ScorecardSussex’s batsmen took a firm grip on the Championship trophy at Trent Bridgetoday as they finished the first day of their title decider on 420 for 5, claiming all four bonus points.The day ended dramatically with Charlie Shreck bowling Murray Goodwin for 99 with the final ball but even this could not take the gloss off Sussex’s performance.They had recovered from a difficult start – Richard Montgomerie andMichael Yardy putting on 144 for the second wicket after Carl Hopkinson hadrun himself out in the third over. As it transpired, Hopkinson was the onlySussex batsman to miss out, with Yardy continuing his fine summer in scoring119 and Goodwin, Montgomerie and Chris Adams also scoring fifties.Yardy’s was a fine innings, full of character, after a scratchy start when he edged a couple of balls through the close cordon and could have been run out. He gained another reprieve when Stephen Fleming put him down at slip off Andrew Harris and damaged his little finger in the process, resulting in a trip to hospital for the Notts captain. This incidentepitomized Notts’ performance in the field, with missed opportunities allowingSussex to speed towards 400.Notts missed their captain badly, and their bowling became more ragged asthe day went on. Even Ryan Sidebottom, the one bowler to emerge with credit,seemed pedestrian by the end, conceding four fours to Matthew Prior in onelate over.Richard Montgomerie had scored a fine 82 to anchor the innings, and after hewas out to Harris, Yardy and Goodwin continued the good work in apartnership of 110. Yardy had begun to accelerate, looking every inch anEngland player as he feasted on a series of loose balls to move quicklythrough the nineties to his ton, before he was lbw playing across the lineto the spin of Samit Patel.Goodwin, whose effort was doubly commendable as he was batting with aninjured hand, was then joined by the captain Chris Adams. They moved rapidlytowards the 400-mark before Adams clipped an innocuous Shreck delivery with the second new ball straight to midwicket. Adams was visibly annoyed with himself after a 91-ball 72, but he had done his job, guiding his side to within touching distance of the title.With Lancashire 333 for 7 at The Rose Bowl and in danger of dropping vitalbonus points, Sussex can really turn the screw tomorrow, and with Matt Priorlooking in ominous touch and Robin Martin-Jenkins to come they are well set topush on to 500 before letting Mushtaq off the leash.
South Africa will play five one-day internationals against India over the space of a fortnight when they tour the subcontinent in November. The abbreviated tour is a result of their inability to fit in ODIs on their visit to India last year when they play two Tests before hurrying back home to entertain England.The matches will be played on November 17, 20, 23, 26 and 29 and will be South Africa’s final preparation before they embark on that most difficult of assignments, a tour of Australia.”We owe India five ODIs in terms of the ICC schedule,” said Gerald Majola, the chief executive of the United Cricket Board. “We had no option but to play these matches in November because of the ICC Super Series blocking other periods.”
West Indies 144 for 3 (Williams 54) beat Pakistan 142 for 8 by 7 wicketsNelly Williams led West Indies to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Women’s one-dayer at Karachi. She scored 54 in a total of 144 after Pakistan put on 142 for 8 in their allotted 50 overs.Pakistan had begun badly, losing their first wicket with just 20 runs on the board. But Kiran Baluch (32), who smashed a world-record 242 in the Test match last week, and Batool Naqvi (36) top-scored, before the middle and lower-order lost their way against Jackie Robinson, Phillipa Thomas, Envis Williams and Doris Francis, who were miserly and incisive.Nadine George, in good form recently, was dismissed cheaply, but Williams and Juliana Nero struck up a 66-run partnership. After Nero was out, Verena Felicien partnered Williams, and together they took West Indies close to the target. But on the brink of victory, Williams fell, and it was left to Felicien (31 not out) and Robinson (4 not out) to help their team draw first blood in the series.
NATIONAL LEAGUE, ROUND 7Matches played Sunday 12 JanuarySunday 11 January – Mutare Sports Club v Queens Sports Club, at Harare Sports Club, was not played due to the cancellation of the air flight from Bulawayo.
