Report
Harwood troubles struggling Tigers
Victoria were well on the way to first-innings points at stumps on the first day after Shane Harwood led a fast-bowling demolition of Tasmania
Cricinfo staff
10-Dec-2007
 |
|
Victoria 1 for 111 (Quiney 55*) trail Tasmania 168 (Harwood 4-53, Siddle 3-33) by 57 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Victoria were well on the way to first-innings points at stumps on the first day after Shane Harwood led a fast-bowling demolition of Tasmania. Harwood collected 4 for 53 as the Tigers were bundled out for 168, justifying the decision by Victoria's stand-in captain David Hussey to send Tasmania in.
At the close the Bushrangers had eased to 1 for 111, trailing by 57 runs with Rob Quiney on 55 and Michael Klinger on 4. If Victoria overtake the Tigers' score it will be the sixth time from as many games this season that Tasmania have been behind on the first innings.
Full postMatch in the balance after Prior fifty
After their poor final session yesterday evening, England urgently needed a better second day at Colombo in order to stay in the match. And, thanks to Matt Prior and Ryan Sidebottom, they battled hard to revive a fledgling first innings before nipping out
The Bulletin by Will Luke
10-Dec-2007
Sri Lanka 105 for 2 (Vandort 50*) Jayawardene 43*) trail England 351 (Vaughan 87, Cook 81, Prior 79, Collingwood 52, Muralitharan 5-116) by 246 runs
Scorecard
How they were out
Scorecard
How they were out
|
|
|
After their poor final session yesterday evening, England urgently needed a better second day at Colombo in order to stay in the match. And, thanks to Matt Prior and Ryan Sidebottom, they battled hard to revive a fledgling first innings before nipping out both Sri Lanka openers. But the relative ease with which the stonewalling Michael Vandort and Mahela Jaywardene combated Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar, England's two weapons of varying destruction, has left the match intriguingly poised going into the third day.
Sidebottom had a day to remember, however, and not solely for his new-ball spell late in the day, which included the huge wicket of Kumar Sangakkara. It was with the bat that Sidebottom impressed again, adding 17 with Prior in an eighth-wicket stand of 74 to heave England's total to 351. It was still 49 short of Michael Vaughan's hopeful target of 400, but represented a significant recovery from the perilous position of 272 for 7 in which England found themselves, after Paul Collingwood and Stuart Broad departed in quick succession to the probing Chaminda Vaas and a spirited Lasith Malinga.
Full postYounis and Misbah keep Pakistan afloat
After their efforts that saved the Kolkata Test, Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal staged another rearguard action that brightened Pakistan's chances of avoiding the follow-on in the final Test
Pakistan 369 for 5 (Younis 80, Butt 68, Misbah 54*, Akmal 32*) trail India 626 by 257 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
|
|
|
After their efforts that saved the Kolkata Test, Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran
Akmal staged another rearguard action that brightened Pakistan's chances
of avoiding the follow-on in the final Test. Pakistan had slumped to 288
for 5 midway through the afternoon, but their unbeaten 81-run partnership
righted the balance somewhat on a day when the Indian bowlers had to work
exceptionally hard for little reward. The variable bounce challenged the
batsmen, but also took its toll on the Indians, with 31 byes conceded in
an astonishing tally of 70 extras.
When Faisal Iqbal's innings of 22 was ended by a nasty lifter from Ishant
Sharma, India would have scented an opportunity to finish things off
quickly. Sharma was impressive with the second new ball, bowling with good
pace and extracting disconcerting bounce. Misbah survived a couple of
confident leg-before shouts, and luck was very much on his side on a day
when Rudi Koertzen failed to spot a thin edge behind off Harbhajan Singh's
bowling. Misbah was on one at the time, and his 151-ball half-century
frustrated the Indians all afternoon.
Full postMumbai Champs succumb to Cairns' belligerence
Chris Cairns pummelled the Mumbai Champs to a 38-run defeat
Cricinfo staff
09-Dec-2007
Chandigarh Lions 219 for 4 (Cairns 70, Manish Sharma 37*) beat Mumbai Champs 181 for 5 (Jadhav 58*, Powar 54) by 38 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
|
|
|
Coming into this match, the Mumbai Champs had lost their previous three games, and when Chris Cairns hit Avinash Yadav for three consecutive sixes, their hopes of a first win started evaporating.
Cairns, the Lions captain, opted to bat first and his top order responded with a brisk start, the run-rate at exactly ten an over after nine overs had been bowled.
Full postRajat five-for restricts Maharashtra to 219
Rajat Bhatia grabbed his first first-class five-for to reduce Maharashtra to 219 on a track where inconsistent bounce was the only devil
The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga in Nagothane
09-Dec-2007
Delhi 23 for 1 trail Maharashtra 219 (Kanitkar 67, Bhatia 5-29) by 196 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Rajat Bhatia grabbed his maiden first-class five-for to dismiss Maharashtra to 219 on the first day in Nagothane. After Maharashtra had recovered from the loss of their first wicket in the second over of the day, Bhatia exploited the inconsistent bounce on the track and got five middle-order batsmen to edge to the waiting slips. Only a stodgy half-century from Hrishikesh Kanitkar and handy contributions from Vishal Bhilare and Kedar Jadhav got Maharashtra past 200.
