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Broad and Bopara pull off a thriller
Ravi Bopara and Stuart Broad, two young English cricketers with a combined age of 43, showed maturity way beyond their years to give their side a glimpse of the future, as they combined nervelessly under the Old Trafford floodlights to guide England to an
England 213 for 7 (Bopara 43*, Broad 45*) beat India 212 (Yuvraj 71, Tendulkar 55, Broad 4-51, Anderson 3-38) by 3 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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Ravi Bopara and Stuart Broad, two England players with bright futures, shone under the Old Trafford floodlights to lift their team from the brink of defeat to a three-wicket victory and a 3-1 lead in the series. Coming together with 99 still needed to overhaul India's 212, they formed a record eighth-wicket stand for England and Broad registered career-best performances with bat and ball as the target was achieved with two overs to spare.
The pair showed a maturity that had escaped the top order except for Paul Collingwood. Leaving behind the patient approach which served them so well while batting first in the previous games, they played as though warming up for next month's Twenty20 World Championship. The partnership between Bopara and Broad went to the other extreme, as the run-chase began to resemble Test cricket. It was compelling viewing.
Full postPowerful Somerset move top
Somerset moved top of Pro40 Division Two with a thumping 110-run win against Leicestershire. The batting, led by Marcus Trescothick and Justin Langer, again fired to propel Somerset to 287 and the visitors didn't make an impression
Cricinfo staff
28-Aug-2007
Somerset 287 for 6 (Trescothick 54, Langer 53, Snape 3-49) beat Leicestershire 177 (Sadler 54*, Caddick 3-40) by 110 runs
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Scorecard
Somerset moved top of Pro40 Division Two with a thumping 110-run win against Leicestershire. The batting, led by Marcus Trescothick and Justin Langer, again fired to propel Somerset to 287 and the visitors didn't make an impression.
There was no let-up from the home side's strong batting line-up after Jeremy Snape offered them first use of the pitch. Trescothick laid into the Leicestershire bowling with a 40-ball 54 before driving a catch to Snape at short extra-cover. Langer, who it 92 yesterday, continued his fine form with a robust 53 off 47 deliveries.
Leicestershire did come back into the game as Snape removed Langer and Ian Blackwell, but James Hildreth and Wes Durston played expertly in the closing overs and added 86.
Full postWalker keeps Lancashire at bay
Matt Walker held Kent together on the opening day against Lancashire with an unbeaten 139 to frustrate the title challengers
Cricinfo staff
28-Aug-2007
Kent 320 for 7 (Walker 139*) v Lancashire
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Scorecard
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Muralitharan had claimed two wickets as Kent struggled to 236 for 7 after being asked to bat. But Walker found solid support from Simon Cook as the pair added 84 for the eighth wicket during the final session. Walker's century was his second of season and contained 20 fours and a six.
Kent's innings needing stablising when he came in after Glen Chapple removed Joe Denly and Martin van Jaarsveld in two balls. Robert Key then edged Oliver Newby into the slips as the home side tottered on 50 for 3.
Full postDurham crush woeful Yorkshire
John Ward reports from the Pro40 clash between Durham and Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street
John Ward at Chester-le-Street
27-Aug-2007
Durham 126 for 1 (Mustard 66*) beat Yorkshire 122 (McGrath 50, Wiseman 3-34, Gibson 2-6) by nine wickets
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Scorecard
Yorkshire's top batting order these days goes out to meet opposing bowlers with all the omnipotence of the Titanic facing an iceberg. For the second successive day, the county threw away a match in the first few minutes with a display of complete incompetence.
Durham at Riverside were the beneficiaries, winning the match by nine wickets. Yorkshire again won the toss, but it did them even less good on Monday than on Sunday. Within minutes their top three were back in the dressing room, all without scoring and with only a wide on the board. Jacques Rudolph was bowled by the first ball of the match, Craig White was lbw and Gerard Brophy flicked a catch straight to midwicket.
Ottis Gibson, as he so often does, was the main tormentor, but basically it was feeble batting against bread-and-butter bowling. Some balls moved off the pitch, and it was the off-cutter, so successful against Yorkshire in recent matches, that removed the luckless White. Inzamam-ul-Haq, once again, was also to fall lbw, this time for 7. Not until the sixth over, after nine extras, was the first run scored off the bat, and in the eighth Anthony McGrath, captain for the day in the absence of Darren Gough with a sore shin, hit the first boundary. Only three more were to follow in the entire innings, plus a six from Bresnan.
Full postEngland fight back too late
England women romped to an emphatic victory to crush New Zealand by six wickets after rolling them for 72
Cricinfo staff
27-Aug-2007
England 73 for 4 (Taylor 49*) beat New Zealand 72 (Gunn 4-27, Guha 4-11) by six wickets
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Isa Guha and Jenny Gunn both took four wickets each as Rowan Milburn topscored with 15, one of two New Zealand players - with Haidee Tiffen - to reach double figures. Guha finished with 4 for 11, and Gunn was similarly fiery with 4 for 27.
Sarah Taylor stood firm for an unbeaten 49 that was made either side of a lunch break, and Gunn was on hand to help her seal the win following some early wickets. England were never in danger of losing this match, though, after a polished bowling performance.
