West Indies cricket team
The West Indies cricket team, traditionally known as the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing the Anglophone Caribbean region and administered by Cricket West Indies. The players on this composite team are selected from a chain of fifteen Caribbean territories, which are parts of several different countries and dependencies; as of 24 June 2018, the West Indian cricket team is ranked ninth in the world in Tests, ninth in ODIs and seventh in T20Is in the official ICC rankings. From the mid-late 1970s to the early 1990s, the West Indies team was the strongest in the world in both Test and One Day International cricket. A number of cricketers who were considered among the best in the world have hailed from the West Indies: Sir Garfield Sobers, Lance Gibbs, George Headley, Brian Lara, Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Sir Andy Roberts, Rohan Kanhai, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Clyde Walcott, Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Curtly Ambrose, Michael Holding, Courtney Walsh, Joel Garner, Sir Viv Richards and Sir Wes Hall have all been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
The West Indies have won the ICC Cricket World Cup twice, the ICC World Twenty20 twice, the ICC Champions Trophy once, the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup once, have finished as runners-up in the Cricket World Cup, the Under 19 Cricket World Cup, the ICC Champions Trophy. The West Indies appeared in three consecutive World Cup finals, were the first team to win back-to-back World Cups; the West Indies has hosted the 2007 Cricket World Cup and the 2010 ICC World Twenty20. The current side represents: Sovereign states Antigua and BarbudaL Barbados DominicaW GrenadaW Guyana Jamaica Saint LuciaW Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesW Trinidad and Tobago Parts of Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint KittsL NevisL British Overseas Territories AnguillaL MontserratL British Virgin IslandsL Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Sint MaartenL Territory of the United States US Virgin IslandsLLegends L = Participant of the Leeward Islands team and member of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association W = Participant of the Windward Islands team and member of the Windward Islands Cricket Board of ControlNotes Cricket West Indies, the governing body of the team, consists of the six cricket associations of Barbados, Jamaica and Tobago, Leeward Islands and Windward Islands.
The Leeward Islands Cricket Association consists of associations of one sovereign state, the two entities of Saint Kitts and Nevis, three British Overseas Territories and two other dependencies. The Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control consists of associations of four sovereign states. Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands, other historical parts of the former West Indies Federation and now British Overseas Territories, have their own teams. National teams exist for the various islands, which, as they are all separate countries much keep their local identities and support their local favourites; these national teams take part in the Carib Beer Cup. It is common for other international teams to play the island teams for warm-up games before they take on the combined West Indies team; the population of these countries and dependencies is estimated at around 6 million, more than Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. The member associations of Cricket West Indies are: Barbados Cricket Association Guyana Cricket Board Jamaica Cricket Association Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board Leeward Islands Cricket Association.
The WICB joined the sport's international ruling body, the Imperial Cricket Conference, in 1926, played their first official international match, granted Test status, in 1928, thus becoming the fourth Test nation. In their early days in the 1930s, the side represented the British colonies that would form the West Indies Federation plus British Guiana; the last series the West Indies played before the outbreak of the Second World War was against England in 1939. There followed a hiatus. Of the West Indies players in that first match after the war only Gerry Gomez, George Headley, Jeffrey Stollmeyer, Foffie Williams had played Test cricket. In 1948, leg spinner Wilfred Ferguson became the first West Indian bowler to take ten wickets in a Test, finishing with 11/229 in a match against England.
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard Hutton was an English cricketer who played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack described him as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket, he set a record in 1938 for the highest individual innings in a Test match in only his sixth Test appearance, scoring 364 runs against Australia, a milestone that stood for nearly 20 years. In 1952, he became the first professional cricketer of the 20th Century to captain England in Tests. Following the Second World War, he was the mainstay of England's batting, the team depended on his success. Marked out as a potential star from his teenage years, Hutton made his debut for Yorkshire in 1934 and established himself at county level. By 1937, he was playing for England and when the war interrupted his career in 1939, critics regarded him as one of the leading batsmen in the country, the world. During the war, he received a serious injury to his arm while taking part in a commando training course.
