England The 1st match of T20 WC: England v Netherlands Live scores

Hosts England open the ICC World Twenty20 against outsiders the Netherlands at Lord's on Friday in a match they dare not lose and the Dutch hope they might win.

In pace bowler Dirk Nannes, who plays at Lord's for Middlesex, the Dutch have a left-arm quick who can swing the ball late.

In contrast to the ebullience of some of the other ICC World Twenty20 2009 contenders, England open the tournament on Friday almost apologising for their presence.

Although the hosts should not be unduly extended by the Netherlands at Lord's (1730 local), captain Paul Collingwood was noticeably downbeat after his side's unimpressive victory over Scotland in Tuesday's warmup match.

"There are not a lot of expectations on us to be honest," Collingwood told reporters. "We are dark horses. Hopefully that will give the boys a bit more of a licence."

Collingwood was in better spirits a day later when England recorded a seventh successive victory over West Indies, cruising to an untroubled nine wickets win with 32 balls to spare at Lord's.

Ravi Bopara, who scored three successive test centuries against West Indies, was again in fine touch with 60 from 35 balls.

England's leading batsman Kevin Pietersen also showed some form against the Scots after missing the one-day series against West Indies with an achilles tendon injury.

Pietersen, who made two ducks in the Indian Premier League and perished first ball in the first test against West Indies, completed the win on Tuesday with a pulled six to reach 53 not out from 39 balls.

The Netherlands are 500-1 outsiders but Dutch captain Jeroen Smits told the captains' news conference last Sunday that all the pressure would be on England.

"There's no pressure on us," he said. "There's no Dutch reporters here."

Dirk Nannes' career has repeatedly defied expectation. Indeed there is a case for saying he is the most unorthodox player at this tournament - and that has nothing to do with his left-arm pace bowling.

A self-confessed "accidental cricketer", the Japanese speaking and saxophone playing Nannes, who also runs a ski-travel company, only made his first-class debut at the relatively late age of 29 during the 2005-06 season.

The Melbourne-born quick enjoyed success with Victoria in both first-class and Twenty20 cricket, taking four for 23 as the Bushrangers won the 2008 Australian domestic Twenty20 final against Western Australia.

Nannes' form 'down under' led to a contract with Lord's based Middlesex.

The tournament, which is being staged at Lord's and the Oval in London and Trent Bridge in Nottingham, gets into full swing on Saturday with three matches. Champions India, who thrashed Pakistan by nine wickets on Wednesday, open their Cup defence against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge (1700).

All-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate is another key figure for the Dutch and this match could see him in action against at least two of his Essex team-mates in opening batsman Ravi Bopara and wicket-keeper James Foster, with the big-hitting Graham Napier also in England's squad.

Match facts
Friday June 05, 2009 (day/night)
Start time 17.30 local, 16.30GMT
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ICC T20 World Cup 2009 Opening Ceremony

The second edition of ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2009 will kick off from 5th June with an opening ceremony which will be arranged at The Marylebone Cricket Club Lords Cricket Ground in London. So, we have only one day left to enjoy the mega twenty20 event which is scheduled to start at 15:30 GMT (16:30 local time). This much expectation event will be aired on ESPN STAR Sports. As India has the biggest market for cricket game so, many viewers from this country will search to know the match start time and TV channel. It will be shown live on STAR CRICKET at 21:00 Indian Standard Time.
Event: ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2009 Opening Ceremony
Date: 5th June, 2009
Time: 15:30 GMT, 16:30 Local Time, 21:00 IST.
Live on: ESPN STAR Sports, STAR CRICKET

England and Wales Cricket Board is organizing its inaugural opening ceremony of the ICC World Twenty20. I am not optimistic about ECB. They got some fame for their failure of arranging the opening ceremony successfully in 1999 and 2004. That time, ECB is promised to give something different to make it memorable in the heart of fans. That is why, they have not revealed anything about this event to the media. The duration of the ceremony is perhaps only 45 minutes.

This function will be arranged under tight security. English singer Alesha Dixon is a solo artist who will be seen to perform in the opening ceremony. I am sure this name is enough to bring a lot of fans on stadium in the opening day. Though, England is the home of cricket but English people are crazy about football. However, T20 cricket has increased the popularity. Super stars will join in this event.

