Report
Giles injury overshadows mixed day for England
Deep into Sri Lanka's hinterland, in a town famous for its red rice and feted for its fiery fish curries, England enjoyed a day of mixed fortunes in their final practice game before the First Test Match in Galle
Charlie Austin
15-Feb-2001
Deep into Sri Lanka's hinterland, in a town famous for its red rice and feted for its fiery fish curries, England enjoyed a day of mixed fortunes in their final practice game before the First Test Match in Galle.
Having won the toss the England fast bowlers reduced a Sri Lankan board President's XI to 24 for four on a clammy and unevenly grassed wicket. England's rosy start, however, was overshadowed by an injury scare to their premier spinner and then tarnished by a bold fightback from a schoolboy making his first-class debut and a left-arm spinner with only one first-class fifty to his name before this match.
The President's XI were finally bowled out for 253. The true value of such a score is difficult to ascertain, but it is surely not far from par, especially with the abrasive surface likely to assist Sri Lanka's trio of twirly men.
However, the day's cricket at Matara Sports Club was dominated by the news that Ashley Giles has sustained an injury just seven days away from the Galle Test. He bowled five overs for 23 runs in the morning before leaving the field to receive treatment for stiffness in his left Achilles tendon.
Full postHoggard grasps opportunity to impress
Sri Lanka Board President's XI recovered to 153 for six after at one stage being 24 for four on the opening day of England's final warm-up match before the First Test
CricInfo
15-Feb-2001
Sri Lanka Board President's XI recovered to 153 for six after at one stage being 24 for four on the opening day of England's final warm-up match before the First Test.
England took the field without Graeme Hick who had failed to recover sufficiently from a calf strain sustained in training. It would have been Hick's last chance to press for a place in the Test side.
However, both he and Michael Vaughan could still play if England opt to play seven batsmen in Galle. This option is being seriously considered. Coach Duncan Fletcher admitted: "There is certainly a chance of that. What would be the point of playing someone who was only going to bowl nine overs in the day?"
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Matthew Hoggard : Opportunity Photo CricInfo |
Giles injury overshadows mixed day for England
Deep into Sri Lanka's hinterland, in a town famous for its red rice and feted for its fiery fish curries, England enjoyed a day of mixed fortunes in their final practice game before the First Test Match in Galle
Charlie Austin
15-Feb-2001
Deep into Sri Lanka's hinterland, in a town famous for its red rice and
feted for its fiery fish curries, England enjoyed a day of mixed fortunes
in their final practice game before the First Test Match in Galle.
Having won the toss the England fast bowlers reduced a Sri Lankan board
President's XI to 24 for four on a clammy and unevenly grassed wicket.
England's rosy start, however, was overshadowed by an injury scare to their
premier spinner and then tarnished by a bold fightback from a schoolboy
making his first-class debut and a left-arm spinner with only one first-class fifty to his name prior to this match.
The President's XI were finally bowled out for 253. The true value of such a score is difficult to ascertain, but it is surely not far from par, especially with the abrasive surface likely to assist Sri Lanka's trio of twirly men.
However, the day's cricket at Matara Sports Club was dominated by the news
that Ashley Giles has sustained an injury just seven days away from the
Galle Test. He bowled five overs for 23 runs in the morning before leaving
the field to receive treatment for stiffness in his left Achilles tendon.
Full postBadani, Shewag script remarkable India Seniors triumph
Hemang Badani scored a brilliant unbeaten 104 before his home crowd to turn possible defeat into glorious victory in the final of the Hero Honda NKP Salve Challenger Series at the floodlit MA Chidambaram stadium on Thursday
Santhosh S
15-Feb-2001
Hemang Badani scored a brilliant unbeaten 104 before his home crowd to
turn possible defeat into glorious victory in the final of the Hero
Honda NKP Salve Challenger Series at the floodlit MA Chidambaram
stadium on Thursday.
Replying to India A's imposing total of 311 for six in 50 overs, India
Seniors were in a hopeless position at 96 for five in the 18th over.
But then Virender Shewag joined Badani and the two changed the
complexion of the game with some great running between wickets and a
lot of innovative strokeplay. They added 168 runs off 24.4 overs to
have the crowd on their feet before some fine work by RS Sodhi in the
field had Shewag just short of the crease. Shewag made 94 off 95 balls
with nine fours and two sixes.
