Australia beat West Indies by 17 runs on Duckworth/Lewis in an entertaining match that included 17 sixes
Preamble Hello. Everyone has their speciality, from Betty Turpin's Hotpot to Big Hefty's ability to drink a yard of ale in 12.42 seconds and not decorate nearby walls with special carrots. Twenty20 cricket is the specialty of most West Indies cricketers these days. In fact there is a pretty simple rule of thumb with West Indies: the smaller the game, the bigger their chances. They'd be killer at Noughtpointone0.1. And they are pretty handy at Twenty20, with a genuine chance of winning their first World Cup since Viv Richards, Collis King and Joel Garner savaged England at Lord's in 1979.
They start their campaign against Australia today with a side that includes some of the biggest names in this form of the game: Chris Gayle, the Bradman of T20, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine. But you never really know with the West Indies. Their promises of a return to form have usually been about as reliable as Noel Gallagher's promises that his latest album is a return to form. It does feel different this time, mind, and it would be great for world cricket. What the world needs now isn't love, sweet love; it's not even the iPhone5; it's West Indies winning a World Cup playing swashbuckling cricket.
West Indies have won the toss and will slog first. Chris Gayle has apparently been warming up in pantaloons.
The teams
West Indies Gayle, Devon Smith, Charles, Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Pollard, Sammy (c), Ramdin (wk), Narine, Rampaul, F Edwards.
Australia Watson, Warner, M Hussey, Bailey (c), White, Maxwell, Wade (wk), Christian, Hogg, Cummins, Starc.
Here comes Chris Gayle. He's no longer wearing pantaloons, but he does at least have a top on. And a bandana, which is protruding from the back of his helmet. He dances onto the field, skipping left and right. In the parlance on our time, he bloody loves it. Put your knitting away, Chris Gayle is batting!
1st over: West Indies 8-0 (Dwayne Smith 2, Gayle 1) Chris Gayle theatrically offers no stroke to his first ball from Shane Watson. He usually likes to take a little bit of time to get his eye in. The second delivery to Gayle is an excellent short ball that smacks him on the helmet and flies away for four leg byes.
WICKET! Australia 8-1 (Dwayne Smith b Starc 2) The left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc knocks Dwayne Smith over with a beauty. It was angled across the right-hander and then swung back sharply through the gate to peg back the off stump. A bona fide jaffa.
2nd over: West Indies 11-1 (Gayle 2, Charles 2) Johnson Charles is the new batsman.
3rd over: West Indies 11-1 (Gayle 2, Charles 2) Come on, somebody must be reading this. Pat Cummins has come on to replace Watson, and he starts with a brilliant maiden that includes two excellent yorkers and three consecutive play-and-misses from Johnson Charles.
4th over: West Indies 25-1 (Gayle 5, Charles 12) Chris Gayle's slow starts to his T20 innings are a crucial part of the theatre. Everyone knows it's coming; they just don't know when. He finally launches into his ninth delivery, from Starc, and is dropped by Shane Watson! Gayle sliced it miles in the air towards third man, where Watson shelled a tricky low chance as he fell forward. Johnson Charles slugs the next ball brutally over midwicket for six and drags four more to long leg.
"Are pantaloons still a thing?" says Danielle Tolson. "I know you have Jess Cartner-Morley for this stuff, but what's the definition? Also, who's most likely now to wear a cravat on the pitch, Douglas Jardine style?" Surely it has to be Ravi Bopara after his recent handshaking exploits?
5th over: West Indies 43-1 (Gayle 23, Charles 12) The beast has stirred. Gayle has just taken Pat Cummins' second over for 18! He screamed a full, wide delivery over point, pulled consecutive boundaries to midwicket, and picked the last ball up over square leg for a mighty six!
"I can see that The Guardian's reporting that KP made the valid point that the IPL and BBL made Luke Wright a better T20 cricketer," says SB Tang. "Equally, we Australians should definitely thank Yorkshire — Starc's stint there this summer clearly made him a better limited-overs bowler. That ball to Smith was an absolute jaffa!"
WICKET! West Indies 47-2 (Charles b Christian 16) Johnson Charles falls in strange circumstances. The ball from Christian followed Charles, hit him on the glove and then dribbled via his body back onto the stumps.
6th over: West Indies 53-2 (Gayle 27, Samuels 1) Gayle makes room to his first ball from Christian and slaughters a cut stroke through the covers for four. He's swinging like Leatherface, and it's spectacular entertainment. "Is there a better sight in T20," says John Morgan than Chris Gayle in full flow?" Is there heck. It's not just the sight, it's the consistency. His record is staggering.
