A spirited effort from Pakistan's captain Shoaib Malik and the lower order ensured the home side avoided the follow-on in pursuit of South Africa's 450.
At the start of the third day, Pakistan were ominously positioned at 127-5, but thanks to Shoaib Malik's 73 and helpful contributions from Salman Butt and Danisk Kaneria, they had reduced the first innings deficit to 159, finishing 291 all out. It could have been worse for the Proteas, but for Paul Harris spinning his way to his first five wicket haul in Test cricket.
It was a day that saw Pakistan recover their position in the game to a certain degree, they even picked up the vital wickets of Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs and Hashim Amla in the final session.
More worryingly, however, is the presence of Jacques Kallis, who remains not out, albeit only on 18. The tourists closed on 76-3.
On a deteriorating pitch, Shoaib Malik was only too aware of Pakistan's need to post a decent first innings total, and he led by example today. He combined a tight and solid defence with controlled aggression.
Malik and Abdur Rehamn faced an opening attack consisting of Paul Harris and Andre Nel, probably South Africa's most impressive bowlers today. Harris continued to probe with his excellent line and a good deal of turn, while Nel continued to run hard in an attempt to extract any possibly life out of this track. His wholehearted approach can only be commended and he bowled with typical fire in his belly.
Nel was rewarded in his fourth over of the day as he induced a hesitant push outside off stump from Rehman, that carried through, but only just, to Mark Boucher.
Salman Butt came in number eight, fit enough to bat today following his stomach problems, and played a decent support role with his skipper, and the pair saw Pakistan through to lunch. Malik completing his half century with a driven boundary down to long on off Harris. In the spinners next over, Malik skipped down the track effectively, and struck an elegant six, again over long on, this shot brought up his 1000th Test run.
Butt was removed after the luncheon interval for 24. He missed a delivery from Harris trying to turn the ball to the on side with the spin, the ball striking his back leg in line with the stumps.
Aware that he needed to up the ante, Malik came charging down the pitch to Harris, who fired the ball through a touch quicker, it turned and beat Malik leaving Boucher to complete the job and end a fine skippers knock.
The same combination struck again to remove Umar Gul, in a similar fashion. This wicket gave Boucher the honour of top spot in the most dismissals in Test cricket, hurdling Ian Healy's paltry effort of 395.
Kaneria continued to slash at anything with a hint of width and to good effect, but the innings was brought to a close when Dale Steyn bowled Mohammad Asif. Kaneria stranded on 26 not out.
Smith and Gibbs then got the visitors off to a steady start, they saw off the openers, Gul and Asif, and Rehamn was introduced in the 11th over. He got the breakthrough for his side in his second over, when Smith could only edge an attempted cut shot into the gloves of Kamran Akmal for 25.
This will do the keeper's confidence some good after dropping Kallis relatively early in the first innings. His place appears to be under scrutiny, mainly for his keeping rather than his batting, so an efficient display with the gloves will not do any harm.
He was in the action again overs later with a very smart piece of keeping that saw Amla return to the changing rooms without scoring. Rehamn beat Amla with the turn, and Akmal whipped off the bails with Amla's foot in the air.
Kaneria, obviously feeling left out, got himself a wicket the following over, that of Gibbs. South Africa had slipped from 41-0 to 43-3, when Gibbs was snaffled at silly mid off by Faisal Iqbal.
Kallis and Ashwell Prince ensured no futher damage was done on the South African batting line-up, and played them safely through to the close.
With Andre Nel down as number eight, the hosts will feel a few quick wickets and they may have an end open. In reality South Africa will look to add a further hundred runs which would make certain of a comfortable enough cushion on a track where the indifferent bounce is becoming more and more apparent and problematic to bat on.
South Africa 450 Herschelle Gibbs 54, Hashim Amla 71, Jacques Kallis 155, AB de Villiers 77 Abdur Rehman 4-105
Pakistan 291 Shoaib Malik 73, Kamran Akmal 42 Paul Harris 5-73
South Africa 76-3 Graeme Smith 25 Abdur Rehman 2-25
(Cricket Web, 03/10/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=1&NewsIDAuto=4593
Friday 5 October 2007
Pakistan & South Africa prepare for battle
Shoaib Malik embarks on his new career as Pakistan's Test captain on October 1, when the Test series againt South Africa gets underway. His sidekick, Salman Butt, is also new to his role as vice-captain in Test cricket, as will be the coach Geoff Lawson.
While Pakistan have instigated change, so too, it appears, are South Africa after they strongly implied that Shaun Pollock was to be left out of the series opener. Whether that will happen may depend on the result of Morne Morkel's fitness test , and you can be sure he will give his ankle every chance to recovery in time to make his second Test appearance.
It promises to be a gripping contest between two proud nations, who on any given day can produce Test cricket of the highest quality, yet it is the consistency of their cricket that causes reason for consternation. On paper there does not seem to be much between the two sides, and with only two Tests taking place, mistakes will have to be at a premium, as there will be insufficient opportunities to make amends.
The first Test is to be played in the National Stadium, Karachi, while the show then moves on to Lahore and the Gadaffi Stadium. South Africa will then have a one-day warm up game, before five ODI's take place.
South Africa have visited Pakistan for two series in the past. Their first tour, back in 1997, was a successful one with victory in the final Test, of a three match series, in Faislabad. Pakistan were set a seemingly paltry 146 to win the series, but were bowled out for 92, after Paul Adams and Pat Symcox took the new ball. It was the reliable Shaun Pollock, however, that did the main damage taking 5-37, including four of the top five.
The last visit to Pakistan for South Africa was in 2003, when Pakistan reversed the scoreline, winning 1-0, after winning the opening Test in Lahore. This time the home side succeeded in chasing down 161, Danish Kaneria took five second innings wickets to halt South Africa's charge in setting a bigger total. Taufeeq Umar helped the hosts home with 63, following on from his 111 in the first innings.
There is no question that contests between the sides are historically very close affairs, and there is no reason why this series will not be equally as absorbing.
SQUADS FOR THE FIRST TEST
PAKISTAN : Shoaib Malik (c), Salman Butt, Abdur Rehman, Danish Kaneria, Faisal Iqbal, Iftikhar Anjum, Kamran Akmal (wk), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Taufeeq Umar, Umar Gul, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan.
SOUTH AFRICA : Graeme Smith (c), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn.
PREVIEW
The home side may very well opt for two spinners in the opening Test in Karachi, the track looks dry and typical of a sub-continental wicket. So alongside Danish Kaneria is likely to be left arm spinner Abdur Rehman, making his Test debut. He has appeared in five ODI's, and while his off spin is impressive, there are questions as to what variety he has in his armoury.
After the recent confusion regarding Mohammad Yousuf, and his ICL contract, there is no doubt Pakistan will be relieved to have him in their ranks for this series. The middle order has become increasingly important for Pakistan, after the constant changes in search of a successful opening partnership. For the first Test, Mohammad Hafeez, who looked in decent nick in the Twenty20, will be joined by the returning Salman Butt, who played his last Test in England, back in August 2006.
Inzamam-ul-Haq will be missing from the middle order, but replaced by a man that re-invented himself at the Twenty20 tournament, Misbah-ul-Haq. The 33 year-old has not played a Test match for over four years, and the excellent temperament he displayed in South Africa may come in handy in this pressure cooker encounter.
Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif are the likely new ball operators, and quite possibly the only quick bowlers in the side. Gul is continuing to improve, his repertoire in the Twenty20 was impressive, as was his pace. With his extra yard of pace, Gul will no doubt keep the batsmen honest, while Asif will concentrate on bowling in his areas and stifling the batsmen of any free shots. Use of the new ball may be crucial, as there is not expected to be a huge amount of movement after the shine has disappeared. Swing can not be discounted, particularly as Pakistan are the main exponents of reverse swing.
South Africa have endured their own difficulties in identifying the perfect opening batting partnership, and have resorted back to the tried and tested combination of Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs. The two have enjoyed success against Pakistan in the past, in the 2002/03 series in South Africa, they combined for a 368 run stand for the first wicket. In all Test matches, the pair still average a very reasonable 62 for the opening wicket.
Batting is the visitors strength, and with the potential of Andre Nel lining up at number eight, the top seven will need to find form early. Mark Boucher has already registered a century in their only tour game before the series begins. Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis all passed 50, and only Ashwell Prince made single figures in the top seven.
Mickey Arthur and captain Smith seem to be in sync regarding the omission of Pollock. That would have been a certainty had Morkel not injured his ankle, and it may come down to a straight choice between Pollock and the quicker, yet less accurate, Dale Steyn. The South African management have publicly stated their desire to give the younger seam bowlers a chance, and in this case, at the expense of the man that was thought to be indispensable. With home series against New Zealand and West Indies on the horizon, surely then would be the time to blood one or two of the younger generation, rather than the harsh bowling environment of Pakistan.
The tourists lone spinning option, Paul Harris, may have a major say in the outcome of this series. He will look to extract extra bounce with his height and give the ball a fair old rip, but Pakistan are an adept side at playing slow bowling and may look to attack Harris early and not allow him time to settle.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Umar Gul (Pakistan) With the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, and Danish Kaneria around, Umar Gul has always remained relatively in the background when it comes to Pakistan's high profile bowlers. His action is solid, his pace is good and his accuracy has improved, there is no mistaking Umar Gul is becoming a potent threat at international level. He hits the seam and can expect to generate decent bounce with his height, and is still only 24 years old. He has taken 61 wickets in 14 matches at an average of just over 30, and if he continues the way he is heading, that average will come plummeting down in the near future.
Jacques Kallis (South Africa) After relinquishing his responsibilities as vice-captain to Graeme Smith, Kallis will have full focus on his batting, and also his very useful swing bowling. But it his batting that he is famed for, and it will be pivotal to South Africa in getting runs on the board to enable them to exert some pressure on the home side. His consistency is virtually un-rivalled, yet his average against Pakistan (42.82) is well below his overall record (55.09), something he will look to rectify in this series. Patience is required against Kaneria and co. and this man has bags of it, along with the willingness to bat long periods of time, despite the searing heat.
So it is all set for a closely fought and thoroughly intriguing series. Both sides are aware of the need to have wicket taking bowlers to find the necessary 20 wickets on tracks that are difficult to dislodge batsmen when set. Will South Africa's lack of spin options be their shortfall once more, or can Harris rise to the test ?
Pakistan are a notoriously difficult proposition on home turf, and while I anticipate one of the Tests ending in a run glut of a draw, I also foresee the home side winning a Test match by virtue of Kaneria's spin wizardry. Pakistan to edge the series, but only just.
(Cricket Web, 30/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=2&NewsIDAuto=4577
While Pakistan have instigated change, so too, it appears, are South Africa after they strongly implied that Shaun Pollock was to be left out of the series opener. Whether that will happen may depend on the result of Morne Morkel's fitness test , and you can be sure he will give his ankle every chance to recovery in time to make his second Test appearance.
It promises to be a gripping contest between two proud nations, who on any given day can produce Test cricket of the highest quality, yet it is the consistency of their cricket that causes reason for consternation. On paper there does not seem to be much between the two sides, and with only two Tests taking place, mistakes will have to be at a premium, as there will be insufficient opportunities to make amends.
The first Test is to be played in the National Stadium, Karachi, while the show then moves on to Lahore and the Gadaffi Stadium. South Africa will then have a one-day warm up game, before five ODI's take place.
South Africa have visited Pakistan for two series in the past. Their first tour, back in 1997, was a successful one with victory in the final Test, of a three match series, in Faislabad. Pakistan were set a seemingly paltry 146 to win the series, but were bowled out for 92, after Paul Adams and Pat Symcox took the new ball. It was the reliable Shaun Pollock, however, that did the main damage taking 5-37, including four of the top five.
The last visit to Pakistan for South Africa was in 2003, when Pakistan reversed the scoreline, winning 1-0, after winning the opening Test in Lahore. This time the home side succeeded in chasing down 161, Danish Kaneria took five second innings wickets to halt South Africa's charge in setting a bigger total. Taufeeq Umar helped the hosts home with 63, following on from his 111 in the first innings.
There is no question that contests between the sides are historically very close affairs, and there is no reason why this series will not be equally as absorbing.
SQUADS FOR THE FIRST TEST
PAKISTAN : Shoaib Malik (c), Salman Butt, Abdur Rehman, Danish Kaneria, Faisal Iqbal, Iftikhar Anjum, Kamran Akmal (wk), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Taufeeq Umar, Umar Gul, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan.
SOUTH AFRICA : Graeme Smith (c), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn.
PREVIEW
The home side may very well opt for two spinners in the opening Test in Karachi, the track looks dry and typical of a sub-continental wicket. So alongside Danish Kaneria is likely to be left arm spinner Abdur Rehman, making his Test debut. He has appeared in five ODI's, and while his off spin is impressive, there are questions as to what variety he has in his armoury.
After the recent confusion regarding Mohammad Yousuf, and his ICL contract, there is no doubt Pakistan will be relieved to have him in their ranks for this series. The middle order has become increasingly important for Pakistan, after the constant changes in search of a successful opening partnership. For the first Test, Mohammad Hafeez, who looked in decent nick in the Twenty20, will be joined by the returning Salman Butt, who played his last Test in England, back in August 2006.
Inzamam-ul-Haq will be missing from the middle order, but replaced by a man that re-invented himself at the Twenty20 tournament, Misbah-ul-Haq. The 33 year-old has not played a Test match for over four years, and the excellent temperament he displayed in South Africa may come in handy in this pressure cooker encounter.
Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif are the likely new ball operators, and quite possibly the only quick bowlers in the side. Gul is continuing to improve, his repertoire in the Twenty20 was impressive, as was his pace. With his extra yard of pace, Gul will no doubt keep the batsmen honest, while Asif will concentrate on bowling in his areas and stifling the batsmen of any free shots. Use of the new ball may be crucial, as there is not expected to be a huge amount of movement after the shine has disappeared. Swing can not be discounted, particularly as Pakistan are the main exponents of reverse swing.
South Africa have endured their own difficulties in identifying the perfect opening batting partnership, and have resorted back to the tried and tested combination of Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs. The two have enjoyed success against Pakistan in the past, in the 2002/03 series in South Africa, they combined for a 368 run stand for the first wicket. In all Test matches, the pair still average a very reasonable 62 for the opening wicket.
