Report
Raza leads Pakistan to comprehensive win
Adil Raza's 6 for 29 allowed Pakistan to thrash Malaysia by eight wickets in their first game of the Under-19 World Cup
Cricinfo staff
17-Feb-2008
Pakistan U-19s 76 for 2 (Amin 31*, Shehzad 27*) beat Malaysia U-19s 75 (Arifin 28, Raza 6-29) by eight wickets
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Scorecard
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Adil Raza, the 16-year-old seamer, scythed through hosts Malaysia, taking 6 for 29, before Pakistan knocked off the runs with eight wickets to spare to begin their World Cup title defence in perfect fashion.
Pakistan needed only 9.3 overs to chase down their target of 76, with Umar Amin and Ahmed Shehzad adding 69 of those runs for the second wicket. Amin, who scored 31, hit seven fours in his breezy knock, while Shehzad saw Pakistan through to the finish
Full postCluttered star minds can't confuse bowling spirit
Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds and Ricky Ponting are struggling and if it was not for the men at the bottom of the order the team would be at the foot of the tri-series instead of the top
Peter English
17-Feb-2008
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The last time India toured Australia John Buchanan was irritated his team was distracted by "deal-making and sponsors" and slipped a harsh letter under each of the players' doors. It might be time Tim Nielsen, the new coach, devised a similar ploy for his big-name batsmen who have been dug out twice by the fantastic performances of the low-key bowlers.
Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds and Ricky Ponting are struggling and if it was not for the men at the bottom of the order the team would be at the foot of the tri-series instead of the top. The bowlers deserve buckets of praise and could be forgiven for writing to the batsmen asking them to lift their standards.
A copy of Buchanan's note was posted under the wrong door in 2003 and soon the world knew of Australia's internal conversations, which ranged from "deal-making" and "sponsors" to "Tugga's farewell to Adelaide". Replace Steve Waugh's nickname with Adam Gilchrist's and not much has changed in more than four years. It's not too hard to imagine how the same groups of issues could lead to clutter in the minds of Twenty20's most wanted.
Full postFavourites cruise on opening day
Australia and England began their Under-19 World Cup campaigns in style with easy wins against Namibia and Ireland, while Pakistan routed hosts Malaysia
Cricinfo staff
17-Feb-2008
Australia U-19s 312 (Hill 124) beat Namibia U-19s 163 (Botha 56) by 149 runs
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Michael Hill, the captain of the Australian side, scored the first century of the Under-19 World Cup as his team cruised to a 149-run win in their tournament opener against Namibia. After being put in to bat, most of the Australian top order frittered away the opportunity to get some batting practice, but Hill blasted 124 from a mere 71 balls to lift Australia to an imposing 312. Namibia were never in the hunt, and folded for 163 in 31 overs.
Hill came to the crease in the second over the match, after Kumar Sarna was trapped in front for 1, and quickly set about dominating the Namibian bowlers. He hit an astonishing 11 sixes and added 126 for the third wicket with Steven Smith, whose contribution was 39, in 13.3 overs. Hill fell in the 24th over, with Australia having already rocketed to 195, but thereafter the team lost its way and added only 117 more. Michael Cranmer (40) and James Faulkner (36) got starts, but Namibia fought back with wickets towards the end as Australia's innings ended two overs short of their quota.
Full postJamaica brush aside Nevis to enter semi-finals
Jamaica, led by a fine all-round performance by Marlon Samuels, who top-scored with 47 and took a brace of wickets, claimed a convincing eight-wicket win over Nevis to enter the semi-finals of the Stanford 20/20
Cricinfo staff
17-Feb-2008
Jamaica 123 for 2 (Samuels 46) beat Nevis 121 (Browne 25, Taylor 3-39) by eight wickets
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Scorecard
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Jamaica, led by a fine all-round performance by Marlon Samuels, who top-scored with 46 and took a brace of wickets, claimed a convincing eight-wicket win over Nevis to enter the semi-finals of the Stanford 20/20 in Coolidge, Antigua.
Chasing 122, Jamaica lost opener Brenton Parchment early when he was bowled by Ian Byron for 10, but that brought together the dangerous combine of Samuels and Gayle, who put on 74 runs for the second wicket. Samuels, who would go on to claim the US$ 25,000 Man-of-the-Match award, was the more aggressive of the two, blasting five fours and a couple of sixes in the seventh over bowled by Byron.
Full postKhawaja stands tall in dramatic first-innings tie
New South Wales and Victoria will play in the Pura Cup final after they each earned a point by finishing their first innings level on 394
Cricinfo staff
17-Feb-2008
Victoria 394 & 4 for 108 (White 49) lead New South Wales 394 (Khawaja 85, Katich 71, Mail 68) by 108 runs
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New South Wales and Victoria will play in the Pura Cup final after they each earned a point by finishing their first innings level on 394. The dramatic result, which moved both teams to 33 on the table and ended Western Australia's hopes over the final two rounds, occurred when the Blues lost their last three wickets for three runs after the 21-year-old debutant Usman Khawaja showed poise under extreme pressure.
Khawaja had reached 85, sharing a crucial 90-run stand for the eighth wicket with Moises Henriques, when he was run out by Brad Hodge's throw from point with the team needing four for a first-innings advantage. Hodge was involved again as Henriques fell cutting three balls later for 47 before Doug Bollinger gave the wicketkeeper Matthew Wade his sixth catch. Each side wanted a point to confirm their place in the decider and the unlikely result was suitable for both of them.