ALEXANDRA SPORTS CLUB v QUEENS SPORTS CLUBAt Alexandra Sports Club. Match drawn (rain).QUEENS+W T Siziba c de Grandhomme b Blignaut 0R J King c Goosen b de Grandhomme 12M L Nkala c Goosen b Barry 8G M Strydom c D A Marillier b Barry 0H H Streak c Rennie b Stannard 75N R van Rensburg run out (Goosen/de G’homme) 1P N Engelbrecht c ? b D A Marillier 6M W Townshend c and b Rennie 0*M Mbangwa b D A Marillier 11R Lombard not out 7J Nyumbu c D Marillier b S Marillier 0Extras (lb 1 w 12) 13(49.4 overs) 133Blignaut 10 1 26 1 (6w)Barry 6 1 14 2de Grandhomme 6 1 15 1 (1w)Rennie 10 4 13 1D A Marillier 10 1 33 2 (3w)Stannard 5 0 22 1S J Marillier 2.4 0 9 1ALEXANDRAD de Beer c Siziba b Mbangwa 9C de Grandhomme not out 36*G J Rennie c and b Lombard 6D A Marillier not out 10A M Blignaut+G C GoosenJ CameronS J MarillierS BarryC M AnticevichD D StannardExtras (b 4 lb 2 w 8) 14(2 wkts; 20.4 overs) 75Nkala 4 0 23 0Streak 7 4 10 0Mbangwa 7.4 2 15 1Lombard 2 0 21 1HARARE SPORTS CLUB v MUTARE SPORTS CLUBAt Harare Sports Club. Mutare Sports Club won by 59 runs (Duckworth-Lewis).HARARE SPORTS CLUBM A Vermeulen c Sims b L J Soma 17*T R Gripper lbw b Whittall 56S V Carlisle not out 129+B R M Taylor b A Flower 15M R D Brundle lbw b A Flower 11R Croxford st Ferreira b Sims 12A Penney not out 4S BalaA MwayengaG Johnstone-RobertsonA MhanduExtras (lb 4 w 6 penalty 5) 15(5 wkts; 50 overs) 259Brent 6 0 27 0L J Soma 6 0 32 1Whittall 10 2 36 1Lewis 10 2 57 0 (1w)Sims 7 0 55 1A Flower 10 0 37 2 (5w)A D Soma 1 0 6 0MUTARE SPORTS CLUB*A D R Campbell not out 100+N R Ferreira c Mwayenga b Bala 46G J Whittall not out 16A FlowerR W SimsK P R WentG B BrentA D SomaL J SomaK J TaylorJ M LewisExtras (lb 2 w 16 nb 1) 19(1 wkt; 31 overs) 181Mwayenga 4 0 32 0Mhandu 4 0 29 0Penney 4 0 18 0Carlisle 3 0 20 0Bala 8 0 41 1Gripper 8 0 39 0OLD GEORGIANS SPORTS CLUB v OLD HARARIANS SPORTS CLUBAt Old Georgians Sports Club. Old Hararians won by two wickets.C B Wishart run out (Butterworth) 4A J Mackay c Brewer b Rinke 17*G W Flower c Ziegler b Chari 12C N Evans c Rinke b Chari 0L S Malloch-Brown c R Ervine b Strang 7M de Souza b Rinke 13G F Barrett c Benade b Rinke 13S Jones lbw b Strang 0W Mwayenga c Kaschula b Strang 5R J Bennett run out (Benade/Butterworth) 15I M Coulson not out 9Extras (lb 2 w 13 nb 2) 17(30.2 overs) 112Rinke 10 1 43 3Chari 9 1 33 2Butterworth 1 0 13 0Strang 8.2 4 13 3Benade 2 0 8 0OLD HARARIANST Benade c Barrett b Mackay 36R Kaschula c Evans b Mackay 1C H Brewer lbw b Mackay 7R E Butterworth c Jones b Mwayenga 4*P A Strang b Bennett 12C Ervine c Jones b Mwayenga 0G Ziegler b Coulson 19H P Rinke c Jones b Evans 4N Chari not out 15R Ervine not out 0+S KhanExtras (w 8 nb 7) 15(8 wkts; 32.1 overs) 113Mackay 9 0 44 3 (1w 7nb)Mwayenga 10 2 25 2 (3w)Bennett 7 2 26 1Flower 4.1 1 6 0Evans 1 0 12 1Coulson 1 1 0 1TAKASHINGA v KWEKWE SPORTS CLUBAt Eaglesvale