Cricket Life

Scorecard and Video Highlights  On a pitch which seemed to improve the longer the match progressed, there appeared little hope of a definite result, but the game was made memorable by an incorrect declaration on the part of F. G. Mann, the England captain, and a brilliant innings of 206 by M. P. Donnelly, the New Zealand left-hander. Shortly after six o'clock on Saturday, with England's total 313 for nine wickets, Mann closed the innings and New Zealand in fifteen minutes scored 20 without loss. At the time he did not realise his mistake, but on Sunday he issued the following statement: "When I declared the England innings closed on Saturday evening I thought that the experimental rule which allows a declaration to be made on the first day of a three-day match applied to the present series of Test Matches. I regret very much that I was wrong in this respect, but I am very glad indeed that we did not in fact gain any advantage from the declaration....

South Africa 147 for 3 (Smith 68*, de Villiers 40) beat Bangladesh 143 (Shahriar 25, Albie 4-29, Botha 3-34) by seven wickets Scorecard and Video Highlights A comprehensive all-round rout of Bangladesh in the third and final one-dayer in Mirpur not only sealed a 3-0 series win for South Africa but also propelled them to the top of the ICC one-day rankings, displacing Australia. South Africa were handed the victory on a platter after another tepid batting display by Bangladesh, who folded up for a paltry 143. Bangladesh's trio of left-arm spinners made the South African batsmen work hard for the runs, but yet again, they just didn't have the cushion of runs to work with. Bangladesh were let down once more by their batsmen, who persisted with their strategy of freeing their arms during the Powerplays, and refused to buckle down and build an innings while wickets fell in quick succession. Despite winning the toss in all three games, not once did they even come c...

South Africa 179 for 3 (de Villiers 69*, Duminy 49*) beat Bangladesh 173 (Raqibul 63, Shakib 52, Nel 4-27, Langeveldt 3-31) by seven wickets Scorecard and Video Highlights South Africa came one step closer to usurping Australia as the No. 1 one-day side in the world with a comfortable seven-wicket victory in Mirpur. Andre Nel scythed through Bangladesh's top order after they chose to bat and though the tourists suffered a wobble of their own, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy sealed the series with a battling 119-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Bar a record fifth-wicket stand of 119 between Shakib Al Hasan and Raqibul Hasan, which proved the bulk of a poor 173 in 48.2 overs, there was little the hosts could take out of their 13th defeat on the trot. Bangladesh had little answer to Nel, who took out his anger at not being included on the upcoming tour to India with a fiery opening burst. Tamim Iqbal was bowled third ball, Mohammad Ashraful fell hooking for 0, ...

South Africa 180 for 1 (Smith 103*, Gibbs 57) beat Bangladesh 178 (Tamim 82, Nel 3-24) by nine wickets Scorecard and Video Highlights Subcontinental conditions and the presence of three left-arm spinners did nothing to scare off the South Africans as their openers, Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs, added a century opening stand to help them go 1-0 up in the three-match series with a comprehensive nine-wicket win in Chittagong. Smith led the way emphatically, sealing the victory - with more than 13 overs to spare - and his seventh ODI hundred with the last scoring stroke of the match. The only player to show any sign of resistance for Bangladesh was Tamim Iqbal, who top scored with a measured 82. That the second-highest contribution was a mere 15 - shared among three batsmen - only highlighted the bridge between him and the rest. The target of 179 was perhaps 100 short of challenging a team which has its sights set on displacing Australia as the best ODI team in t...

Scorecard and Video Highlights Toss: West Indies. Test debuts: England - G.A.Hick, M.R.Ramprakash, S.L.Watkin. England gained their first home victory over West Indies since 1969, when Illingworth's team also won at Headingley. In addition to Gooch, the outstanding batsman, and Defreitas, the most successful bowler, they possessed a greater discipline in testing conditions, and this eventually enabled them to outplay their opponents, in their 100th encounter. Gooch gloriously confirmed his standing on the international stage. His decisive, unbeaten 154 in the second innings was the product of seven and a half hours of careful application. Unyielding concentration carried him through three interruptions for rain on the fourth day, and mental toughness enabled him to survive a series of disasters at the other end. In 331 deliveries, England's captain collected eighteen fours and scored two thirds of his side's runs from the bat as they built on a ...

Scorecard and Video Highlights England were either level or on top until the last four hours of the match. West Indies then strolled nonchalantly to victory, making the fifth highest score to win a Test. Only Bradman and Hammond have made higher scores in a Lord's Test than Greenidge's 214 not out in West Indies' second innings. Yet despite their overwhelming defeat, England managed several skilful and brave performances. Gower, however, might not have relished the occasion. It was his second defeat as captain at headquarters and he became the first England captain since Yardley in 1948 to declare in the second innings and lose. Lloyd, his opposite number, reached 7,000 Test runs. Greenidge and Botham each passed 4,000. Broad, a new cap, replaced the injured Lloyd and Gatting came back, when Moxon withdrew, to take over from Randall. For West Indies, Small deputised for the injured Holding. On a first day shortened by 95 minutes by bad light and rain, ...

India 330 for 4 (Kohli 183, Rohit 68, Tendulkar 52) beat Pakistan 329 for 6 (Hafeez 105, Jamshed 112, Younis 52) by six wickets Scorecard and Video Highlights Their bowling might struggle to defend 289 against Bangladesh. Their batting might not be resilient enough to dominate in all conditions. But in the subcontinent, India are the masters of the chase. And after having knocked off 321 in 36.4 overs in Hobart barely three weeks ago, they completed their highest successful ODI chase, in Mirpur, against Pakistan, who are not exactly a weak bowling side. And leading the mammoth effort was that man Virat Kohli who scored a career-best 183. Forget the obscenities, forget the extreme emotions; with 11 hundreds, including three in his last four innings, Kohli is one of the most complete ODI batsmen in the world now. When a boundary is needed, Kohli is the man. When the singles are needed, Kohli is the man. When a gap is to be found, Kohli is the man. He kept doing all ...