His arm never recovered, forcing him to alter his batting style. When cricket restarted, Hutton resumed his role as one of England's leading batsmen; as a batsman, Hutton built his style on a sound defence. Although capable of attacking strokeplay, both Yorkshire and England depended on him, awareness of this affected his style. Hutton remains statistically among the best batsmen to have played Test cricket. Hutton captained the England Test team between 1952 and 1955, although his leadership was at times controversial, his cautious approach led critics to accuse him of negativity. Never comfortable in the role, Hutton felt that the former amateur players who administered and governed English cricket did not trust him. In 23 Tests as captain, he lost four with the others drawn. Worn out by the mental and physical demands of his role, Hutton retired from regular first-class cricket during the 1955 season. Knighted for his contributions to cricket in 1956, he went on to be a Test selector, a journalist and broadcaster.
He worked as a representative for an engineering firm until retiring from the job in 1984. Hutton remained involved in cricket, became president of Yorkshire County Cricket Club in 1990, he died a few months afterwards in September 1990, aged 74. Hutton was born on 23 June 1916 in the Moravian community of Fulneck, the youngest of five children to Henry Hutton and his wife Lily. Many of his family were local cricketers and Hutton soon became immersed in the sport, which he both played and read about with enthusiasm, he practised in the playground of Littlemoor Council School, which he attended from 1921 until 1930, at Pudsey St Lawrence Cricket Club, which he joined as a junior. At the age of 12, he made his first appearance for Pudsey St Lawrence's second eleven and by 1929 had reached the first team. Locals encouraged him to meet the Yorkshire and England cricketer Herbert Sutcliffe, a neighbour, from whom Hutton received coaching in Sutcliffe's garden. Sutcliffe was impressed by the young batsman, commended him to Yorkshire as a good prospect.
Following this endorsement, Hutton went to the county's indoor practice shed at Headingley in February 1930. George Hirst, a former Yorkshire cricketer responsible for assessing and coaching young players, believed that Hutton's batting technique was already complete. Bill Bowes, the Yorkshire pace bowler, was impressed, helped Hutton to correct a minor flaw in his technique. Hutton was sufficiently encouraged to decide to attempt a career in professional cricket, but at the prompting of his parents decided to learn a trade as well. During 1930, he watched the Australian Don Bradman hit 334 at Headingley in a Test match a record individual score in Tests—which he himself would surpass eight years later; that year, Hutton enrolled at Pudsey Grammar School where he spent a year studying technical drawing and quantitative work before joining his father at a local building firm, Joseph Verity. After becoming a professional cricketer, Hutton continued to work for the company during winter months until 1939.
By 1933, Hutton was opening the batting for the Pudsey St Lawrence first team in the Bradford Cricket League. By close observation of his opening partner, the former Yorkshire county batsman Edgar Oldroyd, Hutton further developed his batting technique in defence; the local press soon identified Hutton as a player of promise after he scored a match-winning 108 not out in the Priestley Cup. Senior figures within Yorkshire cricket identified him as a potential successor to Percy Holmes as an opening partner to Sutcliffe. In the 1933 season Hutton was selected for the Yorkshire Second Eleven. Although he failed to score a run in either of his first two innings, over the season he scored 699 runs at an average of 69.90. Yorkshire appointed Cyril Turner as Hutton's mentor. Hutton made his first-class debut for Yorkshire in 1934, at the age of 17 the youngest Yorkshire player since Hirst, 45 years earlier. In his first match, against Cambridge University, he was run out for a duck but scored an unbeaten 50 runs in his second match.
He played regul
Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott OBE is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen and since retiring as a player, he has found further success as a cricket commentator. Boycott made his international debut in a 1964 Test match against Australia, he was noted for his ability to occupy the crease and became a key feature of England's Test batting line-up for many years, although he was less successful in his limited One Day International appearances. He accumulated large scores – he is the equal fifth-highest accumulator of first-class centuries in history, eighth in career runs and the first English player to average over 100 in a season – but encountered friction with his teammates. Never the most popular of players amongst his peers, journalist Ian Wooldridge commented that "Boycott, in short, walks alone", while cricket writer John Arlott wrote that Boycott had a "lonely" career.
Others, have stated that the extent of his introverted and anti-social nature has been exaggerated, that while he was "obsessed with his own success" he was not by nature a selfish player. After 108 Test match appearances for England, Boycott's international career ended in 1982 when he was the leading Test run scorer with over 8,000 Test match runs, earning him an OBE for services to cricket; when dropped from the Yorkshire team in 1986 he was the leading run scorer in first-class cricket. In 1965, while still a young player, he had been named as one of five Cricketers of the Year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, he was inducted into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame in 2009. After his playing career ended, Boycott became an outspoken and controversial cricket commentator on both radio and television, never slow to criticise modern player's techniques. In 1998, he was convicted in France of assaulting his former girlfriend Margaret Moore, he always maintained his innocence. In 2002, after being diagnosed with throat cancer, he underwent successful radiation treatment, went into remission.
