South Africa too good for Ireland
Ireland captain Trent Johnston celebrates after he caught and bowled South Africa's captain Graeme Smith during their World Cup cricket Super Eights match in Georgetown on Tuesday. South Africa defeated Ireland by seven wickets with 21 balls to spare. Reuters |
South Africa swatted underdog Ireland aside by seven wickets with 21 balls to spare on Tuesday to add to the procession of lopsided victories.
Jacques Kallis scored 66 not out and Ashwell Prince finished with a six for an unbeaten 47 at Georgetown, Guyana, to keep the South Africans in the hunt for a semifinal spot and make virtually sure the Irish won't make it.
Their innings interrupted three times by rain showers and cut from 50 to 35 overs, the Irish scored 152 for eight which was nowhere near enough to scare the South Africans who are officially the top ranked one-day team in the world.
When AB De Villiers cut a ball from the lanky Boyd Rankin and William Porterfield took a juggling catch at gully to make it one for one, there was the remote chance that Ireland might capture an upset to go with its shocking victory over powerhouse Pakistan in the group stage.
But Graeme Smith made 41 to continue his solid series of World Cup performances and, although Herschelle Gibbs contributed only six, Kallis and Prince carefully eased South Africa to a predictable victory at 165 for three.
"We did what we needed to do today," Smith said. "It was stop-start at the beginning and that can suck a lot of intensity out of you. But in the end we managed relatively easily."
The only game to go to the wire so far in the second-round Super 8s was South Africa's one-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in match two. And that was only after Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga revived a one-sided match by taking four wickets in four balls.
With Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa now favored to capture the top four positions and semifinal berths, the competition is moving toward an expected conclusion even with three more weeks to go before the semifinals.
India coach quits
Meanwhile, Indian cricket coach Greg Chappell resigned yesterday, Indian media reported, hours after the publication of an interview in which star batsman Sachin Tendulkar said he had been hurt by the coach's criticism of the players' poor attitude at the World Cup.
Chappell, 57, has come in for withering criticism from members of India's cricket establishment and sports media in recent days for blaming the team's first-round World Cup exit on the side's senior players.
He cited family reasons in the resignation letter he sent yesterday to India's cricket board, and said coaching India's team was among the biggest challenges he has faced, the NDTV television channel reported. His contract had been due to expire in April.
Chappell's decision to step down came hours after the Times of India published an interview with Tendulkar, who said "it hurts if the coach questions our attitude."
Away from the World Cup, four Scotland Yard detectives and two forensic experts from Interpol arrived in Jamaica to help the investigation of the killing of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer.
The British detectives, including a senior murder investigator, will be reviewing security-camera video from the hotel where Woolmer was found strangled on March 18, said Mark Shields, Jamaica's deputy police commissioner, who is also a Scotland Yard veteran.
"Clearly they are going to be looking at the main lines of inquiry but I'll also get them to review the technical evidence," he said.
Agencies
(China Daily 04/05/2007 page24)
