The year of the underdog

In the women's game, West Indies, Pakistan and Ireland stamped their authority on the field, while Australia, New Zealand and South Africa made significant progress off it

Raf Nicholson December 28, 2013

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West Indies beat higher-ranked teams and made it to their first World Cup final © ICC/Solaris Images

The Women's World Cup in India proved an exciting start to 2013, generating unprecedented media coverage and catching the public's attention as never before: 23.7 million people globally watched the broadcast group matches. On the pitch, the tournament produced some of the biggest upsets ever seen in international cricket: Sri Lanka, who had never previously beaten any of the top-four-ranked teams (England, Australia, New Zealand and India), triumphed in two of their group matches. India were dispatched by a crushing 138 runs; and though their match against the defending champions, England, came down to a last-ball nail-biter, Eshani Kaushalya's 56 off 41 balls ensured a famous one-wicket victory.

To top it off, West Indies, who had never beaten Australia or New Zealand before in the 50-over format, managed to win their group matches against these teams and top the tables in the Super Sixes stage. Deservedly, they went on to feature in their first World Cup final - a final that had previously always featured two of those top four teams. Australia proved far superior on the day, with Ellyse Perry's 3 for 19 helping them bowl West Indies out for 145, but history had already been made.

Australia's ninth World Cup victory was a fitting end to the career of their star allrounder Lisa Sthalekar, who announced her retirement in the wake of the tournament. With 2728 ODI runs at 30.65 and 146 wickets at 24.97, Sthalekar is the only woman ever to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets in ODIs, and the end of her 12-year career marked the end of an era for Australia's Southern Stars.

But it was New Zealand's captain, Suzie Bates, who averaged 67.83 with the bat and hit a century against champions Australia in the group stages, who was named Player of the Tournament - and, more recently, the ICC's Women's ODI Player of the Year. In April, Bates also became one of the first Kiwi women players to be awarded semi-professional contracts by New Zealand Cricket, along with Sophie Devine, Sian Ruck and Sara McGlashan.

South Africa also introduced contracts for its female players for the first time this year; and an important step was taken towards full professionalism in the women's game when, in the wake of the World Cup triumph, Cricket Australia restructured their contract system, making it possible for leading Australian players to earn up to $80,000 annually. All eyes are now on the ECB, wondering if it will soon follow suit.

The ICC took steps to continue the global expansion of women's cricket, announcing that the women's World Twenty20 would be expanded to incorporate ten teams, instead of the previous eight. This allowed three teams to progress from the qualifying tournament, which took place in Ireland in August, and means that the 2014 tournament will feature Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Ireland, as well as hosts Bangladesh.

Indeed, it proved to be a good year for the underdog. In April, Bangladesh toured India for the first time, to play in three ODIs and three T20Is (though they lost all six matches). Pakistan showed the progress they have made when, on their first tour of England in July, they beat England Academy and achieved their first win against England in any form of the game in the second T20, in Loughborough, winning by one run. The players were each rewarded with a $1000 bonus by the PCB.

And then, of course, there was that biggest of cricketing innovations: a new-format women's Ashes, with the winner decided based on points awarded across all three formats - Tests, ODIs and T20s. A resurgent team effort by England saw them triumph by 12-4 on points after the single Test match was drawn, though the performances of Katherine Brunt with the ball - nine wickets at an economy of 3.02 across all formats - along with Heather Knight's majestic 157 in the Test, and Sarah Taylor's average of 38.42 with the bat, and flawless keeping ability, were truly special. Taylor was deservedly awarded the ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year on the back of this series.

Perhaps equally importantly, the new format generated a great deal of excitement and media attention, with the BBC broadcasting all matches live for the first time. Coupled with the furore surrounding the World Cup, then, 2013 has been an exciting year for women's cricket.

High point
The final of the World Cup, which was watched globally by 50 million people. That, and the accompanying Twitter explosion, proved definitively that there is interest in and a worldwide audience for women's cricket.

The interest surrounding the women's Ashes series reinforced this point. Arguably the new points-based system may prove to be a means of reviving the longer format in countries whose cricket boards have so far rejected women's Tests as commercially unattractive.

Low point
The eviction of the women's World Cup matches from the Wankhede Stadium at the last minute to accommodate two men's domestic games. The programme of matches was not eventually finalised until five days before the opening game, which was unsettling for the players and did nothing to help encourage local crowds. It proved an embarrassing gaffe by the ICC.

Natalie Sciver: the first England female player to take a hat-trick in T20Is © WICB

New kid on the block
Natalie Sciver is England's find of the last few years, a genuine allrounder who stormed onto the international scene for England back in July, taking 3 for 28 against Pakistan in only her second ODI. She has continued to excite; in the fifth match of the tri-series against New Zealand in October, she became the first Englishwoman to take a T20I hat-trick. Her contributions with the bat have also been impressive: she averaged 100 during the Ashes. At 21, she is sure to be a mainstay of the England side for the next few years.

All eyes will also be on Holly Ferling when the women's Ashes starts January 10. At just 17 years of age, she made a surprise debut back in February at the World Cup when Perry was out of action. Her sheer pace blew England away; she took 3 for 35 and England sank from 37 for 2 to 39 for 6 and lost the match by just two runs. Though still raw and erratic, she shows great promise for the future.

What 2014 holds
The year kicks off with the follow-up women's Ashes series in Australia in January, which will see a return to the multi-series format that proved so successful over the summer in England. It will be interesting to see how far the interest this new format previously generated carries over into this series.

The big event of the year will be the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, to be staged once again in conjunction with the men's tournament. Australia will be favourites to defend their title, but a West Indies team buoyed by their good performances in 2013 - they triumphed in the tri-series against New Zealand and England in October - will be keen to reach their second successive tournament final. With Deandra Dottin and Stafanie Taylor at their disposal, they might just pull off a victory, too.

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Where's the fight gone, Zaheer?

Zaheer Khan used to be a tailender who could contribute with the bat, but he does not seem to have the will to tough it out anymore

Almost every time Zaheer Khan has come to bat in the last three years, with the match still alive and his contribution vital, he hasn't - for some reason - shown willingness to get behind the line of the ball, or fought for the sake of the better batsman at the other end (see sidebar). He has collected eight ducks over this period, taking his tally to 29. Only five cricketers have more.

Zaheer wasn't always like this. He once played an important role in saving a Test by scoring an unbeaten 57 off 121 balls with Harbhajan Singh for company. He followed that innings with a sledge at his opponents, Australia, saying they couldn't even get Harbhajan and him out, and went on to win the series for India with the ball. Something has gone wrong with Zaheer the batsman in the last two years or so, and it is hurting India because they know he can contribute crucial runs if he applies himself.

Zaheer has been an invaluable bowler for India. He has been a great mentor for the younger bowlers. Nobody can, or should try to, take that away from him. When he bats like he did in Durban, though, and like he has done in the recent past, it sends wrong signals to the opposition and to his own team-mates. For starters, Zaheer's wicket and the one that fell before him seems like the beginning of a collapse, and it's difficult for Ishant Sharma to quell the opposition's momentum.

Ishant has always treated Zaheer as a guru. Maybe it is time for Zaheer to learn a few lessons from the apprentice. Even against the fastest bowlers, and in the trickiest conditions, Ishant tries his best to get behind deliveries. When Zaheer left Kohli on 91 in Adelaide, it was Ishant who saw the youngster through to a century that told him he belonged in top-flight Test cricket. Kohli was India's only gain during the 0-4 whitewash.

Today in Durban, with Ashwin dropped and Zaheer batting the way he is, India's batting practically ended at No. 7. Given the fine margins and micro management of the modern game, it is surprising India have neither worked on Zaheer's batting nor demoted him down the order. It was also surprising that Rahane took a single off the first ball of the 109th over, although that could have much to do with this being only his third Test. The leadership team needs to step in there again.

This is not to bag Zaheer, who has bravely fought his body to play 90 Tests and take 300 wickets. He has quite a few deserved allowances in the team. Zaheer is not expected to dive around and save runs. That can be overlooked. However, batting - or the effort put into batting - for a specialist bowler in modern cricket is as important as fielding - or the effort put into fielding - is for a specialist batsman. Especially when you aren't a complete mug.

This is not to blame Zaheer for the predicament India are in. However, the impact of such performances accumulates over time. For those who think criticising Zaheer's batting is making a mountain out of a molehill, this is what MS Dhoni said in 2010, incidentally in Durban, when India were the No. 1 Test side: "We have done really well. We have played some good, consistent cricket. As a team we have done well. Every one has contributed: bowlers or the batsmen or the fielders. The part-timers have contributed in getting wickets, at the same time the lower order has really contributed quite consistently throughout the year.

"One of the important things was the lower-order contribution. Over the years it has really changed. The lower-order batsmen have put a price on their wicket. They have contributed along with the batsmen. At the same time if the batsmen get out, they are able to score runs. Which really helps, and frustrates the opposition."

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Fiery Steyn reignites South Africa's chances

Dale Steyn came back roaring after his longest wicketless streak, running through India in two intense bursts

Will do everything to win it for Kallis - Steyn

Steam does not have the same reputation as fire but it can be just as dangerous. Unlike flames, which are audible in their crackling and visible in their vibrancy, gas is invisible. You can't fully sense the threat it poses until you feel it and then it really hurts. That's what Dale Steyn was like today.

He had gone 67 overs before today without a wicket, so even though the opposition could see and hear him and knew he could do damage, they may not have known when or how much. Given that it was the longest amount of time in his nine-year international career that Steyn had not had success, he was silently seething. The only way for him to cool down was to come out firing.

What was important was the way Steyn started in conditions that offered a little more to the bowlers because of the morning drizzle. "Because the pitch was covered, there was a little bit of a sweatiness that happened. For the first hour and 20 minutes, there was a little bit in the wicket," Steyn said. "A lot of the balls were misbehaving."

There was also a different approach from Steyn. He bowled fuller first up and induced edges off both M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara's bats in his first two overs. The edges evaded the fielders, which would ordinarily irritate Steyn, but didn't this time because it showed him he was not was far from ending his drought.

Like steam, he kept rising. By peppering the batsmen with well-directed short balls and mixing them up with full ones, Steyn knew he could produce a wicket. By his third over, having found reverse-swing as well, India felt the suffocation starting. Pujara pushed uncertainly and AB de Villiers took the catch.

Immediately, South Africa lifted too. There was whooping, jumping and high-fiving in joy at having finally broken through. But there was also a sense that something had sparked.

In the next 10 balls, there was confirmation of that. Steyn removed Vijay and Rohit Sharma off successive deliveries. The first went fending a short ball and was caught down the leg side, the second left one that swung into him. Steyn confirmed it was Vijay's scalp that lit him up. "Sometimes if you can get a soft dismissal, you can get on a roll. You need that momentum shift. I was lucky enough to get that soft one down the leg side," he said.

Steyn's first spell of the day read: 5-2-19-3. The three wickets came in 10 balls. India went from 198 for 1 to 199 for 4.

With Steyn threatening to decimate India's advantage further, Graeme Smith could have kept him on for longer but knew it would be better to save him for the second new ball because the pitch was becoming better to bat on. Steyn only returned when it became available and then he used it to attack.

As the first over of his second spell came to an end, Steyn struck Ajinkya Rahane's helmet with a bouncer. Rahane was not watching the ball and ducked into it. Nothing broke and there was no blood, but butterflies would have fluttered in stomachs. Rahane quietened them with a pull in the next over and a drive in the over after that, but the barrage did not let up. Steyn hit Rahane again when the batsman did not duck in time and was caught on the arm.

Credit must go to Rahane for not being so rattled by the scare tactics that he gave it away. He walked off the pain, refocused and in the end scored his maiden Test fifty. Virat Kohli also saw off the wave of aggression from Steyn's second spell. That read: 4-0-19-0. India were unscathed in that period.

Steyn could have come back as soon as the teams returned after tea but Smith chose to use Morne Morkel and Robin Peterson. Steyn was only given the ball when neither managed to break through - particularly not Peterson, whose continual leakage will leave South Africa with serious concerns about their spin department.

Steyn beat MS Dhoni and then dismissed him chasing a wide one. In almost a replica of his first spell, Steyn's next two wickets came in the space of four balls. Zaheer Khan backed away from a short one and slashed behind and then Ishant Sharma offered a regulation caught behind.

Steyn's third spell read: 5-1-13-3. Three wickets came in eight balls. With JP Duminy also among the scalps and Morkel taking the last wicket, India went from 320 for 5 to 334 all out.

Their collapse was triggered by Steyn, who was ablaze from the first ball he bowled to the last. In the process, he claimed his 22nd five-for, which he regarded as "one of my better ones because I had gone so long without taking a wicket". On previous occasions - and there have been very few of them - when Steyn has struggled he has resorted to showing his testiness. This time it was the complete opposite.

He allowed his satisfaction to shine through. "I am actually really proud of myself because most people would capitulate and not be able to come back from that dry spell," he said. Most people are also not able to act as the flammable Steyn is. When he ignites, he takes the team with him. That was on show today. South Africa's stubbing out of the Indian tail featured five wickets for just 14 runs. Then the opening pair began the reply by scoring at more than four runs an over to show South Africa's intent to seal the series. If they do, they will have Steyn to thank for lighting the first flare.

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England extend lead after last-wicket flurry

Lunch England 255 and 0 for 54 (Cook 41*, Carberry 5*) lead Australia 204 (Haddin 65, Rogers 61, Anderson 4-67) by 105 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Australia's captain Michael Clarke resorted to the medium pace of Shane Watson as England strengthened their grip on the Boxing Day Test before lunch on day three.

Alastair Cook and Michael Carberry were largely untroubled in their stand, the England captain particularly positive in approach and stretching the lead of 51 his bowlers had secured with diligent work on the second evening.

Carberry was happy to ride in his leader's slipstream, their vast scoring differential of little concern to England as the advantage mounted.

Clarke, so dominant for much of the series, was left bereft of options, and called on Watson to bowl despite the allrounder suffering a groin strain in the first innings. He bowled gingerly but could not take a wicket, seeing a Carberry edge fall short of slip, as the lead grew to 105 by the interval.

Australia's last pair had added 40 on the third morning but still left the hosts worryingly short of England's first innings. Brad Haddin fell to James Anderson for 65, an innings that gave him the record for the most runs scored by a wicketkeeper in an Ashes series.

Nathan Lyon remained unbeaten on 18, a pesky innings that temporarily frustrated England and forced Cook to take the second new ball. The partnership had lasted 45 minutes of the morning session when Anderson chased Haddin with a bouncer, the resulting top eged pull clasped by Jonny Bairstow, his fourth catch of the innings.

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England hit back after Johnson docks tail

Innings close England 255 (Pietersen 71, Johnson 5-63) v Australia
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Australia lost the early wickets of David Warner and Shane Watson after Mitchell Johnson rumbled England out for 255 on day two of the fourth Ashes Test at the MCG.

Warner fell to a presumptuous pull shot at James Anderson and Watson edged an attempted drive off Ben Stokes to leave the hosts in slightly wobbly territory, with Chris Rogers and the captain Michael Clarke in need of a steadying afternoon partnership. They owed much to Johnson, who once again tormented England's lower order.

Starting off with two wickets in his first over, including that of a panicked Kevin Pietersen, Johnson then crashed through Stuart Broad for figures of 5 for 63, all those wickets taken at a cost of 18 runs in nine overs after Clarke handed him the second new ball with England a relatively well-placed 4 for 201 late on Boxing Day.

At that stage they had hopes of a substantial tally but went into the field with only a mediocre first innings - albeit their best of a wretched series - and the memories of another Johnson terror to haunt them. Pietersen in particular will wonder at the wisdom of his leg-side swish to be bowled, having fought so stolidly on day one.

Pietersen had slapped the first ball of the morning from Ryan Harris to the boundary over point, suggesting entertainment was in the offing. Johnson had other ideas however, and his first delivery lifted sharply on a hapless Tim Bresnan, looping off the shoulder of a bat raised in self preservation and being well held by George Bailey running back from square leg.

After Stuart Broad took a leg bye, Johnson went after Pietersen, who seemed intent on destruction one way or another. A short ball had him pulling out of a swing to leg at the last minute, before a fuller, faster delivery, perhaps with a hint of inswing, rushed through Pietersen's brazen attempt to mow over midwicket. Two wickets in the over had the MCG in morning tumult.

Broad took two boundaries from Harris' next over, a flirty outside edge and a more assured glide through the covers, before the same bowler dropped a difficult return chance from a leading edge, having made excellent ground to reach it. Johnson then intervened once more, pinning Broad lbw with a yorker that struck the same foot he had badly bruised with another lbw verdict in Perth. Broad's consideration of a review brought mirth but little else.

Anderson and Monty Panesar then held up the Australians briefly, the latter's determination putting some of his better batting counterparts to some shame. He was struck an eye-watering blow to the groin by Peter Siddle before being bowled by Nathan Lyon when offering no shot. Australia had wrapped up the innings in less than an hour, but their progress to lunch would not be altogether smooth.

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Steyn's drought hurts South Africa

On an unusually dry Kingsmead surface, South Africa's attack struggle to cope with their talisman's longest-ever wicketless streak

Match Point: 'Disappointed to see Steyn bowl slower'

Dale Steyn began his fifth over the way he may have wanted to start his first. He delivered a snarling bouncer that soared towards M Vijay at almost 146 kph. Having already faced 17 balls and made some assessment of conditions, Vijay ducked under it.

It was as though Steyn had remembered who he was, with that ball. He followed up with another quicker one, pitched up, then one back of a length that jagged back in and hit Vijay on the arm, and then one he could leave alone on bounce. The fifth ball of Steyn's over preyed on the uncertainty caused by the previous four: with Vijay unsure whether to go forward or back, he was struck on the front pad. Steyn aborted his appeal when he realised it was likely going down leg, but he'd made his threat clear.

Why Steyn didn't start like that is anyone's guess. His first four overs were ordinary. His pace was down, he overpitched and he conceded 21 runs. Perhaps, like the rest of the South African attack, he was taken aback by the surface he was given. "It's very dry and a touch on the slow side," Morne Morkel said. "What surprised me is that after the 13th over, the ball already looked like it was 60 overs old. It's the type of wicket that's going to be tough to strike on."

South Africa would have known that much two days ago, when they first laid eyes on the Kingsmead pitch. Once the green mamba of the South African circuit, it has taken on subcontinent characteristics over the last few years. South Africa would not have forgotten this, even though they didn't play a Test here in 2012. Even so, they might have been stunned by just how different this looked from what they consider home conditions.

Steyn should have been the least startled because he has succeeded on decks like this before, Nagpur 2010 a case in point. Then, Steyn's aggression coupled with the reverse swing he got buoyed South Africa and led them to an innings win. Morkel admitted South Africa had been angling for something similar today. "We were hoping the ball would reverse a little more," he said. "We need to find a way to get reverse going."

There was some reverse swing but the Steyn factor was nowhere near what it was in Nagpur and it reflected on South Africa as a whole. Like him, they tried hard. Smith had a fine leg and a deep backward square leg waiting for the pull but it never came.

Morkel was the most threatening. He set the tone with a maiden when he was brought into the attack in the seventh over. He used the short ball well and found extra lift. After Morkel's opening, Steyn hit his rhythm.

Usually, it's the other way round and Steyn is the bowler who dictates the mood. Vernon Philander bristled when that suggestion was put to him at the Wanderers - when Steyn went wicketless in the second innings - and said it was up to every member of the attack to play their part, but you need only to think back to The Oval last year to remember the impact a firing Steyn can have.

In that match, Steyn made it obvious he was irritated. He hung onto the boundary boards in what seemed like discomfort and was spotted engaged in animated conversation with bowling coach Allan Donald. This time too, Donald was on the sidelines offering advice but Steyn was not as heated up as he can be. He jokingly signed a blow-up doll, did his fielding duties, and slowly cranked it up.

After Morkel's first over, Steyn operated in the right channel for the rest of the day. He delivered 12 more overs at speed, with better lengths, and gave away just 28 runs. An unhelpful surface, confident driving from the Indian batsmen and the impenetrable new wall that is Cheteshwar Pujara meant that the intent did not bring success this time. Not for Steyn and not for anyone else.

"We were guilty of maybe attacking a little bit too much. We didn't get balls in the right areas, we were a touch too straight as we searched for wickets," Morkel said. It did not help South Africa that, again, their spinner failed to play his part. Robin Peterson offered a first ball that looked like it could have come from Imran Tahir. It was a full toss.

He didn't get much better as the day wore on, leaving South Africa with what may become a more pressing problem in the future. If their spinner cannot take wickets, he should at least be able to dry up an end. Neither Tahir nor Peterson has looked like doing that in this series but Morkel stressed the attack as whole needed to be econimical. "If we are not getting wickets, we have to make sure they are not scoring," he said.

Frustration, South Africa hope, will bring some reward and there will be some crossed fingers hoping the fortunes swing Steyn's way. He last took a wicket 67 overs ago, in the first innings of the Wanderers Test. It is the longest Steyn has gone without a scalp.

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An administrative farce

The Sri Lankan board's continuing ineptness meant a paucity of Tests, alienation of senior players, and another cancelled T20 league

Andrew Fidel Fernando December 27, 2013

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The 4-1 ODI victory over South Africa was one of the few positives for Sri Lanka in 2013 © Associated Press

If Sri Lanka's 2013 had remained as the Future Tours Programme had intended, fans would now be reflecting on a satisfying year of cricket, replete with full tours to the West Indies and Zimbabwe, and a home Test series against the No. 1 team. Instead it has been 12 months of bland, already forgotten ODIs and regret over missed opportunities. Fittingly, off the field, 2013 was the year in which the administrators, who allowed this scheduling travesty to occur, became a national joke.

Sri Lanka Cricket's bumbling took great many forms in the year, but nothing quite showcased its ineptitude like the cancellation of the Sri Lanka Premier League after the South Africa Tests had been postponed by two years specifically to make room for it. Three weeks before the SLPL was scheduled to begin, all eight franchises had effectively refused to pay their tournament fee and failed to produce bank guarantees for player payments.

The board claimed it had called off the tournament to safeguard "the integrity of the board and the integrity of the tournament". Given at least one Indian franchise owner was in the SLPL largely to fix matches, integrity had fled in the other direction long ago, like so many cricket fans who allowed the 2012 SLPL to be played in mostly empty stadia. (During this year's Indian Premier League, Ruhuna Royals owner Gaurav Rawat had approached Royals captain Lasith Malinga about fixing in the SLPL - an encounter which Malinga immediately relayed to the ICC's anti-corruption unit. In August, Rawat was among those slapped with corruption charges for their involvement in the Bangladesh Premier League.)

The removal of Tests from this year's calendar had far-reaching consequences beyond simply swindling fans and players of meaningful cricket. The selectors had sought to make 2013 a year of regeneration, but as few Tests were on the horizon, they were forced to blood young players in formats and positions their cricket is grossly unsuited for. Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne would ideally be Test specialists at this phase of their development, yet they have both been asked to finish innings in ODIs and they have failed abysmally down the order, despite their obvious talent. As the World Twenty20 approaches, captain Chandimal has averaged 9.28 with a strike rate of 77 in 2013.

Rangana Herath waited a decade to secure a long stretch in the Test side, but now, at the peak of his powers he finds there are no matches to play. Kumar Sangakkara has been prolific in limited-overs cricket this year and had the schedule remained unchanged, he may have embellished an already monumental record. Test specialist Thilan Samaraweera retired from cricket because he could not wait six months for the next chance to play, and Test wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene resorted to playing club cricket in England. It bears repeating too that South Africa's last series loss away came in Sri Lanka, and their 1-4 loss in the ODIs is some indication of their enduring discomfort against spin in Sri Lankan conditions.

The board's ongoing financial woes have affected just as many sweeping detriments to cricket in the country. An ugly contracts dispute between SLC and 23 top cricketers led to the players being locked out during a 24-hour impasse, less than a week before a Test match in March. SLC made moderate grants for domestic cricket development late in the year, but the first-class system remains riddled with bad pitches that produce mediocre cricketers, and the board cannot afford to enact the changes that are so desperately required if Sri Lanka are to remain a competitive Test nation.

" Among the few positives for SLC in the year has been their belated recognition of cricket's potential to aid reconciliation in the post-war north

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Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga recently defended the building of stadia that landed Sri Lanka in their present fiscal nightmare by claiming the board was acting in the public's interest - not simply its own. Even cursory inspection exposes the feebleness of this proposition. SLC's primary mandate is to protect and promote cricket in the country, but by incurring huge debts, it has been in a profoundly poor position to do either. To its credit, however, at least the austerity measures it has put in place have helped wipe $12 million off its debt to the state bank.

Among the only specific recommendations of 2012's Lorgat review (which a year on, seems little more than an expensive sham), was the suggestion that team selection be bereft of political influence. Not only has the board failed to remove the sports minister from the selection process, as it promised it would attempt to do, the whole body has drunk even deeper from the diseased waters of Sri Lanka's political landscape.

For the second year in a row, Ranatunga was elected unopposed to what should be a highly contested position at the board, and allegations that he is consolidating power within the cricket body are rife. Sri Lanka's Rugby Football Union is perhaps the only sporting body that is more entwined with the ruling government than cricket, and in December, the SLRFU's president, Asanga Seneviratne, was installed as a vice-president at SLC. This is a man who two months prior had said that "in the next decade or so, [rugby] will overtake cricket" as the most popular sport in the country. His appointment is not the first major conflict of interest at the board, and if the current political milieu persists at Maitland Place, it will not be the last.

Among the few positives for SLC in the year has been their belated recognition of cricket's potential to aid reconciliation in the post-war north. Thirty concrete nets were built in school grounds in partnership with a charity, and the city of Jaffna received its first turf wicket, thanks largely to chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya's insistence. The board also announced that five cricketers from the north and east provinces will be awarded central contracts, helping clear the path for future professional cricketers from those regions. In addition, domestic cricket has begun to be broadcast on live television this year, raising its profile and allowing fans access to rising players at a time when the top team has itself been searching for replacements from the local leagues.

Sri Lanka's returns on the field have largely been acceptable, without revealing all that much about the state of its future prospects. Three encouraging fifties from young batsmen in the New Year Test suggested a future beyond Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Sangakkara may not be all that bleak, but the Bangladesh tour in March was not as informative. In ODIs, Sri Lanka drew three bilateral series, won one and lost another, in addition to making it to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy and the final of the tri-series in the Caribbean. They also won six T20s out of nine - just enough to safeguard their top ranking in the format.

High point
The home ODI series victory against South Africa was Sri Lanka's best effort this year, particularly as the first two wins came in the absence of regular captain Angelo Mathews. South Africa rarely stretched the hosts during the 4-1 drubbing, and Dilshan and Sangakkara underlined their continuing hunger at the top level by hitting 645 high-impact runs between them.

If players like Dinesh Chandimal can succeed in the upcoming Tests against Pakistan, Sri Lanka will be able to survive the retirements of Sangakkara and Jayawardene © AFP

Low point
SLC's abysmal relationship with some of Sri Lanka's senior cricketers was laid out in public during the board's spat with Sangakkara over his representation for the Champions League. The board had attempted to cast Sangakkara's choice over whether to play for Kandurata Maroons or Sunrisers Hyderabad as a country versus money issue, which Sangakkara took exception to. The parties eventually made up in public after Sangakkara chose to play for Kandurata - perhaps in order to secure the high moral ground from which he launched his public attack - but distrust lingers, just as it did in the aftermath of Mahela Jayawardene's run-in with the administration at the end of 2012.

New kid on the block
Though the quest for regeneration has consumed the selectors' thoughts since they took office in February, it was an ODI at the end of the year that produced one of the brightest sparks. Right-hand middle-order batsman Ashan Priyanjan has had fine returns in List A and first-class cricket for more than 12 months now, but on debut against Pakistan on Christmas day, he showcased economical but precise footwork, an array of sound aggressive shots - largely played off the back foot - and he tied it all up with encouraging moxie against perhaps the best ODI attack around.

At the top of the innings, Kusal Perera has played some staggering knocks in the year; though equally, he has been plagued with inconsistency. There appear to be no major weaknesses in his game, for he defends almost as well as he attacks, but better judgement and a keener temperament might see him fully emerge from his novelty tag as a Jayasuriya carbon copy, and forge a destiny of his own.

What 2014 holds
The Test series in Pakistan will be a barometer of Sri Lanka's future prospects, and the true state of the young middle order's batting prowess. If the likes of Chandimal and Thirimanne can succeed in the UAE Tests, their limited-overs transgressions can be overlooked. If they fail in January and in the two Tests against Bangladesh soon after, the selectors may give some thought to looking elsewhere for a future-proof middle order.

The most high-profile fixture will be the tour to England in May and June. It should have been more conspicuous still, but the removal of one home Test against England in 2012 has meant that the reciprocal tour next year has been trimmed to two Tests as well. That series will perhaps be a defining one for the emerging fast-bowling trio of Shaminda Eranga, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep.

It will also be a year in which Mathews' skill as captain is put to test. He has had ten months to break into the role now, and while it is unfair to expect him to follow in Jayawardene's footsteps as a leader, he must omit the kinds of tactical errors that have occasionally burnt Sri Lanka this year. His own form with the bat will also need to become more consistent across all formats, particularly as Sri Lanka lock down their team combination for the 2015 World Cup.

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Ashraful cries, Johnson terrifies

Australia's Ashes revival, Afghanistan's fairy tale, player boycotts and more in our staff's picks of the best and worst of the year gone by

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Australia's fightback in the Ashes made the contest interesting but ten back-to-back Tests was overkill © Getty Images

Alan Gardner

Assistant editor

Best: Afghanistan qualify for the World Cup
While the ICC's Full Member nations seem content to loll decadently on a well-plumped but little-regarded chaise longue in the corner of the global sporting stage, there continue to be heartening - and genuinely exciting - stories emerge from the more fragile Associates and Affiliates ecosystem. Nepal became cricket's latest Cinderella men with qualification for the World Twenty20, but the team that set the template is Afghanistan. In October, with a sizeable contingent thronging the Sharjah Cricket Stadium stands, Mohammad Nabi's side wrapped up the second of back-to-back victories over Kenya to secure a spot at their first World Cup. To see the Afghanistan players do a victory lap as flag-waving children ran amongst them, and then to hear them speak with such sincerity about what the achievement meant, was to be inspired once more about the possibilities for spreading the game.

