Former England captain Michael Vaughan has confirmed to a friend he will retire from all forms of cricket. The 34-year-old has called a news conference on Tuesday, when he is expected to call time on his career.
Ex-county team-mate Paul Grayson, now coach at Essex, said Vaughan had become disillusioned with four-day cricket. "You have to be really motivated to play county cricket and he felt he did not have the motivation to keep going," Grayson told BBC Sport.
Vaughan led England to Ashes glory in 2005 and is their most successful Test captain, but missed out on selection for the training squad for the 2009 series. And his omission from Yorkshire's squad for their Twenty20 match against Derbyshire on Sunday prompted Vaughan to discuss his future with the county.
Although he plays for Yorkshire, Vaughan is still under the control of a 12-month England and Wales Cricket Board central contract until the end of the summer.
Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan said: "We agreed with the ECB we would give Michael every opportunity to get selected for the Ashes squad.
VAUGHAN'S TEST CAREER
Tests: 82
Runs: 5,719
Average: 41.44
Centuries: 18
Fifties: 18
Highest: 197
Balls bowled: 978
Wickets: 6
Bowling Ave: 93.50
"When that didn't happen I think it then opened up a different set of thought processes over what happens next. He will discuss his future with his employers tomorrow and a press conference will be held on Tuesday." He continued: "Michael is employed by the ECB so he is unable to comment until after he has spoken to them and formalised the situation."
Regan insisted that Vaughan agreed with the decision to leave him out of the Yorkshire side. He added: "The plan was for him to play but given the news we discussed the situation and felt all the hype and speculation going on wouldn't have been in the team's interests."
Grayson said the emergence of a talented crop of young players at Headingley prompted Vaughan to consider his county future. "He said it's the right time to go," said Grayson, who batted alongside Vaughan on his first-class debut against Lancashire in 1993.
"He said there are some good young players coming through at Yorkshire and he does not want to hold them back."
Six years after his Yorkshire debut, Vaughan won his first Test cap in South Africa where his first innings was a baptism of fire as he went to the wicket with England 2-2 and soon after 2-4. In 2002/3 he rose to the top of the Test batting rankings after hitting three centuries during the Ashes series in Australia and was appointed England one-day captain at the start of the summer.
By mid-summer he had taken on the Test captaincy too, following Nasser Hussain's decision to step down, and after securing a 2-2 draw with the combative South Africans, Vaughan's England won six successive series, culminating in the epic 2005 Ashes victory. He missed the return series down under in 2006/7 with a debilitating knee injury and England were whitewashed 5-0 under the captaincy of Andrew Flintoff.
Vaughan was back for the 2007 World Cup campaign but gave up the one-day captaincy after England's elimination. He hoped to stay in the team in both forms of the game but was never chosen for the one-day side again.
Vaughan remained in charge of the Test side and made a century against the West Indies in his first innings for 18 months in May 2007, and also scored hundreds in home series against India and New Zealand. But his form subsequently declined and in the 2008 home series against South Africa he only scored 40 runs in five innings, including two ducks.
In August, Vaughan resigned the captaincy in an emotional press conference after his 51st match in charge, a total exceeded only by Mike Atherton. His record of 26 Test victories is the highest by any England skipper.
He vowed to score runs in abundance for Yorkshire and again insisted he wanted to continue at international level as a batsman.But he was unable to regain sufficient form to earn a recall, scoring only 41 runs in four Championship matches, and was not selected for the tours of India or the West Indies last winter, although he was included in the performance programme squad that toured the sub-continent.
This season, he has scored only 147 runs for Yorkshire in seven Championship innings, with a top score of 43 and with no apparent hope of an England return, may now opt to bring the curtain down on his career.
Vaughan's former England colleague, now a national selector, Ashley Giles, said Vaughan would leave a huge void if he did opt to call a halt to his playing career.
"I've heard nothing personally and we haven't as selectors, but it would be massive news," he said. "Vaughany's been a great servant to cricket, a good friend of mine and great player for England and a great captain so it would be a loss to the game but I'm sure he'd have plenty of options if that's what he decides to do.
"He treated everyone as a individual and believed that guys should express themselves and not have the fear of failure and gave us all a bucket load of confidence.
"It was crucial that everyone who came into the side felt comfortable, almost loved, and that way you go out and play your best cricket."
