Match facts

Saturday, September 11
Start time 1330 (1130 GMT)

Big Picture

The Champions League, for some reason, has grouped all the champion sides in one group, and the runners-up in another. The best sides from India, Sri Lanka, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand make up Group A, while Guyana are the only champion team in Group B. On the face of it, Group A should produce cricket of a higher quality. Wayamba Elevens and Eastern Cape Warriors begin the fun in this competitive group on Saturday.

The two sides have taken different routes to qualification. Wayamba are easily the most dominant T20 side in Sri Lanka, with a wealth of talent in Mahela Jayawardene, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Ajantha Mendis and Chanaka Welegedara. After having bossed the league stages of the SLC Inter-provincial Twenty20, they thrashed Ruhuna by a whopping 95 runs in the final. Jayawardene alone scored 91, which was only 22 less than the opposition’s total.

Warriors, on the other hand, were the last of the six franchises in South Africa to win any trophy, despite the occasional presence of big players like Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Ashwell Prince, Makhaya Ntini, Nicky Boje and Rusty Theron. When they did win one, though, there was no stopping them. Less than two months after they won their first 40-over title, they sealed the domestic 20-over crown too. Six months later, they are vying for the big one.

Watch out for…

Mark Boucher struck a hurricane eight-ball 27 in the domestic final against the Lions at the same venue. Unlike Kallis, he has not been poached by their IPL side, Royal Challengers Bangalore, for this Champions League.

Ajantha Mendis might not be the mystery he was in 2008, but he is still a terror for batsmen who haven’t faced him before. Especially if those batsmen are not traditionally good against spin.

Key contests

Mahela Jayawardene v Makhaya Ntini Jayawardene is relishing his new role of opening the innings, both in Twenty20s and ODIs. He has scored centuries in the World Twenty20 and the IPL, and missed out on one in the Sri Lankan domestic final. Ntini, no longer in favour for the national side, should be more than a handful in home conditions, setting up a good contest at the top of the innings.

Stats and trivia

• Jeevantha Kalatunga’s unbeaten 62-ball 104 against Kandurata is the highest individual Twenty20 score in Sri Lanka, and the fastest century in the country.

• Nicky Boje has the joint-highest number of lbw dismissals, 13 in a career tally of 57, to his credit in all Twenty20 matches. Muttiah Muralitharan and Shahid Afridi, also on 13 lbws, have taken 83 and 88 Twenty20 wickets respectively

Quotes

“We have seen a lot of footage of them. But then again it’s Twent20 cricket. It’s about individuals turning up on the day and performing.”
Mahela Jayawardene says Wayamba have done their homework on the Warriors

“We are one of the few teams that has played CLT20 before, and that experience will be to our benefit.”
Jehan Mubarak believes past experience in the Champions League can be useful

Andrew Strauss is very comfortable with England’s decision to change their opening batsman and wicketkeeper with the World Cup less than six months away, after Steve Davies, the latest man to take the gloves and slot in alongside the captain, hit 87 off 67 balls in the first one-day international against Pakistan at Chester-le-Street.

It had looked as though the selectors had committed themselves to Craig Kieswetter after rushing him into the one-day side in Bangladesh earlier this year, then rewarding his World Twenty20 form with the gloves against Australia and Bangladesh this season. However, despite hitting a hundred in his third game in Chittagong, Kieswetter failed to take the chances offered to him, and his form faded alarmingly during the one-dayers in mid-summer.

Struggling against Shaun Tait’s 95mph outswingers is one thing, but the alarm bells began ringing when he also struggled against the friendlier offerings of Mashrafe Mortaza and Rubel Hossain. Although he was retained for the two Twenty20s against Pakistan, a pair of skittish innings suggested he was still a long way from top form despite returning to Somerset and hitting 80 against Lancashire.

“We felt it needed to be done,” Strauss said of the change. “Steve has been in outstanding form for Surrey, and Craig Kieswetter will tell you himself he did not bat as well as he would have liked in the one-day series against Australia and Bangladesh. We made a change, and at the moment we’re quite happy with that decision.”

Davies also fell cheaply in the Twenty20s, twice picking out fielders on the leg side, but in Durham he took his chance to make an impression with a confident innings which set England on their way to 274 for 6 in 41 overs. With just 11 more ODIs between now and the World Cup England don’t have much time to make up their minds over such a key position, but Strauss isn’t concerned.

“There are a lot of things that give me headaches. But one of our guys getting 80 off 60 balls is not one of them,” he said. “It was an outstanding innings. He’s been chomping at the bit to get a chance to play, and has had to wait very patiently.

“He took his chance with both hands today. He’s got shots all round the ground – which is important in one-day cricket – and he seems to equally play seam and spin pretty well. It was a great start. He’s obviously got a lot to learn at this level, but he’s taken a big step forward today.”

Davies knows that his latest England selection will allow him a run of matches at least until the end of the season to prove himself compared to the one-off appearances in a Twenty20 against West Indies in Trinidad, and the Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia last year when Matt Prior was ill.

“The two games I played previously, one was when Matty was out and the other was just a one-off Twenty20,” he said. “But I feel this is now my time. It’s a great chance for me, and I’m really happy with the way things went today.”

It highlights the depths to which this tour as sunk, and the gulf between the two sides during the Twenty20 matches in Cardiff, that everyone was relishing the ‘contest’ on offer in Durham even though England were always well placed for victory as they defended their total. However, it was an improved display from Pakistan as Shoaib Akhtar bowled quickly and without luck, Kamran Akmal hit a half-century and there was some lusty hitting from Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq.

“It was a definite improvement from the Twenty20 and we looked a much better unit,” said Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach. “The boys really batted well which is what we’ve been struggling with. Asad Shafiq has just flown in from Sri Lanka and looked pretty good so there are definite positives out of this game. We could probably have managed to keep 275 down to 250 but that’s the way the game is. It was superb cricket from England, they batted superbly up the order and 270 was maybe a touch too many.”

And Waqar admitted it will be a challenge for his team to overcome a confident home side. “England, no doubt, are playing superb cricket in Twenty20 as well as one-day cricket,” he said. “They’re a much better unit. It will take a special performance to beat them, but we looked pretty good and close to beating them. We just need a bit of momentum to go our way and hopefully in the next couple of ODIs if things fall right we can manage to beat them.”

Hampshire 204 and 355 for 9 beat Kent 182 and 247 by 130 runs
Scorecard

Hampshire secured their place in the LV= Championship championship top flight for another year by clinching a dramatic 130-run win over relegation threatened Kent with only five minutes of the match at Canterbury remaining.

With the minimum allocation of 81 overs for the home second innings bowled out, Kent’s last-wicket partners Simon Cook and Malinga Bandara did their utmost to bat out the final 10 minutes of the match. But, in what would have been the penultimate over of the game, Simon Cook (2) prodded forward at seamer James Tomlinson to be superbly caught at short leg by Jimmy Adams.

The defeat, Kent’s seventh of the campaign, means they will now have to win away against title-chasing Yorkshire next week to avoid an immediate return to Division Two.

Kent started their second innings an hour into the final day chasing an improbable target of 378 in a minimum of 81 overs, but the loss of two quick wickets left Hampshire as favourites to wrap up victory.

Having set off at the required rate of 4.6 an over, Kent lost opening bat Denly (10) as early as the fifth over when the right-hander instinctively followed a Cork leg-cutter to edge through to the wicketkeeper.

Second-wicket partners Sam Northeast and Rob Key almost made it to lunch only for Key to fall leg before in the penultimate over before the break when prodding forward to a Danny Briggs quicker ball. After lunch Kent’s position worsened when Martin van Jaarsveld (5) and Geraint Jones (21) fell in quick succession, van Jaarsveld nicking to second slip while Jones went lbw to the wiles of Cork, who finished with four for 43.

