BLACKCAPS trounce Netherlands in final training camp match

The New Zealand team arrived in London on Saturday ahead of next week’s start to the ICC World Twenty20 tournament – after delivering a solid thrashing to The Netherlands to end their training camp on a high note.

Saturday’s game at Wormsley, near Oxford, saw the BLACKCAPS score 194-8, before dismissing The Netherlands in the 20th over for just 104.

Batting first, the New Zealanders took control from the top of the innings, with Brendon McCullum plundering 27 off a hapless Dirk Nannes’ first two overs, including five fours and a six.

McCullum and Jesse Ryder put on 46 for the first wicket, and McCullum went on to amass 62, including eight fours and two sixes.

Neil Broom (28), Scott Styris (26) and Jacob Oram (20) provided good support as the BLACKCAPS went confidently through to the total.

In reply the Dutch side never got their momentum going as the BLACKCAPS bowlers dominated the innings. None of their batsmen made it to 20, and tight bowling prevented The Netherlands from constructing any significant partnerships.

The Netherlands never looked like mounting a serious challenge to the target and were dismissed in the 20th over for 104.

James Franklin was the best of the New Zealand bowlers, taking 3-10 off four overs, while Daniel Vettori continued his good form with his 3-24. The other wickets were shared by Iain O’Brien, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris and Brendon Diamanti.

This victory gave the BLACKCAPS four wins from four matches from their training camp.

The previous day saw the side beating the Professional Cricketers Association Masters XI which included four players from the BLACKCAPS squad, as well as former England strike bowler Darren Gough.

Ross Taylor continued his big hitting success with an innings of 74 which included three fours and seven sixes. Martin Guptill scored 56 and Jesse Ryder 37.

Styris then led the chase for the PCA side with an extravagant 51 that included six fours and three sixes. Peter McGlashan (26) and Neil Broom (20) also got amongst the runs against their own team but the Masters XI fell short, finishing their 20 overs on 144-8.

O’Brien was the pick of the BLACKCAPS bowlers with his 3-14 from three overs, while part-time bowler Guptill picked up two wickets.

Coach Andy Moles said he’s been pleased with the team’s form during the practice games.

“We’ve left Wormsley on a high,” he said, “with plenty of good performances with both bat and ball. All our batsmen have got among the runs, we’ve been bowling well and there’s been a real intensity in the field.

“I’m confident we’re moving in the right direction, but we all know we’re coming into the hard part now.”

Moles said the training camp – based at the picturesque Wormsley ground in Buckinghamshire – has definitely been the right approach to the build up for the ICC World Twenty20.

“The facilities have been excellent, the wickets are of a high standard and staff have been extremely helpful. It has helped create a great environment for the team to adjust to the conditions and work on their game.”

The BLACKCAPS now play official warm-up matches against India at Lord’s on Monday, and against Australia at The Oval on Tuesday.

Their first competition match is against Scotland on Saturday.

Ponting's wrist injury not too serious

Australia captain Ricky Ponting was hit on the wrist during the team’s first full practice session in England for the ICC World Twenty20 but he is expected to play in warm-up game on Monday.

The 34-year-old batsman was hit on the wrist by a ball, struck by Michael Hussey on Saturday and was applied ice to the injury which is not believed to be serious.

Ponting re-joined his team-mates in the middle of the training ground and watched them closely, but did not undertake any further practice himself.

The skipper had major reconstructive surgery on the same wrist (right) in July last year after problems in the Caribbean.

A Cricket Australia spokesman said Ponting remains in Australia's plans for the warm-up match against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge.

"He's iced it, he's got a bandage on it, there's no worry with it whatsoever," the spokesman said.

"It's just a whack on the wrist basically ... it shouldn't be any issue at all."

Australia will play its second warm-up match against New Zealand at The Oval on Wednesday morning before opening its World Twenty20 campaign against the West Indies at the London ground on June 7.

Pietersen feels he is not good at T20

Kevin Pietersen, one of the most forceful strikers in world cricket, has admitted that he still needs to improve his skills in the Twenty 20 format of the game.

The flamboyant player was the most expensive player in the recently concluded season two of the IPL but had an unforgettable tournament, managing just 93 runs from 6 games at an average of 15.

He has made just one Twenty20 50 for England with an average of just 26.

I'm not very good at Twenty20 cricket, am I?" Pietersen said on the eve of the World T20 Championships in England.

But the lanky hitter has vowed to show the same big booming drives and huge sixes that he has showcased in the Tests or one-day games.

"The more you play T20 cricket the better you become and I haven't played a lot of it, and I'm not very good at it," he was quoted as saying by The Mirror.

"The more I play it though the more I'll catch up with my records in Test and one-day cricket definitely. I just know that I will get much better at it. I've worked out some new theories about how to go about my batting in T20 and that will make a difference, hopefully starting next week!" he said.

Smith sets sights on WT20 title

After claiming the top one day international spot from Australia and giving Ricky Ponting’s men a close fight for the number one spot in Tests, South African skipper Graeme Smith wants to prove their supremacy in the shortest version of the game by winning the ICC World Twenty20 2009 title.

Despite consistently being one of the best sides in world cricket, South Africa has little to show for its success. The team has only one trophy to its name when it won the ICC Knock Out Tournament (now ICC Champions Trophy) in its inaugural year in 1998.

After a successful last few years of international cricket, Graeme Smith is looking forward to this year to add more silverware to South Africa’s tally of ICC cups.

"We have had a wonderful past 12 months which has included winning away Test series in both England and Australia and winning home-and-away ODI series against Australia to gain top spot in the ICC rankings," the Proteas skipper was quoted as saying to PA.

But with two international ICC tournaments scheduled in the next few months, Smith is hungry for success.

"One of the boxes we still want to tick is to win a major ICC championship and we have two chances to do that in the ICC World T20 next month and again in the ICC Champions Trophy which will be held in South Africa at the end of September."

What bodes well for South Africa is the fact that twelve of its fifteen members represented various franchises at the recently concluded Indian Premier League.

South African players like Jean Paul Duminy, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Roelof van der Merwe and Herschelle Gibbs played some big knocks at the IPL which will hold them in good stead for the ICC World Twenty20 2009, which gets underway in England this week.

"I have been very happy with the form our players have shown in the IPL in the run-up to the World T20 and this augurs well for a good performance."

South Africa will play its first warm-up game against Pakistan tomorrow.

They are placed in Group D along with New Zealand and Scotland.

Sthalekar believes Australia will bounce back

Lisa Sthalekar hopes that an Australia can overcome its World Cup heartbreak by putting on some Have excellent performances at the ICC World Twenty20 2009.

Australia takes on New Zealand in a three-match T20 series, which begins in Brisbane on Monday, and she revealed the squad is excited about having an opportunity to get back playing with her national side.

“The players have all arrived in Brisbane and everybody is looking forward to playing. It is ten weeks since we last had a game and it will good to play these three games,” said Sthalekar.

“Although we are playing for a trophy, it is also a chance to fine tune our preparations, so hopefully we will hit the ground running when we arrive in England.”

The pre-event favourites for the ICC Women’s World Cup, held earlier in the year, will be looking for a better performance than at that tournament when it surprisingly finished fourth, and Sthalekar believes the ICC World Twenty20 2009 is a perfect chance to make amends.

“There is still disappointment there but it is exciting that we have a chance to change the perception of the team in such a short space of time,” she said.

Australia will play in a tough group at the ICC World Twenty20 that includes New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa and Sthalekar admits she can’t wait to bat on the Taunton wicket.

“The last time I played at Taunton it played like a road and lots of runs were scored so I am looking forward to playing there again,” she added.