Report
Bennett bowls Canterbury back into final
Hamish Bennett's four wickets helped keep the State Championship final evenly balanced after Canterbury were dismissed for 215 on the second day
Cricinfo staff
08-Apr-2008
Wellington 163 for 6 (Elliott 52, Bennett 4-37) trail Canterbury 215 (Papps 46, O'Brien 5-70) by 52 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Hamish Bennett's four wickets helped keep the State Championship final evenly balanced after Canterbury were dismissed for 215 on the second day. Bennett grabbed 4 for 37 as Wellington reached 163 for 6 in their reply, trailing by 52 runs when bad light stopped play.
The home side had moved their score along to 90 for 2 when Bennett snared two wickets in two balls. Neal Parlane was caught behind for 39 after building a handy 72-run stand with Grant Elliott, before Stephen Gellatly was also caught by Kruger van Wyk next delivery.
Elliott, who made an unbeaten 196 in his last game, had to settle for 52 this time when he was bowled by Leighton Burtt and one run later Wellington lost Chris Nevin, who was lbw to Bennett. Luke Woodcock was on 19 at stumps and Dewayne Bowden had 18.
Full postHabib Bank to face SNGPL in final
Round-up of the semi-finals of the ABN-AMRO Cup, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
07-Apr-2008
HBL 263 for 5 (Arsal 70*, Hussain 52) beat NBP 262 for 9 (Javed 66, Riaz 61, Kaneria 4-36) by five wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
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Danish Kaneria starred as Habib Bank Limited (HBL) booked their place in the final with a five-wicket victory over National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). He finished with 4 for 36 to limit NBP to 262, a target which HBL overhauled with two overs to spare.
After choosing to bat, NBP were given a superb start by their openers, Rashid Riaz (61) and Imran Javed (66), who put on 96. Despite none of their other batsmen getting to a half-century, they managed a competitive total, thanks to thirties from Mansoor Amjad and Shahid Yousuf. The spinners did an excellent job for HBL - their slow bowling department shared eight wickets while the fast bowlers toiled with no success.
Full postBengal reach final after convincing win
A solid team effort saw Bengal beat defending champions Mumbai by four wickets and enter the finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Visakhapatnam
Cricinfo staff
07-Apr-2008
Bengal 250 for 6 (Shukla 65, Das 55, Kulkarni 3-45) beat Mumbai 249 for 9 (Muzumdar 71, Rahane 55, Saxedna 4-50) by four wickets
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A solid team effort saw Bengal beat defending champions Mumbai by four wickets and enter the finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Visakhapatnam. Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Debabrata Das made rapid half-centuries as Bengal easily chased down the target of 250 with more than four overs to spare.
Mumbai's top order, led by the tournament's leading run-scorer Ajinkya Rahane's 55, provided a superb platform, reaching 94 for 1 by the 19th over. However, Bengal took three wickets - including that of Rohit Sharma, Mumbai's match-winner in the quarter-final - in quick succession, to leave them at a dicey 119 for 4.
Full postWellington bowlers gain early advantage
The international experience of Wellington's attack shone through on a rain-affected first day in the State Championship final at the Basin Reserve, where Canterbury wobbled to 165 for 6 at stumps
Cricinfo staff
07-Apr-2008
Canterbury 165 for 6 (Papps 46, O'Brien 3-52) v Wellington
Scorecard
Scorecard
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The international experience of Wellington's attack shone through on a rain-affected first day in the State Championship final at the Basin Reserve, where Canterbury wobbled to 165 for 6 at stumps. Kruger van Wyk was on 7 and Brandon Hiini had 11 at the close, leaving the visitors with an uphill battle as they searched for the victory needed to secure the title.
Wellington, who only require a draw to be crowned champions, sent Canterbury in after rain and a wet outfield delayed the start of play by 90 minutes. After a solid 47-run opening stand from Todd Astle and Michael Papps, Wellington's Iain O'Brien and Jeetan Patel put the home side back on track.
Full postDolphins drub the Warriors
A round-up of the Standard Bank Pro20 matches that took place on April 4
Telford Vice
06-Apr-2008
Dolphins 92 for 4 (Kent 33) beat Warriors 91 (Meyer 28, Louw 3-23) by six wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Johann Louw and Jon Kent were the stars as the Dolphins completed a six-wicket drubbing of the Warriors in a Standard Bank Pro20 match in Durban on Sunday.
Medium-pacer Louw took 3 for 23 to lead a superb bowling performance that saw the Warriors, who won the toss and chose to bat, shot out for a total of 91. In reply, Kent's 33 steered the Dolphins to 92 for 4 in 15 overs.
Louw was supported by Yusuf Abdullah (2-9) and Daryn Smit (2-19), and the Dolphins' fielders held several scintillating catches. The only Warriors to reach double figures were skipper Zander de Bruyn (15), Justin Kreusch (20) and Lyall Meyer (28).
Full postNamibia edge one-wicket thriller
An unbroken 47-run final-wicket stand between Deon Kotze and Louis Klazinga pushed Namibia to a thrilling victory in Windhoek
Cricinfo staff
06-Apr-2008
Namibia 115 and 237 for 9 (S Burger 79, Blain 4-61) beat Scotland 140 and 211 by one wicket
Scorecard
Scorecard
An unbroken 47-run final-wicket stand between Deon Kotze and Louis Klazinga pushed Namibia to a thrilling victory in Windhoek, keeping their unbeaten record in the Intercontinental Cup alive and leaving Scotland with an almost impossible task to qualify for the final.
