"It is more difficult to follow the lead of other sports in terms of simultaneous matches when it comes to cricket as no two surfaces are the same. If they played on different pitches, we would get people complaining that one pitch was flatter and therefore easier to make up NRR. Also, what if they played in different cities simultaneously and one of the games was a wash-out?" Aaron, in the first scenario, at least no team would have the unfair advantage over the others, which now CSK and NSW have over the other teams. In the second scenario, at least you tried your best to make eliminate the unfair advantage. Can't control rain, can you? Anyway we are ready to go. Sam Badree to bowl. No slip, no catching man

3.30pm Time for toss on final day of league games in Group A. All five teams stand in with a chance to make the semis, none of them is assured of a place. Justin Kemp has won the toss and will bat first. Kleinveldt replaces Philander for them. T&T are unchanged

3.15pm The last day of league matches in Group A. And tell you what, I am more than disappointed that today's matches are not being played simultaneously. You would have expected Champions League to follow other world events - across sport - and make sure that no team gets the unfair advantage of playing the last match. As it turns out, for a second year in a row, Chennai Super Kings are playing the last league match of their group, and will know exactly what to do to progress. New South Wales are the other lucky team. Cape Cobras and Trinidad & Tobago will have to do their best and then just hope. Won't T&T, for example, hate it if they won and still lose out based on .05 of a difference in net run-rate?

Mind you, I don't mean to suggest anything fishy. I can understand the organisers wanting to have the IPL teams playing the prime-time matches. Be that as it may, S Rajesh helps you to get a better hang of the permutations and combinations here. As I understand, if Cape Cobras win they go through, if they lose they are out. If T&T win they wait for the next result, if they lose they are out.

0.1

Badree to Levi, no run, big appeal first up. It seemed like the googly. Pitched off, hit in front of the middle, there is no bounce either. Billy Bowden, a famous not-outer, keeps the crooked digit behind his back

0.2

Badree to Levi, OUT, Billy's crooked finger doesn't matter. Badree has hit the off stump. Not sure Levi has been watching Badree bowl against other teams. He plays for the legbreak, the ball skids through. Off pole gone. No excuse for not knowing that Badree doesn't turn the ball

RE Levi b Badree 0 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

Vilas comes in now

0.3

Badree to Vilas, no run, flat and quick, dabbed to third man

0.4

Badree to Vilas, no run, defended off the back foot

0.5

Badree to Vilas, no run, tosses this one up, there is slight turn on it, and he defends off the front foot

0.6

Badree to Vilas, FOUR, big hoicky sweep, gets the inside half of the bat, past short fine leg. Breaks the maiden

Here is Ravi Rampaul

1.1

Rampaul to Gibbs, no run, short of a length, on off, defended off the front foot

1.2

Rampaul to Gibbs, no run, short of a length again, no room, pushed back to him

1.3

Rampaul to Gibbs, no run, slightly fuller, punched on the up, can't get past Simmons at cover

1.4

Rampaul to Gibbs, 1 run, takes the risky single after pushing this just to the left of mid-off

1.5

Rampaul to Vilas, no run, looks to cut this, ends up hitting in front of square, finds cover. The ball didn't come on

1.6

Rampaul to Vilas, no run, beaten on the up, this bouncer passes over his shoulder, touch and go on leg-side wide, but thankfully some umpire is siding with the bowlers

"The reason the matches are not being played simultaneously is simple. Maximising TV revenue takes precedence over the integrity of the competition. Did you expect differently?" Yes, how silly of me, James

2.1

Badree to Gibbs, no run, flighted on off, defended off the front foot

2.2

Badree to Gibbs, no run, googly this time, picks it off the pitch and defends in front of off

2.3

Badree to Gibbs, no run, flatter, on off, blocked off the front foot

2.4

Badree to Gibbs, 1 run, this one turns a bit, Gibbs hangs back, gets the outside half of the bat to it, takes the single to point

2.5

Badree to Vilas, no run, forward-defensive to this pitched-up delivery on middle and leg

2.6

Badree to Vilas, FOUR, strange shot, but he will take the resultant boundary. He shapes up for the big slog, but then seems to be pulling out into a less violent shot. Gets an inside edge to this full delivery, and it beats short fine leg

3.1

Rampaul to Gibbs, OUT, Not the pitch to be doing this Hersch. Makes room to go over mid-on, the ball is short of a length, holds up on the surface, Gibbs is early into the shot, and manages only a lob to mid-of

HH Gibbs c Bravo b Rampaul 2 (9b 0x4 0x6) SR: 22.22

Owais Shah is the new batsman

3.2

Rampaul to Shah, FOUR, top start for Shah. This is short of a length, into the hips, and he has tucked it away square, and the timing and placement are spot on. Beats square leg on his right, and long leg on his left

3.3

Rampaul to Shah, 1 run, How often does Owais present these run-out opportunities? First of all an ambitious flick is mistimed and lands just short of square leg. Then he is slow to start off for the single, and was gone if Sherwin Ganga had hit the stumps direct

3.4

Rampaul to Vilas, FOUR, lovely late-cut. Placed very well. Beats the diving point fielder to his left, and the diving third man to his right

3.5

Rampaul to Vilas, no run, goes wide of the crease, bowls the offcutter, beats another attempt at late-cut

3.6

Rampaul to Vilas, no run, short of a length, no room, defended back to the bowler

"Not sure about the decision to bat first on this pitch. When the chase is never going to be much more than 6.5/7 an over, surely it's good to know exactly what you need to do, rather than bat first and get panicked at 80/6 after 15 overs." I agree, Hugh. Batting first you are just not sure of what a defendable total here is. You risk overaiming, and even 130 could be overaiming on this track

4.1

Badree to Shah, 1 run, full on the pads, driven past midwicket for one

4.2

Badree to Vilas, no run, shuffles across to defend this in front of the stumps

4.3

Badree to Vilas, FOUR, this one nearly takes Billy Bowden with it. Vilas gives him the charge, gets close to the pitch of it, and pummels this right back at Billy, who is quick to get out of the way

4.4

Badree to Vilas, no run, looks to late-cut, is beaten by the bounce

4.5

Badree to Vilas, 1 run, this one skids through, hits the inside edge, concedes a single

4.6

Badree to Shah, no run, huge lbw shout. Shah has misjudged the length completely. Stays back to a full delivery, is hit in front of leg. Did this straighten enough? Billy stays ever the not-outer

5.1

Rampaul to Vilas, 1 run, steered away for a single to third man

5.2

Rampaul to Shah, no run, Owais, naughty naughty Owais. Pushes this length ball straight to midwicket, looks to rush through for one, and then after three frenetic steps he says no. Vilas just about makes it back

5.3

Rampaul to Shah, no run, just short of a length, defended to short midwicket

5.4

Rampaul to Shah, no run, yorker, on off, swinging in, digs it out

5.5

Rampaul to Shah, 1 run, moves front and across to clip this from in front of off. Gets a single to short fine leg

5.6

Rampaul to Vilas, FOUR, there goes the highly prolific inside edge of Vilas's bat. Looks to dab this to third man, the ball doesn't come on, hits the bottom edge, and beats both the stumps and the keeper

Here's Sunil Narine

6.1

Narine to Shah, no run, starts off with his finger-flicked legbreak. Shah picks it off the surface and defends off the back foot

6.2

Narine to Shah, 1 run, moves forward and across to help this offbreak into the leg side for one

6.3

Narine to Vilas, 2 runs, swept away powerfully, keeps it down too, to the right of Rampaul at deep square. Takes a couple

6.4

Narine to Vilas, no run, the legbreak again, he picks it off the surface, but the turn is so slow that he can recover

6.5

Narine to Vilas, 1 run, pushed into the leg side, runs hard, but can't come back for the second

6.6

Narine to Shah, no run, Owais has taken stance some five stumps outside the leg stump. He moves across towards the stumps as Narine delivers. It's the legbreak outside off, and he doesn't play at it

Kevon Cooper to bowl now

7.1

Cooper to Vilas, 1 run, length ball outside off, steered away to third man for one

7.2

Cooper to Shah, 1 run, slower ball, Shah changes his shot late plays with soft hands, past square leg for one

7.3

Cooper to Vilas, 2 runs, moves across, almost inside the line of the ball, he nudges it to the right of deep square leg and comes back for two

