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Rains 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
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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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.
Full postYuvraj onslaught overwhelms England
Yuvraj Singh did a Garry Sobers on his way to an astonishing 12-ball half-century and though England's response was a hard-hitting one India held on for an 18-run victory
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
19-Sep-2007
India 218 for 4 (Sehwag 68, Yuvraj 58) beat England 200 for 6 (Collingwood 28, Pathan 3-33) by 18 runs
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How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-details
How they were out
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Yuvraj Singh did a Garry Sobers on his way to an astonishing 12-ball
half-century as India's batsmen eviscerated the English bowling at
Kingsmead. England's response was a hard-hitting one, but with no one able
emulate Yuvraj, India held on for an 18-run victory that kept alive their
hopes of a place in the semi-finals. Vikram Solanki, Kevin Pietersen and
Paul Collingwood tilted at the windmill for a while, but a fine spell from
Irfan Pathan ensured that England went home with no wins in the Super
Eights.
India finished with 218 for 4, with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir
also making fifties, but everything that went before was eclipsed by the
penultimate over in which Yuvraj came out swinging against a hapless
Stuart Broad. There had been an altercation of sorts with Andrew Flintoff at the
end of the previous over, and Yuvraj took out his ire on the white ball.
The first ball was sent soaring over midwicket and nearly out of the
ground, and the second flicked behind square. After an effortless loft
over extra-cover and another biff behind point off a poor full toss, you
could sense the frisson of excitement around the ground.
Full postPetersen hundred gives South Africa A early advantage
South Africa A finished the first day of the second Test against India A at a strong 264 for 4
Cricinfo staff
19-Sep-2007
South Africa A rode on a century from Alviro Petersen to end the first day on a strong 264 for 4 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. India A's poor fielding did not help their cause on a day when the bowlers looked out of sorts.
After they had capitulated to the Indian spinners in the previous match at Delhi, the South Africans needed to take the initiative to level the two-match series. Morne van Wyk, the wicketkeeper, got their innings off to a bright start with two fours in the first over. The next over, though, he missed a ball that nipped in from Ishant Sharma and was trapped in front.
Petersen and Hamish Amla then put together a century partnership to ensure there was no repeat of the collapses at Delhi. The Indians were left to rue their fielding lapses - they dropped Petersen on 23 and gave Amla two reprieves early in his knock.
Full postKemp and Morne Morkel power SA win
A sensational four-wicket burst from Mornè Morkel and a devastating display of power-hitting from Justin Kemp took South Africa to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand, a result that saw England eliminated from the tournament
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
19-Sep-2007
South Africa 158 for 4 (Kemp 89*) beat New Zealand 153 for 8 (McMillan 48*, McCullum 38, Morkel 4-17)
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How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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A sensational four-wicket burst from Mornè Morkel and a devastating
display of power-hitting from Justin Kemp took South Africa to a
six-wicket victory over New Zealand, a result that saw England eliminated
from the tournament. Both South Africa and New Zealand will take their
places in the last four if India lose to England later on Wednesday.
Kemp thumped six sixes and half a dozen fours in as brutal a display of
shotmaking as you could hope to see, and his partnership of 65 with Mark
Boucher transformed the game after New Zealand had grabbed three early
wickets in defence of 153. In truth though, South Africa's victory was set
up by their bowlers, who fought back ferociously after Brendan McCullum
and Lou Vincent had given New Zealand the perfect start.
Full postSri Lanka storm to 64-run win
Sri Lanka's progress to 147 for 5 was often tortuous and ragged, but the value of perseverance was amply illustrated as the bowlers made short work of Bangladesh on a sluggish pitch where batsmen rarely felt at ease
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
18-Sep-2007
Sri Lanka 147 for 5 (Mubarak 31*, Jayawardene 30) beat Bangladesh 83 (Vaas 2-14, Jayasuriya 2-4) by 64 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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Sri Lanka's progress to 147 for 5 was often tortuous and ragged, but the
value of perseverance was amply illustrated as the bowlers made short work
of Bangladesh on a sluggish pitch where batsmen rarely felt at ease. While
it was the slow bowlers that starred for Bangladesh, the fast men did the
damage for Sri Lanka, with the new-ball duo of Chaminda Vaas and Dilhara
Fernando once again outstanding. The loss pushed Bangladesh out of
contention for a semi-final place, and left Sri Lanka needing to beat
Australia to progress to the final four.
Bangladesh were left to reflect on both some ordinary shot selection and
the final phase of the Sri Lankan innings, when Jehan Mubarak and
Tillakaratne Dilshan hustled the runs that had been at a premium as the
batsmen struggled in the middle overs. Their own reply started poorly,
with Nazimuddin trapped leg before in Vaas's opening over. And after the
spirited Aftab Ahmed clattered three fours in Fernando's opening over, the
bowler exacted retribution in the best possible fashion, having Tamim
Iqbal caught at third man before ripping through Aftab's defence with an
express yorker.
Full postMisbah and Malik script six-wicket win
A dazzling 117-run partnership between Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik, two of Pakistan's batting heroes from earlier in the tournament, inspired a famous six-wicket victory over Australia, a triumph that almost certainly sealed their place in the final fo
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
18-Sep-2007
Pakistan 165 for 4 (Misbah 66*, Malik 52*) beat Australia 164 for 7 (Hussey 37, Tanvir 3-31) by six wickets
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 dazzling 119-run partnership between Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik, two
of Pakistan's batting heroes from earlier in the tournament, inspired a
famous six-wicket victory over Australia, a triumph that almost certainly
sealed their place in the final four. After the relentlessly accurate
Stuart Clark had reduced Pakistan to 46 for 4, Misbah and Malik took the
bowling apart, rollicking along at 10 an over.
The spade work for victory had been done with a disciplined and enthusiastic fielding display that complemented a remarkable bowling effort from Sohail Tanvir. His
deceptive left-arm pace accounted for Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and
Michael Hussey, and though the Australians recovered from mid-innings
doldrums, the late surge never materialised.
Full post