Sarel Burger kept the innings afloat with 79 off 162 balls, although when the last pair came together it appeared they'd been left with too much to do. Boundaries were rare, but Kotze and Klazinga worked hard to tick off the runs, piling pressure on the Scotland attack as they tried to claim the final breakthrough.
Scotland had controlled proceedings for much of the third day after Namibia started on 45 for 3 chasing 237 on a sporting surface where wickets have fallen steadily. They chipped away at the resistance with John Blain taking his match haul to nine wickets while Glen Rodgers chipped in with a couple.
Full postSarwan ton helps West Indies square series
An innings of exemplary application from Ramnaresh Sarwan and his partnership of 157 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul helped West Indies level the series
The Bulletin by George Binoy
06-Apr-2008
West Indies 294 (Sarwan 57, Muralitharan 5-79) and 254 for 4 (Sarwan 102, Chanderpaul 86*) beat Sri Lanka 278 (Silva 76, Dilshan 62, Edwards 4-84) and 268 (Samaraweera 125, Taylor 4-52) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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A match that swung between West Indies and Sri Lanka, each side clawing back into contention when the other had the upper hand, was decided by an innings of exemplary application from Ramnaresh Sarwan. His partnership of 157 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul - during which he scored a century - on the fourth day won the match for West Indies and levelled the series, ensuring Sri Lanka's quest for a maiden series triumph in the Caribbean remained unfulfilled. The six-wicket win was West Indies' first at the Queen's Park Oval since 2000.
A target of 253 over two days with ten wickets in hand wasn't the most daunting but only twice had teams chased higher totals to win in Trinidad. Add to that the unpredictability of the West Indian batting order and the Chaminda Vaas-Muttiah Muralitharan factor and the task was anything but simple. The fourth day began with Sri Lanka taking early wickets before Sarwan started the recovery effort, single-handedly at first, later finding a steady partner in Chanderpaul, who remained unbeaten on 86 at the end.
Full postHeroes conquer Badshahs in bowl-out
The Lahore Badshahs nearly pulled off a great escape in Hyderabad, but the hometown Heroes held their own to triumph 2-0 in the best-of-three finals
Cricinfo staff
06-Apr-2008
Hyderabad Heroes 130 (Rayudu 46*, Naved-ul-Hasan 5-22) beat Lahore Badshahs 130 for 9 (Nazir 30, Farhat 30, Reddy 4-19, Binny 3-9) in a bowl-out after match tied
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The Lahore Badshahs nearly pulled off a great escape in Hyderabad, but the hometown Heroes held their own in a bowl-out to win the third tournament of the Indian Cricket League with a 2-0 triumph in the best-of-three finals.
A largely one-sided affair had turned on its head in the 18th over of the Heroes' chase. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan dismissed Stuart Binny, Anirudh Singh and Chris Harris to trigger panic in a chase that was going along smoothly. Naved-ul-Hasan had 11 to defend off the final over, but he nearly squandered it with two no-balls - and the resultant free hits - first up. A wide levelled the scores, but fortunately for the bowler, Ambati Rayudu, batting on 46, attempted harakiri by going for the single. Alfred Absolem was run out as wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat threw down the stumps. Naved-ul-Hasan finally got his line right for the next delivery; an inswinging yorker castled No. 11 Inder Shekar Reddy, giving the bowler a five-for, and more importantly, handing the Badshahs a chance to level the finals in the bowl-out.
Full postNetherlands claim vital victory
Netherlands overcame some stubborn lower-order resistance from UAE to complete a 64-run win in Sharjah, which keeps them in with a chance of reaching the final with two matches left
Cricinfo staff
06-Apr-2008
Netherlands 287 and 343 (Zuiderent 149*, ten Doeschate 146, Arshad Ali 4-99) beat UAE 289 and 277 (Tauqir 64, Fernandes 56, Sarwar 54*, Schiferli 3-47) by 64 runs
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Netherlands overcame some stubborn lower-order resistance from UAE to complete a 64-run win in Sharjah, which keeps them in with a chance of reaching the final with two matches left. The task appeared relatively straightforward for the visitors after they had reduced UAE to 89 for 6 chasing 342, but a stand of 119 between Nizel Fernandes and Mohammad Tauqir kept them waiting well into the final session.
After Netherlands failed to add to their overnight score - leaving Bas Zuiderent unbeaten on 149 - Edgar Schiferli, who claimed five in the first innings, struck on the opening delivery of the chase. Wickets fell regularly and when Peter Borren claimed two in quick succession the UAE were in deep trouble.
Full postDyson chases greater consistency
The coach John Dyson has defended his bowlers after they let Sri Lanka off the hook in the second Test
Cricinfo staff
06-Apr-2008
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The coach John Dyson has defended his bowlers after they let Sri Lanka off the hook in the second Test, leaving West Indies needing 253 to level the two-match series. The visitors were struggling at 32 for 4 before recovering through Thilan Samaraweera's 125 and boosting their chances of a 2-0 cleansweep.
The West Indies bowlers gave away too many opportunities to score and struggled to maintain their line and length when Samaraweera and Chaminda Vaas completed a 138-run partnership. "In talking about patience, when I watch Caribbean cricket all round, that's an aspect that's not there in any Caribbean cricket," Dyson said. "So to suddenly take these players and put them in the Test arena against some very good teams and expect them to have that patience is a tall order."
Dyson said the players have talked about the zones they need to hit, but the changes "don't happen overnight". "It takes time for people to get confidence in bowling plans," Dyson said. "Maybe my ideas are different to the people who were there before, but we're consistently working on the areas we bowl and the patience involved in the whole game.
Full post