India v New Zealand, First Test

Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad

IND: *Gavaskar, Sidhu, Umrigar, Hazare, Azharuddin, Borde, +Engineer, Kapil Dev, Srinath, Venkataraghavan, Bedi.
NZL: Turner, Richardson, Congdon, MD Crowe, *Reid, Burgess, +Parore, Hadlee, Taylor, Bracewell, HJ Howarth.

Debuts: NS Sidhu & CG Borde (IND); MH Richardson (NZL)
Umpires: VK Ramaswamy & PD Reporter

New Zealand's first ATG tour of India got off to the most insipid of starts as a combination of a soft, lifeless pitch and stiflingly accurate Indian bowling allowed just 169 runs to be scored on the first day. John Reid won the toss and batted, but the Kiwis found stroke making almost impossible, and their eventual first innings total of 245 spanned 155 overs and stretched into the second afternoon. With the exception of Crowe, New Zealand's top seven all got starts, but no-one could top skipper Reid's 43 and Mark Burgess laboured for four hours and 230 balls for his 40. India's attack was minus the injured Chandrasekhar, but Venkat and Bedi dominated proceedings, sending down 96 overs between them for 123 runs and a haul of six wickets, and one wondered whether the tourists' attack had it in them to frustrate the home batsmen to the same extent.

India's reply got off to a slow start, and by the end of the second day the hosts were a precarious 80-3, but day three belonged to Sunil Gavaskar as India tightened their grip on the game. 344 runs came on an oppressively hot third day, and only one wicket fell as Gavaskar and Hazare compiled a record breaking fourth wicket partnership. Their stand of 296 was the second highest for the fourth wicket in all of ATG history and India's second highest for any wicket, and New Zealand's bowling looked increasingly toothless on a pitch that was hardening and flattening in the heat. Hazare's contribution was 133, his seventh ATG hundred, but Gavaskar continued remorselessly on, eventually raising the second slowest double century ever after nine hours and 462 balls at the crease, his fourth score in excess of 200 in ATG Tests.

India's innings eventually closed on 547, with Gavaskar last out for a gargantuan, career-best 295. He was dropped twice, on 188 and 230, and was involved in an incredible four run outs during the innings, but his twelve hour, 595 ball opus had given India an impregnable 302 run advantage, and New Zealand now faced the prospect of batting for four and a half sessions to save the game. Turner fell early, but Richardson and Congdon put together an assured century partnership before both fell victim of rash strokes against the spinners shortly before stumps on day four, and the tourists began the final day on 138-3, still 164 runs in arrears.

It was 143-4 when Reid (13) was brilliantly caught at first slip by Gavaskar off Kapil Dev in just the second over of the final day, but a combination of rain and a resolute Martin Crowe now set about frustrating India's quest for victory. Over an hour's play was lost either side of lunch over the course of three separate stoppages, but Crowe maintained his concentration and stroked his way to a composed hundred, and New Zealand had every chance of saving the game whilst he remained at the wicket.

However, with over an hour's play remaining, Crowe was run out for 114 as he attempted a risky second run in order to keep the strike, and at 277-8 New Zealand's brave resistance appeared to be at an end. Taylor fell soon after to make it 288-9, and the Black Caps' last pair would have to bat for 40 minutes to secure the draw. Bracewell and Howarth played positively though, knowing that if they could push their team into the lead then vital time would be wiped off the clock. Engineer crucially squandered the chance to stump Bracewell off Bedi, and with twenty minutes remaining the tenth wicket pair nudged the score past 300 and took New Zealand into the black. Ten nervy minutes later the draw was assured, and Bracewell (25*) and Howarth (13*) left the field as heroes with the bat, if not the ball. New Zealand had got out of jail, but it looks as though this could be a very long series for the men from the Land of the Long White Cloud.

Scores
NZL 1st Inns 245 (Reid 43, Burgess 40; Venkat 4-64)
IND 1st Inns 547 (Gavaskar 295, Hazare 133)
NZL 2nd Inns 322-9 (Crowe 114, Richardson 63, Congdon 41)

MATCH DRAWN

Man of the Match: SM Gavaskar

India v New Zealand - Series Preview

Coming as it does between Australian series against South Africa and West Indies, New Zealand's first tour of India (also their first five Test series) has always been in danger of being overshadowed, but the match-up between ATG cricket's two lowest ranked teams still promises some competitive action. A comprehensive win for India would send them above West Indies in the rankings, whilst the Kiwis have much to prove as they continue their battle to climb out of the basement.

John Reid has been retained as skipper and will lead the New Zealand party with Bevan Congdon as his vice-captain, whilst opening batsman Mark Richardson is the only new cap to make the trip. The squad in full:

JR Reid (c), BE Congdon (vc), SL Boock, JG Bracewell, MG Burgess, EJ Chatfield, MD Crowe, RJ Hadlee, HJ Howarth, RC Motz, AC Parore, MH Richardson, IDS Smith, B Sutcliffe, BR Taylor, GM Turner.

There is therefore still no recall for leading runscorer Martin Donnelly, but other than that it is a largely predictable squad selection, given recent form, and the starting XI will have its first run out when the series gets underway in Ahmedabad.

South Africa v Australia - Series Summary

Australia now have just five victories in their last 22 Tests, winning only one out of six series in that time, and although they cling on to their number one ranking, both South Africa and England are in touching distance of the top. In their defence, the Aussies were certainly very unfortunate in having to deal with a rash of injuries and any number of poor umpiring decisions, and the call for neutral umpires in ATG cricket is now louder than ever. Take nothing away from South Africa, though; their tactic of hitting the Australians with an unremitting barrage of pace paid huge dividends, and the tourists were literally battered into submission. Australia next host West Indies, and memories of the ‘blackwash’ in the Caribbean will have to be banished to the back of the mind if they are to maintain their position as top dog in ATG cricket.

South Africa - Batting

	M	I	No	Runs	HS	Avge	100	50
RG Pollock	5	9	1	587	195	73.38	3	1
BA Richards	5	10	1	424	199	47.11	1	1
TL Goddard	5	10	1	380	121	42.22	1	2
JHB Waite	5	9	1	220	88*	27.50	-	1
AD Nourse	5	9	-	245	111	27.22	1	-

South Africa - Bowling

	Overs	Runs	Wkts	Avge	Best	5/10
AA Donald	117.1	269	11	24.45	5-46	1/-
PS Heine	52.1	149	6	24.83	5-67	1/-
MJ Procter	185.0	457	18	25.39	3-30	-/-
HJ Tayfield	156.3	385	15	25.67	6-68	1/-
TL Goddard	144.5	309	12	25.75	5-70	1/-

Australia - Batting

	M	I	No	Runs	HS	Avge	100	50
AR Border	5	10	2	376	112	47.00	1	1
DG Bradman	2	4	1	132	52*	44.00	-	1
IA Healy	3	5	-	200	79	40.00	-	3
GS Chappell	5	10	-	362	93	36.20	-	3
MA Taylor	5	10	1	254	73	28.22	-	2

Australia - Bowling

	Overs	Runs	Wkts	Avge	Best	5/10
WA Johnston	219.1	488	22	22.18	7-82	1/-
AK Davidson	196.2	456	20	22.80	6-100	1/-
KR Miller	67.0	182	6	30.33	3-39	-/-
JR Thomson	84.5	233	7	33.29	2-49	-/-
DK Lillee	123.0	413	10	41.30	4-40	-/-

SOUTH AFRICA WON THE SERIES 3-1

Players of the Series
RG Pollock & WA Johnston

South Africa v Australia - Fifth Test, Day 5

It has been a case of "if it can go wrong, it will go wrong" for Australia on this tour, and on the final day of the trip it was the elements that appeared to be conspiring against the visitors. Rain allowed only forty minutes play before lunch, during which time Neil Harvey was well held in the slips by Nourse off Donald for 17, and at the interval Australia's total stood at 69-1, 110 runs away from victory.

The Aussies do not have a good record when it comes to chasing down small targets, and three further wickets fell in a rain-interrupted afternoon as the jitters set in once again. Donald claimed all three scalps as he continued a spell of sustained hostility from the Pavilion End, and when Woodfull departed for 43 on the stroke of tea, Australia had lost their anchor still 64 runs short of the finishing line.

The evening session began in light that would normally force the players from the field, but there was no way that Australia were going come off so close to their target. Healy (0) became Donald's fifth victim when he was bowled by a slower ball that he failed to pick up, and at 126-5 Australia were on the verge of blowing yet another fourth innings chase. However, Allan Border was still at the crease, and once fatigue finally forced Donald out of the attack, he was able to guide his team towards their target with Richie Benaud (8) the only other casualty before the magic figure of 179 was reached.

Australia had thus won by 4 wickets and had avoided being blanked by the Springboks, but victory in Centurion could not hide the fact that the once-invincible Green & Gold machine is still misfiring badly. South Africa now move into a tie with England for second place in the ATG rankings, both teams sitting just two points behind Australia at the top, and one feels that there will soon be a change at the top table in ATG cricket.

