SPORTS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 Photo of the day Cook wants more from batsmen after latest India loss NOTTINGHAM: England captain Alastair Cook called on last five ODI series, excepting a one-off victory against non- his batsmen to raise their game after a heavy defeat by Test nation Scotland. India left them looking at another one-day series loss “It is frustrating we are not playing to standards we ahead of next year’s World Cup. know we are capable of, and need,” said Cook. India beat England by six wickets at Trent Bridge on “There are some good players there, who are not show- Saturday to go 2-0 up in a five-match series with two to ing it. It’s something we need to change around,” he insist- play. It was the reigning world champions’ second crushing ed ahead of Tuesday’s fourth ODI at Edgbaston. win of the week after a 133-run success in Cardiff on Wednesday followed today’s washout in Bristol. Good starts England yet again succumbed to spin after a promising Cook, who this week faced repeated calls from retired opening stand between Cook (44) and Alex Hales (42), on former England team-mate Graeme Swann to quit one-day his Nottinghamshire home ground, left them well-placed cricket because of an insufficiently quick run-rate, insisted at 82 without loss. a lack of top-order dynamism was not the issue. But when Hales was caught behind sweeping at Suresh “Everyone keeps talking about more power at the top. Raina, it was the first of three wickets England lost-all to (But) we were 50 odd off 10 overs the other day, 50 off spinners - for just 15 runs, with Cook and Joe Root (two) nine-we’re getting good starts. both stumped by India captain and wicketkeeper “The problem is that 40 was our top score at Cardiff, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. 44 was our top score here ... you’re not winning games of England never recovered and were all out for a meagre cricket when you do that,” said Cook, who took 63 balls to 227, with India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin winning score his runs on Saturday. the man-of-the-match award for a return of three for 39. Meanwhile Dhoni praised the versatility of Ajinkya India then cruised to victory in making 228 for four with Rahane, who made 45 after being promoted to open in seven overs to spare as Ambati Rayudu-only playing Rohit Sharma’s absence. “Apart from being a middle-order because of Rohit Sharma’s tour-ending finger injury-top- batsman he is also someone who will have to open if the scored with 64 not out. team needs him to do that,” Dhoni said. “In one-day cricket, it is funny: you can turn it around He was also delighted by a sharp all-round fielding dis- very quickly, but it starts with individual responsiblity,” play-exemplified by Mohit Sharma’s direct hit run out of Ian Cook said. Bell-which bore no relation to the often sluggish efforts “I know that’s a bit of a cliche, but it will take someone India produced during their 3-1 Test series defeat by to score that hundred and everyone will jump on the back England earlier on this tour. of that, you get 330 and you win a game of cricket and it “What was brilliant, apart from the bowling, was the changes,” added Cook, who has now gone 37 innings since fielding,” said Dhoni. “Bell’s wicket was very crucial, Raina’s scoring the last of his five ODI centuries in June 2012. catch in the slips (to dismiss Ben Stokes for two off Anton Evstifeev performs at the Adrenalin Games in Moscow, Russia — www.redbull.com England, with the World Cup in Australia and New Ashwin)... those are the things that really help you as a Zealand starting in February, have now lost four of their team.” — AFP SCOREBOARD Zimbabwe beat Australia Scoreboard at close of play in the fourth Triangular Series match between Zimbabwe and Australia on yesterday in Harare, Zimbabwe: for first time in 31 years Australia Innings A. Finch b Nyumbu 11 P. Hughes c Nyumbu b Utseya 10 HARARE: Zimbabwe beat Australia for the first time in 31 M. Clarke not out 68 years yesterday as captain Elton Chigumbura’s 52 not out G. Bailey b Williams 1 led his team to a famous three-wicket win in the ODI trian- G. Maxwell b Waller 13 gular series. M. Marsh c Utseya b Tiripano 15 Chigumbura