Strauss, Swann suffering from stomach bugs

Andrew Strauss and Graeme Swann missed training in Chennai on Tuesday after being laid low by stomach bugs, though both are expected to be fit in time for England's must-win match against West Indies on Thursday. 

Strauss is also England's leading run-scorer in this World Cup with 298 at nearly a run-a-ball, while the first-choice spinner Swann is their joint highest wicket-taker with nine.

England batsman Jonathan Trott, however, was keen to emphasise after the practice session that both unwell players would recover in time for the West Indies match, which England must win to have a chance of making the quarter-finals. 

"They are two key players in our side, in anybody's side they would be, especially with Andrew being captain, but I'm fully confident they will be alright," Trott said. "These things are usually 24-48 hour things. I'm glad it happened sort of now and not tomorrow. Hopefully they will be alright tomorrow for training"

Trott himself hasn't been at full fitness over the past couple of days. "Two days of fever, I'm not quite sure what it is," he said. "Feeling a little better today, not quite a 100%, but its good to have had a bit of running and some exercise under my belt today. " 

England have already lost two high-profile players since arriving in the subcontinent, with batsman Kevin Pietersen returning home for hernia surgery and Stuart Broad picking up a side strain. They play their final league match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where they pulled off a comeback win over South Africa nine days ago. That result has kept them in contention for a quarter-final spot despite shock defeats to Ireland and Bangladesh.

Botha and Munaf in as India bat

On a hard surface, MS Dhoni chose to bat in an enticing encounter in a Group B game against South Africa in Nagpur.

"There might be some assistance early to the seamers but it should turn out to be a good batting track," Dhoni said at the toss. Graeme Smith said he too would have batted had he won the toss.

Both teams made just one change: India replaced Piyush Chawla with Munaf Patel as they went in with a three-pronged seam attack. South Africa rested Imran Tahir, recovering from an injury, and brought in Johan Botha.

India: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (wk/capt), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Munaf Patel

South Africa: 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Johan Botha, 8 Morne van Wyk, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel

Shafiul stars as Bangladesh seal thriller

Shafiul Islam raised Bangladesh's World Cup campaign from the dead, as he turned yet another astonishing contest on its head with a breathtaking assault in the batting Powerplay to leave England stunned by their fifth cliffhanger in consecutive contests, and facing their own make-or-break encounter with West Indies in Chennai next week.

In another unbearably tense finale, Bangladesh's ninth-wicket pair of Shafiul and Mahmudullah transformed a futile situation with a glorious blaze of strokeplay, as they turned an asking rate of 57 in 62 balls into an emotional victory with an over to spare. The honour of the winning hit went to Mahmudullah, who belted a Tim Bresnan full-toss through the covers for four to cue pandemonium among the most passionate cricket supporters in the world, but it was Shafiul's refusal to accept defeat that ultimately paved the way for glory.

On a sluggish track in which runs had, for the most part, to be grafted, England batted first and were bowled out for 225 - a total that was no better than par, and which owed everything to a chalk-and-cheese stand of 109 between Jonathan Trott and the fit-again Eoin Morgan. In reply, however, and in dew-laden conditions that made the ball tricky to grip - particularly for their cantankerous spinner, Graeme Swann - Bangladesh were on cruise control at 155 for 3 in the 31st over, before a calamitous run-out gifted their opponents a way back into the game.

The man who had the game in the palm of his hand was the eventual - and rightful - Man of the Match Imrul Kayes, the less-vaunted of Bangladesh's opening batsman, who slipstreamed Tamim Iqbal during a captivating 38 from 26 balls that put Bangladesh firmly ahead of the run-rate, before settling down to play the holding role with a chanceless 100-ball 60.

Chanceless, that is, except for his sketchy running between the wickets. For it was his ill-advised decision to take a second run to deep square leg that ended a fourth-wicket stand of 72 with Shakib Al Hasan that looked to have broken the back of England's resistance. In the next five overs, as Bresnan and Paul Collingwood applied the emergency brake, Bangladesh were limited to seven singles before Shakib - gasping to lift the tempo after a doughty 58-ball innings - aimed a loose sweep at Swann and was bowled for 32.

