Henry Nicholls has suggested that it was his and Ross Taylor’s mental capacity to deal with balls that beat the bat that helped New Zealand recover from three quick wickets

Andrew Fidel Fernando14-Aug-2019On a day in which a 100-run fourth-wicket stand formed the centre piece of New Zealand’s progress, one of the architects of that partnership suggested it was the mental capacity to deal with balls that beat the bat that helped the team recover from three quick wickets.Three wickets had fallen in the space of four overs just before lunch. When Henry Nicholls joined Ross Taylor after the break, the innings was at risk of spiraling into collapse – a frequent phenomenon at Galle.But Nicholls and Taylor resisted Sri Lanka’s best bowler of the day – offspinner Akila Dananjaya – to lift their side to a reasonable position. Nicholls made 42 off 78.”We know on these surfaces in the subcontinent when you do get a wicket sometimes it can turn into two or three,” Nicholls said after rain had forced an early finish to the day. “When Ross and I went out after lunch it was a case of keeping it simple and expecting that the ball was going to turn and beat the bat sometimes. It’s just being comfortable with that. We did a nice job for a while there.”Conditions were tough at times. The ball certainly spun a little earlier than we thought, but we expected it to be turning.”Countering Akila’s offbreaks were especially difficult for Nicholls, a left-hander. Akila had dismissed left-handed openers Jeet Raval and Tom Latham in quick session in the first session, on his way to 5 for 57 from the day. He was the only Sri Lanka bowler to take wickets.”With the ball turning away from left-handers he’s got a few options,” Nicholls said. “He’s a very good bowler as well. He deserved a five-wicket bag today. For me, trying to find a balance between defence and being comfortable with the ball turning the way it did, was important.”The game ebbed and flowed a bit through that middle session. Ross and I were able to score between 3.5 to 4 an over for a while there. We expect it to be like that – ebbing and flowing. When the ball’s a bit harder and it’s turning a bit sharper, it will be tougher. But when you bring the seamers back, while they bowled well at times, you were also able to score a bit faster.”Galle pitches are known to deteriorate quickly, on account of the strong sea-breeze that blows across the ground. Although 203 for 5 does not immediately appear a commanding score, New Zealand remain capable of getting themselves into a strong position on a famously bowler-friendly surface. Taylor ended the day at 86 not out off 131 balls.”First-innings runs in this part of the world are massive. We’re expecting it will get harder to bat on. It’s nice that Ross is not out overnight and is batting so beautifully.”

Allrounder hit below the left ear as he’s hit by a skiddy bouncer while attempting to play the hook shot

Sreshth Shah13-Sep-2019Andre Russell was stretchered off the ground by medical staff after a blow to his helmet in the first innings of Jamaica Tallawahs’ clash against St Lucia Zouks at Sabina Park on Thursday.Following the incident, he was taken to hospital for a CT scan. A medical update from the franchise confirmed that Russell was later cleared of serious injury. Having been advised rest, he returned to the hotel and didn’t play further part in the game.The incident took place in the 14th over, after Russell, batting on zero, failed to connect with a pull. Zouks pacer Hardus Viljoen had bowled it short and at the body, and the ball struck Russell’s helmet near the right ear.Russell had backed away before Viljoen had delivered the ball, and so the bowler followed the batsman, cramping him for space. Russell immediately dropped to the ground and the Zouks fielders then removed his helmet. When the medical team rushed in to check on Russell, the batsman looked dazed but stood up on his feet.Russell was beginning to walk off, retired hurt, when he was made to stop. A stretcher was brought in, and Russell – with a neck brace on – was taken off. At first look, it appeared that Russell’s helmet did not have a neck guard.Three overs after the incident, Tallawahs head coach Donovan Miller told the broadcasters that “there was no update on Russell just yet”, but at the innings break, the commentators informed that Russell had been taken to the hospital for further checks.Tallawahs finished their innings on 170 for 5, adding only 38 runs in the last six overs. They eventually lost by five wickets, suffering their third straight loss of the campaign.