carried the tournament host to 211-7, B. Haddin c Waller b Tiripano 49 overhauling Australia’s below-par 209-9 on a tough batting J. Faulkner c Nyumbu b Utseya 0 strip at Harare Sports Club. Opposite number Michael M. Starc b Williams 3 Clarke also made an unbeaten half-century for Australia on B. Cutting run out (Waller, Taylor) 26 his return from injury, but then re-injured his hamstring in N. Lyon not out 8 only his country’s second loss ever to the southern African Extras (lb-2 w-3) 5 team and said he would leave the tournament to return Total (for 9 wickets, 50 overs) 209 home for treatment. Fall of wickets: 1-11 A. Finch, 2-38 P. Hughes,3-39 G. It was Zimbabwe’s first win over the Australians since Bailey,4-57 G. Maxwell,5-97 M. Marsh,7-150 M. Starc,8-201 they met in ODIs for the first time at the 1983 World Cup. B. Cutting,9-202 B. Haddin Chigumbura had valuable help from Prosper Utseya, who Bowling: T. Chatara 8-0-56-0; J. Nyumbu 10-1-30-1(w-2); P. was 30 not out in a match-winning half-century partner- Utseya 10-0-45-2(w-1); D. Tiripano 6-1-34-2; S. Williams 10- ship at the end. 2-21-2; M. Waller 6-0-21-1. “I had to be there until the end,” Chigumbura said. “The most important thing was to stay calm. The guys worked Zimbabwe Innings very hard for this and the supporters were behind us T. Mawoyo b Lyon 15 throughout.” S. Raza c sub b Lyon 22 The tense victory - sealed with two overs to spare but H. Masakadza b Starc 18 after Zimbabwe was struggling at 156-7 sparked rare cele- B. Taylor b Lyon 32 brations and a lap of honor for a team that recently lost M. Waller c& b Maxwell 11 two ODIs in a row to draw a series with lowly Afghanistan S. Williams c Clarke b Lyon 4 and had been beaten in its previous seven one-dayers at E. Chigumbura not out 52 home. D. Tiripano b Starc 3 P. Utseya not out 30 Delighted Extras (b-2 lb-3 nb-1 w-18) 24 Utseya, whose 30 came off just 28 balls to help carry HARARE: Zimbabwean batsman Sikandar Raza is bowled out during the cricket One Day International match Total (for 7 wickets, 48 overs) 211 Zimbabwe home, sealed the win by launching a six over against Australia in Harare Zimbabwe yesterday. — AP Fall of wickets: 1-42 S. Raza,2-44 T. Mawoyo,3-100 H. mid-wicket and into the delighted home crowd. The victo- Masakadza,4-102 B. Taylor,5-106 S. Williams,6-142 M. Waller, ry keeps alive Zimbabwean hopes of making Saturday’s Clarke looking completely settled with his 68 not out. The Aussies had been 97-5 after Zimbabwe’s spinners 7-156 D. Tiripano final of the three-team tournament. Australia, which has “Definitely not enough runs,” Clarke said, “but credit to struck early and quickly, but Clarke built a 50-run stand Did not bat: J. Nyumbu, T. Chatara lost its last two games, plays South Africa on Tuesday. Zimbabwe, they bowled well and batted well. We lost the with Brad Haddin (49) before he made the decision to limp Bowling: M. Starc 10-3-41-2(w-4); M. Marsh 4-1-13-0(w-1); B. Australia started the triangular series as the top-ranked match during our innings, and Zimbabwe showed us how off and limit any damage to his hamstring. He returned Cutting 6-0-18-0(w-1); J. Faulkner 7-0-28-0(nb-1 w-2); N. team in ODIs but had slipped down to fourth after yester- to play spin.” briefly for the last over. Lyon 10-1-44-4(w-2); A. Finch 2-0-19-0; G. Maxwell 8-0-41- day’s surprise loss. Clarke hit his half-century in his first international in six Haddin was supported by Ben Cutting (26) down the 1(w-2); M. Clarke 1-0-2-0. Zimbabwe’s long-awaited success was built on its earlier months and after passing a fitness test to play, but retired order but the Australians ultimately didn’t make enough Result: Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets spin bowling effort as the Australian batsmen struggled on hurt in the 43rd over just as Australia appeared to be slow- runs and offspinner Nathan Lyon’s career-best 4-44 a slow, turning pitch to only just get past 200, with only ly recovering from a poor start. couldn’t save them. — AP World doubles gold for China and Korea COPENHAGEN: China extended their record their first major title together. net to hand the 12th seeds a match point dominance in women’s doubles as Tian Ko, a silver medallist with yesterday’s at 20-19.