Sanath Jayasuriya makes a return to the Sri Lanka squad for the Asia Cup in Pakistan after having been dropped for the one-dayers in the West Indies last month. Jayasuriya, who has retired from Tests, was included in the 15-member squad following the intervention of Gamini Lokuge, the country’s sports minister, after selectors had left him out of the original squad.The selectors had met on Tuesday but the minister delayed ratifying the squad, which helped Jayasuriya make his case with an unbeaten 114 for the Mumbai Indians against the Chennai Super Kings.The sports minister summoned the four-member selection committee headed by Ashantha de Mel, the former Sri Lanka fast bowler, and asked them to reconsider and include Jayasuriya.The out-of-form Upul Tharanga was omitted in order the accommodate the 38-year-old, who along with Sachin Tendulkar is the only player to feature in over 400 ODIs.Three other players who were part of the ODI squad in the West Indies have been dropped – fast bowlers Ishara Amerasinghe and Thilan Thushara, and legspinner Malinga Bandara. Farveez Maharoof and Dilhara Fernando return from injuries while Muttiah Muralitharan, who had been rested for the West Indies ODIs, has been included as well.Muralitharan’s inclusion means he might play alongside Ajantha Mendis, the mystery spinner who bamboozled the West Indian batsmen with his several variations. Lasith Malinga was once again overlooked as he had not recovered from a knee injury. Mahela Jayawardene will lead the side, while Kumar Sangakkara, who’s also his team-mate in the Kings XI Punjab side in the IPL, will be his deputy.The tournament will be held in Pakistan from June 24 to July 6. Sri Lanka has been grouped alongside Bangladesh and United Arab Emirates. The top two teams from each group qualify to the next phase, where the teams will play each other once to decide the two finalists.Sri Lanka squad: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Udawatte, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Kaushal Weeraratne, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Jehan Mubarak, Nuwan Kulasekera.
Wolves manager Bruno Lage will be keen to build upon his encouraging first season at Molineux, and the summer transfer window could prove to be a busy one due to a number of rumoured departures, and the need to replace them – and address the problem areas already within the squad.
One issue that the team have struggled with particularly this season has been scoring goals, with just five teams in the Premier League failing to score more than them, with Leeds as far down as 16th having put the ball in the back of the net more times this campaign.
The summer will present Lage with the opportunity to improve the team in the attacking areas of the pitch, and one name that has once again cropped up who could prove to be the solution is Valencia forward Goncalo Guedes.
What’s the news?
According to Spanish news outlet Estadio Deportivo, Wolves will once again target the Portugal international at the end of the season, having been interested in him previously.
With his contract in Spain expiring in 2023, the West Midlands club could tempt Valencia with a bid around the £21.4m they almost paid for him at the start of the season.
Take Wolves to the next level
Having scored 11 times in 28 La Liga appearances this season, Guedes is a proven goalscorer who could provide some much-needed firepower to Lage’s Wolves team, who have struggled in front of goal.
Averaging a 7.17 in the Spanish top flight, the former Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain star who was once described by legendary forward Luis Figo as “fast, irreverent and unpredictable”, and has been a crucial asset to his team this season.
The 25-year-old also ranks in the top 1% among wingers and attacking midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions for crosses into the penalty area per 90 (0.53), top 8% for shot-creating actions per 90 (0.62) and top 2% for carries into the final third per 90 (3.01).
Not only would he provide the likes of Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence some much-required competition out-wide, he could also form an exciting partnership up top with his former teammate Raul Jimenez.
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Should the club sign him for less than his current valuation of £36m according to Transfermarkt, he would most likely prove to be excellent value for money – and help Wolves become more dangerous in the final third.
In other news: Worrying: £30m “animal” could leave Wolves after behind-scenes development emerges
February 8, 2016 Start time 1400 local (0100 GMT)Can Brendon McCullum and New Zealand fly once more, in his final ODI?•Getty Images
Brendon McCullum’s one-day international career ends on Monday in Hamilton, and it ends with a chance to lift the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. The World Cup eluded McCullum and his men last summer but the Chappell-Hadlee would be some sort of consolation, a piece of silverware that means a lot to the New Zealanders given their neighbourly rivalry with the Australians. It was against Australia that McCullum’s ODI career began at the SCG back in January 2002. He shared his debut with Australia’s Ryan Campbell and it is fascinating to compare their careers. McCullum has played more than 400 internationals but will not be part of the upcoming World T20; Campbell has not played international cricket since 2002 but now at 44 is in Hong Kong’s squad for the World T20.Monday is the Waitangi Day public holiday in New Zealand, and combined with McCullum’s farewell and the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy being up for grabs, it is no surprise that tickets for this third ODI at Seddon Park have sold out. For Australia, the challenge is to crash New Zealand’s day of national celebration by carrying on the form that they showed during the second ODI in Wellington. Not that there isn’t room for improvement – single-figure scores to Steven Smith, George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell left them in a quandary after the 122-run opening stand between David Warner and Usman Khawaja. But Mitchell Marsh and John Hastings steered them to an important victory, not only keeping the series alive but giving Australia a much-needed morale boost ahead of the Test series, after five successive losses to India and New Zealand across the ODI and T20 formats.