Offspinner signs a record six-year deal to stay with Sydney Thunder in the BBL

Alex Malcolm17-Nov-2019Chris Green has signed the longest deal in BBL history after Sydney Thunder signed the offspinner for a further six seasons.Green, 26, is one of the very few Australian players who isn’t involved in the traditional domestic state pathway, instead opting to become a T20 globetrotter. But the Thunder have signed him on for six seasons not only for his value as a specialist T20 spinner with an ability bowl in the powerplay, as well as being a crafty lower-order batsman, but also for his loyalty to the Thunder and his standing as a leader and ambassador for the club.Despite not currently being involved in four-day and 50-over cricket for New South Wales – he has never played a first-class game – Green has been encouraged by feedback from the Australian selectors about his international prospects. He was not selected for Australia’s most recent two T20I series but was picked to play in the Prime Minister’s XI and the Cricket Australia XI T20 tour games against Sri Lanka and Pakistan and remains in contention for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.Green said he was grateful for the Thunder’s backing after being the first franchise to give him a chance.”Thunder was the first team that backed me when I was playing grade cricket, so to lock in my future with the club is really exciting,” Green said. “It’s not often you have security, so for me to get that with a club that I love, I’m really excited and very grateful for this opportunity to continue to represent Thunder into the future.”Green’s performances for the Thunder in the powerplay have propelled him to opportunities in the Caribbean Premier League where he has starred for the Guyana Amazon Warriors. He has also played in Canada’s Global T20, the T20 Blast and the PSL. He is currently playing for the Northern Warriors in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament.

The wicketkeeper-batsman made 59 against a Victoria XI in Melbourne on Sunday and will replace out-of-form Raval in the second Test against Australia

Alex Malcolm22-Dec-2019New Zealand have confirmed reserve batsman and wicketkeeper Tom Blundell will open during the second Test against Australia on Boxing Day in Melbourne with Jeet Raval set to be dropped.Blundell opened for New Zealand in their single day practice match against Victoria XI at Scotch College in Melbourne on Sunday and made 59. The two-day game had been reduced to a single day fixture due to extreme heat in Melbourne on Friday.Blundell has only played two Test matches, against West Indies at home in 2017, where he made an unbeaten century on debut as wicketkeeper. He has never opened in 93 first-class innings and has not batted any higher than No. 5. He has only opened in four domestic T20s and six List A matches for Wellington but has not done so since 2017.However, Blundell is confident he can make the adjustment. “I think it’s just a mindset shift,” he said. “I’ll probably try and still bat the same but it’s just the first 30 balls, you have to be a little bit patient outside that off stump. If I can last those 30 balls hopefully I can bat a little bit more positively.”I feel like I can do a good job wherever and this game I’ve been given the opportunity to open and I’m really looking forward to Boxing day.”Veteran batsman and team-mate Ross Taylor backed Blundell’s selection for the fixture at the MCG.”It’s fantastic,” Taylor said. “Couldn’t think of a better place [for Blundell] to be introduced to opening the batting. I think he started off with a hundred in his Test debut back home in New Zealand and he definitely won’t be over-awed by the occasion.”He obviously started well today [at the practice match], got a 50, and the team are thoroughly enjoying him being around and are looking forward to seeing what he can do come Boxing Day.”I think one of his strengths is pace bowling. He loves to play the short ball. He hasn’t played a lot of Test cricket but when he has played he’s got a hundred on debut. It’s lovely for him to get out there and show what he’s got. I fully back him and look forward to seeing how he goes.”Raval’s form has forced New Zealand’s hand after he failed to reach double figures in seven of his last nine Test innings. Trent Boult is also set to return from his intercostal injury to replace the injured Lockie Ferguson. With just one day of cricket before the Test, Boult played for the Victoria XI, bowling 11 overs across three spells and claimed the wicket of Tom Latham.Australia are set to make one change with coach Justin Langer confirming to on Saturday that James Pattinson would replace injured fast bowler Josh Hazlewood.

