England crushing win on Diamond Eagles Warm Up Match

England started their tour of South Africa with a crushing 185-run over the Diamond Eagles franchise team in a 50-overs match in Bloemfontein on Friday.
Captain Andrew Strauss hit one of three half-centuries as England piled up 294 for seven, taking advantage of good batting conditions after being sent in to bat.
Stuart Broad struck with the second ball of the Eagles' innings and the home team never recovered, crashing to 109 all out in 26.2 overs. Five England bowlers took two wickets each.
Strauss hit 72 and shared a second wicket stand of 123 with Jonathan Trott (85) before Eoin Morgan slammed a quick 67 not out off 52 balls as the innings ended with a flurry of scoring.
Eagles opening bowler CJ de Villiers took an early wicket when he bowled Joe Denly for three but Strauss and Trott put the tourists in command.
Strauss and Trott were content to play themselves in as they compiled their century partnership before lifting the tempo.
Strauss made his runs off 85 balls with seven fours and a six before holing out to square leg against the medium-paced Ryan Bailey.
Trott took 81 balls to reach his fifty but needed only another 23 deliveries to reach 85, with seven fours, before he was bowled by Bailey when he missed an attempted pull.
Morgan was mainly responsible for England scoring 57 runs in the batting Powerplay, which was taken from the 43rd to the 47th over. But he rode his luck, surviving two dropped catches.
Eagles opening batsman Morne van Wyk edged the second ball of the innings from Broad to Graeme Swann in the slips.
Promising left-hander Rilee Rossouw hit four fours in making 17 off 10 balls but was caught behind off the first ball of Broad's second over.
James Anderson, Sajid Mahmood, Swann and Paul Collingwood also took two wickets each as the Eagles collapsed.
England play a second warm-up match against the Warriors franchise in Kimberley Sunday before returning to Bloemfontein for a Twenty20 match against South Africa A on Tuesday ahead of two Twenty20 internationals and five one-day internationals against South Africa.

Scorecard Here

Vettori determined to 'lead New Zealand in a final'

Having already lost three key players to injury, New Zealand could be without Grant Elliott, Man of the Match against England, for the semi-final against Pakistan. Daniel Vettori, the captain, was confident though that New Zealand could overcome their semi-final jinx [only one final after eight appearances in the last four of global 50-over events] against Pakistan at the Wanderers on Saturday.

"The momentum is with us, I think," he said. "It's a much more preferable to go into the semi-finals, knowing that we've won two big games and qualified top, whereas in the past we have scraped through. We go into the game with confidence. Their [Pakistan's] spin bowling over the last year is very impressive. [Saeed] Ajmal and [Shahid] Afridi combine well, and coupled with a very good seam attack, and no obvious weakness in their batting, we know they can be a very good side. But they can be a little inconsistent like us, I suppose, and I'm hoping we can catch them on an off day."

Having already lost Jesse Ryder, Jacob Oram and Daryl Tuffey to injury, New Zealand are keeping their fingers crossed over Elliott. "Grant took part in training this morning and had an injection," Vettori said. "It works when he bats but not when he bowls. We'll leave it till the last possible minute before making a decision. It's frustrating but we're used to it. We've been through it before with New Zealand, even in the Twenty20 World Cup. It brought the group a little tighter and there was the realisation that the senior players have to step up more."

Pakistan captain prays for "two more good days"

Pakistan captain Younus Khan is looking for "two more good days" in the Champions Trophy as his team clash with New Zealand in the semi-final here on Saturday.

Pakistan have never reached the final of this competition, but Younus said Friday the team were capable of breaking the jinx if they played to their potential in the day-night match.

"After winning the Twenty20 World Cup in England this year, we are now in the semi-finals here. We need two more good days," Younus told reporters on the eve of the match.

"If that happens, it will be very nice for me and fantastic for Pakistan. We need a couple of big titles."

Younus said he did not believe the advantage was with New Zealand, who had beaten Sri Lanka and England in league matches at the Wanderers here.

"I don't think any team has an edge over the other, especially in the semi-final or final. There's nothing like that these days," he said.

"If we play our natural game tomorrow and stick to our plans, I think we will be through. It'll be fantastic if we reach the final."

The Pakistan skipper said his team needed to put in a disciplined performance against New Zealand who were in good form.

"They are a good side. They are fantastic, especially their fielding. Whenever they are under pressure they play like a team," said Younus.

"They have a couple of good all-rounders. Their captain is always fantastic with the ball and now he is also batting well. I think it will be a good game."

New Zealand were sweating over the fitness of all-rounder Grant Elliott, who is suffering from a thumb injury. The seamer was named man of the match for taking four wickets in his team's victory over England.

"He took part in training this morning, but we'll leave it till the last possible minute before making a decision," said New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori.

New Zealand, who have already lost Jesse Ryder, Daryl Tuffey and Jacob Oram to injuries, summoned all-rounder Scott Styris as cover for Elliott.

Vettori said his team were not short of confidence going into the big match against Pakistan.

"Momentum is with us, I think. It's a much more preferable way to go into the semi-final knowing we've won two big games. We go into the match with confidence," said Vettori.

"The Wanderers has been good for us. We always felt confident of making the semi-finals and backed our chances. This is a real test for us now.

"Personally, it will be one of the most satisfying things I could achieve in my career if I lead New Zealand in the final and you never know what can happen after that."

New Zealand have often fallen in the semi-finals of big tournaments, like the 2006 Champions Trophy in India and the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

"We want to go past that. We want to change the script a little bit," said Vettori, a day after New Zealand won the International Cricket Council (ICC) Spirit of Cricket award.

"That will be the ultimate if we can couple that with a major tournament. If we win a major tournament, it'll be a great achievement for us.

"We know they (Pakistan) are a very good side and hope we can catch them on an off-day."

Scoreboard: Australia vs. England, semi-final, Champions Trophy

The following is the scoreboard of the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy between title-holders Australia and England at the SuperSport Park here Friday.

England:
Andrew Strauss c Hopes b Siddle 14  
Joe Denly c Paine b Siddle 36 
Owais Shah c Paine b Lee 0 
Paul Collingwood c Paine b Johnson 34 
Eoin Morgan c Paine b Watson 9 
Steve Davies b Watson 5 
Luke Wright c Paine b Siddle 48 
Tim Bresnan b Lee 80 
Graeme Swann run out (Hauritz/Paine) 18 
James Anderson not out 5 
Graham Onions run out (Ferguson/Paine) 1
Extras (w 6, nb 1) 7 
Total (all out in 47.4 overs) 257
Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Strauss, 1.6 overs), 2-16 (Shah, 2.4), 3-71 (Collingwood, 11.2), 4-91 (Denly, 17.2), 5-100 (Davies, 18.5), 6-101 (Morgan, 20.2), 7-208 (Wright, 39.6), 8-245 (Swann, 45.1), 9-251 (Bresnan, 46.2)
Bowling:
Brett Lee 9-0-46-2
Peter Siddle 10-0-55-3 
James Hopes 4-0-28-0 
Mitchell Johnson 10-1-61-1 
Shane Watson 8.4-1-35-2 
Nathan Hauritz 6-0-32-0
Australia:
Shane Watson not out 136 
Tim Paine c Davies b Onions 4 
Ricky Ponting not out 111 
Extras (lb 2, w 5) 7 
Total (for one wicket in 41.5 overs) 258
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Paine, 1.3 overs) 
Bowling:
James Anderson 8.5-0-48-0 
Graham Onions 8-0-47-1 
Tim Bresnan 8-0-51-0 
Paul Collingwood 8-0-50-0 
Graeme Swann 5-0-31-0 
Luke Wright 3-0-18-0 
Owais Shah 1-0-11-0 
Result: Australia won by nine wickets
Toss: England, who chose to bat
Player of the match: 
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Billy Bowden (New Zealand)
TV umpire: Tony Hill (New Zealand)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)

Australia in Champions Trophy final

Defending champions Australia stormed into the final of the Champions Trophy with a brilliant nine-wicket win over England in the semi-final at the SuperSport Park here Friday.
Shane Watson scored an unbeaten 136 while captain Ricky Ponting remained unbeaten on 111, as Australia easily achieved the target of 258 in 41.5 overs by losing just one wicket.

Bowlers did a good job to restrict Pak: Ponting

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said his bowlers did a fantastic job in restricting Pakistan at a low score in a crucial ICC Champions Trophy clash.
Australia pulled off a last-ball win against Pakistan to reach the semifinals of the Champions Trophy and Ponting said they would have to do some soul-searching before they take on England in the second semifinal on Friday.
"It was quite emotional and chilling to sit there in the dressing room and it really got too close. But we have crossed the line and we will meet England in the semifinals in a couple of days time," Ponting said.
"We had a very good series against England over there but its different conditions here and I think they are playing really good cricket. We have to go back to the drawing board and see what went wrong in the last half an hour and make sure we play well in the next match on Friday," he added.
Ponting praised Pakistan bowlers and also said his team was finding it difficult to face them.
"It was pretty tough to score runs. There was inconsistent bounce and pace for new ballers and it was difficult getting them away," he said.
"But we knew it will be over and spinner will come into play and I think we are very lucky to restrict them to that total because there bowlers really bowled very well and did a good job in the last half an hour," he added. 

New Zealand reach Champions Trophy semi-finals

New Zealand shrugged off an injury crisis to defeat England by four wickets at the Wanderers on Tuesday and reach the Champions Trophy semi-finals.

