Campbell strokes Western Australia to big score

Western Australia 512 (Campbell 144, Rogers 95, North 70, Wates 53) lead Queensland 2 for 195 by 317 runs
Scorecard

Ryan Campbell smashes one over the top on the way to his century © Getty Images

Ryan Campbell clattered 144 and took Western Australia to a mammoth 512 all out in their Pura Cup match against Queensland at the WACA ground in Perth. In response, Queensland totted up 2 for 195, thanks mainly to a quickfire 76 from Jimmy Maher.Campbell, the star of the day, was severe on all the bowlers and Nathan Hauritz, the recently-capped offspinner, came in for special tap, as he was hit for three sixes in one over. Brad Hogg (44) and Darren Wates (53) ensured that Campbell had good support and Western Australia breezed past 500.Campbell’s innings included eight sixes and included a century in a session: in the morning passage he rattled up 112. Campbell shared in a huge 184-run partnership for the eighth wicket, with Wates.When Queensland replied, they were able to post a healthy 2 for 195 at the end of the day. Maher, the Queensland captain, made an invaluable 76 at the top of the order before skying Hogg to Wates. Clinton Perren, the other opener, made 41 before dragging a Wates delivery back on to his stumps. After the fall of Maher’s wicket, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson consolidated to ensure that no further wickets were lost on the day.

Hampshire could meet holders Somerset in C&G Trophy 2002

Hampshire have been handed a tough task in next season’s Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy if they are to progress into the Quarter-Final.After meeting Kent Cricket Board away for the third year in four, Hampshire will be away to holders Somerset providing they in turn defeat the Yorkshire Cricket Board.The third round match v Kent CB will be played on Wednesday 29th May 2002 (reserve day 30th), and the match against Somerset would be on either 18th or 19th June (also with a reserve day)For the full draw click on 2002 C&G Draw

Sri Lanka make short work of Eastern Province

Sri Lanka made short work of securing the first victory of their three Test tour with an eight-wicket victory over Eastern Province inside two days.The Jumbos were bowled out for 214 in their second innings, leaving Sri Lanka needing to make just 41 for victory. They did so for the loss of skipper Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara to earn themselves a rest day they probably didn’t want at this stage of the tour.The day marked the first opportunity for Mutiah Muralitharan to begin his terrorism of South African batsmen. He duly delivered with four for 41 from 28 overs including the last three wickets of the Jumbos innings in ten balls.In truth, it was just a matter of time for Sri Lanka after they added 13 to their overnight 253 for nine to leave the home side 174 in arrears.The Jumbos lost seven wickets in knocking those off, although it was a better effort than their first innings 92.James Bryant – the only man to reach double figures in the first innings – again came to the party making 50 in two-hours with eight fours, before he became the second of Dilshan’s three victims.A 50-run eighth-wicket partnership between Murray Creed (40 not out) and Wayne Murray (32) held up the tourists until after tea.Murali got the breakthrough when he had Murray caught by Dilshan and that, was very much that.

Tendulkar congratulates Shewag

After drawing comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar for his masterly knockagainst New Zealand, Virender Shewag today disclosed that the battingmaestro had sent him a congratulatory message for his match-winninginnings yesterday.”Sachin has sent a message asking me to ‘keep it up’,” a beamingShewag said.Shewag, who opened the Indian innings with captain Sourav Ganguly inthe absence of Tendulkar, smashed a 69-ball 100, to guide India to acomprehensive seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in the last leaguematch of triangular one-day series for a place in Sunday’s finalagainst Sri Lanka.The innings drew comparisons with Tendulkar for the sheer contemptShewag showed for the bowling while blasting 19 fours and a six, allof which were brilliant shots.The effort however was not enough to earn Shewag a place in the 16-member squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka announcedyesterday. “I have to perform better to get into the Test side,” wasall Shewag had to say about his exclusion.A middle-order batsman, Shewag said he was comfortable opening theinnings too. “I will bat in any position that the team wants me to,”he said.Shewag’s maiden century was the seventh fastest in limited overscricket. However, he said he was not going for the records and was noteven aware of Mohammad Azharuddin’s 62-ball hundred which is thefastest by any Indian. “I just kept playing my shots,” he said.Yuvraj Singh, who produced a similar match-winning knock against SriLanka the day before, said playing one’s natural game was the key tosuccess in one-day matches.”We didn’t put any pressure on ourselves and just played our shots,”Yuvraj said. The left-handed all-rounder, who made a sensational debutagainst Australia in the ICC Knock-out tournament in Nairobi lastyear, has also been left out of the Test squad.Yuvraj said he was not disappointed with the decision and was workingon his bowling too to develop into a genuine all-rounder. He had agood outing in this tournament with the ball too and felt if he wasable to contribute handsomely with the bat and the ball while being anoutstanding fielder, the selectors could not ignore him for the Testsfor long.After winning three successive pressure games, a relieved Indian teamteam took a deserving break today, ahead of the final on Sunday.”From the way we have won the last three matches, I can say we hope towin,” team manager AN Mate said.A group of underpriveleged children from a charitable institution inRatmalana, a suburb of Colombo, visited the Indian team today.

