Dominant England cruise into final

England 179 for 3 (Trott 82*, Root 48 ) beat South Africa 175 (Miller 56*, Kleinveldt 43, Tredwell 3-19, Broad 3-50) by seven wickets

 England and South Africa had not met in a most important match in ICC semi-final since the World Cup in Sydney in 1992, a match which AB de Villiers admitted previous to the start of play ended with him "crying myself to sleep." Grown man now or not, later than the mess South Africa made of this tie, he could be forgiven for repeating the incident.

De Villiers is no longer an in the clear child, he is captain of a South Africa one-day side which during his lifetime has frequently privileged to mislead in ICC tournaments. So it proved once more. England rampaged from side to side the top order as eight wickets fell for 80. It was a humid morning at Kennington Oval, England won a favorable toss, and for once the white Kookaburra swung, but South Africa contributed immensely to their downfall.

David Miller and Rory Kleinveldt did at least recuperate calculate of morality. An evidence ninth-wicket partnership for South Africa of 95 in 16 overs took them to 175. But all that did was provide Jonathan Trott with a protracted chance to bat much as he wished, apparently unmindful to the force of a Champions Trophy semi-final. He ended with a spritely 82 not out from 84 balls, a seven-wicket win done and dusted with more than 12 overs to standby.

England Beat New Zealand in Champions Trophy

England 169 (Cook 64, Mills 4-30, McClenaghan 3-36) beat New Zealand 159 for 8 (Williamson 67, Anderson 3-32) by 10 runs

 England do not create life trouble-free for themselves in knockout tournaments, but they protected their passageway to the Champions Trophy semi-finals through a cooperatively imposing recital from the bowlers which followed a efficient innings from Alastair Cook subsequent to the weather had endangered to abscond their hopes in Australia's hands.

But even as England was heaping heaviness on New Zealand's top arrange as they chased 170 in 24 overs, the weather still loomed. Rain, which had cause a five-hour impediment after the toss, was creeping over the Bristol Channel and even though the chase was at the back the rate, if the match had been deserted before 20 overs New Zealand would have gone through and England would have needed a favor from Australia on Monday.

The 20th over, sent down by the unequaled James Anderson, itself incorporated more drama when Corey Anderson, who was additional to New Zealand's squadron on the daybreak of the match as a substitution for Grant Elliott, appeared to harmed his calf following aborting a sprint and spent several minutes in receipt of management which did not make an impression Ashley Giles and David Saker on the England balcony.

Still, even after Anderson had finished the over there could have been another interweave. Tim Bresnan passed 19 in the next over as Kane Williamson, who made a brave 67 off 54 balls, and Anderson took their partnership to 73 previous to Williamson skied to wrap off Stuart Broad whose heel was ruled, by the third umpire, to be fractionally at the back the line. It was a powerful taut call.  

India Beat Pakistan by 8 wickets in Champions Trophy

India 102 for 2 (Dhawan 48) beat Pakistan 165 (Shafiq 41, Bhuvneshwar 2-19) by 8 wickets (D/L method)

 Just prefer the majority of the cricket played in this glorified enmity, the cricket at Edgbaston - this time for the reason that of the weather - was boring and unsure, but India finally registered their first win over Pakistan in Champions Trophy. However, it was a dead rubber as India was previously guaranteed the top slot in the group, and Pakistan the bottom.

It was England above your head all right with all the rain, but underfoot the Edgbaston pitch matched the bowlers from Asia, where a big segment of Birmingham's population has come from. R Ashwin bowled slow and flighted the ball and curved it square, Ravindra Jadeja bowled fast and still turned the odd ball square, and Pakistan batsmen capitulated in what began as a full game but was reduced to 40 overs a side after two rain intervals.

Their total of 165 all out was adjusted to 167 for the reason that of the rain break throughout Pakistan's innings. India got off to a concrete create in answer, and it mattered small that the rain finally brought the target down to 102 in 22 overs. India won in 19.1 overs.

Rain played a significant part in Pakistan's innings. Pakistan did beat the toss, which gave India the best circumstances in the rain, but Misbah-ul-Haq said he would have batted first anyhow.

Pollard wicket hands South Africa semi-final place

South Africa 230 for 6 in 31 overs (Ingram 73, Dwayne Bravo 2-43) tied with West Indies 190 for 6 in 26.1 overs (D/L method)

 It has been a decade since South Africa's miscalculation of Duckworth-Lewis saw them way out the World Cup in the first on all sides of. Finally, they will think about themselves redeemed.

