Daily Excelsior.........state

Australia take
opening day honours

CHENNAI, Mar 18: India’s reinforcement of its spin attack came to a nought as Australian batsmen left the Kolkata drubbing far behind to reach a healthy 326 for three at close on the opening day of the third and final test here today.....more

England flourish under Hussain and Fletcher

COLOMBO, Mar 18: England’s test series triumph in Sri Lanka has underlined the value of the captaincy-coaching partnership of Nasser .......more

South Africa collapse
after Cullinan century

PORT OF SPAIN ,TRINIDAD, Mar 18: Daryll Cullinan made a century and Jacques Kallis a rapid 53 before South Africa collapsed to 286 all out in the.....more

India to take on
Pak in the final

DHAKA, Mar 18: Arch rivals India and Pakistan chalked out contrasting victories over their rivals to set up a summit clash in the the 9-nation Prime Minister Gold Cup Hockey .....more

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Parvez, Sudershan
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JAMMU, Mar 18: It was a narrow escape for the Director General (DG) XI when they took..more

International A, New
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Australia take opening day honours

Opener Matthew Hayden continued his brilliant run to notch up his second century in this series and led his team towards a huge total with a solid unbeaten 147 after captain Steve Waugh elected to bat.

Hayden was ably supported by some good knocks from Mark Waugh (70), Steve Waugh (batting 43) and Justin Langer (35) as the Australians negotiated the spin trio of Harbhajan Singh, Nilesh Kulkarni and debutant Sairaj Bahutule with relative ease.

However, the hosts were themselves to blame for failing to capitalise on a few chances. Wicket-keeper Samir Dighe, another debutant who was a last-minute replacement for the injured Nayan Mongia, was the culprit on two occasions, which cost the team dearly.

First, he failed to collect a return from Shiv Sunder Das and missed an easy chance to run out Hayden Earlhat proved decisive in today’s play.

Dighe then missed a simple stumping chance against Mark Waugh with the batsman a couple of steps ahead of his crease.

Hayden and Mark Waugh capitalised on their luck and went on to add 150 runs for the third wicket treating every Indian bowler with equal disdain.

India had fine start to the match when the only paceman in the team Zaheer Khan dismissed Michael Slater off the third delivery of the day and it seemed they were starting from where they left off in Kolkata.

Slater was caught by V V S Laxman in the slips after hitting a boundary with the total on four.

Hayden and Langer played as if nothing had happened and went on the attack from the start. Langer in particular was quite aggressive as he compiled a run-a-ball 35, with six fours and a six, before his attempted cut off Harbhajan Singh landed straight into the hands of Rahul Dravid at first slip.

Mark Waugh, who struggled in the first two tests, had a tentative start and batted cautiously while Hayden stepped up the steam from the other end. 97 and 67 in Kolkata besides a match-winning 119 in the first test in Mumbai, did not hesitate in using his feet to the relatively inexperienced spinners and hit a flurry of fours and sixes, the fourth six taking him to his half-century.

Australia took lunch at 140 for two and the post lunch session saw a reversal of roles between the two batsmen with Mark Waugh growing in confidence with every stroke.

He too started coming out to the spinners and scored most of the runs in the second session as Hayden spent a silent time in the nervous eighties and nineties.

Bahutule got his maiden test wicket when Mark Waugh mistimed a drive to be caught by substitute Hemang Badani in the mid-off region. His 70 included seven fours and a six.

Hayden, meanwhile, scored his third test hundred and went on to compile his career-best knock. His earlier best was 125 against the West Indies at Adelaide in 1996-97.

Steve Waugh played another of his stubborn innings and offered excellent support to Hayden, who has so far blasted 12 fours and five sixes.

The pair has put on 109 runs for the fourth wicket and are still going strong.

The Indian bowling was modest and lacked the sting that won them a stunning victory in Kolkata. Besides, the Australians strategy of taking the spinners head-on also derailed Saurav Ganguly’s gameplan.

Though Bahutule and Kulkarni bowled to a tight line they could not force the batsmen into making mistakes. Harbhajan also bowled well but failed to produce the magic of the previous two tests.