Jayasuriya: It was a good team effort

After Sri Lanka ended the second day in the first Test of the threeTest series at the Galle International Stadium well on top, Sri Lankancaptain Sanath Jayasuriya declared it as a total team effort by hisside. "It was a good overall team effort. I am happy that we managedto bowl them out for less than 200. It was crucial to get them outbefore too long," said Jayasuriya."After getting the cream of the Indian batting out yesterday, wewanted to just to finish them off under 200 and the bowlers did justthat," remarked the Sri Lankan captain.Dilhara Fernando made life difficult for the Indian batsmen byfinishing with a five-wicket haul. Jayasuriya’s side in the recentpast has depended on Muralitharan a lot in the bowling department, buttoday Fernando rose to the occasion,"It was a grassy wicket and conditions were ideal for a bowler likeDilhara. So he made use of the conditions and things went on reallywell for us," said Jayasuriya.After the wonderful display in the field, the Sri Lankans had to batwell to end the day on top. Their batsmen did just that and Sri Lankaended gaining considerable advantage, "After the good performancewith the ball it was the responsibility of the batsmen to do well andI thought all of us batted well."Jayasuriya himself ended the day with a century and, analyzing theIndian bowling, he said, "Srinath bowled well in his first spell. Weknew we had to see him off in his initial burst and then when I was inthe middle I got a lot of width from both sides of the wicket and Ithought of making the most of the opportunities."Harbhajan Singh picked up the first Sri Lankan wicket but failed toput the brakes on the Sri Lankan batsmen despite bowling a marathonspell of 27 overs. "He’s a good bowler. You can’t underestimate him.He’s the type of bowler who can really turn the ball. More than himmaking any mistakes, I thought we handled him well," remarkedJayasuriya.Though Sri Lanka ended the day in a good position, Sri Lankan coach,Dav Whatmore cautioned his players. "You haven’t won a Test Matchuntil you have really won it. What we are trying to do is to get agood advantage and then try and extend that advantage. It’s a verytricky pitch and batting last on this track will be very difficult, sothere’s a lot to play for tomorrow."

Pakistan full of talent: Lloyd

Former West Indies cricket captain Clive Lloyd said thatPakistan had abundance of talent and that he was impressedwith what he had seen.Speaking at a reception hosted by the Rawalpindi CricketAssociation (RCA) in his honour Monday, Lloyd said that mostof the players he had worked with during his short stay werequite talented. “The need is to harness that talent.”Lloyd who spent three days with the Pakistan junior team,which is preparing for the World Cup in New Zealand, saidthat the tournament would provide the players a goodopportunity to learn. “By watching and playing alongsideplayers from many other countries would help them in thelong run.”Lloyd hoped that “good sense prevails” and the West Indiestour of Pakistan for a Test and one-day series starting thismonth materialises.The West Indies are reluctant to tour because of securityfears following the prevailing tension between Pakistan andIndia. But Lloyd, who is based in England, added that theWest Indies should make a final decision this week.”I do not see any security problems in Pakistan and I thinkthe ICC (International Cricket Council) should tell the WestIndies that conditions for playing cricket here are normal.””The PCB are giving them assurances and I hope that they areable to decide on it soon because there is little timeleft.”Meanwhile, the President of Rawalpindi Cricket Association,Masood Anwar presented a souvenir to Lloyd, who thanked allthe officials of the association for making his stay herecomfortable as well as enjoyable.During his stay here, he also spent a day each with buddingcricketers of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.The West Indies great is now headed for the United Stateswhere he intends to help his son settle down. “He is intobasketball and does not play cricket,” Lloyd said.

