MANCHESTER, England, 4 July 2003 — Marcus Trescothick rode to England’s rescue once again yesterday with a belligerent half century as his team reached 223 for seven in the triangular series one-day match against South Africa.
The left handed Somerset opener struck 60, his 14th One-Day International half century, after England had been reduced to seven for two. Following Trescothick’s dismissal in the 31st over, England slumped to 176 for seven before Chris Read (30 not out) and Ashley Giles (20 not out) added 47 from 35 balls in an unbroken partnership.
Trescothick helped Anthony McGrath (52) add 114 for the third wicket before he was caught skying a sweep off part-time spinner Martin Van Jaarsveld. McGrath was out shortly after reaching his first one-day 50 with four boundaries.
The match was Trescothick’s 68th consecutive One-Day International, breaking Ian Botham’s previous England record.
England made an awful start on an overcast afternoon at Old Trafford with Vikram Solanki, who hit his maiden one-day century against South Africa at The Oval on Saturday, falling for four and captain Michael Vaughan succumbing for three. Both were caught behind by Mark Boucher.
Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock bowled a remorselessly accurate opening spell of seven overs for five runs with four maidens and the wicket of Vaughan. He finished with figures of 10-4-21-1.
Trescothick took successive driven fours off Makhaya Ntini and McGrath followed suit with two square cuts to the boundary from paceman Andrew Hall.
After they were out England struggled with a series of soft dismissals. Andy Flintoff was caught for 12 and Jim Troughton failed again with five before Read and Giles batted brightly to lift their side past the 200 mark.
Pakistan Recall Lucky Manager
to Revive Dwindling Fortunes
In Lahore, Pakistan yesterday appointed former coach Abdul Rasheed Junior as manager in a bid to lift their sagging fortunes before next year’s Olympic Games in Athens.
“Our target is the Athens Olympics and we hope that the new manager, along with other officials, work hard on the team and bring good results,” Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Brigadier Musarratullah Khan told reporters. Coach Tahir Zaman and his deputy Shahid Ali Khan were retained.
New Zealand, Australia
to Play in India This Year
In New Delhi, New Zealand will play two Test matches in India later this year before being joined by world champions Australia for a high-profile limited-overs series.
The Kiwis, who are to arrive in India on Sept. 23, will play two three-day matches before the back-to-back Tests in Mohali and Kanpur from Oct. 8.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will decide later whether Mohali or Kanpur will host the first Test from Oct. 8 to 12. Australia, in a rare break from their home season, will travel to India in late October for the 27-day tri-series.
Each team will play the other three times in the league with the top two advancing to the final at Calcutta’s Eden Gardens on Nov. 18. India’s six league matches will all be day-night games.
India will then embark on a full tour of Australia, which involves four Test matches and a one-day series also featuring Zimbabwe. India and Australia contested the World Cup final in March in which Ricky Ponting’s side beat the Indians by 125 runs at Johannesburg.
