Report
Hodge and Hussey tilt the scales
Timely half-centuries from Brad Hodge and Michael Hussey gave Australia the advantage over South Africa at the end of the third day at Perth
The Bulletin by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
18-Dec-2005
Australia 258 and 4 for 310 (Hodge 91*, Hussey 54*, Ponting 53) lead South Africa 296 by 272 runs
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How they were out
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How they were out
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It took a calmly orchestrated 91 from Brad Hodge, in just his third Test, to give Australia a 272-run advantage at the end of the third day of a fascinating Test match at Perth. In a battle of attrition, on a steaming day, South Africa's worrying trend of grassing catches, coupled with a critical umpiring error, gave Australia the opening, one that Hodge and the rest of the batsmen thrived on.
At 92 for 2, with the game still there for the taking, Ricky Ponting, on 4, unleashed a fierce pull off Charl Langeveldt, only to watch it intercepted by a stupendous one-handed catch by Jacques Rudolph at square leg. The celebrations died down instantly after Billy Doctrove, the Dominican umpire, signaled a no-ball but, shockingly, replays showed it to be an error of judgement, as part of Langeveldt's front foot had landed behind the crease. More misery was to follow when Australia reached 153 for 3, with an inexperienced middle order to come. Brad Hodge, on 13, flashed at a wide one from Langeveldt and watched as Justin Kemp, at widish second slip, tried an acrobatic one-handed take and fluffed a tough chance. Ponting added 49 more to his score; Hodge made 78 more and was going strong; and South Africa, who botched six chances on the first three days, were slowly nudged out of the contest.
Full postTrivedi engineers Delhi's collapse
A summary of the first day in the latest round of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group
Cricinfo staff
17-Dec-2005
Gujarat 116 for 8 (Bhandari 5-43) lead Delhi 69 (Trivedi 5-16, Makda 4-30) by 47 runs
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Scorecard
It was a bowler's day out at Feroz Shah Kotla as 19 wickets tumbled on the first day of the Elite Group match between Delhi and Gujarat. Siddharth Trivedi and Asraf Makda, the medium pacers, justified Gujarat's decision to field first, as they grabbed nine wickets between them in 25 overs to shot out Delhi for a paltry 69. Rajat Bhatia (38) was the lone batsman to face over 50 deliveries and offer some resistance.
The pattern followed when Gujarat batted, with Amit Bhandari and Kunal Lal - Delhi's opening bowlers - picking seven wickets between them to leave Gujarat tottering at 74 for 9. However, Makda (30 not out) turned in a inspired allround performance to steer Gujarat to 116 for 9 at close, gaining a crucial first-innings lead. Delhi, with just two points after three games, will be looking for a better performance from their batsmen to turn things around in this crucial tie.
Mumbai232 for 4(Muzumdar 109*, Kukreja 72) v Railways
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Dorey and Stevens star on first day
Lachlan Stevens' maiden first-class century for Queensland wasn't enough to stop Brett Dorey's seven-wicket haul for Western Australia
Cricinfo staff
17-Dec-2005
Queensland 280 for 8 (Stevens 105, Perren 59, Dorey 7-77) v Western Australia
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Lachlan Stevens' maiden first-class century for Queensland wasn't enough to stop Brett Dorey running through the innings with a seven-wicket haul for Western Australia. Dorey took seven of the eight wickets to fall as Queensland limped to 280 for 8 on a rain-interrupted first day at Brisbane.
Marcus North, Western Australia's captain, won the toss and elected to bowl soon after Queensland lost their regular captain Jimmy Maher and fast bowler Mitchell Johnson to illness and were replaced by Ryan Broad and Ashley Noffke. Stevens clobbered 18 fours and a six in his 154-ball hundred, featuring in partnerships worth 77 with Broad and 59 with Martin Love. When Love fell for a considered 30, Stevens was joined by Clinton Perren but the rain came in the 43rd over and an early tea was taken with Queensland in the relatively comfortable position of 2 for 172.
After the break Dorey justified his captain's decision to bowl by removing Stevens shortly after he completed his century and followed up with the wicket of Craig Philipson three balls later for a duck. Perren struck seven fours and passed 3000 first-class runs before falling to Dorey for 59, leaving Queensland 20 short of the 300 mark as Dorey collected career-best figures.
