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The ICC has announced that Hot Spot images will be available for use as part of its ongoing technology trial during the second and third Tests in South Africa

Cricinfo staff05-Mar-2009
Hot Spot: What the umpire will see © Sky Sports
The ICC has announced that Hot Spot images will be available for use as part of its ongoing technology trial during the second and third Tests in South Africa. The system will be available to the third umpire in the event of a player referral.Hot Spot uses two infra-red cameras positioned at either end of the ground. These cameras sense and measure heat from friction generated by a collision, such as ball on pad, ball on bat, ball on ground or ball on glove. A black-and-white negative image of the incident is generated into a computer which shows the ball’s precise point of contact.Only last week, ICC match referee Alan Hurst dismissed suggestions that Hot Spot would be used in trials, arguing that there were only three such systems available to broadcasters in the world.”By having ‘Hot Spot’ available it means the television official will have even more information at his disposal if he is called upon, via a request for a review, to assist the on-field umpires with a decision and that has to be a good thing,” said ICC general manager – cricket, David Richardson. “It also means that when the ICC cricket committee meets in May to consider the issue of the technology trial it will have a much more complete picture of the aids available for use and whether, and if so how well, they worked in a match situation.”We hope Hot Spot can play a part over the next two Tests in Durban and Cape Town in establishing whether technology has a role to play in helping achieve those aims.”However, the row over the exact role of the third umpire in referrals resulting from a series of controversial decisions in the Barbados Test has hardly endeared the system to the public, and none of those would have been influenced in any way had Hot Spot been available.Hot Spot uses technology developed in the military for tank- and jet-fighter tracking. The technology was adapted for television by BBG Sports, the Australian company responsible for the Snickometer, in conjunction with Sky Sports. Channel Nine producer Steve Crawley described Hot Spot as “100% backed up by science”, as opposed to other applications.

Preview of the second Twenty20 between South Africa and Australia

Cricinfo staff28-Mar-2009Match factsMarch 29, 2009
Start time 18.00 (16.00 GMT)David Hussey has re-found his form at an important time for Australia•AFPBig PictureSouth Africa’s surge from the third Test continued with an opening victory in the Twenty20 in Johannesburg on Friday and Johan Botha seeks further momentum at Centurion on Sunday. The match, the first Twenty20 international at the stadium, is the last cobweb wiper before the one-day series starts on Friday and both sides want to enter it on a mini-high.Whether it was ring-rust from the five-day break or a general failure to make the transition from the Tests, the Australians were largely underwhelming at the Wanderers. If not for the all-round efforts of David Hussey, the tourists might well have expected a hiding, rather than the tense four-wicket loss.Australia’s batting looked suspect, with Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin unable to make a significant impact on the scoring rate and eventually gifting their wickets away. The decision to bowl Shane Harwood and Brett Geeves – with one Twenty20 international between them – in the final two overs appeared more curious with each boundary, as South Africa sealed victory with four balls to spare.South Africa can look towards the Twenty20 World Cup with increasing confidence. Wayne Parnell formed a successful new-ball pairing with Dale Steyn, and the spin of Botha and Robin Peterson muzzled Australia’s batsmen for extended periods. The hosts’ top order stuttered in the run chase, but Albie Morkel and Mark Boucher – part of a deep South African batting line-up – ensured Australia’s total always remained within reach. The teams have been so evenly matched in 2008-09 that it wouldn’t get boring if they were allowed to battle for the rest of the year.Form guide (last five Twenty20s, most recent first)South Africa WLLWL
Australia LWWWL
Watch out forAny time Albie Morkel walks into an Australian bowler’s line of vision they must shudder. This year he has swept games and quick runs regularly from his green and gold opponents. Ponting has spoken about finding ways to shut him down, but it is as tough as it was to keep Lance Klusener, another heavy-hitting left-hander, quiet in the 1990s.David Hussey is finishing his season in fine form after some difficulties on the international scene back in Australia. He ended the local campaign with Victoria with a century in their Sheffield Shield final victory and started his South Africa tour with a punishing 88 off 44 balls, including six sixes, and a Man-of-the-Match award. “I think I averaged about 15 before Friday night’s innings,” he told AAP, “so I really needed to do something.”Team newsSouth Africa carry a large squad and they started the series wanting to give all 15 players a game. The only certainties appear to be Botha and the wicketkeeper Boucher, but Morkel has become invaluable and will be keen to keep up his hot streak.South Africa squad Johan Botha (capt), Yusuf Abdulla, Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Johann Louw, Albie Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Roelof van der Merwe, Vaughn van Jaarsveld.Harwood was punished in the opening game but he will get another go before flying home with David Warner, the other Twenty20 specialist in the squad. Nathan Bracken will appear in his first match of the tour.Australia squad Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Nathan Bracken, Callum Ferguson, Brett Geeves, Brad Haddin (wk), Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Laughlin, Marcus North, Cameron White, David Warner, Shane Harwood.Pitch and conditionsA fine day is forecast for Sunday with some cloud patches in the evening. The previous international at the ground was South Africa’s innings and 48-run win over Bangladesh in November, when the visitors were dismissed for 250 and 131.Stats and TriviaMorkel has 231 runs from 168 balls in his one Test, four ODIs and three Twenty20s against Australia over the past three monthsHarwood’s 0 for 48 from four overs equalled the second-worst figures by an Australian, a mark also held by Glenn McGrath. Jason Gillespie is on top with 0 for 49Australia have lost only two Twenty20s in a row once, when they were beaten by India in 2007South Africa can level their Twenty20 head-to-head with Australia at 3-3 if they win on SundayQuotes”It’s about giving a few other guys some exposure. We’ve got a bigger picture with the Twenty20 World Cup not that far away.”
“If we can win [at Centurion], it will definitely give us momentum for the one-dayers.”

