New Zealand will stick to same squad for Hamilton

New Zealand will not seek a quick fix after losing their first home Test in the summer and confirmed they will not make any changes to the squad ahead of a must-win Test in Hamilton. The same group that lost to South Africa in three days at the Basin Reserve will be expected to step up at Seddon Park, with Ross Taylor unavailable as he continues to struggle with a low-grade calf tear sustained in the first Test. Trent Boult is a “work in progress” after picking up an upper-leg injury and there is no space for legspinner Ish Sodhi, who was being touted to play on what is expected to be a slow surface.”We’ve got 100% faith in the fact that we’ve got what we think are the best group of Test cricketers in the country,” Gavin Larsen, New Zealand’s selector said. “It’s about getting into Hamilton, getting the covers off, having a look at the pitch, having a look at some balance, thinking about what transpired down here in Wellington and about the best way to beat a very good South African team. I am very confident the coach and captain will come up with the right XI on the day.”The selection conundrums lie in the lower order and the bowling attack, with all eyes on whether Boult will return to lead it. Boult sat out the second Test but returned to bowling and should be fit which will lead to yet another change in the make-up of New Zealand’s bowling. They have plenty of choice with four seamers – Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Matt Henry, two specialist spinners in Jeetan Patel and Mitchell Santner, who is also regarded as one of the three allrounders alongside Jimmy Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme – but have yet to find the perfect combination.In Dunedin, New Zealand opted for two spinners and two seamers, leaving out Southee to make room for Patel. In Wellington, Southee returned but Boult’s injury saw them look past Matt Henry and include de Grandhomme, who sat out the first Test because Jimmy Neesham was preferred. In both instances, New Zealand tried to give themselves batting depth but both times they were disappointed.Neesham scored 7 in Dunedin and 15 and 4 in Wellington; de Grandhomme managed 4 and 0 at the Basin Reserve and Larsen expects more from both of them. “The allrounders will be the first to admit that their run output hasn’t been enough. The reason we play a couple of allrounders was to stiffen up the batting and it didn’t quite transpire that way down at No.8. There is work to do and we must get run production through that area,” he said.More so because runs are not coming at the top, where Tom Latham has 24 runs in the series and after scoring 0, 2 and 0 in the ODIs. Without any viable replacements, Latham’s position is not in any real doubt, though. He spent Monday in the nets with batting coach Craig McMillan working on the technical glitch that has seen him nick off in his last three Test innings, and Larsen tips him to come good in Hamilton.”He is a classy player, a great individual and part of our leadership team. He is in a rut and he is battling a bit with his form but we believe he has got the character and the work ethic to work himself out of this rut,” Larsen said. “If there were a number of candidates around the country who were absolutely shooting the lights out and putting in front of the selectors really compelling reasons that we needed to consider them and pick them, we would have had that conversation. But as you know, there aren’t a lot of openers out there shooting the lights out.”Tom Latham’s poor form spilled into the Tests from the ODIs•AFP

Neither are there that many other batsmen breaking down the door in other positions. Colin Munro was considered a front-runner to step in for Taylor but New Zealand opted for someone with more first-class experience in Neil Broom. Broom had a forgettable debut after falling for a four-ball duck in the first innings but his 20 in the second dig showed Larsen some good signs that he could develop into a Test batsman.”In the first innings, he was really unlucky. He got a real peach of a delivery, a jaffa, and that can happen,” Larsen said. “In the second innings, I thought he got his innings underway really well. It was testing against the ball that was moving around. Vernon Philander bowled extremely well to him and he navigated that successfully so it was disappointing when he nicked off for 20. Again, it was to a good one so we have faith that Neil will do the job at No. 4.”Broom probably only has one more Test to prove that because once Taylor is ready to play, Larsen confirmed he would slot back into the XI. “His (Taylor’s) experience and his class is just so evident and he would have been straight back into the unit,” he said. But New Zealand will have to wait nine months to see Taylor in whites again.Their next Test assignment is scheduled for December when they host West Indies. That may put extra emphasis on the result of the Hamilton Test and so, they need to recover from Wellington as quickly as possible and commit to an overall improvement. “We need more runs, the bowling needs to be tidied up and I just want to see a greater fight which I think is a hallmark of the good Black Cap teams,” Larsen said.They also need their coach Mike Hesson, who laid low with an illness, back on his feet. Hesson was unable to attend the third day’s play or address the media post-match but is on the mend. “He is not flash. He suffered. He is looking a shadow of his former self. I think he has lost a couple of kilograms,” Larsen said. “But he is a fighter and a damn resilient character.”If New Zealand are to share the series spoils, they need to be those things too.

