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Harmison six-for ruins Pakistan
Harmison's remarkable spell of 6 for 19 today, in the second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford, has not only put England in command but rather suggess their summer has finally begun
The Bulletin by Will Luke
27-Jul-2006
England 168 for 2 (Cook 65*, Pietersen 38*) lead Pakistan 119 (Younis 44, Harmison 6-19) by 49 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
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It was a little over a year ago that Steve Harmison raced into Australia at Lord's; smacked Justin Langer on the head; tore a gash in Ricky Ponting's cheek and generally bowled like a demon. Though England lost that encounter, his performance ignited England's summer. In a similar fashion, Harmison's remarkable spell of 6 for 19 today, in the second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford, has not only put England in command but rather suggested their summer has finally begun.
Before this Test his name littered the back pages, or wherever it is English cricket's status lies in the dailies at the moment, with rallying cries and calls for him to "come to the party". On a pitch which was rightly suspected to be seriously greasy, Harmison was at his most lethal, gaining prodigious tennis-ball-like bounce with which no Pakistan batsmen could cope. He began with three maidens - as if to emphasise his excitement at what might be in store, or his delight at Andrew Strauss losing the toss - before tearing in like a well-oiled steam engine.
Full postWillett stars as Nevis upset Antigua
A round-up of the quarter-final matches between Antigua and Nevis, and Grenada and St. Vincent
Cricinfo staff
27-Jul-2006
Nevis 213 for 3 (Willet 86*,Woodley 49) beat Antigua 170 for 9 (Baltimore 45, Maynard 3-25) by 43 runs
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Antigua's decision to insert the opposition backfired as the Nevis openers, Sherwin Woodley and Keiran Powell, made merry. When both were dismissed, Willet and Stuart Williams, his captain, added 121 for the fourth wicket at a frenetic pace. Willet used the long handle to good effect to strike five sixes and eight fours and remained unbeaten on 86.
In reply, Antigua were staring at an embarassing defeat at 68 for 7, after John Maynard, the opening bowler, rocked the top-order with three wickets. Bertel Baltimore and Curtis Roberts made a spirited attempt at the target with a late-order assault but Nevis held sway.
Full postSangakkara builds SL advantage
Dilhara Fernando and Muttiah Muralitharan scalped four wickets each as Sri Lanka shot out South Africa for a meagre 169 and then drove home the advantage, reaching 128 for 2
The Bulletin by Anand Vasu
27-Jul-2006
Sri Lanka 128 for 2 (Sangakkara 59*, Jayawardene 55*) trail South Africa 169 (de Villiers 65, Muralitharan 4-41, Fernando 4-48) by 41 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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Dilhara Fernando and Muttiah Muralitharan scalped four wickets each as Sri Lanka shot out South Africa for a meagre 169 and then drove home the advantage, reaching 128 for 2 when bad light brought the first day to an early close at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. There was little joy for South Africa - only a bustling 65 from AB de Villiers - as Sri Lanka were right on top.
South Africa did all they could to claw their way back into the game, after lasting just 50.2 overs in their innings. Dale Steyn hurried the batsmen, and prised out two early wickets, sending back Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga.
Full postHussey run spree suits Notts
A round-up from the latest County Championship matches
Cricinfo staff
26-Jul-2006
Division One
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David Hussey continued his fine form this season with a superb 150, his second successive hundred in Championship matches, as Nottinghamshire amassed 397 in just 98 overs on the first day against Lancashire at Nottingham. The visitors had Notts in all sorts of trouble at 107 for 5 with Dominic Cork and Tom Smith cutting through the top order. Hussey refused to be dictated to and smashed 150 in 177 balls with 22 fours and a six. He was indebted to Mark Ealham (83) who stuck with him for three hours, and together the pair put on 226 for the sixth wicket to hand the momentum back to Nottinghamshire.
