Report
Warriors maintain clear edge after opening day
New South Wales' bowlers have made a valiant late challenge on day one of their Pura Cup match against the Western Warriors at the WACA Ground here in Perth today
Scott Holdaway
15-Dec-2000
New South Wales' bowlers have made a valiant late challenge on day one of their Pura Cup match against the Western Warriors at the WACA Ground here in
Perth today. But it was still not enough to make amends for a dismal display with the bat that has left the Blues in difficulty in this match after an action-packed
opening six hours of play.
Warriors batsmen Ryan Campbell, Mike Hussey, Simon Katich and Murray Goodwin all fell to the visitors' bowling attack, leaving the home side 4/111 at stumps in
response to New South Wales' paltry total of 131.
Blues strike bowler Don Nash (2/26) removed Campbell (15) in the first over after drinks, following an attempted pull shot. Brett van Deinsen made no mistake with
the catch at short leg, leaving the Warriors 1/24 and bringing Katich to the crease.
Several overs later, with the score on forty, fellow paceman Stuart Clark (1/29) caught Hussey (13) playing a defensive stroke. Hussey's prod gathered an
edge, and 'keeper Brad Haddin gloved the catch easily.
Full postFight for first innings points even at Rangiora
Canterbury's post-lunch tail-end collapse, and a solid reply from Northern Districts of 126/3, has left the battle for first innings points in the balance after day two of a hard-fought Shell Trophy match at Rangiora
Steve Deane
14-Dec-2000
Canterbury's post-lunch tail-end collapse, and a solid reply from Northern
Districts of 126/3, has left the battle for first innings points in the
balance after day two of a hard-fought Shell Trophy match at Rangiora.
However, with half of the match gone and a total of only 13 wickets taken
the chances of either team forcing an outright result appear slim.
A gritty knock of 43 from Gareth Hopkins guided Canterbury safely through
the first session for the loss of only Aaron Redmond for 41. At 338/6
heading into the middle session Canterbury would have been targeting a score
in excess of 400. But after lunch the final four wickets fell for the
addition of only six runs, raising suspicions that Laurie Mains, friend Suzie
the tea lady had emigrated from Johannesburg to take up a catering position
in North Canterbury.
Left-arm spinner Bruce Martin picked up his third consecutive five-wicket
bag against the Cantabs and the figures of the innings, but he benefited
from bowling in tandem with a miserly Grant Bradburn.
Full postOtago tighten hold on match over Auckland
Otago had their foot firmly on the Auckland neck by the halfway mark of their Shell Trophy match at Eden Park today, and the home side will struggle to survive the third day tomorrow
Don Cameron
14-Dec-2000
Otago had their foot firmly on the Auckland neck by the halfway mark of
their Shell Trophy match at Eden Park today, and the home side will
struggle to
survive the third day tomorrow.
After another day of tight-fisted cricket Otago completed their first
innings
at 274, a first innings lead of 117, and ripped out both Auckland
openers for 14 runs
as the home side were pinned down for 13 overs before stumps.
Otago will thus enter the third day tomorrow still 103 runs in credit,
and
must hope that the pitch retains its life -- and the Auckland sun
continues to shine --
as they chase victory over the remainder of the match.
Otago's slow, solid innings was built round the valiant batsmanship of
Chris
Gaffaney, tragically out at 99 when pursuing his fifth first class
century, and then
the cool head of Paul Wiseman who scored 75 and put together an
invaluable 56-run
stand for the last wicket with James McMillan, batting like a veteran in
only his
second big match.
Full postBell sends message to selectors as Wellington press on
Matthew Bell, like a lighthouse on a stormy night, communicated an unambiguous message to the national selectors with his second century of the Shell Trophy season on the second day of Wellington's match against Central Districts at the Basin Reserve
Steve McMorran
14-Dec-2000
Matthew Bell, like a lighthouse on a stormy night, communicated an unambiguous message to the national selectors with his second century of the Shell Trophy season on the second day of Wellington's match against Central Districts at the Basin Reserve today.
Only 42.5 overs were bowled on a day first delayed, then truncated and continually hampered by poor light and persistent drizzle but Bell managed to advance his overnight score from 71 to 109 and to provide the shining light on a dull day.
Wellington, with the additional assistance of Selwyn Blackmore, Chris Nevin and James Franklin, was cumulatively able to increase its overnight score from 153-3 to 297-5 in reply to Central's first innings of 111.
Rain delayed the start of play for 85 minutes, allowed only 31 minutes or 7.1 overs before lunch, then sent the players from the field again and for the last time two minutes before tea, with Nevin 52 and Franklin 23 not out. Stumps were finally drawn in increasing gloom and light rain at 5.45pm.
Full postTasmania evens contest at MCG
Victoria has squandered an excellent start to finish on 6/250 at stumps on the opening day of its Pura Cup clash against Tasmania here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Nabila Ahmed
14-Dec-2000
Victoria has squandered an excellent start to finish on 6/250 at stumps on the opening day of its Pura Cup clash against Tasmania here at the Melbourne Cricket
Ground.
After cruising at 1/137 at one stage, Victoria lost three wickets in the space of twelve overs late in the day to allow the Tigers back into the game.
The main destroyer for the visitors was former Bushranger David Saker (3/70), who transferred to Tasmania earlier this year. Saker got his new team off to a dream
start, trapping opener Jason Arnberger for a first-ball duck in the opening over of the match.
Given that Arnberger batted through the entire first day in the corresponding match between these two teams here last year, the Tigers would have breathed a sigh of
relief to see the twenty-eight year old return to the pavilion. However one return they would rather forget was that of Matthew Elliott's, to first class cricket. Elliott,
who shared in that first-day marathon with his opening partner last season, tried to emulate some of that effort today, scoring a classy seventy-nine.
Full postIndia ride to victory on Agarkar's late blitz
India coasted to a 39-run victory at the RMCCG ground in Rajkot to close out the one-day series against Zimbabwe by four games to one
Sankhya Krishnan
14-Dec-2000
India coasted to a 39-run victory at the RMCCG ground in Rajkot to
close out the one-day series against Zimbabwe by four games to one.
They owed the win largely to the frail looking Ajit Agarkar who looks
ready and capable to ensconce himself into the role of the all rounder
India does not have. After a splendid 102 run stand in just 99 balls
between Hemang Badani and Reetinder Sodhi strengthened the edifice of
the Indian innings, Agarkar produced a spectacular late blitz of 67 in
25 balls that lifted India to a once unthinkable 301. Despite earning
the springboard of a rollicking start, the visitors sputtered in the
middle overs and the loss of Trevor Madondo and Grant Flower in
successive overs signalled the end of the road for them.
The younger members of the Indian team also stepped up a notch and
indicated they were quite capable of standing the heat at this level.
After the early exits of the two senior batsmen in the team, Badani
was the stabilising influence in the middle order that afforded
Agarkar the luxury of going for broke in the end. Skipper Rahul Dravid
said it was a fantastic feeling to post a win in his first match as
captain. The depth in the Indian bowling also provided for a plethora
of options as Dravid said. "We were just discussing that we had ten
guys in the side who could bowl, other than the keeper, and I thought
Sriram and Shewag did a very good job in the middle overs".
Alistair Campbell had begun with a flurry of attacking shots which was
nothing new but as usual, to the frustration of his team-mates, he
failed to convert that start into anything like a substantial score.
Campbell presented Reetinder Sodhi, given custody of the new ball in
Zaheer Khan's absence, with his first ODI scalp. His partner Trevor
Madondo was in ominous touch and it certainly baffles the imagination
why Zimbabwe tarried till the end of the tour to give him a stage to
announce his undoubted ability. Madondo generated plenty of power off
his strokes which came all around the wicket as the Zimbabwe fifty
came up in just 6.2 overs. He shrugged off the loss of a second
partner in Gavin Rennie and greeted the first appearance of spin in
the form of Aashish Kapoor by smacking a four over cover, wasting no
time in getting acquainted with the bowler's craft.
An Andy Flower reverse sweep that beat a very square short fineleg
stationed to cut off the very stroke brought up the hundred in the
14th over, a good 11 overs earlier than India took to reach the
corresponding milestone. Agarkar was working up a good burst of pace
to keep the batsmen on their toes after the gentle medium pace of the
opening pair of Prasad and Sodhi. At 103, Zimbabwe suffered what
seemed to be an irreconcilable blow as Andy Flower flicked Agarkar
into the waiting hands of Sodhi at square leg. Madondo refused to let
that be a dampener on his belligerence, and before long had swept
Kapoor for a boundary, that fetched him a half century in 40 balls.
Grant Flower joined him in a battling partnership that formed the main
repository of Zimbabwe's hopes as they proceeded to 146 at the halfway
stage with the asking rate still at manageable proportions.
Full postGood work by MP bowlers on second day
Haryana were bowled out for 463 in 154.2 overs, shortly before the tea interval on the second day of the Cooch Behar Trophy final against Madhya Pradesh at the Deccan Gymkhana grounds, Pune on Thursday
Waleed Hussain
14-Dec-2000
Haryana were bowled out for 463 in 154.2 overs, shortly before the tea
interval on the second day of the Cooch Behar Trophy final against
Madhya Pradesh at the Deccan Gymkhana grounds, Pune on Thursday. In
reply, MP weathered the fall of two early wickets to end the day at 86
for two.
Haryana resumed on a healthy overnight score of 316 for three. The
middle order batsmen failed to capitalise on it and the remaining
seven wickets fell for the addition of 147 runs. Skipper Ajay Ratra
was the first to be dismissed. He was adjudged leg before wicket
giving Omprakash Yadav his first wicket of the day. Ratra could add
only one run to his overnight score and fell to the last ball of the
first over.
Sumeet Sharma (71) soon followed and was in the pavilion, adding seven
runs to his overnight score. The fall of both the overnight batsmen
triggered a collapse in the middle order. Haryana lost five wickets in
the first session of the day and went to lunch on 387 for eight off
125 overs. The post lunch session saw a revival in the batting thanks
to Amit Mishra and Gaurav Vasishta. Mishra and Vasishta added 49 runs
for the ninth wicket off 22 overs. Their stay at the wicket ensured
that Haryana passed the 400-run mark. The partnership ended one short
of the fifty mark when Mishra edged an outswinger from OP Yadav to
stumper Naman Ojha. Amit Mishra scored 31 off 87 balls with four hits
to the fence.
Nitin Agarwal joined Vasishta at the fall of this wicket and the duo
added 50 runs for the last wicket off 16.4 overs. Gaurav Vasishta
played a fighting knock scoring 56 off 113 balls, hitting six of them
to the fence. He was dismissed shortly before the tea interval. Nitin
Agarwal was unbeaten on 15 off 52 deliveries. OP Yadav picked up three
wickets for 127 runs, Maninder Singh and Jitendar Likhar each bagged
two wickets each for 93 and 74 runs respectively.
Full postBihar turn the tables on Assam
After having conceded the first innings lead to Assam, Bihar came back strongly to score a three wicket win in the East Zone Under-22 tournament match at the Mangaldoi Sports Association Ground in Mangaldoi on Thursday
Natarajan Sriram
14-Dec-2000
After having conceded the first innings lead to Assam, Bihar came back
strongly to score a three wicket win in the East Zone Under-22 tournament
match at the Mangaldoi Sports Association Ground in Mangaldoi on Thursday.
Set to score 259 for a win on the final day and moreover with just under
two sessions of play left, Bihar were put on the right course, after the
early loss of opener A Vidhyarti (9), by a 132-run second wicket stand
between S Hussain (76) and skipper Neeraj Kumar (64). Thereafter, the
middle order chipped in with some useful contributions to take Bihar home
in 47 overs.
On the opening day, opting to bat, Assam came up against some good seam
bowling by Rajesh Thakur and Chakraborthy. Claiming eight of the Assam
wickets, the duo skittled out the opponents for just 188. Bihar in response
conceded a 30-run first innings lead. The fact that only four of their
batsmen crossed the double digits did not help their cause. Assam with
their tails up on taking the slender lead, scored 228 for nine declared the
second time around. The openers RM Gohain (64) and PJ Das (88) who shared a
110-run stand were the mainstays in the innings.
Full postSukhbinder Singh skittles out Tripura for paltry 116
There was no joy for Tripura on Thursday as they slipped to 116 all out against Assam in their East Zone Ranji Trophy encounter at home
Anand Vasu
14-Dec-2000
There was no joy for Tripura on Thursday as they slipped to 116 all
out against Assam in their East Zone Ranji Trophy encounter at home.
On winning the toss at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium in
Agartala, Assam skipper SZ Suffri put the home side in to bat. It was
a decision that paid rich dividends at the close of play on the first
day. Left arm spinner Sukhbinder Singh was quite unplayable. Returning
the amazing figures of 15-7-15-5, Sukhbinder ran through the Tripura
batting lineup. Picking up wickets that spanned from the opening
batsman to the last man, Sukhbinder made sure that the highest
individual score was restricted to S Dasgupta's 42. Although
Sukhbinder's performance was the one that stood out, left arm seamer
Gautam Dutta with 3/30 gave a good account of himself.
In response, the Assam side encountered no problems. Although PJ Das
was run out after he had made 28 (57 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) the first
wicket partnership was already worth 52. When stumps was called, Assam
were motoring on at a healthy 79 for 1. Skipper Zufri, coming in at
one drop was unbeaten on 21. The other opener, SB Saikia had helped
himself to a slow but steady 25 (96 balls) and he too was unconquered.
Assam are in a good position, and some steady batting from them on the
second and third days should see them take the initiative.
Full postVishwas Bhalla hits double century in Punjab's innings win
Punjab overwhelmed Haryana by an innings and 152 runs on Thursday in the Vijay Merchant Trophy (under-16) North Zone league match at the Maharaja Stadium, Rohtak
Santhosh S
14-Dec-2000
Punjab overwhelmed Haryana by an innings and 152 runs on Thursday in the
Vijay Merchant Trophy (under-16) North Zone league match at the Maharaja
Stadium, Rohtak. Punjab captain Vishwas Bhalla led from the front and put
the match beyond Haryana with a swashbuckling innings of 250 as Punjab
amassed 526/7 declared in their first innings.
Winning the toss on Tuesday, Punjab elected to have a bat first and had a
bad start losing the first wicket in the second over in the form of Varun
Gupta for a duck. That brought Bhalla to the middle and he took the bowlers
by the scruff of their neck and blasted a double century by the end of the
day. He was involved in a 89-run partnership with Tavish Gupta (35) for the
second wicket. R Arora made an explosive 91 in 122 balls which included
nine fours and two sixes and helped Bhalla put on 161 for the third wicket.
Bhalla's hundred came in 153 balls including 13 fours. He went on to add 84
runs for the fourth wicket with Gaurav Gupta (42 in 43 balls, 8 fours). At
the end of the first day, Punjab were 451/5 with Bhalla on an imposing 204
not out. On Wednesday, the Punjab score kept bulging as Bhalla went on to
make 250 before being dismissed. Bhalla's heroics took him 398 minutes at
the crease as he faced 290 balls and smashing the ball to the fence 37
times and hitting the ball over the fence twice. At the fall of his wicket,
Bhalla declared the innings closed at 526/7 in 106.2 overs. It was a
bowling performance that the Haryana boys would like to forget in a hurry.
Haryana started their batting with much hope but Punjab bowlers were just
too good for them. They collapsed like a house of cards and came to an end
at a pathetic 117 all out in 33.1 overs. On a day when the Punjab bowlers
excelled, Ankur was the best of them with the figures of 9.1-4-14-3. For
Haryana, wicketkeeper Sunil tried to put up some resistance with a bold 37
in 43 balls. With a huge lead of 409 runs, Punjab asked Haryana to follow
on. Haryana got their act together in the second issue and started with an
opening stand of 180. Openers Puneet Gupta and Kailash Shah were keen on
putting up a fight, which they did. Gupta made 71 hitting 16 fours and Shah
made 95, also smashing 16 fours. Once the openers got out, Haryana lost
their way completely. As a matter of fact, all Haryana wickets fell for
just 73 runs. Tarun Kanish and Gaurav Gupta collected three wickets apiece
as Ankur Jand and Gursharan picked two wickets each. Punjab took home all
eight points on offer with their win and Haryana got none.
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