He revived his commentating career in 2003, continues to attract both criticism and praise. He is a member of BBC Radio 4 long wave's Test Match Special commentary team, was President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club between March 2012 and March 2014, succeeded by Dickie Bird. Boycott was born in the mining village of Fitzwilliam, near Wakefield and Pontefract in the West Riding of Yorkshire, he was the eldest of three sons of Jane and Thomas Wilfred Boycott, a colliery worker from Little Dawley in the midwestern county of Shropshire. When Boycott was eight years old, he was impaled through his chest by the handle of a mangle after falling off an iron railing near his home. Boycott nearly died, in the efforts to save his life, his spleen was removed. In March 1950, Boycott's father had a serious accident while working as a coalminer, suffering severe damage to his spine after he was hit by empty coal carts. Boycott attended Fitzwilliam Primary School. There he won a Len Hutton batting award for scoring 45 runs and capturing six wickets for 10 runs in a school match.
At age 10, he joined Ackworth Cricket Club, demonstrating "outstanding ability." At the age of 11 he failed the examinations that would have taken him to grammar school, instead went to the local Kinsley Secondary Modern School. A year however, he passed his late-entry exams, transferred to Hemsworth Grammar School, his cricket prowess was such that he captained the school's cricket First XI at the age of 15. During winters he attended an indoor cricket school, where he was coached by former county professional Johnny Lawrence. While studying for his O-levels he began to have difficulties reading the blackboard and was devastated when told he would need glasses. At first, he played poorly at school, encumbered by the fragile spectacles. However, matters improved when a more robust pair, similar to those glasses worn by cricketer Roy Marshall, were fashioned for him at the behest of his maternal uncle, Albert Speight. Albert would go on to be a strong influence on Boycott's early cricketing game while playing for Brierley Juniors Football Club.
In 1958, Boycott left school with the school's Individual Cricket Cup. That summer he played for the Leeds United under-18 football team alongside Billy Bremner and attracted the attention of Leeds United scouts. During the winter he continued to play nets with uncle Lawrence. Boycott told the BBC in 1965 that he chose to leave school at 17 because he no longer wished to be a financial strain on his parents, because he wanted to pursue his cricketing career, he worked as a clerk in the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance in Barnsley from 1958 to 1963, at the same time playing for a number of cricket clubs. Boycott captained the South Elmsall district team, achieved a batting average of 70, he played for the Yorkshire Federation's Under-18 team, for Barnsley, where he was noticed by Clifford Hesketh, a member of Yorkshire's County Cricket team committee. Boycott began playing for his home county in 1962 after topping the averages for Leeds, Yorkshire Colts and Yorkshire Second XI. In 414 matches for Yorkshire he scored 32,570 runs at an average of 57.85, with a highest score of 260 not out against Essex, 103 centuries in all.
He scored another 8,699 runs in List A cricket, averaging 40.08. Boycott twice averaged over 100 in an English first-class season: 100.12 in 1971, 102.53 in 1979. He is one of only two players to have achieved this twice, Mark Ramprakash was the other. Boycott was appointed cap
Pakistan national cricket team
The Pakistan Men's National Cricket Team, popularly referred to as the Shaheens, Green Shirts and Men in Green, is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board. The team is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council, participates in Test, ODI and Twenty20 International cricket matches. Pakistan has played 423 Test matches, winning 136, losing 128 and drawing 159. Pakistan was given Test status on 28 July 1952, following a recommendation by India, made its Test debut against India at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi, in October 1952, with India winning by an innings and 70 runs. In the 1930s and 40s, several Pakistani Test players had played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team before the creation of Pakistan in 1947; the team has played tying 8 with 19 ending in no-result. Pakistan was the 1992 World Cup champion, was the runner-up in the 1999 tournament. Pakistan, in conjunction with other countries in South Asia, has hosted the 1987 and 1996 World Cups, with the 1996 final being hosted at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The team has played 142 Twenty20 Internationals, the most of any team, winning 90 losing 49 and tying 3. Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and were runners-up in the inaugural tournament in 2007. Pakistan won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy for the first time, defeating India. Pakistan has the distinct achievement of having won each of the major ICC international cricket tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World Twenty20, ICC Champions Trophy; as of 25 March 2019, the Pakistani cricket team is ranked seventh in Tests, sixth in ODIs and first in T20Is by the ICC. In the past, Pakistan has suffered a lot from terrorism which prevented foreign teams from visiting Pakistan due to the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team; as a result, their home matches have been held in the United Arab Emirates since then. However, due to a decrease in terrorism in Pakistan over the past few years, as well as a sharp increase in security, many teams have toured Pakistan since 2015 and the situation appears to be getting better.