There is another reason to attract a lot of people in the stadium is that England will take on Netherlands in their opening day at Lords in Group-B. Lords will host a lot of important matches including the finals of both Men’s and Women’s twenty20 cricket tournament.

Tickets of the opening day have already been sold out. Not only that but also tickets of other matches have been sold 80%. It proves that how much popularity it has got to the people of England. However, if you are lucky then you can get a ticket for you in any ticket booking website.
England has started the tournament as the famous contestant. It seems that they will take some advantage from home crowd. This time, England is spending a big amount of money (3 million) for security arrangement. ECB took this lesson after they saw how Sri Lankan cricket team suffered in Pakistan by terrorists.

England cricket team has not got any big trophy in any cricket format. It is the best time for home team to make a record after clinching the T20 trophy. I hope they can do it because England cricket team is much balanced than its past squad. Let us see how the defending champion India performs in this tournament.
Source:www.cricket-news-bangladesh.blogspot.com
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The world's best cricket teams

"ESPN STAR Sports and licensees will ensure it is the most watched cricket event in history, providing value to commercial partners and helping our great sport to grow stronger"

ICC President David Morgan today looked ahead to the ICC World Twenty20 2009, which starts on Friday, and said he believed it would be "a world-class event between the world's best teams."

The tournament begins on Friday when host England faces the Netherlands at Lord's (1730 BST start), the first of 42 matches over 17 days at four different venues, with The Oval, Trent Bridge and Taunton also featuring.

And for the first time women's and men's tournaments will run alongside each other, with the men's and women's semi-finals and final being staged back-to-back on the same days and at the same venues.

Looking forward to the action which will culminate with finals day back at Lord's on Sunday 21 June, Mr Morgan said: "The eve of any tournament is always an exciting time and that is certainly the case ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 2009.

"We have assembled the world's best teams together in one location for what I believe will be a world-class event of nation versus nation cricket.

"The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007 was a significant success and now, two years further on and with all the sides having had more experience of the format, I am sure we are in for more excellent cricketing action.

"I know the England and Wales Cricket Board, tournament director Steve Elworthy, his staff and the four venues Lord's, The Oval, Trent Bridge and Taunton - have put in a tremendous amount of hard work ahead of this event and I am sure we will see the fruits of those efforts in the next few weeks.

"Ticket sales have been strong and the prospect of large crowds cheering on the teams will only add to the excitement of the occasion.

"And I am delighted that, for the first time, we have been able to incorporate the women's and men's tournaments.

"With the semi-finals and finals of those two tournaments being played on the same days at the same venues, it will provide women's cricket with a wonderful stage as we look to continue its development, following on from an extremely successful ICC Women's World Cup in Australia earlier this year.

"With large crowds expected I urge spectators to arrive at the venues in plenty of time ahead of the start of matches as the realities of the modern world mean enhanced security measures to seek to ensure everyone is safe and secure.

"The ICC World Twenty20 2009 is part of a fantastic year of cricket in all three formats of the game at international level during this, the ICC's centenary year, with high-profile Test cricket such as the Ashes series between England and Australia and the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa to follow.

"I want to wish the players of all sides and the match officials every success during the event and I look forward to the matches being played in the spirit of cricket, with passion but also with sportsmanship and enjoyment because that is what our great sport is all about.

"I am grateful to our global broadcast partners ESPN STAR Sports who, together with their licensees, will ensure that this is set to be the most watched cricket event in history, while extensive coverage via radio and the internet thanks to our partnerships with IMG and Yahoo! will provide people with every opportunity to stay in touch with the action.

"That level of coverage will also ensure recognition for our valued commercial partners Reliance Mobile, LG Electronics, Pepsi, Hero Honda, Emirates, Yahoo!, Reebok, Ultra Tech and Standard Chartered.

"Without the support of our broadcast and commercial partners the ICC could not stage an event of this scale that has the potential to capture attention, ignite interest in cricket and help our great sport grow stronger," added Mr Morgan.

The ICC World Twenty20 2009 involves 12 of the top men's teams and the top eight women's line-ups playing at four venues Lord's, The Oval, Trent Bridge and Taunton in the pinnacle of international cricketing action.

