Report

Impressive Kenya seal series

Kenya took an unassailable 2-0 lead in their series against Bermuda with a convincing seven-wicket victory at Mombasa

Cricinfo staff
12-Nov-2006
Kenya took an unassailable 2-0 lead in their series against Bermuda with a convincing seven-wicket victory at Mombasa. Thomas Odoyo continued his fine form with a four-wicket haul as Bermuda were restricted to 184 in a match reduced to 42 overs per side before Steve Tikolo and Tanmay Mishra carried Kenya home with an unbeaten stand of 103.
Odoyo set the tone for Kenya early in the day as he removed Kwame Tucker and Steve Outerbridge during his opening spell. Bermuda soon slipped to 49 for 4 but were steadied by Janeiro Tucker and David Hemp who added 67 for the fifth wicket. Hemp hit two sixes before becoming Odoyo's third wicket and Tucker fell soon after passing his half century.
Kenya began their run chase with a blaze of boundaries but were pegged back as Saleem Mukuddem claimed both openers. At 83 for 3 there was work to do but Tikolo used all his experience to ensure there were no further alarms.
Full post
Johnson pushes case for Test spot

Mitchell Johnson pressed his claims for a place in the opening Ashes Test with 4 for 56 as a Western Australia team crammed with international batting fell for 208 on the opening day of their Pura Cup meeting against Queensland at the WACA

Cricinfo staff
12-Nov-2006
Mitchell Johnson pressed his claims for a place in the opening Ashes Test with 4 for 56 as a Western Australia team crammed with international batting fell for 208 on the opening day of their Pura Cup meeting against Queensland at the WACA. Andrew Symonds chipped in with three cheap scalps before Queensland consolidated their position by reaching 1 for 66 at stumps.
Four of the Western Australia's top six - Justin Langer, Michael Hussey, Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist - will line up against England at the Gabba but none could reach fifty as Queensland's Test stars held the upper hand. Johnson's burst followed Shaun Tait's three wickets against England for the Prime Minister's XI and showed Australia's fast-bowling reserves are finding form at the right time.
Although Langer was an early casualty to Andy Bichel, the Warriors were comfortably placed on 2 for 101 at lunch with Chris Rogers striking a half century. However, shortly after the interval Johnson and Symonds swung the day towards the Bulls as eight wickets fell for 94. Hussey edged a catch to Chris Hartley behind the stumps - one of five for the innings - before the keeper also collected nivks off Gilchrist and Marcus North as Symonds weighed in.
Full post
North Zone take first day's honours

Led by Gagandeep Singh and Rajesh Sharma's crucial strikes either side of lunch, North Zone reined in a blow-hot-blow-cold Sri Lanka A and took the first day's honours at Kolkata

Cricinfo staff
12-Nov-2006


Gagandeep Singh's three wickets pegged Sri Lanka A back at Kolkata © Cricinfo
Led by Gagandeep Singh and Rajesh Sharma's crucial strikes either side of lunch, North Zone reined in a blow-hot-blow-cold Sri Lanka A and took the first day's honours in the Duleep Trophy final at Kolkata.
Gagandeep picked up the crucial wickets of Malinda Warnapura and Chamara Silva, who both hit rapid half-centuries, while Sharma's offspin ran through the lower order and restricted Sri Lanka A to 296. Openers Akash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir continued the good work, taking North to 51 for no loss when bad light forced play to be called off seven overs before the scheduled close.
Full post
First blood to Kenya

Kenya continued their dominance over Bermuda with a 79-run victory in the opening match of the three-ODI series at Mombasa Sports Club

Cricinfo staff
12-Nov-2006
Kenya continued their dominance over Bermuda with a 79-run victory in the opening match of the three-ODI series at Mombasa Sports Club.
The ground's inaugural ODI had been in doubt after heavy storms during the week - the same rains which had washed out the Intercontinental Cup tie at Nairobi Gymkhana - but the game started on time and Kenya overcame a mid-innings wobble to score 224 for 8.
Opener David Obuya continued his good form with a determined 44 and he received good support from Steve Tikolo who was on course for a fifty when he was run out by Janeiro Tucker. But Kenya's middle order wobbled and it took an unbeaten ninth-wicket stand of 66 in 7.1 overs to give the home side a decent score. Peter Ongondo blasted 26, including a four and a six, off 21 balls, while Nehemiah Odhiambo's 31 included three fours and a six. Saleem Mukuddem, who took six wickets at Nairobi, was the pick of the Bermuda bowlers with 3 for 45.
Full post
Victoria's remarkable recovery earns bonus point

Victoria engineered a massive turnaround to transform from what appeared to be a certain defeat into a bonus-point win over Tasmania at the MCG

Cricinfo staff
12-Nov-2006


Andrew McDonald claimed the key wicket of Ricky Ponting © Getty Images
Victoria engineered a massive turnaround to transform from what appeared to be a certain defeat into a bonus-point win over Tasmania at the MCG. After restricting the Bushrangers to 200, Tasmania were cruising at 1 for 74 before they spluttered to 145 all out.
Ricky Ponting did not enjoy a rare outing for his state side, falling for 10 to start the collapse, and Victoria secured their first one-day success of the summer. "We got going very well, we were 0 for 50, going along beautifully and then things came to a halt," Ponting said after the match. "The momentum went away and that cost us a win."
Jon Moss was Man of the Match for his frugal spell of 1 for 20, which tied up the Tigers middle order, while the debutant Clinton McKay also put on the brakes with 1 for 34. However, Mick Lewis created the most damage with 3 for 32 after the opener Tim Paine began with a calm 56.
Full post
Yousuf leads Pakistan's march

