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The lead-up to the first Test against West Indies at Eden Gardens had been almost entirely about the impending retirement of the most experienced man in world cricket, but it was India’s newest Test players that proved to have the biggest impact. MS Dhoni has lavished praise on debutants, Mohammed Shami and Rohit Sharma, after they played starring roles in India’s innings victory that stretched their Test winning streak to an unprecedented five matches.Shami’s performance, in particular, caused plenty of excitement as he consistently bowled around 140kph and got the ball to reverse prodigiously to end up with nine wickets in the match, the fourth-best figures for an Indian quick bowler at home.”I think it was a disciplined bowling performance,” MS Dhoni said after the match. “Shami was fantastic. Most of the fast bowlers got reverse swing, but his line and length was key. He got the right length and that’s why I think he got nine wickets in this game.”Dhoni elaborated further on the conditions in what he thought Shami would thrive. “You need a bit of pace to dominate. You can get a bit of reverse swing, and he’s got very good seam positioning which means he can reverse the ball away from the right-handed batsmen. So on wickets that have a bit more bounce, I think he will be even more effective with the ball going both ways. We’re all very happy with the performance.”While Shami’s entry to Tests was something of a surprise, Rohit’s debut was considered long overdue. He made the wait count with a gutsy 177 after coming in with India’s batting is disarray. “Well, you have to believe in destiny,” Dhoni said. “I remember in Nagpur, there was a game he was supposed to play, but during the warm-up he injured his ankle and missed that Test. So I think it’s good to see him bat the way he has batted. He is very talented, but now that it is reflecting on the field, he’s really enjoying his cricket. Hopefully he’ll go ahead and take more responsibility.”

The morning after Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test ended at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Ajinkya Rahane arrived at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s facility at Bandra-Kurla Complex, and began working long hours in the nets with former Mumbai coach Pravin Amre to prepare for the upcoming tour of South Africa.”I’ve been practising with Amre sir and playing the short balls for the last nine-ten days with a wet rubber ball and plastic ball. I am sure that will help me a lot.” Rahane told reporters at the Wankhede Stadium, a day after he was named in India’s squad for the Test and ODI series in South Africa.Despite being a regular in India’s squad for more than two years, Rahane has rarely featured in the XI. However, Rahane is now believed to be the frontrunner to fill up the spot vacated by Tendulkar in the Test team.”We will obviously miss Sachin a lot. Someone like Sachin has not only been a part of the Indian team for almost 24 years but has also carried the burden of all the expectations on his shoulders. We all will definitely miss him. At the same time, it’s an opportunity for some of us, especially myself. But I don’t want to be bogged down by the pressure. I just want to enjoy the moment and enjoy my opportunity.”Rahane’s inclusion in the ODI squad came as a surprise to many and it indicated that he wouldn’t be tagged as a Test specialist. “Having been selected for the ODIs as well, I am really happy for myself,” he said. “I did well in the last CLT20 and I am really confident and looking forward to the series.”