Mushfiqur Rahim had been virtually strokeless since the run-out, with two runs from 18 deliveries before the re-introduction of Ajmal Shahzad persuaded him to drive expansively through the covers. But one ball later he edged a beauty on off stump through to Matt Prior, and before another run had been added, Shahzad produced another superb delivery to take out Naeem Islam's off stump for a duck.

It was a near-replica of the delivery that had earlier sent Raqibul Hasan on his way in the same manner, and with eventual figures of 3 for 43, Shahzad was England's most successful bowler of the day. In between whiles, however, his line had been all over the shop - a performance that too many of his team-mates had been willing to emulate, not least James Anderson, who had borne the brunt of Tamim's early onslaught, and later served up a dreadful nine-ball first over of the batting Powerplay - including five wides first-ball - to give Bangladesh real belief in the closing stages.

That belief had been ignited by the swinging blade of Shafiul, who turned a bad day for Swann into a dreadful one by leathering his final over for 16, including the only six of the day, over wide long-on. Up until that point, Swann had been more preoccupied with the wet and slippery ball, with Andrew Strauss forced to intervene during a heated row with umpire Daryl Harper, but those blows brought the requirement down to 39 from 48 balls, and brought an abrupt halt to the flow of disgruntled fans who were trooping out of the stadium.

This was the day that Bangladesh had been rehearsing for all through 2010. They got to know England's cricketers and strategies through the course of back-to-back series at home and away, and having ended their run of 20 consecutive defeats with a tight victory at Bristol in their last-but-one encounter in July, they knew they had what it takes to spring a surprise. But, having collapsed in a heap to be bowled out for 58 in their last World Cup fixture against West Indies, the chance to start from the position of rank outsiders seemed to suit their purposes every bit as much as the favourites' tag unsettled their opponents.

With the honourable exception of the fit-again Morgan and the unflappable Trott, England simply did not look comfortable at any stage of the day. After losing the toss and being asked to set the agenda, they shipped three tame wickets in the space of their first 17 overs, as they dribbled along to 53 for 3, and though Trott was admirable in grinding out a 99-ball 67, it was Morgan's departure for 63 to a fine catch by Kayes at backward square that derailed their ambitions of a 250-plus total. Their batting Powerplay once again proved problematic, with 33 runs and two wickets coming in five overs, and from 162 for 3 with 11 overs remaining, England were bowled out for 225 with two balls of their innings remaining.

The left-arm spin of Abdur Razzak was especially impressive. It was he who stunted England's ambitions with his first-ball removal of Matt Prior (who produced one of the doziest dismissals of the tournament to date, when he set off for a single with the ball already nestled in Mushfiqur's gloves) and he did not concede a single boundary until Ravi Bopara larruped the third ball of his final over through the covers. Even then, Razzak had the last laugh, as two balls later Bopara tried the same trick and picked out Naeem Islam in the covers.

It was Razzak's earlier spell that set the tone, however, as he and Naeem squeezed all ambition out of England's top-order in a boa-like alliance that resulted in 19 singles and nothing else between overs 7 and 17. Strauss reclaimed his status as the tournament's leading run-scorer in the course of his 31-ball 18, but the fluency that had been the hallmark of his previous performances was nowhere to be seen as he eventually took on a cut shot that was too close to his body, and skidded a fast edge to Junaid Siddique at slip. And then Ian Bell, nominally England's best player of spin, produced a timid aberration of an innings, which ended with a flaccid flick to short midwicket off Mahmudullah.

England's own trump spinner couldn't come close to matching the efforts of Bangladesh's quartet. Right from his first over, Swann was troubled by the dew-sodden ball and struggled to locate the flight, line and length that had proved so devastating in a similar situation against South Africa last week. England regained a small measure of control when the umpires agreed to a ball-change after 21 overs, and Swann was instantly in the thick of things with a tidy fourth over that went for two runs. However, the more notable aspect of the over was Swann's petulance when called for a leg-side wide that might have brushed Shakib's pad. Aside from the extra run, it was a sign that England were getting very seriously rattled.

