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ESPNcricinfo previews the World Cup, Group A match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran25-Feb-2011Match FactsFebruary 26, Colombo
Start time 14:30 local time (09:00 GMT)
After his performance in Hambantota, Sri Lanka will want to find a place for Thisara Perera in their XI•AFPBig PictureWhen the World Cup comes to colourful Colombo on Saturday, the tournament will begin in earnest for two subcontinent teams. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka opened with massive wins over Associate nations, but this will be their first real test in the competition. None of the smaller teams in Group A seem capable of challenging the Test nations, so the game will be important in terms of placings for the quarter-finals. And in a tournament whose first week has been loaded with one-sided matches, two teams packed with dynamic players also promise some high-voltage entertainment.Past records might suggest Pakistan have an edge – they have beaten Sri Lanka in each of their six encounters in the World Cups and have won their previous five games at the R Premadasa – but that will count for little. The two sides have not faced each other in cricket’s showpiece tournament since 1992, and the Premadasa has undergone extensive redevelopment. What will help Pakistan, though, is the relative lack of controversy surrounding the current team, a low-profile lead-up and the confidence of a recent series win, in New Zealand, behind them.Sri Lanka’s advantage is that most of their players have had a taste of how the new track will fare during the domestic limited-over tournament held in January. Traditionally, this has been a bat-first venue, especially in day-night games where the team chasing has won only one of the past 13 matches, but it remains to be seen how the re-laid pitch fares .Form guide (Most recent first)
Sri Lanka WWWLW
Pakistan WLWWWPitch and conditionsThe pitch will be the centre of attention since it’s a re-laid track, and Saturday’s game will be the first international game to be played on it. It may not be too high scoring a game, if the domestic matches played since the stadium was re-developed are anything to go by. The highest score batting first in the one-dayers played in January was 225, a total which was easily defended. Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, though, expects the bare surface to be good for batting.Watch out for…Thisara Perera was outstanding with the ball against Canada, and picked loads of wickets whenever he got a chance in 2010 as well. He worked up real pace in Hambantota, and has provided the team management with the welcome headache of working out how to accommodate him, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara and Angelo Mathews in the XI. He also adds muscle to Sri Lanka’s lower-middle order.Shoaib Akhtar has weathered stacks of controversies and fitness problems to become one of the few constants in Pakistan’s team. There has not been any talk of injuries for eight months, a minor miracle given his past record. Age hasn’t slowed him down too much either; even at 35 he remains among the quickest bowlers in the world.Team newsPakistan have hinted they will stick to the same combination that played Kenya, which means Wahab Riaz and Saeed Ajmal are likely to remain on the bench. Waqar Younis has said Pakistan are pondering how to use Abdul Razzaq better, but for now he will continue to be an impact batsman at No. 8 and opening the bowling.Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Kamran Akmal (wk), 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Abdur Rehman, 11 Shoaib AkhtarThe main concern for Sri Lanka is the fitness of their pace spearhead, Malinga, who has a back strain. He missed Sri Lanka’s opening game, but he did bowl in the nets on Friday. The physio will take a call on Saturday whether Malinga will play. If he doesn’t, Sri Lanka could stick to the same XI that beat Canada.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Kapugedera, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.Stats and triviaMuttiah Muralitharan needs one more wicket to move past Wasim Akram’s tally of 55 wickets to become the second highest wicket-taker in World Cups. Sri Lanka have never beaten Pakistan in six World Cup matches, though the two haven’t met in the competition since 1992. One more stumping will take Sangakkara’s tally to eight, moving ahead of Adam Gilchrist and Moin Khan, with whom he current shares the record for most stumpings. This is Afridi’s fourth World Cup, but he is yet to make a half-century.Quotes”In the past we’ve played really well against him in this country. I don’t think we should worry about him that much; he is not 28 anymore. It is not going to be easy though. We’re prepared not only for him but the entire team.”

“I find it surprising that their name is not bandied about in the mix of potential World Cup winners as they have brilliant match winners with both bat and ball.”

