CRICKET – World Twenty20:England stormed into the final of the ICC World Twenty20 with a crushing seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka at Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia today.
A potentially tight semi-final tussle never came to pass after England restricted their opponents to 128 for six — and then knocked off that inadequate total with four overs to spare.
Sri Lanka, who won the toss, paid for losing early wickets and left England with breathing space to pace what proved an easy chase on an apparently sluggish surface.
Paul Collingwood’s team are therefore only the fifth from their country to reach an ICC tournament final, and will have their chance to claim a piece of history at Kensington Oval on Sunday by becoming the first to actually win the silverware for England in 35 years of trying.
Pakistan or, more enticingly, Australia will earn the right to face them there when they meet in tomorrow’s second semi-final at this venue.
England had clever game-plans for each batsman, and most worked to a tee as only Angelo Mathews (58) cut any ice for Sri Lanka.
Even the powerful Mathews struggled to reach, let alone clear, the ropes — with only three fours and one six in his 40-ball fifty.
But he stayed put to keep Sri Lanka’s faint hopes alive of reaching a second successive final in this competition, eventually cashing in when Tim Bresnan — so impressive over the past two weeks — proved a relative weak link, leaking 17 runs in his final over to concede 41 in all.
Craig Kieswetter, in particular, succeeded where Sri Lanka had failed — striking powerfully to and beyond the boundaries, until Lasith Malinga interrupted him in full flow with a swinging yorker.
Lumb had luck on his side and should have been run out on 11, but Ajantha Mendis dropped the ball with the England opener stranded — and substitute fielder Nuwan Kulasekara then could not hold on to a tough chance at long-off, with Lumb on 23.
He made 10 more before aiming adventurously across the line and losing his middle-stump to Thissara Perera, courteously allowing Kevin Pietersen — back in harness after his Atlantic dash to see the birth of his first child — to grab a little of the limelight by top-scoring to complete a straightforward task with a six and a four from successive balls off Malinga.