All Today’s Yesterdays – July 20 down the yearsJuly 19| July 211981
The most amazing day of a famously amazing Headingley Test. Ian Botham scored 145 of his 149 not out to give England an outside chance of beating Australia after following on, a chance Bob Willis took with his 8 for 43 the following day. This was also the day when England’s odds slipped out to 500-1, an offer that Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh couldn’t refuse. Then Botham and Graham Dilley gave it some humpty, and the rest is history.2000
On the first day of the match at Galle, an opening partnership of 193 between Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya set Sri Lanka on the way to their first Test win over South Africa. That only tells half the story, though. Jayasuriya bashed 148 off only 156 balls – imagine an Englishman doing that on the first day of a Test series – 96 of them in a scintillating morning session. Sri Lankan reached 522 – and then came Murali, who brushed South Africa to an innings defeat with 13 for 171.1990
In a one-day international at Trent Bridge, Robin Smith scored a hundred in 101 balls, but India won to take the Texaco Trophy for the first time. It was the story of the Judge’s life: all of his one-day hundreds came in England defeats. And only two of his nine Test hundreds came in English victories.1971
Controversial seam bowler Ed Giddins was born. He received an extensive ban for drug use, but took one five-wicket haul in Test cricket, against Zimbabwe at Lord’s in 2000. Two Tests and one wicket later, Giddins was dropped.1900
Birth of that famously combative Yorkshireman Maurice Leyland, who saved the best till last. His final Test innings of 187 was played during a partnership of 382 with Len Hutton at The Oval in 1938, still England’s highest stand for any wicket against Australia.1909
Birth of the confident and supremely patient Eric Rowan, who was often the mainstay of South Africa’s batting. Against England at Johannesburg in 1948-49, he batted for six hours on the last day to make an unbeaten 156 that saved the match. At Headingley in 1951 he followed his Test best 236 in the first innings with 60 not out in the second. His brother Athol also played for South Africa.Other birthdays
1911 Baqa Jilani (India)
1934 Doug Padgett (England)
1975 Atiq-uz-Zaman (Pakistan)
1976 Debasis Mohanty (India)

The WACA have announced the WA team to take on Zimbabwe in the three-day RE/MAX Cup clash beginning at the WACA Ground on Friday.Retravision Warriors:
Michael Hussey (Captain), Jo Angel, Ryan Campbell, Beau Casson, Shaun Marsh, Scott Meuleman, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Adam Voges, Darren Wates, Paul Wilson and Peter Worthington.The 12th man will named on the morning of the match.Zimbabwe today released their team for the RE/MAX Cup clash.Zimbabwe:
Heath Streak (Captain), Tatenda Taibu (Vice-Captain), Andy Blignaut, Stuart Carlisle, Dion Ebrahim, Craig Evans, Trevor Gripper, Sean Ervine, Ray Price, Mark Vermulen and Craig Wishart.Zimbabwe did not name a specific 12th man.Peter Worthington is in line to play his second first-class match.Exciting all-rounder Darren Wates returns after three and a half years battling chronic groin and side complaints.Wates’ last first-class game was against South Australia at the WACA Ground in early 2000."It’s a pretty weird feeling going in to a game and not have to worry about injuries," the right-arm swing bowler said."The last two years have been a nightmare."

New Zealand Cricket has changed the date of its Christchurch andWellington National Bank Series ODI matches against South Africa toavoid a potential clash with a Crusaders Super 12 match in Christchurch,following a late change to the Super 12 schedule.Martin Snedden, the NZC chief executive said NZC agreed to the change ofdate of the Christchurch match to avoid a head-to-head clash with aCrusaders Super 12 match which otherwise might have been played at QueenElizabeth II Park in Christchurch on the same day as the Jade StadiumODI.The Jade Stadium ODI has been moved from Saturday February 21 to TuesdayFebruary 17 (as a day-night fixture) allowing the Crusaders Super 12match to be played at Jade Stadium on the Saturday.As a result the Wellington ODI has been transferred from WednesdayFebruary 18 to Friday February 20 (as a day-night fixture).”It is unfortunate that we have found ourselves in this position. Weworked with the New Zealand Rugby Football Union to avoid a schedulingclash before finalising our itinerary,” Snedden said.”Following a late change to the Super 12 schedule, Canterbury Rugbyapproached us with a joint marketing proposal which included asubstantial compensation package if we transferred our Jade Stadiummatch from the Saturday.”It would have hurt both cricket and rugby to play head-to-head matchesin Christchurch and would not have been good for fans of both sports tobe forced to choose between the two matches. We will continue to work with rugby in the hope that scheduling issuescan be avoided in the future,” he said.