School. Takashinga won by 99 runs. The Kwekwe innings does not add up.TAKASHINGAA Maregwede b Ervine 14E Chauluka b Price 30*S Matsikenyeri c Friend b Price 10T Taibu c and b Viljoen 9H Masakadza c Friend b Viljoen 67E Chigumbura b Rainsford 36P Utseya c Cornford b Sibanda 15R N Manyande c Macmillan b Ervine 4H K Olonga b Ervine 4A Maungwa not out 1A Mbwembwe b Ervine 0Extras (b 2 lb 6 w 13 nb 13) 34(48 overs) 224Ervine 9 0 47 4 (1w 8nb)Macmillan 2 0 22 0 (4w 2nb)Rainsford 10 0 45 1 (4w 2nb)Price 10 1 34 2 (1w)Viljoen 9 0 27 2Sibanda 8 0 41 1KWEKWET Duffin c Chigumbura b Olonga 0V Sibanda c Olonga b Masakadza 34T J Friend lbw b Olonga 6S M Ervine c Maregwede b Masakadza 47C Macmillan c Maregwede b Masakadza 3D P Viljoen c Chauluka b Masakadza 3J M Cornford b Utseya 3R W Price c Olonga b Masakadza 5+D J R Campbell run out (Matsikenyeri) 11B Hundermark not out 1E C Rainsford st Taibu b Masakadza 2Extras (w 6 nb 4) 10(33.4 overs) 126Olonga 7 2 22 2 (1w 4nb)Chigumbura 5 0 23 0 (1w)Maungwa 2 0 14 0Utseya 10 3 24 1 (2w)Masakadza 9.4 0 43 6
India did not enjoy a very testing warm-up for their first One-Day International in the triangular tournament, against Zimbabwe on Sunday.Zimbabwe A put up a dismal batting performance, allowing the Indians to romp home to an all-too-easy ten wicket victory in this match played at Sunrise Sports Club, in the heart of the Harare Indian community.Zimbabwe A suffered a poor start after winning the toss and batting. They lost both openers for 18, but then schoolboy Stuart Matsikenyeri (38) and Craig Wishart (22) overcame keen bowling backed by some superb fielding to improve the position with some bold strokes.Both fell in quick succession, together with Barney Rogers (0), and the score plummeted to 78 for five. It soon became 84 for seven as Tatenda Taibu ran himself out for four and captain Paul Strang was caught at the wicket first ball.Dirk Viljoen (12) briefly held up the tourists, but the miserable display continued to a total of 103 all out, off only 32.4 overs. Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Zahir Khan and Hemang Badani took two cheap wickets each.Virender Shewag got the Indian reply going with some lusty blows, and Sourav Ganguly soon began to find his form, hitting a huge six over long-on.Shewag generally took the eye, though, playing his strokes with gay abandon, and finished unbeaten on 75 (two sixes, 10 fours), with Ganguly 31.Only Bryan Strang was able to keep the score within reasonable bounds as the Zimbabwe A bowlers appeared as outclassed as their batsmen. They could and should have done much better, but it wasn’t easy to believe on this showing.
When Liverpool kicked off against Bournemouth in August, the Premier League cowered against Arne Slot’s title-winning side, who had so confidently won the previous edition and then made sweeping summer additions.
