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Move towards abolishing pay gap between genders was recommended by ICEC report

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2023England’s women cricketers are to receive equal match fees to their male counterparts, beginning with Friday’s first T20I against Sri Lanka, following an explosion of interest in the format this summer, including record-breaking crowds of 110,000 over the course of seven Ashes matches in June and July.The increase, which was recommended as an immediate step for the ECB to take by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report earlier this summer, follows similar improvements to the funding pot for players in the Women’s Hundred and the regional domestic system.The ICEC report, which found that the average England Women’s salary was 20.6% of their male equivalents (the ECB considers this figure closer to 30%), also set targets for equalising pay at domestic level by 2029 and for internationals by 2030.Heather Knight, England Women’s captain, said the first steps were important in making cricket an “increasingly attractive” career option for girls and young women getting into the game.”It’s really important that we continue to drive the women’s game forward and it’s fantastic to see equal match fees for England Women and England Men,” she said. “The direction of travel for the women’s game has always been the most important thing, creating a sustainable product that people want to watch and play, and I’m sure this will make cricket an increasingly attractive sport to girls and young women as we continue to grow the game.”I would also like to thank the PCA and England Women’s Player Partnership for their support in representing the players and the growth of the professional game.”The multi-format Ashes series saw new attendance records for women’s matches set consecutively at Edgbaston, the Kia Oval and Lord’s, the first ever sold-out women’s ODI series and an overall increase in tickets sales of more than 200% from 2019.Richard Gould, the ECB’s chief executive officer, said: “This summer’s thrilling Metro Bank Women’s Ashes series demonstrated how women’s cricket is continuing to grow at pace in this country, with record attendances and TV viewing. Growing the women’s and girls’ game is a key priority for us, and in recent years we have considerably increased investment both in building a domestic women’s structure to produce the players of the future, and in increasing player rewards.”In the years ahead, we will continue to invest ahead of revenues. We are currently considering all the recommendations made by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, but equalising match fees is one immediate step we are pleased to make now. We all want cricket to be the team sport of choice for female athletes, and with the investments we are making – and increasingly lucrative opportunities around the world – we are seeing cricketers become some of the highest earning female athletes in UK team sports. However, we know there is still much further to go as we ultimately strive for equality across the game.”As we continue to grow women’s cricket, we will continue to focus on making considered investments that stretch far and wide across the women’s cricket structures, delivering a thriving, profitable and future-proofed game.”Knight agreed with that sentiment, adding that the objective now was to ensure that girls get an equal opportunity to make a career in cricket, by hitting those targets for equal pay throughout the sport’s pathways as set out in the ICEC report.”The priority is making women’s cricket sustainable, and making sure the pathway is there,” Knight added. “Quite often you get girls of similar ages that, when they come to make their international debut, they’ve played hardly any games compared to the guys. We want to make sure that girls are getting as much opportunity to play cricket and develop their skills in the domestic game as they do in the men’s.”We’re starting to see players that are a lot more ready to play international cricket because they’ve been professional cricketers for a few years and played in high-standard competitions,” she added. “So continuing to grow that is important, although obviously there’s not an infinite pot of money. But this is another unbelievable step forward. And we’re hoping those steps continue to be in a forward direction.”

With Williamson potentially unavailable, Bhuvneshwar or Pooran are likely to lead Sunrisers in their last league match against Kings

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2022Sunrisers Hyderabad’s captain Kane Williamson will exit the IPL bubble to return to New Zealand for the impending birth of his second child.”Here’s everyone at the #Riser camp wishing Kane Williamson and his wife a safe delivery and a lot of happiness,” the franchise posted on their social channel.Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has captained Sunrisers in the past, and Nicholas Pooran, West Indies’ new white-ball captain, are among the options to lead them in their last league fixture against Punjab Kings on May 22 at the Wankhede Stadium, if Williamson is to miss the match.Both Sunrisers are Kings are still in the race for the playoffs, but only just. Their hopes hinge on Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals slipping up.Williamson struggled for form so much this season that his strike rate of 93.50 is the worst among batters with a minimum of 100 runs. On Tuesday against Mumbai Indians, Williamson dropped down to No.6, with Priyam Garg instead partnering Abhishek Sharma at the top. After Garg set the platform with 42 off 26 balls, Rahul Tripathi and Pooran launched from there as Sunrisers reached 193 for 6. Williamson, who walked out to bat in the 18th over, made an unbeaten eight off seven balls.With Williamson now potentially unavailable, fellow New Zealander Glenn Phillips might be in contention to make his debut for Sunrisers. Phillips can bat in the top as well as in the middle and bowl quickish offbreaks. He has also kept wicket in the past, but a back condition has limited that skill. Notably, Phillips was the top six-hitter in T20 cricket in 2021, with 97 sixes in 57 innings.