New Zealand once again had to overcome poor umpiring during a tough third day of their cricket Test with India’s women at Vapi. India have a 76-run lead on the first innings with New Zealand 9 for 1 in their second innings.The New Zealanders have been upset by the decisions of one umpire who has twice given Kate Pulford, the opening batsman, out caught behind when her bat has been nowhere near the ball. The fact the game is being televised and the evidence can be seen back in the dressing room has done nothing to impress the mood of the New Zealanders. They have not been helped either by several decisions against Indian batsmen going against them.New Zealand started the day looking to make a breakthrough when the new ball became available after eight overs. But nightwatchman Jhulan Goswami hanging around for 98 balls. She helped Hemlata Kala, the star batsman in the Indian innings, wrest the initiative from New Zealand. Kala went on to score 110 off 280 balls. While there were frustrations with the umpiring, the New Zealanders did not help themselves by dropping catches.Maia Lewis, the New Zealand captain, rotated the bowlers during the day, but the bulk of the bowling fell to Rebecca Steele, the highly-promising left-arm spinner who bowled 42 overs and ended with 5 for 79. Pulford also picked up two wickets. Unfortunately, Louise Milliken suffered a groin strain before lunch and did not bowl again in the day. New Zealand face a tough day to bat out for safety to save the match.

Craig Wishart has been ruled out of the VB Series with a knee injury, and will be replaced by Dion Ebrahim. Wishart originally damaged his left knee while batting in last Sunday’s match against Western Australia at Perth, and after consultations with specialists in Adelaide and Sydney he is to return home for surgery.”The injury may have recovered with rest in a couple of weeks, but realistically Craig would not have been mobile enough to take a full part in a demanding one-day series,” said Brad Robinson, Zimbabwe’s physiotherapist. “In the long term he is best having an operation to affect a full recovery, rather than play on with an injury that could have recurred at a future point.”Wishart himself said, “It’s obviously a major disappointment not to be able to play in the VB Series. I feel that I’ve been in good form and I know my runs are important for the team.” He continued: “But, we have a lot of Test and one-day cricket ahead in the next few months so my immediate aim is to regain full fitness and return to the side as soon as possible.”Ebrahim will join up with the squad at Sydney on Saturday evening, where Zimbabwe play India and Australia in the space of two days. “It’s pretty unlikely he will play against Australia on Sunday,” Geoff Marsh, Zimbabwe’s coach, said, “but he will come into contention for the two games we have in Hobart next week.”On a better note for Zimbabwe, Stuart Carlisle, who picked up a slight thigh strain in the game against Australia A at Adelaide, is expected to be fit for their opening game, against Australia on Sunday.

The countdown to Shane Warne’s return to action stands at eight days and media speculation is rife. Will he walk back into the Australian side? Will the lay-off have diminished his skills? Where does his return leave Stuart MacGill?One person claiming not to be losing sleep over Warne’s comeback is MacGill himself. But the pressure is on. This summer, in four Tests against India MacGill’s 14 wickets have cost 50.78, and doubts have been concerned about his potency.”The one misunderstanding most people have is that they think I care about the fact that Shane’s coming back,” MacGill told the Age. “I have no concern about that whatsoever. He’s been playing since before I started playing state cricket, so the fact that he’s absent or present makes no impact on me whatsoever.”MacGill’s dismissal of Warne comes across as being just a little too nonchalant. But in case anyone had doubts, he added: “The other thing they don’t seem to get is that I like him. I mean, it doesn’t have to be a choice between Shane and I. That’s what people seem to be doing: you either like Shane and hate Stuey, or you feel ambivalent towards Stuey and ambivalent towards Shane.”The crowds this summer have not been slow in making their feelings known, and at the SCG, MacGill’s home soil, MacGill’s discomfort was compounded with match-figures of 1 for 211. “It’s just disappointed me a bit, I guess,” he admitted, referring to barracking from the Sydney public which intensified when he spilt two catches. “I’m comfortable in the knowledge that it’s a vocal minority. But I’d be lying if I said it was water off a duck’s back.”In his defence, MacGill ended the series against India as Australia’s leading wicket-taker, and in a series where the bat dominated the ball. But the wickets came at a cost. “I feel that if I bowled to the best players of spin bowling in the world, I bowled very well,” he told the Age. “I wasn’t as potent as I would like to have been but I kept them quiet through great periods of time, and that’s something a lot of guys haven’t been able to do.”Opinions are divided as to how much Warne’s enforced lay-off will have taken its toll. Some have said it will take no more than a few weeks for him to dust off the cobwebs, others – most volubly Mike Atherton – believe that Warne will be a shadow of his former self.And there is also a belief that the Australian attack has room for both Warne and MacGill. “They are quite different in way they go about their bowling,” explained former selector John Benaud. “You could easily imagine a batting side say they are going to prop on this one and see if they can score at the other end. Sometimes their extra risk is the cause of their downfall. If between them they get the sides out, who cares who gets the wickets?”But even if Warne is fast-tracked back, MacGill is confident he will be making the trip to Sri Lanka. “I expect to be on the tour and I’m sure I’ll play a big part in that tour. I’ll be a better bowler, simply because I’ve got four more Tests under my belt. You can’t help but come out of it better if you put things into perspective. If you allow things to get to you, that’s a different situation, but I’m pretty good like that.”

