Report
Durham sweep aside Middlesex
A round-up from the latest Championship matches as Durham sweep aside Middlesex
Cricinfo staff
13-May-2006
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Division One
Middlesex's poor start to the season continued at the Riverside after crashing to a comprehensive 135-run defeat at the hands of Durham. Chasing an unlikely 368, Middlesex lost Nick Compton (33) before Jamie Dalrymple and Ben Scott (49) put on a useful stand of 40 for the sixth wicket. Yet when Dalrymple's fine 71 was ended by Dale Benkenstein, the chances of staving off defeat was lost and Durham's bowlers ran through Middlesex's lower order to dismiss them for 232 inside 60 overs.
An excellent hundred partnership between Matthew Wood and Anthony McGrath helped Yorkshire earn a draw on the final day against Kent. The pair came together in the ninth over, when Joe Sayers fell for just five. With the pitch taking some considerable turn, the Kent captain, Robert Key, turned to seven bowlers but none could break through the defence of Wood and McGrath. Indeed, it was a welcome return to form for Wood who had only scored 49 runs from his last nine innings. And though he fell eight short of a deserved hundred, he and McGrath (123*) ensured Kent had little more than a draw to celebrate.
Division Two
Panesar stunts Sri Lanka's fightback
Upul Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara struck battling half-centuries but Monty Panesar took two wickets to leave Sri Lanka staring at a heavy defeat
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
13-May-2006
Sri Lanka 192 (Jayawardene 61, Hoggard 4-27) and 183 for for 3 (Sangakkara 62, Jayawardene 35*, Maharoof 5*) trail England 551 for 6 dec by 176 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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The improved results by Sri Lanka's top order stemmed from the gutsy resistance during the first session where Mahela Jayawardene fought to 61 then Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara launched some lusty blows. However Sri Lanka still trail by 176 leaving Jayawardene with a huge role to play. The odds are hugely stacked against them especially after Panesar's impressive first bowl at home.
Panesar had to wait until five minutes before tea to get the call to action, but caused problems from the start, finding a hint of turn and flighting the ball with the same loop and dip that dismissed Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Kaif on his debut. He came very close to having Tharanga lbw but got his man soon afterwards when the batsman feathered a straighter ball through to Geraint Jones.
Full postTrescothick sparkles on return
Marcus Trescothick returned to Test cricket with 106 and Alastair Cook struck 89 as England reached a commanding 318 for 3 on the first day against Sri Lanka at Lord's
Andrew McGlashan
12-May-2006
England 318 for 3 (Trescothick 106, Cook 89, Pietersen 54*) v Sri Lanka
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Muttiah Muralitharan, in his first Test at Lord's, was Sri Lanka's sole shining light and caused most of the uncertain moments. He was in the action by the 23rd over and Sri Lanka were only making the day competitive when he was twirling away. Until Farveez Maharoof snuck in by removing Cook with the second new ball, to take a marginal amount of gloss off England's performance, Muralitharan was the only reason for any Sri Lankan smiles.
Full postMahmood and Pietersen leave Sri Lanka in tatters
Kevin Pietersen produced a dazzling century to propel England into an impregnable position in the first Test at Lord's, then it was over to Sajid Mahmood to mark his debut in stunning fashion with three wickets in his first four overs
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
12-May-2006
Sri Lanka 91 for 6 (Jayawardene 42*, Maharoof 6*, Mahmood 3-9) trail England 551 for 6 dec (Pietersen 158, Trescothick 106, Cook 89, Collingwood 57) by 460 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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England's ruthless intent was indicated by Andrew Flintoff's decision to call an end to the run-scoring fun after he'd biffed a rapid cameo, putting the finishing touches to a virtually complete batting performance. Pietersen and Collingwood combined in a productive stand of 173 as Pietersen reached a memorable third Test century with an array of outlandish shots. While England had been piling on the runs the conditions appeared perfect for batting, as soon as the ball was in the hands of Hoggard and Co. it became a very different game.
The Sri Lankan openers have been in trouble against the moving ball throughout their build-up and Hoggard proved too much for Jehan Mubarak and Upul Tharanga with sharp inswingers. At least Mubarak tried to play a shot at his; Tharanga just thrust his pad in the way of a ball that would have castled middle. After seven overs Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's leading batsmen, were already in the role of rescuing the innings and for a while progressed promisingly as Liam Plunkett struggled to settle.
Full postTrescothick sparkles on return
Marcus Trescothick returned to Test cricket with 106 and Alastair Cook struck 89 as England reached a commanding 318 for 3 on the first day against Sri Lanka at Lord's
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
11-May-2006
England 318 for 3 (Trescothick 106, Cook 89, Pietersen 54*) v Sri Lanka
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Muttiah Muralitharan, in his first Test at Lord's, was Sri Lanka's sole shining light and caused most of the uncertain moments. He was in the action by the 23rd over and Sri Lanka were only making the day competitive when he was twirling away. Until Farveez Maharoof snuck in by removing Cook with the second new ball, to take a marginal amount of gloss off England's performance, Muralitharan was the only reason for any Sri Lankan smiles.
The biggest grin, though, belonged to Trescothick, whose winter problems seemed a world away. Content to leave plenty during the opening overs, he let Andrew Strauss do most of the scoring - in an opening stand of 86. He escaped a plumb lbw appeal against Muralitharan when he had 28, and a couple of edges fell short of slip, but for a returning innings this wasn't to shabby.