Former great lends expertise to England batsmen in Sri Lanka, and is open to further work

George Dobell and Firdose Moonda13-Jan-2021Jacques Kallis has admitted he is “sad” to be unable to use his experience to help the next generation of South African cricketers, but is enjoying his time working with England instead.Kallis, arguably the greatest cricketer South Africa have produced, found himself surplus to requirements in their coaching set-up after Cricket South Africa (CSA) started to apply an affirmative action policy to the recruitment of consultants.While this policy is not set in stone, it does encourage more usage of non-white coaches. And with South Africa already having a white director of cricket (Graeme Smith), head coach (Mark Boucher) and high performance batting coach (Neil McKenzie), Kallis has not been utilised by them since the end of England’s tour of the country at the start of 2020.Despite “a few” South Africa players expressing a desire to work with him in recent weeks, Kallis says he “wasn’t allowed” to help them. As a result, he has accepted a short-term role as batting consultant with England. And while there are currently no plans to extend that role beyond the current tour of Sri Lanka, both sides are open to discussing it further in the coming weeks.”It’s sad in a way that I can’t help out in South Africa,” Kallis said from Galle, “but I’m thoroughly enjoying my time here and my time in the England set-up. I’m certainly going to give them as much of my knowledge and time as I can to move them forward.”I wasn’t allowed to be involved with that South African side because Cricket South Africa said there would be no more white consultants. So unfortunately that fell away and this opportunity of helping England out came about and I took it with both hands.”So no I haven’t been able to be involved with the SA guys over the last couple of months. There were a few [quite keen to do so], but unfortunately there was that rule so it was pretty much taken out of my hands.”I suppose it’s the way of our country: a lot of players have fallen away because of needing players of colour involved. It’s tough but we understand where it comes from. It is sad, but it’s the times we are living in at the moment.”It has appeared, in recent days, that CSA have softened their stance on the affirmative action to ensure they have more coaching talent available. But if that is the case, nobody appears to have told Kallis.Related

• CSA steps back from affirmative action policy for consultants

• Neil McKenzie appointed SA batting consultant

• Kallis named England batting consultant for SL tour

• Karunaratne believes SL have the edge on England

“I haven’t heard anything like that,” he says. “At the moment, I’m concentrating on this role and this tour.”Like I said, we’ve lost a few players – whatever the reasons – overseas. It’s the times we’re in. There are many other coaches who have gone on to coach other teams – Gary Kirsten, for example – so there’s lots of guys. It’s the modern way of the world.”The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are currently searching for an ‘elite batting coach’. While Kallis says he has not applied – and the closing date has now passed – he is clearly open-minded about extending his connection with England. But it doesn’t appear he will be involved when they move on to India, with family responsibilities taking priority.”We’ll go through this tour and then see what the future holds,” he says. “The appointment is just for the Sri Lanka leg. I’ve a 10-month old at home and my wife broke her foot just before I came over here. So the appointment was only for Sri Lanka.”But I must admit I am enjoying my time here. As I say, we’ll see where it goes and reassess where we are and make a call then.”It speaks volumes for the diaspora of southern African sporting talent, that it is a player of similar heritage who seems to be most exciting Kallis within the England set-up. Although Sam Curran was born in the UK, his father and grandfather represented Zimbabwe (or Rhodesia) and, given a different turn of political and economic events, it is not unreasonable to suggest Sam may have followed. Either way, Kallis clearly thinks he has a bright future.”He certainly has a lot of talent,” Kallis says. “And he’s willing to learn. He’s a hard worker and a great kid, as well. I see a lot of potential in him.”Is he the best young all-rounder in the world? Yes, from a young point of view, I do think so. He is certainly right up there.”All-rounders are so vital to the balance of a team. And being a left-arm seamer adds some variety. Here he’s excited to be taking over the Ben Stokes role. There’s no doubt he wants to get stuck in. He wants it; he’s hungry. There are exciting times for him ahead.”

