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SAA Provincial Challenge – Pool B

A thrilling match between Easterns and Namibia ended in a draw at Windhoek as the visitors managed to cling on. Namibia set them 275 and they made game chase before losing five wickets for 24 runs to be in some bother at 173 for 7 and open the door for Namibia. Bjorn Kotze and Deon Kotze were the brothers grimly determined and they took those five wickets between them, but their side managed to take just one more wicket, dismissing Brendon Reddy. But that was not before he and EP Nyawo had stabilised Easterns with a match-saving stand of 29 for the eighth wicket. Revelation Plaatje also did his bit, standing firm for 26 balls for an unbeaten 10 as Namibia’s hopes of the win faded.Over at East London, Eastern Province completed what was in the end a comfortable 106-run victory against Border. After low-scoring first-innings efforts from both sides, EP extended their slender 32-run lead to 261, before declaring. Border’s chase was delayed by 20 minutes because of a shower but rain couldn’t save them from slip-sliding away to 155 all out in 50 overs. They lost both openers with just 2 on the board and then after Matthew Richardson fell, Deon Carolus spearheaded a big collapse, taking four of the six wickets to fall for 30 runs. Bryan Voke and Phaphama Fojela struggled through a brave ninth-wicket stand of 58, but it wasn’t enough and the innings folded with a good 20 overs left on the clock.The other Pool B match, plus the only A match (Mpumalanga v Free State) will appear here soon.

SAA Provincial Cup – Pool B

The two sides met again in the cup and again Namibia had the edge, completing a thumping seven-wicket win with 7.4 overs to spare. Easterns were sent in first and were soon in trouble at 100 for 6, as they lost three wickets for eight runs in a middle-order wobble. Once more at Windhoek they relied on their lower order to chip in vital runs, Sean O’Connor and Brendon Reddy both making forties to boost them past 200. As it was 209 proved an insubstantial total, as Tatenda Taibu and Gerrie Snyman butchered their way to an unbeaten third-wicket stand of 171 to take their side home at a canter. Taibu blasted 65 from 116 balls, but Snyman’s effort was spectacular – 116 from just 91 balls. His knock included six fours and eight sixes, one of which fittingly closed proceedings.A report on Mpumulanga’s tussle with Free State, the only other cup match this round, will appear here soon.

A splendid 113-run fifth-wicket stand between captain Mehedi Hasan and Zakir Hasan steered Bangladesh Under-19s to the semi-finals after completing a six-wicket win against Nepal Under-19s in Dhaka. The pressure steadily built on the pair after Joyraz Sheikh was dismissed for a patient 38. However, they found the boundary, rotated the strike and compiled fifties in the process as Bangladesh reached the target with 10 balls to spare.Earlier in the chase, Nepal had chipped away at the wickets and gained a slight edge despite contributions from Joyraz and Pinak Ghosh (32). Offspinner Sunil Dhamala was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2 for 33 from his 10 overs.Raju Rijal had set up Nepal’s score of 211 with a fluent 80-ball 72, which featured eight fours and a six. He strung handy stands of 44, 51 and 32 with Dhamala (25), Arif Sheikh (21) and Rajbir Singh. Some useful cameos lower down the order helped eke out 51 from the last 10 overs. Fast bowler Mohammad Saifuddin picked up 2 for 38.Karim Janat smashed a 132-ball 156 to propel Afghanistan Under-19s to a massive 226-run victory against Fiji Under-19s in the ninth-place playoff in Cox’s Bazar. After being inserted to bat, Afghanistan piled on 340 for 9 and then bowled out Fiji for 114 in the 32nd over. Perwez Malakzai (74 off 69) combined with Janat to add 130 in a fourth-wicket stand to rescue Afghanistan from 47 for 3.The middle and lower order all contributed with handy cameos to help add 73 in the last 44 balls. Peni Wuniwaqa picked up three 3 for 41 and T Veitacini claimed two scalps.Fiji were never really in the chase after losing Delaimatuku Maraiwai off the first ball of the innings. They were soon reduced to 18 for 5 before Malakai Cokovaki (25) and Josaia Baleicikoibia (29) shared a 50-run stand. Another clump of wickets soon fell and Fiji were bundled out. Nijat Masood returned figures of 6-1-6-3, while Rashid Khan claimed 3 for 16.A collective bowling effort, led by Jeremy Ives, followed by a fifty from opener Shaun Snyder helped Zimbabwe Under-19s seal a comfortable win against Canada Under-19s in the ninth pace play-off quarter-final.After having opted to bat, Canada were quickly reduced to 21 for 2 and then 56 for 3. Harsh Thaker (23), Amish Taploo (37), Abraash Khan (32), Arslan Khan (31) all got starts in the middle order, but gave it away. Slow left-arm spinning allrounder Ives was the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe with figures of 3 for 30. The lower order also struggled for momentum as Canada crawled to 186 for 8.Ives starred with the bat as well, making an unbeaten 43 off 55 balls to steer his side home. It came after a strong opening partnership of 89 between Snyder and Wesley Madhevere. While Madhevere was dismissed for 31, Snyder went onto stroke his second successive half-century. Ives and William Mashinge added 46 together to ensure that the chase was completed in 31.4 overs with six wickets in hand.