Jardine Verdict: Simple really, he was great batsman and a superb skipper. England cricket will be poorer for his retirement. 'Nuff said.
Tuesday 30 June 2009
Sussex scare Australia rigid
Ashes Tour - Day 4 Hove
Australia were denied a confidence-boosting win ahead of the Ashes series as Carl Hopkinson earned a draw for Sussex in the tour match at Hove.Hopkinson claimed the only century of the match as Sussex made a decent attempt of chasing the 418 off 92 overs they needed for victory. The 27-year-old eventually fell to Ben Hilfenhaus for 115.
The home side refused to throw in the towel after his dismissal but they ended up short, closing on 373-7. Sussex started well as they chased their target, Mike Yardy and Chris Nash putting on 87 runs in 24 overs. Yardy raced to his 50 off just 55 balls with 10 boundaries and Nash was just starting to accelerate when he sliced a drive to backward point off Peter Siddle for 27.
By lunch Australia skipper Ricky Ponting was using both of his spinners on the dry, turning pitch and it was Marcus North who claimed the wicket of Yardy - who reached 67 before pushing the ball to Michael Clarke at slip. Paceman Brett Lee struggled with over-stepping but he did remove Rory Hamilton-Brown leg before for one while Hopkinson hit his 50 with his third six off North.
Sussex began the final session needing 181 but Hopkinson and Luke Wright continued to attack in a stand of 81 in 13 overs. The mark is a new fifth-wicket Sussex record in this fixture, beating the 72 put on by Tony Greig and Peter Kirsten in 1975.
Hopkinson was spared on 69 when Ponting dropped a straightforward catch off Hauritz but the spinner finally took his first wicket in the next over when Wright deflected a glance onto leg stump.
Hopkinson, who has not played a Championship game for the county this season, reached his hundred by coming down the pitch to drive North through the leg side for his 12th four and was eventually caught behind trying to run a delivery from Hilfenhaus down to third man.
The first Ashes Test between England and Australia begins in Cardiff on 8 July and the boys from The Jardine Report will be there to bring you up to date reports - Assuming the internet connection works!
Jardine Verdict: A great performance by Sussex who so nearly clocked up their second consecutive victory against the Aussies. An inauspicious start for Hauritz.
Australia were denied a confidence-boosting win ahead of the Ashes series as Carl Hopkinson earned a draw for Sussex in the tour match at Hove.Hopkinson claimed the only century of the match as Sussex made a decent attempt of chasing the 418 off 92 overs they needed for victory. The 27-year-old eventually fell to Ben Hilfenhaus for 115.
The home side refused to throw in the towel after his dismissal but they ended up short, closing on 373-7. Sussex started well as they chased their target, Mike Yardy and Chris Nash putting on 87 runs in 24 overs. Yardy raced to his 50 off just 55 balls with 10 boundaries and Nash was just starting to accelerate when he sliced a drive to backward point off Peter Siddle for 27.
By lunch Australia skipper Ricky Ponting was using both of his spinners on the dry, turning pitch and it was Marcus North who claimed the wicket of Yardy - who reached 67 before pushing the ball to Michael Clarke at slip. Paceman Brett Lee struggled with over-stepping but he did remove Rory Hamilton-Brown leg before for one while Hopkinson hit his 50 with his third six off North.
Sussex began the final session needing 181 but Hopkinson and Luke Wright continued to attack in a stand of 81 in 13 overs. The mark is a new fifth-wicket Sussex record in this fixture, beating the 72 put on by Tony Greig and Peter Kirsten in 1975.
Hopkinson was spared on 69 when Ponting dropped a straightforward catch off Hauritz but the spinner finally took his first wicket in the next over when Wright deflected a glance onto leg stump.
Hopkinson, who has not played a Championship game for the county this season, reached his hundred by coming down the pitch to drive North through the leg side for his 12th four and was eventually caught behind trying to run a delivery from Hilfenhaus down to third man.
The first Ashes Test between England and Australia begins in Cardiff on 8 July and the boys from The Jardine Report will be there to bring you up to date reports - Assuming the internet connection works!
Jardine Verdict: A great performance by Sussex who so nearly clocked up their second consecutive victory against the Aussies. An inauspicious start for Hauritz.