Group A
ScorecardZimbabwe ran out comfortable winners against Canada in front of another sell-out crowd at the Bogra District Stadium. They cruised home by eight wickets and put the pressure on Australia, who they beat yesterday, ahead of the final Group A fixture, Australia v Sri Lanka, at Rajshahi tomorrow.Australia must now win that game to ensure they have a better net-run-rate than either Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe to make it through to the Super League.Zimbabwe, however, did their chances of qualifying no harm by restricting Canada to 180 for 9 and then cruising home with 17 overs to spare. Tinashe Panyangara, Zimbabwe’s hero against Australia with six scalps, bowled 10 wicketless overs today, but Prosper Utseya instead lead the attack with 4 for 41.Zimbabwe lost opener Brendon Taylor with the score on only 16, but James Cameron and Sean Williams then came together to provide the platform. Williams was run out for 35, but Tinotenda Mawoyo helped Cameron complete the win. Mawayo finished on 32 not out, while Man of the Match Cameron was not out on 84.Group B Nepal 195 for 5 (Gauchan 80*) beat Uganda 194 (Lama 4-40) by five wickets
ScorecardNepal moved to within sight of an unexpected place in the Super League, as their five-wicket victory over Uganda piled the pressure onto yesterday’s victims, South Africa. Everything now rests on tomorrow’s mouthwatering clash between South Africa and England – and all of Nepal will be praying for an English victory.Nepal were made to work hard for their victory, although it was not quite as nail-biting as their one-wicket win yesterday. Uganda won the toss and elected to bat, and at 91 for 1 in the 28th over, there was scope for an impressive total.Kintu Wambudhe contributed 46 and Denis Musali made 32, but Lakpa Lama led the fightback, picking up 4 for 40 as Uganda were pegged back to 194 all out in the 50th over. It was then over to Nepal’s captain Shakti Gauchan, whose unbeaten half-century had secured that victory over South Africa.Gauchan followed up with a fine 80 not out to guide Nepal to victory with a comfortable 11 balls to spare. He was ably supported by Monick Shrestha (30) and Sharad Vesawkar (23), and South Africa have it all to do.Group C
ScorecardAfter their defeat against India yesterday, New Zealand’s progress was put back on track when they walloped Scotland by 240 runs at the Bangladesh Sports Institute. This now sets up an intriguing final group match between Bangladesh and India.If Bangladesh win that game, to be played tomorrow, the group will be decided on net-run-rate, and New Zealand’s large winning margin means even that could be tight.After India and Bangladesh both racked up big scores against Scotland, New Zealand needed to do the same. After they were put in, the batsmen started in a hurry, as Liam Chrisp raced to 48 off 47 balls before falling lbw to Gordon Allan. Bradley-John Watling and Brad Wilson then went into overdrive, putting on 273 for the second wicket before Watling was caught in the 48th over on 154. Wilson finished unbeaten on 144 from 118 balls in New Zealand’s impressive 389 for 2.Then the bowlers provided an equally important contribution as the Scotland batsmen struggled for runs. Wickets tumbled at regular intervals and only a patient innings of 60 from Kasim Farid delayed the inevitable, and Scotland where soon all out for 149 in 33 overs.”The result was important to us today,” said Pulley, New Zealand team manager. “If Bangladesh beat India tomorrow, the group will come down to net-run-rate. Our batsmen got some good time at the crease today and all of our players did their bit.It is now out of our hands and we will be watching the match tomorrow very closely indeed.”Group D Ireland 212 (Vali 4-40) beat Papua New Guinea 142 (Kidd 3-36) by 70 runs
ScorecardIreland picked up their first points of the Under-19 World Cup, thanks to a solid team performance against Papua New Guinea. They took West Indies to the wire in their first game, and performed creditably against Pakistan, so it was a deserved victory over the weakest team in Group D.After being put into bat by PNG, Ireland made steady progress, scoring at around four-an-over from the start. Seven of their batsmen made double-figures, but none could go on to make a tellingcontribution as they were bowled out for 212 in 49 overs. AndrewRiddles top-scored with 37, while opener Gary Wilson made 36. Vali Vali (4 for 40) and Lahui Davai (3 for 24) shared the wickets for PNG.There was no rest for Riddles after his important innings, as he returned to open the bowling for Ireland. And it proved to be his day as he dismissed two of PNG’s top three batsmen in a five-over burst that cost only eight runs.Ireland’s left-arm spinner Gary Kidd then took charge as Ireland mopped up the PNG lower-order for 142 in 38.2 overs. Kidd finished with figures of 3 for 36, while Riddles was deservedly named man of the match.Both Ireland and PNG will now compete in the Plate Championship inChittagong while Pakistan and West Indies – who face each other tomorrow – are already through to the Super League.