First of many
The opening success of a Test career that had been tipped a decade earlier came in Mitchell Johnson’s eighth over. Dennis Lillee discovered Johnson’s promise when the bowler was a teenager and after a bumpy journey he made it to the big time, picking up Thilan Samaraweera and Marvan Atapattu in Sri Lanka’s first innings. Johnson was mobbed by his team-mates after the first breakthrough. He did manage a small wave and fist clench to his girlfriend after escaping the throng.Sanath strikes
Sanath Jayasuriya was unlucky in the first innings and he quickly aimed his frustration at Brett Lee when Sri Lanka batted for a second time. A pulled six was followed by a flick to midwicket and a slash over slips earned a third breath-taking boundary in three balls. His late-afternoon attack of 39 from 49 balls provided entertainment and brief hope.Successful intervention
Governments are always attacked for ridiculous decisions so some praise is due for Gamini Lokuge, the Sri Lankan sports minister, who insisted Marvan Atapattu tour Australia. Without Atapattu’s gumption the tourists’ first innings would have fallen before tea and his 51 off 183 balls showed it was possible to hold off the Australians.Spills and MacGill
Adam Gilchrist had a chance to take catches for the first five dismissals when Chamara Silva cut an edge off Stuart MacGill. The ball rebounded from Gilchrist’s gloves and MacGill’s push to 200 wickets was delayed further when Michael Clarke spilled another Silva offering while lunging at square leg. MacGill performed well without reward until he bowled Chaminda Vaas, but still needs another wicket to reach the milestone.Sticking your neck out
A dive to beat an Andrew Symonds throw became a pain in the neck for Prasanna Jayawardene. The physio Tommy Simsek sprinted out to administer treatment immediately and at the following drinks break, but while Jayawardene was hurting it didn’t affect his batting. He battled to a gusty 37 before being lbw to Lee.Umpire or bowler
If Lee’s post-bowling career had not already been mapped out for Bollywood he might have been applying for an umpiring job when he had Prasanna Jayawardene lbw. Lee, who was in trouble last year for not appealing to the officials, turned to Rudi Koertzen as he screamed and they raised their fingers in unison.

Scorecard
St. Lucia notched up an easy win over Cayman Islands in the opening match of the Stanford 20/20 at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Coolidge, Antigua. Set 135 to win, Cayman Islands stumbled to 88 for 8 to lose by 46 runs and be knocked out of the 20-team tournament.Replying to St. Lucia’s 134 for 8, Cayman Islands found it difficult to maintain a high scoring rate, reaching 46 for 2 at the ten-over mark. This was due to some tight bowling by new ball bowler Xavier Gabriel, along with first and second change bowlers Gary Mathurin and Alleyne Prospere, who bowled three overs each for nine and 10 runs respectively. Captain Pearson Best was the only batsman to get a start, but he was trapped by medium-pacer Cyrille Charles for 24. Cayman Islands lost three more wickets – Keneil Irving (1), Michael Wright (2) and Ryan Bovell (1) – within the space of ten runs to sink to 55 for 6, and the St.Lucia bowlers just had to complete their alloted overs.Earlier, St. Lucia, got off to a poor start after choosing to bat, stumbling to 27 for 3 by the fourth over. But Cletus Mathurin, who scored a patient 47-ball 39, partnered with Sergio Fedee (17) to add 60 runs for the fourth wicket. Fedee was brilliantly run out by Conroy Wright, who received the US$10,000 prize for the Play of the Day, for throwing down the stumps for short third man. Mervin Wells contributed 20 towards the end to stretch St. Lucia’s score while offspinner Saheed Mohamed claimed three wickets. Mathurin earned the Man-of-the-Match award for his knock, which was the highest score in the match.

Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson, in his tour report on the away series against India, has advised against the selection of Shoaib Akhtar for Tests, so that the fast bowler can prolong his international career.”I have made that suggestion [that Shoaib should not be considered for Tests], but I have spoken to Shoaib about it and the idea is it would prolong his career,” Lawson said yesterday. “Maybe he would be better just playing ODIs because of his reliability factor for Test match cricket.”A lot of players are doing it — specialising in one mode. I just feel that he is important for the team and if he is more comfortable in the one-day mode, he should concentrate on it instead of Test cricket.”Shoaib has only played four Tests since 2007, and though he took nine wickets at 33.11 in the three-Test series against India, he was plagued by injuries, missing out of the most part of the third Test in Bangalore.Meanwhile, Shoaib is in further trouble with reports that the PCB have filed a strong chargesheet against him for his comments against the board after being overlooked for a central contract, and his subsequent refusal to explain his comments. His latest tiff with the board could result in a life ban as he is on a two-year probation period, as part of the punishment he received for his infamous altercation with Mohammad Asif at the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last August

Form is temporary, class is permanent goes the adage. When a classybatsman is in form, that is the ultimate problem for a bowling side.Zimbabwe today were at the wrong end of an exhilarating battingdisplay from three men – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and SouravGanguly. If Tendulkar provided the initial impetus with a run a ballblistering 39, Dravid (70 not out) and Ganguly (65 not out) took Indiato their fourth consecutive victory in the first Test of the currentseries at the Feroz Shah Kotla. The pair added 110 runs for the thirdwicket and took India past the target of 190 in 37.3 overs with sevenwickets to spare.The session between lunch and tea proved to be a most dramatic one,and settled the issue in India’s favour. The Indian bowlers, freshfrom the rest and rejuvenated by the meal knocked out the Zimbabwetail. But not before they let at least three chances go abegging.Skipper Ganguly floored a sitter in the slips and Vijay Dahiya added ablackmark to a good match for him by dropping a regulation catchbehind the stumps. Fortunately for India, the error was rectified soonenough as Henry Olonga, the last man, missed a full, straight Srinathyorker and was trapped plumb in front. After charging in for 24.1overs, Srinath returned 5/81, taking his match tally to nine wickets.Although Srinath had created the chance for the Indians by restrictingZimbabwe to 225, there was still a challenging target to beoverhauled. Challenging or not, it was easy work for India given thekind of form the top three batsmen have been in.Sadagoppan Ramesh and Shiv Sunder Das walked out to the middle endingany speculation that the Indians might change the batting order in anattempt to make a quick start. Unfortunately for Ramesh, his poor formcontinued. Playing at a ball outside the off stump from Heath Streakwithout really moving his feet, Ramesh (0) presented Andy Flower withan easy catch. First innings double centurion joined Das out in themiddle and started off in splendid fashion, pulling Brian Strang tothe fence in style.Unfortunately for India even this combination was not to last. Dasmade an error of judgment, backed up too much and could not regain hiscrease before a Brian Murphy direct hit broke the stumps at the nonstriker’s end. For the third time in this match, the score read 15/2.In walked Sachin Tendulkar. Playing as only he can, the Mumbai classact decimated the Zimbabwean bowling. Driving the ball with immensepower, Tendulkar found the gaps with ease. The momentum was sofrenetic, the hitting so clean, that even Heath Streak was forced tostop and applaud.When the spinners were brought into the attack, their fate was nobetter. Tendulkar employed the sweep shot with great results. Plantinghis foot and sweeping the ball all along the ground, Tendulkar poundedthe hoardings square of the wicket. Unfortunately for India thefairytale didn’t last long. Tendulkar went hard at a ball from PaulStrang that was well outside the off stump and miscued it to backwardpoint. The other leg spinner, Brian Murphy who suffered so much at thehands of Tendulkar pouched the catch. Tendulkar’s 39 ball assault thatyielded as many runs, was over. His innings however, had put India inthe driver’s seat.Ganguly and Dravid then came together to forge a sensible 110-runpartnership that saw India through to victory. Dravid added anunbeaten 70 to his first innings double ton. Stroking the ball withgay abandon, he realised very early on that this target could beoverhauled by sensible batting. Ganguly too was patient and prudent inshot selection. When the ball was there to be hit though, neithermissed out. If Dravid’s pet stroke was the pull, Ganguly’s was thedance down the wicket that deposited the ball in the stands. WhenGanguly nudged the ball behind square for his 65th run, India hadcompleted their triumph with 9.3 overs to spare. Srinath was adjudgedthe man of the match.

Ricky Ponting has used the strong public reaction to his side over the past week to pin-point areas Australia need to improve. However, he said there were no “glaring issues” to address after the heated Sydney Test.”But when they are all added together in the heat of such a tense and dramatic final day, they caused a reaction, so we need to tighten up on how we play,” he wrote in his column in the Australian. “We are very keen to ensure we get the balance of how we play the game right so we can focus clearly on another very big match coming up.”Australia held a team meeting in Perth on Sunday to discuss their Spirit of Cricket pledge, which was developed under Steve Waugh in 2003, and talked about areas where things didn’t go as planned in Sydney. The Test contained problems over racism, umpiring, sportsmanship, catching and walking and both teams face alterations in their outlook before the four-match series resumes on Wednesday.”I have been surprised by the reaction of some in the broader community who believe we did not play that amazing Sydney Test in the spirit of the game,” he said. “We take the spirit of cricket very seriously and are determined to ensure we are not only remembered as a good team, but one that is respected throughout the cricket world for the way we play.”He said he was prepared for negative comments about the side because “we are not going to keep everyone happy 100% of the time”. “I am always happy to cop that sort of criticism and go away and find ways and means of how we can make things better, as we all are,” he said. “We are certainly not brushing off the criticism because if there is a public reaction like there has been, there are some areas we need to improve.”Ponting said it was sad the controversy had taken the spotlight away from the match, which Australia secured with seven balls remaining to take the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “To be 6 for 130 and win a Test with eight or nine minutes to go on the last day, you have obviously played some great cricket, but it hasn’t been mentioned very much,” he said. “However, that’s out of our control. All I remember from the game is playing and winning one of the all-time great Tests.”

South Africa’s Emerging Players team has arrived home after winning the one-day tournament in Brisbane, where they defeated New Zealand in the final. The side, led by Johan Botha, came out on top by 82 runs and defended the title they won last year.Vernon Philander, the allrounder who made his ODI debut against Ireland in June, was the star performer in the final with a 50-ball 59 and 3 for 20. New Zealand included four players with international experience while the South Africans included six players with full caps.”I think it was a good all round effort from everyone. The guys were on the ball from the time we arrived despite of the jetlag,” said Botha. “Vernon had an awesome tournament with both bat and ball. Our seamers did a good job of dominating the opposition batsmen and helping Thandi Tshabalala and myself to play the role of attacking off-spinners.”The tournament was a good experience for all and I hope we can take this form into the season ahead and take the lessons learnt into our future careers. The coaching and support staff are to be commended for the hard work they put in and making it possible for us to defend the title.”

Openers Ruvindu Gunasekera and Terryn Fray stroked centuries of contrasting styles and offspinner Pratik Patel captured a remarkable 7 for 3 as Canada and Bermuda maintained their winning streak in the five-team round-robin Americas Under-19 World Cup qualifier in Toronto.Gunasekera hit a 107-ball 155, punctuated with 25 boundaries, and Patel recorded figures of 5-2-3-7 to play pivotal roles in Canada’s 343-run victory over the Bahamas. Fray scored a watchful 144-ball 119, which included six boundaries to inspire Bermuda to a 230-run win over Argentina.It was Bermuda’s third successive victory while for Canada it was their second from as many games. As things are shaping up in this event, it appears that the winner of the Bermuda and Canada match on Saturday will decide who joins the ICC’s 10 Full Members, hosts Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Ireland at the 16-team U-19 World Cup in Malaysia next February.In the Canada-Bahamas match, Gunasekara was in a punishing mood as he completely dominated an inexperienced Bahamas bowling attack by making the ball disappear to different parts of the ground at regular intervals. His stroke selection was immaculate as he successfully pierced the field to score most of his runs in boundaries.Gunasekara was involved in a 182-run fourth-wicket partnership with Pratik Patel to lay the platform for a huge score of 423 in 49.4 overs after Canada, put into bat, were reduced to 92 for 3. Patel scored 75 from 68 balls with three fours and a six.

