South Africa 441 (Smith 74, Kallis 149, Boje 76, Flintoff 4-79) and 222 for 8 dec (Kallis 66) beat England 163 (Ntini 4-50, Langeveldt 5-46) and 304 (Pollock 4-65, Boje 4-71) by 196 runs, to level series at 1-1
ScorecardDay 5
Bulletin – South Africa wrap up a convincing victory
Verdict – The rewards of discipline
Smith quotes – In praise of superb South Africa
– Vaughan praises South Africa too
News – England fan charged over racist graffiti
The Big Picture – Jones’s frustration
Day 4
Bulletin – South Africa close in on victory
News – Langeveldt could play in fourth Test
Verdict – A bridge too far
Fletcher quotes – ‘It’s up to individuals to show more patience’
News – Flintoff faces tour KO
The Big Picture – Celebration
Day 3
Bulletin – South Africa turn the screw
Verdict – Sleeping on the job
Giles quotes – ‘I’d like a Test century’
Langeveldt quotes – Happy to be turning the screw
The Big Picture – Kallis Part II
Day 2
Bulletin – South Africa seize the advantage
Verdict – The fulcrum of South Africa’s fortunes
Quotes – Patience was the key – Kallis
News – Langeveldt set to miss rest of the series
Stats – Fastest to 1000 Test runs
The Big Picture – Out the way
Day 1
Bulletin – Kallis still there as South Africa take it slow
Verdict – Potential v perspiration
Roving Reporter – Where better than Newlands at New Year?
Quotes – ‘The guys have done a good job,’ says Fletcher
Quotes – Smith: ‘Kallis is unbelievable’
The Big Picture – Giles’s unexpected hit
Preview Package
Preview – Tearing up the script
News – Pollock cleared to play
The Big Picture – Pitched battle ahead

Clive Lloyd, the former West Indian captain and current match referee, has accused Michael Vaughan of being “rude and dismissive” during the disciplinary hearing that resulted in Vaughan being fined his entire match fee during the fourth Test at Johannesburg.Reuters quoted Lloyd as telling a South African newspaper, “I would have given him a lesser fine if it were not for that, but I stopped short of banning him for the last Test. I have respect for the England captain and I expected the same from him.”Vaughan had criticised the two on-field umpires, Aleem Dar and Steve Bucknor, for the “inconsistent” way they handled the issue of bad light during the Test. Vaughan was then fined his full match fee of approximately £5500 (US$10,350).”If he doesn’t respect me he should at least respect the position [of match referee],” said Lloyd. “But he made matters worse for himself with his dismissive and rude attitude.”There was an immediate response from the English Professional Cricketers’ Association, which called on the ICC to remove Lloyd from its list of referees for making the matter public. A PCA statement read: “Putting details into the media is unacceptable and should lead to an immediate review of Clive Lloyd’s position and future as a match referee.”