7th over: West Indies 62-2 (Gayle 35, Samuels 2) When a man enters his forties, he doesn't need too much stress or excitement; he just wants the quiet life, right? Well. Brad Hogg, aged 41, is about to bowl to Chris Gayle. He might be having a midlife crisis in five minutes' time if Gayle goes after him. After a good start to the over from Hogg, Gayle drives a languid, almost effortless six over mid on. That was hilarious, just a gentle swing and the ball travelled 80 miles. Gayle made 5 from his first nine deliveries; since then he has 30 from 12.
8th over: West Indies 80-2 (Gayle 51, Samuels 3) The offspinner Glenn Maxwell's first ball is flighted onto off stump. Can you guess which part of the ground Gayle deposited it for six? It was long-on this time, again with a stunning, lazy swing of the bat. There's a big shout for LBW against Gayle later in the over. I think it was going down leg; more importantly so did Aleem Dar. Gayle punishes Maxwell for his impudence, heaving the next ball over midwicket for a 95-metre six! One ball left ... and how did that miss the stumps?! Gayle got the thinnest inside edge that took the ball this far past the leg stump and away for four. The boundary takes Gayle to a magnificent, utterly ludicrous half-century from only 26 balls. And he was five not out after nine balls.
"Re. the fourth over: surely that would require Ravi Bopara to be on a cricket pitch?" says Dan Lucas. "And no one really wants to see that any time soon, do they?" Now now. I feel really sorry for Ravi. It's only two months since he seemed on the brink of his big breakthrough.
9th over: West Indies 88-2 (Gayle 52, Samuels 10) After the power (and, in fairness, timing) of Gayle, now we see the class of Samuels with a delicious square drive for four off Christian. West Indies have scored 77 off the last six overs.
"Lest this become dating advice," says Danielle Tolson, "but Ravi Bopara's handshake showed what a gentleman he was (he'd be a safe escort home from the pub) and that picture of Chris Gayle is becoming more creepy and greasy as the game goes on." Hang on, are you saying modern women are happy to shake hands on the first date? What a bunch of harlots!
10th over: West Indies 93-2 (Gayle 54, Samuels 12) An excellent, order-restoring over from Mitchell Starc costs just five, all singles. "Readers of the football clockwatch might be forgiven for supposing I'd be all out of brain vomit by now, but a new Hollywood Anna Karenina, yeah?" says Phil Podolsky. "I mean, I honestly, non-hyperbolically prefer a visit to the dentist over film adaptations of books I happen to love, esp the Russian ones. But then Ruth Wilson's in it, and I'm not gonna pretend not to harbour a ghastly obsession ever since I've seen her in Luther. What's an obsession-prone gentleman to do?"
WICKET! West Indies 93-3 (Gayle ct and b Watson 54) Shane Watson has got Chris Gayle! It's amazing how often Watson takes important wickets for Australia. This came with the first delivery of a new spell. It might just have stopped on the pitch, and Gayle got a leading edge as he tried to turn the ball to leg. It popped up on the off side and Watson ran to his right to take the catch. Gayle made a thrilling 54 from 33 balls, with five fours and four sixes.
11th over: West Indies 97-3 (Samuels 14, Dwayne Bravo 2) "Before the tournament, I thought WI were one of the favourites but the conditions(and not having played together much) might hamper them," says Sathish. "But the conditions are the exact opposite of what you would expect in the sub-continent. Could be a rare case of a non sub-continental team winning in the sub-continent. Who do you think is going to win the thing?" I have even less of a clue than usual. Predicting a T20 winner is an eejit's game.
12th over: West Indies 99-3 (Samuels 15, Dwayne Bravo 3) "Not reading here!" shouts Matthew Wade when Hogg turns one back to hit Samuels in the thigh. The next one spins the other way, past Samuels attempted off-side slap. An excellent over from Hogg; two from it.
13th over: West Indies 111-3 (Samuels 26, Dwayne Bravo 4) That's an awesome shot from Samuels, who makes room when there seemed to be none and times Christian to third man. He plays an even better stroke off the final delivery, driving a stunning six over extra cover. Twelve from the over.
"I'm here, watching and reading Down Under," says Sarah Whatman. "Watching on Channel 9, which has recently shown a 70s-tastic miniseries called Howzat! Kerry Packer's War. Could provide inspiration for anyone taking part in Movember, though I doubt somehow that the Beeb will be buying the rights. Is the Women's World 20-20 happening at the same time? Who are the favourites?" It sure is. England hammered South Africa today and are the favourites, I think.
14th over: West Indies 124-3 (Samuels 36, Dwayne Bravo 6) Samuels mistimes Hogg for six! He hasn't been picking Hogg and got a leading edge that kept travelling and just cleared the leaping Maxwell on the fence at long-off. A pull past short fine leg for four more makes it 13 from the over. West Indies are in a great position here.