Thursday 25 June 2009
Sussex put Aussies on the back foot
Ashes Tour - Sussex v Australia Day One
Australian tail-enders Brett Lee and Nathan Hauritz struggled to keep Australia in the game against Sussex on day one of the first match of their Ashes tour at Hove. The tourists lost opener Phil Hughes (15) and captain Ricky Ponting (8) early on as they slipped to 114-5.
But Michael Clarke (45) and Brad Haddin (69) staged a minor recovery before Lee (47no) and Hauritz (65no) took the score to 349-7 at the close.
South African seamer Pepler Sandri was the star for Sussex as he took 3-73. The debutant quickly removed opener Hughes, who has had a hotly disputed stint at Middlesex earlier this summer. The self styled New Bradman had his middle stump uprooted after making 15 from 26 deliveries.
Sour-faced Aussie skipper Ponting punched two backfoot strokes to the boundary in front of nearly 6,000 staunch Sussex supporters. The Hove crowd, justifiably acknowledged as the most discerning cricket spectators in the world. Were delighted to see Ponting edge a Luke Wright ball to keeper Andrew Hodd before Simon Katich and Michael Hussey stabilised the innings with a third-wicket stand of 65.
However, Katich then fell to Sandri one short of his half-century and his dismissal prompted the loss of three wickets for one run in the space of 10 balls as he was joined in the pavilion by Hussey and Marcus North. Australia were on their knees at 114-5 but Michael 'Pretty boy' Clarke and keeper Haddin brought some resilience to the middle order.
Haddin was in attacking mood and hit three sixes and seven fours in his 69 before holing out to Sandri off Ollie Rayner's bowling. Rayner then followed up the wicket by snaring Clarke caught and bowled as the Aussies again stuttered at 232-7 against what was mainly a Sussex second XI
Former Test quick Brett Lee and spinner Hauritz gave a some late authority to the Aussie innings. Hauritz reached his 50 first and hit 12 fours as he reached a beligerent 65 by the close, while Lee struck a six and five fours to reach 47 in an unbroken stand of 117 as Australia ended the day some way short of their expectations.
The first Test against England starts in Cardiff on 8 July and Haddin knows the Australia team have plenty of room for improvement.
"I think Sussex bowled quite well and put the ball in some good areas early on then, in the afternoon, they had a couple of good spinners going in tandem," said Haddin.
The wicket-keeper also commented that he'd heard "this pitch compares a lot to Cardiff". It is good to see that misinformation is alive and well at this stage of the tour.
Jardine Verdict: For the best team in the world this has to be an encouraging start against farily average opponents although Sussex will be disappointed not to have polished off the visitors tail. Australia on the other hand will be somewhat dismayed at the failure of their middle order. Day One - Sussex on Points
Australian tail-enders Brett Lee and Nathan Hauritz struggled to keep Australia in the game against Sussex on day one of the first match of their Ashes tour at Hove. The tourists lost opener Phil Hughes (15) and captain Ricky Ponting (8) early on as they slipped to 114-5.
But Michael Clarke (45) and Brad Haddin (69) staged a minor recovery before Lee (47no) and Hauritz (65no) took the score to 349-7 at the close.
South African seamer Pepler Sandri was the star for Sussex as he took 3-73. The debutant quickly removed opener Hughes, who has had a hotly disputed stint at Middlesex earlier this summer. The self styled New Bradman had his middle stump uprooted after making 15 from 26 deliveries.
Sour-faced Aussie skipper Ponting punched two backfoot strokes to the boundary in front of nearly 6,000 staunch Sussex supporters. The Hove crowd, justifiably acknowledged as the most discerning cricket spectators in the world. Were delighted to see Ponting edge a Luke Wright ball to keeper Andrew Hodd before Simon Katich and Michael Hussey stabilised the innings with a third-wicket stand of 65.
However, Katich then fell to Sandri one short of his half-century and his dismissal prompted the loss of three wickets for one run in the space of 10 balls as he was joined in the pavilion by Hussey and Marcus North. Australia were on their knees at 114-5 but Michael 'Pretty boy' Clarke and keeper Haddin brought some resilience to the middle order.
Haddin was in attacking mood and hit three sixes and seven fours in his 69 before holing out to Sandri off Ollie Rayner's bowling. Rayner then followed up the wicket by snaring Clarke caught and bowled as the Aussies again stuttered at 232-7 against what was mainly a Sussex second XI
Former Test quick Brett Lee and spinner Hauritz gave a some late authority to the Aussie innings. Hauritz reached his 50 first and hit 12 fours as he reached a beligerent 65 by the close, while Lee struck a six and five fours to reach 47 in an unbroken stand of 117 as Australia ended the day some way short of their expectations.
The first Test against England starts in Cardiff on 8 July and Haddin knows the Australia team have plenty of room for improvement.
"I think Sussex bowled quite well and put the ball in some good areas early on then, in the afternoon, they had a couple of good spinners going in tandem," said Haddin.
The wicket-keeper also commented that he'd heard "this pitch compares a lot to Cardiff". It is good to see that misinformation is alive and well at this stage of the tour.
Jardine Verdict: For the best team in the world this has to be an encouraging start against farily average opponents although Sussex will be disappointed not to have polished off the visitors tail. Australia on the other hand will be somewhat dismayed at the failure of their middle order. Day One - Sussex on Points
Tuesday 23 June 2009
T20 World Cup
Blink and it's gone
So, Pakistan prevailed in the second world T20 which evens up the local tally and must give some genuine encouragement for the PCB despite the lack of home international matches.
Pakistan won the ICC World Twenty20 in an exciting finish at a noisy Lord's when Sri Lanka's total of 138-6 was overhauled with eight balls remaining. Shahid Afridi, man of the match in the semi-final, was again the hero, hitting 54 not out from 40 balls to steer Pakistan to an eight-wicket win.
Having chosen to bat, Sri Lanka lost star batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan in the first over and were soon 2-2. Kumar Sangakkara's 64 gave them hope but Pakistan paced their chase well.
Sri Lanka had progressed through the tournament smoothly, winning all their matches and relying on the brilliant batting of Dilshan and some superb bowling led by Ajantha Mendis.
But on the grand stage, both their leading players fluffed their lines, and Pakistan ruthlessly seized the initiative.
Pakistan had lost two of their first three matches and needed a win against the Netherlands just to make the last eight. But they turned a corner when thrashing New Zealand - from which point they never looked back.
They began the final in ideal fashion, with a wicket-maiden from 17-year-old sensation Mohammad Aamer.
It wasn't just any wicket-maiden - a rare event indeed in this format. The fact that the tournament's leading run-scorer Dilshan had been dismissed made Aamer's over extra special.
Dlishan craves deliveries on a good length so he can sweep and drive, but keeping the ball short and straight, Aamer bowled four dot-balls then enticed a top-edged pull to short fine-leg.
Pakistan began superbly with the ball at Lord's, and kept it going
The wicket seemed to scare Sri Lanka's other batsmen, who had not enjoyed particularly good tournaments, and it was the fast-medium bowler Abdul Razzaq who reaped the rewards.
Jehan Mubarak, promoted up the order, skied a catch into the off-side, Sanath Jayasuriya crashed a six and two fours but then dragged one on, before Mahela Jayawardene edged an attempted late-cut to slip.
Sangakkara and Chamara Silva had a major repair operation on their hands, coming together with the score 32-4 in 5.3 overs. They put on 35 from 36 balls which at least stopped the rot, but the arrival of Umar Gul dented Sri Lanka's renaissance.
Silva mistimed a pull to midwicket and Isuru Udana swished and missed the last two balls of a fine over. It got even better for Pakistan when Afridi bowled Udana to leave the score 70-6 from 13 overs.
Finally, some positive running between the wickets from Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews saw nine runs come off a Saeed Ajmal over and then Gul, so brilliant in Pakistan's last three victories, suddenly lost his length and was hammered for 14 in an over.
Mathews played his part too, clubbing a couple of boundaries on the on-side before tucking into the final over, bowled by Aamer.
The decision to give the teenager the final over looked a questionable one, and with Mathews flaying a boundary through the slips and muscling a six through the on-side 17 more precious runs came Sri Lanka's way.
Pakistan's chase was given impetus by Kamran Akmal, who hit big leg-side sixes off both Mendis and Mathews to take his team to a very respectable 48-0 from seven overs.
Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka's sixth bowler, then immediately had Akmal stumped, but the other opener Shahzaib Hasan, who had been so quiet, drilled consecutive boundaries off Mendis, the mystery spinner who Pakistan were playing so well.
When he fell to Muttiah Muralitharan, the required rate hit eight an over, but Pakistan still had eight wickets in hand and just 64 more runs were required.
Afridi, who had had time to play himself in, now hit Muralitharan into the Tavern Stand and then launched him over wide mid-off for four.
That made Pakistan hot favourites, but just 16 runs came off the next three overs, so 26 were still wanted from 18 balls. But Afridi, with Shoaib Malik playing a quiet role in support, now smashed Udana for six over midwicket and pulled him past fine-leg for four more, leaving an easy seven runs needed from the last two overs.
Jardine's Verdict: A deserved win for Pakistan and hopefully the first step for them back to complete international acceptance.
So, Pakistan prevailed in the second world T20 which evens up the local tally and must give some genuine encouragement for the PCB despite the lack of home international matches.
Pakistan won the ICC World Twenty20 in an exciting finish at a noisy Lord's when Sri Lanka's total of 138-6 was overhauled with eight balls remaining. Shahid Afridi, man of the match in the semi-final, was again the hero, hitting 54 not out from 40 balls to steer Pakistan to an eight-wicket win.
Having chosen to bat, Sri Lanka lost star batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan in the first over and were soon 2-2. Kumar Sangakkara's 64 gave them hope but Pakistan paced their chase well.
Sri Lanka had progressed through the tournament smoothly, winning all their matches and relying on the brilliant batting of Dilshan and some superb bowling led by Ajantha Mendis.
But on the grand stage, both their leading players fluffed their lines, and Pakistan ruthlessly seized the initiative.
Pakistan had lost two of their first three matches and needed a win against the Netherlands just to make the last eight. But they turned a corner when thrashing New Zealand - from which point they never looked back.
They began the final in ideal fashion, with a wicket-maiden from 17-year-old sensation Mohammad Aamer.
It wasn't just any wicket-maiden - a rare event indeed in this format. The fact that the tournament's leading run-scorer Dilshan had been dismissed made Aamer's over extra special.
Dlishan craves deliveries on a good length so he can sweep and drive, but keeping the ball short and straight, Aamer bowled four dot-balls then enticed a top-edged pull to short fine-leg.
Pakistan began superbly with the ball at Lord's, and kept it going
The wicket seemed to scare Sri Lanka's other batsmen, who had not enjoyed particularly good tournaments, and it was the fast-medium bowler Abdul Razzaq who reaped the rewards.
Jehan Mubarak, promoted up the order, skied a catch into the off-side, Sanath Jayasuriya crashed a six and two fours but then dragged one on, before Mahela Jayawardene edged an attempted late-cut to slip.
Sangakkara and Chamara Silva had a major repair operation on their hands, coming together with the score 32-4 in 5.3 overs. They put on 35 from 36 balls which at least stopped the rot, but the arrival of Umar Gul dented Sri Lanka's renaissance.
Silva mistimed a pull to midwicket and Isuru Udana swished and missed the last two balls of a fine over. It got even better for Pakistan when Afridi bowled Udana to leave the score 70-6 from 13 overs.
Finally, some positive running between the wickets from Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews saw nine runs come off a Saeed Ajmal over and then Gul, so brilliant in Pakistan's last three victories, suddenly lost his length and was hammered for 14 in an over.
Mathews played his part too, clubbing a couple of boundaries on the on-side before tucking into the final over, bowled by Aamer.
The decision to give the teenager the final over looked a questionable one, and with Mathews flaying a boundary through the slips and muscling a six through the on-side 17 more precious runs came Sri Lanka's way.
Pakistan's chase was given impetus by Kamran Akmal, who hit big leg-side sixes off both Mendis and Mathews to take his team to a very respectable 48-0 from seven overs.
Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka's sixth bowler, then immediately had Akmal stumped, but the other opener Shahzaib Hasan, who had been so quiet, drilled consecutive boundaries off Mendis, the mystery spinner who Pakistan were playing so well.
When he fell to Muttiah Muralitharan, the required rate hit eight an over, but Pakistan still had eight wickets in hand and just 64 more runs were required.
