3rd Match: Canada v Kenya, 14 March
Kenya captain Steve Tikolo was named man of the match after playing all the way through the chase, coming in at 52 for two, with David Obuya and Ravindu Shah dismissed in single figures with a strike rate below 25. Nevertheless, only Canada's captain John Davison conceded less than 3.5 runs an over, as the three first Canadian bowlers, Umar Bhatti, Anderson Cummins and Henry Osinde conceded 16 wides among the 107 runs in 22.2 overs. The Kenyan spinners, on the other hand, took five for 78 from 29 overs, "strangling the scoring rate." Cummins became the second man to play World Cup cricket for two different countries, having represented West Indies in 1992.
Contents
- 3rd Match Canada v Kenya 14 March
- 6th Match England v New Zealand 16 March
- 23rd Match England v Kenya 24 March
- References
6th Match: England v New Zealand, 16 March
Both teams had recently enjoyed series wins over Australia, but it was New Zealand who got revenge over England, who had beaten them for a place in the final of the January tri-series in Australia. England lost Ed Joyce for a duck off the first legitimate delivery of the match, and only Paul Nixon and Liam Plunkett, the numbers eight and nine, managed a strike rate above 70. With the fall of Paul Collingwood at the end of 35th over, New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming brought on Shane Bond, and he removed Kevin Pietersen, England's top-scorer, and Andrew Flintoff in the same over. Jamie Dalrymple followed three overs later, as England had lost four wickets for five runs, but Nixon and Plunkett batted out the remaining 12 overs, making 71.
In reply, New Zealand lost two wickets in eight balls to James Anderson and Liam Plunkett, and also had captain Fleming back for a single-figure score. However, from then on they made 191 for the loss of only one wicket, Craig McMillan caught off Monty Panesar's bowling. Scott Styris and Jacob Oram added an unbeaten 138 for the fifth wicket, just ten runs off the New Zealand record from the 1999 World Cup, resulting in a man-of-the-match award for Styris.
23rd Match: England v Kenya, 24 March
Ed Joyce's second fifty in as many matches helped England qualify for the Super Eights in what was essentially a play-off match, eliminating 2003 semi-finalists Kenya. Steve Tikolo came in at four after James Anderson had removed both openers, and though he made his 20th half-century, none of his team-mates passed 20. Extras were the second-highest contributor, with six wides and eight no-balls, most of the latter coming from Sajid Mahmood and Andrew Flintoff, who bowled three no-balls each. Flintoff did get Tikolo out with a yorker, while three of Kenya's players were run out as they were bowled out on the last ball of the rain-reduced innings.
Kenya's opening bowler Peter Ongondo extracted "tennis-ball bounce" to remove Michael Vaughan for one with the 19th ball of the game; however, despite Ian Bell getting caught for 16, England had reduced the equation to 126 off 34.2 overs after Joyce and Bell's partnership. With Kevin Pietersen also getting a fifty, England made it through with ten overs to spare.