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Sri Lanka will be without batsman Kumar Sangakkara for the remainder of their tour of Australia, after scans revealed a fracture to his left hand, where he was hit by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer during the Boxing Day Test. Sangakkara will undergo surgery this evening and will be unavailable for six to eight weeks, as he recovers. Fast bowler Chanaka Welegedara has also been ruled out of the Sydney Test with a hamstring injury, and will likely fly home, having not been named in the limited overs squads.Sri Lanka are also waiting on the fitness of wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene and fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara, who are both suffering from hairline fractures. Jayawardene sustained his injury during Sri Lanka’s first innings, when Johnson hit him on the right thumb. Kulasekara meanwhile had been complaining of soreness in the ribs after being hit there while batting on the fifth day in Hobart, before scans on Thursday revealed he had a cracked rib.Sangakkara was hit on the bottom hand while fending a short ball after lunch, and immediately called for the physiotherapist upon crossing for a single. The removal of his glove revealed significant swelling on the bottom of his index finger, and he left the field for the hospital soon after.The three injuries in the game meant that Sri Lanka only had eight batsmen who could complete their innings in the second dig. Their innings ended at 103 on day three, when they slipped to an innings and 201-run defeat. Sangakkara is the side’s leading batsman, while Welegedara is considered the leader of Sri Lanka’s pace attack and had been their top wicket-taker in the first Test.Dinesh Chandimal is the only reserve batsman on tour, and is almost certain to be included in the XI for the Sydney Test that begins on January 3. He has also kept wickets for Sri Lanka in Tests, and will take the gloves if Jayawardene is unfit to play. Lahiru Thirimanne is on stand-by for the tour, and may also be flown in as cover.Among the fast bowling reserves, Nuwan Pradeep may earn a start in Sydney, if three seam bowlers are required and Kulasekara cannot play, while Thisara Perera may also be brought into the squad. Perera is already in Australia, playing for the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League.

A stomach ailment has forced Dermot Reeve, the former England allrounder, to be replaced as Maharashtra’s senior coach for the rest of the season. Reeve, who was unable to make it to New Delhi for Maharashtra’s Ranji Trophy Group B tie against Delhi that ended on Tuesday, has been replaced by the former Maharashtra captain Surendra Bhave.The team has slumped since Reeve took over from the Australian Shaun Williams ahead of the season. With two rounds to go in the league stage, Maharashtra are at the bottom of Group B. With eight points from six games, Maharashtra are in danger of being relegated to Group C. As a result, Reeve’s tactics were being questioned not just by a section of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), but also those on the Ranji circuit. Suresh Raina, the Uttar Pradesh captain, criticised Reeve’s defensive tactics during UP’s tie in Pune.However, MCA president Ajay Shirke put the sacking theory to rest. “Dermot is unwell for a while. Since it has been clear that he will not be able to be with the squad all the time, we had to make a decision since it puts a lot of pressure on the captain,” Shirke told ESPNcricinfo. “As a result, we have appointed Surendra Bhave as the coach. He will take us through the rest of the season.”Bhave, the former Maharashtra opening batsman, served as a national selector for four years till last September. He had been appointed chairman of Maharashtra’s senior selection panel ahead of the 2011-12 season, thereby acquainting him with the players.”It is unfortunate to lose Dermot’s services but we are determined to make the most of the remaining two games. We will do everything we can to avoid relegation,” Bhave said after a long practice session at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium on Friday, on the eve of Maharashtra’s match against an in-form Baroda.

