Report
Taylor anchors Zimbabwe to historic win
For a few minutes at a chilly Newlands, Australia, the pre-tournament favourites, wobbled against Zimbabwe, slipping to 19 for 3 as the 15,000 crowd dared to think the unthinkable. They staged a recovery of sorts but were never at anything like their bes
The Bulletin by Martin Williamson
12-Sep-2007
Zimbabwe 139 for 5 (Taylor 60*, Clark 2-22) beat Australia 138 for 9 (Hodge 35*, Chigumbura 3-20) by five wickets
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It was a night to remember for cricket fans everywhere except for Australia. Zimbabwe played out of their skins, Australia looked rusty, and, after the drama of a rain delay with Australia ahead on Duckworth-Lewis, Zimbabwe, who had been wobbling when the rain hit, edged to a memorable, wonderful five-wicket win off the penultimate delivery. Two years ago to the day Australia lost the Ashes at The Oval. This game might have lacked the importance of that one, but it was a damn sight more embarrassing for them.
And lest anyone think this was a fluke, it was not. For almost the entire game Zimbabwe were, almost unbelievably, on top. Written off by everyone other than the ICC president, Ray Mali - the bookmakers had Australia at 50-1 on - they bowled sensibly, fielded like demons and, initially, batted with wisdom. A newcomer to Newlands might be thinking that they were the world champions and the side in the skin-tight yellow and grey lycra were the no-hopers.
Full postAfridi and Gul overwhelm Scotland
A devastating allround show from Shahid Afridi and some penetrative quick bowling from Umar Gul eased the path to a comfortable 51-run victory
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
12-Sep-2007
Pakistan 171 for 9 (Younis 41, Wright 3-29) beat Scotland 120 (Watts 46, Afridi 4-19, Gul 4-25) by 51 runs
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How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Just like Ireland before them at the 50-over World Cup, Scotland punched
well above their weight against a strangely listless Pakistan at
Kingsmead, but a devastating allround show from Shahid Afridi and some
penetrative quick bowling from Umar Gul eased the path to a comfortable
51-run victory. When Pakistan slumped to 50 for 3, and again when Fraser
Watts played some punishing shots at the start of the innings, there was a
glimmer of an upset, but Younis Khan's 41 and Afridi's intervention with
the ball ensured that there was no danger of that ignominious Sabina Park
defeat being reprised.
Watts made a brilliant 46 from just 35 balls before his attempt to wallop
Mohammad Hafeez out of the ground flew to Imran Nazir at short third man.
By then, Afridi already had the wickets of Gavin Hamilton and Neil
McCallum, both to slogs into the deep, and when he added the scalps of
Dougie Brown and Colin Smith, the contest was effectively over. Craig
Wright, the former captain who had starred with 3 for 29 added 14 with the
bat, but with Gul's yorkers proving lethal, the last few overs were a
formality.
Full postNew Zealand decimate Kenya by nine wickets
New Zealand romped to a nine-wicket win after bowling Kenya out for the lowest-ever score in Twenty20 internationals, 73
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
12-Sep-2007
New Zealand 74 for 1 (Vincent 27) beat Kenya 73 (Collins Obuya 18, Gillespie 4-7) by nine wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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After the run-fest at the Wanderers on Tuesday night, it was back to
normalcy and worse for Kenya at Kingsmead. New Zealand may have enjoyed a
lengthy off-season and gone through a change at the top, with Daniel
Vettori taking over from Stephen Fleming, but out on the pitch, it was
very much normal service as the World Cup semi-finalists romped to a
nine-wicket win after bowling Kenya out for the lowest-ever score in
Twenty20 internationals, 73.
Shane Bond, Mark Gillespie, Chris Martin and Vettori exploited the extra
bounce on a well-grassed pitch to bowl the hapless Kenyans out with 19
balls remaining of the 20 overs, and it took New Zealand just 7.4 overs to
announce their intent. But for a 36-run partnership for the fifth wicket
between Thomas Odoyo and Collins Obuya, it might have been immeasurably
worse. A late flourish from Rajesh Bhudia and Jimmy Kamande nudged the
total further towards respectability, but it was never going to stretch a
powerful New Zealand line-up.
