South Africa won by 5 wickets

Wayne Parnell returned his maiden five-wicket haul in One-Day Internationals and AB de Villiers scored an unbeaten 70 as South Africa got their ICC Champions Trophy campaign back on track with a five-wicket win over New Zealand.
The Proteas bowled New Zealand out for 214 in their must-win match and got to their target with more than eight overs to spare.
For the second time in three days, South Africa won the toss and decided to field first at Centurion, and this time it appeared to be the correct decision, Parnell's five for 57 bowling out the Black Caps in 47.5 overs.
Ross Taylor top scored with 72 as Dale Steyn and Roelof van der Merwe both grabbed two wickets apiece.
South Africa lost the wicket of Graeme Smith (7) early but after that they were never seriously headed, de Villiers' 70 not out from 76 balls coming after Hashim Amla (38) and Jacques Kallis (36) had put on 52 for the second wicket to stabilise the innings.
De Villiers stroked nine fours; Daryl Tuffey picked up two wickets for New Zealand with Kyle Mills, Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori taking one apiece.
South Africa now meet England on Sunday in their final group game and on the same day New Zealand must beat Sri Lanka to stay in the tournament.

The pitch was the same one used a couple of days ago when South Africa were mauled by Sri Lanka, but the result was very different. Early on it offered more pace and bounce than the track on which Tillakaratne Dilshan blazed away, but as the afternoon wore on stroke play became increasingly tougher, especially against the older ball. By the time New Zealand were midway into their innings, after Parnell took two early wickets, the spinners found appreciable bounce and the abrasive nature of the pitch made the ball grip the surface.

van der Merwe and Johan Botha bowled with control and the effort was complemented by the attacking fields Graeme Smith set, which played a major role in suffocating the batsmen. Runs came at a trickle with New Zealand managing just 72 between the 15th and 35th overs. During that span, the spinners conceded just three boundaries.

Taylor had a few close shaves against van der Merwe but overcame his nerves to play a substantial role. He was pleasing when cracking the ball in the arc between point and gully but more than those odd field perforations his contribution was valuable for the manner in which he shored up the pressure of seeing New Zealand through difficulty. Grant Elliott had his moments of indecision when balls from van der Merwe just about missed the edge of the bat, yet managed to pierce the wall of fielders with some excellent shots through cover.

His dismissal for 39, bowled by a peach from van der Merwe, snapped a 71-run stand and allowed South Africa back spectacularly. The last five fell for 11 runs in 18 balls, with Parnell nipping out three in the batting Powerplay, and that decided the match. Taylor had carried the innings but the lack of sizeable partnerships hurt them: there were four stands of 30 or more, but none topped 71 as South Africa plugged away. The bowlers did a fine job, and the sharp turn the spinners achieved suggested that batting in the evening would be even more difficult.

England Have A Chance In South Africa

England Team Director Andy Flower maintains that his side do have a chance of winning the ICC Champions Trophy, despite being beaten 6-1 at home by Australia.

England won the final game of the series by four wickets at The Riverside to at least avoid the humiliation of a 7-0 scoreline and Flower admitted that the series had been a disappointment.

Speaking at a pre-departure press conference, he said:

“It was really nice to get a win under our belt before we left - no-one wanted to go down 7-0.

“Our form is poor - we can’t hide from that. We play three qualifying matches. If we get a couple of wins there then we’re into the semi-finals, so we have a chance.”

England are grouped alongside New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka in Group B of the tournament, which sees the top two from each group progress to the semi-finals and Flower believes the tournament format can help England.

“The fact that it’s a very short tournament gives us a chance,” he said. "We backed the squad a month ago when it was chosen, and they’ve got a lot of experience through this.

“I know it’s not a good experience, and no-one wants to get a drubbing like this, but they will have learnt a lot.

“It will be nice to get a change of scenery and draw a line under this one-day series, but we’ve got a lot of hard work to do, and there’s some thinking and some decision-making to be done about our one-day squad."