Full postIndia thump Papua New Guinea
India Under-19s bowled out Papua New Guinea Under-19 to claim a 195-run win at the Kinrara Oval
The Bulletin by George Binoy in Kuala Lumpur
17-Feb-2008
India U-19s 280 for 5 (Goswami 58, Srivastava 83*) beat
Papua New Guinea U-19s 85 (Sangwan 2-18, Abdulla 3-2) by 195 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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India Under-19s' victory against their counterparts from Papua New Guinea may not have been as emphatic as the other three matches on the opening day of the World Cup but their performance was efficient, steady, if not
spectacular, and thoroughly satisfactory.
Their batsmen paced the innings sensibly after being put in. The openers
- Shreevats Goswami and Taruwar Kohli, laid a strong foundation with a
partnership of 100, the middle-order maintained a steady run-rate, keeping
risks to a minimum in order to preserve wickets for the final overs and
Tanmay Srivatsava provided the acceleration towards the end to spur India
toward 280 for 5. They did not decimate the bowling like Michael Hill did
against Namibia but all of the top-order batsmen spent considerable time
in the middle.
Full postAustralia clinch low-scoring scrap
A valuable half-century from Michael Clarke kept Australia afloat before a tigerish bunch of fielders backed up accurate bowlers to pull off a memorable 50-run win in Adelaide
The Bulletin by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
17-Feb-2008
Australia 9 for 203 (Clarke 79, Pathan 4-41) beat India 153 (Johnson 3-42) by 50 runs
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 valuable half-century from Michael Clarke kept Australia afloat before a tigerish bunch of fielders backed up accurate bowlers to pull off a memorable 50-run win in Adelaide. Few would have given Australia a chance from the depths of 5 for 73 but so tenacious was the fightback that they pocketed a bonus point as well.
A scorching day saw the bowlers take centrestage. Irfan Pathan led India's charge before another left-armer, Mitchell Johnson, played a big part in the fightback. At 1 for 55, India seemed on course for an easy win but the contest opened up after they lost three wickets in nine balls, all to injudicious swings outside off. Once Mahendra Singh Dhoni fell to a moment of fielding brilliance, the match was headed only in one direction.
Full postBrutal Doropoulos helps break Western Australia drought
Western Australia ended a six-game losing streak as they benefited from Queensland's kamikaze batting in a failed bid to remain in FR Cup contention
Cricinfo staff
16-Feb-2008
Western Australia 9 for 242 (Doropoulos 75) beat Queensland 111 (Watson 46) by 131 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Western Australia ended a six-game losing streak as they benefited from Queensland's kamikaze batting in a failed bid to remain in contention for the FR Cup final. The Bulls needed to reach 243 in 25 overs to gain a double bonus point and stay in the race, but they were unable to mix heavy run-scoring with wicket protection and lost by 131 runs.
Jimmy Maher left to the third ball of the innings, Chris Simpson was run-out for 13 and when Nathan Reardon and Craig Philipson fell quickly the home side was 4 for 55. Shane Watson had the most success, thrashing 46 off 27 balls, but he was bowled by Steve Magoffin when walking across his stumps after taking 14 from the over.
Full postFight for Pura Cup final entry heats up
Victoria completed another strong day as they battle for the two points that will seal a spot in the Pura Cup final
Cricinfo staff
16-Feb-2008
New South Wales 4 for 211 (Katich 71, Mail 68) trail Victoria 394 (Hodge 119, Hussey 86, Cameron 6-101) by 183 runs
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Victoria removed the huge threat of Simon Katich, the New South Wales captain, to complete another strong day as they battle for the two points that will seal a spot in the Pura Cup final. The teams are equal on 32 with another two matches remaining, and they each need only one first-innings success to earn their places.
The Blues ended the second day at 4 for 211, needing another 184 runs to secure their spot in the decider. Katich was on track for another century in his incredible season of 1138 first-class runs, but he fell to the part-time offerings of Brad Hodge on 71.
Full postBarbados storm into semi-finals
Jonathan Carter and Ryan Hinds stitched together their second successive match-winning partnership as Barbados booked their place in the semi-finals with a 54-run win against Grenada in Coolidge
Cricinfo staff
16-Feb-2008
Barbados 152 for 4 (Carter 61, Hinds 45*) beat Grenada 98 (Alexander 20, Benn 2-4, Bishop 3-19) by 54 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jonathan Carter and Ryan Hinds stitched together their second successive match-winning partnership to help Barbados book their place in the semi-finals with a 54-run win against Grenada in Coolidge. The pair added 105 for the third wicket to take Barbados to 152 before the spinners sent Grenada crashing to 98.
Barbados lost their openers early after being put into bat and the decision to promote Hinds to No. 3 and Carter to No. 4, after their previous match against Dominica, worked as the pair batted sensibly to lead the recovery. Carter was the more aggressive of the two, hitting four fours and four sixes in his knock, including one over midwicket off Rawl Lewis to bring up the fifty partnership. He was eventually dismissed for 61, caught at long-on off Ronald Ettienne. Hinds stood firm till the end with an unbeaten 45 off 48 balls and watched as Alcino Holder added some late fireworks with a 10-ball 22 to take the score past 150.
Barbados' left-arm spinning pair of Derrick Bishop and Sulieman Benn then inflicted a top-order wobble, reducing Grenada to 27 for 5, a position from which they never recovered. Benn finished with economical figures of 2 for 4 from four overs while Bishop finished with 3 for 19. The highest stand was 29 for the eighth wicket between Camilus Alexander and Dennis George but it wasn't enough as Grenada failed to keep pace with the asking rate.
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