Monday, March 05, 2007

Bermuda rattle England top order
World Cup warm-up, St Vincent
England 132-5 v Bermuda (25th over)
Here are the Live Scores.

D Leverock
Spinner Dwayne Leverock was a thorn in England's middle order

England's best two batsmen were dismissed by a 20-stone policeman as Bermuda put England's batsmen under serious pressure in St Vincent.

Dwayne Leverock had Paul Collingwood caught behind and Kevin Pietersen stumped as England slumped to an implausible 132-5 in the 25th over.

Pietersen (43) and Ian Bell (46) put on 71 for the third wicket but the rest of England's top five all failed.

They included skipper Michael Vaughan, out for 18 opening the batting.

After Ed Joyce had been bowled by a gentle yorker in teh third over, Vaughan had hit some good shots in reaching 18.

But, attempting a third boundary in as many balls, he picked out Glamorgan's David Hemp at square leg with an attempted pull that went wrong.

Under the rules of the warm-ups, 13 players can contest a match with 11 of them batting and 11 in the field at any one time.

When Vaughan named his starting line-up, there was no place for Andrew Strauss.

He had played 74 successive ODIs for England, but endured some poor form in Australia.

Ravi Bopara was the other member of the 15-man squad to miss out, with all four seamers fit to stake their claims.

Vaughan chose to bat first against the medium-paced seam attack of Bermuda at the Arnos Vale ground.

Some observers had been concerned that the pitch might be difficult to bat on, but in the event England could have had few complaints.

Vaughan was dismissed just as he looked to get into his stride
Vaughan was dismissed just as he looked to get into his stride

Although the bowlers did not give the batsmen much in the way of pace, the ball came onto the bat well.

The early exchanges were a triumph for Kevin Hurdle, a 30-year-old who produced the balls that removed both England's openers.

But, with Bell and Pietersen soon finding their range, there was little cause for alarm.

That all changed when Bell was well held at short mid-wicket off an attempted pull.

Leverock, bowling slow left-arm, had Collingwood caught behind cheaply and Pietersen stumped as he wandered down the wicket.

It was turning into a big day for the rank outsiders at the World Cup.

No comments: