The prospects of the world’s two greatest spinners facing off in Australia’s tropics remain unclear, with Shane Warne rated a 50-50 chance of being fit and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan sounding increasingly unlikely to make himself available.Warne broke the metacarpal bone in his left hand while batting for Hampshire last Friday. But he will not require surgery and Stuart MacGill, the man most likely to replace him, has backed Warne to front up for the two-Test series beginning on July 1.”I read on the teletext that Shane will be out for three to five weeks so I expect him to recover in time,” MacGill told The Australian newspaper. “I’ve seen Steve Waugh play with some pretty bad injuries and Shane is just as tough.”MacGill, currently playing county cricket with Nottinghamshire, has booked a holiday in Venice around the time of the first Test and is not expecting to change his plans.Cricket Australia’s medical officer, Dr Trefor James, will monitor Warne’s progress and keep the selectors posted. “In consultation with the medicos at Hampshire we will be doing everything possible to speed his recovery,” James said. “But at this stage it appears as if he is a 50-50 prospect of being available.”Muralitharan, meanwhile, looks more likely by the day to make good his threat not to tour Australia. He said he was not attracted to the idea of playing in Darwin and Cairns – “they have not given important places to us” – and felt like having a rest.”I need a break,” he was quoted as saying in The Age newspaper. “I have played so much cricket and achieved what I wanted to achieve. I [may] take a break, a fresh start and play for another seven years. But I haven’t decided yet.”Australia’s selectors are not contemplating a possible stand-in for Warne at this stage. “Shane will be doing everything he can to get himself right and we will give him as much time to do that as possible,” said Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors. “But if he isn’t 100% fit then he won’t be selected.”At this stage, though, no player has been placed on standby or nominated as a possible replacement for Shane. We just want to see how the injury progresses over the next few weeks before looking at that scenario.”Both MacGill and Cameron White, the Victorian legspinner, were left out of the original 13-man squad, with the selectors anticipating fast wickets and no requirement for a second spinner.Darren Berry, the former Victorian captain, has urged the selectors to pick White ahead of MacGill if a replacement for Warne is needed. He said the selectors were unlikely to field both Warne and MacGill in India, venue of Australia’s next Test commitment, so it made sense to trial White.”They are talking about India with the low, slow wickets, and if Warne is going to be right for that I don’t think they will take Warne and MacGill,” Berry told The Sunday Age . “So why don’t they just throw White in there now and see what he’s got?”

