Report
Bowlers lift spirits after giving Queensland a scare
The Sri Lankans finished their final tour match before the opening Test with a confidence boost after giving Queensland a scare in the four-wicket loss
The Bulletin by Peter English in Brisbane
04-Nov-2007
Queensland 295 & 6 for 142 (Perren 62*) beat Sri Lankans 9 for 210 dec & 226 (Vaas 84) by 4 wickets
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Performances in tour games should not be used to dismiss a team's Test chances, but the batting displays from the Sri Lankans against Queensland have provided plenty of concern. The top and middle orders struggled in both innings before help came from lower down, and it was the bowlers who frightened the hosts again as they sneaked home by four wickets.
With Queensland needing 142 for victory, Farveez Maharoof surged through the first three batsmen and Lasith Malinga's searing yorkers accounted for Chris Simpson and Andy Bichel in consecutive balls. The Bulls had suddenly lost 5 for 16 and an easy chase of 142 became a seriously difficult one. Clinton Perren (62 not out) absorbed the pressure, coped with the loss of Chris Hartley and led the Bulls with support from Ashley Noffke's 21.
Full postNZ claw back with Taylor and McCullum fifties
A 139-run stand between Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum helped NZ remain within reach of the target of 358
Cricinfo staff
03-Nov-2007
New Zealanders 192 and 230 for 6 (McCullum 77, Taylor 79*, Vettori 14*, Tsotsobe 3-40) need another 128 runs to beat South Africa A 443 and 106 (McKenzie 34,Oram 5-16)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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A 139-run stand between Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum saw the match poised for an exciting finish, after South Africa A had managed to run through the New Zealanders' top order for the second innings in succession on the third day of the tour game in Potchefstroom.
Needing 358 to win, the visitors were tottering at 67 for 5, facing an imminent defeat, before McCullum joined Taylor in the middle. Both batsmen hit 13 fours each in their rearguard action that helped their side reach a position from which they have an outside chance of a win.
Full postVaraiya's ten puts Kenya on the brink
Hiren Varaiya became one of the few Kenya bowlers to take ten wickets in a match when he picked up his second five-wicket haul against Bermuda on the third day at the Nairobi Gymkhana
Cricinfo staff
03-Nov-2007
Kenya 302 and 79 for 0 (Ouma 49*, Obuya 29*) require a further 79 runs to beat Bermuda 281 (Hemp 97, Varaiya 5-56) and 178 (Hemp 68*, Varaiya 5-77)
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Hiren Varaiya put Kenya on the way to victory over Bermuda with his second five-wicket haul of the match, becoming one of the few Kenya bowlers to take ten in a game, at the Nairobi Gymkhana on Saturday. Set 158 to win with more than a day in hand, Kenya raced to 79 without loss in just 16 overs, Maurice Ouma cracking 49 from just 43 balls.
For the second time in the match, Bermuda's hopes rested on David Hemp's shoulders but his unbeaten 68 was a lone effort. Peter Ongondo removed both Bermuda openers in a six-over spell in which he conceded nine runs, and it wasn't long before the spinners, Varaiya and Jimmy Kamande, were drafted in. Varaiya struck in his second over, bowling Rodney Trott through the gate before producing a quicker ball that trapped Irving Romaine in front for 17.
Bermuda were 60 for 5 and struggling to cope with the spinners' excellent changes of pace, but all the while Hemp - who top-scored with 97 in the first innings - was resolute, waiting for the bad balls and cutting hard through point. An excellent reflex catch by Steve Tikolo at slip to dismiss Malachi Jones handed Varaiya his third wicket and left Bermuda at 83 for 7, prompting Hemp and Kevin Hurdle to open their shoulders in a last-ditch attempt to set Kenya a challenging total.
