Mitchell stars as NZ reach T20 WC final

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ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Nov 10, (AP): Daryl Mitchell and James Neesham powered New Zealand to a stunning fivewicket victory over England on Wednesday to advance to the final of T20 World Cup. Needing 57 off the last four overs, Neesham clobbered 26 off just 10 balls before Mitchell anchored New Zealand to 167-5 with an unbeaten 73 off 48 balls and an over to spare. England, which had scored 166-4 on the back of Moeen Ali’s unbeaten 51 off 37, seemed in control until Chris Jordan returned to bowl the 17th over, when New Zealand turned the tables on the favorites. Neesham hammered the fast bowler for two sixes and a four in an over which went for 23 before both batsmen smashed legspinner Adil Rashid for a six each in the following over. Although England sneaked back when captain Eoin Morgan caught Neesham off Rasheed at covers, Mitchell thumped Chris Woakes (2- 36) for two sixes before raising the victory with a fl icked four to fine leg. The final is Sunday. New Zealand will meet the winners of Thursday’s semifinal match between Australia and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, England will play two extra Twenty20s in Pakistan next year as part of compensation for cancelling a short tour of the country scheduled last month. “We’re happy to announce that we’ll be playing two extra white ball T20s on our (next year’s) tour of Pakistan,” said Tom Harrison, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, after meeting with the Pakistan Cricket Board in Lahore on Tuesday. The seven-match T20 series between Pakistan and England is expected to be played before the T20 World Cup in Australia next October, after which England will return in November- December for its first test series in Pakistan since 2005. “I don’t think there’s a Cricketer in England that doesn’t want to test his abilities against the huge talent that is in this country (Pakistan), in the conditions they know best,” Harrison said. The relationship between the boards soured when England pulled out in September from a planned week-long T20 tour, citing player health reasons.

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