Smith's ODI career seemingly on the wane

Form and injury have combined to give Graeme Smith a forgettable time of late in the one-day game, and it looks like it will be a long road back for him in ODI cricket should he choose to keep at it

Cullinan: Smith certainly under pressure in ODIs

Graeme Smith's ODI career could be over.

The Test captain was left out of South Africa's starting XI for the first match against India in Johannesburg - the first time Smith has been overlooked for strategic reasons rather than injury since relinquishing the 50-overs captaincy after the 2011 World Cup - and the move could signal the end of Smith in coloured clothing.

Smith has not scored an ODI half-century in eight innings, all against Pakistan. His last contribution of significance came in January's home series against New Zealand, when he scored 116 in the only match South Africa won. Before that series, in which Smith also notched up a half-century, Smith had scored one hundred and two fifties in 10 innings in 2012, and there were constant questions over whether he merited a place in the one-day team.

De Villiers admitted that this time, against India, there "just wasn't a spot open" for Smith, in what is the clearest indication yet that the combination of patchy form and niggles may catching up with Smith, especially as he has been more out than in in South Africa's ODI team recently. Smith missed the Champions Trophy and South Africa's limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka this year with injury, which unsettled the XI which was also without Jacques Kallis.

South Africa went through a painful process of trying to find an opening combination that could match the Smith/Hashim Amla partnership - which in 48 innings averages 41.40 - but could not. Colin Ingram and Hashim Amla managed two half-century stands in four attempts at the Champions Trophy but when Amla was injured for the early stages of the Sri Lanka tour, Ingram unraveled.

He partnered Alviro Petersen without success for a game, then Quinton de Kock was used with Petersen, and then Amla joined de Kock. These two showed promise as a pair with a stand of 87 in the UAE but it was still considered a given that when both Smith and Amla were available again, they would be reunited to provide stability.

They did play the first two ODIs against Pakistan at home together, and scored 12 and 9. Smith was unavailable for the third because of the passing of his grandmother, so de Kock was promoted up the order - he had been batting at No. 3 when Smith and Amla formed the opening pair - to rejoin Amla. They posted 39.

So when it came to a green-top in Johannesburg for the opening game of a series against India, South Africa were faced with a tough choice. They wanted to play the extra seamer so they had to leave a batsman out and that batsman was Smith. "I wanted to play an extra bowler so there just wasn't a space open for him," de Villiers explained.

Statistical evidence in favour of the Amla/de Kock pairing is based on too small a sample for it to top the Amla/Smith pairing but the numbers are pointing in the right direction. In eight innings, Amla and de Kock have opened together they have posted 453 runs at 50.33, with one century and two fifty-stands, including South Africa's first opening partnership of more than 100 runs since 2010. More than the numbers, it's the way Amla and de Kock combine that has left the team management keen for them to bat together - as they also do so in T20s.

"There's experience of Hash and the elegance, and then the no-fear attitude of Quinny," de Villiers said. He did, however, leave the door open for Smith, but only in the opening role. "I can't see Graeme batting anywhere else," he said. "He knows I am a captain that is very fond of playing seven frontline batsmen, but tonight we felt an extra seam bowler could be handy."

Andrew Hudson, South Africa's convener selectors has also mentioned the seven-batsman formula for South Africa's one-day XI but it would result in Ryan McLaren being left out. After his performances this year - McLaren is the team's third highest wicket-taker in 2013 despite not playing in all of South Africa's games and has the ability to lengthen the lower middle-order - it would seem a harsh decision.

It would also mean de Kock would be the player to be shifted out of position. The 20 year-old will be asked to bat at No. 3 if Smith returns. "Quinny has got two kinds of games," de Villiers explained. "He has the ability to accelerate and then pull back like you saw [against India]. I feel he can adapt a bit better than others to No. 3."

Still, there was an indication that for that to happen, Smith will have to find one-day form again and that will be difficult for him to do. Smith plays very little domestic cricket. He has featured in only one List A since December 2011, for Surrey against Hampshire, and that statistic will remain until he heads back to the county circuit because South Africa's domestic one-day competition is over.

The Twenty20s event is still to be played and Smith, along with all the other national players, will be available for their franchises for most of that tournament. Even if Smith plays in it and excels, the question will remain over whether he wants to play limited-overs cricket.

At 32, retirement should be and is a distant thought for Smith but focusing on Tests only - and staying injury-free to honour his deal with Surrey - is not, even though Smith seems keen to hang on. He does not feature in the T20 squad - he last played in October 2011 - but it does not seem to be a decision he made himself.

When South Africa crashed out of the World T20 in Sri Lanka last year, again with the batting being their Achilles' Heel, many supporters asked Smith if he had retired from the shortest format. He replied confirming he had not and was "available to play all forms of the game". He still is, but whether he gets picked is a different question.

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England lose three in tough session

Lunch England 4 for 116 (Carberry 60, Bell 29*, Stokes 0*) trail Australia 9 for 570 dec by 454 runs
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Irresponsible, certainly. Inexcusable? Well, the charge was understandable. Kevin Pietersen's dismissal on the third morning of the Adelaide Test heaped more troubles on an England side bedevilled by problems in the Ashes series.

By lunch, with three more wickets surrendered in the opening session, England were still 255 runs from avoiding the follow-on figure of 371, their only source of comfort being Michael Carberry's first Test half-century and a blissful start to his innings by Ian Bell, which by a distance represented England's most confident batting of the series

Heavily beaten in the first Test in Brisbane, and needing to make a concerted response to Australia's mammoth 9 for 570 to at least stabilise their Ashes tour, England endured two bad dismissals. If Joe Root's departure, slog-sweeping Nathan Lyon to deep square, was bad enough for England, Pietersen's wicket must have left them screeching with frustration.

Australia set two short midwickets when Peter Siddle bowled to Pietersen and he could not resist the challenge. He did not just play the shot, he manufactured it, moving across his stumps to a length ball and whipping it to the squarer of the two fielders, George Bailey, who juggled with it four times, without ever looking out of control, before the ball finally rested in his hands.

It is a shot Pietersen feasts upon, and such is his expressed determination to keep playing it that even if Australia stationed four short midwickets it would probably not quell his desire. Siddle, too, has repeatedly unsettled him around off stump and that has increased his desire to find a get-out shot. But he has fallen in this manner twice in the series and Australia can celebrate a tactical victory.

Pietersen also had a scare in Siddle's previous over, before he had scored, when Australia unsuccessfully reviewed for a catch at the wicket. The review was encouraged by the wicketkeeper, Brad Haddin, who was convinced he had heard a noise, but neither Hot Spot near Snicko - officially in use in the series for the first time - supported the notion.

Root would not be proud either of his attempt so slog-sweep Lyon. He was at full stretch as he took the ball from just outside off stump and misjudged the bounce. Even though the boundary in front of the unfinished stand is a mere 53 metres, he fell comfortably short, surrendering his wicket to a catch by Chris Rogers. Root had laboured for 80 balls for 15 and his efforts were wasted.

England, three down and with the debutant Ben Stokes due in at No.6, could draw consolation from the certainty of Michael Carberry. He had been fortunate to survive a traumatic last two balls on the first day when he might have been run out by Root and then would have fallen lbw to Mitchell Johnson if Australia had thought to review the not-out decision.

Bell was bent upon playing with natural freedom. He lofted his seventh ball, from Lyon, over long-off for six and, in Lyon's next over, cleared the rope at long-on. It had taken England 35 overs to get their scoring rate above two an over but by lunch, Carberry and Bell were finally assembling some sort of response.