Batting is the visitors strength, and with the potential of Andre Nel lining up at number eight, the top seven will need to find form early. Mark Boucher has already registered a century in their only tour game before the series begins. Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis all passed 50, and only Ashwell Prince made single figures in the top seven.
Mickey Arthur and captain Smith seem to be in sync regarding the omission of Pollock. That would have been a certainty had Morkel not injured his ankle, and it may come down to a straight choice between Pollock and the quicker, yet less accurate, Dale Steyn. The South African management have publicly stated their desire to give the younger seam bowlers a chance, and in this case, at the expense of the man that was thought to be indispensable. With home series against New Zealand and West Indies on the horizon, surely then would be the time to blood one or two of the younger generation, rather than the harsh bowling environment of Pakistan.
The tourists lone spinning option, Paul Harris, may have a major say in the outcome of this series. He will look to extract extra bounce with his height and give the ball a fair old rip, but Pakistan are an adept side at playing slow bowling and may look to attack Harris early and not allow him time to settle.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Umar Gul (Pakistan) With the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, and Danish Kaneria around, Umar Gul has always remained relatively in the background when it comes to Pakistan's high profile bowlers. His action is solid, his pace is good and his accuracy has improved, there is no mistaking Umar Gul is becoming a potent threat at international level. He hits the seam and can expect to generate decent bounce with his height, and is still only 24 years old. He has taken 61 wickets in 14 matches at an average of just over 30, and if he continues the way he is heading, that average will come plummeting down in the near future.
Jacques Kallis (South Africa) After relinquishing his responsibilities as vice-captain to Graeme Smith, Kallis will have full focus on his batting, and also his very useful swing bowling. But it his batting that he is famed for, and it will be pivotal to South Africa in getting runs on the board to enable them to exert some pressure on the home side. His consistency is virtually un-rivalled, yet his average against Pakistan (42.82) is well below his overall record (55.09), something he will look to rectify in this series. Patience is required against Kaneria and co. and this man has bags of it, along with the willingness to bat long periods of time, despite the searing heat.
So it is all set for a closely fought and thoroughly intriguing series. Both sides are aware of the need to have wicket taking bowlers to find the necessary 20 wickets on tracks that are difficult to dislodge batsmen when set. Will South Africa's lack of spin options be their shortfall once more, or can Harris rise to the test ?
Pakistan are a notoriously difficult proposition on home turf, and while I anticipate one of the Tests ending in a run glut of a draw, I also foresee the home side winning a Test match by virtue of Kaneria's spin wizardry. Pakistan to edge the series, but only just.
(Cricket Web, 30/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=2&NewsIDAuto=4577
Clarke ton in vain, as rain wins
Australia resurrected their innings after they had slumped to 90-4, thanks to a 144 run partnership between Michael Clarke (130) and Brad Haddin (69). Helpful contributions from Matthew Hayden and a late innings offensive from James Hopes took Australia to an imposing score of 307-7 off their allocation.
When Mitchell Johnson surprised Sachin Tendulkar with an inswinger at pace, as India began their reply, the odds were heavily stacked in Australia's favour to open the series with a victory. However, after only 2.4 overs of the Indian innings, the heavens opened and not another ball was to be bowled.
The weather was fine at the start of play, there was sunshine about and the temperatures were high, yet there was admittedly a fair amount of cloud around.
Ticket sales had gone well, as is generally the case with one-day cricket in India, so needless to say there was a packed house creating an exceptionally noisy atmosphere.
The pitch itself looked a good one for batsmen, and there were thoughts that there will be a fair amount of bounce and pace in it, however, as the game progressed there were signs of some indifferent bounce.
As for the teams, it had been well publicised that Australian captain Ricky Ponting was unfit, as was Mike Hussey, so chances were given to Brad Haddin, who was selected as a specialist batsman ahead of Adam Voges. Also, James Hopes was rewarded for some decent form in Pakistan with the 'A' side.
For India, the big guns had returned to the one-day side, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid all returned after opting out of the Twenty20 competition. Ramesh Powar was restored to the side, so too was opening bowler Zaheer Khan.
The new ODI rules were in force for this game, the most pertinent ones being any front foot no-ball resulting in a free hit the next ball, and the ball is now to be changed mandatorily after 34 overs. With regards the powerplays, the fielding side may choose either the second or third powerplay to exercise their right to have a third fielder outside the ring for the five over period.
Adam Gilchrist got the Australian innings off to a bright start, with two thumping boundaries, before he went after a ball from Zaheer with a distinct lack of footwork, that contributed to his downfall. He relied on his usually exemplory hand-eye co-ordination, but was never in a position to keep the ball down, as was presumably his intention. However, he did not account for a superb flying catch from Yuvraj at backward point to give India an ideal tonic.
Sreesanth was a little erratic, while there was no doubt he was generating good pace, but at the expense of a little accuracy. Well, if he was not to know where the ball was going, Brad Hodge would not have had a clue.
The first ball of Sreesanth's second over started off wide of off stump, then swung excessively into a Steve Harmison style wide. His next ball was over compensated for and drifted down the leg side for another wide. The guessing game began for Hodge, and he ultimately guessed wrong. Sreesanth got his next ball exactly right, and the ball swung back into Hodge and trapped him lbw. Hodge appeared to be deceived by the surprise straight one.
Michael Clarke then joined Hayden at the crease, and the pair set about consolidating, while also picking up any available runs by positive running and strokeplay. Once Clarke had settled and got away with a couple of airy fairy drives, he looked the part. His timing of the ball off his legs was impressive, and he began building his innings maturely, clearly aware of his crucial role in the middle order with both Ponting and Hussey on the sidelines.
Due to the precarious situation Australia were in after two early blows, Hayden was perhaps not as aggressive as he would have liked, initially. When it seemed he was getting into his stride, Sreesanth removed him in a similar way to how he did in the Twenty20. Hayden went for one of his muscled shots through the leg-side, which could also be referred to as a slog, but the ball crashed into his stumps.
Andrew Symonds stay was also a fairly brief one, he was deceived by a slower ball from Sreesanth and was struck on his pads. The technology suggesting it would have gone on to hit the wickets. It was an excellent change of pace from the fiery little Indian, who let go of the ball out of the side of his hand, in a leg-spin style delivery. Sreesanth had three wickets, and amidst some of his more wild deliveries were some very pacy swinging balls, swinging both ways at that.
At 90-4, Australia desperately needed a partnership, and that was what they got with the New South Wales team-mates, Clarke and Haddin.
Haddin is well known for his powerful striking in domestic cricket in Australia, and he is yet to transfer those skills to the international game, but this innings was a good indication of his abilities. His orthodox technique was sound, and the pair ran extremely well between the wickets. When the chance came for a boundary, they did not disappoint.
Clarke's footwork was outstanding, decisive in either shimmying down the track to Powar and Yuvraj, or going back, making use of the depth of his crease.
Powar's slow flighted deliveries, that got England into such a muddle earlier in the year, was not having the same effect on this pair, as they used their feet intelligently, combining power shots down the ground with deft deflections where there were no fielders. Haddin smashed him straight for a six, while Clarke cashed in on a couple of loose balls and hit the spinner for three sixes later in his next spell.
Irfan Pathan has regained his bowling action, and his accuracy and pace were both good, but India were struggling to contain Australia, who had consistently been just over five runs per over throughout, despite losing the early wickets.
Yuvraj finally removed Haddin, when he danced down the pitch and did not quite get there, yet he attempted a slog across the line which he missed and Dhoni did the rest. It was an important knock for the visitors, and Haddin's confidence at this level will surely grow from this.
Clarke brought his century up with a full toss gift from Powar which he deposited over mid wicket for a maximum. His traditional kiss of the badge ensued, and Clarke richly deserved all his plaudits for this mature showing at a ground he hugely enjoys, he made a century here on his Test debut. This innings was typical of Clarke, so strong through the on-side, and one particular straight drive off Zaheer demonstrated the exemplory timing he had found.
James Hopes was not going to hang around, and he plundered 37 off only 25 balls, before holding out to long on off Zaheer. He had played his part, and in the process they had broke the record for the highest sixth wicket partnership at Bangalore, they accumulated 73 in just eight overs. It was Hopes' first international appearance since he played against Bangladesh in April 2006, and this was a pretty decent start for him.
When a world class side is pushed into a corner, there is always someone that is willing to be counted and ensure his side reach respectability, in this case it was Clarke. They surpassed respectability with their final total of 307-7, with 87 coming off the final ten overs.
India's reply got off to a terrible start when Johnson removed Tendulkar for nought.
You can never entirely write India off, despite needing to chase down a daunting total, because of the quality in their line-up. Ganguly did not open, as he had picked up a hamstring injury while fielding, but there was still Dravid, Yuvraj and Dhoni to come.
It would perhaps have led to an exciting game of cricket, but it was the weather that decided this one.
Australia 307-7 (off 50 overs) Michael Clarke 130, Brad Haddin 69, James Hopes 37, Matthew Hayden 34 S.Sreesanth 3-55, Zaheer Khan 2-64
India 9-1 (off 2.4 overs)
Match Abandoned
(Cricket Web, 29/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=12&NewsIDAuto=4573&ImageURL=newsimages/michaelclarke8.jpg
When Mitchell Johnson surprised Sachin Tendulkar with an inswinger at pace, as India began their reply, the odds were heavily stacked in Australia's favour to open the series with a victory. However, after only 2.4 overs of the Indian innings, the heavens opened and not another ball was to be bowled.
The weather was fine at the start of play, there was sunshine about and the temperatures were high, yet there was admittedly a fair amount of cloud around.
Ticket sales had gone well, as is generally the case with one-day cricket in India, so needless to say there was a packed house creating an exceptionally noisy atmosphere.
The pitch itself looked a good one for batsmen, and there were thoughts that there will be a fair amount of bounce and pace in it, however, as the game progressed there were signs of some indifferent bounce.
As for the teams, it had been well publicised that Australian captain Ricky Ponting was unfit, as was Mike Hussey, so chances were given to Brad Haddin, who was selected as a specialist batsman ahead of Adam Voges. Also, James Hopes was rewarded for some decent form in Pakistan with the 'A' side.
For India, the big guns had returned to the one-day side, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid all returned after opting out of the Twenty20 competition. Ramesh Powar was restored to the side, so too was opening bowler Zaheer Khan.
The new ODI rules were in force for this game, the most pertinent ones being any front foot no-ball resulting in a free hit the next ball, and the ball is now to be changed mandatorily after 34 overs. With regards the powerplays, the fielding side may choose either the second or third powerplay to exercise their right to have a third fielder outside the ring for the five over period.
Adam Gilchrist got the Australian innings off to a bright start, with two thumping boundaries, before he went after a ball from Zaheer with a distinct lack of footwork, that contributed to his downfall. He relied on his usually exemplory hand-eye co-ordination, but was never in a position to keep the ball down, as was presumably his intention. However, he did not account for a superb flying catch from Yuvraj at backward point to give India an ideal tonic.
Sreesanth was a little erratic, while there was no doubt he was generating good pace, but at the expense of a little accuracy. Well, if he was not to know where the ball was going, Brad Hodge would not have had a clue.
The first ball of Sreesanth's second over started off wide of off stump, then swung excessively into a Steve Harmison style wide. His next ball was over compensated for and drifted down the leg side for another wide. The guessing game began for Hodge, and he ultimately guessed wrong. Sreesanth got his next ball exactly right, and the ball swung back into Hodge and trapped him lbw. Hodge appeared to be deceived by the surprise straight one.
Michael Clarke then joined Hayden at the crease, and the pair set about consolidating, while also picking up any available runs by positive running and strokeplay. Once Clarke had settled and got away with a couple of airy fairy drives, he looked the part. His timing of the ball off his legs was impressive, and he began building his innings maturely, clearly aware of his crucial role in the middle order with both Ponting and Hussey on the sidelines.
Due to the precarious situation Australia were in after two early blows, Hayden was perhaps not as aggressive as he would have liked, initially. When it seemed he was getting into his stride, Sreesanth removed him in a similar way to how he did in the Twenty20. Hayden went for one of his muscled shots through the leg-side, which could also be referred to as a slog, but the ball crashed into his stumps.
Andrew Symonds stay was also a fairly brief one, he was deceived by a slower ball from Sreesanth and was struck on his pads. The technology suggesting it would have gone on to hit the wickets. It was an excellent change of pace from the fiery little Indian, who let go of the ball out of the side of his hand, in a leg-spin style delivery. Sreesanth had three wickets, and amidst some of his more wild deliveries were some very pacy swinging balls, swinging both ways at that.
At 90-4, Australia desperately needed a partnership, and that was what they got with the New South Wales team-mates, Clarke and Haddin.
Haddin is well known for his powerful striking in domestic cricket in Australia, and he is yet to transfer those skills to the international game, but this innings was a good indication of his abilities. His orthodox technique was sound, and the pair ran extremely well between the wickets. When the chance came for a boundary, they did not disappoint.
Clarke's footwork was outstanding, decisive in either shimmying down the track to Powar and Yuvraj, or going back, making use of the depth of his crease.
Powar's slow flighted deliveries, that got England into such a muddle earlier in the year, was not having the same effect on this pair, as they used their feet intelligently, combining power shots down the ground with deft deflections where there were no fielders. Haddin smashed him straight for a six, while Clarke cashed in on a couple of loose balls and hit the spinner for three sixes later in his next spell.
Irfan Pathan has regained his bowling action, and his accuracy and pace were both good, but India were struggling to contain Australia, who had consistently been just over five runs per over throughout, despite losing the early wickets.
Yuvraj finally removed Haddin, when he danced down the pitch and did not quite get there, yet he attempted a slog across the line which he missed and Dhoni did the rest. It was an important knock for the visitors, and Haddin's confidence at this level will surely grow from this.
Clarke brought his century up with a full toss gift from Powar which he deposited over mid wicket for a maximum. His traditional kiss of the badge ensued, and Clarke richly deserved all his plaudits for this mature showing at a ground he hugely enjoys, he made a century here on his Test debut. This innings was typical of Clarke, so strong through the on-side, and one particular straight drive off Zaheer demonstrated the exemplory timing he had found.
James Hopes was not going to hang around, and he plundered 37 off only 25 balls, before holding out to long on off Zaheer. He had played his part, and in the process they had broke the record for the highest sixth wicket partnership at Bangalore, they accumulated 73 in just eight overs. It was Hopes' first international appearance since he played against Bangladesh in April 2006, and this was a pretty decent start for him.
