Australia Women’s complete domination of India Women continued with another one-sided victory in the fourth Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2012
Scorecard Australia Women’s complete domination of India Women continued with another one-sided victory in the fourth Twenty20. Medium-pacer Julie Hunter had India on the back foot in the very first over with two strikes, and the hosts were eventually bundled out for 85, a total that did not pose the slightest challenge to Australia.Hunter’s twin strikes were followed by a wicket in the next over, after which Harmanpreet Kaur and Anjum Chopra crawled to 47 for 3 in 10.5 overs. Once the pair were dismissed, the rest of the batsmen surrendered tamely, with Hunter picking up two more wickets and Ellyse Perry helping herself to two.Australia’s openers took care of the modest target, with Alyssa Healy playing the aggressor and hitting six fours and a six in her 54 off 44 balls, and Meg Lanning trotting to a run-a-ball 30.

Graham Gooch, England’s batting coach, has jumped to the defence of his embattled captain Andrew Strauss as doubts intensify about his international future

Andrew McGlashan30-Mar-2012Graham Gooch, England’s batting coach, has jumped to the defence of his embattled captain Andrew Strauss as doubts intensify about his international future.With England slumping to their fourth straight Test defeat, Strauss’ batting form has become a far greater issue than when a winning side was laying claim to the No. 1 Test ranking that they are now on the brink of surrendering.Strauss refused to be drawn into speculation over his future when pressed following England’s 75-run defeat in Galle where he contributed 26 and 27 to England’s efforts before falling trying to attack Rangana Herath on both occasions.Since the start of the 2010 England season he has averaged 32.55 from 22 Tests with just a lone hundred against Australia at Brisbane in November of that year. From that point his average dips further to 28.52 with a highest score of 87.Gooch, though, remains convinced Strauss can return to the form that marked the start of his captaincy stint when he took the job in chaotic circumstances for the West Indies tour in 2009 and struck three hundreds in the series.”If you get defeats you’re going to get tough questions,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, Andrew Strauss is the best guy to captain England at the moment and he and Alastair Cook are the best opening batsmen in the country. I have every confidence in him. I see the passion, the commitment every day on the training pitch, trying to improve his game. The way he’s trying to play spin, approaching his innings with a more positive mindset, the attacking shots he’s looking to play.”We all know that as the captain you’re praised if things do go well and you take the flak if they don’t. He’s a big lad and he’ll be able to take it on the chin and he’ll be doubly determined to do well in the next game.”Gooch led England in 34 of his 118 Tests so knows all about the pressures of combining the two jobs although his record suggests that captaincy was always an inspiration for his batting. As captain, he averaged 58.72 against his overall figure of 42.58. He expressed confidence that Strauss would emerge from the toughest period of his captaincy.”He’s having a bit of a lean time in Tests but he scored a hundred at SSC [in the warm-up match] so he’s had runs under his belt and he’s been practising well,” Gooch said. “You have to take it on the chin when things don’t go well. There have been plenty of Test captains who have struggled. We have to remain faithful to all our players and believe in their ability. A few months ago we were winning Tests, in different conditions, and I’m confident these guys, including Andrew, will come good.”More importantly, each player has to believe they’re going to do well. You’ve got to remain solid, keep your nerve and believe in your technique. Andrew Strauss has an excellent Test technique, he has been a very successful player for England in the past and I have no reason to believe he won’t be a successful player in the future.”England’s batting problems are not just focussed on Strauss. Although Jonathan Trott made one of his finest Test hundreds in the failed chase in Galle, and Ian Bell showed signs of return to form with a half-century, England laboured for the fourth match in a row. Alastair Cook received a good ball in the first innings (as did Bell) but the visitors were also guilty of further soft dismissals.”Having lost four on the bounce, you know you need to master the conditions much better,” Gooch said. “Since I’ve been in Sri Lanka I have seen guys working on their game, buying into the ideas being put to them and really trying to improve. Improving your technique, shaping it against the turning ball in particular, is not a quick fix. You have to work on it. It’s the mindset, the way you approach your innings, how you mix attack and defence, how you get good habits into your game, the way you’re going to play with the spin, the way you’re going to defend.”The sweep was a major factor in England’s dismissals although Trott avoided trouble and also brought out the reverse option when slip was left vacant. The conventional sweep was a shot that Gooch used profitably, particularly during the 1987 World Cup on the subcontinent, but admits the impact of DRS means the shot now comes with greater risk.”The sweep against the turning ball is an alternative, but we have to look at the fact that with DRS, if you’re sweeping off the stumps there’s a lot of risk there. It’s an area we need to look at. I wouldn’t advocate leaving it out altogether but you have to be more selective.”Edited by David Hopps