Durston century boosts Seconds against Northants

Somerset Seconds ended the first day of their Championship match against Northamptonshire at Taunton in a strong position thanks to a century from Wes Durston.The visitors won the toss and somewhat surprisingly elected to field, a decision which seemed to be justified when Somerset slipped to 102 for four.At this stage Durston came in to join Michael Coles and between them they added 103 for the fifth wicket before Coles was out for 56. Coles, who plays club cricket for Bridgwater, is in a good run of form; this was the third time he has exceeded fifty in three innings.Durston was then joined by James Knott and together they added 150 runs for the sixth wicket. Eventually Knott was out for 51, and Durston was out for 142, made from 179 balls in just over three hours, before Somerset declared on 384 for nine.When the visitors batted they lost an early wicket, but in the 14 overs before close of play they reached 40 for one.The game continues on Thursday and Friday.

Zimbabwe 'A' in Sri Lanka: Rain hit match ends in tame draw

Mother nature served us a gentle reminder at P. Sara Stadium inColombo today – the wet season is coming to Sri Lanka and thisseries is likely to suffer. Critics will question the wisdom ofholding the series during this traditionally wet period, realistswill understand that international calendar is based on money andpower, not meteorological patterns.On a day that started late due to a monsoonal downpour in themorning and ended early when heavy rains and dark cloudsenveloped the ground in the afternoon, Zimbabwe progressed to 105for 4 in their second innings, after the BCCSL XI had declared ontheir overnight score of 284-7.Despite a lead of 61 runs when they started, the Zimbabwean’swere just starting to struggle against this strong BCCSL XI, whenthe rains came down. The Sri Lankan spinners could well have hadthe visitors six down if it were not for some unusually poorfielding. Two relatively simple catches were dropped, one offGavin Rennie (48*) when he had made 42, and one off DanielPeacock (4*) just before nature’s intervention.Nevertheless Zimbabwe didn’t lose the match. Competitivethroughout the match, they would have surprised many people inSri Lanka by the positive manner in which they approached thegame. They batted extremely well in the first innings and thespinners bowled creditably yesterday. Considering that themajority of the squad has little experience of sub-continentalconditions, The Management will have been satisfied with theteam’s performance.Two areas of concern though will be the accuracy of the pacebowlers and how the batsmen are going to play the spinners. Thepace bowlers cannot afford to over pitch as much as they didyesterday and need to adjust their length. The ball is unlikelyto swing a great deal in these conditions but it may well moveoff the wicket, especially if the ball consistently lands on theseam.How the batsmen cope against the spinners may well decide theseries. Whilst this is primarily a learning experience for theplayers, the batsmen must have a clear strategy when they go outbat. One felt today that a couple of the batsmen weren’t quitesure how they were going to play the likes of Bandarathilake andPushpakumara. Even Vermeulen (25) who had played the spinnersexcellently in the first innings will have been disappointed withhis dismissal, swinging across the line when he had the option topick runs playing straight.A big plus point for the visitor’s will undoubtedly be that GavinRennie scored some runs today. A key player for this side he willneed to be at his best.For the Sri Lankan’s this match has been a wake-up call. Thecoach will have been very disappointed with certain aspects oftheir performance, especially the fielding and the carefreebatting. One suspects that the squad had underestimated theZimbabwean’s before the start of this match. One can rest assuredthat they now know they have work a lot harder than theypreviously imagined.

