All posts by h716a5.icu

South Africa Under-19s were fired out for just 77 and closed the second day at Wantage Road staring defeat in the face after conceding a first-innings lead of 316

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2014
ScorecardLuke Wood claimed two early wickets as South Africa Under-19s crumbled•Getty ImagesSouth Africa Under-19s were fired out for just 77 and closed the second day at Wantage Road staring defeat in the face after conceding a first-innings lead of 316.England will surely enforce the follow-on on day three and will have two days to wrap up victory and win the two-match series.It was an afternoon of carnage for the tourists who registered only three double-figure scores, two of them from Nos. 8 and 10. Extras, with 15, was the top scorer.The South Africans played out the first 10 overs of their innings unscathed but Nottinghamshire’s Luke Wood, a left-arm seamer, began the rout with two wickets in successive balls, bowling Mathew Christensen and having Hanco Olivier lbw.Opener Ryan Rickelton was third man out for 12 before three wickets fell for two runs, all to Lancashire right-armer Saqib Mahmood, who finished with 3 for 12.Three successive ducks left South Africa 30 for 6 and Stefan Klopper’s 12 and Brandon Glover’s 10 merely turned the effort from utter humiliation to extreme embarrassment. Sort of.England took a giant lead after they had earlier extended their 252 for 3 to 393 through several handy partnerships, all marshalled by Rob Jones’ half-century.

Middlesex needed just 80 minutes to wrap up a ten-wicket win and condemn Sussex to their first defeat of the season in the County Championship.

20-Jul-2013
ScorecardIt was fitting that Sam Robson was not out as Middlesex claimed victory•Getty ImagesMiddlesex needed just 80 minutes to wrap up a ten-wicket win and condemn Sussex to their first defeat of the season in the County Championship. Luke Wright was last out for 161 as Sussex were dismissed for 310 in their second innings and the Middlesex openers knocked off their target of 44 in nine overs at Hove.Sussex led by just 21 runs overnight with Wright on 151 but Middlesex made inroads as soon as they took the second new ball. Tim Murtagh’s first delivery with it made the breakthrough when Chris Jordan edged a lifter to wicketkeeper John Simpson.Sussex lost their eighth wicket in the next over when Steve Magoffin wafted outside off stump on nought and Simpson again did the honours to reward Corey Collymore’s excellent line.James Anyon briefly gave Wright some support as the ninth wicket pair added a further 15 but Murtagh struck again with the score on 308 when Anyon was caught behind off another ball which lifted sharply off a length to give Simpson his eighth catch of the game.With only last man Monty Panesar for company, Wright tried to hit out but only succeeded in finding Neil Dexter on the long off boundary, having added ten runs to his overnight score. Wright’s 161 came off 185 balls with 24 boundaries and a six.Murtagh and Collymore both picked up three wickets while Steve Finn, deemed surplus to requirements by England at Lord’s, was not required to bowl today.Middlesex needed 44 to seal their fourth win of the season and Dawid Malan finished unbeaten on 19 and Sam Robson, whose first-innings 166 had done so much to set up their victory, was 18 not out.

Preview of the third ODI between India and England at Ranchi

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit18-Jan-2013Match factsJanuary 19, 2013
Start time 1200 (0630 GMT)MS Dhoni will have the chance to demonstrate his hitting in front of a home crowd in Ranchi’s first ODI•BCCIBig PictureChirkunda is a small border town in Dhanbad district of the Indian state of Jharkhand, where a future national icon came to play a local tennis-ball cricket tournament in the late 1990s. There are hundreds of towns like Chirkunda across Jharkhand, which has mostly made the news for Maoist unrest and political instability. And many people from many such towns will feel pride in the story of a boy from their capital Ranchi, who rose and rose from anonymity.That boy, MS Dhoni, now returns to his hometown as India captain, World Cup winner, to play in Ranchi’s first ODI. To say that Ranchi is an emotional place right now is an understatement. And it is not an overstatement to say that Ranchi gets whatever attention it does mostly because it produced Dhoni.For the moment, between Ranchi and Dhoni, the series itself has taken a bit of a backseat. England, of course, will know that their bowlers have taken a battering, a good part of it from Dhoni himself, in both the previous ODIs in Rajkot and Kochi. While their batsmen managed to just outdo India’s in the first ODI, they fell woefully short in the second, against swing and spin alike. The Kochi loss bore traces of the old England and why they have lost 17 of their previous 20 ODIs in India – unable to control the rampaging home batsmen and unable to tackle the sticky local conditions.England already know that this is not exactly the India side of old, which was extremely difficult to overcome on home soil. The personnel, especially the batsmen, might not have changed drastically, but times certainly have for Dhoni and his team.Form guide(Most recent first)
India WLWLL
England LWLWW
In the spotlightThousands lined the route from the Birsa Munda airport to the team hotel in Ranchi to catch a glimpse of MS Dhoni, who has said he wasn’t expecting such a tremendous reception, and felt “humbled”. Dhoni is one of the very few India cricketers to come somewhat close to Sachin Tendulkar in terms of popularity and adulation, as well as in his ability to shut himself off from it all. There is no doubt he could feel overwhelmed when he walks out to the middle in the city he grew up in. There is also no doubt that he won’t allow his game to be affected by the emotions of the thousands who will be screaming out his name from the stands.Kevin Pietersen is in some form. His magnificent 186 on a Mumbai turner proved that last November and the way he walked down the pitch and hit balls from off to leg in Rajkot and Kochi reinforces the case. But both those knocks have been terminated in the forties. Pietersen can’t be denied for too long.Team newsTim Bresnan missed the Kochi ODI with a niggle and, if fit, should return in place of Chris Woakes. Will England persist with Jade Dernbach? The fast bowler got the wicket of Dhoni in Rajkot and had kept India in check in the batting Powerplay before he and his bag of variations fell apart at the death.England (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Joe Root, 6 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 7 Samit Patel, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Jade Dernbach/Stuart Meaker, 11 Steven FinnAmid all the local excitement, Dhoni was hit on the right thumb while batting against the bowling coach Joe Dawes in the nets. That was the end of his practice as he received ice treatment, but he is expected to be fit to play. With Shami Ahmed not doing badly at all in the four overs he got in Kochi, India can be expected to stick to a winning combination.India (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Shami Ahmed.Pitch and conditionsThe Jharkhand State Cricket Association stadium has hosted just two first-class games, both of which were drawn. The curator has been quoted as saying he expects the side batting first to make around 350 on the “sporting wicket”. Winter has started to wind down in the east of the country, with Jharkhand experiencing milder weather over the past few days. The curator does not expect dew to be a major factor. A light drizzle is forecast for later in the evening.Stats and trivia Before Rajkot, the last time England beat India in India in an ODI was in April 2006, in Ranchi’s neighbouring city of Jamshedpur. Ranchi will become India’s 42nd ODI venue.Quotes”Very high marks, let’s say nine out of ten. I haven’t given a perfect ten because even the best can be improved … the good players can become even better, so also stadiums and facilities.”

Josh Hazlewood has called for Cricket Australia to organise more T20 internationals in the lead-up to such big-ticket events