In the final analysis, however, there could be no quibbling with the result. The only reason that England were even given a chance of victory was that both sides knew of Bangladesh's tendency to collapse under pressure. Sure enough, the choke when it came was dramatic and could have been game-changing, but thanks to the guts of Shafiul and Mahmudullah, justice was served in the end.

Last week Bangladesh were being showered with brickbats - literally - after a spineless surrender in Dhaka. This evening those same players will be garlanded by a jubilant nation, and with a match against Netherlands still lying in wait, they now have a real chance to propel themselves to the quarter-finals. England, meanwhile, must ride the rollercoaster for the sixth match in succession. Another slip-up, and this time it really will be the end.

Pollard and Smith power Windies to victory

West Indies opener Devon Smith made a maiden century but his effort was overshadowed by Kieron Pollard, who bludgeoned a limited Ireland attack all around Mohali to muscle his side to a tall total. Pollard's effort helped to quell the criticism over his lack of performances at the international level, and gave West Indies their third win in four matches, putting them in prime position for a quarter-final spot. 

A fluent Ed Joyce steered Ireland's sprightly reply but they lacked the spark needed to chase down the substantial score, though for the fourth match in a row they showed they aren't out of their depth against top teams. They kept fighting even when hopes of a victory were lost, reducing the margin of defeat to 44 runs and ensuring that their net run-rate didn't take too big a hit. 

The decision to replace the injured Chris Gayle with bowling allrounder Andre Russell meant West Indies had a long tail, and no batsman of note below No. 5. That meant Ireland would have been the happier side when West Indies crawled to 142 for 3 by the 35th over. The batsmen gambled by taking the batting Powerplay then; a wicket at that stage could have scuppered the innings, but Ireland couldn't make the vital breakthrough and were helpless as the power of Pollard helped ransack 55 runs in five overs to shift the balance of the game. 

Ireland had two opportunities to remove Pollard in the Powerplay: John Mooney narrowly missed a direct hit from square leg when Pollard had given up hope of making his ground in the 37th over, and Gary Wilson shelled a catch at long-on after hurtling across to get to a skier in the next over. 

Over the next 45 minutes Pollard made them regret those misses with his now familiar brand of hitting, mainly muscling boundaries in the arc between long-on and midwicket. Boyd Rankin, Ireland's quickest, was brought in to handcuff Pollard, but his short ball was walloped to midwicket and an attempted yorker was pummeled down the ground. Rankin was rattled by the ferocity of the second hit, muttering to himself as his fractional mistake was punished. 

A drive to midwicket in the 42nd over brought up Pollard's half-century off 35 balls - he celebrated by kissing an arm band bearing the injured allrounder Dwayne Bravo's number - but he was just warming up. The wickets tumbled at the other end, but there was no stopping Pollard, who capped a frenzy of hitting with 20 runs of an O'Brien over, which included a monstrous one-handed six that easily sailed over deep midwicket.

O'Brien had taken four wickets for the first time in his one-day career, but the Pollard assault ruined his figures. Pollard was also in line for the second quickest World Cup hundred -after O'Brien's epic against England last month - but fell attempting a six over long-off. 

The pyrotechnics at the end made up for a dull start to the match in front of a nearly empty stadium when the West Indies openers treated the dibbly-dobbly attack with undue caution. There were only six fours in the first 15 overs on a track that, despite plenty of grass, afforded little movement for the seamers. 

West Indies were dawdling at 3.5 runs per over when O'Brien struck in the 25th, getting Chanderpaul first, and Darren Bravo for a duck three balls later. Smith persevered and he stepped up his strike-rate in the Powerplay with a series of fours, reaching his hundred in the 39th over. It didn't thrill the watchers, but for a side which has only managed four centuries in their last 28 matches, it was an important innings. 

Soon after, Kevin O'Brien struck twice in an over for the second time, though that didn't stop the runs. Puzzlingly, Ireland used their best bowler, left-arm spinner George Dockrell, for only three overs. 