Flower was, however, keen to stress that there had been some positives during the series, particularly the batting of Joe Denly and Eoin Morgan.

"There have been glimpses of very good performances. Eoin Morgan played a busy Neil Fairbrother-type role in the middle - he looks promising, and struck the ball beautifully at Nottingham.

“(Joe) Denly looked the part up front as well, but all of our batsmen have got to go on to match-defining scores.

"They’ve all got in through the series, and all got out again fairly soon after, so they’ve all got to improve," he added.

England take on Sri Lanka at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Friday.

2009 ICC Champions Trophy

The 2009 ICC Champions Trophy is a One Day International cricket tournament to be held in South Africa between 22 September and 5 October,[1]at Wanderers Stadium and Centurion Park, both in the Johannesburg area.[2] It will be the sixth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, and was previously known as the ICC Knock-out. Two teams from two groups of four will form the semi-finals, with the final to be staged in Centurion on 5 October. The popularity of the 50-over format of the game has waned since the introduction of Twenty20 and speculation about its future is rife, with a general air of apathy surrounding a second world tournament in the space of three months, following the ICC World Twenty20 won by Pakistan.

Rules and Regulation

The ICC Champions Trophy 2009 will be contested by 8 teams which have been 'seeded' and divided into two groups. Each team will play every other team in its group. Points will be allocated for each match in accordance with the system described below which will apply throughout the competition. Following the group stage the top 2 teams from each group will progress to the semi finals where the winner of Group A will play the runner up of Group B (in the 1st semi-final) and the winner of Group B will play the runner up of Group A (in the 2nd semi-final). The winners of the semi-finals will contest the Final.

Points

Results	Points
Win	2 points
No Result	1 point
Loss	0 points

[ Group Matches

In the event of teams finishing on equal points in its group, the right to play in the semi-finals will be decided in the following order of priority:

• The team with the more wins in the group stage will be placed in the higher position.
• If there are teams with equal points and equal wins in the group stage then in such case the team with the higher net run rate in the group stage will be placed in the higher position.
• If following the net run rate calculation above there are teams which are still equal, then the team with the higher number of wickets taken per balls bowled in the group stage in which results were achieved will be placed in the higher position.
• If still equal, the team which was the winner of the head to head match played between them will be placed in the higher position.
• In the highly unlikely event that teams cannot be separated by the above this will be done by drawing lots.

Semi Final

If a semi-final is tied, the teams shall compete in a one over per side eliminator to determine which team progresses to the final. If following a tie, weather conditions prevent the one over eliminator from being completed, or if the match is a no result, then the group winners shall progress to the Final.

Final

In the event of a tied Final, the teams shall compete in a one over eliminator to determine which team is the winner. In the event of a no result, provided weather conditions permit, the teams shall compete in a one over per side eliminator to determine which team is the winner. If weather conditions do not permit, the teams will be declared joint winners.

Squads

Group stage

Group A

Team	P	W	L	T	NR	NRR	Points
Australia	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0
India	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0
Pakistan	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0
West Indies	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0

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23 September 2009	Pakistan	v	West Indies	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

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26 September 2009	Australia	v	West Indies	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

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26 September 2009	India	v	Pakistan	SuperSport Park, Centurion

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28 September 2009	Australia	v	India	SuperSport Park, Centurion

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30 September 2009	Australia	v	Pakistan	SuperSport Park, Centurion

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30 September 2009	India	v	West Indies	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Group B

Team	P	W	L	T	NR	NRR	Points
New Zealand	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0
Sri Lanka	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0
England	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0
South Africa	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0

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22 September 2009 Scorecard	Sri Lanka  319/8 (50 overs)	v	South Africa	Match Live SuperSport Park, Centurion Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) & Simon Taufel (AUS)
	Tillakaratne Dilshan 106 (92) Dale Steyn 3/47 (9 overs)
Toss: South Africa won toss, elected to field.