The defending men's champion is India, which defeated Pakistan in the final of the inaugural event, in South Africa in 2007. This is the first staging of the women's tournament.
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Shoheb Akhatar in Khujli Magazine

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Symonds sent home for alcohol event

Andrew Symonds is believed to be contemplating retirement after being sent home from the ICC World Twenty20 for an "alcohol-related incident" that has thrown Australia's plans for the tournament into disarray.

According to Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, "the final straw" came when Symonds, 33, broke team rules related to alcohol and other issues. It is understood he went out early on Wednesday morning to watch the State of Origin rugby league with some team-mates and had a couple of drinks.

While not a serious offence, Symonds' alcohol consumption contravened his personal guidelines with Cricket Australia that were formed following his counselling sessions in the wake of a string of indiscretions. It is understood the restrictions left Symonds not knowing his place in the team.

"There's no doubting Andrew's capabilities as a player, but there are other things happening around him that made the decision we've come to a relatively easy one," said Ponting. "This is not wholly and solely about Andrew Symonds. This is about the Australian cricket team. We've got some young guys who are just finding out what international cricket is all about. This is about the bigger picture and bringing on the next generation of Australian players."

Though Symonds is not disputing the decision, he is apparently keen to tell his side of the story, and is expected to wait until he lands in Australia before speaking.

He attended a PCA dinner with the Twenty20 squad at a Kensington hotel on Wednesday night, but was a notable absentee at Australia's training session at The Oval on Thursday, prompting speculation that he was on his way home.

Following a series of misdemeanours in the past 12 months, Symonds was on a final warning from Cricket Australia, and there is the strong possibility that this latest incident will lead to the withdrawal of his central contract, which Sutherland admitted was "under review".

"Tonight we have also advised him that we will take the [contract] offer off the table at this stage."

Sutherland said at a press conference in Melbourne that Symonds had broken a number of rules "in the last 24-48 hours" and CA were now organising flights to get him back to Australia.

"In isolation, the breaches that I am talking about are not serious, but in the scheme of things, in the scheme of history, they are enough for it to be the final straw. I'm disappointed in Andrew, but I'm also disappointed for Andrew. I'm sad about it."

Symonds has been involved in numerous off-field incidents in recent seasons, most notably the Darwin fishing saga in August 2008, during which he missed a team meeting ahead of the one-day series against Bangladesh, which prompted the team management to send him home from the series.

In addition, he was fined Aus$4000 for a drunken radio interview in January 2009 in which he referred to the New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendan McCullum as "a piece of s..." Symonds apologised, having admitted that alcohol was playing a big part in his life, and he subsequently stated that he was "entering the final chapter of his career".

Despite retaining his central contract only last month, Symonds was omitted from Australia's Ashes squad in favour of Andrew McDonald and Shane Watson. After 26 Tests and 198 ODIs dating back to November 1998, it is hard to see how his career can possibly recover from this latest episode.

Cricket Australia confirmed that they had applied to the ICC technical committee to see if a replacement for Symonds is permitted. Should their application be successful, Moises Henriques and Cameron White are the likeliest candidates for a call-up.
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Pietersen impressed by Yuvraj, Gayle's drumming skill

London, June 4 (ANI): England's star batsman Kevin Pietersen is impressed by the hitting prowess of Yuvraj Singh and Chris Gayle, whom he has selected as some of his most feared opponents.

Pietersen reckons Windier captain Gayle is one of the most unsafe Twenty20 stars in the world, and adds Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee to that list, as well as fast bowlers Fidel Edwards and Dale Steyn.