Arun Venugopal in Kolkata12-Mar-2016Australia’s record in World T20 events is a rather curious anomaly for a team that has generally bossed ICC events. The general perception – no doubt a result of holding Australia to the exalted standards they have set for themselves in the 50-over World Cup – is they have flopped in each of the five previous editions of the World T20, but in reality they have been hit or miss. Australia have managed two semi-finals and a final but have not made the knockouts in their other two attempts; in fact, their campaign in 2009 lasted a mere three days.Some would suggest that Australia have rarely taken Twenty20 cricket seriously enough, despite their players being highly sought after in leagues across the world, not to mention the recent popularity of the Big Bash. The players disagree with such a notion but, undoubtedly, there is recognition that they need to play a greater number of T20Is.In the last 12 months Australia have played only seven T20Is; among the eight top-ranked teams only England (7) and West Indies (2) have played that number or fewer. Pakistan (17), India (15), Sri Lanka (13) and South Africa (11) have played a considerably higher number of matches, with India and Sri Lanka stacking their calendar to such an extent that they have played eleven and nine matches respectively since the new year.Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood reckoned his team would do well to adopt a similar approach and called for Cricket Australia to organise more T20 internationals in the lead-up to such big-ticket events.”We obviously don’t play as much T20 cricket as some of the other nations, and even in these conditions we don’t play as much,” he told journalists in Kolkata.”I think we definitely could play T20 a little bit more leading into big tournaments like this and probably in conditions that we are going to face in the tournament. In the future that’s something that we have to look at. It [India playing many games] is smart leading into a T20 tournament, to play a lot of that format that you are going to play. I think we are getting better at it but I think we still need to improve it.”John Hastings, Hazlewood’s pace-bowling partner, agreed with the observation of their captain, Steven Smith, that the absence of many regular players from the Test and ODI side hurt Australia. He also felt that the heavy turnover of players didn’t afford them much time to figure out their roles in the team.”I think mainly it’s because we haven’t probably had a settled line-up over the years where the guys are resting at the back of a Test tour or a one day tour,” he said. “There’s been a lot of different players coming through and making their debuts for Australia in T20 cricket. So when you are always chopping and changing, it’s difficult to have a really defined role in the side on what you want to get of it and what the team needs you to do.”Smith, however, was confident about Australia’s chances given the number of players in the team who had knowledge of Indian conditions.”Traditionally we haven’t done as well as we would have liked in this format. This is a tournament that has eluded us so we’re here to try and win it,” he said. “We have all certainly played a lot of T20 cricket. We know how to play the game and if we do it to the best of our ability we are going to be a tough side to beat.”I think IPL has been great in the development of a lot of players from all around the world. The experiences we have had from the IPL will hold us in good stead for this tournament. A lot of us know what to expect, what the conditions are going to be like. What it’s like playing in front of big crowds here in India. We’re really excited.”Hastings said Australia’s 2-1 win in their recent T20 international series against South Africa was an injection of positive energy just ahead of the World T20. “It’s been great that this last two weeks in South Africa we have had a pretty settled team,” he said. “It’s the same fifteen that are going to be with us right through for the next three weeks. I think that will hold us in better shape now [since] we know our guys inside out. Now it’s about going out and executing our skills.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the chances of the teams in the Friends Life t20 South Group

Vithushan Ehantharajah26-Jun-2013Essex (14-1)
Overseas players: Hamish Rutherford, Shaun Tait
T20 pedigree: Three visits to Finals Day but still yet to play in the showpiece match, Essex possess enough fire power to win this competition. Why they haven’t is a bit of a mystery, especially considering their personnel.
Prediction: Rutherford and Tait reinforce a line-up boasting Owais Shah, Ryan ten Doeschate, Graham Napier and an internationally rejuvenated Ravi Bopara. They are one of the few sides whose hopes don’t rest on the success of their overseas signings but given their topsy-turvy season so far, that might not necessarily be a good thing. Quarter-finals should be a minimum – outsiders for the title.Hampshire (10-1)
Overseas players: Sohail Tanvir
T20 pedigree: One of the few teams in the world that fully appreciate this form of the game and much of that is down to their skipper Dmitri Mascarenhas. The last three years have seen them win the competition twice, with a semi-final finish sandwiched in between.
Prediction: No county has defended the domestic Twenty20 title and it’s doubtful that Hampshire will change that. Mascarenhas is fighting a continuing battle with injury but, provided they can manage his situation well, they could become only the tfourth team to make four Finals Day appearances in a row.Kent (20-1)
Overseas players: Brendan Nash, Vernon Philander
T20 pedigree: Quarter-finalists, winners, runners-up and semi-finalists from 2006 to 2009, inclusive, Kent have shown that a consistent method can garner results in the madness that is Twenty20.
Prediction: The wise heads are still there, but the bodies are older and perhaps even getting out of the group will be seen as a bonus. Darren Stevens continues to prove just how valuable a cricketer he is after his 44-ball hundred helped Kent chase down a world record 336 for victory in the YB40 against Sussex. Then again, with Philander, anything is possible.Middlesex (18-1)
Overseas players: Adam Voges, Kyle Mills
T20 pedigree: One win and one quarter-final place. Their focus in the last couple of years has been regaining their Division One status in the Championship and, with that achieved and consolidated, they will be keen to excel in the cup competitions.
Prediction: Their batting line-up shows that a change of game can elicit a change of form; much of the middle-order that has faltered in the Championship has excelled in the YB40. Dawid Malan, Joe Denly and Neil Dexter have enjoyed the freedom of limited-overs cricket, while youngsters like James Harris, the hard-hitting Adam Rossington and Paul Stirling – ranked the eighth-best ODI batsman in the world – can be game-changers.Surrey (9-1)
Overseas players: Ricky Ponting, Glenn Maxwell
T20 pedigree: The inaugural champions, they reached the first four Finals Days but have failed to get out of the group on the last six occasions. Their financial clout always gives them a chance, particularly in this form, and the acquisition of Maxwell will excite.
Prediction: Would a win be so crazy? The romantic narrative that sport often throws up would surely be Surrey lifting the trophy at Edgbaston after a season of discontent, not to mention the tragedy of last year. Their fans and the rest of the country want to see just how good Jason Roy, Steven Davies, Jade Dernbach, Zafar Ansari and Matthew Dunn can be and this competition gives them the chance to show that the future at The Oval is bright.Sussex (8-1)
Overseas players: Scott Styris, Dwayne Smith
T20 pedigree: Semi-finalists last year, Sussex were victors in 2009 with a well-balanced side, much of which has remained in place at Hove. Smith was man of the match against Somerset that year and his re-signing, along with that of Styris, bodes well.
Prediction: Luke Wright’s consistency and the acquisition of Chris Jordan add some snap to their bowling attack, along with Chris Liddle providing variation with some skiddy left-arm seam. Will Beer’s improvement with the bat should have him nailed-on as the spin option and gives Sussex the total package that should have them gunning for Finals Day.Odds from bet365.com