But many things, for different reasons, have gone wrong for the Anfield side. Several superstar signings, such as Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, have yet to hit their stride and prove to the Reds that they are worth the sum total of £241m.
Recent wins over Inter Milan and Brighton & Hove Albion, clean sheets in both, have provided a good foundation for the Merseyside club to build on going forward.
However, Liverpool can only go so far given the tactical imbalances in Slot’s squad. Much has been made of the lack of defensive depth, but the failure to directly replace Luis Diaz is proving a leech on the side of Slot’s set-up, and that’s why there is a vested interest in signing Antoine Semenyo this January.
Why Liverpool want Antoine Semenyo
Liverpool are just one team in a pool of suitors for Semenyo’s signature this winter. However, FSG and sporting director Richard Hughes believe they have the lead in the race, with the Bournemouth forward leaning toward a move to Anfield.
Semenyo’s £65m release clause becomes active in January. He has scored six goals and supplied three more in the Premier League this season, with teammate Justin Kluivert marvelling at his “world-class” partner’s consistency and influence.
Liverpool could do a lot worse. Slot knows first hand the impact the 25-year-old can have in the Premier League, such explosiveness and dynamism when surging forward, on the right flank or the left.
Liverpool did not replace Luis Diaz when they sold him to Bayern Munich in August, and now they are looking to amend that. However, Semenyo isn’t the only talented winger on the market; there is another who has been earmarked and might actually be the better pick.
Liverpool could sign a Semenyo upgrade
Semenyo is the talk of the town in the Premier League, but he’s not the only good winger who FSG could add to Slot’s Liverpool squad.
Bradley Barcola, for example, might be an alternative who could actually prove an upgrade on the Ghana international, who has not yet tried his hand at the highest level.
The 23-year-old is establishing himself as one of the most exciting forwards in Europe, and Liverpool are aware of this, with Caught Offside reporting last week that FSG are chasing their long-standing interest in the Frenchman as they sound out alternatives to Semenyo.
Recent sources suggest that a figure in the ballpark of £100m could be needed to convince PSG to part with one of their most exciting prospects, a player who had a vocal contribution to last year’s quadruple-winning success.
Is Barcola the finished product? No he is not. But even so, this Les Bleus winger is establishing himself as a superstar in the making, actually described as “one of the best left-wingers in Europe” already by analyst Ben Mattinson.
Last season, he scored 21 goals and supplied 21 assists for Luis Enrique’s side. This year, Barcola has bagged five goals from 13 matches in Ligue 1, starting nine of those games.
Looking at the sum of his quality, it’s clear to see that Barcola has more athleticism and roundedness across the park, and his natural wellspring of creativity could be perfect for a striker like Isak, who has only scored one Premier League goal this season.
Antoine Semenyo vs Bradley Barcola (past 12 months)
Stats (per 90)
Semenyo
Barcola
Goals scored
0.36
0.35
Assists
0.20
0.41
Shots taken
2.76
2.98
Shot-creating actions
3.51
4.58
Touches (att pen)
4.90
8.44
Pass completion (%)
73.2
83.6
Progressive passes
3.45
4.02
Progressive carries
3.65
5.08
Successful take-ons
1.62
1.57
Ball recoveries
4.18
3.10
Tackles + interceptions
1.87
2.07
Data via FBref
Isak is one of the best forwards in the world. Liverpool paid a lot of money for his goals. But this season, it’s been difficult for the Sweden international, who is struggling to adapt, struggling to restore his finest form and fitness levels.
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Still, his movement and anticipation are second to none when he is on his A-game. A creator like Barcola beside him, naturally disposed toward wing play, could prove the formula to bring back his blistering form in the final third. He might be a better pick than Semenyo.
Of course, one of these wingers plays for Bournemouth on the English south coast, while the other stars for PSG, widely regarded as the most accomplished and devastating outfit last season; perhaps that is still the case.
