Report

Tait spearheads South Australia to victory

Victoria fall short at Adelaide

Wisden Cricinfo staff
13-Jul-2005


Paul Rofe traps David Hussey leg-before © Getty Images
A young South Australian side has upstaged the champions Victoria by grabbing an outright victory in the Pura Cup match at Adelaide. The emerging paceman Shaun Tait led South Australia, who included four debutants, with match figures of 9 for 73 as Victoria fell well short of their target of 321.
Tait's returns of 5 for 39 and 4 for 34 were more reminders to the national selectors, and earned him the Man of the Match award. "Whenever you throw the ball to him in times of need he delivers and that's what you want from a premier fast bowler," said SA's captain Graham Manou.
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Nurse stars in Barbados triumph

Barbados defeat Leewards by 6 wickets in their second match

Wisden Cricinfo staff
13-Jul-2005
Barbados made amends for their shock defeat against Trinidad and Tobago, as they romped past Leewards by six wickets in their second match of the regional one-day competition.
Leeward Islands won the toss and opted to bat, but they were never in the game after losing half their side for just 44. Stuart Williams, their captain, propped up the innings, scoring 55, but the team only managed 147. The wickets were shared around, with Ryan Hinds picking up three, while Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore and Sulieman Benn all picked up a couple.
Martin Nurse then led the run-chase, scoring 70 as Barbados won with more than 12 overs to spare, and managed to get a bonus point as well. The win took Barbados to second place in the table with five points, though they have played a game more than Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, who have four points each.
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West Indies make a cautious start

West Indies go into lunch on 105 for 3 on the opening day of the first Test

S Rajesh
S Rajesh
13-Jul-2005
Lunch West Indies 105 for 3 (Deonarine 7*, Chanderpaul 1*) v Sri Lanka


Chaminda Vaas provided the early breakthrough with his probing swing bowling © Getty Images
A severely depleted West Indian team put up a spirited display on the first session of the first Test at the SSC in Colombo, but still lost three top-order wickets, going into lunch on 105 for 3 after winning the toss. Runako Morton and Sylvester Joseph held up the Sri Lankans for much of the morning session, putting together 58 in a dogged second-wicket stand, but both fell after getting starts, ensuring that Sri Lanka would still be fairly confident of restricting West Indies' first-innings total.
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Sehwag's day

The story of West Indian cricket abroad over the past seven years is one that induces you to creep under the covers and hide

Wisden CricInfo staff
13-Jul-2005
Close India 278 for 2 (Dravid 28*, Tendulkar 35*)
Scorecard
The story of West Indian cricket abroad over the past seven years is one that induces you to creep under the covers and hide. On this evidence, that rope-thin run will continue a while - as long as the players combine wretched ineptitude with a seemingly lackadaisical approach more suitable for the village green than international cricket.
After making some encouraging noises early on, courtesy of Mervyn Dillon and Pedro Collins, they fell away to finish the first day of the series teetering on the edge of a precipice. Virender Sehwag's scintillating hundred and a double century opening partnership saw their worst nightmares realised and at 278 for 2, India are well and truly in the box seats. If West Indies don't buck up and soon, the once-mighty will fall a few feet more.
Take no credit away from Sehwag though. After a cautious start, he was simply magnificent. The bowlers helped by feeding him a regular diet of deliveries outside off stump, deliveries that were either cut, driven or simply bludgeoned away. Sanjay Bangar took the crease occupation credo a tad too literally at times, but his belligerent 55 was a perfect counterweight to Sehwag's swashbuckling batting after lunch. And at times - as with a glorious straight six off Ryan Hinds - Bangar showed he could do some hitting of his own.
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Chanderpaul leads from the front

Shivnarine Chanderpaul Denesh Ramdin were the stars of the first day as West Indies finished on a respectable 271 for 6



Runako Morton hits a six during his innings of 43 against Sri Lanka © AFP
A typical battling effort from Shivnarine Chanderpaul and a surprisingly polished performance from Denesh Ramdin were the highlights of the opening day as West Indies finished on a respectable 271 for 6 at the Sinhalese Sports Club. Chanderpaul battled through more than two sessions to remain unbeaten on a dogged 69, but the more surprising performance came from Ramdin, the debutant wicketkeeper, who stroked a spunky 56.
West Indies went into the Test at the SSC in Colombo fearing the worst - their batting line-up was, apart from Chanderpaul, severely lacking in ability and experience, the bowling line-up had no world-class spinner, and they were playing an opposition known for their prowess on home territory. By the end of the first day, though, they had done to ensure that the match wouldn't quite be a three-day, one-sided romp for the Sri Lankans.
The West Indian side had three debutants in their line-up, and two of them rose to the occasion. Xavier Marshall was the only one who failed to make an impact - he was trapped in front by Chaminda Vaas early in the piece - but Runako Morton and Ramdin showed enough stomach for a fight as experience and youth battled hard to counter the Sri Lankans.
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Match drawn after rain plays spoilsport

Play called off due to rain shortly before 1 pm

The Bulletin by Wisden Cricinfo staff
12-Jul-2005


Jason Gillespie: soaks in the atmosphere in the middle of the Chidambaram Stadium at Chennai © Getty Images
Shortly before 1pm on the final day of the Chennai Test, the match was called off after heavy overnight rain and a steady morning drizzle ruined any chance of play. So the match was drawn - a disappointment for everyone, with the day set up for an enthralling finish. India needed 210 more with 10 wickets in hand to reach the target of 229. The result means Australia hold on to their 1-0 lead in the four-Test series, which resumes with the third Test at Nagpur, starting on October 26.
There was plenty of frustration for Adam Gilchrist and Sourav Ganguly as both teams were in with a real chance of winning. India perhaps had the edge, with Virender Sehwag in belligerent form, but it still could have gone either way. The pitch at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Nagpur is traditionally a batting beauty, and this will boost Australia's chances of keeping the series lead.
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Baby Redbacks give Victoria the blues

South Australia's baby Redbacks shared the honours with the Pura Cup champions to set up a classic showdown with Victoria at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow

Wisden Cricinfo staff
12-Jul-2005


Greg Blewett on his way to 89 © Getty Images
South Australia's baby Redbacks shared the honours with the Pura Cup champions to set up a classic showdown with Victoria at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow. After losing their way in the middle order, South Australia, who have four debutants, finished with a flourish to set the Bushrangers 321 to win.
Resuming at 1 for 21, the Redbacks found the early stages a struggle and even the former Test opener Blewett failed to break open Victoria's conservative approach. Blewett's pedestrian 89, including the slowest half century by a South Australian, set the tone for much of the day. Brighter spots were the 46 from the newcomer Callum Ferguson and an unbeaten 47 from fellow debutant Jack Smith. The rising star Mark Cosgrove also clubbed 57, including 11 boundaries to back up from his 82 in the first innings.
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Hussey and Marsh put Western Australia in front

Western Australia gain first-innings lead over Tasmania on the second day of their Pura Cup match at Perth.

Wisden Cricinfo staff
12-Jul-2005


Michael Hussey on his way to a big hundred © Getty Images
Mike Hussey and Shaun Marsh put on an unbroken 244-run stand for the fourth wicket to give Western Australia a first-innings lead over Tasmania on the second day of their Pura Cup match at Perth.
Hussey hit 20 boundaries on the way to his hundred, which he brought up just before tea, and remained undefeated five short of his first double century for WA. At the other end, Marsh was 81 not out, his highest score at Perth since his debut in 2001.
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Sizzling Martyn sets up a thriller

Damien Martyn's century sets up victory target of 229 for India

Wisden Cricinfo staff
12-Jul-2005


Damien Martyn scored a stroke-filled hundred to take his team from a vulnerable position to one of strength © Getty Images
Allan Border recently asked in one of his columns, "when have these two teams last played out a dull, listless draw?" The complexion of the game at Chennai has changed more often, and more dramatically, than Michael Jackson's in his lengthy career. A brilliant century from Damien Martyn, under pressure, put Australia on course to a healthy lead. Then Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble had their say, and Australia were all out for 370; India were left chasing 229 for victory. They made a bright start, reaching 19 for no loss from three overs before the end of the day.
When Australia resumed on the fourth day, with a lead of nine, India were well on top. A passage of remarkable resistance, signified by an 80-run morning session, turned the tables. Those who focus merely on the elegance and beauty of Martyn's strokeplay do so at their own peril. The manner in which he tackled India's spinners, playing forward initially, then realising his folly and going right back, showed his maturity. Like all great batsmen, he forced the spinners to bowl where he wanted them to. Harbhajan was keen to exploit the rough outside the off, and Martyn sidestepped lithely outside the off to counter this.
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