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A new low for West Indies cricket
A few weeks ago, after their first innings of 82 in the First Test at Brisbane, I remember suggesting that the West Indies should have been sent home
Colin Croft
27-Dec-2000
A few weeks ago, after their first innings of 82 in the First Test at Brisbane, I remember suggesting that the West Indies should have been sent home.
There were two distinct replies to my suggestion, from either side of the world. I will say this in my defence. Had the team gone home then, the embarrassments that we saw on the second day of this Test would have been avoided: the cricket shown by the West Indies on day two was putrid, at best.
The Australian supporters, who wanted to see their team surpass the then West Indian consecutive winning record, rebuked me for such a suggestion. They knew that the West Indians were on to a terrible hiding. One did not have to be a soothsayer to know that the writing was already on the wall. The Australian supporters knew their team would never have this kind of chance again.
From across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and the Caribbean Sea, came the retort that perhaps "Colin Croft should emigrate to Australia, since he does not know what he was saying. Our boys will bounce back."
That sort of blind faith has allowed many people to lose much in the past.
Full postSkipper Kumar leads from the front as Bihar settle for draw
Unbeaten centuries by Skipper N Kumar and DK Singh on the final day saw Bihar force a draw against Orissa in their East Zone Under-22 match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Wednesday
Natarajan Sriram
27-Dec-2000
Unbeaten centuries by Skipper N Kumar and DK Singh on the final day saw Bihar
force a draw against Orissa in their East Zone Under-22 match at the Barabati
Stadium in Cuttack on Wednesday. Bihar got five points while Orissa had to be
content with three.
Opting to bat first, Bihar put up 285 on the board with N Kumar leading from the
front with a fine 63. Kumar shared a 83-run fifth wicket stand with DK Singh
(52). Then with the help of the tailenders, K Abhimanyu (50 not out) took the
score past the 250 run mark. Saurav Sahgal (4 for 61) and Barman (3 for 39) were
the pick of the Orissa bowlers.
In response, the Orissa batsmen struggled to face up to the Bihar attack and
were shot out for 150. RR Das (100) was the topscorer in an innings which saw
only one other batsman getting into the double figures. During a 183-minute stay
at the crease, Das faced 157 balls while finding the boundary ropes eight times.
Bihar in their second innings were cruising along and reached 183 for six when N
Kumar and DK Singh took firm control of proceedings. The duo put on an unbeaten
203-run partnership in 44.4 overs. They batted for nearly three hours before the
stumps were drawn on the final day. Kumar remained unbeaten with 100 (151 balls,
10 fours) while Singh was on 102 (134 balls, 15 fours).
Full postNortherns hand out comprehensive defeat to Eastern Province
After a storming start to their campaign, with five straight victories, Eastern Province suffered a second comprehensive defeat in succession when the Northerns Titans got home by six wickets with 15 deliveries in hand
MWP
27-Dec-2000
After a storming start to their campaign, with five straight victories,
Eastern Province suffered a second comprehensive defeat in succession when
the Northerns Titans got home by six wickets with 15 deliveries in hand.
It was a superb unbroken partnership for the fifth wicket of 107 off just
101 balls between Northerns captain Gerald Dros (71) and young wicketkeeper
Kruger van Wyk (44), which got them home after they'd looked a trifle shaky
on 89 for four in the 27th over following the dismissal of Martin van
Jaarsveld for 36.
The asking rate had looked none too taxing after EP had posted just 196/8 in
their 45 overs - even that wouldn't have been possible but for a stand of 92
for the sixth wicket between Mark Benfield and Murray Creed - but the
visitors allowed it to climb above six to the over at one point, before the
pair who were there at the end started getting stuck in. Dros, who faced 93
balls during his match-winning knock, hit three sixes, one less than
Benfield had managed for EP.
After a nailbiting victory over the Highveld Strikers in a make-or-break
match last week, the visitors built on the momentum established at home to
cruise in at St George's Park and put themselves within striking distance of
a semi-final spot. For EP, the semi-finals are also still in their thoughts,
though they'll have to halt the recent slide to be certain of qualifying.
Full postNew Plymouth washout for Districts' Cup match
Rain forced the abandonment of the fourth round Shell Cup match between Central Districts and Northern Districts at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth today before a ball had been bowled
Steve McMorran
27-Dec-2000
Rain forced the abandonment of the fourth round Shell Cup match between Central Districts and Northern Districts at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth today before a ball had been bowled.
The start of play was first delayed by morning rain, particularly by a heavy shower around 9am which lasted almost an hour and left pitches adjoining the match strip sodden and unplayable.
The umpires called for lunch to be taken at 12.45, made a further ground inspection while the players enjoyed their meal then ruled just after 1pm, as fresh rain began to fall, that no play would be possible. The match is abandoned and the teams take one point each.
Pukekura Park provided a picturesque setting for today's match but New Plymouth never seemed likely to provide the weather which would allow play to take place. The city lay blanketed by heavy cloud and swept by warm summer rain and even the Auckland umpire Doug Cowie was hampered in reaching New Plymouth because the airport was closed.
Full postWestern Province edge closer to final
CAPE TOWN, Dec 27 - Western Province's newfound ability to defend a total saw them edge ever closer to a Standard Bank Cup semi-final place with a 50-run victory over Free State although their ultimate fate rests in the hands of others
MWP
27-Dec-2000
CAPE TOWN, Dec 27 - Western Province's newfound ability to defend a total
saw them edge ever closer to a Standard Bank Cup semi-final place with a
50-run victory over Free State although their ultimate fate rests in the
hands of others.
Their 244 for five was too much for Free State and once opener Kosie Venter
was fourth out for a well made 80, the visitors' Christmas goose was well
and truly cooked.
Province's success in claiming the last Free State wicket with two balls to
spare also gave them the bonus point that may yet prove crucial.
Mind you, Province were prepared to give Free State a life or two to make it
more entertaining for a 5 000-strong crowd which was quite as healthy as
that for the Durban Test match.
Full postWellington win a slow affair
Wellington and Auckland put in a performance for most of this fourth-round Shell Cup match that can give one-day cricket a bad name - and then found something in the last 10 overs to return some semblance of respectability to the match
Chris Rosie
27-Dec-2000
Wellington and Auckland put in a performance for most of this fourth-round Shell Cup match that can give one-day cricket a bad name - and then found something in the last 10 overs to return some semblance of respectability to the match.
The records will show that Wellington scored 218 for eight off their 50 overs and Auckland were bowled out off the last ball of their 50 for 213, Wellington recording their first win in four matches by five runs.
The match started promisingly enough after Wellington got over their worries about being put in first on a green pitch and losing Chris Nevin in the second over. They went along comfortably enough at a little over fours courtesy of Matthew Bell, Auckland transplant Richard Jones and a regular supply of four balls from the bowlers.
Bell contributed 61 and Jones 42 as they put on 81 for the second wicket. But that was the end of the substatntial partnerships as only Jason Wells with an unbeaten 50 contributed anything more of substance. The innings meandered along as the Auckland bowling, particularly that of Kyle Mills (10-2-37-1) and Mark Haslam (10-0-37-2), did not provide any leeway to batsmen who did not seem interested in looking for it.
Full postOtago break horror historical run with powerful win at Alexandra
With rain sweeping the ground at Molyneux Park, Alexandra early this morning a huge doubt existed as to whether the Shell Cup game between State Otago Volts and Canterbury would see a completion
Warwick Larkins
27-Dec-2000
With rain sweeping the ground at Molyneux Park, Alexandra early this morning a huge doubt existed as to whether the Shell Cup game between State Otago Volts and Canterbury would see a completion.
Play started almost an hour late and the game was reduced to a 47 over contest with Otago winning the toss and putting Canterbury into bat.
The Red and Blacks started slowly and were initially on the back foot until Chris Cairns and Gareth Hopkins came together in a partnership of 65 for the fifth wicket. Cairns innings was a mixture of some aggression but mainly some calculated twos and singles. He scored 44 from 50 balls with three four's and one six.
Hopkins got 60 (from 68 balls with five fours and one six) in a similar type of innings to Cairns). At the end of the Canterbury innings Warren Wisneski and Shane Bond put on 37 for the ninth wicket and this took Canterbury through to 224-8 from their 47 overs.
Full postLong haul ahead of Sri Lanka at Kingsmead
Just two days into the Castle Lager/MTN Test series and Sri Lanka's strengths and weaknesses in South African conditions have been sharply illuminated
Peter Robinson
26-Dec-2000
Just two days into the Castle Lager/MTN Test series and Sri Lanka's strengths and weaknesses in South African conditions have been sharply illuminated.
The tourists ended the second day of the first Test on 62 for two in reply to South Africa's 420 all out and while Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara batted bravely into the evening to put on 60 in an unbroken stand for the third wicket, the Sri Lankans still have some way to go to reach the follow-on target of 221.
It will not be easy on a Kingsmead pitch that has offered uneven bounce and which is likely to become even more two-paced as the match wears on. The South African seamers are well-equipped to exploit the conditions while Sri Lanka have struggled all through their tour to come to terms with the bounce.
They were in terrible trouble just four overs into their innings after Makahaya Ntini had run out Marvan Atapattu for nought and Sanath Jayasuriya had also gone without scoring, brilliantly caught by Neil McKenzie at point off Mfuneko Ngam.
Full postSteve Waugh takes control as the West Indies wilt
Overall, the first three hours of the first day were good for the West Indies
Colin Croft
26-Dec-2000
Overall, the first three hours of the first day were good for the West Indies. At 105-4, Australia looked vulnerable. The West Indies had achieved some good results, with uncharacteristic help from the Australian batsmen. From a technical point of view, however, the West Indian fast bowlers, except Courtney Walsh, were not really as good as the score suggested.
In every over from Nixon McLean, Merve Dillon and even the Test debutante Colin Stuart, there were at least two bad deliveries. In some overs, there were as many as four of these stinkers. When the part-time off-spinner Marlon Samuels was used, he too got the treatment, since he too was off-line.
The Australian batsmen, especially Steve Waugh, took toll by hitting almost all of these bad balls for boundaries. Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and later Adam Gilchrist seemed to have made the decision that despite the early West Indian success, all they had to do was to "take on" the bowlers, thus putting the pressure back on the fielding team. Simply, it worked.
To be perfectly honest, only one of the five Australian batsmen dismissed in the first two sessions was out to a good ball. Indeed, the best ball of the day, from Dillon to Slater, did not take a wicket, though it should have done. The ball moved away a bit from the batsman, with some extra bounce and was edged to, and badly dropped by, Sherwin Campbell at second slip.
Full postPublic and players deserve much better from pitches
The players turned up, the crowd turned up, more than 7000 of them, but someone forgot to order a pitch for the New Zealand-Zimbabwe Boxing Day Test at Wellington's Basin Reserve
Lynn McConnell
26-Dec-2000
The players turned up, the crowd turned up, more than 7000 of them, but someone forgot to order a pitch for the New Zealand-Zimbabwe Boxing Day Test at Wellington's Basin Reserve.
Those who made the effort to shake off their post-Christmas Day torpor must have wondered why they bothered when the arrived at the ground for what has now become a New Zealand cricket tradition.
For all their efforts what greeted them was a grey-looking, lifeless pitch that was a far cry from the superior pitches that have been prepared in recent years.
Predictably, the play was dull with New Zealand crawling to a laborious 190/4 by stumps with Nathan Astle looking for a big score on 56 not out, off 174 balls and in 242 minutes, and Craig McMillan 20 not out.
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