Sport
-
Cricket
Pyrrhic victory for Australia
PERTH, FEB. 3. Host Australia crashed out of the tri-series cricket finals despite beating South Africa by 33 runs in the last round-robin match at the WACA here on Sunday.
Needing a win and a bonus point, if it could restrict South Africa to under 227 after scoring 283 for seven, Australia failed as the visitors meandered to 250 for five with Jacques Kallis top scoring with an unbeaten 104.
South Africa, which had already been guaranteed a spot in the finals and aiming to shut the World champion out of the best-of-three finals, abandoned the biggest run-chase of the series. South Africa will play New Zealand in the finals starting in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Although Australia and New Zealand finished with 17 points each, New Zealand advanced to the finals on a superior head-to-head record against the Aussies. It was the first time in five seasons that Australia had failed to make the finals of the annual tri-series.
The contentious bonus point system - an International Cricket Council playing condition for one-day series involving three or more teams since July 2001 - had a big impact on Australia's elimination.
Had the series been played with the old system - net run rate deciding the finalists after the three teams finished with four wins apiece - Australia (0.186) and South Africa (- 0.040) would have qualified and New Zealand (-0.154) missed out.
Kallis upstaged a belligerent 36-ball half century by Brett Lee to spoil Australia's victory celebrations in front of a crowd of 25,252. Kallis held the innings together with his eighth hundred in his 141st game hitting a six and seven fours off 123 balls.
There were valuable contributions from opener Herschelle Gibbs (34) and Boeta Dippenaar (33) while Klusener remained unbeaten on 25 at the finish.
Earlier, Lee had smashed four sixes and two fours in his 51 not out and shared 88 runs off 64 balls with Darren Lehmann, 49 not out, to lift Australia from 195 for seven. Lee's innings included 26 runs in five balls - 6, 4, 6, 4 and 6 - off fast bowler Allan Donald, who was hit for 27 runs in the 48th over.
lThe scores:
Australia: A. Gilchrist b Ntini 31, M. Waugh c Kallis b Donald 34, R. Ponting run out 26, D. Martyn c Boucher b Boje 29, S. Waugh b Boje 42, M. Bevan c Pollock b Ntini 1, D. Lehmann (not out) 49, S. Warne b Pollock 0; B. Lee (not out) 51. Extras (b-1, lb-12, w-6, nb-1) 20. Total (for seven wkts. in 50 overs) 283.
Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-76, 3-117, 4- 150, 5-157, 6-194, 7-195.
South Africa bowling: Pollock 9-0-44-1, Ntini 10-1-58-2, Kallis 9-0-52-0, Donald 9-2-62-1, Boje 10-0-38- 2, Klusener 3-0-16-0.
South Africa: H. Gibbs c Bevan b Bichel 34, G. Kirsten c Martyn b Lee 10, J. Kallis (not out) 104, B. Dippenaar c Gilchrist b McGrath 33, J. Rhodes c Martyn b Lehmann 20, M. Boucher c Bichel b Lehmann 12, L. Klusener (not out) 25, Extras (lb-1, w-6, nb-5) 12. Total (for five wkts. in 50 overs): 250.
Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-66, 3-129, 4- 172, 5-198.
Australia bowling: McGrath 10-3-21-1, Lee 10-1-66-1, Bichel 9-0-38-1, Warne 10-0-53-0, Bevan 2-0-17-0, S. Waugh 4-0-26-0, Lehmann 5-0-28-2. - AP
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Sport
|