Having restricted South Africa to a below-par 149, India romped home with an over to spare

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy18-Sep-2019After a washout in Dharamsala, India got their home season underway with a comfortable win in Mohali, against a new-look South Africa side that didn’t quite show the depth of resources to genuinely challenge them. Having restricted the visitors to a below-par 149, India romped home with an over to spare, courtesy breezy knocks from Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli.By the end, Kohli put on an exhibition of crisp timing for the crowd; he stepped out to drive Andile Phehlukwayo between extra-cover and a desperately diving long-off to bring up his fifty, whipped Kagiso Rabada off his legs for an effortless six, and then jumped out to the left-arm spin of Bjorn Fortuin to chip him over long-on and bring the equation down to four runs off eight balls. Shreyas Iyer sealed the deal two balls later, drilling Fortuin for a straight four to give India a seven-wicket win.

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India were never in any trouble with the required rate, with Rohit Sharma giving them early impetus with a brace of pulled sixes off Anrich Nortje in the second over of the chase. Dhawan was in excellent touch too, as he demonstrated with back-to-back boundaries off Kagiso Rabada in the next over, a drive through the covers followed by a late chop backward of point.Andile Phehlukwayo gave South Africa some respite by trapping Rohit lbw in the fourth over, but that respite was brief, as Kohli walked in and gave immediate notice of his timing, with two fours – a clip off his toes and an on-the-up cover drive – in his first six balls. At that point, India’s required rate was only a tick above seven an over, and Kohli and Dhawan could stay in touch with it by simply taking the ones and twos on offer and waiting for the bad ball.The pitch had been a little two-paced through the first innings, and India’s seamers had profited from bowling cutters and slower balls into the surface. Now, there didn’t seem to be as much grip, perhaps because of dew – Kohli had decided to bowl first for this very reason.Virat Kohli takes a spectacular diving catch•BCCI

India’s relentless march to their target only suffered two further blips; a brilliant, one-handed grab from David Miller, running to his right at long-on, sent Dhawan back for 40, and then Rishabh Pant – sent in at No. 4, above Iyer – fell early, failing to get the desired elevation while he looked to scoop Fortuin over short fine leg. It was another moment in the life of a young, gifted shotmaker who often gets dismissed in the grey zone between playing the game that makes him who he is and playing recklessly.Sent in to bat, South Africa never really gained the sort of momentum they needed to post a total in the region of 180. Quinton de Kock peppered the off-side boundary to begin, but during the time he scored 52 off 37 at his end, his two batting partners made 35 off 31 balls at the other end.Reeza Hendricks struggled against the swing of Deepak Chahar, and eventually fell to a miscued lofted shot off him. Temba Bavuma didn’t look in any trouble against anyone in particular, but he definitely looked like a T20I debutant with 36 Tests and two ODIs behind him.He took full toll when the bad ball came – as when Hardik Pandya sent down two successive short, wide slower ones – but he didn’t quite seem to have the muscle or inventive strokeplay to manufacture boundaries. And just when South Africa were looking to accelerate, Bavuma suffered a slowdown, with Navdeep Saini denying him the width he craved and conceding just two runs off the bat in five balls. At the start of the next over – the 18th – he went after a slower one from Chahar and holed out, for 49 off 43 balls.South Africa were 126 for 3 at that point. They only managed three runs off the rest of the 18th over, and only four off the 19th, bowled by Hardik Pandya, losing an out-of-sorts David Miller along the way. Phehlukwayo and Dwaine Pretorius swatted Saini for a six each in the final over to give South Africa a reasonable finish, but it couldn’t make up for all the ground they had already lost.

Dasun Shanaka and Ashan Priyanjan got Sri Lanka A close after a top-order collapse, but the home side’s bowlers pulled through in the end

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2018Pace bowlers Khaled Ahmed and Shoriful Islam managed to get Bangladesh A over the line with a two-run win against Sri Lanka A in Sylhet.Khaled took four wickets, including that of Shehan Madushanka off the last ball, with the visitors needing three runs to win.Madushanka had already struck three sixes in his 12-ball 21, which nearly took Sri Lanka to victory at the death, but they were eventually bowled out for 278 after Bangladesh had put up 280 for 7.Sri Lanka’s top four got out cheaply as they slipped to 72 for 4, before Ashan Priyanjan and Dasun Shanaka added 84 runs for the fifth wicket. Shanaka top scored with a run-a-ball 78 that had six sixes and two fours. However, Khaled had him caught in the 46th over to give Bangladesh a huge opening.Shoriful took three wickets, while Ariful Haque took two wickets to go with a big-hitting 47 off 22 balls. He struck four sixes and three fours as he helped Bangladesh put up a competitive total in 50 overs.Mizanur Rahman had earlier top scored for Bangladesh, making 67 off 107 balls, while captain Mohammad Mithun made 44.The second one-day match will be held at the same venue on July 19.

