Report
Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe post victories
A round-up of the fourth day's action of the Under-19 World Cup warm-up matches
Cricinfo staff
14-Feb-2008
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Sri Lanka edged a 23-run win over South Africa at Kilat Cricket Club to boost their confidence ahead of their first game on February 18 against Nepal in Penang. Batting first, Sri Lanka made 224 thanks mainly to a half-century from Dinesh Chandimal and 47 from Lahiru Thirimanne, who has now made a strong case for selection after coming into the squad as a late replacement for the injured Nisham Mazahir.
Tight bowling from Roy Adams, Pieter Malan and Sybrand Engelbrecht restricted Sri Lanka to a moderate target, but when the South Africans came to bat, they could not do any better.
Malan and Jon-Jon Smuts got South Africa off to a solid start but the run-rate fell in the middle overs, with Sri Lanka making some crucial strikes through Umesh Karunaratne and Sachith Pathirana, both of whom ended with figures of 2-25.
After being shot out for 57 by Australia on Tuesday, the Zimbabwe batting put up a much-improved show as they successfully chased down Nepal's 203 at the Royal Military College. After a top-order wobble, Tinashe Chimbambo guided them to victory with an unbeaten run-a-ball 49. Nepal captain Paras Khadka impressed, finishing with 4 for 34, but it wasn't enough to prevent the loss. Earlier, after choosing to bat, Nepal were indebted to Gyanendra Malla's brisk 85 for guiding them to a competitive total.
Full postWest brush aside Lions to seal final spot
A complete mess-up by the England Lions allowed West Zone to comprehensively notch up a win that took them to the showpiece match in Mumbai.
Cricinfo staff
14-Feb-2008
West Zone 494 (Rahane 172, Jaffer 151, Parthiv 59) and 28 for 1 beat England Lions 355 (Yardy 169) and 165 (Joyce 66, Pathan 5-35) by nine wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
The England Lions faced a tough task going into day four of their clash with West Zone but were still considered favourites to reach the Duleep Trophy final; instead, a complete mess-up with the bat allowed West Zone to comprehensively notch up a win that took them to the showpiece match in Mumbai.
Having conceded a 139-run first-innings lead the Lions were bowled out for 165 - four less than their captain Michael Yardy's fine century in the first innings - and West duly knocked off the minimal target set for them.
Resuming the day on 14 for 1 the Lions looked poised to force a draw and make it to the final but Yusuf Pathan and Siddharth Trivedi had other ideas. Pathan started the slide by trapping opener Michael Carberry leg before for 17 in the 23rd over and added top-scorer Ed Joyce (66 from 136 balls) and James Foster. Trivedi, a right-arm medium-pacer, removed Joe Denly, Liam Plunkett and Graham Onions in relative succession and young Adil Rashid's resistance was cut short on 39 as Pathan bagged his fifth wicket.
Full postNorth gain massive win
A match that looked to be heading for a draw swung North Zone's way spectacularly, as East Zone crashed from a position of safety to a crushing 434-run defeat on day four at Rajkot
Cricinfo staff
14-Feb-2008
North Zone 360 (Manhas 88, Nanda 58, Mishra 52, Paul 5-106) and 459 for 2 (Chopra 205*, Manhas 205*) beat East Zone 143 (Saha 56, VRV 5-59) and 243 (Vardhan 83, Majumdar 82) by 433 runs
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Scorecard
A match that looked to be heading for a draw swung North Zone's way spectacularly, as East Zone crashed from a position of safety to a crushing 434-run defeat on day four in Rajkot. Chasing a mammoth 677 for victory East had progressed to 238 for 3, thanks to gritty half-centuries from Manish Vardhan and Anustup Majumdar, but a run out opportunity shortly before tea triggered the most dramatic of collapses, and six wickets fell for just five runs.
East began the day on 28 for 1 and with little chance of winning this game and stopping North from entering the final. They were soon 70 for 3 but Vardhan and Majumdar applied themselves admirably to defy North for over 40 overs. Both refrained from risky singles and instead collected useful boundaries as North's attack lost a bit of fight.
But late into the second session, it all came apart. Vardhan worked the ball to midwicket and called for a single; substitute fielder Joginder Sharma swooped in, collected cleanly, and nailed a direct hit to get rid of Majumdar for a well-made 82.
Full postWarriors deny Kasprowicz a fairytale finish
Queensland's most prolific wicket-taker, Michael Kasprowicz, almost bowled the Bulls to victory in his final first-class match but the last Western Australia pair hung on for a nail-biting draw at the Gabba
Cricinfo staff
14-Feb-2008
Western Australia 2 for 115 dec and 9 for 278 (Rogers 116, Davis 51, Kasprowicz 3-57, Simpson 3-60) drew with Queensland 9 for 310 dec and 8 for 156 dec
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Scorecard
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Queensland's most prolific wicket-taker, Michael Kasprowicz, almost bowled the Bulls to victory in his final first-class match but the last Western Australia pair hung on for a nail-biting draw at the Gabba. Queensland had 13 overs to remove Steve Magoffin or Ben Edmondson but the tail-enders survived for nearly an hour to deny the Bulls their first win of the season.