Trinidad & Tobago top Group A with win over Leeward Islands

Trinidad & Tobago beat Leeward Islands for the second time in round-robin play, handing the host side a five-wicket loss at Coolidge on Sunday in a match that decided first place in Group A. T&T will now face Jamaica in the first semi-final on Wednesday while Leewards have to go up against Group B winner Barbados on Thursday to decide the other finalist.Leewards were bowled out for 189 in 48.1 overs after choosing to bat first. Their batting struggle was set in motion almost from the start when captain Kieran Powell, who entered the game as the tournament’s leading scorer with 509 runs, suffered his first failure of the tournament when he was caught behind off Shannon Gabriel for 1 in the third over. Gabriel wound up taking two more to finish with 3 for 40 while fellow medium pacer Ravi Rampaul took 3 for 27 from his ten overs to keep Leewards tied down. Five batsmen crossed 20 for Leewards but none made more than Jermaine Otto’s 38.Evin Lewis got the T&T chase off to a typically aggressive start, top-scoring with 47 off 23 balls, dominating a 57-run opening stand with Kyle Hope that spanned 7.4 overs. Lewis fell to Rahkeem Cornwall, who did his best to slow T&T’s victory charge by taking 3 for 40 in ten overs but Denesh Ramdin (31*) and Imran Khan (38*) produced an unbeaten 54-run stand for the sixth wicket to take T&T to the target in just 34.1 overs.Kent scored their third win of the tournament, signing off the Regional Super50 with a six-wicket win over West Indies Under-19 at North Sound. West Indies battled through their 50 overs to post 191 for 8 but Kent managed to haul it down with 5.1 overs to spare.West Indies were 20 for 4 inside of eight overs after choosing to bat first thanks to three wickets from Calum Haggett’s opening spell. Captain Kirstan Kallicharan did the lion’s share of the work to rebuild the innings coming in at No. 6 and wound up facing more than a third of the deliveries in the innings to grind out 47 off 110 balls. He added 63 for the fifth wicket with Shamar Springer to repair the early damage done by Haggett and lasted until the 44th over before Keemo Paul took over and produced a furious finish to the innings, hitting six sixes in his 72 off 57 balls before falling on the final ball of the innings.Kent’s reply got off to an assured start thanks to a 50-run opening stand between Daniel Bell-Drummond and Adam Ball. The run rate slowed after the Powerplay though and by the 18th over it was 64 for 2 with two new batsmen at the crease. Sean Dickson and Adam Rouse kept the junior bowling attack at bay with a 104-run third-wicket stand to steer Kent towards the target. Dickson made 53 before he fell in the 43rd over with 24 left to win and ended as Kent’s leading scorer at the tournament with 202 runs. Rouse was able to stay at the crease until the end, finishing 61 not out off 105 balls to ensure Kent would leave Antigua on a winning note.

Russell's lawyer maintains his client is a 'clean athlete'

Calling his client a “clean athlete”, Kingston lawyer Patrick Foster has said he “disagrees” with the one-year ban imposed on West Indies allrounder Andre Russell by an independent anti-doping tribunal on Tuesday. The tribunal found Russell guilty of failing to file his whereabouts three times in 2015. Under the World Anti-Doping Agency code, three misses within one year amounts to a single failed dope test.Immediately after the three-member tribunal delivered its verdict in Russell’s home town Kingston, his lawyer Foster issued a media release, stating there was a “possibility” of an appeal being filed.”Mr Russell and his legal team are carefully reading and reviewing the ruling as regards the next steps and the possibility of an early appeal of the decision of the Panel’s ruling,” Foster said. “While we respect the ruling, we respectfully disagree with it and are very disappointed that the Panel saw it fit to impose a one-year ineligibility period.”During the hearings that took place last year, Russell’s legal team had contested the allegation levelled against the player that he was “grossly negligent” about filing his whereabouts despite several reminders. That allegation was made by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) through a case filed last March.Just as he had stressed during the hearings, Foster said on Tuesday that his client has never violated any doping rules. “Throughout his career as an international and domestic T20 cricketer, Mr. Russell has been tested on many occasions by various anti-doping agencies/bodies in several countries pursuant to WADA guidelines and he has never registered an adverse analytical finding.”Foster pointed out that the tribunal itself in its ruling seemed to have agreed with Russell’s conduct. “We note that in the ruling, the Panel states that they believe, ‘…in the instant case the Respondent athlete as per the evidence heard, has not displayed a pattern of last minute Whereabouts Changes or other conduct which raise a serious suspicion that the athlete was trying to avoid being available for testing….’ This aspect of the Panel’s decision we wholeheartedly agree with.”Foster said that Russell would continue to adhere to the rules even as he decides his next step on whether to challenge the verdict.”Mr. Russell is a clean athlete who seeks to uphold the integrity of Cricket. He respects and makes every effort to be compliant with the rules of sport generally, cricket and to comply with anti-doping rules and procedures. Our client will continue to cooperate fully with JADCO and WADA.”

