Report
Rudolph century boosts Yorkshire
A round-up from the latest County Championship matches
Cricinfo staff
06-Jun-2008
First Division
| ||
Callum Thorp's 5 for 64 was the highlight of a bowler's day for Durham at Chester-le-Street, his third first-class five-for in 27 matches. The Harmison brothers cleaned up the other five between them, Stephen with two and Ben with 3 for 25. Michael Carberry and Sean Ervine both made fifties to push Hampshire's total to 239 but they should have done much better as their last eight wickets contributed only 80. Durham lost Mark Stoneman in reaching 59 for 2 and could have been in even more trouble had Michael Di Venuto not survived a claim for a catch at slip when he had made 6.
The opening day of Kent's tussle with Sussex was lost to the rain at Canterbury. Having had to shift the FP Trophy quarter-final away from the ground on Wednesday, it was still not fit for play on Friday after steady drizzle throughout the morning. Play was abandoned at 3pm.
Full postMurtagh delivers Middlesex some much-needed relief
Martin Williamson reports of the first day of the Championship game between Middlesex and Essex at Lord's
Martin Williamson at Lord's
06-Jun-2008
Middlesex 75 for 1 (Godleman 23*, Shah 6*) trail Essex 161 (Murtagh 6-44, Berg 3-38) by 86 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
| ||
It had looked for all the world as if it would be more of the same, but the day turned on a brief delay for bad light half an hour after lunch. At that point Essex, who had weathered an early onslaught, were comfortably placed on 131 for 3 with the in-form Ravi Bopara ominously set. Tim Murtagh, bowling with pace and control, had taken two early wickets, and even when Jason Gallian fell to one of five catches from wicketkeeper Ben Scott, there was no indication of what was to follow.
Bopara, on the back of a one-day double-hundred on Wednesday, had just caressed two exquisite drives and appeared ready to cut loose. But an over after Mark Pettini hooked Murtagh for six, the umpires took the players from the field to boos from a crowd swelled in number and shrillness by the presence of a couple of thousand schoolchildren.
Full postHorton and Sutcliffe give Lancashire the edge
Lancashire perhaps had slightly the better of a bread-and-butter opening day at Old Trafford against Nottinghamshire
John Ward at Old Trafford
06-Jun-2008
Lancashire 260 for 5 (Horton 64, du Plessis 55, Sutcliffe 50, Croft 60*) v Nottinghamshire
Scorecard
Scorecard
| ||
Lancashire perhaps had slightly the better of a bread-and-butter opening day at Old Trafford, thanks to a determined and invaluable opening partnership of 109 between Paul Horton and Iain Sutcliffe when conditions were the most testing. They did not quite build as they might have done on such a good foundation, with three batsmen getting out after scoring good fifties, but a fourth in Steven Croft is still there, and his team will be looking for him to play the leading role in building a daunting total tomorrow.
Lancashire won a toss they might have preferred to lose, given that swing was likely under an overcast sky. The pitch itself played soundly enough on the whole, giving some help to the bowlers, even Graeme Swann's offspin on the first day, but not enough to interest the ECB pitch inspector, Mike Denness, who arrived by train from his home in Essex, after the previous championship match on this ground, against Durham, had finished before lunch on the third day.
Full postBroad and Anderson dominate New Zealand
James Anderson produced his best Test figures with both bat and ball, and Stuart Broad recorded his maiden Test half-century, as England seized control of the third Test against New Zealand
The Bulletin by Andrew Miller
06-Jun-2008
New Zealand 96 for 6 (Anderson 6-42) trail England 364 (Pietersen 115, Ambrose 67, Broad 64) by 268 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
| ||
Throughout his international career, Anderson has been like the girl with the curl from the children's nursery rhyme - at times in this series, his performances have been horrid, but today, he was back to being very, very good indeed. He located a full, fast and outswinging length from the very first over of his spell, and in claiming all six of the New Zealand wickets to fall, he finished the day with half an eye on history. Only two players - Jim Laker and Anil Kumble - have managed ten in an innings, but if Anderson can replicate the same form he showed today, his opponents - and team-mates - may not have much say in the matter.
Ultimately, Anderson is a mood bowler, and there's nothing quite like an early wicket to set his juices pumping. With his third ball of the day, he turned Aaron Redmond inside out with a wickedly jagging outswinger that detonated his off stump, and New Zealand's foreboding was tangible. Out strode their kingpin, Brendon McCullum - relieved of the gloves and promoted to No. 3 - but his talents were wasted in such hostile conditions. He had made only 9 when Anderson flattened his stumps with a carbon copy of the Redmond delivery, and at 14 for 2, the innings was in freefall.
Full postDexter steers Kent into semi-finals
Kent booked themselves a trip to Durham in the FP Trophy semi-finals with a 37-run victory over Somerset at Beckenham
Cricinfo staff
05-Jun-2008
Kent 259 for 5 (Dexter 101*, Key 73) beat Somerset 222 (Kieswetter 90) by 37 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Kent booked a semi-final meeting at Durham with a 37-run victory over Somerset at Beckenham thanks to a 113-ball hundred from Man of the Match Neil Dexter.
Dexter, who blasted an unbeaten 101, and Robert Key provided the bulk of Kent's runs after they had won the toss and opted to bat. Key and Joe Denly gave them a breezy start in an opening stand of 68, and then Key and Dexter maintained the momentum in adding 104 in 20 overs.
Dexter, who only came into the side after Martin van Jaarsveld withdrew for family reasons, rode his luck well - he was dropped at deep midwicket by Steffan Jones - rubbing salt in the wound by thumping Jones for a straight six soon after. Key also scored freely until he edged Ben Phillips to the keeper the ball after smashing him for six.