Documents leaked to Cricinfo suggest that far from coming as surprise, the USA Cricket Association were aware of the ICC’s objections to its offered Memorandum of Understanding from the outset. And it also seems that the USACA did make an offer to try to resolve its differences with the ICC.From the off, the USACA expressed concern with the MOU, and Gladstone Dainty, the USACA’s president, wrote to the ICC claiming that it was too restrictive and also that it was "counter to the charter of USACA as a non-profit organization, and has the potential for serious tax consequences and possible criminal consequences."While details of the ICC’s response is not known, at the end of December he again wrote and, referring to letters dated November 1 and December 20, angrily told the ICC that "it is … mischievous and self-serving for the ICC to attempt to interfere with the USACA’s election process. All communication should be directed through USACA . Any other mechanism for communicating …is presumptuous and out of line."Dainty was also increasingly worried by what he viewed as the lack of control was the ICC to follow the course it had proposed. "We are prepared to work with the ICC and any other party in a spirit of cooperation toward the goal of developing the game of cricket in the United States," he said. "However, we are firm that we will not give up our autonomy or cede our responsibility to any others."A reply from Matthew Kennedy, the ICC’s development manager, dismissed Dainty’s objections and, in turn, accused the USACA of being dilatory and obstructive. "Your reply," Kennedy wrote, "causes considerable dissatisfaction and distress to us. We are rapidly reaching the conclusion that Project USA is doomed to failure. ICC would never take any action that would either jeopardise USACA’s tax-exempt status or create any financial or other issues for USACA."With time running out, Dainty seemed to back down a little, acknowledging that "we acknowledge your response that this is not so" on the matter of stripping the USACA of its autonomy. But, still unhappy with the idea that profits from Project USA would head away from the States, he proposed a USA Cricket Development Trust Fund which would be administered by trustees (three from the USACA, two from the ICC) and which would ensure that all income was invested back into in USA cricket. Dainty implied that this idea had been given private backing by the ICC although there is no evidence of this.The suspension of Project USA followed shortly afterwards.What the correspondence makes clear is that Dainty and the board of the USACA were concerned about monies generated by Project USA being taken offshore and possibly used elsewhere. That is strange given that the ICC stated from the off that all funds raised would be invested back into the USA, a position which it has never moved from. The necessary accounting prerequisites were also put in place early on.The suspicion is that the objections being raised owe more to how the money is controlled rather than where it would be spent. The governance issues flagged many times by the ICC show that it is right to want to keep a tight hold of the reins. The worry is that the USACA looks as if it is quite willing to cut off its nose to spite its face.

It is raining cats and dogs in Potchefstroom. The Indian women’s team couldn’t care less. They are just happy the rain came down they had beaten New Zealand comprehensively in the semifinal, to reach their first ever final. The music is on full blast, several players are dancing and yelling, while one is dispatched to brew up some hot . In the background, kicking back and briefly enjoying the moment, are two senior women, who have played an equally important role in the team’s success.Sudha Shah, the coach and Shubhangi Kulkarni, secretary of the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI), have been the pillars from which the girls have derived most of their strength.Shah and Kulkarni, good friends from their playing days, both former captains of India, came together as a team two years ago. Till then, the WCAI had been the poorer version of the body that ran the men’s game. There was plenty of petty politicking, there were strong rivalries on zonal and team lines, and things simply were not moving in the right direction. At least the men’s board was financially well off; the same could never be said about the women’s association. Yet for the first time in years, India’s home series against England was televised. Mandira Bedi – you may not like her antics on television – cashed in on her popularity, joined forces with Kulkarni. One of the first results of that partnership was a sponsorship for one series. Soon, for the first time the team had a long-term sponsor. Sahara, sponsors of the men’s team, came forward with a three-year deal for the women’s team, something unimaginable thus far.But both Kulkarni and Shah have braved lot of rough tides to reach the present smooth sail.“Anything we wanted was given to us”

Kulkarni hated it when the joke went around cricket circles as she took over as secretary of the WCAI. People called her the female Dalmiya, and she is anything but that. Soft spoken, professional, polite to a fault, sincere and hardworking, whether in her role as director of a leading sports goods company, or as secretary of the Indian women’s cricket association, she is anything but Dalmiya.Shah is quick to acknowledge the role Kulkarni has played in the team’s success. “Anything we wanted was giving to us by the association,” she told Cricinfo from the team hotel in Potchefstroom. “All she [Kulkarni] wanted from us is that we concentrate on the cricket, and win. We owe her a lot. That fact that she has been running the show made a great difference. She gave us the confidence and the support we needed.”Shah has personally ignored the past to continue building the team. The last time around, when India left for World Cup in 2000, Shah was the coach. Yet somehow, by the time the team reached the Hagley Oval, Christchurch, for their first match against South Africa, she was relegated to “cricket manager”, thanks to some typical machinations within the association. Refusing to lament about the past Shah is happy living in the present. “It was very unprofessional last time. This time we’ve gone about it well. Off the field and on it, our team is more prepared. We paid a lot of attention to our fitness and our fielding and that has really paid off. The girls getting fit has also made them much more positive in their approach and outlook. All these factors came together well for us.” “She’s the best person to bring out the best from a team”
Shah has never been the overbearing kind. You may know her for years, and never once hear her raise her voice. But don’t be fooled. She’s no softie. When she’s unhappy, you’ll hear about it, but quietly, and directly.”I have always been very confident of Shah’s knowledge of cricket and her ability to bring out the best in the team,” Kulkarni says. “When we were still playing I had seen her work with the Tamil Nadu team and the South Zone team. I’ve always felt she’s the best person to bring out the best from a team, and apart from her knowledge as a player, this is the one thing you look for in a leader or a coach. She has a very good judgment of players and people. Overall she has a good brain for strategy. She doesn’t talk too much, but when she speaks you know she’s going to talk sense.”One of the keys to the Kulkarni-Shah partnership is that each knows exactly what the other person’s role is. “I leave all the cricketing decisions to her. As a former player I make some suggestions, but I believe she knows the game better than me,” adds Kulkarni. “The final decision on anything cricketing is hers. When she is taking care of the team, I don’t have to worry about anything. This leaves me to think about administrative matters. As a secretary it’s great to have her around. She knows her job, she sticks to it, and we don’t tread on each others’ toes.”This delineation of roles has served the team well and the results have just started to come.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