Full postAssam let Gujarat off the hook
A round-up of the first day's play of the first-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
03-Nov-2007
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Gujarat, struggling at 155 for 9, managed to reach 228 and then reduce Assam to 56 for 4 at stumps on day one in Ahmedabad, with two former Tamil Nadu batsmen - S Ramesh and S Sharath - in the middle.
Put in, Gujarat made a cautious start, but didn't get a partnership going until the very end. Parthiv Patel, who had scored five centuries in his last five first-class innings, upped the scoring, but fell one short of 50, after which the rest of the line-up folded easily. Digant Popat, the No. 6 batsman, found a good partner in No. 11 Siddharth Trivedi, and the two put on 73 runs in 12 overs. Popat top scored with a 72-ball 63. Trivedi carried the confidence from his batting through, and as if out of inertia got Assam opener Sauran Bhagawati to edge one in the first over.
Full postUP's Sudeep Tyagi takes six on debut
A round-up of the first day's play of the first round matches of the Ranji Trophy, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
03-Nov-2007
Uttar Pradesh 84 for 3 trail Orissa 216 (Das 75, Tyagi 6-46) by 122 runs
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Sudeep Tyagi, Uttar Pradesh's 20-year-old right-arm medium-pacer, made a sensational first-class debut, taking 6 for 46 to bundle out Orissa for 216 within the first two sessions in Cuttack.
Orissa had a disastrous start, Tyagi striking three times in his third and fourth overs to reduce them to 8 for 3. Shiv Sunder Das, the former India opener, and Pinninti Jayachandra led a brief recovery with an 86-run fifth-wicket partnership but Piyush Chawla removed Jayachandra in his first over for 55. Jayachandra ran only three of his runs, scoring the rest in boundaries. Tyagi came back to get the important wicket of Das for a patient 75 and, once he was out, the rest folded easily.
Full postPowar takes five to put Mumbai on top
Mumbai's bowlers, led by Ramesh Powar, dominated the opening day of the Ranji season
The Bulletin by Sriram Veera in Mumbai
03-Nov-2007
Karnataka 189 for 9 (Akhil 53*, Aiyappa 1*, Powar 5-69) v Mumbai
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Mumbai's bowlers, led by Ramesh Powar, dominated the opening day of the Ranji season after Karnataka won an important toss and chose to bat on a turning wicket. Ajit Agarkar prised out the Karnataka openers cheaply before Powar removed Rahul Dravid, who led a mini recovery act. Powar then ran through the tail to leave Karnataka struggling at 189 for 9. B Akhil led a rearguard effort with a gritty unbeaten 119-ball 53, an innings whose importance will be known after Mumbai bat on this wearing track.
The first session featured some fine seam bowling from Agarkar, but Powar dominated the next two. He had delivered the sucker punch ten minutes before lunch when he removed Dravid with a flighted delivery that spun and bounced to produce an edge off a jab. Karnataka's defences had been breached and it would have been even worse had the short-leg fielder, Sahil Kukreja, held on to sharp chance offered by C Raghu in the same over.
Full postTop order struggles haunt Sri Lankans
The Sri Lankans' Test preparations suffered another severe wobble when their top order collapsed for the second time against Queensland
The Bulletin by Peter English in Brisbane
03-Nov-2007
Sri Lankans 9 for 210 dec & 4 for 62 trail Queensland 295 (Bichel 125, Johnson 50) by 23 runs
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The Sri Lankans' Test preparations suffered another severe wobble when their top order collapsed for the second time in the tour match against Queensland. After folding to 5 for 45 in the first innings, the visitors were in more trouble at 4 for 55 as they tried to overhaul the 85-run deficit created by Andy Bichel's muscular century.
Ashley Noffke continued his fine match when he raced through the openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu before Michael Vandort and Thilan Samaraweera added to the tourists' pain. They finished the day at 4 for 62, still 23 runs behind, and will rely on Mahela Jayawardene (22) and Chamara Silva (2) to ease the headaches of a side already missing Kumar Sangakkara with injury.
