England escape in grandstand finale

England 356 (Swann 81, Harris 5-123) and 228 for 9 (Pietersen 81, Trott 69) drew with South Africa 418 (Kallis 120, Swann 5-110) and 301 for 6 dec (Amla 100)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJone done: Paul Collingwood and Graham Onions leave the field after the thrilling final 19 balls of England’s innings•PA Photos

Paul Collingwood completed the job he had begun at Cardiff in the opening Test of the Ashes, and the No. 11 Graham Onions repelled a fiery final over from Makhaya Ntini, as England survived a massive collapse against the second new ball to cling onto a draw and move onto the second Test in Durban with the series still level.In a sensational finale to the match, England had been coasting to the draw at 172 for 3 after tea, following a restorative 145-run stand between Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen that spanned the entire second session, and settled England’s nerves after they had been dicily placed at 27 for 3 inside the first hour of an eventful day.But neither man was able to see out the job. Pietersen produced a total brain-freeze to run himself out for 81 in the second over of the final session, but it was the debutant seamer, Friedel de Wet, who transformed a meandering finale and set South Africa up for a sensational new-ball heist. In seven overs of unplayable intensity, he claimed 3 for 11 including the key scalp of Trott for 69, and after a collapse of 5 for 13 in 11.1 overs, only Collingwood’s determination and Onions’ unexpectedly watchful technique stood between England and the abyss.While Trott and Pietersen had been in situ throughout a docile afternoon, such a sensational denouement was seemingly out of the question. South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, was so bereft of ideas that even the injured Jacques Kallis was brought out of mothballs for an exploratory spell. But then, in the second over after the break and with a century there for the taking after four months out of the side following Achilles surgery, Pietersen launched into a suicidal quick single into the covers, and kept running straight into the dressing-room as his motionless partner, Trott, blinked incredulously from the non-striker’s end.Pietersen has a penchant for daft dismissals when well set, and given what had happened to England during three of his most memorable giveaways – at Edgbaston in 2008, and Sabina Park and Cardiff earlier this year – those of a superstitious disposition were advised to look away.At first, however, his rush of blood had little impact on the contest. Trott, with his feet rooted in his crease and with not even half an eye on his slowly mounting score, found in Collingwood the perfect partner to mimic such methods, and for 20 further overs they withstood all attempts at further breakthroughs. But all throughout the day, there had been one final opportunity lying in wait for South Africa, and when Smith called for the new ball with 16 overs of the day remaining, de Wet and his fielders responded with pure inspiration.Ntini was given first use, and he served notice of the jitters to follow when he called for a third-ball review as Collingwood padded up to a ball that was just skimming past off stump. It was de Wet’s skiddy bounce, however, that opened the floodgates, as he speared a vicious lifter into Trott’s right thumb, for AB de Villiers at third slip to pull off an outrageous one-handed take as he dived full-length to his left.Trott was gone for 69 from 212 balls of grit and guts stretched across more than five hours, but de Villiers’ brilliance sent a jolt of adrenalin through his team-mates. Of all the pressure situations into which he could have been pitched, the scenario facing Ian Bell was the last thing he needed after his first-innings humiliation. De Wet sensed his unease and tormented his outside edge, and Mark Boucher behind the stumps pulled off South Africa’s second blinder in the space of four overs – this time low to his right.The sight of Matt Prior at No. 8 was far more reassuring to England’s anxious fans on Centurion’s grassy banks, but de Wet by now was unstoppable. With low bounce presumed to be the deadliest weapon on this surface, the debutant instead startled Prior with a fizzing lifter off the seam to hand Boucher his second catch of the spell, and de Wet his third scalp in 20 balls. Stuart Broad was the next to go, caught behind for a fifth-ball duck as Paul Harris was cannily introduced to mix up the pace, and not even the last of England’s reviews could save Graeme Swann as Morne Morkel slid another unplayable grubber into his front pad.At 218 for 9, the runs on the board were utterly irrelevant – all that mattered were the 19 deliveries that remained to be negotiated in the match. That tally was 50 fewer than England’s last pair had negotiated at Cardiff, but Onions, with a career average of 6.33 in five Tests, inspired barely any more confidence than Monty Panesar had done on that incredible final day in July.And yet, Onions did what he had to do – he got determinedly behind the line of the ball after Collingwood flicked a four through midwicket when all he’d been seeking was a single to keep the strike, and he even jammed his bat down on another grubber from Ntini this time, who was handed the final over of the match on a whim from his captain, Graeme Smith, but could not produce the killer delivery to wrap up his 100th Test in style. The final delivery of the game was blocked solidly outside off stump, as Onions pumped his fist in quiet celebration and Collingwood – almost forgotten at the other end despite an invaluable 26 not out from 99 balls – permitted himself a wry grin of satisfaction.At Cardiff, Collingwood had been the tortured soul in the changing room, unable to influence the closing stages of the game having battled so hard to set up the rearguard with his doggedly brilliant 74. Today, that role belonged to Trott, who had arrived at the crease in the third over of the day following the extraction of the nightwatchman, James Anderson, and launched his innings with such introspection that he took 63 deliveries to reach double figures.Trott’s initial cageyness was understandable, given that the first hour of each innings had been the business period for wicket-taking, and when Alastair Cook was caught at leg slip from the first delivery he faced from the spin of Harris, England were 27 for 3 and reeling. With his nerves more apparent than had been the case at any stage of his Ashes debut last August, Trott struggled to stamp his authority on the proceedings, and showed a particular reluctance to commit to the front foot, a tactic he had used to such good effect during his century on debut.Instead, it was Pietersen who took the initiative and injected some urgency to England’s innings. He had one big let-off on 39 when de Wet overstepped for a plumb lbw appeal, but by taking on the drive, he released the pressure of the close-catchers at his end, and enabled Trott to focus on his more gritty approach to survival, which rarely involved fewer than five men round the bat. For three hours and 43 overs, their blend of passivity and aggression drew the sting clean out of the contest. But then came Pietersen’s Red Bull run, and suddenly a meandering finale mutated into a thriller for the ages.

