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Queensland 2 for 40 trail New South Wales 262 (Rohrer 69, Khawaja 60, Walter 5-63) by 222 runs
Scorecard
Scott Walter built on the fine early work of Chris Swan•Getty Images

Scott Walter grabbed five wickets after Chris Swan did the early damage, but Queensland lost both openers to leave the game against New South Wales delicately poised. The Blues were dismissed for 262 late in the afternoon at the Gabba, with Walter capturing 5 for 63 and Swan collecting 4 for 56.The hosts’ good mood dimmed when they slipped to 2 for 40 at stumps. Wade Townsend (9) was caught at third slip off Mark Cameron, who also had Ryan Broad (10) lbw in an important spell.New South Wales chose to bat and were in early trouble after losing Phil Jaques and Phillip Hughes by the eighth over. Usman Khawaja prevented further damage with a composed half-century, but he fell caught behind to Swan for 60 shortly after Peter Forrest went the same way.Walter yorked Peter Nevill to leave the visitors 6 for 142 but Ben Rohrer and Scott Coyte reorganised them during a stand of 77. Rohrer moved to 69 before he top-edged Walter to give Chris Hartley his fourth catch of the innings.Walter had Scott Coyte (48) lbw with another yorker and finished off the innings by having Cameron caught behind for Hartley’s fifth dismissal. Nathan Hauritz, who is captaining in the absence of Stuart Clark and Moises Henriques, showed his muscle with two sixes in his unbeaten 23.

Kumar Sangakkara is not a man to indulge in hyperbole, but even he rated Sri Lanka’s miraculous comeback win at the MCG as one of the two best victories in his 277-game career. Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga somehow rescued their side from 8 for 107 chasing 240, and in the process rewrote a ninth-wicket partnership record that had stood since the 1983 World Cup.That they achieved the feat against the No. 1-ranked side, and in Australia, was even more impressive. After the match, Sangakkara was reluctant to put the triumph categorically at the top of the team’s achievements, but he was full of praise for the way Mathews and Malinga resurrected what looked like becoming a miserable failure.”It’s the second-most remarkable, I think, or at least one of two, because we were five wickets down for six runs against Bangladesh in a final and managed to get home in that with Murali hitting 33 off 15. But Bangladesh is one thing and the Australians are another, so this is incredible.”There’s nothing much you can think [at 8 for 107] – you just hope. And the way Angelo batted, I thought he showed immense maturity. He’s coming off a tough couple of months with the bat, he’s had an injury so he can’t bowl, but I think he just repaid our trust many times over with the way he batted. And Lasith Malinga did the hard yards in the bowling part and then managed to go out there and again contribute fantastically to the win.”Australia looked headed for certain victory when the debutant Xavier Doherty ran through the top order and by the time Malinga joined Mathews, a home win seemed only moments away. Immediately, they took the batting Powerplay, hoping to manufacture something out of nothing, and the gamble quickly began to pay off.They picked off 45 runs in during the fielding restrictions and gradually the momentum shifted. Malinga used his brute force to plant a few sixes into the stands and sow some doubts in the mind of Michael Clarke, while Mathews worked the ball around at the other end, conscious that time was not Sri Lanka’s enemy. Slowly they started to think of victory, which had not been on their agenda when the partnership began.”We never thought of winning the game from there,” Mathews said. “We just wanted to bat on and see how we go. We just took the Powerplay and it worked for us, we got some runs and the game got closer. When we got close to 200 we thought that we could do it, because we had a big partnership and Lasith was batting extremely well, he was hitting big sixes and it was so easy for me to knock it around and play freely.”It looked easy, too. Neither man gave a genuine chance until the scores were already tied, when Malinga was run out attempting a winning single. It prompted groans from the 19,000-strong crowd, which was dominated by Sri Lankan fans, while many of the Australians who would normally turn up stayed away, having already had a day off work for Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup public holiday.”Melbourne is the best place for us to come and play, it’s like playing at home,” Sangakkara said. “Today I think there were many more Sri Lankans than Australians to watch the game, so it’s incredible to play here. Sydney is also great. Australia has been a great place to come to, but we haven’t won enough here, so it’s good to get off to a win.”However, as wondrous as the one-wicket victory was for the visitors, Sangakkara knows that much work remains if Sri Lanka are to win a series in Australia for the first time. They head to Sydney with an opportunity to secure the series on Friday, but barely half an hour after the players streamed on to the field to celebrate the victory, Sangakkara was already warning his men that they had to lift their game.”This is an incredible but very lucky win,” he said. “I thought we fielded quite poorly today. We bowled very well to restrict them, I though the Powerplay overs were fantastic. Thisara Perera again, he seems to be able to pick up five-fors and wickets in one-dayers when you don’t think that he can. We made some very poor decisions in our batting especially, when Doherty came on, and we made it really hard for ourselves. There are a lot of things to work on.”The batting of Mathews and Malinga is not one of them.

