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Australia clinch one-wicket thriller
Karen Rolton, the Australia captain, and Clea Smith added 24 for the final wicket to steal a penultimate-ball thriller over New Zealand in Brisbane
Cricinfo staff
22-Oct-2006
Australia Women 9 for 176 (Sthalekar 53) beat New Zealand Women 175 (Rolls 66) by one wicket
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Karen Rolton, the Australia captain, and Clea Smith added 24 for the final wicket to win a penultimate-ball thriller against New Zealand in Brisbane and go 2-0 up in the five-match series. Set 176 to win after a comprehensive bowling effort, Australia coughed and spluttered around Lisa Sthalekar's 53, but the last-wicket pairing held their nerve to take them home.
In the face of a relatively small total Australia lost their openers, Melissa Bulow and Leah Poulton, inside nine overs. Sthalekar dug her heels in to carry most of the innings, and record a second consecutive fifty, but New Zealand's bowlers chipped in at regular intervals to keep the game close. Louise Milliken's right-arm medium pace accounted for three wickets, but it was Helen Watson and the offspin pairing of Aimee Mason and Anna Dodd that kept the pressure on with economical spells.
Full postSouth Zone clinch big win over West Zone
A round-up of the final day of Duleep Trophy matches between East Zone and Central Zone in Indore, and West Zone and South Zone in Gwalior
Cricinfo staff
22-Oct-2006
South Zone 291 and 307 beat West Zone 180 and 168 (Jadhav 43, Kumble 3-37) by 250 runs
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A comprehensive bowling display clinched a 250-run win for South Zone against West Zone on the final day of their Duleep Trophy opener at Indore. Faced with the difficult task of scoring 359 runs on the final day, West Zone never got off the blocks against South Zone's disciplined attack.
Bad light forced an early close to proceedings yesterday, but Anil Kumble, who had bowled Jacob Martin with the delivery before stumps, struck three balls into the morning when he trapped Amol Muzumdar leg before for a duck. It would his only wicket on the day, but the rest of South Zone's bowlers each chipped in and skittled out West Zone for just 168. Dheeraj Jadhav, the opener, top-scored with 43 while Zaheer Khan slogged a 24-ball 33 down the order. South Zone picked up four points from this win.
East Zone 245 and 330 drew with Central Zone 148 and 171 for 7
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South Zone close in on victory
A round-up of the third day of Duleep Trophy matches between East Zone and Central Zone in Indore, and West Zone and South Zone in Gwalior
Cricinfo staff
21-Oct-2006
West Zone 180 and 60 for 3 require another 359 runs to beat South Zone 291 and 307 (Badrinath 65, Laxman 50, Rayudu 50, Trivedi 5-57)
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Bad light forced an early close to South Zone's march towards victory on the third day of their match against West Zone at Indore. West Zone, in pursuit of 419, limped to 60 for 3 before the umpires called off play.
South Zone resumed the day on 65 for 2, 176 ahead, and extended that lead to 418 thanks to fifties from Subraminan Badrinath, VVS Laxman and Ambati Rayudu. Badrinath and Laxman occupied the crease in a valuable 99-run stand for the fourth wicket, while Rayudu used the long handle to good effect with four sixes next to his name. Siddharth Trivedi added three wickets during the day to finish with an impressive 5 for 57.
Jacob Martin, the veteran from Baroda, was bowled by Anil Kumble in the delivery before stumps were prematurely drawn. Earlier, Lakshmipathy Balaji, the South Zone fast bowler, did not come out to bat or bowl owing to a hip injury.
Full postMartyn outclasses listless England
The pundits had been anticipating a firecracker of a contest to celebrate Diwali, but England's batsmen contrived instead to produce another damp squib, as the middle-order squandered a hugely promising opening stand from Ian Bell and Andrew Strauss to st
The Bulletin by Andrew Miller
21-Oct-2006
Australia 170 for 4 (Martyn 78, Hussey 32*) beat England 169 (Strauss 56, Watson 3-16) by six wickets
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The pundits had been anticipating a firecracker of a contest to celebrate Diwali, but England's batsmen and bowlers contrived instead to produce yet another damp squib, as Australia secured an emphatic six-wicket victory in the unofficial Ashes curtain-raiser at Jaipur. In a game full of sub-plots and psychological by-plays, Australia's greater determination won the day, as they recovered from shaky starts in both innings to win by a margin even more emphatic than the scoreline would suggest.
