Chris Rosie
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16th Match: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Lincoln, 8 Dec 2000 Chris Rosie |
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Sri Lanka Women innings:
South Africa Women innings: Pre-game: |
After drinks, Terblanche looked to be interested in ending it in a hurry. It was nearly her downfall, hoicking the ball into the mid wicket region and finding Seneviratne racing in from the boundary, diving for the ball and just failing to hold it at ground level.
Otherwise, the South Africans looked to be cruising to victory. Mala returned in the 40th over at the southern end but it was the Sri Lankan disease that brought about the end to the partnership. Davies tickled a ball from Mala through the vacant leg slip area, Lakmalee raced from first slip and Davies took on her arm for the second run and lost. South Africa 112 for three, Davies contributing 23 to a partnership of 69.
Sunette Viljoen joined Terblanche, heading towards her 50, with just 23 runs required off 10 overs. Silva brought herself and Indralatha back in one last throw of the dice. But there was no denying the South Africans. Terblanche went to her 50 but not before Viljoen survived an exceptionally confident caught-behind appeal by Ekanayake off Silva.
Terblanche did it in style, a cut behind point for four but then had the mortification of seeing a straight drive deflect from Indralatha onto the stumps and find Viljoen out of ground backing up. Viljoen gone for nine with the scores tied and Denise Reid joined Terblanche in time to see Indralatha bowl a wide to end the match.
Terblanche's 53 was once again the key to the South African innings and won her the player of the match award in successive games. For the Sri Lankans, the bowling was generally tight but not penetrative enough, Fernando picking up the two wickets that fell to the bowlers in her first two overs.
Result: Sri Lanka 134 for nine; South Africa 135 for four. A win to South Africa by six wickets.
It was the drinks break that broke the partnership - and a bowling change. Indrathala gave way to Hiruka Fernando for the first over after drinks and encouraged Hodgkinson to try to flick to the leg, miss and umpire Quested signalled Hodgkinson on her way, lbw for 11 with the score at 41.
Janakanthi Mala at the city end featured in a double change but Fernando had not finished. In her next over, she had Olivier on 26 also trying to turn to the leg, also missing and also being adjudged lbw. South Africa 43 for two in the 20th over.
Daleen Terblanche, hero of the Netherlands game, and Helen Davies began the resurrection. They brought the 50 up in the 22nd over. Mala gave way for Chandrika Lakmalee and the leg spinner had Davies very watchful in the first over. At the end of the 25th South Africa were 56 for two and stuggling to break the Sri Lankan shackles.
Lakmalee, however, gave the South Africans some relief, losing her line and length and conceding seven off her second and 10 off her third. The next bowling change occurred at the southern end, Hiroshi Abeysinghe with her off breaks replacing Fernando. She had no immediate effect on the South African pair, who took the score through to 81 for two at the end of the 30th over.
Silva took herself off in the 11th over but was still in the action, putting down Hodgkinson at gully off her replacement, Chamani Seneviratne, when the South African opener was nine. The openers continued to find the fielders, albeit without endangering their wickets but also failing to give the scorer too much work.
Seneviratne and Olivier did combine to give umpire Cross some work, rejecting a vociferous appeal from the bowler for lbw against the South African opener. The score went quietly through to 29 at the end of the 15th over.
Medium pace replaced medium pace at the southern end in the 37th over with Van der Merwe taking over from van Zyl. Seneviratne enjoyed the change, collecting a boundary through mid wicket. Van Zyl switched ends as Ndzundzu completed her 10 overs for the superb return of one wicket for just 14 runs.
The arrival of Van Zyl, and the departure of drinks, brought a burst of action. Sugathadasa collected four over the bowler and then caught the edge driving and Terblanche took the catch, Sugathadasa gone for 21 off 64 balls with the score 74.
Chandrika Lakmalee joined Seneviratne and the pair began throwing the bat at virtually everything. The enthusiasm eventually got the better of them, Seneviratna, on 11, going for a run that was not there and unable to regain her ground when sent back. Sri Lanka 89 for six.
The new batsman, Dona Indralatha, was immediately in strife as the running wobbles continued but her partner was not distracted. Lakmalee collected two fours past the bowler off van der Merwe's fourth over.