ScorecardIan Bell sealed his side the title with 107 off 95 balls•Getty Images

Ian Bell’s masterful, captain’s hundred carried Warwickshire to the Clydesdale Bank 40 title in a three-wicket victory at Lord’s that condemned Somerset to second prize for the third time this season.Leading the side ahead of regular captain Ian Westwood, Bell steadied Warwickshire’s chase after three early wickets with one of the finest hundreds seen in a domestic one-day final to ensure that Imran Tahir’s remarkable spell 5 for 14, which instigated a dramatic Somerset collapse – from 176 for 3 to 199 all out – did not go in vain.Bell’s stature has grown in his injury-enforced absence from the Pakistan series but his form since returning for Warwickshire has lived up to the heightened billing. Starting with pair of fifties against Nottinghamshire and then Yorkshire in the semi-final of this competition, he then collected a Championship century against Hampshire.He was always going to be pivotal in Warwickshire’s chase and his unflustered dominance ensured no slip-ups in the evening dew as he resisted a fiery Somerset attack, desperate to salvage some silverware after missing with the last ball in the Twenty20 final and a dramatic finish to the County Championship on Thursday.Defending a below-par 199 after Tahir’s heroics, Somerset leapt out of the blocks, fielding electrically and bowling with a passion that seemed to add a yard of pace to the new-ball pairing Ben Phillips and Alfonso Thomas.Neil Carter fell slicing a cut to third man and Keith Barker was unsettled by a fearful clatter to the helmet off a Thomas bouncer before falling to the same bowler two overs later. When Jonathan Trott was caught behind off a ball that bounced and jagged away it looked Somerset might burst through.Instead Bell serenely progressed through the gears, picking off deft singles and flowing boundaries to bring up a fifty from 53 balls. He found willing support in Jim Troughton and together the pair looked to be steering Warwickshire to a comfortable win before Thomas, the competition’s leading wicket-taker, returned to remove Troughton and end a stand of 79.As the target neared Warwickshire’s nerves frayed but Bell launched a calculated assault on the helpless Mark Turner during the batting Powerplay, taking 20 off the 38th over to reach his hundred and all but seal the result. He began by flicking an upper-cut past the short third-man, before skipping down the wicket and driving over mid-off. Two balls later he pulled gloriously to the fine-leg boundary before, with four more needed, celebrating prematurely when his drive down the ground was fielded on the ropes. Visibly riding on the adrenaline he marked each of the three boundaries in the over with a passionate roar and fist-pump which hammered home, a touch endearingly, his new-found reputation for revelling on the big stage.Under lights Lord’s was a spectacle for everyone bar the fans who turned up to the ground. Huddled under blankets, hats and jumpers the conditions were every bit as chilly as an early April morning, but they were treated to a close encounter with two teams desperate to perform on the domestic game’s biggest stage. It was a pity that Lord’s was barely half full but perhaps that will be enough to persuade the administrators to rethink the scheduling for next year.When Somerset reflect on yet another missed opportunity they may well come back to one point. James Hildreth and Nick Compton were cruising at 172 for 3 with 10 overs remaining in a 95-run stand when Compton called through a suicidal single to Trott at backward point that left Hildreth with no chance. It opened a chink which Tahir burst through dramatically.Returning for a second spell after an anonymous opening four overs, Tahir trapped Jos Buttler, who had been cheered warmly to the crease after a memorable debut season, lbw second ball with a top-spinner. Two overs later he lured Arul Suppiah down the pitch and spun the ball past his outside edge to clip off stump before removing Compton lbw three balls later to cue wild celebrations. The procession continued when Phillips punched straight to Bell at short cover and Tahir collected his fifth thanks to a sharp leg-side stumping by Richard Johnson.It will probably be Tahir’s last game for the county. With Warwickshire his 14th first-class team, Tahir is the very definition of a journeyman and returns to Hampshire next season after spending this year in the Midlands on loan. Born in Pakistan he almost made a Test debut for South Africa against England last winter before he was hastily disposed of when it emerged he hadn’t yet qualified to play.Traditionally, the Lord’s final is a platform for domestic English players to showcase their international credentials but on this evidence, and after a season that has brought 56 scalps at 24.57 in the Championship, Tahir could well nudge the South African selectors ahead of the World Cup. But for one more night he was a Warwickshire man.

