Live - Twenty20 Cup Finals Day04.08.2007 11:01 Sports Edgbaston: 4 August
TWENTY20 CUP FINALS, Edgbaston: 1st semi-final: Lancashire v Gloucestershire (1130 BST) 2nd semi-final: Kent v Sussex 1500 Final: 1905 LATEST ACTION AS IT HAPPENS (ALL TIMES BST) e-mail tms@bbc.co.uk (with 'For Mark Mitchener' in the subject), text 81111 or use 606
7th over - Lancs 57-3 New batsman Steven Croft dabs a single - and Gloucestershire have the three prize scalps they wanted. Croft and Cross at the crease may lead to some confusion, but Cross cover-drives for his first boundary. Nine off the over. 6.3 overs - WICKET - Hodge c Marshall b Hardinges 32 - Lancs 52-2 Mark Hardinges replaces Lewis, but is let down by boundary fielder Ian Fisher as the ball ricochets off him for four, to bring up the Lancashire 50. But Hodge's aggressive cameo is all over (32 off 19 balls) as he drills one straight to Marshall the Kiwi at short cover. "This Twenty20 finals day is perfectly timed, it covers the last Saturday before the new football season beautifully, meaning that my excuses for not helping with anything on Saturdays starts early" Pete Harmer, Norfolk in the TMS inbox 6th over - Lancs 48-2 Ben Edmondson replaces Greenidge in the attack at the Pavilion End. Hodge hits the first ball for two, then hoists the second to midwicket where it bounces just inside the boundary for four. No sign of the Chicken Men yet, but there are some blood-splattered, seemingly undead spectators in the crowd. Greenidge isn't too far from the action as he makes a sprawling stop at third man to save a four. Hodge lifts Edmondson to leg again, but Kadeer Ali makes a smart stop to restrict them to a single. 5th over - Lancs 39-2 Young wicket-keeper Gareth Cross, preferred to Luke Sutton in Twenty20, is the new batsman. His first ball from Lewis is a no-ball - which gives Cross a free hit. He steps away to the off-side like Law did earlier, but misses the ball - it flicks his pad and it goes through the diving keeper Steve Adshead for four. 4.5 overs - WICKET - Flintoff run out 3 - Lancs 33-2 Flintoff gets a thickish edge past gully for a single, while Five Live's Alison Mitchell sets Philip Studd off in search of the semi-mythical "Gloucestershire Chicken Men", who apparently have been bringing the same (refrozen and rethawed) chicken to games for years. Hodge is on fire here, reaching 18 off about 5 balls by hoisting Lewis to cow corner for four. He then tries a quick single, testing Greenidge's arm at square leg, but Flintoff makes his ground by a yard or so at the striker's end. Next ball, there's another mix-up, surely a run-out, and Flintoff's gone without even waiting for the third umpire's verdict. 4th over - Lancs 27-1 Greenidge steams in, but overpitches and Hodge drills it back down the ground for four, before clubbing another boundary past Marshall at midwicket from a long-hop. Greenidge shortens his run-up and hits Hodge on the pad, but then returns to his usual run-up - and it's another four from Hodge, this time past backward point. Another fierce drive goes straight to Mark Hardinges at short extra cover. "Gloucestershire have done their homework here, setting fields for the individual batsmen" Ashley Giles on Five Live Sports Extra 3rd over - Lancs 15-1 New batsman is Australia's Brad Hodge, who nudges his first ball to fine leg for two, and then adds a leg-bye to pinch the strike. 2.4 overs -WICKET - Law c Spearman b Lewis 8 - Lancs 12-1 Flintoff advances down the track, hits it in the air, Alex Gidman leaps in the air and gets both hands to it at mid-off but can't hold on and Freddie survives. He then hits it just past Marshall at midwicket, and it just evades the diving Greenidge on the boundary for four. Law then gives Lewis the charge but only succeeds in chipping it to Craig Speaman at first slip - a well-taken catch above his head. 2nd over - Lancs 7-0 Carl Greenidge - son of West Indies and Hampshire legend Gordon - shares the opening attack, wearing a bright yellow and dark blue headband in the Gloucestershire one-day colours. Law moves outside his off stump and lifts the ball to fine leg for four in an extremely unorthodox manner for the first boundary of the innings. "You can already see that there's not a lot of pace in the wicket" Ashley Giles on BBC Five Live Sports Extra 1st over - Lancs 2-0 Lewis opens up with... a legside wide. When Freddie blocks the first legitimate ball, Law backs up too far and slips as he tries to regain his ground at the bowler's end and is nearly run out. Astonishing scenes. Lewis's fellow curly-haired international Hamish Marshall is a panther in the midwicket position. The rest of the over is very tidy from Lewis as only a leg-bye is added. 