These teams include Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies, an ICC World XI. Cricket in Pakistan has a history predating the creation of the country in 1947; the first international cricket match in Karachi was held on 22 November 1935 between Sindh and Australian cricket teams. The match was seen by 5,000 Karachiites. Following the independence of Pakistan in 1947, cricket in the country developed and Pakistan was given Test match status at a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference at Lord's in England on 28 July 1952 following recommendation by India, being the successor state of the British Raj, did not have to go through such a process; the first captain of the Pakistan national cricket team was Abdul Hafeez Kardar. Pakistan's first Test match was played in Delhi in October 1952 as part of a five Test series which India won 2–1. Pakistan made their first tour of England in 1954 and drew the series 1–1 after a memorable victory at The Oval in which fast bowler Fazal Mahmood took 12 wickets. Pakistan's first home Test match was against India in January 1955 at Bangabandhu National Stadium, East Pakistan, after which four more Test matches were played in Bahawalpur, Lahore and Karachi.
The team is considered a unpredictable team. Traditionally Pakistani cricket has been composed of talented players but is alleged to display limited discipline on occasion, making their performance inconsistent at times. In particular, the India-Pakistan cricket rivalry is emotionally charged and can provide for intriguing contests, as talented teams and players from both sides of the border seek to elevate their game to new levels. Pakistan team contests with India in the Cricket World Cup have resulted in packed stadiums and charged atmospheres; the team is well supported at home and abroad in the United Kingdom where British Pakistanis have formed a fan-club called the "Stani Army". Members of the club are known to provide raucous support; the Stani Army takes part in charity initiatives for underprivileged Pakistanis, including annual friendly cricket matches against British Indian members of the similar "Bharat Army". The 1986 Austral-Asia Cup, played in Sharjah in UAE, is remembered for a famous last-ball victory for Pakistan against arch-rivals India, with Javed Miandad emerging as a national hero.
India batted first and set a target of 245 runs, leaving Pakistan with a required run rate of 4.92 runs per over. Miandad came in to bat at number 3 and Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals. Recalling the match, he stated that his main focus was to lose with dignity. With 31 runs needed in the last three overs, Miandad hit a string of boundaries while batting with his team's lower order, until four runs were required from the last delivery of the match. Miandad received a leg side full toss from Chetan Sharma, which he hit for six over the midwicket boundary. At the 1992 World Cup Semi-final, having won the toss, New Zealand chose to bat first and ended with a total of 262 runs. Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals. With the departure of Imran Khan and Saleem Malik shortly thereafter, Pakistan still required 115 runs at a rate of 7.67 runs per over with veteran Javed Miandad being the only known batsman remaining at the crease. A young Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had just turned 22 and was not a well-known player at the time, burst onto the international stage with a match-winning 60 off 37 balls.
Once Inzamam got out, Paki
Australia national cricket team
The Australia national cricket team is the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, having played in the first Test match in 1877. The team plays One-Day International and Twenty20 International cricket, participating in both the first ODI, against England in the 1970–71 season and the first T20I, against New Zealand in the 2004–05 season, winning both games; the team draws its players from teams playing in the Australian domestic competitions – the Sheffield Shield, the Australian domestic limited-overs cricket tournament and the Big Bash League. The national team has played 820 Test matches, winning 386, losing 222, drawing 210 and tying 2; as of March 2019, Australia is ranked fourth in the ICC Test Championship on 104 rating points. Australia is the most successful team in Test cricket history, in terms of overall wins, win-loss ratio and wins percentage; the Australian cricket team has played 932 ODI matches, winning 566, losing 323, tying 9 and with 34 ending in a no-result. As of March 2019, Australia is ranked fifth in the ICC ODI Championship on 102 rating points, though have been ranked first for 141 of 185 months since its introduction in 2002.
