1st Test Day 1 Pakistan v Sri Lanka

Pakistan 46 for 1 (Shehzad 25*, Manzoor 21) trail Sri Lanka 204 (Mathews 91, Junaid 5-58, Bhatti 3-65) by 158 runs

The Pakistan seamers shredded Sri Lanka's batting in unthreatening conditions to wrest control after a manic second session in Abu Dhabi. Junaid Khan maintained his stranglehold over the Sri Lanka batsmen, picking up his fourth five-wicket haul against them, but central to the collapse was debutant Bilawal Bhatti's post-lunch spell during which he picked up three wickets - two of them in one over. The twitter feed was abound with the question: "What did they eat for lunch?"

The pitch in its green guise didn't offer much to the bowlers, but it was a mix of tight bowling and loose batting from Sri Lanka that resulted in their innings slipping off the precipice. From a comfortable 66 for 1 at lunch, Sri Lanka lost seven wickets for 58 runs and only a rearguard action from their captain, Angelo Mathews, who scored a counterattacking 91, prevented a complete capitulation.

 

Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out for 204 and Pakistan had a comfortable start to their innings till a run-out off the last ball took some sheen away. Khurram Manzoor was left stranded mid-pitch after dabbing a ball to cover, and Pakistan ended the day on 46 for 1.

 

It all started in the first over of the second session when Kaushal Silva - who had been patient, but circumspect, all morning - played inside the line of a short-of-a-length delivery from Bhatti only to edge it to the keeper. Sixty-six for 1 became 67 for 2, but Sri Lanka wouldn't have worried too much about it as they had the experienced pair of Mahela Jayawardene, who was playing his first Test in almost a year, and Kumar Sangakkara in the middle.

 

That safety cushion was soon pulled away by Bhatti in his next over. He got his second delivery - probably the best of the day - to rear awkwardly on Jayawardene and the batsman edged it to the keeper. However, the TV umpire came to Jayawardene's rescue as the replays showed the bowler had overstepped. The very next ball though - a yorker, Jayawardene edged it to Adnan Akmal again. Seventy-six for 2 became 76 for 3.

 

Two balls later, Chandimal played a poor shot, chasing a wide delivery, and paid the price as the edge flew straight to Misbah-ul-Haq at first slip. Seventy-six for 4.

 

At the other end, Sangakkara was watching the drama unfold but was unfazed and was defending solidly. However, three overs after Bhatti's double-strike, his eyes lit up seeing Junaid bowl a wide, length ball. Nine out of 10 times, Sangakkara would have crashed it through covers, but today he slashed it straight to the cover-point fielder. Pakistan were ecstatic to see the back of their tormentor. Eighty-two for 5 now.

 

Junaid then added three more wickets - Prasanna Jayawardene edged to Akmal, before Sachithra Senanayake and Rangana Herath were removed off successive deliveries - to complete his five-for in an eight-over spell. Hundred-and-twenty-four for 8.

 

Running out of partners, Mathews tried to score whenever possible - he hit three boundaries in a Bhatti over immediately after Sangakkara's departure - and brought up his half-century in 49 balls. He added a crucial 61 with Shaminda Eranga, who scored 14, for the ninth wicket and 19 for the tenth wicket during a period of play where Pakistan allowed him to farm the strike. He was finally stumped off a Saeed Ajmal doosra early in the third session, falling in the ninties for the third time in his career.

 

The dramatic second session was in complete contrast with the first, during which Sri Lanka, despite the loss of Dimuth Karunaratne, had looked comfortable after being put in to bat. The two openers added 50 in the first hour of the day as Pakistan didn't make the impact they would have hoped for. However, the winds started changing direction in the second hour as the bowlers adjusted their lines and length to stem the flow of runs.

 

In the second over after the first drinks break, Junaid had a strong appeal for caught behind against Silva turned down by the umpire. Pakistan immediately called for a review - they had reasons to be confident as the ball made a sound as it passed the bat - but with no Hot Spot available for this series, the decision went in the favour of the batsman, extending Pakistan's poor run with the DRS (Pakistan wasted another review in the 55th over).

 

Four overs later, Junaid had Karunaratne pushing away from the body and Asad Shafiq took a smart reflex catch at gully to end the 57-run opening-wicket stand. The wicket slowed Sri Lanka's pace down - 16 runs came in the 12 overs after the drinks break. The runs dried up, and Pakistan had a feast after lunch.

Tea Sri Lanka 167 for 8 (Mathews 57*, Junaid 5-51, Bhatti 3-59) v Pakistan

Pakistan seamers shredded the Sri Lankan batting in unthreatening conditions to wrest control after a manic second session in Abu Dhabi. Junaid Khan maintained his stranglehold over the Sri Lankan batsmen, picking up his fourth five-wicket haul against them, but central to the collapse was debutant Bilawal Bhatti's post-lunch spell during which he picked up three wickets - two of them in one over. The twitter feed was abound with the question - 'What did they eat for lunch?'

The pitch in its green guise didn't offer much to the bowlers, but it was a mix of tight bowling and loose batting from the Sri Lankans that saw their innings slip off the precipice. From a comfortable 66 for 1 at Lunch, Sri Lanka lost the next seven wickets for 101 runs.

It all started in the first over of the second session when Kaushal Silva - who had been patient, but circumspect, all morning - play inside the line of a short of length delivery from Bhatti only to edge it to the keeper. Sixty-six for 1 became 66 for 2, but Sri Lanka wouldn't have worried too much about it as they had the experienced pair of Mahela Jayawardene, who was playing his first Test in almost a year, and Kumar Sangakkara in the middle.

That safety cushion was soon pulled away by Bhatti in his next over. He got his second delivery - probably the best of the day - to rear awkwardly on Jayawardene and the batsman edged it to the keeper. However, the TV umpire came to Jayawardene's rescue as the replays showed the bowler had overstepped. The very next ball though, Jayawardene played inside the line of a yorker and edged it to the keeper. Seventy-six for 2 became 76 for 3.

 

Two balls later, Chandimal played a poor shot, chasing a wide delivery, and paid the price as he edged it straight to Misbah-ul-Haq at first slip. 76 for 3 became 76 for 4.