Carberry was at his most dependable on a warm and sunny Adelaide morning, repelling the pace bowlers with stout defence and continuing to meet Lyon with confidence. Briefly, Bell and Carberry broke free, but Australia checked them again when Ryan Harris and Shane Watson produced five successive maidens - the last ball of the fifth of them resulting in the dismissal of Carberry who obligingly pulled a short ball from Watson to David Warner, who pulled off an excellent left-handed catch in front of square.

With two overs remaining before lunch, it was an awkward time for Stokes to come out to play his first Test innings. He watched Johnson from the non-striker's end before playing out a maiden against Lyon as England reached lunch in disarray.

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Mumbai pay for going on the defensive

Mumbai have been guilty of being too cautious in the field previously, and on Friday against Jharkhand that tendency cost them

Jharkhand had collapsed from 144 for 4 to 180 for 8. Despite their four-man attack, excluding Abhishek Nayar, having a collective experience of 25 first-class games, Mumbai had justified their decision to bowl. You would expect the defending champions to fire out the last two wickets of a side promoted from the bottom group. That was what Mumbai sought to do. Only, they gave themselves just one or two deliveries per over to try and dismiss No. 10 Shankar Rao. For, a proper batsman, Saurabh Tiwary, was batting at the other end on a hundred, and there was no way Mumbai were going to set attacking fields for him; it seems modern captaincy prohibits a team from attempting to dismiss the specialist batsman if a tailender is also in the middle.

Tiwary was given a field of up to eight fielders manning the boundary, something that took away the catching positions completely. Even when that number dipped on the rare occasion, it never went below five. Javed Khan, Mumbai's most successful bowler on the day, said the plan was to give Tiwary the single and go for the tailenders' wickets. The plan worked superbly, for Tiwary and Jharkhand. Knowing that Mumbai had no interest in targetting him, he duly bashed out 175 from 264 deliveries. Rao rose to the occasion as well. Knowing that a ball or two was all he would have to face every over, he duly blocked everything that came his way. By stumps, Rao had two scoring shots in 64 deliveries, and the partnership had stretched the score to 262.

Apparently, the field had been spread not only because Mumbai wanted Rao on strike, but also because Tiwary was in an attacking mood. Again, the approach played right into Tiwary's hands. All those boundary riders could only watch as he deposited eight sixes into the stands over their heads. He also hit 17 fours, most of which came in the first two sessions when Mumbai were often getting wickets.

Numbers 7 and 8 threw their wickets away. Had they not, Jharkhand might well have been only six or seven down, for Mumbai had already decided wickets would likely come only from the end opposite to Tiwary's.

They did try to get him early, when he came in at 13 for 2, with a bouncer barrage. Long-on, deep midwicket, deep square leg, and fine leg. But Tiwary survived. Not only did he survive, he also punished the length when Mumbai overdid it. But Mumbai weren't going to learn. They had come up with Plan A, and Plan A they were going to persist with through the day.

About the closest the tactic came to success was when Tiwary top-edged a hook which stayed in the air for a while before rolling very fine into the boundary. Buoyed, Mumbai turned to the short ball again and again. And Tiwary kept hooking, pulling or ducking with increasing confidence.

He also farmed the strike superbly, regularly taking a single off the fourth ball of an over. Despite this becoming a pattern for as long as an entire session, captain Nayar did not bring the fielders in to force Tiwary to try harder for that single. The batsman had the entire outfield for the taking, to push or nudge wherever he needed. Mumbai's stubbornness was absolute when, in the first over with the second new ball, Nayar had six men in the deep for Tiwary.

Nayar is not the only Mumbai captain to turn so defensive in recent times. In the 2011-12 Ranji quarter-final against Madhya Pradesh, Wasim Jaffer had seven men on the boundary for a No. 8 batsman. MP were 171 for 9, but Mumbai were prepared to give No. 8 the single to get at No. 11.

As well as Tiwary and Rao played, the inexperience of Mumbai's attack also contributed to the home side's lack of penetration. When your allrounder brings himself on in the 11th over of the match despite having three specialist seamers to choose from, something has to be wrong. While Shardul Thakur went overboard with the short ball, often misdirected, it was the tall left-armer Akbar Khan, playing only his second game, who was the weak link. He bowled only nine, largely unthreatening overs with the first new ball, and none with the second. Nayar sent down as many as 16, and was quite unfortunate to not pick up a wicket or two. When you go so defensive as captain, though, you are setting yourself up for misfortune.

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NZ inch closer, but rain arrives

Tea New Zealand 609 for 9 dec and 79 for 4 (Anderson 20*, Taylor 16*, Shillingford 4-16) need 33 to win v West Indies 213 and 507 (Bravo 218, Sammy 80, Wagner 3-112)
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A devastating opening spell from Shane Shillingford raised hopes of a surprise West Indies win in Dunedin, but Ross Taylor and Corey Anderson calmed New Zealand's nerves with an unbeaten 35-run stand to bring the home team within 33 runs of a win before rains arrived. Tea was called ten minutes early, but the drizzle is not likely to last long.

Shillingford didn't have much of an impact in the first couple of days on a pitch that was hard and had even grass cover, bowling 46 overs for one wicket. But after four days of battering under the blazing sun, the grass had been smothered and Shillingford, Sammy must have known, was West Indies' only chance of turning the tables on New Zealand. He was pressed into action straightaway in the last innings and it took him only seven balls to make an impact.

In the last over before lunch, Fulton missed a flick but Ramdin appealed for a catch down the leg side. The umpire, Paul Reiffel, didn't show any interest, but the Hot-Spot highlighted a faint nick after West Indies asked for a review. Two overs later, Aaron Redmond fell into a trap, clipping a sharply turning delivery straight into the hands of Narsingh Deonarine at leg gully.

Another two overs later, the offspinner lured Hamish Rutherford into playing a lofted shot and the batsman obliged, hitting a boundary wide of the long-on fielder. The next ball was tossed up again and Rutherford couldn't resist himself. He went for a repeat of the first shot, but this time he lobbed it straight into the hands of the long-on fielder, falling in exactly the same way as in the first innings. 'What a shot,' said a close-in fielder as Rutherford whacked his bat on his pads in disappointment.

At 22 for 3, New Zealand were in serious trouble, but would have put their money on the experienced pair of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor to see them through the tricky period. Both batsmen continued from where they left in the first innings, Taylor staying solid, while McCullum blasted the first ball he faced through covers. But McCullum's aggression consumed him as he top-edged an attempted sweep off the one that goes the other way for Denesh Ramdin to pouch an easy chance.

While Shillingford bowled unchanged for 15 overs, the other bowlers were not able to create chances. Anderson drilled three boundaries through cover off the seamers and rose in confidence, taking on Shillingford with a powerful sweep as well to score 20, while Taylor was on 16 with the help of two boundaries.

The match was, however, set up by a stubborn resistance in the first session from the West Indies lower order. Sammy, derided recently during the Test in India for his irresponsible batting didn't let New Zealand take control after the fall of Darren Bravo in the third over of the day. He ran his runs hard despite an injury to his hamstring and added 38 vital runs with Shillingford for the eighth wicket.

With the pitch offering uneven bounce, the New Zealand seamers targeted the stumps, with Trent Boult getting a few deliveries to hit high on the bat. On one instance, Boult drew the outside edge of Sammy's bat only to see it drop short of Ross Taylor at first slip. In the same over, Sammy had another nervous moment when the ball spun back towards the stumps after he had defended it off the back foot, but he showed incredible football skills to kick the ball towards deep square leg, stretching his hamstring in the process.

When Sammy got the ball in his hitting zone though, he didn't hold himself back. A couple of length deliveries were blasted through cover and over the infield and a long hop from Ish Sodhi was bludgeoned over deep midwicket.

