Report
England v Zimbabwe - First Test, Day 2
Despite the sullen conditions that persisted at Lord's, for the second day, for England there remains the promise of brighter things to follow
Andy Jalil
19-May-2000
Despite the sullen conditions that persisted at Lord's, for the second day, for England there remains the promise of brighter things to follow. With the prospects of fine weather not being particularly encouraging for the duration of this historical Test, the match may well last five days.
Under normal circumstances, with a team being skittled out for a paltry 83 in 30 overs on the first afternoon, as happened with Zimbabwe yesterday, the match struggles to go much beyond three days. But England will be seeing this as a clear opportunity of building a position of strength against an opposition which appears to be struggling with weaknesses in both the main areas - batting and bowling.
With England's poor performance last summer and indeed, so often in recent years, here lies their chance to establish a superiority in this match and a series victory in this short, 2-Test, contest will have an enormous uplifting effect on the side before the more arduous task against West Indies later this summer.
Despite losing the series 2-1 last winter in South Africa, there seemed an excellent team spirit prevailing and it is that mental strength which could be vital now if England are to bring to an end a dishearting sequence of only three wins in the last fifteen Tests at Lord's. It is a depressing statistic and England are now poised to improve on it.
Full postYouhana The Man
Confronted by the pluperfect pitch they were promised and stymied by the traditional lack of variety in their all-pace attack, the West Indies once more let Pakistan wriggle out of a tight bind on the first day of the second Cable & Wireless Test at
19-May-2000
Confronted by the pluperfect pitch they were promised and stymied by the traditional lack of variety in their all-pace attack, the West Indies once more let Pakistan wriggle out of a tight bind on the first day of the second Cable & Wireless Test at Kensington Oval yesterday.
Almost exactly mirroring the first morning of the previous rain-ruined Test in Georgetown, when they were 39 for five, Pakistan found themselves 37 for five after an hour-and-a-quarter's play.
Sharp West Indian close fielders snared everything that came their way off bowlers who used their height to exploit the early bounce from a rock-hard surface and exploit the vulnerability of the Pakistani top order in such conditions.
As the searing heat squeezed the early life out of both the surface and the bowling, Pakistan were revived by an innings of the highest class by Yousuf Youhana and the support he received from three successive partners.
Full postEngland v Zimbabwe - First Test, Day 1 Report
It was a momentous day for Zimbabwe, the minnows of Test cricket, at the Headquarters of the game, as they embarked on their first ever Test series in England
Andy Jalil
18-May-2000
It was a momentous day for Zimbabwe, the minnows of Test cricket, at the
Headquarters of the game, as they embarked on their first ever Test series in
England.
This historical tour has been a long while coming; eight years and 41 Tests
after Zimbabwe were elevated to Test status. It will be remembered that
England had opposed their entry to the highest level of cricket until 1992.
In view of that, it is of some significance to note that the relative new
entrants to the international scene have maintained a parity in the results
of their previous encounters with England at both levels of cricket.
Indeed, at one stage, the sequence of victories, in the shorter version of
the game, stood at 6-2 in favour of Zimbabwe. This was not merely a
flattering margin, but in fact, arose from the dedication and hard work that Zimbabwe had put into their game. They would, no doubt, wish to forge ahead in the outcome of Tests as well.
Full postDay No. 1: Test No. 2: Pakistan v West Indies
This has been a tremendous day of Test cricket, with Pakistan recovering well to be all out for a very credible 253
Colin E. Croft
18-May-2000
CLOSE OF PLAY
This has been a tremendous day of Test cricket, with Pakistan recovering
well to be all out for a very credible 253. The West Indies closed on 2-0.
After initially being 7-3, Pakistan owe their much improved position to
Yousuf Youhanna, playing in his 20th Test. Mixing initial aggression with
tempered defense, his 115, his 2nd Test century, probably the innings of his
life, was a study of concentration, hitting 13 confident boundaries in his
nearly 6-hour stay at the crease. He was the last man out.
Yousuf featured in some crucial partnerships, adding 73 with his captain,
Moin Khan, who made 38, for the 6th wicket; then 69 with Wasim Akram, who
made 42, for the 7th wicket, 41 for the 8th wicket with Saqlain Mustaq, and
28 with Waqar Younis for the 9th wicket. Mustaq Ahmed was left on 02 not
out.
Full postPakistan suffer shock 65-run defeat
Bridgetown (Barbados), May 15: Pakistan suffered a shock 65-run defeat at the hands of West Indies A in the last session of the four-day match here on Monday
Qamar Ahmed
16-May-2000
Bridgetown (Barbados), May 15: Pakistan suffered a shock 65-run defeat
at the hands of West Indies A in the last session of the four-day
match here on Monday.
Discarded Test bowler Mervyn Dillon exposed Pakistan's vulnerability
against quality fast bowling when he captured six for 40 to send the
tourists crashing out for 145 while chasing 210 for victory.
Pakistan had taken a match-winning 186-run first innings lead and then
had reduced the home team to 89 for four. At lunch, Pakistan were
precariously placed at 63 for three and needing another 147 to win
their second successive first-class match of the tour.
Pakistan were handicapped with injury to Mohammad Wasim who has a
bruised finger in left hand. He sustained the injury while keeping
wickets on the third day. But Wasim ended up as the top scorer with
46 followed up by Imran Nazir 39.
Full postDillon Is A-Class
The New Fighting Spirit in the West Indies senior team rubbed off on the reserves yesterday as the 'A' team defeated Pakistan by 65 runs at Kensington Oval
Philip Hackett
16-May-2000
The New Fighting Spirit in the West Indies senior team rubbed off on the reserves yesterday as the 'A' team defeated Pakistan by 65 runs at Kensington Oval.
On a day of high drama and entertainment, Mervyn Dillon gave the West Indies six reasons to set the selectors thinking they might have been wrong in excluding him from the 16-man team for the summer tour to England.
It was a superb fightback by the 'A' team after conceding a first innings lead of 186. Set 211 for victory after the 'A' team accumulated 396 in their second innings, Pakistan reached 145 all out 20 minutes after tea on the final day.
The 25-year-old Dillon, charging in purposefully from the southern end, extracted good pace and bounce and rocked Pakistan with career-best figures of six for 40 to earn match figures of nine for 92.
Full postSarwan And Ganga Shine
The elegance of Ramnaresh Sarwan and the level-headedness and determination of Darren Ganga saved West Indies 'A' the embarrassment of losing their match against Pakistan in three days
Philip Hackett
15-May-2000
The elegance of Ramnaresh Sarwan and the level-headedness and
determination of Darren Ganga saved West Indies 'A' the embarrassment
of losing their match against Pakistan in three days.
The hosts batted throughout Day 3 at Kensington Oval to reach 362 for
nine.
Cameo performances from captain Courtney Browne, who hit 46 off 56
balls, and Ricardo Powell, 43 off 22, also supported the work of
Sarwan whose 75 in 185 minutes was filled with an array of attractive
strokes, particularly through the off-side.
The diminutive Guyanese pierced the off-side field almost at will,
whether against pace or spin.
Full postPakistan heading for victory in four-dayer
Bridgetown (Barbados), May 14: Pakistan were heading for victory after reducing West Indies 'A' to 181 for five in their second innings 90 minutes after lunch on the third day of the four-day match at the Kensington Oval here on Sunday
Qamar Ahmed
15-May-2000
Bridgetown (Barbados), May 14: Pakistan were heading for victory after reducing West Indies 'A' to 181 for five in their second innings 90 minutes after lunch on the third day of the four-day match at the Kensington Oval here on Sunday.
The home side still requires five runs to avoid an innings defeat.
West Indies 'A' captain and wicket-keeper Courtney Browne was the man out in the afternoon session for 46 with Arshad Khan catching off off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. He and Ramnaresh Sarwan, batting on 43, had shared a fifth wicket stand worth 91.
Daren Ganga was the other batsman at the crease on eight.
Full postSurrey v Kent at The Oval
Kent 81/4 from 31 overs Kent declared on their overnight total and Surrey took just 4 balls (friendly ones from Key) to make 17 and declare
Jeff Green
14-May-2000
Kent 81/4 from 31 overs Kent declared on their overnight total and Surrey took just 4 balls (friendly ones from Key) to make 17 and declare.
Bicknell with Movement and Tudor with pace caused all sorts of troubles and ruled out any chance of of Kent chasing hard by 4 wickets for under 50. Dravid looking every inch a class player and Ealham, bemused by Salisbury but happier against Bicknell, rebuilt either side of lunch.
Tea: Kent 147/5 from 57 overs After Surrey had owned the morning Ealham and especially Dravid made sure the afternoon was Kent's. Against Salisbury Dravid looked certain though Ealham appeared to have little idea where the ball was going though apart from one possible chance to slip he looked unlikely to get out. Rupesh Amin was easier for both and tended to drop a bit short. Bicknell returned just before tea and Dravid was late on his first shot, later in the over he was early and got a leading edge looping to Adam H at mid off.
Full postWasim, Saqlain strike form ahead of 2nd Test
Bridgetown (Barbados), May 13: Pakistan were 209 for three at lunch in their first innings on the second day of the four-day match against the West Indies 'A' at the Kensington Oval here on Saturday after just 50 minutes of play was possible because
Qamar Ahmed
14-May-2000
Bridgetown (Barbados), May 13: Pakistan were 209 for three at lunch in
their first innings on the second day of the four-day match against
the West Indies 'A' at the Kensington Oval here on Saturday after just
50 minutes of play was possible because of rain. Opener Mohammad
Wasim, who resumed the day on an unbeaten 74 with Pakistan on 154 for
two in their first innings, was batting on 98 in stay of 255 minutes
with 10 fours. His overnight partner Younis Khan, however, made 26
before he was caught in the covers by Sylvester Joseph off Marlon
Samuels after a third wicket partnership of 56.
On Friday, off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq warmed up for the second Test
with a haul of six wickets for 48 runs to bowl West Indies `A' out for
160 in their first innings.
Having on the toss, the West Indies were unable to come to terms with
the guiles of Saqlain.
The West Indies `A' lost their first wicket at 8 when Azeemul Haniff
went for 2. The second stand between skipper Daren Ganga and
Ramnaresh Sarwan yielded 92 precious runs.
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