Sussex’s hopes of a semi-final place in the Clydesdale Bank 40 suffered a blow when their Group A clash with Glamorgan at Hove was washed out.Umpires Peter Willey and Nigel Cowley abandoned the match without a ball bowled after an afternoon of heavy rain and with no prospect of conditions improving.The Sharks stay second, a point behind leaders Somerset, but will have to win their final game and hope results in other groups go their way if they are to sneak into the last four as the best runner-up. Both teams took one point from this washout.

Harbhajan Singh has hit out at the benign nature of pitch laid out for the second Test between India and Sri Lanka at the SSC. Bowlers from both sides struggled to make an impression during the Test in which several batting records were broken. Harbhajan told that such lifeless pitches brought nothing to Test cricket, “not even spectators”.”You just can’t have one-sided contests where the batsmen dominate,” he said. “The seamers run in and bowl their hearts out and get nothing out of it. There should be some purchase on the first two days. Later on, if the spinners bowl well, they should get bounce, if not turn.”People say Test cricket is dying. It is because of such one-sided contests. If you look at series in Australia and England, they get a lot of results because they produce good wickets, wickets that are true. That’s the way it should be everywhere.”There has been a glut of India-Sri Lanka encounters recently, with the sides clashing in nine Tests, 26 ODIs and four Twenty20s since July 2008. Harbhajan said he did not mind playing anyone, but hinted that players from both camps were bored of the frequent fixtures between the sides.”I think in the last eight months, we have played a lot of cricket against Sri Lanka. Obviously, the batsmen get used to your bowling and the bowlers know where they’re going to play them. But I can’t do much about it. I love playing cricket, so that’s the way it goes. Who ever you play against, I don’t mind. But yes, even the Sri Lankan players feel the same. We have played each other almost every second month in the last eight months.Harbhajan struggled for form and fitness in the first Two Tests before returning home, missing the final Test and the upcoming ODI series. He defended the team management’s decision to play him despite being half-fit, in the absence of senior seam bowlers Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth. “The day I reached Sri Lanka, I got swine flu, but recovered in time for the first Test. While bowling in the second Test, I suffered a side strain but carried on playing. The other three bowlers haven’t played much Test cricket, so I had to take on the responsibility and give it the best shot.”Then, I was running with Paddy (Upton, the mental conditioning coach) on the Galle Face road when I felt a calf strain. From there on, I have been struggling to walk. This is why I couldn’t play the third Test,” he said.Harbhajan hopes to recover in time for the Champions League T20 in September, where, fitness permitting, he will represent Mumbai Indians. “That’s the only tournament we have. Before that, there is the Corporate Trophy. I would like to test myself there myself there before I go to South Africa. But it shouldn’t really be a problem because the physio told me that it would take two weeks to heal. Then, I’ll have to do a lot of strengthening work for the calf. I am hoping everything goes well and I will be back to bowling and running after two weeks.”Harbhajan had a forgettable time in the first two Tests, conceding 280 runs for his two wickets as India slipped down 0-1 in the series. He faced widespread criticism for his inability to spearhead the young attack, with Bishan Singh Bedi terming Virender Sehwag the best offspinner in India in a veiled insult. Harbhajan however refused to retaliate.”That’s his opinion and it doesn’t matter. I have heard him say a lot of things. Some people are like that; you can’t change. All I can say is that my parents have taught me to respect elders,” Harbhajan said.