No side has won three of their first four Tests. Afghanistan have a chance to change all that

The Preview by Sreshth Shah26-Nov-2019

Big picture

Don’t let Afghanistan’s two-day loss on their Test debut against India fool you. Incidentally then, Phil Simmons was their head coach. Today, he’s in the opposition camp, perhaps with a bank of knowledge he’d want to share with his West Indies team. Since that insipid debut, of course, Afghanistan have beaten Ireland in India and Bangladesh in Bangladesh. If they beat West Indies in Lucknow, they’ll become the only team in the history of the sport to win three of their first four Tests.The possibility is real. Under captain Rashid Khan, who has taken three five-wicket hauls in his last four Test innings, Afghanistan will run into a wonky West Indies batting line-up. The win in the T20I series should boost the ‘hosts’ to that effect. In their last three Tests, only twice have the West Indies batsmen gone past fifty. On a ground that is hosting it’s maiden Test, there are a lot of unknown variables, not least of all the pitch. Against a spin-based attack, West Indies will be tested.That said, Afghanistan would also do well to worry about their batting weakness. Barring Rahmat Shah, few have shown the tenacity to bat long. In both of Afghanistan’s Test wins, Rahmat’s contributions have been as integral as Rashid’s. But with senior allrounder Mohammad Nabi having retired from Tests, someone else too needs to step up.For West Indies, the series is about showing that they aren’t falling behind in the red-ball format. For Afghanistan, it’s time to say that, they too, possess the quality to find a spot in the next cycle of the World Test Championship.

Form Guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Afghanistan WWL

West Indies LLLWW

In the spotlight

It appears that the job of filling the Nabi void has been given to 21-year-old allrounder Karim Janat, who has earned a Test berth after a splendid T20I series against West Indies. He struck an 18-ball 26 and picked up 5 for 11 in the second game before finishing the series with 1 for 33 in the third. He can find speeds of 140kph regularly, and with his elder brother Asghar Afghan there for company, Janat can find an arm around him for comfort, instead of being intimidated by the prospects of a main Test appearance.The form that made Kraigg Brathwaite ESPNcricinfo’s opener of the year in 2016 has gradually diminished as the decade comes to a close. He’s gone 19 innings without a Test fifty, and since February 2019, his only first-class century was one for Glamorgan in the English County Championship. It’s West Indies’ last Test match of the year, and with no other Test till they face England in June 2020, the team’s seniormost batsmen will ache to end 2019 with an impactful performance.Getty Images

Team news

Afghanistan coach Lance Klusener said it would be desirable to keep faith with the XI that won the Test in Bangladesh, though they’ll have to find a replacement for the retired Mohammad Nabi of course. Given the way Karim Janat performed in the T20Is, and that he offers an all-round option, he could well be the man to replace Nabi, even though he bowls seam up rather than spin. Afghanistan having plenty of spin options already with Rashid, Qais and Zahir.Afghanistan XI (probable): Ibrahim Zadran, Ihsanullah, Rahmat Shah, Javed Ahmadi, Asghar Afghan, Karim Janat, Afsar Zazai (wk), Rashid Khan (capt), Qais Ahmed, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zahir Khan.Rahkheem Cornwall had an ice-pack strapped to his left knee and didn’t take part in the warm-up drills or training session for West Indies. Coach Phil Simmons, however, said a final call on Cornwall would be taken only on the morning of the match. John Campbell is recovering from a stomach bug.West Indies XI (probable): Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell/Sunil Ambris, Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder (capt), Shane Dowrich (wk), Rahkeem Cornwall, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican/Alzarri Joseph.

Pitch and conditions

The match will be played on the same surface as the second ODI was played on. It’s a red-soil pitch, and is expected to aid spin bowling. Expect foggy mornings at the onset of winters up north in India. As such, conditions for red-ball cricket is relatively unknown at the ground, with only three first-class games being played at Lucknow since 2017.

Stats and trivia

• In the last three first-class games at Lucknow, an average of 2 centuries and 3.33 half-centuries have been witnessed per match
• With 333 runs, Jason Holder is West Indies’ highest run-scorer in 2019, averaging over 55 runs per innings. The second-highest run-scorer, Roston Chase, is more than 100 runs behind Holder.
• Rashid Khan averages 18 runs per wicket in Tests

What they said

“Obviously one day I’d like to play at ‘home’ home, but this is home away from home for us. The surfaces have suited us, and that’s the important thing if you’re going to have home advantage”.
“They’ve had three Tests, and did well to win in Bangladesh, but it’s still a learning phase for them and hopefully we can capitalise on that.”