Afridi, who had had time to play himself in, now hit Muralitharan into the Tavern Stand and then launched him over wide mid-off for four.
That made Pakistan hot favourites, but just 16 runs came off the next three overs, so 26 were still wanted from 18 balls. But Afridi, with Shoaib Malik playing a quiet role in support, now smashed Udana for six over midwicket and pulled him past fine-leg for four more, leaving an easy seven runs needed from the last two overs.
Jardine's Verdict: A deserved win for Pakistan and hopefully the first step for them back to complete international acceptance.
Tuesday 9 June 2009
What do Bangaldesh, Scotland & Australia have in common?
They are all out of the World Cup
Group Stage First Round
ICC World Twenty20 2009: Group A
P W L T N/R R/R Pts
1 India 1 1 0 0 0 1.25 2.0
2 Ireland 1 1 0 0 0 0.68 2.0
3 Bangladesh 2 0 2 0 0 -1.0 0.0
ICC World Twenty20 2009: Group B
P W L T N/R R/R Pts
1 England 2 1 1 0 0 1.18 2.0
2 Netherlands 1 1 0 0 0 0.05 2.0
3 Pakistan 1 0 1 0 0 -2.4 0.0
ICC World Twenty20 2009: Group C
P W L T N/R R/R Pts
1 West Indies 1 1 0 0 0 2.41 2.0
2 Sri Lanka 1 1 0 0 0 0.47 2.0
3 Australia 2 0 2 0 0 -1.33 0.0
ICC World Twenty20 2009: Group D
P W L T N/R R/R Pts
1 South Africa 1 1 0 0 0 6.5 2.0
2 New Zealand 1 1 0 0 0 2.29 2.0
3 Scotland 2 0 2 0 0 -5.28 0.0
Group Stage First Round
ICC World Twenty20 2009: Group A
P W L T N/R R/R Pts
1 India 1 1 0 0 0 1.25 2.0
2 Ireland 1 1 0 0 0 0.68 2.0
3 Bangladesh 2 0 2 0 0 -1.0 0.0
ICC World Twenty20 2009: Group B
P W L T N/R R/R Pts
1 England 2 1 1 0 0 1.18 2.0
2 Netherlands 1 1 0 0 0 0.05 2.0
3 Pakistan 1 0 1 0 0 -2.4 0.0
ICC World Twenty20 2009: Group C
P W L T N/R R/R Pts
1 West Indies 1 1 0 0 0 2.41 2.0
2 Sri Lanka 1 1 0 0 0 0.47 2.0
3 Australia 2 0 2 0 0 -1.33 0.0
ICC World Twenty20 2009: Group D
P W L T N/R R/R Pts
1 South Africa 1 1 0 0 0 6.5 2.0
2 New Zealand 1 1 0 0 0 2.29 2.0
3 Scotland 2 0 2 0 0 -5.28 0.0
Ooops - No. 2
The Aussies are out of the 20/20 World Cup
BBC Reports...
Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan hit brilliant half-centuries as Sri Lanka dumped Australia out of the ICC World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge.
Sri Lanka put the Aussies in, and only some determined batting from their tailenders got them up to 159-9.
Spinner Ajantha Mendis tied most of the Aussies in knots, taking 3-20.
And a wide from the first ball of the final over, bowled by Mitchell Johnson, condemned Australia to their second heavy defeat in this tournament.
Having been blown away by Chris Gayle at The Oval, the move up the M1 to Nottingham brought no less misery for Ricky Ponting's men.
His team now have two empty weeks in Leicester before moving down to Sussex for their first tour match before the Ashes.
Afterwards Ponting told BBC Sport: "If you're a little bit off in this game, you pay for it. "Now we have to move on as quickly as possible and focus on the Ashes."
Australia had their moments in this match, but their specialist batting and their seam bowling was again a major let-down, and that is bound to concern Ponting.
During the early exchanges, Shane Watson hit debutant Isuru Udana for two fours and a six, then Ricky Ponting took advantage of a wayward opening over from Lasith Malinga, taking him for three fours.
That left Australia in good shape at 47-1 from just five overs. But they scored at just half that pace over the following 10 overs while losing five more wickets.
Sangakkara kept shuffling his bowlers around, but it was Mendis who did most of the damage.
