Date-stamped : 25 Jan96 - 02:34 Test # 1323 New Zealand v Zimbabwe, 2nd Test. Eden Park, Auckland. 20,21,22,23,24 January 1996. ====> Day 1, 20 Jan 96 Second Test against Zimbabwe in Hamilton: Fleming 84 in New Zealand`s 246/8 New Zealand were 246 for 8 at close on the opening day of their second Test against Zimbabwe in Haminton on Saturday. New Zealand failed to make use of a good batting strip when they reached 246 for eight at stumps on the first day of the second cricket test against Zimbabwe in Auckland`s Eden Park on Saturday. New Zealand`s effort was personified by the innings of Stephen Fleming, who once again fell short of his maiden test century. Fleming looked good in reaching 84 but when he and Chris Cairns started to get tied down in the evening session he lost his con- centration and clipped a catch to Stuart Carlisle off the part- time medium pacer Guy Whittall. He and Cairns added 99 for the fifth wicket and looked to be tak- ing New Zealand to a reasonable total after a shaky start. Soon after Fleming`s exit with the score at 216, Cairns went for 57, caught and bowled Paul Strang with the score at 232. New Zealand added 50 for the first wicket before losing Roger Twose to a rash shot, edging Eddo Brandes to wicketkeeper Andy Flower. When Craig Spearman guided a catch to gully off Bryan Strang and Adam Parore followed for nought, New Zealand were 86 for three after winning the toss and electing to bat on a dry looking wick- et. Nathan Astle made 14 before he gave Brandes a return catch at 117 for four, putting Zimbabwe were in control. Fleming, whose first six scoring shots were boundaries, and Cairns, who started with four successive boundaries, put New Zea- land back in the match with some good stroke-making. Fleming reached 1,000 runs in test cricket when he was 62 but shortly after that the pair got bogged down against some tight bowling and efficient fielding. Lee Germon played some good shots getting to 25 before Zimbabwe fast bowler Heath Streak got him with the new ball. Germon fend- ed off a short ball aimed at his ribs and it lobbed to Andy Flower. Streak got his second wicket with the last ball of the day, trap- ping Gavin Larsen leg before for nought. New Zealand finished the day with Dipak Patel on two and Robert Kennedy yet to come to the crease. Streak took two for 11 with the second new ball to finish with two for 50 from 20 overs. Brandes had two for 69 off 18 overs and Bryan Strang two for 58. Legspinner Paul Strang finished with one for 29 and Whittall had one for 36. The first match in the series was drawn. Source :: Lake House/Lanka Internet Services ====> Day 2, 21 Jan96 Monday 22, January 1996 Zimbabwe`s Houghton shines in second test AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Sunday - Veteran Zimbabwe batsman David Houghton scored his fourth test century as Zimbabwe reached 231 for seven on the second day of the second cricket test against New Zealand on Sunday. Houghton, who batted with a runner after being hit on the foot when he was on 55, patiently accumulated his runs over five hours, spending 19 minutes on 99 before reaching his century shortly before stumps. He finished the day on 104 not out with Paul Strang on five. Zimbabwe quickly claimed the last two New Zealand wickets for the addition of only five runs this morning, dismissing the hosts for 251. Zimbabwe made a poor start when they lost three for 50 with Grant Flower (five), Stuart Carlisle (12) and Guy Whittall (27) all gone before lunch. Captain Andy Flower and Houghton added 88 for the fourth wicket, with Flower reaching 1,000 runs in test cricket before departing for 35 with the score at 138. Alistair Campbell gave left arm seamer Geoff Allott his third leg before wicket dismissal of the innings when he went for 17 with the score at 196. Medium pacer Gavin Larsen then bowled Craig Wishart for seven and fast-medium bowler Chris Cairns castled Heath Streak with the second new ball. For New Zealand, Allott took three 45, Cairns had two for 60, Larsen was tight in taking one for 22 off 17 overs while Robert Kennedy finished with one for 53. Source :: Lake House/Lanka Internet Services ====> Day 2, more Electronic Telegraph Monday 22 January 1996 NZ v Zimbabwe - 2nd Test: Houghton hits brave century for Zim- babwe By Don Cameron in Auckland Second day of five: Zimbabwe (231-7) trail New Zealand (251) by 20 runs DAVID Houghton gave a marvellous display of courage and control in the second Test yesterday, scoring a crucial century for Zim- babwe despite breaking a bone in his foot while at the crease. Houghton`s 104 not out, his fourth Test hundred, steered Zimbabwe to 231 for seven at the close of the second day at Eden Park, still 20 runs behind New Zealand`s first innings. His brave five-hour innings, two of which came after he was struck on the foot by the young medium-fast bowler Robert Ken- nedy, may be at an end however. An X-ray confirmed later that the second metatarsal bone was fractured. The Zimbabwe team manage- ment will check before play on the third morning to see if Hough- ton could bat with the foot heavily strapped. This does not seem likely for there could be further damage and the risk of losing Houghton`s experience and firepower not only for the rest of the tour but for the World Cup matches next month as well. Zimbabwe started their first innings erratically on a good bat- ting pitch and were three wickets down for 50 before Houghton and his captain, Andy Flower, steadied the innings with an 88-run stand for the fourth wicket. Once Flower was out, however, Alistair Campbell struggled for 17 runs in a 58-run stand but then New Zealand counter-attacked through Chris Cairns and Geoff Allott. Houghton was particularly unlucky to be injured by a Kennedy yorker for the bowler was very erratic and seldom looked like hitting the Zimbabwe batsmen, let alone the stumps. Houghton, not moving freely, defended stoutly and still did most of the run-scoring while the other batsmen struggled. He went quickly into the 90s but then sat on 99 for 19 minutes be- fore he got the precious 100th run and a long ovation from the 3,000 crowd. His century took just short of five hours, con- tained 12 fours and will rank among the more gallant batting displays this historic ground has seen. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) ====> Day 3, 22 Jan 1996 Electronic Telegraph Tuesday 23 January 1996 NZ v Zimbabwe - 2nd Test: Zimbabwe lose impetus By Don Cameron in Auckland ZIMBABWE lost specialist batsman David Houghton and also the tac- tical initiative on the third day of the second Test against New Zealand at Eden Park yesterday. Houghton suffered a heavy blow to his left instep on Monday and limped for the next two hours as he put together a plucky, un- beaten 104. Even after an X-ray showed the fracture, Houghton was hoping to bat on during the third morning, which started with Zimbabwe 231 for seven in reply to the New Zealand first innings of 251. Zimbabwe`s tail-enders Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes and Bryan Strang hammered the New Zealand bowlers with the second new ball and put on 95 in 26 overs. Faced with a 75-run deficit and with eight of the 15 sessions still to be played, the New Zealand openers Craig Spearman and Roger Twose purposely dropped the pace of the innings and took 64 overs as they worked through the hot, sunny day to reach the close with the score at 138 without loss. In fact, both may gain their first centuries - Twose in his sixth Test for his adopted country - as the Eden Park pitch now has a slow, low bounce and only the slow bowlers can hope for any as- sistance. The medium-fast bowlers now appear to be merely cannon fodder. New Zealand will need to score more quickly on the fourth day if they are to make a realistic declaration. They already have a lead of 63 and will need an advantage of 300-plus going into the last day. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) ====> Day 3, more Tuesday 23, January 1996 NZ openers put on unbeaten century stand AUCKLAND, Jan 22 - New Zealand openers Craig Spearman and Roger Twose staged an unbroken century partnership to rescue their side from trouble on the third day of the second test against Zimbabwe on Monday. The home side ended the day at 138 for no wicket, a lead of 63, after trailing by 75 on the first innings. Earlier Zimbabwe added a valuable 95 runs for the last two wick- ets to take their first innings total to 326 for nine. Eddo Brandes scored 39 and Paul Strang 44, putting on 79 together in even time -- a vital contribution given the loss of key bats- man David Houghton for the rest of the match. Houghton had to retire hurt overnight on 104, after his foot was broken on Sunday by a ball from Robert Kennedy. Spinner Dipak Pa- tel picked up the two tailenders to finish with two for 60 from 12 overs. Spearman reached his first test half-century and finished the day on 71, tempering his natural aggression with patient and sensible stroke play. Twose again showed his value as an anchorman in the New Zealand batting line-up. He was unbeaten on 57 at stumps, his third test half-century taking four hours from more than 200 balls. Source :: Lake House/Lanka Internet Services ====> Day 4, 23 Jan 1996 Electronic Telegraph Wednesday 24 January 1996 NZ v Zimbabwe - 2nd Test: Zimbabwe struggle as Cairns hits out By Don Cameron in Auckland CHRIS CAIRNS, who has looked so promising since his teenage years, finally burst to the fore in a Test match with an 86-ball century, the second-fastest by a New Zealand batsman, to put the home team into a dominant position on the fourth day of the second Test match against Zimbabwe yesterday. Cairns, 25, whose previous highest score in 16 Tests was 78, fin- ished with 120 as New Zealand made 441 for five declared at Eden Park. This overturned Zimbabwe`s first-innings lead of 75 and left the tourists needing 367 in the remaining 109 overs for vic- tory. At the end of the fourth day Zimbabwe were 39 for no wicket, but had already lost their foremost batsman, David Houghton, who scored a century despite suffering a foot injury on Sunday after- noon and is now in plaster. Although the pitch is still easy-paced, the bounce is low, the ball is beginning to turn awkwardly and Zimbabwe`s only real prospect is a long struggle for a draw. Cairns did not hold centre stage all day. Before lunch Craig Spearman, the novice opening batsman, moved from 71 not out to his first century in his third Test. His partner Roger Twose, the former Warwickshire player, looked certain to make another maiden Test century, but after 51/2 hours of solid strokeplay gave a simple return catch to Heath Streak on 94. The opening stand of 214 was the third highest in New Zealand Test history, yet Cairns`s spectacular hitting overshadowed all that had gone before. His first fifty took 58 minutes and 49 balls, his second 48 minutes and only 37 balls. By then Cairns had hit nine fours and seven sixes. Once past the century, which took him three balls more than Bruce Taylor`s hundred against the West Indian bowlers in 1969, Cairns cracked two more sixes, and with nine hits over the fence was threatening Walter Hammond`s record 10 sixes in a Test innings in his triple-century here in 1933. However, Streak, who kept pounding in, got a yorker through Cairns`s defence before the 10th six could arrive. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) ====> Day 5, Jan 24 1996 Electronic Telegraph Thursday 25 January 1996 NZ v Zimbabwe - 2nd Test: New Zealand denied with maximum fuss By Don Cameron in Auckland Fifth day of five: Zimbabwe (326 & 246-4) drew with New Zealand (251 & 441-5 dec). Series drawn 0-0 THE brave fourth-day talk from the New Zealanders came to little as Zimbabwe calmly played out a draw in the second Test at Eden Park yesterday. Flushed by their success on the fourth day, when a total of 441 for five declared put them 366 in front, New Zealand predicted an all-out attack on the Zimbabwe batting on the last day. The hot attack never came, for the pitch remained docile and the New Zealand bowlers were not nearly strong enough to break the Zimbabweans` composure. Led by an opening stand of 120 by Grant Flower (71) and Stuart Carlisle (58), Zimbabwe went steadily on to 246 for four before the Test was called off. The only breaks in the calm of the Zimbabwean batting came when two appeals by Chris Cairns were turned down by the Pakistan um- pire Mahboob Shah. The first was against Guy Whittall for lbw, and Cairns and some of the close-in fieldsmen seemed distraught when the appeal was turned down. Soon afterwards what appeared to be a catch from Whittall looped out to Nathan Astle at second-slip. Again the New Zealanders ap- pealed mightily, again Shah declined the appeal and again some players gave extravagant shows of dismay, especially Cairns and Adam Parore, who appeared to throw his helmet on the ground in disgust. Nasim-ul-Ghani, the Pakistani who is the International Cricket Council referee, held an inquiry and both New Zealanders were found guilty, but no details of any suspension or penalty were released on the evening after the Test. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) ====> Day 5, more Thursday 25, January 1996 New Zealand-Zimbabwe draw on lifeless pitch AUCKLAND, Wednesday - Zimbabwe's batsmen failed to mount a serious challenge for victory as the second test against New Zealand dwindled to a draw on Wednesday. Zimbabwe, set 367 to win, batted out the final day without difficulty to finish at 246 for four, with openers Grant Flower and Stuart Carlisle scoring 71 and 58 respectively and sharing an opening stand of 120. Captain Andy Flower was not out 45 and Craig Wishart was not out 12 at the close. Spinner Dipak Patel was able to achieve some turn and bowled well to take two wickets for 60 off his 27 overs. However, the pitch deprived strike bowlers Chris Cairns and Robert Kennedy of pace and bite. Neither was able to penetrate the Zimbabwean defence to great effect, Kennedy taking one wicket for 61 off 22 overs, and Cairns none for 49 off 23. The draw means the two-test series is drawn 0-0. The Kiwis put on a spectacular batting burst on the fourth day to create the possibility of a result. Chris Cairns decimated the Zimbabwean bowlers to score one of the most spectacular centuries in test history, smacking nine sixes and 10 fours in his innings of 120 off just 96 balls. The pitch conspired to rule out any chance of a result, playing flatter and flatter as the match progressed. The two sides begin a three-match limited overs series at Auckland on Sunday. Source :: Lake House/Lanka Internet Services Contributed by Ravi (sista@*.latech.edu)