Chalo Chalo Headingley chalo …
…read one of the advertising boards. It was a good slogan, written in the green and white Pakistan colours, urging the fans to fill Headingley. It was fitting, too, considering the Pakistani domination on the first day. Sadly the ground remained 75% empty despite the heroics of Pakistan’s fast bowling pack in the morning. Perhaps that had something to do with the tickets selling for a prohibitive 30 quid, a big deterrent for devoted fans across England.Hilf, the hat-trick halter
When Ben Hilfenhaus strode to the crease to face the hat-trick ball from Mohammad Aamer, it was a familiar feeling. Hilfenhaus is in only his 11th Test but he had already needed to negotiate a hat-trick delivery, at The Oval last year when Steve Harmison was aiming to regain the Ashes with three wickets in three balls. On that occasion, Hilfenhaus blocked the ball solidly away and he also survived this time around, though with a little less conviction. Aamer had just knocked back the stumps of Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson with the first two balls after lunch, and another delivery on line would have given him a great chance of the hat-trick. But Aamer angled it across Hilfenhaus, who played and missed.Smart move
Salman Butt took a leaf out of Ricky Ponting’s book of captaincy when he introduced Umar Amin, part-time medium pacer, five overs before lunch. It did seem a little strange considering Umar Gul’s short spell lasted just five overs and Danish Kaneria was yet to bowl. But just like Marcus North had struck on the stroke of lunch at Lord’s, Amin got the crucial breakthrough in the penultimate over before the end of the first session when he drew North forward and induced a thick edge off a neat outswinger which was snapped brilliantly by the steadily improving Kamran Akmal.Gul’s bunny
When it comes to long vigils, Michael Hussey has shown on several occasions that he has the mental fortitude necessary to cling, limpet-like, to the crease in a tough situation. But Umar Gul has managed to breach Hussey’s supreme powers of concentration more than anyone else in the past year. Today Hussey was the victim of a rare bad decision by Rudi Koertzen after HawkEye predicted Gul’s inswinging delivery, which hit Hussey flush on the front pad, would miss the leg stump. But in the past 12 months Gul has got the better of Hussey on five occasions across three formats and can proudly hold the Australian as one of his bunnies.

Paul Collingwood has attempted to play down the hype surrounding Pakistan’s bowling attack ahead of the four-match series which begins at Trent Bridge on Thursday. The performances of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer in particular against Australia suggest England will be in for a tough challenge over the next four weeks in what is their last Test action before the Ashes.Salman Butt, the Pakistan captain, has said his new-ball pair are the best in the world and when they are supplemented by Umar Gul and Danish Kaniera they are certainly a potent combination. But Collingwood, who was rested from the series against Bangladesh earlier in the season, doesn’t buy into those sorts of judgments although he is well aware that England’s batsmen can’t afford to be off their game.Since completing the Test series against South Africa in January – where the express pace of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel was too much handle at the Wanderers as the hosts leveled the series – England have played four Tests against Bangladesh who, despite making them toil at times for victory, didn’t pose anything like the threat of what they are about to face.”I don’t want to go overboard on ‘these guys are the best thing since sliced bread’ – or Wasim Akram, or this, that and the other,” Collingwood told reporters at Loughborough. “If we can get through those periods where it can be really tricky, I think we can get on top of them.”I think they have got a lot of talent. But to say they’re the number one bowling attack in the world I would say was over the mark. They have come up in conditions recently where it’s done a fair bit.”They’re a good outfit. Certainly, the bowling looks very strong,” he added. “They have had conditions where it has swung around quite a bit – and obviously, they come at different angles. There is a lot for us to think about there. But at the same time, we’ve got a lot of strengths like that ourselves with the way we swing the ball.”The performance that made everyone really sit up and take notice was when Pakistan skittled Australia for 88 on the opening day at Headingley to set up their series-leveling three-wicket victory. Ricky Ponting had the chance to give his attack first use of the conditions yet gambled on batting first, but Collingwood believes Australia’s attack would have caused similar damage.”I guess if they [Australia] got those same conditions on the first day they would have caused a lot of problems,” he said. “Pakistan have got skill, and we’re going to have to be very careful. But I still think we can handle what they’re going to throw at us.”How England cope against Pakistan’s bowling will provide a good gauge of where they stand in preparation for the Ashes at the end of November. They have made steady progression over the last 12 months – winning the Ashes last summer and drawing in South Africa – but they will want to board the plane to Australia on the back of a strong performance in this series.”Everybody in the team is very confident that we can do it this time round,” Collingwood said. “That’s genuine confidence. We’ve had a good 18 months. We’ve had the building blocks, continued to grow and get things right.”I think we’re ready. It really has come at a time when we can say we’ll be as ready as we can ever be. We’ve just got to make sure in these next two months we continue in that same manner.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outGraeme Smith went on to pass 7000 Test runs and scored his 21st century•Associated Press