It was Australia's young guns, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, who stole the show with the ball, grabbing three wickets apiece as England capitulated dismally from 83 for 0 to 169 all out. And then, having lost three early wickets in reply, it was over to the old stager, Damien Martyn, on his 35th birthday, who steadied Australia's run-chase with a classy and confident 78 that included another filleting of Steve Harmison's bowling figures. Mike Hussey piloted his team home with an unbeaten 32, as England looked like becoming the first major nation to be eliminated from the ICC Champions Trophy.
Full postSri Lanka cruise to seven-wicket win
Sri Lanka, led by Upul Tharanga with the bat and Muttiah Muralitharan with the ball, rebounded emphatically from their opening game defeat to fairly thump New Zealand by seven wickets at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai
The Bulletin by Osman Samiuddin
20-Oct-2006
Sri Lanka 166 for 3 (Tharanga 56, Jayawardene 48) beat New Zealand 165 (Vettori 46, Muralitharan 4-23) by seven wickets
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Sri Lanka, led by Upul Tharanga with the bat and Muttiah Muralitharan with the ball, rebounded emphatically from their opening game defeat to fairly thump New Zealand by seven wickets at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. In the process, Group B is now deliciously open with three teams having registered a win.
No deception lay in the margin of victory. New Zealand were strangely flat through the day, despite welcoming back Scott Styris and Shane Bond and also winning the toss. Murali emerging from the mild slumber that has thus far held him hardly helped them. He finished with 4 for 23 from ten artful, often bewitching overs, ensuring that Stephen Fleming, who had won the toss and chosen to bat, would ultimately regret the decision as New Zealand lumbered apathetically to 165.
Full postWeather forces draw after Jaques half-century
Cricinfo staff
20-Oct-2006
New South Wales 304 and 5 for 190 (Jaques 79) drew with South Australia 9 for 399 dec and 198
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Rain and bad light prevented either side from making a sustained assault on victory as South Australia and New South Wales settled for a draw at the SCG. Phil Jaques laid the platform for the Blues to make a late push but the situation deteriorated once he departed for 79, which confirmed his Man-of-the-Match performance following his first-innings 163.
New South Wales began at 0 for 13 in search of 294 and were travelling comfortably at 2 for 145 when Jaques was removed by Darren Lehmann with the forecast showers approaching. Brad Haddin promoted himself to No. 5 in an effort to increase the scoring rate but he was bowled by Paul Rofe and the rain caused a 30-minute delay.
Full postAustralia seal last-ball thriller in series opener
Australia gave Karen Rolton and Cathryn Fitzpatrick the perfect result to celebrate their 100th games for their country
Cricinfo staff
20-Oct-2006
Australia Women 9 for 201 (Sthalekar 51, Rolton 44, Dodd 2-18) beat New Zealand Women 9 for 200 (Mason 71, Fitzpatrick 2-49) by one run
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A fine 71 from Aimee Mason, who hit ten fours and a six, kept the visitors in sight of the target and when she was another of the four run-outs Anna Dodd struck 15 off 10 balls to ensure a thrilling conclusion. Fitzpatrick finished with figures of 2 for 49 while Rolton, the captain, contributed with a brisk 44 after winning the toss.
Lisa Sthalekar marked her 50th one-day international by top scoring with 51 and she passed another milestone by becoming the eighth Australian to reach 1000 career runs. Melissa Bulow picked up 29 at the top of the order and some late contributions from Jodie Purves and Julie Hayes pushed Australia to 9 for 201. The second match of the five-game series is at Allan Border Field on Sunday.
Full postMacGill and Bollinger give New South Wales a chance
New South Wales will chase a further 281 for victory after Doug Bollinger and Stuart MacGill dragged the Blues back into the match against South Australia
Cricinfo staff
19-Oct-2006
New South Wales 304 (Jaques 163, Cowan 49, Tait 4-70) and 0 for 13 need 281 runs to beat South Australia 9 for 399 dec and 198 (Deitz 50, MacGill 4-46, Bollinger 4-55)
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New South Wales will chase a further 281 for victory after Doug Bollinger and Stuart MacGill dragged the Blues back into the match against South Australia at the SCG. On a day for the bowlers, Shaun Tait provided the early fireworks as the home side lost 6 for 37 to be all out for 304, giving the Redbacks a first-innings advantage of 95.
However, Bollinger, the left-arm fast man, quickly made things difficult for the visitors with three wickets and MacGill chipped in with four of the last five as South Australia were dismissed for 198. Set 294, the Blues were 0 for 13 at stumps.
Full postJaques runs into early form with 162 not out
Phil Jaques made the perfect start in his push for a berth in Australia's Test team with an unbeaten 162 against South Australia
Cricinfo staff
18-Oct-2006
New South Wales 4 for 277 (Jaques 162*, Cowan 49, Adcock 3-41) trail South Australia 9 for 399 dec (Deitz 100*, Ferguson 63, Harris 53, Nicholson 3-84) by 122 runs
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Phil Jaques made the perfect start in his push for a berth in Australia's Test team with an unbeaten 162 against South Australia at the SCG. New South Wales relied on a declaration from the Redbacks to end their first innings at 399, a total boosted by Shane Deitz's century, but the home side was in a strong position at 4 for 277 at stumps after another mostly overcast day.
Jaques, who is trying to bust up the long-term partnership of Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer, was in strong form against a three-pronged fast-bowling attack of Jason Gillespie, Shaun Tait and Paul Rofe. He absorbed the early pressure on a slowish surface and eased towards his eighth century for the Blues. Unsatisfied with reaching three-figures, he pushed on past 150 late in the day, striking 18 fours from his 209 balls.
Ed Cowan made a bright 49 on his return to the side before departing to a fine one-handed take from Daniel Harris at slip. Dominic Thornely added 40, but he was another victim of the spin of Nathan Adcock, who also struck on the final ball of the day to remove Aaron O'Brien for 9. Adcock finished with 3 for 41 while Tait was the other wicket-taker after picking up Greg Mail in his first spell.
Full postTaylor hat-trick sinks Australia
An inspired performance by West Indies pulled the rug from under the Australians' feet, sending them spiralling to a ten-run defeat in a pulsating contest
The Bulletin by S Rajesh
18-Oct-2006
50 overs West Indies 234 for 6 (Morton 90*, Lara 71) beat Australia 224 for 9 (Gilchrist 92, Taylor 4-49) by 10 runs
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After a series of insipid matches, the Champions Trophy has well and truly come to life, as Pakistan's stunning victory on Tuesday was followed by an inspired performance by West Indies, who pulled the rug from under the Australians' feet, sending them spiralling to a ten-run defeat in a pulsating contest. On a Brabourne Stadium pitch that lasted the course much better than its predecessors, West Indies rode on fine performances from Runako Morton (90 not out) and Brian Lara (71) to post 234 for 6, and then restricted Australia to 224 for 9 despite a magnificent and measured 92 from Adam Gilchrist, with Jerome Taylor providing the icing on the cake by becoming the first West Indian to take a hat-trick in ODIs.
From the start, the West Indians showed an intensity that indicated just how keen they were to erase the bad memories of their humiliation against Sri Lanka. Morton and Lara set it up in the afternoon with crucial knocks, while the entire team displayed a desperation that has rarely been in West Indian cricket of late. Chris Gayle, usually one of the most laidback cricketers, epitomised that aggression, going at Michael Clarke with a fierce verbal blast even when West Indies seemed out of the contest. They never let up in the field, and when the 101-run partnership between Gilchrist and Clarke finally ended, the West Indians closed in on their victims like champions.
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