With just one seamer and only four regular bowlers in the side, the Indians have their task cut out when they seek to bowl out the Australians tomorrow.

SCOREBOARD

Australia 1st innings:

M Slater c Laxman b Zaheer 4

M Hayden batting 147

J Langer c Dravid b Harbhajan 35

M Waugh c sub (Badani)

b Bahutule 70

S Waugh batting 43

Extras (b-8, lb-9, nb-10) 27

Total (for 3 wkts, 90 overs) 326

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-67, 3-217.

Bowling: Z Khan 15-5-57-1, S Ganguly 2-1-11-0, Harbhajan Singh 26-3-100-1, N Kulkarni 23-5-67-0, S Bahatule 16-2-58-1, S Tendulkar 8-1-16-0. (PTI)

England flourish under Hussain and Fletcher

COLOMBO, Mar 18: England’s test series triumph in Sri Lanka has underlined the value of the captaincy-coaching partnership of Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher as they face their ultimate challenge.

The conviction and strength of character which the pair have instilled in the players has helped to transform an ailing side and will be essential to their prospects in the forthcoming ashes series in England.

Hussain’s team take on Australia, currently the best test side in the world, starting in July and their performance over the five tests will measure just how far they have come under Hussain and Fletcher.

They joined forces after the 1999 English season in which England were knocked out of the World Cup in the first round, then lost a test series to New Zealand.

However, since being beaten in the 1999-2000 test rubber in South Africa — Fletcher’s first assignment as coach — England have won four consecutive test series: Zimbabwe 1-0 and West Indies 3-1, both at home, Pakistan 1-0 last December and now Sri Lanka 2-1.

Hussain summed up Fletcher’s key qualities when he said: "Duncan speaks very simply to the players, he is technically brilliant and we just want to play for him."

Consequently the players are enjoying each other’s success, they are combining as an effective unit and the spirit in the side has increased immeasurably.

No one personifies the zest of the England team more than Darren Gough, who has always been the heart of the side and is now enjoying a prolonged injury-free period that is reflected in his influential performances.

The Yorkshire paceman was named man-of-the-series at the end of the third and final test here on Saturday, having headed the England averages with 14 wickets at 19.57 each.

Crucial role

Gough, with Andrew Caddick as his new-ball partner, plays such a crucial role because he consistently breaks through the top order batting to hand his side the initiative.

Caddick, who was in and out of the side after his test debut in 1993, is one of the players who has responded well to the Hussain-Fletcher management pairing.

Given an authentic chance to establish himself in the test side, the somerset fast-medium bowler has come up with some match-winning displays.

The form and fitness of Gough and Caddick will be a key element in England’s chances of regaining the ashes from an Australian side whose batting strategy is based on a positive approach and quick scoring from the outset.

England’s own batting has a far more settled look now, with Graham Thorpe enhancing his reputation in the middle order after benefiting from a break from international cricket by missing the 1999-2000 tour of South Africa.

The surrey left-hander’s technique, temperament and ability to keep the score moving in any situation makes him, arguably, the best batsman in the side.

Thorpe confirmed his growing value in the Sri Lanka series by heading the England averages with 269 runs at an average of 67.25.

Man of the match

His unbeaten 113 in the first innings of the final test — the next highest score was 26 — and his 32 not out while six wickets were falling in the pursuit of 74 to win in the second innings, rightly earned him the man-of-the-match award.

England’s back-to-back series wins in Pakistan and Sri Lanka were partly the product of positive cricket, an attitude which former England skipper Michael Atherton believes they must carry into the ashes.

"To beat good teams like australia you cannot wait for them to make mistakes," he wrote in his column in the Sunday Telegraph.

"You have to take the game to them and the second half of our Asian experience will stand us in good stead for that." (REUTERS)

South Africa collapse after Cullinan century

PORT OF SPAIN ,TRINIDAD, Mar 18: Daryll Cullinan made a century and Jacques Kallis a rapid 53 before South Africa collapsed to 286 all out in the second test against West Indies.