Full postInspired England secure easy win
An inspired performance in the field helped England snatch a 42-run win against India at Edgbaston to go 2-1 up in the series
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
27-Aug-2007
England 281 for 8 (Bell 79, Collingwood 44, RP Singh 3-55) beat India 239 (Ganguly 72, Dravid 56, Anderson 3-32) by 42 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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An enthralling series swung back England's way at Edgbaston with a well-constructed 42-run victory. Chasing 282, India made a decent fist of the pursuit as Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid added 104 in nearly 20 overs, but Chris Tremlett removed both in a vital second spell. Paul Collingwood enjoyed a fine all-round game with 44, two wickets and a couple of sharp catches, while Ian Bell's 79 had held the batting together.
It was a superb collective effort from England's bowlers, without the services of Andrew Flintoff with a knee injury. James Anderson led the display with another mature performance - removing Sachin Tendulkar for the fifth time this summer - and was backed-up by an excellent early spell from Stuart Broad. Tremlett , England's most expensive bowler at Bristol, bounced back from watching his first two overs go for 20 with the key double of Dravid and Ganguly in the space of six balls.
Full postMason constructs New Zealand series win
Aimee Mason's century powered New Zealand to the series win in the fourth one-dayer
Cricinfo staff
26-Aug-2007
New Zealand 239 for 9 (Mason 111) beat England 198 (SC Taylor 72, Greenway 40) by 43 runs
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Aimee Mason's century powered New Zealand to the series win in the fourth one-dayer. They now have an unassailable 3-0 lead, thanks largely to Mason's effort (her second one-day ton - making it two in five weeks) lighting up Blackpool on an already sunny day.
New Zealand were in some difficulty at 109 for 4, but Mason and Sarah Tsukigawa came together to put on 94 in just under an hour.
Full postTrinidad & Tobago complete clean sweep
The first ICC Americas Women's Championship ended on a celebratory note with a match between a select Americas XI and the Trinidad & Tobago Under-17 team
Martin Vieira in Toronto
26-Aug-2007
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The first ICC Americas Women's Championship ended on a celebratory note with a match between a select Americas XI and the Trinidad & Tobago Under-17 team, as well as two 20/20 matches between mixed teams comprising players from Canada, Bermuda and Argentina who took part in the tournament.
In the show match of the day, T&T recorded a comfortable five-wicket win over the Americas XI, knocking off the required 186 in only 35.5 overs. The Americas XI had compiled a useful 185 for 7 in their 50 overs after being sent in, but this ultimately proved to be nowhere near enough to challenge their youthful opponents.
The Americas XI batting line-up performed solidly, but could never quite pick up the tempo and gain some momentum until late in the innings against the disciplined and tidy Trinidad & Tobago bowlers and fielders.
Full postTaibu's ton in vain as SA complete clean sweep
South Africa staved off a spirited run-chase to complete a successful weekend double-header, beating Zimbabwe by 28 runs in the most competitive match of the series to seal it 3-0
The Bulletin by Jamie Alter
26-Aug-2007
South Africa 323 for 9 (de Villiers 107, Albie Morkel 97) beat Zimbabwe 295 for 7 (Taibu 107*, Masakadza 48) by 28 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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South Africa staved off a spirited run-chase to complete a successful weekend double-header, beating Zimbabwe by 28 runs in the most competitive match of the series to seal it 3-0. The best crowd of this short one-sided series, sipping their lager and working their grills on a lazy Sunday, witnessed two South Africans get into Twenty20 mode at the Harare Sports Club. Albie Morkel and AB de Villiers laid the platform for a total of 323 for 9 but Tatenda Taibu showed his immense value to this Zimbabwean outfit, scoring an unbeaten 107 to ensure that they came out of this match with their reputation enhanced.
Zimbabwe's run chase, kicked off by Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza and highlighted by Taibu, was the most spirited this side has seen in some time. Both openers reserved plenty of contempt for Makhaya Ntini during their 76-run stand: Sibanda, arguably Zimbabwe's best batsman off the back foot, set the tone with early fours off him and welcomed him back into the attack later with swats over square leg. In the next over, Ntini looked on as Masakadza hit three in a row, all off the back foot, through cover, midwicket and over mid-on.
Full postDavies and Hick keep Worcestershire top
Worcestershire made Taunton a home away from home with a six-wicket win against Lancashire
Cricinfo staff
25-Aug-2007
Worcestershire 255 for 4 (Davies 83, Hick 50*) beat Lancashire 254 for 6 (Laxman 85*) by six wickets
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Scorecard
Worcestershire made Taunton a home away from home with a six-wicket win against Lancashire. Steven Davies launched the run-chase with an explosive 83, giving the middle order enough breathing space against the spin of Muttiah Muralitharan and Gary Keedy, and Graeme Hick added the finishing touches as Worcestershire consolidated their position at the top of the table.
This match, a home game for Worcestershire, was played at Taunton after New Road's season was washed-out by the floods. VVS Laxman's efficient 85 was the cornerstone of Lancashire's 254, but Worcestershire knew it was a run-filled surface with a fast outfield.
Davies and Vikram Solanki made the most of the fielding restrictions adding 68 in less than 10 overs. Moeen Ali helped Davies add 76 for the second wicket, although Ali was very much the silent partner. Davies' half-century came off 44 balls, but he found life tougher against Muralitharan and eventually popped a return catch to give Lancashire hope.
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