Kent re-grouped through Sam Northeast, who hit a stoic 71 from 186 balls, and a counter-attacking cameo of 45 with four fours and six from player of the season Darren Stevens before a secondary post-tea collapse handed Hampshire their crucial win. Stevens was squared up and bowled when driving at a near yorker-length ball from Cork and soon after Northeast fell lbw to a Tomlinson shooter.

Alex Blake, dropped on 12 and 30, rode his luck to reach 46 from 58 balls before he ill-advisedly clipped left-arm spinner Briggs to deep mid-wicket. James Tredwell (14) was adjudged to have gloved a pull to the keeper as Briggs bagged four for 93 and, with the 80 overs up, Cork claimed the second new ball to wrap up his side’s win.

With the fourth delivery Cork had Matt Coles (1) caught off a leading edge, then, in time added on, Cook steered a lifter to short leg to ensure a miserable end to the campaign for Kent.

Leicestershire 295 and 351 for 4 dec beat Gloucestershire 159 and 158 by 329 runs
Scorecard

Leicestershire sent Gloucestershire spinning to an emphatic 329-run defeat at Grace Road, claiming the five wickets they needed for victory in 46 overs for the addition of 80 runs.
Spinners Claude Henderson and Jigar Naik took four of the wickets and 19-year-old seamer Nathan Buck sealed the win by having last man Anthony Ireland caught at slip 40 minutes before tea.

Buck finished with 3 for 25 to give him match figures of 6 for 72. It was Leicestershire’s sixth win of the season and the 21 points they claimed lifted them above Gloucestershire in the Division Two table.

Gloucestershire, who resumed the final day on 78 for 5, still 410 runs behind, were all out for 158 with the only resistance coming from James Franklin and Ed Young, who shared a stubborn seventh-wicket stand of 63 spread across 28 overs. But when 38-year-old left-arm spinner Henderson had Franklin caught off bat and pad by Matthew Boyce for 31 it signalled the end for Gloucestershire, with their last four wickets falling for just seven runs.

The biggest worry for Leicestershire was the unsettled weather. Early morning rain delayed the start by 45 minutes and another shower sent the players off again after an hour’s play for an early lunch. There was a further brief interruption at the start of the afternoon session before Leicestershire clinched the victory they thoroughly deserved.

The home side had the perfect start to the final day when Alex Gidman, having added only one run to his overnight 28, dragged the ball back into his stumps trying to cut a delivery from Henderson. But that proved to be Leicestershire’s last success for some time as Franklin and Young showed plenty of determination and application to keep them at bay for 28 overs.

Franklin’s departure triggered the collapse, though, with Jon Lewis lbw to Naik and then Young beaten and bowled by a superb flighted delivery from the same bowler. And when Buck had Ireland well caught by Greg Smith at slip, Leicestershire had claimed the victory that always looked on the cards for them. Henderson finished with figures of 3 for 62 in 34 overs and Naik with 3 for 35 off 25 overs.

Gloucestershire took only three points from the match to end their slim hopes of challenging for a promotion spot.

Wolves winger Matt Jarvis has signed a new five-year deal, committing him to Molineux until 2015.

Jarvis, 22, had two years left on his remaining contract but the club have sought to tie him up following a debut season in the top flight which saw him make 34 Premier League appearances.

“We’ve been talking to Matt and his representative for a long period of time,” said Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey. “He was very keen to commit to us and we were very keen to commit to him.”

Moxey added: “Matt is highly talented and fits in with our policy of developing good young players and aiming to keep them at Molineux. He had less than two years remaining on his contract, and it was the right time to do something.

“There was a lot of speculation linking him to a possible England call-up for the recent qualifiers, which shows the progress he has been making. And we are confident he still has more improvement to come.”

Jarvis signed for Wolves from Gillingham in June, 2007.

Harry Redknapp is ready to hand William Gallas and Rafael van der Vaart their Tottenham Hotspur debuts against West Brom on Saturday as he prepares to rotate his squad ahead of a busy fixture list.

Defoe out for three months

Spurs make their Champions League debut next week and boss Redknapp admits he may have blundered in not making changes for the shock 1-0 defeat to Wigan last time out following the club’s historic European qualifier against Young Boys.

Redknapp said: “Obviously, we play Saturday; then we play Champions League Tuesday; then in the league on Saturday; then we play Arsenal in the Carling Cup; then the league and another Champions League. We’ve got a busy schedule.

“The one thing I did learn – a lesson – last week was maybe I should’ve changed the team that played against Wigan.

“We went to Stoke and had a great result on the Saturday, came back, won the Champions League qualifier with Young Boys. And then I really went with the same team, more or less, on the Saturday against Wigan.

“Maybe I should’ve rested one or two and changed a few around, and it might have worked better for us. It’s easy, in hindsight, to look back on those things.”

Gallas appears certain to start at the heart of defence following Michael Dawson’s injury playing for England. And Redknapp has no qualms about throwing the former Arsenal captain in at the deep end on Saturday.

He said: “You don’t play in teams that win championships, like he did at Chelsea, you don’t play for your country as many times as he has – been there and done it all – unless you’re a top player. He’s got a bit of pace, he’s a great defender, and he’ll be a big asset. I think he’ll be a great signing for us.”

With Luka Modric now fit, Redknapp could choose between the Croatian and Van der Vaart. Or he might field both and play a lone striker, especially as his forward options have been depleted by the loss of Jermain Defoe for around three months.

Sep 10 2010 – 19:31:00

England held their nerve to eke out a 24-run win against a spirited Pakistan at Chester-le-Street and go 1-0 up in the NatWest Series.

Dignified defeat was perhaps a step in the right direction for tourists still beset by the stresses of the spot-fixing controversy, while a competitive match was a comparative triumph for cricket too as it tries to recover from two weeks of crisis.

England’s 274 for six, in a contest reduced to 41 overs per side after overnight rain, was a tough target – thanks to half-centuries from Steve Davies (87) and Jonathan Trott (69) and despite Saeed Ajmal’s four for 58. The equations then gradually narrowed against an always improbable chase, which threatened well into the final 10 overs but petered out to 250 for nine.

After Pakistan had won the toss and chosen to bowl first, England openers Davies and Andrew Strauss put on 78 in under 12 overs – handing out some conspicuous punishment for Umar Gul and debutant Mohammad Irfan.

Ajmal at last provided the breakthrough when he got one to slide on and bowl Strauss as he attempted an ambitious sweep. But Davies deflected his eighth four down to fine leg off the returning Gul to bring up his 50 from only 37 balls.

He counted 13 fours from 67 by the time he was out, edging a cut behind off Ajmal. Trott needed 55 balls before he managed the only four in his 64-ball half-century, chopping to third man off Shoaib in a batting powerplay which brought 34 in four overs. The Warwickshire batsman, eventually bowled off an under-edge sweeping at Ajmal, upped the tempo enough to help Ravi Bopara (35 not out) cash in with 85 runs in the last 10 overs.

Openers Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez provided a solid start, but Strauss deployed his pace attack to bowl tight lines and dry up the boundaries in powerplay, with spinners Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy lying in wait. And Swann duly delivered his party piece of a wicket in his first over when Hafeez’s mistimed sweep was well-held by a tumbling Tim Bresnan at deep square-leg to end a stand of 62 with Akmal (53).

With Mohammad Yousuf also soon gone, lbw when he failed to get his leg outside off-stump to Yardy, Pakistan reached a ‘Twenty20′ equation of 167 runs required and eight wickets remaining.

But after a 56-ball 50 containing seven fours, the wicketkeeper-batsman did hole out at long-on off Swann. Bresnan returned to have Fawad Alam clubbing a catch to mid-on, and Kamran Akmal contrived to go caught behind as he tried to engineer more runs from the last ball of an otherwise productive Stuart Broad over.

Shahid Afridi and late tour replacement Asad Shafiq kept Pakistan and a near sell-out crowd interested. But wickets and overs always looked sure to ebb away a little too quickly, and so it eventually proved.