After the farcical scenes which emerged during Brazil’s clash with Argentina last weekend, Leeds United were one of a number of Premier League clubs who were worrying about the ensuing fallout.

For all the world it looked like Marcelo Bielsa would be without star man Raphinha for the clash against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon after the Brazilian FA’s attempts to block the winger, and several others, from playing for their clubs.

While losing the former Rennes man would have been a bitter blow for the Whites, the latest update on the situation means Raphinha is likely to take to the field against the Reds.

But while Bielsa will no doubt start the 24-year-old, he could be tempted to unleash one of the club’s exciting youngsters in Crysencio Summerville, perhaps in the place of Jack Harrison.

Harrison has yet to score or assist in the Premier League this season despite playing the full 90 minutes in each game, while Summerville could bring the surprising X-factor that could keep Liverpool guessing.

Hailed as a “bag of tricks” by Chris Powell, his former coach when he was a teenager at Dutch side ADO Den Haag, the 19-year-old has been a revelation for Leeds’ under-23s following his move last summer.

In fact, he scored a hat-trick against Burnley on just his second start last season, while in total he bagged an impressive six goals and provided a further six assists in just 12 Premier League 2 games.

Against Guiseley during pre-season earlier this summer, it was Summerville who put in the kind of performance which will have given Bielsa some food for thought.

After watching his goalscoring display, Leeds Live’s Joe Donnohue said on Twitter: “Cody Drameh and Crysencio Summerville were great together down the right flank for Leeds’ U23s last season. Seems like more of the same this year. Drameh an excellent carrier, weightless going forward. Summerville a wriggler, impossible to handle.”

The 19-year-old is an exciting winger who can play on either flank, and with his quick feet and agility, he is very reminiscent of Leeds talisman Raphinha.

With new signing Dan James still needing to get up to speed with Bielsa’s methods and Harrison not firing yet in the top-flight, Summerville has the perfect chance to stamp his mark if Bielsa starts him today.

He could well take Liverpool by surprise and give Bielsa another exciting prospect to work with in the first-team.

Meanwhile, Leeds are battling Real Madrid for this starlet…

Cricinfo previews the match between Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils at Centurion

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran29-Apr-2009Match factsApril 30, 2009
Start time 12.30pm (10.30GMT, 16.00 IST)Big PictureDelhi Daredevils will want to see the back of Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs fast•AFPSupersport Park in Centurion plays host to the clash of the two best teams in the tournament – Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils – in the first of Thursday’s double-header. Deccan, with a 100 per cent record this season, are unrecognisable from the side that propped up the table in 2008. Herschelle Gibbs and Adam Gilchrist have fired at the top and there have been no batting collapses. The bowling has also looked more potent, thanks in no small way to Fidel Edwards, who will play at least one more game before heading to England to join his West Indies team-mates.Delhi look the most likely team to upset Deccan’s momentum. They were on a winning streak of their own but were upset by Rajasthan Royals and an incredible 83-run stand between Graeme Smith and Yusuf Pathan. That defeat was an eye-opener to several cracks; the fielding wasn’t upto the mark and Daniel Vettori had a rare bad day at work. They will want to bounce back with a statement in this battle of the heavy weights.Form guideDelhi: Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have failed to fire, individually and in partnership. Sehwag has a highest score of 38 and Gambhir 16. Sehwag’s shot selection needs to improve but surely it’s only a matter of time before he finds his feet.Deccan Chargers: Gibbs, with 183 runs, is pushing Matthew Hayden (215) for the orange cap for the highest scorer and should claim it on Thursday. RP Singh and Lasith Malinga are tied on nine wickets and Pragyan Ojha is just behind at eight. So Deccan have a chance to keep the orange and purple caps.Watch out forGibbs v de Villiers: There has been very little to separate this pair who have used the home advantage to the fullest. de Villiers has 176 runs, just seven behind Gibbs. The most striking similarity, apart from their electric fielding, is the power of their on-side shots.Team newsFor Delhi, Glenn McGrath is yet to get a game. Paul Collingwood has also been a passenger and he doesn’t have much time left before heading back to England for the Tests. But Delhi will have to rest either Tillakaratne Dilshan or AB de Villiers and it’s a tough choice considering their splendid form.Delhi: (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mithun Manhas, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Daniel Vettori, 8 Dirk Nannes, 9 Pradeep Sangwan, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Ashish Nehra.Deccan may not want to upset their winning combination.Deccan: (probable) 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt/wk), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Dwayne Smith, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Venugopal Rao, 7 Azharuddin Bilakhia, 8 Pragyan Ojha, 9 Shoaib Ahmed, 10 RP Singh, 11 Fidel Edwards.Head-to-head recordDeccan were steamrolled at home by nine wickets as Sehwag bludgeoned an unbeaten 94 in chasing a target of 143. It was a much closer affair at the Feroz Shah Kotla where Deccan fell short by 12 runs chasing 195. Mishra signed off the victory in style with a hat-trick.

Southampton have been handed a potential boost in their pursuit of West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone…

What’s the talk?

According to The Sun, Southampton transfer target Sam Johnstone has put talks over a fresh contract at West Brom on hold to focus on Championship action, with his deal set to expire at the end of the season.

The Saints are reportedly interested in a swoop for the England international as Ralph Hasenhuttl goes in search of a new number one, as is expected.

Get it done

Southampton chief Martin Semmens must ensure that he can get a deal over the line for Johnstone in 2022 and this update could hand him a boost in his efforts.

As it stands, West Brom are top of the Championship after six games. This suggests that an immediate return to the top-flight could be on the cards for the club, which could persuade Johnstone to ignore interest from elsewhere to remain in the Midlands, but there is still hope for the Saints as it is still very early in the season.

There is plenty of time for the Baggies to wobble and Johnstone stalling on talks over a new contract opens the door for Southampton to move for him if West Brom do start to struggle.

The £28k-per-week beast has already proven that he can excel at Premier League level. Former West Brom boss Sam Allardyce hailed Johnstone as ‘one of the best’ last season and praised his impact on the side. He said:

“He’s one of the best. I think that’s pleasing to see as he’s one of the two most important people in your team.

“The goalscorer is the first and your goalkeeper is the second.

“He’s right up there at the right level and he’d already saved more shots than anybody before yesterday.

“The defence was so good yesterday that Sam had little or nothing to do. That one brilliant save was a magnificent save when we needed it, but we limited Liverpool to hardly any shots on target and we had more than them.”

Last season, Alex McCarthy conceded 8.1 more goals than he was expected to based on Expected Goals Against. Johnstone, meanwhile, prevented 4.1 goals as he performed to a higher level than the average goalkeeper was expected to.

This suggests that the West Brom man could be a sizeable improvement on McCarthy, as he showed last term that he is a vastly superior shot-stopper.

The Saints must do all they can to snap him up for free in 2022.

AND in other news, Gao must avoid Saints nightmare over key decision as report reveals club’s intentions…

Darren Gough believes England can use the forthcoming ICC WorldTwenty20 to build vital momentum ahead of Australia’s arrival laterthis summer

Andrew Miller22-May-2009Darren Gough believes England can use the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20 to build vital momentum ahead of Australia’s arrival later this summer, and that they will go into the Ashes as favourites afterthe team gelled impressively during the recent Test series victoryover West Indies.Tests and Twenty20s may be chalk and cheese but Gough knows frompersonal experience just how significant a factor momentum can be,after his starring role in England’s crushing 100-run victory in thefirst Twenty20 between England and Australia at the Rose Bowl in 2005.After posting a competitive total of 179, England’s bowlers rippedinto Australia, capturing seven wickets for eight runs in 20deliveries. Gough himself finished with 3 for 16 from three overs and,in one of the contest’s defining moments, sacrificed the chance to gofor a hat-trick when he instead decided to bounce the incoming AndrewSymonds.”I think the image we were trying to set to Australia was that we wereready for a fight,” Gough told Cricinfo. “They tended to be slowstarters, so we went out there pretty pumped, and I was as pumped asanyone. We hit them hard, and it set the tone for the rest of thesummer. It was a good year for England, and for English cricket.””I was thinking about bowling another yorker for the hat-trick, butVaughany [Michael Vaughan] came over to me and said, no, remember thetone we’re trying to set, bowl it short. I said, ‘Don’t worry, that’swhat’s happening’. The passion was running through my veins and thatwas that. I was pumped up and it was a sight that got people rightbehind England.”Four years on, and Gough believes a similar scenario could pan out inthe coming weeks, even though the personnel involved in the Twenty20campaign will be significantly different from the Test side, not leastwith a different captain in Paul Collingwood, who has stepped in inplace of Andrew Strauss.”England have realised you have to pick the best team for the format,then take the captain from those players,” said Gough, who played nopart in the Ashes four years ago, having retired from Test cricket in2003, while his fellow seamer at the Rose Bowl, Jon Lewis, played hisone and only Test the following summer. “It’s about momentum,” headded. “If you can start with a win, things tend to go your way, andEngland have Holland (The Netherlands) in their first game, so they should winconvincingly.”As for any concerns that the country had its priorities skewed, infocussing on the Ashes in July even though a global tournament istaking place in England next week, Gough was unequivocal. “The focusis spot on. We’ve got a big tournament coming up but the Ashes iswhat everyone wants to see, every cricket fan is interested, and thatshows that Test cricket is massively alive. The Twenty20s will beexciting but it’s a short game and you can’t pick a winner. In theAshes, the best team usually wins, and for that reason it’s going tobe a great series.”Since retirement, Gough has his fingers in all sorts of pies,including – no doubt to the amusement of Rod Marsh – Pork Farms, “theofficial snack partner of the 2009 Ashes”. But he doesn’t seeEngland’s attack serving up too many of those in the coming weeks,having been very impressed with the development of James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the recent Tests against West Indies.”Anderson is a top bowler, he’s turning into a very very good bowler,”Gough said. “Broady, meanwhile, is maturing all the time, last yeardidn’t get his dues, but he’s one of the best in the side now anddeserves his starting berth in the Ashes. With [Andrew] Flintoff to come backas well, and good back-up in the likes of [Graham] Onions, [Sajid] Mahmood and[Liam] Plunkett, England have got the men to win the Ashes.”I thought they did well against West Iindies, who were a poor outfitand their body language was terrible, but you still have to beat themand England put in a great performance. I’d have liked to have seenthe batters have more than two knocks each but, as they say, you canonly beat what’s in front of you, and England did that.”As for the Australians, Gough expected them to arrive full of theirusual confidence but suspected an innate weakness might be there tobe exploited. “They’ll come over here with their usual banter andthey’ll believe they can win, but their batting doesn’t have muchdepth, and they don’t have the spinners to worry England.”They’ve picked a side to win in English conditions, and with McDonaldin for Symonds, they’ve gone for a seam-dominated attack. But if theylook around, they’ll admit to themselves that Matthew Hayden, AdamGilchrist and Shane Warne could still walk into that team. Three40-year-olds could still be in their starting line-up, and that’s areal worry for them. It’s also why I think England will win.”

With Valerien Ismael hoping to see his West Bromwich Albion side pick up their first win in three Championship games on Friday evening, he could not have seen his team get off to a worse start against Queens Park Rangers, with Andre Gray putting the visitors ahead in the first minute of the match.

However, as the game wore on, the Baggies began to assert their dominance, taking seven shots, completing 135 passes, boasting 54% possession of the ball and creating one big chance in the first half of the match – albeit without managing to find an equaliser.

It was a similar story in the second half, but with 15 minutes of the game left to play, QPR still held a 1-0 lead.

However, a 75th-minute equaliser by Karlan Grant finally brought Ismael’s side back on level terms, before the centre-forward went on to grab his second of the game with two minutes of regulation time left to play, sealing a last-gasp 2-1 victory at The Hawthorns.

While it was indeed the centre-forward’s brace which ultimately won the game for West Brom, it was undeniably the introduction of Callum Robinson as a second-half substitute which started to turn the tide for Albion.

Game changer

Indeed, having been introduced to the game in the 54th minute, the Republic of Ireland international came on with his team once again struggling to break down their opposition down, a recurring theme for the Baggies in recent fixtures.

However, despite having just 13 touches of the ball and completing a mere six passes, the £5.4m-rated man proved to be the game-changer for Ismael’s side.

Despite a limited amount of time on the ball, Robinson nevertheless made two key passes, created one big chance and set up both of Grant’s goals, with his efforts seeing him earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.6 – the second-highest of any Albion player on the night.

As such, the man who Don Goodman dubbed a “first-class” player is largely to thank for Albion’s three points, as despite only featuring for a little over half an hour last night, the 26-year-old stole the show against QPR.

In other news: Ismael could land perfect Sam Johnstone heir with West Brom swoop for 21 y/o “monster”

After the Kolkata Knight Riders disappointing run in South Africa, Ashok Dinda, the fast bowler, has said the side would have performed better under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly, who was replaced by Brendon McCullum as captain for the IPL this year

Cricinfo staff23-May-2009After the Kolkata Knight Riders disappointing run in South Africa, Ashok Dinda, the fast bowler, has said the side would have performed better under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly, who was replaced by Brendon McCullum as captain for the IPL this year.”Dada (Ganguly) knows us (the Bengal cricketers) inside out. He knows what are our strengths and weaknesses. Our performance would have been better under his captaincy,” he told reporters on arrival in India. “He would have been successful in getting the best out of our players.” With Ganguly at the helm Kolkata had finished in sixth place in the inaugural season, missing out on a semi-final spot by three points.Dinda arrived with the other Indian members of the Kolkata squad, including Ganguly, Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Wriddhiman Saha. Kolkata finished at the bottom of the table with three wins and ten losses, though they peaked towards the end of the tournament, upsetting Chennai Super Kings, and then knocking Rajasthan Royals out of the competition.Shukla was one of the key players in the late revival, holding his nerve to guide Kolkata to a tense four-wicket win over Rajasthan in their final league game. Despite the poor performance overall, he said Kolkata had reasons for encouragement. “We have to take the positives out. There were few bright spots like Brad Hodge and my form in batting,” he said. “Dinda also did well with the ball. We have to count the positive aspects. There is a lot to improve upon and hopefully we will do better next time.”It was just a bad phase and the sooner we recover from it, the better for the side. I feel we lost our matches in the last five overs of the innings. We have to tighten up to make sure that it does not happen next time.”

Arsenal have been handed a devastating injury blow following the weekend’s north London derby…

What’s the latest?

According to the Guardian, Gunners midfielder Granit Xhaka is facing around three months out after sustaining a knee ligament injury during Sunday’s win over arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The long-serving Swiss star was withdrawn with just eight minutes to go after a collision with Lucas Moura. He left the Emirates Stadium with a knee brace on his right leg.

Mikel Arteta warned that it didn’t look positive but now the club have confirmed that Xhaka has “a significant injury to his medial knee ligament,” though he will not require surgery.

Gutting blow

The 29-year-old has always divided opinion across the club but the timing of this injury could not be worse. He absolutely dominated the midfield against Spurs, alongside Thomas Partey, making the most of his fortunate summer U-turn.

He is now set to miss at least 12 to 14 league games, which means Arteta will have to call upon the relatively inexperienced Albert Sambi Lokonga or even Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who has looked poor in recent outings. There is also Mo Elneny but he has only just returned from injury himself.

If Xhaka does not fully recover by the middle of January, then the Spaniard is going to be left in a very tricky predicament as both Partey and Elneny will be on Africa Cup of Nations duty for potentially three weeks, making his options in the middle even more sparse.

On his day, the Switzerland international can pick apart a Premier League game but of course, he has come with his fair share of controversial incidents. After all, this was his first appearance back following a three-game suspension.

However, it’s clear that Arteta remains a big fan, having thrown the £18m-rated former captain straight back into his starting XI for such a huge encounter and he has also dubbed him “phenomenal” in the past.

The Arsene Wenger signing has now played 76 times under the former Gunners midfielder, which is more than his game time under Unai Emery, as per Transfermarkt.

This latest cruel blow will surely leave the Arsenal boss up at night heading into crucial fixtures against Brighton, Palace and Villa.

AND in other news, Forget Smith Rowe: £58.5m-rated Arsenal sensation ran the show for Arteta vs Spurs…

Cricinfo presents the plays of the day from the second World Twenty20 semi-final between Sri Lanka and West Indies

Andrew Miller at The Oval19-Jun-2009Innings of the dayIt really speaks volumes for the quality of Tillakaratne Dilshan’s performances that today’s masterclass was arguably the most frill-free innings he has produced thus far in the tournament. The scoop shot barely needed to be unfurled – the closest he got was the over-the-shoulder dispatching of a Jerome Taylor full-toss – because his touch was so magisterial that regulation cricket shots were all he needed. West Indies fed him far too many full-tosses, but the glee with which he dispatched the lot revealed a cricketer whose stock has never been higher. By the time he had cracked 96 not out from 57 balls in a total of 158, he briefly held the record for the highest percentage of a team’s runs in any Twenty20 international …Over of the dayIn the build-up to this contest, all the focus had been on the threat posed by Sri Lanka’s three M’s – Muralitharan, Mendis and Malinga, a trio of the most unorthodox cricketers imaginable. Nobody thought to mention the fourth M, Angelo Mathews, but today he was the destroyer, and the weapon he used was his normality. Facing line and length with a hint of assistance off the pitch, first Xavier Marshall, then Lendl Simmons and finally Dwayne Bravo all found differing methods to deflect the ball onto their stumps. Marshall and Bravo favoured the inside-edge, Simmons chose an assist from the thigh-guard. All Chris Gayle could do was stand at the far end and gawp – he might reflect that the single he took from the first ball of the run-chase was the most misjudged he’d ever taken in his life.Defiance of the daySo much rested on the shoulders of Gayle. Not least after that devastating opening salvo. But he bore the burden with as much sang froid as he could he could muster – and that’s saying something for a man quite as cool as he. For his first 15 deliveries, which spread deep into the fourth over, he was as stunned as his team-mates – so nearly playing on to Isuru Udana, and finding the boundary twice through thick edges. But by the end of a sorry performance from his team-mates, Gayle had carried his bat as the only man to reach double figures in the innings, and one of only two men to reach the boundary as well. And surpassed Dilshan’s peculiar record to boot.Stodge of the daySanath Jayasuriya might still have an innings up his sleeve for the final, but with a week to go until his 40th birthday, something undoubtedly wearied him today. His 24 from 34 balls was a fussy, fidgety, uncharacteristic affair, totally removed from his revolutionary style of yesteryear. He changed his bat on four or five occasions, seemingly incapable of finding one with a middle, and when he eventually fell in the 11th over, scooping limply to Jerome Taylor at short fine leg, he had faced 23 dot-balls from 37 deliveries. The rest of Sri Lanka’s batsmen faced 27 from 83 between them. And Dilshan faced only 15.Hiccup of the dayIf Jayasuriya’s departure was greeted with uncharacteristic relief by Sri Lanka’s fans, then what followed immediately afterwards filled them with dismay. Kumar Sangakkara played out a solitary dot-ball before rifling his second delivery into the covers where he was superbly caught by Kieron Pollard on the point boundary. Then, in the very next over and with three singles and a wide added to the total, Mahela Jayawardene also fell, this time to a casual clip off the pads. Three wickets had tumbled for four runs in seven balls. Sri Lanka’s engine-room had been disassembled with remarkable haste.Commitment of the dayEvery run counts in Twenty20, especially when Gayle’s at the crease. And so Chamara Silva produced Sri Lanka’s second stunning innovation in the outfield, to all but save a certain boundary. When these two teams met in the group stages at Trent Bridge, Angelo Mathews had rescued a six from Ramnaresh Sarwan by patting the ball back into play while leaping in mid-air. This time it was all about the groundwork as Silva slid round beneath the scoreboard, kicked out a boot as he crashed into the rope, then in a bunny-hop movement, slapped the ball with his fingertips as he threw himself back into play. A four was given in the end, but not through lack of effort.Stand-in of the dayIn consecutive innings at the top of West Indies’ order, Andre Fletcher made a second-ball duck against India, a fifth-ball duck against South Africa, and a third-ball duck against England. Today, apparently, he didn’t make the starting line-up. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to tell for sure. Apparently Marshall stood in as his replacement, but whoever it was, he came and went for a first-ball duck, bowled by Mathews to spark that manic first over. Thanks for coming.