Sourav Ganguly took heart from the fact that India hadn’t played to their strengths, and yet managed to reach the Asia Cup final, as he looked ahead to tomorrow’s decisive encounter against Sri Lanka. “This tournament hasn’t seen the best of us,” he admitted, adding that he preferred to play to India’s strengths rather than focus on any perceived Sri Lankan frailty.India’s only reverse in an Asia Cup final came against Sri Lanka seven years ago, on this very ground, and that’s a piece of history that Ganguly and his men won’t want to recreate on Sunday. As it is, doubts linger about this talented team’s ability to deliver when it matters, with 13 defeats and only a solitary victory (NatWest Trophy, 2002) in the last 18 finals that they have contested. “It’s a new game tomorrow,” said Ganguly. “Sri Lanka are hard to beat at home, but we won the last game, and we’ve also won here before. The conditions are pretty similar to what we’re used to.”To be fair, the four most recent losses in grand finals have come against an Australian team that continues to set new standards in the one-day game. But with one-day cricket being a batsman’s game, and India possessing such an awesome line-up, it has to be asked why potential hasn’t always translated itself into performance.Things haven’t really fallen into place here either. Ganguly put it down to early-season rust. “Sehwag, myself and Yuvraj all made big contributions the other day,” he said. “It will happen that not all the batsmen score runs in a given match. It’s up to the two or three that get in to go on and make big runs.”And though most teams have treated this as a curtain-raiser for their season, there’s plenty at stake in this final. After being outmanoeuvred and outplayed by Arjuna Ranatunga’s brilliant side in the latter half of the `90s, India have recently reasserted themselves in this rivalry, winning seven of the last 12 games. Most of those victories have been engineered by the batsmen, who have made light of the experience and ability of Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas to post some mammoth totals.With the toss sure to be vital – teams batting first have won 25 times in 39 games played under lights at the Premadasa – it could once again be a direct tussle between India’s batsmen and Sri Lanka’s bowlers. Though Sri Lanka have some talented batsmen of their own, there is a perception, somewhat justified by recent performances, that they rely too much on Sanath Jayasuriya’s explosive ability at the top of the order.Ganguly hinted that the team would be prepared for Jayasuriya’s assault. “He scores runs against us, but if we get him out, their run-rate is usually not as good,” he said. “In the last game, he survived a close lbw appeal against Zaheer, and I also made the mistake of taking the slips out early.”But while the Indians respected Jayasuriya’s ability as a game-breaker, Ganguly wasn’t unduly concerned about the toss. “It’s a good track,” he said. “Pitches for finals are generally prepared with more attention.” He also suggested that India’s team composition would depend on the state of the pitch.The vexing question is whether to go in with three pace bowlers and one spinner, or to retain both Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. The two-spinner ploy will most likely be employed, since Lakshmipathy Balaji has been in wretched form with the ball in the tournament. Ashish Nehra hasn’t, but his cause isn’t helped by being the third-choice left-arm seamer in a team unlikely to ever play all three.If the surface was likely to aid the seamers, Ganguly said that he would even consider playing all three left-arm pace bowlers. “That’s been on our minds,” he admitted, before adding, “but if the pitch is as dry as the last game, probably not.”India have only Kumble to match Murali and Vaas in the experience stakes, but Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan have been around long enough to be considered seasoned campaigners. And that’s not to forget Irfan Pathan, who bowls with a composure and skill that suggests he has been around for years, rather than mere months.Unless they have a really bad day, or Jayasuriya has a particularly good one – and there have been a fair few of those against India – it’s unlikely that Sri Lanka will run riot with the bat, especially on a sluggish pitch that doesn’t suit strokemakers like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.Though no Indian batsman has hit the high notes in this tournament, they will be heartened by the fact that they have managed to put runs on the board, except against Pakistan, without being at anything like their best. Ganguly has shown the way with a couple of innings that were gritty rather than typically fluid, while Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj have also chipped in with sizeable knocks. For the final, they will be further bolstered by the inclusion of VVS Laxman, hundred-maker for fun against Australia, but less prolific against sides comprising mere mortals.India didn’t blink when faced with disaster, in the form of a rampaging Jayasuriya, in the previous game against Sri Lanka. Similar fortitude will be required on Sunday, as they take on a confident home side in front of a noisy capacity crowd. You sense that it might just come to a boil for India in the humidity and heat of Colombo. After all, just how many times can a team play bridesmaid without wanting to wear the trousseau itself?

Six matches, six draws: the weather certainly came out on top in the latest round of matches in the Frizzell County Championship. There was a sniff of a result at Edgbaston, where Sussex declared at their overnight score with a lead of 136, and then reduced the leaders Warwickshire to 15 for 3. Mohammad Akram took two of those wickets, and later removed Michael Powell for 39 as well, but Sussex eventually ran out of time. Northants set Gloucestershire 290 in around 65 overs at Bristol, but they settled for 160 for 4 on the eve of their C&G Trophy defence at Lord’s. And there was never much prospect of a result at Old Trafford, where Kent skated to 92 for 3 in their second innings before a truce was called.In Division Two Dimitri Mascarenhas’s 104 rescued Hampshire, who had been 50 for 5 overnight, but Durham batted out time for the draw. For the third day out of four there was no play in the matches at Derby and Colwyn Bay.

County Championship Division One

Scorecard
Day 1 report: Wessels to wield axe at Northants – The Daily Telegraph
Day 2 report: Hussey returns to frustrate Northants – The Guardian
Day 3 report: Bracken needed urgently – The Daily Telegraph

Scorecard
Day 1 report: Gritty Brown rescues leaders – The Guardian
Day 2 report: Montgomerie leads Sussex pursuit – The Times
Day 3 report: Painstaking Prior holds up Warwickshire – The Independent

Scorecard
Day 1: only 6.3 overs because of rain
Day 2: no play because of rain
Day 3 report: Red rose left in mire by Patel – The Guardian

County Championship Division Two

Scorecard
Day 1: no play because of rain
Day 2: no play because of rain
Day 3 report: France a force to be reckoned with – The Daily Telegraph
Day 4: no play because of rain

Scorecard
Day 1: no play because of rain
Day 2: no play because of rain
Day 3 report: Toil and trouble for Hampshire – The Daily Telegraph

Scorecard
Day 1: no play because of rain
Day 2: no play because of rain
Day 3 report: Glamorgan make a point after gentle persuasion – The Guardian
Day 4: no play because of rain

National League Division One

August 25
Essex 135 for 5 (Jefferson 61*) v Surrey at Chelmsford – abandoned, no result
Scorecard