Ponting was bowled as he backed away to leg, Watson was lbw on the sweep and David Hussey also fell lbw as Mendis's unusual spin-bowling wreaked havoc.
But Australia were then helped by two big overs. Johnson climbed into Muttiah Muralitharan's final set of six, hitting him for two sixes and a four.
Udana's final over included the wicket of David Hussey, but it also cost 18 - including a four and a six off the bat of Brett Lee.
And although two more wickets fell in the final over, bowled by Malinga, Australia's tailenders somehow scrambled 12 more runs off it with two lucky deflections for four.
So despite being in terrible trouble at 94-6 after 15 overs, a haul of 65 runs from the last five had hauled them back into the contest at the halfway stage.
Johnson ended up with 28 not out off just 13 balls, a contribution that gave him and his fellow bowlers a bit of momentum as Sri Lanka's chase started.
However, Sri Lanka's batsman took the initiative back again, despite losing Sanath Jayasuriya to a fine David Warner catch at deep square-leg.
Dilshan (53) was in a hurry, cutting, pulling and driving the seamers - almost at will - and Sangakkara.
He gave Watson plenty of grief, but was finally undone by Clarke's first delivery, which turned and trimmed his bails.
That left Mahela Jayawardene to continue the fight with Sangakkara (55 not out), but the pair were made to work for their singles as they dealt with Clarke and the other spinner Nathan Hauritz.
Just as had happened with Australia's innings, the runs dried up alarmingly, and from having needed barely seven an over the required rate went up to nine, with the out-of-sorts Jayawardene holing out off Hauritz into the bargain.
That was the cue for Sangakkara to hoist Hauritz for two effortless sixes, one swept the other driven straight, as though to demonstrate he had been toying with the Sri Lankan fans all along.
He remained coolness personified, sweeping Nathan Bracken past the short fine-leg for four more to reach his fifty.
Jehan Mubarak's six in the penultimate over off Lee - who again proved so expensive - eased the tension completely.
And it was a tame way for Australia to go out of the tournament when Johnson slid one down the leg-side.
A delighted Sangakkara said: "It was a great performance. When you play against Australia the key is to believe you can win.
"Our strength has always been spin bowling and we played two guys whom the Australians haven't seen much of. So their batsmen couldn't really target one single bowler."
Jardine's Verdict: Whilst there but for the grace of God and all that, it is still bloody funny!
BBC Reports...
Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan hit brilliant half-centuries as Sri Lanka dumped Australia out of the ICC World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge.
Sri Lanka put the Aussies in, and only some determined batting from their tailenders got them up to 159-9.
Spinner Ajantha Mendis tied most of the Aussies in knots, taking 3-20.
And a wide from the first ball of the final over, bowled by Mitchell Johnson, condemned Australia to their second heavy defeat in this tournament.
Having been blown away by Chris Gayle at The Oval, the move up the M1 to Nottingham brought no less misery for Ricky Ponting's men.
His team now have two empty weeks in Leicester before moving down to Sussex for their first tour match before the Ashes.
Afterwards Ponting told BBC Sport: "If you're a little bit off in this game, you pay for it. "Now we have to move on as quickly as possible and focus on the Ashes."
Australia had their moments in this match, but their specialist batting and their seam bowling was again a major let-down, and that is bound to concern Ponting.
During the early exchanges, Shane Watson hit debutant Isuru Udana for two fours and a six, then Ricky Ponting took advantage of a wayward opening over from Lasith Malinga, taking him for three fours.
That left Australia in good shape at 47-1 from just five overs. But they scored at just half that pace over the following 10 overs while losing five more wickets.
Sangakkara kept shuffling his bowlers around, but it was Mendis who did most of the damage.
Ponting was bowled as he backed away to leg, Watson was lbw on the sweep and David Hussey also fell lbw as Mendis's unusual spin-bowling wreaked havoc.
But Australia were then helped by two big overs. Johnson climbed into Muttiah Muralitharan's final set of six, hitting him for two sixes and a four.
Udana's final over included the wicket of David Hussey, but it also cost 18 - including a four and a six off the bat of Brett Lee.
And although two more wickets fell in the final over, bowled by Malinga, Australia's tailenders somehow scrambled 12 more runs off it with two lucky deflections for four.