A round-up of matches from the first day of the BCCI Corporate Trophy

Cricinfo staff01-Sep-2010Group A

ScorecardA dominant India Cements crushed State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) by 125 runs in a Group A match in Visakhapatnam.A double-century opening stand at more than a run-a-ball between Tamil Nadu batsmen Arun Karthik and Abhinav Mukund put India Cements on their way to 324 for 6 in 50 overs. Arun made 112 off 108 deliveries while Mukund got 86 off 99. After their departure, Dinesh Karthik and Rahul Dravid ensured India Cements went past 300. Dinesh made 42 off 34 while Dravid remained unbeaten on 32 off 23.SBH started poorly as Tamil Nadu bowlers Lakshmipathy Balaji and Yo Mahesh struck to leave them struggling at 29 for 2. Wickets fell regularly thereafter and SBH were reduced to 123 for 6 at one stage. Srihari Rao’s rearguard effort of 40 off 53 deliveries took his team close to 200 but India Cements’ victory was never in doubt.Group B
ScorecardAjinkya Rahane’s century helped Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) easily overhaul Tata Sports Club’s (TSC) 280 for 3 in a Group B game in Chennai.Rahane added 94 runs for the first wicket with his Mumbai and IOC captain Wasim Jaffer in 13 overs. Jaffer made 48 off 37 deliveries. Rahane then shared a 128-run stand with Uttar Pradesh batsman Ravikant Shukla who made 84 off 91. This stand effectively sealed the chase for IOC. Rahane was eventually dismissed for 105 off 117 with nine fours. Cheteshwar Pujara was unbeaten on 32 off 29 as IOC cantered to victory in 48.2 overs with only four wickets down.TSC, after opting to bat, lost both openers with 42 runs on the board. Punjab’s Mandeep Singh and Jharkhand’s Ishank Jaggi then combined in a 187-run partnership for the third wicket. Singh made 91 off 100 deliveries and Jaggi was unbeaten on 110 off 130. Nishit Shetty’s late strikes took TSC to 280 but the target hardly troubled IOC’s batsmen.Group C

ScorecardArindam Das’s century was in vain as Air India beat Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited by 29 runs in a high-scoring Group C game of the BCCI Corporate Trophy in Hyderabad.Chasing Air India’s 314 for 5, BSNL were off to a strong start with Bengal batsman Das and Monish Mishra, who plays for Deccan Chargers in the IPL, adding 131 runs in 21 overs. Air India struck, removing Mishra after he had made 60 off 66 deliveries. BSNL lost wickets regularly thereafter with the next highest partnership being only 38 runs, between Das and Brijesh Tomar. Das was dismissed after making 103 off 113 deliveries. BSNL eventually finished with 285 for 9 in 50 overs. Haryana offbreak bowler Ajit Chandila was the most successful for Air India, taking 4 for 36 in ten overs.Three Air India batsmen earlier scored half-centuries, helping their team post 314. Captain Mohammad Kaif top-scored with 75 off 92 deliveries. Former India batsman Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Rajasthan Royals’ Naman Ojha also got fifties. Ojha’s late charge ensured Air India went past 300, as he struck four sixes in his unbeaten 58 off only 26 deliveries.
ScorecardIn another Group C match played at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad, a disciplined bowling effort helped Chemplast defeat State Bank of Mysore (SBM) by 67 runs.Set a target of 187 in a match shortened to 25 overs, SBM were never in the chase after being reduced to 25 for 5. Tamil Nadu duo Ganapathi Vignesh and Rajagopal Sathish rocked the SBM top order as the first five batsmen failed to cross double figures. SBM ultimately managed 119 for 7, Talpa Sai top-scoring with 33.The Chemplast innings was steadied by Hemanth Kumar after they had lost their openers for 38 runs. Kumar made 53 off 47 deliveries but was dismissed with the score on 102. Captain Sathish then smashed 40 off only 17, hitting five sixes. By the time he got out, Chemplast had added 65 runs in 34 balls, which enabled them to finish with a formidable score.Group D

