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ScorecardNamibia are facing a crushing defeat at the hands of Ireland despite an incredible bowling performance from Ian van Zyl, who finished with the stunning figures of 8 for 34. However, Trent Johnston continued his outstanding match with a vital 71 as Ireland built a lead of 78 before blowing away the Namibia top order for the second in the match.van Zyl had brought Namibia back into contention with four more wickets before Ireland edged into the lead. He removed Eoin Morgan early and at 87 for 7 equal first innings were on the cards. But Johnston found able support from the No. 10 Paul Mooney and the pair added 58 priceless runs.Johnston was ninth out after a 121-ball innings as van Zyl wrapped up proceedings with two in two balls. van Zyl’s previous record of two wickets in two matches put this performance into context.Namibia, though, couldn’t respond to his heroics as their top order floundered against the Ireland seamers. Johnston grabbed another brace, to add to his first inning six-wicket haul, while Mooney carried on his productive day with two of his own.The match was hurtling towards a conclusion, but Kola Burger brought out the long handle for the second time in the game, smashing five sixes in his 21-ball cameo. His biffing carried Namibia into a slender lead, but if Ireland can avoid poor weather on the final day they should have few problems wrapping up the win.

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene has said that if his country was to make any headway in the Twenty20 format, the Sri Lankan cricket authorities must plan out a proper structure for it domestically.”Twenty20 is something unique and provides a lot of challenges to cricketers,” said Jayawardene. “If we are to go forward we need to play more Twenty20 cricket domestically at a highly competitive level, not just clubs competing with each other day in and day out.”We have to look into getting the best players involved and have a high quality tournament,” he said. “Twenty20 is going to be a part of the international calendar, so we need to develop specialist players for this type of game.”Jayawardene said that with every game Sri Lanka played in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20, they learnt a lot.”Hopefully we should get a few more good cricketers coming through this system who will be really good Twenty20 players. Guys who are in the middle should be able to handle tough situations, not panic, be cool-headed and have confidence in what they are doing and bat according to situations. Bowlers with a lot of talent and variation who can adapt to different conditions will also come into play.Jayawardene stated that it was disappointing that his team won only one of their three matches in the Super Eights, against Bangladesh, but had words of praise for his bowlers.”We started off very well and we had our chances, but we made a few mistakes especially in the batting department. We never batted to our potential. We tried to do too many things which were not in our control,” he told the . “If we had stuck to our strengths and batted accordingly we probably would have given a better account of ourselves.”He praised his bowlers’ performance at the Twenty20 event. “The bowlers bowled really well throughout the tournament. Even without Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan] they put their hands up and performed really well. Credit should go to them.”Jayawardene was of the opinion that the ICC would not allow Twenty20 to replace the fifty-over game.”Twenty20 has been brought in to get in more crowds for the game. We need to strike a proper balance between Test cricket, one-day cricket and Twenty20. That’s the right way to go about it. The more we play Twenty20 the more we get kids involved. It’s obviously good for the game, but the real challenge for individual professional cricketers would be Test cricket and one-day cricket to test their capabilities.”Twenty20 cricket will develop individual skills. It will improve the one-day version just as one-day cricket improved Test cricket – run-scoring became faster, and Tests became more interesting and result oriented. I’m sure Twenty20 will have the same impact on one-day cricket as well.”

Match facts

December 28, 2015
Start time 1430 local (9am GMT)Gautam Gambhir-led Delhi will be gunning for their second Vijay Hazare Trophy title against plucky Gujarat•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Big Picture

The presence of the big India stars brought some attention to the knockout week of Vijay Hazare Trophy, but it’s the two best teams with those hungry to do well at this level that are left standing. Axar Patel has been Gujarat’s talisman, but he is hardly the established star that would bring newspaper headlines to a tournament. Delhi, on the other hand, have relied mainly on team work in their bowling: Quicks Navdeep Saini and Suboth Bhati have gained massively from a dash of Ishant Sharma. Left-arm spinner Manan Sharma has been the perfect support act with an economy rate of 3.36, and Pawan Negi has had a bit of an X-factor about him.The batting of these two sides have been the opposite. Gujarat have shared around the duties: Parthiv Patel hits at the top, Priyank Pachal, Rujul Bhatt and Chirag Gandhi have been the rocks, and Manpreet Juneja returned to form with a fifty in the semi-final. Delhi are more reliant on Unmukt Chand and Gautam Gambhir. Nitish Rana has shown signs of maturity, and Negi has again provided crucial lower-order quick runs.This has been a good turnaround for both the sides after a disappointing first-class season. Delhi seemed to have put behind administrative controversies when they led the points table in the first half. They fell away in the second half whereas Gujarat failed to recover from a slow start. Only one team will cap it off, though.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Delhi WWWWW
Gujarat WWWWW

In the spotlight

The knockout stage played on tired pitches has been a low-scoring affair. The pitches, especially at Chinnaswamy Stadium, the venue of the final, have been two-paced and generally slow. In the first day-night match of the event, the conditions will be in focus.It might be easy to say Gujarat have been all Axar, but Rujul Bhatt will take exception. He has been a solid middle-order batsman, a good slip fielder and a steady offspinner. He is Gujarat’s highest run-getter with 278 runs, and has given away runs at under 4.5 an over. When Axar was running through Tamil Nadu in the semi-final, Bhatt bowled 10 straight overs for just 34 runs.Chand, meanwhile, is the only one with a realistic chance of unseating Mandeep Singh as the highest run-getter of the tournament. At 308 runs, he is 86 behind Mandeep’s mark of 394. He nearly scored that many in the semi-final, shepherding what could have been a tricky chase on the Chinnaswamy pitch.

Team news

Neither of the teams might have pressing reasons to change their winning combinations.Delhi (probable) 1 Rishabh Pant (wk), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Unmukt Chand, 4 Gautam Gambhir (capt.), 5 Milind Kumar, 6 Nitish Rana, 7 Manan Sharma, 8 Pawan Negi, 9 Suboth Bhati, 10 Navdeep Saini, 11 Ishant Sharma.Gujarat (probable) 1 Parthiv Patel (capt. & wk), 2 Priyank Panchal, 3 Bhargav Merai, 4 Rujul Bhatt, 5 Chirag Gandhi, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Manpreet Juneja, 8 Rohit Dahiya, 9 Rush Kalaria, 10 Hardik Patel, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.

Stats and trivia

• This is only the second time these two teams are facing each other in a one-day match. The last encounter was a romp for Delhi, in the quarter-final of 2012-13.
• Axar Patel is the joint highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 19 of them. He is tied with Punjab’s Siddarth Kaul.
• Delhi have won the Vijay Hazare Trophy once in 2013. Gujarat are looking for their first title.

Quotes

“We can’t take any opposition lightly. We were beaten by Assam in the days and that cost us the knockout berth. We lost against Vidarbha, a very close match. We could not chase 163. We have got enough instances for the fact that we can’t take any opposition lightly. Of course it being a final, we have to raise the bar in all the three departments and make sure that we put in a 100%, do our best so that we win the finals as well.”
“It is great the way preparation for Australia is going. Have batted and bowled well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. But I am taking it step by step. Right now thinking of the final only. Will think of Australia after that.”

Never mind what Brian Lara, Ken Gordon, Bennett King and their assortment of public relations specialists and agents have said, it matters not one iota whether Bangladesh were easily brushed aside yesterday or if England are hammered tomorrow in the last of the Super Eights matches.The fact that West Indies rallied from 8 for 2 to reach 230 for 5 against Bangladesh is almost inconsequential, except that Ramnaresh Sarwan’s unbeaten 91 reinforced his value as a batsman to complement what should now be his inevitable appointment as captain for the tour of England.All of the references to these two matches being important in getting back on track and shifting the focus to the next campaign are just so much repetitive rubbish. Go back to almost every series, home or away, in recent years and the mindless mantra has been the same. The impression is always created that things will be better next time around and that instead of harping on the negatives and moaning about the latest debacle, we should cast our eyes optimistically to the next challenge.Well, baseless optimism and the absence of real accountability has brought us right where we are: used, abused and humiliated under the whip of the ICC and their minions in the Local Organising Committee’s (LOCs), bundled out of what was laughingly described as “our” World Cup even before the last two Super Eights matches, a fractured, underperforming team, a technical staff incapable of insisting on any sort of standard, and an administration preoccupied with all sorts of silver-tongued public relations foolishness in the midst of almost irreversible decay.Here is the evidence on the field: no Test series victory anywhere in the world for the last three years; not a single Test match win since June 2005, since which time the West Indies have played 15 Tests; elimination in the first phase of the 1999 and 2003 World Cups, while getting to the second stage of the current tournament has only exposed us to more embarrassing whippings than were experienced in those two previous events combined.The saving grace has been the Champions Trophy, where the West Indies were champions in 2004 and beaten finalists last year, which merely reinforces that we have the talent to succeed, but lack the wherewithal to triumph in the extended contests and over the long haul. This has been the modern story of West Indies cricket. And the media and the fans are to blame for it? Give me a break. The blame would be that the media are too superficial in the analysis of issues, while the fans are so very desperate for success and so very willing to forgive this lot that they cling hopefully to an unfounded belief that, sooner rather than later, every little thing will be alright.We have passed this way many times in the last decade, but once again, here is the chance to make a fundamental change. Those who talk a good game, but deliver practically nothing, should do the decent thing and step aside.In hesitating over such apparently drastic action, we should consider for a moment the frequent cautionary advice that things will only get worse if a wholesale house-cleaning is undertaken. Worse than this? You can’t be serious.I had spoken about how change for change’s sake since 1995 has made no difference. Now, though, we should consider real change: not replacing one for another of like mind, but installing personnel who will abide by a code of conduct, on the field and off it, that rewards performance, commitment and integrity and is not compromised by expediency and convenience when it comes to dealing with those – in the dressing room or the boardroom – who make a habit of stepping out of line.

A case of mistaken identity:
One of the posters outside the FerozShah Kotla introduces you to “The Speedy Daredevil”. You may call FarveezMaharoof a lot of things, including a Glenn McGrath wannabe, but speedy?Dale Steyn was playing for the opposition.Lights, camera, no action:
The started was delayed by 10 minutes asa result of a glitch in the TV transmission. Were it not for the crowdgetting restive, the pause might have gone on longer. Steyn filled thetime with rolls and stretches on the outfield, and it wasn’t until theseventh over that pictures were available.No country for old men:
Sunil Joshi is even older than McGrath, andlooks a stranger to this format. His only over was pounded for 19 byGautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan, and when Jacques Kallis was flayed inthe next over, Bangalore’s reliance on experience wasn’t looking thatclever.Are you watching, Jens Lehmann?:
When Dhawan powered one in thedirection of midwicket, most eyes went to the boundary rope. But wait. Whowas that diving full length to his right to pouch a stunning catch? RahulDravid may no longer be part of the one-day team, but at this rate, an I-League football club may come calling next season.Not quite perfect:
Most bowlers would bite your hand off if youoffered them figures of 4 for 29 in a T20 game. In his final over, McGrathcame back to claim the wicket of Dravid and tilt the game decisively inDelhi’s favour. His last ball, though, was tucked away for four by MarkBoucher. Cue a frustrated kick at the air. The true champions are neverhappy.

It’s been three years since England won a one-day series at home but the current batch, eager to put a seal on the trophy tomorrow, appear to be headed in just the right direction. It was against India that England last triumphed in a home one-day rubber, back in September 2004, but this unit seems genuinely capable of a one-day renaissance. It’s early days yet but the signs shouldn’t go unnoticed.Paul Collingwood is leading a young side that’s winning. Every member of this squad is likely to last till the next World Cup, something that doesn’t hold true with other international sides. Collingwood is the only member of the side who is above 30, yet he’s arguably the fittest of the lot.The youngest two members carried them to victory at Old Trafford. A few months back they couldn’t win a game, now they seem to possess all the riches. As if winning the series wasn’t good enough, England want to win the rest of the games. They’re talking of playing their best cricket from now on and have mentioned the word “ruthless” too often for comfort. Collingwood is talking of “miles to go”. Such greed.”To win three games so far is a good achievement but we’ve done nothing yet,” said Collingwood. “We’ve got one more game to win but we want to win the last three. I’ve said from the start as long as we are moving forward as a team I’m happy. But you always want to win. It would mean a lot for the confidence of the team, going forward into the Twenty20 [World Championship] and on to Sri Lanka.”Both teams are sweating over injury concerns to fast bowlers – Andrew Flintoff and Zaheer Khan are doubtful starters – who could be crucial in conditions which are likely to favour them. The weather is mostly chilly, with a stiff breeze blowing across the ground, and given the 10.15 am start, the early overcast conditions could play a part in the compositions of the side and the decision at the toss. If Dravid wins this one too, like he is done in his previous seven, there could be some serious investigation. He’s losing games but defying probability.India must be feeling like a football side that’s two goals down with a man sent off. Zaheer is unlikely to play, while his replacement, Munaf Patel, hasn’t hit full fitness. The law of averages suggests Ajit Agarkar will have a bad game – he’s had a good game just two days ago, remember – and RP Singh is on the wane. Dravid spoke about having their backs to the wall. It’s actually more like guns to their foreheads.A picture in the Headingley Long Room captures three of Yorkshire’s greatest batsman. There’s Herbert Sutcliffe, smiling eagerly from a wheelchair, flanked by Len Hutton and Geoffrey Boycott, kneeling on either side. They traverse three generations. Sutcliffe was born in 1894, Hutton in 1916 and Boycott in 1940. Between them they total 57 Test hundreds and 19,640 Test runs. Their feats at the first-class level were simply colossal.There’s another batsman, who also turned out for Yorkshire, whose feats surpass those of the trio. Sachin Tendulkar, who was Yorkshire’s first overseas pro back in 1992, returns to his English home. Four fifties in the last seven games point to his current form but it’s here and now, with India needing to win, that he’d want to stamp his authority.His opening partner, Sourav Ganguly was unwell and missed the practice session but is expected to walk out for his 300th one-dayer tomorrow. The two, the most prolific pair in one-day history, have 50 fifty-plus stands between them and a solid start, especially in demanding conditions, will be essential to get India away.Once they drew level at Bristol, India spoke about a five-match series. Now they can look forward to a three-match contest and if they end up losing the next two there’s always a one-off slug-out waiting for them at Lord’s.England (likely) 1 Matt Prior (wk), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood (capt), 6 Owais Shah, 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Chris Tremlett, 10 Monty Panesar, 11 James Anderson.India (likely) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Sourav Ganguly, 3 Rahul Dravid (capt), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Ajit Agarkar, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Ramesh Powar, 10 RP Singh, 11 Munaf Patel.