Form guide
New Zealand: LWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first) Australia: WLLWW
In the spotlight
Look at the raw figures and it has been a pretty good series for Mitchell Santner. From two matches he has 80 runs without being dismissed and has taken 5 for 47 from 10.2 overs. Santner has been an important batsman in the lower order, steering New Zealand to competitive totals in both games, and his bowling brought New Zealand back into the contest in Wellington after the big opening partnership between Usman Khawaja and David Warner. Now the Hamilton-born Santner gets his first opportunity to play a one-day international on his home ground of Seddon Park. He will be most disappointed, therefore, if he does not recover enough from the pain he experienced in his right foot following the second ODI to play this one.*Million-dollar Mitchell Marsh might have grabbed the headlines on Saturday but the efforts of John Hastings to help Australia to victory in Wellington cannot be underestimated. Australia were 197 for 6 when he walked to the crease to join Marsh and while they had plenty of time to get the remaining 85 runs in their chase, they were running out of wickets. Hastings played the perfect support innings and finished unbeaten on 48, having earlier played a key restricting role with the ball when his ten overs cost only 42 runs. This summer has been something of a career renaissance for Hastings, who had faded from international cricket after 2011-12. He may lack genuine pace but is a clever bowler who keeps the runs down, and was also the leading wicket taker in the recent Australia-India ODI series. Hastings started the summer not in Australia’s ODI squad; he has now made himself impossible to drop. His form spike was also a case of perfect timing – it brought him approximately AU$270,000 in Saturday’s IPL auction.
Team news
New Zealand were unchanged in Wellington and there appears little reason to alter the side for the decider. Unless Santner is not declared fit to play. They have brought legspinner Ish Sodhi into the squad as cover.New Zealand (possible) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (capt), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent BoultKane Richardson was a late withdrawal from the second match due to back soreness and he has now been sent home for further assessment. Joel Paris, the left-armer who made his ODI debut against India last month, has joined the squad as cover for the final ODI, having already been in New Zealand as part of the Western Australia side for the Sheffield Shield match in Lincoln. However, there is every chance Australia will be unchanged after their win.Australia (possible) 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 David Warner, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 John Hastings, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Scott Boland, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Pitch and conditions
The Seddon Park pitch is usually good for batting in limited-overs matches, and the forecast for Hamilton is for a fine day and a top temperature of 27C.
Stats and trivia
McCullum will finish third on New Zealand’s all-time ODI appearance list behind Daniel Vettori and Stephen Fleming, and third on their runs tally behind Fleming and Nathan Astle
Last time a Chappell-Hadlee series came down to the last match was in 2008-09 when the teams were 2-2 heading to Brisbane – the final ODI was washed out and Australia retained the trophy
The second match in Wellington was Billy Bowden’s 200th ODI as an on-field umpire; Rudi Koertzen (209) is the only other man to have reached that milestone
Quotes
“It’s a big moment for Baz and all the guys that have played with him for so long but the focus is certainly on the game tomorrow.” *05.15GMT, February 7: The preview was updated after news of Mitchell Santner’s niggle came in.
One of Jamaica’s top police officers has said that four members of the Pakistan cricket team have declined to testify at the inquest into the death of their former coach Bob Woolmer.Mark Shields, Jamaica’s Deputy Commissioner of Police, told Coroner Patrick Murphy on Wednesday that former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq was among those that refused to give testimony.Apart from Inzamam, who had recently retired from international cricket, along with medium-pacer Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, assistant manager Asad Mustafa and former media manager Pervez Mir refused to travel to Jamaica for the inquest, which began on October 16.Shields, who made the requests through the Pakistan Cricket Board, told Coroner Murphy and the 11 jurors that both players said they were unable to make it. “Mustafa said he has already given a statement to the police,” Shields added.Woolmer died hours after he was found unconscious in his Jamaica hotel room on March 18, a day after Pakistan suffered a humiliated defeat to Ireland at the World Cup of cricket.