The Australia captain looked set for a maiden Test ton until he was given out on review

Daniel Brettig 29-Dec-2019Tim Paine’s first innings lbw verdict was shown to be correct by a narrow margin on HawkEye as well as the VirtualEye ball-tracking used by the umpires to make the decision.While VirtualEye’s ball-tracking is used by the host broadcaster Fox Cricket, the rival Seven network has HawkEye ball-tracking in place for analytical use. Both technologies showed Paine was stuck in line to ensure it would not be “umpire’s call” and therefore not out, after Neil Wagner’s initial appeal was turned down.Paine was visibly frustrated, but it appears that the decision was a case of fine margins rather than outright errors on the part of the technology or its operators. Ian Taylor, the chief executive of VirtualEye, had extended an invitation to Paine to watch the decision in detail, but Paine hadn’t yet accepted the offer.”I did read this morning that I’ve got an invite, so I might take it up at some stage, but I’m not too interested,” Paine said after Australia’s 247-run win in the Boxing Day Test that helped seal the series with one Test to play. “It is what it is, sometimes you get a bit frustrated, today we might’ve got one that went our way. So that’s how it works.”You’d hope it would be spot on, not trying to get it more precise. I think it would be nice across all Test matches to have the same technology in place for every Test in the Test Championship, we’ll see what happens.”HawkEye is the ball-tracker used by the majority of cricket-playing nations, and is also in place for the Big Bash League, where Seven is the host broadcaster for the majority of games rather than Fox Cricket. However there is presently no use of a decision review system in the BBL, meaning that VirtualEye is the only ball-tracker on show in matches in Australia when the time comes for umpires to make decision and players to review them.Paine, who has signed a deal with Seven to commentate on the BBL in the new year, said he was more likely to look closer at the technology when he begins that stint.”It’s certainly got its good points, there’s just some ironing out at times to be done,” Paine said. “But that’s only my opinion, I know they’re trying to get it as precise as they’re possibly can, but I think as an aid to help the umpires get the correct decision I think its good. I’m actually doing a bit of commentary after the Test so I’ll have plenty of time to sneak in then maybe.”On the final day of the MCG Test, the Australians were beneficiaries of another tight call when New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was given out lbw by Marais Erasmus. VirtualEye showed the delivery from James Pattinson would’ve just grazed leg stump, enough for the decision to be upheld.”Obviously it’s not 100% accurate and I think they’re always looking to try and improve that,” Williamson said. “You’d like to think overall that the technology does increase the amount of right decisions, whether you feel like you’re unlucky or not, you pretty much have to look within and try and play it better and try and learn and just keep improving. That’s the focus for me, and you just need to move on.”

Colin Ingram’s half-century for Islamabad United in vain

The Report by Sreshth Shah27-Feb-2020Quetta Gladiators pulled off PSL 2020’s highest successful chase on the back of Ben Cutting’s unbeaten 17-ball 42, that helped them chase Islamabad United’s 188-run target in a five-wicket win. Cutting built on the efforts of Jason Roy and Sarfaraz Ahmed to ensure a result that kept Gladiators on top of the tournament points table.When Sarfaraz Ahmed was out at the start of the 16th over, Gladiators needed a further 55 runs in 29 balls, but Cutting’s two fours and four sixes, and a useful contribution from Mohammad Nawaz, sealed the win with two balls to spare.Cutting makes full use of Roy, Sarfaraz inningsAfter losing Shane Watson early in their chase, holing out to deep midwicket, the other Gladiators opener Jason Roy consolidated with a 38-ball 50 to keep the Gladiators’ asking rate within reach.Ahmed Shehzad entertained with two sixes off Shadab Khan but was out for a five-ball cameo of 12, stumped while trying a third big shot. Azam Khan did not last long either, bogged down by the spin of Ahmed Safi Abdullah and Shadab. Roy’s six fours and two sixes, however, took Gladiators past the 100-run mark in the 12th over. He fell right after bringing up his fifty, when he struck Abdullah into the hands of long-off.Sarfaraz, the Gladiators captain, then found the gap intermittently to hit 33 off 20 balls, but when he fell in the 16th over, the required run-rate was more than 11. That’s when Cutting took charge, first collecting 11 off Rumman Raees’ 17th over and then smacking 17 off Faheem Ashraf’s 18th. That brought the equation down to 16 off 12 balls, and Cutting ended the game with two sixes in the 20th over to earn the side third win in four games.United’s poor second-half with the batAfter 14 overs, Islamabad United were cruising. At 140 for 4, Colin Ingram was on 42 while Asif Ali had just walked in. Asif caused some damage with two sixes off Mohammad Nawaz but three wickets in three overs deflated United’s second-half flourish: they scored only 33 runs in the last five overs.The innings had begun with Luke Ronchi crunching 11 runs off the first three deliveries to hand United a flying start but he was bowled by Naseem Shah in the second over. Dawid Malan followed Ronchi back two overs later, but Colin Munro held one end up hitting Mohammad Hasnain and Naseem to all parts. Munro fell inside the Powerplay, but by the time he was out, United were at 56 for 3 and positioned for a sizeable total.United’s No. 5 Ingram picked up from where Munro left off. His leg-side play saw many boundaries hitting the midwicket fence, and he anchored United’s innings thereafter.With six overs to go, they were prepared for a charge that could have taken United past 200, but the dismissals of Asif and Ashraf in quick succession exposed their lower order, forcing Ingram to change his approach. Despite 15 runs off the final over, which helped Ingram reach his 40th T20 fifty, all United could manage was 187. It turned out to be too little on a true batting surface.

Alex Hales struck 52 off 30 after a duck from Babar Azam to down Islamabad United

The Report by Peter Della Penna01-Mar-2020Unbeaten half-centuries by Luke Ronchi and Shadab Khan wound up being in vain for Islamabad United as Alex Hales’ own rapid fifty chasing a target of 184 propelled the Karachi Kings to a five-wicket win with eight balls to spare. Ronchi and Shadab added an unbeaten 106 for the fourth wicket to end Islamabad’s innings, and then maintained early momentum in the Karachi chase when Babar Azam was run out without facing a ball taking on Shadab’s arm at backward point in the first over of the reply.But in a way it backfired for Islamabad because it brought Hales to the crease, who teamed with Sharjeel in a ferocious stand, adding 58 together off just 27 balls to put Karachi in command. Sharjeel was the aggressor, turning on the accelerator in the fifth over against Faheem Ashraf when he clobbered a pair of pulls over backward square leg for sixes in the space of three balls.Sharjeel was eventually given out via DRS on 38 in the sixth over when replays revealed his attempted upper cut to a Rumman Raees slower ball was gloved on the way through to Ronchi diving forward. But again momentum shifted quickly back to Karachi as Cameron Delport picked up the slack from where Sharjeel left off, crunching three sixes in his 38 off 28 balls during a 64-run stand with Hales.The pair got out in back-to-back overs in identical fashion, bashing a six before getting out on the very next ball. But by that stage there was little work left to do. One last brief hiccup came via the run out of Iftikhar Ahmed for 1, but Chadwick Walton and Imad Wasim were largely unfazed during their unbeaten 48-run stand to close out the match. Wasim blasted Ashraf for back-to-back sixes over square leg to start the 19th over to bring the equation down to two off 10 balls. A single to level the scores was followed by a four struck by Walton over cover to clinch victory.Turning pointIslamabad could not contain their excitement in the field when Shadab’s athletic charge from backward point along with a sidearm whip from 12 yards pinged the striker’s stumps with Azam inches short of his ground in the first over of the chase. The run out was partly a consequence of Azam trying to take pressure off Sharjeel by calling for a tight run to get Sharjeel off strike after he had already gone scoreless in his first three deliveries.But rather than get mentally bogged down by the run out even further, Sharjeel responded in extremely positive fashion. His assault on Ashraf in the fifth over flipped momentum firmly back towards Karachi and his innings inspired Delport to follow suit.Star of the dayHales may have been overshadowed by both Sharjeel and Delport in his half-century stands with them, scoring at a slower rate than either. However, he lasted longer at the crease and in the process brought up his maiden PSL half-century. He reached the landmark off 29 balls in style too, driving the spin of Ahmed Safi Abdullah over long-off for six.In addition to his fifty, Hales was also superb in the field. Perhaps his most underrated contribution towards receiving Player-of-the-Match honours was his sliding catch taken after charging forward about 25 yards from long-off to snare the wicket of Rizwan Hussain, who was looking very ominous having already struck two fours and a six in his 22 off 14 balls.The big missShadab was so caught up in a fit of rage aimed at Rizwan that he missed Rizwan running out Iftikhar in the 15th over of the chase. Iftikhar had nudged Shadab behind point for a would-be single that was called for by Walton thinking Rizwan had chosen the wrong end to throw at. Walton had bolted immediately for the run and was almost in the crease by the time Rizwan had released the ball aimed at the non-striker’s stumps, triggering Shadab into furious gesticulations. Meanwhile, Iftikhar had hesitated significantly and was only halfway down the pitch when the throw was on its way, ultimately falling short. As the rest of the Islamabad squad celebrated, Shadab was still smarting.Where the teams standIslamabad blew a chance to pass the Quetta Gladiators and instead remain in third place on five points, ahead of Peshawar Zalmi on net run rate. Karachi closed the gap with Islamabad and Peshawar and are now one point behind both in fifth place on four points.

