Climate change protesters said the scorching weather should be a wake-up call for the continent
Chaminda Vaas lost his nerves, but Shivnarine Chanderpaul kept his, and struck a four and a six off the last two balls to hand the West Indies a sensational one-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first one-day international on Thursday. Chasing 236 for victory from their allocation of 50 overs, the West Indies entered the final over at Queen’s Park Oval needing 13 runs to win.
A patient century from Thilan Samaraweera helped Sri Lanka recover to 268 all out at the close of play on the third day of the second Test on Saturday, setting West Indies a victory target of 253. The tourists were reeling at 99-6 but a seventh-wicket stand of 138 between Samaraweera (125) and Chaminda Vaas (45) hauled Sri Lanka back into the game.
Sri Lanka clawed their way back into the second Test on Friday, snapping up six West Indies wickets in the final session to leave the match finely balanced. The home team were 268-7 at the close on the second day, having gone into tea on 133-1 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 278 all out.
Beijing’s air quality is ”better than we have feared” but the International Olympic Committee is prepared to postpone some long-duration events if pollution levels rise, IOC President Jacques Rogge said on Monday. Rogge said there had been similar delays in other Olympic games when there was too much wind or too much snow.
India were knocked out of the World Cup on Sunday after Bangladesh beat debutants Bermuda in a final Group B match to reach the Super Eights. India were condemned to their earliest exit since 1992 when Bangladesh clinched a seven-wicket win in the rain-marred match at Queen’s Park Oval.
India virtually crashed out in the first round of the World Cup after they suffered a shattering 69-run defeat in their crunch Group B match against Sri Lanka on Friday. The 1983 champions were skittled in the 44th over as they failed in their attempt to chase Sri Lanka’s challenging total of 254 for six.
Sri Lanka crushed Bermuda by 243 runs to claim the second-biggest victory in World Cup history on Thursday. Not a bad start for the 1996 champions. Pace bowlers Farveez Maharoof and Lasith Malinga ripped through Bermuda’s inexperienced batting order, bundling it out for 78 in 24.4 overs.
South Africa coach Mickey Arthur said there is no need to panic despite watching his world number one side’s batting line-up fail to click for the second successive match. South Africa lost by seven wickets to Pakistan on Friday in their final World Cup warm-up match on an awful pitch that caused so many concerns that players protested over its match-worthiness.
Pakistan comfortably overhauled South Africa’s 199 in a World Cup warm-up match that was almost abandoned because of an uneven pitch on Friday. Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf combined for a 100-run third-wicket partnership to propel Pakistan to 200-3 with nearly six overs to spare.
South African coach Mickey Arthur said his Cricket World Cup squad had been neither shaken nor stirred by the drama over a gas leak at the team’s hotel in Port of Spain on Wednesday. The Trinidad Hilton was evacuated at 8.15am after guests and staff were overcome with fumes that were later traced to a gas leak on the eighth floor of the 12-storey building.
Pakistan and South African players were involved in what is believed to be a fire scare and had to file out of their Hilton hotel in Port of Spain early on Wednesday as they were having breakfast. Irish and Canadian players, however, were not among those who had to leave the premises, having already left for practice.
Mohammad Hafeez gave an impressive all-round performance to guide Pakistan to an emphatic 77-run victory over Canada in a World Cup warm-up match on Tuesday. Middle-order batsman Hafeez top-scored with a solid 61 to help Pakistan post a challenging 273-8.
Andrew Hall dragged South Africa out of trouble with the bat and then took three wickets on Monday to guide the Proteas to a 36-run win over Ireland in a World Cup warm-up match. Hall struck an unbeaten 67, helping lift South Africa from 91 for eight to 192 all out.
All-rounder Justin Kemp and batsman Herschelle Gibbs suffered injury scares during training on the eve of South Africa’s World Cup warm-up match against Ireland on Monday. Kemp was hit on the left big toe by fast bowler Charl Langeveldt while he batted in the nets on Sunday. Gibbs injured a finger during a fielding drill.
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/ 29 September 2006
A strong earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale rocked Trinidad and Tobago on Friday, alarming locals and leaving major areas of the Caribbean country of 1,3-million without electricity. Early media reports had the entire island of Tobago, and the south and north of densely populated Trinidad without electrical power.
West Indies cruised to a 19-run victory over India on Sunday, wrapping up a 4-1 one-day series victory after a fine all-round batting and bowling display. Chasing 256 runs from their 50 overs to win, India were dismissed for 236 in 48 overs to leave West Indies buoyant heading into next month’s four-Test series.
South Africa coach Ray Jennings basked in the glory of his team’s 5-0 series sweep of the West Indies on Sunday, sending a message to his bosses back home: retain him as coach. There have been rumours that the 50-year-old Jennings will be replaced after the West Indies tour by Mickey Arthur, who coaches the Eastern Cape Warriors.
South Africa completed a seven-wicket victory in the rain-marred fifth and final one-day international against West Indies on Sunday. South Africa won the five-match series 5-0, and have completed an unprecedented clean sweep of an international cricket series in the Caribbean.
South Africa’s cricket captain Graeme Smith may be missing from action, but his side will be going all-out to complete an unprecedented clean sweep of a one-day international series against the West Indies in the Caribbean when the last two matches of their best-of-five series are played on Saturday and Sunday.
A pair of half centuries enabled the University of West Indies’ Vice Chancellor’s XI to earn a draw with South Africa on Sunday, the final day of their two-day friendly at the Sir Frank Worrell park at the St Augustine campus. Habibul Bashar and Shikhan Dhawan led the Vice Chancellor’s XI to 250 for five, replying to South Africa’s 395 for six declared when stumps were drawn.
Makhaya Ntini barely avoided being axed before he turned into the hero of South Africa’s eight-wicket win over the West Indies on Tuesday. Ntini took a career-best seven for 37, including four for three runs, to rout the home side’s tail, and set up a comfortable chase for victory.
South African batsman Jacques Kallis has been cleared of any wrongdoing following a misconduct hearing in Trinidad with International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Jeff Crowe on Sunday. Kallis had been charged of breaching the section of the ICC Code of Conduct that relates to showing dissent at an umpire’s decision.
South Africa claimed West Indies star Brian Lara among three quick wickets before tea to take command on the fourth day of the second Test at Queen’s Park Oval on Monday. The West Indies, who trailed by 51 runs on the first innings, went to the break tottering on 86 for four, a lead of just 35.
Graeme Smith completed his ninth Test hundred and helped South Africa grind their way to a slender first innings lead of 23 in the second Test against West Indies on Sunday. Smith top scored for the visitors with a gritty 148 that anchored his side to 370 for six, replying to the West Indies’ first innings total of 347, when stumps were drawn on the third day.
South Africa were 182-3 at stumps on the second day of the second Test against the West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval on Saturday, in reply to the home side’s first-innings total of 347 all out. Skipper Graeme Smith was 90 not out and night watchman Monde Zondeki unbeaten on one.
The West Indies, buoyed by their performance in the first Test and the return of four key players, will be looking to go the full distance and win the second Test against South Africa, which starts on Friday. The West Indies defied the gloom merchants to outplay South Africa for all but the last two periods of the drawn first Test.