When a world class side is pushed into a corner, there is always someone that is willing to be counted and ensure his side reach respectability, in this case it was Clarke. They surpassed respectability with their final total of 307-7, with 87 coming off the final ten overs.
India's reply got off to a terrible start when Johnson removed Tendulkar for nought.
You can never entirely write India off, despite needing to chase down a daunting total, because of the quality in their line-up. Ganguly did not open, as he had picked up a hamstring injury while fielding, but there was still Dravid, Yuvraj and Dhoni to come.
It would perhaps have led to an exciting game of cricket, but it was the weather that decided this one.
Australia 307-7 (off 50 overs) Michael Clarke 130, Brad Haddin 69, James Hopes 37, Matthew Hayden 34 S.Sreesanth 3-55, Zaheer Khan 2-64
India 9-1 (off 2.4 overs)
Match Abandoned
(Cricket Web, 29/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=12&NewsIDAuto=4573&ImageURL=newsimages/michaelclarke8.jpg
Pakistan ease into the Final
Pakistan chased down New Zealand's modest total of 143, with more than an over to spare.
It was the same duo that saw them home against Australia, but the platform had already been set by Imran Nazir and Mohammad Hafeez, whose opening partnership of 60 ensured Pakistan were always in command.
In terms of the teams selections, Pakistan were buoyed when Mohammad Asif was passed fit to play, the only player missing was Salman Butt, he was replaced by Fawad Alam.
For New Zealand, Jeetan Patel was favoured on a pitch that looked like it may take some turn, and Chris Martin was the man to miss out. Also, Peter Fulton returned to the side at the expense of Nathan McCullum.
There were dark clouds around at the beginning of play, this following Daniel Vettori's decision to have a bat, and play only lasted 6.2 overs before the players were forced to return to the changing rooms. New Zealand had made a decent start, reaching 44-0, but will not have been too impressed by the enforced break, it came at a time when Brendon McCullum and Lou Vincent were getting set, and looking to up the run rate.
Asif bowled in good areas, and made life difficult for the Kiwi openers, not allowing them too many occasions to tee off and free their arms. Only four boundaries came during the first six powerplay overs.
Unfortunately for New Zealand, the break interrupted any fluency that was gathering, Fawad Alam removed Lou Vincent in his first over with a smart return catch, and McCullum also went a couple of overs later attempting to sweep Shahid Afridi.
From this stage on, New Zealand continued to lose wickets at a regular rate, integrated with the odd lusty blow.
Scott Styris had pulled Alam for a six in front of square, but could not make much more of a telling contribution, he was caught in the deep by Sohail Tanvir, attempting an expansive drive over the top off the ever impressive Umar Gul.
Pakistan have regularly used Gul in the second half of the innings, and allowed him to bowl his four overs unchanged. His variety of short balls and yorkers, has been clever, and very few batsmen have been able to counter Gul's accuracy.
After removing Styris, Gul then removed Fulton two balls later, the Kiwi offered a comfortable chance to Shoaib Malik in covers.
Craig McMillan had come in with only 6.3 overs remaining, this is the man that has done so much damage for New Zealand, but now felt the pressure to rescue his side to a reasonable total immediately.
He stayed long enough to work Gul for a four, then smash Alam over long off for a six. However, Alam enjoyed the last word dismissing him two balls later with McMillan attempting another big shot over long off, but this time failed to get the distance.
Jacob Oram was caught behind going for huge slash over the off side, that gave Gul his third wicket, and he finished with the highly commendable figures of 3-15 off four overs.
New Zealand are invariable good runners between the wickets, but communication was the cause for the fall of the next two wickets. Both Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond sacrificed their wickets after mix-ups with Ross Taylor.
Taylor redeemed himself to a degree, when he took Asif for 17 in the final over of the innings. But a total of 143 always looked as though it was going to be some way short of testing this Pakistani line up.
What New Zealand needed to have any chance was early wickets, and Pakistan have had a tendency to gift sides such luxuries in previous games.
This time was different, as Imran Nazir's shot selection was much improved, and Hafeez once again looked in good nick. They completed their highest opening partnership of the tournament when they reached 60 without loss, off seven overs.
They were always ahead of the run rate, which eased any pressure on the incoming batsmen.
Nazir had called for a runner very early on in his innings, and if it was an injury from a previous game, Vettori was very sporting in allowing him one here.
Nazir rode his luck, batting in the style he does, he will need a degree of luck to make a big score. He flashed at a drive early that went between McCullum and Styris in first slip.
It was Hafeez with the big shots early, spanking Bond for a six over mid wicket, before hitting Mark Gillespie back over his head for another maximum in the following over.
Then Nazir joined in, skipping down the track to flick Vettori over cow corner for another half a dozen.
Styris came into the attack and made an immediate impression, offering the Kiwi's some feint hope, when Hafeez was adjudged, correctly so, lbw for 32.
Younis Khan joined Nazir, but was content to watch the young entertainer from the non-strikers end.
Further sixes ensued for Nazir, Vettori and Styris disappeared over long off, and Oram suffered two more in consecutive deliveries, the first being a touch more conventional over long on to bring up his fifty off 38 balls. His second was a top edge over McCullums head.
Ross Taylor's guilt will have grown as the Oram over progressed, he had a comfortable opportunity to dismiss Nazir with Oram's first ball, instead he dropped him at long off, as he has done surprisingly frequently during this tournament.
Jeetan Patel finally removed Nazir, when he wrapped him on the pads going for a sweep.
Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi both fell cheaply, and New Zealand had a slight sniff of rescuing this game. However, Misbah-ul-Haq and captain Shoaib Malik forged another intelligent partnership, and saw Pakistan home with a certain amount of ease. Malik hammered a six off Patel to finish the game in style.
New Zealand had under performed with the bat, been sloppy at times in the field, and were a touch too inconsistent with the ball, barring Daniel Vettori who has been one of the pick of the bowlers throughout the tournament.
Pakistan were deserved victors, and will watch on eagerly the second semi-final. They have already beaten Australia in the competition, and a potential meeting with India with whet the appetite for all concerned.
New Zealand 143-8 (20 overs) Ross Taylor 38*Umar Gul 3-15, Fawad Alam 2-29
Pakistan 147-4 (18.5 overs) Imran Nazir 59, Mohammad Hafeez 32 Scott Styris 1-14, Daniel Vettori 1-22
Pakistan win by 6 wickets
Cricket Web Man of the Match : Umar Gul
(Cricket Web, 22/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=2&NewsIDAuto=4547
It was the same duo that saw them home against Australia, but the platform had already been set by Imran Nazir and Mohammad Hafeez, whose opening partnership of 60 ensured Pakistan were always in command.
In terms of the teams selections, Pakistan were buoyed when Mohammad Asif was passed fit to play, the only player missing was Salman Butt, he was replaced by Fawad Alam.
For New Zealand, Jeetan Patel was favoured on a pitch that looked like it may take some turn, and Chris Martin was the man to miss out. Also, Peter Fulton returned to the side at the expense of Nathan McCullum.
There were dark clouds around at the beginning of play, this following Daniel Vettori's decision to have a bat, and play only lasted 6.2 overs before the players were forced to return to the changing rooms. New Zealand had made a decent start, reaching 44-0, but will not have been too impressed by the enforced break, it came at a time when Brendon McCullum and Lou Vincent were getting set, and looking to up the run rate.
Asif bowled in good areas, and made life difficult for the Kiwi openers, not allowing them too many occasions to tee off and free their arms. Only four boundaries came during the first six powerplay overs.
Unfortunately for New Zealand, the break interrupted any fluency that was gathering, Fawad Alam removed Lou Vincent in his first over with a smart return catch, and McCullum also went a couple of overs later attempting to sweep Shahid Afridi.
From this stage on, New Zealand continued to lose wickets at a regular rate, integrated with the odd lusty blow.
Scott Styris had pulled Alam for a six in front of square, but could not make much more of a telling contribution, he was caught in the deep by Sohail Tanvir, attempting an expansive drive over the top off the ever impressive Umar Gul.
Pakistan have regularly used Gul in the second half of the innings, and allowed him to bowl his four overs unchanged. His variety of short balls and yorkers, has been clever, and very few batsmen have been able to counter Gul's accuracy.
After removing Styris, Gul then removed Fulton two balls later, the Kiwi offered a comfortable chance to Shoaib Malik in covers.
Craig McMillan had come in with only 6.3 overs remaining, this is the man that has done so much damage for New Zealand, but now felt the pressure to rescue his side to a reasonable total immediately.
He stayed long enough to work Gul for a four, then smash Alam over long off for a six. However, Alam enjoyed the last word dismissing him two balls later with McMillan attempting another big shot over long off, but this time failed to get the distance.
Jacob Oram was caught behind going for huge slash over the off side, that gave Gul his third wicket, and he finished with the highly commendable figures of 3-15 off four overs.
New Zealand are invariable good runners between the wickets, but communication was the cause for the fall of the next two wickets. Both Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond sacrificed their wickets after mix-ups with Ross Taylor.
Taylor redeemed himself to a degree, when he took Asif for 17 in the final over of the innings. But a total of 143 always looked as though it was going to be some way short of testing this Pakistani line up.
What New Zealand needed to have any chance was early wickets, and Pakistan have had a tendency to gift sides such luxuries in previous games.
This time was different, as Imran Nazir's shot selection was much improved, and Hafeez once again looked in good nick. They completed their highest opening partnership of the tournament when they reached 60 without loss, off seven overs.
They were always ahead of the run rate, which eased any pressure on the incoming batsmen.
Nazir had called for a runner very early on in his innings, and if it was an injury from a previous game, Vettori was very sporting in allowing him one here.
Nazir rode his luck, batting in the style he does, he will need a degree of luck to make a big score. He flashed at a drive early that went between McCullum and Styris in first slip.
It was Hafeez with the big shots early, spanking Bond for a six over mid wicket, before hitting Mark Gillespie back over his head for another maximum in the following over.
Then Nazir joined in, skipping down the track to flick Vettori over cow corner for another half a dozen.
Styris came into the attack and made an immediate impression, offering the Kiwi's some feint hope, when Hafeez was adjudged, correctly so, lbw for 32.
Younis Khan joined Nazir, but was content to watch the young entertainer from the non-strikers end.
Further sixes ensued for Nazir, Vettori and Styris disappeared over long off, and Oram suffered two more in consecutive deliveries, the first being a touch more conventional over long on to bring up his fifty off 38 balls. His second was a top edge over McCullums head.
Ross Taylor's guilt will have grown as the Oram over progressed, he had a comfortable opportunity to dismiss Nazir with Oram's first ball, instead he dropped him at long off, as he has done surprisingly frequently during this tournament.
Jeetan Patel finally removed Nazir, when he wrapped him on the pads going for a sweep.
Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi both fell cheaply, and New Zealand had a slight sniff of rescuing this game. However, Misbah-ul-Haq and captain Shoaib Malik forged another intelligent partnership, and saw Pakistan home with a certain amount of ease. Malik hammered a six off Patel to finish the game in style.
New Zealand had under performed with the bat, been sloppy at times in the field, and were a touch too inconsistent with the ball, barring Daniel Vettori who has been one of the pick of the bowlers throughout the tournament.
Pakistan were deserved victors, and will watch on eagerly the second semi-final. They have already beaten Australia in the competition, and a potential meeting with India with whet the appetite for all concerned.
New Zealand 143-8 (20 overs) Ross Taylor 38*Umar Gul 3-15, Fawad Alam 2-29
Pakistan 147-4 (18.5 overs) Imran Nazir 59, Mohammad Hafeez 32 Scott Styris 1-14, Daniel Vettori 1-22
Pakistan win by 6 wickets
Cricket Web Man of the Match : Umar Gul
(Cricket Web, 22/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=2&NewsIDAuto=4547
India brush England aside
India needed to beat England to have any chance of qualifying for the last four stage. They duly completed the victory thanks in the main to a blistering batting performance.
Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir set India on their way with an opening partnership worth 136, before Yuvraj Singh delievered the fireworks later on with an exceptionally quickfire 58 coming off only 16 balls. He punished the unfortunate Stuart Broad for six sixes in a single over, replicating Herschelle Gibbs effort in the last World Cup.
England's reply was steady, and after 18 overs were on exactly the same score as India were at that point in their innings. However, England were unable to find a batsman that could be quite as destructive as Yuvraj was in that now, famous over.
The pitch was predicted by many to have enough life in it, especially under lights, to cause more than the odd problem to the batting side, and that totals of around 150, may test the chasing team.
For England this game was all about pride, having watched South Africa, before their game took place, take care of business against New Zealand. England were confirmed to be travelling home after their game with India, regardless of the result. So the inclusion of the injured Andrew Flintoff in a game with nothing to play for, left many scratching their heads.
England won the toss and elected to field, hoping to pressurise the Indians on a lively track.
The Indian openers were respectful of how well England had bowled early on, and Paul Collingwood continued in the same vein as previous games by rotating his bowlers almost every over. The plan India had was to play out the opening six overs and keep wickets in hand, so as a result there were few expansive shots in the opening stages.
Once India had gone over the six over threshold, they broke loose. Sehwag scored his first boundary pulling Dmitri Mascarenhas for four, before launching him over extra cover for six.
Sehwag, out of favour in the ODI's, then begun to make room for himself and slash aggresively through the offside. It seemed to help that the two Indian batsmen both play for Delhi, and their running between the wickets was that of a pair well in tune with each others game.
When Sehwag crunched Collingwood through covers, he brought his fifty up off 38 balls. Gambhir, minutes later went two balls better, his half century was off 36 deliveries.
Sehwag had reached 68, when he walked too far across his off stump, in an attempt to flick the ball over short fine leg, instead Chris Tremlett's delivery thumped into his leg stump.
After Gambhir successfully swept Darren Maddy for four, he tried to repeat the dose, but merely scooped the ball to Broad.
Robin Uthappa was also bowled by Tremlett, and it became a question of how well India could finish. Explosively was the answer. Yuvraj Singh, after an on field confrontation with Andrew Flintoff, teed off in the most fantastic fashion. Stuart Broad tried bowling everywhere, and Yuvraj was consistently more than equal to it. His fifty took an incredible 12 balls.