Earl Eddings says CA has presented different options to the ICC Board

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Jun-2020Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings believes it is “unlikely” and “unrealistic” that the Men’s T20 World Cup will take place in Australia as scheduled this year. The fate of the tournament, scheduled between October 18 and November 15, is being deliberated fiercely by the ICC Board which last week deferred to take the final call.The ICC has continued to remain optimistic despite the growing likelihood of the tournament being postponed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. After the ICC Board meeting convened to discuss contingency planning last week , ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney had said that there was only “one chance” to make the decision and it needed to be the “right one” which he said would be arrived at after consulting all stakeholders, from the broadcaster to the players.Eddings, who sits on the ICC Board, though, felt time was running out. He pointed out that with many of the 16 participating countries still under the grip of the pandemic it was “very, very difficult” to stage the tournament and said that CA had presented different options to the ICC Board for the tournament to be moved.”I sit on the ICC and we’re having meetings as we speak,” Eddings said on Tuesday. “It’s a bit of a moving feast at the moment. I’d say it’s unlikely, while it hasn’t been formally called off this year or postponed, trying to get 16 countries into Australia in the current world where most countries are still going through Covid-19 spiking, I think it’s unrealistic or would be very, very difficult. We’ve put forward a number of different options to the ICC we’re working through at the moment.”This is the second time in the last month Eddings has asked the ICC to consider postponing the T20 World Cup. Last month, he addressed an email to the ICC’s Finance & Commercial Affairs Committee, proposing Australia and India swap hosting the tournament over the next two years. Contents of Eddings’ correspondence to the ICC were reported by the recently.Eddings suggested that Australia host the event in October-November 2021 and India stage the tournament a year later in 2022. Doing that, Eddings said, would financially help all the member countries. If not, Eddings said it would be “detrimental to cricket” in case the “cancellation” of the World Cup in Australia this year was “replaced by award of” the tournament in October-November 2022.Last month Kevin Roberts, who was sacked by CA as chief executive on Monday, had pointed out that there was a “very high risk” of the T20 World Cup taking place in October-November. Roberts, though, had indicated the “implications” of postponing the tournament were not straightforward and the ICC was “juggling a lot of balls” as it was “looking at the windows that are possible over the coming year.”One of those windows, as ESPNcricinfo reported could be moving the Men’s T20 World Cup at the back of the Women’s ODI World Cup which is scheduled in New Zealand for February-March 2021. In case that happens, the women’s tournament would need to be advanced to January in order to fit in the men’s edition. Doing that would help the ICC and CA retain the local organising committee for the Men’s T20 World Cup to continue and smoothen the logistics and costs.Nick Hockley, CEO of the T20 World Cup local organising committee, and appointed as Roberts’ temporary replacement, said CA would be ready for any eventuality including the tournament being postponed. “There’s a huge amount of work going on around [T20 World Cup] contingency planning,” Hockley said on Tuesday. “I think there’s meetings coming up next month at ICC level where some decisions will be made and we’ve got a fantastic local organising committee who are busy preparing for every eventuality and the decision that will come forth.”

