Sporting Digest: Cricket

DAVE HOUGHTON hit an unbeaten century to lead Zimbabwe's fightback on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Bulawayo yesterday. The former captain hit 116 off 222 balls, including 12 fours and two sixes, to steer his side to 213 for 4 at the close, after they started badly, being reduced to 5 for 2 after electing to bat.

SECOND TEST: Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka (Bulawayo, first day): Zimbabwe have scored 213 for 4 against Sri Lanka.

(Zimbabwe won toss) ZIMBABWE - First innings G W Flower c Dissanayake b Wickremasinghe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . .1 M H Dekker c Mahanama b Dharmasena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . .0 A D R Campbell st Dissanayake b Muralitharan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.18 D L Houghton not out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . .116 * A Flower c Muralitharan b Dharmasena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . .50 G J Whittal not out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Extras (lb4 w1 b4 nb9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . .18 Total (for 4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213 Fall: 1-3 2-5 3-65 4-186.

To bat: W R James, H H Streak, S G Peall, J A Rennie, M P Jarvis.

Bowling: Wickremasinghe 20-4-50-1, Vaas 17-6-32-0, Dharmasena 26-9-65-2, Muralitharan 29-11-54-1, Da Silva 1-0-4-0.

SRI LANKA: R S Mahanama, A P Gurusinha, S Ranatunga, P A de Silva, * A Ranatunga, H P Tillakaratne, P B Dissanayake, M Muralitharan, H D P K Dharmasena, G P Wickramasinghe, C Vaas.

INDIA levelled their five-match one- day series with the West Indies in Bombay yesterday when they beat the tourists on run rate in the rain-hit second game. When constant drizzle halted play, India's figure was 4.09 against West Indies' 3.84.

ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL (Bombay): West Indies 192 for 9 (C L Hooper 70; 50 overs). India 135 for 4 (N S Sidhu 65no; 33.1 overs). India win on faster scoring rate.

KAPIL DEV has been dropped by India for the triangular one-day series with West Indies and New Zealand that starts on Sunday.

EJAZ AHMED celebrated his recall to the Pakistan team with 110 at a run a ball as South Africa fell to their fourth defeat in succession yesterday.

The result left Pakistan and table-topping Australia to face each other twice in meaningless encounters before meeting each other in the tournament final in Lahore on 30 October.

ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL (Rawalpindi): Pakistan 249 for 6 (Ejaz Ahmed 110no, Salim Malik 56; 50 overs). South Africa 210 for 5 (W J Cronje 53; 50 overs).

Pakistan win by 39 runs.

WARWICKSHIRE have signed the left-handed batsman Nick Knight after he rejected new terms from Essex. Knight, who tours India with England A in January, scored 944 runs at an average of 47.20 in 12 first-class matches last season.