Category Uncategorized

Sourav Ganguly confirmed that India took the foot off the pedal halfway through the Kenyan innings. They won by 98 runs, but could’ve clinched the game a lot earlier. "We could have finished it earlier, but I wanted to give everybody a bowl in a match situation," said Ganguly in a press conference soon after the match. "Irfan [Pathan] and Ashish [Nehra] have been bowling well. Ajit [Agarkar] was coming back after a break and I wanted him to bowl his 10 overs."The fact that India did not bowl Kenya out was not the only blemish on their report card. Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh both failed to take the opportunity to spend some time out in the middle. "There’s a practice game on the 16th and that becomes important for them. We need to get them into form because they’re important players. When they score runs they win you games because they score at such a fast rate. I liked the way Viru applied himself, for whatever time he batted. He probably could have avoided that shot [the one that got him out] but we hope he fires in the practice match."Ganguly also rued the fact that he fell short of the three-figure mark yet again. "It’s unfortunate to miss two centuries in one week, but that’s the way it is one-day cricket. Sometimes you try to accelerate and get out, and I probably got a good ball today."Finally, when asked whether he thought India were ready for the big game against Pakistan, Ganguly nodded his vigourous assent.For Steve Tikolo, though, the post-match press conference provided another chance to underscore his grouse against the International Cricket Council for not giving Kenya enough opportunities to play international cricket. "We have not played any one-day internationals for nearly 18 months now and it showed today. If we had been playing without a break, we may not have let India get away with all those runs in the end overs."When asked if his team had taken any positives out of the match, Tikolo said that he was pleased with the way Maurice Ouma, the young debutant, played for his 49. He also said the match gave Brijal Patel, who has been out of form, a chance to get some valuable batting out in the middle.

All Today’s Yesterdays – October 3 down the yearsOctober 2 | October 41921
One of the greatest fast bowlers of all was born on this day. Ray Lindwall was a brilliant swing bowler and a shoo-in for any all-time-great Australian XI. As a child he would play in the street along which Bill O’Reilly walked home in the hope of catching the great man’s eye. He certainly managed that. But Lindwall was more than just a top-class bowler: the Wisden Almanack described him as “perhaps the man who established fast-bowling’s role in the modern game”. The leader of the Invincibles attack in 1948, he enjoyed a sodden Oval pitch in the last Test at The Oval – his 6 for 20 hurried England out for 52, still their lowest total in Ashes Tests in England. Remarkably, 43% of Lindwall’s 228 Test victims were out bowled. He died in Queensland in 1996.1862
Birth of the tragic Johnny Briggs, a brilliant slow left-armer who achieved the sort of penetration that modern English finger-spinners can only dream of. His 118 Test scalps came at the Waqar-esque strike rate of a wicket every 45.19 balls, and his 21 wickets against South Africa cost just 4.81 runs each. At Cape Town in 1888-89 he returned match figures of 33.3-16-28-15 (14 of the 15 were bowled) as South Africa’s tyros were skittled for 47 and 43 in only their country’s second Test. But in 1899 Briggs had an epileptic fit after being struck over the heart, and he ended up in an asylum where, so the story goes, he would imagine himself bowling down the ward and tell the nurses his bowling figures at the end of each day. He died in Cheshire in 1902.1996
South Africa’s biggest ODI victory. They trounced Kenya by 202 runs in the KCA Centenary Tournament in Nairobi. South Africa made 305 for 8 and then bowled out the hapless Kenyans inside 25.1 overs, with Allan Donald helping himself to career-best figures of 6 for 23.1952
Birth of a man who played a crucial role in New Zealand’s first-ever home series victory. Gary Troup played only 15 Tests, but three of them were during the memorable 1-0 win over West Indies in 1979-80. In a tense, truculent series Troup took 18 wickets at 20.61. It was historic for all concerned: New Zealand had waited 50 years for their maiden triumph, and West Indies would not lose another series until 1994-95.1995
Sri Lanka rubbed salt in Pakistan’s wounds at Rawalpindi. They had come from behind to win the Test series 2-1, and now repeated the dose in the one-dayers, clinching the series with a four-wicket win. Rain reduced it to a 38-over match, and Sri Lanka squeezed home with two balls to spare. Arjuna Ranatunga, who top-scored with a cool 42, was Man of the Match.1999
A forceful 84 from Herschelle Gibbs set South Africa up for yet another one-day tournament victory. They beat a Tendulkar-less India by 26 runs in the LG Cup final at Nairobi.Other birthdays
1891 William Ling (South Africa)
1905 Errol Hunte (West Indies)
1911 Sarobindu Banerjee (India)
1980 Sarah Collyer (England)

Players from all over the country face a psychological battle in the second round of the women’s State League, which begins tomorrow.Defending champions, the Auckland, need to down their biggest rivals in a difficult double-header at the new venue of North Harbour Stadium to get their quest for a State League ‘three-peat’ off to a winning start, while Northern Districts will need to hit the ground running to keep up with Otago.Auckland stand to move to the head of the points table in front of Wellington (who have a bye this round) as the competition leader if they win all four of their matches in the next four days.Star all-rounder Emily Drumm says this creates an immediate goal and the side is also determined to christen North Harbour Stadium as a new women’s domestic venue with back-to-back victories over their traditional rivals Canterbury.Drumm said: “It’s going to be tough playing four games in a row, but we’re not complacent and personally I feel that the bye in round one has given us more time to prepare ourselves well. Canterbury had three very close games last week, so it’s important we start strongly. As we’ve already seen, it’s a much more even competition this year and so there are no givens.”Drumm says the matches will be a test of Auckland’s new-look bowling line-up. Missing this season are former CLEAR White Ferns Munokoa Tunupopo and Clare Nicholson, while feisty Paula Gruber is back after having been dropped last year.”We do have an element of inexperience there with two key bowlers gone,” says Drumm. “We’ve found the players to cover that, but there is always a certain gulf between seasoned individuals and those making their debut or playing their first or second season.”Running a close second on the points table with two wins from four matches, Canterbury are under pressure to lift their batting against Auckland.The all-star Cantabrian top order hasn’t fired, with openers Paula Flannery and Nicola Payne eager to put their first-round disappointments behind them and Haidee Tiffen (who has produced one good knock of 40 from her first three bats, but was disappointed with her soft dismissals) yet to show her best.The bowling attack will also be of concern to skipper Flannery, with a lack of variation compared to other sides. But she has been encouraged by the performance of rising star Beth McNeill. The 19-year-old all-rounder recently returned from Texas where she had been an exchange student and has played a pivotal role with the bat from No 7 in the order. The line-up also includes 2001 New Zealand Cricket Academy graduates Sarah Burke and Fiona Fraser.National convener of selectors, Lesley Murdoch, says the Canterbury guns must fire if they’re to push the defending champions in round two.”That Auckland team is still powerful,” cautions Murdoch. “It’s powerful not just because of the name players, but particularly because they have Emily Drumm and Rebecca Rolls and they can both turn a match, more so than any other player in the competition.”Meanwhile in Hamilton, Murdoch believes Otago have the advantage over coming days, having already played several hard matches in round one.”Despite playing at home, Northern will be the underdogs against Otago given that eight of their players are from the Under-21 team. They’re short on experienced top order batting, but this is a great opportunity for them,” Murdoch said.Otago who include 2001 Netherlands captain Pauline te Beest – bowled well in round one and were encouraged by Rachel Pullar’s 73 with the bat.Central Districts and competition leaders Wellington both have a bye this round.

Georgetown (Guyana), May 8: A tropical downpour flooded large parts ofthe Bourda pitch on Monday and washed out the fourth day of the firstTest between West Indies and Pakistan.It had been raining all through the night after play on the third dayhad been called off before time with West Indies on 222 for seven intheir first innings in reply to Pakistan’s 288.Umpires Steve Bucknor of the West Indies and his South Africancolleague did not even bother to step out on to the ground on thfourth morning as rain continued to pour down.From the steps of the pavilion balcony Koertzen signalled to the mediabox the decision of the umpires that play will not be possible at all.It will be a miracle even on the final day tomorrow (Tuesday) if anyplay gets under way with more rain forecast in the next 24 hours andthe field increasingly waterlogged.Like most of Georgetown, which is protected from the Atlantic ocean bya wall, the Bourda pitch lies one metre below sea level and isnotoriously slow to drain.The teams also did not appear at the ground, realizing well that itwill be nigh impossible for the opening Test to restart.When Pakistan captain Moin Khan was contacted he obviously showed hisdisappointment saying that his side had a fair chance of going intothe second Test at Barbados with a 1-0 lead.”I think we could have bowled them out on the fourth morning gainingat least a 30-run lead which in the end could have mattered a lotafter we had batted second time and set West Indies a target,” hesaid.West Indies fought back from a poor start to reach 222 for seven intheir first innings on a curtailed third day’s play on Sunday. Thehome side are still 66 runs short of Pakistan’s score of 288.Their recovery was brought about by a record seventh wicketpartnership of 74 between the obdurate Shivnarine Chanderpaul andNixon McLean after Pakistan had reduced them to 139 for six.West Indies lost skipper Jimmy Adams to the fourth ball of the daywhen Mushtaq had him nicely held low at slip by Younis Khan for20. Television umpire Colin Alfred was called in to adjudicate afterAdams stood his ground.Chris Gayle, one of the seven left-handers in the West Indies line-up,hit a couple of lusty blows but holed out to Wasim Akram at widemid-on off Mushtaq. He made 13.Wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs was run out for six in a terrible mix-upwith Chanderpaul. Wajahatullah Wasti’s return to Mushtaq at thebowler’s end left Jacobs stranded by miles.But then Chanderpaul and fellow left-hander McLean combined togetherto take West Indies at tea at 174 for six. After the interval, McLean,by far the more aggressive of the two batsmen, improved his previousbest score of 39 against South Africa at Cape Town last season beforethe second new ball was claimed by Moin Khan.With his score on 46, McLean was taken at second slip byInzamam-ul-Haq inches off Waqar Younis. The 74-run partnership in 133minutes had erased the previous best against Pakistan for the seventhwicket of 70 between Clive Lloyd and Joel Garner at Bridgetown in1976-77. McLean’s 95-ball innings contained eight boundaries.Chanderpaul’s 46 off 172 balls at stumps had already occupied thecrease for just over four hours. He hit three fours.Curtly Ambrose survived some anxious moments against Wasim Akram andWaqar Younis to remain unbeaten on two.

Aston Villa remain long-term admirers of Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, according to Ashley Preece.

The Lowdown: Leeds flirting with relegation

Leeds have recently sacked Marcelo Bielsa after three-and-a-half years in charge at Elland Road and have brought in Jesse Marsch as his replacement.

The Whites are currently just two points off the relegation zone, and should they drop down to the Championship, you’d expect that some of their star players, including Phillips, would leave in the summer.

Villa tried to sign the England international back in 2019, but as we know, he remained in Yorkshire. Phillips did reveal last year that he was ‘swaying towards’ a move to the Midlands at the time, though, and it seems as if Villa chiefs are still keen on the 26-year-old.

The Latest: Preece’s comments on Phillips

Preece relayed comments from a Birmingham Live Q&A on Tuesday morning.

One fan hoped to see Phillips make the move to the Midlands in the summer, should Villa’s budget be in the region of £100m after keeping Philippe Coutinho. This is what Preece had to say in reply:

“Kalvin Phillips is an interesting one now off the back of Bielsa’s sacking. As we know, Villa have long been admirers of the England midfielder. I’m expecting a summer of big change, Gerrard’s already hinted at that.”

The Verdict: One to watch…

Phillips, who shared his admiration for Steven Gerrard last summer, has been out of action since December and has had to watch his Leeds team-mates struggle, so you could argue that a possible move to Villa Park may well be one to keep an eye upon.

It seems as if Leeds are in real danger of relegation, but you’d expect that Villa would still need to cough up a big fee for his services.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Liverpool, Manchester United and West Ham have all been linked with the player in recent months, with the latter preparing a £50m bid last month. A fee in that region could still be required even if Leeds drop down a division, so he could end up costing Villa a club-record fee if they do go for him.

In other news: Journalist drops key transfer claim regarding ‘phenomenal’ Villa star

New Zealand fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan has suffered a hairline fracture just above his left eye, during the first ODI against Pakistan in Wellington. He picked up the injury when a bouncer burst through the gap in his helmet in the final over of New Zealand’s innings on Monday. It rules him out of the second ODI in Napier, and puts him in doubt for the final match on Sunday, as he is scheduled to undergo minor cosmetic surgery on Friday in Auckland.McClenaghan was batting on 31 from 17 deliveries when the penultimate ball of the innings – from Anwar Ali – squeezed between the peak of his helmet, and its grille to strike him flush on the left eye. Slow-motion replays showed the ball had hit him with considerable force. McClenaghan immediately fell to the ground as the umpires, the Pakistan players and non-striker Matt Henry moved towards him. He eventually rose to his feet to cheers from the crowd, after attention from the team physio. The area around his eye was swollen as he walked off the field.He did not bowl in Pakistan’s innings, spending most of it in hospital instead. He received stitches on his left eyebrow, but was well enough to tweet an update on his condition and congratulations to his team-mates after the victory. “Thanks for all the concerns. Everything is as good as it can be just a few broken bones. Great win for the boys!” he tweeted.McClenaghan is the fourth New Zealand player to be unavailable for Thursday’s game, with Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and Tim Southee also out through injury.

It is said that legspinners enjoy longevity in cricket, often playing far longer than other bowling practitioners, and for Australian Ted Martin that has been borne out this week.While there is conjecture over exactly what his date of birth was, Martin achieved centenarian status during the past week. Several authoritative sources claim that he was born today in 1902 but there are other claims that his birth date was September 26. Whatever it was, it is now official.Martin played only two first-class matches, one for Western Australia and one for an Australian XI.Playing against Douglas Jardine’s 1932-33 team at the outset of what became known as the “Bodyline tour”, he took six wickets in the opening match of the tour and on the basis of that performance was named in the Australian XI which also played in Perth and which included Don Bradman and Vic Richardson. He didn’t take any wickets in that match.Martin had been born in Bendigo but was moved west when his father followed the gold rush. Martin did not continue his cricket career beyond these matches and instead spent a professional career in accountancy.He does join a select group of players who have achieved 100 years. He’s not the first Australian to achieve the feat, although he is the only Australian first-class player. John Wheatley, who was born in Singleton, New South Wales, played his first-class cricket, 12 matches, for Canterbury in New Zealand. He died in Waimate, South Canterbury in 1962.The closest Australian previously had been New South Welshman Ray Bardsley who died in 1983 aged 99 years, five monthsThe known full list of players before Martin were:

103y 344d   JM Hutchinson    29 Nov 1896 –  7 Nov 2000   Eng102y 253d   R De Smidt       23 Nov 1883 –  3 Aug 1986   RSA102y 247d   EA English        1 Jan 1864 –  5 Sep 1966   Eng102y 101d   J Wheatley        8 Jan 1860 – 19 Apr 1962   Aus101y 222d   DB Deodhar       14 Jan 1892 – 24 Aug 1993   India101y 191d   GRU Harman        6 Jun 1874 – 14 Dec 1975   Ire100y 217d   CH Braithwaite   10 Sep 1845 – 15 Apr 1946   USA100y  77d   GO Deane         11 Dec 1828 – 26 Feb 1929   Eng

Pakistan Customs were headed towards a big defeat as they finished the third day of their Patrons Trophy match against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at Karachi on Sunday, still needing 298 runs to win with only five wickets remaining.After having dismissed them for a poor 97 in the first innings, ZTBL left Customs a whopping target of 395 to achieve an improbable win. By stumps yesterday, Customs were tottering at 97 for 5 in their second innings. Mohammad Khalil, the left-arm seamer, who was at the centre of the ball-tampering controversy on Saturday, followed his figures of 4 for 38 with 3 for 14 in eight overs on Sunday. All his three victims failed to open their account.In their second innings, ZTBL raised a total of 238, thanks to a 103-run stand for the sixth wicket between Inam-ul-Haq (52) and Adnan Raza (55). The Customs bowlers acquited themselves well, with paceman Rizwan Akbar taking 4 for 62 and Junaid Zia polishing off the tail, ending up with figures of 3 for 50. Kashif Siddiq was the lone fighter in Customs’ second innings, batting on 59 as his side ended the day at 97 for 5.National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) required another 113 runs to beat Habib Bank with five wickets in hand, as they ended the third day of their Patrons Trophy match at Karachi on Sunday.Mohammad Sami gave the national selectors another reminder as his 4 for 79 restricted Habib Bank to a second-innings total of 217. He finished with a match-haul of nine wickets for 167 runs. Habib Bank had earlier gained a 41-run first innings lead over NBP, who were then left with 259 to register an outright victory. At stumps yesterday, they reached 146 but lost five wickets on the way.A quickfire stand of 53 for the eighth wicket took Habib Bank past the 200 mark. Captain Shahid Afridi hammered 35 off 41 balls with six fours while wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat, in his characteristic aggressive style, needed only 36 balls to make 38, with seven boundaries.NBP were rattled by former Pakistan seamer Irfan Fazil, who ended the day with 3 for 34, as four wickets were gone with only 32 runs on the board. Naumanullah, the captain, then lifted the team’s morale with an unbeaten 69, off 145 balls with 10 boundaries. He was involved in a 47-run stand with Naved Latif and with Qaiser Abbas, he added an unbeaten 67 for the sixth wicket.Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) restricted Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to a first innings score of 253 and, then, finished the third day of their Patrons Trophy match at 17 for 1, at Sheikhupura on Sunday.After having been put in, SNGPL reached 154 for 5 in 44 overs in the opening day, hit by poor weather. The second day was then completely washed out. Yesterday, SNGPL added another 99.Azhar Shafiq missed a well-deserved hundred by just eight runs, after having staged a tough battle against the PIA bowlers. His 92 came off 183 deliveries with 11 fours and a six. For PIA, left-arm fast-medium bowler Najaf Shah chipped in with four wickets. Legspinner Imran Tahir dismissed the lower order, with figures of 4 for 58.With both Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) having already qualified for the quadrangular stage of the Patrons Trophy, WAPDA utilised the entire third day for batting practice, at Rawalpindi on Sunday. WAPDA resumed at their overnight score of 108 for 1 and finished at 355 yesterday with one wicket remaining.After the first day on Friday was completely washed out and only 53 overs was possible the following day. Sialkot’s Masood Asim top-scored for WAPDA with 83 off 294 balls with ten fours. His second-wicket stand with Aamer Sajjad (45) produced 73 runs and the third-wicket partnership with Jahangir Mirza (46) fetched another 82.Aamer’s 45 took only 88 balls with four fours and a six while Jahangir made his 46 off 102 balls with five fours and a six. Later, the in-form Bilal Khilji chipped in with 49 off 85 deliveries with eight boundaries. For KRL, seamer Abdur Rauf and offspinner Saeed Ajmal captured four wickets each for 59 and 114 runs, respectively.Although points are of no consequence in this match, the two teams might try to infuse some interest on the final day today trying at least to gain a first innings lead.

Pain, pain go away: Much of it seems to be of Shoaib’s own making © Getty Images

Pakistan’s obsession with Shoaib Akhtar’s fitness and commitment, increasingly a pre-series ritual, has once again got underway. Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach told Cricinfo in an exclusive interview that he still has concerns over the fast bowler’s fitness.”I understand that Shoaib Akhtar runs thirty metres to bowl and he puts a lot of effort into it. He bowls very quickly and is a massive asset to any team. But in order to do that you have to be a lot fitter than he is at the moment.”Shoaib has not played for Pakistan since January this year; he missed the tour to India with a strained hamstring and was overlooked for the subsequent Caribbean tour on the grounds that he wasn’t fit enough. Since then, he has played a handful of games at county level, the Afro-Asia series where he looked impressive and two ODIs in the recently concluded Super Series against Australia. He wasn’t included in the World XI Test squad for the one-off Test at Sydney, although Graeme Smith, the captain, was at pains to point out it wasn’t due to lack of fitness.Woolmer and the Pakistan board are keen that Shoaib proves his fitness before the England series. His largely unimpressive performance in the Super Series ODIs have not been reassuring on this count.Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan board chairman, too has sought assurances from Shoaib about his commitment to the team and fitness, and set both down as a condition for a comeback.Shaharyar told the Karachi-based daily, , that he had spoken long and hard to Shoaib during the Super Series and explained to him exactly what he needed to do to get back into the team. Shoaib, according to Shaharyar, guaranteed him his full commitment.Woolmer expects Shoaib to play in two games before the England series, including the four-day practice game between a Pakistan XI and Lahore, in Lahore from October 26. A source close to the Pakistan team told Cricinfo that nothing short of sustained spells of fast bowling, in these conditions, over a few days, will convince the management of Shoaib’s fitness levels.Woolmer said, “He’s coming to the training camp on the 21st and he’s playing on the 26th in the practice game in Lahore so I want to see him get stuck in. We have a very important series coming up against England and it’s not about Shoaib Akhtar or Bob Woolmer.”Given that, for the first time in over a year, Pakistan have considerable depth in the fast bowling department – Mohammad Sami and Umar Gul are fit again, Shabbir Ahmed has been allowed to resume bowling and the likes of Mohammad Asif, Najaf Shah and Mohammad Khalil have also impressed recently – there will be added pressure on Shoaib to prove his fitness.Woolmer added, “The only thing I believe Shoaib has to consider is that he must get himself fit if he is to bowl consistently fast for the rest of his career. He’s 30 now so his fast bowling career has probably four years left. It doesn’t take two years to get fit, it takes two months; he has an opportunity to do that.”Woolmer also touched on problems relating to getting the message across to Shoaib, saying that he might be receiving advice from people outside the game of cricket. “It’s a major problem if you have contrary advice; either you listen to the cricket coach or you listen to people who don’t know anything about cricket. If Shoaib wants to do it his way and if he doesn’t fit the bill, he has to understand he might not get selected.”

Australia 235 and 150 for 4 (Gilchrist 49) lead India 376 (Kaif 64, Patel 54, Warne 6-125) by 9 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Mohammad Kaif: a gutsy innings in the heat of Chennai© AFP

An intriguing day’s play where punch was met by counter-punch and strategy was defied by grit set the second Test up perfectly going into the fourth day. Parthiv Patel and Mohammad Kaif stretched India’s lead on to a healthy 141 and then Australia, with Adam Gilchrist showing the way at No. 3, scrambled to 150 for 4, with a slender lead of 9.The Indian lead of 141 does not sound like an awful lot, but it was enough to put pressure on Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. The two began shakily, but managed to get the ball away often enough to bring up the 50-run partnership before Langer’s flash outside off fell in Rahul Dravid’s lap at first slip. Langer had made 19, but it was ironic that he was the first to be dismissed, for Hayden had been the one flirting with danger. He was dropped twice by Patel behind the stumps, first when he hadn’t yet opened his account, off Zaheer Khan, and later on 21, off Anil Kumble.Eventually, though, Hayden fell on 39, but not before he had reverted to the tactic that brought him 549 runs at an uber-Bradman average of 109 on Australia’s last tour here. Hayden’s lusty sweeps were effective, but eventually caused his downfall on 39, when one ball climbed, took the edge and ballooned up for VVS Laxman to latch onto gingerly at mid-on (76 for 2).Gilchrist then showed why he was in at No. 3, sweeping Kumble, Harbhajan and Virender Sehwag for powerful boundaries in quick succession. Simon Katich, looking to be more aggressive in this innings than he had earlier in the series, reached 9 before being trapped in front of the stumps by a sharp reverse-swinging delivery from Zaheer Khan (121 for 3). Gilchrist galloped along, reaching 49 swiftly, but after a sluggish phase in sight of the half-century, was bowled around the legs by a Kumble googly (145 for 4). Only two balls before that, Patel had chalked up his third dropped catch in under 47 overs, when Gilchrist gloved Kumble down the leg side.But Patel’s day was not all about misses. Earlier, with Kaif, he proved that it was possible to bat long on this Chennai pitch. Kaif, curious stance on display – feet close together, buttocks stuck out, hands spread on the bat handle – took his guard outside the crease, and used a straight bat to great effect against the medium-pacers. Patel, waiting and watching the ball till the last possible moment before choosing his stroke, ensured that he was able to take toll when the opportunity arose.Both batsmen had just about blunted the seamers when Gilchrist turned to spin, and Patel cashed in with two quick boundaries – a pull off Katich and a heave to midwicket off Shane Warne. The partnership reached three figures and Patel had brought up his half-century.

Shane Warne: mopped up the tail and finished with his first five-wicket haul against India© Getty Images

Kaif’s selection for this Test, his first in three years, proved to be an inspired decision. His 64, coming when it did, pulled India away from Australia after Virender Sehwag had laid the foundation. Kaif’s half-century, his first in Test cricket, meant that the score had moved from 233 for 6 to 335 for 7. The partnership was broken when a delivery from Warne bounced a bit more than Patel expected, and he gloved it to the Gilchrist behind the stumps. In keeping with the spirit of this game Patel walked before David Shepherd could make up his mind.Then there was a moment of confusion as Kaif dehydrated and cramped up badly. Having dashed off the field in urgent need of relief at the stroke of lunch, Kaif remained in the dressing-room, temporarily retiring hurt. Anil Kumble (20), who had batted well in the reassuring presence of Kaif, was bowled by one that drifted and turned and Harbhajan Singh popped a return catch to Warne, as he finished with 6 for 125.Kaif (64) returned to the crease with Yuvraj Singh as a runner, but did not last too long. He came down the wicket and lifted Warne over mid-on for one glorious boundary, and ran himself out shortly after in dramatic fashion. Having reverse-swept one to the short third man region, Kaif forgot about his runner and instinctively set off down the pitch. Then he slipped and fell on the pitch clutching his leg and couldn’t make it back before the bails were whipped off. By then, though, he had done his bit.