The Super 12’s in full flow!
With Week 2 of the super 12’s almost at its end we have seen some unbelievable games of Cricket and the upsets keep coming thick and fast! Sadly, with constant acknowledgement of racism in sport and the continuous hard work of trying to excise this cancerous element from our beloved sport and wider life, English Cricket is once again in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, despite the lack of superlatives available to describe the teams’ performances so far.
We sincerely hope that our special game, can become greater at uniting all the wonderful cultures who share a passion for our beloved Cricket, once known as the gentlemen’s game!
Wickets, sixes and crushing victories!
Week two of the super 12’s has been nothing short of entertaining with result creating shock and awe the world over!
Match23: The West Indes finally scrape their first win of the tournament against qualifiers Bangladesh with not a Chris Gayle 6 in sight! Batting first the Windes amassed a respectable score of 142 largely thanks to the cool calm experience of Roston Chase (39), backed up by Nicolas Pooran smashing 40 from 22 balls! In reply the Tigers made a shaky start falling to 29-2 but as Liton Das made a calculated 44 a recovery was on. However even with a late 31 from Mahmudullah it was too little too late as Bangladesh frustratingly finished just 4 short of the line, having bowled 14 extras in the first innings!
Match24: Afghanistan went toe to toe with Pakistan making a thrilling spectacle. Batting first Afghanistan could not have made a worse start with the top 6 each struggling to make double figures! It was left to the experience of Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib at 35 runs a peace raising the bar to a respectable 147. In reply, Babar Azam (51) put on another masterclass before succumbing to the talents of Rashid Khan who also accounted for the experienced Mohammad Hafeez as Pakistan claimed victory in the 19th.
Match25: Playing Sri Lanka is never easy as the side has exceptional talent, and you never know what to expect and a superb 72 from Nissanka at the top of the order set the tone. Sadly, the rest of choir didn’t join in as only 2 other batters mustered double figures as they crept to 142. South Africa’s poor start flattered the Sri Lankan batting performance as the Proteas fell to 3-49 as de Kock, Hendricks & Van der Dussen struggled to hit their straps. The skipper Bavuma had other plans with a run a ball 46 & Miller pumped 23 from 13 to secure a scrappy victory.
Match26: England vs Australia – the old enemy on neutral soil with both teams on form, game on I hear you say! Batting first the Aussies could not have dreamt of a worse start as Warner, Smith, Maxwell and Stoinis barely warmed up the scorers between them as they slumped to 4-21! Only the Captain Finch (44), exhibited the true Aussie digger spirit with a flash in the pan 20 from Wade and Agar. The England bowling unit were superb with Chris Jordan (3-17) as the pick of the bowlers with 2 wickets a piece for Woakes and Mills & wickets for Rashid and Livingstone who is fast becoming a tricky one-day bowler. The England openers smashed 66 before Roy handed his wicket to Zampa with an unnecessary reverse sweep. Man of the moment Jos Butler obliterated the Aussie attack putting spectators in danger hitting 71 from 32 with 5 sixes and closing the game out in an impressive 12 overs and 8 in the hutch.
Match27: Afghanistan and Namibia was sadly another one sided affair. Namibia could only muster 98 in reply to the Afghan’s domineering 160. Shahzad (45), Afghan (31) & Nabi (32) steered the first innings amicably. The Namibian batters, having showed such promise, never got going with only the talented Wiese getting in o the 20’s thanks to Naib and Naveen-Ul-Haq with 3 apiece.
Match28: India’s troubles continued in a low scoring affair against New Zealand. Despite a change in batting order the result for India was the same as only 2 batters made the 20’s thanks to Boult snatching 3 and Sodhi picking up Sharm and Kholi. The Kiwi’s made short work of the meagre 110 crossing the line with 5 overs to spare thanks to Mitchell (49) Williamson (33*) & Guptill (20).
Match29: It was England’s turn to face the Sri Lankan lottery in what turned out to be a rip snorter of game. At 3-35 many thought Sri Lanka had toppled the rampaging England side. 163 runs later, Jos Butler single handedly carried England, scoring the only hundred of the tournament so far, ably supported by skipper Eoin Morgan (40). Sri Lanka’s weaker string was up next and sadly made a less than ideal start falling to 5-76. Hasaranga made a valiant 34 from 21 but it was to no avail, as in the end England were just too clinical, to precise to let even the smallest errors go un-punished.
Match30: The meeting between Bangladesh & South Africa was a short-lived affair as Bangladesh slumped to 84 in 18 overs with only 2 batters finding the 20’s. In 13 overs the Proteas put the game to bed with Bavuma seeing the side home with 31*.
Match31: A rampant Pakistan side batted first in their meeting with Namibia amassing the tournaments highest total of 189. Azam (70) & Rizwan (79) put on a show and have fast become a fierce opening partnership with Hafeez chipping in with a brisk 32. Namibia’s top order could not compete despite valiant efforts from Williams (40) & Wiese (43) as Namibia fell 40 odd short.
Match32: Scotland took on New Zealand with the kiwis batting first. Martin Guptill unleashed hell putting bowlers to all parts but falling just 7 short of the second tournament ton dragging his side to 172 with little assistance from Williamson (0), Mitchell (13) & Conway (1). Luckily Phillips (33) managed to offer some support as Wheal and Sharif took 2 wickets each. Scotland sadly were not up to the task with Leask (42) being the pick of the batters and others making pretty 20’s contributing to their final score of 156 as Boult and Sodhi did the damage yet again!
Match33: Afghanistan were up next against a below par India and with big changes in the batting order with Kholi at 5 & getting pad rash. Sharma (74) and Rahul (69) were too good with pant (27*) & Pandya (35*) restricted by time setting 210 from 20. The bowlers battered and beaten the batters had their work cut out for them. Afghanistan’s top 5 did not impress with Nabi (35) at number 6 the first batter to offer any true resistance and Janat (42) at number 7 the only other major contributor in want ended up being a much needed 66 run victory for India.
Match34: After a hiding from England, a couple of days rest saw normal service resume for Australia as the toppled Bangladesh for just 73 in 15 overs as not one Bangladesh batter made the 20’s. The Aussie batters brushed the modest 73 aside in just 7 overs as finch (40) dominated yet again!
Match35: Sri Lanka took on the West Indes in and exciting exchange between to two erratic teams with great potential. Batting first Sri Lanka posted a formidable 189 thanks to Nissanka (51) and Asalanka (68) a stiff ask even with Chris Gayle at the top of the order. Sadly the Gayle force could not even muster a gentle breeze with the only real resistance coming from Pooran (46) with Hetmeyer providing the fireworks scoring 81 from 54 was just not enough to secure the win.
Match36: Batting first the Kiwis stuttered to 163 with Phillips and Neesham getting 30’s not out to get a defendable total. The Namibians survived their 20 overs but sadly with 20’s being the best the batters could offer 111 was not going to get the job done.
Match37: Scotland were next in India’s sights with a chance they may find India on a bad day. Batting first the Scots couldn’t compete against the skill of the Indian bowling attack making just 85 as Jadeja and Shami took 3 each. In reply India sealed the win in just 7 overs with Rahul & Sharma scoring 70 for the first wicket.
Plenty of cricket this weekend with England are in action against South Africa and Australia take on the West Indes. On Sunday New Zealand face off against Afghanistan and it’s Pakistan’s turn to face Scotland.
Enjoy your weekend of cricket and catch you next week!