Close of Play, Day 5
SAF 1st Inns 193 (Procter 44; Johnston 4-49)
AUS 1st Inns 309 (Healy 79, Border 58, Benaud 46*; Goddard 5-70)
SAF 2nd Inns 294 (Waite 88*, Bland 62, Richards 58)
AUS 2nd Inns 179-6 (Border 49*, Woodfull 43; Donald 5-46)

AUSTRALIA WON BY 4 WICKETS


Man of the Match: AR Border

South Africa v Australia - Fifth Test, Day 4

After all yesterday's controversies, day four thankfully passed with little incident, and the cricket that was played saw Australia place themselves on the verge of a consolation victory in the series' final Test. Pollock (22) and Rhodes (10) both departed early, and when rain forced an early lunch, South Africa led by just 85 on 201-6.

The runs all but dried up in the afternoon as the tourists turned the screw still further, and only John Waite stood between Australia and a paltry fourth innings victory target. South Africa's 'keeper batted pugnaciously for his first fifty of the series, and with the help of Procter (20), Tayfield (16) and Donald (8), Waite oversaw the addition of 136 runs for the last four wickets, with South Africa's eventual total of 294 setting Australia a target of 179 in the best part of four sessions. Waite finished undefeated on 88, adding 51 for the ninth wicket with Donald in less than an hour as he chased his century, and his innings ensured that any win for Australia would be no cakewalk.

Benaud's team chipped 45 runs off their target by the close, but they lost the services of Mark Taylor for 9 as Donald poleaxed his third Australian of the match with another volley of short-pitched bowling. Taylor will probably be able to bat on the final day, but Australia will hope that they will not require his services with just another 134 runs needed for a face saving victory.

Close of Play, Day 4
SAF 1st Inns 193 (Procter 44; Johnston 4-49)
AUS 1st Inns 309 (Healy 79, Border 58, Benaud 46*; Goddard 5-70)
SAF 2nd Inns 294 (Waite 88*, Bland 62, Richards 58)
AUS 2nd Inns 45-0

South Africa v Australia - Fifth Test, Day 3

Day three in Centurion was marred by controversy, with tempers reaching boiling point as what had already been a hard-fought series neared its conclusion. Healy and Benaud extended their seventh wicket partnership to 53 before the former was bowled by Goddard for a career best 79, but Davidson quickly departed lbw for 7, victim of yet another poor decision by umpire Kidson.

Australia led by 88 at lunch with a score of 281-8, and they managed to post their first total of over 300 in the series before Allan Donald ended the innings in controversial fashion. First he felled Australia's number 10, Jeff Thomson, with a searingly quick short pitched ball, and after Goddard removed a clearly shaken Thomson for 5 two overs later, Donald laid out Richie Benaud with a similar delivery, ending the innings as Australia's skipper was forced to retire for a valiant 46.

Umpires Ashman and Kidson would later attract heavy criticism for failing to control Donald's barrage of bouncers at the Australian tail, and the controversy did not end there as South Africa's second innings got under way in the most acrimonious fashion. Trailing by 116, the Springboks now needed a good start from their openers, but with just 4 runs on the board, Trevor Goddard - whose seventh five wicket haul in ATG cricket had earlier gone almost unnoticed - was run out by substitute Bill O'Reilly after fending away a Johnston bouncer to square leg. Goddard did not appear to be attempting a run, but he was out of his crease when O'Reilly's underarm throw hit the stumps, and after much debate with both the umpires and Australia's stand-in captain, Allan Border, he was sent on his way.

Importantly for South Africa at this time, Richards and Bland managed to keep their heads whilst all those around them seemed to be losing theirs, and a century stand either side of tea wiped out the hosts' deficit as Australia's threadbare attack looked like it was beginning to struggle. A neat stumping by Healy standing up to Chappell removed Richards for 58 though, and by stumps both Bland (62) and Nourse (2) departed in fading light as South Africa closed on 155-4, just 39 runs to the good. It had been an exhausting day in Centurion, and one can only hope that come tomorrow it will be the cricket that makes the headlines as Australia attempt to close in on a consolation victory to finish the series.

Close of Play, Day 3
SAF 1st Inns 193 (Procter 44; Johnston 4-49)
AUS 1st Inns 309 (Healy 79, Border 58, Benaud 46*; Goddard 5-70)
SAF 2nd Inns 155-4 (Bland 62, Richards 58)