Kevin James provided further impetus to Canada’s run riot as he struck nine boundaries in his 30-ball 57. Hasan Raza Zaidi (33) and Rustum Bhatti (28) also scored at more than a run-a-ball to make sure the Bahamas were batted out of the match.Bahamas, in their chase, made a positive start when they reached 70 without loss but the introduction of offspinner Pratik Patel sent them crashing for 80. Patel returned his outstanding figures, but couldn’t beat Gunasekara to the Man-of-the-Match award.Elsewhere, Terryn Fray batted with concentration and application to propel Bermuda to 326 for 6 in 50 overs. He featured in two fruitful partnerships. For the third wicket, he added 76 runs with Malachi Jones who contributed a 24-ball 44 with six fours and two sixes then added 69 for the fourth with Marcio Bassett (26).Argentina were bowled out for 96 with only Pedro Bruno (29) and Horacio Esperon (13) reaching double figures. For Bermuda, the seam-bowling duo of Stefan Kelly (4 for 26) and Greg Maybury (4 for 19) shared the honours. After Thursday’s rest day, Canada meet Cayman Islands and Argentina face Bahamas on Friday.

Points Tables

North Conference

Scotland couldn’t follow up their impressive 10-run win over Lancashire yesterday, falling to a five-wicket defeat against Durham at Chester-le-Street. Scotland were reduced to 64 for 5, Graham Onions and Ottis Gibson the chief beneficiaries. Holding the fort was Australian George Bailey whose slick 92 from 105 balls at least pushed Scotland passed the 200. Durham set off in pursuit of 206 in bullish style with Gareth Breese cracking 44. But it was Will Smith’s 62 which powered their chase as they were home in the 44th overNottinghamshire plundered 170 off 13 overs to set up a 50-run win over Derbyshire at Trent Bridge. David Hussey crashed seven sixes in a 20-ball 56 while Bilal Shafayat and Samit Patel added rapid thirties. Derbyshire slumped to 9 for 4 at the beginning of their chase and never made an impression on the target.Leicestershire suffered their second washout in two days when their match against Lancashire was called off in early afternoon.There was no play at Edgbaston between Warwickshire and Yorkshire.

South Conference

Mark Butcher’s unbeaten 72 led Surrey to a nervy three-wicket win with two overs remaining against Glamorgan, in a match reduced to 39 overs per side, at Cresselly, a village with just 13 houses. His stand of 81 with Jon Batty took Surrey most of the way towards their target of 204 but they suffered a late wobble against Alex Wharf. Glamorgan were not helped by the loss of Damien Wright, the Tasmania seam bowler, after two balls and David Hemp was left to trying to fill the hole. Jimmy Maher anchored Glamorgan’s 203 with a 103-ball 76 after an early slump to 35 for 3.Marcus North and Alex Gidman starred with bat and ball for Gloucestershire who beat Essex by 22 runs in a 33-over game at Bristol. North struck a slick 55 from 61 balls while wickets tumbled at the other end to Ryan ten Doeschate’s medium pace. But it was Gidman who injected urgency into Essex’s innings with a brutal 65 from just 46 deliveries, smacking four sixes in Gloucestershire’s imposing 222. Essex’s chase began impressively – Ronnie Irani showing typical aggression in his 41-ball 60 while Varun Chopra added 51. But a middle-order collapse saw Essex collapse from 151 for 2 to 158 for 6, North picking up the key wicket of ten Doeschate – who earlier bagged 5 for 50 – and stifling Essex’s momentum.Ireland suffered their second washout in two days with no play possible against Sussex