Pakistan outclass India

Sharjah, March 26: When it comes to India-Pakistan matches, it allboils down the ability of a team to psyche themselves up to thechallenge on that day. The two are pretty sentimental sides and henceprone to cracking under pressure.Pakistan made no such mistake on Sunday and applied themselves muchbetter to the task at hand with experienced Inzamam-ul-Haq leadingtheir batting revival with a blistering century just when it matteredmost.They badly needed to win the match to stay in the hunt – and they didin style, beating an indifferent India by 98 runs to record theirfirst victory in three matches in the Sharjah Cup triangular series.Berated for inept batting for a long, Pakistani batsmen came good on awicket sympathetic towards batsmen, scoring a handsome 272 for three,rattling up a brisk 93 in the last 10 overs – certainly one of thehigh-points of their innings.Then their bowlers, spearheaded by Waqar Younis, suffocated India’shopes with lively spells. India needed a flying start to make a matchof it. But it didn’t happen.Waqar, who returned with a haul of five wickets for 31 runs, set thetone of their dreadful start as early as in the fourth over when heremoved Saurav Ganguly for just seven and then Wasim Akram claimed theprized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar (10) with an inswinging deliverythat slipped through the bat and pad on to the stumps in the very nextover.The fall of the openers, on whom India rely heavily, by the fifth overcompletely unsettled them as rest of the batsmen just failed toretrieve India from a desperate position.Sunil Joshi, promoted up the order, too fell quickly to Waqar and adefeat began staring at the Indians.It was all over for India when Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Azharuddin,who began shaping well, fell in quick succession, reducing India to 90for five in 25 overs.Dravid (29) chased a wide delivery from Shoaib Akhtar while Azharsnicked to Moin Khan off Waqar, who is now just one wicket short ofjoining the exclusive 300-club.Rest of the batsmen only tended to delay the inevitable.There is no excuse for India, who surprisingly just didn’t bat well onthis wicket.Earlier Pakistan were not off to a flyer, but paced their inningsquite well, opening up in the last 10 overs when Inzamam and Youhanatoyed with the Indian attack.Given a reasonably good start by Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan afterthe early fall of Imran Nazir, Pakistan consolidated their gainsrather step by step.Afridi and Younis, curbing their instinct to go for full-bloodedshots, took time to have their eyes in.They took the score to 44 by the 13th over when Afridi, going for abig one, missed the line and was stumped by Saba Karim, an untidyeffort though, off Anil Kumble for 28 off 41 balls with four fours.In came Inzamam and Pakistan innings began to gather pace gradually.Inzamam also took time to get into the groove and built his inningswith occasional four and six.Pakistan needed a good stand at this moment and Inzamam, in thecompany of Younis Khan, did just that, putting on good 66 runs whenYounis was brilliantly caught by Azharuddin off Joshi for a well-made44 off 66 balls with three fours and a six.With Pakistan three down for 121 by the 29th over, things looked wellin control for India, but Pakistan were in different mood.Inzamam, in particular, had done his home work well. With YousufYouhana, a solid batsman, Inzamam took the score to 179 for three bythe 40th over when they launched the pyrotechnics.It all began in the 43rd over, bowled by Anil Kumble, when Inzamamsmashed the leg-spinner for two sixes off successive balls to reel of18 runs in that over.Youhana, who was keeping quite for a well, suddenly exploded,executing strokes all-round the wicket almost with the ease ofInzamam.With the ball travelling all over the place, the Indian bowlers simplyhad no clue how to stop the brisk flow of runs. Inzamam duly completedhis century in the 47th over – his seventh and first against India in212 one-day internationals – with seven fours and five sixes in 97balls.At the one end, Youhana also reached his 50 in 60 balls with fourfours and one six. And when Pakistan ended their innings the score hadshot up to 272 and it was primarily thanks to a record unbeaten fourthwicket stand of 151 runs of just 132 balls between Inzamam andYouhana.They beat the previous best of 111 against India set up by Imran Khanand Javed Miandad in Gujranwala in 1992.Indian skipper Ganguly felt: “We are not batting well here. In fact,it was Waqar’s spell that took the match away from.”Moin attributed the victory to ‘team effort.’ He said: “Everyone did agood job, but Waqar and Inzamam were outstanding. The victory haslifted our morale and we will be a different team, not the one whichlost seven straight matches.”

Taskin Ahmed to return home with side strain

Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed has been ruled out of Bangladesh A’s tour of India because of a side strain he suffered during the first one-dayer in Bangalore. Taskin will return home and be replaced by 23-year old seamer Kamrul Islam Rabbi.Taskin did not bowl after his initial five-over spell, during which he dismissed India A captain Unmukt Chand. The injury was to his left side, which he had injured during an ODI against India in June. He had been ruled out for three weeks at the time before recovering for this Bangladesh A tour.His replacement, Rabbi, is a right-arm pace bowler who played for Bangladesh A last year against Zimbabwe A at home. He took 21 first-class wickets this year at an average of 54.47 and has 15 wickets from 11 List A matches in the 2014-15 season.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus