ICC Champions Trophy semi-final, Centurion:
LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY (all times BST)
e-mail [email protected] (with ‘For Mark Mitchener’ in the subject), text 81111 (with “CRICKET” as first word) or use606(Not all comments can be used)
**By Mark Mitchener **
From saintmilly on 606:](http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A57892170)"I worry about our wicket-taking bowlers now Broad is out. I assume that’s why Onions is in ahead of Sidebottom - he may go round the park a bit but at least is a wicket-taking threat"1st over - Eng 5-0
Brett Lee charges in for the first over, Strauss is hit on the thigh pad by one that jags back into him and about five fielders converge on the ball. Believe me, Australia are up for this one. But Lee lets one go a little wide of the crease and Strauss firmly square-cuts it for four, before jabbing a single to mid-off.1328: If you’re reading this on the website, please manually refresh this page and you can see a vote appear on the right-hand side. But I’m not allowed to say any more than that. Andrew Strauss and Joe Denly opening up for England.1326: Anthem time. It’s “God Save The Queen” up front, followed by “Advance Australia Fair”. Doug Bollinger, who will be (rather appropriately) carrying the drinks for Australia, really belts out the Aussie anthem with hand on heart. Keep your hair on, Doug…1322: As always, we want you involved so e-mail us on [email protected] (with “For Mark Mitchener” in the subject line, to distinguish from those emails for the TMS radio crew), text us on 81111 (with “CRICKET” as the first word, to distinguish from those intended forSam Lyon’s epic live text commentary on decision day for the 2016 Olympics,or join the debate on606.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A57892170)From Ben Johnson (presumably not the disgraced sprinter), TMS inbox: "Re: Tim Bresnan tweet: I don’t get it, have they said he is banned from twitter or something I’ve been following him, Swanny and Anderson all week and I reckon we have found the next TMS commentary team. Brilliant banter, and three genuinely likeable blokes"1318: Just to clarify for the benefit of a few of you who have inquired, such as Graeme in the TMS inbox - Steve Davies has replaced Matt Prior in the squad… but replaced Ravi Bopara in the side from the last group game. Oh, and Simon Mann on TMS has just said that Ryan Sidebottom has a virus, which is why he ain’t playing.
1311: While you’re digesting the team news, I can recommend a look atAlison Mitchell’s latest blog,which examines how the Champions Trophy has exceeded expectations, looks at how the short format has worked and ponders the ICC awards which were given out last night. If you haven’t heard,Aussie paceman Mitchell Johnson was named ICC cricketer of the year,whileEngland batter Claire Taylor was named as Women’s Cricketer of the Year.1306: It’s a brand new Centurion pitch in action today - it’s expected to be quite quick, but there are cracks in it. Here are the full teams:England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Joe Denly, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Steve Davies (wk), Luke Wright, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Graham Onions.Australia: Shane Watson, Tim Paine (wk), Ricky Ponting (capt), Mike Hussey, Callum Ferguson, Cameron White, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle.Umpires are Billy Bowden and ICC umpire of the year Aleem Dar. Tony Hill is on TV replays, Asad Rauf is third umpire, match referee is Jeff “brother of Martin, cousin of Russell” Crowe. I’m joined on match-report duties by Oliver Brett, while we’re overseen today by Alistair Watkins.1305: Aussies are unchanged, by the way.1303: Toss news - England captain Andrew Strauss calls “heads” and TV commentator Ravi Shastri belatedly asks him what he’s going to do. He’ll have a bat (while Aussie captain Ricky Ponting admits he would have done so as well). England make three changes - Davies in for Prior (see below), Stuart Broad (torn buttock muscle) has failed his fitness test so the recalcitrant Tim Bresnan comes in, while Graham Onions is preferred to Ryan Sidebottom in the seam bowling department.
**England seamer Tim Bresnan (who had to apologise for some foul-mouthed tweeting banter with Graeme Swann and James Anderson over the last few days) on Twitter: **"Might not be tweeting for a while! Wish us all luck in the semi though!"1255: Afternoon, everyone. Who’d have thought it After meeting Australia in no fewer than seven ODIs during September, England are at it again - and this time, there’s a place in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy at stake. Early news for England is that Matt Prior has failed to recover sufficiently from illness, so the ICC have approved his replacement in the squad by fellow wicketkeeper Steve Davies, who’s played just one Twenty20 international for England but could be thrust straight into the action today. We’re still waiting for news of whether Stuart Broad will be able to play,despite his torn buttock muscle.Test Match Special will be on air from 1315 BST with ball-by-ball commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, BBC Radio 4 LW and via the BBC Sport website (UK users only). If you’re outside the UK, I’m afraid them’s the rules - TMS has worldwide radio rights for England’s home matches but not those on foreign soil. But stick with us here and you won’t miss any of the actionThis article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.