Report
Harris and McMillan pick up hundreds
A round-up of the third day's play in the first round of State Championship matches
Dylan Cleaver
17-Nov-2006
For the umpteenth time in his career Chris Harris bailed Canterbury out of an awkward spot today, hitting a measured and unbeaten 103 as their game against Otago meandered towards a draw . Harris shared a 162-run partnership with Craig McMillan, who hit 101 and is pressing a claim for an unlikely recall to the national side for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, as Canterbury finished the third day on 330 for 7.
McMillan has made his displeasure at being dropped abundantly clear but this time he was doing his talking with the bat. With Scott Styris unlikely to play in the first Test, there is an outside chance McMillan could fill the slot. He eventually fell to his cousin, James McMillan, who ended the day with 5 for 77, an impressive return on a docile wicket.
Otago will almost certainly claim first innings points tomorrow, but Harris will make it as difficult as possible.
Full postJewell earns hundred in drawn game
Nick Jewell and Brad Hodge made the most of their time at the crease as Victoria and Tasmania played out a predictable draw at the MCG
Brydon Coverdale at the MCG
17-Nov-2006
Victoria 6 for 429 dec and 1 for 192 (Jewell 100*, Hodge 66*) drew with Tasmania 518 (Di Venuto 129, Bailey 101, Marsh 95*, Moss 4-70)
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Nick Jewell and Brad Hodge made the most of their time at the crease as Victoria and Tasmania played out a predictable draw at the MCG. The Tigers reached 518, passing Victoria's 429 in the morning session, and then it was glorified batting practice for the Bushrangers as the captains ignored the chance to manufacture a result on the sunniest day of a rain-affected game.
After bowling well for no return on Thursday, Shane Warne gave Victoria the sniff of a first-innings lead by snaring Brett Geeves caught and bowled for 18. When Brendan Drew played down the wrong line and was bowled by Gerard Denton for 3, Tasmania were 8 for 427 and still needed three runs to pass Victoria.
Full postLehmann keeps England on their toes
Shaun Tait struck a telling blow to justify Darren Lehmann's declaration after he had saved South Australia from embarrassment on day one of the tour match against England
Cricinfo staff
17-Nov-2006
England XI 1 for 24 trail South Australia 7 for 247 dec (Lehmann 99, Borgas 73, Hoggard 3-40) by 223 runs
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Shaun Tait struck a telling blow to justify Darren Lehmann's declaration after he had saved South Australia from embarrassment on day one of the tour match against England. The home side was 4 for 25 after an early blast from Matthew Hoggard, but Lehmann revived South Australia with a classy 99 before he closed the innings at 7 for 247.
Tait, who was picked in a 13-man squad for the first Test on Thursday, delivered three high-speed overs and picked up Andrew Strauss lbw with his second legitimate ball. The first attempt was a wide and his direction during the mini-spell was a concern at times, but he readjusted to beat Strauss and finished with 1 for 11. Alastair Cook was unbeaten on 6 while Hoggard, the nightwatchman, was 10 not out as England reached 1 for 24 at stumps.
Full postSteyn puts the skids under India
India's tour of South Africa got off to a shaky start when they lost to Rest of South Africa by 37 runs at Benoni
Cricinfo staff
16-Nov-2006
Rest of South Africa 255 for 8 (Rudolph 72*, Morkel 57) beat Indians 218 (Dravid 79, Steyn 5-22) by 37 runs
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While the loss only three days before the opening match of the five-ODI series was not the ideal start, the real concern was the manner of the defeat. Only a face-saving seventh-wicket stand of 82 from 105 balls between Rahul Dravid and Irfan Pathan saved India from humiliation as they slid to 82 for 6 in reply to the home side's 255 for 8.
The damage was done by Dale Steyn, a fast bowler who the Indians are likely to see much more of before the tour is out, who took 5 for 22. Although he is earmarked as a Test specialist, he bowled at up to 150kph and sent a clear message to the selectors. In his first spell he removed Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Jaffer - Jaffer only played in place of Virender Sehwag, who needed stitches in a hand after misjudging a catch in fielding practice shortly before the game.
Full postNorth Zone lift Duleep Trophy
Despite Malinda Warnapura's battling hundred, North Zone clinched the Duleep Trophy with an eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka A at the Eden Gardens
Cricinfo staff
16-Nov-2006
North Zone 636 for 7 decl and 87 for 2 (Chopra 51*) beat Sri Lanka A 296 and 426 (Warnapura 149*, Rajesh Sharma 5-119) by eight wickets
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Malinda Warnapura's battling hundred came in a lost cause as North Zone clinched the Duleep Trophy with an eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka A at the Eden Gardens.
Warnapura was unbeaten on 149 in a total of 426, but a target of 87 was too easy for North, who won in 18.1 overs with Aakash Chopra backing his first-innings hundred with an unbeaten 51. This was the 17th time that North Zone had won the Duleep Trophy and they remain the most successful team in the history of this competition. Their previous triumph was in 2003-04 at Mohali.
Sri Lanka A began the day 81 runs behind, and lost four wickets in the first session. Chamara Silva, Kaushal Silva and Rangana Herath all managed quick runs but couldn't match Warnapura for resolve or skill. Overnight on 82, Warnapura was cautious while in the nineties, but brought up his hundred with a four off Ashish Nehra and collected three more in the bowler's next. As wickets tumbled at one end, Warnapura battled on.