7.4

Cooper to Vilas, 1 run, the Vilas inside edge finally finds a fielder, but the fileder in question, Denesh Ramdin, goes for a needless direct hit, and they take the overthrow off the ricochet. it's a lethal weapon, is the Vilas inside edge

7.5

Cooper to Shah, FOUR, low full toss, and he has timed and placed this superbly. Goes deep in the crease, opens the face late, places it to the left of point and right of third man

7.6

Cooper to Shah, no run, slashes at a length ball outside off, is not close to the line of the ball, and is beaten

Sherwin Ganga, one of the rare traditional bowlers in the T&T side, to bowl now

8.1

S Ganga to Vilas, no run, dabs this length ball to point

8.2

S Ganga to Vilas, 1 run, short ball, doesn't come on, stays low, and Vilas has done really well to clear short midwicket. He could ave ended up hitting it straight to the man

8.3

S Ganga to Shah, FOUR, this is neat. The flick-sweep. Gets down on the knee, and then uses the wrists late to place this square of deep midwicket

8.4

S Ganga to Shah, 2 runs, soft hands. Pushes this softly, wide of long-on, enough time for them to come back for two

8.5

S Ganga to Shah, 1 run, fired in outside off, dabbed to short third man for one

8.6

S Ganga to Vilas, 1 run, full and flat, hit powerfully, on the bounce to long-on

Badree comes back

9.1

Badree to Vilas, 1 run, plays for the turn here, is hit on the pad, but outside the line of off

9.2

Badree to Shah, 1 leg bye, looks for the paddle, is beaten, hit on the pad, middle and leg, straightening. Badree has changed his ends, but has been denied a third leg-before decision. This was crashing into middle and leg

9.3

Badree to Vilas, no run, looks to pull, gets the bottom edge onto the pad

9.4

Badree to Vilas, 1 run, nudged away into the on side for a single

9.5

Badree to Shah, 1 run, shuffles across, nurdles this legbreak to midwicket for one

9.6

Badree to Vilas, 1 run, flat, into the pads, deflected for a single. Badree is done. Surely he won't be sharing a beer with the umpires later tonight. Three straightforward lbw not given

"I remember watching Roelef van der Merwe fluke his way to a 50 in the IPL a couple of years ago. Think Vilas could be on the way to something similar." To be fair to him Hugh, Vilas has played a lovely straight drive, and has been good on the late-cut

10.1

Cooper to Vilas, 1 leg bye, moves across to try and scoop this, is hit on the pad, but outside the line of off

"Doesnt the law of LBW apply in this game?" Evidently not, Simon. First I thought it was just Billy being Billy, then it was Tarapore being Tarapore too

10.2

Cooper to Shah, no run, slower ball, gets some bounce, Shah is beaten, then ends up playing the top-spin drive, straight from table tennis, to cover

10.3

Cooper to Shah, no run, regulation pace, but Shah drives away from the body and is beaten

10.4

Cooper to Shah, no run, slower ball, Shah moves away, then across, then his head falls away as he slogs. Beaten

10.5

Cooper to Shah, 1 run, goes deep into the crease to a low full toss, can't beat the diving man at point

10.6

Cooper to Vilas, 1 run, slower ball, Vilas stays steady and nudges it to leg for one

11.1

S Ganga to Vilas, FOUR, nicely played. This is the drop kick, a pick-up shot over midwicket. He comes down the track, Ganga fires it in, he chips it over midwicket with his back foot in the air

11.2

S Ganga to Vilas, FOUR, good thinking. He is now waiting for the flatter, quicker delivery. Sure enough this comes at 97ks, he opens the face late, guiding it between the keeper and short third man

11.3

S Ganga to Vilas, no run, short, straighter, pushed to straight midwicket

11.4

S Ganga to Vilas, 2 runs, is beaten in the flight as he looms to hit it down the ground, but the slice falls short of long-off

11.5

S Ganga to Vilas, 2 runs, short ball, Shah pulls down the ground, along the ground, gets it left enough of long-on to come back for two

As an aside, why T&T have Bravo fielding at long-on is beyond me. It's a crucial position, and Bravo is not the quickest man around. I am being charitable when I say that