Worst: Scheduling Ashes back to back
A supine governing body is one of world cricket's major problems and the ICC has been able to do little about the self-interest of its dominant constituents. England, Australia and India continue to carve up the calendar to their suiting - leaving South Africa to pick their teeth with the bones in a glacial attempt at dynasty-building - and nowhere was this more evident than in the shunting of England's 2014-15 Ashes tour forward by a year, ostensibly to avoid a clash with the World Cup. Two flawed teams staggered and swung at each other repeatedly, with 26 encounters (including a Champions Trophy meeting) scheduled over eight months allowing few opportunities for reflection, analysis or retrenchment. The usual context of a four-year Ashes cycle was lost - and by 2015 we will have had three such series in two years - amid administrator gluttony and player punishment. Test cricket, in particular, does not need to double up on flat, one-sided series.

Mohammad Isam

Bangladesh correspondent

Best: Bangladesh's stroll in the dark
It gets dark early in Fatullah, even in summer. This was the start of winter. As Bangladesh attempted to keep up with the run rate against New Zealand in the third ODI in this industrial town, the skyline was taken over by smog. Under lights, the Bangladesh batsmen strung together one mid-sized partnership after another. The thing to note was the ease in their batting, and more so in their body language.

Newbie Shamsur Rahman hardly looked in difficulty as he put together a quick opening stand with Ziaur Rahman, a pinch-hitter - yes, in this day and age. Shamsur made 96 before he was caught behind attempting to wheel one over extra cover. Nasir Hossain was then in charge of the slog overs. There was little to worry about, because he knew when to step on the accelerator. Sixes and fours flew in all directions, the only difficulty being spotting who was hitting them.

It was a series Bangladesh had already won, so a sense of complacency was expected. But the match was won without Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, while captain Mushfiqur Rahim hardly contributed to the chase. The gloom that hovered over the vast cricket ground was, for once, not the gloom of Bangladesh cricket.

Worst: The tears of Mohammad Ashraful
A couple of hours after the Bangladesh board had suspended Mohammad Ashraful pending investigations into alleged corruption in the BPL, I went to his house, looking for a reaction. I wasn't expecting any dramatic pronouncements or emotional scenes, because in such situations players tend to be safe in their answers. I certainly did not imagine Ashraful would start to cry in response to a question about regret.

" England, Australia and India continue to carve up the calendar to their suiting - leaving South Africa to pick their teeth with the bones in a glacial attempt at dynasty-building

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The ACSU grilled him as soon as he returned from Zimbabwe in May and Ashraful admitted to being involved in corruption during the year's BPL. Before the full hearing began, the Bangladesh board cut him off. On that day in Banasree, as Ashraful attempted to answer my question, tears fell from his face and he couldn't complete the sentence. He was dragged away by his minders as a group of us stood in silence watching him sob.

Daniel Brettig

Assistant editor

Best: Mitchell Johnson and Co in Brisbane
Brad Haddin had lifted Australia to a decent total at the Gabba, but tension still hung heavily in the Brisbane air. Would Australia's bowlers exploit the cracks they had made in England's batting in the northern hemisphere on a pitch of pace and bounce, or would the tourists hold firm? Mainly the crowd looked towards the enigmatic Mitchell Johnson for evidence of danger - to opponents rather than team-mates. The early signs were not too promising, as a wayward first spell brought a few familiar groans. But Ryan Harris' removal of Alastair Cook allowed Johnson to worry out Jonathan Trott before lunch, and suddenly Australia's players and supporters sprang to life. The mayhem of the afternoon was summed up by England's loss of 6 for 9, which turned the Ashes narrative definitely towards Michael Clarke's team. Johnson's terrifying pace was to the fore, but there was also the rigour of Harris and the bounce of Nathan Lyon. Given the horrors of 2013, seldom has a Test-match day been more cathartic for Australia.

Worst: Australia at Lord's
Though a dreadful tour of India and equally poor Champions Trophy campaign had encouraged Cricket Australia to jettison Mickey Arthur before the Ashes, the national team still had one more humiliation ahead. It arrived at Lord's, after Ashton Agar's near-miracle at Trent Bridge. Batting uncertainly in the first innings and offering chances in the second, England did not play especially well. But they did not have to, as Clarke's men surrendered their wickets in the most maddening ways imaginable. Chris Rogers summed it up by missing a lollipop full toss from Graeme Swann and falling (incorrectly) lbw, while Clarke himself missed a middle-stump half-volley in the first innings then leg-glanced straight to leg slip in the second. In a matter of days the Ashes were nearly out of grasp, leaving many in attendance to conclude this was the worst day for Australian cricket in living memory. The only way was up.

Firdose Moonda

South Africa correspondent

Best: Competitive Test series
Two-thirds of my year involved covering Pakistan, which provided me with memories I will treasure. After Younis Khan's double-hundred in the first Test in Harare illustrated the gulf between them and Zimbabwe, Brendan Taylor's men scripted one of cricket's fairy tales. Their series-levelling win had contributions from everyone. The old guard, Hamilton Masakadza and Taylor, set up a decent first-innings total before Brian Vitori celebrated his comeback with a five-for. Tino Mawoyo built on the first-innings lead, so Zimbabwe had 264 to defend in the last innings. Tendai Chatara pegged Pakistan back, but they were still favourites to win on the final morning. As if team work needed a make a statement, the match ended with a run-out.

Pakistan lost to Zimbabwe and then beat South Africa © AFP

A month later, Pakistan looked a different team. They bowled with venom and packed on runs against South Africa to beat another world No. 1 side in the UAE (after England in 2012). South Africa surged back to win the second Test and stretch their unbeaten record away from home. In those few weeks, Test cricket showed itself not as a dynamic, engaging game in which the margins between teams are not as wide as they sometimes seem.

Worst: Administrators robbing us of cricket
I was at a Christmas party when I received news that Zimbabwe's cricketers had again threatened a boycott over unpaid salaries. By December, this story had been relayed to me no less than three times and had become my own version of the boy who cried wolf. Out of duty, not expectation, I called a trusted source in Zimbabwean cricket. I got a very frank, "Yes, there will be a boycott." The next day Mountaineers did not turn up to play their one-day match against Eagles. Two days later scheduled first-class games were also not played.

Zimbabwe's cricketers are finally making the statement that may draw attention to their plight. Whether their administrators have the capability, never mind the actual finances and logistics, to change things is to be seen.

All this happened during India's tour to South Africa, which had been chopped to half of its proposed schedule, with the Johannesburg Test providing an epic tussle that left us longing for more.

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England lay base after being put in

Lunch England 1 for 71 (Carberry 26*, Root 11*) v Australia

England's batsmen fought, nudged and scraped their way to a sound platform at lunch after being sent in to bat by Australia's captain Michael Clarke on the first morning of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

As a crowd of more than 84,000 settled into their seats, Peter Siddle claimed Alastair Cook for the only wicket of the morning, leaving Michael Carberry and Joe Root in stern occupation, albeit helped by a festive season's helping of good fortune.

Carberry was dropped in the slips from the bowling of Ryan Harris when he had made only 2, Steve Smith's outstretched right hand knocking the ball away when it seemed likely to be taken comfortably by Clarke. Moments before lunch he eluded an lbw appeal and referral from Harris, the ball not hitting enough of off stump to overturn the umpire Aleem Dar's decision.

Root was beaten repeatedly outside off stump by Siddle, who was the most precise of Australia's bowlers in front of his home crowd. Overcast skies and humid air had encouraged Clarke to send England in, in expectation that the MCG's drop-in pitch would offer most to the bowlers on day one before flattening out.

Clarke had named an unchanged side for the fourth consecutive Test match, the first time Australia have done so since 2004-05 when they were the world's undisputed best team. England's captain, Alastair Cook, named two changes to the touring XI after the loss of the urn in Perth, Monty Panesar replacing the retired Graeme Swann while Jonny Bairstow came in for the out of form and confidence Matt Prior.

A leg bye to Harris' second ball of the morning gave England the lead in a match for the first time this series, emblematic of their struggles so far. Cook was in a quite positive frame of mind however, cutting Mitchell Johnson behind point and driving him through cover to cause Clarke to call upon Siddle after only two costly overs from his left-arm slinger, then follow up with a quarter of early overs from Nathan Lyon.

At the other end Harris gained some useful movement, and Carberry was squared up by a delivery that seamed away after straightening onto the line of the stumps. The resultant edge seemed destined for Clarke's hands at second slip, but Smith dived eagerly across from third and deflected it from the path of his captain - a rare missed chance for Australia in this series.

Cook evaded one speculative appeal for caught behind from Harris when the ball brushed pad rather than bat, but his evident desire to get bat on ball would result in his downfall. Siddle changed ends to replace Harris, and soon angled across Cook, who sparred unwisely at one he might have left and nicked it straight to Clarke.

Root appeared hesitant to come forward on a pitch offering seam deviation to those bowlers who deigned to search for it, his preference to sit on the crease enhanced by a Johnson delivery that reared into his shoulder. Siddle beat Root's outside edge numerous times as the interval ticked near, but the absence of any more chances for the slips cordon made it a reasonably satisfying session for England in the circumstances.

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Punjab complete stunning turnaround

Punjab 74 (Nehra 4-31) and 402 (Jiwanjot 147, Mandeep 80) beat Delhi 150 (Chand 55) and 228 (Bhatia 100, Gony 3-51, Jaskaran 3-45) by 98 runs
Scorecard

Punjab, who had been bowled out for 74 in their first innings, capped a remarkable recovery to defeat Delhi by 98 runs and keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockouts. Needing 327 to win, Delhi were all out for 228 in 91.3 overs, despite a valiant 100 from Rajat Bhatia, who took multiple blows on his body on a difficult track.

Punjab now have 23 points from seven games, and are tied with third-placed Gujarat. Delhi, with 19, have a massive task ahead of them in their final group match. They will need to beat group-toppers Karnataka and hope that other results go their way.

Delhi's ploy of gunning for maximum points on a seamer-friendly Roshanara track backfired this time, with Punjab's attack proving far more potent than those of previous opponents like Haryana and Vidarbha. Manpreet Gony, Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma were as effective as Ashish Nehra, Parvinder Awana and Sumit Narwal.

At the start of the day, Delhi needed 267 to win with seven wickets in hand. Gautam Gambhir began on an edgy note, getting one to run past the slips before clipping a boundary off Sandeep. But the pressure told on him after Delhi were stuck on 70 for 39 balls. Gony got one to kick from short of a length and move away, and Gambhir edged to Gurkeerat Singh in the slip cordon.

Virender Sehwag's stay at the crease was brief, as has been the case for most of this season. He started with a glorious off-drive off Gony, who then surprised him with a short one. Sehwag fended at the ball, which over the slips for a second boundary. He had moved to 12 when a delivery from Jaskaran Singh stopped on him. He attempted to check his lofted on-drive, but only managed to spoon it to Sandeep Sharma at mid-on.

Bhatia was hit twice on the forearm and twice in the ribs during 182-ball stay at the wicket. He struck 16 fours while scoring his 14th first-class ton. It was no surprise that he was ready to put his body on the line, but Nehra's four-hour stay at the wicket was a revelation. Having come in as nightwatchman, Nehra gutsed it out for 128 balls and put on 82 with Bhatia in 34.2 overs, as Delhi pursued three points for their first-innings lead.

Punjab finally broke the sixth-wicket stand when they brought on offspinner Gurkeerat. He got one to go through straight and Nehra edged it to Jiwanjot Singh at second slip. Off the very next delivery, Gurkeerat got rid of Rahul Yadav, caught by Yuvraj Singh at first slip. It was 167 for 7, and the result looked a formality. All that remained was to see if Bhatia would reach his milestone. He did, with Sumit Narwal hanging in for 31 balls and Parvinder Awana for 26 to help him over the line.

Bhatia reached 99 with successive pulls before tapping Sandeep towards short cover to reach the landmark with a single. He was the last man out for Delhi, nicking one from Gony to keeper Gitansh Khera.

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SL visit could prove crucial to hosting Asia Cup, World T20

Sri Lanka's tour of Bangladesh could be crucial to the host's prospects of holding the Asia Cup and the ICC World Twenty20. Sri Lanka are scheduled to arrive on January 24 for a month-long tour, which is the first of three major international cricket events in Bangladesh, stacked one after another.

Four days after the Sri Lanka tour, the Asia Cup is scheduled to begin on February 24. The Asian Cricket Council, the tournament's organiser, has already worked out a Plan B in case the political violence in the country doesn't abate in time for the tournament, with its single-venue prerequisite making it fairly simple to find alternative host countries.

The ACC's CEO, Syed Ashraful Huq, however, believes that a green signal from Sri Lanka Cricket will ease the pressure on Bangladesh hosting the regional one-day tournament. But he warned that the other two events in Bangladesh are not bilateral series and the consent of one cricket board wouldn't do.

He said that the four-nation tournament will not be postponed in any case, and has to be held between February 24 and March 7 because of a packed international calendar.

"The Sri Lanka tour will be crucial," Huq told ESPNcricinfo. "It will be a big boost to the situation here if they complete the tour. But one must remember that the subsequent events are multi-team events. At the moment, the participating nations are at a monitoring stage. They will depend on agencies in their individual countries, like the home or foreign office.

"Participation will depend on each board, whether they are comfortable with the security situation. They will consult their respective home or foreign offices to determine whether the security situation is congenial or not. As the host, the Bangladesh government and the BCB will have to give guarantees. The ACC will rely on the hosts' security agencies and those of the participating nations."

Bangladesh got the right to host the 2014 Asia Cup after India declined to do so, and with Pakistan not having hosted international cricket events for nearly five years, the obvious choices for alternate venues are Sri Lanka and the UAE.

Huq confirmed that till this point, none of the participating nations have threatened a pull-out. "The Asia Cup has to be held during that time slot," he said. "There is no scope for us to postpone the tournament. The ACC will discuss an alternate venue if the situation doesn't improve in Bangladesh, but this is the case with every international tournament. As organisers, we have to be prepared for any eventuality.

"Any one of the countries can be an alternate venue. Last time we held the tournament at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, so usually we hold the Asia Cup in one or two venues. The ACC's executive body will decide on the change of venue. What I can tell you is that nobody wants the tournament to get out of Bangladesh. None of the teams have told me yet that they don't want to go to Bangladesh."

The BCB has sought help from the two major political leaders of the country - Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia - to assure the rest of the world that cricket is safe and secure in Bangladesh.

Huq said that he faced a similar situation as a BCB official in 1988, and had in fact visited the same leaders, who were supportive at the time. He believes the same will happen this time, and it will help allay the concerns.

"The guarantees from the political leaders will certainly help us," Huq said. "When Bangladesh hosted the 1988 Asia Cup, there was unrest in the country, against the then president [Hussain Mohammad] Ershad.

"I, alongside BCB general secretary Tanvir Mazhar Tanna, went to Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, who told us that the tournament can be held peacefully without any disruption. I am sure, for the sake of the country, the same would happen this time."

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Ryder returns for NZ, WI bowl

25 overs New Zealand 83 for 6 (McCullum 37*, Neesham 6*, Rampaul 2-9) v West Indies
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A new-look West Indies bowling attack, led by Ravi Rampaul, scythed through the New Zealand top order to leave the home side in huge trouble at Eden Park. Brendon McCullum was alone in putting up a resistance, going past 5000 ODI runs during his innings, but he was fast running out of partners at the mid-way stage.

West Indies had hoped for a turnaround in the ODIs after being appearing clueless at times during their 2-0 loss in the Tests, and Dwayne Bravo couldn't have asked for a better response from his team. New Zealand's top four could manage only 11 runs between them as Rampaul and Jason Holder bowled with control not seen in the West Indian bowlers during the Test series. Both got the ball to jag either way on the pacy drop-in pitch, the nature of which had been not clear before the match. It was one of the reasons why West Indies had opted to bowl and it worked in their favour.

Rampaul dismissed New Zealand's comeback men Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill in his first two overs, but the big wicket came through a run-out. Ross Taylor had been sensational in the Tests, scoring 495 runs with three centuries, and was the key for New Zealand after two quick wickets. In the seventh over, he looked for a quick single after getting an inside edge down the pitch, but was sent back. Holder, the bowler, got to the ball first and threw the stumps down in time to catch the batsman well short.

A lot of focus before the match had been on Ryder, who was making a comeback to international cricket after 22 months, but he was the first batsman to be dismissed, his innings lasting just five balls. He got a thick leading edge of the first delivery, solidly defending a couple before launching on a full-blooded drive on a wide delivery in Rampaul's first over. The shot was on, but unfortunately for Ryder, he hit it in the air and was smartly caught by Darren Bravo.

Guptill's end was also as anti-climactic as Ryder's duck. He went forward for a loose drive, but was beaten by a Rampaul delivery that seamed in after a few had left the batsman. He managed just two and New Zealand lost both openers within four overs.

Boundaries were hard to come by - the first came in the 11th over bowled by Darren Sammy when McCullum pulled a four and followed it with a six next ball - and Holder pushed New Zealand further down in the 12th over when he had Kane Williamson caught behind with an outswinger. Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi hit aerial shots straight to the fielders, summing up the morning for New Zealand.

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BCCI to meet over Rajasthan Cricket Association status

The BCCI has convened a working committee meeting in Chennai on December 28 to decide the fate of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) in the wake of Lalit Modi's possible return to cricket administration as RCA president.

Modi, the founding IPL chairman, was banned for life from Indian cricket in September following an internal inquiry that found him guilty on eight charges. However, the court allowed him to contest the RCA elections since the state association is governed by the Rajasthan Sports Act.

The Supreme Court, which monitored the RCA elections held on December 19, is likely to announce the result in its next hearing on January 6.

Even if the board's working committee, which consists of 24 members, supports the suspension of the RCA from all official cricket activities - as hinted by BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel in a letter to RCA president CP Joshi last week - the committee is unlikely to take the call.

According to the BCCI constitution, if a member of the board commits an act of indiscipline or misconduct, the matter will have to be handed over to the disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committee's recommendations have to be ratified with three-fourths majority in a special general meeting.

Some of the working committee members feel Saturday's meeting will be an attempt on the ruling faction's part to constitute an inquiry and to "gauge if they can gain the three-fourths majority".

Despite the court allowing Modi to contest the election, the BCCI feels it can penalise the RCA since the association is a BCCI affiliate. If the BCCI suspends the RCA for allowing a banned individual to be involved in administration, it is likely to find itself in yet another legal battle.

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Rajpoot, Imtiaz dismiss MP for 115

Uttar Pradesh 250 and 78 for 3 (Raina 41*) lead Madhya Pradesh 115 (Rajpoot 5-37, Imtiaz 4-39) by 213 runs
Scorecard

Uttar Pradesh's pace duo of Ankit Rajpoot and Imtiaz Ahmed took nine wickets between them to dismiss Madhya Pradesh for 115. By close of play, UP had extended their 135-run lead to 213, with Suresh Raina unbeaten on 41.

The second day of the match was lost to bad weather, but Rajpoot gave UP an early advantage on the third morning, dismissing openers Jalaj Saxena and Zafar Ali in successive overs. The MP middle order got starts, but kept losing wickets regularly and produced only two partnerships of any note - a 30-run fourth-wicket stand between Devendra Bundela and Mohnish Mishra and 37 runs for the seventh wicket between Anand Bais and Salman Beig. Rajpoot, playing his second match of the season, finished with figures of 5 for 37 while Imtiaz took 4 for 39. UP were struggling at 20 for 2 in their second innings before Raina steadied things.

Rajasthan 307 for 4 (Saxena 83, Saraf 63, Menaria 62) trail Tamil Nadu 318 by 11 runs
Scorecard

Rajasthan were all set to take the first-innings lead against Tamil Nadu after an opening partnership of 163 between Vineet Saxena and Siddharth Saraf. The duo began the day with the score on 89 and proceeded to make half-centuries each. Tamil Nadu hit back with three quick wickets but Rajasthan captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar stonewalled his way to an unbeaten 38 off 154 balls to deny the hosts. Ashok Menaria stroked 62 off 69 at the other end, taking the game away from Tamil Nadu. Rajesh Bishnoi was giving his captain company at stumps on 20.

Railways 107 and 224 for 6 (Rawat 67*, Suraj 3-48) lead Services 153 (Yashpal 67, Anureet 4-44, Karn 3-25) by 178 runs
Scorecard

Railways collapsed after a strong start and were propped up by Mahesh Rawat's unbeaten fifty against Services in Delhi. Shivakant Shukla and Murali Kartik put on 75 upfront but seamer Suraj Yadav's three wickets stunned Railways. Shadab Nazar picked up the next two as Railways slid to 130 for 6, an overall lead of only 84. Rawat stroked an unconquered 67 and Ashish Yadav dug in with 32 to resist Services' charge and increase the lead to 178. Earlier, Services were bowled out for 153, adding only two runs to their overnight 151 for 8.

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Batsmen put Punjab on course for win

Delhi 150 and 60 for 3 (Rawal 35) need another 267 runs against Punjab 74 and 402 (Jiwanjot 147, Mandeep 80)
Scorecard

A remarkable recovery from Punjab, led by an impressive showing from their batsmen in the second innings, has now made them favourites to get maximum points against Delhi, unless the likes of Gautam Gambhir or Virender Sehwag can chase down a daunting 327 on the final day, with just seven wickets in hand.

Delhi ended the day at 60 for three, with Unmukt Chand, Vaibhav Rawal and the ever-dependable Mithun Manhas all back in the pavilion. Their captain Gambhir, though, remained unbeaten on 22, while Sehwag is likely to arrive at the crease early in the morning as Delhi require another 267.

After Jiwanjot Singh's 147 helped Punjab recover from their 74 all out in the first innings, Mandeep Singh,along with solid contributions from the lower order, took the visitors' score to 402, with the wicketkeeper Gitansh Khera and No. 10 Siddarth Kaul sharing a partnership of 41 runs for the ninth wicket

Punjab's batsmen played two sessions on the day to add 225 runs to their overnight score of 177 for 3. This was largely possible due to Mandeep's attacking knock of 80 off 113 balls that had eight well-timed fours and a pulled six over midwicket off Ashish Nehra's bowling. Mandeep upped the ante, while Jiwanjot continued playing the role of a sheet anchor, as 105 runs came in the first session.

With Parvinder Awana not being in a position to bowl due to back problems, Gambhir had limited options. The ball got old and it became easy for the batsmen to score.

As Mandeep went for big shots, Jiwanjot continued to play his natural game of holding one end up and hitting only the odd loose deliveries for boundaries. He was handed a reprieve on 115 when Chand dropped him off Nehra's bowling at third slip, drawing Gambhir's ire.

Mandeep was out just before lunch when a Navdeep Saini delivery kept low, getting him plumb in front but, by then, he and Jiwanjot had already added 159 for the fourth wicket. Jiwanjot's seven-hour long vigil ended after the second new ball was taken, as he edged one from Saini to wicketkeeper Rahul Yadav.

Gurkeerat Singh, Jaskaran Singh and Sandeep Sharma didn't contribute much and Punjab were reduced to 329 for 8 in the 105th over. However, the Delhi bowlers gave away easy runs as last two wickets produced an invaluable 73 runs to beef up Punjab's total.

Khera played a pivotal role, hitting seven fours with most of the shots being square of the wicket. With Navdeep bowling a wrong line and Gambhir not having a point, singles and boundaries in the region between backward point and third-man were there for the taking.

Delhi began their chase poorly as Chand shouldered arms to an incutter from Sandeep and was adjudged lbw, in the first over.

Rawal joined his captain Gambhir and looked in good touch, but the latter once again looked raw - playing and missing a few. Rawal hit some elegant drives to keep the scoreboard moving and the duo added 59 runs for the second wicket, but the extra 30 minutes that was scheduled to cover up for lost time became Delhi's undoing.

First, Rawal dragged a delivery from Manpreet Gony back to his stumps and Manhas was removed by Jaskaran Singh with a ball that darted in.

Nehra was sent in as the nightwatchman, but the onus will be on Gambhir and Sehwag on day four, to try and salvage something from the game.

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Subplots abound on Boxing Day

Match facts

December 26-30 Melbourne Cricket Ground
Start time 1030 (0230 GMT)

Big Picture

Test cricket's biggest day of the year will carry plenty of significance even though the destiny of the Ashes has been swiftly decided. Australia's march to a 3-0 margin from as many matches caused a major outpouring of joy and relief across the host nation, while England was caught up in a similar level of disbelief, anger and finger-pointing. Having had a few days to get their heads around the fact that the Urn will not be flying north at the end of the series, the combatants now commence a contest that may lose the merest fraction of tension but very little intrigue. If anything the result in Perth means that Melbourne will be focused more strongly on individuals rather than teams - players on both sides will be fighting for validation, vindication and some extra points over opponents they have fought across eight matches and two nations already this year.

Australia have shown absolutely no desire to rein themselves in after building unstoppable momentum through the first three matches of the series. Theirs is a team of the now, with every intention of making the most of that richly rewarding present. It should not be forgotten that many members of this team not only experienced the loss of the Ashes at home in 2010-11, but were also part of the most humiliating day of that series - a Boxing Day on which they were gutted for 98 then seemed powerless to stop England rolling to 0 for 157 at the close. There will be plenty of yearning among Michael Clarke's men to atone for that day, while also pushing on to a wider margin than the present one.

For England there is a need to stop a slide that has now cost them not only the Ashes but two members of the original touring party. The sense of a strong and successful side breaking up is growing stronger by the day, leaving Alastair Cook, Andy Flower and their players battling for cohesion in thought, word and deed. Rightly or wrongly, Graeme Swann's parting shot has offered an insight into the divisions that do exist within the team, the sorts of rifts that open further when placed under the stress of defeat. Having lost so comprehensively, the tourists must begin to think about who they want in their team for the future, and Melbourne will be the start of that sorting of wheat from chaff.

Form guide

Australia: WWWDL
England: LLLDW

Players to watch

In a series of Australian triumphs, Chris Rogers has been a muted though subtly influential member of the team. He struggled for batting rhythm early in the series and when he found it in Perth chanced an overexcited single that cost him the chance of a substantial first innings tally in a pivotal match. The exit of Swann, a bowler who has kept Rogers transfixed on the batting crease more often than not, offers the Victorian left-hander some timely breathing room, and he would love nothing more than to make the sort of score that would shore up his place in the team and also build confidence ahead of future battles in South Africa.

If it is unkind to question the commitment of Kevin Pietersen to England's cause, then it is certainly worthwhile to query the quality of his batting in this series. Corralled so effectively by the Australian pacemen and also Nathan Lyon, his response to assiduous planning has been disappointingly flat for a player of such undoubted class. In a team atmosphere thick with thoughts about regaining the Ashes at the next time of asking in 2015, Pietersen is in need of an innings to prove he can still outwit high class bowling as much for his own peace of batting mind as to answer the critics who take such delight in chirping at him from the boundary's edge.

Team news

An unchanged team appears likely as Australia seek to make their stability a virtue. Nathan Coulter-Nile and Doug Bollinger wait in the wings.

Australia (possible) 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.

Jonny Bairstow is a strong chance to replace the out of sorts Matt Prior. Monty Panesar will come in for the retired Graeme Swann, while Stuart Broad is firming to be fit following the badly bruised foot he suffered in Perth.

England (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Michael Carberry, 3 Joe Root, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Tim Bresnan, 10 James Anderson, 11 Monty Panesar.

Pitch and conditions

Melbourne's drop-in pitch can be expected to offer a hint of moisture early on before flattening out and then drying later in the match. The weather forecast is warm to hot.

Stats and trivia

• England have not lost a series by a margin greater than 3-0 since their 5-0 defeat in Australia in 2006-07
• Kevin Pietersen needs 63 runs to move past Geoff Boycott and into fourth place in England's all-time list of Test run scorers
• It is possible the Boxing Day attendance will outdo the long-standing record for the largest official single day Test match crowd, the 90,800 who attended the MCG during the 5th Test of the 1960-61 series between Australia and West Indies. The attendance on Boxing Day 2010, the previous Ashes fixture at the ground, was 84,345

Quotes

"Momentum is a rare and precious commodity. When you have it you run with it as hard as you can because you're never sure how long it will last. You could run with it for a week, a month, six months, a year, and you've got to make the most of it, especially this team."
Michael Clarke isn't keen to be too charitable to England this holiday season.

"I played a year or two before he came into the side but I noticed straightaway that he made people enjoy playing cricket for England, maybe more than when I first started."
Alastair Cook reflects on Graeme Swann.

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Kaushal hundred guides SSC to close win

Sinhalese Sports Club 242 for 8 (Kaushal 102*) beat Ragama Cricket Club 238 for 8 (Zoysa 75, Prasad 3-48) by two wickets
Scorecard

On the day he was named in the Test squad, wicketkeeper-batsman Kaushal Silva affirmed the selectors' faith to score an unbeaten 102 in Sinhalese Sports Club's tense two-wicket victory in the Premier Limited Over Tournament semi-final against Ragama Cricket Club.

Silva's innings was all the more admirable because it was very nearly a lone stand. No one else in the top nine crossed 20, but he and Dhammika Prasad forged a brisk 56-run association for the ninth wicket to steal victory when defeat had seemed the more likely outcome for much of their chase of 239.

Having asked Ragama to bat first, SSC's bowlers had made fine progress in the first half of the innings, reducing the opposition to 88 for 4 in the 25th over. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sameera de Zoysa led Ragama's resurgence, however, and at the end of his 82-run fifth-wicket partnership with Chanaka Wijesinghe, Ragama had overcome their early stutter.

De Zoysa was dismissed for a run-a-ball 75 in the 48th over, before Malinga Bandara helped lift the total to 238 for 8 in 50 overs. Prasad took 3 for 48 for SSC.

Ragama's opening bowlers struck early in the chase, removing Mahela Jayawardene and his opening partner inside nine overs, before left-arm spinner Sajeewa Weerakoon came on to inflict damage to the middle order. SSC slipped from 80 for 3 to 146 for 6 before Silva strung together a 34-run stand with Upul Bandara to partially arrest the slide.

Two more quick wickets left SSC at 182 for 8, with 53 to get off the last 43 balls, but three sixes off Prasad's blade eased the required rate, and Silva saw the chase home with four balls to spare.

SSC will play Nondescripts Cricket Club in the final at the Premadasa Stadium, on Saturday. NCC had cruised to a seven-wicket win in the teams' round-robin clash.

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New Zealand find their 'core four'

The commanding performances of Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and Tim Southee against West Indies, with a little support from their team-mates, meant a dominant New Zealand showing. They'll need more of the same when India arrive

New Zealand's performance in the three-Test series against West Indies illustrated the value of a "core four", who, with support from their team-mates, can reignite the country's prowess in the longer format.

The 2-0 series win is difficult to place into context given the calibre of a West Indies side missing Chris Gayle and a host of bowling options, one of whom, Shane Shillingford, was banned for an illegal action during the series.

However, Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Kane Williamson demonstrated New Zealand's capabilities. At the very least, it has heightened anticipation for February's series against India, given India's parity against South Africa in their Johannesburg draw.

The reassuring thud of Taylor's bat against West Indian deliveries will be the series' abiding memory.

He became the second New Zealand player to score centuries in three consecutive Tests. Mark Burgess is the only other to achieve the feat. Burgess did it over 27 months (November 1969-February 1972) against three countries (Pakistan, England, West Indies); Taylor achieved the feat in 19 days against one and finished with a series average of 247.50.

Taylor achieved a scroll of statistical accolades. His average of 47.51 is the country's best for those who have played more than 20 innings. He joined Nathan Astle on 11 Test centuries with only Martin Crowe (17) and John Wright (12) ahead of him. His 495 runs are the second-most by a New Zealand batsman in a three-Test series (Andrew Jones made 513 against Sri Lanka in 1991). Taylor's 866 runs in a calendar year (from 16 innings at an average of 72.16) are the second-most by a New Zealand batsman (John R Reid made 871 across 24 innings in 1965).

His consistency enabled New Zealand to negotiate a green pitch in Wellington and repel the troublesome spin of Sunil Narine in Hamilton. Add his highest Test score (217 not out) in Dunedin and seven slips catches; it represents the best series of his career.

Williamson missed the opening Test due to a hand injury but completed innings of 45, 58 and 56 on return. Add 114, 74 and 62 from the series in Bangladesh and you have 409 runs at an 81.80 average since his productive county stint with Yorkshire.

He anchored the final innings chase for 122 with surety of footwork and a high left elbow in defence. It minimised anxious moments for New Zealand fans.

Boult and Southee headed the bowling operation. Evidence suggests the pair is capable of scything through talented batting line-ups. India - particularly Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma - could provide their steepest test. Throw in green tracks and it will be an absorbing contest.

Boult's 20 wickets at 15.40 and Southee's 18 wickets at 18.11 in this series showed they have taken up the mantle of Chris Martin. Boult's swing, movement, pace and accuracy, including his 10-wicket bag in Wellington, meant the 24-year-old rocketed into third for wickets taken this year (46 in 12 Tests) behind Stuart Broad (59) and James Anderson (48) who have played one more Test.

Southee completed the year as the 12th New Zealand player to take 100 Test wickets. He took three wickets in his final over to finish with a tally of 101.

Like in the 1980s era, with Sir Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe, the core four need backing. It was present against West Indies but becomes paramount with the arrival of India, the world's second-ranked Test side.

How do their team-mates stack up?

• Brendon McCullum produced a seventh Test century in Dunedin and 37 to support Taylor in Wellington. He appears to lead the team well but his form can't afford to dip against India with Jesse Ryder accumulating three centuries and two 80s in five Plunket Shield matches.
• Corey Anderson is perhaps most vulnerable to Ryder's resurgence but with a Test average of 37 in five matches and 11 wickets at 19.36, he has achieved. It would be a cruel and inconsistent twist to the selection policy to remove him from a winning side.
• Likewise Ish Sodhi has shown enough promise to be retained. It could depend on Daniel Vettori's fitness but McCullum's statement that Sodhi's "looking forward to the India series" hints he'll get picked. The only problem might lie with India's accomplished techniques against spin. Sodhi's skills will come under scrutiny, especially trying to stymie the boundary balls dished up in a legspinner's search for control.
• Neil Wagner looks steady as the third pace bowler. He doesn't get the glory of Boult and Southee but always does his fair share of grunt work in unfavourable conditions.
• BJ Watling keeps progressing as the wicketkeeper-batsman. His batting (average 42) impressed in three outings at No. 7, as did his keeping. Watling gave away six byes during a series where West Indies faced 2863 deliveries. The only 'work-on' (to use the modern parlance) might be up to the stumps against Sodhi's legspin.

One area which could face selection scrutiny is the opening combination of Peter Fulton and Hamish Rutherford. They look competent on relatively flat pitches but have struggled technically (Fulton) or with discipline (Rutherford) when it comes to knuckling down on the seaming surfaces of England or Wellington. They had an opening stand of 95 in the first innings against West Indies in Dunedin but followed up with partnerships of 3, 14, 18 and 33 (series average 32.6). Rutherford's 48 not out to see the team home in Hamilton earned him kudos.

The pair might be under observation but an average opening partnership of 38.41 in 17 innings reads strongly. Compare that to the average of 31.82 in 56 innings between John Wright and Bruce Edgar, often cited as New Zealand's best. However, in Wright and Edgar's defence, they frequently faced West Indian and Australian attacks which, in the early 1980s, contained some of history's quickest and most accurate bowlers. In contrast, Fulton and Rutherford have padded up against England, Bangladesh and the weaker West Indies of the modern era.

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Prasad criticises Ranji scheduling

Venkatesh Prasad, the Uttar Pradesh coach, has criticised the Ranji Trophy scheduling after the second day's play in Kanpur was entirely lost due to foggy conditions. Uttar Pradesh, currently second in Group B, are playing Madhya Pradesh at Green Park in their penultimate match of the league stage. Prasad was frustrated that his team stood to lose out on vital points necessary to make the knockouts.

"I am not very sure about the thought process of the members on the concerned committee as far as Ranji Trophy scheduling goes," Prasad, a former India fast bowler, told ESPNcricinfo. Prasad said it was a given that in northern parts of India from mid-December heavy fog settles in for virtually the entire day, and that the senior tournament committee, which chalks out domestic fixtures, needed to take heed of the situation.

Former India offspinner Shivlal Yadav heads the committee. A member each from the cricket associations from Mumbai, Punjab, Kerala, Jharkhand and Vidarbha make up the rest of the panel, with BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel serving as convenor. The committee liaises with Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI's game development manager, before finalising the venues.

According to Prasad there could have been "30-40 overs" bowled on Monday, but the umpires felt it was "slightly dark" and theirs was the final word. "The umpires are the best judge as far as bad light and fog are concerned. But to be realistic the conditions will be hazy in the northern part of the country at this point of time in the year," he said. "It is not about being better prepared. It is just commonsense."

Prasad agreed points were crucial, but said it was more important to get a full match. "We want the matches to go on and the players to get decent time in the middle to help them perform. Every team aspires to make the knockouts," he said.

"I would like personally to get a full game. And that is not going to happen if you play at this time of the year in this part of the country. It is simple. The committee needs to know that. It is not about how anxious I am, how anxious the Railways team is or how anxious Services are. It is about playing the game. Playing all 90 overs. Playing all four days. The committee should look into this very seriously."

Even Railways, ahead of Uttar Pradesh by one point in Group B, have suffered due to the weather conditions. Against Tamil Nadu in the previous round and this week against Services, they have had to make do with delayed starts and bad visibility.

Prasad reckoned the committee could look at playing more Ranji Trophy games in early November to avoid scheduling matches in the period between mid-December and January. "What should happen is the teams in north and central India should probably finish their home matches latest by December 15," Prasad said.

With Uttar Pradesh playing their final Group A match in Lucknow from December 30, a period notorious for heavy fog, Prasad was concerned that another fog-curtailed match would end his team's chances of making the quarter-finals. "That is going to be even worse," Prasad said.

According to Prasad, Uttar Pradesh had played their final two rounds, during the group stages last year, away from home in late December and early January. He said he couldn't understand why that didn't happen this year, too. "Uttar Pradesh could have played Madhya Pradesh in November in the first round instead of Baroda (their first-round opponents). We could have gone and played Bardoa now," Prasad said.

Reacting to Prasad's remarks, the BCCI said its aim was always to schedule matches accounting for all weather conditions. "We try and avoid extreme weather conditions while finalising the schedule. For instance, it rains a lot in the south in November and three of Tamil Nadu's home games were affected last year. So what we try and do is to avoid scheduling matches in the south in November and in the northern and central parts from the end of December," Shetty said.

According to Shetty, it is a bigger challenge when there are more than two teams from one of these zones in the same group. "Then it becomes very difficult to avoid it, especially since it has been decided from last year to let each team play four home and four away games in the league stage," he said. "The funny thing is the weather also is so unpredictable that in the last round - while Services' game at Palam [in Delhi] was affected due to fog, Delhi's match against Vidarbha started on time."

Shetty felt the only possible solution was if both teams agreed to play the match at a neutral venue. "But considering that the last couple of rounds are crucial for most teams when it comes to qualification for the knockouts, not many are forthcoming to lose out on the home advantage."

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Can India maintain their intensity?

India's bowlers ran themselves into the ground in their effort to win the Johannesburg Test. In three days' time, they may have to do it all over again

Playing his first Test in a year, Zaheer Khan bowled 60.3 high-intensity overs at the Wanderers, eight of them in one spell after tea on the final day. That's nine more than he has ever bowled in a Test match. He is 35 now.

Ishant Sharma - say what you will about his bowling and his consistency - bowled 54 overs for his five wickets, his strikes in both innings bringing India back from the brink. He will always run in for his captain, he will always throw himself at the ball, he will always try to get behind the line when batting. That - and not just the lack of options - is why he has played 50 Tests for India.

Mohammed Shami bowled 46 overs. He was the most threatening of the lot, but possibly didn't get as many overs because he was in only his third Test and also needed to stay fresh to stay at his most threatening.

In three days' time, it is quite possible that the same three will be asked to bowl again. If Kingsmead rolls out a greentop, MS Dhoni will have to think twice before putting South Africa in because of this workload. The cost of competing against the best side in the world, and the most resilient one too, in a gruelling Test, has been high. This Test was longer than India's last Test series. India have put in less effort to win series. They must be wondering what else they need to do to beat South Africa in South Africa. Somehow, though, if India can maintain this kind of fitness, intensity and skill while bowling, this cost, or rather their willingness to pay it, might be India's biggest gain from this series.

They needed a spark, which came through Virat Kohli's hundred on the first day, but after a collapse and a strong South African start later, India were staring at a familiar scenario playing itself out: that of not keeping at it long enough in an away Test. The bowlers, though, kept at it. The results came. A lead was secured. In the second dig, the batsmen all but batted South Africa out. They gave the bowlers 135 overs to bowl South Africa out. India hadn't even required the second new ball in the first.

You look at the scorecard and see seven wickets falling in all those overs - two of them run-outs, one an ordinary lbw decision - and you might say it all did return to type. That, though, would be as unjust to India's efforts, and indeed to their skill with the ball, as it would be to South Africa's great will to fight. There wasn't much that India did wrong in that attempt to win. It might be said that had more time been available South Africa would have won this one, but it was India who consciously killed that time off by batting long in their second innings.

If we were to pick nits, that period of batting on the fourth morning when India just batted without direction in order to kill off three hours was when India didn't think straight. Not giving South Africa enough time was all good, but had they gone a little quicker they wouldn't have had to worry about saving the Test in the end. This isn't criticism in hindsight: India drew the match anyway.

	When India usually concede 312 for 5 in a day's play, their bowlers and fielders are all over the place. Here they were at the batsmen. Du Plessis will tell you this was not easy.

The bowling itself will be worse on many days and will still bowl teams out. Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers played gems, but questions were asked of them throughout. India have been guilty, in the past, of spreading the fields far and wide in the face of a slight counterattack, but it didn't happen here. Dhoni tried to make sure there was a fielder in place should his bowlers produce the edge. The edges all evaded fielders, though. When India usually concede 312 for 5 in a day's play, their bowlers and fielders are all over the place. Here they were at the batsmen. Du Plessis will tell you this was not easy.

R Ashwin's role will come into question, but he didn't bowl too badly either. Perhaps he should have stuck to his role of holding one end up - his economy rate of 2.3 over 36 overs suggests he did - but when wickets are not falling, you sometimes get desperate. He didn't come too close to getting a wicket, though, and that will concern him. This was the first time he had runs to play with in an away Test. He will be disappointed in that regard, but he wasn't way off the mark with his bowling.

It was only in that final session that signs of tired Indian fingers and shoulders began to appear. Zaheer began bowling short and wide, going for three boundaries in the first three overs of that spell, but bowled an eight-over spell to try to set things right. During this spell he could have had de Villiers lbw, but he himself didn't go up properly. Herein might lie Dhoni's only questionable move of the day. Bowling Zaheer for so long kept Shami away. He was on the field, he was fit, but Dhoni went 34 overs and a tea break without bowling. Possibly Dhoni didn't trust this inexperienced bowler. Possibly he was waiting for one wicket to fall so he could unleash a fresh bowler who - if he didn't get a couple of wickets - would at least shut the scoring down.

The fielding, though, remained top-notch. Even Zaheer kept diving to save singles. When the run-out opportunity came, India took it. Kohli spoke of that desperation after the draw. "Every single person in this team is hungry to go out there and win a game for their country and their team," he said. "That is the biggest factor that has changed the way we played in the last one year. It is because everyone is hungry and desperate to go out there and perform and win from any situation. That's what this team believes in, that we can win from any situation."

Towards the end, Dhoni had to ask South Africa if they wanted to go for it. Those three overs was the only time India really spread the field - they even bowled one more over than they were required to. Dhoni asked Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn if they wanted to be heroes and risk losing it all. They didn't. Neither side can be blamed considering what was at stake.

There will be obvious disappointment that they couldn't win from this situation, but India made South Africa reach into their deepest reserves in their home conditions after a season during which they hadn't let a single Test reach the fifth day. Both teams will have to pick themselves up pretty fast, India more so than South Africa because there aren't many instances of their bowlers doing well in back-to-back Tests outside Asia.

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Draw shows how much the Test meant

While we're left wondering what might have been had either team pushed for a win in the final stages of a wonderful Test match, we'd do well to remember that it's difficult for players to take calls that could possibly undo five days of hard work

"This. Is. Awesome."

Those who watch World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) know that chant well. You can hear it during the great, long matches when the wrestling and the play-acting come together perfectly. When a staggering wrestler pulls great technical manoeuvres out of nowhere. When the other clearly exhausted fighter finds a way to pull out of submission holds. Dragging inch by inch to the rope, escaping the hold and buying time. Then he makes a comeback. However, when he unleashes his finishing move, the other wrestler kicks out of it. It is all unbelievable. On the day, the two are great equals. Whatever one guy can throw, the other takes it before hitting back. It all builds up the "this is awesome" chant.

Now WWE loves to tease you. It can't let that feud end on one night. You can't have a clear winner on the night. It likes to build up to later matches so that the rivalry can go on for months. Often, there is contrived outside interference to make the heel (the bad guy) win and the face (the good guy) lose. There is no clear winner on the night, but both wrestlers take away moral victories. They come back to fight again the next week.

This Test. Was. Awesome. Except that it was real. There was a real 35-year-old bowling eight-over spells, throwing himself around to save singles. There was a real man under pressure to save his place in the side, braving pain between his thumb and index finger for 50 overs, facing the hard cricket ball and taking the bottom hand off every time it hit the bat hard. There was a bowler with a toothache trying to win it with the bat. There was a young man in his second Test directly hitting the stumps to try and turn the match around. A man struggling to stand on his feet was padded up to come out to bat, should it come to it. All of that for a draw. Unlike WWE, there was no outside interference.

When they are done claiming moral advantage, trying to turn the psychological screw into each other, both the teams will sit down and reflect on what a great Test this was. A match in which time, such a beautiful concept, became an entity with life of its own.

On the fourth morning, India tried to just bat out time so South Africa didn't have enough to force a win. It was almost a dead period, but it was giving India insurance before they took the game forward. Later during that day, they rushed through their overs because now the time was different. The same team, pushing to get as many overs in, had to slow down on the final afternoon because losing had become a possibility now.

This was a match where the possibility of the draw messed around with otherwise clear heads. This is what Test cricket does to you. It is not just about scoring runs or winning matches. Saving the match is an option. If South Africa didn't have that option, there is every chance they would have won it after the great partnership between Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers. If that option wasn't available, there is every chance South Africa would have perished going for the win, possibly playing injudicious shots.

There was something about having worked hard for four-and-half days that made the players give it their all. In the 82nd over, du Plessis' thumb jarred against the handle, leaving him in visible pain. For quite a few overs after that, he kept getting some attention during the over beaks. He took painkillers. He would have received more treatment during the tea break. When he started out, he couldn't even have known where he was headed.

Du Plessis came in ahead of a legend, Jacques Kallis, because the legend had to bowl too much in the absence of the injured Morne Morkel. There was no way du Plessis could have thought of a draw or a win when he began with three-and-a-half sessions to go. He just batted and batted and batted. When he was hit, he lived with the pain. When the ball misbehaved, he took the bottom hand off. When he got edges that didn't go to hand, he put them behind him. He brought his team to within 16 runs of the most amazing win, but ran himself out.

Try figuring out how it feels. To go from a certain defeat to hopes of saving the game to being favourites for the win to watching his team-mates somehow coming back with just the draw. Try figuring out how it feels for Virat Kohli. He came this close to becoming the first man - not just a visitor - to scoring two centuries in a Wanderers Test. He went through the rollercoaster over the last day and half in the field. He saw good balls and edges produced not go to hand. He saw freakish deliveries and the only ordinary decision of the match keep his side alive. He saw an out-of-form du Plessis pull out one of the great rearguards. He saw Zaheer Khan bowling over after over, putting in dive after dive and running to midwicket to back up throws when bowling.

After all but three overs of the five days, it all came down to the gambler's instinct. A gambler who has to risk all his winnings for the jackpot. With 16 runs to go in three overs - an injured Morkel and a classical No. 11 Imran Tahir in the shed - Dhoni asked two of South Africa's most verbal men, Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn, if they felt like risking it all. He would have been all over South Africa had they lost a wicket then, but then there was the win, the historic win to go for.

This was between a side that was given no chance before the series by many and a side that all upbeat. They had both brought it down to this. Who had the heart to risk it?

The rule of gambling is, you should know when to walk away. When you walk away, though, you have to live with that feeling of "what if".

What if you had gone ahead with that final bet? There are no right or wrong decisions here. Dhoni could have attacked with four slips and a gully. South Africa could have taken the singles and seen what they could have done in the last over. We were not in the middle, though. We don't know how much is at stake. India's bowlers had bowled almost 50 overs each. Imagine losing and trying to recover for a Test in three days' time. South Africa had defied all odds. Imagine losing a home Test after scoring 450 in the final innings.

So we had a slightly contrived end. India, in their push to bowl as many overs to go for the win, had bowled one over more than they should have by the time the mandatory overs began. It seemed, initially, like that would hurt India, but after du Plessis' run-out and JP Duminy's wicket it seemed like that over could actually be the one where India could force a result. Ironically, though, that extra over turned out to be a non-event. Both teams chose to walk away. They will wonder what might have happened had they had gone for the win. That's hindsight, though. In the middle, in that atmosphere, it is difficult to take calls that can possibly undo all the hard work done by their team-mates.

So we have no clear winner. Only moral victories. The feud shall continue. If this was happening in a squared circle, you would have heard, "This. Is. Awesome."

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