Andrew Strauss spent some valuable time in the middle as Middlesex secured a comfortable draw against Notts

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge12-May-2012
ScorecardSteven Mullaney steered Nottinghamshire away from trouble before Andrew Strauss ensured there would be no hiccups for Middlesex•Getty Images

Regardless of the merits or otherwise of his playing county cricket during a wet English spring, Middlesex were grateful for the steady hand of Andrew Strauss to guide them to a draw at Trent Bridge, where the England Test captain completed his competitive preparations for the series against West Indies by compiling an unbeaten 43.Like the four innings for his county that preceded it, this one was not without flaws. It should have ended on 26, when he was dropped at the wicket off his international team-mate Stuart Broad, but otherwise demonstrated that he is timing his shots well enough. He hit seven boundaries, two off Broad, who bowled better than previously in the two matches he has played since returning from injury, four off the left-armer Harry Gurney, who dismissed him in the first innings, and one off Adams, all from authentic strokes.He did not save the game for Middlesex – that honour remains with Ollie Rayner, the heroic nightwatchman of their first innings – but he and Sam Robson for the most part ensured that Nottinghamshire’s optimistic visions of a match-winning clutch of wickets from Broad or Graeme Swann were quickly stifled.In fact, on a flat and relatively dry surface that did not deteriorate to any significant degree, Nottinghamshire’s prospects of taking 10 wickets in 51 overs were not particularly realistic. Middlesex, who had been set a target of 298 to win, were not even interested, deciding reasonably enough that having avoided the follow-on on the back of Rayner’s unbeaten 143 they would not risk letting their offspinner’s finest hour go to waste.It is not something Rayner will forget, not least because it happened on a day when he confidently expected to have been performing best-man duties at a cousin’s wedding in Middlesbrough.”I was originally in a second-team game against Warwickshire that was rained off, after which it was agreed that I would do two days here as 12th man and then go up to Middlesbrough for the wedding on Friday,” he said. “But then we turned up here and it was dry and I got the go-ahead to play. I was not going to turn down the opportunity. When Finny and Strauss came back into the team I looked down the team-sheet and I couldn’t see anyone that was going to be dropped except me.”So when I am selected I want to make myself as prominent as possible. I was not too happy about going in as nightwatchman to be honest. I think I’m a bit better than that now. But when I was out there I thought I’d better make the most of it and Friday was just top drawer.”Not surprisingly, he was a willing interviewee, which could not be said for Strauss, who declined the opportunity to discuss the 100 runs he has made in his five innings over the last three weeks or so. Not that there is a lot he could have said, other than the obvious. He was unfortunate to run into two identically excellent deliveries when Graham Onions dismissed him cheaply twice in the first of his three outings and was undone by another good one when Gurney removed him in the first innings here. It can happen.Perhaps Michael Vaughan was right to suggest he would have been better off in the nets, although this outing did at least enable him to reacquaint himself with conditions that did not excessively favour the ball. It was too good a surface, in the end, failing to deliver the help Nottinghamshire had hoped might have been there for Swann, the England offspinner, as they sought to secure a fourth win from six matches and cement their lead in Division One.But at least there were signs of improvement from Broad, who looked as out of sorts in the first innings here as he did at Old Trafford last week. “He bowled as well as he has so far,” Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, said afterwards.”He is a bowler who needs overs under his belt to find his rhythm. Whereas someone like [James] Anderson is able to get it back right away, which comes with experience and age, Stuart needs to bowl. He has been a bit rusty but he felt he bowled better today and that can only hold him in good stead for next week.”Nottinghamshire sit out the next round of county matches, giving Warwickshire the chance to regain top place when they play Lancashire at Edgbaston from Wednesday onwards, and Newell recognises that he will have a selection dilemma when his side meets Sussex, starting on May 25, after Steven Mullaney scored half-centuries in both innings after taking one of the places vacated when James Taylor and Samit Patel were called up for England Lions.”I expect to have those two back and will have Adam Voges available for the first time, so there will be eight batsman vying for six places,” Newell said. “It is a difficult one. Steven lost a bit of confidence last season after being hit on the head but he played very well in this match and made a good case for himself.”