ScorecardMaharashtra made a positive start in their bid to stay unbeaten and finish on top of Group C, with Kedar Jadhav scoring a century to set up a competitive first-innings total against Assam in Guwahati. Jadhav steadied the innings after the Maharashtra openers fell early, adding 73 for the third wicket with Dilip Atitkar and 132 for the fourth with Pushkaraj Chavan, who made 65. They had reached 283 for 4 when Jadhav was dismissed, after which they stumbled and four wickets fell for 60 runs. Left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad took 3 for 83 for Assam.
ScorecardOnly 56 overs were possible because of foggy conditions on the first day in Agartala and Tripura recovered from the loss of early wickets through an unbeaten 102-run stand for the fourth wicket between Yogesh Takawale and Abbas Ali. Jammu & Kashmir seamer Samiullah Beigh had struck in consecutive overs to reduce the home side to 22 for 2, before Takawale added 52 for the third wicket with opener Samrat Singha. Left-arm spinner Waseem Raza ended that partnership but J&K faced more resistance. Takawale ended the day on 82 not out, with Ali on 46.
ScorecardKerala fast bowler Sandeep Warrier took his third five-for in his 12th first-class game to bowl Hyderabad out for 201 on the opening day in Uppal. Hyderabad lost their openers in the space of three runs, slipping to 39 for 2, before Warrier wrecked the middle order, reducing them to 78 for 6. Ashish Reddy scored a brisk 55 at No. 7, off 65 balls, and had support from the lower order but Warrier finished with 5 for 38 to dismiss Hyderabad for 201 in 74.4 overs. Kerala had a terrible start to their first innings, losing their openers for ducks, and finished the day on 45 for 3. The umpire Suresh Shastri was standing in his 100th first-class game. By coincidence, his first first-class game as umpire was also between Kerala and Hyderabad.
ScorecardGoa offspinner Amit Yadav took 6 for 44 to bowl Andhra out for 148 in Povorim. Andhra collapsed to 70 for 6, before they inched past hundred with D Shivkumar making 48. Goa made a steady start to their innings, reaching 49 for 0, before losing two wickets in the space of seven runs to finish on 56 for 2. Andhra used six bowlers to bowl 26 overs, and the two wickets were taken by the last two introduced into the attack.

Not only does Australia’s bowling coach Craig McDermott expect Ryan Harris to be fit for the final Ashes Test as part of an attack unchanged all series, he is equally adamant a rich next generation of pace bowlers must be raised with the expectation to do the same.Despite valid concerns about Harris’s creaking joints, there is a strong sense of pride among Australia’s Ashes winning team about going through the five Tests without requiring extra assistance.To lose one or two players from the final hurdle to a 5-0 sweep of England is not a possibility anyone wishes to countenance, even as a nod to the demanding South Africa tour that follows in February.Looking further into the future, McDermott wants the likes of James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins to be schooled in the art of playing through pain. As Brett Lee once pointed out, bowling is seldom painless, and it takes some years of experience to differentiate between “good” pain and “bad”.Though he developed a somewhat unkind reputation for missing matches due to outlandish injuries in his own career, McDermott still pushed through no fewer than five series of five Tests or more over the course of 71 matches, also playing every Test of the Australian summer on six occasions. His view of preventative resting is dim.”It has been around a long time where players can actually play five Test matches in a row. That’s not a new thing,” McDermott said. “We have to work hard with our younger bowlers to make sure they can play full series as well when they get the chance. That’s something we need to be mindful of with our younger bowlers. I’m looking forward to the same three guys playing all three Tests in South Africa once this one’s done.”Sidds has done it before so it hasn’t been a problem for him through New Zealand and India series. Mitchell is as strong as an ox. Ryano was probably the only person who we had to try to manage. The medical staff have done a great job with managing Ryano, and Lyano is going to get through isn’t he?”It has been great to have all four bowlers involved and bowling in great partnerships, just like our batters. Sometimes Mitchell has got a lot of wickets but the other guys have created the pressure at the other end and picked up vital wickets.”The Australian selectors are open to the possibility of making up to three changes to the Melbourne team, with Alex Doolan, James Faulkner and Nathan Coulter-Nile all waiting in the wings. But McDermott was unperturbed by Harris’s chronic knee trouble nor Shane Watson’s groin strain, feeling both had pulled up well enough from the MCG match to carry on.”There’s a number of scenarios we can talk about,” McDermott said. “My first and foremost scenario is to have those three guys ready to go. I think Watto will be fine because his running between the wickets yesterday suggests so, he bowled in our second innings and although he wasn’t super quick, nor was Tim Bresnan.”I’m more concerned about our guys obviously, but I don’t think there’s going to be any dramas with Watto coming up whatsoever. Ryano’s a bit sore I suppose. But I don’t think anybody’s played too many Test matches as a fast bowler without pulling up sore at some stage. I’m confident they’ll all be involved in the next Test match.”

When he bowled Corey Anderson in Auckland, it was the first wicket R Ashwin had taken for close to 80 overs. The previous one had come seven weeks earlier, on December 8, when he dismissed Quinton de Kock in the second ODI against South Africa in Durban. Thereafter, he had gone wicketless in the Centurion ODI, the Johannesburg Test and in Napier and Hamilton on the current tour of New Zealand.It was not as if he was being taken apart each time he went without a wicket, but such a run can easily play on your mind. But Ashwin said he was in the “best frame of mind” and was not thinking too much about the lack of wickets. He had been dropped in favour of Ravindra Jadeja for the Durban Test after his failure to break through in Johannesburg, and said he had learned a lot from that tour.”Honestly I was not reading or looking into anything,” Ashwin said. “This is probably the best frame of mind I have been in. I have locked away a few things. I had a tour of South Africa which was quite a learning curve for me. I have decided if I am giving my best that is all I can do. I cannot go back reading articles and what people are saying about me. It does not make sense. I just locked myself out. I spoke to Dhoni about a couple of things, to the coach, had chats with a few people I trust. I thought things were going alright. It can happen, you cannot keep taking wickets or making runs all the time. The frame of mind I was in helped me perform the way I did.”Ashwin said he was feeling satisfied with the way he was bowling and had worked out how he had to go about the job away from home. “I have sorted out what length and what kind of bowling needs to be done. There are certain ways you need to construct a spell abroad. I have learnt that and put that into practice.”R Ashwin: “I had a tour of South Africa which was quite a learning curve for me”•BCCI

The new fielding restrictions have made it harder for bowlers in general. With lesser help available for spinners in overseas conditions, Ashwin said it had become difficult to look for wickets even if the batsmen were playing their shots and taking risks. “That particular thing falls out of the window with the current scenario. If there is spin and you are playing with the conditions helping you, then of course there is an opportunity to look to get a wicket but if it is stacked against you then you are fighting against something which is like a wall. You cannot box against a wall. You cannot fight against the conditions and go head on and take it on.”You definitely tend to be targeted as a spinner away from home. With the five-fielder [within the circle] rule you can only look to give a single. You cannot err on lengths. The batsman knows if you have your sweeper up you are not going to err on the shorter side so you are giving away some cues to the batsman in terms of what field you are setting, and you cannot be foolish enough to try and fool the batsman. They are going to look for boundaries. You have to be really smart and try and make sure you do what the team requires. It is easy to say wickets are not coming so I will look for wickets, but you end up giving 20-30 runs extra and you have to get it back at the end of the day.”Before the Auckland game, Dhoni had said one also had to look at what stage of the innings India were making Ashwin bowl. “I am using him in the Powerplay, in the slog after the 40th over also. You have to see all these things,” Dhoni said. “If you keep saying he is not getting wickets, then that will put pressure on him and in turn what may happen is he will be bowling the 42nd or 43rd over and look for a wicket and it may add another 6-10 runs. I am quite happy with how he has been bowling. If I try to use him upfront, he will be slightly less expensive. As of now both spinners are doing their job quite well. Looking at the conditions, I am practically judging them.”

Shaun Marsh is to travel to South Africa after all as cover for Shane Watson following the allrounder’s withdrawal from the team for the first Test due to a calf strain.In an episode that might well be entitled ‘Sliding Calves’ were it ever to be made into a film, Marsh had himself been momentarily tipped out of contention by a calf problem sustained during the ODI series against England, leading to Philip Hughes’ call-up in his place.He recovered swiftly, however, and played a key role in the Perth Scorchers’ first Big Bash League title by playing a fluent innings in the final. The national selector John Inverarity said he would now fly to Johannesburg as the tourists prepare for the first Test at Centurion Park, which begins on February 12.”Shaun has now recovered from injury,” Inverarity said, “and the National Selection Panel has selected him to join the squad in South Africa in light of Shane Watson not being available for the first Test with a calf injury.”Marsh may be nursing a slightly sore head following the Scorchers’ victory, but he will quickly need to get himself into Test-match mode as the selectors weigh up their options for the first Test at Centurion, a venue that has favoured South Africa heavily since their return to international cricket in 1991.Alex Doolan seems certain to bat at No. 3 for the tourists, but Marsh, Hughes and Moises Henriques will all be in contention for another spot in the batting order as Inverarity and the coach Darren Lehmann deliberate over the best balance among their available players.In the aftermath of the BBL final, Marsh had doubted his chances of gaining a call-up to South Africa despite his recovery. “There’s a full squad over there now, so more than likely not,” he said. “But that’s just the way it goes.”I had to make a decision in the best interests of the team, and at that stage I wasn’t fit and we didn’t know how long it would be. It was disappointing to miss out, but I guess this (T20 triumph) is a nice reward. It’s been a long 13 years for me in WA, and it means a lot.”Little did he know that Watson had by then already suffered the injury that would re-open his path to the airport and the Highveld.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDavid Warner’s 40 helped Australia to victory•Getty Images

Brad Hodge clubbed the third and fourth deliveries of the last over over deep midwicket to haul Australia home in a seven-over shootout against South Africa in Durban. Steady rain had threatened successive washouts in the series but relented to allow a sizeable crowd some action.Australia needed 15 going into the final over and Wayne Parnell conceded only a run each off the first two deliveries, but Hodge was to seal it with two balls to spare, the couple of sixes followed by one called wide for height.David Warner was South Africa’s tormentor again at the start of the chase, as he and Aaron Finch took 21 off Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s first over. Warner then hit debutant Beuran Hendricks for three successive boundaries in the third over as Australia surged to 44 for 1 in three overs.South Africa hit back with four strikes in the next three, including Warner, caught in front for 40 off 16 missing a switch-hit against JP Duminy, whose only over went for five and produced two wickets. Momentum had changed sides numerous times in the game, and South Africa seemed to have achieved the final swing in their favour, but Hodge wasn’t done yet.South Africa had plodded to 11 for 1 in three overs after being asked to bat, but Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis took 69 off the final four, swinging and connecting six sixes between them, including successive ones off Dan Christian and Mitchell Starc.The third and final game is scheduled for Friday at Centurion.

The Supreme Court of India has asked BCCI president N Srinivasan to step down as the first move towards a fair investigation of the IPL corruption saga. A two-judge bench of India’s top court, which made the observation, gave Srinivasan two days to take a decision before it resumes hearing the case on March 27.While the recommendation is not a direct order, Justice AK Patnaik was unambiguous: “Mr Srinivasan should step down or else we’ll be forced to pass an order.” He questioned Srinivasan’s position as BCCI president asking, “How did he stay on despite all the allegations? His staying on is nauseating for cricket.” The other judge on the bench, Justice Ibrahim Kalifulla, told the counsel: “If there has to be a fair and dispassionate enquiry, Mr. Srinivasan must step down.”The development – and the strong language used by the court – is believed to have caught the BCCI by surprise and thrown it into some disarray. While Srinivasan has refused to comment, three vice-presidents of the board have said there was no option but for him to comply with the court’s orders. A board meeting is likely to be convened on Wednesday, at which the BCCI’s response will be formalised.The hearing, the first case of the day to be taken up in Supreme Court’s Court No. 5, began with the BCCI lawyers stating that the Board agreed with the findings of the Mudgal panel report and asking the court to allow the BCCI to take its own actions in the light of panel recommendations. That was turned down by the court.A PTI report said that the court stated that while it could not divulge details of the sealed envelope given to them by the Mudgal panel, the BCCI’s lawyers were shown certain portions of the report. When the counsel, CA Sundaram, said “We have not seen the contents of the report in the sealed cover”, Justice Patnaik is believed to have summoned him to the bench and had him read a portion of the sealed envelope report.Justice Patnaik said: “Though there is no definite finding in the report in the sealed cover, the allegations are so serious they require further investigation, which the BCCI can’t do on its own and it has to be done by an outside agency. That’s why we are saying that Mr. Srinivasan must step down for a fair probe….In view of this, I need some answers, come back with an answer.”If N Srinivasan does not heed the court’s recommendation to step down, it will be ‘forced to pass an order’ on Thursday•AFP

In his early statements, Justice Patnaik questioned the wide divergence in the findings of the investigations conducted by the BCCI-appointed two-man probe panel and the Mudgal Committee panel. He wanted to know if the BCCI-appointed panel had been “managed.” The BCCI counsel’s reply was that the two-man BCCI panel did not have the “wherewithal” of the Mudgal panel, that the Mumbai and Delhi police investigations were under way and that the Mumbai police had refused to depose before their panel.Srinivasan would not comment on the issue saying he had not “read” the court’s recommendations. However Ravi Savant, a BCCI vice-president, said if the Supreme Court had issued a clear directive it would have to be followed. His words were echoed by Shivlal Yadav, who said he would be willing to take up any task he is given.Another BCCI vice-president said no one was prepared for this scenario. “No one knows what can be done now. The court is yet to pass the order. But it is now up to him (Srinivasan). The court has asked him to step down. Otherwise it will pass an order. It is not good for the BCCI,” the official said.”We know what has happened to Subrata Roy [the Sahara chief],” the official said. “He defied the court’s order and look where he is now.”The Supreme Court had appointed a three-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal and comprising additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Assam Cricket Association member Nilay Dutta, in October 2013 to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, Super Kings owner India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players. The committee had submitted its findings to the court on February 10.

Last year

8th, CC Div 2; 3rd Midlands/West Div, FLt20; Runners-up, YB40.

2013 in a nutshell

Glamorgan should look back on 2013 with a little smile. Any campaign that ends with a Lord’s final should go down as memorable year and that it was only their third trip to the end of season showpiece places Mark Wallace’s side among a select group of players from across the Severn Bridge to have taken their county to HQ.After several years in the doldrums it was welcome success for their supporters who filled the Ageas Bowl with hymns on a sunny Saturday in Southampton as Glamorgan caused a major upset by tipping up holders Hampshire in the semi-final. They flopped in the final against a much stronger Nottinghamshire but the day out was reward for Glamorgan’s fine form in one-day cricket which also nearly produced a Friends Life t20 quarter-final.To say their upturn in one-day cricket was offset by a mediocre Championship campaign would be unfair; they were one of five mid-table sides who were only separated by 22 points. Allrounder Jim Allenby was outstanding and seamer Michael Hogan proved one of the overseas signings of the season. Murray Goodwin and Dean Cosker also defied their age. But Glamorgan only won three matches and, particularly with the bat, there was nowhere near the depth required to challenge higher up the table.

2014 prospects

Despite some progress on the field last year, Glamorgan have again made changes – not to match the carnage of 2010 but a new regime nevertheless. The transition this time has been far smoother with the hugely popular appointment of Hugh Morris as chief executive and Caerphilly-born Toby Radford installed as head coach.Morris oversaw the most successful period in English cricket as managing director of the national side and it is now hoped he can return the glory days to Cardiff. Failing that, he could address the balance sheet which showed a £700,000 deficit last season as the club grapples with debt from the ground development. Bids for international cricket from 2017 are also around the corner.Radford was a slightly more eyebrow-raising appointment but ticks all the boxes, knowing the ethos of the county being an especially important one as Glamorgan look to build from within. The club have several home-grown players with talent, particularly in the bowling department, but the challenge is to bring those players through. A change of coach always presents challenges in the dressing room but as a local man Radford has a head start.He should not have to tinker too much in the limited-overs competitions but has work to do in reviving Glamorgan’s red-ball fortunes. They missed out on promotion in 2010 in the final session of the season but have since failed to mount anything approaching a top-two finish. Their batting, particularly at the top of the order, must become more solid but it is not out of the question that they could be the county that surprisingly emerges from mid-table in 2014.

Key player

Church bells rang out across Glamorgan when Allenby signed a new four-year contract last August despite the interest of several other counties. He has held the club together for the past two seasons and in 2013 made over 1900 runs in all competitions, including a superb performance in the YB40 semi-final win over Hampshire. He needs to put up similar numbers to give Glamorgan a base for success.

Bright young thing

Robert Croft has finally thrown his boots in the river Taff but Glamorgan may have a replacement offspinner in Andrew Salter. 20-years-old from Haverfordwest, he played a handy role in the run to the YB40 final and took a wicket with his first ball in the County Championship in August. With veteran Dean Cosker to learn under, Salter could emerge as the latest in a line of successful slow bowlers from across the Severn.

Captain/coach

Radford takes over as head coach, returning to his home county after coaching Middlesex, and leading them to the T20 title in 2008, and West Indies, where he served as assistant coach to the side that won the World T20 in 2012. Mark Wallace continues as captain of the County Championship and 50-over sides with Allenby restored to the T20 captaincy having been exceptionally disappointed to lose the role last year.

ESPNcricinfo verdict

If Glamorgan can rediscover the formula that served them well last season in limited-overs cricket, they will be a solid bet to reach at least the last eight of the Royal London Cup and NatWest T20 Blast. There is plenty to address in four-day cricket and it would take a major improvement for them to make any impression in the Championship but it is not beyond them.

England batsman Ian Bell has said increased anti-corruption measures could be needed for televised domestic games to prevent further cases of spot-fixing like those revealed by Lou Vincent to the ACSU. The ECB, however, does not believe there is a need for the same level of restrictions on electronic devices players are allowed to use in domestic cricket as there is at international level.The vulnerability of county cricket is back in the headlines after the reports of Vincent’s confessions and details of the breadth of fixing at domestic level around the world. Three county matches are among those under scrutiny, all of which were televised in Asia.For international matches, players and support staff are required to hand over their phones, iPads and other electronic devices to the team manager or security officer and are not allowed them back until the end of the day. In county cricket, there are no such steps taken. Though there is no suggestion that players were directly tapped up in the dressing room, it does leave a potential loophole to be exploited.”From where I can see, I haven’t played one [on TV] for a while for Warwickshire, but it’s just a normal county game,” Bell said. “It’s different internationally where you have to hand your phones in. In county games there is nothing. You could be on your phone all day if you want. Maybe if it is on television then it has to be the same as an international game.”I’ve never seen it [fixing] at domestic level but then you hear what has been going on, not just in England but all around the world … there probably has to be a bit more done domestically as well.”The most recent county match to have emerged from Vincent’s claims is from 2011. That was the year the ECB’s anti-corruption unit was set up under Chris Watts, a former senior detective with the Metropolitan Police, and his team now have an official at every televised match. The ECB does not feel further restrictions are required.”We don’t feel the need to take away players’ mobile phones or laptops at televised county matches. It is a judgement call made by the anti-corruption unit,” an ECB spokesman said. “We are constantly vigilant but don’t believe corruption is endemic in county cricket. We take measures proportional to the level of threat.”The ECB’s anti-corruption unit is very active around televised county matches. Chris Watts set up the unit in 2011 and his team has been strengthened so that there are now seven anti-corruption officers who work on the domestic programme.”They are a physical presence at every televised match and frequently go into dressing-rooms and talk to players. We certainly can’t be complacent. The Mervyn Westfield affair showed that some players – and particularly young players – can be vulnerable.”Westfield was jailed for four months in 2012 for his part in spot-fixing during a televised Pro40 match against Essex in 2009 after being tapped up by former Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria.Bell said he had never been approached at any level or spoken to anyone in English domestic cricket who had concerns over a match being rigged. He was shocked by the extent of the claims emerging from Vincent during his plea-bargain with the ICC.”It’s frustrating to see it cropping again. Lou Vincent is saying that it’s in five different countries that he’s played in. That’s unbelievable. You’d like to think we can get to the bottom of it but whether we will or not is a difficult one to answer.Bell was not involved in the 2010 Test against Pakistan, at Lord’s, which is the highest profile recent case of spot-fixing. It led to jail terms for Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, and Bell believes harsh penalties are the way forward.”Seeing people getting the right penalties for a massive wrongdoing in the game, it’s important that we have that. The harsher the penalties, the better. The last thing you want is to look back on games you’ve played in and have to ask ‘was that real or was it not?’ It takes away some of the feelings you have, when you look back and are not quite sure.”Investec, the specialist bank and asset manager, is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. Visit investec.co.uk/cricket or follow us @InvestecCricket