“WUW”. He wouldn’t use it very often during a day’s play. And there really was no need to say anything more when he did. For, every time Michael Holding exclaimed “Wuw”, you knew something major had transpired. Something that had impressed him. Something that demanded your attention.
Kent lifted their second T20 Blast title – first in 14 years – with an outstanding all-round show in the finale against Somerset, beating them by 25 runs on Saturday. Jordan Cox was the star with the bat, hitting a brutal 58 not out at the fag end of their stuttering innings to propel them to a defendable 167 before pulling off some acrobatic catches in the field to make it a night to remember.
Having abandoned their tour of Pakistan in the hours leading up to the opening ODI, following a “specific and credible threat’, New Zealand cricket team and support staff arrived in Dubai on a special charter, in the wee hours of Sunday (September 19).
Bangladesh women’s team ODI captain Rumana Ahmed feels that doing well in the ODIs against Zimbabwe will set the tone for them in the ICC World Cup qualifiers, scheduled in Zimbabwe from November 2021.
The Overview:
Somerset stunned Hampshire in a two-wicket heist in the first semifinal of the T20 Blast to march into the final after a game that ebbed and flowed like no other. Both teams had their shortcomings with the bat, but it was Somerset’s Josh Davey, whose three-ball 11 at the backend, helped his side progress to the summit clash with two balls to spare.
USA ended their seven-game losing streak in the ICC World Cup League 2 by a thumping six-wicket victory over Nepal. Albeit chasing only 175, USA cantered home with 123 balls to spare on the back of a whirlwind 92 off 63 balls from their destructive opening batsman Steven Taylor. Debutant fast bowler Kyle Phillip (3 for 43) and captain Saurabh Netravalkar (4 for 29) rattled Nepal with timely strikes to have them capitulate sensationally from 140 for 4 to 175 all out. Phillip, known to bowl over 90 mph, a luxury at associate level, kept steaming in throughout the day as Netravalkar applied the choke with his nagging length.
“You remind me of Rohit Sharma in everything that you do,” said Allan Donald to a young Andries Gous who was still finding his feet in franchise cricket in South Africa.
No one’s perhaps ageing better than Darren Stevens. Coming into the side for Adam Milne who’s off to the IPL, the 45-year-old all-rounder put in another fine batting performance, scoring an unbeaten 47 off only 28 balls and adding important runs alongside Daniel Bell-Drummond (82 off 51) to help Kent beat Sussex by 21 runs and book a place in the T20 Blast final against Somerset.
The England men and women’s tours to Pakistan, scheduled for next month, are in severe doubt following New Zealand Cricket’s decision to abandon their own tour to the country on Friday (September 17) after what they described as a “government security alert”.