Full postWest Indies ease to series win
Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored a cathartic 93 in his first match on home soil since being deposed as captain, and Fidel Edwards struck twice with his first four balls of the match, as West Indies toyed with and eventually overwhelmed a substandard Zimbabwe
The Bulletin by Andrew Miller
07-May-2006
West Indies 333 for 6 (Chanderpaul 93, Morton 79) beat Zimbabwe 251 for 7 (Chigumbura 61, Sibanda 52) by 82 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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Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored a cathartic 93 in his first match on home soil since being deposed as captain, and Fidel Edwards struck twice with his first four balls of the match, as West Indies toyed with and eventually overwhelmed a substandard Zimbabwe in the fourth ODI at Bourda, the last international ever to be played at the historic ground.
After conceding a massive 333 for 6, the highest total ever recorded in the Caribbean, Zimbabwe stodged their way to 251 for 7 in reply. Though they lifted their tempo as the innings progressed and did well to avoid being bowled out after slumping to 1 for 2, they never once threatened to approach the required run-rate. For the long-suffering crowd who turned out in spite of the grim weather forecasts, it might have been more fun to watch the rains come down again.
Full postSouth Africa stutter to 2-0 series win
Careless shots and a flurry of wickets aside, South Africa raced to a victory inside three days after successfully chasing down 217 to beat New Zealand in the third and final Test at Johannesburg
The Bulletin by Will Luke
07-May-2006
South Africa 186 and 220 for 6 (Smith 68, Prince 43*) beat New Zealand 119 and 283 (Vettori 60) by four wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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The tone was set just before lunch when, faced with an uncomfortable nine overs and chasing a middling target of 217, Smith and his opening partner Boeta Dippenaar set off like a rocket. Dippenaar was the aggressor, crunching four boundaries to settle South Africa's nerves who went to lunch on 49 without loss; before this game, only three times had South Africa successfully chased down more than 200 runs in the fourth innings. They were let off by New Zealand's bowlers, though, who wasted the new ball and handed the momentum - at a key stage of the match - to the batsmen.
Smith and Dippenaar continued their confident start after lunch, too. And much as South Africa's bowlers had suffered with their lengths in the morning, so did New Zealand in the afternoon session. Too often, Martin bowled short allowing the batsmen to rock back and power him through the covers. When he did pitch it up, batting was trickier, as Dippenaar found out when a fuller delivery caught his outside edge and flew to Brendon McCullum to end a 69-run opening partnership.
Full postSri Lanka go down with barely a whimper
The Sri Lankans offered little fight as they went down by ten wickets to England A in a little over two days
Martin Williamson
06-May-2006
England A 259 and 41 for 0 beat Sri Lankans 179 and 118 by ten wickets
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Scorecard
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They resumed this morning with five wickets down and needing a miracle to take this match much beyond lunch on the third of the four scheduled days. Their batting so far on this tour has been dire, and only Tillakaratne Dilshan of the recognised batsmen remained.
He started brightly, smacking Rikki Clarke for successive fours in the second over of the day, and for half an hour he and Chamara Kapugedera looked relatively untroubled. It was Liam Plunkett who made the breakthrough when he found the edge off Kapugedera's bat, and the rest was routine as the Sri Lankans' last five wickets added only 38 runs.
Full postNew Zealand fight to stay in the hunt
A rapidly fluctuating Test has been left intriguingly poised as New Zealand fought back strongly through Chris Martin and a scrapping performance from their batsmen
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
06-May-2006
New Zealand 119 and 214 for 6 (Oram 19*, Vettori 21*) lead South Africa 186 (Smith 63, Amla 56, Martin 5-37) by 147 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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The second day began by following a similar manic pace to yesterday as wickets tumbled, including eight before lunch. But only one batsman slipped during the afternoon session as New Zealand edged in front, before the final portion of the day included three scalps for a relieved Graeme Smith, who won't want to chase much more than 200 in the last innings.
When Jamie How and Michael Papps fell before lunch, New Zealand were 40 for 2, still 27 behind, and a two-day finish was a distinct possibility. Stephen Fleming weathered the early passage of the afternoon session, after taking a painful blow on the hip at the start of his innings, but fell to a flashy drive against Jacques Kallis.
Full postSri Lanka's batting worries continue to mount
Paul Coupar reports on the second day of the Sri Lankans' tour match against England A at Worcester
Paul Coupar at Worcester
05-May-2006
Sri Lankans 179 and 68 for 5 trail England A 259 (Key 63, Joyce 49, Kulasekara 4-83) by 12 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
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Last September, the names of the Ashes-winning XII were not so much inked
into future team sheets as engraved. But they have not played together
since; there is a good chance they will never do so again. Simon Jones is
out for at least six weeks with a dodgy knee. Ashley Giles has recently
admitted that his creaking hip could end his career. Michael Vaughan has a
chronic knee problem. (He recently compared the frequent tidying up of his
cartilage - the shock absorber in the knee - to trips to the barber's. But
unlike hair, cartilage doesn't grow back.) Harmison's shins are still too
sore for cricket.
Barring miracles none will play at Lord's next week. Paul Collingwood
looks likely to slot in at No. 5, leaving space for one new batsman, a
spinner and two quicker bowlers. But the biggest winners today were two
blokes who weren't even playing: Ian Bell and Geraint Jones.
Full post