 

Ireland's chase got off to a terrible start as Paul Stirling's poor World Cup continued, dismissed in the second over. Joyce walked in and caressed his first two deliveries for four and Ireland sprinted to 35 for 0 in five, before Darren Sammy reeled off three maidens in a row and, combining with the pacy and accurate debutant Russell, created the pressure that led to William Porterfield's dismissal. 

Joyce and Niall O'Brien steadied Ireland, adding 44 trouble-free runs before Niall played down the wrong line to Sulieman Benn. Joyce and Wilson then forged the biggest partnership of the innings to keep Ireland afloat, but just as Wilson picked up the pace with a huge six and two reverse-swept fours, Joyce was dismissed. Kevin O'Brien fell to a spectacular diving catch from Pollard and with that Ireland's hopes were washed away. 

A controversial lbw decision by umpire Asoka de Silva, which wasn't reversed on referral, ended Wilson's stay in the 42nd over, but by then Ireland were hurtling towards their third defeat, and now need two wins to qualify for the next stage.

Dilshan, Tharanga take Sri Lanka into quarterfinals

When Elton Chigumbura chose to bowl in Pallekele, to avoid his spinners having to struggle with a dew-soaked ball, little did he think his team would fail to take a wicket for 44.3 overs. But Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga batted forever, notching up the first double-century opening partnership in World Cup history, and their hundreds set up Sri Lanka's victory, officially securing their place in the quarter-finals.

The result was a foregone conclusion once Sri Lanka scored 327 but there was a flutter of hope in the Zimbabwe camp when Brendan Taylor was at the forefront of the pursuit. He combined orthodoxy and innovation during an aggressive half-century, taking advantage of a wayward Sri Lankan pace attack. The hosts gathered themselves, though, and struck twice at the other end after a century opening stand. Taylor eventually departed for 80 in the 25th over, and with him ended Zimbabwe's improbable chances.

The struggle of Zimbabwe's batsmen was in contrast to the ease with which Dilshan and Tharanga had entertained a packed house. They started at top speed, taking 84 of the first 11 overs by playing a shot a minute, and then shifted to a lower gear, bleeding Zimbabwe steadily and so easily through the middle overs. There were regular bursts of acceleration later in the innings and a concerted push during the final ten overs. At no stage were they bothered and rarely has a bowling performance looked so toothless - Chris Mpofu's shout after striking Tharanga's pad with the first ball of the game was the only appeal against the openers. Tired shots, rather than incisive bowling, brought about the dismissal of Tharanga and then Dilshan, and more middle-order wickets fell as batsmen came, swung and pushed the total beyond 300.

Tharanga threaded the fourth ball through point with a square drive and Sri Lanka were away. For the first time in the tournament Chigumbura did not use Ray Price with the brand new ball and gave the second over to Tinashe Panyangara. It was a costly decision as Dilshan ran amok, driving the full balls, and cutting and pulling the short ones to take 18 runs off the over.

There was no let-up in Sri Lanka's pace during the mandatory Powerplay, off which they scored 77. Dilshan and Tharanga slashed through point, pulled through square and then drove when the length was too full, punishing everyone who bowled at them. When Price was brought on in the fifth over, Dilshan skipped down and drove him inside out through cover.

Not until the 12th and 13th over was there spin from both ends and then Price bowled the innings' first maiden. The spin trio of Price, Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer began to exercise more control over the run-rate, which dipped below six for the first time in the 19th, but they failed to take a wicket. Tharanga and Dilshan seamlessly shifted to a lower gear and focused on accumulation.

Zimbabwe's spinners had conceded only 76 runs off 17 overs when Chigumbura gave pace another run by bringing himself on. Dilshan slapped a wide offering through cover to move to 99 and then reached his century off 95 balls, his first in World Cups. Panyangara returned and Tharanga immediately lofted over mid-off and pulled past fine leg. Sri Lanka took 30 off overs 31-33.