So England were set an unlikely 219 for victory, and opened up with some purpose, reaching 45-0 off the first five overs.
The main problem from there on, was England's inability to form a match winning partnership. Each of England's top five offered hope and showed glimpses of what can be achieved in this run chase, but wickets kept falling finshing any promising partnership.
Vikram Solanki, Darren Maddy, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, and Owais Shah all lit up the ground with brief cameos, but none of them could go take the next step and drive England home.
RP Singh sealed the victory when in the 18th over of the innings he not only limited England to just four runs, but he picked up the wickets of Collingwood and Shah.
Collingwood's side finishing 18 runs shy of India's impressive total. For India it is now all to play for against South Africa on Thursday evening, again in Durban, where a win for India leaves three sides, India, South Africa, and New Zealand, tied on four points. The two sides with the best net run rate will enter the semi-finals.
India 218-4 (20 overs) Virender Sehwag 68, Gautam Gambhir 58, Yuvraj Singh 58 Chris Tremlett 2-45, Darren Maddy 1-20
England 200-6 (20 overs) Vik Solanki 43, Kevin Pietersen 39 Irfan Pathan 3-37, RP Singh 2-28
India win by 18 runs
Cricket Web Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh
(Cricket Web, 19/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=2&NewsIDAuto=4532
Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir set India on their way with an opening partnership worth 136, before Yuvraj Singh delievered the fireworks later on with an exceptionally quickfire 58 coming off only 16 balls. He punished the unfortunate Stuart Broad for six sixes in a single over, replicating Herschelle Gibbs effort in the last World Cup.
England's reply was steady, and after 18 overs were on exactly the same score as India were at that point in their innings. However, England were unable to find a batsman that could be quite as destructive as Yuvraj was in that now, famous over.
The pitch was predicted by many to have enough life in it, especially under lights, to cause more than the odd problem to the batting side, and that totals of around 150, may test the chasing team.
For England this game was all about pride, having watched South Africa, before their game took place, take care of business against New Zealand. England were confirmed to be travelling home after their game with India, regardless of the result. So the inclusion of the injured Andrew Flintoff in a game with nothing to play for, left many scratching their heads.
England won the toss and elected to field, hoping to pressurise the Indians on a lively track.
The Indian openers were respectful of how well England had bowled early on, and Paul Collingwood continued in the same vein as previous games by rotating his bowlers almost every over. The plan India had was to play out the opening six overs and keep wickets in hand, so as a result there were few expansive shots in the opening stages.
Once India had gone over the six over threshold, they broke loose. Sehwag scored his first boundary pulling Dmitri Mascarenhas for four, before launching him over extra cover for six.
Sehwag, out of favour in the ODI's, then begun to make room for himself and slash aggresively through the offside. It seemed to help that the two Indian batsmen both play for Delhi, and their running between the wickets was that of a pair well in tune with each others game.
When Sehwag crunched Collingwood through covers, he brought his fifty up off 38 balls. Gambhir, minutes later went two balls better, his half century was off 36 deliveries.
Sehwag had reached 68, when he walked too far across his off stump, in an attempt to flick the ball over short fine leg, instead Chris Tremlett's delivery thumped into his leg stump.
After Gambhir successfully swept Darren Maddy for four, he tried to repeat the dose, but merely scooped the ball to Broad.
Robin Uthappa was also bowled by Tremlett, and it became a question of how well India could finish. Explosively was the answer. Yuvraj Singh, after an on field confrontation with Andrew Flintoff, teed off in the most fantastic fashion. Stuart Broad tried bowling everywhere, and Yuvraj was consistently more than equal to it. His fifty took an incredible 12 balls.
So England were set an unlikely 219 for victory, and opened up with some purpose, reaching 45-0 off the first five overs.
The main problem from there on, was England's inability to form a match winning partnership. Each of England's top five offered hope and showed glimpses of what can be achieved in this run chase, but wickets kept falling finshing any promising partnership.
Vikram Solanki, Darren Maddy, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, and Owais Shah all lit up the ground with brief cameos, but none of them could go take the next step and drive England home.
RP Singh sealed the victory when in the 18th over of the innings he not only limited England to just four runs, but he picked up the wickets of Collingwood and Shah.
Collingwood's side finishing 18 runs shy of India's impressive total. For India it is now all to play for against South Africa on Thursday evening, again in Durban, where a win for India leaves three sides, India, South Africa, and New Zealand, tied on four points. The two sides with the best net run rate will enter the semi-finals.
India 218-4 (20 overs) Virender Sehwag 68, Gautam Gambhir 58, Yuvraj Singh 58 Chris Tremlett 2-45, Darren Maddy 1-20
England 200-6 (20 overs) Vik Solanki 43, Kevin Pietersen 39 Irfan Pathan 3-37, RP Singh 2-28
India win by 18 runs
Cricket Web Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh
(Cricket Web, 19/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=2&NewsIDAuto=4532
Shoaib & Asif in altercation
It is very much an understatement to suggest there is never a dull moment regarding the Pakistan cricket team.
Once again before a World tournament, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The altercation took place following Thursday's practice session, and the exact details of the disagreement are yet to be revealed. Rumours of Asif being struck by a bat are so far unfounded.
Shoaib is already skating on thin ice, and is currently on a six week probation period, following his disciplinary indiscretion last month when he left a Karachi training camp without permission.
The good news for Pakistan, is that the injury is only thought to be a bruise, nothing more serious. Asif had X-rays on the problem, and the results were clear.
Once again the questions will arise as to whether Shoaib is worth his place in the side when you consider the alleged behaviour he brings with it. Undoubtedly he is one of the finest quick bowlers in the world on his day, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Pakistan management to ensure he gets onto the pitch without any trouble along the way.
A decision on the outcome of this latest drama, is expected tomorrow.
(Cricket Web, 06/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2013&NewsIDAuto=4448
Once again before a World tournament, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The altercation took place following Thursday's practice session, and the exact details of the disagreement are yet to be revealed. Rumours of Asif being struck by a bat are so far unfounded.
Shoaib is already skating on thin ice, and is currently on a six week probation period, following his disciplinary indiscretion last month when he left a Karachi training camp without permission.
The good news for Pakistan, is that the injury is only thought to be a bruise, nothing more serious. Asif had X-rays on the problem, and the results were clear.
Once again the questions will arise as to whether Shoaib is worth his place in the side when you consider the alleged behaviour he brings with it. Undoubtedly he is one of the finest quick bowlers in the world on his day, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Pakistan management to ensure he gets onto the pitch without any trouble along the way.
A decision on the outcome of this latest drama, is expected tomorrow.
(Cricket Web, 06/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2013&NewsIDAuto=4448
England take 3-1 lead
A record 8th wicket partnership of 99 for England in ODI's between Ravi Bopara and Stuart Broad secured England a 3-1 lead with three games to play.
The feeling once India had batted first, was that they had not scored enough with their total of 212 all out off 49.4 overs. However, it looked at one point as though it was going to be more than enough when England were floundering at 114-7.
Step forward Bopara and Broad, who both demonstrated temperaments that belied their years and inexperience, and techniques that had India wondering why these two were batting so low.
Bopara had of course been here before, during the World Cup against Sri Lanka when he took England to the very brink of an unlikely victory but could not quite get his side over the line. With that in mind, his determination to see it through this time was evident, and with Broad as an unexpected yet accomplished batting ally they chipped away at the total, bringing the chasing target down in tens, and when Broad pushed one to mid on, the vigil was complete.
India won the toss and elected to have a bat, the skies were somewhat overcast and the prospect of batting uder lights simply did not appeal to India captain Rahul Dravid. The visitors opted for Ajit Agarkar, to add some batting depth, ahead of Munaf Patel.
England recalled all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in place of Chris Tremlett, while captain Paul Collingwood had recovered from his stomach complaints.
The Indian openers were once again restricted early on, with Broad and Jimmy Anderson finding their range, and not allowing India's strokemakers any freedom.
When Sourav Ganguly attempted a pull off Anderson, it simply looped to Ian Bell at square leg. Dinesh Karthik handed Broad his first wicket of the day, chasing a short and wide delivery and succeeding only in nicking it through to Prior.
The following over 'Freddie' Flintoff was called on to bowl, and it did not take long for him to re-acquaint himself with his home crowd, when he had dangerman Rahul Dravid fishing outside his off stump to give Prior another victim.
Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh then held the fort for the next 17.3 overs. It was not as fluent a partnership as one may expect from two silky and attractive batsmen. Flintoff was not making life any easier for them, his first five overs included three maidens. How happy the Indians must have been when he was cleared to play.
Despite not being at his best Tendulkar brought his fifty up off 81 balls, but he had no sooner reached the landmark, before Kevin Pietersen was brought on and duly dismissed the little master. It was in all honesty, nothing short of a long hop that Tendulkar mis-timed, and was snaffled by the bucket-like hands of Flintoff at deep square leg.
Yuvraj continued to try and build a respectable score for India but he was short of willing company at the crease. MS Dhoni fell to a typical Panesar delivery, spinning and clipping off stump, before Agarkar edged through to Prior off Broad.
Yuvraj's fifty came up in some style. Broad banged the ball in short and Yuvraj rocked back and pulled it over the boundary for a maximum. Broad had his revenge when he yorked Yuvraj on leg stump for 71 in the 45th over.
Both Zaheer (20) and Piyush Chawla (13*) made useful contributions down the order, but with only 212 on the board, India needed them to do it with the ball. Stuart Broad achieved his best ODI figures to date, registering 4-51 off his 10 overs. Anderson again impressive, and Flintoff typically measly.
India received the perfect tonic at the start of England's run chase. Alistair Cook was removed by Zaheer without scoring, and Prior cut the ball in the air to third man, where Ramesh Powar completed the catch off Agarkar. When Ian Bell left one off Agarkar that smashed into his off stump, India were understandably buoyant, the home side were 35-3. The Indians were visibly pumped up for this one, and the chat was continuous.
Pietersen looked to be settling in before mis-timing a hook shot, and Agarkar had three wickets.
Collingwood was steadying the ship, and looking good doing it. His timing was near perfect, as he punched a number of drives at the top of the bounce.
Sadly Flintoff's return with the bat was nowhere near as impressive as with the ball, and he drove aerially to Yuvraj at point. Owais Shah gloved to Karthik at short leg, before Bopara dabbed one to point and Collingwood called for a single, after a hint of indecision, Collingwood was caught short of his ground.
That brought Broad together with Bopara for the match winning partnership. The composure shown by the two youngsters, both in only their 13th game, was a joy for England fans and management alike, to see.
Broad began his cricketing life as a batsman and it is easy to see why. His punches off his back foot are rarely seen from a number 9. Bopara was efficient, solid in defence and excellent in putting the loose ball away.
So it turned out to be a heart breaking defeat from India who now face the uphill task of needing to win the remianing 3 ODI's to win the series.
India 212 Yuvraj Singh 71, Sachin Tendulkar 55 Stuart Broad 4-51, James Anderson 3-38
England 213-7 Paul Collingwood 47, Stuart Broad 45*, Ravi Bopara 43* Ajit Agarkar 4-60
England won by 3 wickets
(Cricket Web, 30/08/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4419
The feeling once India had batted first, was that they had not scored enough with their total of 212 all out off 49.4 overs. However, it looked at one point as though it was going to be more than enough when England were floundering at 114-7.
Step forward Bopara and Broad, who both demonstrated temperaments that belied their years and inexperience, and techniques that had India wondering why these two were batting so low.
Bopara had of course been here before, during the World Cup against Sri Lanka when he took England to the very brink of an unlikely victory but could not quite get his side over the line. With that in mind, his determination to see it through this time was evident, and with Broad as an unexpected yet accomplished batting ally they chipped away at the total, bringing the chasing target down in tens, and when Broad pushed one to mid on, the vigil was complete.
India won the toss and elected to have a bat, the skies were somewhat overcast and the prospect of batting uder lights simply did not appeal to India captain Rahul Dravid. The visitors opted for Ajit Agarkar, to add some batting depth, ahead of Munaf Patel.
England recalled all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in place of Chris Tremlett, while captain Paul Collingwood had recovered from his stomach complaints.
The Indian openers were once again restricted early on, with Broad and Jimmy Anderson finding their range, and not allowing India's strokemakers any freedom.
When Sourav Ganguly attempted a pull off Anderson, it simply looped to Ian Bell at square leg. Dinesh Karthik handed Broad his first wicket of the day, chasing a short and wide delivery and succeeding only in nicking it through to Prior.
The following over 'Freddie' Flintoff was called on to bowl, and it did not take long for him to re-acquaint himself with his home crowd, when he had dangerman Rahul Dravid fishing outside his off stump to give Prior another victim.
Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh then held the fort for the next 17.3 overs. It was not as fluent a partnership as one may expect from two silky and attractive batsmen. Flintoff was not making life any easier for them, his first five overs included three maidens. How happy the Indians must have been when he was cleared to play.
Despite not being at his best Tendulkar brought his fifty up off 81 balls, but he had no sooner reached the landmark, before Kevin Pietersen was brought on and duly dismissed the little master. It was in all honesty, nothing short of a long hop that Tendulkar mis-timed, and was snaffled by the bucket-like hands of Flintoff at deep square leg.
Yuvraj continued to try and build a respectable score for India but he was short of willing company at the crease. MS Dhoni fell to a typical Panesar delivery, spinning and clipping off stump, before Agarkar edged through to Prior off Broad.
Yuvraj's fifty came up in some style. Broad banged the ball in short and Yuvraj rocked back and pulled it over the boundary for a maximum. Broad had his revenge when he yorked Yuvraj on leg stump for 71 in the 45th over.
Both Zaheer (20) and Piyush Chawla (13*) made useful contributions down the order, but with only 212 on the board, India needed them to do it with the ball. Stuart Broad achieved his best ODI figures to date, registering 4-51 off his 10 overs. Anderson again impressive, and Flintoff typically measly.
India received the perfect tonic at the start of England's run chase. Alistair Cook was removed by Zaheer without scoring, and Prior cut the ball in the air to third man, where Ramesh Powar completed the catch off Agarkar. When Ian Bell left one off Agarkar that smashed into his off stump, India were understandably buoyant, the home side were 35-3. The Indians were visibly pumped up for this one, and the chat was continuous.
Pietersen looked to be settling in before mis-timing a hook shot, and Agarkar had three wickets.