Sunil Joshi joined Badani and the two left handers hastened the pace.
Badani kept his appointment with his century and he and Joshi saw
India Seniors through to a remarkable victory with 1.5 overs to spare.
Fittingly, Badani got the winning run to cap a great tournament for
him. In the two earlier games he scored 64 not out and 70. In all, the
24-year-old Chennai born left hander faced only 87 balls hitting six
fours and three sixes. Joshi, for his unbeaten 22 faced only 18 balls
hitting a six and a four.
Earlier, Ajit Agarkar removed openers SS Das and Vikram Rathour with
33 runs on the board. Skipper Sourav Ganguly scored a bright 34 off 24
balls. But then in quick succession, Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Yuvraj
Singh left putting India Seniors in a precarious position at 96 for
five. Then came the grand recovery.
Full postBlues in command as Bevan turns tables on Tigers
Twenty-four hours after Tasmania's trump card with the bat steered his team into a strong position, New South Wales' star strokemaker reversed matters almost completely with a superb innings of his own
John Polack
15-Feb-2001
Twenty-four hours after Tasmania's trump card with the bat steered his team into a strong position, New South Wales' star strokemaker reversed matters almost completely with a superb innings of his own. And, while Jamie Cox's 160 has outshone Michael Bevan's 119 in terms of raw productivity, the latter importantly appears to have given his team the inside running to obtain first innings points in this Pura Cup battle between the teams here in Sydney.
There wasn't even a ray, not a glimmer, nor even a shaft of sunlight at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the second day of this match. But it scarcely mattered. Bevan's forty-eighth first-class century, and his generation of a powerful 197 run stand for the second wicket with opener Greg Mail (87*), capped an enjoyable six hours of cricket, at the end of which the Blues' score of 2/240 has them well placed to overtake the Tigers' 369.
Together with Mail and bowlers Nathan Bracken and Stuart MacGill, the left handed Bevan was the shining light on another dull, overcast Sydney day. Under the firm glow of floodlights which remained in use all day, he played an enlightened innings against a Tasmanian attack that seemed horribly light-on for depth.
As Bevan began his 183 minute display, he was forced to counter some tidy bowling from the Tasmanians. Soon after, though, he hoisted two majestic sixes over long on from the left arm orthodox spin of Daniel Marsh (0/37). A brace of driven boundaries also flowed smoothly and it was clear that something major was afoot. A fifty partnership was rattled off in just forty-one minutes; Bevan's own half-century was raised in seventy-four; and the pair chalked up a century stand another twenty-four minutes after that. With the ever-compact Mail, he quickly guided New South Wales away from any danger and into an authoritative position.
Full postStead century stands out in a day of declarations
Two declarations and Gary Stead's completing his century marked the third day of the Northern Districts-Canterbury Shell Trophy match at Whangarei
Chris Rosie
14-Feb-2001
Two declarations and Gary Stead's completing his century marked the third day of the Northern Districts-Canterbury Shell Trophy match at Whangarei.
Stead's unbeaten 121 stood out in a Canterbury innings of 249 for nine declared. He added 50 to his overnight score of 77, in the process given considerable help by Carl Anderson (17) in a 59-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
The Canterbury captain's 100 was his sixth first-class century, his second this season and was just nine runs short of his highest score. Coming off 251 balls in 286 minutes with 11 fours, it was particularly notable in an innings where the next highest score was 24 and most of the batsmen had treated the pitch like a minefield.
The second day had dawned - for want of a better word - under heavy overcast skies, with high humidity and water on the pitch surrounds after overnight rain had breached the covers. Yet as if a magic wand had been waved over Cobham Oval the sun came out, the rain stayed away and just an hour's delay was necessary before a full day's play was set in motion.
Full postWas Sir Paul Condon at Eden Park? Central win likely
The fact that Sir Paul Condon, head of the International Cricket Council match-fixing investigation team, will be in Auckland tomorrow should not interfere with a thrilling, if arranged, finish to the Auckland-Central Districts Shell Trophy match at
Don Cameron
14-Feb-2001
The fact that Sir Paul Condon, head of the International Cricket Council match-fixing investigation team, will be in Auckland tomorrow should not interfere with a thrilling, if arranged, finish to the Auckland-Central Districts Shell Trophy match at the Eden Park Outer Oval.
After some arrangements which might be interpreted, depending on the viewpoint, as a gentleman's agreement or collusion between the two skippers, Auckland will be looking for close to 400 runs, and Central 10 wickets in pursuit of victory tomorrow.
Central could end with six points, and keep their Trophy hopes alive, while Auckland could have four points and put a prideful swell on their chests.
The mere details of the day were that Central Districts declared their first innings at 397 for six, their overnight total, and then Andrew Schwass led such a brilliant bowling attack that he had the first four Auckland wickets for two runs, and the home side slid to 42 for five, 44 for six and 65 for seven.
Full postJones and Mather make welcome pilgrimage to the Basin
Richard Jones and Stephen Mather are cricketers with much in common - troubadors, both, who have travelled the country north to south searching for the best place and the chance to fully display their talents
Steve McMorran
14-Feb-2001
Richard Jones and Stephen Mather are cricketers with much in common - troubadors, both, who have travelled the country north to south searching for the best place and the chance to fully display their talents.
Jones came from Auckland to Wellington in search of a fresh beginning, a new and unbiased audience, when he found his favour in his home town had begun to wane. Here, in a town and at a ground which had always been pleasing in his memory, he found his second chance.
And Mather, even more the cricketing gypsy, moved from Wellington to Otago, from Otago to Wellington in search of satisfaction, stability and a stage from which to entertain. He also was a minstrel in search of inspiration and the chance to entertain.
Today in diverse but complementary performances, Jones and Mather found their muse and their apotheosis. Today, in each other's company, they found the sanguine setting which allowed them at last to express their true abilities.
Full postDolphins romp to nine-wicket win in SBC semifinal
The KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins galloped to a nine-wicket victory over Eastern Province on the back of a run-a-ball century opening partnership in the first leg of their Standard Bank Cup semi-final at St George's Park on Wednesday night
Peter Robinson
14-Feb-2001
The KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins galloped to a nine-wicket victory over Eastern Province on the back of a run-a-ball century opening partnership in the first leg of their Standard Bank Cup semi-final at St George's Park on Wednesday night.
With Gulam Bodi hammering out 56 off 50 balls and Doug Watson putting together a more measured 72 not out, the Natalians made light of a two-paced pitch and the EP attack to romp home with 13 of their 45 overs to spare.
Defending a total of 172 for nine, the home team were simply unable to contain Bodi and Watson once the Natal pair had settled and after 92 had come off the first 15 overs of the innings the outcome had already been decided to all intents and purposes.
The first-wicket stand eventually yielded 111 off 110 deliveries before Bodi, who had helped himself to eight fours all around the wicket, chanced his arm once too often, mishitting the offspinner Shafiek Abrahams to hole out to Dave Callaghan at long off. His departure, however, brought in Wade Wingfield who promptly picked up where Bodi had left off.
Full postCox serves up another dose of punishment for Blues
After today slamming a fourth century in the space of five innings against this opponent (and an eleventh against it overall), Tasmanian captain Jamie Cox was at a loss to explain what accounts for his great personal form against New South Wales
John Polack
14-Feb-2001
After today slamming a fourth century in the space of five innings against this opponent (and an eleventh against it overall), Tasmanian captain Jamie Cox was at a loss
to explain what accounts for his great personal form against New South Wales. But it was virtually the only time that he was confounded on a day when he hammered out a
magnificent unbeaten 156 to lead his team to 4/321 and a strong position as the teams' Pura Cup match opened here at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
"They've been pretty good to me over the years but I couldn't tell you (why); I've got no idea," he said of his penchant for flaying a succession of New South Wales
attacks, particularly over recent years.
Following on from a pair of centuries in the home game earlier in the season, the stylish right hander conceived another innings high on concentration and classical
strokeplay today. Extraordinarily, the result was that those last five innings against the Blues have now yielded the small matter of 660 runs at the average of a
mammoth 330.
"This place was tough for me early. But I've had some good times here the last three or four years as well," he said of his string of recent successes in Sydney.
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