The weather was the winner as Leicestershire’s County Championship Division Two game against Essex at Grace Road ended in a tame draw

19-May-2012
ScorecardThe weather was the winner as Leicestershire’s County Championship Division Two game against Essex at Grace Road ended in a tame draw.Essex were set a victory target of 270 in 60 overs, but in gloomy conditions umpires Peter Willey and Jeremy Lloyds finally abandoned the game at 3.45pm, with Essex on 30 for 2 from 12.2 overs. The draw earned Essex 10 points and Leicestershire nine.A steady drizzle throughout the morning prevented any play before lunch, and Leicestershire resumed their second innings on 148 for 3 with 26 overs having been lost because of the stoppage.But, in an attempt to fashion a positive result, Leicestershire were fed a diet of declaration bowling, and thrashed 158 runs off 7.3 overs before calling a halt to the carnage.Ned Eckersley smashed 70 off 19 balls, hitting 13 fours and two sixes, Wayne White hit 50 off 12 and Ramnaresh Sarwan went from his overnight 61 to 98 in a matter of minutes before skying a catch to midwicket.Adam Wheater conceded 86 runs in four overs and Mark Pettini 72 in 3.1 overs to enable Leicestershire to declare on 306 for five and set Essex 270 to win in 60 overs, but the chase never materialised.Alviro Petersen was run out by a direct hit on the stumps from Josh Cobb and Billy Godleman edged behind chasing a delivery outside the off stump from Robbie Joseph.One ball later the umpires decided the light was not good enough to continue and, with no sign of any improvement, abandoned the game after an early tea had been taken.

05-Jun-2012
ScorecardJade Dernbach took two wickets in his five overs before rain forced the players off•PA Photos

Defending champions Surrey were forced to share the points with Scotland after rain ruined their Clydesdale Bank 40 encounter at The Oval. Only 23 overs were possible before the weather closed in with the visitors having recovered from a poor start.Surrey new-ball pairing Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker had threatened to blow the Scots away as they were reduced to 46 for 4. An unbroken stand of 78 between Jean Symes and Preston Mommsen slowed Surrey’s progress before the rain halted it completely.Scotland’s South African overseas signing Symes batted particularly well for his 58 not out, while Mommsen – who has played one County Championship match for Leicestershire this summer – was 30 not out from 33 balls when the weather closed in. The point was enough to give Surrey sole ownership of the top position in Group B, while Scotland collected a fourth point of the campaign to stay fifth.The visitors had been in immediate troubled when Meaker made the initial strike, forcing Calum MacLeod to glove a ferocious lifter straight up into the air and into the gloves of wicketkeeper Steven Davies.Dernbach then made a double strike in the seventh over of the innings. Josh Davey, on 7 and attempting to pull, spliced a simple catch to mid-on, before Dernbach seamed one back into Craig Wallace’s pads to have him lbw for a duck.But left-hander Symes, in at No. 5, then pulled Dernbach for four and lofted and cut Murali Kartik’s left-arm spin for further boundaries as he led the Scottish fightback. Ewan Chalmers, who made 10 as the total was doubled, fell to Kartik when he presented a straightforward return catch, but Mommsen then came in to join Symes in a spirited partnership.Symes included seven fours in his 50, and had just scythed the recalled Meaker for six over the short third-man boundary when a fine drizzle turned to heavier rain and the players were forced from the field, never to return.

Captain Alex Gidman led from the front as Gloucestershire moved into second place in Group A of the Clydesdale Bank with a four-wicket win over Worcestershire at Cheltenham.

17-Jul-2012
ScorecardCaptain Alex Gidman led from the front as Gloucestershire moved into second place in Group A of the Clydesdale Bank with a four-wicket win over Worcestershire at Cheltenham.First Gidman claimed 3 for 20 from eight overs after winning the toss to help restrict the visitors to a modest 144 for 7, Phil Hughes top-scoring with an unbeaten 64.Then after Gloucestershire had plunged from 51 without loss to 81 for 5 in reply, Gidman steadied the ship with an unbeaten 33, sharing a key sixth-wicket stand of 47 with Ed Young (28) as his side won with 12.5 overs to spare.Spinners Moeen Ali (three for 33) and Brett D’Oliveira (two for 35) had threatened to bowl Worcestershire back into the game, Moeen grabbing three wickets in his first three overs from the Chapel End to remove Benny Howell, Dan Housego and Ed Cowan.But Cowan (29) and Hamish Marshall (26) had given the hosts a brisk start chasing down their modest target and Young’s confident 22-ball innings, which included the only six of the game off Moeen, helped Gidman see Gloucestershire home.