 

At the other end, Sangakkara was watching the drama unfold but was unfazed and was defending solidly as Pakistan tightened their lines. However, three overs after Bhatti's double-strike, his eyes lit up as he saw Junaid bowl a wide length ball. Nine out of 10 times, Sangakkara would have crashed it through covers, but today, he slashed it straight to the cover point fielder. Pakistan were ecstatic to see the back of their tormentor. 76 for 4 became 82 for 5.

Junaid then added three more wickets - Prasanna Jayawardene edged one to the keeper, then Sachithra Senanayake and Rangana Herath were removed off successive deliveries - to complete his five-for in an eight-over long spell.

 

With his partners running out, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews tried to score whenever possible - he hit three boundaries in a Bhatti over immediately after Sangakkara's departure - and brought up his half-century in 49 balls. By tea, he had added a crucial 43 with Shaminda Eranga to help Sri Lanka put up a fight.

The second session was in complete contrast with the first during which Sri Lanka, despite the loss of Dimuth Karunaratne, had looked comfortable after being put into bat. The two openers added 50 in the first hour of the day as Pakistan didn't make the impact they would have hoped for. In the second hour, the bowlers adjusted their lines and length to stem the flow of runs.

In the second over after the first drinks break, Junaid troubled Silva with a tight line outside off and had a strong appeal for caught behind turned down by the umpire. Pakistan immediately called for a review - they had reasons to be confident as the ball made a sound as it passed the bat - but with no Hot Spot available for this series, the decision went in the favour of the batsman, extending Pakistan's poor run with the DRS. Junaid drew the outside edge again in the same over, but Silva survived as the ball landed short of first slip.

 

Four overs later, Junaid had Karunaratne pushing away from the body and Asad Shafiq took a smart reflex catch at gully to end the 57-run opening-wicket stand. The fall of wicket slowed Sri Lanka's pace down - 16 runs came in the 12 overs after the drinks break. If there was ever a change in momentum, it was in this second hour and Pakistan made the most of it.

Lunch Sri Lanka 66 for 1 (Silva 20*, Sangakkara 8*, Junaid 1-27) v Pakistan

A change in intensity after a loose first hour helped Pakistan get some control over the proceedings after Sri Lanka openers had stitched together a confident half-century stand on the first day. Dimuth Karunaratne and his new opening partner Kaushal Silva had motored along to 50 in the first hour, but Junaid Khan found the right channel to bowl in his second spell and was rewarded with the wicket of Karunaratne.

In the second over after the drinks break, Junaid troubled Silva with a tight line outside off and had a strong appeal for caught behind turned down by the umpire. Pakistan immediately called for a review - they had reasons to be confident as the ball made a sound as it passed the bat - but with no Hot Spot available for this series, the decision went in the favour of the batsman, extending Pakistan's poor run with the DRS. Junaid drew the outside edge again in the same over, but Silva survived as the ball landed short of first slip.

Four overs later, Junaid had Karunaratne pushing away from the body and Asad Shafiq took a smart reflex catch at gully to end the 57-run opening-wicket stand. The fall of wicket slowed Sri Lanka's pace down - 16 runs came in the 12 overs after the drinks break - but Pakistan would still be the more disappointed of the two sides as they would have wanted better returns after choosing to bowl.

The Abu Dhabi pitch had a greenish tinge to it, which possibly forced Misbah-ul-Haq to field a three-men pace, attack - Bilawal Bhatti making his Test debut - and opt to bowl after winning the toss. It certainly looked like a good toss to win as two edges, both from Karunaratne's bat, flew threw the cordon in the first two overs. However, that was as good as it got for Pakistan in the first hour as both batsmen easily picked up the runs.

 

Karunaratne used the on-drive to counter the full deliveries, while Silva used the cover drive as the ball hardly swerved in the air. The couple of times it moved off the pitch to hit Karunaratne on the pads, the batsman was either saved by the inside edge or the angle on the deliveries. He was making comfortable progress, but wasted the start with a loose shot.

 

Kumar Sangakkara survived a testing time before the end of the session, but with an intimidating record against Pakistan - he averages over 89 against them - he will be key as the pitch flattens out under the sun.

2nd Test Day 5 South Africa v India

South Africa 500 (Kallis 115, de Villiers 74, Jadeja 6-138) and 59 for 0 beat India 334 (Vijay 97, Pujara 70, Steyn 6-100) and 223 (Rahane 96, Peterson 4-74) by ten wickets

South Africa overpowered India by ten wickets in Jacques Kallis' final Test to give one of the greatest of Test careers the perfect end. Kallis will retire satisfied at having been an integral part of a South Africa side who are the undisputed No. 1 in Tests, having lost just one of their previous 25 series stretching back to 2006.

It was a wonderful summer day to sign off. A 40% chance of rain was expected to be one of India's allies on a day that was the biggest challenge for their young batting line-up. Instead, they were greeted by clear blue skies and pleasant sunshine. And their chances worsened dramatically within 15 minutes of the start of play, as Dale Steyn removed their two best batsmen, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, in a fierce spell of fast bowling.

 

India managed to clear the deficit just before lunch, but South Africa had mopped up five wickets in the first session to put themselves on the verge of a series victory. Though it was the fifth day, the track was still reasonably good for batting, but only Ajinkya Rahane stuck it out with a hugely impressive 96 before becoming the last man out.

 

A target of 59 proved little challenge to South Africa's openers, who knocked it off in less than 12 overs to end a Durban 'jinx' that lasted since early 2008, with the home side failing to win four previous Tests.

 

Earlier, Steyn struck a big blow on the first ball itself as he got a shortish delivery to rear up and had Kohli caught behind. Kohli couldn't believe the decision, as the ball had brushed his shoulder on the way through to the keeper but he was on his way.

	Dale Steyn picked up two wickets in a fiery spell © Associated Press Enlarge

If Kohli couldn't be faulted for his dismissal, very little blame could be attached to Pujara for his exit as well. Steyn produced the ball of the match - a quick delivery that angled in and then nipped away to beat Pujara's attempt at keeping it out and clip the top of offstump.

 

India were left shellshocked by that early burst as Steyn gave another reminder of why he remains the most lethal fast bowler around.

 

Rohit Sharma had shouldered arms and lost his middle stump first ball in the first innings, but he fared better this time around.

 

There was plenty of chat with a fired-up Steyn, who sledged him with lines like "I've got more runs than you this series," and "You have done nothing in your career." Rohit survived both Steyn's spell and the verbals, but there was no redemption on a disappointing tour for him as he was caught lbw by a ripping incutter from Vernon Philander for 25.

 

His Mumbai team-mate Rahane, though, has vastly enhanced his reputation on this series.

 

After nearly two years with the Test squad without getting a proper look-in, he has finally got a couple of games on this challenging tour, and he has locked in his place with a bunch of gutsy knocks.

 

There were an array of classic drives in his fighting innings, one of the highlights of which was a gentle straight drive for four off Steyn.

 

Rahane's defensive solidity was on display as he kept out the hostile South African quicks, again showcasing his temperament. He also showed that he had that vital quality for a No. 6, the ability to bat with the tail as he and the lower order frustrated South Africa for more than an hour after lunch. He was marching towards a maiden Test century, going for his shots - including a seemingly effortless six over point off Philander - before he was bowled for 96.

 

India's chances had withered long before that. Robin Peterson stuck twice in an over - MS Dhoni chipped a catch to midwicket, to bring back the questions over his ability to bat in away Tests, and Ravindra Jadeja holed out to long-off. India had slumped to 154 for 7. Zaheer Khan, unlike in recent innings, showed some application before falling to a carrom ball that rounded off a great day for Peterson.

 

South Africa may be the winners, but India have had plenty to gain from the series as well. Widely expected to be thrashed 2-0 on this tour, they showed they could hold their own against the toughest team around. It is a certainly a massive step up from their two previous high-profile overseas series, which ended in disastrous 4-0 losses, something to cheer their fans despite the Durban defeat.

2nd Test Day 4 South Africa v India

India 334 and 68 for 2 trail South Africa 500 (Kallis 115, Peterson 61, Jadeja 6-138) by 98 runs

First session: 96 runs at 2.73 runs per over. Second session: 102 at 7.20. Third session: 73 at 1.91. The vastly varying scoring rates that Test cricket allows were on vivid display as the game meandered in the morning, before South Africa stepped on it post-lunch in search of a declaration, after which India's batsmen put up a backs-to-the-wall display in the murky light at Kingsmead.
 

Despite the fluctuating run-rates, it was a day on which South Africa progressively increased their advantage, first taking a substantial lead and then prising out the Indian openers. India face a fight for survival on the final day of the series.

 

The morning was all about one man. Jacques Kallis slowly and steadily made his way to an emotional farewell century, his 45th in Test cricket, went past Rahul Dravid to become the third highest run-getter in Tests and gradually pushed India towards an unwinnable position.

 

The sentiments involved were clearly evident early in the day itself, when nightwatchman Dale Steyn hugged Kallis after a miscommunication over a single. No South African wanted to be remembered as the person responsible for causing Kallis to be dismissed in his final Test, especially not before he reached a century.

 

In that session, it seemed as if both teams were waiting for the other to make the play. South Africa weren't playing with the intent of setting up a declaration, and India were content sitting back and limiting the runs with an increasingly ragged ball which was used for as long as 146 overs.

The bowling was almost entirely about one man too.

 

 Ravindra Jadeja bowled unchanged for half the day in a marathon 25-over spell as he provided the control India were searching for. Jadeja also finally broke the stubborn 86-run partnership between Kallis and Steyn by getting Kallis to top edge a slog sweep and complete his five-for.

 

As Kallis walked back, there were poignant scenes. The Sunday crowd saluted him with a standing ovation, the South African team greeted him with hugs outside the pavilion, and the captain Graeme Smith kissed him on his head.

 

There wasn't too much initiative from South Africa even after that dismissal, but a short rain break after lunch shook things up. Robin Peterson and Faf du Plessis came out looking to play the big shots, and in the first three overs they plundered 29 runs - almost as many had been made in 16 overs leading to lunch.

 

India were clueless against the adventurous batsmen, and the flood of runs continued after the umpires finally forced a ball change midway through the session. Peterson galloped to a half-century off 44 balls, and the highlight of his innings was a stunning switch hit over the right-hander's long-on for six. Du Plessis was marginally slower, playing more orthodox but equally eye-catching strokes - such as a gentle flick over mid-on off Mohammed Shami - and in little time the lead had ballooned past 150.

 

Peterson perished going for another big hit to end a partnership of 110 off 108 balls, and the rains returned to cut the session short, giving time for Smith to mull over whether it was time to declare. The decision was taken out of his hands when play resumed as Jadeja ran to his right and dived to secure Morne Morkel's leading edge to take six for the match and end the innings.

 

That left India needing to bat out about two-and-a-half hours on the day. Steyn and Vernon Philander turned in a high-intensity spell with the new ball. Steyn harried the batsmen with the short ball but couldn't get the breakthrough as he delivered 5-4-1-0. Philander had been ineffective in the first innings but had more impact this time as he set up Vijay perfectly - a series of short balls, followed by the fuller one which Vijay nicked through to slip after taking only half a step forward.

 

Shikhar Dhawan, who has had a mediocre tour so far, survived the initial examination, constantly urging himself to concentrate, and leaving as many deliveries as he could. Cheteshwar Pujara was struck on the armpit with a vicious bouncer early on but slowly he gained a measure of the pitch.

 

The light wasn't great in the evening, but not so poor that they could come off with a significant chunk of the session still left to play. India would have wanted this on the first day when they were dominant, instead of today but Dhawan and Pujara were showing signs that they could make it through till stumps. That feeling grew as the umpires deemed that only spinners could bowl in the fading light.

 

Dhawan though went for a big hit off Robin Peterson, only to see du Plessis at short midwicket pull off one of the catches of the year with a one-handed leaping effort. India's best batsmen, Pujara and Virat Kohli, were in the middle at stumps, and how long their partnership lasts could determine the course of the match tomorrow.

4th Ashes Test Day 4 Aus win by 8 wickets

England 255 & 179 lost to Australia 204 & 231-2 by eight wickets

Australia made it four wins out of four and moved closer to an Ashes whitewash with a dominant eight-wicket victory over England with a day to spare in Melbourne.

Led by an unruffled 116 from opener Chris Rogers and aided by three missed catches, they knocked off the remaining 201 runs they needed by mid-afternoon on a day that became a stroll in the Melbourne sunshine.

England had begun with hope of summoning up the spirit of 1998, when they bowled out Australia for just 162 on this ground to win by 12 runs.

Instead they created very little and blew what chances they did have as Australia, led home by the unbeaten Shane Watson (83) and Michel Clarke (six), cruised to the biggest fourth-innings target at this ground in 51 years.

Analysis

Michael Vaughan Ex-England captain & Test Match Special summariser

"This will be the most satisfying victory for the Australian team because of the fact they have had to fight. They turned around a 51-run deficit and won so convincingly.
"It looks like the tall lads, Rankin, Finn and Tremlett, are not in any fit state to play but you might as well play one of them. Ian Bell has to bat at three, they have to admit they got that wrong. The tough call is to get rid of Carberry and say they made a mistake and put Root back to open.
"I don't know if it will make any difference. You could make changes but whatever team England put out in Sydney I just can't see how it's not going to 5-0 in this series."

With the final Test in Sydney starting in four days' time and England having been dismantled in every match so far, the odds on a 5-0 scoreline to match that of seven years ago must now be short.

What could have been a thrilling final battle was instead by the end an annihilation, another black day in a series of almost unremitting gloom for the shambolic tourists.

Midway through the third day here at the MCG, England had led by 116 runs with all 10 second innings wickets in hand.

But they ended this game once again hammered by a huge margin, unable to even get close to a side they beat 3-0 just four months ago.

Rogers played with calm authority on his adopted home ground as he steered his team to their target, his second Test century making him the sixth Australian in this series to make a hundred.

The 36-year-old was dropped twice en route, once on 19 by Alastair Cook at first slip from a catch that wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow should have claimed, and again on 81 when Bairstow failed to get a glove on a low chance to his left.

But he played beautifully, picking up eight boundaries behind square on the off side as he used the pace of the ball to glide run after run away to third man.

England had begun hoping for an early wicket to give them a chance of salvaging a win from the wreckage of the series so far.

But after Rogers' escape Cook then dropped the most straightforward chance a first slip could want off David Warner with the score on 53, and although Ben Stokes had the opener caught behind when he had made 25, there was never any prospect of more following soon after.

Cook made some curious captaincy decisions - taking off his best bowler, Stuart Broad, after only two overs, giving occasional off-spinner Joe Root a spell before turning to his specialist option Monty Panesar - and had to watch several poor mis-fields as Watson went on the attack.

Rogers was caught behind off Panesar with 31 needed but Watson thumped away in muscular fashion, crashing 12 boundaries, while Clarke went past 8,000 Test runs with the target only a few big blows away.

The end came at just before 2.30pm on the fourth day when Watson hoisted Panesar over midwicket in front of a celebrating Bay 13.

In an Ashes that has brought daily disappointment for England, this was perhaps the most painful defeat of all.

The losses in the first three Tests were one-sided affairs, but here at the MCG they had been in apparent control and favourites for victory. Yet they found a way to lose, and it will take a performance far superior to anything they have found on tour to escape the whitewash in the New Year.

2nd ODI New Zealand v West Indies A-A

Abandoned New Zealand v West Indies
The second ODI between New Zealand and West Indies at McLean Park, Napier was called off after persistent afternoon rain left wet patches in the outfield. The umpires inspected the ground at 5pm - two-and-a-half hours after the scheduled start - under sunny conditions, but deemed the outfield unfit for play. The play was finally called off at 5.20pm to boos from the crowd.

A drizzle had greeted the teams before the start of the match, but the prospect of play diminished as soon as the downpour increased in intensity around 1.30pm, half an hour before the scheduled start. 

 

New Zealand are trailing 0-1 in the five-match ODI series. The teams will travel to Queenstown for the third ODI to be played on the New Year's day.

2nd Test Day 3 South Africa v India

South Africa 299 for 5 (Kallis 78*, Jadeja 4-87) trail India 334 by 35 runs

In his final Test, Jacques Kallis methodically reached yet another half-century and left people wondering why he wasn't carrying on in the longest format.
 

He remained on course for a farewell hundred, and with the help of AB de Villiers, who conjured a 50-plus score for the 10th Test in a row, took South Africa to a solid position before rain and bad light stopped play an hour after tea. India had begun the day well, with three wickets early on, before Kallis and de Villiers got together and blunted the attack with a 127-run stand.

 

While an undisputed all-time great, the questions over whether Kallis' batting is dominant enough have never really gone away. Those doubts will be back in circulation after his sluggish scoring rate towards the end of the day. He showed little enterprise against even a part-timer like Rohit Sharma and South Africa scored at below two an over at a time when they needed to get the game moving.

 

The one bright spot in the Indian attack was Ravindra Jadeja who, in his first Test as the lead spinner, put an end to discussions over whether he should have been picked ahead of R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha. He didn't just play a containing role supporting the quicks; he did contain the runs as he wheeled in over after over, but also made four breakthroughs to make sure South Africa didn't run away with the game.

 

The most important of those was of de Villiers midway through the second session. South Africa were rattling along at about five an over after lunch, India were looking ragged, and though Jadeja brought in a measure of control, de Villiers had just hit a reverse-swept boundary and the deficit was below 100. Jadeja then got the ball to spin sharply, taking the outside edge through to slip to end a burgeoning partnership.

 

That sucked the momentum out of the innings, as JP Duminy took his time to settle in and Kallis couldn't force the pace either. Kallis reached his half-century soon after de Villiers' dismissal, but scored just five singles off his next 40 deliveries as Jadeja kept a leash on the scoring. In the 15 post de Villiers overs till tea, South Africa made 27. India opted against the new ball and with Jadeja and Rohit bowling in the fading light, South Africa crawled to 32 off nearly 16 overs, losing Duminy in the process as well.

 

Progress had been more brisk in the morning from South Africa, before Jadeja's bounce provided the first wicket of the morning. Graeme Smith looked to smash the ball over the leg side, but it hit high on the bat and swirled to midwicket, where Shikhar Dhawan sprinted back and safely collected the ball as it fell over his shoulder.

 

Hashim Amla's dry spell continued when he played down the wrong line to a Mohammed Shami delivery to lose his offstump, and off the very next ball, the set Alviro Petersen was surprised by the bounce from Jadeja to glove a catch to first slip. Again, it was a sharp catch, with M Vijay diving forward to pouch a low chance. South Africa had lost three wickets for 10 runs and had two new batsmen in the middle,

 

There was only a small crowd in considering it was an early start, but they made plenty of noise as Kallis walked out to bat and was greeted by a guard of honour from India. The emotion of the moment didn't seem to affect Kallis, as he set about thwarting India's bowlers.

 

He was helped by the off-colour India attack. Ishant Sharma was back to his profligate self, providing gifts on the leg stump, and Zaheer Khan wasn't able to consistently threaten either. Shami was the pick of the medium-pacers, getting the ball to regularly reverse in and constantly hitting speeds near 140kph.

 

While Kallis was quiet early on, De Villiers took on Jadeja by lofting him straight towards the sightscreen. Kallis was struck on the arm by Zaheer Khan, and took his time gauging the track before opening up with a couple of cracking aerial hits down the ground off Jadeja. There was also a classic backfoot punch from Kallis off Ishant before lunch, but the strokes were shelved in the final two hours of play, leaving South Africa plenty to do on the fourth morning.

Tea South Africa 267 for 4 (Kallis 61*, Duminy 13*) trail India 334 by 67 runs

In his final Test, Jacques Kallis methodically wore down the Indian attack to reach yet another half-century and leave people wondering why he wasn't carrying on in the longest format. With the help of a typically flamboyant 74 from AB de Villiers, Kallis pushed South Africa to a strong position by tea, just 67 short of India's score.
 

India had begun the day well, with three wickets early on, before Kallis and de Villiers got together and blunted the attack with a 127-run stand during which the only real chance was a run-out opportunity after some confused calling.

 

One of the bright spots on the day for India was Ravindra Jadeja, whose accuracy provided the dot-ball pressure that was sorely lacking when the quicks were operating. Wheeling in for over after over, he ensured the match didn't get away from India, not just by limiting the runs but also through important breakthroughs. They were few loose deliveries, and he got through overs in as little as 82 seconds to ease any worry about the over rate.

 

South Africa's openers began briskly, but Jadeja's bounce provided the first wicket of the morning. Graeme Smith looked to smash the ball over the leg side, but it hit high on the bat and swirled to midwicket, where Shikhar Dhawan sprinted back and safely collected the ball as it fell over his shoulder.

 

Hashim Amla's dry spell continued when he played down the wrong line to a Mohammed Shami delivery to lose his offstump, and off the very next ball, the set Alviro Petersen was surprised by the bounce from Jadeja to glove a catch to first slip. Again, it was a sharp catch, with M Vijay diving forward to pouch a low chance. South Africa had lost three wickets for 10 runs and had two new batsmen in the middle.

 

There was only a small crowd in considering it was an early start, but they made plenty of noise as Kallis walked out to bat and was greeted by a guard of honour from India. The emotion of the moment didn't seem to affect Kallis, as he set about thwarting India's bowlers.

 

He was helped by the off-colour India attack. Ishant Sharma was back to his profligate self, providing gifts on the leg stump, and Zaheer Khan wasn't able to consistently threaten either. Shami was the pick of the medium-pacers, getting the ball to regularly reverse in and constantly hitting speeds near 140kph.

 

While Kallis was quiet early on, De Villiers took on Jadeja by lofting him straight towards the sightscreen. Kallis was struck on the arm by Zaheer Khan, and took his time gauging the track before opening up with a couple of cracking aerial hits down the ground off Jadeja.

 

By lunch, the early morning was forgotten and South Africa began the second session at five an over as Shami and Zaheer struggled to make an impact. Kallis is an undisputed all-time great but somehow he hasn't quite won over the hearts of aesthetes, who consider his batting too mechanical, and perhaps not domineering enough. There were several shots where Kallis showed off he can be a stylist, prime among those being the backfoot punch past point off Ishant.

 

There have never been questions over de Villiers' style, and he again seemed to have loads of time to play the ball as he produced a half-century for the 10th Test in a row. There were plenty of shots in the V early on, before he gradually unfurled more of his strokes. He was hurtling along to another Test hundred, confidently reverse-sweeping Jadeja for four, before a nicking a turning ball from the same bowler to first slip.

 

That wicket sucked the momentum out of the South Africa innings as Kallis, after reaching his half-century, scored just four singles off his next 40 deliveries in the face of tight bowling from Jadeja. The final 10 overs yielded only 16 runs and South Africa's charge towards the Indian score slowed. The home side will look for more impetus in the final session, which could be a short one as the clouds began to circle around Kingsmead.

Lunch South Africa 181 for 3 (de Villiers 39*, Kallis 26*) trail India 334 by 153 runs

It was a glorious day awash with sunshine in Durban, unlike Friday when cricket fans were greeted by leaden skies, but like in the extended first session yesterday, the batting team lost a cluster of wickets early and made about a hundred runs.
 

Ravindra Jadeja was getting plenty of bounce to worry the batsmen, and Hashim Amla was bowled for a low score for the third time in three innings as South Africa wobbled at the start of the day

 

There was only a small crowd in considering it was an early start, but they made plenty of noise as Jacques Kallis walked out to bat in his final Test and was greeted by a guard of honour from India.

 

The emotion of the moment didn't seem to affect Kallis, and he was his usual solid self at the crease, forging a 68-run stand with AB de Villiers to steady the innings. De Villiers had some sparkling strokes, scoring mainly in the V, as he moved along to 39.

 

India began with Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja with a ball 20 overs old, perhaps saving Mohammed Shami and Zaheer Khan for spells when the ball was older and reversing.

 

Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen started in the same brisk manner that they had played yesterday, but the breakthrough came when Smith looked to smash Jadeja over the leg side. It hit high on the bat and swirled to midwicket, where Shikhar Dhawan sprinted back and safely collected the ball as it fell over his shoulder.

 

Amla's dry spell continued when he played down the wrong line to a Shami delivery to lose his offstump, and off the very next ball, the set Petersen was surprised by the bounce from Jadeja to glove a catch to first slip. Again, it was a sharp catch, with M Vijay diving forward to pouch a low chance. South Africa had lost three wickets for 10 runs and had two new batsmen in the middle.

 

Jadeja wheeled away, tying up one end and allowing the quicks to rotate. While Kallis was quiet early on, De Villiers took on Jadeja by lofting him straight towards the sightscreen. Kallis was struck on the arm by Zaheer Khan, and took his time gauging the track before opening up with a couple of cracking aerial hits down the ground off Jadeja.