National League Division Two

August 24
Middlesex 153 for 2 (Weekes 76*, Strauss 68) beat Somerset 179 (Betts 3-23) by 57 runs (Duckworth/Lewis method)
Scorecard
Report: Strauss composes victorious waltz – The Times
Worcestershire 131 (Smith 50*, Yasir Arafat 4-22) beat Scotland 130 (Watson 44, Hall 3-26) by 1 run at Worcester
Scorecard
Report: Saltires throw away great chance – The Scotsman
August 25
Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire at Trent Bridge – abandoned: this meant that Middlesex were confirmed as second-division champions
August 26
Nottinghamshire 144 for 7 (Anurag Singh 67) beat Scotland 143 (Lockhart 46, MacGill 4-18) at Trent Bridge
Scorecard
Report: Misery keeps on coming as Saltires collapse again – The Herald, Glasgow

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The ease with which an in-form Australia swept aside a healthy New Zealand to set up a mouthwatering semi-final against England strike terror into Michael Vaughan and his side ahead of Tuesday’s semi-final at Edgbaston. But Australia – who, let’s face it, seem to be in fighting form – must slip up eventually, and in a one-off match, anything could happen.And why should it not be England who halt the Aussie juggernaut at Edgbaston on Tuesday? After all, they will enjoy home advantage, and if Vaughan were to win the toss (a crucial factor in late September) and choose to field, he would greatly increase England’s chances of winning.On the back of a successful Test year, England’s one-day team are coming into their own – they routed India in the NatWest Challenge in early September, and brushed aside their opposition in the pool stages of the Champions Trophy – and they may have timed their peak to perfection. But to end their miserable record of 14 consecutive losses against a buoyant Australia, a run which started way back in January 1999, Vaughan must look to his allrounders Andrew Flintoff and Paul Collingwood, in particular, to continue to produce the goods.Collingwood has been enjoying a good Champions Trophy with the bat. He struck an unbeaten 80 against Zimbabwe, and 39 in England’s washed-out game against Sri Lanka, following up his 79 against India in the NatWest Challenge.In Flintoff, England have a genuine matchwinner, as so brutally demonstrated against Sri Lanka, where he thumped a punishing century to turn the game. Flintoff is in form and confident, and Adam Gilchrist admitted that the Australians would look to attack him. He said: “You’ve got to focus on Flintoff but we have to get to him first.”We also don’t know that much about Vikram Solanki or Andrew Strauss, so we have to get down to Flintoff and once he comes in obviously try and do something to knock him over,” he added. “He’s just got so much momentum at the moment it’s going to be a real challenge.”

But England, who will probably be unchanged from the team which beat Sri Lanka, are reliant on two or three batsmen. Vaughan himself is having a shocking run of form, with the exception of a sparkling 74 against India in the NatWest Challenge. But a true captain’s innings in a crucial clash is well overdue. Strauss, who has 508 one-day runs at an average of just over 39, with one hundred and three fifties, is also due a score as he has failed to deliver a significant performance in this competition.Darren Gough embodied the current positive spirit coursing through the England side, and he was typically upbeat about their chances, saying: “We’re all looking forward to it. We’re not worried about it but we’re excited about it.”Gough did, however, concede that Australia were the favourites. “They’re the best side,” he said. “Everybody wants to play against them, and everybody wants to beat them and we’ll be trying.”But the sheer depth of quality in the Australian side means that the slightest slip-up will invite disaster. Andrew Symonds can match Flintoff blow for blow in the power-hitting stakes, while Michael Kasprowicz is in the form of his life, and like Andy Bichel in last year’s World Cup, he adds some blue-collar gravitas to a star-studded line-up.And in the middle of the pack, the little-and-large pairing of Darren Lehmann and Michael Clarke have yet to take centre stage in this tournament. Australia have been so dominant in their opening-round matches, against USA and New Zealand, that neither man, nor the budding allrounder Shane Watson, has been called upon to bat. England will recall with trepidation their experience last year, when Australia eased to a two-wicket victory after all had seemed lost. Theirs is a side that never knows when it is beatenAustralia’s allround game is exceptional, and their ground fielding is as well drilled as a Russian oilfield. But could tomorrow be the day when England’s numbers finally come up against Australia? Maybe, just maybe.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Vikram Solanki, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Andrew Strauss, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Alex Wharf, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Stephen Harmison.Australia (probable) 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Darren Lehmann, 7 Michael Clarke, 8 Michael Kasprowicz, 9 Shane Watson, 10 Jason Gillespie, 11 Glenn McGrath.

