Sri Lanka v South Africa: 1st Test, Day 5: South Africa 169 & 434, Sri Lanka 756/5 decl (Rudolph 90, Muralitharan 6/131). Sri Lanka win by an innings and 153 runs, lead series 1-0.
Monthly Archive for July, 2006
CricInfo reports that ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed and media manager Brian Murgatroyd are both in Harare at the moment, and as well as watching the current series against Bangladesh, they’re there to prepare the ground for Percy Sonn’s upcoming visit. As well as meeting with the ZC board today (Monday), they’re also hoping to meet with other stakeholders in the game - something the ICC has up until now refused to do. I’m sure there’ll be no shortage of advice on how to address Zimbabwe’s problems - but whether the ICC actually does anything this time around is another matter…
CricInfo - Speed in Harare to meet Zimbabwe officials
Canada v Kenya: Intercontinental Cup Match, Day 2: Canada 235 & 52/1, Kenya 231 (Kenya 1st Innings: Mishra 83*, Osinde 4/51)
Canada v Kenya: Intercontinental Cup Match, Day 1: Canada 235, Kenya 14/4 (Osinde 2/5, Bhatti 2/9)
Sri Lanka v South Africa: 1st Test, Day 4: South Africa 169 & 311/4, Sri Lanka 756/5 dec (Rudolph 90, Hall 64)
There was no change in Zimbabwe’s tactics for the 2nd ODI against Bangladesh, as Prosper Utseya again won the toss & elected to field, before watching Zimbabwe’s bowlers cause some serious problems for the visitors. Come the second half of the innings, though, Bangladesh finally found some backbone, and while the scoring rate was kept under control for the most part, the lower order were much hard to get rid of, and a torrent of runs in the closing overs saw Zimbabwe needing 239 to win, at a required rate of 4.78. Reza (50), Ahmed (40) and Mashud (50*) did the damage for the Bangladeshis, while Mawhire (3/29) and Mupariwa (2/44) were the pick of Zim’s bowling attack. Check below the cut for the highlights.
Unfortunately, rather than build on yesterday’s success, Zimbabwe’s innings was more like a return to the style of play seen in the West Indies, as runs came slowly while the top order once again did a disappearing act. With the Matsikenyeri / Chigumbura double act failing to fire this time (although Matsikenyeri was the only Zimbabwe batsman to really make an effort, with 46 off 56 balls), Zim finally slid to 175 all out in the 45th over.
Quote of the day: “For the second day running, Prosper Utseya won the toss, inserted Bangladesh, and watched gleefully as his medium pacers wreaked havoc. Or, from a Bangladeshi perspective, Habibul Bashar lost the toss again, was forced to expose his frail top order, and watched them self-destruct.” - CricInfo’s Jamie Alter. Unfortunately, come the Zimbabwe innings, it was Utseya’s turn to… expose his frail top order, and watch them self-destruct. Oh, the irony.
Bangladesh 237/8 (50 overs: Farhad Reza 50, Khaled Mashud 50*; Blessing Mawhire 3/29, Tawanda Mupariwa 2/44)
Zimbabwe 175 (44.4 overs: Stuart Matiskenyeri 46, Vusi Sibanda 33; Shahadat Hossain 3/41, Mohammed Rafique 2/24)
Bangladesh win by 63 runs, series tied 1-1.
England v Pakistan: 2nd Test, Day 3: Pakistan 119 & 222, England 461/9 dec (Harmison 6/19 & 5/57, Panesar 3/21 & 5/72). England win by an innings and 120 runs, lead series 1-0
Sri Lanka v South Africa: 1st Test, Day 3
South Africa 169 & 43/0, Sri Lanka 756/5 dec
(Sangakkara 287, Jayawardene 374)
Some effective work from the Zimbabwean bowlers this morning, after Zim won the toss & elected to field, saw Zimbabwe faced with a target of 246 to win, at a required run rate of 4.94/over - perfectly gettable, but a history of batting collapses and over-cautious play would have had most Zimbabwe supporters fearing the worst. A wobbly display by the top order didn’t help matters, either, but outstanding batting displays from Stuart Matsikenyeri (89) and Elton Chigumbura (70) laid the foundations for a nail-biting finish. When Utseya fell with the score at 242/7, followed by Higgins next ball with Zim needing 5 runs from 10 balls to win, there were visions of a last-minute choke - but a hefty 4 by Chigumbura at the beginning of the final over saw Zimbabwe home.
Bangladesh 246/7 (50 overs: Shahriar Nafees 78, Habibul Bashar 40; Tawanda Mupariwa 4/61, Hamilton Masakadza 2/33)
Zimbabwe 248/8 (49.1 overs: Stuart Matsikenyeri 89, Elton Chigumbura 70; Mashrafe Mortaza 4/41, Shahadat Hossain 3/38)
Zimbabwe win by 2 wickets and lead series 1-0.
Continue reading ‘Zim Take Victory in Nail-Biting Finish to 1st ODI’
England v Pakistan: 2nd Test, Day 2
Pakistan 119 & 12/0, England 461/9 dec
(Cook 127, Bell 106)