Glamorgan opener Nick Selman followed his match-winning century against Durham at Swansea last month with another hundred

ECB Reporters Network19-Jun-2017

ScorecardChris Rushworth ensured Durham’s hard graft earlier in the day brought reward•Getty Images

Glamorgan opener Nick Selman followed his match-winning century against Durham at Swansea last month with another hundred in the Specsavers County Championship match at Chester-le-Street.But Durham’s Chris Rushworth hit back with the second new ball, grabbing three wickets to finish with 5 for 40 as the visitors slipped from 182 for 3 to close the first day on 221 for 7.Having elected to bat in baking heat, Glamorgan ground along all day. losing only one wicket in each of the first two sessions in reaching 147 from 66 overs.Selman spent 249 balls over his hundred, getting there by inside-edging Rushworth for his 13th four. Three balls later he was lbw for 103.
Offspinner Ryan Pringle conceded only 23 runs in 19 overs as Durham maintained their accuracy, with the other two wickets going to academy seamer Matty Potts in his second appearance.Despite a minute’s silence for the London fire victims at 11am, and a drinks break at noon, Durham got through 33 overs in an attritional first session.Jacques Rudolph fell in the seventh over when Rushworth was rewarded for an excellent spell by clipping the left-hander’s off bail.
Andrew Salter, promoted to three in the absence of Will Bragg, cut and pulled Barry McCarthy for two fours but was otherwise restrained.He departed for 25 when he pushed forward and edged Rushworth to wicketkeeper Stuart Poynter to end a stand of 66 in 34 overs.
Colin Ingram also made a cautious start but began to flourish when he drove Pringle through the covers then cut him for another four. He fell for 33 when Potts moved one away to have him caught behind.When Rushworth took the new ball his fourth delivery swung in to take out Aneurin Donald’s off stump. Then balls which nipped back had Selman and David Lloyd lbw, although neither seemed happy with the decision.Potts took the final wicket of the day when wicketkeeper Tom Cullen, handed his debut after Chris Cooke took a blow on the head in practice, was well caught at second slip by Pringle.

Niall O’Brien fell seven runs short of a century as he helped Leicestershire recover from 99 for 3 to 297 for 6 by the second day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Glamorgan

ECB Reporters Network18-Apr-2016
ScorecardPaul Horton took a blow on the back of the head•Getty Images

Niall O’Brien fell seven runs short of a century as he helped Leicestershire recover from 99 for 3 to 297 for 6 by the second day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Glamorgan.O’Brien invariably plays well against Glamorgan. He made his career-best 182 here for Northamptonshire four years ago, scored 133 here in 2014, and should have scored another century this time before chasing a wide one on 93 and nicking it to the wicketkeeper.He shared in useful partnerships with Paul Horton and Mark Pettini but it was O’Brien’s contribution that enabled his team to get within four runs of three batting points and narrow the deficit to 51. With a favourable weather forecast and with two days remaining, the game is finely poised.Glamorgan’s bowlers suffered in the morning session, as three chances were dropped in the slip cordon. There were possibly mitigating circumstances due to the freezing conditions, but Craig Meschede, who bowled an excellent opening spell, was not impressed as Horton and Angus Robson were reprieved.The openers put on 89, before Michael Hogan found the edge, and Jacques Rudolph took a one-handed catch at second slip. Ten runs later, David Lloyd was brought on for an exploratory over before lunch, and responded by taking two wickets in five balls. Neil Dexter slapped a short ball to cover, then three balls later, Mark Cosgrove, who, as a former Glamorgan player averaged 41 during his stay in Wales, and was given a generous welcome by the home crowd, was caught by Mark Wallace.There had been doubts whether Pettini would bat due to a back problem, but although limited in his movements, he stayed with O’Brien for an hour and forty minutes to put on 82, until he was undone by Netherlands paceman Timm van der Gugten, to give him his first wicket for the county.With 16 overs remaining, bad light stopped play, but within 15 minutes they returned to bowl a further two overs, then walked off again. Leicestershire will resume on 297 for 6, with Wayne White on 42 and Ben Raine on 8.

