Jacob Oram took four wickets and a great catch as South Africa collapsed from 108 for 2 to 172 all out in Mirpur, handing New Zealand a place in the semi-finals

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera25-Mar-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJacob Oram took four wickets and two catches to trigger a South African collpase in Mirpur•Associated Press

Oh South Africa, what have you done? Earlier this month Graeme Smith tweeted an article titled ‘Time to ban the ‘C’ word’. Hold on to that thought Smith, for clearly that time hasn’t come yet. South Africa were cruising at 108 for 2 in the 25th over when Jacques Kallis fell and they crash-landed spectacularly to be shot out for 172. The self-destructive streak, demonically masochistic in nature, will perhaps need shrinks to decode it. Once they realised their opponents were cracking under pressure, New Zealand went for the kill with close-in fielders and disciplined bowling, led by Jacob Oram who took four wickets and a great catch.Even when Kallis fell – to a blinder of a catch from Jacob Oram, rushing to his left at deep midwicket – there wasn’t much to suggest that this could turn into another contender for all-time greatest choke in World Cup history. The pitch was slow but there was no sharp turn; the bowlers were disciplined but there was no sensational game-breaking spell; none of the three spinners got much purchase from the wicket; and the total was below par; but for some reason South Africa were feeling extremely claustrophobic.Their nerves were best represented by the dismissal of JP Duminy, who played an awful shot to open the choke gates. Nathan McCullum slowed up the pace on a delivery that landed on a length, outside off, and Duminy went so hard into an ugly cut that he made a complete hash of it and lost his stumps. With Duminy’s fall, South Africa were in a spot of bother at 121 for 4, in the 28th over, and the first signs of something special loomed over Mirpur.There was more heartbreak for South Africa fans in the next over. Faf du Plessis hit straight to midwicket and ran like a headless chicken. AB de Villiers should perhaps have refused that call but he responded, only to find himself well short of the crease. It was at this moment that New Zealand really sensed that this could be their night.The moment was so ripe that even Daniel Vettori, not known for sledging, gave some lip to du Plessis and Kyle Mills, who had carried drinks on to the field at the fall of de Villiers, got into the act. A visibly agitated du Plessis shoved Mills, the departing de Villiers returned to support his partner, and eventually the umpires had to get involved. New Zealand’s players swooped in to the crime scene and it was a classic Youtube moment. You could almost feel the pressure-cooker situation out there.New Zealand crowded the bat with close-in men, ready to sledge and eager to pile on the pressure, and Johan Botha cracked in the 33rd over. It was a lovely legcutter from Oram and Botha played down the wrong line to lose his off stump. Oram, who was the man who started it all with that Kallis catch, wasn’t done yet. In the 35th over, he lured Robin Peterson into edging an attempted cut to the keeper and South Africa were swaying away like drunken men at 132 for 7. South Africa’s nerves were frayed further when Dale Steyn square drove Nathan McCullum in the air to backward point, where who else but Oram accepted the offering.If Oram was the man in the forefront of New Zealand’s resurgence, du Plessis was the man seeking redemption for making that wrong call that led to the run out of de Villiers. In his brief international career, he has already shown a tenacity to remain relatively calm under pressure. And he wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. He was on 14 when Steyn fell, and he took ownership of the chase. He rushed down the track to slam Tim Southee to the straight boundary in the 40th over, on drove Vettori to collect another four in the 41st, and even lifted Oram for a thrilling six over long-off in the 43rd over.It was in the same over that the game turned for one last time, and it was also an over that captured the entire madness of the evening. du Plessis had crashed the first delivery of the over back at Oram who couldn’t hold on to a very difficult chance, and once the six was hit, one had to ask the question: was the night turning for Oram? Was it swinging towards du Plessis? But du Plessis sliced the fifth ball straight to extra cover and South Africa had well and truly sunk into oblivion.The end was a far cry from the way South Africa started the day. They attacked with spin and seam, shuffled their bowlers regularly like a pack of cards, and hustled on the field to keep a tight leash on New Zealand. Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor were at the forefront of a revival from the depths of 16 for 2; carefully, almost mindful of a potential lower-order collapse on this pitch, Ryder and Taylor battled through. The odd boundary signalled growing comfort, but they never broke away decisively. A nervy equilibrium had been reached by the end of the 30th over with New Zealand reaching 112 for 2 and the game was waiting to be seized. However, both Ryder and Taylor departed in quick succession but Kane Williamson made a vital 38 to push New Zealand to 221.It shouldn’t have been enough, it didn’t feel like enough, but it proved enough. It was a crazy crazy night in Mirpur. Ironically, Allan Donald, the man who was involved in the other famous South African choke, was in the other camp tonight.

