Conway stars for Firebirds

Devon Conway,

A batting onslaught from right, and Tom Blundell helped keep Wellington’s slim playoff hopes alive and effectively ended Otago’s in a Twenty20 Super Smash runfest in Dunedin yesterday. Thanks to Conway’s unbeaten 105 off 60 balls and a 142-run second-wicket stand with Blundell (79 off 44), the Firebirds racked up 221-3 and beat the Volts by 11 runs at University Oval. The fourth-placed Firebirds now host third-placed Central Stags in a crucial match on Friday. Wellington Firebirds 221-3 off 20 overs (Devon Conway 105no, Tom Blundell 79) beat Otago Volts 210-8 off 20 overs (Neil Broom 65, Hamish Rutherford 44, Brad Wilson 32no; Rachin Ravindra 3-32 off 4, Jeetan Patel 2-29 off 4, Jimmy Neesham 2-29 off 4) by 11 runs. Standings (after eight of 10 rounds): Knights 28 points, Aces 20, Stags 18, Firebirds 14, Volts 12, Kings 4. On another day of surprises in the FA Cup, Millwall scored a winning goal in injury time to eliminate Premier League team Everton 3-2 in the fourth round. The victory was marred by violence off the field. Police believe fans of Millwall and Everton were involved in fighting before the match, during which a man was slashed in the face. He was taken to hospital and his injuries aren’t life-threatening. Everton became the sixth Premier League side to lose to lower-league opposition, after Fulham, Leicester, Cardiff, Huddersfield and Southampton. Within hours, there was a seventh as West Ham were stunned 4-2 at AFC Wimbledon, a team languishing in last place in the third tier. There were no such problems for Premier League champions Manchester City, who hammered Burnley 5-0. The West Indies thrashed England by 381 runs with a day to spare in the first test at Kensington Oval as part-time offspinner Roston Chase took a career-best 8-60. England weren’t expected to win, not with a target of 628. But the English were expected to fight for two days to survive on a placid pitch, with the added motivation of the humiliation of 77 all out in the first innings. Instead, they were all out for 246 less than an hour after tea on the fourth day. Chase came into the test having taken 42 wickets in 36 innings, averaging more than 47. But after dismissing opener Rory Burns, England’s high-scorer with 84, he then claimed the last seven to give the West Indies their biggest win in 39 years.