Full postSri Lanka A complete cleansweep
Sri Lanka A completed another victory against Zimbabwe Select to end the series 3-0, beating them by 31 runs
Cricinfo staff
03-Nov-2007
Sri Lanka A 264 (Kandamby 62) beat Zimbabwe Select XI 233 (Sibanda 85, Chibhabha 67) by 31 runs
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Sri Lanka A completed another victory against Zimbabwe Select to end the series 3-0, beating them by 31 runs. The Zimbabweans were strongly placed in the chase of 264, with Vusi Sibanda and Chamu Chibabha taking them to 148 for 2 inside the first 30 overs, but when they both fell with 198 on the board, the rest of the innings fell away as Rangana Herath and Dilruwa Perera swept up.
All of the Sri Lankans' top five made decent starts, with Mahela Udawatte and Perera putting on an opening stand of 74. Once Gary Brent had removed Udawatte for 21, the home side took wickets at steady intervals. It was the first of four wickets for Brent, the most successful bowler, while there were two each for Chibhabha and Elton Chigumbura.
Thilina Kandamby led them with 62, and he and Dammika Prasad (28) gave them a late boost with 74 for the seventh wicket to take them to 264, which proved the difference as Sri Lanka A signed off their tour on a high note.
Full postSouth Africa A push for big lead
South Africa A, inspired by Friedel de Wet's 6 for 50, gained a first-innings lead of 251
Cricinfo staff
02-Nov-2007
South Africa A 443 and 20 for 2 (McKenzie 5*, Tshabalala 3*) lead New Zealanders 192 (Vettori 83, de Wet 6-50) by 271 runs
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South Africa A, inspired by Friedel de Wet's 6 for 50, gained a first-innings lead of 251 over the New Zealanders but chose not to enforce the follow-on on day two of their four-day game in Potchefstroom. Instead they pushed to build on the lead and closed the day at 20 for 2.
Resuming at the overnight score of 350 for 4, South Africa A batsmen Neil McKenzie and Morne van Wyk added 28 more before Daniel Vettori trapped van Wyk leg-before for 34. McKenzie looked set for his maiden first-class double-century when Jacob Oram had him caught behind for 182. The last three fell with only 11 added to the total, but McKenzie's 224-run stand with Boeta Dippenaar on the first day had ensured that New Zealand were under enough pressure when they came out to bat.
Full postOdoyo steadies Kenya reply
Fifties from David Obuya and his namesake, Collins - along with an unbeaten 58 from Thomas Odoyo - steadied Kenya's response to Bermuda's 281 on the second day of their Intercontinental Cup match at Nairobi Gymkhana
Cricinfo staff
02-Nov-2007
Kenya 242 for 5 (Odoyo 58*, C Obuya 53, D Obuya 53) trail Bermuda 281 (Hemp 97, Varaiya 5-56) by 39 runs
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Fifties from David Obuya and his namesake, Collins - along with an unbeaten 58 from Thomas Odoyo - steadied Kenya's response to Bermuda's 281 on the second day of their Intercontinental Cup match at Nairobi Gymkhana.
Heavy overnight rain juiced up the pitch, but it was the new ball which did the trick for Kenya. David Hemp, whose 95 bailed Bermuda out of a hole yesterday, survived seven overs of the old ball before chipping Peter Ongondo straight to mid-off three short of his hundred. Dwayne Leverock never got going, labouring 16 from 89 balls before he became Hiren Varaiya's fourth victim. Varaiya ended with 5 for 56, his second five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
Kenya got off to a solid start, cruising to 45 for 1 with Maurice Ouma and David Obuya quick to punish the bevy of leg-side treats. Leverock found one which kept low on Ouma who was trapped in front, but David Obuya muscled his way to a brisk 72-ball fifty before offering Leverock a return catch. And Leverock picked up his third to dismiss Tony Suji, leaving Kenya wobbling on 97 for 3.
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