A team of Royal Marines were emphatically beaten today by the Afghan National Army, in a match to celebrate New Year and Eid.Members of 45 Commando Group, who are currently based in Helmand, southern Afghanistan, were bowled out for a paltry 56 in 14 overs. Their opponents knocked off the required runs in just 12 overs.”The skill level of the Afhans was brilliant,” Lt Rob Cooper told . “We soon realised we were in trouble when they opened the bowling.”Afghanistan enjoyed a successful tour of England last summer – their first – in which they also beat the Officer Cadets of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. Cricket is enjoying a boom in Afghanistan, ever since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, thanks to the refugees bringing the sport home from the camps in Pakistan. The game continues to be well supported by the government and has spread to over 16 provinces, where it was once banned by the Taliban to just four.”Obviously, we were disappointed to lose as badly as we did,” added Cooper, “but we still managed to enjoy the encounter. It certainly provided a good break from the operational work being done on a daily basis out here.”
8 Andrew FlintoffNobody poured more effort into England’s campaign than Flintoff, and forthat reason his desperate display at Lahore deserves some mitigation.Utter exhaustion is forgivable in the circumstances, especially when it iscoupled with the sort of dejection he must have felt at finishing on thelosing side at Multan. In that match he produced a career-best haul of 8for 156 and looked the most complete fast bowler in the world. His battingsuffered as a side-effect, and he produced more than his fair share ofdumb dismissals. But he also produced a match-saving 56 at Faisalabad, notto mention more overs – 140.1 – than any other player on display.8 Ian BellEngland’s solitary success story in the batting ranks. A traumatic Ashesseries looked like extending into a tough winter of drinks-waitering whenhe was initially overlooked for Multan, but Vaughan’s knee offered areprieve that he gratefully accepted. Capped his series with a century atFaisalabad, and made big runs in each of the three matches. Still shows atendency to go missing when the stakes are at their highest, but has anappetite for accumulation that no England batsman has matched sinceMichael Atherton.7.5 Steve HarmisonWidely tipped to go missing mentally, given his previous problems withhomesickness in Pakistan, but instead hit a subcontinental length from hisfirst spell at Multan and stuck to it rigidly to the tune of 12 wickets -nine more than the great Dennis Lillee managed on these same pitches.Mohammad Yousuf described his spell on the third evening at Lahore as oneof the finest he had ever faced, and as if that was not inspirationalenough, Harmison, at No. 11, was one of the few English players to executethe sweep shot properly.7 Marcus TrescothickFaultless display as England’s stand-in captain at Multan, where his 193should have set up a memorable victory, and made important first-inningscontributions in the final two Tests as well. His second-innings statswere another thing entirely, however. He managed just five runs in threeinnings, including ducks at Faisalabad and Lahore as Shoaib Akhtar torechunks out of England’s resolve. Deserved better support from histeam-mates, but his struggles confirmed that the defeat was no fluke.7 Paul CollingwoodStuck at his task, but not even scores of 96 and 80 at Lahore could fullyconvince the doubters, who question whether Collingwood has the techniqueor temperament to thrive as a Test-class No. 4. As a team-man, hisattitude is unrivalled, and his disappointment at Lahore was keenly feltby all who have appreciated his uncomplaining approach, even whenopportunities have been hard to come by. His bowling was heralded as atrump card on these wickets, but it was his rival Bell who bagged the mostscalps – all one of them, and even that was dubious.7 Geraint JonesOne of the few players to make genuine strides on this tour. His battingwas solid without ever blooming into something spectacular, but it was hiswicketkeeping that caught the eye – or rather, didn’t, because he hardlyhad a blemish in all three matches. Crouching lower than in the summer,and with a wider cordon to allow him fuller expression with those divingchances in front of slip, he took 11 catches on the slow low strips andensured that Matt Prior remained nothing more than an eager understudy.7 Matthew HoggardLearned the ropes as a rookie on this tour in 2000-01, and proved that thelessons had sunk in with a disciplined and penetrative performance in allthree Tests. Consistently found swing with the new ball – if only ever fora couple of overs – and seemed set to rescue his batsmen’s blushes when hegrabbed two early wickets at Lahore. Did as much as could have been askedof him.6 Kevin PietersenA stylish hundred at Faisalabad, but it was the manner of his parting -caught slogging across the line one ball after raising his century with asix – that said the most about KP’s contribution to this series. Initiallyearmarked as England’s No. 4, Pietersen remained one place lowerthroughout, which was perhaps a hint that his application was noteverything that Duncan Fletcher had hoped. His talent is so intense thathe will always leave the fans wanting more. But in the second innings atboth Multan and Lahore, they deserved more as well.6 Liam PlunkettEngland’s youngest Test debutant since Ben Hollioake in 1997, Plunkettpassed his test with flying colours and confirmed that he has a brightfuture in the game. Batted with nerve and plucked an effortless catchbefore he was even called upon to perform his strongest suit, but hedidn’t disappoint with the ball either, generating pace and accuracy, andproviding England with two breakthroughs that, with a bit more of a totalto defend, might have given Pakistan greater cause for concern.
5 Michael VaughanA tough tour for England’s semi-fit skipper. His trip appeared to be overwhen his knee locked up at Bagh-e-Jinnah, and though he returned for thefinal two matches, his rehabilitation appeared rushed at best andfoolhardy at worst, especially when he mustered 11 runs at Faisalabad. Areturn to the top of the order heralded a late blossoming at Lahore, butit was all too brief. Fifty-eight sparkling runs in the first innings wererendered inconsequential by a rash sweep-shot, and his captaincy lackedthe imagination he had shown in the summer4 Andrew StraussUntil this series, Strauss hadn’t failed to score a century in a seriesagainst major opponents, but with fatherhood impending, he never lookedlike extending that proud record. His mind was back in England long beforethe rest of his body followed suit, as he proved by droppingInzamam-ul-Haq on the midwicket boundary in the closing stages atFaisalabad. Though he’s guaranteed an immediate return to the top of theorder for the India trip, there is some question as to whether he shouldhave come on this leg at all.4 Ashley GilesArrived in the country with a reputation to maintain, but was hampered bya hip injury that forced him to miss the final match, and remained ashadow of the man who took 17 wickets in the same series five years ago.Sent down too many full-tosses that destroyed his rhythm, and was unableto extract anything but the most negligible turn. But his full value wasonly recognised in his absence, as England toiled for three days at Lahorewith barely a sniff of salvation.4 Shaun UdalPromising beginnings at the end of a long, long wait, when he took hismaiden Test wicket at the age of 36. But Udal’s penetration receded as thetour progressed, as his economy-rate ballooned all the while. By the timehe was selected as the solitary spinner at Lahore, Pakistan had hisnumber, and cashed in with alacrity in their single mighty innings. ThatUdal bowled 18 overs in that innings, to Harmison’s 43 and Flintoff’s 36,was ample proof that he had failed his biggest test. His batting was abonus, mind you. Almost Gilesesque, in fact.
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.
Anura Tennekoon, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) chief executive, has announcedthat he will be standing down after England’s tour of Sri Lanka. Tennekooncited personal reasons for his decision to step down.Tennekoon, a former Sri Lanka captain and opening batsman, announced hisdecision on Friday. “Due to personal reasons I am relinquishing my duties aschief executive of Sri Lanka Cricket,” he said in a media statement. “Iwould like to take this opportunity to wish Sri Lanka Cricket the very bestin the future.”Tennekoon was appointed in Dec 2000 after the controversial sacking ofDhammika Ranatunga, the brother of World Cup winning captain Arjuna.Although widely respected for his honesty and integrity, he had facedgrowing criticism for not being forthright enough in various commercial andcontractual negotiations.”Anura is a man of great honesty and integrity and we needed someone likethat at that controversial juncture,” said Mohan de Silva, the SLCsecretary. “He always had the game at heart and he made a big contributionto the development of the game in Sri Lanka.”According to de Silva, the search for Tennekoon’s successor will beginimmediately. The SLC will headhunt a top business leader with a cricketingbackground.
The Australian influence in Otago cricket continues to grow with the inclusion of ‘sandgroper’ Nick Morrison in the association’s Under-19 squad.The Western Australian was born in New Zealand but has lived most of his life in Perth. He intends to study at Otago University next year.Standing at almost two metres tall, Morrison is a left-handed top-order batsman and right-arm part-time bowler with the ability to generate significant pace. He played for the Western Australian Under-17 team last summer and at just 17 himself has another season at Under-19 level.Four of last year’s team return with Jordan Sheed, Matt Adair, Alistair Collie and Jarrad Waldron back in harness. And there is also a good representation from last summer’s Otago Under-17 team with Henry Bates, Stephen Brown, Eric Standfield and Nic Turner making the step up.The squad will be trimmed by one after the mid-December match against the Otago Under-22 selection with the three-day match against Canterbury in Oamaru just before Christmas signalling the beginning of the tournament.Otago then plays Auckland in Auckland in another three-dayer starting on December 27 with one-day games against Central Districts, Wellington and Northern Districts rounding out the series.The squad is: Jordan Sheed (captain, Dunedin), Matt Adair (Central Otago), Henry Bates (Dunedin), Stephen Brown (Dunedin), Alistair Collie (Dunedin), Mathew Harvie (Dunedin), Simon Murley (Dunedin), Michael Ross (Dunedin), Eric Standfield (Central Otago), Nic Turner (Southland), Jarrad Waldron (Dunedin), Nick Morrison (Western Australia), Tim Geeves (North Otago). Coach: Mike Hesson, manager: George Morris.
South Africa declared their innings closed overnight on a score of 293/6 there was everything to look forward to on the morning of the second day of the three day game. In contrast to the first day, there was a sprinkling of cloud cover that gave the stadium a cool air. It was not only the weather that was different from the previous day. The pitch that afforded no bounce on the first day was suddenly responsive as the powerful South African opening bowlers steamed in. Allan Donald and Nantie Hayward gunned for pace and bounce against Arun Kumar and Wasim Jaffer.Donald was clearly bowling well within himself. Though he generated good lift off the wicket, Donald was appreciably slower than Hayward. Arun Kumar played a couple of handsome shots in Hayward’s very first over, finding the boundary on both occasions. He assumed that batting against the South African quicks was not as difficult as it was cut out to be and paid the ultimate price. Arun Kumar was late on a straight full delivery and looked back to see his stump cartwheeling towards Mark Boucher.Mohammed Kaif came in at one drop and his trial by fire began immediately. Hayward bowled at full tilt and got the ball to rise sharply to the youngster. Kaif took his eyes off the ball in the last minute and the bouncer struck him on the side of the helmet. Visibly disturbed by the blow, Kaif motioned to the dressing room and the helmet was given a fair bit of attention. In the end, Kaif seemed largely unhurt and continued.Wasim Jaffer looked the part as an opener while he was at the crease. From the word go, he middled every ball he played. When the ball was even slightly out of reach he let the ball go, a sign of a batsman comfortable opening the innings. Jaffer settled down to a good rhythm and was not flustered by either the accuracy of Donald or the pace of Hayward. Donald’s first spell of five overs cost him just three runs.Having done all the hardwork in the initial stages Jaffer looked good for a long innings. However, the double change in the bowling, when Jacques Kallis and Lance Klusener came into the attack the Mumbai opener’s rhythm was unsettled. Klusener kept the ball up to the bat and bowled fairly straight. He rapped Jaffer on the pads and went up in an enthusiastic appeal. However, he was hardly backed up by the fielders and the appeal was turned down. In the 18th over, a similar shout was upheld by the umpire. The ball was full, dead straight and Jaffer looked very adjacent. After making a patient 12 off 53 balls, Jaffer gave way to Mohammed Azharuddin.Azhar walked out to hearty cheering from the Mumbai crowds and looked at ease at the wicket. Lance Klusener made things easier for Azhar to settle down by sending down a fair few leg stump deliveries. Azhar made easy work of these and kept the strike rotating.Spin in the form of Clive Eksteen was introduced into the attack at the end of the 23rd over. With lunch drawing close, Azhar took no risks and played out the left arm spinner’s overs.Kaif’s spirited resistance came to an end in disappointing fashion as he inside edged a Hayward delivery onto his pads and onto his stumps. Kaif looked back in dismay as the ball trickled onto the stumps and knocked a bail off. Kaif was at the wicket for over one hundred minutes in his innings of 23. What was equally indicative of the kind of innings he played was the fact that 20 of these 23 runs came in boundaries. At lunch, the Indian Board President’s XI were precariously poised at 68/3.A most interesting session immediately after lunch resulted in a flurry of events. The new man in, Ajay Jadeja looked less than convincing at the crease as Hayward squared him up time and time again with extra pace. It was only a matter of time before a ball pitched in the right spot made short work of the batsman. In Hayward’s 12th over the expected happened. A short, rising delivery outside off stump clipped the outside edge and flew through to the waiting gloves of Mark Boucher. While this was the first dismissal after lunch, the drama had begun earlier.Mohammed Azharuddin was struck on the gloves by a rising delivery from Hayward and seemed to be struggling. At the end of the over the physio came onto the field and examined Azhar. To the disappointment of the crowd, the former Indian captain walked off the field having made 9 runs.Nayan Mongia replaced Azharuddin and found himself in the company of Murali Kartik after Jadeja was dismissed. Kartik had a couple of wild swishes at Hayward and was gone before he could trouble the scorers. He chased a full, wide delivery from Hayward and only managed to get a thick outside edge. The ball flew to the gap between second slip and gully. Clive Eksteen diving across from gully snatched the ball out of the air and sent Kartik on his way.Allan Donald was brought back into the attack in the 37th over. Mongia struck the ball to wide mid off and set off for a single. Strydom picked up the ball and had a good angle to throw down the stumps with his natural left hand. If he hit the stumps it was always going to be close. As is more often than not the case with the South Africans, Strydom nailed the middle stump and caught Mongia well short of his crease. Umpire Murali was in motion trying to get to a good vantage position and declared the batsman not out. In disbelief, Donald walked across to Strydom and gesticulated that Mongia was at least a yard out of his ground. Television replays seemed to confirm that belief.If the pacemen had done all the damage upto this point, it was Eksteen’s turn to get into the act. He foxed tailender Kumaran off the wicket and had him easily caught by Cullinan in first slip.Debashish Mohanty watched from the non striker’s end as Harbhajan entertained the crowds with some clean hitting. Swing nicely through the line, Harbhajan chanced his arm against the spinners and fast bowlers alike. Using his wrists well, Harbhajan cleared the infield easily. The one time he mishit the ball, it ballooned high into the air above the slip cordon. Running back from first slip, Cullinan threw himself full length and got both hands to the ball. Falling hard on the Brabourne Stadium turf, Cullinan could not hold onto the ball.Mohanty then tried to work Eksteen away and presented him with a tough return catch. Eksteen dived across the catch and plucked the ball out of the air. Having grassed a similar chance earlier on, Eksteen was ready for it the second time around.The gala continued as Amit Bhandari took a page out of the Harbhajan Singh coaching manual and used the long handle to good effect. Having hit a couple of clean strikes, Bhandari’s confidence grew. He came down the wicket and hit Eksteen into the stands over long off. Attempting to repeat the stroke Bhandari skied the ball into the deep. Nantie Hayward running in a couple of paces should have completed the catch with ease but dropped it at the last moment.Bhandari and Harbhajan swatted the Indian Board President’s XI past the follow on mark. Bhandari soon assumed the role of senior batsman and put the attack to the sword. Another huge six off Eksteen followed and Bhandari had made the top score of the Board President’s XI innings. Soon after Harbhajan overtook him. Tea was taken when Harbhajan chopped a ball from Eksteen straight back to his hands. His entertaining innings of 38 included seven fours and came off just 44 balls. Bhandari was unbeaten on 30 off 28 balls. His innings included two fours and two huge sixes. At 172/9 the players left the field and it was learnt that Mohammed Azharuddin who was injured earlier in the day would not come out to bat. Azhar had sustained a bruise on the tip of the thumb of his left hand earlier in the day. X-Rays were taken and it was confirmed that there had been no fracutures. Nantie Hayward who knocked the stuffing out of the Indian batsmen was unlucky not to pick up five wickets and ended with 4/68 off his 17 overs.After tea, in a strange sequence of events, Hansie Cronje walked out to the middle with Herschelle Gibbs. Daryll Cullinan retired hurt without offering any explanation. Sitting at the Press Box it was not possible to ascertain either nature or the seriousness of the injury that caused him to take this course of action. In the end it proved to be irrelevant.Herschelle Gibbs had used the sweep shot to good effect against the spinners but attempted the shot once too many times and ended up being trapped LBW. He missed the line of a straight delivery completely and was struck on the full. The umpire lift his finger without hesitation and sent Gibbs on his way. Gibbs had made 28.Pietr Stryom joined his captain at the crease and saw South Africa through to stumps without further loss. Cronje looked in good touch as he toyed with the spinners and helped himself to 29 runs including five boundaries. Strydom played second fiddle to the captain and for majority of the time just rotated the strike around. He ended the day unbeaten on 12. South Africa closed on 93/3 and from this stage on, it is extremely unlikely that a result is possible in this game.