365WCX_1999JUN04

************* CRICINFO365 WORLD CUP EXTRA **************

Friday, June 4, 1999. World Cup Edition No. 19

IN THIS EDITION:

* Match Report: Australia v India * Waugh With A Difference * Quotes * Magic Moment * Quick Singles * Full scorecard * Super Six Points Table * Weekend's fixtures

CricInfo365's World Cup coverage: BROUGHT TO YOU IN ASSOCIATION WITH EMIRATES

=========================================================================

****** ADVERTISEMENT ******

STRAIGHT DRIVE to the airport and back Emirates' offers all First and Business Class passengers a complimentary chauffeur service to and from the airport. It's all part of the service in 10 destinations, including Dubai, London, Manchester and Johannesburg. That's what you call the perfect delivery.

https://ci.365.co.uk/rd/www.emirates.com

=========================================================================

WAUGH, McGRATH RIP THE HEART OUT OF INDIANS

By John Houlihan

Australia have cruised to a convincing 77 run victory over India at The Oval today in the opening game of the Super Six phase. After Mohammed Azharuddin had won the toss and invited them to bat, the Australians posted a mammoth 282-6, with Mark Waugh providing the backbone of their effort with an elegant 83. Glenn McGrath then ripped the heart out of the Indian top order, picking up three wickets in his opening spell, including the vital scalp of Sachin Tendulkar in his very first over. Despite a brave 75 from Robin Singh and a century from Ajay Jadeja, the Indians were never really able to threaten the Australian total.

With pale sunshine bathing the ground, Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist strode out to open the innings for Australia. Javagal Srinath opened proceedings from the Pavillion End but it was Debashish Mohanty who found early swing and both Aussie batsmen were cautious initially, with the Indian fans displaying their usual fervent support from the stands.

With occasional sunshine breaking through the cloud, Venkatesh Prasad replaced Mohanty in the eighth over, but it was the impressive Srinath who again came closest to achieving the breakthrough, inducing a false stroke from Mark Waugh which was just missed by a despairing dive at gully. With another huge but unsuccessful shout for lbw against Gilchrist, the Indian bowlers provided a testing opening spell, but the Australians survived to fight on, relying on some quick running to keep their score ticking over. Gilchrist took a painful blow at the end of the eleventh over but soon recovered and as both batsman started to settle, they began to play some more aggressive strokes. The Australian fifty came up in the thirteenth over as Waugh elegantly worked the returning Mohanty around the corner and, in spite of some early alarms, the Australians had achieved a solid start, with Waugh in particular starting to find his touch and the boundary. Anil Kumble was in action as early as the sixteenth over and, with medium pacer Saurav Ganguly operating from the other end, the pair attempted to apply the brakes. But Waugh immediately lofted Ganguly over mid-off for the first six of the day in what appeared to be a conscious declaration of intent. Mark Waugh continued on his way toward an irresistible fifty which was made from 55 balls and included 4 fours and one six. With the Australian hundred fast approaching, India at last made a breakthrough, when Gilchrist came down the wicket and attempted to loft Ganguly over mid-off, but only succeeded in getting under the ball and skying an easy catch to Mohanty. Incoming batsman Ricky Ponting signalled his intentions by smiting Ganguly for a huge six with his first scoring shot, and even the usually parsimonious Kumble began to suffer as the Australians started to accelerate. After a difficult start they were well placed at the half-way stage on 124-1, with Mark Waugh unbeaten on 67.

With the run rate fast accelerating, Australia posted their 150 in the twenty ninth over, with Waugh in imperious form and Ponting dancing down the track at every opportunity. With their fans willing the breakthrough, Azhar turned to India's touchstone Sachin Tendulkar for his gentle off-breaks, but it was Singh who removed danger man Mark Waugh as he attempted to flick him for a maximum, but instead offered an easy catch to Prasad at fine leg. Just one over later Singh struck again, bowling Ponting off an inside edge for 23, and at last the huge Indian contingent had something to cheer.