On his recent performances
After being out with injury during the Australia tour I had a point to prove to show that I can be a good allrounder. So I have been working hard on my fitness and every aspect of my game with Tom (Moody), who has helped me a lot. I’m happy with the way I have been approaching my cricket and on the field, I have just been playing my natural game. I have been keeping things simple and things are going well at the moment.On how his game has developed
Tom has helped me with my technique and also mentally as well. We have recently changed some of my bowling methods, opening up my action slightly and making sure my front arm was pulling down straight. I feel there has been a big improvement since making those changes. I just have to make sure that I am always asking the batsman questions as to whether to play or not.On his batting
Batting-wise, I have just been trying to adapt to the situation. When I went in on Monday I was just thinking about getting through what was a tough period. They were bowling a good line and length. We knew it would ease-up after lunch and just wanted to survive the first session. Dilshan played brilliantly for his 69 and I gave him company. I’m just disappointed to not get a half-century.On the progress of the match
After Pakistan started the innings well, we just tried to focus on the basics and that worked for us as we took three quick wickets. Inzamam and Farhat batted well. This morning I was just concentrating on bowling in the right areas rather than looking for seam or swing. That paid off and from the other end, we also kept it tight. Murali took wickets and Malinga (Lasith) chipped in. Then Upul (Tharanga), Sanga (Sangakkara) and Mahela (Jayawardene) batted brilliantly – it was a good day for us.On the present match situation
We are in the box seat at the moment with a lead of 250-odd with eight wickets in hand. But you never know in cricket and we just want to get a score where we feel we are safe and can win the match. I think around 350 to 400 would be a good target on this pitch.On the condition of the pitch
The pitch has eased a lot compared to the first day and now it is playing very well. The spinners are getting some bite and jump. It’s a good track but when we go out in the second innings to bowl, we’ll be looking to be positive and trying to make sure we are hitting the good areas as much as possible.

Scott Styris will finish his county season a week early after New Zealand became worried that a series of niggling injuries could harm his preparation for the Twenty20 World Championship. Styris has had problems with his lower back, knee and calf during his seven-week stint at Durham and will play his final game for the county against Hampshire this weekend.Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand team manager, said their priority was to ensure Styris was fit for the Twenty20 tournament in South Africa in September as well as the international season that follows. “In spite of having had a month off before taking up the contract, Scott has had a number of injury issues while with Durham,” Crocker said.”We have decided that he needs to return to New Zealand so we can begin working on his fitness and rehabilitation, ahead of our busy international season. While he is still able to play in a limited capacity, we feel that seeing out his contract to 31 July could potentially limit his chances of being fit for the ICC World Twenty20.”Styris also hurt his back last year while playing at Middlesex and he aggravated the problem at the Champions Trophy. That led to him missing the home series against Sri Lanka and the start of the CB Series, although when he returned he was in fine form and was New Zealand’s leading run-scorer at the World Cup.However, New Zealand gave him a clean bill of health leading into the 2007 county season and before Styris joined Durham Crocker said he had no concerns over the allrounder’s fitness. In his four first-class games so far this season he has struggled for form, scoring 191 runs at 23.87. Styris will have just over a month to prepare for the World Championship before New Zealand depart in the first week of September.

