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/ 28 September 2007

Twenty20: No reason to be grumpy

Let’s not talk about Jacques Kallis, shall we? Controversies around non-selection are the most boring aspect of sporting discourse and rarely confront real problems. Besides, the batsman’s reputation is glowing thanks to his omission: by not being picked, he was saved from two-stepping Sreesanth, trying to glide a Yorker to third man, and being bowled for three.

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/ 27 September 2007

New Zealand selects team for SA tour

Daniel Vettori was confirmed as New Zealand’s 26th Test captain when he was chosen on Thursday to lead the New Zealand cricket team on next month’s two-test tour to South Africa. Vettori replaces Stephen Fleming, New Zealand’s captain for the past decade, who was dropped from the position earlier this month.

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/ 21 September 2007

Twenty20 draws closer to final

The inaugural Twenty20 World Championship has been whittled down from 12 teams to just four, and by 10pm on Saturday evening, it will be known which two teams will battle it out in the final at the Wanderers on Monday. The first semifinal, pits Pakistan against New Zealand, and the second, between Australia and India, should be a cracker.

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/ 21 September 2007

Braun, balls and luck at Twenty20

It took Kevin Pietersen, of all people, to articulate the edgy appeal of the Twenty20 World Championship. ”Twenty20 is totally different from one-day cricket, where you can plan your innings and do so many things in your preparation to make sure the procedures you want to happen out in the middle do happen,” he said this week.

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/ 18 September 2007

New Zealand scrape home against England

New Zealand beat England by five runs to squeak home in their Twenty20 World Championship Super Eight match at Kingsmead in Durban on Tuesday. It was more a case of England throwing away a probable victory — crazy run outs and some reckless batting cost England important wickets — and a possible place in the semifinals.

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/ 16 September 2007

India fall to four-wicket Vettori

Captain Daniel Vettori led from the front as New Zealand brushed aside India by 10 runs in a Super Eight match of the Twenty20 World Championship in Johannesburg on Sunday. The left-arm spinner claimed 4-20, took a catch and effected a run out as the Kiwis, bowled out for 190, hit back to restrict India to 180-9 in good batting conditions at the Wanderers.

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/ 14 September 2007

No pressure on SA, says Graeme Smith

With the West Indies out of the Twenty20 World Championship, there is no pressure on South Africa in their group match against Bangladesh at Newlands on Saturday evening, Proteas skipper Graeme Smith said on Friday. ”It’s a free game for us to make sure we get our basics right,” he said.