Mark Boucher, former South Africa wicketkeeper, has said that it is “unlikely” he will play professional cricket in the near future as the healing process to his left eye continues

Firdose Moonda08-Aug-2012Mark Boucher, former South Africa wicketkeeper, has said that it is “unlikely” he will play professional cricket in the near future as the healing process to his left eye continues. Boucher’s eyeball was lacerated last month on the first day of South Africa’s tour to England, when a bail ricocheted off the stumps and hit him during the tour match against Somerset in Taunton.He was forced to move his intended retirement, which he had planned after the Lord’s Test, forward and returned home to South Africa to begin treatment. Boucher underwent one operation in England followed up by five more procedures in Cape Town.Although it was initially reported that he could pick up movement and detect light with the injured eye and he was hopeful of making a return at franchise or amateur level, Boucher’s cricket playing days seem over, for the foreseeable future at least.”I have lost the lens, iris and pupil in my left eye. There was severe damage to my retina. I have had two major operations and four blood draining operations in the past three weeks and physically, at times, I have been in a lot of pain,” Boucher said at his first press conference since the incident, at Newlands, where he also revealed how much his life had changed in recent weeks.”It does get uncomfortable at times and being a sportsman, I want to be active and outdoors but, without a pupil, I find any amount of sunlight very harsh and have thus been restricted to the confines of my home. It is unlikely that I will play any professional cricket again in the near future, which is very unfortunate as I was looking forward to contributing as a player for the Cobras. The risk of additional damage to my left eye or even damage to the other eye, doesn’t warrant it.”Having already considered the end of his career before the tour to England, Boucher had future projects in the works some of which have now been fast-forwarded. He has invested in his “passion for wildlife” with South African Breweries and launched the SAB Boucher Non-Profit Company, which aims to help fund the fight against rhino poaching in Africa.Boucher has been vocal in his support for saving the rhino, which has come under severe threat in recent years. More than 900 rhinos have been killed across Africa in the last three years and the species is facing extinction in some areas. Boucher and team-mates past and present, such as Paul Harris, Dale Steyn and Justin Kemp, took part in a conservation event at the end of June to raise awareness for the rhino and Boucher’s involvement will continue through his new foundation.He has also started a wine-label with long-time friend Jacques Kallis. The wine, called the Innings, went on shelves in South African stores last weekend and reported good sales. Kallis also had the label stuck on his bat and pointed to it in celebration, along with gesturing to his eye, after his century at the Oval.Boucher’s role in the Test XI has been taken up by AB de Villiers in the interim which has allowed South Africa to play the extra batsmen in JP Duminy. Wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile is expected to eventually take over as Boucher’s permanent replacement.Boucher has been monitoring the on-going series between South Africa and England and tweeting his thoughts. He has also been in contact with the squad and captain Graeme Smith hinted that they would seek Boucher’s advice on occasions, given the experience he gained over the years and the fighting way he approached the game.That fight lives on in Boucher and his parting words to the media were ones of hope, despite his current circumstances.”I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. Injuries happen and this could have happened earlier on in my career. I am incredibly grateful for the length of career that I have had and the amazing things I have experienced and people I have met during that time. This is just another challenge in my life and something that I will be working to overcome.”

England’s batsmen were suspect against spin but their bowlers, without Graeme Swann, worked their way through Pakistan’s brittle line-up to comfortably defend 111

The Report by Abhishek Purohit in Colombo19-Sep-2012
ScorecardStuart Broad dismissed Shahid Afridi for 5•Getty Images

