BRIGETOWN: Set up by a double-century opening partnership between Philo Wallace and Sherwin Campbell, who both hit their first hundreds of the season, championship leaders Barbados took a commanding first innings lead of 355 over second-placed Trinidad and Tobago on the second day of the fifth round Carib Beer Cup Series regional cricket match yesterday.

Resuming on 148 without loss, Barbados declared on 502 for nine off 99 overs at 4.29 pm Wallace topscored with 140 in a shade under four hours, hitting 21 fours and three sixes, while Campbell made 103 in 217 minutes with 10 fours and a six in their stand of 246 in 50.2 overs. All-rounder Dwayne Bravo, bowling medium-pace, took five for 95 off 16 overs. When bad light halted play at 5.57 p.m. with three overs remaining, TT were 47 for one in their second innings — still needing 308 to save an innings defeat with nine wickets standing. Andy Jackson was on 16 after he was dropped — before he had scored — by  Ryan Hurley at backward square-leg off pacer Tino Best, and Bravo was on 25.

Left-hander Imran Jan was leg before wicket on the backfoot by left-arm pacer Ian Bradshaw for one with the score on six. On an easy-paced Kensington Oval pitch, the TT bowlers searched for answers as Wallace and Campbell scored freely. And Daren Ganga’s team did not help their cause by some indifferent ground fielding. It was Wallace’s 11th First-Class century and his eighth at the regional  level, and Campbell’s 24th First-Class and also eighth in regional tournaments. At the start of the day, Wallace was on 75 and Campbell 59 but the latter reached three figures first 68 minutes into the day’s play by pulling a short ball from leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine through mid-on for four. All told, it took 203 minutes off 145 balls and included ten boundaries and a six.

Wallace reached his hundred in the next over with a superb drive to the extra-cover boundary off pacer Ravi Rampaul. It came off 160 deliveries and contained 16 fours and a six. He was dropped on 96 at extra cover by Lincoln Roberts off Rampaul. Campbell eventually slapped Bravo to deep cover where Roberts took the catch with great relief. He faced 150 balls and struck ten fours and a six. Shortly before his dismissal and also on 103, Campbell gave a chance to Bravo off his own bowling from a hard drive. 

Tile It Central Sports scored a convincing victory over First Citizens Clarke Road United yesterday to book a place in the semi-finals of the Noel Guillen Under-21 cricket series for the third successive year.

In the previous two seasons when the tournament was sponsored by Patrick Rampersad, Tile It Central Sports also reached the semi-finals. However the Central lads have been unable to emerge victorious. There performance against last year’s runners-up however will give them a lot of confidence and belief that they can go all the way this year. After bowling out Clarke Road for 129 yesterday they raced to victory at 130 for the loss of only one wicket. Randy Ramnanan, the inform batsman this season, got an unbeaten 41 and Greg Yacoob was 40 not out at the end. Opener Satish Nadioo got Central Sports off to a great start with a flurry of boundaries in his flambouyant knock of 36. Team manager Vonnie Roberts said after the victory yesterday he was very happy with the performance. “This win has given the boys the confidence to win the title for the first time,” Roberts said.
SCORES

At Presentation College: FCB Clarke Road 129 all out (37.1)(Alan Mahabir 37, Reynold Sankersingh 31, Devindra Krishna 2/28, Narendra Bridgelal 2/14, Clinton Glasgow 3/15) lost to Tile It Central Sports 130/1 (Satish Naidoo 36, Randy Ramnanan 41no, Greg Yacoob 40 n.o.) — By 9 wkts. At Cunupia: Munroe Road 123 all out (Manoj Sirju 45, Brent Beharry 20, Rishard Harris 2/23, Sanjeev Maharaj 3/25) lost to QPCC 125/3 (Earnil Ryan 63 n.o., Jerome Beepath 31) — By 7 wkts. At Diego Martin: Ceramic Trinidad Merryboys 186 all out (Mario Belcon 74, Ryan Best 55, Nicholas Ramjass 3/28, Avinash Jaggernauth 3/36) lost to Alescon Comet 188/4 (Imran Khan 81 n.o., Kapil Harry 36, Ryan Best 2/49) — By 6 wkts. At Syne Village: PowerGen 168 all out (Keshava Ramphal 42, Sherwin Ganga 25, Jason Mohammed 35, Aaron Ragoonath 4/31) lost to Clico Preysal 169/6 (William Perkins 75, Dinesh Ramdin 25, Aaron Ragoonath 25, Keshava Ramphal 2/24) — By 4 wkts.

CAPE TOWN: West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan had to persuade doctors to allow him to resume batting in Friday’s Cricket World Cup clash with Sri Lanka after he was felled by a Dilhara Fernando bouncer.

The diminutive right-hander was first told by a neurologist that he should not return to the Group “B” match, but he defied medical opinion to produce one of the most courageous innings of the tournament, scoring an unbeaten 47. “The doctors told him that, in normal circumstances, you should not play again after a head injury, as a precaution,” said West Indies manager Ricky Skerrit, after his team had lost a thrilling match by six runs. “But he wanted to bat again so we asked the doctor whether it might still be safe for him to go back out if he was needed. And he said yes, once the tests cleared him of any neurological problems.” Earlier, it seemed there was little chance Sarwan would take any further part in the match after he was floored by a 137.5 kph delivery from Fernando that climbed steeply off the Newlands pitch before hitting him flush on the left side of the helmet. He lay motionless for almost 10 minutes while medical staff examined him before he was carried off on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance that rushed him to a nearby hospital for brain scans. “We were worried at first because it was a hard one,” Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya said. “But, once we saw him talking, we always had it in the back of our mind that he might come back and change the match.”

Sarwan was cleared of any major damage but still needed two stitches to a gash behind his left ear, as well as painkillers for a throbbing headache. But he was determined to come back and help his team, who were in desperate trouble at 169 for seven chasing a seemingly impossible 229 for victory. Sarwan returned to a hero’s welcome and defied the pain to set up a thrilling finish with an unbeaten 47 at quicker than a run a ball. Resuming on 10, he smashed two sixes and three boundaries to leave his team needing 14 off the final over as they dreamed of a fairytale finish. He struck another four at the start of Pulasthi Gunaratne’s last over to reduce the target to 10 but a smart piece of fielding, which restricted his next scoring shot to a single, got him off strike. Despite Sarwan’s heroics, West Indies finished on 222 for nine and Sri Lanka won the match by six runs.

PRETORIA: Sachin Tendulkar defied a painful thigh strain to score a masterful 98 off 74 balls yesterday as India beat their great rival Pakistan by six wickets to cruise into the second round of the Cricket World Cup.

Chasing Pakistan’s impressive 273 for seven, which included 101 from Saeed Anwar, India turned the Centurion Stadium into a green, saffron and white carnival and leave Pakistan’s hopes of staying in the competition no more than mathematical. It was the fourth time in a row that India had beaten Pakistan at the World Cup without reply although Pakistan still have a 52-30 advantage in one-day matches. It was the first match between the neighbouring rivals in three years. “It’s absolutely fantastic,” said Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. “It was a big match for us. A big match for all the people who’ve come to watch and for the people back home. A win here has given smiles to everybody. “Schools were closed, offices were closed for the big match and the way we played has made the whole country proud.” Tendulkar seemed set to score his 35th one-day century until he was slowed by his leg injury. Although he finally called for a runner on 98, he was out without adding to his score when Shoaib Akhtar had him caught by Younis Khan. “This has always been a special match for us and it’s the fourth World Cup we’ve beaten in a row,” Tendulkar said. “I’m very excited about the victory. The ball was coming on quite nicely so I thought why not play some aggressive cricket. “The leg is all right. I was cramping badly and it got worse. I should be all right for the next match.”

Despite twice needing treatment on the field, Tendulkar struck one six and 14 boundaries to lead India’s charge. Tendulkar made Pakistan pay a heavy price for two dropped chances when he was on 32 and 88. Tendulkar’s wicket fell at 177 for four and slowed the Indian scoring. But Rahul Dravid, 44 not out, and Yuvraj Singh, 50 not out from 53 deliveries, saw India through to the target with four overs to spare. The result puts India into the second round along with Group “A” winner Australia while Pakistan have to beat Zimbabwe in their final group match on Tuesday and hope all the other results go in their favour.
“They played extremely well although we bowled badly on occasions,” said Pakistan captain Waqar Younis. “Saeed played really well. That was a pleasing sight and let’s see what happens tomorrow and we start off from there.”