Pietersen, speaking in the official World Twenty20 programmed, exposed: "There are a number of players taking T20 to the next level. I think all-rounder have the most to offer in T20 cricket."
"I'm impressed by the likes of Yuvraj Singh of India, Andrew Symonds and other guys who can hit sixes, take wickets and generally field well," The Sun quoted Symonds, as saying.
"I also rate Chris Gayle very highly - quite simply because his batting can tear apart even the best bowling. When he is in the groove, he is practically unstoppable. It's scary to watch him in full flight.
"The likes of Lee, Edwards and Steyn are probably the toughest bowlers. They are world-class pace bowlers and are difficult to face across all forms of the game and certainly no easier in T20," he added.
Pietersen also has a high regard for his England teammates: "I think Stuart Broad and Ravi Bopara could really come to the fore in this tournament. They're very exciting players on the rise in world cricket."
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Rohit Sharma shines as India beat Pakistan by 9 wickets

June 4 (IANS) Openers Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir put on 140 runs to help India pummel Pakistan by nine wickets in an ICC Twenty20 warmup tie that resembled a final in its festive look at the Oval cricket ground Wednesday.

Sharma, opening in place of Virender Sehwag, hit a brilliant and confident 80 off only 53 balls (9x4, 2x6) as defending world champions India took only 17 overs to score 159 for one, easily overhauling Pakistan's 158 for six.

Gambir remained not out on 53 (47 balls, 5X4) to see India through to victory in the company of his skipper M.S. Dhoni, (nine runs, 2X4).

Playing before a stadium packed with delirious Indian and Pakistani supporters, India gave a masterly display of Twenty20 cricket - first restricting what looked like a rampaging Pakistan side to 158 and then knocking up the winning runs with remarkable ease.

Earlier, captain Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq helped Pakistan put on 158 for six in a batting performance that began in marauding fashion but failed to live up to expectations.

Electing to bat before a nearly exclusively South Asian crowd, Pakistan began disastrously, losing opener Shahzaid Hasan for a duck to Praveen Kumar in the first over.

Spinner Harbhajan Singh dropped teenage batting sensation Ahmed Shehzad in the very next over off R.P. Singh before Shehzad (25 off 19 balls, 5 fours) and Kamran Akmal (19 off nine, 4 fours) began wreaking carnage on Kumar and Singh, hammering them to all corners of the Oval.

The men in blue then bounced back, to the delight of tens of thousands of supporters, and grabbed four quick wickets to leave Pakistan tottering on 63 for five before Younis Khan (32 off 32 balls) came up with a captain's innings in the company of Misbah (37 off 30).

Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and P.P. Ojha took one wicket each for India, while Suresh Raina ran out Akmal.

India left out Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, and Pakistan were without Salman Butt and Ifthikar Anjum in a 13-a-side game, where only 11 could field at any given time.

Brief scores:

Pakistan: 158 for six (Misbah-ul-Haq 37, Y. Khan 32, S. Ahmed 25, Y. Arafat 25, I. Sharma one for 11)

India: 159 for one (R. Sharma 80, G. Gambhir 53, M.S. Dhoni 9, Mohammad Aamer one for 18).

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Rohit Sharma sparkles : India beat Pakistan with 9 wicket victory in the warm-up match of T20 WC

India justified their billing as tournament favorites here today when they brushed aside Pakistan to win their final World Twenty20 warm-up match by nine wickets with three overs to spare.



They were led home by a scintillating and wristily powerful innings of 80 from 53 deliveries by the makeshift opener Rohit Sharma, who struck nine fours as well as the only two sixes of the match. He put on 140 for the first wicket with Gautam Gambhir as the pair chased down Pakistan's 158, in a rematch of the final of the inaugural tournament in 2007, also won by India.



The India captain, MS Dhoni, said: "It was one of our best performances ever, though it was only a warm-up game. It was a brilliant performance from the whole team and the noise here was amazing." Sharma, who scored 404 runs in the IPL, opened only because of Virender Sehwag's shoulder injury. "He was very keen to open and he's got the time and the talent to play the quick bowlers," Dhoni said.

When east met east in south London last night it was not always a culturally enlightening experience. "You're not singing any more," India's supporters taunted Pakistan's as their side's batsmen got on top of the rather helpless bowlers. They followed up with "Are you Scotland in disguise?"

It might have been Millwall down the road. We also had a Mexican wave. But the atmosphere was terrific and the banter between the crowds generally good-natured – unlike at Millwall.

Rather bravely, in view of the extreme levels of security and the highly charged nature of the evening, the International Cricket Council designated this as a "Catch the Spirit" match, in memory of those killed or injured during the attack on the Sri Lanka team and officials in Lahore on 3 March.

