Report
Nasser Hussain turns the corner
No matter what the outcome of England's four-day game against a Sri Lanka Board President's XI, which started at P
Charlie Austin
08-Feb-2001
No matter what the outcome of England's four-day game against a Sri Lanka Board President's XI, which started at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium today, the team management will rest assured that one pressing problem has finally been
resolved.
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Nasser Hussain Photo CricInfo |
Nasser Hussain has had a wretched 12 months with the bat and averaged only 11 runs in the last English season. However, after scoring 38 in Moratuwa on Monday and a fluent 81 today, he looks to have finally turned the corner and
regained the elusive touch that deserted him after the unbeaten 146 that he
made in Durban over 13 months ago.
"I was pleased with the way I was hitting the ball, I was much more fluent
and batted much more like I want to bat," he said afterwards. "It wasn't as
if the wheels had come off, it's just that the fluency hasn't been there
until this tour of Sri Lanka."
Full postParas Dogra, Gaurav Gupta help North Zone pile up runs
North Zone batsmen started their Vijay Hazare Trophy final against holders East Zone in style by piling up 398 for seven by the end of the first day at the RSI grounds in Bangalore on Thursday
Staff Reporter
08-Feb-2001
North Zone batsmen started their Vijay Hazare Trophy final against holders
East Zone in style by piling up 398 for seven by the end of the first day
at the RSI grounds in Bangalore on Thursday. Centuries by Paras Dogra (110)
and Gaurav Gupta (105*) were the highlights of the day.
Put in to bat, North Zone were given a good start with openers Vishwas
Bhalla (14) and Rahul Arora (39) putting on 36 runs off 8.5 overs. Bhalla
was the first to be dismissed caught by SP Priyadarshan off S Sarkar. His
partner Arora soon joined him in the pavilion as he offered a return catch
to Avik Choudury in the 14th over. In the very next over Sarkar sent back
Himanshu Mehta (2).
This brought Paras Dogra and Deepak Soni (25) together and they steadied
the ship with a 107-run fourth wicket stand in 29 overs. Dogra was the
chief contributor in the partnership. Scoring his runs at will, Dogra
reached his fifty needing just 41 balls. The partnership was broken when
Soni was bowled by SK Ray. Then Gaurav Gupta joined Dogra and forged a
77-run fifth wicket partnership. During the course of the stand, Dogra
reached his century, needing 114 balls in all. Dogra got bogged down a
little and by the time he was dismissed in the 61st over, he faced 177
balls and hit 16 boundaries.
The fall of Dogra brought Abhinav Bali (55) to the crease. Along with
Gupta, he further tormented the East attack for a 102-run sixth wicket
stand. Gupta then lost one more partner that of Bhupinder Singh (8) even as
the score proceeded beyond 350. At the end of the day, Gupta remained
unbeaten ably supported by Abhishek Sharma (8). Arshad Iqbal was the most
successful bowler for East with figures of three for 84.
Full postKadkikar helps Rest of India take first innings lead
After restricting Haryana to 242 on the opening day with a fine five wicket haul, the Rest of India skipper Kashinath Khadkikar lead from the front as they took the vital first innings lead on the second day of their MA Chidambaram Trophy (Under-19)
Staff Reporter
08-Feb-2001
After restricting Haryana to 242 on the opening day with a fine five wicket
haul, the Rest of India skipper Kashinath Khadkikar lead from the front as
they took the vital first innings lead on the second day of their MA
Chidambaram Trophy (Under-19) match played at the Maharaja Aggarsain Stadium in Rohtak on Thursday.
Rest of India started their reply on a disastrous note losing opener
Gaganinder Singh (0) in the second over of the innings. Then Naman Oza (32)
and Deepak Chougule (66) added 48 runs for the second wicket. Oza was the
next to be dismissed bowled by Gaurav Vashishta in the 19th over. Then Y
Gnaneshwara Rao (43) joined Chougule and forged a 99-run third wicket
partnership. Both Gneshwara Rao and Chougule were dismissed in the space of
three balls with Amit Mishra accounting for both in the 43rd over.
Haryana then had Rest of India in a spot of bother as Mohanish Mishra and
ASK Verma were dismissed with out opening their accounts. Kadkikar and
Mohd Faiq steadied the innings with an unbeaten 98-run seventh wicket
partnership. Rest of India ended the day at 264 for 6 with Kadkikar on 74
and Mohd Faiq on 38.
Full postYouth team wraps up series with one to play
New Zealand might be struggling for success with its premier team but its Under-19 side took out the three-Test youth series with South Africa at Bert Sutcliffe Oval at Lincoln University today
Lynn McConnell
07-Feb-2001
New Zealand might be struggling for success with its premier team but its Under-19 side took out the three-Test youth series with South Africa at Bert Sutcliffe Oval at Lincoln University today.
New Zealand won by six wickets when achieving there target of 257 runs.
They were in early trouble when losing three wickets for only 47 runs at the start of the day.
But a fine 134-run partnership between two of the younger members of the side, 17-year-old Aucklander Rob Nicol, who was forced to retire hurt when breaking a bone in his hand when on 87, and 16-year-old Ross Taylor from the Wairarapa, who scored 72, was enough to regain the initiative from the South Africans.
Full postWellington bolt out in front with final bend approaching
Wellington climbed back on its horse, walked, trotted, then finally cantered past Canterbury in their seventh round Shell Trophy match at Christchurch's Village Green
Matthew Appleby
07-Feb-2001
Wellington climbed back on its horse, walked, trotted, then finally cantered past Canterbury in their seventh round Shell Trophy match at Christchurch's Village Green.
They declared their first innings at 493/8, then unsaddled Canterbury after a promising start, to leave them at the knacker's yard door at 120/5 at the close.
Coach Vaughn Johnson, driver of a team who look like thoroughbred joint-favourites in the Trophy Stakes, told CricInfo, "I thought we played some good cricket today. We wanted to be somewhere round 500, and as it turned out we were."
This was mainly thanks to two men today, No 3 Matthew Walker, who was unluckily given out leg before, off a ball he seemed to get some bat on, when just two runs away from a maiden century, and Andrew Penn, who hit 53 not out off 39 balls.
Full postYovich takes seven but Northern batsmen fail again
Ball dominated bat to a resounding extent on the second day of the seventh round Shell Trophy contest at McLean Park, Napier
Peter Hoare
07-Feb-2001
Ball dominated bat to a resounding extent on the second day of the seventh round Shell Trophy contest at McLean Park, Napier. 14 wickets fell for 161 runs, seven of them taken by Northern's Joseph Yovich, who promoted himself up the long list of possible selections for the beleaguered Black Caps.
Yovich's performance was a test of stamina as well as skill. He bowled for the whole of the morning session, with one change of end, and well into the afternoon, finishing with a career-best 31-11-64-7. It took him a few overs to find a consistent line, but when he switched to the Centennial Stand End almost an hour into the day's play he settled into a devastating rhythm.
His figures testify to his accuracy. They do not give an impression of the pace with which he bowled. Yovich drew life from the pitch that was not there for any other bowler. Central collapsed from 41 without loss to 98 for 7, six of the wickets falling to Yovich.
Central skipper Craig Spearman was one of a number of batsmen who found it difficult to cope with the extra bounce generated by Yovich. He was caught in the slips for a duck. Another was Mark Douglas, caught behind attempting a hook a bouncer, though it was clear that he disagreed with the decision. He waited so long before leaving the crease after being given out that it seemed that another bouncer - of the nightclub variety - might be needed to move him along.
Full postRichardson keeps runs flowing but out in 90s again
Otago and New Zealand opener Mark Richardson ensured he stayed in the focus of the New Zealand selectors with a solid 95 for Otago in its Shell Trophy game with Auckland in dunedin today
Warwick Larkins
07-Feb-2001
Otago and New Zealand opener Mark Richardson ensured he stayed in the focus of the New Zealand selectors with a solid 95 for Otago in its Shell Trophy game with Auckland in dunedin today.
It would have been his 12th first-class century, but as was the case in his second Test in Zimbabwe, the 90s proved the troublesome area for him.
His innings was a mixture of aggression and peace but helped ensure Otago would have every chance of obtaining a significant first innings advantage.
At the start of play Auckland added a further 14 runs to their score to be all out for 277. Otago ended the day nine runs short of first innings points on 269/5.
Full postNorth Zone crush East to enter Vizzy Trophy final
North Zone entered the Vizzy Trophy Inter-Zonal University Tournament final with a 46 run win over North Zone in the three day Semi final match at the IPCL Ground in Nagothane on Tuesday
Staff Reporter
07-Feb-2001
North Zone entered the Vizzy Trophy Inter-Zonal University Tournament
final with a 46 run win over North Zone in the three day Semi final
match at the IPCL Ground in Nagothane on Tuesday. Opting to bat first
North Zone rode on a fine unbeaten 130 by S Verma to muster 261 on the
opening day. Verma shared a 85 run fourth wicket stand with U Dutta
(32). But for the most part Verma wagged a lone battle as none of his
teammates stayed long enough at the crease.
In response, East Zone took a 58 run first innings lead thanks to a
fine 143 by opener S Agarwal who carried his bat through the innings.
During a 450 minute stay at the crease Agarwal faced 317 balls and hit
14 boundaries in all. North Zone in their second innings scored 212
for 8 when they declared their innings. The chief contributor being V
Mahajan with an unbeaten 102.
Set to score 115, East Zone batting collapsed on the final day and
were all out for 108. Only three batsmen S Seal (14), PK Senapati (10)
and S Das (41) managed to reach double figures. R Gehlot (4 for 33)
and V Thakur (4 for 18) ripped through the East line up.
Full postFinality comes early to opening Carlton Series final
If finals are deigned to be more exciting, more tense and more competitive affairs than most of the games which precede them, then today's opening bout of the Carlton Series deciders between Australia and West Indies didn't necessarily fail the test
John Polack
07-Feb-2001
If finals are deigned to be more exciting, more tense and more competitive affairs than most of the games which precede them, then today's opening bout of the
Carlton Series deciders between Australia and West Indies didn't necessarily fail the test. At least not initially. By the end, though, Australia's 134 run victory was
looking far from the stuff of which a cricket enthusiast's dreams are made.
In short, this match rapidly tailed away into another comprehensive drubbing. Initiated by a respectable performance from the Australians with the bat that allowed
them to reach 9/253, it was sealed with a bowling effort that ensured that only Brian Lara (35) and Marlon Samuels (24) were able to mount any sort of defiance amid
a wreckage-ridden reply of 119. Which all leaves the tourists now requiring the rather improbable matter of two wins in succession over the course of the next four
days if they are to claim this series.
But, while the result ultimately still managed to fall within the realms of the eminently predictable, there was a good deal to recommend this game through its early
stages. For all of about sixty-five overs, in fact.
West Indies' captain Jimmy Adams had taken what looked like a gamble at the beginning of the afternoon when he invited the Australians to bat first. It has been just
under thirteen months since a team batting second last won a one-day international at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and as many as seven of the last nine one-day
internationals at the venue have been claimed by the team which batted first. Also potentially looming as a significant factor was the memory of Australia's compilation
of the record score of 7/337 in the corresponding match last season.
Full postBorder scamper home despite controversial run out
A disheartening moment of poor sportsmanship soured the Standard Bank Cup on Wednesday night and almost cost Border their two-wicket victory in the first leg semi-final against Northerns Titans at SuperSport Park
Peter Robinson
07-Feb-2001
A disheartening moment of poor sportsmanship soured the Standard Bank Cup on Wednesday night and almost cost Border their two-wicket victory in the first leg semi-final against Northerns Titans at SuperSport Park.
For all that was good in the match, not the least being a wonderful maiden century from 19-year-old Northerns opener Jacques Rudolph, the game was clouded by the unhappy run out of Border opening bat Laden Gamiet.
Border seemed on track to hunt down a target of 278 for victory at 172 for two in the 30th over of their innings when a leading edge from Mark Boucher flew into the covers where Pierre Joubert made a diving attempt hold the catch. Joubert, in fact, held the ball until it spilled from his hands as his elbow hit the ground.
The fielder quickly indicated that he had not taken the catch and tossed it back to the bowler's end. Both batsmen, however, thought that the catch had been taken. Boucher turned towards the dressing room while Gamiet, then on 87, left his crease to call for fresh gloves.
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