Australia have made a record seven World Cup final appearances and have won the World Cup a record five times in total. Australia is the first team to appear in four consecutive World Cup finals, surpassing the old record of three consecutive World Cup appearances by the West Indies and the first team to win 3 consecutive World Cups; the team was undefeated in 34 consecutive World Cup matches until 19 March at the 2011 Cricket World Cup where Pakistan beat them by 4 wickets. It is the second team to win a World Cup on home soil, after India. Australia have won the ICC Champions Trophy twice making them the first and the only team to become back to back winners in the Champions Trophy tournaments; the national team has played 116 Twenty20 International matches, winning 60, losing 52, tying 2 and with 2 ending in a no-result. As of March 2019, Australia is ranked third in the ICC T20I Championship on 120 rating points. Additionally, the team made the final of the 2010 ICC World Twenty20. On 12 January 2019, Australia won the first ODI against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground by 34 runs, to record their 1,000th win in international cricket.
The Australian cricket team participated in the first Test match at the MCG in 1877, defeating an English team by 45 runs, with Charles Bannerman making the first Test century, a score of 165 retired hurt. Test cricket, which only occurred between Australia and England at the time, was limited by the long distance between the two countries, which would take several months by sea. Despite Australia's much smaller population, the team was competitive in early games, producing stars such as Jack Blackham, Billy Murdoch, Fred "The Demon" Spofforth, George Bonnor, Percy McDonnell, George Giffen and Charles "The Terror" Turner. Most cricketers at the time were either from New South Wales or Victoria, with the notable exception of George Giffen, the star South Australian all-rounder. A highlight of Australia's early history was the 1882 Test match against England at The Oval. In this match, Fred Spofforth took 7/44 in the game's fourth innings to save the match by preventing England from making their 85-run target.
After this match The Sporting Times, a major newspaper in London at the time, printed a mock obituary in which the death of English cricket was proclaimed and the announcement made that "the body was cremated and the ashes taken to Australia." This was the start of the famous Ashes series in which Australia and England play a series of Test matches to decide the holder of the Ashes. To this day, the contest is one of the fiercest rivalries in sport; the so-called'Golden Age' of Australian Test cricket occurred around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, with the team under the captaincy of Joe Darling, Monty Noble and Clem Hill winning eight of ten tours. It is considered to have lasted from the 1897–98 English tour of Australia and the 1910–11 South African tour of Australia. Outstanding batsmen such as Joe Darling, Clem Hill, Reggie Duff, Syd Gregory, Warren Bardsley and Victor Trumper, brilliant all-rounders including Monty Noble, George Giffen, Harry Trott and Warwick Armstrong and excellent bowlers including Ernie Jones, Hugh Trumble, Tibby Cotter, Bill Howell, Jack Saunders and Bill Whitty, all helped Australia to become the dominant cricketing nation for most of this period.
Victor Trumper became one of Australia's first sporting heroes, was considered Australia's greatest batsman before Bradman and one of the most popular players. He played a record number of Tests at 49 and scored 3163 runs at a high for the time average of 39.04. His early death in 1915 at the age of 37 from kidney disease caused national mourning; the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, in its obituary for him, called him Australia's greatest batsman: "Of all the great Australian batsmen Victor Trumper was by general consent the best and most brilliant."The years leading up to the start of World War I were marred by conflict between the players, led by Clem Hill, Victor Trumper and Frank Laver, the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket, led by Peter McAlister, attempting to gain more control of tours from the players. This led to six leading players walking out on the 1912 Triangular Tournament in England, with Australia fielding what was considered a second-rate side; this was the last series before the war, no more cricket was played by A
Kensington Oval
The Kensington Oval is a stadium located to the west of the capital city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. It is the pre-eminent sporting facility on the island and is used for cricket. Locally referred to as "The Mecca" of cricket, it has hosted many important and exciting cricket games between local and international teams during its more than 120-year history. Cricket at the Oval began in 1882 when the Pickwick Cricket Club assumed formal ownership of the ground; the first international match held was in 1895. The first Test match was held in January 1930, when the West England played to a draw. Since the genesis there have been a total of 43 Test matches played on the Kensington Oval grounds, 21 of those matches won by the West Indian cricket team; the new stadium has been commemorated through two 2007 Barbadian postage stamps. The stands of the Kensington Oval were extensively rebuilt for the 2007 Cricket World Cup in a BDS$90M redevelopment. Demolition of the old stadium began on schedule in June, 2006 after completion of the first Test against Pakistan.
