Fri, Jun 05, 2009 page20

• England openers overpower West Indies

  • AFP
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  England looked to have found the solution to their opening problems at the ICC World Twenty20 as Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara led them to a nine-wicket warm-up thrashing of the West Indies at Lord’s.

  Chasing 145 for victory, England got home with more than five overs to spare on Wednesday after a first-wicket stand of 119 between Wright (75 not out) and Bopara, who made 60.

  Since their first Twenty20 international against Australia four years ago, England have used 11 different duos at the top of the order.

  

  England’s Luke Wright, right, plays a shot off the bowling of the West Indies’ Sulieman Benn at Lord’s in London on Wednesday.

  PHOTO: AP

  But Wright and Bopara’s 76-ball stand appeared to settle the issue ahead of England’s tournament opener proper against the Netherlands at Lord’s today.

  Bopara has scored hundreds in his last three Tests against the West Indies and Wright said: “Ravi is good to bat with. He’s really come of age with the way he’s playing.

  “He’s taken his form from the Test matches and the one-dayers into the Twenty20 and he really does take the pressure off you when he plays the way he does,” Wright said. “At times in Twenty20 cricket someone will naturally get a start and the other person doesn’t always.”

  West Indies, well-beaten by England during both a Test and one-day series earlier in the season, made 144 for six with Ramnaresh Sarwan top-scoring with 46 in an innings where England leg-spinner Adil Rashid took one for 20.

  West Indies though were ­without captain Chris Gayle after the aggressive opening batsman let wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin lead the side instead.

  ■INDIA V PAKISTAN

  REUTERS, LONDON

  Rohit Sharma, deputising for the injured Virender Sehwag, showed India had another opening option with 80 from 53 balls as the world Twenty20 champions defeated Pakistan by nine wickets at the Oval on Wednesday.

  A raucous, sellout crowd of 23,000 watched India ease to an untroubled nine-wicket win with three overs to spare, scoring 159 for one to Pakistan’s 158 for six.

  “It’s good to have performing cricketers in your side,” captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni told reporters. “You have to perform like this throughout the tournament, you have to be consistent throughout. With the IPL [Indian Premier League] we have got the experience. If we play to our potential we will be a tough team to beat. Today we weren’t experimenting, an India-Pakistan game, even if it’s a warmup, is a tough game to play.”

  Dhoni said he still did not know if injured pace bowler Zaheer Khan would be fit for India’s opening game against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge in Nottingham tomorrow. Zaheer has an injured shoulder.

  For Pakistan, whose supporters had to endure the gibes of the Indian fans as the result became inevitable, it was a forgettable return to the Oval for the first time since they were adjudged to have forfeited the fourth and final test against England three years ago.

  India reached their 150 through four overthrows and the winning run came from a wide. It was the first time the two sides had met in a Twenty20 match since India won the inaugural World Cup in 2007.

  ■S AFRICA V SRI LANKA

  AFP, LONDON

  Herschelle Gibbs top-scored with 48 to steer South Africa to a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their World Twenty20 warm-up at Lord’s on Wednesday.

  Sri Lanka had struggled to 109-9 after being reduced to 44 for 7 at one stage with Angelo Mathews (28) and Nuwan Kulasekera (24) rallying in the closing over with valuable late runs.

  Dale Steyn, who removed both openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya, Jacques Kallis and Johan Botha all collected two wickets each.

  South Africa reached their target with five balls to spare thanks to Gibbs and AB de Villiers (32) who put on 70 for the third wicket.

  Sri Lanka were let down by poor fielding, with Gibbs dropped twice.
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