There was a one-hour delay to the start of the game as heavy dew had dampened the outfield and the pitch. Even after the delayed start there was help for the opening bowlers, which Pradeep Sangwan and Parvinder Awana wasted by bowling either too wide or too full. After Harshad Khadiwale hung his bat out to Awana in the second over, wicketkeeper Vishant More and Hrishikesh Kanitkar led a recovery.
It was an unconvincing innings from More, though, as he kept playing and missing. When Sangwan did induce an edge from More, who was then on 8, Aakash Chopra dropped the chance at second slip. Five boundaries and 27 charmed runs later, Bhatia, in his second over, got More to drive away from the body, the edge was parried by Mayank Tehlan and Chopra redeemed himself by taking the rebound at second slip.
Full postInzamam and Razzaq steer Heroes to victory
Inzamam-ul-Haq and Abdul Razzaq made light work of a stiff target to lead the Heroes to a seven-wicket win
Cricinfo staff
09-Dec-2007
Hyderabad Heroes 165 for 3 (Inzamam 44*, Razzaq 40) beat Chennai Superstars 162 for 4 (Harvey 63*, Stuart Law 44) by 7 wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
|
|
|
Inzamam-ul-Haq and Abdul Razzaq made light work of a stiff target as the Hyderabad Heroes completed a comprehensive seven-wicket win over the Chennai Superstars.
The two former Pakistan players were unbeaten on 44 and 40 as the Heroes hunted down the target of 163 with 13 balls to spare.
Full postBengal sneak ahead in Siliguri scrap
A round-up of the first day's play of the fifth-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Super League, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
09-Dec-2007
|
|
|
Twenty wickets fell on a dramatic opening day in Siliguri as Sourav Sarkar, the medium-pacer, helped Bengal sneak ahead by eight runs in the first innings. Orissa, who chose to field first, had a near-perfect bowling session, bundling Bengal out for 107 but their batsmen surrendered the advantage, collapsing for 99 in 38.4 overs. Basanth Mohanty, the debutant medium-pacer for Orissa, stole the show with 6 for 28 in just 8.3 overs, but he was overshadowed by Sarkar's maiden five-wicket haul. Bengal's openers played out the final 1.2 overs without any further loss.
Full postRain washes out final game
Incessant rain in Bulawayo led to the abandoning of last ODI between Zimbabwe and West Indies
Cricinfo staff
09-Dec-2007
Zimbabwe v West Indies Match abandoned
Scorecard
Scorecard
Incessant rain in Bulawayo led to the abandoning of the fifth and final ODI between Zimbabwe and West Indies. The steady drizzle meant covers were on the pitch since morning, and with play not possible till the cut-off time of 2:15 pm, the match was called off without a ball being bowled.
West Indies had already wrapped up the series 3-1, winning the last three games after losing the first.
Zimbabwe had made two changes to the team that played the previous game on Friday, bringing in Christopher Mpofu and Tawanda Mupariwa, both right-arm medium-fast bowlers, in place of Gary Brent and Elton Chigumbura, the two new-ball bowlers in the first four games of the series. However, the wet weather meant there was no opportunity to test the two newcomers.
Full postBreakers push further ahead
New South Wales extended their lead in the Women's National Cricket League with two comprehensive wins against Victoria
Cricinfo staff
09-Dec-2007
|
|
|
New South Wales extended their lead in the Women's National Cricket League with two comprehensive wins against Victoria at the MCG on Saturday and Sunday. Lisa Sthalekar and Alex Blackwell were the stars for the Breakers once again, forming the backbone of the batting on both days, Sthalekar's unbeaten 93 and Blackwell's 60 helping to post a seven-wicket win in the opener.
On Sunday both made half-centuries and sharing in an 82-run third wicket stand. In Sunday's game, the Breakers recovered from a slow start to post 8 for 228. Sthalekar celebrated her 100th WNCL game with 70 from 78 balls, while Blackwell hit 55 from 84 balls with 7 boundaries. This was her fourth half-century in as many matches.
Victoria's innings took place under grey skies and at one stage even the MCG floodlights were turned on. Openers Melanie Jones and Rachael Haynes again gave their side an excellent start with an opening stand of 56. But the Spirit struggled to keep pace with the required run-rate which got as high as 12 runs an over during the dying stages of the match. They eventually reached 6 for 203, with Kelly Applebee (57) the top scorer.
Full postBid at auction to face Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lanka offspinner, is offering his fans the opportunity to bid on eBay for the chance to face him
Cricinfo staff
09-Dec-2007
Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lanka offspinner, is offering his fans the opportunity to bid on eBay for the chance to face him.
The charity auction, at ebay.co.in, ends on December 11, and all the funds raised will go to Muralitharan's own charity, the Foundation of Goodness which was set-up in 2004 following the tsunami which devastated the country.
The highest bidder will face ten deliveries from Muralitharan on December 16 at the Seenigama Oval in Galle.
Click here to bid at eBay's website
Full postMost Read
Writers