AUCKLAND, 21 March 2004 — New Zealand all-rounders Chris Cairns and Jacob Oram punished the South Africa attack to put the home side well in command after the third day of the second Test yesterday.

At the close, New Zealand had amassed 584 for eight wickets, a lead of 288, thanks largely to a record seventh wicket partnership between Cairns and Oram.

The pair added 225, with Cairns recording his highest Test score of 158 before he lofted a catch to Jacques Kallis at long off.

The quickfire knock was compiled off 171 balls in 214 minutes and included 18 fours and seven sixes.

In the process he passed 3,000 Test runs, the second New Zealand batsman of the day to do so after Craig McMillan achieved the feat shortly after lunch. Cairns and Oram, who was eventually bowled by Makhaya Ntini 10 runs short of a second test century, decimated the limited South Africa bowling attack and took a little over 45 overs to compile their partnership.

New Zealand had resumed on 201 for three and South Africa managed to dismiss Friday’s hero Scott Styris for 170 shortly before lunch.

Styris, who began the day on 118, went past his previous highest Test score of 119 in the second over of the morning and progressed steadily before edging a ball from left-arm spinner Nicky Boje to Shaun Pollock at slip.

McMillan and Styris figured in a fourth wicket partnership of 148 in 158 minutes.

McMillan took a time to get going from his overnight 31, but achieved his 19th Test half-century off 93 balls with seven fours and a six.

He passed the 3,000 Test run milestone just after New Zealand had taken a first innings lead at 296, but was soon out, playing on to Shaun Pollock for 82. Smith said the hammering his bowlers took made it difficult for them to come back for their third or fourth spells.

Smith said the only way for South Africa to salvage something out of the match was to bat well and to bat long. South Africa began the Test with an opening partnership of 177 between Herschelle Gibbs and Smith but were bowled out for 296.

Warne Leads Australia to Series-Clinching Win

Reuters

KANDY, Sri Lanka, 21 March 2004 — Shane Warne spun Australia to a series-clinching 27 run victory over Sri Lanka on the fifth and final day of the second Test yesterday.

The leg spinner snapped up five for 90 as Sri Lanka, who started the day needing 51 runs with three wickets remaining having been set an improbable 352-run victory target, were bowled out for 324 in 73.1 overs.

With the win, Australia have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series giving Ricky Ponting his first series win as Test captain.

The 34-year-old Warne finished with 10 for 155 in the match, his second consecutive ten-wicket haul in his second game back for the national side after a 12-months drugs ban.

Warne extended his series tally to 20 wickets at 15.7 and his career haul to 511 scalps, giving him a chance of breaking Courtney Walsh’s 519-wicket world record during the third and final Test next week.

Sri Lanka set off aggressively in pursuit of their target — mindful of the new ball, which was due after 13 overs — with Chaminda Vaas clubbing three early boundaries.

But Vaas, dropped at cover by Andrew Symonds in the same over, holed out at deep midwicket off Warne to end a 45-run stand for the eighth wicket. Vaas had followed his first innings 68 not out with 45 from 53 balls, hitting eight boundaries.

Nuwan Zoysa gloved a hook off Jason Gillespie and was caught behind for a duck to leave Sri Lanka 320 for nine.

Rookie Kaushal Lokuarachchi was then trapped lbw by Warne to seal Australia’s victory.

Gillespie, who took three crucial wickets on day four, including Sanath Jayasuriya who blitzed a brutal 131, finished with four for 76 from 20 overs.

Schumacher Scorches to His 57th Pole

Agence France Presse

SEPANG, Malaysia, 21 March 2004 — World champion Michael Schumacher scorched to the 57th pole position of his career here yesterday with a dominant qualifying performance for today’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

Six-time title winner Schumacher, who won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago, produced the perfect lap time around the Sepang circuit to finish more than half-a-second ahead of Mark Webber.

Schumacher, who completed a clean sweep in Australia with pole, fastest lap and victory, was untroubled by the 37 degree Celsius (99 degree Fahrenheit) heat and his faultless performance in his Ferrari sent an ominous warning to his rivals.

“We looked quicker on paper, it was a mind-blowing lap I have to say, everything perfect and spot on,” said Schumacher.

Australian Webber finished second quickest for Jaguar ahead of Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello.

Williams pair Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher were fourth and seventh respectively with McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button splitting them in fifth and sixth. Renault’s Jarno Trulli, McLaren’s David Coulthard and Toyota driver Cristiano Da Matta completed the top 10.

Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who had led a Renault one-two in yesterday’s first qualifying session, slid off track and into the gravel as the last man on track.

Montoya, the first of the leading names on track, set the pace with a lap time of one minute 34.054 secs for the Williams team.

His teammate Ralf Schumacher was one-tenth slower, before BAR driver Jenson Button split the pair in the timesheets after being unable to hold onto the quickest time he held after two sectors. Coulthard slotted in behind the top trio after being unable to find his best, but Ferrari driver Barrichello produced an immaculate lap to go 0.298 seconds faster than Montoya and take provisional pole.

The impressive Webber continued his rise to prominence as he went quicker than Barrichello by 0.041 seconds to move into top spot. The world champion, however, produced an immediate response to the threat from Webber as he posted a lap time more than six-tenths of a second faster than the Australian.

Raikkonen, who won his first Grand Prix in Malaysia last year, crossed the line for fifth place on the grid, while Renault’s Trulli was disappointed as he slotted into eighth place.

Alonso, the last man on track and who earned pole position at Sepang 12 months ago, slid off into the gravel as he attempted to topple Schumacher and he will begin the race from the back row of the grid.