AUSTRALIA - Manager: Mustafa Khan
THE AUSTRALIANS MAKE IT AGAIN!
Melbourne, 22nd June : Australia defeated the West Indies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of a packed home crowd. The Aussies winning the toss and electing to bowl on a pitch which had something in it for the bowlers early on.
The bowling had paid off as the West Indies were all out for just 143 in the 1st innings. Glenn McGrath and Michael Bevan doing the job with figures of 10.3-2-27-4 & 14-4-38-3 respectively. Only Sherwin Campbell put on some resistance by making a well built 52 off 85 balls which included eight 4s.
The Australian 1st innings was not much better as they were all out for a moderate 190. The old fast bowling machines from the West Indies Ambrose & Walsh showed flair by capturing 9 wickets between them, Walsh getting 5.
The West Indian 2nd innings was absolutely brilliant as the team put up a massive 393. Brian Lara was hero scoring a massive 174*, getting great support from Jimmy Adams and Chanderpaul. The track became much easier to bat on as the match progressed and it was turning a bit and Michael Bevan really bowled quite well at the absence of the "Spin King" Shane Warne. McGrath and Bevan were the prime wicket takers and they returned with figures of 21.4-6-61-3 & 36-12-117-4 respectively.
Needing a mammoth 347 to victory the Aussies started poorly losing Mark Waugh early. After a consolidation period Mark Taylor was out for just 15. Ricky Ponting played a blasting innings making 55 off 55 balls including seven 4s. No one expected Australia to pull this off as the team was 3-95 at one stage and this is when the great hero Darren Lehmann came to the crease. Playing a very patient knock of 162 off 236 balls smashing 24 4s, he took the Aussies home single handedly. This innings was far more important than that of Brian Lara earlier. With support from Law and Healy, Lehmann really proved that he was a worthy test player and showed everyone what he is capable of. Australia took the match comfortably at the end by 5 wickets.
Shane Warne will not be back for another two weeks so now Steve Waugh will take over from Mark Waugh for that period.
ENGLAND - Manager: Dan Thomas
The test that has been anticipated for some time finally takes place this weekend as the 2 undefeated teams England and Todd XI meet. With past results of these 2 teams a draw seems an unlikely result. At least England can name an unchanged side for the 4th week running and with home support are hopeful of a positive result.
England had maintained their unbeaten record with a workman like victory over Sri Lanka by 8 wickets. For the 2nd week running Croft was man of the match and is now seriously challenging Gough for the MVP award for the season. 10 wickets in the match was the reward for Croft's effort as England's overall bowling proved far too strong for Sri Lanka. England's top order batting apart from Hussain though was disappointing as has been the case too often during this season. Stewart, Atherton and Thorpe are average less than 30 which is why below the expected batting benchmark of 40. Gough still tops the averages with 238 having being dismissed only once all season.
INDIA - Manager: Mat Kenneally
The India camp was overjoyed after a hard-fought 53 run win over South Africa in round 5. Manager Mathew Kenneally said 'I was really happy this week proved our batting tactics can work'. Sachin Tendulkar played a vital role with the ball taking wickets late on the fifth day impressing Mat as well.
As individuals South Africa outplayed India but contributions by all the players got India over the line. It was also good from India's point of view to see the batting lineup performing minus Tendulkar. Srinath and Prasad bowled very well and Kumble is a warhorse.
However, India has one severe problem - Azharuddin who is horribly out of form. 'I don't know what to do he is batting so far down the order' said Mat Kenneally. This week is thought to be his last chance.
NEW ZEALAND - Manager: Ben Buchanan
NEW ZEALAND LOSE AGAIN
Another terrible display by New Zealand here today where the were beaten by an innings and 39 runs by Pakistan. New Zealand were never in the contest when their batsman failed miserably only scoring 149 runs. Bryan Young's 28 was the highest score which typified the disastorous batting display.
Pakistan then completely batted New Zealand out of the game scoring 394 with Azhar Mahmood scoring a mammoth 186. O'Connor took another 4 wicket bag continuing his good form (the only player in the team that can hold their head slightly high).
New Zealand then needed 244 to make Pakistan bat again but fell short by 39 runs. Horne made 50 in the second innings but he had little support from his teammates.
The New Zealanders have hit rock bottom and the coach is facing the axe, (especially after his failure to include captain Fleming for the Pakistan match) but Buchanan still remains positive saying a win is just round the corner.
A strong batting lineup will boost the confidence of the players although Vettori's absence through injury makes the bowling look 1 dimensional.
PAKISTAN - Manager: Nathan Porter
Pakistan has now won three consecutive games which has pushed them into 3rd spot on the table. At home once again, this time to South Africa, the Pakistani's will be looking to improve their pretty awful home record against the lowly ranked South Africans.
