Report
South Africa smother India in CCC opener
Very few matches go down to the last ball of the second innings
Anand Vasu
22-Mar-2000
Very few matches go down to the last ball of the second innings.
Some matches stay alive till very close to the death. And some
matches are decided very early on in the first innings. The
opening match of the Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah between India and
South Africa certainly fits in the last category.
On winning the toss, the newly appointed Indian captain Sourav
Ganguly elected to bat first. From then on it was all downhill
for the Indians. The batting which took the South Africans to
task in the five One-Dayers played in India seemed a thing of the
past as the Indians were skittled out for 164.
Even the 164 they did manage to scrape up seemed unlikely when
they were looking down the barrel at 123/9. Only a spirited 30
from number eleven Javagal Srinath in the company of the cool and
composed Ajay Jadeja (43 not out) saved India from total
humiliation.
Starting badly, Sachin Tendulkar was foxed by a ball from Shaun
Pollock that came in off the wicket and crashed into the stumps.
Ganguly looked good to start off, playing the ball well through
the off side in characteristic fashion. He too did not last long,
clipping a ball off the bowling of Kallis straight to Boje inside
the circle.
Full postSwann gives Northants winning start to tour
England all-rounder Graeme Swann gave Northamptonshire a winning start to their tour to Grenada with a sparkling display with both bat and ball
Nick Hoult
22-Mar-2000
England all-rounder Graeme Swann gave Northamptonshire a winning start to
their tour to Grenada with a sparkling display with both bat and ball.
Swann struck a 42-ball 73 hitting five sixes and then took three wickets as
Northamptonshire beat Grenada by 75 runs.
The County players got their first glimpse of the $20 million stadium and
settled into life quickly under the hot sun, adapting well to the conditions
just 36 hours after landing on the island.
Director of cricket Bob Carter has used the games this weekend to give every
player a run out with Adrian Rollins making his first appearance in County
colours on Saturday.
Rollins put on 76 for the first wicket with Alec Swann (36) before falling
for 21 to West Indian leg spinner Raul Lewis, who pegged the County back
with four for 27.
Full postBihar score easy victory over Andhra Pradesh
Bihar surprised fancied Andhra Pradesh, who finished third last year, by nine wickets in the quarterfinal of the CricInfo Trophy Senior Women's National Cricket Championship at the Gymkhana Ground in Jorhat on Tuesday
22-Mar-2000
Bihar surprised fancied Andhra Pradesh, who finished third last year,
by nine wickets in the quarterfinal of the CricInfo Trophy Senior
Women's National Cricket Championship at the Gymkhana Ground in Jorhat
on Tuesday.
Chasing a paltry 45 for victory, Bihar reached the target in 15.4
overs. They lost Neetu Singh (3) with five runs on the board, but the
other opener Kamini Kumari (5) and Geeta Samantrai (26) finished the
match quickly in Bihar's favour.
Earlier, electing to bat, Andhra Pradesh caved in meekly and were all
out for 44 in 32.4 overs with only Sree Rekha (13) reaching double
figures. Bihar's Kavita Roy (2 for 9), Sanjeeda (2 for 12) and Asha
Kumari (2 for 2) ran through the Andhra side.
Full postZimbabwe in West Indies: Miracle win
Against all odds, the West Indies' battery of fast bowlers shot down lightweights Zimbabwe for 63 to provide their team with one of the most amazing victories in modern day Test cricket at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad yesterday
21-Mar-2000
Against all odds, the West Indies' battery of fast bowlers shot down
lightweights Zimbabwe for 63 to provide their team with one of the
most amazing victories in modern day Test cricket at the Queen's Park
Oval in Trinidad yesterday.
Zimbabwe, the newest and weakest of the nine Testplaying nations,
were given just 99 to win but unbelievably folded under the West
Indian bowling barrage led by veterans Curtly Ambrose and Courtney
Walsh.
The remarkable 35-run victory would have been especially sweet for
Jamaican Jimmy Adams, who was leading the team for the first time.
After crawling to 47 for three, Zimbabwe fell apart, their last seven
wickets tumbling for 16 runs.
Full postAnjum stars as Air India demolish Delhi
Air India won their quarterfinal encounter against Delhi by eight wickets in the CricInfo Trophy women's National Cricket Championship at the Jorhat Stadium at Jorhat on Monday
21-Mar-2000
Air India won their quarterfinal encounter against Delhi by eight
wickets in the CricInfo Trophy women's National Cricket Championship
at the Jorhat Stadium at Jorhat on Monday.
Set a target of 180, Air India made a shaky start losing Anju Jain (5)
with the score at 6 in the third over. But Anjum Chopra (82 not out of
75 balls) and Mithali Raj (58 runs of 50 balls) laid the foundation
for the victory with a 131-run stand in 23.5 overs for the second
wicket. Then Anjum Chopra and Mamta Mamben (14 not out of 12 balls)
guided Air India towards victory in 35.1 overs.
Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat, Delhi lost opener Rakhi
Mehra (15) at 20 in the fourth over. But S Jaya (35 runs of 77 balls)
and Sima Wadhwa (14) added 50 runs in 12.3 overs for the second
wicket. Then M Reema (51 runs of 72 balls) joined Jaya in a fourth
wicket stand that realised 44 runs in 12.3 overs. After the departure
of Jaya, Asha Jain (13) and Reema added 26 runs for the fifth wicket
in 5.3 overs. But once the fifth wicket fell at 148, Delhi lost its
way and managed only 179 in the alloted 40 overs.
Full postBihar defeat Madhya Pradesh by three wickets
Bihar picked up two points by defeating Madhya Pradesh by three wickets in the first round of the CricInfo Trophy Senior Women's National Cricket Championship at the Gymkhana Ground in Jorhat on Monday
21-Mar-2000
Bihar picked up two points by defeating Madhya Pradesh by three wickets
in the first round of the CricInfo Trophy Senior Women's National
Cricket Championship at the Gymkhana Ground in Jorhat on Monday.
Chasing a target of 100, Bihar got off to a steady start with openers
Nitu Singh (29 runs of 48 balls) and Kamini Kumari (7 runs of 25
balls) putting on 37 runs. Bihar wicketkeeper Geethe Samanth Rao
chipped in with 23 runs of 42 balls but there was a minor collapse
with Madhya Pradesh's Preeti (3 for 19) bowling an incisive spell. But
MP's paltry total was highly inadequate and Bihar were home in the
33rd over.
Earlier, put into bat, MP's openers V Bharti (17 runs of 33 balls) and
P Ketaki (7 runs of 26 balls) put on 28 runs in 6.5 overs. But soon
MP were in trouble with three of their four middle order batswoman run
out cheaply. They could not really recover and were all out in 32.5
overs for only 99.
Full postTour diary: everything to play for after two days
Well, it's the end of a very long second day, about seven and half hours of Test cricket in all
Alistair Campbell
20-Mar-2000
Well, it's the end of a very long second day, about seven and
half hours of Test cricket in all. A slow over rate from the West
Indians added to a day already lengthened as a result of the play
lost on the first day. However, for the Test cricket enthusiast
it was a thoroughly enthralling day of cricket, as has the Test
been thus far.
Day one started in the perfect manner, with Andy Flower winning
the toss and putting them in on a wicket that had a tinge of
green to it. Heath Streak confirmed the captain's decision with a
wicket with his third ball, Griffiths lbw for 0. The ball was
nipping around a bit and the bowlers got it in the right areas.
However, countless play and misses and a dropped catch later, we
managed to get our second wicket through a run out. The ball was
pushed into the covers and Brian Murphy charged after it, threw
it to the bowler on the swivel and Neil Johnson obliged by taking
the bails off (the ball only nicked the leg stump as he had to
underarm it some two metres) and Gayle was out for 33.
Lunch came and went and we managed to bowl only one ball after
the break when suddenly the heavens opened. It rained on and off
for about two and half hours and the ground was very wet; we
thought that we would never get back on, but the umpires thought
differently and we had about forty-five minutes at them. We were
not complaining as this was a horrible time for them to have to
see out.
The bowlers were on the mark again and it was a matter of time
before we got another wicket (a very important one at that)
Chanderpaul edging Olonga to Andy Flower. Gripper missed a chance
by Ambrose off Murphy just before the close which would have had
them four down. However, we were reasonably happy when stumps
were drawn. West Indies 73 for 3.
Full postTour diary: A chance to make history
Well, it's the end of day four and what a Test match it is turning out to be
Alistair Campbell
20-Mar-2000
Well, it's the end of day four and what a Test match it is
turning out to be. At the end of my last report I alluded to the
fact that day three would be a very pivotal day in this Test
match. We needed to bat with the same resolve that Gripper and
Flower had shown and try and get a first innings lead.
Walsh and Ambrose again did the bulk of the bowling, and again
were outstanding and a little unfortunate. Andy Flower edged
Walsh to third slip in the first over of the day and Chanderpaul
put the chance down. We were moving along comfortably enough when
the rain came down again, which it has done at regular intervals
all through this Test. When play commenced again Andy Flower had
another piece of good fortune when he edged Ambrose to first slip
where Gayle spilled the chance. Batting was extremely difficult,
as the ball was reverse-swinging and keeping low. Mixed in with
this, Ambrose and Walsh bowling superbly, you couldn't help get
the feeling that something was going to happen.
Something did when Gripper, after a mammoth and very important
vigil, edged a superb Ambrose leg-cutter to first slip. Enter
yours truly and not for very long, edging another
reverse-swinging Ambrose delivery to Jacobs second ball. 140 for
5 and you could sense that this is where the game could be turned
on its head -- the Windies were pumped up. Carlisle came to the
crease and looked very comfortable, playing a breezy innings of
17 before going back to one that kept low from Ambrose. Zimbabwe
160 for 6 and the game was very evenly poised.
Streak joined Flower and while Flower at the one one end was
showing all the resolve that had already netted him 6 test
hundreds, Streak held up the other end, mixing cautious defence
with well-timed punches off the back foot. They accumulated
together and before we knew it Flower was on 99 and all the boys
were on the edge of their seats. A mis-timed drive off Walsh that
looped to mid-off and a scampered single, Flower had reached a
hundred. And what a valuable effort it had been, spanning 7 hours
in very demanding conditions against two of the finest fast
bowlers in the world.
Full postWest Indies on brink
Port-Of-Spain - Overcome as much by the collective negativity that has enveloped every aspect of their cricket for so long as by the discipline and fierce competitiveness of their opponents, the West Indies are on the brink of their latest
20-Mar-2000
Port-Of-Spain - Overcome as much by the collective negativity that has
enveloped every aspect of their cricket for so long as by the
discipline and fierce competitiveness of their opponents, the West
Indies are on the brink of their latest humiliation.
After struggling un-convincingly for four days to repeatedly retrieve
desperate situations, they start the final day of their inaugural Test
against Zimbabwe at the Queen's Park Oval this morning in a forlorn
position.
Their already brittle batting, further weakened by the self-imposed
exile of Brian Lara, who has watched the familiar ignominy unfold from
the distance of the stands, had collapsed yet again to 147 for nine
when fading light ended the day six overs short.
Subtracting the first innings deficit of 49, the West Indies begin
this morning 98 ahead with two of Test cricket's most authentic
non-batsmen, Reon King and Courtney Walsh, together.
Full postCricInfo Trophy: Punjab races to ten wicket victory over Assam
Punjab defeated hosts Assam convincingly by ten wickets with 38.5 overs to spare in the first round of the CricInfo Trophy Senior Women's National Championship at the JDSA Ground in Jorhat on Monday
20-Mar-2000
Punjab defeated hosts Assam convincingly by ten wickets with 38.5 overs to spare in the first round of the CricInfo Trophy Senior Women's National Championship at the JDSA Ground in Jorhat on Monday. The winners moved into the quarterfinals.
Chasing a meagre target of 93 for victory, Punjab captain Gulshan (59 runs of 33 balls) and Anjuman Bassi (21 runs of 17 balls) made short work of Assam's bowling and reached their objective in the eleventh over. With her partner playing second fiddle, Gulshan plundered the attack from the word go and hit 12 boundaries.
Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat, Assam were given a decent start with openers Rumi Boro (11 runs of 24 balls) and Rupa Begum (33 runs of 89 balls) putting on 24 runs off five overs. Then Assam lost four quick wickets and were gasping for breath at 32 for five. They continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and were all out in 39.5 overs. Besides the openers, only Suchitra Singh (17) reached double digits. Assam's inadequate total of 92 was boosted by as many as 21 extras. Punjab's Sandeep (4 for 9 of 8 overs) was easily the best bowler.
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