Match Timeline

Champions Warwickshire suffered defeat at the start of their Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign, narrowly beaten by three runs by Hampshire at the Rose Bowl

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2011
Scorecard
Champions Warwickshire suffered defeat at the start of their Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign, narrowly beaten by three runs by Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. Chasing 275 for victory, Chris Woakes needed to hit the last ball of the match from Dominic Cork for four to win. But Woakes could only hit it back to the bowler and Hampshire had completed victory in a high-scoring match on a batsman-friendly wicket.Ultimately Warwickshire were left to regret the final over of the Hampshire innings, in which Boyd Rankin conceded 24 to Neil McKenzie including a six and four fours. Hampshire, who lost the toss, went from 250 for 5 at the start of the last over to 274 for 5 with Rankin finishing with unflattering figures of 0 for 57 from seven overs.South African McKenzie was Hampshire’s top scorer with an undefeated 87 which included nine fours and a six. Johann Myburgh contributed a useful 64 at the top of the innings as
Warwickshire captain Jim Troughton had cause to regret his decision to field first.His doubts must have increased as Warwickshire slumped to 48 for 3 and then 89 for 4 in reply when Troughton was caught at slip for 25 in the 19th over. Varun Chopra began the Warwickshire revival, carrying on his outstanding form in the County Championship by making 54 before being run out by Cork.Darren Maddy added a useful 49 before he too was run out by wicketkeeper Michael Bates and the target always looked just beyond the champions. They required 55 off the final five overs and 32 off the last three, but Rikki Clarke kept his side in the match with an aggressive 59 off 38 balls before being stumped.Keeper Richard Johnson kept Woakes company as the England hopeful indulged in some big hitting. He struck three sixes in his unbeaten 34 off 21 balls but experienced former England pace bowler Simon Jones dismissed Johnson with the last ball of the 39th to set up the last-over thriller.Woakes and Rankin needed 14 off the last over from Cork and the former raised hopes by drilling the penultimate ball for six, but the Hampshire captain kept his nerve and his team held on.

The rampant opening firm of Virender Sehwag and David Warner set up a comprehensive win for Delhi Daredevils despite an equally remarkable innings by Shaun Marsh

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga23-Apr-2011 by 29 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPace and bounce? Yes, please, said Sehwag and Warner•AFP