It all went to prediction after South Africa won the toss on a road of a pitch at Warner Park. The top order capitalised on excellent batting conditions and a tepid display in the field to set a platform for a massive first-innings score. At the helm was Graeme Smith, who made a fortuitous century, supported by valuable contributions from Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and some ordinary catching. It was hard work for the hosts who had to derive inspiration from themselves rather than turn to a barely audible crowd, going by the disappointing numbers on the opening day.Despite the fielding, it was an efficient performance from South Africa. Smith did not allow himself to get bogged down and managed to keep the scoreboard moving with singles and twos. He was also allowed to settle in early, play co-pilot to Petersen in the opening session and then take charge from there on.The West Indies seamers failed to pick on his prime weakness, which is the ball that darts back in from a round-the-wicket line. He has suffered in the past to left-arm quicks, but though West Indies didn’t have one of their own, none of their right-armers changed their line of attack to create opportunities. Also missing was the slower off cutter from Dwayne Bravo which has foxed him in the past.Bravo pitched it too full and wide outside off and Smith found his groove as he planted his right foot across to the pitch of the ball to put it away through the gaps. Bravo strengthened the off side field with a short cover but Smith beat that as well, even slashing one safely over gully. He pinched easy singles to the off side and with the ball coming on to the bat easily, he was able to rock back and pull deliveries from outside the off stump. Shane Shillingford tucked him up on a few occasions with his round-the-wicket line, also restricting him with a silly mid-on, but Smith was willing to be patient, focusing more on steady accumulation.The aggression was on show only as he neared his century. He tonked the part-timer Narsingh Deonarine for consecutive sixes over long-on to pass 7000 Test runs, before sweeping the same bowler to fine leg to bring up his 21st century. It was a comeback of sorts for Smith after suffering hand and elbow injuries over the last few years.Luck favoured him on at least three occasions. A thin leading edge fell short of slip shortly after lunch, a chipped sweep was fluffed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul at square leg when on 79 and a thin edge brushed Denesh Ramdin’s gloves on 112. It wasn’t just Smith who got away. Hashim Amla, who added 112 with Smith for the second wicket, was let off on 14 when a thick outside edge sailed past Chris Gayle, who was too late to react at second slip when Kemar Roach was in the middle of an encouraging second spell.Roach struggled with no-balls – six of them – in his opening spell. With the older ball, his accuracy improved but not his discipline. The over-stepping bug didn’t leave him, but he did create some opportunities with a hint of reverse swing. Usually, bowlers find it easier to use the shiny side of the ball to get the ball back in, but Roach tried to move it away from the right-hander and as a result Amla was unsure of his off stump. Roach started pitching the ball up a lot more, trying to extract swing with the cloud cover to assist him.That was perhaps West Indies best chance of breaking through. Shillingford was the best bowler on view, getting turn and tucking up Smith from both sides of the wicket. The batsmen weren’t afraid to use their feet, but it didn’t deter him from flighting the ball. He got the wicket of Amla, edging to slip before tea. He started tiring in the final session, as he dropped the ball short to Smith and was spanked through the off side.West Indies didn’t take the new ball, despite Roach coming on for a new spell. He managed to get the crucial wicket of Smith, dragging one from outside off and edging to his middle stump. South Africa had the well-set Kallis at the crease at the end, with AB de Villiers for company. Kallis had set off in fifth gear, scoring his first 22 runs off just 16 balls, but as the final session wore on, he struggled to pick the gaps.Kallis may have struggled to get going towards the end, but at the start of the day, Petersen’s fluency was the highlight. Ravi Rampaul managed to extract some away swing but was too often wide of the off stump, allowing Petersen some flowing drives through the off side. When Rampaul banged it in short, Petersen pulled past square leg. He used his feet against the spinners and even bent down to unfurl the slog sweeps. A fine catch by Roach, running forward from long leg, ended his innings on 52. Had West Indies pounced on more such opportunities as Roach did, the balance would have been more even at the end of the day.