In a entwine of destiny as completely formed as the twist on a young girl's harvest of hair, West Indies were pressed out of the Champions Trophy after a rain-affected tied match. After 26.1 overs, with six wickets down, they needed 191 runs to win the match. They left the field on 190 for 6 as the light rain floated down. The result rewarded a point to every side and South Africa progressed to the semi-finals by good quality of a greater net run rate.

If still one ball was completely important on the result of a match, the first ball of the 27th over was it. Kieron Pollard was dismissed when he threw his bat at a Ryan McLaren short ball and was wedged at third man.

Had Pollard not been out, West Indies would have won the match for the reason that they were ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis par for five wickets down. Then it would have been them, not South Africa, who advanced to the semi-finals.

As the second innings developed, it seemed more probably West Indies face would drag off a heist. Despite losing Chris Gayle near the beginning and seeing their necessary run-rate soar to 9.5 per over, Marlon Samuels and Pollard plundered 58 runs off 33 balls to bring back to life ghosts of tournaments past for South Africa.

When the necessary 20 overs had been arrive at to create certain the match would count West Indies were 14 runs at the back the Duckworth-Lewis total they would have needed to win. At 130 for 4, Samuels determined it was time to insert in and he took 15 runs off Robin Peterson's next over to close the crack.

Monfils, Roger Federer reach Halle quarters

HALLE, Germany -- Top-seeded Roger Federer looked rusty but beat German wild card Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-3, 6-3 Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Gerry Weber Open.

His first singles match on grass as he prepares to defend the Wimbledon title wasn't all smooth sailing but Roger Federer was never really threatened.

"I'm always pleased when I win, no matter how I win," Roger Federer said.

Gael Monfils reached the quarterfinals as well, then announced he will miss Wimbledon.

After defeating Czech qualifier Jan Hernych 6-2, 6-3, Monfils said he withdrew his request for a Wimbledon wild card because he had to deal with a personal problem that could not be delayed. He didn't elaborate.

Mikhail Youzhny also advanced to the last eight by upsetting fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3. German wild card Mischa Zverev went through by beating Mirza Basic 7-6 (5), 6-3 after coming from behind in both sets.

Four of Roger Federer's seven Wimbledon titles have come after Federer had also won the tuneup event in Halle. His link to the Halle event is so deep that he has had a street named after him.

Now ranked No. 3 in the world, Roger Federer has not won a title this year and is coming off a quarterfinal loss at the French Open.

Serving for the first set, Roger Federer produced four straight errors to waste two set points and drop his serve with some very sloppy play. Roger Federer bounced back in the next, however, to win the set.

Roger Federer hit two wild backhands to help Stebe hold his serve in the seventh game of the second. Roger Federer also committed a double-fault on his first match point, but hit a volley winner to end it.

"I got an early double-break lead in the first, I got up a break in the second, it was pretty straightforward," said Roger Federer, who next faces Zverev.

Monfils was once ranked No. 7 in the world but the Frenchman missed several months last year because of a knee injury. He was ranked No. 119 in May before moving up to No. 67.

Monfils, who has never passed the third round at Wimbledon, said it was a pity he would have to miss it for the second straight year and fourth time in six years, especially because he felt he was beginning to play better on grass.

For a player who says he has trouble moving on grass, Monfils was at his acrobatic best against Hernych.

At one point, he even jumped over the net. Trying to save a break point, the Czech qualifier dived to his right to reach a ball at the net and managed to send it over. Monfils raced forward, failed to reach it in time and his momentum carried him over the net. The two touched hands and Monfils got back to his side to eventually break serve for a decisive 4-2 lead in the second set.

The Frenchman's enthusiasm did not always result in points -- he once jumped high for a smash, only to rip it into the net. But another time, he chased down a lob and hit a perfect backhand winner on the turn.

"I was happy, I was having fun," Monfils said. "Grass is not natural for me, but I am getting better. I have to focus on not falling, not injuring myself. I cannot take off as fast as I want to and I have problems braking. But I was comfortable today, I was leading all the time."

Youzhny was not quite as spectacular as Monfils but his steady game carried him past Nishikori in the first set.

"He started well, he was hitting a lot of first serves and I was missing everything," the Japanese said.

Nishikori said it was not easy to adjust to grass and that he would remain in Halle for a while to practice more and play doubles.

Youzhny was twice a semifinalist in Halle, including last year, and lost to Roger Federer both times.

Basic, a Bosnian who upset seventh-seeded Jerzy Janowitz in his first match in the main draw of an ATP Tour event on Tuesday, squandered a 4-1 lead in the first set and a 2-1 break lead in the second. He saved three match points on his serve but Zverev closed it out with a service winner.

Source: espn