Report
Middle order jitters send Canterbury close to defeat at hands of Otago
When play commenced on day three of the Shell Trophy match at Molyneux Park, it was quite uncertain who held the advantage
Warwick Larkins
04-Jan-2001
When play commenced on day three of the Shell Trophy match at Molyneux Park, it was quite uncertain who held the advantage.
True, Otago held a first innings lead of 78 and that Canterbury one wicket lost in their second innings for 41 had a little to make before getting into credit but that should not have extended them too much and both sides seemed to have an equal chance of victory.
Canterbury started slowly but lost the nightwatchman Stephen Cunis early on and from that point never really got on top of a controlled Otago attack.
Jarrod Englefield batted well for a professional like 66 and looks a player of the future. He with wicket-keeper Gareth Hopkins was the only Canterbury batsman to score over 50. Hopkins carried his bat for 51 and while he was at the crease Canterbury had a chance of giving Otago a larger total to chase.
Full postYadav's unbeaten century helps central post good score
Riding on a fine unbeaten 158 by the in form opener Jai P Yadav, Central Zone ended with 342 for three at stumps on the opening day of their Duleep Trophy match against West Zone at the VCA stadium in Nagpur on Thursday
Staff and agencies
04-Jan-2001
Riding on a fine unbeaten 158 by the in form opener Jai P Yadav,
Central Zone ended with 342 for three at stumps on the opening day of
their Duleep Trophy match against West Zone at the VCA stadium in
Nagpur on Thursday.
It was a good toss to win for Central Zone skipper Amay Khurasiya and
Yadav and Amit Pagnis (62) gave their side a splendid start by putting
on 131 runs off 29.2 overs. Pagnis was then out to Hrishikesh Kanitkar
after facing 92 balls and hitting eleven fours. Kanitkar struck again
in his next over when he bowled the dangerous Khurasiya for just one.
But Yadav and Md Kaif prevented a collapse by some confident batting.
After scoring 46 however, Kaif retired hurt, He faced 89 balls and hit
five fours. The experienced Gagan Khoda was out quickly, leg before to
Zaheer Khan for four. But Yadav continued to bat with ease and he and
Raja Ali took the score from 244 to 342 off 25.4 overs. By close,
Yadav had faced 272 balls and hit 22 fours and a six. Raja Ali, who
had dominated the unbroken fourth wicket partnership, was on 54 at
stumps. He has so far faced 93 balls and hit six fours and a six.
Kanitkar picked up two wickets but was expensive, conceding 70 runs in
his 13 overs.
Full postWellington extend healthy advantage over Central on absorbing day
The swarthy man in the white dress at McLean Park today and the inflatable woman who accompanied him, posing for pictures with the umpires at drinks in the final session, were among the least striking features of the third day of the Shell Trophy
Steve McMorran
04-Jan-2001
The swarthy man in the white dress at McLean Park today and the inflatable woman who accompanied him, posing for pictures with the umpires at drinks in the final session, were among the least striking features of the third day of the Shell Trophy match between Wellington and Central Districts.
Too much occured in the 99 overs completed today - 60.4 by Wellington who dismissed Central for 266 in their first innings, and 39 by Central to Wellington who were 85-2 in their second innings and 234 runs ahead overall - to make the courtly apprearance of a cross-dresser and his consort worth more than a casual glance.
The day had enough vivid and prolonged drama, enough connected points of interest, enough subtle shifts of power and authority to take the breath away, even from a latex woman who had to be blown up in the first place.
From the start of the day, when it was learned that Central had lost its captain and leading batsman Jacob Oram to the New Zealand one-day side when they were 151-3 replying to Wellington's first innings of 415 and when he was the next batsman due at the crease, this was a day flecked by incident and coloured by the unusual.
Full postAuckland heading for emphatic first Trophy victory of season
Auckland were on the verge of one of their biggest and most spectacular Shell Trophy wins when they had Northern Districts reeling on the ropes after the third day of their match on the Eden Park Outer Oval today
Don Cameron
04-Jan-2001
Auckland were on the verge of one of their biggest and most spectacular Shell Trophy wins when they had Northern Districts reeling on the ropes after the third day of their match on the Eden Park Outer Oval today.
Auckland had to overcome stubborn resistance from Matthew Hart and Grant Bradburn in the middle of the ND first innings, but the rest of the Northern batting was solid as thistledown and by dismissing ND for 195 Auckland had gained an overpowering lead of 352.
Then, as almost an action replay of their demolition of the early ND batting last night when they shot out four for 24, Auckland swept aside three ND wickets for 20 runs in the last 13 overs of yet another action-packed day.
So Auckland take a 332 lead into the last day tomorrow, and ND have only seven second innings wickets in the bank.
Full postBasic errors haunt tourists again
How many times have basic mistakes cost West Indies dearly in this series
John Polack
04-Jan-2001
How many times have basic mistakes cost West Indies dearly in this series? Whatever the total by now, another two clearly need adding to it after an absorbing third
day's play of the Fifth Test against Australia here at the Sydney Cricket Ground. A dropped catch and a misguided decision to shoulder arms have left the tourists in
massive trouble again today and not even a more determined look about their play nor the comparatively very respectable second innings scoreline of 1/98 by
stumps implies that the task of averting a series whitewash will now be anything less than formidable.
By the end of the day, Wavell Hinds (46) and Sherwin Campbell (45*) had travelled some distance toward cancelling out their side's 180 run first innings deficit. But
Hinds' effort in leaving alone a Glenn McGrath (1/26) delivery - which became the very last delivery of the day - and watching it crash into his off stump presents his
team with the prospect of another massive struggle for survival tomorrow. Still eighty-two runs behind overall, and with only nine wickets in tact, it shapes as a
difficult equation at the very least.
Before Hinds' fatal error, full marks should have been awarded to each of the West Indian openers. Not least because of their achievement in going within a whisker
of registering successive century partnerships but also because, in the sort of grim position from which the tourists have stumbled so badly so many times already this
summer, they at least forced a temporary reappraisal of exactly how easily an Australian win might be achieved in this match.
They weathered a difficult half hour against spinners Stuart MacGill (0/26) and Colin Miller (0/22) deep into the final session. But they believed in their ability, trusted
their instincts and resisted the Australians' best efforts to disrupt their concentration with aggressive and rapidly changing field settings. If anything, their batting also
helped to suggest that the pitch showed fewer signs of yielding to spin than might have been expected. There had certainly been little in the way of devil in the
bowling of West Indian slow men Mahendra Nagamootoo (3/119), Jimmy Adams (0/54) and Marlon Samuels (0/37) earlier in the day. And, late in the afternoon,
even MacGill and Miller seemed less effective. With lower bounce came less turn.
Full postRohan Gavaskar's unbeaten ton puts Bengal in command
Bengal virtually assured themselves of a place in the knock out stage of the Ranji Trophy at the Eden Gardens today
Staff and agencies
04-Jan-2001
Bengal virtually assured themselves of a place in the knock out stage
of the Ranji Trophy at the Eden Gardens today. Rohan Gavaskar's sixth
Ranji Trophy hundred and his 197-run partnership for the fifth wicket
with Deep Dasgupta took Bengal past the 600-mark for the first time
this season. The home team declared their innings closed at 608 for
the loss of five wickets half an hour after lunch. In reply, Bihar
were 107 for three wickets at close.
Bihar have been having a poor season and today they did not fare any
better. The bowling lacked sting and the batting was devoid of
temperament. It will be very difficult for them to save the match
unless they really apply themselves. They however, started the day
well getting rid of the Bengal skipper Devang Gandhi after only 21
balls had been bowled. India under-19 all-rounder Mihir Diwakar moved
one away from Gandhi and the batsman snicked it to the keeper.
Then it was the younger Gavaskar all the way. Playing with a lot of
assurance, Gavaskar stroked the ball to all parts of the field. He
decided to stick to the basics and played some lovely drives within
the 'V'. A straight drive of Dhiraj Kumar was a treat to watch. Deep
Dasgupta, however, was a bit lucky. There were a number of times when
he flashed hard and was lucky to see the ball going wide of the
fielders behind the wicket. However, both scored at more than a run a
minute against the insipid attack. Rohan reached his 100 in 227
minutes, cutting Tariqur Rahman to the point boundary. Dasgupta
however was to be denied a century. When he was 89 (134 balls, 11x4)
he flashed hard at Dheeraj Kumar only to be caught by Kunjan Sharan at
point. Gavaskar however, remained unbeaten on 121 (257 m, 174 balls
11x4) when the declaration was made.
When Bihar batted, the Bengal bowling also lacked penetration.
However, bad batting resulted in the loss of three wickets. Skipper
Rajiv Kumar symbolised this. With about 15 minutes left for the
scheduled close, he tried to lift Utpal Chatterjee over mid on only to
lob a simple catch to Gavaskar. Earlier, Shib Shankar Pal had given
Bengal the breakthrough, dismissing Zeeshan Yaquin after the openers
had put on 59. The batsmen played down the wrong line and his middle
stump went cartwheeling.
Full postRest of India lose early wickets
The atmosphere at the MIG ground in Mumbai on the opening day of the three day match between Rest of India under-19 and the touring England under-19 was great for cricket
Waleed Hussain from Mumbai
04-Jan-2001
The atmosphere at the MIG ground in Mumbai on the opening day of the three
day match between Rest of India under-19 and the touring England under-19
was great for cricket. The pitch stayed true the entire day and assisted
both the spinners and medium pacers. The sun was shining bright and steady
breeze kept the conditions cool.
The tourists were disappointed to be bowled out for 210 off 76.4 overs,
shortly after the tea interval on Thursday. The wrecker-in-chief was the
Karnataka offspinner Mulewa Dharmichand, who picked up five wickets in the
day. Gary Pratt topscored with 78 off 99 balls with 15 hits to the fence.
Ian Pattison chipped in with 39 and John Saddler scored 24.
In reply, Rest of India lost Das early in the fourth over of the innings.
Left arm seamer Justin Bishop celebrated his birthday in style picking up
two wickets for 12 off six overs. His first wicket came when Arindam Das
edged to Sadler at second slip. In his fifth over, Bishop cramped one drop
batsman Mohnish Mishra for room with a short pitched delivery aimed at his
head. Mishra only managed to punch it to Kadeer Ali at squareleg.
Rest of India were 47 for two off 18 overs when stumps were drawn on the
first day. Gaganinder Singh (29) and Kashinath Khadkikar (8) were at the
crease at close of play.
Full postNalin Reddi, Niranjan bowl out Rajasthan for 254
Nalini Reddy and Niranjan picked up four wickets each to help Hyderabad bowl out Rajasthan for 254 on the opening day of the quarter-final match of the Vijay Merchant Trophy (under-16) at the Deshbandhu Park, Calcutta on Thursday
Staff and agencies
04-Jan-2001
Nalini Reddy and Niranjan picked up four wickets each to help
Hyderabad bowl out Rajasthan for 254 on the opening day of the
quarter-final match of the Vijay Merchant Trophy (under-16) at the
Deshbandhu Park, Calcutta on Thursday.
Hyderabad won the toss and asked Rajasthan to have a bat first. Arvind
Mann and Ambar Bhargava gave Rajasthan a good start adding 62 runs for
the first wicket in 19 overs. Mann was the first to be dismissed, when
he fell to Nalin Reddi after making 34 runs with the help of six
boundaries. Gagan Tanwar scratched around for 19 balls and his misery
was put to an end by Nasir Ali who had him leg before for non score.
Sanjay Bharti made nine before becoming Nalin Reddi's second victim to
leave Rajasthan at 94/3. Sanjay Bharti made 16 before he was caught by
Prasant Peter off Nalin Reddi. Meanwhile, Bhargava went to complete a
patient half century and was dismissed on 62 made of 171 balls.
Bhargava's innings was decorated with nine hits to the fence.
Hyderabad were 149/5 at that stage.
Vivek Yadav made a quickfire 36 off just 46 balls smashing the ball
for six boundaries and a six before being dismissed by Niranjan, who
went on to take three more wickets to finish at 10-3-23-4. His other
victims were Bhaskar Ranjan (0), Naresh Bhati (16) and Vibhor Mathur
(13). Rasheed Khan struck five boundaries in his innings of 33 and
became Nalin Reddi's fourth victim. Reddi bowled his heart out and had
the analysis of 26.3-7-95-4, picking up crucial wickets. Rajasthan
were bowled out in 83.3 overs. Hyderabad were two without loss in 2.4
overs as bad light stopped play for the day.
Full postBirthday boy Bishop strikes back for England U-19's in India
Justin Bishop, the Essex left-armer, celebrated his 19th birthday with a two-wicket burst to keep England in the game against The Rest of India Under-19's
Staff and Agencies
04-Jan-2001
Justin Bishop, the Essex left-armer, celebrated his 19th birthday with a two-wicket burst to keep England in the game against The Rest of India Under-19's. Bishop finished with 2-12, dismissing the opener, Das, caught in the slips, before inducing a top-edge from Mishra that was taken by Kadeer Ali at square-leg. The Rest of India team finished the first day on 47-2 in reply to England Under-19's 210.
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Gary Pratt Photo Paul McGregor |
England will be disappointed with their final total after a good start. With Sadler and Pratt adding a confident 72 for the first wicket, hopes were high in the England camp that a challenging total could be set. The departure of Pratt, just before lunch, for an attractive 78, left England on 134-4, and the afternoon session saw the Indian XI make further inroads, with off-spinner Dharmichand finishing with 5-65.
Though Ali, Wallace and Pattison all battled tenaciously, they could make little headway against the spinners.
Full postSaurashtra end opening day at 269/8
Thanks to an unbeaten 57 by Amit Sinha, Saurashtra ended the first day at 269 for eight in their Vijay Merchant Trophy Under-16 quarterfinal match against Punjab at the Tala Park in Calcutta on Thursday
Staff and agencies
04-Jan-2001
Thanks to an unbeaten 57 by Amit Sinha, Saurashtra ended the first day
at 269 for eight in their Vijay Merchant Trophy Under-16 quarterfinal
match against Punjab at the Tala Park in Calcutta on Thursday.
Opting to bat, Saurashtra made a steady start with openers Bhusan
Chohan (37) and Jayesh Jadhav (37) adding 76 in 24.5 overs. Jadhav was
the first to be dismissed caught by V Bhalla off Ankur Jund. His
partner Chohan soon followed him back to the pavilion, caught by
Bhalla off Vipul Sharma. But Nikhil Rathore (44) and C Potara (12)
steadied the innings with a 44-run third wicket stand in 17.2 overs.
Seven runs after the fall of C Potara (120/3), his replacement Rahul
Parmer was caught by G Gupta off Vipul Sharma. After a 93-minute stay
at the crease, Rathore was bowled by Vipul with the scorecard reading
141. Then Utpal Rana (32) with the help of the tailenders took the
score on to 193/7. New batsman K Mavla made no significant impact and
departed caught by Bhupinder of Vinod Minhas. At 205 for 8,
Saurashtra's chances of batting till stumps looked bleak. But Amit
Sinha came to the rescue with a timely half century. He shared a 64-
run unbeaten ninth wicket partnership, taking the team to stumps with
no further hiccups. Vinod Minhas (3 for 93) and Vipul Sharma (3 for
33) were the successful bowlers for Punjab.
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