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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday March 30, 2016
Victoria take charge of Sheffield Shield final NO MATTER what happens on the final day, South Australia will know they had enough opportunities to emerge victorious in their first Sheffield Shield final for 20 years. Instead it is Victoria who hold a position of strength with one day remaining, having been the beneficiaries of spurned chances and the Redbacks’ misfortune with bat and ball. Scores: Victoria 399 and 2 for 95 (Dean 54) need 98 runs to beat South Australia 340 and 251 (Weatherald 96, Ross 71, Holland 5-76) Older and wiser, the Bushrangers have taken advantage of South Australia’s naivety at times, never more so than when the young opener Jake Weatherald was on the brink of what would have been a terrific hundred. The visiting captain Matthew Wade had held Fawad Ahmed out of the attack until Weatherald was close, and the temptation to crack a boundary became too much for the left-hander, resulting in a skied catch and the day’s most pivotal wicket. Until that point, Weatherald and Alex Ross had been in complete control of proceedings, but the left-hander’s exit was to be swiftly followed by that of wicketkeeper Alex Carey, who attacked Jon Holland injudiciously to be dismissed for a duck in the very next
over. Holland’s wiles were to be justly rewarded with five wickets, while the Bushrangers’ target of 193 was appreciably less than it might have been. To add to that, South Australia’s missed chances in the field made their task of defending a small total all the trickier. Travis Dean survived one difficult dropped catch
like big ones. At 8 for 345 on the third afternoon, the Bushrangers led by only five runs, but a 54-run stand between Cameron White and Holland created an advantage that became critical when the left-arm spinner struck thrice after tea. They have also prospered through durability and selection - a full complement of
JON HOLLAND
by Joe Mennie at wide midon, Marcus Stoinis was turfed by Sam Raphael in the gully and by Weatherald at short leg, and Peter Handscomb edged Daniel Worrall at a perfectly catchable height into a gap where second slip might easily have been. These misses contrasted with the fact that Victoria have dropped only one catch in the match, while at the same time winning the little moments that can later look
bowlers has remained intact throughout the match, with Holland and Fawad offering priceless variety to Wade. By contrast, the hosts have been hit by the sight of a hobbling Chadd Sayers, clearly restricted when he batted at No. 11 and unable to bowl after the second day of the match. Nevertheless, South Australia’s efforts have remained persistent and dogged, epitomised by the unflagging spells of Worrall
and Mennie in particular. Up until his ill-fated swing for the fence, Weatherald batted with enormous promise, while Ross’ pair of 70s showed considerable composure and a sound technique. When the Bushrangers commenced their chase, Worrall and Mennie found plenty of useful movement in the air and off the seam, testing Dean and Rob Quiney at some length. Quiney completed a quiet match when Worrall straightened one down the line to pin the former Test opener lbw, and Stoinis’ defence was soon being challenged in equal measure. Dean meanwhile pushed along impressively, following up his first-innings hundred with more smart strokes and sound defence. The pull shot that scorched through Mennie’s fingers was very well struck, and it was a surprise when the same man gained another lbw verdict nearing stumps. In addition to the missed chances, South Australia have had an enormous number of deliveries beat the bat, suggesting either they have been a fraction too short for the conditions or that the luck they were looking for to win a first Shield tittle since 1996 is not with them just yet. The match, of course, is not quite done, but it is very much Victoria’s to lose. (ESPN Cricinfo)
Bowling coach fined for ball-tampering in Sheffield Shield final
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) - The bowling coach of the Victoria state cricket side, Mick Lewis, has been fined for ball-tampering after raking it over concrete during the final of Australia’s domestic Sheffield Shield competition on Monday. Lewis, a former seamer who played seven one-day internationals for Australia, had already cost his team a five-run penalty against South Australia but yesterday he was slapped with a A$2
266 ($1 710.60) fine. The incident came in the 10th over of South Australia’s second innings when Lewis “kicked the match ball into the gutter beyond the boundary rope and raked the ball across the concrete whilst retrieving it,” read a Cricket Australia (CA) statement. “Ball-tampering is a very serious offence and simply won’t be tolerated at any level of the game,” CA’s Head of Operations Sean Cary said.