India's stand only hiccup in ICC progress – WADA

The World Anti-Doping Agency’s director-general David Howman has said the ICC has made significant progress in implementing anti-doping measures in the last two years, with the BCCI’s stance against the whereabouts clause the only “hiccup”. Howman is scheduled to meet officials from the ICC and BCCI in Dubai on Wednesday to discuss the impasse over cricket’s anti-doping policy.”In the last 18 months they’ve [ICC] got rules, they’ve done testing, they’re doing out-of-competition testing so in that brief period of time they have done a heck of a lot,” Howman told “The only hiccup they have had is the Indian board (BCCI) has said they are not comfortable with this ‘whereabouts’ requirement.”That clause – which the Indian board rejected three months ago, thereby stalling implementation of the anti-doping code – is expected to be focus of the Dubai meeting, where the BCCI will be represented by its president Shashank Manohar and secretary N Srinivasan.”They [BCCI] have given a number of reasons and I am going to talk about those with them on Wednesday. Some of their concerns include an allegation that it [Wada’s code] is unconstitutional in India,” Howman said. “Well India signed on to the code as one of the first countries. The Indian Government is compliant so if there is part of India that is not compliant that is embarrassing for the government, particularly with things like the Commonwealth Games coming up.”The BCCI’s primary concern with the whereabouts clause is that it could pose a security threat to its players. Howman, however, said that the WADA’s system was so secure that even he did not have access to the location details and the ones who did had had thorough background checks. “I don’t have access to that [athlete] information, so that shows how strong we are about it,” Howman said. “We have four people in our organisation who have access. They have all been through full security, police checks and the like. So from my point of view there is nothing more that we can do.””The whole system is good, the individuals receiving the information are secure and when the player puts this information in, the access to the information is restricted to those who need it, which would be us and the ICC. Nobody in India.”Howman had spent six months in 2009 speaking to athlete groups and showing them that the system was, in fact, a simple one. He acknowledged the need for WADA to spell out the requirements clearly, in order to avoid misinterpretation, before putting such systems in place.

