CRICKET / Pathetic fielding and some mediocre bowling show Mangal and his men in poor light
Just one run separated Luke Wright from his maiden Twenty20 hundred.
Though the personal milestone eluded him, his unbeaten 99 fitted neatly into his team’s plans as England posted 196 for five against Afghanistan at the break in an ICC World Twenty20 Group B match at the R. Premadasa Stadium here on Friday night.
Wright’s aggression remained a constant as England shrugged aside first over blues to mount a big total. After Nawroz Mangal opted to field, an eventful first over briefly lent weight to the skipper’s decision.
Shapoor Zadran kept Craig Kieswetter on a tight leash and delivered a fatal blow in the last delivery as the opener tried to trickle one down to third-man and only managed to chop the delivery onto his stumps.
The joy though was short-lived as Wright (99 n.o., 55b, 8x4, 6x6) drove Shapoor and pulled Dawat. More was to follow in the fifth over bowled by Shapoor as England caned 23 runs with Hales showing a deft touch and Wright being a muscular presence. Wright’s six off Shapoor was a key tipping point and a 69-run second-wicket partnership off 49 balls took shape.
The wicket-maiden first over now seemed from another day as England shifted gears primarily through Wright though he played an unfortunate hand in the dismissal of Hales. Wright’s heft off Karim Sadiq ricocheted off the spinner’s hand and crashed into the non-striker’s stumps while Hales had backed up too far.
Wright continued to plunder the hapless bowlers. Leg-spinner Samiullah Shenwari was carted for a four and a six and soon the 100 was reatched in 13.1 overs. Eoin Morgan scampered around playing second-fiddle in a 72-run third-wicket partnership off 48 balls.
Morgan lofted the 17th delivery he faced for a six as Mohammad Nabi suffered. Then, Wright unveiled the reverse-hit and also crunched a pull. And when Wright tried to scoop one over the in-field, Izzatullah Dawlatzai dropped a sitter.
Meanwhile Morgan holed out in the deep but still there was no respite for Mangal’s men and they only had themselves to blame as the Afghanistan’s attack as well as fielding went to pieces.
The nadir was touched in the 19th over as Dawlatzai, who scalped Joss Buttler, and marred the effect by bowling two no-balls and craned his head skywards.
Wright swung his arms and drew whizzing arcs in the air though it was Jonny Bairstow, who opened the floodgates with a cloutoff the hapless bowler.
Interest was now centred on statistical landmarks as England eyed its highest Twenty20 score, a 202 against South Africa in 2009 while Wright was nearing his hundred, that too a maiden one for an English batsmen in the game’s shortest version. Both targets proved elusive but Wright can take heart from the fact that he equalled Hales’s 99, the earlier highest Twenty20 knock by an England batsman.
via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article3923757.ece
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