Karunaratne explains run-out mishap

From early on in the innings the intent was clear: Sri Lanka were chasing 488 for victory, rather than drawing shutters and playing for the draw. But as play ended on 240 for 5 on day four, at least four batsmen were left rueing dismissals that might have been avoided.Dimuth Karunaratne, perhaps was chief among them, having been run out for 43, after seeming comfortable at the crease. He and Kaushal Silva had also put on 87 for the first wicket – Sri Lanka’s best opening stand in the country – before Silva called Karunaratne through for a quick single to cover. Karunaratne would have made his ground had he not initially hesitated, but was eventually found to be a few centimetres short at the striker’s end, despite having dived.”It was all my mistake I think,” Karunaratne said of his run out. “Kaushal and I both play for the SSC, so we bat together and there’s no misunderstanding. But I tweaked a muscle playing a reverse sweep earlier, and that was playing on my mind a bit. I stopped and tried to start again, and that’s why I was run out.”Karunaratne has been short of runs in 2016, averaging 29.29 for the year, and only 16.77 if his 280 runs against Zimbabwe are removed. His failure to progress to a big score at Port Elizabeth has stung.”I did the hardest part in the earlier overs. I was beginning to see the ball well and then got run out and things were getting easier. The worst thing to do in a Test match is getting run out in a situation like that. I will have to start again in the next matches and survive the early overs again. But it’s part and parcel of the game and there’s nothing you can do.”Three other batsmen were out playing expansive strokes, and from those, Dinesh Chandimal’s dismissal shortly before the second new ball was due perhaps hurt Sri Lanka the most. Chandimal had been fenced in by South Africa’s tight fields and Keshav Maharaj’s tight lines – kept scoreless for a Maharaj over before he attempted a lofted on drive and sent the ball into the hands of mid on. He was out for 8 off 38 deliveries.”Chandimal will be disappointed but he will learn,” Karunaratne said. “These are mistakes and we need to play better cricket. The wicket is good. We don’t have to play risky shots. We have to spend enough time in the middle and see how it goes.”Sri Lanka’s last recognised batting pair of Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva were at the crease at stumps, a highly improbable victory still 248 runs away. Karunaratne said Sri Lanka stood a chance if those batsmen could remain unbeaten in the first session of day five.”If we can get through the morning session, who knows – we could win this match,” Karunaratne said. “For me, Kyle Abbott was the toughest bowler. He is quick and he moves the ball both ways. Vernon Philander also moves the ball both ways, but because he’s a bit slower, he can be managed. But Abbott and Kagiso Rabada will be tough. If the batsmen can play them well, we have a chance.”

Arthur applauds Azhar's 'toughness of mind'

