South Africa Tune Up With Win in Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan, 2 October 2003 — The South Africans brushed aside their security worries yesterday to beat City XI by eight wickets in their warm-up, one-day game at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Captain Graeme Smith and stylish batsman Jacques Kallis hit half-centuries as the tourists notched up 253-3 in 46 overs in reply to City XI’s 250-4 in their allotted 50 overs. Both teams agreed to include twelve players in their sides to give the tourists the fullest practice ahead of their first One-Day International at the same venue tomorrow.

City XI captain Misbahul Haq won the toss and elected to bat.

Opener Imran Farhat, who played his last Test for Pakistan against Australia in Sharjah last year, topscored for the home side with 64 with seven boundaries and three sixes. Test discards Naved Latif, with 45 not out, and Faisal Iqbal, with 30, added 61 for the unfinished fourth wicket.

The 22-year-old Smith, who hit back-to-back double hundreds and finished with 718 runs in the Test series against England last month, put 72 for the first wicket with Herschelle Gibbs who made 34. Smith then added 98 for the second wicket with Kallis before handing Farhat his wicket. Neil McKenzie (33) and Mark Boucher (36) carried the Proteas to the winning target in 46 overs.

Crackdown on Aussie

Cricket Sledging

In Sydney, Cricket Australia (CA) said yesterday it would come down hard on Australia’s cricketers, threatening them with a life ban for sledging under a code of behavior policy.

Cricket Australia (CA) said the impetus for the crackdown was last May’s ugly clash between Australian paceman Glenn McGrath and West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan in the Caribbean.

The premier Australian fast bowler was widely condemned here for his mid-pitch rant at Sarwan during the fourth Test in Antigua, won by the West Indies by three wickets to avoid a series whitewash.

The images of McGrath finger-pointing and screaming at Sarwan over something he apparently said prompted Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland to tell captain Steve Waugh to rein in his players’ emotions.

Four-Wicket Streak Sets Up

Comfortable Zimbabwe Win

In Melbourne, captain Heath Streak grabbed four wickets to set up a confidence-boosting victory for Zimbabwe by seven wickets over a Chairman’s XI in Perth yesterday. Streak took four for 32 in 9.5 overs as Zimbabwe, who play two Tests against Australia later this month, bowled out their hosts for 240. Ryan Campbell topscored with 65 and Brad Hogg made 38 but Test regulars Justin Langer (27) and Damien Martyn (31) failed to capitalize on bright starts.

Zimbabwe then raced to the victory target with 52 balls to spare, with Mark Vermeulen, Stuart Carlisle and Craig Wishart each scoring half-centuries.

Cricket Authorities

Rework Rain Rules

Cricket authorities have overhauled the scoring system to make rain-hit One-Day Internationals fairer.

The International Cricket Council said yesterday the new Duckworth Lewis method will come into operation tomorrow when Pakistan play South Africa at Lahore.

The current Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) system sees victory targets revised on the basis of both overs remaining for the batting side and how many wickets have fallen.

But a new version has been introduced after this year’s World Cup final between Australia and India when it was felt the old system failed to take account of a side batting first posting a huge score.

Australia, who beat India by 125 runs in the March 23 final in Johannesburg, made a record 359 for two in their 50 overs after being asked to bat first.

India, although eventually dismissed for 234 in 39.2 overs, had an unlikely chance of victory as skies darkened over the Wanderers ground.