They are in no way taking this match lightly though, with skipper Wasim Akram out for the fixture and the not so inform Aamir Sohail, left to carry the burden of possible riots if the team does not succeed.
The batsmen are still struggling to find form and are not getting that much of a chance thanks to some outstanding bowling performances. Only Azhar Mahmood impressed in the last match against New Zealand, smahing 186 runs off 243 balls, and setting up for a win. the likes of Waqar, Wasim, Mushtaq and Saqlain didn't let the team down, bowling out New Zealand twice for low totals.
SOUTH AFRICA - Manager: Steve Hill
SA STUMBLE
South Africa stumbled at the last hurdle and lost their fourth match in a row, one that they should have won. India batted very well against a fired up bowling attack and then once again the SA batsmen were disappointing.
The bowling was extremely organised and SA managed to bowl India out leaving them a difficult but attainable target. They got off to an atrocious start, but first innings hero, captain Hansie Cronje together with Shaun Pollock and other bottom order batsmen took the South Africans within a whisper of winning, but they were just not able to hold out and stumbled to yet another defeat.
This leaves them second from the bottom of the league and in desperate need of some good wins in order to save face. Home ground advantage for the next match is going to have to be put to good use.
No changes have been made to the side as manager Steve Hill is working on a stability policy.
SRI LANKA - Manager: Keith McLeod
SRI LANKA MUST DIG DEEP
The Sri Lankan cricket team will be forced to dig deep if they are to salvage a season in rapid decline. After starting the Warwick Todd World Championships well, winning two and drawing one of their first three games, the Sri Lankans have lost ignonimously in their last two outings. Beaten well by both the English and Zimbabweans, one would think the Sri Lankan team would be a team under real pressure, but from all outward signs this doesn't appear to be the case. The Sri Lankan team appears to be in a confident, almost buoyant mood.
'We really aren't so badly off', explained manager Keith McLeod, 'We're still well placed on the table and are now injury free and looking forward to the next two matches. I'm sure we can get two from two and get our campaign back on track.' Sri Lanka plays New Zealand away in the coming weekend, a match in which they would have to be favorites, despite their recent record. Following the Kiwi game, the Sri Lankans return home for two games. The first of these matches is against arch-rivals Pakistan, a side who has just supplanted the Sri Lankans in fourth place on the table, and the second is against the Warwick Todd XI, a side quickly earning the 'Invincibles' tag.
With the return of star players Hashan Tillakaratne and Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lankans are injury free, and will be fielding a formidable line-up. 'The Eden Park pitch looks like it will really suit us', said McLeod, 'We can see it cracking up quite early, and it should suit our spinners. The injury to Vettori could really play into our hands.'
The scene is set for yet another absorbing round of world-class test cricket, and the Sri Lankans are confident that their fortunes are about to take a turn for the better.
WEST INDIES - Manager: Joshua Johnson
Another round, another loss as the inconsistencies of the West Indian batting line-up continue. The first innings batting performance was once again terrible as the Australians managed to clean up the West Indians for a paltry 143. The only resistance was from Campbell who scored 52, the captain Lara going out for a first ball duck.
The damage was reduced by some fine bowling and the Australians, who were at one stage 5/151 were eventually cleaned up for only 190. Walsh (5/55) and Ambrose (4/62) doing the damage.
As the match went on the pitch firmed up and batting became a lot easier. This was clearly demonstrated by a brilliant innings of 174* by Lara who found some support from Adams and Chanderpaul who both made half centuries. The side was eventually all out for 393 giving the Australians the difficult task of amassing 347 runs for victory.
As it turned out the Aussies were up to the task after a few minor setbacks. Ponting got things going, making 55 runs off the same number of deliveries. But in a man of the match performance, eclipsing the fantastic Lara innings, Darren Lehmann single handedly won the match, making an unbeaten 162. This performance allowed the Australians to easily win the match, with 5 wickets to spare.
Joshua Johnson, manager of the West Indies, expressed his utter disgust with the inability of the team to make runs in the first innings of matches. "This sort of thing has happened too many times. We go out for a measly score in the first innings and then manage to make some runs in the second innings after we have basically already lost the match."
Opener R.G. Samuels has been dropped for the upcoming match against India due to his poor performance thus far in the competition. He has only averaged 17.90 in the 10 innings he has played in and as opener that is just not good enough. He is being replaced by S.C. Williams who will make his first appearance in this competition. "Hopefully the run of bad form will end when the Indians come to visit us on our own soil."
ZIMBABWE - Manager: Dave Hickey
Zimbabwe became the latest victims of the Warwick Todd juggernaut but not before putting up some strong resistance.
