Story England summer

[m_vaughan]

Score Update
India 339-5 (50 OVERS)
M. Kaif 51*(24)
Y. Singh 14*(17)
V. Sehwag 149(140)
V. Laxman 68(86)

D. Gough 2/61
S. Harmison 2/62

ENGLAND NEED 340 RUNS TO WIN at 6.8 RPO

India have set England a huge target of 340, which they have to chase under lights at Edgbaston. India got off to a flashing start with both Sehwag and Sachin getting after Hoggard and Harmison. However the England bowlers struck back, with Hoggard dismissing Sachin for 30, and Gough making Saurav Ganguly's appearance in the middle a short one. However, after that Laxman and Sehwag were involved in a massive partnership a 195 runs before Laxman was caught by Blackwell of Harmison. Gough came back and had Virender Sehwag clean bowled, while Harmison dismissed Rahul Dravid for 5, caught by Ian Bell. But some really hard hitting at the end from Mohammad Kaif, saw India post a huge total of 339. All the England bowlers had a pretty tough day. The England batsman now have to score 340 to win this match in 50 overs, and they have to do it under lights. Join us for the England run chase live and exclusive right here on Sky Sports 1.

 

[m_vaughan]

 

[m_vaughan]

b] Score Update [/b]
England 340-4 (49.3 Overs)
A. Strauss 171*(175)
K. Pieterson 47*(49)
P. Collingwood 47(34)

V. Sehwag 1/48
L. Balaji 1/60

ENGLAND WIN BY 6 WICKETS
MAN OF THE MATCH: ANDREW STRAUSS

England had to score 340 in 50 overs at a run rate close to seven run per over. And things became worse early on in their innings when a direct hit from Mohammad Kaif had Robert Key walking back the pavilion having scored just 7. Michael Vaughan came in, and along with Andrew Strauss built a partnership of 70 runs before being caught by Ajit Agarkar off Laxmipathy Balaji. England at this stage were 92-2, with 32 overs in hand, and still over still needing nearly 250 runs more. The problem at this stage was not just keeping wickets in hand, but also ensuring that the required run rate did not go beyond reach. And this is exactly what Paul Collingwood and Andrew Strauss tried to achieve. And to a large extent they were successful in doing so. Collingwood played a cameo innings of 47 from 34 balls before being trapped plum in front of his middle stump by Virender Sehwag. Warwickshire's Ian Bell also tried to increase the run rate and in the process got him self run out after having scored 17 runs in 7 balls. England at this stage were 194-4 in 30 Overs. Then one of the most thrilling ends in One Day International history was witnessed at Edgbaston, as Strauss and Pieterson tried to get to reach the almost impossible target of 340. Andrew Strauss soon reached his hundred, and along with Pieterson started converting ones to twos, twos to threes, and get the odd boundary in order to keep up with the required run rate. In the last over England needed 9 runs to win. The good thing was that England still had six wickets in hand. Agarkar however made it much easier for England after over-stepping in the first ball, and Strauss picked up two runs, which along with the additional run for the no-ball, made it 6 runs required off 6 balls. Two singles followed off consecutive deliveries, and then Strauss pierced the offside field and scored a four, to take England home and complete the most successful run chase in One Day Internationals so far. Andrew Strauss was named Man of the Match for his fantastic innings. "This one I will never forget. There is nothing better than winning a match for your country", said Strauss. Michael Vaughan praised his batsman for this performance, and rated it as the best he had ever witnessed. "It was a fantastic match, and at the end we should that no target can be beyond reach", said Vaughan. "We got off to a bad start losing Key, but since then we paced our innings well, keeping wickets in hand, which allowed us to play shots towards the end of the innings."
Indian captain Saurav Ganguly applauded England's performance but was critical about his own team's fielding.
"We gave away 20-25 runs through misfields. We probably need to work a bit on our ground fielding", stated Ganguly.

England play World Champions and the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy winners Australia next at Old Trafford.

 

[m_vaughan]

 

[m_vaughan]

 

[m_vaughan]

And the table after this match

http://img52.photobucket.com/albums/v160/m...ries/table1.bmp

POINTS SYSTEM for the NatWest Series
Win with bonus point = 6 points
Win without bonus point = 5 points
Drawn match/No Result = 3 points
Lose but win bonus point = 1 point
Lose and do not win bonus point = 0 points

A bonus point is awarded to the winning team if it can restrict the opposition to less than 4/5th of its total score OR If it can reach the required target in less than or equal to 40.1 overs. In any other case the bonus point is awarded to the losing team.

 

[m_vaughan]

BREAKING NEWS
Marcus Trescothick to miss 2nd ODI also, as the Somerset batsman has still not a 100% fit. England obviously are without Andrew Flintoff, who will miss the entire NatWest series and probably even the first test vs Australia.