So despite being in terrible trouble at 94-6 after 15 overs, a haul of 65 runs from the last five had hauled them back into the contest at the halfway stage.
Johnson ended up with 28 not out off just 13 balls, a contribution that gave him and his fellow bowlers a bit of momentum as Sri Lanka's chase started.
However, Sri Lanka's batsman took the initiative back again, despite losing Sanath Jayasuriya to a fine David Warner catch at deep square-leg.
Dilshan (53) was in a hurry, cutting, pulling and driving the seamers - almost at will - and Sangakkara.
He gave Watson plenty of grief, but was finally undone by Clarke's first delivery, which turned and trimmed his bails.
That left Mahela Jayawardene to continue the fight with Sangakkara (55 not out), but the pair were made to work for their singles as they dealt with Clarke and the other spinner Nathan Hauritz.
Just as had happened with Australia's innings, the runs dried up alarmingly, and from having needed barely seven an over the required rate went up to nine, with the out-of-sorts Jayawardene holing out off Hauritz into the bargain.
That was the cue for Sangakkara to hoist Hauritz for two effortless sixes, one swept the other driven straight, as though to demonstrate he had been toying with the Sri Lankan fans all along.
He remained coolness personified, sweeping Nathan Bracken past the short fine-leg for four more to reach his fifty.
Jehan Mubarak's six in the penultimate over off Lee - who again proved so expensive - eased the tension completely.
And it was a tame way for Australia to go out of the tournament when Johnson slid one down the leg-side.
A delighted Sangakkara said: "It was a great performance. When you play against Australia the key is to believe you can win.
"Our strength has always been spin bowling and we played two guys whom the Australians haven't seen much of. So their batsmen couldn't really target one single bowler."
Jardine's Verdict: Whilst there but for the grace of God and all that, it is still bloody funny!
Saturday 6 June 2009
Friday 5 June 2009
Thursday 4 June 2009
Symonds Sent Home - Again!
He's going home, he's going home, he's going, Symo's going home!
Australia have sent Andrew Symonds home from the World Twenty20 tournament in England for disciplinary reasons after less than 10 days in Blighty!
Cricket Australia said the controversial all-rounder had been dismissed after breaking team rules relating to alcohol and other issues. The 33-year-old, who had returned to the Australia set-up after a spell out because of disciplinary issues, was absent from training on Thursday.
Symonds had already been left out of Australia's 16-man Ashes squad. The incident is the latest in a long line of off-field misdemeanours involving the Queensland player and will be a major blow to Ricky Ponting who publicly backed Symonds for an Ashes spot as well as to play a major role in the 20/20 World Cup.
In January, he was fined by Cricket Australia over a remark he made in a radio interview and he has a history of drinking related problems, stretching back to 2005. In August 2008, he was been sent home from Australia's one-day squad to play Bangladesh in Darwin after missing a compulsory team meeting to go fishing.
Jardine's Verdict: A disaster waiting to happen? Or the sad demise of a gifted cricketer? A mix of the two most probably. However, the news is a real blow for Aussie hopes but also shows a tough no-nonsense managerial approach. Barmen the length and breadth of Britain will be reeling!
Australia have sent Andrew Symonds home from the World Twenty20 tournament in England for disciplinary reasons after less than 10 days in Blighty!
Cricket Australia said the controversial all-rounder had been dismissed after breaking team rules relating to alcohol and other issues. The 33-year-old, who had returned to the Australia set-up after a spell out because of disciplinary issues, was absent from training on Thursday.
Symonds had already been left out of Australia's 16-man Ashes squad. The incident is the latest in a long line of off-field misdemeanours involving the Queensland player and will be a major blow to Ricky Ponting who publicly backed Symonds for an Ashes spot as well as to play a major role in the 20/20 World Cup.
In January, he was fined by Cricket Australia over a remark he made in a radio interview and he has a history of drinking related problems, stretching back to 2005. In August 2008, he was been sent home from Australia's one-day squad to play Bangladesh in Darwin after missing a compulsory team meeting to go fishing.
Jardine's Verdict: A disaster waiting to happen? Or the sad demise of a gifted cricketer? A mix of the two most probably. However, the news is a real blow for Aussie hopes but also shows a tough no-nonsense managerial approach. Barmen the length and breadth of Britain will be reeling!
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