At the start of this series, there were doubts as to whether Brian Lara would ever play another Test match, as the brouhaha between Cable & Wireless and Digicel reached its crescendo. Today at Trinidad, in front of his home fans, Lara achieved redemption in the manner that only he can, blazing his way to a glorious hundred in his first first-class innings since the tour of England last August.By the close, the majesty of Lara’s performance had been magnified by the shortcomings of his team-mates. Though he himself reached the close on 159 not out, from 236 balls and crowned by 20 thrilling fours, not a single other batsman made more than 35. Thanks to the efforts of Makhaya Ntini with the new ball, and Andre Nel with the old, South Africa chipped away for six wickets, and remained very much in the hunt.Lara had played in just seven one-day internationals since the start of the year, and after the run-feast that a second-string West Indies side served up at Georgetown last week, a lesser mortal might have felt slightly cowed by the weight of expectation on his shoulders, especially when Ntini had reduced West Indies to 14 for 2 after just half-an-hour of the day. Two of Lara’s fellow contract rebels, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, had betrayed their lack of match practice with two ill-disciplined strokes, and a third such dismissal would in all probability have opened the floodgates.But there was never any suggestion that Lara would be feeling his way back to form. In the absence of Shaun Pollock, South Africa’s one genuine world-class bowler, the weak links in the South African attack were manifest, and Lara set out to exploit them to the full. Monde Zondeki, whose last Test outing had gleaned six Zimbabwean wickets for 39, was taught a harsh lesson in how to take on a master batsman, while Lara was equally emphatic against the spin of Nicky Boje and the lacklustre pace of Jacques Kallis.He brought up his century by pulling Zondeki for two runs through deep midwicket, and a Trinidad crowd that had steadily grown as word of his derring-do spread erupted in the knowledge that he had overhauled the great Garry Sobers to become West Indies’ leading centurymaker. He now has 27 hundreds to his name, which leaves him someway short of Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar (34), but in this innings he has overhauled both men to become the third-highest run-scorer in Test history.

