Wedding bells muted after call to arms

Thursday 20 September 2012

Danny Briggs has had a lot on his mind of late but apparently not making the cut for England's final T20 World Cup squad.

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David Clough

The 21-year-old spinner and fiancee Linsey had set a date for an autumn wedding which would have prevented him from taking part in the tournament. His inclusion in the 15-man squad have caused those plans to be shelved, though.

He states that his partner is the understanding type, and she will have to be as Briggs is unlikely to have a spare moment in Sri Lanka. Rather he has proven to be a useful operator, taking 15 in a 15-run warm-up win over Pakistan at the P Sara Oval."She'll understand," said Briggs, who can expect to feature when the competitive campaign starts against Afghanistan tomorrow. "We've rescheduled it, so it's now in October. So there's a bit of time now. I'll concentrate on this, and concentrate on the marriage afterwards."England were made to defend a vulnerable 111 all out lead and restricted Pakistan to 96 for nine. It was far more comfortable for Australia, who cruised to victory over Ireland in their opening match in Colombo. Shane Watson inspired his side to a seven-wicket victory in Group B, taking three wickets for 14 runs in his first three overs, before hitting 51 runs off 31 balls at the crease to help Australia cruise to victory."He is a complete cricketer and I think the starts are so important for Twenty20s," said George Bailey, the Australia captain, whose Irish counterpart, William Porterfield, went out for a duck in the first ball of the match. "He is bowling our first over, opening the batting and sets the tone for us. He was outstanding."That was not a sentiment shared in the Afghanistan camp; a series of dropped catches undermining any hopes they had of pulling off an unexpected win over India in Colombo. After Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag were dismissed early on, Virat Kohli benefited from a ball dropped over the boundary for 6 on his way to 50 and Suresh Raina had two let-offs in making 38.The pair led India to 159 for five and although Mohammad Nabi led a spirited run-chase, India made a winning start ahead of their match with England on Sunday. Afghanistan's batting had been defiant but it ended with Dawlat Zadran's dismissal.

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Wedding bells muted after call to arms

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