Innotech Construction Inc. reconstructed the new Kensington Oval in late September into early October, 2006 and the team from the Barbados Light & Power Company cut down and removed some of the old utility poles at the traffic lights at the Holborn Circle, the entrances and exits of Fontabelle Road, Spring Garden Highway, Prescod Boulevard and Harbour Road and they planted new utility poles with electrical transmitters attached on to them. They dug up, resurfaced and repaved Prescod Boulevard and Fontabelle Road just in time for Cricket World Cup 2007 in Barbados; the names of the former stands which made up the Kensington stadium were the George Challenor stand, the Hall and Griffith, the Kensington, the Mitchie Hewitt, the Pickwick, the Three Ws stand plus the Peter Short Media Centre. Most of these names have been retained. In 2004, the STRI construction team were chosen to redevelop the Kensington Oval outfield, after they were involved with the Lord's Cricket Ground outfield reconstruction.
The topsoil on the grounds previous outfield was a sandy clay loam, which struggled to cope with Bridgetown's occasional heavy rainfall, with climate data indicating that a storm lasting up to an hour could dump about 50mm of rain once every five years. The topsoil was a complete mixture of soils and varied in depth, lying over ancient coral reef limestone; the new outfield consists of. Although many types of grass options was suggested to be used for the outfield, it was decided to use Tifway 419 hybrid Bermuda grass as this type of grass is disease resistant and spreads to ensure quick recovery from injury and allows close mowing; the Cricket pitch was reconstructed with a profile consisting of. The square's soil is made up of 71% clay, 14% silt and 14% sand and during the redevelopment it was isolated from the rest of the ground so that it could be constructed before the outfield was completed; the pitch square's was sown down with Princess Bermuda grass, with the base and soil added in layers, before completion in May 2006.
The Kensington Oval has hosted many non-cricket events such as matches of the Barbados national football team, inter-school athletics, Miss Barbados pageants, concert events. The ground has a jumbo TV screen and a jacuzzi type area, for fans to watch while relaxing in the pool. Behind this is a large grassy hill for fans to have picnics on, which has a bunker underneath for the media. On 5 August 2011 Rihanna performed at the Kensington Oval for the first time in her home country on her Loud Tour, she planned another show for 1 November 2013 as a part her Diamonds World Tour, however the concert was cancelled due to technical difficulties. The expanded Kensington Oval was the venue for the 2007 Cricket World Cup final between Australia and Sri Lanka, held on 28 April, with the official attendance reaching 20,108; this was the first World Cup final to be a repeat – the sides met in the 1996 World Cup final, which Sri Lanka won. Australia has won every World Cup match against Sri Lanka apart from that loss.
The match was Sri Lanka's second World Cup final appearance and Australia's sixth, their fourth in a row. Ricky Ponting elected to bat. However, the start of play was delayed due to rain, the match was reduced to 38 overs per side. Adam Gilchrist played an incredible innings of 149 – the highest for any batsman in a World Cup final – to give Australia an imposing total going in at to break. While Sri Lankan batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya were adding 116 for the second wicket, the contest was alive, but after the pair got out, Sri Lanka's chances washed way. Further rain forced the reduction of Sri Lanka's innings to just 36 overs, with the target revised to 269. At the culmination of the 33rd over, with Sri Lanka still trailing the adjusted Duckworth-Lewis target by 37 runs, the umpires suspended the game due to bad light. While Australia's players began to celebrate their victory, the umpires incorrectly announced that because the match was suspended due to light and not rain, the final three overs would have to be bowled the following day.
With Sri Lanka needing 61 runs from 18 deliveries, Mahela Jayawardene agreed there was no need to return the following day, instructed his team to resume batting, with Ricky Ponting agreeing to play only spinners. Umpires a
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles is a former English first-class cricketer, who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club. Giles started his career as a fast bowler before an early injury forced him to become a slow left-arm spinner, he made his first-class debut for Warwickshire in 1993, but it was 1996 when he gained a regular place in the side, winning the NBC Denis Compton Award for being'The Most Promising Young Player' at the club. Giles was awarded his One Day International debut against Australia in May 1997, 36 wickets in the 1998 season led to his first Test match against South Africa, although it would be a further two years before he would play another Test for England, he did not have the most fluent bowling action and was unable to turn the ball a huge amount, although at 6 feet 4 inches, he was able to use his height to extract plenty of bounce.