Though the opposition was by no means in the same class, the context and quality of his innings was reminiscent of his solo stands against the Australians six seasons ago – the indisputable apex of his career. Then as now, the secret of his success was the partnerships that he was able to form, and in Wavell Hinds, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Courtney Browne, he found three sidekicks who played a fine second-fiddle at crucial stages of the innings.For Hinds and Chanderpaul, it was an emphatic comedown from their heady double-centuries at Georgetown. Hinds was especially watchful – at Bourda he had slapped 34 fours and two sixes in his career-best 213 – but today he knew his role and played it almost to perfection, lasting for 110 deadpan deliveries until Ntini returned to the attack to find his outside edge (108 for 3).For the first half of the day, Ntini had been a lone threat in the South African attack. Nel’s first spell had been short and very wide, while Lara had allowed none of the back-up bowlers to settle. But when Chanderpaul’s composed performance came to a tame end, as he chipped a return catch straight to Boje, South Africa were invigorated. Nel bounded in for a teasing spell of reverse-swing bowling, Donovan Pagon and Dwayne Bravo were both bowled for the addition of 21 runs, and West Indies were in serious danger of squandering all Lara’s good efforts.Nel, whose snarling followthroughs had looked decidedly sheepish in the early part of his performance, suddenly found a second wind, and when Lara was beaten all ends up twice in two balls – a tight lbw shout followed by a fence outside off – Nel punched the air in frustration. But Browne dug in for a vital unbeaten 19, saw off the increasing vagaries in the pitch, and ensured that it was West Indies who reached the close in a position that Lara’s efforts had merited.How they were outWest IndiesChris Gayle c Boucher b Ntini 6 (7 for 1)
Indisciplined swish, steepling edge to keeperRamnaresh Sarwan c Nel b Ntini 5 (13 for 2)
Flapped bouncer to deep fine legWavell Hinds c Smith b Ntini 32 (108 for 3)
Squirted drive to first slipShivnarine Chanderpaul c&b Boje 35 (203 for 4)
Suckered by flighted delivery, simple return catchDonovan Pagon b Ntini 0 (204 for 5)
Played all round straight deliveryDwayne Bravo b Nel 5 (225 for 6)
Reverse swing, inside-edge onto leg stump

Arul Suppiah and Michael Parsons, two young prospects, have signed for Somerset for the 2005 season after accepting offers made to them in September.Suppiah, 21, made his first-class debut for the county in 2002, but has so far played only three Championship matches in three years. He is the only known Malaysian playing cricket. Paceman Michael Parsons, 19, has yet to make his first-team debut. The allrounder Wes Durston, 24, will also play for the county again next season.England Under-19 batsman Jamie Hildreth, 20, is still negotiating a three-year contract. He scored 760 runs in the 2004 Championship at 38.45, with a highest score of 108.Somerset are also in discussions with the 24-year-old batsman Matthew Wood and the offspinner Gareth Andrew, 20, over two-year deals.

Given the background of India’s awesome record at home – theyhave lost only one series in the last 15 years – it would betempting to shrug off the challenge posed by the West Indies teamwhich commences battle in a three-Test series from Wednesday. Butthe Indians would do well to guard against complacency. In thepast, an overconfident approach has proved costly and one hasonly to look back at the previous tour by the Caribbean sideeight years ago to understand how rash it would be to under-rateany team.The West Indies had virtually lost their No 1 ranking and theslide was apparent. By the early 90s, the vast majority of thestars of the all-conquering team of the 80s had retired. Tocompound matters, they were, for various reasons, without severalleading players including reigning captain Richie Richardson,fast bowlers Curtly Ambrose and Winston Benjamin and veteranopener Desmond Haynes.