Severely weakened by injury, Zimbabwe lost the toss and with a batting line-up that has never been dismissed for less than 460, the Todd XI surprised no one by electing to bat first. By lunch, the Todd XI had reached a cautious 1/65 and after the break Jones started to take charge to see the Todd XI to tea at 2/153. With two wickets in the last half-hour Zimbabwe managed to even up the ledger and the stumps score was a fairly even 5/254.
The first over on Day 2 saw Heath Streak take the wicket of nightwatchman Terry Alderman. When Greg Ritchie fell soon after to leave the score at 7/275 Zimbabwe were starting to feel as though they had found the answer to the powerful Todd batting. Shortly before lunch Zimbabwe claimed the prize wicket of Dean Jones for 181 and the end of the innings looked in sight.
Unfortunately for Zimbabwe, Greg Matthews and Tim Zoehrer had other ideas and they swung the match back the way of the Todd XI with an amazing 129 run partnership for the ninth wicket. They had seen the Todd XI through to another massive score with their innings finishing at 467 with Matthews making 89 and Zoehrer 64. Paul Strang took five wickets and combined well with Andy Flower who picked up five catches and a stumping.
Zimbabwe were left a tricky one hour to bat on Day 2 and had unfortunately lost both Flower brothers by stumps. Zimbabwe's woes continued early on Day 3 as they lost Goodwin and nightwatchman Huckle to be 4/39. Houghton and Wishart added 93 to take the score to 5/132 but wickets continued to fall steadily as Zimbabwe staggered to 8/171, still 96 runs short of avoiding the follow-on. Finally another partnership developed and Streak and Andy Whittall added an extremely important 92 runs. Another 35 runs for the last wicket from Streak and Mbangwa saw Zimbabwe safely past the follow-on to finish at 298, which represented the highest score posted against the Todd XI in this series. Houghton top-scored with 95 while Streak (56no), Andy Whittall (40), Wishart (31) and Mbangwa (22) all chipped in with valuable contributions.
The Todd XI were now in the unfamiliar position of batting for a second time and they steadily lost wickets to be in a bit of trouble at 5/105. For the second time in the match, Greg Matthews steadied the innings and the Todd XI had recovered to be 5/203 by stumps. Andy Flower held four catches to take his match tally to ten dismissals.
Warwick Todd declared at the overnight score and Zimbabwe started their innings needing 373 in the day to win. Zimbabwe started very slowly and when they were 2/65 at lunch, any chance of an unlikely victory had disappeared. Zimbabwe attempted to dig in for an honourable draw and by tea they were delicately placed at 5/122. Alderman claimed two quick wickets after tea, but Streak showed great resistance again and with support from Strang and then Huckle, Zimbabwe made it into the last hour. As he had done all match, Matthews again frustrated Zimbabwe, first by removing Strang and then sealing the victory by bowling Mbangwa.
Zimbabwe manager Dave Hickey was disappointed by the result but not by the effort put in by his injury-depleted team. "I think we have finally come of age in this tournament and this match shows that we can compete with the best. Any team which takes us lightly will be in for a surprise."
Zimbabwe this week plays the highly-rated Australia who are coming out of a form slump but will be without Shane Warne. If Hickey really does believe that Zimbabwe are a chance in this tournament then a victory against Australia is needed to start convincing everyone else.
WARWICK TODD'S XI - Manager: Warwick Todd
Warwick Todd dismissed claims that his team had stuggled against tough opposition from a determined Zimbabwe team in their Round 5 match. "We were complacent" he said. "We just couldn't take this match seriously. I mean where is Zimbabwe anyway? If they were a real cricket team how come we've never played them before?"
Reports from close to the Todd camp claim that the dressing room throughout the match was a non-stop practical joke zone, with Merv Hughes and Greg Ritchie locked in fierce competition. Todd dismissed these reports saying that the dressing room scenes were "no different to any other match we have played this year." He also refuted suggestions that his declaration only came about because Greg Ritchie's gear had been destroyed in some dressing room hijinx. "Total bull**** - we always planned to declare when we were 350 ahead. We just delayed it until morning to sober up a bit."
Round 6 sees the much anticipated clash between the two unbeaten teams - Warwick Todd's XI and England. "We have really been looking forward to this match" said Todd. "The boys are very keen to beat Boonie's record of 65 cans between Sydney and London whilst Boonie thinks he can do even better, given his form on the India and West Indies flights."
England manager Dan Thomas must be delighted by these reports. However, it must be said that no matter how undisciplined they seem, they have been playing some very good cricket. And they are certain to save something special for what will probably be their last match in England.