Report
Nepal snatch Plate in thriller
Nepal snatched the Plate in a thrilling one wicket win over New Zealand which they completed with one ball to spare
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
18-Feb-2006
Nepal 205 for 9 (Regmi 66) beat New Zealand 204 (Astle 66, Regmi 3 for 41) by one wicket
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Nepal pulled off a thrilling one-wicket win in the Plate final against New
Zealand, with two balls to spare after they appeared to be dead and
buried at 75 for 6. Basant Regmi was the hero with an incredible allround
performance, hitting a sparkling 66 off 74 balls to follow his 3 for 41.
However, he wasn't alone in the amazing finish as Ratan Rauniyar showed
his batting prowess after Nepal had started the final ten overs needing 70 to
win. When Rauniyar carved the winning boundary backward of square it sparked
scenes of wild celebrations as all of the Nepal players and staff sprinted
on to the field.
Full postBell shines as England squander a good start
Ian Bell's patience, control and the ease with which he handled the spinners during his 78 was the highlight of England's innings
The Bulletin by George Binoy
18-Feb-2006
England 299 (Bell 78, Vaughan 54, Strauss 51, Collingwood 47*)
v CCI President's XI
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How they were out
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How they were out
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Ian Bell's patience, control and the ease with which he handled the
spinners during his 78 was the highlight of England's innings on a laidback first day against CCI President's XI in Mumbai. A lower-middle order
collapse wasted the fine platform laid by half-centuries from Andrew Strauss
and Michael Vaughan as England were dismissed for 299.
Several England players stressed the importance of playing the patient
game on the subcontinent and Bell applied those principles well and was
easily the most comfortable against the three spinners on show. England
had lost Strauss and Vaughan either side of the lunch break (114 for 3),
and had two new batsmen in Bell and Kevin Pietersen at the crease. Bell
started nervously but gradually grew solid without ever imposing himself
on the proceedings. He nudged and pushed the singles and rotated the
strike to get settled. His caution at the start paid off and he broke free
with a back-foot drive through cover for four and a pull over midwicket
off Munish Ansari. Soon he was cutting and driving the spinners with ease
and was especially harsh on anything short from the medium pacers. He
reached his fifty with a pulled four over midwicket and his lofted,
straight hit against the left-arm spin of Hitshu Bachani caused journalists to
scramble for cover in the press box. He tried to repeat the shot next ball
but was beaten by the spin and was stumped.
Bell's innings came after Vaughan, who had no hesitation in choosing to
bat, and Strauss had batted aggressively to add 102 runs for the second
wicket. They fought through the initial rustiness after Matt Prior, the
replacement opener for the indisposed Marcus Trescothick, played on to
Rajesh Verma for a duck (1 for 1). Both Verma and Abid Nabi tested the
batsmen, beating the bat repeatedly, but it was Nabi, with his
appreciable lift off the pitch at a sharp pace, who was particularly
impressive. He bowled five maidens in six overs and it was strange that
Nilesh Kulkarni deployed nine bowlers in all but didn't use his opening pair
until late in the day.
Full postNew Zealand prove too hot to handle
A total of 288 for 9 proved more than enough for New Zealand as they completed a 81-run win over West Indies at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington
The Bulletin by Jamie Alter
18-Feb-2006
New Zealand 288 for 9 (Astle 90, How 66, Fleming 55) beat West Indies 207 (Sarwan 56) by 81 runs
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A total of 288 for 9 - thanks to fluent innings from Nathan Astle, Jamie How and Stephen Fleming - proved more than enough for New Zealand as they completed an 81- run win over West Indies at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
Full postSouth Australia storm into finals
Powered by Greg Blewett's century, South Australia defeated Queensland by 68 runs at Brisbane
Cricinfo staff
17-Feb-2006
South Australia 313 (Blewett 102, Harris 77) beat Queensland 245 (Perren 45) by 68 runs
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South Australia's total of 313 always looked ominous for the home team, who lost wickets at regular intervals in trying to accelerate the scoring. Queensland were eventually bowled out for 245, failing to bat out their 50 overs.
Choosing to bat, South Australia took firm control with a second-wicket partnership of 184 between Blewett and Daniel Harris, who made 77. Man-of-the-Match Blewett scored at over a run-a-ball, and his 102 came off just 93 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. After his departure, his side were already motoring at more than six an over. A minor hiccup followed with two more wickets falling in the space of four overs.
Full postOchan guides Uganda to victory
Scotland's dismal World Cup campaign ended with a crushing 69-run defeat, with a super allround performance by Patrick Ochan being the key to Uganda's victory
Cricinfo staff
17-Feb-2006
Uganda 214 for 9 (Ochan 64, Mohammed 3-38, Goudie 3-40) beat Scotland 145 (Isaneez 4-20, Ochan 3-29) by 69 runs
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Scotland's dismal World Cup campaign ended in a crushing 69-run defeat in the 13th-place play-off, with a super allround performance by Patrick Ochan being the key to Uganda's first victory of the tournament.