Easterns 306 and 149 beat Northerns 183 and 212 (Kemp 65,Reddy 5-39) by 60 runs
ScorecardAt SuperSport Park, Easterns ensured that they would win the SuperSport Series Shield after taking only 12 overs to wrap up the Northerns innings. The 60-run victory took them past Northerns, who have now completed their season’s commitments. Easterns still have a game in hand, and have an unassailable lead. Hopes for Northerns faded when Justin Kemp lost his wicket for 65 and Brendon Reddy produced career-best figures of 5 for 39.

ScorecardShakti Gauchan scored an unbeaten half-century and Mehboob Alam claimedthree Malaysian tailenders’ wickets, to put Nepal on top on the second day oftheir three-day match in the ICC Intercontinental Cup. Malaysiaadded only one run – from 3.5 overs – to their overnight score of 131 for 6 before being bowled out in the morning session. Mehboob Alam claimed 3 for 0 in 1.5 overs, after Raju Khadka, the captain, had dismissed RV Suppiah.Alam removed M Marimuthu for 3, and bowled S Sakadivan andtrapped Mohammad A Rahim lbw, both for 0. In reply, Nepal started badly, but Gauchan’s unbeaten 69 helped them take a 66-run lead before beingbowled out for 198 in 84.1 overs. At stumps on the second day, Malaysia were 3 for 1. Offspinner Sanjam Regmi, who claimed three first-innings wickets, trapped RM Selvaratnam, the first-innings top-scorer, lbw.For Nepal, Paresh Lohani departed for just 5, while Alam, the other opener, scored a run-a-ball 22, including five fours. Nepal came under pressure after Bikash Dali (5) was trapped by the Malaysian captain,Suresh Navaratnam, who finished with impressive figures of 20-1-60-5. WhenGauchan came in, Nepal were 31 for 2, but he kept the scoreboard ticking and batted almost throughout the day.Khadka supported Gauchan during a 106-run partnership, striking five fours in his 44. Raju Basnet made 23, while others failed to reach double figures. Gauchan, who had led the U-19s in the Youth World Cup, batted for275 minutes, and faced 231 balls.S Jayawardana claimed two wickets, while K Munandey, R Vishnu and A Rahimgrabbed one apiece.

Geoff Marsh, Zimbabwe’s coach, has expressed disappointment over the International Cricket Council’s decision to keep Zimbabwe out of Test cricket until 2005. The decision came after the ICC held a meeting in Dubai, where the Zimbabwe Cricket Union agreed to play this year’s remaining Tests next year.AFP reported that the agreement was made so that Zimbabwe had adequate time to rebuild its cricket team, which was left seriously weak after 15 rebel players were sacked for backing Heath Streak, who was fired for demanding changes within the cricket board.But the decision did not impress Marsh. “It’s disappointing to get to a situation like that,” he said. “I understand the reasons why the ZCU has agreed to it and it’s probably in the best interests of everyone involved, but the best way to improve the standard is to keep playing at that level.”While Marsh struck an optimistic tone about Zimbabwe’s improvement, the ICC had earlier said that the integrity of Test cricket was at stake after Zimbabwe were soundly beaten at home by Sri Lanka, and the international cricket body then proceeded to postpone – in effect, cancel – Australia’s Test series against the weakened team. Sri Lanka inflicted the two of the heaviest ever defeats in Tests on Zimbabwe, which, when pointed out, brought a curious comment from the ZCU chairman, Peter Chingoka: “Well, that’s fine – so you do have a record of 10 others that are worse or 12 others that are worse.”Streak, who had called for Zimbabwe’s suspension from the ICC, said that the decision would give the board time to reassess the direction it was headed in, and said, “Perhaps the ZCU realise they cannot treat us with disrespect and maybe they realise they need some of the white cricketers they said they could do without after all.”But Marsh, whose coaching contract ends in September, said that Zimbabwe would take a “couple of years” to perform adequately in Test cricket, because “you don’t replace 30 players overnight”.Meanwhile, the agreement gave the English Cricket Board cause for cheer, as they were under pressure to abandon their October tour to Zimbabwe. They were scheduled to play two Tests in Zimbabwe, but the postponement has let them off the hook, albeit temporarily.