Delhi finally feels like home for Delhi Daredevils. With players such as Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Morne Morkel in the side, they had been frustrated by lifeless home tracks that made stroke-play and pace bowling difficult. Before this game Sehwag demanded pace, and then in the company of Warner showed just why. They added 146 for the first wicket in 11.4 overs, an ideal platform for a comfortable win despite an equally remarkable innings by Shaun Marsh, and despite the continuing good luck of Kings XI Punjab’s openers who were both dropped on nought.With the ball coming on well on this green pitch, Warner and Sehwag let the bowlers feel their wrath. They were like beasts who had been uncaged after years of confinement, gorging on anything remotely loose. It is a scary thought to imagine what Sehwag would have managed had he not got out for 77 off 35, trying a fourth successive six off the fourth delivery of a David Hussey over. Sehwag even dived into his crease, one of the very few times he has committed that unbecoming act while batting, to bring up his half-century off 28 deliveries, one fewer that Warner took to reach his.Warner got to his landmark with a trademark pull deep into the stands, his second pulled six and third overall. Sehwag was on only 36 then. It takes some special hitting to dominate the strike and still not frustrate Sehwag. Warner managed that nicely. He began in earnest in the first over, pulling and cutting Praveen Kumar for fours. Ryan Harris managed to trouble him for a bit with the extra bounce, but Warner’s comeback was emphatic: a huge pull over midwicket to end Harris’ spell of 2-0-13-0 in a score of 35 for 0 after four overs.The floodgates had just begun to open then. Sehwag tucked into Praveen with three fours in the fifth over, Warner went down on a knee and lofted Shalabh Srivastava’s medium-pace over the sightscreen. The middle overs and spread fields mattered little as both batsmen moved to 59 each by the end of the 11th over. Enter Hussey, Punjab’s expensive signing, playing his first game this IPL. Sehwag showed his famous disdain for spin through sixes over long-on, cow corner and midwicket. A mis-hit off the fourth ball brought some decorum to the proceedings, with only 38 coming in the next 5.2 overs.That phase included Warner’s wicket for 77 off 48 balls. Temporary relief. Lull between storms. Harris came back to have his figures rearranged, ending with 48 off four to join two other colleagues with 40-plus aggregates to their names. Venugopal Rao and Naman Ojha took 47 off the last three overs to post the third-highest total in IPL history, and Delhi’s biggest.Morkel made a further show of why a pitch with bounce suits Delhi more. He got lift, he got movement, he got an edge second ball, one that was dropped by Ojha. However, Morkel’s first spell of three overs for 20, four of which came through a misfield and 10 off free hits, left Punjab an asking rate of 13.2. A period of superb hitting followed, but despite 57 coming off the next four overs, they were just about keeping up with the rate. A five-run over from James Hopes turned the pressure back on, forcing Gilchrist to slog debutant Varun Aaron and miss.Marsh batted beautifully for his 46-ball 95, fetched mainly through proper cricketing shots in an innings that deserved to be on the winning side. He, though, was swimming against the current, and the current won.

Openers Steven Davies and Rory Hamilton-Brown blasted 107 in just 10.1 overs as Surrey started their Friends Life t20 campaign in style

02-Jun-2011
ScorecardOpeners Steven Davies and Rory Hamilton-Brown blasted 107 in just 10.1 overs as Surrey started their Friends Life t20 campaign in style by overwhelming Gloucestershire by eight wickets under The Oval lights.Victory came with three overs in hand as Davies, with 92 not out from 55 balls, and Hamilton-Brown, who made 45 from 27 balls before being stumped off a wide, thrashed the Gloucestershire bowling to all parts. Muttiah Muralitharan, making his debut for Gloucestershire, was hit for 14 by Davies from his first over – including a six over long on.There were three sixes and 13 fours in all for left-hander Davies, who thrilled a 8,249-strong crowd with some exquisite as well as powerful strokeplay. Gloucestershire’s 155 for 8 always looked like being an inadequate total on a true Oval surface, but the power of Surrey’s reply was still quite astonishing.Hamilton-Brown took three fours from David Payne’s opening over, and Davies did the same to Jon Lewis in the second over. Surrey were 28 for no wicket after those two new-ball overs and 54 without loss after five.Then came Muralitharan’s expensive first over and Davies’ half-century arrived in only the ninth over. By the end of that, Surrey were 95 and Gloucestershire just did not know where to bowl at the rampant opening pair.It was a great start to the Twenty20 competition for Surrey, who are also top of their Clydesdale Bank 40 group and have lost just one match in all competitions.They also saw a fine debut from fast bowler Dirk Nannes, the Australian and former Holland Twenty20 specialist, who took three wickets. Nannes made two early inroads into the Gloucestershire batting, striking in each of his first two overs for his new club to remove Alex Gidman to a catch at the wicket and Chris Taylor, who miscued an attempted hook to short fine-leg.Kevin O’Brien and Kane Williamson, with sixes over long on and long off respectively from the bowling of Yasir Arafat and Chris Schofield, briefly put the pressure back on Surrey’s bowlers.But Ireland’s World Cup star O’Brien was then well caught by Zander de Bruyn in the deep for a 19-ball 24 and – later in the same over – Hamish Marshall edged to wicketkeeper Davies, who took a smart catch standing up to seamer Tim Linley.Williamson was badly dropped on 25 by Gareth Batty at long off, as he tried to clear the ropes off Schofield, and with the fielder knocking the ball over the boundary for four to compound his error.The young New Zealander was, however, run out shortly afterwards for 32 and Gloucestershire were 94 for 6 in the 15th over when Richard Coughtrie was lbw trying to reverse-sweep off spinner Batty.A stand of 45 in 4.2 overs between Will Gidman, who improvised superbly in an innings of 40 not out from 37 balls that contained only two fours, and Ed Young revitalised the Gloucestershire innings.Young swung a ball from Matt Spriegel high over mid-wicket for six and also belted four fours in his 28. Young was lbw aiming a paddle-sweep at Arafat, but Jon Lewis then came in to hit his first two balls, from Arafat, for four and six. Nannes, however, trapped Lewis lbw with the final ball of the innings to give himself excellent figures of 3 for 25.