Full postTodd powers Otago to commanding total
A round-up of the second day's play in the first round of State Championship matches
Dylan Cleaver
16-Nov-2006
Otago poured on the runs and the misery against a star-studded Canterbury when they declared on 601 on the second day
of their State Championship match in Christchurch. Incidentally, it was just one run less than their record score against Canterbury.
Greg Todd, in his first match back for Otago after a horrific leg injury he suffered last season, hit a career-best 160. He was well supported by wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins (38) while bowlers Bradley Scott (52*) and Craig Smith (49) put on 75 for the ninth wicket.
In reply, Canterbury limped to stumps at 144 for 4. Brendon McCullum, in the unfamiliar role as an opener, blitzed his way to 67 off just 72 deliveries, but found little support. Peter Fulton (17) and Nathan Astle (6) both fell to McCullum's brother Nathan. Much of Canterbury's resistance tomorrow will centre on Craig McMillan and Chris Harris, both at the crease.
Full postDi Venuto and Bailey put Tigers on top
Centuries to Michael Di Venuto and George Bailey overshadowed the brief Shane Warne-Ricky Ponting contest in the Pura Cup match between Victoria and Tasmania at the MCG
Brydon Coverdale at the MCG
16-Nov-2006
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Tasmania 6 for 393 (Di Venuto 129, Bailey 101, Ponting 51, Moss 4-58) trail Victoria 6 for 429 dec by 36 runs
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Centuries to Michael Di Venuto and George Bailey overshadowed the brief Shane Warne-Ricky Ponting contest in the Pura Cup match between Victoria and Tasmania at the MCG. Di Venuto's 37th first-class hundred - he made 129 - and the fourth for Bailey (101) put the Tigers within reach of first-innings points, but when Jon Moss took three late wickets Tasmania were 6 for 393 chasing Victoria's 429.
Di Venuto was rock solid for most of the day, taking few risks in his 244-ball innings. He hit 11 fours, pulled a loose Andrew McDonald delivery for six and put Warne over the boundary at long-off, but also appeared comfortable in defence. He and Bailey added 167 for the fourth wicket after Cameron White had given Victoria the momentum with two wickets in the last over before lunch.
Full postWarnapura leads Sri Lankan resistance
Malinda Warnapura led Sri Lanka A's resistance on a day on which North Zone struggled to maintain their control over the Duleep Trophy final at the Eden Gardens
Cricinfo staff
15-Nov-2006
Sri Lanka A 259 for 4 (Warnapura 82*) trail North Zone 636 for 7 decl (Rawat 104*) by 81 runsScorecard
Malinda Warnapura led Sri Lanka A's resistance on a day on which North Zone struggled to maintain their control over the Duleep Trophy final at the Eden Gardens. North declared as soon as Mahesh Rawat got to his hundred in the morning, and the bowlers grabbed a few early wickets, but Warnapura's unbeaten 82 ensured the home side worked hard for their wickets before bad light forced an early close with Sri Lanka A 81 runs behind.
Warnapura, who hit his second half-century of the match, shared in stands of 68 and 90 for the third and fourth wickets with Thilan Samaraweera and Jehan Mubarak, and was by far the most fluent scorer for the Sri Lankans. Slow of the blocks, he opened up with fours off Rajesh Sharma and Ashish Nehra and retracted after the loss of a partner. Compared to his first-innings 81-ball 65, this was a far more measured effort, but crucial given the lead conceded to North.
No other batsman dominated the bowling - though Chamara Silva did begin with boundaries peppered across the field in the final session - but Sri Lanka A did well to keep North Zone in the hunt.
Full postWhite shines with 150 despite rain and hail
Cameron White posted his highest Pura Cup score on a day when only 33 overs were possible as rain and hail provided constant interruptions at the MCG
Brydon Coverdale at the MCG
15-Nov-2006
Tasmania 0 for 21 trail Victoria 6 for 429 dec (Hodge 153, White 150*, Griffith 3-77) by 408 runs
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Cameron White posted his highest Pura Cup score on a day when only 33 overs were possible as rain and hail provided constant interruptions at the MCG. But the day ended on a sour note for Victoria when Mick Lewis left the field with a hip injury as Tasmania replied to the Bushrangers' 6 for 429 declared. Victoria's fast-bowling stocks are already depleted and it could leave Gerard Denton to shoulder most of the pace burden for this match with backup from Andrew McDonald and Jon Moss.
Victoria added 100 runs to their overnight score in a stop-start innings. After an opening session that lasted only six minutes due to poor weather, McDonald was the only wicket to fall, getting a thick edge to the wicketkeeper Sean Clingeleffer off the bowling of Adam Griffith for 22.
Full postOtago top order comes good against Canterbury
A round-up of the first day's play in the first round of State Championship matches
Dylan Cleaver
15-Nov-2006
A run-scoring avalanche from Otago's top-order would have given coach Mike Hesson a warm glow as first-class cricket made a chilly return in Christchurch. The visitors were outstanding on the opening day of the season against a depleted Canterbury attack, ending the day on 352 for 4. The only sour notes were the fact that none of Otago's top four could reach three figures and that Neil Broom was dismissed on the last ball of the day after a bright cameo (45 off 54 balls).
Before him openers Craig Cumming (63), hoping for an international recall, and Jordan Sheed set the tone with an opening stand of 119. Aaron Redmond (75) and Greg Todd (77 not out) then shared an identical third-wicket stand before Redmond chipped out to point when a century beckoned on a flat wicket with a fast outfield. Leighton Burtt was the best of the eight Canterbury bowlers captain Chris Harris turned to, taking 2 for 78 from 19 overs.
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