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Astle stars in drawn match
Nathan Astle scores 113 in drawn game against BCB XI
Wisden Cricinfo staff
12-Jul-2005
BCB XI 208 and 27 for 1 drew with New Zealanders 344 for 6 dec and 351 for 4 dec (Astle 113, Sinclair 71, Franklin 62)
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Scorecard
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Nathan Astle got some useful batting practice ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh, scoring 113 as the New Zealanders' three-day game against Bangladesh Cricket Board XI ended in a draw. After taking a first-innings lead of 136, Stephen Fleming opted to give his batsmen another hit in the middle, and Mathew Sinclair, Jacob Oram and James Franklin all chipped in with useful scores.
Astle, however, took centre stage, shrugging off his first-innings failure - he made just 15 - with an emphatic knock which came off 157 balls and included 17 fours and a six. His partnership with Sinclair (71) yielded 174 for the second wicket, after Mark Richardson was an early casualty for the second time in the match, trapped in front by Shahadat Hossain for a duck. Both Astle and Sinclair retired to allow the rest of the batsmen an opportunity. Franklin (62) and Oram (47) continued the run-glut, before Fleming finally declared the innings.
Full postBichel stars with seven as Queensland eye victory
Queensland are well poised to claim outright points in the Pura Cup match against New South Wales at the Gabba after the third day finished early due to rain
Wisden Cricinfo staff
12-Jul-2005
Queensland 2 for 116 (Symonds 71*) & 209 trail NSW 245 (Phelps 84, Haddin 64, Bichel 7-77) & 203 by 124 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Queensland are well poised to claim outright points in the Pura Cup match against New South Wales at the Gabba after the third day finished early due to rain.
The weather seemed the only way to halt Queensland's charge as Andrew Symonds powered them toward the target of 240. Symonds blazed 71 off 61 balls, including 34 off the last 12 deliveries he faced, and shared a century partnership - the first of the match - with Clinton Perren, who was unbeaten on 39.
New South Wales were in control midway through the day at 4 for 219 in their second innings, but Andy Bichel sparked a collapse of 6 for 26. Bichel took a career-best 7 for 77 for the Bulls and finished with 10 wickets for the match.
Full postGilchrist's ton takes Australia home in style
Adam Gilchrist led the charge with a fantastic unbeaten century as Australia romped to the NatWest Challenge title in a thoroughly one-sided match at The Oval
The Bulletin by Jenny Thompson
12-Jul-2005
Australia 229 for 2 (Gilchrist 121*) defeated England 228 for 7 (Pietersen 74, Solanki 53*) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
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Adam Gilchrist led the charge with a fantastic unbeaten century as Australia romped to the NatWest Challenge title in a thoroughly one-sided match at The Oval. Gilchrist's sublime 121 took Australia to an eight-wicket victory, with a whopping 15.1 overs to spare. Kevin Pietersen hit 74 for England to rescue them from 93 for 6 and the Supersub Vikram Solanki added an unbeaten 53, but England's total of 228 for 7 was never going to be enough on a belter of a pitch.
England were thoroughly outplayed, but they were playing with one hand behind their back, too, from the moment they lost the toss, and so lost any advantage that could be gained from the Supersub. Solanki was drafted in to rescue them from 93 for 6, but this was a massive gamble as it meant sacrificing the pace bowler Simon Jones. Solanki answered the call but, with a seriously depleted attack, England were always going to struggle.
Full postTait takes five to give South Australia two points
Shane Tait collected five wickets as South Australia took first-innings points on day two of the Pura Cup match against Victoria at Adelaide Oval
Wisden Cricinfo staff
12-Jul-2005
South Australia 1 for 21 & 254 lead Victoria 223 (Rummans 63, Joseland 51, Tait 5-39) by 52 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Shane Tait collected five wickets as South Australia took first-innings points on day two of the Pura Cup match against Victoria at Adelaide Oval.
Victoria were dismissed for 223, 31 runs short of South Australia's total, after Tait grabbed 5 for 39 and the debutant spinner Dan Cullen chipped in with two wickets. Graeme Rummans top scored with 63 for Victoria while the opener Brendan Joseland made 51.
At stumps South Australia were 1 for 21 with Greg Blewett unbeaten on 11 and Ben Cameron not out seven.
Full postFavourites lose on opening day
Jamaica and Barbados, the two favourites, were beaten by less-fancied teams in the opening round of matches
Wisden Cricinfo staff
12-Jul-2005
The regional one-day tournament in the West Indies got off to a cracking start as Jamaica and Barbados, the two favourites, were beaten by less-fancied teams in the opening round of matches.
Windwards Islands 141 for 3 (Murray 71*) beat Jamaica 139 (Samuels 55, Lewis 4-13) by 7 wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Rawl Lewis and Junior Murray were the stars for Windward Islands as they romped to a convincing seven-wicket victory against Jamaica at Georgetown, in the process taking a couple of bonus points as well for chasing the target in less than 25 overs.
Nothing went right for Jamaica after they won the toss and opted to bat. Chris Gayle, their captain, was one of the early casualties as they slipped to 24 for 4. Most of the damage was done by Kenroy Peters, a left-arm medium-fast bowler. Getting the ball to move both ways, he accounted for Gayle (10), Xavier Marshall (0) and Wavell Hinds (3).
Full postMagoffin makes his mark with four on debut
Steve Magoffin picked up four wickets on debut as Western Australia bowled Tasmania out for 258 on the first day of the Pura Cup match at the WACA
Wisden Cricinfo staff
12-Jul-2005
Western Australia 0 for 2 trail Tasmania 258 (Cox 54, Birt 52, Magoffin 4-70) by 256 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Steve Magoffin picked up four wickets on debut as Western Australia bowled Tasmania out for 258 on the first day of the Pura Cup match at the WACA.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Tasmania were cruising at 1 for 134 on an ideal batting track before Magoffin (4 for 70), who crossed over from Queensland in the off-season, claimed three scalps in 12 balls to drag the home side back into the contest.
The Test bowler Brad Williams (2 for 48), who had been troubled with hamstring soreness before the match, got the first breakthrough after the openers Jamie Cox and David Dawson put on 80 runs for the first wicket. But the Tigers then faulted badly, losing nine wickets for 124 runs to be all out in the penultimate over of the day. Western Australia were 0 for 2 at stumps.
Full postHashim's hundred gives Dolphins the lead
Dolphins and Titans register wins
Keith Lane
12-Jul-2005
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Dolphins 223 and 295 for 4 (H Amla 115, Benkenstein 85*, Hayward 3-76) beat Warriors 349 and 165 by six wickets
Hashim Amla scored his fourth hundred of the season to secure a six-wicket win for the Dolphins over the Warriors at a wet and gloomy Port Elizabeth. A man in prolific form with the bat as well as showing some good captaincy skills, Amla could well be catching the eyes of the national selectors. In six innings this season he has scored 530 runs at an average of 88.33.
A morning that started promisingly for the Warriors was nearly washed away as rain forced the players off the field for an early lunch. The Dolphins had started the day on 28 for 1, still 270 runs behind, and they were soon in trouble with the loss of Ahmed Amla for 25
and Doug Watson for 19.
Full postNortherns blow ill for Easterns
Northernsand KwaZulu Natal register wins
Keith Lane
12-Jul-2005
Northerns 316 for 6 (Smith 97, Paleker 51, Dros 57, Almeida 3-35) beat Easterns 236 for 9 (Bodi 76, van Woerkom 3-43) by 80 runs
Northerns made the best possible start against Easterns at SuperSport Park as Aldin Smith (97) and Allahudien Paleker got away to a flier scoring 77 runs for the first wicket, with Paleker's 50 coming off 31 balls.
Nic van Woerkom then smashed a quick 49 off 45 opening the door for Gerald Dros to race to 57 off 40. Not to be outdone Justin Kemp then fired 26 off 10 balls for Northerns to end on 316. Easterns had struggled in the field with only Renato Almeida featuring by taking a creditable 3 for 35 in his nine overs.
Easterns made a good start with their first fifty coming up in 10 overs as Andre Seymore tried to accelerate the innings. He edged an expansive drive into his stumps to be bowled for 40 while Goolam Bodi tried to emulate the Northerns tactics. His 50 came up in 35 balls after sending eight fours and two sixes to the ropes.
Full postTail wags Queensland to victory
The tailenders Andy Bichel and Ashley Noffke guided Queensland to a thrilling two-wicket Pura Cup win over New South Wales at the Gabba
Wisden Cricinfo staff
12-Jul-2005
Queensland 8 for 241 (Symonds 79, Bracken 5-49) & 209 defeated NSW 245 & 203 by two wickets
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Scorecard
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The tailenders Andy Bichel and Ashley Noffke guided Queensland to a thrilling two-wicket Pura Cup win over New South Wales at the Gabba. Bichel (28 not out) and Noffke (15 not out) ensured Queensland picked up outright points with 22 balls to spare on a rain-affected last day.
Bichel and Noffke came together with 24 still needed for victory after Nathan Bracken dismissed the injured batsman Martin Love, who has a broken finger, for a gutsy 6 in 39 minutes. Andrew Symonds top-scored with 79 but Bichel was named Man of the Match for his 10-wicket match haul and invaluable lower-order batting.
Full postPonting century seals win for Australia
On Thursday, England wrapped up a nine-wicket win at Headingley; on Sunday Australia replied with an seven-wicket win at Lord's
The Bulletin by Andrew Miller
10-Jul-2005
Australia 224 for 3 (Ponting 111) beat England 223 for 8 (Flintoff 87, Lee 5-41) by seven wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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On Thursday, England wrapped up a nine-wicket win at Headingley; on Sunday Australia replied with an seven-wicket win at Lord's. Such are the swings and roundabouts of the NatWest Challenge. But, with the Ashes getting underway in just 11 days' time, the identity of Australia's enforcers were more significant than the victory itself.
Brett Lee's fast and furious figures of 5 for 41, the best by an Australian in a one-day match at Lord's, ensured that Australia were set an eminently attainable 224 for victory. But it was Ricky Ponting's 18th one-day century - only his second half-century of a lean tour of England - that ensured they won at a canter with more than five overs to spare.
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