Shoaib Malik, the former Pakistan captain who is currently serving a one-year ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), is set to join Lancashire for their Friends Provident Twenty20 campaign that begins in the first week of June. His participation has been supported by the PCB, who gave the No Objection Certificate (NOC) but is subject to visa regulations.Malik was one of the seven players punished by the PCB following Pakistan’s tour of Australia, where they lost all their matches and were bogged by off-field controversies. Malik has since kept himself occupied with his wedding to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, and with the appeals process against the ban. The PCB is yet to give its verdict on the appeals. Malik’s last competitive appearance was the final of the RBS Twenty20 Cup final in March, when he led Sialkot Stallions to the title, three days before PCB handed the ban.Despite the ban, the PCB had no problem with Malik, and other banned players, perusing county opportunities. “The suspended players can play in domestic cricket and anywhereabroad,” PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said. “We gave Rana Naved the necessary permission to play in county cricket and Malik’s case was similar.”Malik has a commendable Twenty20 record at the international level, averaging 26.21 at a strike-rate of 114.85 with the bat, in addition to a bowling average of 20.42 and an economy rate of 6.65 runs per over. He led Pakistan to the final of the World Twenty20 in 2007, and was a member of the team that won the tournament in 2009.The offspinning allrounder was delighted by the opportunity to play for Lancashire. “When Lancashire approached me to come and play for them I didn’t hesitate in saying yes. I love playing cricket in England and the opportunity to play with a club of Lancashire’s reputation was too good to pass up.”Their recent overseas signings in [Simon] Katich and [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul only add to an already strong list. I’m very excited and look forward to a strong Twenty20 campaign,” Malik said.Mike Watkinson, the Lancashire County Cricket Club chairman, believed that Malik would be an asset to the side. “We are delighted to recruit yet another world-class player to the cricket club. Shoaib will be a quality addition to our Twenty20 squad.”Peter Moores, the head coach of the county side shared Watkinson’s optimism about Malik’s inclusion. “Shoaib has a proven track record in the game and is a versatile cricketer. He’s at a good age, can bat up and down the order and is an experienced spin bowler. We look forward to welcoming him to the squad,” Moores said.

Match Facts

Monday, May 3, Providence
Start time 1330 (1730 GMT)West Indies will need Kieron Pollard to recreate his IPL form against England•Indian Premier League

The Big Picture

West Indies overcame Ireland pretty comfortably in their opening match and should face a much sterner test against an England side desperately hoping to break their duck in global tournaments. Ottis Gibson will have plenty of inside knowledge about this England team and has regular captain Chris Gayle back from injury to implement every devious plan he makes.On the stodgy surfaces we have seen so far at Providence, the spinners play a key role and how the West Indies batsmen deal with England’s spinners could prove crucial. Against Ireland they were almost embarrassed by 17-year-old left-arm-spinner George Dockrell, so Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy should feel confident.England will be testing out yet another opening partnership in Twenty20 cricket and with Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb they feel they have finally stumbled on a combination powerful enough to boss the early overs. Quietly England have developed a competitive limited-overs side that, with Eoin Morgan there to finish an innings, appears to have all its bases covered.

Form guide (most recent first)

England LWLWA
West Indies WLLLW

Watch out for…

While Chris Gayle’s performance usually dictates West Indies’ fortunes, Kieron Pollard is another with a brutal ability to clear the ropes. His outings in the IPL were short and severe, clubbing boundary after boundary on his way to 273 runs at a strike rate of 185.71. If he gets hold of England’s medium pacers, the Providence ground may not be big enough.The World Twenty20 is littered with stars, many still swirling in their IPL riches. Michael Yardy is not one of them. Yet in the sticky conditions, his nagging left-arm-spinners have proved a revelation in the warm-up games, taking five wickets over the two games at a meagre economy rate. He could throw sand in the wheels of West Indies’ middle order and chip in with lower-order runs if England get in trouble.

Team news

West Indies expect to welcome their captain after he missed the Ireland game with a stiff buttock, meaning one of hit-or-miss slugger Andre Fletcher or Narsingh Deonarine will drop out from the team that beat Ireland. Sulieman Benn remains doubtful with his shoulder injury as does Jerome Taylor.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Kemar Roach.England are on baby-watch with Kevin Pietersen looking forward to his first-born, but he’ll be available for this opening match and with Lumb expected to keep Ravi Bopara out of the side the top-order is settled. Their fast-bowling options are more muddled with Ryan Sidebottom’s excellent form prompting calls for his elevation into the side, but it would be hard for him to dislodge one of James Anderson or Stuart Broad.England (probable) 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Craig Kieswetter, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood (capt), 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Michael Yardy, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.

Pitch and conditions

The cheap boundaries that tend to epitomise Twenty20 cricket should be harder to come by on the Providence wicket. In sweltering conditions the ball should grip on a sluggish surface for the spinners and make any maximums altogether more memorable than normal. It’s unlikely the pacemen will have much to draw from the wicket and it will be sweaty work for all the fielders in the heat.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have an excellent T20 record against England winning three of four encounters, most recently in the last World Twenty20 when they knocked England out of the tournament
• England will try out their 16th opening combination but if Lumb does indeed join Kieswetter there will be the added twist that both openers are on debut.
  

  Quotes

  “I’m sure they come out here with blood in their eyes and want to beat us.”
  “Ottis is a very close friend to all of us, but we have a job to do, to go out and win this match.”