Sunil Gavaskar has written to the Supreme Court, asking it to clarify what the status of his position in the BCCI is at present

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Jul-2014Sunil Gavaskar has written to the Supreme Court, asking it to clarify the status of his position in the BCCI at present.* The court had put Gavaskar in charge of the IPL this March, after asking BCCI president N Srinivasan to step down till the investigation into the IPL spot-fixing case was completed.It had also directed that Gavaskar should be released from his contractual obligations with the BCCI as a commentator but said he should be compensated for his new role. Reports on Friday had suggested that Gavaskar had written to the court regarding this compensation, but he denied this, telling ESPNcricinfo that it was an “utterly false and mischievous story”.”I have not written to the Supreme Court complaining about the BCCI or anything as the story suggests. All I have written to the Superme Court is asking for the clarification regarding my current situation,” Gavaskar said. “The first order, given at the end of March, was pretty clear that I would be the BCCI interim president, IPL, till the end of the tournament. In the middle of May the court said Shivlal [Yadav, who was named interim BCCI president for non-IPL affairs by the court] and I would continue till further orders. So it is just that little bit of confusion and that is all that I had asked for.”This business of asking for any compensation from BCCI is utter rubbish. I wanted an update from the court on whether I am still the temporary BCCI president, IPL, because the Champions League T20 starts soon. I did not mention not one word about compensation. It is an utterly mischievous story. Whoever has put this out owes me an apology.”The issue dates back to June 2013 when the Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma raised charges of a conflict of interest in the formation of BCCI’s two-member inquiry panel into the IPL corruption issue, which led to the suspension of Sreesanth and several other players. A Bombay High Court ruling later termed the probe panel “illegal”. The BCCI and the CAB filed petitions in the Supreme Court against this order, with the CAB contending that the Bombay High Court could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations.The Supreme Court then appointed a three-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal and comprising additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Assam Cricket Association member Nilay Dutta, in October 2013, to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players. The committee had submitted its findings to the court on February 10, including a sealed envelop with allegations against 13 persons. In April, the court asked the committee to continue its investigations into the matter, probing the allegations against those 13 persons, and the inquiry is ongoing.*11.00GMT, July 11: This article has been updated after Sunil Gavaskar spoke to ESPNcricinfo

Morne Morkel will not be able to bowl anymore in the ongoing Test against India, after suffering an ankle ligament injury just on the third day at the Wanderers

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg20-Dec-20130:00

‘High-heel shoes not a good idea’

South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel will not be able to bowl anymore in the ongoing Test against India, after suffering an ankle ligament injury just before lunch on the third day at the Wanderers. His participation in the second Test is also in doubt, with team manager Mohammad Moosajee saying a grade one ligament injury usually takes seven to ten days to heal.Morkel’s unavailability left South Africa in a dire position in the first Test: India’s lead was 67 when he hobbled off before lunch and they had extended it beyond 250 with eight wickets in hand by the time the severity of the injury was confirmed. He will bat in South Africa’s second innings only if absolutely necessary.”Losing Morne is probably worse pain than my toothache,” Vernon Philander, who bowled 18 overs in Morkel’s absence, said after the day’s play.Morkel fell while fielding in the over before lunch and appeared to have twisted his right ankle when his foot got stuck in the turf as he ran around from fine leg to collect a ball. He managed to throw the ball back to the wicketkeeper but then went down, clutching his ankle. South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, was at his side immediately and one of the fielders called for a stretcher, but after the physiotherapist Brandon Jackson arrived on the field, Morkel was able to walk off, helped by bowling coach Allan Donald.Morkel had bowled only two overs in the second innings before he was injured. He had been South Africa’s most impressive bowler in India’s first innings, taking three wickets and generating steep bounce. By the end of the first session on the third day, India had reached 31 for 1, extending their lead to 67 runs.The second Test in Durban begins on December 26.