However Australian pace bowler Brett Lee has recovered from his knee injury is likely to play at Old Trafford.

Probable lineups:

England
Andrew Strauss
Robert Key
Michael Vaughan (capt)
Paul Collingwood
Ian Bell
Kevin Pieterson
Geraint Jones (Wk)
Ashley Giles/Ian Blackwell
Darren Gough
Matthew Hoggard
Stephen Harmison


Australia
Matthew Hayden
Adam Gilchirst (Wk)
Ricky Ponting (capt)
Damien Martyn
Michael Clarke
Andrew Symonds
Ian Harvey
Cameron White
Jason Gillespie
Brett Lee
Glen McGrath

 

[m_vaughan]

Here is the BBC Sport match report (there are some typing errors)

 

[Jarryd]

Love the article mate, fantastic story so far. Now, just make sure Australia win.

 

[barmyarmy]

Incredible stuff. I'm very impressed. Great win for England too.

 

[kweek]

hey m8 u can write very good man..i love ur story...real classy...
great batting by both strauss and Pietersen..the South africans:P
well done

 

[m_vaughan]

The NatWest Series
2nd ODI
England v Australia
Old Trafford, Manchester, England


Welcome to Old Trafford for this second Natwest Series match between England and Australia. The biggest rivalry in world cricket, and both teams want to win this game to get into a strong position to get into the Natwest series final.

Conditions: Its a dark and gloomy day here at Manchester. There is a high chance of rain, and it is also pretty cool and chilly out in the middle. The players will have to be well wrapped up.

Pitch: The pitch is a good one, with normal bounce. However the overhead conditions favour the bowlers.

The Toss: Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to field first.

The Teams:
ENGLAND
No changes from the first game. Obviously no Flintoff and Trescothick, who are both injured.

AUSTRALIA
Cameron White makes his ODI debut after failing to get into the starting lineup in the ICC Champions Trophy.

 

[m_vaughan]

Score Update
England 237-9 (50 Overs)
M. Hoggard 12*(23)
S. Harmison 0*(0)
I. Bell 73(90)
A. Strauss 42(46)
K. Pieterson 42(51)

G. McGrath 3/43
A. Symonds 3/55

AUSTRALIA NEED 238 RUNS TO WIN AT 4.76 RPO
TO WIN BONUS POINT AUSTRALIAN NEED TO SCORE 238 RUNS FROM 40 OVERS AT 5.95 RPO

A disciplined bowling performance from the Australians. England got off to a flashy start with both openers playing shorts with ease. However they could not maintain the good start, as the Aussie bowlers started to find their rhythmn. Robert Key was the first person to be dismissed, caught by Harvey off Gillespie. The McGrath who had been hit for 24 runs in his first three overs, dismissed Strauss, Vaughan and Collingwood and finished with figures of 3-43 in 10 overs. When Vaughan was dismissed, England were 89-4. However a 84 run partnership between Bell and Pieterson took England to a much comfortable position. The Australians kept it very tight though, and England had to earn every run. Pieterson was the next to go, unlucky to be run out. Geraint Jones and Ian Blackwell failed to score many runs and were dismissed for 6 and 12 respectively. Ian Bell was the best English batsman scoring 73 from 90 deliveries. Darren Gough managed just 5 before being caught behind by a flying Gilchrist. England finished on 237-9 in 50 Overs, setting Australia a very getable target of 238. Had it not been for that 4th wicket partnership between Bell and Pieterson, England wouldnt even have managed to reach 200.

 

[m_vaughan]

 

[m_vaughan]

Score Update
Australia 199-4 (37.2 Overs)
D. Martyn 71*(87)
A. Symonds 20*(14)
M. Clarke 57(90)

S. Harmison 2-38
D. Gough 1-33

AUSTRALIA WIN BY SIX WICKETS (D/L METHOD)

As a result of a rain interruption the second innings was reduced to 38 overs. By the D/L method Australia would have to score 199 runs in 38 overs to win the match and the same in 30.4 overs to win the bonus point. England can have upto three bowlers bowl a maximum of 8 overs, and the remaining a maximum of 7 overs.

Hayden decided to go hammer and tongs from the word go, and he hit Hoggard for six over long on , on the very first ball. However this eventually led to his own downfall, as he was caught by Gough off Harmison in the just 4th over. Harmison then picked up a second, when he had captain Ricky Ponting caught at Short Mid on by Andrew Strauss. And then Australia found themselves in unwanted trouble when Adam Gilchrist was run out for just 11. Australia at this stage were 38-3 in 6 overs. But then a well placed and well planned partnership between Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke brought Australia back into the game. They milked the English bowlers for singles, twos and hit the odd boundary as well. Michael Clarke made 57 before being caught by Vaughan off Gough. But Martyn who finished unbeaten on 71 and Symonds who finished unbeaten on 20, guided Australia to a rather comfortable six wicket victory over England.