In a thrilling start to India’s reply, Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag attacked the strong Pakistan pace attack of Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram and Younis with a flurry of boundaries to create a deafening atmosphere in a packed stadium. In three balls from Akhtar, the world’s fastest bowler, Tendulkar hit a six followed by two fours. Then Sehwag hit Younis for six over cover point and struck two fours in one over off Akram. By that stage India were racing along at 10 runs an over but Younis struck to halt the chase. Earlier, Pakistan rode on Saeed Anwar’s 20th one-day century to set India a challenging target. “Playing against India brings the best out of me,” said Anwar, who passed 2,000 runs in one day matches against India when he reached 99. “I have struggled a little bit with injuries. The last few years I have been in and out with a lot of injuries and I think I’m a little aging as well.” Anwar is now tied with India’s Sourav Ganguly as the second top century makers in one-day cricket. Tendulkar is well ahead with 34. When he had reached 99, Saeed also passed 2,000 runs against India in one-day matches but, two runs later, he was yorked by Nehra. Starting with a round-robin league match at Sydney in 1992, India defeated Pakistan in the 1996 quarterfinal and then a Super Six league encounter in 1999 to build an unbeaten World Cup record against the subcontinental rivals. 

JOHANNESBURG: Kenya achieved their unlikely dream yesterday and charged into the Super Six phase of the Cricket World Cup with a 32-run victory over Bangladesh at the Wanderers Stadium.

There were heroes aplenty for the East African underdogs who proclaimed before the tournament that their goal was to get to the second stage of the world’s biggest cricket event. Kenya became the first non-Test playing nation to reach the second stage of a World Cup and the most important contributors were part-time bowlers Maurice Odumbe and captain Steve Tikolo. Both returned their best-ever One-Day International figures. Odumbe took four wickets for 38 runs from 10 overs, and Tikolo returned 3-14 of 5.2 overs. “This win means a lot for Kenyan cricket,” said Tikolo. “It felt like we were playing in Nairobi, the way the crowd was behind us.” Of the 17,000 spectators, a large proportion waved Kenyan flags, and a victory lap by the Kenyans was greeted ecstatically by those fans. Odumbe took the opportunity at the post-match news conference to push Kenya’s claim for Test status. “We beat them, and we have beaten other Test-playing countries. This is not a village tournament. It’s the World Cup, and we won,” he said. He also sounded a warning to the teams they would meet in the Super Sixes.

“A few months ago, we nearly knocked off Australia. We are not going into the Super Sixes with a defeatist attitude. We are going to compete,” Odumbe said. “After we lost to South Africa in our second match, our spirits were a bit low,” said Tikolo. “But they picked up nicely after that, and, when we beat Sri Lanka, we began to believe we would indeed reach the Super Sixes.” Bangladesh always appeared to be in contention, but lost wickets at regular intervals. “We made mistakes, and gave wickets away too cheaply,” said Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud. “But I have to say Maurice bowled very well.” Mashud attributed the poor Bangladeshi batting throughout the tournament to the surprise defeat at the start at the hands of the Canadians.

“The morale has been low since then, especially amongst the younger members of the team,” he said. Perhaps the hammer-blow for the Bangladeshis came when Mohammad Ashraful was adjudged leg before wicket for just one run off a big inside edge to Martin Suji. The other batsmen fought bravely, but the Kenyans were tenacious, and deserving of their victory. Best batsmen for Bangladesh were Tushar Imran, who scored 48, and Akram Khan, who got 44. Interestingly, both fell to fine catches by substitute fielder Joseph Angara. Earlier, a fine undefeated 52 by Odumbe took Kenya to 217 for seven. It was a battle for the Kenyan batsmen throughout as the Bangladeshis lifted their game considerably in all departments, except catching.

Other good scores for the Kenyans were registered by opener Ravindu Shah and No. 3 batsman Brijal Patel, who got 37 and 32 respectively. For the Bangladeshis, Sanuar Hossain returned his best One-Day International figures of 3-49, and, but for the Kenyan run-chase at the end, those figures might have been even better. Along with their wins over Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Canada, the Kenyans got four points from a forfeit when New Zealand refused to travel to Nairobi due to security concerns. Bangladesh lost their first match of the tournament to Canada, and have been battling ever since to regain their equilibrium.

APPROXIMATELY 8,000 athletes from 21 schools are expected to converge on the track at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on March 11 when the 16th Milo Games take place.

The annual event, which is expected to begin at 9 am, features schools in the Port-of-Spain and Environs Education District with Carenage Girls Government and Diego Martin Government seeking to retain the titles they copped last year. According to co-ordinator Kelvin Nancoo, the games “have produced a number of national athletes, including Alvin Henry, Simon Pierre, Rene Clarke, Fana Ashby, Honore McDonald and Cleavon Dillon.” Adding that the competition is the “nurturing ground for Port-of-Spain and, by extension, national athletes,” Nancoo was quick in praise for Nestle Limited for their continued support to the venture. And a number of special awards will be presented on the day, including awards to administrators Joanne Neaves and Elsa McConney.