ScorecardState Bank of Patiala (SBP) defeated Madras Rubber Factory (MRF) by 13 runs in a close Group D encounter in Bangalore.Captain Pankaj Dharmani top-scored for SBP with 46 off 78 deliveries and was the last man to be dismissed as they were bowled out for 187 in 48.1 overs. No other SBP batsman went past 22 on a pitch where scoring proved difficult. Jharkhand offbreak bowler Sunny Gupta took 3 for 45 in ten overs.MRF began their chase poorly, collapsing to 44 for 4 at one stage. Tamil Nadu’s Sridharan Sriram and Umashankar Sushil combined in a 63-run partnership for the fifth wicket. At that juncture, MRF needed 81 runs with more than 23 overs remaining. However, Sushil fell, and Sriram later followed with the score on 125 after having made 46 off 67. A last-wicket stand of 23 raised MRF’s hopes but last man Prasanth Chandran was dismissed with 14 runs still required.
ScorecardIncome Tax hammered Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) by 171 runs in a Group D match in Bangalore.Defending a target of 293, Baroda’s Ajitesh Argal and Gujarat’s Rohit Dahiya ran through the ONGC batting, dismissing them for 121 in 30.4 overs. Argal took 4 for 38 and Dahiya picked up 3 for 16 as six ONGC batsmen made single-digit scores. ONGC were reduced to 61 for 7 at one stage but Sarandeep Singh and Vikramjeet Malik took them past 100.Maharashtra’s Ameya Shrikhande and Hiken Shah – who started with Mumbai before moving onto Jammu and Kashmir – earlier shared a 106-run opening stand for Income Tax. Shrikhande top-scored with 58 off 79 deliveries while Shah made 47 off 63. Dahiya’s unbeaten 56 off 28, which included six fours and three sixes, enabled Income Tax to post a challenging total.

West Indies have recalled batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan for the 2011 World Cup, after he had been left out of the national team’s rain-marred tour of Sri Lanka last year

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2011West Indies have recalled batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan for the 2011 World Cup, after he had been left out of the national team’s rain-marred tour of Sri Lanka last year. Sarwan last represented West Indies in the ODI series at home against South Africa in May and June last year and was subsequently dropped due to fitness issues and indifferent form on the domestic circuit. The World Cup team will be led by Darren Sammy and also includes fast-bowling allrounder Andre Russell, who is yet to make his ODI debut.Sammy took over the reins from Chris Gayle last year. Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, three players who turned down contracts with the West Indies Cricket Board, all feature in the squad following their participation in the WICB one-day tournament last year; as per WICB regulations, participation in domestic tournaments is a criteria for selection into the national team for the corresponding format.Nikita Miller and Sulieman Benn are the two specialist spinners, both left-arm orthodox, while Russell, Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul make up the pace options. Carlton Baugh was preferred over Denesh Ramdin as wicketkeeper. Baugh has not played an ODI for West Indies since November 2008, but impressed with a half-century in the second Test in Sri Lanka.Sarwan hasn’t played Tests in more than a year, and was not offered a WICB contract last year. In the WICB one-day tournament, he averaged 21.33 in three games with one-half-century for Guyana and his team was knocked out in the league stage. However, he has an excellent ODI record in India, where West Indies play five of their six group games. He has played 15 matches there with an average of 57.30 and five half-centuries.”The Selection Committee deliberated extensively over the selection of this most important World Cup squad and while choosing some players was straightforward we believe that we have come up with a good mix of players who will be able to do well in the Asian conditions,” Clyde Butts, the WICB’s chairman of selectors, said. “We have some of the most experienced ODI cricketers on the international stage along with the effervescence and freshness of some quality young players who we are confident can not only contribute to the team but win matches.”In the lead-up to the tournament, West Indies play three ODIs in Sri Lanka – a series rescheduled after the one-day leg of the December 2010 series was cancelled due to excessive rain.West Indies squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Sulieman Benn, Nikita Miller, Carlton Baugh (wk), Andre Rusell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Adrian Barath.