After reaching 161 for two just before tea yesterday, the tourists lost their last eight wickets for 125 and the final five for 30 after opting to bat on a dramatic opening day.

West Indies were two without loss at the close in reply after facing one over at the queen’s park oval.

The collapse began when front-line batsman Wavell Hinds, bowling his first over in test cricket, caught and bowled Kallis shortly before tea.

Cullinan went on to make 103 before becoming one of leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine’s three victims.

Veteran Courtney Walsh dismissed two South Africans and needs two more wickets to become the first bowler to take 500 in test cricket.

South Africa Shaun Pollock had looked uncertain when he won the toss before opting to bat.

Openers Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs, however, rode their luck to take the visitors through the morning session.

Both batsman played and missed several times on a frustrating morning for the bowlers.

Mervyn Dillon, in particular, was unlucky, beating Kirsten with successive swinging deliveries while Gibbs survived a run-out scare.

West Indies broke through in the second over after lunch when Kirsten, who scored 150 in the first test, was caught by captain Carl Hooper at first slip off Nixon McLean for 23.

Next over, Gibbs was bowled by a Walsh delivery which found its way between bat and pad and hit the off stump. It was the Jamaican’s 497th test wicket and his 50th in port of Spain. Undeterred, Jacques Kallis and Daryll Cullinan attacked the bowlers. After coming together on 62 for two, they reached their 50 partnership in 94 balls with a flurry of fours and sixes.

Ramnarine bore the brunt of the punishment, giving away 33 runs in a six-over spell.

Kallis hit two straight sixes in one over from Ramnarine, then hit two fours off another over, Cullinan then repeating the dose.

Kallis completed his 50, which included two sixes and seven fours, off 77 balls. Just as things seemed to be getting out of control for west Indies, captain Carl Hooper turned to the unlikely Hinds.

Refused to walk

He responded by dismissing Kallis caught and bowled. Kallis refused to walk but was given out after the third umpire has been consulted. .(REUTERS)

India to take on Pak in the final

DHAKA, Mar 18: Arch rivals India and Pakistan chalked out contrasting victories over their rivals to set up a summit clash in the the 9-nation Prime Minister Gold Cup Hockey Tournament here today.

The former Olympic champions will face each other in the final on Tuesday at the Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium.

Title contender India routed Egypt 8-0 in the first semifinal while Pakistan had to wage a grim battle to overcome Japan 5-3 in other semifinal.

India celebrated a goal fiesta against upcoming African team dominating the game throughout scoring four goals in each half.

India’s two master stick holders Dhanraj Pillay and Baljeet Singh Dhillon marshalled over the rookie African team to earn the so far biggest margin win in the tournament.

Skipper Baljit Singh Dhillon, Deepak Thakur, Arjun Halappa (two each) Radhakrishan and Dhanraj Pillay (one each) were the scorers. Playmaker Pillay, who opened the floodgate in the 15th minute by pushing the ball from a handshake distance from a brilliant combined attack with Dhillon, was adjudged man of the match.

Indian coach Cedric D’ Souza, who joined the team on Friday after recovering from illness, in a post-match briefing said that the superb win would boost his boys’ confidence for the final clash.

Baljeet Singh Dhillon, who scored two goals in the match from penalty stroke, expressed his satisfaction over the day’s result and said players made few mistakes in the match.

In the 70-minute encounter, only twice Egypt came somewhere near Indian goal but Belal Ibrahim shots were foiled by the goalkeeper

India: Bharat Chetri, Dinesh Nayak, bs Saini, bs Dhillon, D Pillay, J Menzes, D Singh, D Tirkey, IJ Singh, D Thakur, P Singh, A Halappa, L Barla,B Fernandez, T Valavan and R Krishnan.

Egypt: H Alla, A Zeinhon, ES Hassanein, Ma Yazed, H Ibrahim, AE Sayed, Y Abdel, A Tallat, B Ibrahim, ES Gaballa, AE Syed, W Mostafa, AA Fattall, O Hassanain, A Gad and M Kamal.

Umpires: Hutchinson Colin (Ireland) and Jin Jian Min (China). (UNI)