Andrew Hall
On when he was told he would open
I was told on Thursday, so I had visualised myself as an opener and was determined to do well. Hopefully, I can get some more big knocks in the series. I had played my last Test in January, so I wanted to make it count here. I didn’t want to put myself under pressure by negative thoughts.Whether this innings made up for Leeds, 2003
Yeah, at Leeds I was left on 99 not out. I was very happy the way I batted in the end – and more than being relieved it was an achievement and I was excited. But my job is half done, as I want to make a contribution with the ball as well.Whether he was surprised by his form
You’re always going to believe in your own batting and get runs, and the last two days I stuck down and just really worked on a lot of the things we had spoken about in the past. In the past I might have been guilty of wasting [a start] after getting into similar positions. Obviously today there was a lot of help from the guys. And credit should also go to previous guys who had been here, and spoke to us about various things which helped us work through the tough periods.On disciplining himself
It’s a mindset. It’s something you actually tell yourself – it’s self-motivation. It’s the look on your team-mates’ faces which says that you have worked hard, and the respect and cheers you get from them make you feel better and push yourself forward.On the second-day pitch
The conditions made it difficult to score, as the ball was not really coming on to the bat, but I decided to occupy the crease for as long as possible. I have really worked hard for this tour and the support of the seniors has been of real help. It was difficult initially to play on this pitch, but once you got used to it, things became easier.On batting for a draw
Nobody plays for a draw. Our focus is to win the match.On Zander de Bruyn’s innings
I have played with Zander since my schooldays – we have played together for 15 years. He is a good friend and I feel happy for him. He is a tough guy, and he showed a lot of patience and maturity. It’s great to have the partnership with him.

Murali Kartik
On the difference between the pitches at Mumbai and Kanpur
Honestly, I never looked at the wicket, like many others in the side. The few who saw it felt that it was a very good batting wicket and probably by the third day it might turn. It has turn, but very slow, and the most important thing is that even the bat-pads are just landing within the area of the wicket. So from that you can gauge the bounce and the carry. It’s not a question of just the ball turning, it’s a question of the ball carrying after it pitches.How the South African batsmen played
I heard someone saying that patience is the key. I don’t know what kind of mental set-up they have come up with, probably just to draw or not to make a match of it. That’s what it looks like.When was he told he would play
On the morning yesterday, as lots of things had to be taken into consideration.Whether the batsmen’s approach surprised the Indians
No, you have a general idea of what they can do after having played against them and having watched them. You can take it as an excuse, but all the four bowlers felt that they did everything but that the pitch didn’t respond. One example could be the two bouncers bowled by Zaheer yesterday, which still could only hit the toe of the bat. With that you can detect the [lack of] life in the pitch, which has been a deterrent.On the negative line adopted by the spinners, bowling into the rough
Most of the time yesterday we were having three close-in fielders – we had a short leg, a silly point and a slip, even when we were bowling from over the wicket. I don’t know why people say it was negative, because on a first-day wicket when there was nothing happening we had to try something. Just change the angle, hope that something would happen after bowling in the rough – a couple of balls did something, but not consistently. Today we didn’t do that till late, because we felt that we needed to defend runs and not give anything away. And at one stage both [Andrew] Hall and [Zander] de Bruyn took the attack to us – de Bruyn managed to hit two sixes. So we went to defend then.On what is a good pitch for India’s bowlers
It’s a very debatable point. As a bowler, what I expect is some zip of the wicket, some carry for the efforts a bowler puts in. The bowlers are making an effort … it’s just that sometimes, after two days’ play, we know what the wicket is like. They have also applied themselves, so give credit to them that they haven’t given it away.

Polly UmrigarI am sorry to hear about his sad demise. He was one of our great cricketers, and gave yeoman service to Indian cricket for a number of years. What appealed to me about Vijay is that he was a gentleman cricketer with few words. He had terrific amounts of concentration while batting, which was a very strong point. He was a treat to bat with, as he had a very sound defence and he gave you a lot of confidence. In fact I associate my big innings with him.He was a dedicated cricketer. Once he got into the game, if he stuck, it was very difficult to shift him from there. He was a very good, quiet person. Good, in the sense that he would mind his business and play cricket and put everything into the game. He did not go to parties in the evenings. Once the game began, he was [all] there.I remember an incident. It was against Pakistan. After I got my fifty I attacked the bowling and got to my hundred. He was in his nineties. I asked for a glass of water. He came near me, and expressed in few words, “Young man, you’ve got your hundred, but I’ve not got mine.” I knew at once what he wanted to say. I should have waited for him to get his hundred. He was a man of few words, but was to the point.After we had batted, we had the habit of sandpapering our bats. Once he got a duck, and he sat in the dressing-room and did this in one corner. We said, “Rao [as a mark of respect], the ball has not touched your bat, so why are you using this sandpaper?” He said, “I’m preparing myself for the second innings.” He had that grit.Mushtaq AliVijay Hazare was a fine gentleman and a brilliant cricketer. We had contrasting styles – he had one of the best defensive techniques while I always attacked. Vijay was a run-getting machine and managed to stay at the wicket for very long periods. We also had a good friendship off the field, and I still remember the wonderful times we had on the 1946 tour to England. He was a great person to know. I was very saddened to hear about his ill health, and am still in a state of shock after hearing the news of his sad demise.Madhav ApteHazare and Vijay Merchant were the two greatest Indian batsmen of their generation. I have many memories of watching Hazare bat. His technique was one of the soundest I have ever seen. Hazare was also my captain on the tour of West Indies in 1952-53, and he went out of his way to make sure I felt comfortable.Hazare was a thorough gentleman – a very quiet, reserved person with a heart of gold. After retirement he returned to Baroda, and I saw him only rarely. The last time I saw him was at a function last year in Mumbai to honour Indian players who had done well at Lord’s, and then he was clearly ailing. He will be remembered as one of the greatest batsmen India has ever produced.

This series has been all about momentum. England had it in spades as they entered the first Test at Port Elizabeth, in the form of seven consecutive Test victories. They misplaced it at Durban when bad light halted their victory surge on the final evening, and they lost it entirely at Cape Town as South Africa squared the series with a relentlessly dominant performance.And now, as the fourth Test prepares to get underway at Johannesburg, the advantage would appear to be in the other camp. With an hour remaining at Durban, England were all but 2-0 up with three to play, but they have been reined in to such effect that now, almost entirely by accident, it is South Africa who appear to have taken on the mantle of favourites.This morning’s practice session at the Wanderers confirmed that impression. For 20 deliveries, Andrew Flintoff trundled in off a half-cock run-up, as he put his torn rib muscle through the most delicate of paces. It was not a sight to inspire confidence that he will be fit to play a full part tomorrow, but for England his absence was too gruesome to contemplate. “Sure, I’ve got an eye on the future,” acknowledged Michael Vaughan as he assessed the risk of further aggravating Flintoff’s injury, “but I’ve also got an eye on winning the Test series.”He had a point. At the start of the series, England would have earmarked the Wanderers as a result pitch, and given the prospect of extra bounce and greater zip through the rarefied high-veld air, it is a venue that ought to suit their seam attack down to the ground. And yet, with Steve Harmison misfiring and Flintoff’s fitness uncertain, the timing of this opportunity is not exactly ideal. Five years ago, when England themselves slumped to 2 for 4 here against Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald, it was on the opening morning of the series, when everyone was fresh – and the pitch even more so.Instead, Flintoff and his fellow bowlers have been given just seven days to recover from the excesses of three back-to-back Tests over the festive period. If a week is a long time in politics, then it is an eternity in a modern-day cricket tour, for that is the biggest break either side will enjoy until the one-day series is completed in February. But with that in mind, it seems the undoubted merits of England’s settled team (just one enforced change all series) may come back to haunt them.

The relatively high-flying South Africans, by contrast, have somehow hit upon the perfect formula for coping with the intensity of the modern-day itinerary – pick a controversial skeleton side for your first game, and improve it with every passing match until it is brimful with abrasive competitors with several points to prove. Where once the teamsheet included makeweights such as Zander de Bruyn, Andrew Hall and Thami Tsolekile, now it boasts such big guns as Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and, most pertinently of all, Mark Boucher.Boucher’s return to South African colours was even more of a shock than his original omission. Even he admitted that he thought his chance of playing had gone once AB de Villiers had made his stunningly composed debut behind the stumps. But, by accident rather than design, the timing of his return is a master-stroke. England would have taken heart from his continued absence, but now they are more likely to have a heart attack.There have been plenty of rumours of dressing-room unrest dogging the South African camp this week, and the prospect of yet more changes flies in the face of Graeme Smith’s appeal for continuity after the Port Elizabeth defeat. But just as England are prepared to hang the long term and risk Flintoff as an allrounder, so South Africa have decided to throw everything at victory, regardless of the consequences.That goes for their much-criticised selection policy as well, for AB de Villiers looks set to take on his third different role in four Tests, with the luckless Hashim Amla stepping down from his No. 6 slot. There had been talk of de Villiers resuming his opener’s role instead, to allow Gibbs to find his feet further down the order, but such a prospect now seems improbable. Gibbs and Smith have been a formidable opening pairing in the past, and their series aggregate of 40 runs in four partnerships can surely only improve over the final two matches.England have batting worries of their own, not least where their captain, Vaughan, is concerned. His return of 84 runs in six innings is worrying enough, but it is the breakdown of those innings that is the greater cause for alarm. Each one has fallen in the range of 10 to 20, which means he is getting in … and getting straight out again. A run of ducks in the manner of a Mark Waugh would have been a more reassuring sight.”I’ve been working hard in the nets with Duncan [Fletcher],” said Vaughan. “I feel relaxed and my feet are going nicely, so I’ve just got to take that out into the middle with me. So far in this series, 50% of my dismissals have been to good bowling, and the other 50% through poor batting. So if I eradicate that 50%, then a big score will be around the corner.”

England’s other big concern surrounds the other former world No. 1 in their ranks. All series, Vaughan has been reaffirming his belief that Steve Harmison has a matchwinning spell up his sleeve, but now, with just two crunch matches to come, his window of opportunity is rapidly receding. But the Wanderers wicket, with its pace and carry, might just be the one to tickle his fancy. “We can never take him for granted,” warned Smith. “He has pace and bounce, and on any given day he can be destructive.”Smith added that a late decision would be made on the inclusion of Charl Langeveldt, the swing bowler who defied a broken hand to grab a five-wicket haul in the first innings at Cape Town, his on debut. “Charl’s not 100%,” he conceded. “If the selectors decide to play him it will be a risk. But he’s improving every day, and he did superbly in the last Test.”And talking of swing, there is even the prospect of a rare appearance for James Anderson in the starting line-up. With Flintoff struggling for full fitness, Anderson and his mercurial wicket-taking ability may be preferred to Simon Jones, who bowled just 27.3 overs at Cape Town and did not appear to have the full confidence of his captain. “Jimmy’s looked good in the nets all tour,” said Vaughan. “It makes our job difficult, but it’s nice to have a guy like that pushing the guys in the team. The swing element plays a big part here, so that’s brings Jimmy into the picture in a big way.”Given the relative success of South Africa’s “treat ’em mean, keep ’em keen” policy, there may yet be some logic in throwing Anderson into the fray, for all that his last competitive outing was against Zimbabwe on December 4. If nothing else, he might just produce the jaffa that is currently needed to dislodge Jacques Kallis.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Rudolph, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Boeta Dippenaar, 6 AB de Villiers, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Nicky Boje, 9 Shaun Pollock, 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Charl Langeveldt.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Robert Key, 4 Michael Vaughan (capt), 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11 Steve Harmison.