With two new batsmen at the crease in Darren Lehmann and skipper Steve Waugh, the Indians had a chance to exert some pressure of their own and every half chance brought fresh applause from their revitalised fans. Steve Waugh and Robin Singh collided in a photo finish for the stumps, but Lehmann and Waugh continued to push singles and accumulate runs at a steady rate. After an expensive start, Singh found good movement, but the batsmen were scoring at nearly a run a ball while the Indians continued to be plagued by some rather indifferent fielding. As the innings entered its final ten overs, the Australians were nicely poised for the onslaught at 204-3. With the innings hurtling towards its climax, Steve Waugh chipped Mohanty high into the ether and into the waiting arms of Anil Kumble to depart for 36 from 40 balls. But that only brought Australia's finest finisher Michael Bevan to the middle and, in partnership with Lehmann, he started to take the Indian bowlers to task, stroking boundaries and running like lightning between the wickets. A loud shout for lbw caused confusion between the batsman and Lehmann set off, but was left marooned as Ajay Jadeja made no mistake, hitting the stumps with a direct throw. Srinath again generated good pace at the death, but Bevan continued to score freely, thumping Kumble back over his head for a resounding six. Bevan's luck eventually ran out in the penultimate over as he top edged Prasad into the gloves of keeper Nayan Mongia, but his brisk 22 had given the Aussies a late boost at the finale. With 78 coming off the last ten overs, they were well pleased to post what looked like a truly competitive total.

Facing a challenging target, the Indians needed a decent start and as soon as the first over, the contest between Glenn McGrath and Sachin Tendulkar began. But it was McGrath who struck immediately, removing Tendulkar who provided a regulation edge which Gilchrist safely pouched. Indian hopes had been severely dented and their fans were ominously quiet as the little master departed to a derisive shout of "Don't use all the hot water, Sachin!" from a lone Aussie wit. McGrath attempted to shake up Ganguly with a bouncer that went for four no-balls but Sachin's removal had given the Australians a significant early psychological advantage. Indian hopes were dealt a further blow when McGrath managed to repeat the dose and remove Rahul Dravid in exactly the same fashion. Ganguly perished catching an inside edge onto the stumps off Fleming in the fourth over and at 12-3, the Indians were reeling, with their hopes lying in the hands of skipper Mohammed Azharuddin and vice captain Ajay Jadeja.

Continuing his magnificent opening burst, McGrath got one to climb on Azharuddin which looped up off the glove to be safely caught by Steve Waugh running in from point.. With the Australian fans in the minority making all the noise and McGrath and Fleming in full flight, the Indian run rate crawled along as Jadeja and Robin Singh tried to consolidate after their disastrous start. Paul Reiffel replaced Fleming from the Vauxhall end, but there was no respite from the ever hostile McGrath who continued to bowl with extreme prejudice.

Jadeja and Singh managed to arrest the rush of early wickets with some solid batting, pinching singles and constantly rotating the strike. Moody replaced McGrath and induced a bottom edge from Singh which just bounced short of the keeper, but it wasn't until shortly after the first drinks break in the seventeenth over, that India managed to post their fifty, when Singh stole a quick single off Moody's bowling. Even the occasional boundary was still capable of sending the Indian fans into raptures, but facing a run rate in excess of seven, they needed an extraordinary innings to turn the game back in their favour.

With rain threatening, Australia turned to Mark Waugh's off spin to hurry through the twenty fifth over to meet the match requirements necessary for a result. Massed Indian drums and chants greeted the game's half-way stage, but with a run rate climbing above eight an over, Singh and Jadeja appeared to be facing a forlorn task. Shane Warne's introduction was met with applause and jeers in equal measure, but it wasn't until the thirty first over when Jadeja stole a single off Warne that the Indians managed to post their hundred.

With 173 runs required off the final eighteen, Singh at last seemed to sense the need for some urgency, clubbing Warne for a huge six over midwicket. With both batsmen curiously poised on 49 apiece, Jadeja was the first to his fifty, glancing Warne backward of square. Singh's half century came just one over later, with the pair's century partnership representing a brave if seemingly futile attempt which restored much Indian pride, if not their match position. And yet facing a required run rate of eleven an over, Singh smote Warne for two huge sixes in the same over and with Jadeja joining the party with another six, the pair took 21 off the thirty sixth over to raise the 150 and the ecstatic Indian fans began to sense possible salvation. But in the very next over, Singh walked across his stumps and attempted to hook Moody for another maximum, only to be caught by Reiffel in the deep and his entertaining flurry came to an end for a defiant 75.

With India needing over a century more runs as the game entered the final ten, Nayan Mongia attempted to give Jadeja the strike at every opportunity and, with Mexican waves completing several circuits of the ground, the Indian fans seemed to believe anything was possible. Paul Reiffel managed to knock a pigeon clean out of the sky with a throw from third man, but a sensational throw from Bevan at deep cover beat Mongia to the crease as the Australians emphasised the deadly accuracy of their fielding. Exercising his captain's prerogative, Steve Waugh brought himself on to bowl and strangled Srinath out down the leg side, and also picked up Kumble who edged to the keeper. With three a ball required and just two wickets in hand, the final overs had a certain air of inevitability and Australia duly went through the motions. But there was just time for Fleming to trap Prasad lbw and for Jadeja to bag another pigeon for the pot and post his century, before Mohanty was run out with the score on 205.

=========================================================================

Buy equipment, videos and official merchandise in the CricShop at the most competitive prices anywhere:

Cricshop https://www.cricshop.com/

Australia Team Shop https://cbs.sportsline.com/links/4/11/austeamshop.cgi

India Team Shop https://cbs.sportsline.com/links/4/11/indiateamshop.cgi

=========================================================================

WAUGH WITH A DIFFERENCE

By Trevor Chesterfield

No one could have accused Mark Waugh of being either too languid in his strokeplay or too casual in his approach as opener at The Oval today. No one would have accused him, either, of being just a little 'brassed off' had the rest of the Australian side not help him put a competitive total on the board against India in the opening World Cup match of the Super Sixes.

Mind you, any score of 282 for six has to be rated as competitive, and with Mohammad Azharuddin winning the toss and doing the predictable in this tournament of inviting the Aussies to bat first, it needed the drawn poker-faced features of the younger Waugh to lead the charge.

And how he fired: a first-wicket partnership of 97 with Adam Gilchrist and then 60 with Ricky Ponting for the second. After that it was up the rest of the side to build on the 157 for two. There was some smart strokeplay as well: a flatbatted six over the head of the covers off the bowling of Saurav Ganguly was about the only signal he gave India's bowlers of his naturally aggressive intentions.

It was just the sort of start the lads from Oz needed. A bit of style and grit form a gifted run-making master: the sort you would expect from the middle of the Waugh zone's bat. He left Azharuddin in little doubt that batting first on an even-paced pitch had not been the right choice.

Azhar may have felt the cloud cover and the threat of rain, especially after the delayed start, would do something to help his bowlers. Not a chance. Up steps the younger Waugh and how he made his mark and turned everything to Australia's advantage. It was a classic tale of the famous, oft misquoted bit of Charles Dickens' writing: 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'.

Few countries have as reliable a batsman to knit the top-order together as Waugh (jun) although there was nothing of the novice about the display. He batted with accomplishment and skilled eased, driving into the V as well as finding gaps through the mid-wicket area and the odd nudge behind the wicket.

Even with Gilchrist hanging around Mark Waugh was the senior partner: far from flustered or bothered by bounce of the ball or a mistimed off-drive scuttling to fine leg off an inside edge.

If The Oval outfield could be called pristine in condition Waugh's batting was the sort of dish served up to give it an honourable mention: fast and with none of the irritation of the odd bump which turns fielding into a labour, it again posed the question whether Azharuddin got the weather conditions and pitch message right.

=========================================================================

QUOTES

Heard at today's post-match press conferences .

Mark Waugh:

On the toss: "We would have batted if we had won the toss". On the early batting strategy: "We couldn't hit Srinath off the square so we had to attack the fielders".