England’s batsmen were suspect against spin but their bowlers, without Graeme Swann, worked their way through Pakistan’s brittle line-up to comfortably defend 111 at the P Sara Oval. On a slow pitch with turn and bounce, left-arm spinners Danny Briggs and Samit Patel did the early damage before Stuart Broad weighed in with a testing spell. Jade Dernbach ensured there would be no resistance from the Pakistan lower order and sealed England’s second warm-up win. While England’s struggle against quality spin was not unexpected, what was heartening to see was the way the defending champions scrapped to defend an insubstantial total, after their lower order had capitulated against Saeed Ajmal.After winning the toss, England had crumbled from 106 for 5 to be bowled out for 111, losing their last five wickets in eight balls, three of them to Ajmal. Their innings never really took off, with only Luke Wright making an impression with a steady 38.Both sides opened the bowling with left-arm spin, and England found that Raza Hasan’s flat and quick deliveries were difficult to get away. Alex Hales lasted three balls and Craig Kieswetter’s attempt to hit out ended when he was caught at deep midwicket off a slog sweep, both men falling to Hasan.The innings meandered along, with England unable to find a way to attack the spinners. Eoin Morgan summed up England’s approach. He tried to paddle Ajmal’s first ball and missed, succeeded the second time, and was caught behind trying to cut a quick one.Jos Buttler was bowled after he missed a sweep off Ajmal and the lower order had no clue what the offspinner was upto. Stuart Broad lobbed a catch to Mohammad Hafeez first ball; Steven Finn guided Ajmal to slip second ball.Pakistan seemed much more comfortable against spin, but started self-destructing soon. Young Briggs flighted the ball consistently, and Pakistan took the bait immediately. Hafeez survived a stumping opportunity off Briggs after a big charge, but slog-swept the bowler to deep midwicket off the last ball of the first over. Imran Nazir did the same a few overs later, after which Patel sneaked in a tossed-up delivery through Nasir Jamshed’s defences. Asad Shafiq and Umar Akmal were largely in control before throwing it away through needless forcing strokes against Broad and Briggs.Broad was unplayable at times, getting short deliveries to straighten around off stump, and his mid-innings effort of 4-1-12-2 started to turn the game England’s way. He got Shahid Afridi nicking one such ball to the wicketkeeper in the 15th over, a wicket-maiden.Pakistan still needed only 39 off 34 deliveries with four wickets remaining, though. But the asking-rate rocketed to more than nine following tight overs from Finn and Patel. Against Dernbach’s variations, Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq never looked like middling the big strokes Pakistan needed. Failure to chase 112 with all the batsmen in the squad playing today was a reminder to Pakistan of their batting frailties as they head to Pallekele for their group games.

The fast bowler Alister McDermott will remain with Australia’s squad in the UAE for the Twenty20 series against Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Sep-2012The fast bowler Alister McDermott will remain with Australia’s squad in the UAE for the Twenty20 series against Pakistan. McDermott, 21, was a late addition to the ODI squad as a replacement for the injured Clint McKay, but he was not called on to make his international debut during the series, which Australia won 2-1.McKay will take rejoin the group for the Twenty20 portion of the tour but the selectors have decided to keep McDermott on as well. The three-match Twenty20 series begins on Wednesday and finishes on Monday, and from there the rest of the squad, excluding McDermott, will head to Sri Lanka for the ICC World Twenty20.”The national selection panel have decided that Alister McDermott will remain in the UAE and be added to Australia’s T20 squad for the three T20s on Australia’s tour of the UAE,” John Inverarity, the national selector, said. “Alister has acclimatised to the conditions and after some tight matches in very hot and humid conditions we feel it is worth keeping him with the group as an extra pace bowling option if required.”As well as adding greater flexibility to the squad, we feel the extra exposure and experience around the group will be of great benefit to Alister’s development.”

Mahela Jayawardene has admitted his side faltered under pressure in their World Twenty20 final loss to the West Indies in Colombo

