Cricket Headlines:
August 1997

Sunday, 31 August 1997

• England defeat Zimbabwe in the Third Under-19 Test to take the series 2-0.
• Sunday League matches proceed in England but commence with two minutes silence as a mark of respect to the late Princess of Wales who died earlier today. The exception to this was the match between Northamptonshire (where the Princess's father, Lord Spencer, is one of the patrons) and Derbyshire - this fixture being deferred.
• Saeed Anwar set to join Derbyshire in the 1998 county season.

Saturday, 30 August 1997

• Kent and Glamorgan share the County Championship lead after this week's round.
• Triple century stand by Jacques Kallis and Mark Ramprakash as Middlesex defeat Worcestershire.
• The Australian Ashes team returns to Australia. In separate media interviews both Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh express interest in being Australia's one-day captain this summer.
• The final women's one-day international between England and South Africa is abandoned. England won the series 2-1.

Friday, 29 August 1997

• Mike Atherton accepts England's captaincy for the West Indian tour. He will be unavailable for the Sharjah tour in December. The captain for this series will be announced on September 9.
• Changes for India in their Sahara Cup squad. Sidhu, Kumble, Mongia, Prasad and Khoda are all out.

Thursday, 28 August 1997

• Melvyn Betts takes 9 for 64 for Durham against Nottinghamshire, the best-ever bowling figures for Durham in first-class cricket, and the best bowling figures in the 1997 season to date.
• MAC-TNCA XI defeat MRF by two wickets from the last possible ball of the match to win the All India Buchi Babu final at Chennai.

Wednesday, 27 August 1997

• The fourth women's one-day international between England and South Africa is abandoned due to rain.
• Sir Donald Bradman celebrates his 89th birthday quietly in Adelaide.
• Surrey defeat Sussex by five wickets in the day-night Sunday League match at Eastbourne.

Tuesday, 26 August 1997

• A quiet day in world cricket with no first-class games, nor full-international men's tours in progress anywhere.

Monday, 25 August 1997

• The Australian Cricket Board announce a change in national team selection policy whereby Test and one-day internationals will be chosen independently of each other in future.
• Graham Thorpe rises to Number 2 on the Coopers & Lybrand ratings following the Sixth Test at The Oval. Steve Waugh (870 pts) and Curtly Ambrose (876 pts) are still number one on the batting and bowling lists respectively.
  The top ten batsmen are: 1.Steve Waugh; 2.Thorpe; 3.Tendulkar; 4.Chanderpaul; 5.Jayasuriya; 6.Lara; 7.McMillan; 8.Dravid; 9.Saeed Anwar; 10.Cullinan.
  The top ten bowlers are: 1.Ambrose; 2.McGrath; 3.Donald; 4.Warne; 5.Wasim Akram; 6.Streak; 7.Mushtaq Ahmed; 8.Bishop; 9.Doull; 10.Reiffel.

Sunday, 24 August 1997

• Sri Lanka makes a clean sweep of the one-day series by winning the replayed third game against India.
• Rain washes out the final day of the high-scoring Second Under-19 Test between England and Zimbabwe at Northampton.
• Rain washes out six of the eight Sunday League matches. Warwickshire and Kent win the only matches to reach an outright result. Warwickshire lead the table on 44 pts followed by Kent (42) and Lancashire (38).
• MRF and MAC-TNCA XI win the semi-finals of the MRF-Buchi Babu Invitation All India Cricket Tournament in Chennai, and will meet in the final commencing Tuesday.

Saturday, 23 August 1997

• England win a Sixth Test thriller inside three days. Mike Kasprowicz is the third bowler for the match to take seven wickets an innings.
• Third one-day international between India and Sri Lanka is abandoned because of bad light, to be replayed Sunday.
• Pakistan announce their thirteen man squad for next month's Sahara Cup.
• South Africa defeat Zimbabwe in the final of the Zone VI international series in Harare.
• Steve James scores his second century of the match as Glamorgan defeat Northamptonshire, while Waqar Younis takes ten wickets in the same match. Leicestershire is Saturday's other outright winner in the County Championship. Glamorgan (189) lead Kent (187) and Gloucestershire (181) on the Championship table.

Friday, 22 August 1997

• Phil Tufnell takes 7-66 as Australia are dismissed for 220 in reply to England's 180 all out on Day Two of the Sixth Test. The umpires add two runs to Australia's first innings total following the end of the day's play (a four by Blewett off Tufnell being amended to a six).
• County Championship highlights: Kim Barnett scores a century before lunch for Derbyshire against Leicestershire. Graeme Hick scored his 95th first-class century and shared a 239-run partnership with Richard Illingworth for Worcestershire against Warwickshire. Yorkshire defeated Sussex in three days.

Thursday, 21 August 1997

• Seven wickets for 76 runs by Glenn McGrath the opening day highlight of the Sixth Test between England and Australia at The Oval.
• New Zealand selectors name their squad for next month's tour of Kenya and Zimbabwe. Bryan Young and Simon Doull miss selection due to injury.
• Sanath Jayasuriya and Allan Donald head the batting and bowling rankings in the latest Wisden Cricket Monthly ratings, which are based on the leading batting and bowling averages in Test cricket over the past two years.
• Steve James (Glamorgan against Northamptonshire) scores his sixth County Championship century of the season and is the first batsman to pass 1500 first-class runs in England this year.
• Zimbabwe finish the opening day of their Second Under-19 Test against England at 212 for 0 wicket.
• The ECB web site presents live audio broadcasts of BBC's Test Match Special commentary of the Sixth Test over the Internet. They are the fourth organisation to provide audio commentary of cricket via Internet, following in the footsteps of Lanka Net (who have been netcasting Sri Lankan one-day matches since the 1996 World Cup), CricInfo (who covered the 1996 Hong Kong Sixes - the only exclusively made-for-Net cricket audiocast to date), and Radio Australia (who have broadcast a number of the Ashes Tests this season as part of their normal programming over RealAudio). The first netcast of Test commentary was during Sri Lanka's home series against Pakistan last April.

• Sri Lanka win by 7 wickets and take an unassailable 2-0 lead over India.
• County Championship: Martin McCague removed from Kent's bowling attack in their county championship game against Somerset for intimidatory bowling. In other matches, Vince Wells scores 190 for Leicestershire against Derbyshire, and David Boon scores the first century by a Durham captain in their six years in the County Championship.
• England win the third women's one-day international against South Africa.
• Yorkshire re-sign Darren Lehmann as their overseas professional for the 1998 season, thereby overlooking Michael Bevan who played for them in 1995 and 1996.
• Indian Airlines, Tamil Nadu Districts XI, and Mac TNCA XI win their quarter finals of the All India Buchi Babu Memorial Cricket Tournament in Chennai, joining MRF who won their quarter on Tuesday.

Tuesday, 19 August 1997

• Robert Croft and Mark Ilott receive £1000 fines and a suspended two match ban resulting from their on-field incident in last week's Nat West semi-final.
• David Houghton confirms his retirement from ind-day internationals but states that he still available to play Test cricket for Zimbabwe.

Monday, 18 August 1997

• Australia defeat Kent in the final county match of the Ashes tour.
• Pakistan "A" lose to the First Class Counties XI to complete their tour of England.
• Gloucestershire and Worcestershire register wins in the County Championship - Gloucestershire now heading the table (181 pts) from Kent (171) and Glamorgan (165).
• Aashish Kapoor scores 110 from 88 balls (19 fours 1 six) for MRF against the TNCA President's XI on the opening day of the three day quarter finals of the All-India Buchi Babu Memorial Cricket Tournament in Chennai.

Sunday, 17 August 1997

• Sri Lanka beat India by two runs in the first of three one-day internationals. Jadeja and Azharuddin completed a world record fifth-wicket stand in ODI's of 223.
• Mark Ramprakash and Peter Martin in England's Sixth Test squad.
• Century to Steve Waugh on Day Two of Australia's tour match against Kent.
• Azhar Mahmood leads a Pakistan A recovery in their final tour match.
• Opening day of the Zone 6 Tournament in Harare being played between teams from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Zambia. The final will be played next Sunday.
• Saqlain Mushtaq takes a hat-trick and ten wickets for the match in Surrey's innings victory over Middlesex.
• South Africa score a last-ball win over England in the second womens one-day international.

Saturday, 16 August 1997

• Career-best scores by Adam and Ben Hollioake for Surrey against Middlesex.
• Six Kent batsmen out for a duck on Day One of Australia's tour match.

Friday, 15 August 1997

• Saqlain Mushtaq takes a hat-trick for Surrey against Middlesex.
• England defeat South Africa in the first womens one-day international.
• India defeat a Sri Lanka Board President's XI by two wickets in a one-day match at Moratuwa.
• Tendulkar second and Jayasuriya fourth in the latest Coopers & Lybrand batting ratings. Steve Waugh still number one.

Thursday, 14 August 1997

• Shaun Young and Shane Lee called into the Australian squad to replace Gillespie (stress fracture in the back), Reiffel (returned home to be with expectant wife) and Julian (fractured wrist).
• Australia defeat Ireland in their one-day encounter.
• Warwickshire defeat Sussex in a two-day Natwest semi-final.
• Javagal Srinath receives a prestigious Arjuna sports award for 1996.

Wednesday, 13 August 1997

• A century to Azharuddin as the Second Test at Colombo ends in a draw. Jayasuriya passes a thousand Test runs for this year.
• The Indian team fined a record 195% of their match fee for slow over rates in the Second Test.
• Essex beat Glamorgan by one wicket in the first NatWest semi-final on the second morning.

Tuesday, 12 August 1997

• India need another 324 to win at stumps on Day Four of the Second Test at Colombo.
• Jayasuriya is out for 199 while Aravinda De Silva scores his sixth consecutive Test century on home soil. Together they set a new national Test third wicket partnership record.
• NatWest semi between Essex and Glamorgan stopped by bad light, marred by a shoving incident between Robert Croft and Mark Ilott.
• Northamptonshire defeat Pakistan A in a limited-over encounter.

Monday, 11 August 1997

• Centuries to Tendulkar and Ganguly give India a first innings lead on Day Three of the Second Test at Colombo.
• Hansie Cronje re-appointed as South African captain for the next twelve months.

Sunday, 10 August 1997

• Australia retain the Ashes as they win the Fifth Test inside four days and take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.
• Pakistan A defeated in their tour match against Yorkshire.
• Warwickshire (40 pts) lead from Kent (38 pts) and Lancashire (36 pts) after today's Sunday League matches.

Saturday, 9 August 1997

• Australia build a big lead on Day Three of the Fifth Test at Trent Bridge.
• Aravinda De Silva scores his fifth consecutive Test century on home soil, on Day One of the Second Test against India.
• Kent take the lead in the County Championship following their innings victory over Essex. Paul Prichard scored 224 for Essex. Worcestershire, Surrey, Sussex and Middlesex the other Saturday winners.
• A big innings victory to England in the Under-19 Test against Zimbabwe.

Friday, 8 August 1997

• Australia all out 427 and England 188 for 4 at stumps on Day Two of the Fifth Test at Trent Bridge.
• The South African womens team wrap up their one-day series against Ireland.
• Mohammad Wasim scores 155 on Day Two of Pakistan A's match against Yorkshire.

Thursday, 7 June 1997

• Australia 302 for 3 at stumps on Day One of the Fifth Test at Trent Bridge.
• Brothers Adam and Ben Hollioake both make their Test debuts for England.
• South Africa defeat Ireland in the second womens one-day internationals.

Wednesday, 6 August 1997

• Jayasuriya out for 340 on Day Five of the First Test against India.
• Sri Lanka call it a draw at 952, the highest innings by any Test team in history. Many records were broken in the Test. ( Scorecard | Match reports | Articles).
• Darren Gough out of the Fifth Test with a knee injury.

Tuesday, 5 August 1997

• Jayasuriya and Mahanama set a new world record for the highest partnership in Test history.
• Lord MacLaurin's review of English cricket produces some radical proposed changes.
• South Africa defeat Ireland in the first of three womens one-day internationals.

Monday, 4 August 1997

• Century to Jayasuriya on Day Three of the First Test between Sri Lanka and India. Together with Mahanama he shares the highest partnership for any wicket by Sri Lanka in Tests. They join a small list who have batted through a day's play, and share the highest partnership in Sri Lanka's Test history, beating the previous record (240 by Gurusinha and Ranatunga).
• No play on Days Three and Four as both tour games involving Australia , and Pakistan A are washed out.
• Peter Such bowls 86 overs for Essex in Leicestershire's innings of the County Championship match, the most in any Championship innings. Yorkshire win the only fourth-day result of the round. Glamorgan (159 pts) head the table, from Gloucestershire (149 pts) and Kent (147 pts).
• England beat Zimbabwe in the second Under-19 one-day international.

Sunday, 3 August 1997

• Tendulkar and Azharuddin score centuries on Day Two of the First Test against Sri Lanka.
• Nilesh Kulkarni takes a wicket with his first ball in Tests, and joins an elite club.
• No play on Day Three of tour games involving Australia , and Pakistan A.
• The Hollioake brothers are both selected for England's Fifth Test squad.
• Sunday League: Of the seven matches played, three are abandoned, and one is decided under the Duckworth-Lewis rule. Warwickshire and Lancashire (36 pts) share the lead from Essex and Kent (32 pts). Tom Moody becomes the fastest player to reach 4000 career runs in Sunday League competition (100 innings precisely), beating the previous record of 106 innings set by Barry Richards in 1976.
• Australia defeat South Africa to win the Super 8s title in Kuala Lumpur.

Saturday, 2 August 1997

• Sidhu scores a century on the opening day of the First Test between India and Sri Lanka.
• County Championship victories inside three days to Durham and Warwickshire. Jonathan Lewis passed 1000 runs for the season in scoring 160* for Durham.

Friday, 1 August 1997

• The Malaysian Invitation defeat India in the Super 8s in Kuala Lumpur. Australia and New Zealand the other Day One winners.
• West Indies team to tour Pakistan and Sharjah and 'A' squad to tour South Africa named.