ScorecardStafanie Taylor is now the second-highest run-getter in the tournament•WICB Media

An attacking knock of 75 from Stafanie Taylor led West Indies to a tight two-wicket win which eliminated South Africa from the competition.South Africa didn’t carry over any points from the first round, and the defeat leaves them on zero points with only two matches to play. With Australia already on six points, and New Zealand and West Indies on four and still to face each other, South Africa have no chance of making it to the final.The victory was also important for West Indies as their two remaining matches are against tough opponents in Australia and New Zealand. Defeat against South Africa would have meant that they had to win both those matches and hope for other results to go their way to qualify for the final.West Indies were set a target of 231, and Taylor came to the middle at the fall of the first wicket in the second over. She departed in the 26th, after guiding West Indies to a position of control at 146 for 3. Regular wickets thereafter pegged them back, but the lower order held their nerve to clinch victory.South Africa, after choosing to bat, played steadily for much of their innings, building on the solid start given by opener Trisha Chetty and the captain Mignon du Preez. Middle-order batsman Cri-zelda Brits slammed 44 off 41 and Dane van Niekerk hit 33 off 30 as South Africa took 90 off the final 12.3 overs.West Indies, on the contrary, maintained a high run-rate from the outset. Only as they came close to the target did the wickets slow them down. Besides Taylor, Kycia Knight, Shemaine Campbelle and Deandra Dottin all contributed significantly in the chase.West Indies captain Merissa Aguilleira was delighted with the start to the Super Sixes. “We have no room to make any mistakes in the Super Sixes,” she said. “We really have to be on top of our game, so we knew we had to start well. We could have won with more wickets in hand but there are areas we need to work on.”She also praised her batsmen for getting the job done when facing a stiff target. “I must say they got 60 runs too much, we were a little bit slack on the field. Yes the batters put down their heads and did what they were supposed to do. The ball kept low at times but overall we did a good job. We have been faltering a bit with the batting.”South Africa’s captain du Preez thought her team had put enough runs on the board. “We thought 230 was a lot of runs on this wicket,” she said. “None of us have scored on this wicket so far, so I thought we had a good chance but we faltered in the bowling department.”In a tight match, they bowled 18 wides and conceded a total of 25 extras. “We have been bowling quite a lot of extras, we can’t afford to do that. We have to work on that going into the next game. I think a few misfields here and there added a bit of pressure on us. I don’t think inexperience was the reason why we couldn’t pull through in the end.”

The ICC has admitted its Playing Control Team (PCT) made “an honest error” while applying the DRS to the Jacques Kallis review on the second day of the Newlands Test and that the batsman was erroneously given out.Kallis was given out after an appeal that Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore confirmed was for a bat-pad catch off Saeed Ajmal’s bowling. Umpire Steve Davis upheld the appeal but the batsman immediately asked for a review.Hot Spot replays indicated there was no bat involved, so it couldn’t be out caught, but the ball had both pitched and hit Kallis’ pad well in line with the stumps and the ball-tracking indicated that it would have clipped leg stump, which was shown to be an umpire’s call. As a result, Kallis was instead given out lbw, after input from the third umpire, Billy Bowden.The playing conditions allow for the method of dismissal to be changed during a review but have specific terms under which that can be done.Point 3.3 (f) in the playing conditions states: “The third umpire shall not withhold any factual information which may help in the decision making process, even if the information is not directly prompted by the on-field umpire’s questions. In particular, in reviewing a dismissal, if the third umpire believes that the batsman may instead be out by any other mode of dismissal, he shall advise the on-field umpire accordingly. The process of consultation described in this paragraph in respect of such other mode of dismissal shall then be conducted as if the batsman has been given not out.”So when it was evident Kallis could not be out caught, because he had not hit the ball, the evidence for an lbw decision should have been considered from the point of view that the on-field umpire had ruled it not out. The projected path of the ball – clipping leg stump – was then an umpire’s call, according to the DRS, and Kallis would have been not out.”The PCT made an honest error in this extremely rare situation,” the ICC said in a release. “The umpires followed usual umpiring principles in giving Kallis out lbw on umpire’s call the review was for the batsman out caught. This is because the normal principle is that an appeal covers all forms of dismissal.”However, the playing conditions state that when the third umpire observes that the batsman could be out by another mode of dismissal, the decision being reviewed using DRS should be as if the batsman had been originally given not out. Therefore, in this instance Kallis, as the point of impact was umpire’s call, should not have been given out lbw.”South Africa’s team management was “happy with the explanation” they were given, though Kallis had appeared confused about the mode of his dismissal at the time and had held a lengthy conversation with Davis before leaving the field. Team manager, Mohammed Moosajee confirmed South Africa had been involved in discussions with the umpires but said they would not take the matter further.”There is a code of conduct which we need to abide by when it comes to DRS. We sought clarity from the umpire and we were happy with the explanation,” Moosajee said. “We understand that if a batsman is given out for something and the technology shows something else, the third umpire is within his rights to make that decision.”Whatmore interpreted the dismissal in the same way. “My understanding is that when a decision is referred to the TV umpire, he can make his own decision,” he said.This is the second time in the series that DRS has come under discussion. At the Wanderers, Pakistan were unhappy with the use of Hotspot after four decisions went against them. They indicated they would write a report to the ICC and Whatmore said any grievances would be addressed through the channels provided, although nothing further was heard about the issue.Whatmore remained a backer of DRS in spite of the recent incidents. “I have always been a supporter of technology assisting umpires to make the right decisions. We are very pleased to have DRS. We had a series a few months ago in which we didn’t have DRS and it was very frustrating.”South Africa were also in favour of technology. Graeme Smith previously went on record advocating that DRS be used across the board. Kallis, however, had an outburst about ball-tracking technology on South Africa’s tour of New Zealand last March in which he said “99% of cricketers,” do not trust it.

Chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya has stepped in to move Sri Lanka’s contract crisis towards a resolution, after his meeting with the locked out players on Sunday night ended with the players indicating they would sign SLC’s original contract. Jayasuriya had personally set up the meeting earlier in the day in an effort to break the deadlock, which he has now successfully done.”The players have decided to put their country first and sign the original contract.” Jayasuriya said after the meeting, which lasted over two hours. “Once they sign, they will be considered for selection for the Bangladesh series.” The players are yet to put pen to paper, but are expected to do so on Monday.Jayasuriya said that while the players had agreed to bring the standoff to a close, they expected to have further discussions with the board on the key issue of contention – that of compensation for the use of their images by the ICC and its sponsors, during ICC tournaments. Under their 2012 contracts, Sri Lanka players received 25% of the net fee paid by the ICC to home boards during ICC tournaments, but in the 2013 contract they have agreed to scrap these payments entirely.”In the meantime when the ICC events come, the players will talk to the SLC what they are going to do about the players’ guarantee money,” he said. SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga was unwilling to call the crisis closed until contracts were signed, but was pleased with the outcome of Sunday’s meeting. “What I’ve heard from Sanath is that the players will sign, but a full resolution hasn’t been reached,” he said.If the original contracts are signed on Monday, Sri Lanka’s cricketers will not have gained anything from the standoff which lasted little over 24 hours, largely owing to SLC’s powerful bargaining position. In the weeks before the contracts were issued, SLC announced it will not recognise player managers, and has since extended that policy to players’ associations, who were not allowed to represent the players’ interests during the contract negotiations.In addition to doing away with player payments from ICC’s guarantee fee, the new contracts also allows the SLC not to pay a player’s regular salary for as long as he is with his IPL team. A convention that allowed players’ wives to travel business class on one tour a year was also scrapped, and a clause that tied payment to performance as per the ICC rankings, introduced.The contracts had been issued late last week, with March 2 being the deadline prescribed by the board. After the players refused to sign before the deadline, SLC immediately engaged the strategy laid out by its executive committee, which was to freeze the players out.”They will definitely not be considered for selection,” SLC president Upali Dharmadasa had said on Saturday. “They will not be getting any facilities that Sri Lanka Cricket has been offering them, including physios, masseurs and coaches. They can’t come for practice at our venues.”Jayasuriya’s selection panel was expected to name a squad for the first Test against Bangladesh, on Sunday, but delayed the announcement until after Jayasuriya had met with the players. If the players sign as agreed, a full strength squad is likely to be named on Monday, after the contracts have been finalised.The only direct effect of the lockout so far has been Kumar Sangakkara’s omission from the side playing a three-day tour match against Bangladesh. The match was supposed to be Sangakkara’s return to competitive cricket after fracturing his index finger during the Boxing Day Test.