Just days after humbling Kenya in an Intercontinental Cup fixture in Nairobi, Afghanistan were at the receiving end of a thrashing themselves

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2010
Scorecard
Steve Tikolo starred with a half-century•Getty ImagesJust days after humbling Kenya in an Intercontinental Cup fixture in Nairobi, Afghanistan were at the receiving end of a thrashing themselves, sliding to a 92-run defeat against the same opponents in the first of three ODIs in Nairobi. It was a low-scoring contest with both batting line-ups collapsing after promising starts to their innings.Kenya chose to bat and openers Seren Waters and David Obuya were involved in a steady stand of 55. David’s brother Collins and Steve Tikolo, Kenya’s most experienced player, consolidated the innings after the openers were dismissed, taking them to a healthy 139 for 2 in the 35th over. Tikolo eased to a half-century, his 23rd in ODIs, and the situation looked promising for the hosts but their batting then fell apart.Mirwais Ashraf, the medium-pacer, triggered the slide, bowling Tikolo and accounting for Collins Obuya and Maurice Ouma in a space of two overs. Legspinning allrounder Samiullah Shenwari strangled the innings from the other end with a couple of wickets, including Thomas Odoyo, who, like Tikolo, has been a part of the Kenyan set-up since the 1996 World Cup. From 139 for 2, Kenya slid to 145 for 8. It was captain Jimmy Kamande who rose to the occasion, resisting with the lower order to make 31 and inducing some respectability to the score, extending it to 180.As it turned out, Kenya had made enough well before the collapse ensued as Afghanistan’s batting flopped. Things appeared to be on track when the openers had added 33 but their start set a deceptive tone for the innings. Once Karim Sadiq was run out in the eighth over, the Kenya bowlers attacked ruthlessly to derail Afghanistan. Noor Ali Zadran, Sadiq’s opening partner, was left stranded amid the relentless fall of wickets at the other end, as none of the other batsmen who followed Sadiq reached double-figures.Medium-pacer Nehemiah Odhiambo, who has five relatives involved in cricket in Kenya, grabbed three wickets, supported by offspinner James Ngoche and Odoyo, who picked up two each. Afghanistan folded for a humiliating 88 to trail 0-1 in the three-match series.

Derbyshire are hoping to continue strengthening their squad with the signing of Billy Godleman

George Dobell27-Sep-2012Derbyshire are hoping to continue strengthening their squad with the signing of Billy Godleman, the 23-year-old opening batsman who was released by Essex towards the end of the 2012 season. Godleman made his first-class debut for Middlesex as a 16-year-old – the second youngest man to make his first-class debut for the club – and represented England at every level from Under-15s to Under-19s.Having joined Essex for the 2010 season, he averaged in the mid-20s in 2010 and 2011 and despite scoring a century in Essex’ opening Division Two game in 2012 he lost his first-team place in the latter half of the summer and was told his contract would not be renewed.Derbyshire, who won promotion to Division One for the 2013 season, also announced the signing of wicketkeeper Richard Johnson from Warwickshire earlier this week. Their aim is for Godleman to open the batting and hope he can mirror the success of other players – such as Chris Wright, Stephen Peters, Varun Chopra and Derbyshire seamer Tony Palladino – whose fortunes improved significantly once they left Essex.

Everton have had a very busy start to their transfer window, signing two new defenders in the first week of January, and they have now secured their third signing with Anwar El Ghazi arriving on loan until the end of the season.

However, will he be available to face Norwich this weekend?

What’s the word?

Sky Sports journalist, Kaveh Solhekol, confirmed the signing of Aston Villa winger, Anwar El Ghazi on a loan deal that will last for the rest of the season, live on air during the channel’s transfer show on Thursday afternoon.

In the process, he also revealed that the signing had been completed and paperwork finalised in time for the attacker to make his debut vs the Canaries on Saturday.

Solhekol told viewers:

“Everton have signed Anwar El Ghazi from Aston Villa. He can play for them in their game against Norwich at the weekend.”

The loan signing comes in the same day that former Everton left-back, Lucas Digne, signed for the winger’s parent club, Aston Villa, in a permanent move for a £25m fee.

Benitez surely buzzing

The arrival of El Ghazi will surely soften the blow of losing fan favourite, Digne, as the opportunity has arisen to bolster the attacking options available in the squad, with a number of injuries hindering the side’s ability to win games and climb the table during the first half of the season.

The main attacking threats in the side have been unavailable for large chunks of the season, with Richarlison returning to training this week after previously sitting on the sidelines twice already this term through injury.