1128: A missed opportunity from the Edgbaston DJ as the classical theme "Entry of the Gladiators" is not used as the Gloucestershire fielders walk out. They're swiftly followed by the prodigiously talented opening batsmen from Lancashire - Andrew Flintoff and Stuart Law. Gloucs skipper Jon Lewis to take the new ball. Let the games commence. 1124: Not forgetting, between the two semi-finals, we've also got a race between the various counties' mascots. Five Live Sports Extra's Philip Studd has the task of commentating on the various bears, birds etc as they run past. 1122: Here's the teams (not necessarily in batting order): Lancashire: SG Law, MJ Chilton (capt), BJ Hodge, A Flintoff, GD Cross (wk), SJ Croft, G Chapple, DG Cork, M Muralitharan, G Keedy, JM Anderson. Gloucestershire: CM Spearman, HJH Marshall, Kadeer Ali, CG Taylor, APR Gidman, MA Hardinges, SJ Adshead (wk), CG Greenidge, J Lewis (capt), ID Fisher, BM Edmondson. Umpires: Peter Willey and Jeremy Lloyds "Kent's new signing Lasith Malinga's action is very unusual - when the ball appears from around the umpire's chest area, it's very hard to pick up. Sometimes, I've seen batsmen ask umpires to take their ties off" Warwickshire and Scotland seamer Dougie Brown on BBC Five Live Sports Extra "England bowling coach Allan Donald was a favourite here at Edgbaston, and he will be keeping his eye on the pace bowlers on display today" England and Essex pace bowler Alex Tudor on BBC Five Live Sports Extra "With Trescothick missing this winter, it would have been a great opportunity for Mal Loye to show the selectors what he can do. But the Lancashire physio will be working hard to get him fit for the final" England and Warwickshire spinner Ashley Giles on BBC Five Live Sports Extra 1111: It's all go here today - I'll be keeping you posted with the first semi-final, before Sam Lyon takes over for Kent-Sussex and the final. Twenty20 finals day is naturally hectic, but we'll still try to squeeze in the occasional e-mail from you. But remember, if you're off to the beach or anywhere else, you can still keep track of all the action on your phone or PDA. "Hopefully there should be some swing for me and Carl Greenidge early on" Gloucestershire captain Jon Lewis on BBC Five Live Sports Extra 1106: An early blow for Lancs - hard-hitting opener Mal Loye has suffered a back injury in the nets and is ruled out, which means Chilton is playing - he would have dropped himself if Loye had played. But ex-England seamer Dominic Cork plays despite a hip problem. 1105: Gloucestershire captain Jon Lewis wins the toss and elects to field first, while Lancs skipper Mark Chilton says he would have batted anyway. Teams as we get them. "Andrew Flintoff, wearing a day-glo vest over a navy blue hoody, is not taking the most active role in Lancashire's pre-match drills. A steel band is playing and the clouds are beginning to frazzle away. Let the games commence!" BBC Sport's Oliver Brett, our man at Edgbaston 1056: The order of play today is this. First up, we have Lancashire v Gloucestershire at 1130. Then, it's Sussex v Kent at 1500 - followed by the grand final at 1905. "The grey clouds around - not rain-bearing ones, we are promised - break to reveal a curious Gloucestershire warm-up routine. The most recognisable character is Hamish Marshall, with his bouffant curls peaking out beneath his cap. The ground is almost half full, and one fan opening up his newspaper is wisely applying the factor 25" BBC Sport's Oliver Brett, our man at Edgbaston 1050: A very good morning. If you're a fan of Lancashire, Gloucestershire, Kent or Sussex, it's eyes down for the fab'n'groovy Twenty20 Finals Day. Source: BBC Sportwww.alllee.com |
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