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/ 18 October 2007

Gibbs, De Villiers lead SA to comfortable win

AB de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs smashed centuries to help South Africa defeat Pakistan by 45 runs in the first day-night international in Lahore on Thursday. De Villiers notched a brisk unbeaten 95-ball 103, while Gibbs scored 102 to propel the tourists to 294-5 in 50 overs before paceman Makhaya Ntini restricted Pakistan to 249 in 46.3 overs.

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/ 16 October 2007

Proteas enjoy crushing warm-up win

Mark Boucher and AB de Villiers hit quick-fire hundreds as South Africa tuned up for the one-day international series with a crushing 176-run win against Pakistan’s Patron’s XI on Tuesday. Boucher scored a 106-ball 103 while de Villiers raced to an unbeaten 113 off 95 balls as the tourists compiled 328-4 in just 45 overs at Bagh-e-Jinnah Stadium.

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/ 16 October 2007

Pollock, Akhtar join Indian Twenty20 league

South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock, his New Zealand counterpart Jacob Oram and Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar have signed up for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 series, organisers said on Tuesday. Their inclusion takes to 25 the number of foreign players who have committed to the lucrative league due to start next April.

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/ 11 October 2007

Pakistan fight to save Test against SA

Pakistan put up a spirited display as they fought to save the second Test against South Africa on the fourth day on Thursday. Kamran Akmal (49) and Younis Khan (48) added 93 runs for the unbroken second wicket to take Pakistan to 108-1 at close, raising the home team’s hopes of salvaging the match on the fifth day on a deteriorating pitch.

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/ 10 October 2007

SA tighten the screws on Pakistan

South Africa marched towards setting a stiff target for Pakistan in the second Test on Wednesday. The visitors were 154-2 at stumps on day three — enjoying an overall lead of 305 runs with captain Graeme Smith batting on 75 and in-form Jacques Kallis not out on 37.

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/ 9 October 2007

Late wickets put SA in command

Pakistan struggled to 140 for four in reply to South Africa’s 357 all out at the close on day two of the second Test at the Gadaffi stadium on Tuesday. Inzamam-ul-Haq (37) appearing in his 120th and final Test, was unbeaten on 10 alongside Misbah-ul-Haq (10) after Pakistan lost four wickets in the final session.

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/ 8 October 2007

Kallis, Prince shine for Proteas

Ashwell Prince and Jacques Kallis hit fighting half centuries for South Africa on Monday against a disciplined Pakistan bowling attack on the first day of the second Test. South Africa prodded to 259-6 with Mark Boucher not out on 9 and Andre Nel yet to score as stumps were drawn for the day seven overs before scheduled close due to bad light.

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/ 8 October 2007

Springboks handed favourites tag

South Africa’s media on Monday declared the Springboks as the new favourites to win the Rugby World Cup after they narrowly avoided becoming the third victim of a weekend of quarterfinal upsets. Newspapers breathed a sigh of relief that the Boks saw off a brave challenge by Fiji, who at one stage were level-pegging at 20-20.

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/ 5 October 2007

SA crush Pakistan in first Test

Fast bowler Dale Steyn took five wickets to lead South Africa to a thumping 160-run win over Pakistan just before tea on the final day of the first Test at the National Stadium in Karachi on Friday. Pakistan were bowled out for 263 chasing an improbable victory target of 424 runs, with captain Shoaib Malik the last man out after an obdurate 30 runs from 99 balls.

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/ 1 October 2007

Kallis hits century on South Africa return

Jacques Kallis scored his 25th Test century to guide South Africa to a commanding 294-3 after the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi on Monday. Kallis (118 not out) and Hashim Amla (71) put on 170 for the third wicket to justify captain Graeme Smith’s decision to bat first on a slow pitch.

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/ 1 October 2007

SA win toss and bat in Karachi

South African captain Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test against Pakistan on Monday after Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf pulled out at the last minute. The 33-year-old Yousuf last week cancelled his contract with a rebel Indian league and made himself available for Pakistan.

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/ 28 September 2007

Twenty20: No reason to be grumpy

Let’s not talk about Jacques Kallis, shall we? Controversies around non-selection are the most boring aspect of sporting discourse and rarely confront real problems. Besides, the batsman’s reputation is glowing thanks to his omission: by not being picked, he was saved from two-stepping Sreesanth, trying to glide a Yorker to third man, and being bowled for three.

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/ 19 September 2007

Kemp, Morkel lead SA to comfortable win

Justin Kemp blasted 89 not out off 56 balls after Morne Morkel claimed 4-17 as South Africa thrashed New Zealand by six wickets in the Twenty20 World Championship on Wednesday. Graeme Smith’s home team restricted the Kiwis to 153-8 after giving them first strike at Kingsmead and then knocked off the modest target with five balls to spare.

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/ 15 September 2007

South Africa cruise against Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s batsmen launched a ferocious attack on South Africa’s bowlers but were unable to bat out their 20 overs in a Twenty20 World Championship match at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday. South Africa cruised to a seven-wicket win after Bangladesh were bowled out for 144 in 19.3 overs after being sent in.

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/ 14 September 2007

No pressure on SA, says Graeme Smith

With the West Indies out of the Twenty20 World Championship, there is no pressure on South Africa in their group match against Bangladesh at Newlands on Saturday evening, Proteas skipper Graeme Smith said on Friday. ”It’s a free game for us to make sure we get our basics right,” he said.

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/ 12 September 2007

Arthur delighted by Twenty20 victory

South African cricket coach Mickey Arthur was understandably delighted that his team managed to take their experience from the Standard Bank Pro20 Series into the international arena when they hammered the West Indies by eight wickets in an impressive start to the Twenty20 World Championship at the Wanderers on Monday night.

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/ 3 September 2007

Conditions key for bowlers at Twenty20 Cup

South African captain Graeme Smith believes bowlers could play as big a role as batsmen at the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup his nation is hosting from September 11. ”I’m unsure whether batsmen are going to totally dominate. No one really knows what conditions are going to be like at this time of year,” Smith said.

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/ 28 August 2007

Much to do ahead of Twenty20 Cup

There is a serious amount of work to be done before the International Cricket Council Twenty20 World Cup tournament, which starts on September 11, said South African cricket coach Mickey Arthur on Monday, after the Proteas’ return from their 3-0 one-day international series victory over Zimbabwe.