Ochan struck the first fifty by a Uganda batsman in the tournament, and then took 3 for 29 to take his side to a 69-run win in the Plate Championship play-off final.
And that success means they have one more match to play, the final against Ireland on Saturday with the winners able to call themselves the 13th-ranked team in the tournament.
Full postHaddin knock in vain as Warriors win
Western Australia cantered to a six-wicket victory over NSW on the final day of the Pura Cup tie at the SCG
Cricinfo staff
17-Feb-2006
Western Australia 508 and 4 for 88 (Krejza 3 for 22) beat New South Wales 117 and 478 (Haddin 116, Krejza 61, Phelps 124) by 6 wickets
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Earlier, the Blues lost Thornley early for 56, adding just five runs to their overnight score of 234. That signalled the arrival of Haddin to the crease. Aaron O'Brien and Haddin added 57 for the fifth-wicket before O'Brien was caught at gully off Ben Edmundson. Haddin continued attacking the bowlers and found good support from lower-order batsman Jason Krejza.
The two guided the Blues past the deficit as Haddin brought up his first century in the Pura Cup this season. His 116 came off just 100 balls with 16 boundaries and two sixes. His dismissal left the Blues with a lead of 35 with four wickets remaining. New South Wales were eventually bowled out for 478, Krejza being the last man dismissed for a dogged 61. Brett Dorey added three more wickets to his tally, finishing with six in the match.
Full postAustralia crash to heavy defeat
Riaz Kail and Ali Asad led an inspired fightback to fire Pakistan into the final
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan in Colombo
16-Feb-2006
Pakistan 287 for 9 (Ali Asad 69, Riaz Kail 84) beat Australia 124 (Khawaja 59, Imad Wasim 3-16, Usman Malik 3-17) by 163 runs
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Pakistan will take on arch-rivals India in the World Cup final after
overwhelming Australia at the Premadasa Stadium. Their triumph represents
a stirring revival after they had slumped to 80 for 5. However a stunning
partnership of 160 between Riaz Kail and Ali Asad powered them towards a
daunting 287 for 9, then Australia's much-vaunted top order failed to
deliver in the face of a huge run-chase.
Jamshed Ahmed removed the two key elements of Australia's batting, Tom
Cooper and Moises Henriques, in a fiery opening burst. Cooper has been key
in anchoring Australia's batting efforts so his early demise was a huge
boost for Pakistan and when Henriques played an airy drive, the main
players were back in the hutch inside 10 overs.
Full postSri Lanka's U-19 batsmen click into shape
Sri Lanka's top order finally clicked into gear at the SSC to take them to the Super League play-off final in the Under-19 World Cup
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan at Colombo
16-Feb-2006
Sri Lanka 259 for 2 (de Zoysa 63, Karunaratne 53) beat Zimbabwe 256 for 8 (Meth 91, Pathirana 2-44) by 8 wickets
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Determined half-centuries from Sameera de Zoysa, the replacement captain,
and Dimuth Karunaratne, who combined with an opening stand of 114, laid the
foundations for the middle order to reach a useful target of 257 with 16
balls to spare. But when Gary Balance and Keegan Meth were forging
Zimbabwe's major partnership - a stand of 131 for the fourth wicket - they
were on course for a total nearer 275.
Whereas in earlier matches Sri Lanka's top order had been guilty of trying
to tee off too soon, here de Zoysa and Karunaratne initially played
circumspectly against the new ball. Once their eye was in, both batsmen
chanced their arm by lofting over the in field. With the scoring rate
increasing, Sean Williams opted to hold back his second Powerplay, but the
Sri Lankans were content to milk the singles.
Full postA tie ... but New Zealand win bowl-out
New Zealand beat West Indies 3-0 in a bowl-out after the match itself had ended in a tie
Martin Williamson
16-Feb-2006
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With nine overs remaining, New Zealand needed 47 runs with seven wickets in hand - a straightforward task in Twenty20. But West Indies, after slumbering through three-quarters of the match as if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, suddenly woke up. In the next seven overs, Dwayne Smith and Chris Gayle conceded only 31 runs as New Zealand slid to 110 for 8.
West Indies score of 126 for 7 seemed well below par. It was their first match in this format, and it showed as their batsmen struggled to score at anything near the rate which has become the accepted norm.
Full postPhelps century improves Blues' mood
A fine Matthew Phelps century gave New South Wales hope of avoiding defeat against Western Australia as they finished the third day at 3 for 235
Cricinfo staff
16-Feb-2006
New South Wales 117 and 3 for 235 (Phelps 124, Thornely 56*) trail Western Australia 9 for 508 dec by 156 runs
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Points table
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A fine Matthew Phelps century gave New South Wales hope of avoiding defeat against Western Australia as they finished the third day at 3 for 235. Still 156 short of making the Warriors bat again, the Blues could at least reflect on an improved day when bad light and a storm forced an early finish.
However, Phelps was disappointed to leave four minutes before the interruption for 124 when Brett Dorey had him caught behind. Phelps walked out in the sixth over and recorded his third hundred of the season in an innings that included 19 fours from 178 balls.
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