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24 September 2009	South Africa	v	New Zealand	SuperSport Park, Centurion

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25 September 2009	England	v	Sri Lanka	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

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27 September 2009	New Zealand	v	Sri Lanka	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

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27 September 2009	South Africa	v	England	SuperSport Park, Centurion

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29 September 2009	England	v	New Zealand	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Knockout stage

Semi-Finals

2 October 2009	A1	v	B2	SuperSport Park, Centurion

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3 October 2009	B1	v	A2	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Final

5 October 2009	A1/B2	v	B1/A2

Tough times will help Ishant improve - Srinath

	TA Sekhar: "What's the use of him bowling like [Glenn] McGrath? People say cut down pace, concentrate on lengths … no way ..." © AFP
Related Links Players/Officials: Ishant Sharma | Javagal Srinath Teams: India

Ishant Sharma's struggles in limited-overs cricket in the last year are part of his growth as a cricketer, says former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath. Ishant has impressed in Tests but struggled with his lengths in ODIs and has been average recently in that format on the slow pitches in India, West Indies and Sri Lanka.

"These tough times are the best for him to learn about himself, about his bowling craft and develop," Srinath told Cricinfo.

Ishant averaged 31.48 and picked up 27 wickets in his first 20 ODIs. In 13 games in 2009, he has picked up 19 wickets at 31.42. The economy rate, though, has shot up from 5.34 to 6.19. On Sunday, in a ICC Champions Trophy warm-up game, he leaked 49 runs off seven overs and picked up a wicket.

There is a school of thought that Ishant should be given adequate breaks from ODIs to allow him to concentrate on Tests so that India don't risk losing a potent strike force in the longer version of the game. However, Srinath doesn't share that view.

"This is part and parcel of the development of a bowler. The second season is always going to be tougher for a cricketer. He has the basics right and he will go on to become a very good bowler for India. These tough times are the best for him to learn about himself, about his bowling craft and develop. From what I hear, he has a great attitude to learn and if he remains hungry, he will come out a better ODI bowler and as a result, a better bowler overall."

Srinath, however, is worried about the effects of too much criticism on such a young bowler. "It all depends on his attitude I guess but too much criticism can hurt. This is a very crucial stage. At this developmental stage, you can only develop the more you bowl and more you learn about yourself."

There are concerns that Ishant, who has a fragile body and not a smooth post-release routine where he almost stumbles a bit, can get injured with playing too many ODIs but Srinath believes that's a risk that he has to take at this stage. "That's the risk that you have to weigh against the results and only he can know about his body."

TA Sekhar, who ran the MRF Pace Academy with Dennis Lillee, shared the same view. "His strength is the pace and the bounce he gets from length and back of a length. That is his USP. I see no reason, for example, why should he cut down pace just to bowl a fuller length as some people have been suggesting.

"What's the use of him bowling like [Glenn] McGrath? People say cut down pace, concentrate on lengths … No way. I am sure he is in good hands with Venkatesh Prasad (the India bowling coach) who would get the best out of him. Obviously, Ishant has to tinker with a few things like lengths but he doesn't have to change anything drastically. He is just 19-20. This is the time to play more and improve. He has what we call the fast-twitch muscles. The body will grow stronger and importantly, he will be much the wiser for going through this phase."

Afridi looks forward to India match in CT

Karachi Flamboyant Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi is looking forward to play against India in the Champions Trophy in South Africa where his side had not beaten their neighbours in an ICC tournament in recent years.

Afridi said he has a lot of respect for India which had a very good One-day combination and the match between the two arch rivals should produce fireworks.

"India are a strong side and our present team is also well balanced and has depth so we should have a good match. I am looking forward to it," he told reporters in Lahore.

"The rivalry and intensity of playing against each other is always there. It does not matter who wins or loses. What is important is I want to play with passion and aggression and I

expect our players to show 100 per cent commitment," he added.

Pakistan lost their 2003 World Cup match to India at the Centurion and were twice beaten in the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.

"I think our team is very experienced and balanced and we can do well in South Africa and try to change our past record there," Afridi said.

He said Pakistan have some good players particularly like Muhammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq.

