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Hosts pull off last-ball tie
A Bangladesh Cricket Board XI pulled off a thrilling tie against a South African side in a one-day warm-up game in Chittagong
Cricinfo staff
07-Mar-2008
BCB XI 243 for 7 (Riyad 37, Harris 2-30) tied with South Africans 243 for 8 (Smith 70, Morkel 57, Mosharraf Hossain 3-19)
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A Bangladesh Cricket Board XI pulled off a thrilling tie against a South African side in a one-day warm-up game in Chittagong. The BCB XI bowlers successfully backed up a total of 243 for 7 by claiming two wickets in the final over of the South African innings. The visitors needed five to win, but managed only four.
Young pace bowler Rubel Hossain was the star of the show, bowling Johan Botha (34) off the penultimate delivery before Albie Morkel (57) was run out with the scores tied.
Full postNiall O'Brien hundred gives Ireland the lead
Wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien's unbeaten 137, aided by captain Trent Johnston's 69, furthered Ireland's advantage on the second day
Cricinfo staff
07-Mar-2008
Ireland 366 for 7 (Niall O'Brien 137*, Johnston 69) lead UAE 228 by 138 runs
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Wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien's unbeaten 137, aided by captain Trent Johnston's 69, furthered Ireland's advantage on the second day after their bowlers had dismissed United Arab Emirates for 228. Ireland, resuming on 46 for 1, finished on 366 for 7, a lead of 138.
William Porterfield and Eoin Morgan made 25 and 47, before a 64-run stand between the O'Brien brothers - Niall and Kevin. Left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza bagged his second wicket for the match by dismissing Kevin for 33, but Niall O'Brien, who had made a nervous start, held fort against the UAE bowlers.
Full postLanger shines with farewell century
Justin Langer gave Western Australia a farewell century while the next generation of Warriors' batting stars showed their talent, piling on the runs on the first day in Perth
Cricinfo staff
07-Mar-2008
Tasmania 1 for 29 trail Western Australia 372 (Langer 131, Marsh 63, Ronchi 61*, Pomersbach 58, Macdonald 3-44, Butterworth 3-48) by 343 runs
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Justin Langer gave Western Australia a farewell century while the next generation of Warriors' batting stars showed their talent, piling on the runs on the first day in Perth. Western Australia rocketed to 372 from 81 overs before Tasmania faced a nervous nine-over period late in the day, reaching 1 for 29 with Michael Di Venuto on 17 and Travis Birt on 8.
The day belonged to Langer, who emulated his former Australian team-mate Darren Lehmann by striking triple-figures in his final Pura Cup match. Langer's 131 came from 162 balls and featured two sixes and 19 fours, and he brought up the milestone during a devastating over that cost Jason Krejza 17 runs.
Full postMcKay helps Victoria tame new-look Bulls
Victoria's chances of hosting the Pura Cup final took a hit with New South Wales' strong efforts in Sydney, but Clint McKay helped the Bushrangers keep their hopes alive at the MCG
Brydon Coverdale at the MCG
07-Mar-2008
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Victoria 1 for 0 trail Queensland 191 (Broad 75, McKay 4-35) by 191 runs
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Scorecard
Victoria's chances of hosting the Pura Cup final took a hit with New South Wales' strong efforts in Sydney, but Clint McKay helped the Bushrangers keep their hopes alive at the MCG. McKay grabbed four wickets in a nagging Victoria bowling effort as Queensland crawled to 191 from 93 overs.
The Bushrangers faced one over before stumps and they fell to 1 for 0 when Scott Brant had the night-watchman opener Darren Pattinson caught at slip without scoring. Nick Jewell remained at the non-striker's end without having faced a ball.
Full postBlues benefit from MacGill's perfect return
Stuart MacGill made the best possible return after his long injury lay-off, collecting 5 for 49 as South Australia capitulated for 128 at the SCG
Cricinfo staff
07-Mar-2008
New South Wales 4 for 76 (Cullen 3-9) trail South Australia 128 (MacGill 5-49) by 52 runs
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Stuart MacGill made the best possible comeback from his long injury lay-off, collecting 5 for 49 as South Australia capitulated for 128 at the SCG. Dan Cullen also made use of the spin-friendly conditions with three wickets to leave New South Wales at 4 for 76 when bad light stopped play.
The Blues looked all set to secure a Pura Cup home final when they routed the Redbacks and got away to a flying start, reaching 0 for 59 in their reply. However, Cullen ensured the day was not a complete write-off for South Australia when he picked up Phil Jaques (24) and Simon Katich in consecutive deliveries.
Full postGo-slow England crawl towards safety
On a day that was the antithesis of Twenty20's thrill-a-minute cricket, England's progress was, at its most exciting, pedestrian and at times they almost ground to a halt. They closed on 286 for 6 with Paul Collingwood and Tim Ambrose well set, still 184
The Bulletin by Martin Williamson
06-Mar-2008
England 286 for 6 (Vaughan 63, Strauss 43, Pietersen 42, Collingwood 41*, Martin 2-53, Vettori 2-60) trail New Zealand 470 by 184 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
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While England got dogged defence down to a fine art, they forgot that to defend successfully, you need to score runs as well. For almost an hour in the afternoon the run-rate hovered at around one an over. Incredibly, that was while Kevin Pietersen was at the crease. The result was that although New Zealand only took four wickets, their lead remains large enough that if they can bowl England out cheaply tomorrow and score quick runs, they will have at least a day for their bowlers to win the match.