A superb spell of 6 for 65 from Dimitri Mascarenhas blew away Yorkshire for 195 on the first day against Hampshire at Southampton. Craig White, the Yorkshire captain, was the first to go when Chris Tremlett snuck one through his defence; thereafter it was the Mascarenhas massacre. From 105 for 3 Yorkshire fell to 138 for 7, all wickets falling to Mascarenhas. And though Jason Gillespie played a cheeky cameo, Tremlett mopped up the tail. Gillespie removed James Adams for 29 in Hampshire's reply, but Michael Carberry (81 not out) led a confident response by the home side, who now trail by just 64 runs.
Full postFive-star Henderson routs Somerset
A brilliant spell of accurate and incisive swing bowling from Kent's Tyron Henderson condemned Somerset to a thumping 109-run defeat in the latest Pro40 encounter at Taunton
Cricinfo staff
26-Jul-2006
Kent 213 for 8 (Bravo 45) beat Somerset 104 (Henderson 5-28) by 109 runs
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Scorecard
A brilliant spell of accurate and incisive swing bowling from Kent's Tyron Henderson condemned Somerset to a thumping 109-run defeat in the latest Pro40 encounter at Taunton.
Henderson, who bowled unchanged for his entire eight-over spell, returned figures of 5 for 28, as Somerset slipped to an embarrassing 58 for 5. He started the rot by bowling Justin Langer for 5 (14 for 1) to bring a tame end to his extraordinary five-week stint with the county, and then ran through the middle order, aided by some slapdash shots, before crowning his spell with a perfect inswinging yorker to trap Wesley Durston lbw for a first-ball duck.
James Hildreth and Andrew Caddick helped Somerset scrape into triple figures as Somerset's spinners came on to mop up the tail, but by then the game was long dead. Earlier, Dwayne Bravo had top-scored for Kent with 45, as they mustered 213 in their 40 overs. It looked like setting up a tight encounter, but Henderson had other ideas.
Full postLyth stars but England subside
Adam Lyth struck a patient 64 for England Under-19s who put on a less than convincing batting display against their Indian counterparts in the first Test at Canterbury
Cricinfo staff
26-Jul-2006
India Under-19s 51 for 1 (Aziz 31*, S Sharma 13*) trail England Under-19s (Lyth 64) by 180 runs
England Under-19s were indebted to a very patient 64 from Adam Lyth as their Indian counterparts dismissed the home side for 231 on the first day of the first Test at Canterbury.
Varun Chopra, the England captain, won the toss and chose to bat but he was soon back in the pavilion for 14 when Harshad Khadiwale trapped him in front. Billy Godleman hung around for nearly two hours in his 25, putting on 43 for the second wicket with Rory Hamilton-Brown before Sumit Sharma, the offspinner, bowled him. No sooner had Goldman departed than Moeen Ali was run out after facing just two balls. And after playing confidently, and briskly, for his 45, Hamilton-Brown fell to leave England in the decidedly precarious position of 89 for 4.
Lyth, the left-hander who turns 19 in September, steadied the ship and crunched nine fours in his 64. While he received good support from Mark Nelson, who played cautiously for 43, but the tail subsided thanks to a fine allround bowling display from India.
Full postMascarenhas runs through Yorkshire
A round-up from the latest County Championship matches
Cricinfo staff
26-Jul-2006
Division One
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A superb spell of 6 for 65 from Dimitri Mascarenhas blew away Yorkshire for 195 on the first day against Hampshire at Southampton. Craig White, the Yorkshire captain, was the first to go when Chris Tremlett snuck one through his defence; thereafter it was the Mascarenhas massacre. From 105 for 3 Yorkshire fell to 138 for 7, all wickets falling to Mascarenhas. And though Jason Gillespie played a cheeky cameo, Tremlett mopped up the tail. Gillespie removed James Adams for 29 in Hampshire's reply, but Michael Carberry (81 not out) led a confident response by the home side, who now trail by just 64 runs.
Middlesex were put to the sword by Dale Benkenstein and Gareth Breese, both of whom struck solid hundreds for Durham, on the first day at Lord's. Jimmy Maher (46) and Gordon Muchall, who spanked a quick-fire 68, put on 104 for the second wicket but Middlesex fought back, leaving Durham wobbling on 131 for 4. Benkenstein and Breese then took over with great authority, putting on 222 for the fifth wicket. Despite Benkenstein (125) falling with Durham on double Nelson, the visitors took the first days' honours, going to stumps on 379 for 6.
Full postNew hits fifty but Leicestershire stumble
Leicestershire were indebted to a fine 59 from their young wicketkeeper-batsman Tom New on the first day against West Indies A at Leicester, as the home side were bowled out for 205
Cricinfo staff
26-Jul-2006
West Indies A 58 for 0 (Smith 27*, Simmons 22*) trail Leicestershire 205 (New 59, Banks 3-36, Richardson 3-54) by 147 runs
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Scorecard
Leicestershire were indebted to a fine 59 from their young wicketkeeper-batsman Tom New on the first day against West Indies A at Leicester, as the home side were bowled out for 205.
Andrew Richardson struck with just his fourth ball when Steven Clark edged a simple catch to Dwayne Smith. Leicestershire then fought back with the partnership of the day between Jim Allenby and New who put on an excellent second-wicket stand of 110. Solid, if not spectacular, the pair were taking Leicestershire into a comfortable position before the first of two slides tripped them up; Ryan Hinds trapped Allenby in front for 46, Paul Harrison was caught for a first-ball-duck and New also fell for 59 to leave Leicestershire in the tricky position of 115 for 4.
Despite some lusty blows from Claude Henderson, the 34-year-old South African, Leicestershire continued to lose wickets and slumped from 162 for 5 to 205 all out. Omari Banks, the offspinner, bowled tidily picking up 3 for 36 after Richardson had cut early inroads into the top-order.
Full postTrinidad and Tobago enjoy easy outing
Trinidad and Tobago began their Stanford 20/20 campaign in style after routing Cayman Islands by eight wickets with a fine allround performance
Cricinfo staff
26-Jul-2006
Trinidad and Tobago 93 for 2 (Perkins 53) beat Cayman Islands 92 (Badree 3-6) by eight wickets
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Earlier, Cayman Islands never seemed to get going, as the batsmen were stifled by some tight bowling and fielding by Trinidad. The innings contained four run-outs in all, including a brilliant direct hit by Mervyn Dillon to send back Jalon Linton. Dillon hit the target at the non-striker's end from the mid-wicket boundary as the batsmen attempted a second run. Legspinner Samuel Badree, who opened the bowling with Dillon, wrapped up the innings with a three-wicket burst to finish with splendid figures of 3 for 6 in only 3.5 overs. He also picked up the Player-of-the-Match award for his efforts.
"We are very happy with the way we played," Badree told the press after the match. "We're backing ourselves to win and we are looking forward to the challenge against Barbados (the quarter-finals) on Friday."
Full postNash guides Sussex to victory
Sussex got their Pro40 campaign off to a winning start with a 37-run victory over Warwickshire at a warm and floodlit Hove
Cricinfo staff
25-Jul-2006
Sussex 238 for 6 (Nash 82) beat Warwickshire 201 (Kirtley 3-30) by 37 runs
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After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Sussex lost an early wicket when Matt Prior was caught behind by his former team-mate and rival wicketkeeper, Tim Ambrose, for 1, and Richard Montgomerie made just 18.
But Chris Nash and Murray Goodwin - fresh from his record-breaking century over the weekend - steadied Sussex's innings with a third-wicket stand of 78. Goodwin made a run-a-ball 39 before being stumped by Ambrose off Alex Loudon, but Nash carried on to anchor the innings with 82 from 101 balls.
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