Australia booked themselves into the final of the World Cup with a comprehensive 48-run win against Sri Lanka

Charlie Austin14-May-2020Australia booked themselves into the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup with a comprehensive Duckworth Lewis affected 48 run win against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, another clinical performance that will only enhance the aura of invincibility that now surrounds Ricky Ponting’s side.Sri Lanka had their moments, making Australia’s top order struggle on the sluggish St George’s pitch at Port Elizabeth, but Australia once again wriggled free of trouble, posting a respectable 212 for seven after an unbeaten half-century from Andrew Symonds, before grabbing an iron-like grip on the game with the ball.Mid-innings the match may have looked evenly poised, but that was before the main contest of the day: speedster Brett Lee versus Sri Lanka’s pace-shy top order. Lee won the contest in convincing fashion, shrugging off the handicap of a turgid surface to take three wickets as Sri Lanka slumped to 76 for seven.Kumar Sangakkara (39*) and Chaminda Vaas (21*) provided some resistance, adding 47 runs in 13.5 overs for the eighth wicket, before rain forced the players from the field with Sri Lanka on 123 for seven after 38.1 overs, well behind the run rate according to the Duckworth Lewis machinations.No further play was possible, meaning Australia, who now have a record 16 successive World Cup wins under their belt, will face either India or Kenya in the tournament final at Wanderers on Sunday.The Sri Lanka innings had started brightly enough with the inform Marvan Atapattu (14) stroking three boundaries but Lee was cranking steadily up through the gears. The disappointment of a spilled catch at cover pushed him to full throttle and a thunderbolt yorker, clocked at a staggering 160.1 km per hour, rearranged his stumps.Sanath Jayasuriya (17), a shadow of his former self after being roughed up and maimed by Lee at Centurion, was snared by Lee’s new ball partner Glenn McGrath, swivel-pulling lamely into the hands of Symonds at backward square.Lee quickly mopped up Hashan Tillakaratne (3) and Avishka Gunawardene (1), both of whom wafted edges behind, before Andy Bichel sealed Sri Lanka’s fate with the brilliant run out of Aravinda de Silva, the last man capable of carrying Jayasuriya’s side to victory.De Silva, playing his last international game, had already signaled the threat he posed with two boundaries when Kumar Sangakkara nudged to mid-wicket and called for a quick single. Bichel, the bowler, quickly chased down the ball and threw down the stumps with de Silva yards out of his ground.The out-of-form Mahela Jayawardene, included in the side in place of paceman Dilhara Fernando earlier in the day as Sri Lanka packed their side with batting, extended his World Cup aggregate to 21 in seven innings before being caught off pad and glove.When Russel Arnold, Sri Lanka’s last recognised batsman, top edged a sweep to deep back square, having spent 27 balls scratching out his three runs, Sri Lanka dead and buried on 76 for sevenEarlier, after Australia had won an important toss, Symonds, a controversial selection when Australia’s World Cup squad was first announced, produced his second match-winning performance of the tournament, scoring an unbeaten 91 from 118 balls.The zinc-lipped right-hander, who would have been stumped on 33 had Sangakkara not spilled a straightforward take, rescued the Australian innings with a 93 run partnership for the fourth wicket.Australia had made a galloping start, racing to 34 off the first five overs as Pulasthi Gunaratne was smacked for 20 runs in his first two overs.But de Silva, called into the attack in just the sixth over, broke through with his second off-break of the day as Gilchrist edged an attempted sweep onto his pad to offer Sangakkara a simple catch. Had the 29-year-old stood his ground then he would have been reprieved by a doubting Rudi Koertzen but, in an act of rare Australian chivalry, Gilchrist walked.Vaas, who produced another skillful display, then claimed a brace of wickets as Ricky Ponting (2) mistimed a drive to be caught at mid-off and Matthew Hayden (20) clipped a stinging catch to mid-wicket. The left-armer extended his record World Cup tally to 23 when he had Lee Harvey caught at the wicket with a jagging off-cutter.Symonds and Lehmann then steadied the innings, never scoring easily against Sri Lanka’s quartet of slow bowlers, but preventing a Sri Lankan rout and laying a solid enough foundation for their bowlers later in the day.Eventually, Jayasuriya broke through with a well-flighted delivery that Lehmann chopped onto his stumps. The spinner had a chance of claiming a hat-trick when Michael Bevan (0), the hero during Australia’s previous two matches at Port Elizabeth, edged a catch behind.Brad Hogg (8) survived the hat-trick ball but did not last long before being smartly stumped by Sangakkara. After Harvey’s dismissal Australia were 175 for seven but Sri Lanka could not finish them off as Symonds and Bichel added 37 runs in the final 6.1 overs.