11.6

S Ganga to Vilas, 1 run, deflected to leg for a single

Narine comes back

12.1

Narine to Vilas, 1 run, hit down to long-on for a single, uppishly because he didn't pick the legbreak, but wide enough of the bowler

12.2

Narine to Shah, 1 run, makes room to dab this from outside leg, gets a single

12.3

Narine to Vilas, 1 run, Vilas gets a hard-working fifty, pushing this flat delivery to long-on. He has had to struggle, but he has not given up

12.4

Narine to Shah, 1 run, nudged around the corner

12.5

Narine to Vilas, 1 run, the famous Vilas inside edge. He dances down the track, Narine bowls wide, and even as Ramdin is getting ready for a stumping, he gets the bottom edge to survive

12.6

Narine to Shah, 1 run, Owais keeps providing drama with his running. Pushes this wide of Narine, calls Vilas for one, then sends him back. Not sure why because this is going to long-on. And then the two ultimately decide to take the single

13.1

S Ganga to Shah, SIX, No need run for this one. Shimmies down the track, close to the pitch of of the ball and then flicks-lofts this over midwicket. Superb timing

13.2

S Ganga to Shah, 1 wide, fired down the leg side, expected reaction from the spinner

13.2

S Ganga to Shah, 1 run, this too would have been a wide had Shah not made extravagant amount of room and dabbed it to third man

13.3

S Ganga to Vilas, 1 run, fired into the pads, worked around the corner

13.4

S Ganga to Shah, FOUR, two misfields overshadow a lovely extra-cover drive. Shah makes room, drives inside-out, along the ground, Ganga lets it go at extra cover inside the circle, and Simmons over-runs it while diving it from deep cover. Simmons must have a bad reputation among the umpires: he is signalling a four here, but the umpires are checking with the third umpire. Of course it is a four

13.5

S Ganga to Shah, 1 run, full, quick, into the pads, takes a single to long-on

13.6

S Ganga to Vilas, 2 runs, pushed with soft hands, between long-on and deep midwicket, comes back for two

14.1

Narine to Shah, 1 leg bye, legbreak, doesn't pick it even as he charges down the wicket, is hit on the pad outside the line of off

14.2

Narine to Vilas, OUT, the legbreak again. Needlessly to say he doesn't pick it as he goes for the pull from outside off. The top edge settles with cover. Important hand from Vilas, a fighting fifty. This track isn't made for attractive cricket anyway

DJ Vilas c D Ganga b Narine 54 (44b 7x4 0x6) SR: 122.72

In comes JP Duminy. Crucial overs ahead. Shah on strike, though

14.3

Narine to Shah, 1 run, legbreak again, pushed into the leg side for a single. Read this off the pitch

14.4

Narine to Duminy, 1 run, offbreak, short, Duminy hits it down to long-off for one

14.5

Narine to Shah, 1 run, another legbreak, outside off, pushed into the leg side for one

14.6

Narine to Duminy, 2 runs, offbreak, middle and off, pushed against the turn, between long-on and deep midwicket, comes back for two

"Not sure I understand why Sherwin keeps getting so many overs when it is very clear he ain't bowling well at all. Compare his figures to the rest. I feel he has messed up T&T's chances." And why not Dave Mohamed ahead of him, Lee D? Let me guess, it's again Sherwin's batting that gets him in ahead of a better bowler

15.1

Cooper to Shah, 2 runs, steered away fine, a misfield at third allows two

15.2

Cooper to Shah, 1 run, Shah moves across, top-edges a flick, but it falls short of deep square leg

15.3

Cooper to Duminy, 1 run, full, on off, driven on the walk, gets a single to long-off

15.4

Cooper to Shah, FOUR, very good late adjustment. He moves well across, shows him all stumps, Cooper fires full on leg, the bat comes down late and decisively to glance it between the keeper and short fine leg

15.5

Cooper to Shah, no run, slower offcutter, bounces at him, beats the outside edge

15.6

Cooper to Shah, 1 run, slower ball on off, nudged into the leg side for a single

16.1

Narine to Shah, 2 runs, offbreak, outside off, nicely pushed wide of long-on for two

16.2

Narine to Shah, 1 run, gets to a hard-earned fifty with a whip from outside off. he has done really well to put the bowlers off their rhythm by moving extravagantly in the crease

