Bihar recovered after a poor start to make 258 on the opening day of their East Zone Ranji Trophy league match against Assam at the Keenan stadium in Jamshedpur on Wednesday

13-Jan-2000

Bihar recovered after a poor start to make 258 on the opening day of their East Zone Ranji Trophy league match against Assam at the Keenan stadium in Jamshedpur on Wednesday. At stumps Assam reply were five for no loss off three overs.

Opting to bat, Bihar lost three wickets for 24. All the wickets were taken by medium pacer J Zaman who dismissed D Chakravarthy, A Hashmi and Rajiv Kumar in successive overs. The recovery process was initiated by opener N Ranjan (58) and skipper Sunil Kumar (68) who added 104 runs for the fourth wicket off 32.4 overs. While Ranjan faced 141 balls and hit seven fours, Sunil Kumar faced 170 balls and also hit seven of them to the ropes. Sunil Kumar and Sandeep Roy (24) continued the recovery process by putting on 55 runs off 19.3 overs for the fifth wicket. The rest of the batsmen, with the exception of wicketkeeper MS Dhoni, however came to grief against O Singh who took four of the last six wickets to fall and finished with five for 81 off 28.3 overs. Dhoni scored a valuable 40 off 62 balls with the help of eight fours. Zaman finished with three for 45.

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Orissa's top order clicks

Orissa's top order clicked on the opening day of their East Zone Ranji Trophy league match against Tripura at the Samanta Chandrasekhar college ground in Puri on Wednesday

13-Jan-2000

Orissa's top order clicked on the opening day of their East Zone Ranji Trophy league match against Tripura at the Samanta Chandrasekhar college ground in Puri on Wednesday. At stumps the home team were 323 for three.

Electing to bat, Orissa were given a sound start with openers P Mahapatra (54) and P Das (68) putting on 121 runs off 38.2 overs. Mahapatra was the first to go after facing 116 balls and hitting nine fours. Das left at 154 after facing 165 balls and hitting six fours and a six. Skipper RR Parida and SS Raul (30) kept the momentum going with a third wicket partnership of 67 runs off 20.1 overs. And finally to make Orissa's day complete, Parida and P Jaichandra (51 not out) added 102 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket off 21.3 overs. Parida who was five runs short of his century, faced 143 balls and hit 15 of them to the ropes. Jaichandra was in a belligerent mood. He faced 61 balls and hit seven fours.

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West Indies qualify for the Super Eights

In Colombo today we caught a glimpse of the West Indies future - it was fast and hostile

Charlie Austin

13-Jan-2000

In Colombo today we caught a glimpse of the West Indies future - it was fast and hostile. Andy Richardson, Jermaine Lawson and Calisto Lopez blew away the English top order, eventually bowling out England for 98, ninety nine runs short of their target of 197. The exuberant West Indians, who are coached by the inspirational Gus Logie, have now qualified for the Super Eights. England must beat Zimabawe on Saturday.

The pace of the West Indians clearly rattled the English batsmen who played a succession of bad shots. The running between the wicket was also poor with three run outs from direct hits. Andy Richardson was particularly impressive in his new ball spell, that accounted for Michael Carberry(5). His rhythmical run-up and smooth action clearly mark him out as a bowler of huge potential. Carilitos Lopez was more erratic but also impressive. The outswinger that clipped the top of Ian Bells off stump was quite simply unplayable. Lawson too got into the action with a wicket on his first delivery. This followed a hat trick against Zimbabwe on Tuesday, in his last over of the tournament.

But it wasn't just the quicks that performed. Rodney Sooklal, their quickish off-spinner, returned the remarkable figures of 10-5-11-2. The leaden footed English batsmen weren't able to get to grips with his pace through the air or the sharp turn that he extracted.

The afternoon's proceedings marked a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of the West Indians, whose own batsmen had struggled to come to terms with some fine English bowling in the morning.

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Young WI bring hope

Colombo - The youth team brought a welcome shaft of light into the general gloom presently enveloping West Indies cricket with an emphatic victory in their opening match of the third Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka yesterday

13-Jan-2000

While the senior team were ending their New Zealand tour with their seventh successive defeat, the teenagers were defeating Zimbabwe by 57 runs in a rain-shortened match at the Nondescripts Cricket Club in Colombo, climaxing their triumph with a hat-trick by the Jamaican fast bowler Jermaine Lawson.

The West Indies compiled 234 for six from their 50 overs after winning the toss, then restricted Zimbabwe to 92 for nine from the 31 overs available after a rain-break. Their target had been adjusted to 149 under the Duckworth-Lewis system.

The West Indies based their challenging total on a fifth-wicket partnership of 125 from 19 overs between captain Ryan Hinds and Marlon Samuels that started in the 30th over with the innings at the crossroads at 102 for four.

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UP batsmen do well on opening day

With the top and middle order performing their tasks commendably, Uttar Pradesh were able to score 240 for six off 90 overs on the opening day of their three day Vijay Merchant (under-16) Trophy tournament final against Mumbai at the Medical college

13-Jan-2000

Opting to bat on winning the toss, UP were given a sound start by openers Ashraf Ali (50) and SK Shukla (18) who put on 50 runs off 17.3 overs. Ashraf faced 82 balls and hit eight fours and a six. MF Khan, who came in at No 3, scored a valuable 39. He faced 108 balls and hit two fours. With S Dixit (37) he added 37 runs for the fourth wicket off 18.3 overs. Dixit faced 94 balls and hit five of them to the ropes. Then after six wickets had fallen for 186, R Elahi (50) and SK Upadhayay (22) added 54 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket off 14.3 overs. Elahi faced 88 balls and hit seven fours and a six. For Mumbai, skipper H Ravle and M Shoeb picked up two wickets each for 66 and 30 runs respectively.

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Zimbabwe makes short work of Americas

The clash between lesser giant Zimbabwe and Americas proved to be a lacklustre affair

Anand Vasu

13-Jan-2000

The clash between lesser giant Zimbabwe and Americas proved to be a lacklustre affair. When the Zimbabwe captain won the toss he had no hesitation in sending Americas in to bat. The opening bowlers, S Ervine and T Friend, had no trouble choking the Americans. Runs were hard to come by and the Americans could not do anything to increase the scoring rate. Their captain Ashish Bagai looked the most comfortable but even he could manage only 26 before he was bowled by Ewing. The rest of the American batsmen floundered and were rolled over for 95 in 42.1 overs.

The Zimbabwe team came out to bat even before it was time for lunch. The Americans looked keen on the field in the beginning of the innings. After G Croxword (34) and A Maragwede (24) established their supremacy, it was only a matter of time before the small score was overhauled. In the 24th over Croxford tonked a 4 and settled the issue. Zimbabwe won easily with 8 wickets and over 25 overs to spare.

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Australia make it two out of two

Australia made it two wins out of two games, beating a spirited Ireland team by 63 runs at the CCC ground in Colombo

Simon Williams

13-Jan-2000

Australia made it two wins out of two games, beating a spirited Ireland team by 63 runs at the CCC ground in Colombo. Defending a total of 240 all out in 49.4 overs, Australia restricted Ireland to 177 for 9 at the close.

Ireland won the toss and put Australia into bat on a track with plenty of grass cover, good for batting. There was always going to be something in it for the bowlers too.

The Australians made a scratchy start. John Gardiner found some early encouragement swinging and seaming the ball away from the right handers. He was unlucky not to find the edge with a couple of beauties, the batsmen simply not good enough to get bat on ball.

New South Wales and Australia Under 19 captain Michael Clarke was first out, bowled by slow left armer McGonigle for 23. Liam Buchanan kept the scoreboard ticking along, cruising to his 50 off 57 balls.

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If only it wasn't a whitewash

Christchurch - The West Indian cricketers made a gallant attempt to win the last match of their tour of New Zealand before 15 000 spectators at Jade Stadium on Tuesday (Monday night Caribbean time)

13-Jan-2000

Christchurch - The West Indian cricketers made a gallant attempt to win the last match of their tour of New Zealand before 15 000 spectators at Jade Stadium on Tuesday (Monday night Caribbean time).

But instead, they completed a 0-5 defeat in the One Day Internationals and signed off their expedition as the 'if only' tour.

A 170-run third-wicket stand from Roger Twose (97) and Nathan Astle (85) led the super-confident New Zealanders to a 50-over total of 302 for six wickets.

And if only West Indies had played with a little more care they might have done better than scoring 282 when Courtney Walsh fell to the second-last ball of the 50th over.

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Kenyan batsmen left reeling by Pakistani pace attack

After a delayed start due to overnight rain play finally got under way at 11.30 am, in the Group 'C' Under 19 World Cup game between Pakistan and Kenya played at one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world, Radella Cricket Ground

13-Jan-2000

None of the Kenyan batsmen were able to face up to the fearsome Pakistan pace attack of Zahid Saeed (3 for 15) & Irfan Fazil (2 for 17) who were supported later by Yasir Arafat (2 for 11). Both pace bowlers extracted plenty of bounce and movement off the wicket.Kenya were bundled out for a mere 66 runs. Only skipper MD Sheikh batted with any confidence getting right behind the ball, he ran out of partners and remained unbeaten on 25. When the sun finally broke through the clouds at 1 PM, a fair crowd of enthusiastic school boys from the Hill Country were present at the ground.

Cricket is fast growing in this part of the island, and the most encouraging development programme is under way. Pakistan look a formidable side in this group and seem assured to reach the next round. Pakistan started off in cavalier fashion which is their style, and hammered off the required runs in 15.5 overs losing just 2 wickets. It is quite evident that this tournament would be won by a better known Test playing country.

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New Zealand wins easily against an inexperienced Dutch squad

New Zealand started their World Cup campaign with a resounding victory against the Dutch in Matara on Wednesday

Simon Williams

13-Jan-2000

New Zealand started their World Cup campaign with a resounding victory against the Dutch in Matara on Wednesday. The match, which was delayed due to heavy overnight rain finally started at 1pm. Holland won the toss and elected to field, only to watch the New Zealand compile an imposing 206 in 32 overs. This was followed by a ruthless fielding performance by the New Zealanders which restricted the ICC qualifiers to 55 for 9 at the close.

Earlier in the day, the New Zealand openers having been put into bat, raced to 50 off just 51 balls. A crowd of some 200 Sri Lankans were treated to the type of pinch hitting display that was born of their own. Janie Howe set the tone with two memorable boundaries shots in the third over - the first ball flicked through mid-wicket and then the next pulled in front of square.

The Dutch side was visibly nervous in the field. None of the bowlers were able to make early use of the damp pitch. Two run out chances were missed before Robert Lynch was caught short of the crease by a sharp pick up and throw by Franklin Nyman at backward square leg. Nyman was also involved in the next wicket, Howe, caught driving to cover for a classy 43.

Credit must be given to Holland for the way that they stuck at it. The New Zealand middle order sacrificed their wickets in the search for quick runs, captain of the Kiwis, James Franklin, looked a special talent at the end, unbeaten on 38 in a total of 206 for 6.