As a right-handed batsman, Giles scored three first-class centuries, but his highest international score was only 59, an innings that helped England win The Ashes in 2005. Between November 2000 and the emergence of Monty Panesar in 2006, Giles was England's first-choice spin bowler, although he was having to justify his selection; this came to a head in 2004 when Giles considered retirement before a match-winning 9-wicket haul against the West Indies gave him the confidence to perform at the highest level. Giles is a resident of Droitwich Spa and was named an'Honorary Citizen' of the town by the mayor after the 2005 Ashes success; the award was created for him. Giles was awarded an MBE in the 2006 New Year Honours for his role in the successful Ashes-winning squad, he is married to the Norwegian Stine, with whom he has two children, Anders Fraser and Matilde Louise. He is a lifelong supporter of Queens Park Rangers F. C.. Ashley Giles spent his early years living in Woking, attending the Kingfield First and Middle Schools.
Giles benefited from a cricket-loving teacher, became involved with District and County Cricket at Under-9 level. After his parents moved to Ripley, Surrey, he attended the George Abbot School in Guildford, completing his GCSEs and A-levels; the Giles family was involved with Ripley Cricket Club: Ashley's father, brother Andrew and uncles all played for the club, as did both paternal and maternal grandfathers previously. Giles soon moved into the Saturday 2nd XI. At this stage, both players were aspiring fast bowlers, a deadly force for Surrey Under-9s. Giles moved to Guildford Cricket Club, working under coach Brian Ruby alongside future professionals Darren and Martin Bicknell. Giles advanced through the county age-groups, toured Barbados with Surrey Young Cricketers in 1990/01. While at Guildford, an injury forced Giles to try bowling spin. Giles made his debut for the Surrey Second XI in 1990, was named Surrey Young Cricketer of the Year in 1991; the following season, he played one further match for Surrey but they were unable to offer him a professional contract.
After an initial trial with Dennis Amiss, Giles was awarded a one-year contract Warwickshire County Cricket Club. Between 1992 and 1995, Giles played the majority of his games for Warwickshire Second XI, scoring over 2,500 runs and taking 165 wickets in this period, he made his first-class debut for Warwickshire against Kent in May 1993. In September 1993, he made his List A debut against the touring Zimbabweans, his first wicket being that of Grant Flower, although it would not be until the tail-end of the 1995 season before Giles began to cement his place in the Warwickshire side taking 16 wickets at an average of 22.12. In 1996 Giles won the NBC Denis Compton Award, before his debut for the full national side in 1998 he toured Australia, Sri Lanka and Kenya with the England A team. Giles played winter cricket in South Africa for Avendale. On 2 July 1998, Giles made his Test debut against South Africa, took 1 for 106 in 36 overs, he went on to tour Australia in the One Day squad. On 31 December, it was announced that Giles was to step out of the One Day match between the ODI squad and the Bradman XI, into the Test squad for the final Test match in Sydney.
He was chosen in light of Australia's selection of Shane Warne, Colin Miller and Stuart MacGill, England captain Alec Stewart stating that the selection of Giles gave England another option. Giles took part in England's 2000—01 tour of Pakistan, establishing himself as "England's No. 1 slow bowler." He suffered an achilles tendon injury in February which affected his bowling, conceding 83 runs from his 19 overs, with Duncan Fletcher citing the injury as the cause of this. Giles returned, however; the press at the time suggested that Giles was to match Muttiah Muralitharan in wicket taking, but he dismissed this idea. His tendon injury recurred in April and was rested for six weeks. Giles impressed during India's tour of England in the winter of 2001. In Domestic Cricket, Giles scored 96 from 139 balls for Warwickshire against Middlesex, as well as taking the wicket of Andrew Strauss, he went on to take three more wickets. During the 2002 tour of Australia, Giles took six wickets at Brisbane, but he was forced to end his tour when Steve Harmison injured Giles' wrist during nets practice.
In the winter of 2003, Giles took eight wickets against Sri Lanka