"Although Malik and Misbah have recently not scored many runs but they are quality players and they have played some brilliant innings in the past. So I am expecting them to do

well in Champions Trophy. It will add a lot of depth to our batting if they click," he said.

Source: CricketNext

I may quit on Champions Trophy failure: Afridi

KARACHI: Terming the ICC Champions Trophy the toughest event, Pakistan vice-captain Shahid Afridi on Thursday evening hinted at quitting the game if he did not attain success in the forthcoming eight-nation tournament starting in South Africa later this month.

‘A lot depends on my performance in the Champions Trophy and I am looking forward to this elite competition,’ Afridi told a gathering at a reception hosted in his honour by a private organisation here for his outstanding performance in the World Twenty20 in England where Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s.

‘If I am not that successful in the Champions Trophy I may consider quitting the game. But I’ll be putting in my best effort for the country and the team,’ the mighty hitter, who has represented Pakistan in 26 Tests, 281 one-dayers and 24 Twenty20 Internationals, stated.

He however, said the Champions Trophy would be the toughest of cricketing events as the best eight teams will be battling for supremacy.

A gold medal was presented to Afridi for his excellent show in the World Twenty20 where he won the man-of-the-match awards in the semi-final and the final.

Lt Gen (r) Tauqir Zia, former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), complimented Afridi for his superb performance in world event held in England.

‘Afridi without any shadow of doubt is Pakistan cricket history’s most popular player,’ he stressed.

PCB chief selector Iqbal Qasim, Salim Sweleh Samama Builder, ABAD Chairman Babar Chughtai also spoke on the occasion.

The reception was attended by former Test cricketers, sports organisers and officials.

Source: Dawn

ODI format under microscope ahead of Champions Trophy

The one-day ICC Champions Trophy starts on Tuesday in South Africa with the future of the 50-over format under the microscope.

World stars past and present and officials have joined a fierce debate as the overwhelming success of the Indian Premier League-led Twenty20 version has left many querying the role of the ODI in an overcrowded schedule.

Indian batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar favours a four-innings format of 25 overs each to minimise the advantage of winning the toss and former star Anil Kumble supports a reduction to 40 overs.

Others like Australian bowling legend Shane Warne want the ODI format scrapped, believing it has been rendered extinct by the spectator-friendly glitz and glamour of Twenty20 cricket.

But ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat says reports of the death of ODI have been greatly exaggerated and the Champions Trophy tournament will trigger a rebirth of 50-over cricket.

"It reminds me of a year ago when people were talking about the death of Test cricket, with no crowds being there and so on," Lorgat told the South African media.

"I think we are running ahead of ourselves. We will see at the Champions Trophy in South Africa that there is a place for the ODI format in international cricket."

Lorgat warned against obsessive tinkering, saying a glut of ODI fixtures rather than the format may be the biggest problem, a view backed by South Africa skipper Graeme Smith.

"From an innovations point of view, we are always looking for new, exciting things. The batting powerplay is a good example, but we do not want to do too many things too quickly."

After an 11-year identity crisis, Lorgat believes the ICC have discovered the right formula for the often-criticised Champions Trophy, which Warne has labelled a "joke".

Short and sharp are the buzzwords for a 14-day, 15-match ODI feast featuring the top eight nations in the world, including defending champions Australia, who are on a roll as they lead England 6-0 in a series ending Sunday.

India, Pakistan and the West Indies complete Group A with South Africa, Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand in Group B and only the 'Windies' are given no chance as a contract row has forced officials to send a second-string squad.

Skippers Floyd Reifer of the West Indies, Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka and Daniel Vettori of New Zealand consider Australia favourites to win the October 5 final and collect the two-million-dollar top prize.

Smith acknowledged Australia have been performing well in England, but said the Proteas were confident of regaining the Champions Trophy after winning the inaugural tournament in Bangladesh 11 years ago.

The eight teams are based in Johannesburg with games at the 30,000-capacity Wanderers stadium in a plush northern suburb of the South African financial capital and the 20,000-seat SuperSport Park in Centurion.

Source: CricketNDTV