Younis praises Afridi after big win

Pakistan’s captain Younis Khan has applauded Shahid Afridi for his Man-of-the-Match effort in the team’s comprehensive victory over New Zealand in the first ODI in Abu Dhabi. Afridi blasted 70 from 50 balls to help set up Pakistan’s 287 for 9 and then grabbed two wickets, including the key dismissal of Daniel Vettori, from consecutive balls in New Zealand’s chase.”He [Afridi] is a fantastic performer,” Younis said after the match. “The last couple of years he worked well with the bowling but now his batting is there so it’s good for Pakistan.”It was a complete professional performance led by the fantastic Afridi and [Kamran] Akmal. They changed the game after we were in trouble in the first ten overs.”There wasn’t much for New Zealand to celebrate in a match where they had Pakistan 0 for 2 but allowed a recovery and leaked 107 runs in the final ten overs. In reply, only three of New Zealand’s batsmen reached double figures and but for a 69-run stand between Vettori and Aaron Redmond, the result could have been even worse than the 138-run defeat.”We were on our way to restrict them to 220-230,” Vettori said. “But Afridi and Akmal batted very well and we strayed in the last 12 to 15 overs and in the batting Powerplay.”The win gives Pakistan an early lead in the three-match ODI series in Abu Dhabi before the sides head to Dubai for two Twenty20 internationals. Younis said it continued to be disappointing his team could not host matches in their own country.”Although we have a lot of supporters in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, we still need to play some games in Pakistan,” Younis said. “I hope that we’ll soon play again in Pakistan.”

Well-oiled New South Wales ready for all-comers

On paper New South Wales have the best side. On form they remain favourites. On Wednesday evening Simon Katich’s well-oiled unit became the first team to enter the finals after overwhelming Victoria by 79 runs. The margin of victory over their south Australian neighbours at the Feroz Shah Kotla – easily the worst pitch in the tournament – surprised even NSW.Katich had pointed out earlier that the toss would be vital on a tough track, and he helped his side by calling correctly again, as he has done all tournament. The emphatic win was set up by their opening pair, Phillip Hughes and David Warner, who bludgeoned 62 runs in little more than six overs.”We knew the wicket [in Delhi] and that suited our bowling attack but definitely that start we got with the bat was probably a little bit unscripted,” Mathew Mott, the NSW coach, said immediately after reaching Hyderabad for Friday’s final. “We were hoping to set a decent base and it really exceeded even our biggest expectations and set the game for us. It was hard for Victoria to get back into it.”Hughes and Warner have been wrestling for the top run-maker’s slot throughout the tournament, Warner (188) currently trailing his partner by 11 runs. Katich expects a similar thrust in the final from the pair, who have already stitched together three 50-plus partnerships including an incredible 121 against Trinidad & Tobago in Hyderabad.”Warner is fantastic for us,” Katich said, and even questioned Delhi Daredevils’ wisdom in not securing the opener’s services for the Champions League. “Really I can’t understand why Delhi didn’t take him – their loss was our gain,” Katich said with a smile.Mott was also pleased that his team didn’t slacken throughout the 40 overs despite being in control, which helped them make “a bit of a statement about how we want to go into the final.”Katich said he had no preference about NSW’s opponent in the final, which will be decided on Thursday evening when T&T clash with Cape Cobras. “Whoever we play we know it is a tough match,” a tired-looked Katich said, having flown to Hyderabad barely hours after the win on Wednesday night. “The only thing is we haven’t played the Cobras, so it is going to be a bit of unknown but that applies to both teams.”NSW already have an idea of T&T, after they were flattened by Kieron Pollard’s match-turning 15-ball half-century on Sunday. But Katich said he wasn’t afraid to run into the only undefeated team in the tournament again. “We were little off in the game against T&T. (But) It came at a good time and it didn’t cost us too badly and instead motivated us to make sure we went up a gear in the remaining games and that showed last night.”