 

There were few alarms for South Africa after that, as both batsmen played sensibly, going for the shots only when the bad ball was delivered and by lunch South Africa had progressed to 181 for 3.

4th Ashes Test Day 3 (Eng 255 & 179 v Aus 204 & 30-0)

England 255 & 179 v Australia 204 & 30-0 - (Aus need 231 to win)

 

Australia need 201 more runs with all 10 wickets still in hand to win the fourth Test and move within a match of a series whitewash after another horrible day for England.

 

Looking to build on a first-innings lead of 51, England twice lost three wickets for one run and tossed away their last five for just six runs in a lame batting display.

Only Alastair Cook (51) and Kevin Pietersen (49) made significant contributions as four batsmen fell for ducks in a total of just 179, leaving Australia to make 231 for their fourth win of this one-sided Ashes series.

Analysis

Geoffrey Boycott Ex-England batsman & Test Match Special summariser

"This day promised a great deal for English cricket but finished really disappointingly. I feel very dejected after feeling this was England's best chance to win for a long time.
"I'd like to be in the dressing room telling them what I think. They think they're better than they are, they've won three series against ordinary Australian sides and they think they're world beaters."

By the close David Warner and Chris Rogers had added an unbeaten 30 with minimal discomfort to further dampen English expectations that had been so high after Friday's second day.

No team has ever successfully chased more than 183 in the fourth innings to win a Test here since drop-in pitches were introduced 17 years ago.

But the pitch remains good and England will have to bowl better than they have all winter if they are to snatch their first victory since last August.

Given the match situation this may have been the most wasteful day of the sorry series as Nathan Lyon took 5-50 with minimal turn and Mitchell Johnson made it 31 wickets in the series.

Australia had added a brisk 40 runs for the last wicket to take their first innings to 204, Brad Haddin the last man out for another invaluable rearguard, this time of 65, to give him a series average of exactly the same.

No wicketkeeper has ever scored more runs in an Ashes series, and with Lyon's unbeaten 18 it threatened to do more than merely irritate England.

Stats of the day

• If Australia win it would be the ninth highest Test run chase at the MCG and the highest since 1963
• Alastair Cook became the sixth England batsman to reach 8,000 Test runs
• At 29 years and 3 days, he beat Sachin Tendulkar by 21 days to become the youngest player to 8,000
• Mitchell Johnson became the first player to take 30 or more wickets in any Test series since Shane Warne in 2005 and the first to do it in Australia since Craig McDermott in 1994/95
• After his fourth half-century of the series, Brad Haddin beat Alec Stewart's record of 378 for the most runs by a wicketkeeper in an Ashes series
• Nathan Lyon reached 100 Test wickets in his 29th match and took his first five-wicket haul against England
• Lyon's average of 23 when batting at number 11 is the highest in Tests for those who have played at least 20 innings

Cook set off at a clip, driving and cutting nicely to race along at almost a run a ball as he became the youngest man in Test history to pass 8,000 Test runs.

Michael Carberry, by contrast, was rendered almost strokeless, stuck for 36 balls on just one, but it was his captain who was first to go when he had made 51 of the pair's 65.

Johnson found some late in-swing from over the wicket and Cook, back in his crease, was stuck halfway up his static front leg to be lbw.

Joe Root almost followed two balls later only to be reprieved when his review ruled that he had not edged behind

England, however, failed to press home that kind advantage. First Carberry's troubled innings ended on 12 when he was trapped lbw by Peter Siddle, and then Root gambled on a quick single only for Johnson at mid off to throw down the stumps in brilliant fashion.

It was to get worse. To the very first ball he faced Ian Bell simply pushed a straight ball from Lyon up in the air and into Johnson's hands at mid off, meaning England had lost three wickets for just one run.

With the lead just 138 Pietersen and Ben Stokes then batted with commendable calm as the afternoon sun kicked in to weary the Australian attack.

Stokes had looked comfortable but then decided to take Lyon on and instead holed out to Steve Smith at a deepish mid off for 19 with the score on 131.

Analysis

Michael Vaughan Ex-England captain & Test Match Special summariser

"Brilliant day from Australia. I can't imagine what's going to be said among the England team tonight. There's still a possibility England could cause a shock, they certainly could get the 10 wickets, but whatever happens this batting needs to be looked at, you can't keep throwing wickets away."

Fortunately for England at least Pietersen was playing with both control and class, neither slogging nor getting strangled.

In partnership with Jonny Bairstow - who got off the mark with a straight six off Lyon - he took the score to 173 and a lead of 224 before recent history repeated itself to miserable effect.

Bairstow chased a full, wide one from Johnson to be caught behind for 21, and as another huge crowd at the MCG roared their team on, the remaining four wickets followed in rapid and often bewildering fashion.

Tim Bresnan tried to pull Lyon and was bowled for a nine-ball 0, Stuart Broad aimed a big drive at his third ball to be caught at slip in the same over and then Pietersen, running out of options, attacked the off-spinner and perished to a fine steepling catch from Ryan Harris running back at mid off.

Monty Panesar could do nothing to keep Johnson's fast straight delivery at bay, and from a position of strength England had once again handed the advantage to their opponents.

Neither Rogers nor Warner looked in any difficultly in the half-hour they faced before the close, and Australia will be confident that they can close the match out on Sunday to go to Sydney with a second 5-0 whitewash in three Ashes series down under within their grasp.

5th ODI Pakistan v Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka 235 for 8 (Chandimal 64*, Junaid 3-31) beat Pakistan 232 (Misbah 51, Malinga 4-57) by two wickets
It had been widely noted that Dinesh Chandimal hadn't made an ODI fifty in nearly a year. He chose a thriller to end the drought, guiding Sri Lanka home in the last over in the company of Ajantha Mendis. Sri Lanka went into the Tests with a scoreline of 2-3, but it could easily have been 1-4. Pakistan made the target of 233 look like 333, despite Kusal Perera's blitzing 47 at the start. They absorbed those early blows, and came back with venom, their spinners tying Sri Lanka down and their fast bowlers taking crucial wickets. Chandimal and Mendis battled through all that pressure to engineer a win from 195 for 8, their unbroken stand of 40 coming in only 4.1 overs.

It had looked all but over for Sri Lanka when Pakistan nipped out three wickets in three overs, and 38 were needed off 27. Saeed Ajmal, who taken two of those three wickets, then seemed to have effectively ended the game as Mendis was given out leg-before first ball in the 46th over. But even as Mendis started to walk away, Chandimal persuaded him to review. Over half of the ball was shown to have landed outside leg stump, and Mendis survived.

 

Chandimal then took nine off Junaid in the 47th over, continuing to hustle between the wickets and pulling a four. Next up was Ajmal's last over. Sri Lanka could have opted to play safe and target the last 12 deliveries, but Mendis went after Ajmal. And then came the moment where Pakistan let it slip away. Mendis hit an airy drive to cover's left, but Sohaib Maqsood could not hold on to the sharp chance. Not only did Mendis escape a second time, he ran two. He then opened up and cracked a reverse-sweep for four off the last ball of the over.

 

Sri Lanka still needed 18 off 12, but the issue was to be sealed in the penultimate over itself.

 

Chandimal got underneath Umar Gul's first delivery of the over and swung it for six over deep midwicket. Not to be outdone, Mendis stepped out and lofted Gul for six over extra cover three balls later. Game over. With two needed off the final three balls, Mendis hit the winning runs with a slap over extra cover and let out a scream.

 

The match seemed heading for an early finish when Perera pulled four sixes in Sanath Jayasuriya style on his way to 47 off 41. His opening stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan was worth 75 in 12.2 overs but Pakistan got the opening when Perera tried a reverse-sweep against Mohammad Hafeez and went leg-before.

 

The spinners found turn and the runs dried up. Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara tried finding release against the pace of Junaid Khan but succumbed. When Junaid pulled up to leave the field, Gul arrived to complete the 31st over, and first ball, induced Ashan Priyanjan to edge to the wicketkeeper.

 

Angelo Mathews was given caught behind as well, on review off Anwar Ali, with replays not indicating an inside edge onto pad but the two sounds settling it for third umpire Richard Illingworth.

 

Sri Lanka teetered on the brink of defeat losing a clutch of late wickets, but Chandimal kept knocking the ball around and held his nerve along with Mendis.

 

It was a gutting end for Pakistan, especially for Anwar. Drafted in for the final match, he clubbed an unbeaten 41 off 38 to lift Pakistan to a fighting 232 after they had slipped to 194 for 8.

 

Sri Lanka's attack finally turned up in the series, Lasith Malinga picking up four wickets. Barring the end, Pakistan rarely got going, and when they did, lost wickets to lose whatever momentum they had managed to build.

 

Misbah-ul-Haq's departure came the next ball after he had swung Malinga for six over deep midwicket to reach his 15th half-century in 32 innings in 2013. The leading ODI run-getter of the year had just showed signs of kicking on from a watchful start but his dismissal and Umar Akmal's in the next over, meant Pakistan's long tail had to bat out the last ten overs.

 

Coming in at No 7 in the absence of Shahid Afridi, Anwar managed to do that. He was on 7 when he was put down at slip by Mathews off Mendis in the 42nd over. He was then given out leg-before in the 47th over off Malinga, but reviewed successfully, the ball shown to be missing leg stump on replays. He then lofted Malinga for successive boundaries in the 49th, which went for 16.

 

The late push meant Pakistan had a reasonable score to defend on a track Mathews, at the toss, had expected to play slow. Mathews had read the pitch superbly, for he opened the bowling with his medium-pace and went on to concede just 26 off his ten overs, also dislodging the seemingly irremovable Hafeez for 41 with an incutter.

 

Hafeez, the Man of the Series, hit back with the ball by removing Perera, but Chandimal, after quite some time, showed again why he is considered such a bright prospect.

2nd Test Day 2 South Africa v India

Play started at 10.40 (UK) due to rain in morning in Durban Lunch was taken at 09.30

South Africa 82 for 0 (Petersen 46*) trail India 334 (Vijay 97, Rahane 51*, Steyn 6-100) by 252 runs

The second day began with grey skies and a persistent rain that wiped out the morning session but when play began, more than three hours behind the scheduled start, it was in blazing sunshine with the fans reaching for the sunblock. Dale Steyn's mood similarly brightened as he ended an unprecedented 69.2-over wait for a wicket with a triple-strike that brought South Africa right back after the first day was dominated by India's batsmen.
 

Steyn returned after tea to roll over the lower order in a pumped-up spell and finish with 6 for 100, his 22nd five-for, as India ended on 334. It was a high-class display on a surface that offered little for quicks, and showed his adaptability. With his usual outswinger not working, he relied on express pace and hostile short balls.

 

In between, India had a couple of sprightly partnerships involving Ajinkya Rahane, another young batsman whose reputation has been bolstered on this tour. First, he put on 66 with the in-form Virat Kohli and then 55 with MS Dhoni to ensure India didn't keel over without resistance.

M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, utterly in control all day yesterday to take India to 181 for 1, had a couple of nervy moments early on against Steyn as both batsmen edged past the staggered slip cordon. On the sixth over of the day, Steyn broke through. After a bunch of short balls, Pujara only went half-forward to a pitched-up delivery and nicked through to the keeper.

 

For Vijay, the early stumps yesterday came at the worst time, as he had a night to ruminate over a possible first century overseas. He spent 47 deliveries in the 90s - including that edge past slip for four - before a Steyn short ball had him gloving to the keeper, three short of a milestone to cherish.

 

The next delivery was one that will likely haunt Rohit Sharma for a while. With Steyn reversing the ball in, Rohit had a brainfade and decided to not offer a stroke and lost his middle stump. Cue a flood of Nohit jokes, a derisory nickname he'd thought he had left behind with the golden run back home leading up to this series.

 

A fired-up Steyn kept up the short-ball onslaught, hitting Rahane twice with the second new ball, signalling to the batsman that he was keeping count. Virat Kohli was less troubled by that strategy, authoritatively pulling Steyn to midwicket for four. Kohli was in the form that brought him a century and 96 in the Johannesburg Test, and he showed that off with a series of defensive pushes down the ground, several of which reached the rope.

 

With Vernon Philander getting nothing from the new ball, Rahane was settling in, the partnership grew and India were slowly asserting themselves again. Morne Morkel, though, changed that with a short ball ten minutes before tea that Kohli guided to AB de Villiers, who reacted rapidly to collect that chance.

 

The runs came quickly after the break with Dhoni in the middle and Rahane latching onto anything short. For the third innings in a row, India had batted out more than 100 overs, not something that was predicted before the tour began. The pair added 32 in five overs and just as India seemed to be taking a firm grip, Steyn returned.

 

He had Dhoni chasing one outside off to nick to slip to break the stand, and expose India's lower order. Ravindra Jadeja became the first victim of spin in the game, as he gave Jacques Kallis his 200th Test catch to exit for a duck.

 

A leaping, acrobatic take from de Villiers to send back Zaheer Khan left Rahane wondering whether he would reach his maiden Test half-century. He got there but soon after the innings ended, with the final five wickets going down for 14 runs.

 

South Africa's batsmen had to negotiate 20 overs before stumps and they began at a T20 pace. India's new-ball bowlers couldn't get the ball to deviate, and offered some easy putaways which Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen pounced on. Like Philander, Zaheer Khan was taken off after just three overs. The introduction of Ishant Sharma made it tougher for the batsmen, as both Smith and Petersen were left groping outside off.

 

There was more excitement when Jadeja came on, as he first got appreciable turn off the footmarks when bowling to Smith and then off an unblemished surface to Petersen. There was no breakthrough, though, as Petersen kept dispatching the bad ball on offer and South Africa maintained a punishing pace.

 

By stumps, South Africa's openers had reduced the deficit to 252, and ensured their team dictated the second day as much as India had the first.

4th Ashes Test Day 2 (Eng 255 v Aus 164/9)

England 255 lead Australia 164-9 by 91 runs

England produced their best bowling display of the series to reduce Australia to 164-9, still 91 runs behind, on a dramatic second day at the MCG.

Aided by a succession of wasteful shots from the Australian top six, England fought back superbly to at last give their beleaguered travelling support something to celebrate.

Only Brad Haddin, who once again counter-attacked with aggression for an invaluable 43 not out, and the stodgy Chris Rogers (61) were able to flourish against tight, accurate bowling.

Analysis

Geoffrey Boycott Ex-England batsman & Test Match Special summariser

"Four of the Australians played awful shots. It was sloppy, stupid batting to give their wickets away. You have to treat the opposition with respect and I don't think they have assessed this pitch properly.
"Barring miracles we will win this Test match. It's been a wonderful day's cricket from England's point of view. We have been waiting for it all series."

In front of another huge crowd at the MCG of more than 78,000, Mitchell Johnson had earlier taken his third five-wicket haul of the series to help dismiss England for just 255.

But James Anderson and Stuart Broad first slowed the Australian reply and then stopped it in its tracks, taking three wickets apiece.

Not since the opening day at the Gabba have Alastair Cook's men enjoyed such success, and with Australia having to bat last on this pitch England now have their best opportunity of the series to salvage a win from this unhappy tour.

The tourists' own innings had subsided in dismal fashion, the remaining four wickets adding just 29 more runs to the overnight 226-6 as Johnson once again smashed through the tail in a mere 50 minutes.

The left-armer had Tim Bresnan caught at short leg from his first ball of the day and then took the prize wicket of Kevin Pietersen, clean bowled to a horrible slog for a stuttering 71.

Pietersen had played with exaggerated caution on the first day, but abandoned that approach for something improbably ambitious despite having Broad at the other end and two further wickets with which to bat.

Johnson, however, was in relentless form. He took his 28th wicket of the series when he had Broad trapped lbw for seven with a full inswinger, meaning his five wickets had come in 42 balls for the cost of just 14 runs.

Monty Panesar shouldered arms to Nathan Lyon for two to leave Anderson unbeaten on 11, and at that stage Australia appeared to have a tight grip on the match.

But they then threw away that advantage with a series of rash strokes that began with the relentlessly aggressive David Warner, who aimed a needless hoick at Anderson to give Jonny Bairstow his first catch as a Test wicketkeeper.

With the score on 36 Shane Watson followed suit with a characteristic strong-armed drive at Ben Stokes that took the inside edge to Bairstow, and suddenly England sensed an opportunity.

Just as Australia's bowlers had throttled England's scoring rate on Boxing Day, so England's tight attack cut out Rogers' and Michael Clarke's scoring opportunities.

The Aussie captain averages only 12 against England on this ground and he went for two runs fewer this time, misjudging a delivery from Anderson that clipped the top of his off stump as he held his bat high out of the way.

Rogers was then clattered on the helmet by Broad before digging in with his usual diligence as the scoring rate dropped close to a run an over.

His half-century took almost three hours but it took Australia past 100 before Steve Smith tried to break free of the shackles with an injudicious cut at Broad to be caught by new second slip Ian Bell for 19.

Stats of the day

• Mitchell Johnson's 5-63 was his 10th Test five-wicket haul, half of which have been against England, with three in this series
• Johnson has taken a remarkable 18-37 in four devastating spells during the series
• James Anderson's dismissal of David Warner was his 600th international wicket for England (337 Test, 245 ODI, 18 T20)
• Anderson also ousted Michael Clarke for the ninth time in Test cricket, but the first in this series
• Brad Haddin's six creates a new world record of 52 for a series, beating the figure set in the 2005 Ashes
• It was the 37th six by Australia, equalling Pakistan's record for one team in a series

It seemed to disturb Rogers' equanimity, for just two runs later he tried to hoist Bresnan down the ground and holed out to Pietersen at mid off for 61.

Australia were in trouble at 112-5 and the tourniquet tightened as George Bailey was given nothing in his favourite scoring area on the leg side.

After 19 balls without a run he tried to force Anderson away off the back foot outside off stump and, despite initially being given not out by Aleem Dar, third umpire Billy Bowden heard a thin edge and reversed the decision.

It brought together Haddin and Johnson, who had rescued their side from a near-identical position on the very first day of the series, and the wicketkeeper immediately went on the attack, launching a huge six off Stokes to break the world record for the number of sixes hit in a Test series.

On 35 he was given out lbw to Panesar, only to be reprieved on a curious ball-tracking review.

Johnson too had a life on two when Anderson dropped a sitter at cover off Bresnan, but the same combination did for him in the same fashion two overs later without him adding another run.

As the shadows lengthened in the Melbourne evening, Broad then had Harris caught fending a short ball to short-leg for six and Peter Siddle miscuing to cover for a five-ball duck.

Despite that poor first hour it made it England's best day of the series, and while the Ashes are long gone the much-feared 5-0 whitewash may yet be avoided.