Pakistan’s batting may have lost them the series at the MCG but it has also been the one suit in which they have competed hardest with Australia. Twice they have gone past 400; the previous time they had crossed 400 in Australia, was 33 years ago when they also did it two innings in a row. The only problem of course has been the 142 and 163 that have bookended these two scores.Nevertheless they will look to their batting once again to salvage what they can from this dead rubber Test at the SCG. That begun disastrously on the second afternoon as they lost two wickets in their innings’ fourth over, before Azhar Ali and Younis Khan – not for the first time – began the repair work with a stand so far of 120.Azhar in particular appeared in pristine touch, continuing from where he left of at the MCG. He was on 58 at the close, bringing his tally since the start of last year to 1256 runs at an average of 66.10. He is just 18 runs short of 400 runs for the series.”He has been fantastic,” said Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur. “Over the last one year he has been the cornerstone of our batting. Just to see him come out with the intent as he did today is amazing.”The amount of time he has spent on field actually on this tour… we were just talking about it in the dressing room, it is almost beyond belief. For him to keep going, keep going and keep going shows a lot of resilience and shows a lot of toughness of mind.”Pakistan are still over 400 runs behind Australia, however, so for now, any targets as to how to move the Test ahead must be pragmatic ones. The ball is now over 40 overs old and the slowness of the surface might feel familiar.”I said earlier to the guys that you can never judge a pitch until the both sides have batted on it,” Arthur said. “At 2 for 6 we were in some serious trouble but to see the resilience and character and intent that has been shown by Younis and Azhar – it has been a real example to the rest of the dressing room and that is how we need to play.”Now we would like to play an attacking brand of cricket and I make no secret of that. Australia have bowled really well this series and kept us under check. We would like our rates to get bigger and to score a little bit quicker but I certainly think again that the resilience shown by these two has been brilliant and hopefully the other guys will take a leaf out of this book, particularly [in terms of] intent. We will carry on with the same intent and see where it takes us tomorrow.”Pakistan made two changes to their XI in the Test, including a significant one in replacing Sami Aslam with Sharjeel Khan. Aslam was one of three players – along with Sohail Khan and Mohammad Asghar – who flew back to Pakistan today as they are not part of the ODI squad.Pakistan have flirted with the idea of opening with Sharjeel since the beginning of the series against West Indies in the UAE, but have banked on giving Aslam a long run at the top. Aslam paid the price for dwindling returns of 22, 15, 9 and 2, as well as an inability to inject any sense of urgency in Pakistan’s starts, which is why Sharjeel was given a chance. But Arthur was adamant this was only a momentary setback in Aslam’s career.”Sami has got a very big future for us,” he said. “He is technically very good. Over the last four months he has developed significantly. Since the third Test in England he has developed significantly and has come off really well.”We just thought we had to change it up somehow. We had to try to do something. We let Sharjeel loose. It was a 50-50 chance. If Sharjeel came off, played really well, we get the momentum up front much like David Warner gives Australia and hopefully he set a tone for us. So that was the idea behind it. Sami Aslam is certainly not out of the picture and I think he has a bright future as an opening batsman for Pakistan.”

Trevor Goddard dies aged 85

Former South Africa allrounder Trevor Goddard died aged 85 on Friday night. He had been in poor health for some time.Goddard’s career spanned 41 Tests between 1955 and 1970. A left-hand opening batsman, he scored 2516 runs and took 123 wickets with his medium pace. His only century came against England in 1965, and his economy rate of 1.64 remains the third best of all time. His best figures – 6 for 53 – came in South Africa’s first win against Australia in a home Test match, in 1966-67. He was also known to be a fine all-round fielder.Goddard was a regular in the South Africa side till he briefly retired and moved to England in the early 1960s. When he returned, he resumed his international career, and captained South Africa on their tour to Australia in 1963-64, a series they drew; that series established South Africa as a force to be reckoned with in cricket. He also played in the 1969-70 series, won by South Africa at home, but his career came to an abrupt end after the third Test. By then, Goddard had announced his unavailability for the upcoming tour of England and with the series won, he was left out.”Trevor was a humble man who served the game with great distinction both on and off the field,” CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.In all, Goddard played 179 first-class matches, largely for Natal, and scored 11,289 runs at an average of 40.60 and took 534 wickets at 21.65 apiece. He also had a brief spell with North-Eastern Transvaal, and coached at Maritzburg University.After his cricket career, Goddard became an evangelist priest. He was severely injured in a car crash in 1985 but recovered and continued his religious work.

Alsop's hundred allows Hampshire to be optimistic

ScorecardTom Alsop again showed his promise to lead a strong Hampshire reply•Getty Images