New Zealand bowled superbly until weariness took hold in the last hour. The seamers offered little, the spinners tormented the batsmen, and Daniel Vettori tightened the noose with intelligent field placing that choked England's usually aggressive middle order.
Full postBowlers put Ireland on top
Ireland's bowlers produced a solid all-round display to dismiss UAE for 228 on the opening day of the Intercontinental Cup match in Abu Dhabi
Cricinfo staff
06-Mar-2008
Ireland 46 for 1 (Porterfield 16*, Morgan 23*) trail UAE 228 (Zia 56, Aslam 49) by 182 runs
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After deciding to bat UAE lost Gayan Silva in the first over when he was trapped lbw by David Langford-Smith and wickets fell at regular intervals. Trent Johnston, Ireland's captain, struck twice while Langford-Smith added a second to his name. Spin then started to play a role as Greg Thompson, the legspinner who has been part of the recent Under-19 World Cup, removed Naeemuddin Aslam for 49.
When Kyle McCallan struck UAE were in deep trouble at 121 for 6 but Zia and Raza managed to stitch together a seventh-wicket stand of 97. Zia went past his half century before he fell to Alex Cusack's medium pace and the innings then came to a swift conclusion.
Full postNew Zealand open with tight Twenty20 win
New Zealand were back to winning ways in a confidence-boosting Twenty20 win against their close rivals, Australia
Cricinfo staff
06-Mar-2008
New Zealand 81 for 6 beat Australia 80 for 9 by four wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
After going down 3-1 to England, New Zealand were back to winning ways in a confidence-boosting Twenty20 win against their close rivals, Australia. In a low-scoring match in cool conditions, they overhauled Australia's 80 for 9 in the 18th over with captain Haidee Tiffen (15*) and Amy Satterthwaite (9*) guiding the home team to victory.
Shelley Nitchske fell on the second ball after Australia were sent in, and they were in a heap at 53 for 6, including the cheap wicket of Karen Rolton, coming off a club century for Port Adelaide. Sarah Burke was the pick with 3 for 15.
Four wickets at the start of New Zealand's chase briefly halted the home team's flow and then Nitschke claimed the vital wicket of Sara McGlashan (25) to have the White Ferns struggling at 50 for 5.
Full postArmy sneak another win
A round-up of the sixth-round matches of the Premier League Tournament
Sa'adi Thawfeeq
06-Mar-2008
For the second week in a row Army came from behind to snatch victory after conceding a first-innings lead and maintained their position atop the Premier Tier B standings.
With the Tier A clubs enjoying a free weekend, the focus was on Tier B and whether Panadura, the nearest challenger to Army's position, would be able to close the gap. By the end of the second day it looked likely that they would do so with Army struggling against Air Force. But Army were able to come back strongly and overcome a first-innings deficit and win, Panadura were denied victory by Police, who managed a draw at the Police Park Ground in Colombo.
Panadura were in a strong position, having reduced Police to 104 for 9 in reply to their first-innings total of 272. A follow-on looked inevitable for Police but they managed to avoid it with a last-wicket stand of 36 which meant that Panadura had to bat again. In the process, they lost precious time while setting Police a target of 335 to chase in the fourth innings. When play ended on the final day, Police were 215 for 7.
Army's match-winner was once again right-arm spinner Ajantha Mendis, who helped dismiss Air Force out for 92 in the second innings, leaving Army only 146 to chase. The victory was Army's sixth of the season and they maintained their unbeaten streak.
Full postTaylor and Vettori add to England's troubles
England ended a rather subdued second day in Hamilton on 87 for 2, still 383 behind New Zealand's first innings of 470
The Bulletin by Martin Williamson
05-Mar-2008
England 87 for 2 (Vaughan 44*) trail New Zealand 470 (Taylor 120, How 92, Vettori 88, Sidebottom 4-90) by 383 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
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The day was dominated by Ross Taylor and Daniel Vettori, whose seventh-wicket stand of 148 extended midway into the afternoon. Taylor, whose off-side driving was a delight, completed his maiden Test hundred while Vettori looked set for his until he perished to Paul Collingwood.
England might have believed they were in the ascendancy at the start of play, after the in-form Brendon McCullum had been dismissed late on the first day's play, but Taylor and Vettori beat them back in a stand that occupied half the day.
Taylor's innings was a triumph of the will. He has built his entire international reputation of the strength and speed on his one-day strokeplay, and in two previous Test matches he had returned a highest score of 17. There was nothing frenetic about his approach to this innings, however. At the close of the first day, his colleague Jamie How remarked that he had never seen Taylor play so straight or with such determination, and having batted for almost three hours to reach stumps on 54 not out, there was a certain inevitability about his progress today.
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