Northamptonshire made an impressive return to County Championship action, totally dominating the first day of the match against Leicestershire at Grace Road

19-Jun-2011
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Northamptonshire made an impressive return to County Championship action, totally dominating the first day of the match against Leicestershire at Grace Road. The Division Two leaders dismissed bottom-of-the-table Leicestershire for 168 with Lee Daggett and David Lucas claiming four wickets a piece before Stephen Peters hit an unbeaten 76 as Northamptonshire closed 32 runs behind on 136 for 2.Both wickets were taken by Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard, who bowled Ben Howgego for 26 and had Rob White caught behind for 22. Peters, dropped at slip on 54, shared an opening partnership of 83 with Howgego and reached his half-century off 65 balls with eight boundaries as he turned the screws on the hosts.Leicestershire would have been in an even worse plight but for a half-century from Wayne White, who shared a sixth-wicket stand of 80 with Tom New. But they lost their last five wickets for 13 runs in six overs and Peters’ solid innings in reply put his side in complete command.There was little sign of the problems to come when Leicestershire’s openers Will Jefferson and Matt Boyce put on 39 in 13 overs. Then Boyce was undone by a yorker from Daggett that knocked back his middle stump, the dismissal triggering a sudden collapse that saw five wickets tumble for 36 runs.Daggett struck twice more having Jefferson caught at midwicket and Andrew McDonald snapped up behind the stumps while Greg Smith was bowled as he pushed forward to a full-length delivery from Andrew Hall. A moment of misjudgement cost James Taylor dearly when he was given out lbw offering no shot to a ball from Jack Brooks that would certainly have hit the stumps.It left Leicestershire in disarray at 75 for 5 before a bright and positive sixth-wicket stand between White and New put the brakes on Northamptonshire’s progress. The aggressive White was the dominant force hammering 10 boundaries in a 77-ball half-century.But having put on 80 runs in 20 overs New carved a catch to point off Lucas and Leicestershire’s recovery ground to a halt with the last five wickets contributing little. White was out for 54 top-edging a catch as he tried to pull a short ball from Lucas and the tailenders all went cheaply. Lucas finished with 4 for 55 and Daggett 4 for 35.

Persistent rain showers meant Nottinghamshire and Essex had to settle for a point each in Sunday’s abandoned Clydesdale Bank 40 clash at Trent Bridge

17-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Persistent rain showers meant Nottinghamshire and Essex had to settle for a point each in Sunday’s abandoned Clydesdale Bank 40 clash at Trent Bridge.Notts were invited to bat first in cloudy conditions and saw Alex Hales bowled by Graham Napier in the third over before rain arrived soon after. The innings resumed with the match reduced to 27 overs a side and Notts then collapsed from 70 for 2 to 127 for 7 in the 23rd over as Ravi Bopara (3 for 27) and Tim Phillips (2 for 21) shared five wickets between them.Heavy showers returned and although it was announced that Essex would have to chase 74 to win from 10 overs, the bad weather eventually saw the game called off at 6.50pm.Essex are now equal on 10 points with Group C leaders Somerset Sabres, while Nottinghamshire are back in fourth place having picked up five points from six matches.