NSW look to Hughes and Warner for success

Matthew Mott, the New South Wales coach, believes the key to a strong charge at the Champions League Twenty20 depends on his two fresh-faced opening batsmen. While the Blues have a talent-heavy bowling line-up for the lucrative tournament, including Brett Lee and Stuart Clark, Mott wants Phillip Hughes and David Warner, two of his youngest men, to ignite the team.The left-handers, who remain in Australia’s international plans, will be called on for explosive starts during the competition, which begins in Delhi on October 9. “The key to our success is our opening batting combination,” Mott said. “That’s the thing that can set up your game. As a bowling side you want to take three wickets in the first six overs, as the batting team you want to set the foundation. If we can start well with the bat we’ll have a good chance of competing in the tournament.”Warner, 22, is a tiny but powerful hitter who is trying to shake off a reputation as a Twenty20 specialist while Hughes, 20, has played only Tests for Australia. Neither man has secured a long-term spot in the national set-up and they can enhance their short-form credentials in India.The pair worked well during the Blues’ warm-up games in Lismore over the past week and Mott was impressed with the combination. “Hughes and Warner just seem to be a really good mix, they both play a bit differently,” he said. “At different stages either of them have stepped up the tempo and the other one has taken a back seat. They’ve had a very mature approach.”New South Wales, Australia’s domestic Twenty20 champions, leave for India on Friday and will be without the injured Nathan Bracken (knee), Michael Clarke (back) and Brad Haddin (finger). However, they still have an envious squad thanks to the internationals Lee, Clark, Simon Katich, Nathan Hauritz and Doug Bollinger.”It’s a big buzz for all of our guys,” Mott said of the big names returning. “We’re used to having the players come in and out and it’s always great when they come back and share their experience with the rest of the squad. In this competition everyone is excited, whether they’ve played a lot of international cricket or not.”Mott has significant coaching experience in Twenty20 after being an assistant for two years in the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders. The side finished last earlier in the year, resulting in a major coaching overhaul, and Mott has learned some lessons.”It’s really just about getting off to a good start,” he said. “It’s such a tough format that if you get on the back foot it’s really hard to recover quickly. That’s the thing I’ll be trying to impress on the guys, we have to switch on from the first ball of the tournament. You can’t afford a bad couple of overs in Twenty20.”New South Wales and Victoria fine-tuned in Lismore and the teams will face each other again in another warm-up in India next week. Both sides play on the second day of the tournament, with the Blues running into the Eagles and the Bushrangers up against the Delhi Daredevils.

Zimbabwe offer Kenya extended ODI series

Cricket Kenya’s bid to play more ODI cricket against Full Members has been boosted with the news that the Zimbabwe board has offered to arrange five matches during next month’s tour by the Kenyans.The original itinerary had included the four-day Intercontinental Cup match and three ODIs but Ozias Bvute, Zimbabwe Cricket’s chief executive, told Cricinfo that his board had agreed to a request from CK to extend the series.Kenya last played a one-day series in Zimbabwe in February-March 2006 when they drew 2-2 with the deciding match washed out. However, Zimbabwe completed a 5-0 whitewash when the two sides most recently met in Kenya at the start of the year.