Kane Williamson and Peter Fulton were comfortably dealing with the Bangladesh spinners, until they found their mojo in the final hour as New Zealand went to stumps on 280 for 5

The Report by Mohammad Isam09-Oct-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kane Williamson’s fourth Test century had put New Zealand in the ascendancy until the last two overs•AFP

Kane Williamson and Peter Fulton were looking quite comfortable, until the Bangladesh spinners found their mojo in the final hour. New Zealand went to stumps on 280 for 5, having lost their last three wickets in 10.1 overs in the first Test in Chittagong.After controlled batting had kept all three spinners out of the game on a newly-laid pitch, the fourth and the fifth wickets came in the last two overs, when Williamson, having made 114, and captain Brendon McCullum were adjudged leg-before to Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak respectively.The visitors’ progress throughout the day was a fair reflection of the conditions. There was no pace in the wicket even at its freshest, and it didn’t change much throughout the day. But the two batsmen, as well as Hamish Rutherford and later Ross Taylor, made friends with the straw-coloured surface quicker than the bowlers would have hoped.Bangladesh included Abdur Razzak for his first Test match in more than two years in hopes of fielding a more rounded attack and just after the first hour, all three spinners had been brought in. But the wickets did not materialise.The swiftness with which the New Zealand top four acclimatised must have been encouraging for the next batsmen. Williamson was the most impressive, adjusting quickly as if he suddenly remembered how he had scored his first ODI hundred in Dhaka. Even then, his timing was noticeable.Today he was as tight in defence as he was forceful when the ball was off line. Coming at the back of a first wicket which was needlessly given away by Rutherford, Williamson avoided rash strokeplay. A backfoot dab through mid-on off the first ball he faced, from Shakib Al Hasan, was perhaps the most elegant shot of the day, but the best one of his 12 boundaries came four balls later – another light punch off the back foot to turn the ball past mid-wicket. The two shots set him up for the rest of the innings, as the Bangladesh spinners struggled to push the ball through, or use the slow nature of the wicket to their benefit.Williamson’s next seven boundaries were all examples of how a batsman’s patience is more often than not rewarded. A majority of them were off short balls, as the bowlers lost their discipline, and soon he reached his half-century off 94 balls.Fulton struggled early on when he repeatedly tried to work the ball in front of the leg side. But after surviving some close calls, he too reached his first fifty since his twin centuries against England in Auckland. His 73 came off 198 balls, with seven fours and a six as he became increasingly comfortable knocking the spinners around, finding the gaps and bringing out the sweep shot once in a while. It was a slow innings, but one that laid the foundation for New Zealand’s dominance on the day.Their 126-run stand – New Zealand’s highest for the second wicket in Bangladesh – wasn’t exactly unexpected because the hosts are used to being on the backfoot when bowling first. But given their attack, it was expected that the pair would be forced into a mistake, which eventually came off Nasir Hossain’s part-time off spin. Fulton had a century in his sights when he smashed a half-tracker straight to cover and walked off the field looking very distraught.Williamson reached his century off 175 balls, a confident knock that was pleasing to the eyes, particularly when he punched the ball off either foot. But it was his strong-willed defence that contributed to his innings the most.Along with Ross Taylor, he added 61 runs for the third wicket, which ended when Taylor’s flick found a leading edge and fell safely into cover’s hands while Rutherford, the day’s first wicket, was another batsman being defeated by his own impetuousness.Williamson was dismissed for 114, having batted more than four hours. His forward prod at Shakib missed the bat, and he was given out leg-before in the penultimate over of the day. McCullum fell in the final over, having played back while trying to flick a ball off Razzak, who was bowling quicker than he had done all day.Despite the five wickets, the day’s play promises much for New Zealand looking ahead in the series. They started off quite well on a new surface, which might not impress their pace bowlers much. The plan from the home side would be to diminish the pace and movement of Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell, and hope the wicket gets better as the match progresses.

Lasith Malinga came good in the Super Over, defending 13 and trumping a super effort from Tim Southee to give Sri Lanka their first Super Eights points

The Report by Sidharth Monga27-Sep-2012
Sri Lanka won the Super Over
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Tillakaratne Dilshan played the defining innings in Sri Lanka’s chase•AFP

Tillakaratne Dilshan, who had scored 76 off 53 in regulation time, set himself under the ball at long-off, turning side ways to make sure he knew where the boundary cushions were – they were six inches from his toenails – and took the catch after the ball had passed his body and had almost entered the air space beyond the boundary. Had Dilshan missed that, this Martin Guptill hit off Lasith Malinga would have left New Zealand needing two off the last ball of the Super Over. The catch sealed Sri Lanka’s win. Such were the margins of a freak match that was tied with a freak run-out off the last ball.About 40 minutes ago, Sri Lanka were 143 for 3 after 16.3 overs, the same score that New Zealand had after 16.3. New Zealand would have been disappointed with the 31 they got after that, considering the start given to them by Rob Nicol, in association with Guptill and Brendon McCullum. With the ball, though, Southee and James Franklin pulled things back against the faltering hosts, who lost two batsmen to run-outs.

Smart stats

• This is the seventh Twenty20 to end in a tie. New Zealand have been involved in four of the seven. It is also the second tie in the World Twenty20 after the game between India and Pakistan in 2007.

• Rob Nicol’s 58 is his highest score in Twenty20 internationals and the third-highest for a New Zealand batsman against Sri Lanka.

• Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 76 is the second-highest score by a Sri Lankan batsman against New Zealand in World Twenty20 matches. It is also his second-best score in World Twenty20 games after the 96 against West Indies in 2009.

• Ajantha Mendis conceded 48 off his four overs, the most he has conceded in a Twenty20 game, surpassing the 42 runs against Australia in the World Twenty20 in 2010.

• New Zealand’s total of 174 is their highest score in Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka. It is also their second-highest score in Pallekele, after the 191 against Bangladesh.

• Sri Lanka’s score of 68 in the first six overs is the fifth-highest Powerplay score in the World Twenty20. The highest Powerplay score (20 overs per innings) is West Indies’ 71 against Australia at The Oval in 2009.

Only 30 runs had come in 5.3 overs leading to that even point, which had put Sri Lanka under some pressure. Southee added to it with an over of yorkers to leave them needing 21 off the last two. Ross Taylor risked bowling Franklin, who had helped them win a similar chase recently against India. Dilshan slog-swept the first ball for a six. On the next ball, though, he took an ill-advised second and even a desperate dive couldn’t save him.Thisara Perera scooped Franklin for a four later in the over. At eight required from seven balls, Perera was one delivery from making Southee’s last over irrelevant, but Franklin’s slower ball arrived after he had finished his swing, and it had enough legs to tickle the bail out of its groove. Southee went back to bowling full and straight from round the stumps. Angelo Mathews took a single first ball, and it was time for Lahiru Thirimanne to test weak hearts.The first ball he faced, Thirimanne moved well across to the off side in an attempt to beat short fine leg. Southee stayed in the block hole, and Thirimanne managed just the single. Another yorker, another single for Mathews: five off three. Southee remained full, Thirmanne drove and was beaten. Advantage New Zealand.Thirimanne now dug Sri Lanka out of a hole he had partly dug. Again he took the incredible risk of aiming over short fine leg, Southee missed his yorker by six inches, and Thirimanne got under it. Fists were pumped both in the middle and in the dugout as soon as the ball cleared the fielder. The best New Zealand could get now was a tie. Earlier in the afternoon, Nicol had hit debutant mystery bowler Akila Dananjaya smack on the face with a straight drive, but he and McCullum did not run off the ricochet. Would things have been different had they not been such sports?That would have been the last thing on their minds when New Zealand pulled the field in to try to save that single. Southee surprised Thirimanne with a short ball, he bat-padded it to point, where Franklin kept a cool head and returned a gentle throw on a comfortable bounce to Taylor at the non-striker’s end. Taylor fumbled the take. He missed a dolly. Sri Lanka began to celebrate, and a disappointed Taylor shook hands with the umpires, who – just to be sure – asked for the third umpire’s help. The stumps had somehow been broken.The replays showed the ball had hit Taylor’s hand and bounced on to the stumps. In real time it seemed as though Taylor had broken the wicket without the ball in his hands. Technology surprised everyone, and the game went into the Super Over. Southee continued his good work in the tiebreaker, but two of his yorkers were wides. Even so, he had conceded just 10 off the first five balls, but Perera scooped the last delivery over short fine leg to register three crucial runs.Malinga, who had an average tournament until then, decided this was a moment as good as any to make an impact. He hardly missed his length with the first four balls: two, one, two byes, one. Malinga then missed his yorker by about a foot, Guptill got under it, but this was Dilshan’s night.