Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Live Scores-Defiant Collingwood lifts England

One-day series, Brisbane: England 270-7 (50 ovs) v New Zealand
Here are Live Scores.

Paul Collingwood returned to form at a key moment as England posted 270-7 from 50 overs in the deciding one-day qualifier with New Zealand in Brisbane.

Collingwood, who had not made 50 since 206 in the Adelaide Test in December, hit 106, his third ODI ton, sharing 103 in 29.4 overs with Andrew Strauss (55).

Michael Vaughan returned from injury and chose to bat, but was bowled first ball by a superb Shane Bond yorker.

Bond took 2-9 from an opening five-over spell and finished with 4-46.

England's selection raised a few eyebrows, as Mal Loye and Ravi Bopara, two players who had injected some life into the side and helped gain the vital victory over Australia, were unceremoniously shelved.

Conditions certainly backed Vaughan's decision to bat, with a smooth pacy surface and a rapid outfield.

Bond's spell began ignominiously with a with an off-side wide that barely pitched on the cut strip.

The next one, however, was virtually unplayable and rattled the beleagured England captain's middle stump.

Joyce and Bell found life easier against James Franklin, and took a boundary each off him in the fifth over but both saw fluent strokes too often finding the fielders.

The average score in the first innings over the last 10 matches at The Gabba is 253 but with the first 10 overs producing only five boundaries, Stephen Fleming had no hesitation taking the second powerplay.

Joyce played a sumptuous on-drive to the boundary and took a step down the pitch to smash Mark Gillespie down the ground for four more.

But trying to continue the attack in similar manner he backed away against Franklin and got a thin edge.

That brought in Collingwood, with scores of 10 or less in four of his six matches in the series, and no one-day fifty in his last 10 innings.

With the score at 55-3 at the 15 over stage, Fleming elected to complete his powerplays and put two fielders within five yards of each other square of the wicket to restrict Strauss.

But from the next three deliveries the Test opener hit through the covers and ran four, pulled a sweetly timed six and nudged off his hips for four more.

He was given a reprieve by umpire Daryl Harper on 31 when he missed a standard Franklin delivery that appeared to have trapped him lbw.

England moved to 95-3 at the completion of 20 overs but had another double stroke of fortune when Collingwood offered a fairly routine return chance to Jacob Oram, who could only get one hand to the ball and failed to cling on.

His deflection took the ball into the stumps at the non-striker's end but Strauss had managed to scramble his way back.

Collingwood was soon employing his trademark shovel into the on-side, and a lofted stroke just eluded the deep fielder to record both the 100 and the fifty stand off 49 balls in the 22nd over.

The next boundary did not arrive for 13 overs, and in that time Strauss swished and missed at a straight one from Scott Styris. With Andrew Flintoff starting hesitantly, Fleming brought back Bond after his opening spell of 2-9 from five overs.

Only a single came from the first over of his return, but Collingwood and Flintoff both hooked boundaries in his next.

On nine, Flintoff mis-timed a launch towards mid-wicket and Ross Taylor appeared to be in perfect position to take the catch, only for the ball to dip beneath his hands.

But England's big-hitting talisman failed to take advantage and in the next over recklessly lofted Bond straight to long-on where Franklin made no mistake.

Collingwood continued to chip away unspectacularly and the 200 arrived in the 42nd over.

The gritty all-rounder moved into the 90's with a fortuitous thick edge but there was no luck about the authoritative straight drive next ball as 14 came from the Styris over, to the bowler's obvious chagrin and raised his arms aloft in jubilation when he reached three figures with a rapidly run two.

The fifty to take England to 250 took only 36 balls, with Jamie Dalrymple adding some useful runs, but the slow bowler inadvertantly distracted his partner by dropping his bat as Bond ran in and bowled Collingwood with another yorker in the 48th over.

Bond was denied a fifth wicket when Peter Fulton spilled a chance at mid-wicket, and compounded his misfortune by conceding an overthrow as England scrambled an all-run four in a final over costing 16.


England: M P Vaughan (capt), E C Joyce, I R Bell, A J Strauss P D Collingwood, A Flintoff, J W M Dalrymple, P A Nixon (wkt) L E Plunkett, S I Mahmood, M S Panesar.

New Zealand: L Vincent, S P Fleming (capt), R L Taylor, P G Fulton S B Styris, J D P Oram, B B McCullum (wkt), D L Vettori J E C Franklin, S E Bond, M R Gillespie.

Umpires: DJ Harper (Aus) & ID Howell (SA)

Match referee: MD Procter (SA)

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