The victory completed a stirring Group B comeback by the Black Caps, who also overcame Sri Lanka after tamely surrendering to hosts South Africa in their opening match.

Bowlers Grant Elliott and Shane Bond inflicted most damage after the Kiwis won the toss and an England team that had amassed 323 against South Africa just 48 hours earlier were bundled out for 146 in 43.1 overs.

New Zealand openers Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill made a whirlwind start in pursuit of the total, garnering 66 from 60 balls, and the 147-run target was reached for the loss of six wickets after 27.1 overs.

Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara and tail-enders Graeme Swann and Ryan Sidebottom were the only England batsmen to reach double figures on an overcast afternoon in the South African financial capital.

If New Zealand were cursing their luck at losing bowlers Jacob Oram and Daryl Tuffey and batsman Jesse Ryder through injury since the two-week tournament began, they were not showing it.

England skipper Andrew Strauss was first to depart, getting on an outside edge off Kyle Mills to wicketkeeper McCullum having faced just two balls and failed to score.

Joe Denly was next to experience the venom of the Black Caps attack, scoring just five before reacting too slow and Shane Bond sent the off stump flying to his relief after two previous games yielded a solitary wicket.

Owais Shah, 98-run hero of the weekend triumph over hosts South Africa, survived a mere 10 balls and claimed three runs before he tried to flick Bond over square leg and sent a thick edge to McCullum.

At 27-3 stunned England got a reprieve when New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori reversed a run-out decision against Collingwood, who went on to top score with 40 before an excellent Ross Taylor catch ended his innings.

Collingwood was one of four England batsman claimed by South Africa-born right-arm medium pacer Grant Elliott, whose 4-31 off eight overs was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers and won him the man of the match award.

England wickets fell regularly and cheaply with the expection of 30-run Ravi Bopara until tail-ender Ryan Sidebottom struck three boundaries in a defiant 20 before Taylor caught him off Vettori to conclude the innings.

New Zealand reached 84 in 12.3 overs before England made a breakthrough as McCullum hopelessly mistimed a Stuart Broad delivery and Bopara made the catch at cover.

Another six overs passed before England could celebrate again as the 53-run stand of Guptill finished when he got a thick edge to a clever James Anderson delivery and Graeme Swann took the catch at first slip.

Swann struck again three balls later, diving at second slip to remove Taylor, who bungled his reaction to a Broad delivery and got a thick edge, but it was hardly a crisis for the Kiwis, who needed 32 runs from 30 overs to win. dl/cw

Shane Watson and Cameron White stars as Australia against England

Shane Watson took three wickets as Australia held England to 228 for nine in the third one-day international at the Rose Bowl here on Wednesday.and Cameron White scored his maiden international hundred 105(124).

All-rounder Watson and Cameron White, on the ground where he played for Hampshire, Watson took three wickets for 36 runs in eight overs as Australia looked to go 3-0 up in the seven-match series.

Strauss won his third straight toss but this time decided to bat first rather than field in a match where both sides were unchanged from the teams that played in world champions Australia's 39-run win at Lord's on Sunday.

In the third over, left-handed opener Strauss struck three consecutive fours off in-form fast bowler Brett Lee, a pull and a drive through extra-cover followed by a square cut.

Ravi Bopara followed up by going down the pitch to drive Nathan Bracken for six. But, trying to repeat the stroke, Bopara holed out off the left-arm seamer with James Hopes, running back at mid-on, taking a well-judged catch.

And six balls later 41 for one became 41 for two when Matt Prior was out for a suck when his pull of left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson's fourth ball was held by a diving hopes at square leg.

Johnson then struck again when Owais Shah was lbw although replays suggested the ball may have been missing off-stump.

But England were now 62 for three in the 15th over.

Strauss, who completed a 60-ball fifty with six fours, fell next when he chipped off-spinner Nathan Hauritz low to Michael Clarke at mid-wicket.

Paul Collingwood struggled during an innings of 28 off 52 balls that didn't feature a single boundary and was dismissed in tame fashion when he holed out off medium-pacer Watson to leave England 132 for five in the 32nd over.

Once more, England didn't take their five-over batting power play until late in the innings, when they managed just 24 runs for the loss of two wickets.

Australia Back to the Ashes

England All out 102 in 33.5 overs against Australia in 4th test Ashes. England win the toss and elect to the bat first. Matt Prior and Captain Strauss will be given double figure Runs to his team other team players was not chase 10 runs. Piter Sidle taken 5 wicket and stuart clark taken 3 wickets those are help the autralia for England 102/10.

Australia is back in the game in Ashes they was 194/4 made runs 1st day session closed. Asutralian team lead 94 runs 1st day in fourth test. Ricky ponting 78 runs 101 balls, Shane Watson 51 runs 67 balls. they are built a good position to Australian Team. M. Calrk 34(64) and Marcos North 7(42) still on the Pitch 1st day match closing.

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