Report
Ponting's ton gives Aussies the edge
Ricky Ponting's 24th Test century spared Australia the blushes as Shivnarine Chanderpaul's gamble of inserting the opposition paid dividends on the opening day of the series at the Gabba
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
03-Nov-2005
Australia 7 for 340 (Ponting 149, Collymore 4-47) v West Indies
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Ricky Ponting's 24th Test century spared Australia the blushes as Shivnarine Chanderpaul's gamble of inserting the opposition paid dividends on the opening day of the series at the Gabba. Corey Collymore produced a magnificent spell of seam bowling after lunch, but with Adam Gilchrist providing an attractive cameo in support, Ponting's punishing 149 wrested back the initiative as the 100th match between the two most successful sides in the annals of Test cricket got off to an enthralling start.
Having lost Michael Hussey, the 30-year-old debutant with over 15,000 first-class runs to his name, early in the morning, Ponting was quickly into his stride, driving and pulling with panache as Australia survived a fiery opening burst from Fidel Edwards and Daren Powell.
Full postDhoni scripts magnificent victory
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the difference between India and Sri Lanka as what appeared to be an even contest turned out to be another romp for the home team
The Bulletin by S Rajesh
31-Oct-2005
India 303 for 4 (Dhoni 183*) beat Sri Lanka 298 for 4 (Sangakkara 138*, Jayawardene 71*) by 6 wickets
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Dhoni's blistering onslaught completely put to shade another masterclass by Kumar Sangakkara, who held Sri Lanka's batting together in a superbly paced 138. On a sluggish pitch, Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene (71 off 70) justified Marvan Atapattu's decision to bat first after winning the toss, but what seemed a competitive total was rendered completely inadequate by Dhoni's pyrotechnics.
He came in to bat after Sachin Tendulkar - the hero of the first two matches - had been dismissed off the fifth ball of the match, but within minutes the deathly silence in the stands was replaced by raucous cheers as Dhoni got down to business. In the first game of the series, the Indian think-tank had plumped for Irfan Pathan at No. 3; this time, with the target a stiff one, Dhoni was the chosen one, and once again the move turned out to be an inspired one.
Full postNorth West storm to victory against Free State
North West completed a comfortable 85-run against Free State in the Provincial Cup at Bloemfontein
Cricinfo staff
30-Oct-2005
North West strolled to a convincing 85-run win against Free State in the Provincial Cup at Bloemfontein. Jimmy Kgamadi, the North West captain, was the backbone for their total of 240 for 8, gaining useful support from Mohammad Akoojee, who chipped in with 47 off 56 balls. Benjamin Hector, Free State's skipper, was attempting to match Kgamadi's innings, but his 51 was a lone hand in a disappointing reply. At 100 for 3 they still had a fair chance of reaching the target however, the middle and lower order fell away with off-spinner Johnny Hermitage claiming three wickets, including the important scalp of Hector.
Full postTitans denied amid controversial scenes
A round-up of the action from the fourth day in the second round of SuperSport Series matches
Cricinfo staff
30-Oct-2005
The Titans were denied the chance to push for victory amid controversial scenes on the final at East London. The Warriors were struggling at 118 for 7 - still 26 behind - when bad light arrived and then rain started to fall with an hour remaining. The ground staff were slow to cover the pitch and, as a result, when the rain stopped the umpires would not allow play to restart because the pitch would have been dangerous. The Titans built up a huge 586 for 9 - to lead by 144 runs - with Zander de Bruyn reaching 175 before he was stumped off Robin Petersen. The Warriors were left with two sessions to survive but lost early wickets against the new ball. They slumped to 78 for 5, although Burton de Wett held firm for three hours. Paul Harris, a 26-year-old slow-left arm bowler, sent down 21 impressive overs, before he was denied the chance to have a match-winning role.
The Lions completed a comprehensive six-wicket win against the Eagles at Potchefstroom with Stephen Cook stroking 63. His innings ensured the Lions had few alarms chasing their target of 173. Justin Ontong made 36 in a third-wicket stand of 65 before the captain, Neil McKenzie, guided them over the winning line.
Hashim Amla completed a satisfying match by notching an unbeaten 58 as the Dolphins and the Cape Cobras played out a painstaking draw at Paarl. Amla and Doug Watson took the opportunity for an extended net session on the final afternoon against some unthreatening bowling. The most notable performance was a five-wicket haul for Ugasen Govender as the Cape Cobras were dismissed for 332.
Full postSriram's century in vain as Central triumph
Sridharan Sriram's valiant unbeaten 136 went in vain as Central Zone, set to chase a paltry target of 49, sauntered to an emphatic eight-wicket victory in the Duleep Trophy clash at Surat
Cricinfo staff
30-Oct-2005
Central Zone 478 (Pagnis 142, Yadav 87) and 52 for 2 beat South
Zone 265 (Karthik 51) and 261 (Sriram 136*) by 8 wickets
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Sridharan Sriram's valiant unbeaten 136 went in vain as Central Zone, set to chase a paltry target of 49, sauntered to an emphatic eight-wicket victory in the Duleep Trophy clash at Surat. Kulamani Parida, the Railways offspinner, and Piyush Chawla, the legspinner from Uttar Pradesh who had an impressive first-class debut, snapped up three wickets apiece as South were bundled out for 261 on the fourth day.
Only Lakshmipathy Balaji (32) offered Sriram some support as the rest of line-up crumbled against the spinners. Amit Pagnis, the Railways opener who had set things up with a fine 142 in the first innings, then charged to the target with a breezy 31 off 17 balls.