The rain, which is threatening to turn this series into a non-event, prevented Australia from taking advantage of a strong start at Edgbaston after they had removed Australia’s top order

The Report by George Dobell at Edgbaston11-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMichael Carberry was run out in the first over of the match•Getty ImagesThe rain, which is threatening to turn this series into a non-event, prevented Australia from taking advantage of a strong start at Edgbaston after they had removed England’s top order.Rain delayed the start by 20 minutes and then returned after one ball of the 16th over to force the sides off the field. Although the umpires finally called the game off shortly after 7pm it had long been clear that there was little chance of a result as Edgbaston suffered from the weather again. Spectators will receive a 50% refund on the value of their tickets – it is only 100% if fewer than 10 overs have been bowled – and Warwickshire had an insurance policy to cover lost retail sales.Australia certainly fared better of the two sides in the first hour or so of play. Mitchell Johnson, again bowling at a pace in excess of 90 mph, was arguably the most eye-catching of the bowlers but gained good support from his colleagues.While Kevin Pietersen flicked his first delivery, the fourth of the game, through midwicket for four, he was involved in a run-out two balls later for which he would have to accept much of the blame.Struck on the thigh pad, Pietersen called Michael Carberry for a sharp single. Carberry had backed up some distance but, despite bellowing “no,” then had to watch in horror as Pietersen ran past him to the safety of the non-striker’s end while the bowler, Clint McKay, completed the run out. It appeared both batsmen accepted that sacrificing Carberry was the lesser of two evils, though for a man playing in just his third ODI and with limited opportunities to shine, it may prove to be a significant blow.The incident appeared to unsettle Pietersen. He played and missed at both McKay and Johnson and then pulled a sharp short ball from Johnson to square leg.After Pietersen’s early boundary, England failed to hit another until the 10th over. While Jonathan Trott produced a couple of characteristic flicks off the hip, England reached an underwhelming 43 for 2 by the end of the Powerplay.Joe Root produced one sweet on-driven four off Josh Hazlewood, who replaced Fawad Ahmed for Australia, in the next over but, no sooner had Adam Voges been introduced into the attack, than Root pushed one that may have gripped in the pitch back to the bowler.It could have been worse for England. Trott, falling to the off side as he tried to play a straight one off his legs, was given out lbw when he had scored 13 by umpire Michael Gough. Trott, in hope more than conviction, eventually called for a review of the decision which showed the delivery from Johnson had pitched fractionally outside the leg stump.It was not Trott’s only nervous moment. Australia utilised their only review on another leg-before appeal, with ball-tracking technology suggesting the delivery from Johnson would have narrowly passed over the stumps – the review upheld Gough’s not-out decision on the basis of umpire’s call. Two balls later, Trott sustained a crunching blow as a short ball from Johnson crashed into the grill of his helmet.”It’s definitely a plan to target Trott with the bouncer,” Matthew Wade said. “It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to work that out. Any batsman getting bouncers at the pace Mitch is bowling them is going to find it quite difficult and we’ll target that and try and mix his feet up and get him caught behind”There were a couple of nicely timed boundaries off his legs but, when the time the rain came at 3.34pm, England would have been the happier of the sides to get back to the dressing room. Despite criticism about the balance of their side, England named an unchanged XI, meaning Ben Stokes continued as third seamer and No. 8 batsman. The balance of their side will remain a talking point over the final two matches of the series – weather permitting.”It’s really disappointing that the rain came in,” Wade added. “We started so well. But we’re 1-0 up and we’re looking to push-on.”Mitch is one of the quickest I’ve kept to for a while. More importantly, his accuracy is second to none and he is swinging the ball nicely, too. When you move the ball back in at 90 mph it is tough for any batsman. One of our aims is to take early wickets and he is doing that for us.”He probably feels a lot fresher. He got away from international cricket for a while. The scrutiny and pressure he was under is hard work for anybody. So to come in with a fresh mindset is probably the key to his success.”If you’re picking the Ashes team tomorrow he would definitely be in it. We don’t have a lot of available fast bowlers right now. But if he bowls like this, he’ll be in the mix for sure.”