Full postStephen Cook steers Lions to victory
7th round wrap of the Standard Bank Cup
Cricinfo staff
17-Dec-2005
At the Wanderers, Johannesburg the decision to put the Eagles in to bat first paid off for the Lions as they successfully chased down a target of 221, winning by 5 wickets and closing the gap at the top of the Standard Bank Cup table.
Stephen Cook, batting right through the Lions innings, scored a match winning 87 not out while Dumisa Makalima waded in with 40 not out off 30 balls as the pair put on 68 for the sixth wicket to take the Lions through in 42.3 overs. Thandi Tshabalala, the 21 year old offspinner, was the most successful Eagles bowler picking up 3 for 51.
The Eagles innings never gained any momentum until Johan van der Wath came in at number seven. Smashing 70 not out off 48 balls with four boundaries and five sixes he shared a 74-run partnership with Boeta Dippenaar (42) as the two brought some respectability back to the Eagles
total of 220 for 7.
The Titans retook the lead on the Standard Bank Cup table after a six-wicket win against the Warriors at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.
Full postBoucher and Lee set up tense contest
Mark Boucher cracked an invaluable fifty that helped South Africa to a 38-run lead before Brett Lee wrapped up the tail with the score on 296
The Bulletin by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
17-Dec-2005
Australia 1 for 38 and 258 are level with South Africa 296 (de Villiers 68, Boucher 62, Lee 5-93)
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How they were out
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For the second consecutive day, the pendulum oscillated to and fro, with several stars lighting up the tense slugfest, as the game hung on a fine thread, with the scores level, at the end of a thoroughly engrossing battle at Perth. Two rollicking fifties gave South Africa a slender lead, their first against Australia for nearly nine years, but superb spells from the record-breaking Shane Warne and red-hot Brett Lee ensured the contest was tantalisingly poised.
Punch followed counterpunch as both teams refused to let the game slip away. There was a bubbly half-century from AB de Villiers that helped South Africa reach 127 for 2; a teasing spell from Warne, who overtook Dennis Lillee's tally of 85 wickets in a calendar year, that suffocated the middle order, reducing them to 187 for 6; a bouncing half-century from Mark Boucher, gaining the lead; a speedy burst from Lee that cleaned up the tail; and a final phase where Australia wiped out the deficit.
Full postNtini puts South Africa in charge
Makhaya Ntini bowled South Africa to a position of strength by taking 5 for 64 as Australia were dismissed for 258 on the first day at Perth
The Bulletin by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
16-Dec-2005
South Africa 0 for 38 trail Australia 258 (Ponting 71, Ntini 5-64) by 220 runs
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How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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A fiery six-over spell from Makhaya Ntini, when he rocked Australia's middle order with darting pace and whizzing bounce, turned the first Test around, putting South Africa on top on the first day at Perth. In a span of 13 deliveries, he prised out Michael Hussey, Brad Hodge and Adam Gilchrist and wrenched away Australia's advantage, set up by a glorious counterattacking half-century from Ricky Ponting.
An absorbing opening day of the series, with South Africa playing a Test at the WACA for the first time, witnessed a see-saw battle as a four-pronged seam attack kept Australia to 258, despite three partnerships that threatened to take the game away. The South African openers then raced to 38 off the last seven overs of the day, with AB de Villiers hooking the very first ball for four, and gave them a great chance to drive home the advantage.
Full postDawson's unbeaten 144 claws a draw for Tigers
David Dawson produced a timely second first-class hundred to seal a battling draw for Tasmania
Cricinfo staff
15-Dec-2005
David Dawson produced a timely second first-class hundred to seal a battling draw for Tasmania in the Pura Cup match against South Australia. The Tigers, who were 3 for 15 on the opening day, spent the entire match fighting back - they even gave up a 217-run deficit despite declaring at 421 in the first innings - and Dawson helped them scramble to safety with an unbeaten 144.
Playing patiently throughout the day, Dawson was 13 not out as Tasmania resumed at 1 for 30 and studied 293 balls while denting South Australia's hopes of a victory. Dawson, who spent 12 overs traversing the 90s, combined for partnerships of 113 with Michael Bevan and 83 with Travis Birt to cross out the Redbacks' advantage.
Bevan was scratchy in his 41, which included an early lbw shout and a run-out near-miss, while Birt was more fluent in hitting six fours and a six in his 52 before he was dismissed by Trent Kelly from the last ball before tea. Jason Gillespie collected George Bailey, who scored 155 in the first innings, after the break for 7 but Dawson and Sean Clingeleffer made sure there were no late hiccups and they finished on 4 for 291.