Wellington v Central Districts Day 4
In a repeat of the result of last year’s final, Central Districts beat Wellington outright.Chasing a modest 227 on a wicket that offered the seamers encouragement throughout, Central stuttered briefly but always looked favourites to get there.Opener Geoff Barnett laid the foundation with a gritty 78. Nobody else in the top order passed 20 until Ewen Thompson, batting at number eight, scored 40 from 43 balls, including two sixes. The importance of his knock can not be downplayed. Thompson came to the crease at the dismissal of Barnett with Central teetering slightly at 167 for 6. However, his boldness and Bevan Griggs’ resilience (19 not out from 48 balls), guided Central to maximum points. Griggs finished with a useful match double after scoring 58 in the first innings. He also took five catches behind the stumps in Wellington’s second innings.James Franklin and Test hopeful Mark Gillespie took three wickets each, though Gillespie was expensive in the context of this match.Auckland v Otago Day 3
Auckland’s burst of four wickets late on the second evening looks more and more like an anomaly as the runs pile up at this batter-friendly venue.Neil Broom and Gareth Hopkins took their fifth-wicket partnership through to 219 before Broom fell to Chris Martin for 112.Wicketkeeper Hopkins continued on his merry way, securing a century after 199 balls and a few nervous moments on 99. He was ably supported by Lancastrian Kyle Hogg who must have walked out to bat with some trepidation after failing to score on a similar batsman’s paradise during the first round match against Canterbury.As it is there must be a few red faces among Otago’s top order after such a pitiful collapse.When rain stopped play late in the day, Hogg was on 53 and Hopkins 139 – but then Otage declared, which could prove an imaginative decision.Canterbury v Northern Districts Day 3
Northern have only Daniel Vettori’s allround abilities to thank for this match continuing into the fourth day.Vettori propped up a disappointing Northern effort with 86 – he was last man out – as the visitors collapsed against Shane Bond.Bond, playing his first match for the province this season, took 5 for 37 off 19.3 well-directed overs to decimate a Northern side that began the innings just two runs adrift of Canterbury.They soon found themselves marooned at 81 for 6, Hamish Marshall giving more headaches to the New Zealand selectors with his 19-ball innings of 1.Vettori was supported by Peter McGlashan who eked out a painstaking 13 from 65 deliveries before falling to Craig McMillan.

Still annoyed with ICC selectors for overlooking him from the Super Series World XI squad against Australia, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan captain, today said he will not travel to Australia next month for the Captains’ Conference and the second ICC Annual Awards.Inzamam told PTI, “I have not yet made up my mind if I would play in the Super Series if given a late ticket, but I have definitely decided not to travel to Australia for Captains’ Conference and ICC Annual Awards. I have conveyed my decision to the concerned authorities.”Inzamam’s decision came a day after the Pakistan Cricket Board said it would back the captain if he decides to skip the Australian tour. Inzamam’s decision has also strengthened apprehensions that he might turn down a late invitation from the ICC to represent the World XI in place of an injured Sachin Tendulkar or Herschelle Gibbs.”I don’t think it would be a wise decision to take a long flight to and from Sydney for the Captains’ Conference when the same time can be better utilised to prepare for the home series against England. That is far more important than anything at the moment.”Michael Vaughan’s side, fresh from their Ashes success against Australia, arrive in Pakistan on October 26 for a three-Test and five-ODI series. When England last toured Pakistan in 2000, they won the three-Test series 1-0 while Pakistan clinched the ODI seriesInzamam added, “Instead of undergoing flight hazards, I have decided to pencil down my suggestions, opinions and recommendations and hand them over to the PCB so that they can forward them to the ICC.”Inzamam said it was a great honour for him to be nominated for three ICC awards. “I don’t think that I will win any award for the simple reason that if I get any award, it would be embarrassing for the selectors and I don’t think the ICC would put its selectors in a situation where they are left with no hiding place. Don’t you agree that it would be a bad publicity for the ICC or its selectors if winner of any of the three awards is originally overlooked from its World XI?”Inzamam, who averages over 50 in ODIs and 94.67 in Tests this year, has been nominated for Player of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year awards.