Full postQueensland escape with a draw
Martin Love's counterattacking hundred helped Queensland escape with a draw against the touring West Indians at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane, despite Marlon Samuels's five-wicket haul
Cricinfo staff
30-Oct-2005
Queensland 9 for 378 (Love 108, Symonds 77, Hartley 60, Samuels 5-87) and 323 drew with West Indians 612
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Martin Love's counterattacking hundred helped Queensland escape with a draw against the touring West Indians at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane, despite Marlon Samuels's five-wicket haul. Queensland appeared to have done enough when Love (108) and Andrew Symonds (77) added 175 for the fourth wicket to take them to a comfortable 262. However, Samuels spun a web with his offbreaks, scuttling out Symonds and James Hopes in the space of 13 balls, and along with Gayle, who removed Love soon after, reduced Queensland to 6 for 272.
Samuels removed Chris Simpson and West Indians went to tea needing only three more wickets to wrap it up. But they were thwarted by Chris Hartley, who made an enterprising 60 not out, including three sixes, with one mighty hit landing on the roof of the Queensland Cricket building. He was ably assisted by Michael Kasprowicz, who joined Hartley with the score on 9 for 343 and hung around for 39 valuable minutes as the duo denied the West Indians a morale-boosting win ahead of the first Test at the Gabba.
Full postGibbs and Kemp carry South Africa to series win
Justin Kemp blasted South Africa across the line at Port Elizabeth and carried them to an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
30-Oct-2005
South Africa 245 for 6 (Gibbs 81) beat New Zealand 243 for 9 (Styris 78, Fleming 54, Ntini 3-37) by 4 wickets
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Justin Kemp blasted South Africa across the line at Port Elizabeth and carried them to an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Herschelle Gibbs laid the foundations for the run chase with a stylish 81, but a committed performance in the field by New Zealand took the game down to the final over. South Africa needed nine and it took Kemp just two balls as he dispatched Shane Bond for six and four to seal the win.
When Kemp was joined by Shaun Pollock South Africa needed 42 off 30 balls and New Zealand sensed a chance to keep the series alive. Mark Boucher was brilliantly run out by a diving Lou Vincent at cover and the pressure was starting to mount. However, Kemp is becoming the next Lance Klusener and believes he can achieve any target with his powerful strokeplay. On this occasion St George's Park wasn't big enough for him and New Zealand were left to ponder how they are going to beat this South Africa side after wasting three gilt-edged chances.
Full postCoetzee's all round efforts guide Griquas home
Griqualand West completed a comfortable four-wicket win against Easterns in Benoni in the SAA Provincial Cup
Cricinfo staff
29-Oct-2005
Griqualand West completed a comfortable four-wicket win against Easterns in Benoni following their two-day rout of the same team in the Provincial Challenge. Jandre Coetzee was the star performer for Griquas; firstly he took 4 for 17 to undermine Easterns' batting, then he guided his team home with a composed 30 after three wickets from David Wiese threatened to make a game of it. Easterns did well to post any sort of target after slumping to 30 for 4 and it was Wiese - with bat in hand - who guided them to respectability with 59 off 56 balls. However, Coetzee would have the final say in the battle of the allrounders.
Full postBoland tail deny KwaZulu-Natal
A round-up of the second day in the latest round of SAA Provincial Challenge matches
Cricinfo staff
29-Oct-2005
Boland secured a battling draw against KwaZulu-Natal thanks to a determined 85 from Willem Louw and some stubborn lower order resistance. When the eighth wicket fell Boland were only 10 runs ahead but Waylain September and Pepler Sandri forged a stand of 53 to deny KwaZulu-Natal victory.
Petrus Koortzen notched an unbeaten 107 as the match between Free State and North West fizzled to a draw at Bloemfontein. Only 15 overs were possible on the final day and North West did not manage to add to their six wickets.
An effective spell of medium-pace bowling by Sinethumba Mjekula cleaned up the tail of the Zimbabwe Under-23s and set up Eastern Province's convincing five-wicket win in Port Elizebeth. Resuming overnight at 147 for 4, the Zimbabweans rode on a fine hundred by Colin de Grandhomme, laced with 17 fours and a six, but couldn't consolidate their position owing to a regular loss of wickets. Mjekula's five-wicket haul meant that Eastern Province were left to chase 216, a target which was made to look inadequtate by a strong batting display with Riaan Jeggels steering them home with a rapid 61.
Full postvan Wyk holds up Lions victory charge
A round-up of the action from the third day in the second round of SuperSport Series matches
Cricinfo staff
29-Oct-2005
A career-best 158 from Morne van Wyk kept the Eagles in with an outside chance of pulling off a comeback against the Lions although a target of 173 should not provide too many problems on the final day. van Wyk added 143 for the eighth-wicket with Ryan McLaren to help guide the Eagles from 213 for 7 to 381 all out. Garnet Kruger was the pick of the attack with a hard-earned 5 for 114.
The third day at Paarl was low on excitement as an attritional performance from the Cape Cobras produced 192 runs in 96 overs. An unbroken eighth wicket stand of 49 between Vernon Philander and Paul Adams edged them past the follow on after Dale Benkenstein produced a surprising performance with the ball for the Dolphins. The Cape Cobra's early progress was steady as Gerhard Strydom reached 82 before Benkenstein burst through with three quick wickets with his medium pace. Ian Harvey struck a valuable half-century, but Ugasen Govender's three wickets kept the Dolphins in control.
Alviro Petersen and Zander de Bruyn cracked impressive centuries to take the Titans into a first-innings lead against the Warriors at East London. Petersen faced 289 balls before falling to Tyron Henderson but then de Bruyn and Albie Morkel added an unbeaten 110 for the sixth wicket. A draw is the favourite result on a pitch that has been a batsman's paradise.
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