The side, led by Courtney Walsh, had only one really big name inBrian Lara, who in the first half of 1994 had set the two famousworld-record scores of 375 and 501 not out. The captain, ofcourse, was one of the top fast bowlers in the world while CarlHooper, Phil Simmons and Keith Arthurton were cricketers withsome experience. But little was known about the other players inthe side and the chances of the tourists doing well were notrated highly. On the other hand much was made of the fact that athome India had registered nine successive victories in the period1988-1994. The stage thus seemed set for India to register acomfortable win in the three-Test series.Things seemed to move according to prediction when India won thefirst Test by 96 runs to make it ten in a row at home. But thewinning streak was halted in the next Test in which West Indiesearned a honourable draw. And in the final Test, West Indiesscored a surprise 243-run victory to level the series against allexpectations. An obdurate left-hander named Jimmy Adams amassed520 runs at a Bradmanesque average of 173.33.More recently too, the mood was fairly complacent on the eve ofthe Test series against a seemingly weak England side about ayear ago. Ultimately, India had to huff and puff their way tovictory in one Test while the two other games were drawn with thevisitors emerging with much credit.It can be debated whether the current West Indian team or the1978-79 side led by Alvin Kallicharran is the weakest to tourIndia. The batting looks capable of holding its own and evidenceof this was clearly seen in the tour opener at Bangalore. Therehas to be question marks over the bowling though and it isdoubtful whether it has the ammunition to bowl out the fearsomeIndian batting line-up twice.The absence of Lara is a major blow and the West Indian recordaway from home is admittedly abysmal. That said, it must also bestated that they put up a heart-warming show in winning theseries against India in the Caribbean earlier this year. It mustnot be forgotten that India were the favourites to take theseries but Hooper’s young and inexperienced side rose to theoccasion and with a commendable performance, recovered to win theseries.Granted it was achieved at home where West Indies have almostalways been unbeatable, but there was something positive abouttheir showing and while it is too early to speak in terms of aresurgence, they are not a side to be dismissed lightly. Indeed,it is difficult not to agree with Walsh’s prediction that onecould see a star or two being born during the tour. As theyshowed in Bangalore, the tourists mean business and are a prettyeager lot. And as the saying goes, enthusiasm is the mother ofsuccess.Of course, it will take a bit effort to emerge successful in boththe Tests and one-day internationals against an Indian side thatat the moment is bristling with confidence. They are on a highafter a string of notable performances, they are playing at homewhere they enjoy an enviable record and the team for the firsttwo Tests has an unbeatable look about it. But that’s just thekind of scenario in which sometimes the favourites can lowertheir guard and pay the price.Under Sourav Ganguly, the Indians have developed a ruthlessstreak and they should maintain this approach. On paper, there isno reason why the Indians should not end up comfortable winners.Man to man, they appear much stronger. But then the Indianslooked pretty formidable on the two occasions I have talked aboutand the result is well known. On the face of things, this wouldseem to be a gilt-edged opportunity for the hosts to make a cleansweep of the Test series, along the lines of the victoriesachieved against England in 1993 and Sri Lanka the followingseason, provided complacency does not enter the Indians’ mindset.

The selection of the Indian team for the first two Tests has beenmade on expected lines, though, I am not really comfortable aboutJavagal Srinath’s decision to come out of retirement and hissubsequent recall. The selection of Amit Mishra is a step in theright direction, notwithstanding his figures of no wicket for 114at Bangalore. A young leg-spinner is a must what with Anil Kumblein rather indifferent form. But then Kumble’s record at home iswell known and against West Indies, it is likely that he andHarbhajan would be the strike force rather than Srinath andZaheer Khan.

Close
Scorecard

Despite the best efforts of Asim Kamal, who became only the third player to be dismissed for 99 on his Test debut, Pakistan’s batting crumbled in the second session of play on the third day, allowing South Africa to reach 99 for 1 by stumps and regain the lead.Pakistan had a splendid chance to build a substantial lead that, given their spin-fortified attack on a fourthand fifth-day track, might have ensured that they only needed to bat once. But after Kamal was dismissed, Paul Adams broke through the lower order to finish with 7 for 128, his best Test analysis.Shoaib Malik and Kamal, when they began the day, seemed grimly determined to make sure that Pakistan got past South Africa’s first-innings total. The runs, consequently, came slowly and stodgily, and the only excitement for much of the morning session lay in a close shave for Malik after an lbw shout. But he did not last much longer after that; once Pakistan got past 320 and into the lead, Malik played inside the line to Adams and had his off stump uprooted (322 for 5).Kamal, the 27-year-old Karachi left-hander, seemed certain to become the tenth Pakistani to make a century on his Test debut. Instead, he achieved a more exclusive but more unwanted record shortly after lunch, becoming only the third player – after Robert Christiani and Arthur Chipperfield – to be out for 99 in his first Test.Kamal went to 98 by tonking a full-toss from Adams back over his head to long-off, but then had to sweat for a few overs on 99. The stroke that was meant to fetch him the crucial single, therefore, was perhaps a bit loose; trying to cut a ball that was too close for the stroke, Kamal edged it into his stumps and departed in an understandably blue mood (363 for 6). It was a sad end to what had been a neat, responsible innings, with nudged singles and occasional fluid cover-drives.While Kamal battled away, Moin Khan batted as if he had never been out of the Test side. He ran hard, placed the ball well, and struck Adams for six over long-off with the same misleading ease that he has brought to his game ever since the 1992 World Cup. At the other end, however, Adams struck twice in an over, first luring Shoaib Akhtar out of his crease to get him stumped (366 for 7), and then pushing one through to induce Mohammad Sami to chop the ball on (366 for 8).Adams bowled well all day, tossing the ball up and varying his pace well while remaining uncompromisingly accurate. He took the final two wickets as well, trapping Moin lbw for 38 (401 for 9), and then persuading Danish Kaneria to offer a tame catch to extra cover.South Africa started their second innings as rollickingly as the first, with Herschelle Gibbs top-edging a pull off Akhtar over fine leg for six. Although Gibbs’s knock put South Africa back on top by the close of play, it was not one of his best. Early on he collected a lot of his runs from edges, and only after the spinners came on did he start to settle down.Akhtar got rid of Smith early on, when a swift delivery rose off a good length to take the shoulder of the bat and fly to slip (43 for 1). But after that Gibbs and Boeta Dippenaar dropped anchor, shrugged off some absolute jaffas from Akhtar and Sami, and refused to be worried by the sharp break that Pakistan’s spinners extracted from the pitch.Gibbs might have departed, but Moin put down the thinnest of edges off Akhtar just before tea. He was a picture of despair after grassing the chance – symbolic of the manner in which Pakistan threw away a perfectly good position in a little less than two sessions of play.