The result also means Western Australia face an almost impossible task to reach the Pura Cup final, requiring outright victories in both their remaining games. They also have to rely on either New South Wales or Victoria putting in disastrous performances and claiming no points from the upcoming matches.
Full postTrinidad win a spot in the semis
St Vincent and the Grenadines made a meal of the target set to them by Trinidad and Tobago and handed them a 59-run win and a spot in the semi-finals of the Stanford 20/20
Cricinfo staff
14-Feb-2008
Trinidad & Tobago 166 for 7 (Bravo 62, Perkins 56) beat St Vincent and the Grenadines 107 for 8 (Butler 33*, Badree 2-9) by 59 runs
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Scorecard
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St Vincent and the Grenadines made a meal of the target set by Trinidad & Tobago and handed them a 59-run win and a spot in the semi-finals of the Stanford 20/20.
Dwayne Bravo plundered 62 off 34 balls and added 86 with William Perkins (56) to revive the T&T innings following a poor start. T&T had scored 55 for 3 in the first ten overs. By the 15th - with Bravo and Perkins on the offensive - 55 more were added without the loss of any wicket. Bravo hit a six and two fours off Romel Currency's first over that went for 18 runs. But the T&T batsmen's urgency to score runs was evident though ill-advised with four of the seven wickets falling to run-outs. Keon Peters was St Vincent's most successful bowler, removing Perkins and Bravo in successive overs.
St Vincent's chase was checked right from the second ball when opener Miles Bascombe was caught off Mervyn Dillon for a duck. It hit further snags on the way and at the end of the first ten overs St Vincent were 37 for 6.
Full postAnger greets Bermuda's capitulation
Widespread anger greeted Bermuda's humiliating exit from the Stanford 20/20
Cricinfo staff
13-Feb-2008
Widespread anger greeted Bermuda's humiliating exit from the Stanford 20/20. Against Guyana, they limped to a feeble 62 for 9 in their 20 overs before beating beaten by nine wickets.
The reaction at home was disgust at yet another humiliation for the national side with accusations that, unlike many of those taking part, Bermuda's preparation was almost non existent and they had only practised under lights earlier in the week. The local media was full of blunt talking about the performance.
Although the side was missing several players who were en route to the Under-19 World Cup and others chose to sit it out, there were also absentees because of suspensions resulting from continuing disciplinary problems that have blighted the team of late.
It is hard to see how the virtual collapse of the national side can be arrested in time for them to be serious contenders come the ICC World Cup Qualifier in a year's time. Other leading Associates believe that Bermuda have almost no chance of making the top six at that event and privately express views that they are probably not even in the top ten Associates as things stand. Failure in the Qualifier would lead to Bermuda losing their ODI status as well as being cast into the Associate wilderness.
Full postCobras make winning start to title defence
A round-up from the latest domestic action in South Africa as the MTN Domestic Championship gets underway
Cricinfo staff
13-Feb-2008
The Cape Cobras made a successful start in their defence of the MTN Domestic Championship (previously the Standard Bank Cup), with two wins in their first two matches of South Africa's premier domestic one-day competition.
The Cobras beat the Warriors at Newlands, Cape Town on Friday. Batting first, the captain Justin Kemp made 68 to boost the Cobras to 221 before a four-wicket haul from Charl Langeveldt, ably supported by 3 for 51 from Tyron Henderson, sent the Warriors crashing to a 90-run defeat. Andrew Puttick, the Cobras' wicketkeeper, had a field day behind the stumps, pouching five catches.
In Bloemfontein two days later, the Cobras picked up their second victory against the Eagles, in a match reduced from 45-overs a side to 20. Langeveldt was again among the wickets as the Eagles were restricted to 125 for 5. The chase was anchored by Puttick, who opened the batting and finished unbeaten on 64 as his side completed a seven-wicket win.
In the opening game of the tournament on Wednesday in Bloemfontein, the Eagles, fresh from claiming the SuperSport Series, triumphed over the Warriors. Dillon du Preez, the leading wicket-taker in the SuperSport Series, grabbed four wickets while his new-ball partner Victor Mpitsang chipped in with three. Left-hander Arno Jacobs made an even 50 as the Warriors were rolled over for 148, a score that was hunted down by the Eagles with five wickets and 11 overs to spare.