Junaid Khan came good for the Pakistanis, claiming four wickets, as the two-day tour game in Bulawayo ended in a draw

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Junaid Khan came good for the Pakistanis, claiming four wickets, as the two-day tour game in Bulawayo ended in a draw. The Zimbabwe XI managed only a three-run first innings lead after a lower-order collapse, following which the Pakistanis put on 72 for 1 in 24 overs before the match ended.Resuming on 30 for no loss, the Zimbabwe XI were jolted early by left-armer Junaid who trapped both Tino Mawoyo and Regis Chakabva lbw, the latter for a duck. Greg Lamb managed to provide overnight batsman Chamu Chibhabha – who top scored with 70 – with a bit of support and the pair put on 71. But legspinner Yasir Shah dismissed both in quick succession, Zimbabwe XI faltering at 132 for 4. Another period of brief resistance was followed by a slide, as the hosts lost their last six wickets for 43 runs. Offspinner Saeed Ajmal also picked up two wickets for the Pakistanis in a tidy spell.Mohammad Hafeez was positive when his side came out to bat, stroking 39 off 48 balls before succumbing to the left-arm spin of Cephas Zhuwao. Taufeeq Umar and Misbah-ul-Haq then safely negotiated till the end of play.Pakistan take on Zimbabwe in a lone Test from September 1 in Bulawayo.

Another century by Shivnarine Chanderapaul further undermined Yorkshire’s hold
on Division One status and edged Warwickshire closer to the County
Championship crown at Edgbaston

01-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Another century by Shivnarine Chanderapaul further undermined Yorkshire’s hold
on Division One status and edged Warwickshire closer to the County
Championship crown at Edgbaston.Needing to make 350 to have enough bonus points to overhaul Lancashire after
the leaders’ early defeat at Worcester, they were just about on course as
Chanderpaul’s 110 from 182 balls helped level the scores with six wickets down
at the end of the second day.Having dismissed Yorkshire for 281 in the morning, when Rikki Clarke mopped up
the last two wickets after signing a new two-year contract, the title-chasing
Midlanders did not have things all their own way when they batted. Ryan Sidebottom and fellow-seamers Ajmal Shahzad and Moin Ashraf bowled with purpose to capture the first four wickets for 137, but the in-form Tim Ambrose made an unbeaten 68 and shared in a stand of 135.For the second time in nine days Yorkshire’s bowlers were run ragged by
Chanderpaul’s powers of concentration and destruction. Having made 193 in 434 minute at Headingley Carnegie last week, the West Indies left hander adopted his familiar pose, crouched over the crease, almost square on to the bowler, and refused to budge for four-and-a-half hours.It has been Yorkshire’s misfortune to run into an exceptional player who is
targeting a third county championship after previously winning successive titles
with Durham. His arrival for the last five matches could be the key component in
strengthening a batting line-up in which only one of the top-order regulars has
averaged more than 40.This fragility was evident as Varun Chopra and William Porterfield edged
catches off Shahzad and Sidebottom, but Ian Westwood found some form as he
comfortably outpaced Chanderpaul in a stand of 67. Seven fours helped the opener to 55 before he was caught at first slip off Sidebottom, and when Jim Troughton followed suit, flashing at a ball from Ashraf, Yorkshire seemed to be in the box seat.However Chanderpaul continued to be the immoveable object, although not without
a delicate touch in finding gaps in the field. Ambrose, with ten fours in his
half-century, was generally the more forceful until his partner quickened up
with two sixes and six fours after reaching 50.Sidebottom finally gave Yorkshire renewed hope by breaking a stand of 135 when
Chanderpaul nicked a catch behind the wicket and the former England bowler also
trapped nightwatchman Chris Metters lbw in the final over. Somehow the Tykes have to find a way to win this match and then beat Somerset in the final fixture to have a realistic chance of finishing above resurgent rivals Worcestershire and Hampshire.