Full postWellington complete resounding victory
Wellington won its round two State Championship match against Otago by 10 wickets
Cricinfo staff
15-Dec-2005
Wellington completed the formalities at Otago's University Oval and won their round-two State Championship match by 10 wickets. Chasing 147, Wellington were untroubled, with openers Luke Woodcock (74*) and Matthew Bell (70*) shutting Otago's bowlers out of the game. The match highlights were Jesse Ryder's first-innings 79 and Lain O'Brien's 4 for 12 from 11 overs in Otago's first innings. Aaron Redmond and Nathan McCullum scored 86 and 93 respectively as Otago threatened to fight back on day three. Wellington have a maximum 16 points from their two matches.
Northern Districts and Central Districts played out a tame draw at McLean Park, after Central fell just short of overhauling Northern's first-innings total of 450. Northern used day four as batting practice with Nick Horsley (85) and BJ Watling (88) cashing in on Central's lack of purpose. Northern finished at 234 for 5 when stumps were drawn early. Ewen Thompson snared 3 for 53, including the wickets of the Marshall twins (James 7, Hamish 0), as their miserable start to the season continued. The match was highlighted by Mark Orchard and Joseph Yovich's debut centuries as they combined in a New Zealand record partnership of 322 for the sixth-wicket.
Frequent weather breaks meant there was no chance of an outright result as Canterbury hosted Auckland at the Village Green. The match ended with Canterbury 83 for 2 in the second innings after Auckland easily claimed first-innings points. Peter Fulton was not out on 52. Earlier, Auckland reached 365 with Reece Young the best of the batsmen with 72. There were handy contributions down the order from Tim Lythe (29) and Kerry Walmsley (37). Earlier in the match, Walmsley took 5 for 66 as Canterbury stumbled to 248.
Full postPakistan surge to crushing 165-run win
Pakistan completed a crushing 165-run victory over England to take a 2-1 lead in the series
The Bulletin by Jenny Thompson
15-Dec-2005
Pakistan 353 for 6 (Akmal 109, Yousuf 68, Razzaq 51*) beat England 188 (Shoaib Malik 3-29) by 165 runs
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How they were out
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All the world may be a stage, but Pakistan proved they aren't merely players in a shining performance which glistened from start to finish and comprehensively wiped out England. Kamran Akmal struck his second successive century and the middle order chipped in to blast Pakistan to a heady 353 for 6, before the bowlers cleaned up the visitors for 188 to win by a whopping 165 runs. It was a thoroughly polished non-contest.
Akmal smeared the bowlers to all parts, Mohammad Yousuf battered his way to fifty and Abdul Razzaq clattered an unbeaten 51 from 22 balls to set England a daunting run-chase. It was one that they had to make without their big-hitting superstar Kevin Pietersen, and his absence told - although he would have had to have pulled something quite special out of the bag to rescue England after Pakistan mauled their bowlers.
Full postEagles win a low-scoring nail-biter
The Eagles edged home in a tight finish as the Dolphins folded for 140 in pursuit of 148 at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein
Cricinfo staff
15-Dec-2005
The Eagles edged home in a tight finish as the Dolphins folded for 140 in pursuit of 148 at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein.
The Dolphins' bowlers did everything right by bowling the Eagles out for 148 in 33.2 overs. On a helpful pitch that was not particularly conducive for one-day cricket and made slightly greasier by a mid-innings shower, the Eagles crumbled as a result of some poor cricket. Was it not for a patient 59 from Loots Bosman, the Eagles would have been been skittled for much fewer than their eventual 148. Zahir Abrahim, with career-best figures of 4 for 15, led the charge as the Dolphins bowlers used the conditions to their advantage.
The Eagles bowlers learnt enough from their collapse and kept the ball in the right areas and bowled to their field. Johan van der Wath was named Man of the Match for his 3 for 24 but he was well supported by all the bowlers. Lance Klusener, who had blitzed 39 off 17 balls from No. 8 against the Warriors, batted as low at No. 9 this time and failed to fire. Ahmed Amla made a patient 59 but the other batsmen didn't follow his lead. Though the pitch was less than ideal and the Eagles tenacious, the Dolphins had only themselves to blame for managing just 140 off 44.2 overs.
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