Full postManzoor and Alam cap comeback win for Sind
A round-up of the last day of the first round matches of the Pentangular Cup
Cricinfo staff
13-Feb-2008
Sind 149 (Naumanullah 47, Shakeel-ur-Rehman 6-28) and 309 for 5 (Manzoor 118, Latif 72, Alam 51* ) beat North West Frontier Province 203 (Shakeel-ur-Rehman 45, Sohail 4-65) and 254 (Younis 111, Kaneria 5-62, Ali 3-66) by five wickets
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Khurram Manzoor's century and an unbeaten 51 from Fawad Alam steered Sind to a five-wicket win over North West Frontier Province in Karachi. It was a remarkable comeback win for the side led by Shahid Afridi; NWFP led by 200 runs with seven second-innings wickets in hand going into the third day, before a collapse and a disciplined batting display from Sind saw them end up on the losing side.
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The foundation of Sind's pursuit of 309 was laid by their openers Manzoor and Khalid Latif before stumps on day three. The two added an unbroken 130 runs, and took it to 161 before Latif was out leg-before to Mohammad Aslam. Manzoor and Naumanullah added another 62 runs, but Samiullah Khan dismissed them both in quick succession and Shakeel-ur-Rehman got rid of Faisal Iqbal as three wickets fell for the addition of three runs. Manzoor, the Man of the Match, scored a patient 118, with 18 fours and one six.
However, any hopes NWFP harboured quickly dissipated thanks to a blistering 31-ball 51 from Fawad Alam. Shahid Afridi made a brisk 29, but it was Alam who remained till the end as Sind sealed the win.
Federal Areas 383 (Majeed 107, Saeed 69, Ashraf 58) and 385 for 6 (Bazid 172, Saeed 65, Arafat 56*) drew with Punjab 599 for 7 dec (Butt 290, Jamshed 108, Yousuf 56, Azam 3-133)
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Salman Butt's 290 set up the possibility of a win for Punjab, but a 172 from Bazid Khan led the battle as Federal Areas forced a draw.
Full postScorecard
Salman Butt's 290 set up the possibility of a win for Punjab, but a 172 from Bazid Khan led the battle as Federal Areas forced a draw.
Convincing wins for India and New Zealand
A round-up of the third day's action of the Under-19 World Cup warm-up matches
Cricinfo staff
13-Feb-2008
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An unbeaten 98 by Saurav Tiwary helped India cruise to a six-wicket win against England at the Royal Military College.
Chasing 220, India suffered an early wobble at 7 for 3 as Steve Finn and James Harris made early inroads. Tanmay Srivastava and Tiwary then led the recovery with a stand of 134 for the fourth wicket. Manish Pandey joined Tiwary after Srivastava fell and India then cruised to the target with more than seven overs to spare. England had relied on a stand of 113 between Ben Brown and Dan Redfern after losing half their side with the score on 95. Virat Kohli and Srivastava picked up two wickets each to restrict England to a total which proved well within reach.
Pakistan recovered strongly after losing their opening game with a comfortable five-wicket win against Bangladesh at Kelab Aman.
Ahmed Shahzad (79*) led Pakistan's chase of 204 and shared an opening stand of 89 with Umar Akmal. The middle order, however, failed to come good though Shahzad managed stick around till the end to see his side through. For Bangladesh, only Mithun Ali, who top scored with 75, managed to pass fifty in an otherwise disappointing batting performance.
George Worker and Nick Beard starred with bat and ball respectively as New Zealand trounced Ireland by 181 runs at the Selangor Turf Club.
Worker fell two short of a century as New Zealand piled on a massive 314 for 9. Ireland's Paul Stirling made a fist of the target with an aggressive 72 off 50 balls but lacked support as Beard, the left-arm spinner, orchestrated the collapse with 6 for 36. Ireland were bowled out for 133 inside 30 overs.
Full postChopra and Manhas put North on track for final
Double-centuries from opener Aakash Chopra and captain Mithun Manhas all but ensured North Zone a place in finals of the Duleep Trophy
Cricinfo staff
13-Feb-2008
East Zone 143 and 28 for 1 (SS Das 18*, Arindam Das 2*) need another 649 runs to beat North Zone 360 and 459 for 2 (Chopra 205*, Manhas 205*)
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Scorecard
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Double-centuries from opener Aakash Chopra and captain Mithun Manhas all but ensured North Zone a place in the final of the Duleep Trophy. With a day remaining in the match, East Zone need a gargantuan 649 more runs to win and progress to the finals.
Resuming on 109 for 2, North piled on the misery as Chopra and Manhas forged a monumental unbroken 368-run third-wicket stand. Manhas, who top scored in the first innings with a brisk 88, needed just 255 balls to crack his 205 with the help of 27 fours and two sixes. Chopra was a touch more subdued, consuming 301 deliveries in his knock which included 21 fours.
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