News

England 12 runs better than Middlesex

27/10/08

COOLIDGE, Antigua -- England almost found themselves in a spin again Middlesex on Sunday night, but were able to wiggle away with a narrow 12-run win over their countrymen as the Stanford Super Series continued on Sunday night.

Kevin Pietersen was a victim of clever bowling by Murali Kartik – smartly stumped by Ben Scott – as England found the going tough on a pitch offering help to the four slow bowlers employed by English County Twenty20 champions.

England eventually mustered 121 for 4 wickets off 20 overs, with the best striking coming from Owais Shah – a Middlesex man – who cracked a six and two fours in 39 from 37 balls.

Kartik had two for 27 from his fours overs and the other slow men – Shaun Udal, Dawid Malan -- worried the batsmen. After the match England skipper Pietersen noted that spin bowlers could feature prominently when his players face the Stanford Superstars on Saturday night for the winner-take-all prize of US$20 million.

“We just have to accept that it will be slow, and think about and work on the areas where we can score runs,” said Pietersen, who delivered a full quota of four overs. “I’m not good enough to bowl as a second spinner, but it’s something we’ll think long and hard about. It’s not something we were thinking about at the start of the tournament.”

Batting under the lights, Middlesex proved their worth as the game was only decided in the final over when they needed 18 to an upset win. They could only get five, but will be buoyed by the fact that they never gave up. Malan hit five fours and a six in 41 not out to be the topscorer.

The Stanford Super Series continues when Trinidad and Tobago face Middlesex in the Championship Match on Monday at 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Caribbean Time).