United Arab Emirates took advantage of a placid track to reach 361 for 8 on the first day of the Intercontinental Cup match against Afghanistan at Sharjah

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2011Opener Bakthiyar Palekar reached 76 in helpful conditions on the first day at Sharjah•ICC

United Arab Emirates took advantage of a placid track to reach 361 for 8 on the first day of the Intercontinental Cup match against Afghanistan at Sharjah. Opener Bakthiyar Palekar led the way on his first-class debut with an aggressive 76 after Afghanistan had made a few early dents with the new ball. There were contributions all through the lower middler order although Dawlat Zadran and Samiullah Shenwari struck at intervals to keep their team in the match.UAE, who are languishing just above Canada and Namibia in the competition’s rankings, were in desperate need of a solid first innings after being allowed to bat in familiar conditions but struggled early on as Arshad Ali and Abdul Rehman departed for single figures. Palekar fought back with an array of shots, cracking 12 fours and two sixes in his 60-ball innings before he presented Zadran with a return catch.The home side were 90 for 3 when he fell, but it proved much harder to break through as the ball got older and captain Khurram Khan helped lay a solid platform by adding 98 for the fourth wicket with Swapnil Patil. Shenwari eventually removed Patil for 61, but Afghanistan continued to toil as Vikrant Shetty added a half-century, while Amjad Ali struck three sixes in his otherwise patient 49.Afghanistan were able to stem the runs through Mohammad Nabi’s offspin, but at the other end the runs continued to flow and even Zadran, who had his fourth wicket when he got rid of Fayyaz Ahmed, went at more than four an over. Afghanistan will be hoping to get through the tail as quickly as possible on the second morning to allow their batsmen a chance to cash in.

Zaheer Khan, the Indian seamer, has said fast bowling doesn’t come naturally to Indians and for an Indian bowler to develop the art requires a lot of hard work

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2011Zaheer Khan, the Indian seamer, has said fast bowling doesn’t come naturally to Indians and recommended county cricket for the upcoming Indian fast bowlers to improve their skills.”It’s not a natural thing,” Zaheer told . “Indian bodies are not designed to bowl fast but that said, it’s not very different from bowling outside India. Basically you have to spend a lot of time understanding yourself, your art, and then find out what works for you and what doesn’t. It also involves a lot of hard work.”When asked why several Indian fast bowlers drop significantly in pace while playing international cricket, Zaheer said: “It’s about trying to adapt to the international level, where the room for error is less. You can’t always do at the international level what you do at domestic level.”You need to understand your bowling style and work on fitness that much more. The bottom line is as long you are able to produce results, it is fine. I also dropped pace, so basically it’s important to know what works for you at the international level and put that into practice.”Zaheer had a successful stint with Worcestershire in 2006 and it helped him make a comeback to the national side after being dropped. Match practice, he said, was key to improving one’s skill as a fast bowler. “The bottom line is match practice,” he said. “Experience is something that is valued and you gain that by playing matches. No matter how hard you try at the nets, the match scenario is completely different.”As for county cricket, their season is the off season in India, that’s why I would recommend it, but again the bottom line is more matches, wherever you play.”India missed the services of Zaheer on the tour of England, where he was ruled out due to an injury. He picked up a hamstring injury on the first day of the first Test at Lord’s, but he also had a right ankle impingement that required surgery, which he underwent recently. “I had an ankle surgery and all I can say at this point is that things are looking good,” he said. “Progress has been slow but I’m not putting too much pressure on myself. I’m also not putting a timeline to my return. I did bowl from two steps today, and it felt really good.”I wanted to play badly but what can one do. I was 100% fit when I landed in England and didn’t rush my return in any way but picked up another injury. That’s the way the game goes.”