Report
Brown butchers Leicestershire
Ally Brown rediscovered his touch for Surrey, as both he and Mark Butcher hit centuries to keep Surrey firmly in the driving seat against Leicestershire
Jenny Thompson at The Oval
08-Jun-2006
Surrey 416 for 4 (Brown 131*, Clarke 32*, Butcher 105, Ramprakash 73) lead Leicestershire 251 by 165 runs
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Ally Brown rediscovered his touch for Surrey, as both he and Mark Butcher hit centuries to keep Surrey firmly in the driving seat against Leicestershire. After making just 98 runs in seven innings this season, Brown ground to 131 not out, and shared a fourth-wicket stand of 203 with Butcher to frustrate a hardworking Leicestershire attack.
It wasn't vintage Brown and he started off scratchily. But once he found his groove - particularly against Claude Henderson - he shifted gears, launching into some trademark scythes through the covers and nearly beating Butcher to the century-mark. In the end he needed just 154 balls to bring up his 40th first-class ton.
Butcher was more circumspect, playing compactly and with some particularly lovely strokes off the seamers through point on his way to 105. As usual, his timing was imperious, and it was no surprise when he brought up his fifth fifty of the season, nor when he went on to convert that to a century. He did offer one difficult chance when he was on nought, turning it round a corner but Paul Nixon could not get his hands down in time.
Full postPothas and Crawley punish Notts
Nottinghamshire take control on the first day against Hampshire with centuries from John Crawley and Nic Pothas
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
07-Jun-2006
Hampshire 345 for 5 (Pothas 117, Crawley 103*, Mascarenhas 16*) v Nottinghamshire
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The pair went about their task of rebuilding the innings from 92 for 4 in contrasting styles. Crawley basically kept the bowling out for the first session, but Pothas was more positive and quickly caught up with Crawley in the run stakes. Nottinghamshire, though, had a chance to remove him when Pothas slashed to Jason Gallian, head high, in the gully but it was palmed over the bar. Hampshire would have been five down for less than 100; Nottinghamshire were left to rue their mistake.
As the early zip from the new ball disappeared, during the afternoon session, the batsmen took charge against a thin Nottinghamshire attack missing Ryan Sidebottom and Greg Smith. The bowlers' early accuracy disappeared and Pothas, especially, was quick to latch onto anything short, wide or full. He peppered the offside with his favourite drives and cuts. From having a field of three slips, Stephen Fleming had to resort to a deep cover-point to stem the flow of boundaries while Pothas was handed a second life when Andy Harris spilled a low caught-and-bowled opportunity.
Full postClarke stitches up Leicestershire
Rikki Clarke had the Midas touch today and he will be sorely hoping his performance will mean a golden ticket into England's one-day squad tomorrow
Jenny Thompson at The Oval
07-Jun-2006
Surrey 64 for 1 (Ramprakash 24*, Batty 29*) trail Leicestershire 251 (Ackerman 58, Henderson 46*) by 187 runs
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Rikki Clarke had the Midas touch today and he will be sorely hoping his performance will mean a golden ticket into England's one-day squad tomorrow. With four wickets and four sharp catches he could not have done more to help Surrey squeeze Leicestershire out for 251.
Clarke's tail was up throughout. Even in the last session he was still bouncing in like a golden labrador until, having worried Leicestershire throughout, he finished them off in his 16th over. On a picnic-perfect day, he fittingly grabbed the champagne moment, too, leaping to pluck from thin air John Maunders' crashing thump to gully off Mohammad Akram (63 for 2).
Full postMushtaq strikes back for Sussex
A round-up from the latest County Championship matches
Cricinfo staff
06-Jun-2006
Division One
Despite a fifty at the top of the order from Richard Montgomerie, his second of the season, Sussex's disappointing form with the bat continued today when they were dismissed for 218 on the first day against Lancashire at Liverpool. Chris Adams (30), Matt Prior (37) and Luke Wright (28) all got starts, but failed to capitalise as Glenn Chapple (4 for 35) rocked the top order. Gary Keedy and Dominic Cork wrapped up the tail, after Mushtaq Ahmed had clobbered 22 useful runs at a run-a-ball. Sussex struck back with the ball though, leaving Lancashire 133 for 4 at stumps, trailing by 85. Mushtaq, inevitably, was to the fore again and ended the day with impressive figures of 3 for 29.
Division Two
Steve Stubbings fell two short of his second hundred of the season as Derbyshire battled to 279 for 6 on the first day against Glamorgan at Derby. Stubbings lost his opening partner, Michael Di Venuto, for 18 - and when Travis Birt (16) fell, Derbyshire were in danger of stumbling at 131 for 3. Stubbings was resolute, however, receiving good support from Hassan Adnan (52). Robert Croft bowled tidily, and for most of the afternoon, picking up 2 for 52 from 31 overs.
Full postWest Indies hold on to force a draw
Fidel Edwards and Corey Collymore survived the last 19 balls of the Test under mounting tension as West Indies managed to save the Antigua Test after they had lost nine wickets
The Bulletin by S Rajesh
06-Jun-2006
West Indies 371 and 297 for 9 (Gayle 69, Chanderpaul 62, Mohammed 52) drew with India 241 and 521 for 6 dec
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The last day of Test cricket at the Antigua Recreation Ground produced an absolute thriller, as India made a spirited charge towards a famous win, but were denied by Fidel Edwards - who batted 36 balls with Daren Ganga as his runner - and Corey Collymore. Needing to survive 19 balls to save the Test, the two of them saw off Anil Kumble and Sreesanth under mounting tension to ensure that the two teams are level at 0-0 in the four-Test series.
There were several stories to tell from the final day: Chris Gayle played an innings unlike any he has played in the past, plodding 188 balls for 69, Shivnarine Chanderpaul made a gloriously fluent 62, the Indian bowlers bowled their hearts out, but in the end it all came down to the last over, which Rahul Dravid entrusted to Sreesanth: he tried all the tricks in the trade, the short balls, the yorker, the length balls, but Collymore kept them all out, and when he padded up to one which was well outside off, the entire crowd erupted. West Indies had averted defeat.
None of the heart-stopping action that unfolded in the final session seemed likely when the teams went into the tea break. West Indies had progressed to 158 for 3, after Gayle and Chanderpaul had batted through the entire session. With only 38 overs left, and the Indians appearing deflated, it looked like the last Test in this ground would end as several earlier ones had.
Full postDhoni blitz leaves Windies with a target of 392
India declared at 521 for 6 and West Indies, chasing 392, ended the day on 13 for 0, needing another 379 runs on the final day
The Bulletin by S Rajesh
05-Jun-2006
West Indies 371 and 13 for 0 need 379 more runs to beat India 241 and 521 for 6 dec (Jaffer 212, Dravid 62, Dhoni 69)
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Wasim Jaffer creamed a delightful maiden Test double-century, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni lit up the ground with some murderous hitting in an innings of 69 off 51 balls which ended with the umpires providing some farcical entertainment of their own. The fallout was an Indian declaration on 521 for 6, leaving West Indies with a target of 392. By close of play they had reached 13 without loss.
The Indian batsmen had underperformed on this tour so far, but here - on a pitch which had settled into an excellent batting strip after assisting the bowlers earlier - they found their groove, with Jaffer leading from the front with his 212. He added 203 for the third wicket with Rahul Dravid (62), while Yuvraj Singh (39) and Mohammad Kaif (46 not out) added valuable runs as well.
Full postMuralitharan's brilliance destroys England
Muttiah Muralitharan wanted to make what might be his final Test in England one to remember. He achieved that in stunning fashion at Trent Bridge with a haul of 8 for 70 as Sri Lanka stormed to a 134-run victory to level the series
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
05-Jun-2006
Sri Lanka 231 and 322 (Sangakkara 66, Kapugedera 50, Panesar 5-78) beat England 229 and 190 (Strauss 55, Muralitharan 8-70) by 134 runs
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Muralitharan was on for all ten - having previously twice fallen one short in Tests - but that feat disappeared when Matthew Hoggard was run out. His third nine-for also went begging when the last wicket fell to Sanath Jayasuriya, but that will be of little consequence to Muralitharan who just beamed with pride having steered his team to a stunning result. Once he'd got started on England, breaking the encouraging opening partnership of 84 between Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss, there was no stopping him. He claimed six during the afternoon session as England went from hopeful to hapless.
The target of 325 always left England a mountain to climb, although they started positively with Strauss and Trescothick making steady progress either side of lunch. Jayawardene went into a holding pattern for all his bowlers, apart from Muralitharan and it was surprising to see relatively defensive fielding settings. But Sri Lanka have had a gameplan and stuck to it during this match.
Full postJaffer leads solid Indian response
After being outplayed thoroughly over the first two days, the Indians fought back magnificently on the third to recover all the lost ground
The Bulletin by S Rajesh
04-Jun-2006
India 241 and 215 for 2 (Jaffer 113*) lead West Indies 371 (Gayle 72, Bravo 68, Sarwan 58) by 85 runs
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After being outplayed thoroughly over the first two days, the Indians fought back magnificently on the third to recover all the lost ground. First, their bowlers ensured that West Indies didn't run away with a huge first-innings advantage, restricting them to 371, and then the batsmen built on that, thanks largely to Wasim Jaffer's workmanlike unbeaten 113, as they finished on 215 for 2, an overall lead of 85.
In the first innings the Indian batting had crumbled against a disciplined attack on a pitch offering a fair amount of assistance, and while the bowling was still fairly disciplined today, the significant difference was the lack of help from the surface. Resembling a typical Antigua track much more than it had on the two earlier days, the strip offered the bowlers little by way of pace, the bounce was more consistent, and most importantly, there was none of the seam and swing movement which had bothered the Indians so much in their first innings. To make matters worse for Brian Lara, he was without Fidel Edwards, his main strike bowler, for much of the innings - Edwards retired with a hamstring problem after bowling 5.4 fiery overs. The rest of the attack bowled at strictly medium pace or lower, and it was much easier for the batsmen to see them off.
With a deficit of 130 staring them in the face, the Indians still needed an innings of character, and Jaffer provided that. In his third coming as a Test opener, Jaffer eschewed the extravagant and played the percentages well. Early on he left deliveries outside off, waiting for the ball on his legs to flick away for runs. Unlike a typical Jaffer innings, which is laden with boundaries, this one only had 12 hits to the fence. He still showed the technical flaws which have restricted him to only 11 Tests in six years: he played and missed a few times to deliveries outside off, edged a couple of streaky fours through the slips, and mistimed his shots on the off side often enough in the first half of his innings to keep the bowlers interested. However, as his innings wore on, the confidence grew, and he unfurled some superb drives on both sides of the wicket, none better than the square-drive off Ian Bradshaw that brought up his century.
Full postSri Lanka build impressive lead
Steady as she goes was the Sri Lankan method on the third day at Trent Bridge and it proved mighty effective as they took a firm grip on the deciding Test
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
04-Jun-2006
Sri Lanka 231 and 286 for 7 (Kapugedera 50*, Vaas 24*) lead England 229 by 288 runs
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Before play the Sri Lankan camp had spoken of wanting a minimum target of 250 to defend before unleashing Muttiah Muralitharan. There was one of two ways they could reach that mark; an innings of individual brilliance or a team effort. They took the latter route. Sangakkara sparkled in typical style, Mahela Jayawardene fought hard and Kapugedera produced a superbly mature innings at a vital time.
Crucially, Sangakkara and Upul Tharanga did not allow England the boost of an early wicket and ensured that they nullified the threat posed by Matthew Hoggard. Sangakkara showed the class which has been evident each time he's come to the crease and his driving off front and back foot was imperious as he notched his second fifty of the series from 108 balls. When Panesar was introduced as first change Tharanga used his feet, determined not to let him settle, punching him through the offside for a boundary then handsomely lofting a straight six.
Full postBowlers earn Sri Lanka advantage
This hard-fought series is heading for a fascinating conclusion after the two teams ended virtually all-square on the second day at Trent Bridge
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
03-Jun-2006
Sri Lanka 231 and 45 for 1 (Tharanga 17*, Sangakkara 22*) lead England 229 (Collingwood 48) by 47 runs
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Sri Lanka's control throughout the first two sessions was highlighted by England's scoring rate when 62 overs brought 138 runs. Collingwood faced 127 balls before hitting his first boundary - a sweet lofted six off Muralitharan - while even the free-scoring Kevin Pietersen had been slowed from his usual gallop as Sri Lanka executed their plans to perfection. They were smartly led by Mahela Jayawardene, who set some superbly innovative fields, while he had the support of his bowlers who performed as a unit and kept England on a tight leash. And for the first time in the series key battles were won when they mattered.
The full house in Nottingham had thronged through the gates to watch one of those battles: Muralitharan verses Pietersen. First, though, Lasith Malinga set the perfect tone for Sri Lanka with a fired-up spell and removed Alastair Cook with the assistance of an inside edge and a lack of footwork.
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