Pakistan's batsmen built on the good work done by the bowlers on the first day as they took charge of the first Test at Lahore



Mohammad Yousuf hit his sixth hundred of the year © Getty Images
Pakistan's batsmen built on the good work done by the bowlers on the first day as they took charge of the first Test at Lahore. Mohammad Yousuf continued his outstanding form this year with an unbeaten 107 - his 20th Test century, and his sixth hundred in 2006 - while Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik chipped in with crucial half-centuries as Pakistan moved on to 265 for 4 - a lead of 59 - before bad light brought an early halt to proceedings.
For West Indies it was a day of hard toil. They shared the honours in the opening session with three wickets, but were then thoroughly outplayed in the last two, as Yousuf and Shoaib ground out a 125-run stand for the fifth wicket, Pakistan's highest for that wicket against West Indies. The second new ball, which was taken as soon as it was available right after tea, only helped Pakistan accelerate after a fairly quiet afternoon session. The West Indians didn't help their cause in the field either - Yousuf was let off twice, by Daren Ganga at gully when on 43, and a caught-and-bowled chance by Jerome Taylor immediately after the century - while umpire Asoka de Silva might have given Yousuf a reprieve as well when he chose not to refer an appeal for stumping to the third umpire.
Full post
Jaques gives England more lead-up misery

Phil Jaques collected back-to-back centuries as New South Wales dominated the opening day of the tour game against England and added to their problems ahead of the first Test

Cricinfo staff
12-Nov-2006


Phil Jaques acknowledges the crowd on reachiing his hundred © Getty Images
Phil Jaques collected back-to-back centuries as New South Wales dominated the opening day of the tour game against England at the SCG and added to their problems ahead of the first Test. While Jaques heaped further pressure on Australia's incumbent openers with his second hundred in three days, the tourists also felt the heat in another below-par performance as New South Wales posted 5 for 325.
Simon Katich and Michael Clarke, who is pushing Shane Watson and Andrew Symonds for the No. 6 spot at Brisbane on November 23, joined Jaques in a convincing set of performances. Having scored 112 for the Prime Minister's XI on Friday, Jaques reached 107 before he was dismissed by Ashley Giles, who was the only multiple wicket-taker with 2 for 46.
Full post
Gul restricts West Indies to 206

Brian Lara's decision to bat backfired quite badly as West Indies were bundled out for 206 on the opening day at Lahore



Umar Gul bagged his third five-wicket haul in Tests to put West Indies in early trouble © Getty Images
Brian Lara's decision to bat backfired quite badly as West Indies were bundled out for 206 on the opening day at Lahore. Lara himself battled hard, scoring a classy 61 - his first half-century in Pakistan - but the rest of the batsmen struggled in murky conditions on a pitch which offered significant seam movement to the Pakistan pace attack.
Umar Gul finished with rather flattering figures of 5 for 65 - including the prized wicket of Lara - while Shahid Nazir made the early inroads with three top-order wickets. When play was called off early because of bad light, Pakistan had progressed to 39 for 1.
Full post
Rain saves Bermuda

The final day's play between Kenya and Bermuda at the Nairobi Gymkhana was abandoned after an inspection by the umpires at 1pm local time.

Cricinfo staff
08-Nov-2006
The final day's play between Kenya and Bermuda at the Nairobi Gymkhana was abandoned after an inspection by the umpires at 1pm local time. Although there had been no rain since the early hours, the ground was saturated and it was apparent from the off that there was little chance of play.
With this, Kenya lost an opportunity to finish Bermuda off. Bermuda had needed 53 runs to make Kenya bat again, with eight wickets in hand and two days to go, when rain rendered any further play impossible.
The result means that Bermuda have to beat Netherlands to have any chance of qualifying for the last four.
Full post
Australia score emphatic victory

When it came to the crunch, with a major trophy at stake, Australia's greater experience and quality came to the fore, with the bowlers showing immense resolve after being subjected to an early shellacking



Nathan Bracken's three wickets played a decisive role in Australia's victory © AFP
Having started off like a runaway train, West Indies ran out of steam, and after a couple of early hiccups and a rain delay that lasted more than two hours, Australia sauntered to their first Champions Trophy triumph. When it came to the crunch, with a major trophy at stake, Australia's greater experience and quality came to the fore, with the bowlers showing immense resolve after being subjected to an early shellacking.
Damien Martyn's 47 continued his splendid run in the tournament, and there was an invaluable 57 from Shane Watson as Australia put their jinx - they had never previously made the final - to bed in emphatic fashion. When the players finally came back out at 9pm, with 15 overs having been lost to the rain, the Duckworth-Lewis par score was pegged at 115. With a further 25 overs in which to get 71, Martyn and Watson approached the task in measured fashion.
Full post

Showing 36521 - 36530 of 42109