It has been more than seven months but Graeme Smith still remembers the feel of the second new ball that nestled in his right hand late in the afternoon of August 20, at Lord’s.He remembers the way it moved off the seam after Vernon Philander released it, tempting Matt Prior. He remembers the way England’s valiant wicketkeeper moved towards it in an effort to drive. He remembers it taking the edge and then flying to him, low down. He remembers holding on. But most of all he remembers how important it was that he did.”That last over Vernon bowled, when Matt Prior nicked off, there had been a build-up of pressure up to that point and then it just broke. The last day was ebbing and flowing and then the next ball Steven Finn nicked off to Jacques [Kallis] and we were number one. That’s the emotional moment that sits with me,” Smith said in Johannesburg, where he received the ICC Test mace and a cheque for US$450,000 for him and his team.In fact, Smith has been holding the mace ever since South Africa took it off England. They travelled with it to Australia where they retained in even though, as Smith put it, “we could have so easily lost touch of something we worked so hard for,” and kept it through home series against New Zealand and Pakistan. The difference now is that South Africa are in possession of it at the ICC’s cut-off date for the first time.Vince van der Bijl, who handed over the prize, recalled that every year since 2009, South Africa have finished in second place. There’s no better way to explain how often they have been nearly men than that. For the Test side, that has changed.South Africa are undefeated in 15 Tests dating back to December 2011 and have not lost a series in four years. They won all five of their home Tests this summer to open the gap between themselves and the nearest challenger, England, to 14 points. Moreover, van der Bijl pointed out that the total number of points South Africa have accumulated to reach No. 1, 128, is significantly more than India, England (both 118) or Australia (110) had when they received the mace in previous years.”We feel that we belong in this place,” Smith said. “It feels more natural than we had it before. We’ve earned our right to be there and every player wants to achieve more.” South Africa’s desire seems to set them apart and has played an important role in their current dominance, which is so overwhelming that if the planned Test Championship had taken place this year, they would have been favourites to win it.Its postponement to 2017 has disappointed many, including Smith, but he hopes the team can maintain their good run to come into contention for it in the future. “It’s important we don’t take for granted what we have achieved,” Smith said. “There is a lot more that is out there for us. Our first challenge is in October against Pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. If we can win there, that will be another big stepping stone for us.”The Test Championship is still a fair distance away and there is enough ahead of us that we would like to achieve. But if we could get there still as the best team in the world, that would be great. We wish the Test Championship was sooner but it gives us an opportunity to build an even stronger team and we have the opportunity to lead the way next season. We have something special at the moment. Maybe we can talk about legacies in a few years’ time.”The country’s sports minister, Fikile Mbalula, who was also present at the mace ceremony, believes the building of that dynasty has already begun. “This is history, not in the making, and it something that will be celebrated by generations to come. It is irreversible, it is championship material,” he said.”You have brought hope in the sport of cricket, you have brought hope to the people of South Africa … We are very proud of you. I have seen you coming back fighting and I have seen that resilience and I hope you can keep that going into the future.”Like many, he thinks the trophy cabinet will only be complete once they triumph in a 50-over tournament. “The only thing we are short of now is the World Cup,” Mbalula said. “But it shows in our performance that we are preparing a team that will not choke at the next event but that will stand the test of time.”While the World Cup is held in high-esteem, the importance of Test cricket has been propped up recently. Van der Bijl pointed to the ICC’s increasing of the prize money for No. 1 from US$175,000 to US$450,000 this year and Smith talked about the growing interest in the longer format that he has noticed at home.”The success we’ve had as a team has impacted on our fans. We can see that in the stadiums and the support,” he said, declaring the longest format in good health. “There is a core group of teams that are close in their own conditions, like India are very good at home and New Zealand have shown they are tough in their own conditions.”It’s exciting that you know sport is unpredictable, although we want to be as predictable as possible in that we want to keep winning. But it’s great there is so much interest and that Test cricket has gone from strength to strength.”