Alisha Lehmann is enjoying time away with the Swiss national team and has been showing off her skills in an impressive ball-juggling act.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Forward away on international dutyLooking to reach half-century of capsBig games to come back in EnglandWHAT HAPPENED?

The Aston Villa forward is taking a break from WSL duty as she prepares for an international friendly double-header with Poland. The 25-year-old has earned 48 caps for her country, meaning that she could hit a notable landmark over the course of the next week.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

If Lehmann were to figure in both meetings with Poland, then she would reach a half-century of appearances for Switzerland. She is doing her best to catch the eye of national team coach Pia Sundhage during pre-match training sessions.

DID YOU KNOW?

While being focused on ensuring that the Swiss squad are in the best possible shape as a collective for the immediate challenges to come, Lehmann has been displaying her personal skill set during a showboating routine that saw her keep the ball off the ground using her heel, neck and feet.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

WHAT NEXT FOR LEHMANN?

Lehmann, who has rekindled her relationship with fellow Villa star Douglas Luiz, will be hoping to impress for her country before returning to England for crucial outings for Villa at the start of March that will see them face Liverpool in the WSL and Arsenal in the League Cup semi-finals.

Alex Blake smashed an unbeaten 59 off just 24 balls as Kent made sure of a place in the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-finals with a three-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Cheltenham

ECB/PA12-Jul-2015
ScorecardAlex Blake’s unbeaten 59 from just 24 balls took Kent home•Getty ImagesAlex Blake smashed an unbeaten 59 off just 24 balls as Kent made sure of a place in the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-finals with a three-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.The powerful left-hander smote four sixes and five fours to see his side to a target of 167 with two balls to spare. Sam Northeast contributed 49 and Joe Denly 31, while Craig Miles claimed 3 for 27.Gloucestershire had posted 166 for seven after losing the toss, Michael Klinger strengthening his position as the competition’s leading run-maker with 75 from 50 balls. Mitch Claydon was the most successful Kent bowler with three wickets.Klinger’s runs took his aggregate in the South Group to 653 at an average of 108.83. But, while leaders Kent can now look forward to the knock-out stages, Gloucestershire face elimination.The hosts suffered a setback in the second over of their innings when Hamish Marshall, who had already moved to 11, was forced to retire hurt with a recurrence of a calf injury. Ian Cockbain joined Klinger and the pair took the score to 36 in the fifth over when Cockbain was caught behind off Claydon for 11.Klinger and fellow Australian Peter Handscomb then added 79 in 9.1 overs, Klinger moving to his half-century off 34 balls, with five fours and a six over square leg off Calum Haggett.Handscomb fell for 28, bowled by Fabian Cowdrey attempting to sweep, but Klinger deposited the left-arm spinner over wide long-on for his second six before departing in the same over, the 17th, to a catch at backward point. From then on Gloucestershire lost momentum as Geraint Jones, Jack Taylor, Benny Howell and Tom Smith were dismissed in the closing overs, Claydon and Matt Coles sharing the wickets.The Kent reply was given a brisk start by Joe Denly, who smashed the fourth ball of the innings from Craig Miles back over his head for a straight six and registered another maximum in the third over off Liam Norwell. But Gloucestershire struck two blows in the Powerplay as Bell Drummond was caught behind driving at Miles and Denly fell lbw to James Fuller, having hit 31 off 18 balls.Sam Billings had made only 5 when attempting to reverse sweep the first ball sent down by left-arm spinner Tom Smith, the competition’s leading wicket-taker, and being brilliantly caught above his head at full stretch by Howell at backward point.Darren Stevens and Cowdrey also fell cheaply. But Northeast was still there and when big-hitting Blake came in to launch sixes off Howell and Smith the game seemed to be tilting Kent’s way.The 17th over, bowled by Miles, saw the Kent captain depart one short of his half-century, caught on the midwicket boundary with 36 still needed. But Blake responded with another six and three fours of the next over from Norwell to virtually settle the outcome and ended the game by clearing the ropes for the fourth time.