On the eve of the second Test at Edgbaston, Kevin Pietersen has been awarded an ECB central contract on the recommendation of the selectors, after making a remarkable start to his international career.During the first Test at Lord’s, Pietersen was the only England batsman to come to terms with the challenge posed by Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, thumping a half-century in each innings of his debut. That followed on from his stunning first foray in one-day cricket, in which he has amassed 786 runs in 15 innings, including three centuries in quick succession against his native South Africa.”By following up an outstanding ODI tour of South Africa with impressive performances in the NatWest one-day international programme, Kevin forced his way into the Test side and he fully deserves being upgraded to Central Contract status,” said David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors.Pietersen’s acceptance into the fold has been a gradual process. He became qualified to play for England last October, but was initially omitted from the South Africa one-day series until Andrew Flintoff’s ankle injury gave him a late opportunity to impress. He was the pundit’s choice to play in the Tests against Bangladesh earlier this summer, but was again overlooked, this time in favour of Ian Bell.His inclusion takes the total number of players contracted to the ECB to 13, after 12 players were awarded 12-month contracts for the year from October 1, 2004. These players have their salaries paid by ECB and are available to their counties on a free-of-charge basis when released from international duties at the discretion of the coach, Duncan Fletcher.

Bermuda 125 and 311 (Tucker 123, Minors 66, Henry 4-69) beat Canada 207 and 181 (Qaiser Ali 52, Durham 3-29) by 48 runs
Scorecard

Bermuda produced a major upset by beating the favourites Canada by 48 runs in Toronto, putting them in pole position to secure a place in the semi-finals of the Intercontinental Cup.Bermuda had seemed down and out yesterday when they slumped to 116 for 5 in their second innings, only 34 ahead, but a sixth-wicket stand of 119 between Janeiro Tucker and Dean Minors brought them back into the game. The partnership was worth 93 when play resumed and, although Minors soon fell, Tucker marshaled the tail superbly, making an outstanding 123 and giving his bowlers something to get their teeth into.Canada, with far more experience and on home soil, were still favourites to chase 230, but that changed when Saleem Mukuddem and Kevin Huddle reduced them to 13 for 3. Sunil Dhaniram and Ashish Bagai stopped the rot with a stand of 53, but Dhaniram’s departure for a run-a-ball 35 was almost immediately followed by Bagai’s wicket, and at 73 for 6, Bermuda scented victory.The game had another twist left, as George Codrinton (40) and newcomer Ali Qaiser (52) posted 91 for seventh wicket to take Canada to within 66 of their target. But Hasan Durham nipped out the tail, aided by Qaiser being run out by the narrowest of margins, to complete a remarkable turn around.Bermuda have little time to bask in their success. They play their next match, against Cayman Islands in Toronto, on Saturday, knowing that victory will secure them a semi-final place against Kenya in Namibia. But should they draw or lose, then Canada could still pip if they were to comprehensively beat Cayman Islands when they meet next Wednesday.