That’s along with a long injury spell for Dominic Calvert-Lewin who has recently returned too. Meanwhile, Alex Iwobi is at AFCON but has failed to make a great impact on the side, so the addition of the 26-year-old winger could really benefit the side going forward, and Benitez will be buzzing as a result.

He will also be elated to have him available so soon after signing him, especially with some fans taking to social media to actually hail the addition. One Tweeted:

“Unpopular opinion but El Ghazi for 8 months could be a decent signing. If we get consistency out of him he has a lot of talent and he isn’t Iwobi.”

El Ghazi averaged a goal every 161 minutes last season in the Premier League and when you compare that to Everton’s attackers, it bodes incredibly well. Richarlison scored every 410 minutes, Calvert-Lewin was every 179 minutes, and Iwobi netted every 1540 minutes in 2020/21.

Thus, the Dutch winger being available to start against Norwich tomorrow, where Benitez will be hoping to take all three points from Carrow Road, will give the Spanish tactician a huge boost to his team’s chances.

However, it will be interesting to see if the club’s boss actually selects El Ghazi in his starting XI.

In other news: Everton interested in signing Burnley’s Dwight McNeil

Somerset have signed Steve Kirby from neighbours Gloucestershire on a three-year contract after the quick bowler asked to be released from his Bristol deal to pursue Division One cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2010Somerset have signed Steve Kirby from neighbours Gloucestershire on a three-year contract after the quick bowler asked to be released from his Bristol deal to pursue Division One cricket.Kirby still had two years to run at Gloucestershire but wants to make one final push for international honours and believes he can only do that in the top flight. He will certainly add a cutting edge to Somerset’s attack which is currently led by the hard-working Charl Willoughby, the former South Africa left-arm paceman, but lacks somebody with pace.”Somerset are putting together the nucleus of a side who can be contenders in all forms of cricket and I am looking forward to competing for a place because competition is what sport is all about for me,” Kirby told the Somerset website. “The club has a great infrastructure as well as a very good team. I can assure their supporters I have plenty of fire left in my belly and I’m looking forward to the challenge of bowling at Taunton.”Brian Rose, the Somerset director of cricket, added: “I have made it clear for some time that we needed to strengthen our seam bowling unit and Steve will give us a bit of extra pace,” he said. “That is a real advantage when you are trying to bowl out tail-enders at a place like Taunton and he has the sort of character too to get among later order batsmen.”He is still ambitious to play for England, which means he will be giving it everything next season, and he has always been a very spirited cricketer. The deal was done very quickly. As soon as we heard he was leaving Gloucestershire we went in for him and I pleased to say we soon reached agreement.”

Newcastle United look set to bring three new signings to St James’ Park during what remains of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent report from Luke Edwards for The Telegraph, in which the journalist revealed that Newcastle are closing in on the signings of Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah, Brighton defender Dan Burn and Lyon midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

Edwards added that the Magpies’ owners had suffered a number of setbacks in the winter transfer market, although PIF have worked tirelessly to ensure that Eddie Howe’s squad is stronger than it was at the start of January.

PIF finally mean business

All throughout the January transfer window, Newcastle have been linked with a quite frankly ridiculous number of players – ranging from Kylian Mbappe to Harry Winks – something which led to a great amount of confusion as to what transfer strategy the club have been working towards this month.

However, should the Magpies go on to land Nketiah, Burn and Guimaraes – as Edwards suggests they will – it would undoubtedly have been a hugely successful final week of the window for the Magpies and PIF, as all three players would appear to make exceptional additions to Howe’s current options at St James’ Park.

Indeed, despite having failed to cement a starting spot in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side, the 22-year-old Nketiah is undoubtedly a centre-forward who boasts a considerable amount of potential, something he has demonstrated in his five appearances in the Carabao Cup this season, bagging five goals.

Meanwhile, versatile left-back Burn will also add much-needed depth on the left-hand side of the Newcastle backline, with the 6 foot 7 defender having averaged a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.96 over his 13 Premier League appearances for Brighton in the current campaign.

Finally, the club’s marquee signing this January looks set to become Guimaraes, a defensive midfielder who has been in astonishing form over his 20 Ligue 1 appearances for Lyon this season. The £27m-rated Brazil international has registered three assists and created five big chances for his teammates, as well as making 1.1 interceptions, 2.5 tackles and 1.8 key passes and winning a whopping 7.9 duels per game.

These returns have seen the 24-year-old average a rather astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.30. If he replicates that form upon a prospective switch to Newcastle, he will undoubtedly provide the Magpies’ chances of avoiding the drop this season with a considerable boost.

It has taken a while to get deals over the line this month, but if Newcastle go on to seal all three of those players in the coming days, PIF will have certainly proven that they mean business in the transfer market – something which will delight the St James’ Park faithful.

In other news: NUFC could save their season with deal for “fearless” predator who’s a “constant threat”

Angel Di Maria insisted Lionel Messi is the "greatest player in history" and claimed that he wanted to win the World Cup for his skipper.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Argentina beat France on penalties in World Cup finalMessi emerged as the best player of the tournamentDi Maria lavished praise on the Argentine captainGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Argentina's World Cup victory celebration in Buenos Aires turned into a spectacle as millions of ecstatic fans flooded the streets to welcome their triumphant football heroes after they beat France in the final on penalties. An unseen footage of the open bus ride has emerged where Di Maria is seen sharing an emotional moment with Messi where the duo eventually ends up in an embrace.

AdvertisementWATCH THE CLIPWHAT DI MARIA SAID

In the documentary titled Di Maria was caught on camera saying to Messi: "For me, playing with you on a team is what I wanted, man. And winning it, winning this trophy with you, I know that it's…."

Later on, he goes on to add: "It became more about him than about me. I wanted to win the World Cup for him. Without a doubt, for me, he is the greatest in history."

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

The streets of Buenos Aires were filled, making it impossible for the bus to proceed as initially intended. In response to the unprecedented crowd size and security concerns, the victory parade was rerouted, and the team made an impromptu departure from the ground. Helicopters provided a unique exit strategy for Messi and company, ensuring their safety and allowing them to share the World Cup trophy with their adoring fans from above.

Nottinghamshire Outlaws will go into the quarter-finals of the Friends Provident t20 full of confidence after thrashing Yorkshire by seven wickets

17-Jul-2010
ScorecardNottinghamshire Outlaws will go into the quarter-finals of the Friends Provident t20 full of confidence after thrashing Yorkshire by seven wickets with 26 balls to spare at Trent Bridge.Batting first on a slow pitch being used for the third time in 10 days, Yorkshire struggled to post a meaningful total after collapsing to 34 for 4 in the ninth over. They needed a battling 39 not out from Lee Hodgson on his t20 debut and 25 from Jonathan Bairstow to reach 112 for 7, while Ryan Sidebottom took 2 for 19 from his four overs.And, although the hosts lost two early wickets of their own, Samit Patel’s 40 off 27 balls and an unbeaten partnership of 52 from David Hussey (37 not out) and Alex Hales (27no) gave the hosts the momentum required to coast to victory.Nottinghamshire, already assured of a home quarter-final going into the match, opted to rest overseas fast bowler Dirk Nannes for young seamer Luke Fletcher, who played his part in throttling the life out of the Yorkshire powerplay overs. First Sidebottom had Adam Lyth caught at gully for nought before Fletcher’s slower ball fooled fellow opener Andrew Gale into slicing to point.It took until the start of the fifth over for Yorkshire to hit their first boundary – Herschelle Gibbs pulling Sidebottom for four – but only four more fours and two sixes followed in the entire innings. Yorkshire were already out of the running for a quarter-final spot and opted to play three youngsters in Gary Ballance, Hodgson and Ben Sanderson – who had previously played one t20 match between them.Hodgson’s partnership of 39 for the fifth wicket with Bairstow ensured Yorkshire avoided their lowest-ever total in the competition, but 112 never looked like being enough once Patel hit Hodgson for three consecutive fours in the sixth over.Legspinner Adil Rashid conceded 16 runs off his first over and, although Patel holed out to long-on off David Wainwright, Hussey joined Hales to finish off the chase. Rashid’s return was greeted with a withering pull over long-on for six from Hussey, who then hit Hodgson for a further three fours and slammed Sanderson for a straight six to complete the game.