If Hampshire do go down, which they so easily could have done last year and have looked like doing for most of this one, all is not lost. Unlike various sides around them, their direction of travel in Division One – even if it turns out to be too little, too late – is upward; at times in mid-season, they looked one of the weaker sides in recent top-flight memory, a collection of waifs and strays. Now, they look a team with plenty to be optimistic about.Chief among the causes for optimism is 20-year-old Tom Alsop, an organised and stylish batsman, who scored a magnificent maiden first-class century to keep their hopes of survival alive. Hampshire have won twice this season, both against Nottinghamshire; in the first, at the Ageas Bowl, Alsop made his first Championship 50 to anchor the first innings, while at Trent Bridge in August, he made his previous highest score, 93. This innings gives them a mighty fine chance of claiming a third, season-saving win.Conditions for batting – much of the day was baked in sun, and the typically Ovalish pitch seemed to flatten as the ball came on nicely – were much improved. On day one, Surrey’s eventual 329, topped off before lunch by a roistering unbeaten 41 from Gareth Batty, looked a very fine score. But by the close of the second, Alsop had run Surrey – who largely bowled extremely well – ragged; not only was he dropped twice – at second slip on 72, and at square-leg on 91 – but he was the beneficiary of four overthrows late in the day, too.Alsop came to the crease in trying circumstances, as Tom Curran bowled a magical spell after lunch, beating Jimmy Adams’ outside edge – from over and round the wicket – numerous times, before finally finding it. Alsop was himself beaten, but soon settled, cleanly cutting Mark Footitt twice through backward point. Anything on his legs was flicked from fine-leg to wide mid-on, while his driving was crisp and precise – all the way from point to down the ground, off front and back foot – too.

Alsop tribute to Carberry

After scoring his maiden first-class century, Tom Alsop paid tribute to his Hampshire team-mate Michael Carberry, who is undergoing treatment for cancer.
“There is. Michael Carberry,” said Alsop, when asked who he would like to dedicate his innings to. “He’s helped me a lot, coming through the academy, I’ve sought him out to get advice about batting and we are great friends off the field as well.”
“To see what he’s gone through is pretty tough for everyone at the club, let alone Carbs himself. So I just want to thank him for everything he’s done and to say again that we are all with him.”

He raced to 55 in 60 balls, but then as Hampshire lost Will Smith – with whom Alsop shared 92 before Smith edged Footitt behind – then James Vince, he did not score for 40 balls. “It was a case of getting through,” he said. “It requires patience, and I’m not always the most patient person so I’m pretty pleased to get there.”Having done just that, he put on a counter-attacking unbroken stand of 88, from another unsteady position, with Sean Ervine, who plopped Batty into the Pavilion for six. With the weather set fair again, they have the chance to go big on on Thursday.”Tom Curran made it very difficult, nipping it away from the lefties,” he said, “then you have Meaker and Footitt bowling 90 clicks, it’s pretty difficult whatever the track is. You play some teams and you think you can get through this spell and have a look at the others, but then they bring those two on. There’s no real break.”Both in personality and skill (he is also an excellent short leg), it is perfectly clear why Hampshire – who in Mason Crane, Joe Weatherley and the Brads, Taylor and Wheal, have plenty of other talented youngsters – and England rate Alsop so highly. On the back of his maiden List A century, also against Surrey, he jumped the queue to receive a Lions call-up in July and it was hard to believe, watching this innings, at such a vital juncture in his team’s season, that it was his first Championship ton.”I got close a few weeks back,” Alsop said, “and you do wonder if you’ll get another chance, especially with just a few games left this season. I took it ball by ball and am completely over the moon. I really wanted this, and it’s happened. They say the first one’s the hardest and it’s definitely felt that way.”Vince’s was an altogether briefer, more confused innings. Few truly believe we have seen the last of him as a Test cricketer; he is, after all, a batsman of immense talent and an impressive character – indeed the youngest current county captain.But before he is to return he must stop edging full, wide deliveries. It is that simple. By all accounts, the great strength of the century that so dazzled James Whittaker – and got him selected for seven Tests this summer despite modest numbers – at Headingley in April was his abstinence, at least until fully settled, from his seductive cover drive.This looked the perfect opportunity for another day of chastity but, having edged short of first slip already, he was roughed up by some short stuff and could not resist the big drive. Ben Foakes, stood a touch wide as if anticipating the gimme, did the rest. It was a mightily slow, almost disbelieving trudge off.

Australia A bowlers set up crushing win

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGlenn Maxwell chipped in with bat and ball to earn the Man-of-the-Match award in Australia A’s big win•Gallo Images