When Pakistan batted, they faltered badly when they lost three wickets with the score on 45 but they recovered well in the second half of the innings as India experimented with seven different bowlers.

Shahzaib Hasan had his off-stump knocked back by Praveen Kumar with the fifth ball of the first over and his opening partner, Ahmed Shehzad, had scored only five when he was badly dropped by Harbhajan Singh at midwicket.

Their innings seized up in the fifth over when they lost two wickets and failed to score a run. First Kamran Akmal, backing up, was brilliantly run out by Suresh Raina, diving in from the covers. Then Ahmed had a smite and sent the ball straight up in the air.

When Shahid Afridi was dismissed off the first ball of the sixth over, caught behind off Irfan Pathan as he attempted to smear the ball through the off-side, Pakistan were in deep trouble at 45 for four. Their innings was restored by two partnerships. First the captain Younus Khan, who scored a run-a-ball 32, put on 50 from 45 balls with the feisty Misbah-ul-Haq.

Younus departed, losing his dignity as well as his wicket when he went down the wicket to reverse sweep Harbhajan Singh, toppled over and was smartly stumped. But Misbah, whose 37 came from 30 deliveries with four fours, continued strongly and, with the even more violent and clean-hitting Yasir Arafat (25 off 16), added 45 from 27 balls in an unbroken seventh- wicket stand.

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India vs Pakistan Practice Match highlight

India won by 9 wickets.

Indian Innings:

17 Overs: India is 159/1 One wide of the first ball of Aamir give India winning run.

16 Overs: India is 140/1 Rohit Sharma got catch out.

15 Overs: India is 137/0

14 Overs: India is 123/0

13 Overs: India is 110/0

12 Overs: India is 106/0

11.1 Overs: India is 100/0

10 Overs: India is 88/0

9 Overs: India is 80/0

8 Overs: India is 70/0

7 Overs: India is 65/0

6 Overs: India is 56/0

5 Overs: India is 45/0

4 Overs: India is 39/0

3 Overs: India is 25/0

2 Overs: India is 14/0

1 Over: India is 10/0

India will come to chase Pakistan's inning just after few minutes.

Pakistan Innings:

20 Overs: Pakistan is 158/6

19 Overs: Pakistan is 144/6

18 Overs: Pakistan is 129/6

17 Overs: Pakistan is 121/6

16 Overs: Pakistan is 114/6

15.5 Overs: Pakistan is 113/6

15 Overs: Pakistan is 106/5

14 Overs: Pakistan is 102/5

13 Overs: Pakistan is 90/5

12 Overs: Pakistan is 82/5

11 Overs: Pakistan is 77/5

10 Overs: Pakistan is 71/5

9 Overs: Pakistan is 66/4

8 Overs: Pakistan is 61/4

7 Overs: Pakistan is 55/4

6 Overs: Pakistan is 53/4

5.1 Overs: Pakistan is 45/4

5 Overs: Pakistan is 45/3

4 Overs: Pakistan is 45/1

3 Overs: Pakistan is 35/1

2 Overs: Pakistan is 22/1

1 Over: Pakistan is 6/1

India will take on Pakistan today to play the final T20 practice match which will be held at The Oval. This match will be shown live on STAR CRICKET. Here, in this entry, we will provide live online score over by over with short commentary. This match will start at 10:50 GMT (11:52 Local time). So, stay with us and enjoy live cricket. Read more

Indian Ex-stars : India is the team to beat at T20 WC

Bangalore: Despite an early set-back against the Kiwis in the warm-up tie, former Indian stars, including Sandeep Patil and Ajit Wadekar, feel the reigning champions have a very good chance of retaining the Twenty20 World Cup in England as they have the best balanced side.



One of the best coaches in the world and a dashing middle order batsman during his time, Patil also backed Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s early experimentation by saying there was nothing wrong in trying out new tactics before the tournament but not during the tournament.

"Though I don’t like to predict the outcome of any Twenty20 tournament, including the World Cup, I certainly feel that India is the best balanced outfit in the entire tournament. They have a solid batting line-up with all of them proving to be match-winners in the past backed up by the best set of swing bowlers and perhaps two outstanding spinners in Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha," Patil told Cricketnext.com on Wednesday.

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