"Samuels's inside-out cover drive for six was the shot of the tournament!" says SB Tang. "That's an insanely difficult shot to execute."
15th over: West Indies 138-3 (Samuels 49, Dwayne Bravo 7) Watson's fourth ball is full and straight. Samuels attacks it with an axeman's backlift, swiping it high over mid on for another huge six. Remember when a six in international cricket was almost a JFK moment? Not anymore. Samuels makes it two in two balls with the sweetest of swivel pulls into the crowd at backward square leg. "HOWZAT – a timely link," says Danielle Tolson. Oh my. The lead singer. Look at that look!
WICKET! West Indies 140-4 (Samuels c Warner b Hogg 50) Samuels drives Hogg straight to long on to end a fine innings. He played at Gayle's pace: 50 from 32 balls, with three fours and four sixes.
16th over: West Indies 145-4 (Dwayne Bravo 9, Pollard 4) Kieron Pollard, who is quite the unit, strides menacingly to the crease and drives his first ball disdainfully down the ground for a one-bounce four. Dear me, what a stroke to play first ball. Hogg ends with figures of 4-0-30-1.
17th over: West Indies 158-4 (Dwayne Bravo 19, Pollard 6) What an extraordinary stroke this is from Dwayne Bravo. Cummins aimed a full, wide delivery on around a sixth-stump line, and Bravo launched his whole body towards it to drive it high over point for six! That shot oozed Caribbean flamboyance. Cummins bowls a front-foot no-ball later in the over, but concedes only a single from the free hit. Thirteen from the over. After a slow start, West Indies have scored 147 from the last 14. If Pollard goes mad they could still make 200.
WICKET! West Indies 162-5 (Pollard c M Hussey b Watson 10) Mike Hussey takes a brilliant catch to get rid of the dangerous Pollard. He flicked a low full toss from Watson to deep midwicket, where Hussey sprinted in and dived forward to take a beautifully judged low catch.
18th over: West Indies 165-5 (Dwayne Bravo 21, Sammy 1) Watson finishes with figures of 4-0-29-2.
WICKET! West Indies 171-6 (Dwayne Bravo b Cummins 27) Bravo makes room to slap Cummins over extra cover, misses and is bowled middle stump. He made a useful 27 from 21 balls.
19th over: West Indies 175-6 (Sammy 1, Ramdin 4) Pat Cummins, who started his spell with a maiden, ends with figures of 4-1-41-1. I can exclusively reveal that those figures are unique in the 135 years of international cricket.
WICKET! West Indies 187-7 (Sammy c Warner b Starc 12) Sammy smashed one straight six off Starc and falls aiming for a repeat, with Warner taking an immaculate catch running in from long-off. That went ridiculously high in the air, yet Warner never looked like dropping it. Two balls remaining.
YEH DINESH TALK NAH! West Indies 187-8 (Ramdin b Starc 3) Ramdin makes too much room and is cleaned up by Starc, bowling around the wicket. Two wickets in two balls.
20th over: West Indies 191-8 (Rampaul 0, Narine 4) Sunil Narine slaps his first ball, the last of the innings, over extra cover for four. That was a fantastic shot! And that's a fine effort from the West Indies, who are surely favourites to win this match after a riotously entertaining batting performance. Australia need 192 to win. How they play Narine will probably decide the match. See you in a few minutes for their reply.
INNINGS BREAK
1st over: Australia 8-0 (target 192; Warner 7, Watson 0) Australia surely have the best opening partnership in Twenty20, although Edwards almost ends the partnership first ball with a brilliant full-length inswinger that just misses Warner's off stump. He responds with a flashing extra-cover drive for four.
2nd over: Australia 30-0 (target 192; Warner 28, Watson 0) Ravi Rampaul's first over has disappeared for 22! His first ball is short, wide and uppercut deliberately for six by Warner, who then drives sweetly to long-off for a one-bounce four. Rampaul follows that with the short ball, and Warner swivel-pulls it magnificently round the corner for six more! A front-foot no-ball means a free hit, which Warner inside edges to the fine leg boundary. Crikey.
WICKET! Australia 30-1 (Warner c Ramdin b Edwards 28) David Warner is furious about this decision. He launched into a huge drive at Edwards, and the ball seemed to go past the outside edge before being taken by Ramdin. But Ramdin and Edwards were convinced it was out – and so was the umpire Asad Rauf. Warner walks off shaking his head having made an exhilarating 28 from 14 balls. That's a big wicket for the West indies.
