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Innings of the tournament
For a large part of the tournament, he was the man leading the golden bat race. Michael Klinger scored three half centuries for South Australia, two of them while chasing. His best effort was the 78 off 48 balls he smashed against the Lions in Centurion. Klinger had not scored a half-century in 20-over cricket before that day and a combination of excellent exploitation of the short ball, perfect placement and crafty footwork saw him sail over the 50 mark. He shared in two century opening partnerships in the competition, so his sidekick, Daniel Harris gets an honorary mention.Spell of the tournament
Albie Morkel produced two gorgeous, bouncy overs for the Chennai Super Kings against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the semi-final. He had the ball swinging like the 60s and Manish Pandey didn’t quite know what to do with the away movement. At one point, there were three slips in position. Morkel picked up the wicket of Robin Uthappa with the final ball of the second over to finish the spell with figures of 1 for 13.Catch of the tournament
Plenty of great plucking in this tournament made this one a difficult pick. Jean Symes and Johan Botha get special mention but the clutch that cut it was Matthew Hayden’s spectacular steal against Central Districts in Port Elizabeth. Mathew Sinclair’s reverse sweep off Muttiah Muralitharan required an acrobatic leap to the right from Haydos at first slip which he pulled off in fine style. He had a lean run with the bat and is fast approaching 40, but Hayden’s powers of anticipation have not dimmed.Surprise package of the tournament
The Warriors had laid claim to their first two pieces of silverware since the franchise system began on their way to qualifying for the Champions League. They fancied themselves for a final four spot but to advance to the decider in such emphatic fashion was surely unexpected. Davy Jacobs became everybody’s favourite player with his no-fear brand of batting and easy-going leadership style. The home boys won the hearts of many and even though they lost in the final, they provided more than enough evidence that something very special is stirring in the Eastern Cape.Thanks-for-coming of the tournament
Guyana, Central Districts and Wayamba provided a trio of whipping boys for the other teams. Between them, they posted the five lowest totals in the competition and conceded the two highest scores. Most of the time their hearts didn’t seem in it, although they told us they were, so even when the Sri Lankans thrashed the New Zealanders by 74 runs, no-one cared.Heartwarmer of the tournament
The unfancied Highveld Lions upset the Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener, to leave audiences aghast. When Robbie Frylinck bowled the last ball, to hand the Lions victory by nine runs, the team stormed the pitch to the sound of K’Naan’s . The union that has been so troubled by internal strife and so plagued by failure were united for those few minutes by victory.Best atmosphere of the tournament
The Centurion crowd at the semi-final between Warriors and the South Australia Redbacks. A hen party was clucking away in the grandstand complete with pink mining helmets for the girls and a colourful, fake, Mohican for the bride-to-be. That bunch was not even nearly as raucous as Redbacks’ WAGS in the president’s suite, cheering on their men, even when it was obvious that they were going home. By that point, the rest of the crowd threw their weight behind the South African side and started a chant, “Bye, Bye Redbacks.” The Eastern Cape found a home in Centurion.Song of the tournament
Enrique belted out at the opening ceremony but that song in its cheesy entirety was not heard again. There was a masala mix version of it, muddled with Taio Cruz’s . Catchy, but not quite the best beat of the event. For a tune that screams “bring out your pom-poms,” a lesson in spelling and a healthy blend with something that sounds like Bhangra, the Chennai Super Kings theme song is the one that rocked.Advice of the tournament
Someone needs to tell Ravi Shastri that when he is holding a microphone, he doesn’t have to shout.Quotes of the tournament
“This is a massive achievement for the Eastern Cape. The last 18 months have been unbeliev…., unbeliev… . I don’t even know what the question was.”
“I’ll just go make a cup of coffee.”

Less than a day after the sent Pakistan cricket heading towards another crisis more skeletons were tumbling out of the closet as it emerged that “several” of Pakistan’s players have been monitored by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) for some time. Cricinfo understands that Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal are part of a group of players the watchdog has been keeping a close eye on.Added to this, influential sources close to the Pakistan team have said Mazhar Majeed, the man at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal that erupted at Lord’s, has also been on the ACSU watchlist but investigations were hindered because he is an agent. “He has been under the scanner for some time. But he is the commercial agent to various players,” said the source. “They are their official player agents who are doing all these endorsements. In that case nobody can question their presence.”And the source added: “There are a number of Pakistan players that have been under the ACSU scanner for a while now.” He pointed out that the exercise was not only a reaction to Pakistan’s ignominious tour of Australia earlier this year where they lost every match, including the controversial second Test at Sydney. At one stage Australia were just 49 ahead with only two wickets in hand, but managed to extend their advantage to 176. Pakistan then floundered badly and raised more than a few eyebrows by the manner in which they folded.Kamran had also managed to drop four catches along with a missed run-out opportunity during Australia’s second innings, and during the post-tour inquiry committee set up by the PCB Inthikab Alam and Aaqib Javed, the head coach and the assistant coach on the tour, raised doubts over Kamran’s gloverwork. That lead to suspicions of match-fixing and Lord Paul Condon, the former head of the ACSU, said that series was being investigated.”We are satisfied that that was a totally dysfunctional tour from a Pakistani point of view, and that dysfunctionality in the dressing room led to players not performing well, and maybe making them potentially underperform deliberately,” Condon told Cricinfo before he retired. “What we still need to establish is whether that was because rival camps wanted to do down captains or potential captains, or whether it was something more serious, doing it for a financial fix.”As disclosed by the NOTW, Majeed allegedly said that Sydney was the last instance where he was involved in fixing a match. “Let me tell you the last Test we did. It was the second Test against Australia in Sydney,” he told the undercover reporter. “Australia had two more wickets left. They had a lead of 10 runs, yeah. And Pakistan had all their wickets remaining. The odds for Pakistan to lose that match, for Australia to win that match, were I think 40 to 1.”We let them get up to 150 then everyone lost their wickets,” Majeed revealed. ”That one we made £1.3 [million]. But that’s what I mean, you can get up to a million. Tests is where the biggest money is because those situations arise.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAzhar Ali held Pakistan together after Mohammad Yousuf made 56 as the visitors built a useful lead at The Oval•Getty Images

Azhar Ali was rendered virtually scoreless last week but showed his true talents at The Oval as his outstanding, unbeaten 92 earned Pakistan a valuable lead of 75. Mohammad Yousuf played his part with a composed 56 before becoming Graeme Swann’s 100th Test wicket and, though the visitors would have liked a greater advantage, it grew in significance when Andrew Strauss fell before the close.For the first time during the season Pakistan passed 300 as Azhar and Mohammad Asif added a priceless 38 for the last wicket to frustrate England’s efforts to wrap up the innings. Andrew Strauss dropped Asif at slip on 4 – in what would become a bad hour for the England captain – and it took a further seven overs before the No. 11 drove Swann to mid-off with Azhar left eight short of a maiden Test hundred.That left the home side with an awkward 15 minutes to survive, but Strauss couldn’t see out the first over when, having already under-edged a pull past the stumps, edged low to second slip against Mohammad Amir who has removed Strauss four times in the series. Alastair Cook will have been relieved to face just two balls as James Anderson did his job as nightwatchman and the third day will provide an examination of the belief in both teams.The presence of Yousuf in the middle order certainly had an immediate effect on Pakistan and not only in the obvious manner of the runs he scored. The calmness he exuded at the crease filtered through to his partners. Firstly, Wahab Riaz fought hard for two hours, and then Azhar played far more positively than at Edgbaston. Azhar faced a total of 117 balls in the previous Test for just 19 runs, but moved along at a livelier pace as 104 runs were added during the afternoon session.Yousuf understandably took time to play himself in and was beaten by a few good deliveries, but slowly began to find his feet with a neat clip through backward square and a straight drive off Steven Finn. After lunch he began to increase the tempo, but never moved out of his comfort zone of accumulation with effortless glides to third man being of particular frustration to the pacemen. His fifty came from 95 balls and it was hard to tell he’d been out of Test cricket for seven months or had barely picked up a bat before his retirement u-turn following the SOS that went out from the Pakistan management to join this tour.It was Swann that made him work hardest and that was a huge compliment to England’s offspinner, who was belatedly added to the ICC Cricketer of the Year list after controversially missing out yesterday. He gave another display of his class when, switching to around the wicket, he persuaded Yousuf to offer a return catch and became the seventh-fastest Englishman to 100 wickets, taking 23 Tests to draw level with Derek Underwood.However, Yousuf’s departure didn’t herald an immediate collapse as Azhar continued to time the ball sweetly and Umar Akmal lofted Swann for a handsome straight six. Umar continued aggressively, but shortly after taking Pakistan into the lead ran himself out when he went for a non-existent single to cover and couldn’t turn around in time to beat Eoin Morgan’s throw. England then worked through the lower order with the second new ball, but Azhar played superbly and unfurled some powerful strokes when left with Asif including a thumping blow to long-off against Finn.England had made the perfect start to the day when Finn found Yasir Hameed’s outside edge with the second ball of the day and it looked as though Pakistan would struggle again. Salman Butt, demoted down the order after Hameed’s inclusion, was given an early life when Morgan spilled a catch at backward point although it didn’t prove too costly for England as Swann once again struck as soon as he came into the attack.Butt top-edged a cut and Prior juggled the ball before finally holding onto the chance which left Pakistan wobbling on 76 for 3. But Riaz proved much harder to shift despite a first-class average of 15.22. As with his bowling yesterday he grinned his way through most of the innings and it looked as though he would see out the session until he missed a sweep at the first ball of Swann’s second spell. However, Riaz’s main job will resume on Friday when Pakistan try to make their hard-earned advantage count.

ScorecardJimmy Adams, the highest run-maker in the Friends Provident t20, took his aggregate to 551 as Hampshire coasted to a six-wicket victory over Middlesex at Uxbridge which boosts their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.Owais Shah hit 80 off only 52 balls with five sixes and five fours for Middlesex, but he got scant support and Hampshire were always on course for a target of 165 once some sloppy fielding had helped Adams and Michael Carberry put on 89 in 10 overs for the first wicket.Carberry, badly dropped at backward square leg off Gareth Berg when he had made 13, scored 41 off 28 balls with two sixes and four fours before he cut Shah’s first ball to backward point and Adams, put down at short third man off Neil Dexter on 45, had made 64 off 44 balls with 10 fours when he hoisted Berg to long on.Hampshire stumbled briefly when James Vince sliced Berg to short extra cover and Abdul Razzaq ran himself out but Sean Ervine and Neil McKenzie saw them home with nine balls to spare.The conditions were made for high scoring with the pitch flat and the parched outfield fast and bumpy but Middlesex made a sluggish start after wining the toss. Dexter was caught at extra cover off Chris Wood in the second over, David Warner struggled to 18 off 17 balls before pushing Dan Christian to mid-off and Dawid Malan soon pulled Ervine to deep square leg.Scott Newman then fell leg before to Dominic Cork, Berg lifted Danny Briggs to mid-wicket and Tyron Henderson drove an Ervine full toss to long off to leave Middlesex struggling at 105 for six in the 16th over before their innings gathered any real momentum.Shah cut loose in the next over, reaching his 50 off 39 balls with two sixes and five fours and going on to make another 30 off only 13 balls, with three more sixes before holing out to long off trying to hit Wood for another six off the last ball of the innings.Ben Scott, who has returned to Middlesex after a loan spell with Worcestershire, joined him in a partnership of 59 – a record for Middlesex’s seventh wicket in this competition – in only four overs but a total of 164 for 7 was never going to be enough.

North Group

Jim Troughton impressed for Warwickshire before the rain came•Getty Images

Samit Patel’s second half-century in three days secured a third straight win for Nottinghamshire as they swept aside Worcestershire by six wickets with 23 balls to spare. After limiting the visitors to 150 for 7, with Dirk Nannes and Graeme White both picking up two wickets, Patel hit 63 from 34 balls with five fours and three sixes while David Hussey was unbeaten on 34, finishing off the match with a straight six.Yorkshire suffered a 14-run defeat to Northamptonshire under the Duckworth-Lewis method in their Friends Provident t20 clash at Headingley – but the home side were struggling even before the weather closed in. Replying to the Steelbacks’ modest 151 for 7 the hosts were 51 for 4 after 7.5 overs and falling well behind the required rate. Yorkshire’s innings started badly when Jacques Rudolph fell to a great diving catch at long on in the first over from Chaminda Vaas and it became 16 for 2 as skipper Andrew Gale drove to wide mid-off and become the first of three victims for paceman Jack Brooks.A rapid half-century by Warwickshire left hander Jim Troughton went to waste when rain ended Lancashire‘s reply in the meeting at Edgbaston. Openers Tom Smith and Paul Horton made three runs in a solitary over from Neil Carter before the match was abandoned with each side taking one point to stay in contention in a congested North group.Paul Collingwood shone with the ball on his first Durham appearance of the season before rain wrecked their match with Derbyshire. England’s World Twenty20-winning captain conceded only 21 runs from his four overs, but the Dynamos were still facing a daunting run chase after the Falcons plundered 172 for 3 from 19 overs. Loots Bosman scored his second half century in the competition and former Somerset batsman Wes Durston hit two sixes and seven fours in an unbeaten 71 from 53 balls.

South Group

Kevin Pietersen made his first appearance for Hampshire for two years in their match with Surrey but was upstaged by opening batsman Jimmy Adams. The left hander went on to make 101 not out, his first century in the competition, and share in a stand of 144 in 12 overs with Sean Ervine for the third wicket. Hampshire finished with 201 for 2 and Surrey made a reasonable fist of their chase before going down by 10 runs. They made 191 for 9 but were never seriously threatening the Hampshire total.Middlesex beat Essex by five runs in a thrilling gameat Lord’s to record their second win of the season in the competition. The hosts had posted a substantial total of 200 for 6 from their allotted overs, with captain-elect Neil Dexter top-scoring with 43, but their opponents produced a brave attempt in the pursuit thanks to a stunning effort from Ryan ten Doeschate. The Dutch all-rounder scored 102 from 54 deliveries, clearing the ropes on seven occasions and also adding five fours to keep his side in the hunt. When he eventually holed out to Eoin Morgan at cover off the bowling of Pedro Collins, Essex required a further 23 runs. But the initiative had been regained by the home side with the wicket and when the final over commenced, 15 runs were needed.Kent cruised to a 36-run victory over Gloucestershire at Gloucester after posting an imposing 217 all out – their highest Twenty20 score. The Spitfires made the most of the short boundaries at Archdeacon Meadow to hammer the highest score in the South Division this season, with Rob Key (44), Joe Denly (48) and Alex Blake (33) the main contributors. Will Porterfield’s bright 43 gave Gloucestershire hope, but they collapsed from 62 for 1 to 94 for 6 as Simon Cook took three wickets for 22 runs. The hosts were eventually bowled out for 181, despite Chris Taylor’s defiant 67 off 36 balls.Defending Twenty20 champions Sussex preserved their 100 per cent record to win the South Group top of the table clash against previously unbeaten Glamorgan at Cardiff. In an enthralling contest of twists and turns Glamorgan won the toss and made a competitive 143 for 6 in their 20 overs on a Cardiff pitch that had been used for two previous Friends Provident t20 matches. But on the slow surface Sussex reached their target by three wickets with seven balls to spare.

ScorecardSurrey’s woes continued as they sank to a 39-run defeat at the hands of a buoyant Sussex at The Oval. For the visitors, all of the top order bar Matt Prior contributed in a total of 158 for 7, Brendon McCullum top-scoring with 34. Surrey’s batting folded after Rory Hamilton-Brown had been removed after a fiery 13-ball 24, with 21-year-old legspinner Will Beer taking the wickets of Steve Davies and Andrew Symonds in a parsimonious spell to earn the Man of the Match award before Chad Keegan brought the game to a swift end with three clean-bowled dismissals.Things had looked much brighter for the home side when they began their chase on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Chris Nash was asked to open the bowling with his offspin, but the experiment was a disaster as first Davies thrashed him firmly through the covers and Hamilton-Brown then lifted him for two monstrous sixes to take 18 from the over.Sussex regained some control as Keegan’s first over went for just six, but Robin Martin-Jenkins waivered in both line and length and Surrey raced to 36 in the first three overs. Goodwin, captaining in Michael Yardy’s absence, continued to cycle his bowlers, with Dwayne Smith replacing Keegan and James Kirtley brought on for Martin-Jenkins. Kirtley’s introduction brought immediate success as he got a ball to rear up and hurry Hamilton-Brown’s pull, the resultant top-edge being snaffled easily by Goodwin himself, running back from square leg.Surrey could soon have been in even deeper trouble when Mark Ramprakash swept Beer and the ball looped off the outer half of the bat towards fine leg, but the fielder spilled the tough, dipping chance. Ramprakash could make nothing of the second life, however, falling soon after to a superb stumping by Andy Hodd as he over-balanced while looking to nudge Martin-Jenkins away.Hodd has the experience of both Prior and McCullum in the squad to draw upon but looked a superb ‘keeper in his own right today, as not a chance went begging behind the stumps and not a single bye was given away.Surrey began to slide with Ramprakash’s dismissal, Symonds falling second ball as he aimed to clear the infield and Davies falling in similar fashion two overs later for 35 – the highest score of the innings – to give Beer his second wicket and leave his side in some strife at 74 for 4 in the 11th over.With the required run-rate climbing, Stewart Walters got going with a cracking pull off Kirtley that raced to the midwicket boundary almost before any of the fielders could move, but then found Keegan at deep square leg trying to repeat the stroke off Smith.Nash’s re-introduction then sealed the result, with Gareth Batty and Younis Khan – who will no doubt have been somewhat distracted by his snubbing for Pakistan’s Test and Twenty20 squads for their England tour – perishing within four balls of each other as they tried to reach the boundary, and Surrey were dead in the water at 97 for 7 with just 24 balls left. It was left to Keegan to administer the final blow, as he steamed in to shatter the stumps of Nos. 8, 9 and 11 to bowl Surrey out for 119.Surrey had looked a far more competitive side in the field than with the bat, with Chris Tremlett’s menacing pace and bounce accounting for Prior early on before Chris Schofield did his best to asphyxiate the middle order.After McCullum and Goodwin fell in consecutive overs to slow bowlers, Smith, who hit the most sixes for Sussex in this competition last year, was soon into his stride, lifting Symonds over square leg with nonchalance and then cracking him into the second tier of the stands beyond long-on to move into the 20s.Sussex lost a wicket as the partnership was beginning to look threatening as Smith played over the top of a full delivery from Schofield to be bowled for 23 with the score at 99 for 4 and Hodd could have been run out soon after when Nash stepped down the wicket to thrash Tim Linley to Schofield at long-off and a second run was called for, unwisely, after a slight misfield. Linley couldn’t hold on to the return from the deep, which would have had the batsman out by at least a foot, but made amends soon after when he speared in a yorker which struck Hodd’s pads in front of the stumps as he shuffled across to attempt a scoop.There were the usual histrionics from Andre Nel, particularly when he had Nash ducking and weaving in his second spell, but in between the showboating and the steely glares Nel also showed some guile and experience to keep boundaries to a minimum at the death.Tremlett, too, continued to impress. Joe Gatting sent the fifth ball of his second spell scything over the turf to the cover boundary where, much to the amusement of the crowd, it bobbled over the rope and struck one of the Lionesses cheerleading group (thankfully, not mid-routine). But the tall fast bowler struck back immediately to have Gatting easily caught by third man running in from the boundary after an intelligent change of pace.But that was as good as it got for Surrey, whose shoddy limited-overs batting means they continue to languish in the bottom half of the South Group points table.

Scorecard
Hampshire’s winless early season run continued as they played out a high-scoring draw with Somerset on a flat pitch at the Rose Bowl. Hampshire, who had lost their opening five games in all competitions, at least managed to halt the damaging run, but with a draw all but sealed yesterday after Somerset’s batsmen filled their boots on a placid pitch, the final day’s play was tepid fare.Resuming on 441 for 6 and with debutant Jos Buttler, fresh from a maiden first-class century, still at the crease, the pattern of play was simple for Somerset – bat, bat and bat some more. Buttler was out for 144 in Somerset’s 524 and Hampshire reached 37 for 2 before the match was declared a draw.In partnership with Damien Wright, Buttler remained cool and composed at the crease, showing the same dogged determination and decent range of shots which characterised his fuss-free progression to three figures yesterday.Hampshire used 10 bowlers and were toiling. But with Somerset in sight of 500, the hosts claimed their first breakthrough of the final day’s play. With the score on 499, left-arm spinner Liam Dawson claimed his firstChampionship wicket of the season, drawing a leading edge from Wright not long after the Somerset batsman had claimed a deserved half century.The game was low in intensity but Buttler continued to impress, breezingtowards his 150 with ease. But after tailender Ben Phillips chopped an attempted cut off Rangana Herath into his stumps, Buttler began to open his shoulders.With his score on 144, he chanced his arm once too often, holing out to Dawson at deep mid on to give Herath another scalp. And the innings was finally wrapped up as last man Charl Willoughby was cleaned up by a Herath delivery which kept low.Hampshire did their best to make the tie interesting, beginning their second innings in abysmal fashion when Jimmy Adams edged Willoughby to Marcus Trescothick for a duck in the first over and Michael Carberry followed in near identical fashion just two runs later.But even the most excitable of Somerset fans were unable to muster anythingother than lukewarm enthusiasm, as Dawson combined with the experienced South African batsman Neil McKenzie (20 not out) to prod Hampshire timidly to the close and a first positive result of the season.

Stuart Broad believes that the World Twenty20 offers England their best opportunity yet to end their 35-year hunt for a major ICC Trophy, and feels that his personal preparation since last month’s tour of Bangladesh has left him at the peak of his form and fitness.Broad was made to work hard for his wickets on flat surfaces in Bangladesh, having overcome a worrying back spasm that had left his participation in the first Test in doubt. But following a month’s break, he confirmed his readiness for further international action by taking eight wickets in Nottinghamshire’s Championship victory over Somerset last week.”I feel great,” Broad told reporters in Barbados. “The rest was fantastic after Bangladesh to make sure the body got rid of all the niggles. Then this last week it was a fantastic experience helping Notts win and get some overs under my belt. I feel really fresh and excited about what we can do in this tournament.”Broad will be embarking on his third World Twenty20 campaign, and he has endured mixed fortunes in his previous outings – from being cracked for six sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh in Durban in 2007, to his role in the embarrassing defeat by the Netherlands in last year’s tournament opener. Nevertheless, those experiences have taught him how quickly and easily a team can regroup in this format.”We obviously stumbled against the Netherlands,” he said. “But the great thing about this tournament is you can recover from that , and we qualified after beating Pakistan pretty convincingly and were actually quite unfortunate losing in a rain-affected game [against West Indies], where the Duckworth-Lewis stuffed us a bit.”England do not have home advantage to fall back on this time around, but they gained plenty of experience during their eventful tour of the Caribbean last year, in which they bounced back from a 1-0 defeat in the Test series to win their first limited-overs series in the West Indies.”If we can use the knowledge we gained here last year, I think we can go far,” said Broad. “I think we’ve got a really well-balanced squad here, batters who can hit boundaries all the way through the order, good spinners – and I think the team is really excited about our prospects. This is one of the best chances an England squad has had since I’ve been involved in an ICC event. We’ve got the players to do the business.”Five of England’s batsmen go into the tournament with IPL experience under their belt, although none of the bowlers put themselves forward for the same opportunity – a fact that Kevin Pietersen questioned in a recent interview. However, Broad was unrepentant about taking a break rather than seek the extra knowhow on offer.”Obviously, I want to experience the IPL at some stage, it looks a fantastic tournament,” he said. “Every player involved in it has only got good words to say. But I am pleased I had the rest this time.”