Match facts

Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)

Big Picture

Five of the nine franchises are captained by foreign players, leading to the debate about whether foreign captains are a liability when they don’t perform well. Seven games into this tournament, Pune Warriors have already had three captains – Angelo Mathews, Ross Taylor and Aaron Finch (all foreigners). One was an enforced change, with Mathews forced to sit out a game in Chennai, leaving Taylor to lead. However, Mathews’ poor form (5 matches, 52 runs, 1 wicket) has upset the team’s plans and hence he was left out of Warriors’ last game against Kings XI Punjab, handing the captaincy to the inexperienced Aaron Finch.The leadership crisis hasn’t helped Warriors as they stay at No.8 in the points table, above Delhi Daredevils. If Warriors decide to go with an Indian captain, the only logical option is Yuvraj Singh, who returned after missing two games to injury. Ross Taylor didn’t feature against Kings XI, in order to accommodate Luke Wright. The questions remain – if not Mathews, who will walk out for the toss in Bangalore? Will they settle on an Indian captain once and for all?They’ve been dogged by inconsistency all season. In Mohali, they had the upper hand at the start of the final over with 15 to defend, but Wright’s horrid over handed the game to Kings XI. Warriors had positives to draw from the defeat, but against Royal Challengers Bangalore, their bowlers will have to step up.Royal Challengers are the team with the best home record this season, having not conceded a single game at Chinnaswamy. Their match against Warriors will be their last at home before they embark on a six-matches tour. Their next home fixture is on May 14. Against Rajasthan Royals, their seamers did well to keep the total to an underwhelming 117. The chase was measured, with Chris Gayle scoring a patient 49. It may not have been the most entertaining chase, but Royal Challengers were determined to keep wickets in hand and not choke.

Form guide

(most recent first)Pune Warriors LLWLW
Royal Challengers Bangalore WWLWW

Players to watch

Saurabh Tiwary was a regular in the Royal Challengers’ line-up in 2012 but was missing at the start of this season due to injury. In his first game, against Royals, he scored an unbeaten 25 to steer the side home with Gayle. Gayle was unusually cautious towards the end, but Tiwary’s flurry of boundaries hastened Royal Challengers’ march. Tiwary could command a regular place going forward. When these teams met at Chinnaswamy last year, Warriors needed to defend 21 off the last over and yet managed to botch it, with Tiwary hitting the final ball for six with three needed.Bhuvneshwar Kumar is Warriors’ leading wicket-taker with eight wickets at an economy rate of 6.29, only behind Rahul Sharma (6.03). Against Kings XI, he was the best of the lot, with figures of 4-0-31-1. With Ashok Dinda proving expensive, the burden on Bhuvneshwar to contain the opposition batsmen has only increased. His inswing to the right-handers has been a revelation.

Stats and trivia

• Aaron Finch has three fifties so far which, along with Michael Hussey, is the most by any foreigner.
• Virat Kohli needs 39 more for 2000 IPL runs.

Quotes

“All the four fast bowlers are doing well and Zaheer Khan is still not playing. When he comes back, it will be a plus.”

ScorecardJames Taylor made 47 before playing on as Notts struggled with the bat•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire would be attracting as much attention as Surrey for reasons they had not anticipated but for their points tally having been inflated by a win over Derbyshire.Neither side has shown much so far to justify pre-season optimism yet they produced an opening day of compelling intensity that suggested better to come from both. Surrey claimed three bowling points but Notts fought back well in the final session, or at least Steven Mullaney did.Mullaney stepped in neatly where Notts usually look to Chris Read as the man to pull them out of a tricky spot. They could not on this occasion as, rarely, their wicketkeeper and captain is injured, which might be mentioned merely in passing but for the fact that Read had not previously missed a Championship match since he was trying to forge a Test career in 2006. He had made 98 consecutive appearances since the start of the 2007 season and there was talk of a presentation being made had he completed a century. Sadly, a nagging neck injury has put paid to that.In his absence, therefore, someone else had to step up after Notts, asked to bat first, had struggled to 181 for 7 as a Surrey attack, in which there was no place for Chris Tremlett, made them work hard for runs, even on a pitch that looks essentially sound.Mullaney, who has shown before that he has something of Read’s doggedness in his mindset, provided what was required in an eighth-wicket stand of 66, although there was much merit too in the support offered by Ajmal Shahzad, whose restraint and discipline reflected well on him. He faced 84 balls for his eight runs, barely striking a blow in anger, and was cross with himself in the end for failing to resist a Jade Dernbach bouncer that had him caught behind off a top edge.It was a second wicket for Dernbach, who had looked as though he might be the bowler of the day when he wrecked Alex Hales’ stumps in his second over. Hales, who earned compliments for the new discipline in his batting after an unusually patient half-century in the win over Derbyshire, has since returned scores of 4, 2, 0 and 4, much to his own frustration.In the event it was not Dernbach but Stuart Meaker and Tim Linley who did most to justify Gareth Batty’s decision to field. Meaker, whose high ambitions for this season have not been helped by a thigh injury, ended Ed Cowan’s hopes of building on a morning of hard graft when he bowled him off an inside edge shortly before lunch, and struck again soon afterwards when Michael Lumb, beaten three times by Dernbach in the preceding over, tried to work him through midwicket only to be caught off a leading edge at mid-off.The pressure on the home side had grown through a string of maidens — seven in his first 10 overs — from Tim Linley, who was unlucky to go wicketless before lunch but was rewarded in the afternoon when Samit Patel, forced to defend on the back foot, edged to first slip, where Gary Wilson took a good catch.Of the front line batsmen, only James Taylor had looked in any way at ease. Captain for this match, Taylor’s innings had for the most part been a mix of well-judged leaves and sweetly timed boundaries until, three short of a half-century, he misjudged a ball from Linley that he chopped on to his leg stump.Meaker by then had beaten Riki Wessels for pace and claimed a fourth wicket when Paul Franks was drawn into nibbling at one outside off stump, at which moment Notts were not well fancied even to scrape a solitary batting point.In the end they picked up two thanks to Mullaney, who drew confidence from six fours and a second half-century in as many games to take on even Dernbach ultimately, taking 12 in one over, including six pulled over midwicket, although those were the last of his runs before he was leg before to Linley for 68 in the next over.Wessels will keep wicket in place of Read, while Franks’s first appearance of the season will be curtailed should England decide to go without Stuart Broad or Graeme Swann at Lord’s.

ScorecardMichael Carberry crunched 96 from 86 balls to steer Hampshire to the brink of their target•Getty Images

Michael Carberry struck a superb 96 as defending champions Hampshire eased to a five-wicket triumph over Durham at the Ageas Bowl to stay top of Group B in the Yorkshire Bank 40. Carberry was caught at the wicket off Mark Wood with one run needed but the damage had been done as Hampshire judged a run-chase perfectly to reach their target of 242 with five balls to spare.Durham had earlier made 241 for 8 with Ben Stokes and Will Smith leading a fightback following a poor start from the visitors with rapid fifties. Rain reduced the match to 36 overs each and Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams chose to bat first and was soon justified as Durham struggled to 45 for 4 in the 11th over.Dimitri Mascarenhas, making his first appearance of the season after returning from the IPL, removed Phil Mustard in his first over and left-arm pace bowler Chris Wood sent back Scott Borthwick and skipper Mark Stoneman. Paul Collingwood passed 10,000 List A runs after reaching 5 but added only one more before his stumps were shattered by David Griffiths.Only later in the innings did Durham show signs of recovery with Stokes and Smith each hitting half-centuries to help their side a respectable total. Stokes punished the Hampshire bowlers with an aggressive 87 off 71 balls in an innings that included six fours and four sixes before being stumped off Chris Wood.Smith and Ryan Pringle then put on 74 valuable runs for the seventh wicket before pace bowler Griffiths (3 for 42) returned to remove them both as Durham attempted a late acceleration.However, Durham’s score always looked vulnerable despite claiming the wicket of James Vince to the second ball of the Hampshire innings. High-scoring Vince, in fine form this season, was stumped by Mustard off Mark Wood but that brought together Carberry and Adams and the initiative swung back in Hampshire’s direction. The experienced second-wicket pair put on 133 in 18 overs before Adams slogged Borthwick to Wood at mid-wicket after making 67 from as many deliveries.George Bailey and Sean Ervine each helped Carberry keep pace with the run-rate so that with three overs left Hampshire required 28. It was then that Liam Dawson took control, smashing an unbeaten 37 off 21 balls with sixes off Chris Rushworth and Wood and four other boundaries.Carberry departed looking for the winning run and with a century in his sights but his 86-ball innings had been the key to Hampshire’s third victory in this season’s competition. England Lions batsman Carberry hit eight fours and two sixes with medium-pacer Mark Wood coming off worst with figures of 1 for 50 from five overs.

ScorecardMichael Klinger hit his first T20 hundred to set up a comfortable win for Gloucestershire•Getty Images

Michael Klinger smashed a brilliant 61-ball century to lead Gloucestershire to a 48-run Friends Life t20 victory over Worcestershire at Bristol.The skipper cracked five sixes and nine fours in contributing 108 to the home side’s total of 184 for 5 after winning the toss, with the next highest score Alex Gidman’s 18. In reply Worcestershire could muster only 136 all out, Alexei Kervezee making 39 and Ben Cox 37 going in at No. 8. James Fuller, David Payne and Benny Howell all bowled tightly for Gloucestershire.Both teams went into the game on the back of defeats in their opening match but after a steady start opener Klinger paced his innings perfectly, accelerating to move from a half-century to his first Twenty20 ton in just 27 deliveries. His five sixes included three in the 17th over, sent down by Daryl Mitchell, which cost the Worcestershire captain 25 runs. The first was over extra cover and the next two straight into the flats being constructed at the Ashley Down Road End.Gidman provided the best support in a fifth-wicket stand of 65 from five overs but was felled by a beamer from Chris Russell, which hit him in the chest, in the 19th over and did not field later in the game. It was Russell’s second such delivery in the over so he was ordered out of the attack and it was completed by Gareth Andrew, who bowled Gidman with the first ball after the batsman received treatment.Worcestershire’s reply got off to a bad start when Moeen Ali drove a catch to cover off Fuller’s fourth ball of the innings and it was 4 for 2 when Thilan Samaraweera skied to slip off Dan Christian. At the end of the six overs of the Powerplay the visitors were becalmed on 35 for 2. The next over saw Mitchell caught at short fine-leg off Payne to make it 39 for three.Andre Russell launched left-arm spinner Tom Smith for two big sixes but perished leg before in the same over and at the halfway stage Worcestershire were 60 for 4, needing a further 125 off 10 overs. They never looked remotely capable of that and wickets continued to fall around Kervezee as Gloucestershire outplayed their opponents in all departments. Cox at least hit a couple of sixes in a defiant and impressive 24-ball effort.