Wanderers regains international status

The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg will host international matches this summer, beginning with the three matches during England’s tour to South Africa later this year, after the resolution of a month-long dispute between Cricket South Africa and the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB).”CSA agrees to reinstate all the England tour games for the forthcoming tour in November, December and January,” read a joint statement from both parties.The GCB had levelled allegations of mismanagement during the 2009 IPL held In South Africa in April-May, against CSA chief executive Gerald Majola, the BCCI and the tournament organisers soon after the tournament ended. The South African board responded to this by stripping the Wanderers of its international status.Gauteng had requested sports minister Makhenkesi Stofile to intervene in the stand-off, and both parties agreed to mediation in late July. Wanderers stood to lose out on the proposed matches – a Test, an ODI and a Twenty20 – during England’s tour in November-December.One of the mediators appointed by Stofile, advocate Brian Currin, announced on Wednesday that the matches had been restored to Johannesburg as part of the dispute resolution. Stofile appointed Currin along with another lawyer, Khabo Mamba, to help resolve the dispute when it became apparent the two parties were unable to reach an agreement.The two parties also agreed on a programme aimed at the transformation of Gauteng Cricket, including the drafting of a revised constitution for the GCB, as well as a transformation charter.”Cricket is an asset of South Africa – it does not belong to CSA or GCB,” Stofile said. “Neither CSA nor GCB are the winners in this settlement – South Africa is the winner.”At a news conference last month, CSA president Dr Mtutuzeli Nyoka, had stated categorically there would be no international cricket under the auspices of CSA until the GCB had apologised for allegations made against CSA and Majola. However, Nyoka was glad an agreement had been reached.”Things got out of hand,” Nyoka said. “I’m very relieved we have managed to undo the damage that was done. They were always aware that their hosting of the three matches depended on the outcome of the mediation process. Holding an international cricket tour in South Africa without the Wanderers would be like ‘Hamlet’ without the prince.”Subsequent to the initial dispute with GCB a number of further developments took place which pointed quite clearly that the problem in Gauteng is a leadership problem. This is why parties agreed that the reconstitution of the GCB board will be a solution to a number of these attendant problems and quite frankly some of the demands of the CSA would invariably fall away.”The GCB through its president apologised to the CEO and CSA, which apology was accepted by us in the good spirit in which it was made. For us this demonstrated a willingness on the parties to resolve this matter and as a result signed the detailed agreement.”Barry [Skjoldhammer, GCB chairman] and I are good friends, I have known him for 10 years and I respect him. At some point in the process we reached out to each other. Wanderers is the Mecca of South African cricket and you have to have matches there when you play in this country.”Skjoldhammer echoed Nyoka’s sentiments, and was happy with Wanderers’ reinstatement as an international venue. “The ceiling isn’t high enough to hold me,” Skjoldhammer said. “We had issues that we felt strongly about, CSA had issues they felt strongly about. Yes, we’re satisfied with the things we have agreement on, and we’re very relieved for the stakeholders of Gauteng Cricket, for the Johannesburg public, suite holders and cricket clubs that the Wanderers is back on the map.”

Nel injures himself on door frame

Andre Nel will require elbow surgery after injuring himself walking into a door frame. Although the problem was to his non-bowling arm, and didn’t prevent him playing in the current Championship match against Leicestershire, he will have an operation in the next two weeks.The injury occurred last week as Nel was carrying a heavy bag and collided with the door frame. His elbow was scanned and revealed a complete rupture to the lateral collateral ligament, a muscle near the joint.The length of Nel’s lay-off will be determined after the surgery and Chris Adams, the Surrey cricket manager, said it was a blow. “This is obviously very disappointing for the team and for Andre personally but it’s an injury that needs to be dealt with quickly otherwise it could have long term ramifications,” he said. “Andre has played a huge part in our season so far, on and off the field, so I’m looking forward to having him back at the earliest opportunity.”Nel has taken 21 wickets at 30.61 in the Championship but returned figures of 0 for 113 off 30 overs in the current match against Leicestershire.

Younis wary of Murali threat

Younis Khan, the Pakistan captain, has said his players will look to play out Muttiah Muralitharan, and not give him too many wickets in the ODI series.”Murali is a matchwinner for Sri Lanka and everybody knows that if he bowls his ten overs well Sri Lanka will win,” Younis said. “We will be working on not giving Murali wickets.”Muralitharan, who returns to the Sri Lanka side after missing the 2-0 victory in the three-Test series through a knee injury, boasts an impressive record against the visitors. He has taken 88 wickets in 60 games against Pakistan at 24.62 and an economy rate of 4.03. At home, the record improves further – an average of 22.78 and an economy rate of 3.64 – with 19 wickets in 13 matches.Younis said fielding would be a key aspect throughout the five ODIs and one Twenty20 international. “We are aware of Sri Lanka’s strength,” Younis said. “We must stick to our basics everyday and in every game. Sri Lanka’s fielding is fantastic and they have the upper hand in fielding. If we field like we did in the Twenty20 we can provide good competition.”Younis also stressed on the importance of getting off to a winning start in the first ODI in Dambulla on Thursday, and said the team would need to regroup and start afresh after the defeat in the Test series.”Every day’s a different day,” Younis said. “We want to forget about the Test series and start anew. We are more motivated because we are again in a ‘do and die situation’. Having lost the Test series it would be good for me and for Pakistan if we can leave by winning the ODI and T20. All our boys are very keen to win the ODI series because after the World Twenty20 we had no celebrations, because we straight away came to Sri Lanka.”Younis also welcomed the ICL players back into the international fold and hoped they would “perform well for the country and then for themselves.”

