Fairbrother steers England to victory
Posted: Monday January 11, 1999 06:45 PM
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Chaminda Vaas looks around to see his bails fly as he is clean bowled by Allan Mullally AP |
BRISBANE, Australia (CNN/SI) -- Neil Fairbrother proved to be England's savior as he put together an innings of 67 not out as it beat Sri Lanka by four wickets in a tense match that went down to the wire.
Veteran left-hander Fairbrother showed his value in one-day cricket by holding England's innings together as it won with three balls remaining in its 50 overs, making 208 for six in reply to Sri Lanka's 207 for seven.
England has now won its first two games in the series, having beaten Australia on a faster run rate in a rain-hit match at the Gabba 24 hours earlier.
Monday's day-night encounter brought England up against off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who destroyed them with a 16-wicket haul in a one-off test at The Oval last August.
The Sri Lankan slow bowler with the unusual action was also making his first appearance in Australia since being no-balled for throwing during his country's 1995-96 tour, though his action was subsequently cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Umpire Steve Davis no-balled three of Muralitharan's deliveries stating that the bowler had overstepped the crease.
Muralitharan again posed problems for England's batsmen as he captured three for 34 in his 10 overs, including two wickets with the last delivery of his sixth over and the first of his seventh over.
That double strike checked England's smooth progress, which was launched by openers Nick Knight, who hit 40 off 53 balls, and Alec Stewart (24) with a stand of 59.
Graeme Hick and Fairbrother sustained the momentum by adding 41 for the third wicket before Muralitharan snapped up Hick (37) and Adam Hollioake (1) in two balls to reduce England to 130 for four.
However, Fairbrother found a staunch ally in Mark Alleyne (18), the pair sharing a fifth wicket stand of 57.
There was a contentious moment when Fairbrother gave Upal Chandana a gentle elbow as the batsman turned for a second run, prompting a brief heated exchange of words but a potential flashpoint was soon defused.
After Alleyne and Mark Ealham (1) fell in quick succession to make England 190 for six, Fairbrother and Robert Croft joined forces to guide their side home.
Earlier, opener Romesh Kaluwitharana led the way for the World Cup champions with 58 and was supported by Marvan Atapattu (51) and Hashan Tillekeratne, unbeaten on 50.
However, England's mainly steady out-cricket kept them in check, with Hollioake taking three for 32 with his medium-pacers.
Sri Lanka face Australia in the next match in the tournament in Sydney on Wednesday, followed by England playing Australia in Melbourne on Friday.
Each side play the other two teams five times, with the top two qualifying for a best-of-three final series.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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