Report
Australia draw with Northants
Shaun Tait produced a fiery bowling display, and Simon Katich returned to form with 63
Cricinfo staff
21-Aug-2005
Australia 374 for 6 dec and 226 for 2 (Katich 63, Langer 86*) drew with Northamptonshire 169 (Phillips 39*, McGrath 3-24)
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Australia warmed up for the fourth Test by dismissing Northamtonshire for just 169, on day two of their tour match, before allowing Simon Katich to make some useful runs ahead of the fourth Test on Thursday. Shaun Tait, who replaced Jason Gillespie and who is fighting for a Test place with Mike Kasprowicz, bowled with menace and took the first two wickets of the day, to improve his hopes of inclusion at Trent Bridge.
Tait was expensive, conceding 52 runs from his 14 overs, but his pace was too much for Tim Roberts. He struck the opener on the head with a brutal ball, which drew blood and caused Roberts to retire hurt for 18. Tait then removed Usman Afzaal, shortly followed by Northants' captain David Sales for a duck, perishing to a yorker. Kasprowicz, meanwhile, only picked up a single wicket, that of Riki Wessels. Wickets continued to tumble, with Glenn McGrath back to his metonomic best, taking three for 24 from 11 overs, and Northants were grateful for a battling innings by Ben Phillips, who remained unbeaten on 37.
Full postEngland women hold on for nailbiting win
In dramatic scenes reminiscent of Edgbaston, England women held their nerve to pull off a nail-biting two-run victory against Australia
The Bulletin by Jenny Thompson
21-Aug-2005
England women 200 (Taylor 82) defeated Australia women 198 for 7 by two runs
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In dramatic scenes reminiscent of Edgbaston, England women held their nerve to pull off a nail-biting two-run victory against Australia. This time, though, the setting was Stratford-upon-Avon and victory for England was vital to keep the NatWest Series alive.
Is the Australian regime crumbling? Probably not, but it is the first time England's women have defeated Australia in 23 matches - the last victory was in the World Cup in 1993, which England went on to win - and the first time Clare Connor, England's captain, has ever been in a successful side against the old enemy.
Full postWickets aplenty, but rain has the final say
The Afro-Asia Cup was shared by the two teams after the final match at Durban was abandoned due to rain
The Bulletin by S Rajesh
21-Aug-2005
Asia XI 8 for 2 v Africa XI 106 (Pollock 44*, Zaheer 3-21). Match abandoned due to rain
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How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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In conditions heavily assisting seam and swing, the bowlers from both sides had an enjoyable evening, but in the end rain, which played spoilsport throughout the day, had the final say at Durban. After being bundled out for a paltry 106, Africa XI hit back strongly, reducing Asia XI to 8 for 2, before the weather gods intervened for the final time, forcing the game to be abandoned and the series to end level at 1-1.
The match started with an extended rain delay, too. Immediately after the toss, the weather forced the players to shelter for 105 minutes. When they came back out, the decision by Graeme Smith - back in the saddle after serving his two-match ban for slow over-rates in the West Indies - to bat didn't seem such a clever one. With a heavy cloud cover overhead, conditions were ideal for swing bowling. Both Zaheer Khan and Shoaib Akhtar utilised them to the hilt, keeping an excellent length and moving the ball both ways to share five of the first six wickets. Shaun Pollock thrashed the bowling in an entertaining cameo, and remained unbeaten on 44 from just 35 balls, but none of the other batsmen made substantial contributions.
Full postHayden finds his feet
Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke both struck centuries for Australia
Cricinfo staff
20-Aug-2005
Australia 374 for 6 dec (Hayden 136, Clarke 121) lead Northamptonshire 29 for 2 (Roberts 12*) by 345 runs
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Matthew Hayden struck a timely century for Australia to find form ahead of the fourth Ashes Test on Thursday, on a day dominated by Australia at Northampton. Hayden shared a partnership of 206 with Michael Clarke, who struck a brisk 121, as the tourists declared on 376 for 6. Northamptonshire then lost two wickets before the close of play, with just 29 on the board. Shaun Tait was chosen for the tourists ahead of Jason Gillespie, who seems likely to miss out on playing in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
Northamptonshire had the Australians in trouble earlier in the day. Justin Langer, who is in excellent form, was dismissed for just 1, while Simon Katich, promoted to No.3, yet again failed to make a substantial contribution. He fell to Steffan Jones for 19. With Damien Martyn also succumbing to Jones, Australia were stumbling at 69 for 3.
Full postErvine century eases Hampshire into final
Sean Ervine eased Hampshire into the C & G Final with a silky 100 from 99 balls at the Rose Bowl
Cricinfo staff
20-Aug-2005
Hampshire 199 for 2 (Ervine 100, Pothas 73*) defeated Yorkshire 197 for 9 (Lumb 43, White 40*) by eight wickets
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Sean Ervine eased Hampshire into the C & G Final with a silky 100 from 99 balls at the Rose Bowl. Hampshire outplayed Yorkshire in all three disciplines, tight bowling and impressive fielding restricting the visitors 197 for 9. The home side made smooth work of their reply, coasting to an eight-wicket victory with more than ten overs to spare.
"It's been a pretty average day," admitted Yorkshire's captain Craig White afterwards, "but we are not making any excuses. We were outplayed by Hampshire." They did make early inroads into Hampshire's innings, though, when John Crawley played all round one which Deon Kruis got to nip back.
Full postWarwickshire storm into final
Warwickshire stormed into the C&G final, beating Lancashire by 99 runs at Edgbaston
Will Luke
20-Aug-2005
Warwickshire 236 for 7 50 overs (Powell 44*, North 3-31) defeated Lancashire 137 (Law 47, Carter 4-26) by 99 runs
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Warwickshire stormed into the C&G final, beating Lancashire by 99 runs at Edgbaston. The excellent work performed by their tail-enders paid off, as Lancashire stumbled chasing 237 for victory, thanks to disciplined bowling by Warwickshire's seamers.
Lancashire lost their first two wickets cheaply, and worse was to come as their key batsman, Andrew Symonds, was caught by the South African Makhaya Ntini off Neil Carter. Indeed, Ntini and Carter were the stars for Warwickshire; Ntini took 2 for 12 from 10 overs to really apply the brakes, and Carter 4 for 26 from 6 overs.
Full postSeamers lead Asia XI to win
Asia XI roared back into the Afro-Asia Cup with a 17-run win that squared the series 1-1
The Bulletin by Anand Vasu
20-Aug-2005
Asia XI 267 for 7 (Sangakkara 61, Jayawardene 52) beat Africa XI 250 by 17 runs
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How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Asia XI roared back into the Afro-Asia Cup with a 17-run win that squared the series 1-1, with the decider to be played tomorrow. Workmanlike innings from two artistic batsmen, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, took the Asia XI to 268 - a very healthy score on a ground where the average first-innings score is only 224. The Africa XI batsmen then struggled against quality fast bowling under lights, lost early wickets, and eventually slumped to 250 all out.
The pitch at Kingsmead, Durban, wore such a green look with all the live grass on it that Shaun Pollock conceded that he would have liked to bowl first anyway, when Inzamam-ul-Haq won the toss and chose to bat. But the pitch did nothing out of the ordinary - barring some spongy bounce early on - and batsmen who spent some time getting their eye in managed to score fluently.
Full postNitschke takes seven as England collapse
Shelley Nitschke's 7 for 24 took Australia's women to victory
Cricinfo staff
19-Aug-2005
Australia women 193 for 8 (Keightley 58, Guha 3-24) beat England women 123 (Taylor 48, Nitschke 7-24) by 65 runs
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Shelley Nitschke took seven wickets as Australia crushed England at Kidderminster. Nitschke, the slow left-arm spinner, took seven for 24 from 7.1 overs, including six wides, to give the tourists a 2-0 lead in the one-day series.
England had started their innings encouragingly, with Laura Newton making 45 and Claire Taylor, their wicketkeeper, falling two short of her second fifty in as many games. Their partnership of 79 ended when Taylor edged Julie Hayes behind, which opened the floodgates in dramatic fashion.
Full postSymonds smashes third century
Andrew Symonds cracked his third century in three Championship matches for Lancashire as they established a first innings lead of 120
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
18-Aug-2005
Yorkshire 417 and 71 for 0 (Wood 32*, Sayers 26*) trail Lancashire 537 (Symonds 146, Chilton 130, Sutcliffe 93, Kruis 5-102)
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Andrew Symonds cracked his third century in three Championship matches for Lancashire as they established a first innings lead of 120 in the Roses clash at Old Trafford. However, the Yorkshire openers, Matthew Wood and Joe Sayers, weathered an early barrage in the second innings to leave the draw as the favourite result on the final day.
Yorkshire had begun the day in fine style as Deon Kruis grabbed three early wickets to put the skids under Lancashire's efforts to establish a significant lead. From their overnight position of 243 for 2, they lost 3 for 17 including Mark Chilton, caught down the leg side, as failed to add to his 130. Kruis found some lift and movement, inducing Stuart Law to flash outside his off stump (244 for 4) then had Marcus North caught in the gully from an attempting drive (250 for 5).
Dominic Cork stopped the slide, in partnership with Symonds, as the pair added 116 with a mixture of watchful defence and measured attack. Symonds, after a careful start, began to open his shoulder as he approached, and then cruised past, his half century. Cork was his usual hyperactive self but after reaching his fifty he was brilliantly caught by Wood, who sprinted back from slip to hold a top-edged pull (366 for 6). That gave Kruis is fourth scalp, then he snaffled his fifth when Glen Chapple was taken at second slip (371 for 7).
Full postMbhalati silences Lions
A career-best 4 for 32 from Ethy Mbhalati helped Titans take a slender lead over Lions at Potchefstroom, while Western Province-Boland eased into control against Warriors
Keith Lane
18-Aug-2005
Titans 204 and 30 for 0 lead Lions190 (Mbhalati 4-32) by 44 runs
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At Potchefstroom, Lions made very slow progress through the day as they were bowled for 190 in 88 overs in response to Titans's 204. Neil McKenzie (34) and William Nkwe got the innings back on the road after two early wickets, while HD Ackerman (22) tried to up the tempo in his 36-minute knock. It was Nkwe who stabilised the innings with a patient 42, occupying the crease from almost four hours. The extra bounce from Ethy Mbhalati helped him register a career-best 4 for 32. At the close, Titans had reached 30 for 0.
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At Potchefstroom, Lions made very slow progress through the day as they were bowled for 190 in 88 overs in response to Titans's 204. Neil McKenzie (34) and William Nkwe got the innings back on the road after two early wickets, while HD Ackerman (22) tried to up the tempo in his 36-minute knock. It was Nkwe who stabilised the innings with a patient 42, occupying the crease from almost four hours. The extra bounce from Ethy Mbhalati helped him register a career-best 4 for 32. At the close, Titans had reached 30 for 0.
Western Province-Boland 206 and 82 for 1 lead Warriors 189 (Boucher 65, Willoughby 4-50, Klienveldt 3-33) by 99 runs
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At Newlands, Western Province Boland bowled the Warriors out 189 to take a 17 run first-innings lead. Arno Jacobs (38) and Mark Boucher (65) had stemmed the tide in a 111-run partnership, but when both fell in quick succession the Warriors were bowled out for 189 on the stroke of at tea. Charl Willoughby, taking four, once again in the wickets assisted by the three from Rory Klienveldt. At the close Western Province Boland replied with 82 for 1, a lead of 99, with Andrew Puttick on 27 and Gerhard Strydom on 35.
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At Newlands, Western Province Boland bowled the Warriors out 189 to take a 17 run first-innings lead. Arno Jacobs (38) and Mark Boucher (65) had stemmed the tide in a 111-run partnership, but when both fell in quick succession the Warriors were bowled out for 189 on the stroke of at tea. Charl Willoughby, taking four, once again in the wickets assisted by the three from Rory Klienveldt. At the close Western Province Boland replied with 82 for 1, a lead of 99, with Andrew Puttick on 27 and Gerhard Strydom on 35.
Dolphins 160 for 5 trail Eagles 312 (Jacobs 83, Bosman 65, Ngam 3-64) by 152 runs
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At Durban, Dolphins struggled to 160 for 5 when bad light brought an early end. Eagles had earlier been bowled out for 312. Adding 58 runs to their overnight total of 254, Eagles struck in the first over when Deon Kruis clean bowled Rivash Gobind. Doug Watson, Ahmed Amla and Duncan Brown all made starts but could not convert, to leave the Dolphins at 132 for 5 when Lance Klusener joined Dale Benkenstein (47*).
Full postScorecard
At Durban, Dolphins struggled to 160 for 5 when bad light brought an early end. Eagles had earlier been bowled out for 312. Adding 58 runs to their overnight total of 254, Eagles struck in the first over when Deon Kruis clean bowled Rivash Gobind. Doug Watson, Ahmed Amla and Duncan Brown all made starts but could not convert, to leave the Dolphins at 132 for 5 when Lance Klusener joined Dale Benkenstein (47*).
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