Shillingford played his part as well, adding 15 useful runs in an hour-long stay at the crease, before he edged Neil Wagner to first slip. Tino Best hung around for 21 minutes, but his stay was ended in a similar fashion. With only the No. 11 for company, Sammy threw his bat at the first delivery with the third new ball and sliced it to deep cover, but he ensured 54 useful runs were added after Bravo's exit.

575 minutes. That is how long it took New Zealand to break past Bravo's stubborn resistance during the course of which he scored his maiden double-century and helped West Indies wipe out the 396-run deficit after they were forced to follow on. But more importantly for the home side, the dismissal came early on the final day, relieving the smidgen of tension the clouds gathering over may have caused. It was also the early boost the bowling attack needed after having bowled more than 200 overs on the trot.

Boult, in the third over of the day, tested Bravo with a yorker that reversed in, but it was dealt with the ease one would expect from a batsman in the zone - he had gone past 2000 Test runs in Boult's previous over. But it took the misdemeanor of the fifth-day pitch that shook Bravo out of his zone as the next delivery sneaked under his bat to strike the off stump.

The late riposte, however, gave West Indies a fighting chance in the Test that seemed out of reach 24 hours ago.

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Clarke continues Adelaide love affair

Australia 389 for 5 (Clarke 109*, Haddin 57*) v England
Scorecard

Michael Clarke continued his love affair with the Adelaide Oval with an unflustered, unbeaten century as England's Ashes challenge wilted in the face of Australian adventure on the second morning of the second Test.

Virtually everything that could go wrong for England did as Clarke and Brad Haddin batted through the morning session with commendable enterprise, adding 116 at almost four runs an over. Ben Stokes missed out on a first Test wicket because of a no ball and the list of half chances to elude England grew as they failed to press home their hard-won position of equality from the first day.

Clarke's sixth Adelaide hundred in nine Tests, and his 26th of all, was his second in succession, following his century in Brisbane when Australia's domination was assured. This one was a perfectly-constructed affair with the Test in the balance; made all the more noteworthy because of occasional suggestions that first his back and then his ankle were troubling him more than the England attack. When he reached his hundred, the big screen flashed up an average of 110 on this ground, higher even than The Don - Adelaide's most revered figure.

Clarke has skippered Australia through a fallow period in Test cricket, but his hundred has personally put Australia in a powerful position from which hopes will be stirring ever more noticeably that they can regain the Ashes.

England, who fielded two spinners on a gripping pitch, were hopeful of restricting Australia to 350 at start of play but instead they failed to exert any control as Clarke and Haddin took the game away from them. By lunch, their sixth-wicket stand was worth 132 in 34 overs.

England will reflect that it could have been so different. Clarke's determination to dominate the left-arm spin of Monty Panesar from the outset almost went awry as he skipped down the pitch to his first ball of the morning and spooned it over extra cover, marking his fifty with relief as the ball evaded Stokes. England's decision to begin with Panesar did not pay off as his four overs cost 22, broken by the deft footwork of Australia's captain.

England also had a glimmer of a chance to dismiss him when he was 91. Again Clarke's foot movement was ambitious, this time to the offspin of Graeme Swann, and his glance thudded through the hands and into the ankle of Ian Bell at backward short leg. A tough catch missed, Bell, and the wicketkeeper Matt Prior, then failed to gather cleanly to pull off a run out as Clarke dived back into his crease and rose with the sense that fortune was favouring the brave.

Haddin was an impressive accomplice, but he, too, had one or two moments which fell his way. James Anderson, with no swing to sustain him, looked listless, but when he produced a good bouncer to Haddin, on 30, the hook shot fell short of Panesar, who reacted cumbersomely at long leg as the ball sailed out of the unfinished stand. It was barely a catch, although in keeping with the ground works, Panesar also seemed to be wearing concrete boots.

Building works have left one of the square boundaries only 53 metres - it will be closer to 60 metres when the job is done - and Swann's exasperation was apparent as Haddin's top-edged sweep, little better than a mis-hit, sailed over the boundary for six.

But Swann's frustration was nothing in comparison to that of Stokes. He began poorly, but in his third over produced an excellent delivery to have Haddin, on 51, caught at the wicket. Stokes had already fielded congratulations from his team-mates for his first Test wicket when replays showed he had overstepped. The creeping tendency of umpires barely to monitor no-balls unless a wicket falls, in which case they rely on technology to make a delayed judgment, has been overshadowed by the larger debates surrounding DRS, but it deserves examination.

Haddin could not resist a jokey congratulation to Stokes at the end of the over about his first Test wicket that wasn't, and as Stokes's manner suggested an appetite for continuing the conversation, the umpire Marias Erasmus intervened to calm the situation.

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No point blaming schedule - Dhoni

India captain MS Dhoni has called for his new-ball bowlers to step up after his side was thrashed by 141 runs in the first ODI in Johannesburg. The visitors were typically underprepared, having spent only two-and-a-half days in South Africa before going into the match, but Dhoni said the schedule couldn't be helped.

"It is difficult [to play without warm-up games]," Dhoni said, "but at the same time, when you know the schedule, you have to mentally prepare yourself. If you ask some of the experienced players, they will say a lot of cricket is played mentally. We had two to two-and-a-half days, which gave us time to prepare ourselves mentally for the ODI."

Dhoni said he would have loved to have spent much longer in the country before playing the first international match, but said it was not possible in the present day. "What can be done?" he asked. "You'd love to come here, practise for a few days, play a few games, but nowadays the international schedule doesn't really permit that. We play throughout the year.

"If we need to get in those extra days, you don't know where they will come from. We played West Indies, had two or three days off, and came here. You have to adapt to conditions. Let us not complain about what is not there. Of course it would be lovely to get a few practice games, but at the end of the day what is important is what is in your hand."

When asked if the captain couldn't try and ensure his team had the right schedules, Dhoni's response was curt: "You keep talking about the schedule. What schedule is there, you have to follow."

What Dhoni did want his team to do, though, is not ask the batsmen to score 300 every time. "Overall it was a bad performance," he said. "It started with the bowlers initially. This was not really a 350-plus wicket. We were supposed to bowl it up, and the wicket would have done the rest. We didn't get the kind of start that was needed. At the same time we should have backed it up with some good batting, but we weren't able to do it."

The difference lay in knowing the conditions. Dale Steyn's opening spell, during which he seemed to beat the bat with every other delivery, was in stark contrast to India's bowling performance. "That's crucial. They know the conditions better than us," Dhoni said. "They know what lengths to bowl. That is one of the reasons why I want our bowlers to step up, so that you don't give away 300 runs. That puts pressure on the batsmen because they have to go after the bowling right from the first ball, which was not easy on this wicket against bowlers like Dale Steyn. If you see how he bowled to Rohit, he didn't move away from the good areas. We will have to step up overall."

Dhoni's beef was not with the death bowling - though India conceded 100 in the last six overs - but with the new ball, when the bowlers were either too full or too short. "Death bowling - over the world bowlers are going for runs," Dhoni said. "With the extra fielder inside and the fast bowlers are not able to get reverse-swing. It is the new ball that is important. Conditions will help. Bowl in the right areas, let the batsmen play good shots. Don't give them a gift."

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Cricket begins tributes to Mandela

Cricket began its tributes to Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday night, with minute's silences at Adelaide and Dunedin while Cricket South Africa offered their first reaction over Twitter.

"RIP Tata Mandela. It is because of you that a represented Proteas team can express their talent across the globe," was posted on the official CSA feed.

In Adelaide, meanwhile, the England and Australia teams, along with the crowd, observed a minute's silence before play resumed on the second day while both teams were also wearing black armbands. Across the Tasman, in Dunedin, the ground paused for a minute before the afternoon session began.

During his time as South Africa President, Mandela met with many of the teams who toured South Africa. In 1995 in Soweto he was introduced to Devon Malcolm, the England fast bowler, and said "I know you. You are the destroyer," in relation to Malcolm's performance at The Oval the previous year.

India are currently in South Africa at the beginning of their month-long tour. It is not yet known what, if any, impact Mandela's death, and his state funeral, will have on the series.

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New Zealand break threatening stand

Tea West Indies 213 and 314 for 5 (Bravo 146*, Ramdin 4*) trail New Zealand 609 for 9 dec by 82 runs
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A stubborn fifth-wicket stand between Darren Bravo and Narsingh Deonarine tested New Zealand's patience for more than three hours and it took a peach of a delivery from Corey Anderson to revive the home team's flagging spirits in Dunedin. The partnership between the two batsmen ate away 122 runs from New Zealand's lead which now stands at 82. With Bravo continuing to stay solid, West Indies slowly inched towards making New Zealand bat again.

New Zealand had patiently waited for the new ball towards the second half of the first session, but it didn't bring the pot of luck they were after. Barring a few deliveries from Tim Southee, there wasn't much zip or movement on a pitch that had flattened out and, when the opportunities came, the home side was not able to convert them.

Deonarine was the beneficiary twice. First, he offered a difficult chance to Southee after driving uppishly back towards him. The bowler, falling over to the left in his follow-through, couldn't get down to his right in time. A straightforward chance came in Southee's next over, when Deonarine drove straight to short cover where Brendon McCullum dropped the catch. The batsman, on 40 at that stage, immediately responded with a fierce back-foot punch through cover for a boundary. He completed his fifth Test half-century in the 100th over of the innings off the 126th delivery he faced. Two overs later, though, an Anderson delivery kicked off from a length and caught the shoulder of the bat en route to the keeper, ending the batsman's 187-minute vigil.

Bravo was also dropped when on 82 by Neil Wagner off his own bowling and made most of the life to stroll to his fifth century - his first outside the subcontinent - 15 minutes before lunch with a boundary to fine leg off Ish Sodhi. After being aggressive in the first half of the innings - he reached his 50 in 64 balls - Bravo opted for patience scoring his second fifty in 136 balls. Once the new ball stopped swerving, he unfurled some trademark shots through cover. In one instance, he found the gap through a crowded off-side field twice in a row off Wagner with flowing cover drives, prompting the bowler to push a man to the deep. Unbeaten on 146, Bravo continued to thwart New Zealand after they had a good start to the day.

Southee and Trent Boult, fresh after a good night's sleep, started the day with only a hint of reverse swing to work with in otherwise easy batting conditions and Southee didn't take long to make the first breakthrough. In his second over of the morning, Southee took a sharp chest-high catch off his own bowling to dismiss Marlon Samuels for 23.

Samuels hasn't looked comfortable while batting in this Test with his feet rooted to the crease, and that tendency led to his downfall in the second innings too as he pushed the delivery back to Southee rather than leaning on it.

The second wicket arrived five overs later, in Neil Wagner's second over, as the bowler got one to tail into Shivnarine Chanderpaul and struck him right in front. Chanderpaul reviewed the decision in hope but the replays only confirmed that the ball was crashing on to the leg stump. It was Chanderpaul's second dismissal in the match to an incoming delivery from a left-arm seamer after he had left a similar delivery from Boult alone in the first innings.

The challenge for New Zealand in the last session would be to get past Bravo, who seems to have assumed Chanderpaul's role in this innings.

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Warner falls in rainy opening session

Lunch Australia 1 for 46 (Warner 29, Watson 10*, Rogers 7*) v England
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England, gambling on two spinners to haul themselves back into the Ashes series, lost what could be an influential toss at the start of the second Test in Adelaide as Australia reached lunch on the first day with the promise of much batting bounty ahead. There was relief for England, though, in the dismissal of David Warner, who had looked in the mood to strut his stuff before he self-destructed against Stuart Broad.

Warner took an immediate liking to Adelaide's first drop-in pitch, and had 29 from 32 balls when he toe-ended Broad to Michael Carberry at backward point. It was an intemperate moment, part of Warner's batting DNA and accepted by England with great relief. They must have been fearing a repeat of his better than a run-a-ball hundred made on this ground against South Africa a year ago.

The mood of the Adelaide Test could not have been more divorced from the Gabba, where England had endured a 381-run drubbing. In place of intimidating batting conditions was a sedate drop-in pitch. Heat and humidity gave way to an unseasonably chilly morning with squally showers which forced three stoppages before the lunch and restricted the session to 14.2 overs. The crowd even decided it would be unseemly to boo Broad.

Somehow, in a Test that looked bound to be a long haul, England had to find a way to take 20 wickets. A cheerless, blustery morning, with temperatures around 14C did not immediately revive memories of the manner in which Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar had bowled so successfully in tandem a year ago as England recovered from 1-0 down in India to win the series, but that was the undertaking they faced.

Panesar's inclusion meant that England gave Ben Stokes a Test debut, his cap awarded by the former England captain, Andrew Strauss, before start of play. It was a risk for England to field Stokes, the rumbustious Durham allrounder, as high as No.6, and rely on him to fulfil the third seamer role; promising as he is, his form for England in one-day cricket and tour matches has so far been unremarkable. He had also batted at No.8 in the one-day series against Australia in the English summer, which did not exactly suggest a connected thought process.

The new-look Adelaide - now a multi-sport stadium with AFL the dominant partner - has been largely commended. Even dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists conceded that, as stadiums go, it possesses more style than most. The protected Moreton Bay figs still stand behind the old scoreboard at one end of the ground and you can even still see the cathedral if you are seated in the right place.

England's attention, though, rested exclusively on 22 yards of South Australian soil. Initial conclusions were that it would heavily favour the batsmen, much like a normal Adelaide Test surface, and all that remained to be seen would be whether it would deteriorate quickly enough to justify England's selection. It was markedly dry, with a moisture reading of 28% compared to the 68% at the start of the Test in Brisbane.

The pitch was flat enough to convince Chris Rogers that this was an opportunity not to be missed, but not flat enough to draw him into many shots. He played cagily - the first ball he received, a half-volley from James Anderson, was patted cautiously back as he tried to build the big score he needs to cement his place in the side. Broad conjured up a bit of away seam once or twice, but Anderson took time to warm to his task.

Warner was more fulsome, as Warner tends to be. A resounding straight drive against Broad encouraged chat about the 5 for 482 made by Australia on the first day against South Africa last year, but one chancy drive over gully against the same bowler gave England hope. When their good luck came, and Carberry held the catch, they accepted it with relief.

England's decision meant there was no place for the Yorkshire duo of Gary Ballance, who had been strongly fancied to bat at No.6 and Tim Bresnan, who had proved his recovery from a stress fracture with the England Performance Programme squad in Brisbane. Joe Root was scheduled to bat at No.3.

Shane Warne suggested on Channel 9 before start of play that England had ordered extra chest pads and arm guards to combat the short-pitched menace of pace of Johnson. If that is so, on the evidence of the first session, many of them will remain unpacked until Perth.

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BCCI lowers base price for team sponsorship

The BCCI has slashed its base price for each game by 40% while inviting bids for a new official sponsor for India's senior, Under-19, women and A teams. The tender has been floated because the existing contract with the Sahara group ends on December 31.

The base price for all of India's international matches has been fixed at Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 15 million) per game. When Sahara had extended their decade-long association as the team sponsor for 42 months in July 2010 at Rs 3.34 crore (Rs 33.4 million) per match, the base price had been Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million). Despite the winning bid fetching the BCCI approximately 34% more than the base price last time, the board has lowered the base price considerably for the next four years.

"This is to ensure that more bidders show interest in buying the logo rights," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told Times of India. "The board is not undervaluing any property. The base price valuation is done as per the market condition."

Besides lowering the base price, the BCCI also relaxed stringent conditions that had resulted in the list of bidders being restricted to corporate giants. The minimum net worth requirement for a bidder has been reduced to Rs 100 crore (Rs 1000 million) from Rs 1000 crore (Rs 10,000 million) in 2010, while the performance deposit to be given to the BCCI while submitting the bid has been cut from Rs 45 crore (Rs 450 million) to Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million).

Despite the BCCI's explanation, the move has raised eyebrows, especially after the negative publicity the board attracted in 2013. Though the Indian team fared well over the last six months, the IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal and the controversy surrounding N Srinivasan as board president, did not help the image of Indian cricket.

After the BCCI's relationship with Sahara turned sour - their Pune Warriors franchise was removed from the IPL - the sponsor made public its intention of not renewing their contract. As a result, the Indian players will in all likelihood sport a new logo on their jerseys during the tour of New Zealand in January 2014.

The repercussions of the market conditions were evident when the BCCI awarded series sponsorship rights to Star India, the loner bidder, at a base price of Rs 2 crore per match (Rs 20 million) in October. Considering the rights were only for 13 matches in less than two months, the BCCI had not increased the base price from the 2010 bid. However, Star India was the only bidder and bagged the rights at a much lower price than Airtel's previous winning bid of Rs 3.33 crore (Rs 33.3 million) per match.

The tender for the team sponsorship can be bought for Rs 200,000 until December 7 and the bids will be submitted and opened on December 9. At least three documents have been purchased so far.

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ACSU investigating former NZ players

Some former New Zealand cricketers are being investigated by the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has confirmed. According to a report in the New Zealand Herald, an ACSU unit has been in the country for four months as part of an investigation into match and spot-fixing.

David White, the CEO of New Zealand Cricket, confirmed that he knew the identity of the players involved, understood to be three cricketers, and that they were not currently active and neither had the matches in question taken place in New Zealand.

"New Zealand Cricket is aware that the International Cricket Council is investigating a small number of New Zealand cricketers," White said in Dunedin. "We have been aware of this investigation for a number of months and we are shocked and surprised by the allegations. We support the ICC's investigation as corruption has no place in our our sport.

"However, I would like to clarify a number of matters. No current New Zealand players are being investigated, no games played in New Zealand are being investigated and lastly no matches under NZC jurisdiction are being investigated. This is an ongoing ICC investigation and I simply can't comment further."

When pressed for further details, such as names, timescales and when the matches in question took place, he repeated the "no comment" line.

An ICC statement, issued after the Herald story broke, read: "Following the publication of an article in a leading New Zealand newspaper earlier today in which it is alleged that a small number of former New Zealand cricketers had engaged in fixing activity in historic cricket matches and were being investigated by the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU), the ICC confirms that it has indeed been working closely over the past few months with its colleagues in the domestic anti-corruption units of member boards to investigate these and related matters."

"The ICC and all of its members maintain a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption in the sport, and the ACSU will continue to collaborate with relevant individuals in order to complete its investigation process.

"Naturally, as the investigation remains ongoing and nobody has been charged with any offence, no further comment will be made by the ICC or by NZC."

New Zealand is set to play a central role in world cricket over the next 15 months. It hosts the World Cup Qualifiers in January then is joint-host, alongside Australia, for the 2015 World Cup.

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West Indies struggle after following on

Tea West Indies 213 (Chanderpaul 76, Southee 4-52, Boult 3-40) and 37 for 1 (Edwards 12*, Bravo 10*, Boult 1-7) trail New Zealand 609 for 9 dec by 359 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

West Indies continued to struggle against swing bowling in their second innings after they were forced to follow on in the Dunedin Test. Trent Boult, who picked up three wickets in West Indies' first innings of 213, had opener Kieran Powell caught at second slip. With the visitors still trailing by 359 runs, New Zealand were on course for a huge innings win.

The pitch at the University Oval had lost its greenish tinge and with the sun out, the conditions seemed best for batting. West Indies, trailing by 542 at the start of the day, couldn't have asked for more.

The New Zealand bowlers, however, showed yet again where West Indies had gone wrong in the first two days, bowling predominantly fuller lengths and using the bouncer sparingly. With Samuels and Bravo staying rooted to the crease against swinging deliveries, a wicket never seemed too far away.

Southee extracted an outside edge off Samuels' bat in the second over of the day only to see it fall short of first slip. In the next over, Samuels had another reprieve after Nigel Llong had ruled him out lbw as he played outside the line to a Trent Boult delivery that came in. The replays showed the ball just missing off stump and the decision was overturned.

New Zealand's search for a wicket ended in the fourth over of the day as Bravo drove at a full delivery from Southee and got a thick outside edge which was snaffled by Brendon McCullum at gully. Fifteen balls later, Southee took advantage of Samuels' reluctance to come forward and had him caught at first slip off an outswinger delivered from a wider angle as the batsman was sucked in to a loose drive to be dismissed for 14.

Deonarine added 33 for the fifth wicket with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, pushing at fuller deliveries with hard hands. The technique earned him two boundaries, but an attempted wild drive - without moving his feet - off an angled delivery in Southee's seventh over of his spell went straight to first slip where Ross Taylor completed the catch after a brief fumble.

Unfazed by the indiscretion shown by other batsmen, Chanderpaul batted confidently, driving at the full deliveries, pulling the short ones and using his feet to Ish Sodhi. A powerful pull off Neil Wagner took him past 11,000 runs in Test cricket and three fours in the next over bowled by Sodhi brought him his 62nd half-century in Tests.

Ramdin gave Chanderpaul useful support in a 68-run stand but in the third over after lunch, he couldn't get out of the way off a short delivery from Boult and edged it to the keeper. Boult struck in the next over with the big wicket of Chanderpaul, whose indecision proved fatal as he shouldered arms to an incoming delivery and was adjudged lbw after an 87-ball 76.

West Indies could only add 30 more runs as Sodhi, expensive in his spell, picked up two of the last three wickets to fall. Darren Sammy, who was hampered by the hamstring niggle, and was turning down singles, inexplicably called Tino Best for a second, but the latter's late response meant he was caught well short at non-striker's end by a throw from long on.

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Christchurch comeback continues

Christchurch's journey back to a host city for top-level cricket will take another significant step early next year when the Hagley Oval will hosts its first international match during the World Cup Qualifiers.

The city has not hosted a major event since the devastating earthquake in February 2011. Severe damage was caused to the AMI Stadium and planning permission has now been granted for a new international cricket venue at Hagley Oval. It is due to host the opening game of the World Cup when New Zealand play Sri Lanka on February 14, 2015.

The Qualifers, which will be played across six venues on New Zealand's north and south islands, will provide a dress rehearsal for the city's readiness for the main event in 15 months' time. The Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, just outside Christchurch, will also host the final.

Group A for the tournament consists of United Arab Emirates, Scotland, Canada, Hong Kong and Nepal, while group B includes Netherlands, Kenya, Namibia, Papua New Guinea and Uganda. The two finalists will take the last remaining spots in the World Cup draw. Ireland and Afghanistan have already qualified.

There will be free entry to all the matches during the Qualifiers, which run from January 13 to February 1.

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Rare unchanged team for Clarke

Australia's captain Michael Clarke named an unchanged team for the second Ashes Test in Adelaide, the first time he has been able to do so since the corresponding match last summer against South Africa.

The selectors thought carefully about adding the extra bowling of the allrounder James Faulkner, but ultimately felt that Shane Watson's medium pace would be sufficient as a fifth option, particularly as he has gained in fitness and confidence in his recovery from a hamstring strain since bowling only two overs in the first Test at the Gabba.

"It's tough on James ... but a nice position to be in to be honest, when the selectors hand you an unchanged team it's positive for where the team's at and how it performed in Brisbane," Clarke said. "I think they looked at the wicket and thought about the extra bowling option with James Faulkner in the team, but having Watto bowl who's back to 100% being fit and capable of bowling in both innings is a real positive for the team.

"Watto's overs we've seen through his career are crucial to this team and on good flat wickets like this looks I think his bowling's going to be very handy, not just for taking wickets but also building pressure from one end."

Clarke himself trained freely on match eve after shrugging off a rolled ankle sustained on Monday, which caused him to miss training two days out from the match. "The ankle feels fine, I think not training yesterday gave me an extra day to make sure I was 100% today," he said. "I feel completely fine, so looking forward to tomorrow."

The decision not to add to the bowling attack for Adelaide will place a heavy load on the pace trio of Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle, but as Clarke noted, a team that has only just celebrated a first Test match win since the first week of the year is not in a position to gloat or make too elaborate a change to their XI.

"If you look at our Test record this year it's certainly not something to brag about in terms of wins," Clarke said. "But in saying that I think we take a lot of confidence out of Brisbane. The guys are very excited about there we're at as a group, the type of cricket we're playing, and most importantly the confidence individually, guys are scoring runs and taking wickets.

"There's a lot of positives that have come out of not just Brisbane but the last six to eight months, our results certainly haven't indicated that, but hopefully we showed that in the first Test and the players understand we have to be at our best over long periods of time to get back to where we want to be."

Mindful of the mere three days between the end of this Test match and the third at the WACA, the selectors will request several reserve pacemen be rested from the round of Sheffield Shield matches that precede the Perth Test. These may include Ben Cutting, Doug Bollinger and Chadd Sayers.

Australia David Warner, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Steven Smith, George Bailey, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon, James Faulkner (12th man)

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NZ declare on 609 after Taylor double-ton

New Zealand 609 for 9 dec (Taylor 217*, McCullum 113, Best 3-148) v West Indies
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A maiden double-century by Ross Taylor ensured New Zealand cashed in on the platform laid by the top order to declare the innings on 609 for 9 soon after tea on the second day of the Dunedin Test. West Indies bowled well in patches during the day, but gave away 164 runs after lunch with the lower-order batsmen playing scoring freely against the depleted attack. Taylor remained unbeaten on 217.

Taylor maintained his measured approach during his 319-ball stay, keeping the lofted shots out while rotating the strike. After surviving a few nervous moments in the first session - he could have been run-out in the fifth over of the day, an edge fell short of second slip in the tenth over and a bat-pad chance flew past the short-leg fielder - he settled into his innings. Not many boundary opportunities were available with a deep point in place, so he was happy to turn the strike over in the company of BJ Watling, with whom he shared an 84-run stand.

Taylor hit only five boundaries in the first three hours - one of them, a powerful pull off Tino Best that took him past 150 - after 13 boundaries on the first day, but caught up immediately after drinks with four boundaries an over. The first ball of Shannon Gabriel's 28th over was pulled to the square leg boundary before three shots - one drive and two cuts - found the backward-point boundary, comfortably beating the fielder in every instance.

New Zealand strode past 500 despite two quick wickets early in the second session. Watling scored a useful 41 off 84 deliveries before a rising delivery from Best caught the shoulder of the bat to fly into the hands of second slip and Tim Southee was dismissed in the next over, caught at first slip off a quicker delivery from Narsingh Deonarine.

Ish Sodhi, however, ensured there was not going to be a quick end to the innings with a confident 35 that included an exquisite cover drive off Best and lofted shots off the spinners. He added 76 for the eighth wicket before getting a thick leading edge back to the bowler to give Deonarine his second wicket.

West Indies showed some semblance of control bowling tighter lines, despite a higher percentage of short balls. The few times they pushed the lengths up, they put doubts in the batsmen's minds. However, with Darren Sammy not being able to bowl after he picked up a hamstring niggle early in the day and the spinners being ineffective, they appeared short on resources.

Best bowled aggressively as usual, but his preference for shorter length meant his only weapon to trouble the batsmen was his pace. He did hustle Brendon McCullum with a rising delivery on the body, which took the batsman by surprise, and resulted in a loose cut shot off the next delivery. But it was a fuller delivery in the next over by Darren Sammy that marked the end of an aggressive innings from McCullum, who went forward to defend only to see it cut back through the gap between the pad and the bat to hit the off stump. McCullum had only added four to his overnight score and was out for 113.

McCullum's departure fired up West Indies further and they could have had Taylor in the same over if the fielder at point had hit the stumps direct at the non-striker's end. Best, however, got immediate rewards by getting Corey Anderson caught down the leg side off a short of length delivery from round the wicket. In his next over, he let out a cry of disappointment as an edge off Taylor's bat landed short of Sammy at second slip. The captain had to ask the bowler to calm down.

Sammy, bowling with the relatively new ball, was showing with his lengths there was still enough in the pitch. His probing first spell, though, was cut short by a slight hamstring niggle which forced him to briefly leave the field in the middle of his sixth over. Gabriel took the cue from his captain and generated interest every time he pushed the length up. He beat Taylor's bat a couple of times and asked for a review for a close lbw call against BJ Watling. The replays showed the ball had seamed in too much.

Once the seamers tired out, the bowling attack was rendered ineffective and New Zealand picked up runs at ease, going past their previous best total of 543 against West Indies.

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Can Australia hold their unfamiliar lead?

Match facts

December 5-9, Adelaide Oval
Start time 1030 (0000 GMT)

Big Picture

Last time Australia led in an Ashes series, they went on to sweep it 5-0. It was the summer of 2006-07 and, as it turned out, it was the last Test series that Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer would play. Those retirements began a more or less steady decline for Australian cricket, which hit its nadir when England thumped Ricky Ponting's men with three innings victories in the next Ashes in Australia in 2010-11. Australia won in Perth that summer, and at Headingley in 2009, but at no point in either of those campaigns did they hold a lead. But after their dominant display at the Gabba, Australia are 1-0 up heading in to the Adelaide Test. It is an unfamiliar feeling, and one they cannot afford to relinquish too quickly.

A draw would satisfy Australia with the bouncy WACA pitch likely to favour them for the third Test. On the new Adelaide Oval drop-in wicket, and with the possibility of showers at times during the match, it might be the most likely outcome. England must find a way to regain their belief after being bundled out for under 200 in both innings at the Gabba, and a slower surface should help them handle Australia's fast men. But when huge totals are the norm, as at Adelaide Oval, even the smallest batting breakdown can prove match-turning. Both of these teams are capable of major batting collapses, let alone mini ones. It is not a time to lose focus.

But which team will find it tougher to focus? The departure of Jonathan Trott due to a stress-related illness has forced England's attention off field and must have rattled them at least a little. Their lacklustre display at the Gabba seemed a case of resting on their laurels after their 3-0 win at home, and it is hard to see what they can have gained from their two-day game in Alice Springs. Australia, on the other hand, must not take their aggression overboard, with either their talk or their tactics. Hubris is a dangerous trait, and it is up to Michael Clarke and Darren Lehmann to ensure it does not creep into the squad. Since 2006-07 Australia's Ashes Test wins have always been followed by immediate defeat. This will be a very telling five days.

Form guide

England: LDWDW
Australia: WDLDL

Players to watch

It was understandable that Australia took no risks with Michael Clarke and rested him from training on Tuesday after he rolled his ankle on Monday, for there is no venue at which he has been more productive than Adelaide Oval. Clarke has scored double-centuries in the past two Adelaide Tests - 230 against South Africa and 210 against India - and overall has made five hundreds there in eight Tests. Given he scored 113 in the first Test in Brisbane, and given the benign nature of the Adelaide drop-in pitch, there is no reason to doubt that he will be a major factor again having been ruled fit for this Test.

Kevin Pietersen has also enjoyed batting in Adelaide in the past, and in his three Ashes innings there has scored 158, 2 and 227. In 2006-07 he upset Shane Warne's plans and in 2010-11 he monstered Xavier Doherty for 61 off 60 balls, including ten fours and a six. Again, the battle between Pietersen and Australia's lead spinner - this time Nathan Lyon - will be key.

Team news

Australia have named the same side as for Brisbane, deciding against including the allrounder James Faulkner as another bowling option.

Australia 1 Chris Rogers, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Steven Smith, 6 George Bailey, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Ryan Harris, 11 Nathan Lyon.

England must make at least one change due to the departure of Trott, but a second change is also likely with Chris Tremlett having had limited impact at the Gabba. The addition of the allrounder Tim Bresnan to the official squad following his recovery from a stress fracture of the back may mean an immediate return to the side. Another option would be to include Monty Panesar as a second spinner. Either Joe Root or Ian Bell will move up to No.3 to replace Trott, leaving a place in the middle order available, and the uncapped Gary Ballance may win an opportunity ahead of Jonny Bairstow.

England (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Michael Carberry, 3 Joe Root, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Gary Ballance, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Tim Bresnan, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 James Anderson.

Pitch and conditions

Adelaide is typically known as a friendly pitch for batsmen but that has been even more so this summer in the Sheffield Shield, following the move to drop-in pitches as part of the redevelopment of the venue. In the two Shield matches there this season, the pitch has not broken up on the fourth day and both games were drawn. Notably, the number of wickets taken by fast bowlers has dropped significantly with little pace in the surface. The forecast is for a few morning showers on day one, and possible showers on days four and five.

Stats and trivia

• Pietersen and Alastair Cook are both within reach of the 8000-run mark in Tests - Pietersen needs 69 and Cook requires 121. Only Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart, David Gower and Geoff Boycott have scored that many for England
• Despite Clarke's success in Adelaide, Brad Haddin has a higher Test average at the venue, having scored 366 runs at 122.00 in his four Tests there
• In the two Sheffield Shield matches this summer on Adelaide's new drop-in pitches, 54% of the wickets have been taken by spinners; last season only 22% of wickets came from spin

Quotes

"The conditions are going to be very different to the Gabba, where there was good pace and bounce. England will probably find Adelaide more to its liking and I'll be interested to see the balance of its attack."
Michael Clarke, Australia's captain

"The conditions should be good here. We must get back to doing what we're capable of."
Graham Gooch, the England batting coach

Hopps: England need to leave out Tremlett

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Vesawkar leads Nepal to third-place finish

Nepal 133 for 5 (Vesawkar 43*) beat UAE 131 for 5 (Regmi 4-16) by five wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Nepal capped a fabulous run at the World Twenty20 Qualifier by securing another last-over win to finish third. As against Hong Kong, when Nepal claimed their place at next year's World Twenty20, and during the group-stage win over Kenya, Sharad Vesawkar proved nerveless at the death, hitting Shadeep Silva - whose initial three overs had cost just 10 runs - for consecutive sixes and sealing a five-wicket victory over UAE with four balls to spare.

Nepal had appeared to be in control of the run chase, with Vesawkar and opener Subash Khakurel settled at the crease and 38 runs required from the final five overs. Khakurel fell shortly after and when Binod Bhandari became the fifth wicket down three balls later, UAE had their window of opportunity. It was quickly slammed shut. Vesawkar had progressed steadily to 23 from 21 deliveries but, with the asking rate up to 11 an over, he struck three sixes and Anil Mandal two fours to seal the result.

UAE had been tied down throughout their innings, unable to build any significant partnerships. At 70 for 4 in the 13th over, they were struggling to remain competitive, before Shaiman Anwar provided some impetus with a quickfire 24 from 16 balls. Anwar became Basant Regmi's fourth wicket with the score on 101 but Swapnil Patel and Mohammad Shafiq added another 30 to give their bowlers something to defend.

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Bettering batting a priority for Pakistan, South Africa

The more things change, the more they stay the same, it is said. The month-long limited-overs series contests between South Africa and Pakistan has given meaning to that hypothesis.

Rewind to October 30, the day this all began with an ODI in Sharjah. South Africa were bowled out for 183, Saeed Ajmal took four wickets as their top and middle order collapsed. Pakistan responded with a handful of contributions from the line-up with Ahmed Shehzad and Misbah-ul-Haq the highest scorers. South Africa's seamers did the bulk of the damage and, astoundingly, they defended the total by one run.

Fast-forward through Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and stop at Centurion. Pakistan were bowled out for 179 with South Africa's quicks ripping through them. Misbah was the major contributor. South Africa reached the target but it was hard work against Pakistan's tweakers. They finished on 181 for 6.

The similarities between the scores, the circumstances and the key protagonists are so eerily obvious that these matches bracket the cold facts both teams must take out of this series. They are, as Hashim Amla suggested before today's clash, "evenly matched" because their attacks are incisive, varied and shrewd. But their line-ups, Misbah-ul-Haq confirmed, are "like each other" in that they similarly unsure, unable to build consistently-threatening partnerships and vulnerable against an aspect of the other's bowling.

Pakistan's weakness is at the top, where they have battled to find an opening combination that works and someone in the top four who can take responsibility. They are guilty of being loose outside the off stump, being undone by the short ball and throwing wickets away with rash shots once they have built a small foundation.

"Whoever gets starts, especially the top four, they need to carry on. One batsman needs to bat through the 50 overs," Misbah stressed. "We only did it once when Ahmed managed it for us in Port Elizabeth. There is still a lot of work needed from the top order to contribute more. We need some consistency from everyone. If you play only one innings out of five, that won't help the team."

Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Hafeez are obvious concerns but even Ahmed Shehzad has to learn consistency. Sohaib Maqsood seems to have the right temperament and with experience could become a go-to man.

Misbah himself continues to perform reliably and indicated that even though he may not visit South Africa again, with the next tour scheduled for 2018, he still has a good few years in international cricket. "At the moment it looks like I won't play in South Africa anymore... But the hunger is still there and I still want to play and enjoy this game."

Deeper in the line-up, things look better for Pakistan, where they have found allrounders in Bilawal Bhatti and Anwar Ali. Misbah praised their comings of age and hoped they could continue to finish innings strongly. "One good thing is that a lot of contributions are coming from the lower middle order. Our bowlers are now scoring runs," he said.

South Africa have the opposite problem. They usually enjoy comfortable starts and now have options in openers with Quinton de Kock in fine form, but lose their way later on, when the middle order is exposed to spin. The likes of JP Duminy and David Miller still have difficulty negotiating the tweakers and that becomes more evident when the pressure is on.

"Their batting is like us, it is also a concern for them," Misbah said. "They really need to settle those problems. If so many batsmen are not making contributions and don't have confidence, that could be a problem for the team.

Chasing remains South Africa's biggest hurdle because it combines their soft underbelly with their reactions to anxiety. Although they won in Centurion, the chase was not without nerves, and AB de Villiers admitted he remains edgy about his team's ability to cross the line when batting second.

"We still didn't chase as well as we wanted to and didn't show a lot of care for our partnerships, but we still got through it," de Villiers said. "I was worried because we are losing wickets. The care factor is something that is lacking. It's just a matter of how we absorb the pressure and how we can turn it around. It's certainly an area we've been working on for a long time but every now and then we just fall out."

South Africa will likely be faced with bigger totals than they have done in the home and away series against Pakistan in their next assignment, against India. De Villiers said they "can't be more prepared" for that challenge, especially because they have been playing against some of the world's best spinners for the last month.

But they still need to be wary of Misbah's words about accountability, as will his own team, which plays Sri Lanka in the UAE. "It's about professionalism," Misbah said. "If I am playing as a batman and score 100 in one game, the next day if the team needs me, I should score 100 again. I shouldn't say I have already done it and someone else has to next time. This is what batsmen are there for. We have to accept that responsibility."

The more things change, the more stay the same, so it's hardly a surprise it took the oldest man across both camps to utter those wise words.

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Bowlers keep Bengal on top

Services 261 for 6 (Tiwary 71, Swain 56*, Dinda 3-75) trail Bengal 431 by 170 runs
Scorecard

Bengal are looking for yet another three points after the bowlers toiled manfully on a lifeless track to reduce Services to 261 for 6 at stumps on the third day in Palam.

The possibility of Bengal getting the final four wickets looks more realistic than Services getting 171 runs to claim the lead with Soumya Swain (56*) being the only established batsman standing, going into the final day.

For Bengal, Ashoke Dinda picked up 3 for 75 in 24 overs, but motivation was hard to come by on a track where some of the bouncers were gathered by wicketkeeper at an ankle height. Off-spinner Saurashish Lahiri capped his first-innings century with two crucial wickets of Yashpal Singh (11) and Vishnu Tiwari (71).

The highlight of the Services innings was a 131-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Tiwary and Swain. The duo batted for nearly 40 overs to frustrate the Bengal bowlers, who had reduced the home team to 123 for 5 immediately after lunch. Tiwary lasted 150 balls and hit seven fours while Swain, who batted with a hand injury, faced 175 balls hitting six fours. Tiwari was the more aggressive of the two, using the sweep shot often and to good effect against the spin duo of Lahiri and Iresh Saxena.

Having staged an impressive recovery, Tiwari tried to play a slog sweep off a Lahiri delivery that was flat and straight and was as plumb as it could get, which handed the initiative back to Bengal late in the day.

The day's play could be divided into two parts: Till an hour after the lunch session, Bengal were in complete command on a pitch that had nothing for the bowlers. The turn on offer was very slow, the edges were not carrying to the slip cordon but Dinda and Shib Paul plugged away like workhorses.

Pratik Desai and Anshul Gupta added 65 for the first wicket before Dinda struck with a short ball outside off. Anshul jabbed at it and the resulting lob was pouched by Anustup Majumdar at gully. Desai was in an aggressive mood, striking eight fours in his half-century, but was lucky to survive when Rohan Banerjee at second slip dropped a dolly off Paul's bowling. As if to celebrate the reprieve, Desai drove the bowler through covers soon after.

But an eventful over from Dinda - the 21st of the innings - brought about Desai's end. The first ball was pulled by Desai to mid-wicket boundary. Dinda followed it up with a fuller length and Desai's drive bisected the slip cordon and sped to the boundary to signal his fifty. An angry Dinda then followed it up with another bouncer which Desai tried to hook and the skier was collected by Paul at short fine leg.

Nakul Verma didn't stay long at the wicket as his nervous prod was snapped up by Majumdar at silly point. At 89 for 3, Services's two best batsmen Rajat Paliwal (25) and Yashpal Singh (11) batted for the next 10 overs before an inspirational piece of stumping from Wriddhiman Saha saw the back of Yashpal.

Lahiri invited Yashpal to go for a drive but the batsman had misread the length and in the process lost balance of his back leg. Saha whipped the bails off in a flash as Services went into lunch at 122 for 4. Just after lunch, Dinda swayed away from his usual short-full ploy as he got one to pitched on middle and move a shade to peg back Paliwal's off-stump.

At 123 for 5, Tiwari and Swain joined hands to build a partnership that yielded positive results for the next three and half hours before one poor shot undid all the hard work.

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Rampant Ireland retain World T20 Qualifier title

Ireland 225 for 7 (Stirling 76, Johnston 62, Hotak 3-39) beat Afghanistan 157 (Naib 43, Johnston 3-34) by 68 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Ireland successfully defended their World Twenty20 Qualifiers title with a comprehensive 68-run win over Afghanistan in the final in Abu Dhabi, thanks largely to blitzed fifties from Paul Stirling and Trent Johnston - in his final Twenty20 match - that propelled them to a mammoth 225.

Ireland, who have been in excellent form throughout the tournament, winning six of their seven group matches before thumping UAE in the semi-finals, were rampant from the get go. Electing to bat, Ireland began strongly as Stirling pulled Shapoor Zadran for four off the fourth ball of the innings and upper-cut the next delivery for six over third man.

Stirling received ample support at the other end from his captain William Porterfield, who also picked out the boundaries at regular intervals as the pair raced to 68 inside six overs. Ireland suffered their first casualty when Porterfield, having just hit Hamza Hotak through the covers for four, missed a cut and was bowled for a 14-ball 27.

That didn't slow Ireland down in the least though, as new batsman Kevin O'Brien pierced the offside with his first two deliveries for four, and lofted the third for six over the bowler's head. O'Brien departed for 20, but his 12-ball cameo had already taken Ireland over the 100-run mark in 8.3 overs.

Afghanistan would have hoped for a reprieve following the wicket, but Johnston, coming in at No. 4, continued the carnage, as he and Stirling slammed 64 off 32 deliveries. Stirling finally fell for 76 - caught by Mohammad Nabi off Hotak in the 15th over - having hit eight fours and four sixes, but Johnston added 44 more runs with Gary Wilson and John Mooney at a manic pace. Johnston was eventually bowled by Zadran for 62, but it was too little too late for Afghanistan, as Ireland had already amassed well over 200.

Set a daunting 226 to win - a record, if they achieved it - Afghanistan began spiritedly, as Mohammad Shahzad took 14 runs of Max Sorensen's first three balls. At the other end Nawroz Mangal hit 12 off Tim Murtagh's first 4, as he and Shahzad added 36 in 3.2 overs before Mangal was caught by George Dockrell - like Afghanistan, Ireland too resorted to spin early on - off his own bowling for 14.

Afghanistan tried to maintain the high required-rate and did so for a while, but their progress was halted by wickets at regular intervals from Dockrell and Alex Cusack .Cusack claimed two wickets with the final two balls of the Powerplay to set Afghanistan's chase back quite a bit. Gulbadin Naib top-scored with 43, but received little support from the rest of the middle order as Johnston made a telling contribution with the ball as well by picking up the wickets of Naib, Samiullah Shenwari and Najibullah Zadran in quick succession - he too was on a hat-trick in one point in his spell - to all but wrap up the game.

Seamer Murtagh delivered the winning blow, yorking Shapoor Zadran to seal the title.

Despite the crushing defeat, Afghanistan can take comfort in the fact that their spot in the World Twenty20 2014 is well secured, along with Ireland, Nepal, UAE, Hong Kong and Netherlands. Afghanistan have been drawn with hosts Bangladesh, Nepal and Hong Kong in Group A for the first round of next year's showpiece event. Ireland are in Group B, with Zimbabwe, UAE and Netherlands.

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