Cricket: Australia lose to South Africa

[Matt The Rat]

We were lucky with those couple of dropped catches. What a way to finish though!

[NE2000]

Controversy: South Africans complain of people in the crowd shining a green laser into the eyes of fielders.

But I reckon Australia would've won regardless of the dropped catches, Ronchi and Hopes were still to come. As I said before, we haven't seen many close T20 games here, so relatively that was a close game: but otherwise winning with 6 wickets and 7 balls to spare is pretty comfortable...bit suprised at both teams in the first 10 overs, I'm not sure whether it was a plan or whether they just couldn't get it away. Both teams were bowled out/almost bowled out in the last T20 so maybe they wanted to avoid that.

[kurrymuncher]

ROFL LOL ROFL LOL

green lasers hahaha

[mullums1]

Controversy: South Africans complain of people in the crowd shining a green laser into the eyes of fielders.

But I reckon Australia would've won regardless of the dropped catches, Ronchi and Hopes were still to come. As I said before, we haven't seen many close T20 games here, so relatively that was a close game: but otherwise winning with 6 wickets and 7 balls to spare is pretty comfortable...bit suprised at both teams in the first 10 overs, I'm not sure whether it was a plan or whether they just couldn't get it away. Both teams were bowled out/almost bowled out in the last T20 so maybe they wanted to avoid that.

Yeh it was a good pitch for bowling and batting. Which made it hard for the batters to get carried away. Hence the first 10 overs for both sides were pretty tight. Unfortunately for South africa, their poor bowling cost them, too many full tosses- easy runs. 

[NE2000]

And now we just wait for the one-day series...South Africa are probably more suited to ODIs than T20 given their lineup has no real big hitters till Boucher and Albie Morkel. ODIs requires a bit more innings building and Duminy and Amla will probably play well

[kurrymuncher]

OMG the 1st odi was so close, South Africa is too good. I thought it was over when SA lost 4 wickets for 8 runs.

[clinton_09]

i went to the game, it was very entertaining to watch!!!

[vce01]

i went to the game, it was very entertaining to watch!!!

yeah so did I, had a feeling morkel would kill it. my friend was like no he's shit - FAIL

[kurrymuncher]

bah Australia wins. SA had this in the bag, Morkel should have come on earlier.

[mullums1]

........And South Africa win the series!!!!!!!  (3-1) lead now by the way. Man Australia have some issues to resolve.

[transgression]

AUS won first test, 2 to go.

On other cricket news:

Four Sri Lanka cricketers wounded in Pakistan shooting

 Gunmen killed at least four people in an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus on Tuesday as it drove to a stadium in the Pakistani city of Lahore, according witnesses and cricket officials.

Sri Lankan media, quoting the sports minister, said four players received minor injuries in the attack -- Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana.

Pakistan television channels news channels said four people were killed.

A witness told Reuters he believed two police commandos were killed along with a regular policeman and a traffic warden. Shopkeeper Ahmed Ali said the two police commandos had been driving behind the team bus when they were hit.

"It was a very heavy firing and I heard at least two explosions at the time," said a Reuters witness who had been on his way to cover the test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan only invited the Sri Lanka team to tour after India's team pulled out with security concerns following the militant attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai in November.

http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=759714

[kurrymuncher]

just read about this. absolutely fucking horrible!!!!! we were going well too

[transgression]

Update

Eight dead, six cricketers hurt in Pakistan attack

Masked gunman opened fire on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore Tuesday, killing at least eight people and wounding six players, officials said.

Lahore police chief Habib-ur Rehman said 12 gunmen attacked the convoy near Lahore's Gaddafi stadium with rockets, hand grenades and automatic weapons and were involved in a 25-minute shoot-out with the security forces.

"They appeared to be well-trained terrorists. They came on rickshaws," he told reporters.

A police official said two civilians and six police officers who were guarding the players were killed in the attack which happened as the team was heading for the third day's play in the second Test against Pakistan.

Television footage of several gunmen creeping through the trees, crouching to aim their kalashnikovs then running onto the next target were aired by Pakistan's private channel Geo.

Crystals of broken glass littered the road next to a gun cartridge and an empty rocket-propelled grenade launcher. A police motorbike was shown crashed sideways into the road at the Liberty Chowk (roundabout) in Lahore.

Bullet holes ripped through the windscreen of another vehicle and a white car was shown smashed headlong into the roundabout as nervous security officers guarded the site.

Sri Lankan authorities said six players were believed to have been wounded.

In Sri Lanka, Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said Tharanga Paranavitana and Thilan Samaraweera had been taken to hospital in Lahore.

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardena was also slightly wounded in the foot, his father told a Sri Lankan local television station after speaking with his son by telephone.

Samaraweera is one of Sri Lanka's leading players. He became only the seventh batsmen in Test cricket to notch a double hundred in consecutive matches on Monday, scoring 214 after a 231 in the drawn first Test.

Fears of attacks by Islamic militants linked to Al-Qaeda have caused many teams to postpone or cancel cricket tours to Pakistan in recent years.

Australia earlier this month forced Pakistan to change the venue of a one-day series to the neutral venues of Dubai and Abu Dhabi when the two sides meet in April-May this year over security fears.

Australia, who also played Pakistan in three Tests at the neutral venues of Colombo and Dubai in 2002, have not toured here since 1998.

India also refused to send its team across the border amid heightened tensions in the wake of attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on militants based in Pakistan.

Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are due to jointly host the cricket World Cup in 2011.

Last month, Pakistan's cricket chief vowed to improve security arrangements for the 10th edition of the four-yearly event and denied there was a risk associated with staging some of the games in the troubled country.

Last month, security concerns raised by other teams forced the ICC to move the 2009 Champions Trophy out of Pakistan.

The elite eight-nation Trophy was to be held in September-October this year but the ICC was to announce a new venue in April.

The event was originally scheduled for last year but was put off after South Africa pulled out of the event and Australia, England and New Zealand showed reluctance to tour because of fears about players' safety.

The shooting also came as the Sri Lankan army pushed its final offensive against ethnic Tamil Tiger rebels in the north of the country in a civil war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=759714

[vce01]

fucking terrorists. 

[Over9000]

People like South Africa because they're players are awesome and they've got character. The Australian side always win anyway, let another country win. Devilliers FTW