West Indies hold nerve to reach semis

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRamnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul celebrate West Indies’ success•Getty Images

The experience of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul guided West Indies into the ICC World Twenty20 semi-finals after the top order threatened to lose their heads in a reduced chase of 80 in nine overs. A succession of wild shots meant West Indies were 45 for 5 in the sixth over, but Sarwan and Chanderpaul calmly added 37 to complete the victory with four balls to spare and send the hosts out.Chris Gayle wanted to have the final say in the extended duel between these two teams which dates back to February. He briefly threatened to carry the chase on his own but was yorked by a beauty from Ryan Sidebottom and he was grateful for calmness of his two senior batsmen. A second brilliant piece of glovework from James Foster to stump Dwayne Bravo had put England on top, but Sarwan and Chanderpaul showed there is room for sensible batsmanship even in a nine-over thrash.When Sarwan hit the winning boundary with four balls to spare the rest of the team – apart from Gayle who strode out at his own pace – sprinted onto the outfield in scenes reminiscent of their 2004 Champions Trophy victory on the same ground. Weeks of moping around England for the Tests and one-dayers were long forgotten.A heavy thunderstorm after England’s innings concluded on 161 for 6 meant Duckworth-Lewis came into use. It would have been understandable if West Indies were nervous at the prospect after John Dyson’s embarrassing error during the one-day series, when he handed England victory, but the calculations benefited West Indies as much as they knew what was needed and could attack hard.However, they almost went too hard. Andre Fletcher bagged his third duck in a row when he top-edged a pull off James Anderson, although Gayle was only going to play one way. He slammed Sidebottom’s first ball over midwicket and then cracked him over cover, but the bowler responded in fine style as he speared a yorker under Gayle’s bat.Stuart Broad struck with his first ball when Lendl Simmons carved to third man and there was a manic nature about the run-chase that threatened to unravel West Indies’ hopes. Paul Collingwood used his bowlers in one-over spells and when the three-over Powerplay was finished he brought Graeme Swann into the attack. The offspinner responded with five excellent deliveries that yielded three runs, but the sixth ball was lofted over long-off for six by Kieron Pollard.Collingwood then gambled by tossing the ball to Adil Rashid – preferred in this game to Dimitri Mascarenhas – and his first delivery was magnificently driven over extra cover by Bravo. In two shots, West Indies were back in front and the pressure was on a young spinner. That Rashid responded with a top-spinner to bowl Pollard is a huge credit to him and shows great promise for the future.Then came what looked a pivotal moment as Bravo was beaten by Swann’s flight and Foster made a split-second stumping as the batsman raised his foot. At that moment West Indies needed 35 from 22 balls, but this time Foster wasn’t a match-winner.Sarwan drove Anderson through cover and whipped him behind square for a second boundary and that was to prove the final twist. Chanderpaul nudged, nurdled and responded to his partner’s screams to run hard (despite an injured thigh) and swung a priceless boundary past fine leg that meant Sidebottom would have little to work with in the final over.England will look back and think the reduction in overs was harsh on them, but once again the batting had failed to build on a solid start against an attack lacking Fidel Edwards who was forced out moments before the toss with a back injury.As Ravi Bopara and Kevin Pietersen added 56 all was looking good, but once Pietersen picked out deep square-leg with a top-edged lap the innings stalled and nearly went backwards. There wasn’t a boundary from the 11th over until the penultimate ball of the innings, when Broad swept Sulieman Benn and followed it up with a clean straight six as the bowler struggled with a wet ball.Bopara’s 55 from 47 balls was full of elegance and class, with two on-drives as perfect as you could wish to see, but at times it seemed as though others were playing with hollow bats. Bopara and Pietersen managed 10 of the 13 fours between them and a lack of power in the middle order was cruely exposed. It is that absence of brutal hitting that was decisive, not the rain.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus