Clarke continues Adelaide love affair

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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No point blaming schedule - Dhoni

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Cricket begins tributes to Mandela

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

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

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

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

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

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New Zealand break threatening stand

Tea West Indies 213 and 314 for 5 (Bravo 146*, Ramdin 4*) trail New Zealand 609 for 9 dec by 82 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Warner falls in rainy opening session

Lunch Australia 1 for 46 (Warner 29, Watson 10*, Rogers 7*) v England
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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BCCI lowers base price for team sponsorship

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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ACSU investigating former NZ players

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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West Indies struggle after following on

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Christchurch comeback continues

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

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

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

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

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

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Rare unchanged team for Clarke

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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