Australia A bundled out South Africa A for 134 in Mackay, and then romped to an eight-wicket win with more than 30 overs to spare. The victory left them second on the points table, in position to push for a berth in the final against India A.After Australia A opted to bowl, Chris Tremain swiftly set about justifying that decision with the early wickets of Heino Kuhn and Theunis de Bruyn, reducing South Africa A to 2 for 18 in the seventh over.Khaya Zondo (40) and David Miller (25) rebuilt with a 53-run partnership, but they were dismissed within four overs of each other to leave South Africa A in trouble again. The trouble was compounded soon when Kane Richardson had Dane Vilas and Dwaine Pretorius caught behind for single-digit scores as the tourists were tottering at 6 for 88. Qaasim Adams (27) and Andile Phehlukwayo (22) provided the second partnership of any substance, putting on 36 off 52 for the seventh wicket.But Cameron Boyce ensured that the rebuilding phase did not last too long. The last four wickets fell in the space of 10 runs to Boyce’s legspin as South Africa A were bowled out in 42.1 overs.Much like South Africa A, the hosts lost their openers early and found themselves 2 for 32 in the sixth over. Thereafter, though, captain Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell made short work of the chase, sharing an unbeaten third-wicket stand of 104 off 79 to take Australia A past the target in the 19th over. Lynn ended with 56 off 51, while Maxwell scored a blistering 46 off 31 to add to his fine bowling analysis of 1 for 36 off 10 overs.The result meant South Africa A needed a bonus point win in their last league match, against National Performance Squad, to have any chance of making the final.

Perera fined, Starc reprimanded for breaching ICC Code of Conduct

Sri Lanka allrounder Thisara Perera was fined 15% of his match fee while Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc received an official reprimand for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct in separate incidents during the second ODI in Colombo on Wednesday.Perera was fined for his reaction after dismissing David Warner in the second over of Australia’s chase. He was found to have breached article 2.1.7 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which deals with “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman.” Perera finished with returns of 3 for 33 off five overs in Sri Lanka’s 82-run victory.The incident for which Starc was reprimanded took place after the bowler, having finished an over, threw the ball towards Dinesh Chandimal at the striker’s end, despite the batsman not attempting a run. Starc was found guilty of violating Article 2.1.1, which deals with “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game”.The charges were brought by on-field umpires Michael Gough and Raveendra Wimalasiri, third umpire Aleem Dar and fourth umpire Ranmore Martinesz.

Amazon Warriors clinch playoff berth with win over Tridents


Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDwayne Smith and Nic Maddinson shared a 92-run opening stand•Sportsfile/Getty Images

A modest but boisterous crowd with a heavy contingent of Guyanese supporters cheered Guyana Amazon Warriors to a six-wicket victory over Barbados Tridents in the first CPL match in America on Thursday night at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill. With 5,000 chairback seats available at the CBRP, less than half were filled by the time the first ball was bowled by Dwayne Smith just after 7 pm, and an estimated 4,000 had made it through the gates by the time the match was ended, more than three hours later, by a single off the bat of Sohail Tanvir.In between, the crowd was thrilled by some big hitting from Smith, who made a mockery of Tridents’ total of 142 for 7 by bashing his way to a fifty off 30 balls. Whereas the Tridents struggled to clear the deceptively large square boundaries, Smith succeeded in going big straight down the ground for three massive sixes over long on, including one over the perimeter fence and out of the ground.Smith teamed up with Nic Maddinson for a 92-run opening stand in just 10.2 overs, with the Australian also notching 50 in just his second game of the season for Amazon Warriors after replacing Martin Guptill. With the bulk of the chase taken care of by the two openers, Amazon Warriors cantered towards the target after both men departed. The required run rate briefly threatened to go above a run a ball before Christopher Barnwell clattered a four and six off legspinner Imran Khan in the 16th to erase any prospect of a Tridents fightback.Tridents had got off to a fairly rapid start, reaching 30 for 1 in three overs after being sent in, to dispel any fears about a poor pitch. Good bounce and carry was on offer for the pacers with a bit of turn for the spinners. Tridents also had reasonable success sending in David Wiese as a pinch-hitter at No. 3, with the South African making 40 off 31 balls before he drove a low full toss from Barnwell to Chris Lynn at long-off, making it 97 for 3 after 13.But Tridents failed to capitalize on that platform with Nicholas Pooran and captain Kieron Pollard falling cheaply, for 3 and a second-ball duck respectively, both caught on the midwicket boundary in the space of six balls. From there, Shoaib Malik struggled to provide the late acceleration required, managing to reach his half-century off 44 balls by hitting the final ball of the innings for six to end on 55 not out. It wound up not being nearly enough for Tridents, who now must win their re-match against Amazon Warriors on Saturday to have any hope of reaching the playoffs.In the end, the partisan crowd in Florida had little to complain about. A much larger crowd than Thursday’s estimated 4,000 is expected on Friday, and a sell-out of 10,000 is expected for both Saturday and Sunday.