Report

Controversy as South Africa and Kenya eliminated from the under-19 World Cup and Nepal advance.

South Africa's final group game was abandoned at 1.30pm in extraordinary circumstances

16-Jan-2000

South Africa's final group game was abandoned at 1.30pm in extraordinary circumstances. Heavy rains meant that the outfield was unfit for play.

This leaves South Africa on three points. However in an interview with CRICINFO the South African manager revealed that they are not resigned to a place in the Plate League. They have contacted the ICC and BCCSL to clarify whether they have a zero run rate.

It had been previously believed that South Africans could not have a net run rate at all due to the use of Duckworth Lewis method in their match against Nepal. If you don't have a net run rate then you can surely not have a zero net run rate.

It appears that this new interpretation of the rule, has been accepted by someone in authority. The Kenyan cricket team has been informed that they have to score the 107 in a stipulated number of overs to have a positive Net Run Rate.

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Kenya robbed as Nepal proceed to Super League

In farcical proceedings at the Asgiriya International Stadium today, Nepal qualified for the Super League by virtue of a 14 run victory against a devastated Kenyan side

Charlie Austin

16-Jan-2000

In farcical proceedings at the Asgiriya International Stadium today, Nepal qualified for the Super League by virtue of a 14 run victory against a devastated Kenyan side.

Having bowled out Nepal for 107, Kenya contacted The Management Committee of the U-19 World Cup to clarify what was required for entry into the Super League. They were told that they needed to score the runs in just 17 overs. Thus the coach informed the players to attack the bowling right from start. In the rush to score quick runs, Kenya lost early wickets. Reduced to 44-5 in the eigth over, the coach informed the players to bat normally. It was too late. Kenya was eventually bowled out for 93.

However the regulations state that when points are equal, the first deciding factor should be the number of wins. If Kenya had won, they would have gone through to the Super League. Whilst the Kenya management will have to share some of the blame for this unfortunate incident for not clarifying the position earlier, The Management Committee too will have to accept responsibility for giving erroneous information at a such a crucial moment.

In another extraordinary incident, a Nepalese bowler broke the wicket in his delivery, dismissing Halali for a duck. When asked whether such an act was in the spirit of the game the Nepalese manger said, " technically such a dismissal is out. You have to understand such an action in a game of this importance."

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West Indies top Group A

The West Indies beat The Americas by 142 runs at the Police ground in Colombo on Saturday

Simon Williams

16-Jan-2000

The West Indies beat The Americas by 142 runs at the Police ground in Colombo on Saturday. Set a target of 216 in 50 overs, the Americas were bowled out for 74 in the 42nd over of the innings by a weakened West Indian bowling attack. The win made it three out of three for the Calypso side and they finished comfortably top of Group A at the end of the first phase of the Under-19 World Cup.

The Americas won the toss and put the West Indians in. The out of form openers needed to spend time at the crease but Chattergoon was back in the pavilion early for just 2. Brendon Parchment at the other end began in blazing style, driving sweetly through the covers and appearing completely untroubled. Setting himself for a long knock, he was bowled by Pitcher for 29 with the score 55 for 2. His cameo will still have pleased the West Indian management.

The Americas were determined in the field, far exceeding their previous two performances. Slow left arm orthodox Kevin Sandher bowled with guile. Coming into the attack in the 17th over he accounted for the extremely talented Marlon Samuels thanks to a sharp stumping by keeper Bagai for 21. Thereafter none of the batsmen looked in complete command. The wicket continued to give assistance to both the spinners and seamers. In the 38th over the West Indians were restricted to 135 for 6.

The lower order responded positively. Two of them, Camilus Alexander and Callitos Lopez shared an unbeaten 7th wicket partnership of 81 in the final 12.2 overs. The West Indies finished with 216 for 6, a formidable one on a difficult wicket. The pick of the bowlers was Sandher who returned figures of 2 for 37 from his 10 overs.

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Steve Waugh guides Australia to comfortable win

In a tournament already loaded with low scoring matches, and in a season dominated by Australian wins, there came another contest at the Melbourne Cricket Ground today to reinforce the pattern

John Polack

16-Jan-2000

In a tournament already loaded with low scoring matches, and in a season dominated by Australian wins, there came another contest at the Melbourne Cricket Ground today to reinforce the pattern. Against Pakistan this time (and in the fifth match of this Carlton and United Series), it arrived under the imprimatur of a six wicket win with 13 deliveries of a rain-reduced contest to spare.

Assuming the rare guise of a day match in Melbourne (all the other games at this venue in this series are day-night affairs as indeed most have been here over recent seasons), this encounter initially consolidated another convention too. Namely, that was the maintenance of the almost inextricable relationship between rain and the MCG in the 1999-2000 season - the start delayed by two and a half hours as a patient crowd of 37,325 waited for the heavens to clear themselves of persistent drizzle.

When the action finally began, Australia struck the first and possibly even the most crucial blow of the entire day when it won the toss. This afforded its bowlers the opportunity to expose the current fragility of Pakistan's top order again in humid, overcast and generally bowler-friendly conditions. Duly, Pakistan's batsmen then endured a torrid beginning - bounce and sideways movement in abundance through the early overs. It did not take long for the difficulty of the task in surviving the new ball to be revealed. Recalled opener Wajahatullah Wasti (8) departed in the fifth over when he was unable to fully cover the line of a Glenn McGrath delivery which reared off a length and attracted his outside edge. And, as if the task was not arduous enough with which to begin, matters became even worse in the ninth over, when Ijaz Ahmed (0) was the victim of a very doubtful lbw decision from umpire Peter Parker after being struck high on the front pad by a Damien Fleming delivery.

There came a recovery in the middle of the innings from Saeed Anwar (49) and Yousuf Youhana (20) and again at the end from Abdur Razzaq (51*), but the die was essentially cast from that point. In fact, it said much about the extent of the visitors' problems that more than half of their wickets were lost to the unlikely combination of bit-part bowlers Shane Lee and Andrew Symonds. Offering little in the way of anything other than standard medium pace, it was Lee (3/24 from eight overs) and Symonds (2/27 off his eight) who essentially tore the heart of the Pakistani effort. In the space of eight deliveries at one point, the two made three vital breaks; Anwar (49), Youhana (20) and Wasim Akram (0) all finding ways to get themselves out when rigid application and concentration should have been the order of the exercise. That Lee was then able to induce the dangerous Moin Khan (5) to swing a ball straight down the throat of Damien Martyn at deep square leg - another wicket thereby gifted in a manner which even the bowler himself probably would have been scarcely able to believe - only reinforced their impact in an innings in which the score ultimately meandered to 9/176 at the completion of the 41 allotted overs.

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Ex-teammates give Comets the Blues

Ex-Comets batsmen Mark Higgs and Brad Haddin returned to Canberra to give their former teammates a lesson as New South Wales won by 118 runs in a rain shortened Mercantile Mutual Cup match at Manuka Oval today

Mick Lange

16-Jan-2000

Haddin, who last year scored 133 off 124 balls for the Comets against Victoria on the same ground, began in a similar aggressive mood and raced to 50 off 38 balls, the fastest half century in domestic one-day competition thus far this year. The innings was punctuated with a variety of superbly timed drives lofted safely in the area over mid off and mid on, and from front foot drives through cover and mid wicket.

Although former NSW paceman Anthony Stuart took 3-24 in a seven-over opening spell for the Comets, he lacked an effective partner from the other end, with the Comets minus injured regular bowlers Jason Voros and Lee Hansen. With the base provided by Haddin's blistering innings, man of the match Mark Higgs was able to take advantage of occasional loose deliveries by the rest of the attack and his 77 from 75 balls was risk free until he ran himself out at the end of the innings.

With half an hour lost to rain during the Blues innings of 9/252, the match was reduced to 47 overs per side and the Comets' target increased to 255 under the Duckworth/Lewis system. With the target a forbidding 5.42 runs per over, the accurate unchanged ten over spell of NSW opening bowler Don Nash yielded 3 wickets for 31 as the Comets batsman tried and failed to increase the run-rate. Only captain Rod Tucker was able to briefly lift the rate against NSW spinners Jamie Stewart (in his first match since transferring from Western Australia) and Gavin Robertson, and the Comets crashed to the worst defeat in their brief existence.

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Kiwis crumble as Yuvraj rules

A brittle Indian top order collapsed to some good seam bowling from Kiwi opening bowlers T Robin and I Butler

Anad Vasu

16-Jan-2000

A brittle Indian top order collapsed to some good seam bowling from Kiwi opening bowlers T Robin and I Butler. Ravneet Ricky (15), Manish Sharma (9), Mohammad Kaif (0) and Reetinder Sodhi (5) were out before India had 40 runs on the board. After that, a swashbuckling innings of 68 off from Yuvraj Singh saved the day for India.

The South paw played some solid shots in his innings that included 12 boundaries. He took the New Zealand bowling apart, hammering the ball to all parts of the ground. His sense of timing was not impeccable, but he hit the ball with such raw power that anything off the middle of the bat raced to boundaries. When he was dismissed by Irwin, the Indians once again began to falter. A useful 25 from Patel saw India through to 199.

Robin was the pick of the bowlers with 4/26 off his 10 overs.

The Kiwis began their response well, though they lost Bredon McCullum for just 6. Probably the two best batsmen in the New Zealand team, James Franklin and JP McNamee came together to give New Zealand a serious chance of victory. The two hit the ball crisply and scored freely gainst the Indian mediumpacers. After the spinners were introduced, the scoring rate dropped. Yuvraj Singh got into the attack again and removed McNamee after he had made exactly 50 runs.

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Bangladesh miss out on Super League

Bangladesh beat Holland in a rain affected group B match at the Moratuwa De Soysa Stadium in Colombo

Simon Williams

16-Jan-2000

Bangladesh beat Holland in a rain affected group B match at the Moratuwa De Soysa Stadium in Colombo. In reply to Holland's 137, Bangladesh were 111 for 5 before rain forced the players off the field after 24.5 overs. When play resumed, Bangladesh were set a revised target of 118 in no more than 39 overs, 11 overs being lost to rain. They needed just five balls to complete the win, no further wickets being lost. Bangladesh narrowly miss out on qualifying for the Super League, finshing third in the Group behind India and New Zealand.

At the outset there was the very real possibility that Bangladesh could qualify. They knew what they must do - simply win and win well in a bid to improve on their run rate. Hopes then rested squarely on the Indians beating New Zealand in Galle, the second qualifier then being decided on run rate. All then to play for.

The game began with a flourish. Roaring in from the Press Box end in bright sunshine, Bangladesh left arm seamer Bikash Ranjan Das met with immediate success - Postma prodding half forward to the first ball of the day, out caught with the faintest of edges to the keeper. Bikash broke the backbone of Holland's order. Bakas, Nawaz and Van Ierschot all went cheaply. At 17 for 4, Bangladesh were in total command.

The new batsmen, Van Bunge and De Rooy, needed to dig themselves in and consolidate. Some inexperienced cricket ensued by both teams. As soon as one shot was played over the top, the captain of Bangladesh decided to spread the field, at one stage employing five fielders on the boundary, just when the should have been applying the pressure. The batsmen were afforded the freedom to work the ball into the gaps for one and twos. Instead they chose the more attacking option, entirely unconvincing in their strokeplay against the leg spinners and appearing to play into Bangladesh's hands.

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Orissa complete innings victory over Tripura

Orissa underlined their overwhelming superiority when they completed an emphatic innings and 182 runs victory over Tripura on the third day of their East Zone Ranji Trophy match at the Samanta Chandrasekhar college ground in Puri on Friday

15-Jan-2000

Resuming at 168 for nine, Tripura were all out for 172 in their first innings, thus conceding a lead of 373 runs. Following on, the visitors fared no better and were dismissed for 191. Only the No 3 batsman A Pratap stood firm amidst the ruins with a gallant 58. He faced 178 balls and hit eight fours. The wrecker in chief was J Das who picked up five wickets for 31 to finish with match figures of eight for 60. Orissa got eight points and Tripura none.

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Bihar consolidate on third day

Bihar batted the whole of the third day to consolidate their position against Assam in their East Zone Ranji Trophy league match at the Keenan stadium in Jamshedpur on Friday

15-Jan-2000

Bihar batted the whole of the third day to consolidate their position against Assam in their East Zone Ranji Trophy league match at the Keenan stadium in Jamshedpur on Friday. Resuming at 47 for one, they were 327 for nine to enjoy an overall lead of 338 going into the final day.

Overnight not out No 3 batsman A Hashmi went on to score 53 before he was out after facing 134 balls and hitting six fours. Then Rajiv Kumar (84) and skipper Sunil Kumar (35) added 110 runs for the fourth wicket off 33.3 overs. The enterprising Rajiv Kumar faced 143 balls and hit eight fours. Both the batsmen fell in successive overs and then wickets fell at regular intervals. But wicketkeeper MS Dhoni however stood firm and at stumps was unbeaten with a valuable 62. He faced 85 balls and hit seven of them to the ropes.

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Convincing win for Sri Lanka over Australia

Sri Lanka scored a convincing eight-wicket win over Australia to top Group `D' of the under 19 World Cup competition at the R

Saadi Thawfeeq

15-Jan-2000

Sri Lanka scored a convincing eight-wicket win over Australia to top Group `D' of the under 19 World Cup competition at the R. Premadasa Stadium Saturday.

Sri Lanka came through the first stage of the competition unbeaten winning all three games to collect the maximum six points. They had earlier accounted for Ireland and Namibia. Australia ended up second with four points from the same number of matches.

Both teams qualified to play in the next stage of the competition - the Super league which starts on Tuesday. Sri Lanka play in Super League 2 and Australia in Super League 1. In a game reduced to 42 overs a side because of overnight rain, Australia winning the toss and batting first were bundled out for 90 off 37.1 overs. Sri Lankan bowlers made use of the overcast conditions to reduce Australia to 21 for 4 in the first six overs, before dismissing them.

Shane Watson made a top score of 25 off 55 balls and Tim Welsford (11) raised the score by 22 in a sixth wicket stand, that produced the only resistance. Sri Lanka had five overs of batting before the lunch break reaching 23 for no loss. Openers Kaushalya Weeeraratne and Ian Daniels put them on course for victory with a stand of 44 off 12 overs. Despite losing Weeraratne for 19 and Jehan Mubarak for eight, Sri Lanka coasted home easily to win in the 28th over.