16.3

Narine to Duminy, no run, looks to nudge this to leg, but is surprised a touch by the extra turn, ends up playing it back

16.4

Narine to Duminy, no run, again no room, on middle and off, flat offbreak, pushed back to him

16.5

Narine to Duminy, 1 run, full, just outside off, driven to long-off for one

16.6

Narine to Shah, no run, legbreak, he has been predictable today, bowling exclusively legbreaks to the right-hand batsman and offbreaks to the left. This is pushed to extra cover for one

Lendl Simmons will have to bowl one over because Sherwin has been taken for runs. he last bowled in the qualifiers, and went for 19 in his only over

17.1

Simmons to Duminy, 1 run, full, on off, driven to long-off for one

17.2

Simmons to Shah, 1 run, Shah makes room, Simmons bowls the slower one, driven to long-off for one

17.3

Simmons to Duminy, 1 run, length ball on the pads, nudged away for one

17.4

Simmons to Shah, 2 runs, slower ball, Shah stays back, nurdles it into the leg side. All men on the onside are deep. He huffs and puffs back for two. Shah is really struggling with his breathing here

17.5

Simmons to Shah, 1 wide, tries the wide yorker, ends up really wide. Shah doesn't even move

17.5

Simmons to Shah, 1 run, makes room again, Simmons follows him, Shah muscles it towards long-on. Reaches long-on on the half-volley. Cooper does really well by getting his body behind it

17.6

Simmons to Duminy, 1 run, driven square on the off side for a single

Cooper to bowl the over of the devil of this tournament, No. 19

18.1

Cooper to Duminy, 1 run, slower bouncer, down the leg side, Duminy doesn't have any pace to be able to pull it finer of short fine

18.2

Cooper to Shah, 1 run, length ball outside off, mis-hit toward extra cover for one

"Can we please call him "Ganga" not "Sherwin". Its very irritating and awkward." Stefan, I hope you realise we are calling him Sherwin so that he is not confused with Daren Ganga

18.3

Cooper to Duminy, OUT, the slower cutter does the job again. Duminy looks to slog this, but Cooper is accurate and sneaks through as Duminy is beaten for the slowness

JP Duminy b Cooper 9 (11b 0x4 0x6) SR: 81.81

Justin Kemp gets a promotion of sorts

18.4

Cooper to Kemp, 1 run, misses out on the full toss, he is really late into the shot, so late Cooper is even appealing for a pad-first lbw. Kemp gets a single off the inside edge

18.5

Cooper to Shah, 1 run, makes room, Cooper follows him up with the slower offcutter. Concedes just the single to short third

18.6

Cooper to Kemp, 1 run, slower ball, on a length outside off, Kemp checks the shot, takes a single to cover

What do we have here? Rami Rampaul bowling the last over once again. Over the wicket this time

19.1

Rampaul to Kemp, 1 run, short of a length, cramps him up, Kemp swings ungainly, inside-edges it for a single

19.2

Rampaul to Shah, FOUR, Shah gets the important boundary, not quite where he intended to send it. Shah moves across, away, across, then away. By that time the ball has arrived, on a length, outside off, he drives, and gets the outside edge fine of third man

19.3

Rampaul to Shah, no run, Shah backs away, almost jumps away, Rampaul follows him, hits him somewhere between the ribs and groin. Painful blow. Can't even take the leg-bye

19.4

Rampaul to Shah, 1 run, follows him with again, this time with a low full toss, weakly hit for a single to cover

19.5

Rampaul to Kemp, 1 run, the ball you dream of in the final over. Length ball on middle and leg, Kemp slogs, but manages to hit it only as far as long-on for one

19.6

Rampaul to Shah, 2 runs, another length ball on middle and leg, flicked to the left of deep square, S Ganga makes a diving save to keep them down to two

They have scored just 26 off the last four overs, but overall the Cape Cobras will be satisfied with a total of 137 on this dead track where shot-making is really difficult. Shah and Vilas scored fighting fifties, Badree and Narine were difficult to score off as usual, and the game hangs in the balance. Perhaps tilting towards Cobras at the moment, but they don't quite have an army of spinners. Do join us for the chase