Glenn McGrath:

On getting Tendulkar out: "Drawing him to go forward was the plan . I enjoy getting Sachin out more than Brian (Lara) these days". On his own form in general: "There was a two year period where my results weren't as they should have been . I wanted to improve my statistics".

Steve Waugh (arriving ten minutes' later because of an injury problem):

On the toss: "We thought there was a bit in the wicket . we would have fielded first". (A response which drew bursts of laughter and a sheepish grin from Mark Waugh!) On security: "I haven't spoken about it a lot . only once (at Worcester). Let's leave it at that".

Mohammed Azharuddin:

On the Indian batting: "It was a good wicket . (and) you just can't afford to lose four early wickets". On Sachin Tendulkar: "It's not the first time he's been out for a duck . Glenn McGrath really bowled well". On the captaincy: "I'm not trying to defend myself but I think I'm still good enough (to be captain) . A captain is only as good as his team . we have a team of fifteen people". On his own dismissal: "The ball that got me out broke the shoulder of my bat".

Indian coach Aunshuman Gaekwad:

On his team's fielding: "We really weren't up to the mark today".

=========================================================================

MAGIC MOMENT(S)

It was a great day's cricket at The Oval and there were certainly memorable moments aplenty; some exciting batting from the Australians, wonderful bowling again from Glenn McGrath, and a determined Indian middle order recovery all standing out.

The moment(s) that particularly appealed to us, though, came in the thirtyseventh over of the Indian innings when the then unconquered batsmen, Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh, launched a brutal assault on the bowling of Shane Warne, taking an astounding twenty-one runs in the space of five balls. With Jadeja and Singh then struggling to maintain contact with the required run rate, the clean hitting was as unexpected as it was exciting. The first ball was lofted by Singh straight over long off for six; the second drew a two to deep mid on; the third was carted over long on for six; the fourth was a full toss, which was worked through deep square leg for a single; the fifth was bludgeoned in insideout fashion by Jadeja over deep extra cover for another six; and the final ball in something of an anticlimax perhaps - was driven firmly to the cover fieldsman.

It may not have been quite the most expensive over of the tournament but it was clearly one of the most breathtaking.

=========================================================================

QUICK SINGLES

* In yet another tribute to the strength of their batting list, Ajay Jadeja's effort in scoring a brilliant unbeaten hundred today now means that India's batsmen have - in an extraordinary statistical feat - compiled each of the top six individual scores in this seventh World Cup. Saurav Ganguly made 183 against Sri Lanka at Taunton; Rahul Dravid 145 in the same match; Sachin Tendulkar registered an unbeaten 140 against Kenya at Canterbury; Dravid made 104 not out alongside him; Jadeja has now made his score of an even 100; and Ganguly compiled 97 in the team's opening match (against South Africa at Hove). As some commentators have suggested, it's just a pity that they are not getting anything like the requisite support from their bowlers!

* We have been inundated with queries in recent days as to who the officials will be at each of the remaining Super Six matches. So . for all of those keen to know, here is the full list (even if it is lengthy and probably not quite a 'quick single'!):

June 5: South Africa v Pakistan - Match Referee: John Reid (NZ); Umpires: Darrell Hair (Aus), David Shepherd (Eng); Third Umpire: Doug Cowie (NZ); Fourth Umpire: A Clarkson (Eng).

June 6: Zimbabwe v New Zealand - Match Referee: Peter Burge (Aus); Umpires: David Orchard (RSA), Srinivas Venkataraghavan (Ind); Third Umpire: Rudi Koertzen (RSA); Fourth Umpire: JC Balderstone (Eng).

June 8: India v Pakistan - Match Referee: Raman Subba Row (Eng); Umpires: Steve Bucknor (WI), David Shepherd (Eng); Third Umpire: Darrell Hair (Aus); Fourth Umpire: NA Mallender (Eng).

June 9: Zimbabwe v Australia - Match Referee: Talat Ali (Pak); Umpires: Doug Cowie (NZ), Rudi Koertzen (RSA); Third Umpire: David Orchard (RSA); Fourth Umpire: AGT Whitehead (Eng).

June 10: South Africa v New Zealand - Match Referee: Cammie Smith (WI); Umpires: Srinivas Venkataraghavan (Ind), Ian Robinson (Zim); Third Umpire: Peter Willey (Eng); Fourth Umpire: NA Mallender (Eng).

June 11: Zimbabwe v Pakistan - Match Referee: Peter Burge (Aus); Umpires: David Orchard (RSA), Steve Bucknor (WI); Third Umpire: Doug Cowie (NZ); Fourth Umpire: AA Jones (Eng).

June 12: India v New Zealand - Match Referee: Talat Ali (Pak); Umpires: Darrell Hair (Aus), David Shepherd (Eng); Third Umpire: Rudi Koertzen (RSA); Fourth Umpire: JF Steele (Eng).

June 13: South Africa v Australia - Match Referee: John Reid (NZ); Umpires: Peter Willey (Eng), Srinivas Venkataraghavan (Ind); Third Umpire: Ian Robinson (Zim); Fourth Umpire: NT Plews (Eng).

=========================================================================

SCORECARD

ODI # 1473 ICC World Cup, 1999, 1st Super Six Match Australia v India Kennington Oval, London 4 June 1999 (50-over match)

Result: Australia won by 77 runs Points: Australia 2, India 0

Toss: India Umpires: SA Bucknor (WI) and P Willey TV Umpire: ID Robinson (Zim) Match Referee: RS Madugalle (SL) Man of the Match: GD McGrath

Australia innings (50 overs maximum) R B 4 6 ME Waugh c Prasad b Singh 83 99 8 1 AC Gilchrist c Mohanty b Ganguly 31 52 1 0 RT Ponting b Singh 23 36 1 1 DS Lehmann run out (Jadeja) 26 33 2 0 SR Waugh c Kumble b Mohanty 36 40 3 0 MG Bevan c Mongia b Prasad 22 27 1 1 TM Moody not out 26 20 3 0 SK Warne not out 0 0 0 0 Extras (lb 14, w 10, nb 11) 35 Total (6 wickets, 50 overs) 282

DNB: PR Reiffel, DW Fleming, GD McGrath.

FoW: 1-97 (Gilchrist, 20.1 ov), 2-157 (ME Waugh, 30.1 ov), 3-158 (Ponting, 30.4 ov), 4-218 (SR Waugh, 41.5 ov), 5-231 (Lehmann, 43.6 ov), 6-275 (Bevan, 49.3 ov).

Bowling O M R W Srinath 10 2 34 0 (2nb, 4w) Mohanty 7 0 47 1 (1nb, 1w) Prasad 10 0 60 1 (1nb, 1w) Kumble 10 0 49 0 Ganguly 5 0 31 1 (1nb, 1w) Singh 7 0 43 2 (2nb, 3w) Tendulkar 1 0 4 0

India innings (target: 283 runs from 50 overs) R B 4 6 SC Ganguly b Fleming 8 12 0 0 SR Tendulkar c Gilchrist b McGrath 0 4 0 0 R Dravid c Gilchrist b McGrath 2 6 0 0 A Jadeja not out 100 138 7 2 *M Azharuddin c SR Waugh b McGrath 3 9 0 0 RR Singh c Reiffel b Moody 75 94 5 3 +NR Mongia run out (Bevan) 2 9 0 0 J Srinath c Gilchrist b SR Waugh 0 2 0 0 A Kumble c Gilchrist b SR Waugh 3 6 0 0 BKV Prasad lbw b Fleming 2 9 0 0 DS Mohanty run out (Warne/Gilchrist) 0 3 0 0 Extras (lb 3, w 4, nb 3) 10 Total (all out, 48.2 overs) 205

FoW: 1-1 (Tendulkar, 0.6 ov), 2-10 (Dravid, 2.5 ov), 3-12 (Ganguly, 3.4 ov), 4-17 (Azharuddin, 6.2 ov), 5-158 (Singh, 37.3 ov), 6-181 (Mongia, 42.2 ov), 7-186 (Srinath, 42.6 ov), 8-192 (Kumble, 44.4 ov), 9-204 (Prasad, 47.4 ov), 10-205 (Mohanty, 48.2 ov).

Bowling O M R W McGrath 10 1 34 3 (2nb, 1w) Fleming 9 1 33 2 (1w) Reiffel 10 1 30 0 Moody 10 0 41 1 (1w) ME Waugh 1 0 7 0 Warne 6.2 0 49 0 (1w) SR Waugh 2 0 8 2

=========================================================================

World Cup 1999 Super Six Points Table:

P W L NR T Pts Net-RR PCF Pakistan 2 2 - - - 4 +0.72 4 Zimbabwe 2 2 - - - 4 +0.33 4 Australia 3 1 2 - - 2 +0.29 0 South Africa 2 1 1 - - 2 -0.35 2 New Zealand 2 1 1 - - 2 -0.40 2 India 3 - 3 - - 0 -0.51 0

=========================================================================

YOUR CHANCE TO BE A VIP AT THE WORLD CUP FINAL!

Cricinfo365 is offering you a chance to win a pair of passes to hospitality boxes at the most glittering fixture of this entire World Cup.

The package for the final on 20 June at Lord's includes everything from morning coffee to a celebrity speaker, with a four-course lunch in between. You can sit in a box with TV monitors to shelter in if it's cold; or bask on the balcony if it's sunny. And you can enjoy a warming whisky or refreshing beer as appropriate from the complimentary bar. As well as all this pampering, of course, you'll be witness to the best cricket match of 1999.

All you have to do is phone our competition hotline on 09069 121 116, follow the ludicrously simple instructions for the VIP day out of your choice and answer one simple question. Good luck!

Callers must be aged over 18. Calls cost #1 per minute at all times. Calls should last no longer than two minutes. Competition hotline can only be accessed from the UK. Closing date for World Cup Final Competition: 16 June.

=========================================================================

WORLD CUP - THE WEEKEND'S FIXTURES:

Super Six Stage: Saturday, June 5 - South Africa v Pakistan at Trent Bridge; Sunday, June 6 - Zimbabwe v New Zealand at Headingley.

Note: Matches commence at 10.45am British Summer Time. (0945 GMT - 0545 ET, 1515 IST, 1945 AEST

FLY EMIRATES. OFFICIAL SPONSOR OF THE 1999 CRICKET WORLD CUP. https://ci.365.co.uk/rd/www.emirates.com

=========================================================================

THE CREDITS, THE CONTACTS AND OTHER IMPORTANT BITS:

Joint Editors and Senior Contributors: Rick Eyre and John Polack - editor@cricinfo.com Also contributed to today's edition: Trevor Chesterfield, John Houlihan and Alex Balfour.

TO SUBSCRIBE - Either: Complete the on-line form at https://www.cricinfo365.com, or Email help@cricinfo365.com with subject "subscribe" and the name of your favourite national team in the text.

TO UNSUBSCRIBE - email unsubscribe@cricinfo365.com with your own email address as the subject.

TO CHANGE SUBSCRIPTION ADDRESS - follow the above UNSUBSCRIBE and SUBSCRIBE instructions.

Technical enquiries about your newsletter: help@cricinfo365.com

Advertising enquiries on CricInfo365: martin@cricinfo365.com

Enquiries relating to the CricInfo website: help@cricinfo.com

OTHER IMPORTANT BITS The name and format of CricInfo365 is Copyright 1999 CricInfo Ltd and Copyright 1999 Direct Network Publishing plc, and all rights are reserved. The content is Copyright 1999 CricInfo Ltd and Copyright 1999 Direct Network Publishing plc, except where otherwise stated, and all rights are reserved.

The views expressed in CricInfo365 are not necessarily those of CricInfo Ltd or Direct Network Publishing plc or any of CricInfo's other services, including its web sites, or Direct Network Publishing PLC's other internet services, including its web sites; nor are they the views of any administrative body, whether national, international or regional, involved in the running of the game of cricket.