Collingwood was steadying the ship, and looking good doing it. His timing was near perfect, as he punched a number of drives at the top of the bounce.
Sadly Flintoff's return with the bat was nowhere near as impressive as with the ball, and he drove aerially to Yuvraj at point. Owais Shah gloved to Karthik at short leg, before Bopara dabbed one to point and Collingwood called for a single, after a hint of indecision, Collingwood was caught short of his ground.
That brought Broad together with Bopara for the match winning partnership. The composure shown by the two youngsters, both in only their 13th game, was a joy for England fans and management alike, to see.
Broad began his cricketing life as a batsman and it is easy to see why. His punches off his back foot are rarely seen from a number 9. Bopara was efficient, solid in defence and excellent in putting the loose ball away.
So it turned out to be a heart breaking defeat from India who now face the uphill task of needing to win the remianing 3 ODI's to win the series.
India 212 Yuvraj Singh 71, Sachin Tendulkar 55 Stuart Broad 4-51, James Anderson 3-38
England 213-7 Paul Collingwood 47, Stuart Broad 45*, Ravi Bopara 43* Ajit Agarkar 4-60
England won by 3 wickets
(Cricket Web, 30/08/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4419
India remain firmly in charge
As the Third Test moves into the fifth and final day of the series, India still remain firmly on top, following a day where they refused to enforce the follow on, but set England an unimaginable 500 run chase to level the series.
Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett begun the day hoping to narrow the already extensive deficit, and managed to hang around for some 7 overs, before Kumble caught Panesar in front of his stumps, despite a rather large stride down the track.
The gap was 319 runs, and Rahul Dravid decided to put the game beyong doubt and bat for a second time, eliminating any danger of England exerting some pressure on the Indians.
The hosts then demonstrated the kind of opening assault that had been missing in the first innings. Due to Ryan Sidebottom's side strain, Chris Tremlett and Jimmy Anderson took the new ball, and to good effect. While Anderson swung the ball at good pace, Tremlett extracted good bounce, and a potentially potent opening combination was unearthed.
Anderson removed Jaffer with a ball that looked odds on to go over the top of the stumps, as he shouldered arms to a ball that thudded into his pads. Umpire Ian Howell took his time, before raising his finger to send the unfortunate Jaffer back to the changing rooms.
Dinesh Karthik was to follow soon after to Tremlett, who induced an outside edge from the opener, with Collingwood taking a smart catch in second slip.
Sachin Tendulkar made his way to the crease, in what is expected to be his last Test outing in England, to appreciative applause, and 11 balls later was making his way back.
Anderson, again, forcing the error, when Tendulkar inside edged onto his stumps leaving only one stump remaing. Anderson had 2 for 0 off his first four overs, and while it is inappropriate to suggest India were on the ropes, they were not enjoying the best of times at 11-3.
Sorav Ganguly joined his skipper in the middle, and a 65 run partnership ensued, with Ganguly the man who accumulated the majority with his typical excellent timing and placement.
The handy swing bowling of Collingwood accounted for Ganguly when he had reached 57, meanwhile Dravid was doing no more than holding his end up. When Ganguly was dismissed Dravid was on 5 off 77 balls.
Collingwood's underrated swing made for Dravid also, when he felt at a ball outside off, and snicked the ball to the solitary slip in Strauss, who took a comfortable catch.
Dhoni and Laxman both had hands in ensuring the lead was up to 500 before the declaration arrived, leaving England the unenviable task of chasing the total down in a maximum 110 overs.
The openers, Strauss and Cook, saw out the remainder of the day, which involved a testing 20 overs, in mediocre light. Cook had registered 27, and Strauss 23 respectively.
So as we enter the final day, England still require a highly unlikely 444 runs, and India 10 wickets. With this drying and wearing pitch, Anil Kumble is the one that may cause most problems for England in their quest to break numerous records and level the series.
India 664 Anil Kumble 110*, MS Dhoni 92, Dinesh Karthik 91, Sachin Tendulkar 82 James Anderson 4/182, Monty Panesar 2/159
England 345 Ian Bell 63, Paul Collingwood 62, Alistair Cook 61 Zaheer Khan 3-32, Anil Kumble 3-94, Sreesanth 2-80
India 180-6 dec Sourav Ganguly 57, VVS Laxman 46*, MS Dhoni 36 Paul Collingwood 2-24, James Anderson 2-34, Chris Tremlett 2-58
England 56-0 Alastair Cook 27*, Andrew Strauss 23*
England require another 444 runs with 10 wickets remaining
(Cricket Web, 12/08/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4341
Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett begun the day hoping to narrow the already extensive deficit, and managed to hang around for some 7 overs, before Kumble caught Panesar in front of his stumps, despite a rather large stride down the track.
The gap was 319 runs, and Rahul Dravid decided to put the game beyong doubt and bat for a second time, eliminating any danger of England exerting some pressure on the Indians.
The hosts then demonstrated the kind of opening assault that had been missing in the first innings. Due to Ryan Sidebottom's side strain, Chris Tremlett and Jimmy Anderson took the new ball, and to good effect. While Anderson swung the ball at good pace, Tremlett extracted good bounce, and a potentially potent opening combination was unearthed.
Anderson removed Jaffer with a ball that looked odds on to go over the top of the stumps, as he shouldered arms to a ball that thudded into his pads. Umpire Ian Howell took his time, before raising his finger to send the unfortunate Jaffer back to the changing rooms.
Dinesh Karthik was to follow soon after to Tremlett, who induced an outside edge from the opener, with Collingwood taking a smart catch in second slip.
Sachin Tendulkar made his way to the crease, in what is expected to be his last Test outing in England, to appreciative applause, and 11 balls later was making his way back.
Anderson, again, forcing the error, when Tendulkar inside edged onto his stumps leaving only one stump remaing. Anderson had 2 for 0 off his first four overs, and while it is inappropriate to suggest India were on the ropes, they were not enjoying the best of times at 11-3.
Sorav Ganguly joined his skipper in the middle, and a 65 run partnership ensued, with Ganguly the man who accumulated the majority with his typical excellent timing and placement.
The handy swing bowling of Collingwood accounted for Ganguly when he had reached 57, meanwhile Dravid was doing no more than holding his end up. When Ganguly was dismissed Dravid was on 5 off 77 balls.
Collingwood's underrated swing made for Dravid also, when he felt at a ball outside off, and snicked the ball to the solitary slip in Strauss, who took a comfortable catch.
Dhoni and Laxman both had hands in ensuring the lead was up to 500 before the declaration arrived, leaving England the unenviable task of chasing the total down in a maximum 110 overs.
The openers, Strauss and Cook, saw out the remainder of the day, which involved a testing 20 overs, in mediocre light. Cook had registered 27, and Strauss 23 respectively.
So as we enter the final day, England still require a highly unlikely 444 runs, and India 10 wickets. With this drying and wearing pitch, Anil Kumble is the one that may cause most problems for England in their quest to break numerous records and level the series.
India 664 Anil Kumble 110*, MS Dhoni 92, Dinesh Karthik 91, Sachin Tendulkar 82 James Anderson 4/182, Monty Panesar 2/159
England 345 Ian Bell 63, Paul Collingwood 62, Alistair Cook 61 Zaheer Khan 3-32, Anil Kumble 3-94, Sreesanth 2-80
India 180-6 dec Sourav Ganguly 57, VVS Laxman 46*, MS Dhoni 36 Paul Collingwood 2-24, James Anderson 2-34, Chris Tremlett 2-58
England 56-0 Alastair Cook 27*, Andrew Strauss 23*
England require another 444 runs with 10 wickets remaining
(Cricket Web, 12/08/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4341
England have it all to do
India had extended their overall lead to a commanding 283, before England had to bat out a testing 16 overs, of which Strauss and Cook handled successfully, finishing on 43-0.
Sachin Tendulkar top scored for the Indians with 91, while Sourav Ganguly, perhaps looking the most fluent batsman on show, made an attractive 79, before they were both rather harshly adjudged to be out by the usually excellent Simon Taufel.
Five batsmen out of India's top six passed fifty giving the scorecard a solid look, yet none of them passed a century. Karthik, Jaffer, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman all made half centuries and contributed in India's total of 481 all out.
Ryan Sidebottom was the pick of the bowlers in the morning session, constantly passing the bat of Tendulkar, and conceding a miserly seven runs in his opening nine overs. The left armer bowled beautifully and failed to get the rewards his bowling deserved.
The new ball was shared with Chris Tremlett, as Michael Vaughan thought his added bounce may be more of a potent weapon than Jimmy Anderson's swing. Ganguly, however, brought his brief spell to an end when he hooked the paceman for the only six of the day, having previously cut him uppishly through the gully region.
It was a dangerous partnership developing for England, as these two saw India into lunch with the score at 338-3.
After the break, it was to be Paul Collingwood to have a bowl, and the decision was to be justified when Tendulkar failed to play at a shot with the ball striking his front leg. The disbelief on Tendulkar's face suggested he thought the umpire had made an error of judgement. So it proved on hawkeye, showing the ball would have gone on to miss the off stump comfortably.
So a fortunate breakthrough, and it was not to prove the only one. With another promising Indian partnership building between Ganguly and the watchful, yet effective Laxman, Taufel gave another decision in favour of England. Jimmy Anderson threw one down the leg side, and Ganguly attempted a flick off his legs. An appeal went up for caught behind, but replays indicated no contact had been made, but Taufel thought otherwise.
Finally Sidebottom got some much deserved reward, inducing an edge from Mahendra Dhoni that gave Prior an easy catch. Anil Kumble was next, and he offered decent support to Laxman, whose easy on the eye strokeplay was frustrating the home side.
It was Tremlett that removed both of them. Firstly Laxman, who fell attempting a cut shot to a ball banged in reasonably short and wide, but the added bounce that Tremlett possesses undid Laxman and he edged through to Prior.
The ball that got Kumble was a good one, hitting exactly the right line and length that with respect to Kumble, would have troubled more recognised batsmen. That was eight wickets down, and five catches to Prior.
The last two wickets fell to Panesar, who plugged away all day. Both RP Singh and Sreesanth were trapped lbw. Singh's seemed a fair shout, Sreesanth may have been a tad unlucky, although one does invite trouble when opting to leave the ball that would have gone perilously close to off stump.
So an imposing lead, and a tricky spell of batting for England's openers. There were no real scares as Cook and Strauss negotiated the 16 overs expertly. Strauss was unbeaten on 21, Cook on 17. Sreesanth struggled with his run up, and did not look to be in any kind of rhythm, something India will be hoping to put right come tomorrow.
And so to tomorrow, another dry day forecasted, in front of another sell out crowd, and a day's play that could be integral to the whole of this series. Despite India not taking a wicket at the end of the day, they are still in command, and England will have to bat for the best part of two days if they are to save this Test.
England 198 Alastair Cook 43, Ian Bell 31 Zaheer Khan 4-59, Anil Kumble 3-32
India 481 Sachin Tendulkar 91, Sourav Ganguly 79, Dinesh Karthik 77 Monty Panasar 4-101, Chris Tremlett 3-80
England 43-0 Andrew Strauss 21*, Alastair Cook 17*
England trail by 240 runs with 10 wickets remaining
(Cricket Web, 29/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4286
Sachin Tendulkar top scored for the Indians with 91, while Sourav Ganguly, perhaps looking the most fluent batsman on show, made an attractive 79, before they were both rather harshly adjudged to be out by the usually excellent Simon Taufel.
Five batsmen out of India's top six passed fifty giving the scorecard a solid look, yet none of them passed a century. Karthik, Jaffer, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman all made half centuries and contributed in India's total of 481 all out.
Ryan Sidebottom was the pick of the bowlers in the morning session, constantly passing the bat of Tendulkar, and conceding a miserly seven runs in his opening nine overs. The left armer bowled beautifully and failed to get the rewards his bowling deserved.
The new ball was shared with Chris Tremlett, as Michael Vaughan thought his added bounce may be more of a potent weapon than Jimmy Anderson's swing. Ganguly, however, brought his brief spell to an end when he hooked the paceman for the only six of the day, having previously cut him uppishly through the gully region.
It was a dangerous partnership developing for England, as these two saw India into lunch with the score at 338-3.
After the break, it was to be Paul Collingwood to have a bowl, and the decision was to be justified when Tendulkar failed to play at a shot with the ball striking his front leg. The disbelief on Tendulkar's face suggested he thought the umpire had made an error of judgement. So it proved on hawkeye, showing the ball would have gone on to miss the off stump comfortably.
So a fortunate breakthrough, and it was not to prove the only one. With another promising Indian partnership building between Ganguly and the watchful, yet effective Laxman, Taufel gave another decision in favour of England. Jimmy Anderson threw one down the leg side, and Ganguly attempted a flick off his legs. An appeal went up for caught behind, but replays indicated no contact had been made, but Taufel thought otherwise.
Finally Sidebottom got some much deserved reward, inducing an edge from Mahendra Dhoni that gave Prior an easy catch. Anil Kumble was next, and he offered decent support to Laxman, whose easy on the eye strokeplay was frustrating the home side.
It was Tremlett that removed both of them. Firstly Laxman, who fell attempting a cut shot to a ball banged in reasonably short and wide, but the added bounce that Tremlett possesses undid Laxman and he edged through to Prior.
The ball that got Kumble was a good one, hitting exactly the right line and length that with respect to Kumble, would have troubled more recognised batsmen. That was eight wickets down, and five catches to Prior.
The last two wickets fell to Panesar, who plugged away all day. Both RP Singh and Sreesanth were trapped lbw. Singh's seemed a fair shout, Sreesanth may have been a tad unlucky, although one does invite trouble when opting to leave the ball that would have gone perilously close to off stump.
So an imposing lead, and a tricky spell of batting for England's openers. There were no real scares as Cook and Strauss negotiated the 16 overs expertly. Strauss was unbeaten on 21, Cook on 17. Sreesanth struggled with his run up, and did not look to be in any kind of rhythm, something India will be hoping to put right come tomorrow.
And so to tomorrow, another dry day forecasted, in front of another sell out crowd, and a day's play that could be integral to the whole of this series. Despite India not taking a wicket at the end of the day, they are still in command, and England will have to bat for the best part of two days if they are to save this Test.
England 198 Alastair Cook 43, Ian Bell 31 Zaheer Khan 4-59, Anil Kumble 3-32
India 481 Sachin Tendulkar 91, Sourav Ganguly 79, Dinesh Karthik 77 Monty Panasar 4-101, Chris Tremlett 3-80
England 43-0 Andrew Strauss 21*, Alastair Cook 17*
England trail by 240 runs with 10 wickets remaining
(Cricket Web, 29/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4286
Durham swoop for Shiv
Shivnarine Chanderpaul's torment of English bowlers is not yet finished, after he agreed to join Durham, and will be available until the Twenty20 World Championships get underway in South Africa on September 11.
Chanderpaul recently averaged a phenomonal 148.66 in the Wisden Trophy four-Test series against England, emphasising his liking to the English tracks.
Durham will be hoping his excellent form continues as they look to close the gap on the three sides above them in the County Championship, aswell as seek promotion from Division 2 of the Pro40 league. He will also have the chance to influence a Lords Final, when Durham take on Hampshire in the Friends Provident Trophy on August 18.
The Guyanese left-hander will replace Kiwi Scott Styris, who ended his spell at the Riverside a week before his contract was due to expire, because of a series of niggling injuries.
In addition to the obvious quality and quantity of runs it is hoped he will bring to Durham, Chanderpaul will demonstrate what it takes to become such a world class operator, and give a lesson to the younger players at Durham in professionalism. It will be his first stint of first-class cricket for a club outside of the Caribbean, and he could make his debut as early as Sunday, when they play Surrey in the Pro40.
(Cricket Web, 27/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2016&NewsIDAuto=4280
Chanderpaul recently averaged a phenomonal 148.66 in the Wisden Trophy four-Test series against England, emphasising his liking to the English tracks.
Durham will be hoping his excellent form continues as they look to close the gap on the three sides above them in the County Championship, aswell as seek promotion from Division 2 of the Pro40 league. He will also have the chance to influence a Lords Final, when Durham take on Hampshire in the Friends Provident Trophy on August 18.
The Guyanese left-hander will replace Kiwi Scott Styris, who ended his spell at the Riverside a week before his contract was due to expire, because of a series of niggling injuries.
In addition to the obvious quality and quantity of runs it is hoped he will bring to Durham, Chanderpaul will demonstrate what it takes to become such a world class operator, and give a lesson to the younger players at Durham in professionalism. It will be his first stint of first-class cricket for a club outside of the Caribbean, and he could make his debut as early as Sunday, when they play Surrey in the Pro40.
(Cricket Web, 27/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2016&NewsIDAuto=4280
Pietersen puts England in charge
England had Kevin Pietersen to thank in setting India an imposing total of 380, if they are to gain victory in this First Test match.
India struck back in the first session, RP singh picking up the wickets of Vaughan, Collingwood, and Bell, before Pietersen and Prior combined for a crucial 119 run partnership, as England were bowled out for 282.
Pietersen struck 14 fours and one six in his innings, as he batted England into a winning position.
India began their reply confidently, but lost the key wickets of Dravid and Tendulkar, who both went before the close to leave India with an uphill task on the final day. Dinesh Karthik and Sourav Ganguly batted well and currently involved in a 53 run partnership. India closed the day on 137-3, 243 runs short of their target.
The day started with Vaughan and Pietersen looking to push England's lead on, with Vaughan looking the more solid of the two. Apart from one or two lbw shouts and the odd one that beat the bat, England moved reasonably comfortably to 100-2, when RP Singh got one to nip back on Vaughan, who was on the drive, and deflect off his inside edge and onto the off stump, which duly cartwheeled out of the ground. Singh had moved to bowling round the wicket, to offer a different angle, and the plan worked perfectly.
If the wicket was expected to keep Pietersen in his shell, it did not look it, as his next two balls off Zaheer Khan disappeared to the boundary, as the lead moved to 207.
RP Singh claimed another wicket in his next over, this time catching Paul Collingwood by surprise with an excellently directed bouncer that Collingwood could only glove to second slip, where VVS Laxman took a comfortable catch. Singh bowled well throughout the day, finding good lines with well controlled swing bowling.
Ian Bell only had time for a glance off his legs and a well executed pull, before he fell to RP Singh, attempting another pull shot, the ball failed to bounce as much as Bell expected and he inside edged onto his stumps for the second time in the Test.
Pietersen and new bat Matt Prior saw England through to lunch with some sensible batting, and a lead of 258 intact. What happened after lunch was a flurry of runs. Kevin Pietersen seemed intent on playing a shot a ball and with great dividends. He looked in fine nick, exceptionally strong down the ground, and was perhaps a little surprised by the lack of bouncers directed at him, following one or two dismissals in this fashion against the West Indies.
Instead Pietersen was free to plant his front foot down the pitch, with his notoriously large stride, and drive through the offside at will. Matt Prior was offering good support and also played his shots with attacking intent when the chance offered itself.
Prior stuck to executing textbook drives, while Pietersen demonstrated his flamboyant side, his trademark flamingo flick through straight mid wicket certainly kept the Lords crowd entertained.
The 100 partnership came off only 128 balls, as Pietersen edged closer to another century. On 93 he came dancing down the track to Anil Kumble, and hit him straight back over his head for six. His wait for the century was a mere two balls, flicking Kumble nonchalantly through mid wicket off his back foot to bring up his ninth Test century. His celebrations were that of a player pumped up, as he lapped up the applause from the crowd.
Prior had reached 42 before he edged a ball that Zaheer got to go across him, and Dhoni took a smart diving catch to his right. It was a breakthrough India needed to open up an end to England's tail. Chris Tremlett bagged a pair, the ball squeezing between bat and pad and rolling onto his stumps first ball, to leave Zaheer on a hat-trick.
Ryan Sidebottom was the next man in, and Zaheer delivered an excellent full inswinging delivery that Sidebottom dug out efficiently.
Pietersen had been criticised in the past for how he had batted with the tail, but he kept it simple and effective here. When the field was brought up on the fifth and six balls of the over, he would look to hit a boundary, failing that he would happily take a single.
When he failed to get a single off the last ball of Zaheer's over, Sidebottom was exposed to the experienced Kumble with only one result likely. Kumble pushed the ball across Sidebottom as he attempted to force it off the back foot and edged to Dravid at slip. Kumble was using more googlies than usual to slant the ball across England's left handed tail enders.
Pietersen finally fell for 134 off 213 balls going for a big shot off the impressive RP Singh. The field was up to stop him gaining a single to keep the strike as he endeavoured to hit the ball over deep mid wicket. He succeeded only in bottom edging the ball onto his middle stump. An end to what had been a compelling and potentially decisive innings.
RP Singh then deservedly got his name onto the Lords honours board when he produced an inswinger to Monty Panesar who was struck on his pad in front of his wickets.
How were India to set about their chase ? Well, Dinesh Karthik began in a positive frame of mind, while Wasim Jaffer was content to bide his time and get himself set. Karthik's first 20 runs came by the way of five fours.
Jaffer will have been exceptionally disappointed by the tame nature of his dismissal. He was not in any great trouble, the England openers were not getting the ball to swing as much as they had in the first innings. Jimmy Anderson had returned for his second spell, this time changing to the Nursery End, and drifted one onto Jaffer's pads, who flicked the ball in the air to Pietersen at mid wicket to take an easy catch low down.
India captain Rahul Dravid made his way out to the middle, England obviously recognising the urgency to get him early, with his adept powers of concentration.
He cut his first ball savagely to the point boundary for four, then guided his third ball down to the vacant third man area. Dravid had a start.
Chris Tremlett had been brought into the attack, as the swing bowlers were not finding the conditions entirely conducive to their styles. Tremlett was to present a different proposition by banging the ball in back of a length, forcing the batsman back, and acquiring appreciable bounce.
The bounce must have caused umpire Simon Taufel one or two concerns when Dravid was wrapped on the pads by Tremlett and the England players appealed excitedly. After one or two seconds of consideration he raised his finger to give England a major boost. Dravid could perhaps consider himself a tad unfortunate, as replays showed he was struck marginally outside the line of off stump.
Panesar was getting the odd ball to turn sharply, but Tendulkar resembled a man full of self confidence. A well timed push off the back foot to Panesar raced away to the cover boundary which matched any of Pietersen's blows for timing.
Monty was to gain his revenge. Tendulkar was his first dismissal in Test cricket in Nagpur, and he got him again here with a dismissal of unerring similarity. He delivered from round the wicket, the ball going straight on with the arm and hitting Tendulkar on his front pad before he had got his bat down near the ball. This time it was umpire Bucknor who made the decision to send Panesar and his team mates into ecstasy. His absolute joy at dismissing his hero was evident for all to see, with a dance more eccentric than usual.
It was the two big wickets before the close of play that England will have hoped for, but there is still plenty of important wickets for them to take before they can win this Test.
Dinesh Karthik continued in his own way at the other end and reached an accomplished half century off 101 balls. He will be only too aware that if India are to get anywhere the target, he must now go on and complete a big score.
Sourav Ganguly offered Ian Bell a very tough chance at silly mid off from Panesar, but on the whole will have been happy with how he has batted so far, and finished 36 not out. With VVS Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to come, the Indians will still harbour hopes of a successful and historical chase.
The weather, as ever, may be the overriding factor in this Test. With more rain scheduled tomorrow, the cricketing world will be hoping not too much, as this promises to be a thrilling game. England need 7 wickets, India need a further 247 runs, who is going to step up and win the game for his side.
England 298 Andrew Strauss 96, Michael Vaughan 79 Sreesanth 3-67, RP Singh 2-58
India 201 Wasim Jaffer 58, Sachin Tendulkar 37, Sourav Ganguly 34 James Anderson 5-43, Ryan Sidebottom 4-65
England 282 Kevin Pietersen 134, Matt Prior 42, Michael Vaughan 30 RP Singh 5-59, Zaheer Khan 4-79
India 137-3 Dinesh Karthik 56*, Sourav Ganguly 36*
(Cricket Web, 22/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4251
India struck back in the first session, RP singh picking up the wickets of Vaughan, Collingwood, and Bell, before Pietersen and Prior combined for a crucial 119 run partnership, as England were bowled out for 282.
Pietersen struck 14 fours and one six in his innings, as he batted England into a winning position.
India began their reply confidently, but lost the key wickets of Dravid and Tendulkar, who both went before the close to leave India with an uphill task on the final day. Dinesh Karthik and Sourav Ganguly batted well and currently involved in a 53 run partnership. India closed the day on 137-3, 243 runs short of their target.
The day started with Vaughan and Pietersen looking to push England's lead on, with Vaughan looking the more solid of the two. Apart from one or two lbw shouts and the odd one that beat the bat, England moved reasonably comfortably to 100-2, when RP Singh got one to nip back on Vaughan, who was on the drive, and deflect off his inside edge and onto the off stump, which duly cartwheeled out of the ground. Singh had moved to bowling round the wicket, to offer a different angle, and the plan worked perfectly.
If the wicket was expected to keep Pietersen in his shell, it did not look it, as his next two balls off Zaheer Khan disappeared to the boundary, as the lead moved to 207.
RP Singh claimed another wicket in his next over, this time catching Paul Collingwood by surprise with an excellently directed bouncer that Collingwood could only glove to second slip, where VVS Laxman took a comfortable catch. Singh bowled well throughout the day, finding good lines with well controlled swing bowling.
Ian Bell only had time for a glance off his legs and a well executed pull, before he fell to RP Singh, attempting another pull shot, the ball failed to bounce as much as Bell expected and he inside edged onto his stumps for the second time in the Test.
Pietersen and new bat Matt Prior saw England through to lunch with some sensible batting, and a lead of 258 intact. What happened after lunch was a flurry of runs. Kevin Pietersen seemed intent on playing a shot a ball and with great dividends. He looked in fine nick, exceptionally strong down the ground, and was perhaps a little surprised by the lack of bouncers directed at him, following one or two dismissals in this fashion against the West Indies.
Instead Pietersen was free to plant his front foot down the pitch, with his notoriously large stride, and drive through the offside at will. Matt Prior was offering good support and also played his shots with attacking intent when the chance offered itself.
Prior stuck to executing textbook drives, while Pietersen demonstrated his flamboyant side, his trademark flamingo flick through straight mid wicket certainly kept the Lords crowd entertained.
The 100 partnership came off only 128 balls, as Pietersen edged closer to another century. On 93 he came dancing down the track to Anil Kumble, and hit him straight back over his head for six. His wait for the century was a mere two balls, flicking Kumble nonchalantly through mid wicket off his back foot to bring up his ninth Test century. His celebrations were that of a player pumped up, as he lapped up the applause from the crowd.
Prior had reached 42 before he edged a ball that Zaheer got to go across him, and Dhoni took a smart diving catch to his right. It was a breakthrough India needed to open up an end to England's tail. Chris Tremlett bagged a pair, the ball squeezing between bat and pad and rolling onto his stumps first ball, to leave Zaheer on a hat-trick.
Ryan Sidebottom was the next man in, and Zaheer delivered an excellent full inswinging delivery that Sidebottom dug out efficiently.
Pietersen had been criticised in the past for how he had batted with the tail, but he kept it simple and effective here. When the field was brought up on the fifth and six balls of the over, he would look to hit a boundary, failing that he would happily take a single.
When he failed to get a single off the last ball of Zaheer's over, Sidebottom was exposed to the experienced Kumble with only one result likely. Kumble pushed the ball across Sidebottom as he attempted to force it off the back foot and edged to Dravid at slip. Kumble was using more googlies than usual to slant the ball across England's left handed tail enders.
Pietersen finally fell for 134 off 213 balls going for a big shot off the impressive RP Singh. The field was up to stop him gaining a single to keep the strike as he endeavoured to hit the ball over deep mid wicket. He succeeded only in bottom edging the ball onto his middle stump. An end to what had been a compelling and potentially decisive innings.
RP Singh then deservedly got his name onto the Lords honours board when he produced an inswinger to Monty Panesar who was struck on his pad in front of his wickets.
How were India to set about their chase ? Well, Dinesh Karthik began in a positive frame of mind, while Wasim Jaffer was content to bide his time and get himself set. Karthik's first 20 runs came by the way of five fours.
Jaffer will have been exceptionally disappointed by the tame nature of his dismissal. He was not in any great trouble, the England openers were not getting the ball to swing as much as they had in the first innings. Jimmy Anderson had returned for his second spell, this time changing to the Nursery End, and drifted one onto Jaffer's pads, who flicked the ball in the air to Pietersen at mid wicket to take an easy catch low down.
India captain Rahul Dravid made his way out to the middle, England obviously recognising the urgency to get him early, with his adept powers of concentration.
He cut his first ball savagely to the point boundary for four, then guided his third ball down to the vacant third man area. Dravid had a start.
Chris Tremlett had been brought into the attack, as the swing bowlers were not finding the conditions entirely conducive to their styles. Tremlett was to present a different proposition by banging the ball in back of a length, forcing the batsman back, and acquiring appreciable bounce.
The bounce must have caused umpire Simon Taufel one or two concerns when Dravid was wrapped on the pads by Tremlett and the England players appealed excitedly. After one or two seconds of consideration he raised his finger to give England a major boost. Dravid could perhaps consider himself a tad unfortunate, as replays showed he was struck marginally outside the line of off stump.
Panesar was getting the odd ball to turn sharply, but Tendulkar resembled a man full of self confidence. A well timed push off the back foot to Panesar raced away to the cover boundary which matched any of Pietersen's blows for timing.
Monty was to gain his revenge. Tendulkar was his first dismissal in Test cricket in Nagpur, and he got him again here with a dismissal of unerring similarity. He delivered from round the wicket, the ball going straight on with the arm and hitting Tendulkar on his front pad before he had got his bat down near the ball. This time it was umpire Bucknor who made the decision to send Panesar and his team mates into ecstasy. His absolute joy at dismissing his hero was evident for all to see, with a dance more eccentric than usual.
It was the two big wickets before the close of play that England will have hoped for, but there is still plenty of important wickets for them to take before they can win this Test.
Dinesh Karthik continued in his own way at the other end and reached an accomplished half century off 101 balls. He will be only too aware that if India are to get anywhere the target, he must now go on and complete a big score.
Sourav Ganguly offered Ian Bell a very tough chance at silly mid off from Panesar, but on the whole will have been happy with how he has batted so far, and finished 36 not out. With VVS Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to come, the Indians will still harbour hopes of a successful and historical chase.
The weather, as ever, may be the overriding factor in this Test. With more rain scheduled tomorrow, the cricketing world will be hoping not too much, as this promises to be a thrilling game. England need 7 wickets, India need a further 247 runs, who is going to step up and win the game for his side.
England 298 Andrew Strauss 96, Michael Vaughan 79 Sreesanth 3-67, RP Singh 2-58
India 201 Wasim Jaffer 58, Sachin Tendulkar 37, Sourav Ganguly 34 James Anderson 5-43, Ryan Sidebottom 4-65
England 282 Kevin Pietersen 134, Matt Prior 42, Michael Vaughan 30 RP Singh 5-59, Zaheer Khan 4-79
India 137-3 Dinesh Karthik 56*, Sourav Ganguly 36*
(Cricket Web, 22/07/2007)
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Lions roar back with Bresnan
With 1,454 runs scored and only 20 wickets taken when the game between Essex and Nottinghamshire concluded on Wednesday, there was a degree of expectation surrounding this tour match, as to who would make the most of what was expected to be another batters paradise.
England Lions opener Joe Denly displayed the kind of positive strokeplay that one would associate with such a good track, that recently saw four centuries and two double centuries in the aforementioned game. However, it was all-rounder Tim Bresnan that was to star with the bat for the home side later in the day when he exhibited some solid hitting in a 129 run partnership for the eighth wicket with Stuart Broad, who scored his maiden first-class fifty.
England's second string were in trouble of achieving a well below par total when Bresnan came in, but instead he plundered a tremendous century. Often underrated as simply a big hitter down the order, Bresnan validated the subtler side to his game, with a sensibly controlled yet positive innings, to finish the day unbeaten on 116.
India fought back admirably after England's bright and breezy start, and picked up wickets consistently throughout the afternoon session, to wrestle the initiative from the batting side, that was until Bresnan and Broad gave England a competitive first innings total.
With Rahul Dravid sitting this game out as a precaution, Sachin Tendulkar took charge of the side, and his first job was to lose the toss to opposing captain Andrew Strauss, who elected to make first use of this batting track.
Strauss himself, in desperate need of a big score ahead of the First Test next week, will then have been disappointed to be defeated by Zaheer Khan, who pitched the ball up and angled it into the skipper's off stump, and sent it cartwheeling towards Mahendra Dhoni, for 1.
Owais Shah will have been in confident mood following the ODI's, where he was one of very few successes on the England side. He struck two fours in his first five balls, then he got suckered into attempting a hook off Sree Sreesanth, which he top edged down to fine leg for Zaheer to take the catch.
Meanwhile Denly was simply out there enjoying himself, punishing anything over pitched with an array of sumptuous front foot drives. In one Zaheer over, he stroked the experienced seamer for five fours, three through the off side, and two on the leg side.
Denly has made quite an impression on the County scene so far this season, he has waited in the wings for his chance to prove his capabilities at Kent, and this was reward for his excellent start. He currently averages in excess of 50 in his 20 first-class innings.
Jon Trott and the Kent opener then put together a partnership of 80 in only 18 overs, as the run rate continued to increase.
Trott, understandably looked a little flustered on his only England showings so far, against the West Indies in Twenty20 (a form of cricket which is too crude to judge a player). Here he was much more settled, given time to play himself in before imposing his style, looking particularly strong through the on side.
At lunch the Lions had scored at 5.12 runs per over, in reaching their score of 128-2, and India's bowling had been inconsistent.
Ramesh Powar had managed one over just before lunch, and he continued on resumption. It was the off spinner who managed to remove Denly, as he skipped down the pitch and was slightly deceived by Powar's flight, and failed to get to the pitch of the delivery, gifting a comfortable stumping to Dhoni.
It sparked somewhat of a mini collapse for England Lions, wicket-keeper Tim Ambrose's stay at the crease was brief, when Zaheer Khan returned for his third spell. Firstly Trott drove at a wide one, enabling Sourav Ganguly to pocket a catch at first slip, then Ambrose drove at a full pitched ball to deflect it into the hands of Dhoni. Disappointing for the Warwickshire keeper, who is in fantastic form this season, averaging 72.42 in the County Championship.
Adil Rashid was next in, and clever bowling again from Powar forced Rashid to drive too early at a well flighted delivery giving the bowler a return catch.
So at 185-6, India were in control, yet what has blighted them in the past has been their inability to see of the tail, and the Lions still had Ravi Bopara in. He was continually assessing the situation, remaining patient for his chance to hit boundaries.
One can only suspect his concentration had dwindled when Tendulkar brought himself on for the last over before tea. Bopara flicked the ball into the grasp of Dinesh Karthik, who held a sharp chance.
Tim Bresnan was progressing nicely, he hit the only six of the day lofting Powar over deep mid wicket, and was 25 not out at tea.
It is evident that India's attack lacks a bowler with real penetrative pace, that a Brett Lee or a Lasith Malinga possess, and it showed in the evening session. Ishant Sharma had struggled with no-balls throughout the day, breaching the front line on no less than 15 occasions, testament perhaps to the nerves of the 18 year old. Zaheer was struggling with his line, and Sreesanth, though he did beat the bat (Denly's in particular) on occasions earlier in the day , will be looking to improve when Test cricket comes around.
Bresnan's free scoring continued, with able assistance from Stuart Broad, who proved that he is not only a more than useful seam bowler, but he has acquired some of his dad's qualities with the bat, that he had so far not managed to demonstrate to such effect.
Bresnan, had only one first-class century to his name before this game, and claimed his hundred with a four flicked elegantly through mid wicket, England had now regained some control of this game.
As we entered the final 5 overs of the day, the Lions could not quite manage to see the evening session out without losing a wicket. Sreesanth was rewarded for his effort with his second wicket of the day, when Broad drove aerially to Yuvraj at point, who made no mistake.
Tremlett assisted Bresnan in seeing it through to the close. England had recovered from a precarious position to be healthily placed at 379-8.
England Lions 379-8 off 90 overs Bresnan 116*, Denly 83, Broad 50, Trott 46, Zaheer 3-99.
(Cricket Web, 13/07/2007)
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England Lions opener Joe Denly displayed the kind of positive strokeplay that one would associate with such a good track, that recently saw four centuries and two double centuries in the aforementioned game. However, it was all-rounder Tim Bresnan that was to star with the bat for the home side later in the day when he exhibited some solid hitting in a 129 run partnership for the eighth wicket with Stuart Broad, who scored his maiden first-class fifty.
England's second string were in trouble of achieving a well below par total when Bresnan came in, but instead he plundered a tremendous century. Often underrated as simply a big hitter down the order, Bresnan validated the subtler side to his game, with a sensibly controlled yet positive innings, to finish the day unbeaten on 116.
India fought back admirably after England's bright and breezy start, and picked up wickets consistently throughout the afternoon session, to wrestle the initiative from the batting side, that was until Bresnan and Broad gave England a competitive first innings total.
With Rahul Dravid sitting this game out as a precaution, Sachin Tendulkar took charge of the side, and his first job was to lose the toss to opposing captain Andrew Strauss, who elected to make first use of this batting track.
Strauss himself, in desperate need of a big score ahead of the First Test next week, will then have been disappointed to be defeated by Zaheer Khan, who pitched the ball up and angled it into the skipper's off stump, and sent it cartwheeling towards Mahendra Dhoni, for 1.
Owais Shah will have been in confident mood following the ODI's, where he was one of very few successes on the England side. He struck two fours in his first five balls, then he got suckered into attempting a hook off Sree Sreesanth, which he top edged down to fine leg for Zaheer to take the catch.
Meanwhile Denly was simply out there enjoying himself, punishing anything over pitched with an array of sumptuous front foot drives. In one Zaheer over, he stroked the experienced seamer for five fours, three through the off side, and two on the leg side.
Denly has made quite an impression on the County scene so far this season, he has waited in the wings for his chance to prove his capabilities at Kent, and this was reward for his excellent start. He currently averages in excess of 50 in his 20 first-class innings.
Jon Trott and the Kent opener then put together a partnership of 80 in only 18 overs, as the run rate continued to increase.
Trott, understandably looked a little flustered on his only England showings so far, against the West Indies in Twenty20 (a form of cricket which is too crude to judge a player). Here he was much more settled, given time to play himself in before imposing his style, looking particularly strong through the on side.
At lunch the Lions had scored at 5.12 runs per over, in reaching their score of 128-2, and India's bowling had been inconsistent.
Ramesh Powar had managed one over just before lunch, and he continued on resumption. It was the off spinner who managed to remove Denly, as he skipped down the pitch and was slightly deceived by Powar's flight, and failed to get to the pitch of the delivery, gifting a comfortable stumping to Dhoni.
It sparked somewhat of a mini collapse for England Lions, wicket-keeper Tim Ambrose's stay at the crease was brief, when Zaheer Khan returned for his third spell. Firstly Trott drove at a wide one, enabling Sourav Ganguly to pocket a catch at first slip, then Ambrose drove at a full pitched ball to deflect it into the hands of Dhoni. Disappointing for the Warwickshire keeper, who is in fantastic form this season, averaging 72.42 in the County Championship.
Adil Rashid was next in, and clever bowling again from Powar forced Rashid to drive too early at a well flighted delivery giving the bowler a return catch.
So at 185-6, India were in control, yet what has blighted them in the past has been their inability to see of the tail, and the Lions still had Ravi Bopara in. He was continually assessing the situation, remaining patient for his chance to hit boundaries.
One can only suspect his concentration had dwindled when Tendulkar brought himself on for the last over before tea. Bopara flicked the ball into the grasp of Dinesh Karthik, who held a sharp chance.
Tim Bresnan was progressing nicely, he hit the only six of the day lofting Powar over deep mid wicket, and was 25 not out at tea.
It is evident that India's attack lacks a bowler with real penetrative pace, that a Brett Lee or a Lasith Malinga possess, and it showed in the evening session. Ishant Sharma had struggled with no-balls throughout the day, breaching the front line on no less than 15 occasions, testament perhaps to the nerves of the 18 year old. Zaheer was struggling with his line, and Sreesanth, though he did beat the bat (Denly's in particular) on occasions earlier in the day , will be looking to improve when Test cricket comes around.
Bresnan's free scoring continued, with able assistance from Stuart Broad, who proved that he is not only a more than useful seam bowler, but he has acquired some of his dad's qualities with the bat, that he had so far not managed to demonstrate to such effect.
Bresnan, had only one first-class century to his name before this game, and claimed his hundred with a four flicked elegantly through mid wicket, England had now regained some control of this game.
As we entered the final 5 overs of the day, the Lions could not quite manage to see the evening session out without losing a wicket. Sreesanth was rewarded for his effort with his second wicket of the day, when Broad drove aerially to Yuvraj at point, who made no mistake.
Tremlett assisted Bresnan in seeing it through to the close. England had recovered from a precarious position to be healthily placed at 379-8.
England Lions 379-8 off 90 overs Bresnan 116*, Denly 83, Broad 50, Trott 46, Zaheer 3-99.
(Cricket Web, 13/07/2007)
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Gayle shows West Indies the way
The rain may have interrupted this game, but not enough to interrupt West Indies impressive recent one-day form, despite being pushed right to the very end from a stubborn Scottish side.
Following on from their 10 wicket demolition of Holland, Chris Gayle led his troops from the front in registering their second win of this tournament, but it was almost too close for comfort, the win coming off the penultimate ball of the day.
Scotland would not have thought they had posted a healthy enough total off their 30 overs, with 152-7 on the board, but West Indies did their utmost to keep them in the game, once the opening partnership of 95 ended. Spinner Majid Haq was Scotland's star bowler and almost turned the game around, with an outstanding spell of 4-28 off his 6 overs, but unfortunately for him, it proved to be insufficient.
The game was only 2.2 overs old, after Gayle had inserted Scotland, when the first rain stoppage arrived. Once back on the field it did not take Daren Powell long to remove both openers and continue his excellent form and rhythm that he has found in the one-dayers. It is this form that has seen him sign for Hampshire (subject to approval from the WICB) in place of Stuart Clark who will not be returning from Australia.
Navdeep Poonia was Scotland's stand out batsman. He may be struggling to break through into Warwickshire's first eleven, but here he demonstrated his talent with forceful drives off both front and back foot, and his partnership with his captain Ryan Watson was offering signs of real hope, until Ravi Rampaul got Watson to steer the ball into Dwayne Smith's hands at second slip for 21.
