Report
Pakistan Masters romp to title
Pakistan Masters posted a crushing win over their Indian counterparts and lifted the Sheikh Zayed Cup
Cricinfo staff
04-May-2005
Pakistan Masters 283 for 8 (Inzamam 72, Kamal 58, Youhana 50) beat Indian Masters 138 by 145 runs
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Three solid half-centuries by the middle-order batsmen helped Pakistan Masters post a crushing 145-run win over their Indian counterparts and lift the Sheikh Zayed Cup at Abu Dhabi. The Pakistan Masters had earlier beaten the Sri Lankans in another one-sided contest. The Pakistanis amassed 283 for 8 after winning the toss, and then took early wickets to ensure that India were never in the hunt.
Pakistan, though, suffered some early jolts and were reduced to 41 for 4 in the 10th over. But Asim Kamal and Yousuf Youhana established the launching pad with a steady 92-run partnership before Inzamam-ul-Haq rattled a 62-ball 72, including seven fours and a six, to boost them to a commanding total.
Full postBravo enlivens drab final day
Dwayne Bravo's maiden Test century was the highlight of the final day of the long-dead-and-buried Antigua Test
The Bulletin by Andrew Miller
03-May-2005
South Africa 588 for 6 dec (Kallis 147, Prince 131, Smith 126, de Villiers 114) and 127 for 1 (Smith 50*, Dippenaar 56*) drew with West Indies 747 (Gayle 317, Sarwan 127, Chanderpaul 127, Bravo 107)
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How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Dwayne Bravo's maiden Test century was the highlight of the final day of the long-dead-and-buried Antigua Test, but he will hope that his next hundred comes in rather more memorable circumstances. His was the eighth three-figure score of the match - a new world record - as West Indies were finally extracted for a jumbo total of 747, leaving them just four runs shy of the ground record, as set by West Indies themselves against England last year.
In the 31 overs that were available before an early finish, South Africa reached 127 for 1, with both Graeme Smith and Boeta Dippenaar making unbeaten half-centuries. A match that had been played for the most part with a shrug of the shoulders ended on an unwarranted sour note, however, when Wavell Hinds and Graeme Smith had a very public disagreement as the last rites of the game were played out. The scene was untypical of a largely good-humoured series.
Full postGayle falls for 317 as stalemate beckons
Chris Gayle has registered his first Test triple-hundred
The Bulletin by Andrew Miller
02-May-2005
West Indies 565 for 5 (Gayle 317, Chanderpaul 82*, Bravo 10*) trail South Africa 588 for 6 dec (Kallis 147, Prince 131, Smith 126, de Villiers 114) by 23 runs
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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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For the second time in consecutive matches at the Antigua Recreation Ground, a West Indian batsman set his sights on the individual world Test batting record. But where Brian Lara achieved his goal, gloriously, against England last April, today Chris Gayle fell valiantly short, caught at slip off Monde Zondeki for 317, from 483 balls, with 37 fours and three sixes. With his departure went the last lingering remnants of interest in a match that has been dead from the moment that West Indies avoided the follow-on.
By the close, West Indies had proved more than a match for South Africa's first innings efforts, closing on 565 for 5 in reply to 588 for 6 declared, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul closing in on the seventh century of a grossly unequal contest between bat and ball. At least the Antiguan crowd was enlivened by this state of affairs, as they revelled in their ground's uncanny ability to attract record-breaking performances. But for the true fan of Test cricket, there was little pleasure to extract from a match that offers nothing but individual achievements.
Full postGayle and Sarwan set up the stalemate
Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers look to build on their unbeaten opening stand of 214
The Bulletin by Andrew Miller
01-May-2005
West Indies 299 for 1 (Gayle 184*, Sarwan 103*) trail South Africa 588 for 6 dec (Kallis 147, Prince 131, Smith 126, de Villiers 114) by 289 runs
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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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In two years' time, Test cricket at the Antigua Recreation Ground will be a thing of the past. A new all-seater stadium has been promised for the 2007 World Cup, and for bowlers the world over, its development cannot come quickly enough. Today was another day of unrelenting run-scoring, which once again featured two centurions and a record-breaking unbeaten double-hundred stand. The only difference this time was that, for the first time since the first Test in Guyana four long weeks ago, it was West Indies who made all the running.
Until today, Chris Gayle's return to West Indian colours had not been a happy one. After missing that first Test because of the contracts dispute, Gayle had amassed a sorry tally of 12 runs in four innings, and had been looking more out of sorts than at any time in his career. His response today, however, was just typical. After South Africa had declared on a modest 588 for 6, Gayle slammed 26 fours and three massive sixes from 257 balls, as he rampaged to a magnificent 184 not out, his seventh Test century in his 50th match.
Full postFaisalabad Wolves triumph in thrilling finale
Faisalabad Wolves triumphed in Pakistan's inaugural Twenty20 competition
Cricinfo staff
01-May-2005
Faisalabad Wolves 159 for 8 (Hafeez 38, Asif 37) beat Karachi Dolphins 158 for 7 (Moin 49, Agha 37, Ajmal 3-29) by 2 wickets
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Faisalabad Wolves triumphed in Pakistan's inaugural Twenty20 competition after they overcame the Karachi Dolphins in a dramatic finish. Chasing 159 for a win, the Wolves were on course for a comfortable victory but the loss of two wickets in the last over produced a thrilling climax and resulted in a penultimate-ball finish.
Mohammad Hafeez and Asif Hussain had blasted quickfire 30s to put the Wolves on a comfortable path to victory. Mohammad Salman, the wicketkeeper, also chipped in with a vital 23 at the closing stages as the Wolves pocketed Rs 300,000 [US$5,000] at the end of a entertaining tournament.
Full postSmith and de Villiers rout West Indies
The opening exchanges of the first Test, when West Indies now seem an eternity away.
Andrew Miller
30-Apr-2005
South Africa 214 for 0 (Smith 106*, de Villiers 103*) v West Indies
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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Just over a year ago, Brian Lara won the toss for West Indies on a typically flat Antiguan wicket, and rattled along to a world-record 400 not out out of a gargantuan total of 751 for 5 declared. It remains to be seen whether Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers have that sort of landmark in mind, but in compiling an unbroken opening stand of 214 on the first day of the fourth Test, they ensured that South Africa maintained the momentum that has been steadily accumulating throughout the series.
The opening exchanges of the first Test, when West Indies posted a forbidding total of 543 for 5 declared in Guyana, now seem an eternity away. Ever since then, it has been South Africa making all the running. By the time a rain-interrupted day was brought to an early conclusion, Smith and de Villiers had reached, respectively, their third and second hundreds of the series, and in both cases they had come in consecutive matches.
Full postKallis and Prince steady South Africa
Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers look to build on their unbeaten opening stand of 214
The Bulletin by Andrew Miller
29-Apr-2005
South Africa 525 for 4 (Kallis 127*, Prince 114*) v West Indies
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On the first day in Antigua, South Africa owed their ascendancy to their captain, Graeme Smith, and their most junior batsman, AB de Villiers, who exploited a typical Recreation Ground featherbed to produce a double-century partnership that left West Indies ruing their first lost toss of the series. Aside from an uncharacteristic wobble in the morning session, the second day followed an identical pattern, as South Africa's senior batsman, Jacques Kallis, combined with the relative rookie, Ashwell Prince, to carry their side pass 500 for the second innings in succession.
Antigua is, quite justifiably, regarded as Brian Lara's spiritual home - the venue at which he has twice claimed the individual batting world record. Today, however, it belonged to another giant of the modern era, albeit one whose place in the pantheon will be begrudgingly granted via the tradesman's entrance. Kallis is not a player who aims to please. His 22nd Test hundred, from 212 balls with 11 fours and a six, carried him clear of his old team-mate, Gary Kirsten, at the top of South Africa's all-time list of centurymakers and run-scorers. It was not an innings to stir the soul. But it was mighty effective nonetheless.
Full postMaqsood and Khuram steer UAE to easy win
UAE completed a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Hong Kong in the Intercontinental Cup at Sharjah
Cricinfo staff
27-Apr-2005
United Arab Emirates 127 and 185 for 3 (Khuram 55*, Maqsood 51*) beat Hong Kong 127 and 184 by 7 wickets
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Khuram Khan and Syed Maqsood took just eight overs to knock off the 41 runs needed as UAE completed a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Hong Kong in the Intercontinental Cup at Sharjah. Resuming at 144 for 3, UAE reached the target without the loss of further wickets with both Khuram and Maqsood managing half-centuries.
Khuram, who had made a crucial 56 in the first innings, carried on his fine form with a breezy 55, which contained seven fours and a six. Maqsood was more patient during his 51 but managed to strike six fours and a six.
Both teams had fallen for 127 in their first innings before Hong Kong appeared to be seizing the initiative on the second day. But Ali Asad, who ended with four wickets, and Khuram Khan triggered a collapse and Hong Kong mustered only 184, a target that UAE easily surpassed.
Full postNel wraps up series for South Africa
Andre Nel took a career-best 6 for 32 to wrap up the series for South Africa as West Indies slid to a crushing defeat
Jenny Thompson
24-Apr-2005
South Africa 521 for 9 dec defeated West Indies 296 and 166 (Nel 6-32) by an innings and 86 runs
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Ntini and Nel had West Indies under the cosh from the outset as their top order succumbed for the second time this match; they lost three wickets in four balls and were in big trouble at 17 for 3. Ntini found himself on a hat-trick after removing Chris Gayle and then Ramnaresh Sarwan with the last ball of his third over. But there was no let-up during the intervening six balls as Nel found Wavell Hinds' edge to continue West Indies' slide.
Ntini steamed in for the hat-trick ball but it was Brian Lara, much to West Indies' relief, who was at the receiving end. Their first-innings hero fended off the danger with an obdurate defensive stroke, and stayed firm until lunch, with his captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul. But they couldn't hold on for another session as Nel trapped both lbw in the space of six deliveries. It was the sixth time in eight innings that he has taken Lara's wicket.
Full postSouth Africa turn the screw
West Indies v South Africa, 3rd Test, 3rd day
Jenny Thompson
23-Apr-2005
South Africa 521 for 8 (Smith 104, de Villiers 178, Dippenaar 71, Kallis 78) lead West Indies 296 (Lara 176) by 225 runs
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AB de Villiers struck a career-best 178 as South Africa tightened their grip on the third Test - and the series - in Barbados. After a day of clinical accumulation, and despite a late flurry of wickets, they had a lead of 225 with two wickets still in hand. It was a slow day for all concerned as South Africa inched along at barely three runs an over, but they had their plan and they were sticking with it. An unassailable 2-0 lead is theirs for the taking.
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