Seamer Gurinder Sandhu and batsman Jimmy Peirson starred in Australia‘s 71-run win over Scotland in Brisbane. Australia put up 315 runs after Peirson smashed his way to a 123-ball 128. Scotland stayed in contention during the chase, courtesy Mathew Cross’ 104, but Sandhu’s five-wicket haul, which included a hat-trick, finished the contest.Sandhu’s effort overshadowed Scotland left-arm seamer Aman Bailwal’s 5 for 52; he ran through the Scotland’s middle and lower-order as the last six wickets fell for four runs to eliminate Scotland’s chances of an upset.In a last-over thriller, captain and opening batsman Chad Bowes’ 104 not out carried South Africa to a four-wicket win against Bangladesh. When the sixth wicket fell in the last ball of the 49th over, South Africa still needed 10 runs to win. But a nerveless No. 8 Prenelan Subrayen, who smashed a six in the last over, helped them reach home with a ball to spare. For Bangladesh, Al-Amin shone with both bat and ball; he scored a 73-ball 60 and later picked up a couple of crucial wickets.Naresh Budayair’s 114 wasn’t enough to help Nepal beat the target of 268 against New Zealand, as the team fell short by 19 runs. In a spirited chase, Nepal was well on course after opener Subash Khakurel, who scored 59, and Budayair added 129 for the second wicket. But only one other batsman made a double-figure score as New Zealand came back into the match by picking wickets regularly. With Budayair’s wicket in the 48th over with 37 runs to win, Nepal lost their chance to inflict an upset.New Zealand’s innings revolved around captain Will Young, who scored 97, and middle-order batsmen Henry Walsh, who scored a half-century, and wicketkeeper Cam Fletcher. Seamer Saurav Khanal took three wickets.Left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh’s five for 32 helped India dismiss Afghanistan for 219 to allow India to record a 52-run victory. India’s innings was based on three half-centuries by the top three batsmen – Prashant Chopra, captain Unmukt Chand and Baba Aparajith. Their innings faltered later with the last five wickets falling for 38 runs, as they ended up with 271 for 7.Afghanistan got off to a positive start with an opening stand of 42 runs, and half-centuries by captain Javed Ahmadi and Shabir Noori seemed to be guiding them towards victory. But a flurry of wickets, similar to the Indian collapse, with seven wickets falling for 56 runs as Harmeet ran through the middle and lower-order, put paid to their hopes.Zimbabwe collapsed for 89 against England to lose by 131 runs, with only three of their batsmen registering double-digit scores. They were in deep trouble at 31 for five before Campbell Light and Nyasha Mayawo briefly led a recovery with a 29-run stand, but the contest was over by then, with a target of 221 well out of reach. Seamer Brett Hutton took three for 28 in his nine overs; Shozair Ali, captain Adam Ball and Tom Knight were the other wicket-takers.Hutton also shone with the bat, with 55 off 66 balls, to rescue his side after they were eight down for 167 in the 42nd over.In a low-scoring match, a six-wicket haul by offspinner Tharindu Kaushal ripped apart Ireland‘s middle-order, allowing Sri Lanka to win by 50 runs. A 55 by Ireland opener Ryan Hunter, which was the highest any batsman had scored in the match, was the only contribution of note. Wickets fell regularly throughout the match but unlike Sri lanka, Ireland couldn’t string small partnerships together. Apart from a 65-run stand for the second wicket there was little the Ireland batsmen could offer.The highest scorer in Sri Lanka’s innings was 29 by opener Pabasara Waduge, but with four batsmen scoring in the 20s, and 32 extras, they reached 188.West Indies crushed Namibia under a weight of a commanding total of 328, limiting them to 182 to win by 146 runs, thanks to a century by Sunil Ambris, half-centuries by captain John Campbell and Anthony Alleyne, and contributions from fast bowlers Ronsford Beaton and Marquino Mindley.For Namibia, No. 3 Jano Coetzee put up a resistance with 89, but four wickets by Beaton and three by Mindley put paid to Namibia’s hopes. Beaton destroyed the top-order, reducing Namibia to 41 for 3, and Mindley took the final few wickets to complete the win.Pakistan opener Sami Aslam scored a 99-ball 132 to guide them to an eight-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea. Aslam’s century contained 22 fours and three sixes as Pakistan reached the target of 195 in the 33rd over. For Papua New Guinea, opener Lega Siaka, who scored a century in their previous warm-up game against Nepal, top-scored with 46, as middle-order batsmen Dogodo Bau and Nigel Boge struck a 91-run partnership to help them reach 194. Legspinner Usman Qadir took three wickets.

Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes is in contention to be part of the England Lions coaching set-up during the squad’s tour to the UAE.Rhodes would join former England head coach Andy Flower, now the ECB’s technical director of elite coaching, and the ECB’s lead batting coach Graham Thorpe in working with the squad which will be named later this week. Thorpe will act as batting coach, with Flower overseeing the squad more generally.England Lions will spend much of the winter in the UAE. The squad have a training camp at a similar time to the main squad’s visit, and will then play five T20 fixtures against Pakistan A in the lead-up to Christmas, before returning to the UAE in January to play five 50-over matches.Unsurprisingly given their location and recent English shortcomings, there will be a focus on how the batsmen play spin bowling. It is also likely that a group of fast bowlers will spend time training in South Africa later in the year.Former England wicketkeeper Rhodes started his playing career with Yorkshire before moving to Worcestershire in 1985, where he played for 20 seasons. He joined the club’s coaching staff in 2005 and became director of cricket in 2006. He played 11 Tests for England in 1995 and 1996 and nine ODIs between 1989 and 1995.Under his watch, Worcestershire have yo-yoed between Divisions One and Two, and are likely to be relegated this season, their first back in the top division. Rhodes is highly respected on the county circuit for what he has achieved with limited resources and his ability to nurture young players. A number of the latest batch, such as Joe Leach, Ben Cox, Joe Clarke and Tom Fell, will be in contention for a place in the UAE. Rhodes is the latest in a line of highly rated county coaches to be introduced to the Lions set-up, such as Mark Robinson of Sussex.The most high-profile names in the squad are likely to be Gary Ballance, whose pair for Yorkshire against Middlesex has come at a terrible time, and Sussex’s Chris Jordan. Tymal Mills, the left-arm fast bowler, is likely to take a place in the squad for the T20 leg of the tour, while Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan will return to the national set-up and Essex’s Tom Westley – who impressed with a century against the touring Australians this year – is set to be called up for the first time.

Frank Tyson, the former England fast bowler, and renowned as one of the quickest to have ever played the game, has died at the age of 85 in Australia.Earning the nickname ‘Typhoon’ for his extreme pace, Tyson played 17 Tests for England between 1954 and 1959, taking 76 wickets at an average of 18.56. His demanding action put huge strain on his body and he retired at the age of 30.One of Tyson’s most memorable performances came in the 1954-55 Ashes in Australia, in which he picked up 28 wickets in five Tests, at an average of 20.82, helping England achieve a 3-1 win and formed a potent new-ball partnership with Brian Statham in the series.He only managed 1 for 160 in the first Test in Brisbane but finished with 10 wickets in the second Test in Sydney, taking a six-for in the second innings to lead England to a 38-run win, after he had earlier been knocked out by a short ball from Ray Lindwall.In an interview in 2013, Tyson recalled the Sydney spell. “Ask some of the Australians and they’ll say my fastest spell was Sydney – the match where I was sconed by Ray Lindwall. I was pretty cranky about what had happened and I did bowl fast. But I wouldn’t say that it was the best I’d ever bowled.”Frank Tyson during the 1954-55 Ashes where he claimed 28 wickets•Getty Images

He bettered that with 7 for 27 in the third Test at the MCG, which England won by 128 runs, a spell that Richie Benaud rated as the quickest he had ever seen. reported: “The pitch was worn and the experts predicted that England must look to Appleyard, pointing out that the conditions were made for his off spin, and probably they were right, but Tyson and Statham saw England home without Hutton having to look elsewhere for any bowling”Sheer speed through the air coupled with the chance of a shooter at any moment left the Australian batsmen nonplussed. Tyson blazed through them like a bush fire. In seventy-nine minutes the match was all over, the eight remaining wickets crashing for 36 runs.”Born in Lancashire, Tyson had initially looked to play for them but he broke down during his one 2nd XI match in 1949 and he subsequently had an eight-year career with Northamptonshire. His first-class career spanned 244 matches between 1952 and 1960, and he finished with 767 wickets.After his retirement in 1960, Tyson emigrated to Australia where he became headmaster of a school for a time, before coaching Victoria. He was a commentator and a successful writer, penning numerous books on the game. Through a stint with the Mumbai Cricket Association in the 1990s, he also helped groom local bowlers, including former India Test bowlers Abey Kuruvilla and Paras Mhambrey, and had a few more stints with the state association.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:42

Agarkar: India need to sort out batting order

South Africa defended 86 runs off the last ten overs to ensure Quinton de Kock’s first international century of 2015 and fourth in seven innings against India was not in vain. De Kock stood out after the rest of South Africa’s line-up was tied down by spin. India dragged them from 205 for 2 to 270 for 7, and then found themselves in a similar position but with less time to bat and more runs to get.In the 44th over India were 206 for 3 and South Africa’s seamers had the hosts’ middle order firmly in their grip. Unlike India, who used flight to flummox, South Africa stuck to their short-ball strategy and Morne Morkel reaped most of the success. He took two of the next three wickets, of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, to reduce India to 216 for 6 and silence their challenge.In energy-sapping heat, de Kock’s performance was made even more impressive as he ushered a new opening partner into some form, struggled through the Indian squeeze and cast aside cramps to anchor the South African effort. He had support from Faf du Plessis, whose third half-century in as many matches helped post the highest partnership of the match – 118 runs for the third wicket – to ensure that the late wickets did not stop South Africa from posting a competitive total.India would have believed they could chase it down and were on track with Kohli and MS Dhoni at the crease but lost momentum as the innings wore on. A shuffling of the batting line-up, which saw Rahane come in at No. 6, meant that India ran out of batsmen when they needed them most.South Africa’s ability to adapt has advanced to altering their own gameplans which they did when they promoted David Miller to open the batting in a bid to assist him through his lean patch. The idea seemed to be to shield Miller from as much spin as possible but it also meant de Kock, who was only recalled to the side at the start of this series, had to operate as the senior partner.He took charge immediately with the first shot of aggression off his blade; a free-flowing drive which became the hallmark of his innings. While India’s seamers adjusted their lengths, de Kock and Miller were able to find the boundary five times in the opening seven overs and forced Dhoni to play his trump card early.Harbhajan Singh was brought on in the eighth over but the openers had settled well. De Kock brought up South Africa’s 50 with back-to-back straight drives and Miller grew in confidence, especially with his footwork. But he fell for 33 as he sliced Harbhajan to backward point where Rahane took a tumbling catch.Hashim Amla batted out of position at No. 3, struggled to find fluency and was stumped for the second match in a row. De Kock fought through a boundary drought which extended from the 14th over to the 21st and seemed to show even more patience than his senior partner, du Plessis. Again, the waiting game proved worthwhile for du Plessis, whose 50 came off 52 balls. Dhoni used a fourth spinner in Suresh Raina to try and tie South African down further but the visitors still seemed set for a total over 300, especially with de Kock at the crease.His century came when he charged against Mohit Sharma and smacked a slower ball through the covers to suggest the time had come for acceleration but then India intervened. Du Plessis tried to repeat a scoop shot that had gone over Dhoni’s head for four but skied it to a running short third man, de Kock was run-out trying to meet AB de Villiers’ demand for stealing a single and the captain was trapped lbw at the start of the 41st over.India took three wickets for five runs and South Africa had only one recognised pair left. Both JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien have been in good form, but India’s spinners did not let them get too far away.De Kock spent the first 30 overs of the Indian reply rehydrating and by the time he got back on the field, the advantage was swinging back towards South Africa after India seemed to be cruising. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan built a solid start despite both offering chances that South Africa put down off Duminy in the eighth over.Dhawan succumbed to mounting pressure again when he tried to drive Morkel through the off side but got an edge through to de Villiers, who was keeping in de Kock’s place.Kohli was promoted to No. 3 as India looked to mimic South Africa in giving him enough time to find his way back to form and their move paid off better than South Africa’s. Kohli struck his first ODI fifty since the World Cup and batted with an authority which suggested he would see India though.With Rohit at the other end, India progressed steadily, taking advantage of a South African attack that seemed to be allowing matters to drift. Rohit reached fifty with a massive six off Imran Tahir and India’s 100 came up four balls later. Although their going was laboured, it seemed headed in the right direction until Duminy saw Rohit coming, dropped the ball a touch shorter, and completed the catch in his follow through as the batsman coaxed a gentle dab back to him.Dhoni joined Kohli in the hope of injecting some impetus into the innings. He took on Steyn with some success but was more cautious against Tahir and Kagiso Rabada who managed to tire India down. They conceded 11 runs in five overs from the 32nd over to the 36th, during which Kohli scored fifty, to prompt de Villiers to bring on one of his premier pacers again.Morkel started to make things uncomfortable for India in his second spell but it was in this third that he caused real damage. He had Dhoni caught at short third man, looking to upper cut a short ball to change the course of the chase. Tahir removed Raina, who racked up a second successive duck, with a googly that he sent to long-off and then Morkel finished India off. In two balls, he had both Kohli and Rahane caught at deep midwicket, playing identical slogs.India left the tail too much to do with 55 runs required off the last five overs and found themselves chasing the series, yet again.

Misbah-ul-Haq has been signed by Rangpur to play in the third edition of the Bangladesh Premier League which begins from November 22. Misbah has not played international T20 cricket since he stepped down as Pakistan captain in 2012, but he has been a consistent feature in domestic T20s and foreign leagues.Misbah, 41, recently led Pakistan to No. 2 in the Test rankings after a 2-0 defeat of England in the UAE. He had hinted at retiring after the series but the PCB had asked him to delay those plans.So that means his next assignment would be a tour of England in July 2016. The remainder of Pakistan’s Test specialists will play plenty of limited-overs cricket, including the Asia Cup and the World T20 next year, but Misbah who has retired from both the shorter formats, is hoping to keep himself match-ready by playing the Quaid-E-Azam trophy, Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament, and later the Bangladesh Premier League.”I have signed with BPL,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo. “I want to carry on and keep myself motivated and maintain my fitness. So whatever cricket comes in I want to play to avoid being complacent.”Pakistan’s domestic season will conclude in February next year. The first Test at Lord’s is in July, four months later. So Misbah is keen to secure a contract with an English county to make sure he doesn’t turn up undercooked.”I love the game and want to play it,” Misbah had said after the England Test series. “It’s really difficult when you have not played any competitive cricket for six, seven, eight months and suddenly you come and play against top players. So this is a period you need to motivate yourself.”I can still play domestic cricket and be ready for that kind of challenge, but that’s not easy. I have mentioned that before because after retiring from ODIs, I can feel that whenever the Tests come the first game is always difficult and the body mechanism is not working. I feel that I am playing after a long time and it takes one or two innings to settle and if you are getting out early it could be horrible for you so these things are there so I am just trying to rethink and work out.”

West Zone lost an absolute humdinger to Air India in the CricInfo RaniJhansi Trophy in Chennai today. Losing by just five runs to an AirIndia side that was made to work hard for victory, West Zone settledonce more for silver in a big match. Despite a fighting 51 fromskipper Kalyani, West Zone could not make the required runs.Chasing 152, West Zone got off to a bad start, losing Amrutha Shindeearly in the innings. Arti Vaidya looked confident while she tookstrike, stroking the ball effortlessly through the off side. Coming tothe pitch of the ball, she used the angled bat to great effect,carving the ball through the gaps in the off side. However when shewas going strong on 14 she tried to force the ball through the offsideoff the bowling of mediumpacer Smita Harikrishna. The ball flew offthe face of the bat towards Manju Nadoda at slip. Sticking her righthand out in a split second, she plucked the ball out of the air justbefore it hit the ground.In walked captain Kalyani Umbrani. She started slowly, content onpushing the ball into the gaps for ones and twos. As the overs piledon, the asking rate steadily crept up towards the six an overmark. Vice captain Sunetra Parajape played steadily at the otherend. However, she perished just when things began to look solid forWest Zone.After Sunetra was dismissed, things began to look decidedly better forAir India. Sangeetha Kamat played a few good shots but could notsustain her aggression. Sulakshana Naik, drafted into the side tobolster the batting, livened up the proceedings with a pugnaciousknock. Hitting cleanly through the line, she narrowed the gap betweenballs remaining and runs required. Sweeping the off spinners, she gaveWest a glimmer of hope. When she ran herself out pushing hard for arun that was simply not on, things were all but over.Kalyani toiled bravely at the other end, but the pressure soon got toher as well. Till the end she showed enormous reserves of patience,waiting for the loose ball. When she made the fatal error ofattempting to swing medium pacer Kusumalatha across the line, AirIndia had sealed the game. Kalyani had done well, making 51, but hadnot done enough.Chandarani Kamble and Ashwini Nadkarni found the task at hand too bigto handle and could only pick ones and twos. When the last ball wasdelivered and only a single taken off it, Air India had won by aslender margin.Earlier in the day West Zone lost its fifth consecutive toss and wereasked to field. Beginning well, skipper Kalyani and Neelima Waghmaregot into rhythm immediately. Neelima has been right on the spot in thetournament so far, with returns of 2/17 from the last 20 overs she hadbowled. Today was no exception. Bowling her overs on the trot as shehas done so far in the tournament, Neelima troubled Purnima from theword go. When Purnima brought her bat down a shade late to a quickerdelivery, the ball squirted through bat and pad and dislodged thebails.Anjum Chopra, who made a flawless unbeaten 89 in her last innings,joined Anju Jain at the wicket. Anju grew more confident as the oversrolled by and chanced her arm against off spinner Sonali Chandok. Anjuwas lucky to be at the crease after three overs from the offspinner. Coming down the wicket she was totally beaten and only alapse from wicketkeeper Ashwini Nadkarni let her off. However, shecashed in on the chance and went on to hit the ball crisply throughthe line.Anju continued to strike the ball well, till she began to play acrossthe line. Attempting to hit Sonali over the onside with the spin, shecame very close to being caught at midwicket on more than oneoccasion. The ball eluded the fielder and it looked like it would beAnju’s day.Neelima finished her 10 overs for just 27 runs and captured the allimportant wicket of Air India captain Purnima Rau.Anjum Chopra too looked comfortable at the wicket. Turning the ballbehind the wicket with ease, she grafted for runs. When she hit theball to Sangeetha Kamat at mid on and took off for a quick single shewas struggling. Sangeetha, one of the better fielders of thetournament so far swooped in on the ball, picked up with one hand andlet the throw rip. The ball nailed middle stump and Anjum was wellshort of her ground.With two of the top three back in the pavilion and just 37 on theboard, Air India would have worried a bit. There was more cause forworry as Anju skied a catch to Neelima at mid off. Beaten in theflight and just a shade off the wicket, Anju could not get to thepitch of the ball and Sonali was rewarded for a good spell. Once gainSonali had shown that it was not essential to bowl flat to keep thingstight. Giving the ball a lot of air she enticed the batswomen intofalse shots on many occasions without luck. She ended with a return of1/29 from her 10 overs.After the top three were dismissed, West Zone managed to keep thingsquiet. In turn the Air India team felt the pressure, having lost quickwickets. Sangeetha Kamat was pressed into action to bowl hermediumpacers and she was steady as ever. While not tumbling, wicketsfell at regular enough intervals to stifle the scoring rate. Sangeethahelped herself to 2/22 off 9 overs.In the last few overs, Air India managed to up their scoring rate withsome crisp shots to the outfield. Air India ended on 152. DeepaliPatkar and Manju Nadguda were the two unbeaten batswomen with 15 and31 respectively.At the end of the day it was the experience of Air India skipperPurnima Rau that made the difference. It was again a case of West Zonelooking good for glory but having to settle for a pat on the back. Itwill be to their credit that they gave Air India a serious run fortheir money. However, there will be players in the West Zone camp whowill believe that they lost a match they should have won. That is notvery far from the truth.

A score of 172 in 45 overs does not suggest particularly proficient batting, but it was more than enough for Warwickshire to see Middlesex off in a crucial National League Division Two game. The Bears’ victory condemns the Crusaders to another season in Division Two.All this said, it was a desperately dull game. The only light points were that Lord’s let kids in free, and also – shock horror – allowed to play on the outfield at tea-time.Not only was this game dull, it was of poor quality. Some accurate bowling was combated with some of the most appalling batting. The Crusaders won the toss, and put the Bears in on a decent looking track. Openers Mark Wagh and Anurag Singh made a steady, dour start, putting on 72 for the first wicket. Wagh was trapped leg before for 24, attempting to pull Simon Cook. Skipper Neil Smith came and went, run-out by his younger partner. Ostler was castled by Johnson, Hemp well caught by keeper Alleyne, and Penney bowled by seamer Tim Bloomfield.At the other end, Singh was batting neatly. A firm hitter of the ball, his drive is particularly flamboyant. His 74 came from 125 balls, much slower than usual, and his dismissal gave Johnson his second wicket. It was all down hill from there on, with wickets falling in a hurry. Donald played what must have been one of the most irresponsible shots of his career, aiming a wild slog at Cook, only to see his off stump flattened. The Bears were eventually skittled for 172, with Johnson (3-26) and Cook (3-22), the pick of the bowlers.Unfortunately for the Crusaders, they only have two consistent batsmen. Ramprakash and Langer were at the crease a lot earlier than they would have hoped, after Strauss was leg before to Dagnall for one, and Alleyne caught going for a rash pull shot for four. Langer played one glorious trademark pull shot, before he was run out thanks to a Trevor Penney direct hit. Ramprakash didn’t last much longer, trapped leg before to give Dagnall his second wicket. When Ed Joyce was caught at cover following one of the most awful shots Lord’s has ever seen, the Crusaders were 24-5.Some dour defence followed from Paul Weekes. He was run out thanks to Allan Donald, and the writing was all but on the wall. Donald bowled seven overs in what will almost certainly be his last game at Lord’s finishing with figures of 1-8.Ben Hutton kept the Middlesex fans interested, making 49 before becoming Dagnall’s third scalp. Brief cameos from Simon Cook and Richard Johnson could not sway the result, as the Bears duly completed a 37 run victory.

Tamil Union secured their place in the semi final of the Premier League Limited Over tournament with a seven wicket victory against Singha CC, who were bowled out for just 112 in 39.2 overs.Following a break for rain, Tamil Union were required to score 90 runs from 27 overs. They did this within 15 overs, but, bizarrely, the umpires continued playing the match, unaware that Tamil Union had won the match. Eventually the Tamil union coach phoned KT. Francis, Director of Umpiring, who then told the umpires that the match had ended.Singha CC started the match in disastorous fashion. They lost the toss and were asked to bat first on the Oval pitch, which is notoriously lively in the opening half hour. Sure enough Singha lost early wickets and slumped to nine for three in the fourth over.Things did not improve greatly. At one stage they were 56 for seven and looking at a humiliating defeat. However, a 33 run partnership between Rajapaksha (22) and Mirando (21) ensured that they reached three figures.Despite losing both openers early on, Dias run out for seven and Shiroman caught behind off Mirando for a duck, Tamil Union cruised to victory thanks to cameo’s from Peiris (26), Rideegammanagedara (21*) and Chandana (20*).

South Africa’s bowlers, not least among them the 21-year-old debutant Mfuneko Ngam, vindicated Shaun Pollock’s decision to bowl first on the second day of the third Castle Lager/MTN Test match at the Wanderers with a disciplined effort on a fast and bouncy pitch that broke the spine of the New Zealand batting.With the whole of Friday’s first day lost to the weather, the South African seam attack moved the game along quickly when it finally got going, bowling out New Zealand for just 200. By stumps, the home side had reached 18 for the loss of Gary Kirsten’s wicket.Ngam bowled with impressive pace and control in his first outing at this level, but the pick of the seam attack was another product of South Africa’s development programme, Makhaya Ntini, who again demonstrated just how much he has learned in the past two years.With the help of four dropped catches in the first session, two of them off Ngam, both from Adam Parore and both spilled by Daryll Cullinan at first slip, New Zealand reached lunch reasonably comfortably at 83 for one. By tea they were 121 for six as the middle simply fell out of the batting.Eight balls into the afternoon session the tourists were already 83 for three with Ngam finally, and deservedly, getting his first wicket in the over after lunch when Mark Richardson, on 46, couldn’t cope with one that got big on him and was caught at the wicket.The other not out batsman at the interval, Mathew Sinclair, went four balls later, generously providing a tame edge to Lance Klusener at third slip, one which was finally held.From there on New Zealand were struggling all the way. Ntini came back for a terrific second spell to york Stephen Fleming and have Nathan Astle caught at second slip and when Jacques Kallis had Craig McMillan also taken at second slip, the innings was in tatters.There was some resistance down the order, most notably from another debutant, Hamish Marshall. Whatever his faults as a Test player, impatience cannot be counted among them. He took 61 minutes to get off the mark, a record, apparently, for a player in his maiden Test, and was still there at the close of the innings, unbeaten on 40.But it probably won’t be nearly enough. There is, thankfully, pace and bounce in this pitch, but it is by no means unplayable. The South African bowlers, however, seldom strayed from a threatening line around off stump, they bowled the right length and none of the New Zealanders was able to break the shackles.All of this has moved the game along quickly and despite the loss of the first day, a result is entirely possible in this match. But if South Africa are to push their first innings along on Sunday, they will have to do so without Kirsten.He was clearly unamused at getting out with the light fading in the evening, and must have been positively seething when the umpires called off play two balls after his dismissal.For all that, South Africa are very handily placed and their bowlers must take all the credit. Ntini finished with three, Pollock, Ngam and Kallis got two each and Lance Klusener accounted for Brooke Walker, who made a brave 17 in an 18-over partnership with Marshall. It’s unlikely, however, that this will prove enough.

Of its two NatWest Series fixtures so far, the Pakistan team has won the first and lost the second, while Aussies have won both theirs. Against England in the first match, Pakistan seemed to be in an all-conquering mood, and made it their business to demolish the demoralised hosts in their second successive outing. In such form, the Pakistanis look really threatening. Unfortunately, they let it slip a bit against the Aussies, who ultimately proved why they are the best side in the world, as they made no fuss in reaching a competitive target with relative ease.

First, let’s look at the England game, whom Pakistan meet again on Tuesday. Pakistan batted well, and posted enough runs on the board, with Saeed Anwar for the first time on this tour finding form and Inzamam continuing to plaster the England attack. Both added 150 for the third wicket, and while 273 in the end seemed to be a few runs less than Pakistan may have expected, it seemed good enough. Then with all the Pakistan bowlers, Wasim Akram being the sole exception, getting amongst the wickets, England capitulated for the second time in the week to lose by a huge margin – an identical 108 to Old Trafford Test.England was depleted in the absence of Graham Thorpe and Andrew Caddick, with Nasser Hussain already out, but even that is no excuse keeping in view the margin of defeat.This was a remarkable win, and showed that Pakistan’s ascendancy at Old Trafford was no fluke. More so because Pakistan seemed superior in all departments in that game. In my view the only disappointing things in that match were Razzaq and Youhana getting run out.

In the second match, against Australia, I was frankly disappointed. I thought with the newly-inculcated fighting spirit and with Aussies not having been in great form and with injuries to a couple of their bowlers, evident from their outings against the counties, Pakistan stood a better chance of winning the game. But then Pakistan gave it away, with Razzaq and Inzamam gifting their wickets to a rather overweight and ordinary looking Shane Warne.Azhar Mahmood followed suit, and Saeed Anwar having done the hard work gave his wicket away too, rather casually. Younis Khan was given leg before by Peter Willey when he was not; the star-crossed Younis must be wondering what he has to do to get the umpires to rule in his favour! That too, when he is in form and can make a really useful contribution.Since he has been ‘adjudged’ three times in last five visits to the crease, I do hope he does not lose confidence or start believing in conspiracy theories.A word about Inzamam. The way he got out trying to blast Warne out of the ground was really distressing. He is the vice-captain and a batsman on whom the team banks on to perform. He should show more responsibility, and especially because he is in fine fettle these days. He has made the most of it so far, but he shouldn’t loose his composure, even once.

That Pakistan eventually posted a somewhat competitive total was thanks to Yousuf Youhana (unconquered 91) and Rashid Latif (66 off 68 deliveries). Both were simply magnificent, and saved their side many a blushes. They were helped in their task a bit by Steve Waugh quite inexplicably, as he didn’t employ a fielder at long leg, where both these batsmen scored many a run turning the full length deliveries into flicks and milking the spinners on sweeps.Rashid Latif has more than justified his selection by his performance, both in front of the wicket and behind it. He is a tremendous fighter who never says die. This is also one reason why he keeps resurrecting his career when it seems to be all but over. But he seems to have health problems at this point and it would be advisable to keep a replacement handy. I think Moin Khan in the circumstances deserves a recall, and the selectors should look into sending him over to England.The Aussies, thorough professionals as they are, went about the task of getting the runs by going after the Pakistan attack. They were helped along by the fact that with Shoaib and Waqar’s pace, batsmen only need to get a reasonable touch and the ball disappears to the boundary, particularly in the first 15 overs. Waqar should have brought Saqlain Mushtaq on much earlier than he did, and once the off-spinner was given the ball he removed Ricky Ponting but by then the horse had bolted.As Pakistan seem determined to do well, when they take on England on Tuesday, they would need to keep things tight while bowling and the batting order requires a change or two as well. For instance, why not promote Younis up the order, to number three? Razzaq has not been contributing many runs, and Younis with his characteristic aggression may make a difference. Going up the order may also change his luck with the umpires. It might relieve Razzaq too, for down the order he may discover the form while batting aggressively, which he perhaps cannot, going into a defensive groove at number three.

Ed:Salahuddin Ahmed (Sallu) is a former Test cricketer, and has served as a PCB selector nine times; his last stint (1999-2000) was as chief selector.