But Barcola’s talent is evident. This is a star worth getting behind, and he would be worth the extra pennies, should FSG decide to move for him over Semenyo.
He's proven Carragher wrong: Liverpool star has become their best player
This Liverpool star is certainly in the conversation for the club’s Player of the Season accolade.
Australia’s Ashes selectors Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann indicated to Michael Clarke that Peter Nevill was set to retain his place for the third Test at Edgbaston before they told Brad Haddin they had not yet made a decision, the former captain has revealed.In his released this week, Clarke writes critically of several elements of Australia’s selection policies during the failed Ashes campaign. But it is his recollection of conversations around the Derby tour match between the second and third Tests that will raise the most pointed questions about the role played by Marsh and Lehmann in the team’s topsy-turvy results.It has previously been reported that Haddin had to front Marsh and Lehmann at training in Derby to get a straight answer from them about the decision to retain Nevill, after the older man had missed the Lord’s Test to spend time with his ill daughter, Mia. Clarke has gone further by stating he was aware which way the selectors were likely to go before they were prepared to tell Haddin themselves.
‘Not sure I’ve loved cricket the same way’
Michael Clarke has admitted the death of Phillip Hughes affected him so much that he no longer loved cricket the same way, and sorely missed his friend’s enthusiasm for the game during the Ashes tour. “I never thought Hughesy’s death would affect me as much as it has for so long,” Clarke wrote in his . “Don’t get me wrong – it’s not like I wanted to walk out of the funeral and forget about him or get on with my life as if nothing had happened. But when it did happen, for me it was about the responsibilities I had as captain to do the right thing by his family, team-mates, friends and, given the public response, the whole country. “I don’t think I had time to grieve personally. Maybe that was a mistake, because now that I think about it, since his death, I’m not sure I’ve loved cricket in the same way. “Hughesy and I would talk two weeks in advance of a tour about how pumped we were to go away together. He’d be in Adelaide playing for South Australia and I’d be in Sydney or travelling around. Whether it was the Ashes in 2013 or last year to South Africa or the UAE to play Pakistan, he just loved it. ‘How good’s this? We’re back on tour again!’ he’d say. On this trip I’ve really missed that.”
“I spoke to Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann before the match started and told them it would be helpful to know which one they’re intending to pick for the next Test,” Clarke wrote, “because, whoever it was, I’d get them behind the stumps in the first innings and bat them up the order. These games are all about preparing for the Tests, and our Test keeper needed match practice. Rod and Boof hadn’t decided for sure, but were leaning pretty strongly towards Nev. They didn’t want to change a winning side from Lord’s.”At training, I was batting in the nets when Hadds walked up to Rod and asked him which keeper was going to play the Test. I was close by, but I walked away, hoping Rod might tell Hadds what he’d told me, that they preferred Nev for Edgbaston. But he didn’t. He told Hadds no decision had been made, that he’d get back to him.”Hadds wasn’t happy with that, so he walked straight up to Boof, who said the same thing – that the selectors hadn’t decided. So Hadds asked Boof straight out, as a selector, who he was going for. And Boof looked him straight in the eye and said he wanted Nev to play.”The decision to retain Nevill over Haddin was a source of considerable disquiet during the series, with several players questioning the consistency of the call after Lehmann’s strong insistence that family was a major priority for the team under his watch. A meeting was later called for senior players to discuss the issue with Lehmann, the first time they and the coach had been at odds since he took over from Mickey Arthur two years before.Clarke has also suggested that the selectors erred by not considering the balance of Australia’s bowling unit during the Ashes, and that persisting with Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson together meant that neither left-armer could bowl at his best against England. One of Clarke’s recurring statements as captain was that a winning team needed to pick the best attack as opposed to the best four bowlers, and he does not think this was the case during the Ashes.”When you choose a cricket team, you have to remember that bowling is not an individual task: the best bowling is done in pairs, and as a group,” Clarke wrote. “For most of the tour we picked the three best-available fast bowlers in Australia, and after Ryan Harris retired, those were Johnson, Starc and Hazlewood. That doesn’t necessarily add up to the best bowling attack – for the conditions, for the opposition you’re playing against, or for the sake of balance.”I think both Johnson and Starc are aggressive, attacking strike weapons who can leak runs but will take wickets. You need at least one of them in your team. The question is, for balance, do you want both, especially as they’re both lefties? Probably not, in seaming English conditions. In an ideal world, in the future maybe, you could play them both. In fairness to them, it might’ve helped if we had more runs on the board.”I know as a captain I can use that one left-hander better if I have more consistency around him. I think I showed that in the home Ashes when I had Harris, Siddle and Shane Watson as my consistent, control bowlers and I was able to use Johnson in short, fiery bursts. He was unstoppable.”It is now clear that the selectors were wrong-footed by the injury-enforced retirement of Ryan Harris before the series. However Clarke said that the Australian team and its selectors had to learn from events of 2015 if they were to prosper next time around – chiefly by choosing a more balanced XI. The retirement of Mitchell Johnson this week means that the choice between the two attacking left-armers no longer needs to be made.”I just hope that Australian cricket learns from this experience, because in four years’ time they’ll need to do things differently if they’re going to win here,” Clarke wrote. “It’s not just bowling as a group and having a balanced attack – it goes for the whole team.”You can’t keep thinking, ‘Well, these are the best 11 cricket players in the country and they will play all around the world all the time.’ Certain batters and certain bowlers are better in certain conditions. You pick players for their role in the national team, because their role is different when they play for Australia. I think the selection messages around that have become a bit confused in the past 12 months or so.”
The former Australian fast bowler, Craig McDermott, is believed to owe Aus$18 million to investors in the failed property company Bridgecorp, which collapsed on July 3 leaving up to 1000 investors out of pocket.McDermott, who took 291 wickets in 71 Tests for Australia, allegedly borrowed the funds for his own development company, Maxen Developers, in order to buy land on the Queensland coast. Though Bridgecorp’s receivers, Ferrier Hodgson, did not mention McDermott by name, they have suggested that the repayment of the loan is “critical” if the company’s investors hope to recoup their losses.”The major debtor who owes $18 million did repay $4.5million in June [but] has had debts that have been long outstanding,” the administrator, Brian Silvia, told The Daily Telegraph. “If he is identified as being under stress, the project may not be completed.”According to The Australian newspaper, McDermott, 42, is losing up to Aus$15,000 a day in interest payments alone. Queensland Supreme Court documents reveal that Maxen Developers – and other groups directly controlled by McDermott – owed Bridgecorp $13.6 million back in March, but a massive annual interest rate of 30% has since accelerated the debt.It has not been a good year for McDermott, who was recently blackmailed for more than $40,000 to stop a sex video of him and his wife, Ann-Maree – who is listed as a co-owner of Maxen – being posted on the Internet.
11.30am Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAnother torrential downpour has forced the umpires to call off the first one-day international between Sri Lanka and India at the Sinhalese Sports Club. If the weather clears up, the second match of the series will be played here tomorrow.11am In keeping with the general theme of the past week here in Colombo, a smidgen of hope was quickly replaced by more rain and more disappointment for the few who had gathered with the expectation of watching some cricket. Instead of wondering how Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar would do in tandem – they have only opened together twice before, the last occasion being over five years ago – it was once again time to check the weather forecasts, though the dark sky above gave enough hints.It had dawned sunny and bright, and an inspection was expected at 10.30am with a view to starting play an hour later. But just as the ground staff were taking off the covers, with the clock edging towards 10am, there was another torrential downpour. The umpires announced an inspection for 1.45pm, but the downpour seems to have more or less ended any hope of getting in even the 40 overs required for a result. The second match of what should have been a three-game series is pencilled in for tomorrow, and Sri LankaCricket – who have enough on their plate after South Africa’s withdrawal – will desperately hope for some kindness from the weather gods.
