New South Wales Thrash Somerset

New South Wales Thrash Somerset

Stuart Clark took three cheap wickets as Somerset crashed out of the Champions League.

©REUTERS/Andy Clark (GRENADA) Picture Supplied by Action Images

New South Wales 112-4 (Warner 40, D Smith 20) beat
Somerset 111-7 (de Bruyn 23, Clark 3-15) by six wickets
Airtel Champions League Twenty20 League A, Hyderabad

New South Wales effectively qualified for the Champions League semi-finals by thrashing Somerset by six wickets in their final League A game in Hyderabad.

Somerset struggled to cope against  New South Wales' bowling attack, making 111 for seven, a total the Australian champions got past in the 12th over, giving their net run-rate a huge boost.

Somerset's top order failed again and was only partially rescued by belligerent knocks of 23 from Zander de Bruyn and an unbeaten 20 from Wes Durston but the damage had already been done, mainly by Stuart Clark, who picked up three for 15 by dismissing Craig Kieswetter (13), Justin Langer (5) and James Hildreth (6) while Brett Lee, Moises Henriques and Nathan Hauritz picked up a wicket apiece.

New South Wales' openers David Warner (40) and Phillip Hughes (18) then carved their way to 56 in 4.4 overs before Hughes was out, Warner facing just 16 balls hitting six fours and two sixes as his side went on to win the match with more than eight overs to spare.

The Blues gave wicket-keeper Daniel Smith the chance to bat at number three, and he responded by hitting 20 before skipper Simon Katich scored an unbeaten 18 to complete the most emphatic of wins.

© Cricket World 2009

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