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Faisal leads Pakistan's fightback
A late-order fightback by Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Sami ensured Pakistan A ended the second day of the second Test against Australia A on 238 for 8 after resuming on 22 for 3
Cricinfo staff
20-Sep-2007
Pakistan A 238 for 8 (Faisal 74, Sarfraz 56*, Bollinger 3-9) trail Australia A 293 by 55 runs
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A late-order fightback by Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Sami ensured Pakistan A ended the second day of the second Test against Australia A on 238 for 8 after resuming on 22 for 3.
The day did not start well for Pakistan as they lost their fourth wicket for the addition of only three runs when Khurram Manzoor, who was included in the team in place of Hasan Raza, became Doug Bollinger's second victim and Luke Ronchi's fourth catch of the innings. Naved Latif then formed an 86-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Faisal Iqbal, Pakistan's captain, as Pakistan crossed the 100-mark without any further loss.
Full postSurrey dent Lancashire's title hopes
A round-up from the second day of the final round of matches in the County Championship's Division One
Cricinfo staff at The Oval
20-Sep-2007
Lancashire's hopes of their first outright Championship title since 1934 are fading with every passing day at The Oval. Surrey declined to enforce the follow-on after dismissing them for 234 before extending their lead to 214.
Surrey bowled tidily as a collective, with Matt Nicholson and Chris Jordan particularly impressing. Nicholson exploited the early swinging conditions, and a lifting pitch, to remove Steven Croft for a duck and to trap Mark Chilton for 4. Stuart Law and Paul Horton rallied with 45 and 48 respectively, and it was left to VVS Laxman (53) and latterly Dominic Cork (46 not out) to limit the first-innings deficit.
Laxman batted with his customary authority until he fell, pulling hard to long leg off the rapidly emerging talent Jordan, who has slotted right into first-team cricket. Those in the know are already tipping him as Young Cricketer of the Year for 2008.
Like Nicholson, Jordan used the conditions to bowl with pace and hostility; his last two victims - Oliver Newby (0) and Gary Keedy (2) - were both beaten for pace and fended through to the keeper, although replays showed the ball had brushed Newby's arm. Cork was the lone battler and he enjoyed the challenge, even smacking an audacious six for good measure. But not for fun: Lancashire badly want this title.
Full postChampions drive home their advantage
A round-up from the second day of the final round of matches in the County Championship's Division Two
Cricinfo staff
20-Sep-2007
When Somerset gained promotion, Andy Caddick looked back fondly on beating Nottinghamshire at Taunton earlier this season, saying it gave him a marker of the kind of opposition they could expect in the top flight. In which case, he will be delighted with another crushing day at Trent Bridge - Somerset piling up 469 to take a first-innings lead of 311. Marcus Trescothick and Ian Blackwell converted their seventies to hundreds, and there was also a century for Peter Trego. Nottinghamshire, though, weren't finished: their second innings got off to a solid start before Mike Munday removed both openers in successive overs.
Essex's seam bowling quartet took full advantage of a Chelmsford wicket that had more pace than normal. With the ball also swinging, Tony
Palladino was the pick of the bowlers as he recorded a season's best 4 for 44 before claiming the wicket of Andrew Strauss for the second time in the day - caught by Varun Chopra at slip - after Middlesex were forced to follow on 194 runs behind.
Graham Wagg's seventh first-class fifty lifted Derbyshire from an overnight 93 for 3 to 382 against Northamptonshire at Derby. The lower order weighed in with significant contributions; all of them reaching double figures.
Gloucestershire's second day against Glamorgan at Cardiff was entirely lost to rain.
Full postInspired India evict South Africa
A sensational spell of 4 for 13 from Rudra Pratap Singh dumped South Africa out of the Twenty20 party as India romped to a comprehensive 37-run victory that sealed a place in the semi-final against Australia
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
20-Sep-2007
India 153 for 5 (Rohit 50*, Dhoni 45) beat South Africa 116 for 9 (RP Singh 4-13) by 37 runs
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How they were out
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A sensational spell of 4 for 13 from Rudra Pratap Singh dumped South Africa out of the Twenty20 party as India romped to a comprehensive 37-run victory that sealed a place in the semi-final against Australia. South Africa, previously unbeaten in the competition, again proved masters of
the choke, falling 10 short of the 126 that would have taken them to the last four and eliminated New Zealand.
India, rocked by the withdrawal of Yuvraj Singh before the game with tendonitis of the left elbow, had struggled with the bat themselves, slipping to 33 for 3, but a tremendous 85-run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni propelled them to 153 for 5 on a
well-grassed pitch of variable bounce.
Full postTepid Pakistan win by four wickets
Set 141 for victory, Pakistan eased home with four wickets and six balls to spare, after Bangladesh's slow bowlers induced a mid-innings wobble
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
20-Sep-2007
Pakistan 141 for 6 (Afridi 39, Razzak 2-16) beat Bangladesh 140 (Siddique 71) by four wickets
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How they were out
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Bangladesh squandered a brilliant start by Junaid Siddique, the
19-year-old debutant who smashed 71 from just 49 balls, and Pakistan were
indebted to a blazing innings from Shahid Afridi and a late cameo from
Imran Nazir as they went into the semi-finals with a perfect record in the
Super Eights. Set 141 for victory, Pakistan eased home with four wickets
and six balls to spare, after Bangladesh's slow bowlers induced a
mid-innings wobble.
Nazir's unbeaten 27 at the end made all the difference after a sloppy
Pakistani display, and would have been especially satisfying after he had
had to retire hurt three balls into the innings, struck flush on the
unmentionables by a delivery from Mashrafe Mortaza. Having swung
Mahmudullah for a six over square leg earlier, Nazir struck two fours off
Mortaza to hasten the end.
Full postRains washes out second day's play
Persistent rain washed out the second day's play between India A and South Africa A in Dharamsala
Cricinfo staff
20-Sep-2007
Persistent rain washed out the second day's play between India A and South Africa A at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium in Dharamsala. Heavy overnight rain and more rain in the morning left the outfield completely waterlogged and unfit for play.
Umpires S K Tarapore and G A Pratap Kumar had an initial inspection at 11 am before a heavy downpour forced them to call off play after a second inspection at 1 pm.
Full postClinical Australia cruise into the semi-finals
A match billed as a winner-takes-all contest was gruesomely one-sided as Australia crushed Sri Lanka by ten wickets
Martin Williamson
20-Sep-2007
Australia 102 for 0 (Hayden 58*, Gilchrist 31* ) beat Sri Lanka 101 (Clark 4-20) by ten wickets
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Adam Gilchrist decided to stick Sri Lanka in to take advantage of any lingering moisture - this was an almost unreasonably early start to meet the demands of TV - and the move paid off handsomely. The toss was important, but Sri Lanka contributed significantly to their own downfall.
Although Australia bowled and fielded superbly, much of the blame must rest on Sri Lanka's batsmen who approached the match with a naivety that almost suggested they had never played a Twenty20 game. In the main, they perished playing ugly heaves and mows. The format calls for big hitting - Sri Lanka decided to go for reckless slogging.
Full postPakistan A wobble after Ronchi century
A lively century from Luke Ronchi gave Australia A a respectable total before the Pakistan A top order threatened to disintegrate in the second Test at Lahore
Cricinfo staff
20-Sep-2007
Pakistan A 22 for 3 (Hopes 2-0) trail Australia A 293 (Ronchi 107, Jaques 82) by 271 runs
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A lively century from Luke Ronchi gave Australia A a respectable total before the Pakistan A top order threatened to disintegrate in the second Test at Lahore. At stumps on the first day the home side was 22 for 3, still trailing Australia by 271 runs.
Khurram Manzoor was the only Pakistan batsman to get off the mark and he was unbeaten on 20 at the close, with Naved Latif yet to score. Doug Bollinger had Khalid Latif caught behind for 0 and James Hopes, who finished with 2 for 0, removed Yasir Hameed and Anwar Ali, each without scoring.
Full postNottinghamshire secure promotion
A round-up from the first day of the final round of matches in the County Championship's Division Two
Cricinfo staff
19-Sep-2007
With the promotion issues all but settled, there was a low-key feeling to the final round of matches in Division Two, especially as all the attention was centred on the Division One title race.
The only hypothetical matter to be resolved came about in the afternoon when Nottinghamshire secured the one point they needed to cement their promotion. They may have been bowled out for 158 at Trent Bridge by title-winners Somerset, but that was enough. Charl Willoughby took 4 for 39 from 14 overs, and Peter Trego three, as they weaved their way through the line-up, with only Mark Wagh's 41 standing out. Marcus Trescothick led Somerset's first-innings reply, his unbeaten 76 taking them to a 36-run lead with six wickets still remaining and Ian Blackwell on 70 not out. This means that Notts, like Surrey last year, have immediately bounced back to the top division following relegation.
Essex took charge against Middlesex at Chelmsford where Grant Flower's hundred steered them to 345 for 7 amid the late-season chill. Flower was unbeaten on 145 at the close, but Middlesex should have had him when he had made 25 but Ed Smith spilt a fairly straightforward chance at first slip.
Flower's main support came from James Foster, the pair adding 181 for the fifth wicket before Flower sold his partner down the river by calling for a suicidal run to Andrew Strauss at point with Foster four short of a hundred for the second time in successive Championship matches.
Full postRamprakash frustrates Lancashire
A round-up from the first day of the final round of matches in the County Championship's Division One
Cricinfo staff at The Oval
19-Sep-2007
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While he took a while to get into his well-worn groove, in the afternoon session and beyond it was clear that nothing could stop him. In recent one-day matches, it seems teams have only been able to run him out, and he survived two near misses. He was also nearly yorked by Glen Chapple, but he survived and took handsome advantage - moving on to 180 by the time bad light brought an early close.
Despite the importance of this match, there were only the customary few witnessing Ramprakash's exploits, and those of James Benning who joined him for a rapid fifty off 25 balls - his sixth first-class half-century - which injected some momentum before his leading edge to silly mid-off brought a tame end to a fiery innings.
Butcher's decision to bat in humid, overcast conditions and an early start, raised a few eyebrows - particularly when Batty fell for a duck to the incisive and hostile Saj Mahmood. Ramprakash and Newman, though, battened down the hatches to weather some threatening early bowling.
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