The recent debate on lbw percentages in Australia needs to be looked at more scientifically than just bare stats. It may well say more about batsmen’s deficient techniques and bowlers line and length than any issue of bias. Just have a look at where some of the Aussies take strike and you will see them well in front of their creases andlooking to play forward. David GeytenbeekI agree that umpires suffer from some sort of subconscious propensity to give more lbw decisions in favour of Australia. It is similar to umpires giving No. 11 batsmen out more readily than top-order batsmen. I especially noticed this with a couple of Australian umpires during the current season. Andrew HigginsIt would be useful to know how many of the wrong decisions were made bythe home umpire and how many by the neutral. If it turns out that themajority of them were made by the neutral umpire, then having two of themrather than one isn’t going to help improve matters. R SankarI was quite appalled to see the way the third umpire ruled Adam Gilchrist in on a close run-out call after viewing the replay from only one angle. Attempts by the TV crew to show other angles were, for some odd reason, cut short, and the viewers never got to see the real picture on that run-our throughout the game. Abrar AhmadThe article was misleading – there could be other reasons why the Aussies appeals are more successful. For example, it may be because Australians appeal only when they think the opponent batsman is surely out whereas others appeal even if then know thebatsman is not really out. You can’t indicate any casual relationshipfrom observational studies where you cannot control for many unknownfactors. Somesh ChattopadhyayThe ICC’s position that umpires are beyond reproach is beyond comprehension. Everyone has been complaining about the umpiring in matches that involve Australia, but the ICC seems to think that everyone but the umpires have it wrong. I suggest that the ICC dock the umpires for poor decisions, and make the information public, exactly the way they do it for the players. RajThe team which is stronger usually has more decisions going its way. Since the Australians are the strongest of them all, they get the better end of the decisions. The same is true when a stronger team plays a really weak outfit. The Indians, who suffered badly on their tour to Australia, got many decisions in their favour against Bangladesh. Kish KumarStatistics can only show the number of appeals – it can’t show the number of worthy or unworthy appeals. Similarly the percentage of batsmen getting out lbw is related to batting style and skill in addition to umpiring. Statistics just can’t play a definitive role in adjudging bias when there are other important parameters involved. Altaf AhmadAustralia should be proud of the numbers that come out in the article – it shows they are very choosy in appealing. GaganIt is an old adage that good teams make their own luck, and that is fair enough; but it also follows that luck make good teams better. Australia is a great team, and has been for a number of years. But luck has also played a part in that greatness, which is what Bob Woolmer and Mark Richardson were getting at. Aaron BellWhen was the last time that the most controversial decision in an Australia home series went against them? Be it Mark Waugh being reprieved after knocking his stumps or Sachin Tendulkar being declared lbw after being hit on the helmet – Australians have repeatedly had the better of umpiring decisions. It’s high time to look at these incidents in totality rather than individually. Asif JavedAll this talk about umpiring bias is nonsense. Australia played better cricket, and the umpiring was definitely of good standards. Pakistan are complaining just because they ran Australia close in the ODIs they felt they had a chance to win. Regarding the high percentage of appeals upheld in favour of the Aussies, it’s only the direct result of their bowling in the corridor more consistently than any other team. Don’t demean their greatness achieved by blaming the umpires. Vilas PrabhuWe need more technology to come in – Hawkeye and snickometer should be used in every decision. GrahamThe numbers on lbw appeals in the recent VB Series is a good indication of how umpires are generally intimidated in favour of Australia. However, it would have been better if the chart also showed how many of those decisions did home umpires give favouring Australia. K PrakashI am ambivalent about whether Aussie appeals are more successful. I am happy to believe that John Buchanan is capable of anything. However, Australia are the best team and will, by definition, create more opportunities (eg lbw shouts) than any other team. That should be factored into any discussion on the subject. Rodney DelantyAustralians certainly do intimidate the umpires. During the Australia-New Zealand series in 2004 Shane Warne was appealing for everything, perhaps thinking that he could bully Aleem Dar into giving a decision in his favour. What was particularly nasty was the way he kept shaking his head and complaining each time the appeal was, quite correctly, turned down. Tariq MahmoodLet’s keep it simple – had those appeals by Pakistan against the Aussies been upheld, Inzamam-ul-Haq would surely have lifted the VB Series trophy this year. There wasn’t much quality shown by the Aussies in the field, and Pakistan would have been deserving winners. Salman Ali KhanWe need two neutral umpires in all international matches, more utilisation of technology, and and additional rights to teams and players to express themselves freely without fear of being punished by the ICC. MobashirThe umpiring errors take the sheen off the Aussie supremacy. I remember a Pakistani bowler being warned of some non-existent offense after an appeal which was turned down even though television replays confirmed that the batsman was caught plumb in front. We need more umpires from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies. Asghar AliI would like to know what happens when a team submits a report on an umpire suggesting bias or incompetence. How does the ICC review the matter and what kind of actions have been taken in the past? It would be helpful if fans were made aware of the systems in place to tackle incompetent umpires. Fayyaz AlimohamedIn which other sport is it such a taboo to comment on umpires? The decisions during the VB Series were truly appalling. Mark Richardson is right – the players’ stature seem to tilt the balance. Shane Warne is likely to get a decision in his favour, while any other legspinner will struggle with exactly the same delivery. SadullahTell us what you think.

Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, has cautioned his players against complacency after they saved the first Test at Mohali against all expectations. Talking to AFP, he put the game in perspective: “After all it was a draw and we are here to win the series. It’s the first step in the right direction and to grow as a team we need to take such steps on a regular basis.”Speaking about the efforts of Akmal and Razzaq, he said: “When we reached the ground there was a mood of determination to save the Test and the way Akmal and Razzaq played was tremendous. I am on record saying that Akmal can bat and he got an opportunity and made the most of it. The state of the pitch also helped them bat with ease but their efforts should not be undermined by that.” Akmal made 109, becoming only the fifth Pakistani wicketkeeper to score a Test hundred, while Razzaq made a patient and uncharacteristically restrained 71.Woolmer also complained that the Pakistan bowlers hadn’t come to grips with the SG balls being used for in India. “I am not making any excuses but the ball used in India doesn’t seem to swing and the advantage of a new ball was not there.”Meanwhile, Pakistan’s amazing fightback in the Mohali Test has come in for fulsome praise from Hanif Mohammad, the former captain and legendary opening batsman. “This is simply one of the finest fightbacks,” Hanif told Press Trust of India. “Playing in such tremendous pressure was no joke and Kamran [Akmal] and [Abdul] Razzaq achieved accomplished the task in style with cool heads.”Akmal’s innings even moved Dinesh Karthik, the Indian wicketkeeper, to say that he had been inspired: “It was good to see a wicketkeeper score runs, Karthik told . If there was one thing I want to pick from his showing, it would be the relaxed manner in which he batted. I have certainly been inspired by what he did.” Karthik himself has had a poor trot with the bat in Test cricket – seven innings have fetched him just 103 runs at 14.71, and at Mohali he had another failure, scoring just 6.

Shahid Afridi ran, ran, ran, ran, ran towards square leg and punchedthe air with a divine joy and turned around, and then they fell ontohim, one by one, a swarm of Pakistanis homing in on happiness. SachinTendulkar had played a ball from Afridi, just short-of-a-length,to Asim Kamal at short leg, and Kamal, who had dropped himearlier, held on. And then he watched Afridi run past him, and keep onrunning. What could stop them now? (AV)The million-dollar miss
Throughout the series, Pakistan’s fielders have been culpable ofcostly misses, but the biggest catch arrived moments before the teabreak. As India waged a grim battle, Mohammad Sami, who was shaping theball away from the bat, unleashed the surprise short one at SachinTendulkar. Tendulkar fended without any sort of control and the ballbegan its loopy trajectory left of the short-leg fielder, Asim Kamal.Kamal palmed it further away from him, juggled a couple of more timesand as if overwhelmed by the occasion, groped in the air as the ballfell to the ground. Sami dropped to his knees immediately, Kamalrealised the magnitude of the error and dropped too. Four Pakistanfielders had their hands on their heads, Kamran Akmal covered his face withhis gloves and Inzamam-ul-Haq went down in slow motion to apostion of . Eleven heads reeled in the centre as about25,000 around them danced with relief. (SV)Captain falling
When Sourav Ganguly came out to bat, sections of the crowd shouted,”We want Karthik, we want Karthik”. Less creative sections just booed.It was sad: such a fine batsman in his prime, perhaps the best captainIndia has ever had, now reduced to a poor parody of his formerself. He pottered around for a while, then tried to drive a ball fromShahid Afridi that pitched wide outside off, and missed. The ball cameinto him viciously, and bowled him. As the fielders celebrated,Ganguly stood around wondering what had happened, unable to fathomthat he was out, thinking perhaps that it was a stumping attempt andhis foot was in the crease, or that the ball had rebounded from KamranAkmal’s pads. He had been down for a while; and now the umpire saidthat he was out. He walked off; was it for the last time in a Testmatch? The crowd didn’t care. They booed him. (AV)The mesmeric opening
The roar over Sachin Tendulkar’s entry had hardly died down as hefaced up to Mohammad Sami’s steaming deliveries, but off the third ballhe faced, a full-length one on middle stump, he stirred some old memories. Front foot slightly forward, perfectly in position, bat thrustout just at the right moment, making perfect contact, summoning the force to drive it straight, managing the angle to beat the bowler … and thwack. Sami’s right hand extended desperately,the mid-on fielder simultaneously looked left, the ball had meanwhilecovered three-fourth the distance to the fence, the crowd had gonebonkers and several nostalgic chords sprung up within. (SV)Anything is possible
VVS Laxman had said yesterday, “The way [Virender] Sehwag plays, anything is possible.” Well, Sehwag was 38 off 53 balls, playing with controlled aggression, when Danish Kaneria bowled to Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir pushed it to mid-on, Sehwag casually backed down the pitch, Abdul Razzaq raced to the ball, Sehwag turned, Razzaq threw, and leather hit timber. Sehwag didn’t even have time to try to get back, he just walked to the crease and past it to the pavilion. Razzaqwindmilled his arms, and Inzamam-ul-Haq came, a wide smile painted on his face, and lifted him up.And then Rahul Dravid walked in. (AV)