Full postPietersen and Ambrose revive England
Three months on from his series-saving century on the first morning of the third Test in Napier, Kevin Pietersen was back in the runs in similar circumstances at Trent Bridge
The Bulletin by Andrew Miller
05-Jun-2008
England 273 for 7 (Pietersen 115, Ambrose 67, O'Brien 4-61, Mills 3-58) v New Zealand
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
| ||
It was an invaluable performance from Pietersen, a man whose love of a sticky situation borders on the masochistic. After losing the toss and being asked to bat first by New Zealand, England batted with the looseness that has become a characteristic of the top six in recent matches. Alastair Cook and Michael Vaughan fell cheaply in the first hour, and though Pietersen and Andrew Strauss carried England to a comfortable 84 for 2 at lunch, the biggest meltdown was yet to come. In the space of 18 balls of the resumption, England lost three wickets for two runs - including both their under-pressure batsmen, Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell, for ducks.
It was a situation reminiscent of England's morning collapse in Napier - 4 for 3 had been the scoreline on that occasion - and then as now, Pietersen's response was to grow in stature to match the adversity. He had done his hard work in the morning session, defending with big watchful strides and leaving Strauss to pick off the bulk of the runs in a deftly compiled 37. After the break, however, when Strauss fell without addition, Pietersen eased through his gears and began striking the ball at the top of the bounce with all his familiar confidence.
Full postPatel heroics can't deny Durham
Samit Patel scored a brilliant 114 and took three wickets, but Durham squeaked home by one wicket against Nottinghamshire
John Ward at Chester-le-Street
04-Jun-2008
Durham 189 for 9 (Di Venuto 70, Patel 3-27) beat Nottinghamshire 188 (Patel 114) by one wicket
Scorecard
Scorecard
| ||
This may well turn out to be the one-day innings of the season. Add to that the three vital wickets he took when Durham's middle order collapsed chasing what appeared to be a certain victory. And the match itself - in the last hour a walk in the park for Durham turned into a thrilling one-wicket victory as they almost succeeded in self-destructing. The final honours belonged to Gareth Breese, who kept his head and hit a four through extra cover and a straight six to win the match with six balls to spare.
Nottinghamshire won the toss and decided to bat under a generally sunny sky. The decision had an element of risk in it, as the previous day had been one of light rain, which could not have left the pitch unaffected. The Durham seamers found a little swing, a little movement, nothing extravagant, but it proved too much for the hapless Nottinghamshire batsmen. With one exception.
Full postBopara into record books with double ton
Young English talent overcame imported South Africans as Ravi Bopara etched his name in the record books at Grace Road, with a breathtaking 201 off 138 balls, to guide Essex into the Friends Provident semi-finals
Cricinfo staff
04-Jun-2008
Essex 350 for 5 (Bopara 201*, Foster 61) beat Leicestershire 232 (Nixon 62, Boyce 57) by 118 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
| ||
Young English talent overcame imported South Africans as Ravi Bopara etched his name in the record books at Grace Road, with a breathtaking 201 off 138 balls, to guide Essex into the Friends Provident semi-finals. Bopara's stunning innings lifted Essex to a mammoth 350, which proved well out of reach for Leicestershire.
It was the highest score by an Essex batsman in one-day cricket, beating Graham Gooch's 198 against Sussex in 1982, which came in a 55-over game, and only the eighth double century in List A cricket. He added 190 with James Foster after the top order had been trouble at 37 for 3 against the new ball.
Full postYorkshire keep Gough's dream alive
Darren Gough's dream of finishing his career with a Lord's final appearance lives on after Yorkshire overcame Gloucestershire at Bristol
Cricinfo staff
04-Jun-2008
Yorkshire 205 for 4 (White 55, Rudolph 53*) beat Gloucestershire 201 (Adshead 71, Taylor 54, Bresnan 4-31, Hoggard 3-26)
Scorecard
Scorecard
| ||
Darren Gough's dream of finishing his career with a Lord's final appearance lives on after Yorkshire overcame Gloucestershire at Bristol. They made slightly heavy weather of the target, but a calm half-century from Jacques Rudolph guided them across the line with 35 balls to spare.
Incisive bowling from Tim Bresnan and Matthew Hoggard left Gloucestershire in a hole at 50 for 6, and it needed a stand of 82 between Stephen Adshead and Chris Taylor to give them something defendable. However, Yorkshire knew that if they kept their composure and batted sensibly the asking rate was always in hand.
Full postChanderpaul and Sarwan seal draw
A fighting century from Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul's trademark resistance saved the match for West Indies but not the Frank Worrell Trophy, which Ricky Ponting's men secured with a tense draw in Antigua
The Bulletin by Brydon Coverdale
03-Jun-2008
West Indies 352 and 266 for 5 (Sarwan 128, Chanderpaul 77*, Lee 3-51) drew with Australia 479 for 7 dec and 244 for 6 dec
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
| ||
A fighting century from Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul's trademark resistance saved the match for West Indies but not the Frank Worrell Trophy, which Ricky Ponting's men secured with a tense draw in Antigua. Australia have become accustomed to walking all over West Indies in recent years, but their domination deserted them at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, where they fell five wickets short of the ten final-day breakthroughs they required.
A couple of late successes gave Australia a sniff with the new ball when the match seemed all but over, however it was Chanderpaul who guided his team home and finished unbeaten on 77 to secure the first draw between the sides since 1995 - along the way he became the first batsman to make unbeaten fifty-plus scores in both innings of a Test on three occasions. For most of the day Chanderpaul had stonewalled with Sarwan, realising that their huge chase of 372, while tempting, was realistically out of reach. They seemed to have done the job and saw West Indies through almost to the final hour when Ponting's last gamble, throwing the new ball to Mitchell Johnson, paid off first delivery.
Full post