ScorecardTeenage seamer James Harris claimed four Sussex wickets as Glamorgan shaded the opening day of their Division Two clash at a sunny Swalec Stadium. But Glamorgan, who had Sussex 153 for 6 and then 237 for 9, were held up by Robin Martin-Jenkins until he was last man out, one of three wickets for Dean Cosker.Sussex were eventually bowled out for 284 with Martin-Jenkins batting for 47 overs for his 65 from 133 balls. Glamorgan captain Jamie Dalrymple decided to bowl after winning the toss. With frontline seamers David Harrison and Adam Shantry both injured and Glamorgan naming three spinners that seemed a foolhardy decision.But after Sussex made a good start Glamorgan, thanks to Harris, pegged them back to 111 for 3 by lunch. Sussex, back in Division Two for the first time since 2001, made an ominous start to the season against young seamers Chris Ashling and Harris, 20 next month, who got through 23 overs.Michael Yardy took 10 off Harris’ opening over with Glamorgan conceding 17 runs in the first two overs. But on a pitch which started slightly damp Harris struck back to trap Chris Nash leg before with the first ball of his third over to have Sussex 27 for 1 in the fifth over.After reaching 50 at the end of the 12th Joe Gatting, nephew of former England captain Mike, was given a life when he was dropped by Ben Wright at first slip off James Allenby. But Allenby then clung on to a catch at first slip in the next over as Harris claimed the wicket of Yardy to leave the visitors on 73 for two.And two overs later Harris bagged his third victim by trapping Gatting lbw. But from 74 for 3 Goodwin and Wright took Sussex to lunch despite confident appeals against both batsmen. Goodwin sent Ashling to the boundary for four fours in an over to help bring up the 100.After lunch the fourth-wicket pair continued to look comfortable until Allenby removed both in the space of three overs. First the former Leicestershire all-rounder bowled Goodwin, who shouldered arms, and eight balls later he struck again as Cosker took a brilliant left-handed catch at backward point as Sussex were reduced to 144 for 5.Sussex’s slump continued when Harris secured his fourth wicket, claiming a return catch from Michael Thornely. But from 153 for 6, Andrew Hodd and Martin-Jenkins set about a recovery either side of tea which Sussex reached at 193 for 6.After tea Ashling trapped Hodd lbw before Cosker struck. He claimed the wickets of James Anyon and Monty Panesar with consecutive deliveries before ending Martin-Jenkins’ 10th-wicket stand with Corey Collymore which was worth 47 runs.

A day after Shane Bond predicted New Zealand would give Australia “their biggest test of the summer”, the allrounder Scott Styris has said the tourists are not as good as they might think they are. Like Bond, Styris was recalled to the New Zealand squad for the limited-overs squad against Australia starting next week and he believed the home side had every reason to believe they could beat a red-hot side.”When I started playing against Australia 10 years ago, one of the big things was believing you can beat them. From a young age we get Australian cricket on TV here and we look up to these guys and think they are supermen. It’s not the case,” he told the . “They are fantastic cricketers in their own right but they are no better than we are, and it just takes a little while to believe you are good enough and can beat them.”Certainly, when they had great players like the Waugh brothers, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist, we sometimes put them on a pedestal, but it’s not the case with these guys. Even though they are destroying Pakistan and West Indies, they have nothing we should be fearful of. I’m at a stage in my career where I love beating them and I think New Zealand has every right to beat them in this series.”Australia’s pace attack has been critical to their unbeaten home summer. Shaun Tait, who recently his 160.7kph on his return to Australia’s Twenty20 side, was one player about whom much has been expected but Styris chose to downplay talk of a speed challenge.”I didn’t see the game on TV when they were supposedly bowling very quickly,” he said. “It’s not easy to bat against that pace, but we’ve played against Shaun Tait in the past and we know we can get hold of him. The same with Mitchell Johnson, we’ve done well against him in the past. We just have to keep believing we’re good enough to take these guys down.”Styris, 34, had fared poorly in New Zealand’s limited-overs contests against Pakistan in November and was left out of the home series against Bangladesh recently. There have been media reports attributing Styris’ exclusion from the national side to an attitude problem, but head coach Mark Greatbatch has scotched those rumours.Styris was one of the standout players in the Twenty20 domestic competition, the HRV Cup, scoring 274 runs at a strike-rate of 133 besides chipping in with 12 wickets. Apart from that tournament, Styris has also led Auckland to the ongoing one-day competition final, and his form has been impressive.”A few selection things haven’t gone my way this season,” he said, “and I was starting to think 2010 was a shit year. I’m only in for the first two ODI games, but it’s better than nothing, isn’t it?Seriously though, it’s pleasing because I’ve been in good form since Christmas.”