Tharanga and Dilshan broke Saeed Anwar and Wajahatullah Wasti's World Cup record of 194 for the first wicket and then became the first openers to score hundreds in the same World Cup innings. They reached 200 in 33.4 overs. During the batting Powerplay, taken in the 41st over, Tharanga's inside-out play through cover was exquisite. With the highest opening partnership in ODIs - 286 between Sanath Jayasuriya and Tharanga at Headingley 2006 - within striking distance, Tharanga holed out to deep cover, bringing Zimbabwe some relief. Dilshan followed in the next over, leaving the finishing touches to his well-rested team-mates.

As impressive as Sri Lanka's display was, Taylor played some of the best shots of the game. Using Malinga's pace, Taylor flicked a low full toss to the backward square-leg boundary, pushed a wide one through covers and chipped a short one over Kumar Sangakkara's head. There was only touch and timing in those shots, no power. Taylor got to his fifty off 39 balls and carried on batting aggressively.

Muttiah Muralitharan came on only in the 16th over, after the bowling Powerplay was completed, and in the 20th he spun a doosra on to Regis Chakabva's off stump, ending the opening stand on 116. Tatenda Taibu was bent on reverse-sweeping Murali whenever he could, and got away with it. He didn't get away with edging Angelo Mathew though, and Sangakkara dived to his right to take the catch inches off the ground.

Those two wickets set back Zimbabwe's chase considerably, and Taylor's dismissal was the definitive blow. On 80, he chipped a slower ball from Angelo Mathews straight to midwicket and the contest was over. Dilshan returned to torment Zimbabwe, picking up four batsmen - his finishing touches on a terrific game. And Murali, playing his final ODI in front of his home crowd, took the final wicket.

Amla insists India are under pressure

Hashim Amla, South Africa's opening batsman, said that the pressure is on India ahead of their marquee clash with South Africa in Nagpur on Saturday. "Being at home comes with a lot of expectation," he said. "I don't think the pressure is on us as much as it is on India."

South Africa and India's match is one of the most eagerly anticipated of the group stage, the juicy steak everyone has been looking forward to after three weeks of appetisers and the occasional chicken dish, still a main, but not the red-meat one. England have served up most of the white-meat, advertising fifty-over cricket with three delicious roasts so far, one where they got burnt by Ireland, one where they returned the favour to South Africa, and that tie with India - cooked just right.

Now it's time to sample one of the dishes that is considered a speciality in this tournament, two of the favourites, blended in one stadium. The teams have been on this menu before, little more than a month ago, when South Africa beat India 3-2 in a closely fought ODI series in South Africa. The ingredients were completely different, with pitches that favoured the local seamers being the biggest change. "We do take confidence from knowing that we've beaten India on our home ground but we are not naïve to think this will be the same," Amla said.

Nagpur's kitchen caters to other tastes entirely, with a pancake of a track that promises runs that will drip like an overflowing pot of honey. South Africa have sipped from those fountains before. Dale Steyn helped himself to 7 for 51 in the Test match and Amla scored his career-best 253 not out in February last year. "The last time I was here I had a good time," Amla said, holding himself back from licking his fingers or lips, which is what he may have needed to do given the aftertaste this venue must have left in this mouth. "We know the scores are generally quite high here, if I can score the same amount of runs I will be very happy."
   
The same amount may be too much to ask in a quick meal like a one-day international, but the substance of what Amla is saying is there. He hopes to spend as much time at the crease as possible, in keeping with South Africa's philosophy that at least one of their top six chefs must remain in the kitchen to marshal the rest. "You hope somebody in the top six bats a long time so others can bat around him. It is a considered effort. We want the batsmen to score the runs rather than have the tail-enders have to bat."

With the batsmen the ones that are being promised the best of the meal on offer in Nagpur, it leaves little to whet the appetite of the bowlers. India's attack has come under fierce criticism for being undercooked but Amla predicts that they will still bring their fair share of spice for the South Africans to deal with. "We rate their bowlers," he said. "Even though we won 3-2 they bowled very well in that series at home."