Andrew Fernando in Colombo07-Oct-2012Mahela Jayawardene has admitted his side faltered under pressure in their World Twenty20 final loss to the West Indies in Colombo, after having made an exceptional start to the match in the first 12 overs. The loss is Sri Lanka’s fourth in major finals since 2007, and they have now been bridesmaids in two World Cups and two World Twenty20s in the last five major tournaments.Sri Lanka had surged through the Super Eights and secured a tough victory over Pakistan on a dustbowl to progress to the final, but could not quell a West Indies resurgence in the title match. With West Indies mired at 48 for 2 after 12 overs the title seemed in Sri Lanka’s grasp before Marlon Samuels bludgeoned three sixes off Lasith Malinga’s second over on his way to a match-winning 78 from 56 balls. Jayawardene, who announced he was standing down as T20 captain, felt Sri Lanka should not have allowed West Indies, who were also 87 for 5 in the 16th over, to reap 89 from the last eight overs.Sri Lanka lost Tillakaratne Dilshan in the second over in pursuit of 138, and were never able to catch up to the asking rate. Jayawardene did not see a trend in Sri Lanka’s inability to win finals, but said his side had responded poorly to West Indies’ middle-over onslaught, and marked out the three-over stretch between the 13th and 15th over, which cost 39, as the turning point of the match even though Ajantha Mendis took three wickets.”I think we tried very hard, but this match changed in three or four overs in the middle,” he said. “In the pressure situations we couldn’t control the match. Marlon Samuels batted really well and he took it away from us a little bit. But when we were put under pressure, we didn’t react well to that. When those small mistakes add up, that’s where you lose a match like a final, and that’s what happened to us.”Jayawardene has been at the helm for two of those four finals losses, while Kumar Sangakkara, Dilshan and Malinga have also played in each loss. In this tournament, Sri Lanka had lost only a seven-over match against South Africa in the group stage, and arrived in the final as the form team, and favourites with home advantage. Jayawardene said this defeat was different from finals failures in the past, because Sri Lanka had dominated the opening exchanges.”We played well right until the final. Every defeat has been different. How we approached a couple of the finals, we did not start well and we kept chasing the game and it was tough for us to get back into it. I thought today we started well. Marlon took a gamble after the 12th over and it paid off for him. Those were individual performances that you have to give credit to. Under pressure he put his hand up and performed and that crucial moment he controlled.”Samuels was dropped on 20 by Nuwan Kulasekara as he attempted a difficult running chance on the long-off boundary in the tenth over. Samuels made 58 from the next 22 balls he faced and propelled West Indies beyond a run-a-ball – a run rate they had not looked like achieving in the early stages. After Samuels’ demise in the 18th over, Darren Sammy propelled West Indies towards 140 with 26 from 15 balls.”We dropped a half chance and then they played well in the next three overs,” Jayawardene said. “I think that 20 or 30 runs was the difference. If we had kept them to 110 or 120 on this pitch we could have competed better in this match.”Jayawardene admitted that despite falling away in the field Sri Lanka were capable of chasing 138, but needed a strong start to do so. Ravi Rampaul’s superb delivery to uproot Dilshan’s off stump forced the hosts to be more conservative during their Powerplay, and the middle order were unable to reverse a flagging run rate amid a clatter of wickets.”We wanted to attack. The first six overs, it was crucial for us to get a good start, particularly with the hardness of the ball. But when Dilly got out in the first ball of the second over, that kept us back because Kumar and I knew we had to consolidate and we couldn’t lose another wicket in the first six overs.”We were looking at 45-50 runs in the first six to put pressure on them, but that didn’t materialise. They bowled really well and took pace off the ball. They didn’t bowl their quicks and kept bowling their spinners. We never had momentum going in that chase. We had to make sure we had a good start going and we lost wickets regularly.”Malinga’s second over disappeared for 21, but Jayawardene defended his decision to bring him back into the attack. Malinga’s two remaining overs went for 29, and he finished with his worst ever Twenty20 figures, having taken no wickets for 54 from his four overs. Jayawardene still had overs from Akila Dananjaya and Nuwan Kulasekara at the finish in addition to Thisara Perera, who has barely bowled throughout the tournament.”After the first 12 overs, Malinga had only bowled one over. I knew that they would have to play some shots, so I gave the ball to my number one bowler to take wickets. But they played well in that period and Lasith couldn’t bowl two good overs then, but that’s cricket. I thought we’d have a chance to take wickets if Lasith bowled because Marlon didn’t play Lasith well in our match in Kandy, so I had thought about that when I gave him the ball.”If I knew the script was going to be like that, I probably wouldn’t have bowled him.”Jayawardene said the loss would be particularly painful for having come on their home turf, in front of a hugely expectant crowd of 35,000. Sri Lanka had defeated West Indies by nine wickets in the Super Eights – their most comprehensive win over top-eight opposition – in addition to having defeated them by the same margin in a practice match.”As a team we gave everything we had. In a big tournament, we wanted to win to give something to the fans who have been cheering us. I’m very disappointed, we had a full house here as well. We just didn’t execute a good gameplan and we weren’t ruthless enough. So we’re very disappointed that we couldn’t give the fans what they wanted, and that hurts a lot.”