The expensive van der Merwe (4-0-20-0) was replaced by the medium pace of Denise Reid as Sri Lanka headed for their 100 in the 45th over. Even the economic van Zyl was shown no respect.
However, the enthusiasm was fatal once again as Indrathala, on nine, played directly to mid wicket, ran with the shot and again a direct hit beat her home at the bowler's end. Sri Lanka 109 for seven.
Ramani Perera joined Lakmalee for the last burst but their partnership was short-lived. The fatal disease struck again in quick succession. First Lakamalee played direct to mid wicket and failed to beat the throw at the bowler's end - a duplicate of the previous wicket. And then the new batsman, Janakanthi Mala, was given no chance by Perera to make her ground and quickly departed without scoring. Sri Lanka 114 for nine.
Thanuja Ekanayake joined Perera for a lively last couple of overs as Reid in particular suffered, her three overs contributing 18 runs including four wides. The last two overs produced 16 in a flurry of action, leaving Sri Lanka at 134 for nine at the close.
The early South African bowlers profited, Price one for 14, Ndzundzu one for 14 and Davies one for 16 producing the best of the figures. But it was the South African field and the Sri Lankan running that contributed most to the wicket-taking, five batsmen falling to run-outs.
South Africa will be chasing 135 for victory under sunny skies at Lincoln Green.
At 20 overs, the score was 32 for three. Price bowled through her 10 overs, conceding just 14 for the wicket of Silva. Alison Hodgkinson replaced her captain at the southern end and her leg spin nearly had a first-up wicket, the new batsman, Champa Sugathadasa, cracking a loose ball at Yolandi van der Merwe, who would have made a miracle catch if she had held it.
However, it was Hodgkinson who gave up the biggest over of the morning, Sugathadasa collecting five including a four backward of square as the leg spinner's wrong 'un strayed. However, Hodgkinson tightened while Ndzundzu gave up nothing off her first five overs and the Sri Lankans crawled through to 39 for three by the end of the 25th over.
Sri Lanka tried to pick up the rate but their efforts produced palpatations more than runs as the bids for quick singles came up against sharp South African fielding and indecision between the batsmen.
Hodgkinson was replaced by the pace of Sune van Zyl at the southern end in the 29th over. The first runs off Ndzundzu came in her seventh as Sugathadasa broke her hold and took the score through to 48 at the end of the 30th over.
The Sri Lankan pair did show a willingness to take on the South African field, sending the occasional shudder through the Sri Lankan camp. The first real shudder came in the nineth over with the score at 16. Silva, who had looked in no difficulty, tried to sweep Price and succeeded only in getting trapped in front for eight.
Hiruka Fernando joined Liyanarachchi and made the most of the first bad ball, flicking a rank full toss on the legs from Price through backward square leg for the first boundary of the morning in the 11th over.
However, the partnership was short-lived. In the next over, Daleen Terblanche, keeping up to the medium pace of Davies, took the edge as Liyanarachchi, on five, tried to cut. Sri Lanka 22 for two.
Hiroshi Abeysinghe joined Fernando, who was finding Davies a handful as the medium pacer angled across the left-hander. The pair took the Sri Lankan score through to 28 at the end of the 15th over.
A change of conditions has greeted the players, high overcast blocking the sun, which seemed to have taken up permanent residence over the Canterbury Plains.
Sri Lanka, on a high after beating Ireland, went into the match with Silva, Abeysinghe, Ekanyake, Fernando, Indralatha, Lakmali, Liyanarachchi, Mala, Perera, Seneviratne and Sugathadasa with Indika 12th man.
The South Africans, coming off a three-day break since stumbling their way to victory over the Netherlands, have selected Price, Davies, Hodgkinson, Kulyaars, Ndzundzu, Olivier, Reid (in for an injured Cindy Eksteen), Terblanche, van der Merwe, van Zyl and Viljoen with Strydom 12th man.
The umpires are Kathy Cross from Wellington and the New Zealand test panel member Dave Quested.
South Africa won the toss and put Sri Lanka in on a Lincoln Green pitch being used for the first time in the tournament.
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Date-stamped : 08 Dec2000 - 10:29