Simon Katich and Michael Clarke gave Australia the edge with some attractive strokeplay in the final session, after Anil Kumble – who became only the ninth player in history to reach 400 wickets – had caused a jitter midway through the afternoon on the opening day of one of the most eagerly anticipated series in recent times. Backed by a vociferous home crowd, Kumble helped reduce Australia to 149 for 4, but with India leaking 139 runs in the final session, it was the Aussies that walked off with the day’s honours.Clarke used his feet beautifully to combat India’s slow bowlers, and showed tremendous maturity and flair on his Test debut. He often came down the track to Kumble, lofting him for one mighty six straight down the ground, and also dismissed anything pitched short with ease. With Adam Gilchrist for company, he took the bowling apart as the bowlers wilted in the final hour.The revival, though, had come earlier in the afternoon, with Katich’s splendid 81 leading the way. He was like a master at the snooker table, the angle at which the ball was hit as important as the power imparted. There were no crashing shots that singed the grass but just gentle, silken strokes played with lithe wrists.Katich came in after Matthew Hayden fell for 26, lofting a sweep straight to Yuvraj Singh at square leg (52 for 1). He got going by creaming Kumble through the covers, but soon after lunch, he was completely flummoxed by an offbreak from Harbhajan Singh. Unfortunately for India, Parthiv Patel couldn’t get his gloves around the ball. There was another semi-reprieve when he edged Zaheer Khan behind the stumps, but the replays of Patel’s collection were inconclusive, and Katich was given the benefit of the doubt.Despite losing wickets at the other end, as batsmen struggled against Kumble, Katich didn’t retreat into a shell. His placement fetched him twos and threes, and he brought up 50 in 104 balls, and, along with Clarke, pulled Australia out of a tricky situation. When he got to 81, Katich misjudged the bounce of a short one, which managed to wriggle through his defences to crash into the stumps. The crowd erupted instantly as the team huddled around Kumble, who had toiled for much of the afternoon without success after a double strike an hour after lunch.
Compared to Katich and Clarke, Justin Langer was edgy throughout his stay. After surviving a huge appeal for lbw off the first ball of the match, he misread a few short ones and copped blows on the back and chest. He was nearly run out in the 16th over when he danced down the pitch to Harbhajan and deflected the ball straight to short leg, where Aakash Chopra failed to complete the flick back on to the stumps. After lunch, Langer edged both Harbhajan and Kumble wide of the first slip.In between these strokes of fortune, there were some crisp sweeps and pushes straight down the ground. He brought up his 50 from 116 balls, but couldn’t keep out Irfan Pathan when he came back for his second spell, and a searing yorker deflected off his pads to uproot the off stump (124 for 2).The crank was revved up in that spell from Pathan as he consistently clocked 85mph while intelligently varying both swing and length. After an economical first spell, when he prevented the customary Australian flyer, this was the much-needed tourniquet that helped Kumble thrive. And Kumble pounced instantly as Damien Martyn was undone by extra bounce as he danced down the track. The ball popped from bat onto pad for Chopra to complete a simple catch (129 for 3).Darren Lehmann’s cameo of 17 was a nervous innings, as several uppish shots fell beyond the fielders’ grasp. A skyer over mid-on fell inches from Pathan’s grasp, and three cracking fours soon after added insult to injury. But an ugly heave at Kumble took the edge and Dravid lapped up the catch at first slip (149 for 4).Katich’s wicket, after he and Clarke had added 107, gave India a boost, but Gilchrist and Clarke wrested back the initiative with a dashing partnership. Gilchrist cut the very first ball he faced from Harbhajan for four, as if putting to rest all the nightmares of 2001. He raced to 35 at more than a run a ball as the fielders were left to chase shadows in every direction.Australia ended the day slightly better off, but they will know, better than anyone else, that Kumble still retains the ability to wreck even the most sturdy of fortresses.