.

The West Indies, without captain and dynamic opener Gayle due to muscle stiffness, saw senior batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul (14) fall first, immediately after striking two successive fours off Boyd Rankin.

It was a similar story for Bravo (18), who a ball after hitting Alex Cusack for six gave the Brisbane born all-rounder a return catch.

Dockrell then took centre stage, having Fletcher, opening in Gayle’s place, caught for 19 at deep backward point.

And, two balls later, Dockrell struck again when Sarwan was caught for 24 to leave the West Indies 77 for four.

West Indies face England on Monday with Ireland up against the same opponents on Tuesday in the final Group D match.

Source: NDTV Cricket

On a beautiful sunny day at Arnos Vale and on a pitch that offered good bounce, the Zimbabwe batsmen found the going too tough, and managed another below-par total that was chased not without huff and puff despite Chris Gayle’s explosive start. But for a fighting fifty from Charles Coventry, who was inexplicably left out of the XIs so far, Zimbabwe would have struggled to get past even 100.

Gayle started St Vincent’s National Heroes’ Day celebrations in earnest with an onslaught at the start of the chase, but in a bizarre collapse the West Indies middle order managed to wipe the smiles off the faces of the partying crowd. Gayle smacked a 41-ball 63 out of the 96 runs scored while he was in the middle, but the next three batsmen threw their wickets away, bringing Zimbabwe right back in at 104 for 5. Keiron Pollard, though, came in and struck two fours and two sixes in eight balls to bring the smiles back.

It shouldn’t even have gone close after the way the Zimbabwe batsmen capitulated. What will hurt Zimbabwe, who are aiming for a Test return, is that the failure came on a day Kemar Roach was rested. There was no disconcerting seam movement either, just good carry. In their fast bowler’s absence, Darren Sammy and Ravi Rampaul produced the wicket-taking deliveries to leave Zimbabwe in tatters at 25 for 5. The fifth wicket fell in the 16th over, by which time Zimbabwe had hit just one boundary, and had failed to score off 87 deliveries – 25 of them at a stretch. None of the top five reached double-figures, and Zimbabwe were flirting with their own record for the lowest total in ODIs – 35.

As soon as Hamilton Masakadza fell without troubling the scorers, Zimbabwe were looking at a long struggle. Even before Masakadza top-edged Rampaul while pulling a delivery slightly too full, another important blow had been struck by Dave Bernard. Bowling a free-hit in the first over of the innings, Bernard hit Vusi Sibanda in the right glove, and since then Sibanda’s 49-ball stay for eight runs was painful in more ways than one.

Sibanda and Timycen Maruma shut shop like it was a national holiday, and went more than four overs without scoring a run. When they did get a run, though, there was no time for celebrations. Four balls later, Rampaul got Maruma to edge one that bounced at him. At 11 for 1 after eight overs, Brendan Taylor brought some intent to the middle, even managing a boundary in the 13th over, off-driving a Dwayne Bravo half-volley, but Sammy pushed them back further.

In the next over, he removed the two keepers, Taylor and Tatenda Taibu. Taylor was dismissed by a full delivery that moved in ever so slightly, and Taibu by one that shot up. Sibanda followed the exodus, pulling Sammy to deep square leg.

Elton Chigumbura, easily Zimbabwe’s most confident batsman on the tour, started to loosen the shackles with a 23-ball 19, and Coventry carried on, accelerating from 21 off 42 to end up with 57 off 88. Chigumbura became the first man to go past single-figures, but he cut Pollard’s first delivery into point’s lap.

Along with Greg Lamb, Coventry added 57 for the seventh wicket. The fast bowlers were taken off, scoring became easier, and both batted sensibly. It took a freakish bit of work from Bravo to get rid of Coventry: off his own bowling, he kicked the ball from almost short cover to hit the stumps direct. With eight wickets gone in 42.1 overs, there wasn’t much the tail could do.

When he came out for the chase, Gayle waited for about four overs and Adrian Barath’s wicket before he opened up. For the first time on the tour, Zimbabwe were forced to take Ray Price out of the attack. Finally Gayle had got the better of him, and also hit the successful Chigumbura out of the attack.

Gayle cut, drove and lofted with aplomb; one of his two sixes nearly made it to the nearby airport’s parking lot. When he holed out going for a third six, he had left the rest 62 runs to get in 34.4 overs. Then came the West Indies twist: the Bravo brothers got stumped and Narsingh Deonarine hit straight down long-off’s throat. Pollard, though, went on to provide merit to the price bid for him in the IPL by striking big and clean, and scoring 36 off 20 balls to finish the match with 22.2 overs to spare.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo