Chris Woakes (in pic) snared five wickets to restrict West Indies to 122 before England cruised to a nine-wicket victory in a World Cup warmup match on Monday. Woakes (5/19) tore through the top order, dismissing Chris Gayle and Darren Bravo in the first over and opener Dwayne Smith for 21 to leave the West Indies reeling on 35/3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. lendl Simmons, batting at No. 6, attempted to build an innings and top-scored with 45 off 55 balls before he became Woakes’ fourth wicket.
Woakes had Andre Russell (7) caught by Chris Jordan for his fifth wicket, and Steve Finn chipped in with 2/34, making West Indies skipper Jason Holder regret his decision to bat first when his team was bundled out in the 30th over. England was never in trouble in its run chase, with Moeen Ali (46) and Ian Bell putting on 70 for the opening stand. After Ali was caught in the covers off Kemar Roach’s bowling, Bell continued with James Taylor (29 not out) and finished unbeaten on 35 when England reached 125-1 in the 23rd over.
Woakes took on extra responsibility in the warmup match with Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad rested ahead of England’s World Cup opener against host Australia in Melbourne on Saturday. Brief Scores: WI: 122 (Simmons 45, Woakes 5-19) lost to Eng: 125/1 (Moeen 46, Bell 35*) by 9 wickets.
Proteas beat lanka
CHRISTCHURCH: South Africa’s warm-up match against Sri lanka was severely shortened by rain on Monday but there was still time for both teams to send a warning to opponents before the tournament begins. Sri lanka made 279/7 in an impressive innings, shortened to 44.4 overs by rain, and South Africa’s winning target was twice adjusted because of stoppages before it reached 188 in 24.3 overs to win by five wickets under the Duckworth lewis system.
Quinton de Kock (66) and stand-in captain Hashim Amla (46) put on 116 for the first wicket, giving South Africa a platform and flexibility when rain intervened. South Africa was without captain AB de Villiers, who was rested because of tightness in one hip. Brief Scores: Sl: 279/7 (Dilshan 100, Mathews 58) lost to SA: 188/5 (De Kock 66, Herath 3/22) by five wickets (D/l method)
Pak defeat B’desh
SYDNEY: Sohaib Maqsood scored an unbeaten 93 from 90 deliveries to guide Pakistan to a three-wicket win over Bangladesh with 11 balls to spare in a warmup match on Monday. Mohammad Irfan took 5-52 to restrict Bangladesh to 246, with Mahmudullah (83) and Tamim Iqbal (81) sharing a 168-run third-wicket stand before the last four wickets fell for just 15 runs.
Pakistan overcame the loss of two early wickets to reach 247-7 in 48.1 overs, with Maqsood belting nine boundaries and two sixes and sharing important partnerships with Haris Sohail (39), Umar Akmal (39) and Shahid Afridi, who scored 24 from 20 balls near the end at the Blacktown Olympic Park Oval. Brief Scores: B’desh: 246 (Mahmudullah 83, Tamim 81, Irfan 5/52) lost to Pak: 247/7 (Maqsood 93*, Sohail 39, Taskin 2-41) by 3 wickets.
ZIm restrict NZ to 157/7
CHRISTCHURCH: Martin Guptill made a century to support a mediocre batting effort as New Zealand stumbled to 157-7 Monday in a rain-reduced Cricket World Cup warm-up match against Zimbabwe. New Zealand’s innings at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval was finally halted by rain after 30.1 overs and the match was later abandoned. After Guptill, who made his century from 85 balls, Ross Taylor with 11 was the only other New Zealand batsman to reach double figures. Brief Scores: NZ: 157/7 (Guptill 100) vs Zim. Match abandoned.