“We acknowledge that he has apologised to the South Australian team and the match officials and hope the matter deters others from doing anything like this in the future.” Victoria are chasing a second successive Sheffield Shield title against South Australia, who have not won the annual domestic interstate competition since 1995-96. The five-day match in the Adelaide suburb of Glenelg is scheduled to conclude today.
Victoria bowling coach Mick Lewis accepted a fine equal to 50 per cent of a player’s fee.
‘Don’t fire, Virat’ - Gayle hopes Kohli form subsides
CHRIS Gayle has no problem with Virat Kohli scoring runs in West Indies’ World Twenty20 semi-final meeting with India, as long as he does so for the losing side. India lost their Super10 opener to New Zealand but recovered to book a place in the final four at the expense of Australia on Sunday, with Kohli’s sensational unbeaten 82 from 51 balls securing a six-wicket victory. Gayle is hoping his Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate does not carry that form into their semi-final in Mumbai tomorrow, but won’t mind if he scores runs for the losing team. “I have said it over the years that he is going to be the world beater he is today. I am hoping, please don’t fire, Virat,” said the destructive left-hander. “He can still get runs but for a losing cause. We’ll be happy with that as well.” However, Gayle insisted the Windies will not be concentrating solely on Kohli and are primed to cause an upset. “We are not going to focus on only Virat, there are so many match-winners there and anyone of them can actually fire on any particular day,” he continued. “It is very difficult to pinpoint one particular player in the Indian team. It is a very good all-round team, a good fielding team as well. “That’s why India are the favourites. It is always going to be difficult to beat them here. But like I said, West Indies are ready for an upset.” Gayle smashed a 47-ball hundred in the Windies’ opening win against England but a hamstring injury limited his contribution in their last two games. After mustering just four runs against South Africa he was rested in the final Super10 match against Afghanistan, which ended in defeat, but the 36-year-old is hopeful of returning to the top of his game. “This is a perfect opportunity to actually start the tournament and try and pick up where I left off, get a big one for the team and put them in a winning position,” added Gayle. (Omnisport)
SOUTH AFRICA RACING TIPS Greyville 08:20 hrs Tanjiro 08:55 hrs Cutting Edge 09:30 hrs Team Guys 10:05 hrs Sovereign Reign 10:40 hrs South Paw 11:15 hrs Reactive ENGLISH RACING TIPS Exeter 09:00 hrs Mother Meldrum 09:30 hrs Space Oddity 10:05 hrs Cloudy Beach 10:40 hrs Mountain Of Mourne 11:10 hrs Shoofly Milly 11:45 hrs Allchilledout 12:15 hrs Big Fella Thanks LINGFIELD 09:10 hrs Kelly’s Finest 09:40 hrs Theydon Thunder 10:15 hrs Aldair 10:50 hrs Bridge Builder 11:20 hrs Itimately 11:55 hrs Siri 12:25 hrs Honcho
SOUTHWELL 09:20 hrs Spice Mill 09:50 hrs Red Touch 10:25 hrs Pearl Nation 11:00 hrs Spowarticus 11:30 hrs Pirates Treasure 12:05 hyrs Down Time IRISH RACING TIPS Downpatrick 09:55 hrs Buyer Beware 10:30 hrs Steel’s Cotton 11:05 hrs Scenic Star 11:35 hrs Pointview Gale 12:10 hrs Aminabad 12:40 hrs Bingo Conti AMERICAN RACING TIPS Gulfstream Park Race 1 Sassy Spirit Race 2 Bagema Race 3 Ven Holiday Race 4 SWtrike Me Down Race 5 Por Favor Race 6 Blue Harbor Race 7 B L’s Wagon Race 8 Royale Rose Race 9 Remembering Richie Race10 Chia Ghost