Poonia, still only 21 years old, and Omer Hussain then took the score into three figures without any further mishaps, that was until Fidel Edwards was introduced. He got Poonia caught behind, fending off one of his typical short fast deliveries for 40, then in his next over wrapped Hussain on his pads to win the decision of the umpire.
With 5 overs left of the 30 over innings, rain intervened once more, with the score at 111-5.
A fantastic six from Blain in the final over off Powell, and a flurry from McCallum, took their final total to 152-7 off the 30 overs. With Duckworth-Lewis's calculations taken into account, the target for West Indies was 165 from 30.
That looked a formality as Chris Gayle and Devon Smith were quickly into their stride, and after the first 10 overs they had reached 53 without loss, Gayle in particular, looking in imperious form. His bat was soon to be raised in recognition of his 33rd ODI fifty.
Drinks brought a welcome relief for Scotland, as West Indies had cruised to 94-0 off 19 overs, and with 10 wickets still in hand, the run rate required of 6.45 seemed a mere formality.
The over following the break brought the opening wicket. Smith swept a ball from Haq, but failed to make good enough contact, and the ball looped to slip.
The run rate rose to 7 an over, and Haq again struck, this time twice in two balls, bowling Morton for 8, then inducing a false stroke, first ball, from Lendl Simmons, who played on. There was more excitement to come on his hat-trick ball, yet not the result you would expect.
The field closed in, and the anticipation grew, then Dwayne Smith took strike and duly pummelled the ball out of the ground over long off for a big six, signalling his intentions. However when he tried to hit Watson back over his head in the next over, West Indies lost another wicket, and Smith was gone caught and bowled for that solitary 6.
Denesh Ramdin was next in, and next out, in similar fashion to Simmons, and again to Haq. An attempt to run the ball down to third man, saw him deflect the ball onto his stumps, and Haq had four wickets to his name, for the first time in ODI's.
With 33 required off the remaining 24 balls, West Indies seemed intent on throwing the game away, the pressure of the situation proving too much for young Austin Richards. He wandered from his crease and missed the ball off Watson and was stumped for 2, and in this passage of play West Indies had lost all six wickets for 38 runs, to produce an unlikely tense finish.
Despite Gayle's cool exterior, he must have been utterly bewildered by what was taking place down at the other end, and he knew if they were going to get home, then he had to show the way.
A six over cover from Gayle, and four leg byes in the next over eased the pressure, and when nine was required in the last over, Darren Sammy smashed a four through cover, to induce heavy sighs of relief, felt all round the Caribbean.
Sammy completed the win with a one down to fine leg with only a ball to spare. Not as convincing as it could and probably should have been, but West Indies are getting that winning feeling back.
They are indeed indebted in this game to Chris Gayle, who remained composed, while all around lost their heads. He finished on 85 not out off 94 balls, and Sammy's innings was also crucial at the death, closing on 18 not out.
Scotland 152-7 off 30 overs Poonia 40, McCallum 27, Watson 21, Powell 3-38, Edwards 2-17
West Indies 165-6 off 29.5 overs Gayle 85*, D.S.Smith 32, Haq 4-28, Watson 2-21
West Indies won by 4 wickets
(Cricket Web, 12/07/2007)
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Following on from their 10 wicket demolition of Holland, Chris Gayle led his troops from the front in registering their second win of this tournament, but it was almost too close for comfort, the win coming off the penultimate ball of the day.
Scotland would not have thought they had posted a healthy enough total off their 30 overs, with 152-7 on the board, but West Indies did their utmost to keep them in the game, once the opening partnership of 95 ended. Spinner Majid Haq was Scotland's star bowler and almost turned the game around, with an outstanding spell of 4-28 off his 6 overs, but unfortunately for him, it proved to be insufficient.
The game was only 2.2 overs old, after Gayle had inserted Scotland, when the first rain stoppage arrived. Once back on the field it did not take Daren Powell long to remove both openers and continue his excellent form and rhythm that he has found in the one-dayers. It is this form that has seen him sign for Hampshire (subject to approval from the WICB) in place of Stuart Clark who will not be returning from Australia.
Navdeep Poonia was Scotland's stand out batsman. He may be struggling to break through into Warwickshire's first eleven, but here he demonstrated his talent with forceful drives off both front and back foot, and his partnership with his captain Ryan Watson was offering signs of real hope, until Ravi Rampaul got Watson to steer the ball into Dwayne Smith's hands at second slip for 21.
Poonia, still only 21 years old, and Omer Hussain then took the score into three figures without any further mishaps, that was until Fidel Edwards was introduced. He got Poonia caught behind, fending off one of his typical short fast deliveries for 40, then in his next over wrapped Hussain on his pads to win the decision of the umpire.
With 5 overs left of the 30 over innings, rain intervened once more, with the score at 111-5.
A fantastic six from Blain in the final over off Powell, and a flurry from McCallum, took their final total to 152-7 off the 30 overs. With Duckworth-Lewis's calculations taken into account, the target for West Indies was 165 from 30.
That looked a formality as Chris Gayle and Devon Smith were quickly into their stride, and after the first 10 overs they had reached 53 without loss, Gayle in particular, looking in imperious form. His bat was soon to be raised in recognition of his 33rd ODI fifty.
Drinks brought a welcome relief for Scotland, as West Indies had cruised to 94-0 off 19 overs, and with 10 wickets still in hand, the run rate required of 6.45 seemed a mere formality.
The over following the break brought the opening wicket. Smith swept a ball from Haq, but failed to make good enough contact, and the ball looped to slip.
The run rate rose to 7 an over, and Haq again struck, this time twice in two balls, bowling Morton for 8, then inducing a false stroke, first ball, from Lendl Simmons, who played on. There was more excitement to come on his hat-trick ball, yet not the result you would expect.
The field closed in, and the anticipation grew, then Dwayne Smith took strike and duly pummelled the ball out of the ground over long off for a big six, signalling his intentions. However when he tried to hit Watson back over his head in the next over, West Indies lost another wicket, and Smith was gone caught and bowled for that solitary 6.
Denesh Ramdin was next in, and next out, in similar fashion to Simmons, and again to Haq. An attempt to run the ball down to third man, saw him deflect the ball onto his stumps, and Haq had four wickets to his name, for the first time in ODI's.
With 33 required off the remaining 24 balls, West Indies seemed intent on throwing the game away, the pressure of the situation proving too much for young Austin Richards. He wandered from his crease and missed the ball off Watson and was stumped for 2, and in this passage of play West Indies had lost all six wickets for 38 runs, to produce an unlikely tense finish.
Despite Gayle's cool exterior, he must have been utterly bewildered by what was taking place down at the other end, and he knew if they were going to get home, then he had to show the way.
A six over cover from Gayle, and four leg byes in the next over eased the pressure, and when nine was required in the last over, Darren Sammy smashed a four through cover, to induce heavy sighs of relief, felt all round the Caribbean.
Sammy completed the win with a one down to fine leg with only a ball to spare. Not as convincing as it could and probably should have been, but West Indies are getting that winning feeling back.
They are indeed indebted in this game to Chris Gayle, who remained composed, while all around lost their heads. He finished on 85 not out off 94 balls, and Sammy's innings was also crucial at the death, closing on 18 not out.
Scotland 152-7 off 30 overs Poonia 40, McCallum 27, Watson 21, Powell 3-38, Edwards 2-17
West Indies 165-6 off 29.5 overs Gayle 85*, D.S.Smith 32, Haq 4-28, Watson 2-21
West Indies won by 4 wickets
(Cricket Web, 12/07/2007)
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Sri Lanka secure series victory
Sri Lanka eventually hammered the final nail into Bangladesh's coffin today, despite a record partnership in Test cricket for Bangladesh, between Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim, who accumulated 191 for the sixth wicket.
Bangladesh started the day on 69-4, with Sri Lanka no doubt hopeful of a Bangladesh collapse, that has blighted their Test match cricket so far, with disturbing regularity.
The collapse was to arrive later in the day, but for the large majority of the day, Murali and co could not find the answer to dislodge Bangladesh skipper Ashraful, who finished unbeaten on 129, or his willing ally Rahim (80).
Wicket-keeper Rahim was playing in only his third Test, and made his way to the crease early in the day. Fernando had tested Habibul Bashar out with a short ball, which he uncontrollably pulled for four, before following it up with a fast full length ball that Bashar had no answer to.
At 78-5, one could not help but think that lunch time would coincide with the close of play. However, that was not taking into account the style and quality of play that was to be demonstrated by the two Bangladeshi youngsters.
With their well known tendency to play unnecessary extravagant shots, sensible cricket was the order of the day, as they so capably did.
The expansive strokeplay was put to one side, and the patience to wait for loose deliveries was rewarded in this record breaking stand.
Any claims that Sri Lanka currently possess the finest bowling attack in the world, looked a little off the mark during this partnership. Ashraful and Rahim played Murali with great skill and use of footwork, while Lasith Malinga and his fellow pacemen could get no life out of a pitch that offered very little in the way of pace or movement.
With the recent promotion of Shiv Chanderpaul up West Indies ODI batting order, you have the feeling that Ashraful, batting in this vein, must follow suit, to give himself every chance of influencing a Test match.
By lunch Bangladesh had moved onto 174-5, Ashraful bringing up his half century off the penultimate ball of the morning session. An indication of his watchfulness is shown by the 98 balls it took him to reach it. Rahim joined him on fifty after lunch, when he came down the track to flick Murali into the leg side. With that single he became the second youngest Bangladeshi to score a half century, the man at the other end was the youngest.
Sri Lanka's patience was finally rewarded, and it came predictably from Murali, who forced Rahim to drive tamely back to him, taking him a step closer to Shane Warne's record.
The new ball was due in a little over 2 overs, and the inevitable collapse was on the horizon.
Meanwhile Ashraful had brought up his fourth Test century, to emphasise the talent this man possesses, and what can be achieved with correct application.
If Sri Lanka were relieved to break the partnership that had gone unbroken for the complete second session, they were ecstatic that the game was put to bed with only 7.2 overs of the new ball required.
Chaminda Vaas struck twice in the first over with the new ball, when he got the ball to move typically back into the right-handers to trap both Mohammad Sharif and Mashrafe Mortaza lbw.
Two kamikaze run outs followed to conclude the Bangladesh innings for 299 and complete the series victory for Sri Lanka by an innings and 90 runs.
Kumar Sangakkara was rightly awarded man of the match for his immense effort of 200 not out in Sri Lanka's only innings.
Bangladesh's spirits will have been lifted by that partnership, but it is the rest of the batting line-up that now have to put their hands up if they are to gain any pride when the third Test at Kandy gets underway on July 11.
Bangladesh 62 & 299 Ashraful 129*, Rahim 80
Sri Lanka 451-6 dec Malinda Warnapura 82, Kumar Sangakkara 200*, Mahela Jayawardene 49
Sri Lanka won by an innings and 90 runs
Cricket Web Man of the Match : K.Sangakkara 200*
(Cricket Web, 05/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2010&NewsIDAuto=4162
Bangladesh started the day on 69-4, with Sri Lanka no doubt hopeful of a Bangladesh collapse, that has blighted their Test match cricket so far, with disturbing regularity.
The collapse was to arrive later in the day, but for the large majority of the day, Murali and co could not find the answer to dislodge Bangladesh skipper Ashraful, who finished unbeaten on 129, or his willing ally Rahim (80).
Wicket-keeper Rahim was playing in only his third Test, and made his way to the crease early in the day. Fernando had tested Habibul Bashar out with a short ball, which he uncontrollably pulled for four, before following it up with a fast full length ball that Bashar had no answer to.
At 78-5, one could not help but think that lunch time would coincide with the close of play. However, that was not taking into account the style and quality of play that was to be demonstrated by the two Bangladeshi youngsters.
With their well known tendency to play unnecessary extravagant shots, sensible cricket was the order of the day, as they so capably did.
The expansive strokeplay was put to one side, and the patience to wait for loose deliveries was rewarded in this record breaking stand.
Any claims that Sri Lanka currently possess the finest bowling attack in the world, looked a little off the mark during this partnership. Ashraful and Rahim played Murali with great skill and use of footwork, while Lasith Malinga and his fellow pacemen could get no life out of a pitch that offered very little in the way of pace or movement.
With the recent promotion of Shiv Chanderpaul up West Indies ODI batting order, you have the feeling that Ashraful, batting in this vein, must follow suit, to give himself every chance of influencing a Test match.
By lunch Bangladesh had moved onto 174-5, Ashraful bringing up his half century off the penultimate ball of the morning session. An indication of his watchfulness is shown by the 98 balls it took him to reach it. Rahim joined him on fifty after lunch, when he came down the track to flick Murali into the leg side. With that single he became the second youngest Bangladeshi to score a half century, the man at the other end was the youngest.
Sri Lanka's patience was finally rewarded, and it came predictably from Murali, who forced Rahim to drive tamely back to him, taking him a step closer to Shane Warne's record.
The new ball was due in a little over 2 overs, and the inevitable collapse was on the horizon.
Meanwhile Ashraful had brought up his fourth Test century, to emphasise the talent this man possesses, and what can be achieved with correct application.
If Sri Lanka were relieved to break the partnership that had gone unbroken for the complete second session, they were ecstatic that the game was put to bed with only 7.2 overs of the new ball required.
Chaminda Vaas struck twice in the first over with the new ball, when he got the ball to move typically back into the right-handers to trap both Mohammad Sharif and Mashrafe Mortaza lbw.
Two kamikaze run outs followed to conclude the Bangladesh innings for 299 and complete the series victory for Sri Lanka by an innings and 90 runs.
Kumar Sangakkara was rightly awarded man of the match for his immense effort of 200 not out in Sri Lanka's only innings.
Bangladesh's spirits will have been lifted by that partnership, but it is the rest of the batting line-up that now have to put their hands up if they are to gain any pride when the third Test at Kandy gets underway on July 11.
Bangladesh 62 & 299 Ashraful 129*, Rahim 80
Sri Lanka 451-6 dec Malinda Warnapura 82, Kumar Sangakkara 200*, Mahela Jayawardene 49
Sri Lanka won by an innings and 90 runs
Cricket Web Man of the Match : K.Sangakkara 200*
(Cricket Web, 05/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2010&NewsIDAuto=4162
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