3rd over: Australia 38-1 (target 192; Watson 2, M Hussey 6) There was a noise as the ball passed Warner's bat, although you can't see any deviation. Warner clearly thought it wasn't out. It does seem a bit daft not to have any reviews in T20. I know it's a fast-moving game but you could surely have one per team. Anyway, Mike Hussey is in and he gets going by cutting a piece of rubbish from Edwards for four. Wild is the Windies bowling right now.
4th over: Australia 42-1 (target 192; Watson 4, M Hussey 8) This is a good move from Darren Sammy, who has brought on Sunil Narine to restore some order. He gave Australia all sorts of problems in the 50-over series earlier this year. Narine is such a threat that Australia might just sit on him and aim for figures of 4-0-20-1, something like that. That's what they do during the first over, which goes for four singles.
5th over: Australia 50-1 (target 192; Watson 5, M Hussey 14) Mike Hussey mis-pulls Darren Sammy's first ball just short of mid-on. He gets hold of him later in the over, smashing a big six over wide mid-on. That brings up the fifty from only 4.4 overs; it's been a storming start from Australia.
6th over: Australia 62-1 (target 192; Watson 14, M Hussey 16) Watson pulls Narine fractionally short of Dwayne Smith, running in from deep midwicket. Then Narine bowls a front-foot no-ball, which means a free hit and the chance for Australia to attack him without fear. Watson does just that, slog-sweeping handsomely for six. That's been an outstanding Powerplay for Australia: 62 from six overs, and two of those were bowled by Narine. West Indies need a wicket.
7th over: Australia 69-1 (target 192; Watson 17, M Hussey 21) This is the key partnership. Australia have some good players to come but none with the authority and ability of these two. I'm not sure I'd fancy that lower order against Narine with a required rate of 12 an over. Sammy gets one to burst from a length at Watson, who fences it short of backward point. Just three from the first five deliveries, but then Hussey walks over to the off side to flick a superb boundary behind square leg. He is a master in this form of the game.
8th over: Australia 91-1 (target 192; Watson 38, M Hussey 22) Marlon Samuels replaces Sunil Narine and disappears for 22! A short ball is pulled savagely through midwicket for four by Watson, who then drives over long-off for the fifth six of the innings. Make that six sixes: Watson has been dropped for six by Dwayne Smith! He pulled Samuels straight to Smith at deep midwicket; it was at face height, a relatively straightforward chance, but Smith spilled it over his shoulder for six. Watson completes a stunning over with another pull through square leg for four.
9th over: Australia 99-1 (target 192; Watson 40, M Hussey 28) Australia have scored at 11 an over for eight overs, and yet the required rate is still over eight. Is this cricket? The extent to which the game has changed since the turn of the century is mind-blowing. Mike Hussey pulls the new bowler Dwayne Bravo round the corner for another boundary in an eight-run over. Never mind a wicket; West Indies urgently need a dot ball.
RAIN STOPS PLAY. 9.1 overs: Australia 100-1 (target 192; Watson 41, M Hussey 28) Crikey, where did that come from? All of a sudden it's blootering down in Colombo, and the groundsmen are urgently doing their thing. You won't be surprise to hear that Australia are ahead on Duckworth/Lewis – well ahead, in fact, by 19 runs.
5.44pm It's still raining. I'm talking to myself aren't I.
5.47pm "What are the odds of more play?" says John Goldstein. "I'm sure every Irish cricket fan is doing a rain dance at the moment as they still have a slim chance on Monday against the West Indies if this is finished for the day."
I suspect it's unlikely, because it is teeming down in Colombo.
5.52pm "Here's something to keep you entertained whilst the rain buckets down, 'Shane Watson: A Care Bear in the Body of a Nordic Superhero'," says SB Tang. "I still remember the days when Watto first came into the Australian limited-overs setup and couldn't hit over the top ... He's certainly changed that. Credit to him!"
Back in 2005, everyone in England found it oh so hilarious that Australia wanted to make Watson their Andrew Flintoff. I'd still take Freddie in Test cricket, but Watson will finish his career with better stats in all three forms of the game.
It's a shame about rain, with Sara Torvalds "T20 is too short a format to allow for rain. Stop it!" Let me close my eyes and squeeze my face really hard, see if that works.
5.55pm Colombo, a few minutes ago. It doesn't look good.
6.05pm It's still hammering down. There's no chance of any more play.
6.11pm The umpires have officially called the game off, so Australia win by 17 runs and move into the last eight. The West Indies play Ireland on Monday to decide the other Super Eights place. Ta for your emails; night.
6.14pm Hang on, apparently the game isn't officially off yet. Bah!
6.16pm Okay, it's definitely off now. Australia win, Shane Watson is the Man of the Match for the second game in a row, I'm going home. Night.