Although Amla referenced it himself, the snacks shared between India and South Africa a few weeks ago are still thought to have little bearing on this match. Even the way Yusuf Pathan proved himself, with a commanding innings in Centurion against short pitched bowling, is not something South Africa have pondered to any great detail. "We're not placing too much importance on individuals," Amla said, while explaining that South Africa is enjoying every meal to the fullest, tasting each dish before going on to the next.

They still know that on Saturday, the VCA will be a pressure cooker but Amla thinks that South Africa are not the ones who need to be worried about getting cooked to pulp. "We've played in front of big crowd before, it may take five or six overs to get used to the noise factor but it will be a lovely atmosphere." The dessert, for many, will be if these two meet in the final in three weeks time. It may make all the finger food in between worth it, particularly if they dish out a tasty course this time around.

Michael Hussey savours unexpected call-up

Michael Hussey qualified to be a teacher, but he's so level-headed it's hard to imagine him ever raising his voice at a student. So when he was ruled out of Australia's World Cup squad and spoke out strongly about why he felt he deserved to be picked, it was extra noteworthy. The man who doesn't sledge and doesn't criticise was not going to be silenced on this occasion. 

But the selectors had made their decision. Hussey was recuperating from surgery for a serious hamstring injury and with Ricky Ponting also recovering from his broken finger, the Australians were unwilling to risk taking two batsmen who were not fully fit. One month later Hussey has his opportunity, courtesy Doug Bollinger's ankle injury, and he's pinching himself ahead of Sunday's match against Kenya in Bangalore.

"I pretty much thought I wouldn't get another chance to play in a World Cup," Hussey said. "That was doubly disappointing because I had set myself the goal coming in to this year to be involved in the T20 World Cup, the Ashes and the World Cup. They were my three big goals to be part of those teams. When I was ruled it was a pretty bitter pill to take, but unbelievably I find myself here, so it's great news. 

"I found it pretty difficult to take for a while, but I then used all that energy and emotion to rehab and get better as fast as I could. The rule, we thought, was that if there was an injury I couldn't be the one to come in and replace. I don't know if the rules changed or if we misinterpreted them, but it was good news from my point of view to think that there was still a glimmer of hope that I could still be involved." 

Hussey had been focused on getting fit for Australia's one-day tour of Bangladesh, which immediately follows the World Cup. Now he finds himself parachuted in to the middle of a campaign that has started well, with victories over Zimbabwe and New Zealand, before the much-anticipated clash with Sri Lanka was washed out in Colombo. 

Victory over Kenya would confirm Australia's place in the quarter-finals, but their goal is to finish at the top of the Group A table, to give them the best chance of facing a weaker opponent in the sudden-death rounds. And as the business end of the tournament approaches, it will be important for Hussey to rush straight into the side and get acclimatised to the subcontinent conditions. 

It could be Hussey's brother David, or Cameron White, or Steven Smith, who makes way, but whatever the case, there will be plenty of attention on how Hussey performs. He said he had been overwhelmed with the positive feedback to his call-up, but all the same, the month-long debate about his place in the squad means that a couple of failures might not go down so well. 

"I don't want to try to put any extra pressure on myself," he said. "Similar to the Ashes, there's always so much speculation and so much pressure and so much hype and all of the distractions around the team. But for me I just try to put all of those things out of my mind and concentrate on what's important and that's doing my job in the team." 

And at 35, Hussey has no plans to call an end to that job just yet. Last year, he told ESPNcricinfo that his plan was to fight for a place in the World Twenty20, the Ashes and the World Cup, and then reassess. Now, he's starting to cast his eyes beyond the last one of those major events. 

"I'm pretty keen to keep playing," Hussey said. "The key factors for me are am I still contributing to the team, am I enjoying the contest out in the middle, and if I'm still enjoying playing for Australia and doing all the travel and the training and still trying to motivate myself to get better. At the moment I still feel like I'm ticking all those boxes. While I'm doing that I want to continue to play. It took me so long to get just one game for Australia, so I don't want to pull up stumps on anything too soon." 

Of course, there is a career in education he can eventually fall back on. But for now, there are plenty of opponents he'd still like to teach a lesson.