Full postLancashire rip through Warwickshire
A round-up from the latest County Championship matches
Cricinfo staff
11-Sep-2007
Lancashire's title hopes were boosted at Old Trafford by Glen Chapple and Saj Mahmood who each claimed four wickets to knock over Warwickshire for 106. Dominic Cork claimed the other two. But Lancashire didn't have things all their own way, reaching 156 for 4, with Paul Horton falling shortly before the close for 71.
Relegation threatened Kent frustrated Hampshire on the opening day at The Rose Bowl, reaching 342 for 5. Martin van Jaarsveld proved particularly difficult to budge, and he was unbeaten on 112 by stumps. Joe Denly and Rob Key combined with an opening stand of 122, and each made a fifty, before Shane Warne finally made the breakthrough, claiming Denly. Hampshire did strike back with three wickets in the final season, but Kent will be pleased with progress.
Robin Martin-Jenkins' 77 led Sussex to 293 against Durham at Chester-le-Street. But he was left stranded as Ottis Gibson - whose prolonged purple patch continues - mopped up, to end with four wickets, taking his season's tally to 72, a record for Durham. Graham Onions also grabbed three. Durham then eased to 115 for 1, Mark Stoneman unbeaten on 56. Michael Di Venuto was the only faller; he made 28.
Full postBromley edge thrilling Cockspur Cup final
Bromley from Kent won the Cockspur Cup with a tense four-run victory over Kidworth from Leicestershire at a sun-drenched Lord's
Martin Williamson at Lord's
11-Sep-2007
Bromley 179 (Wells 64, Watson 47, Renshaw 3-21) beat Kibworth 175 (Hanger 40, Sheen 4-30) by five runs
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Bromley, last year's beaten finalists, batted first and didn't seem to have made enough when they were bowled out for 179 in the last over of their innings. But Kibworth, who made a solid start to their reply, lost wickets at key stages and in the end they were left needing nine to win with two wickets in hand off the last over.
Nobody could accuse James Butterfill, Bromley's captain, of lacking courage as he brought himself on to bowl. His third ball was a long hop which Mahmood tried to hit out of the ground but was bowled, and off the final ball Chris Hill, Kibworth's No.11 fell to a catch a couple of yards inside the short midwicket boundary as he went for the six needed for glory.
Full postGibbs sees South Africa home after Gayle fireworks
Chris Gayle's stunning century was not enough to prevent a loss to South Africa in the first match of the ICC World Twenty20
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
11-Sep-2007
South Africa 208 for 2 (Gibbs 90*, Kemp 46*) beat West Indies 205 for 6 (Gayle 117, van der Wath 2-33) by eight wickets
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How they were out
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Chris Gayle's stunning century - the highest score in the history of the Twenty20 game, surpassing Ricky Ponting's 98 - turned out to be a pyrrhic effort as a dazzling 90 from Herschelle Gibbs, helped by some wretched bowling and fielding, piloted South Africa home with 14 balls remaining, the highest score chased down in 20 internationals. West Indies dropped three catches and bowled a staggering 23 wides in a slipshod display epitomised by Dwayne Smith's two overs for 37 runs.
South Africa's refusal to succumb was best illustrated by the courage of their captain, Graeme Smith. After being struck a sickening blow on the right wrist off the first ball of a superb opening over from Daren Powell, Smith carried on with typical bullishness, muscling the ball over the leg side and through cover using his bottom hand. By the time he thumped one straight to cover and departed to the hospital for X-rays, he had 28 from 21, and South Africa the ideal platform on which to build.
Gibbs did that with some delightful heaves and drives, and even a clever dink down to fine leg off Dwayne Bravo. He also enjoyed two reprieves, with Bravo grassing one at deep cover when he had made 20 and Shivnarine Chanderpaul spilling one at deep square leg after he had reached 43. With West Indies showering wides around like confetti, the run-rate never spiralled out of control, and AB de Villiers did his part with a brisk 16 before a miscue off the impressive Fidel Edwards was pouched by Denesh Ramdin.
Full postMumbai champions after drawn final
Karachi managed to hold on to a draw after being forced to follow-on on the fourth and final day of the Nissar Trophy match against Mumbai
Cricinfo staff
11-Sep-2007
Karachi Urban 172 for 4 (Saeed 47*, Kamal 38*) and 389 drew with Mumbai 623 for 6 dec
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Karachi managed to hold on to a draw after being forced to follow-on on the fourth and final day of the Nissar Trophy match but visitors Mumbai ensured the trophy stayed in India, declared winners on first innings lead. Bowled out for 389 in their first innings after resuming overnight on 339 for seven, Karachi survived a few hiccups, including two quick wickets falling twice in their second innings, but managed to bat out the rest of the overs without further loss.
Khurram Manzoor was Karachi's hero as he compiled a career-best 200 but failed to save his team from a follow-on. Resuming on 167, Manzoor did not get much support from the tail and was the last man out after hitting 28 fours and a brace of sixes in his 427-ball knock. The 21-year old, playing in only his twenty-third first-class match, already has four centuries and three fifties.
Vikrant Yeligati was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers and finished with three wickets while Iqbal Abdulla, Abhishek Nayar and Aavishkar Salvi grabbed two wickets each.
Full postManzoor keeps Karachi afloat
A battling unbeaten century by opener Khurram Manzoor kept Karachi Urban afloat against Mumbai as the hosts ended the third day of their Nissar Trophy tie still 284 runs behind the visitor's mammoth 623 in their first innings
Cricinfo staff
10-Sep-2007
Karachi Urban 339 for 7 (Manzoor 167*, Nasir 92, Salvi 2-67) trail Mumbai 623 for 6 dec by 284 runs
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A battling unbeaten century by opener Khurram Manzoor kept Karachi Urban afloat against Mumbai as the hosts ended the third day of their Nissar Trophy tie still 284 behind the visitors' mammoth first innings total of 623. Manzoor's sixth-wicket partnership of 175 with Saeed Bin Nasir rescued the home team from a possible follow-on position after a shaky start.
Resuming from an overnight total of 30 for 1, Karachi lost their second wicket in the fifth over of the day as Amin-ur-Rehman was trapped in front by Aavishkar Salvi for only 9. Asif Zakir did not last too long either as he edged an outswinger from Abhishek Nayar to be dismissed for 11. Hasan Raza, Karachi's captain, and Asim Kamal, who has played 12 Tests for Pakistan, failed to provide any support to Manzoor and gave away their wickets cheaply as well. Raza was run out for 12 while Kamal could only manage 25.
Nasir then joined Manzoor with half of Karachi's side already back in the pavilion for only 163 runs. Their 175-run stand, off only 51 overs, brought some stability to the innings. Nasir, the more aggressive of the two, smashed 12 boundaries and looked all set for three figures before being run out on 92 three overs before stumps.
Full postLatif and Hameed crush Australia's spirits
Khalid Latif scored an unbeaten 142 to drive Pakistan A past the target of 332 and secure a 3-0 series win over Australia A at Lahore
Cricinfo staff
09-Sep-2007
Pakistan A 335 for 4 (Khalid Latif 142*, Hameed 108, Naved Latif 66) beat Australia A 331 for 9 (Rogers 112, Ronchi 67, Voges 58, Amjad 5-50) by six wickets
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Khalid Latif scored an unbeaten 142 to drive Pakistan A past the target of 332 and secure a 3-0 series cleansweep over Australia A at Lahore. Latif set up the victory with a 203-run second-wicket partnership with Yasir Hameed, who made his second century of the one-day series as the Australia bowlers struggled to have any impact.
Latif opened the innings and was there as the winning runs were struck with 16 balls to spare. His 142 came off 130 balls but it was his collaboration with Hameed that disheartened the visitors. Hameed belted 15 fours and a six in his 108 - the same score he made in the first match - and when he was finally removed by Dan Cullen Pakistan were sitting on a healthy 207 for 2.
Full postWoodhouse Grange lift npower Village Cup
Woodhouse Grange lifted the Village Cup for the second time
Jenny Thompson at Lord's
09-Sep-2007
Woodhouse Grange 221 for 4 (Hadfield 73) beat Findon 220 for 2 (Kingsbury 103*) by six wickets
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It's the best value ticket in town, but also sadly the best-kept secret: free entry for the npower Village Cup final at Lord's. Still, the several thousand spectators who took advantage were rewarded with another tense final to match last year's, with Woodhouse Grange sealing the win in the penultimate over.
It's the second time the Yorkshire side have lifted the trophy and their third appearance in the final. Their captain Steve Burdett said he was confident that on a blameless track, Findon's 220 for 2 from their 40 overs wouldn't be enough and so it proved, with a well-paced chase that had its tense moments.
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