Sourav Ganguly expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance at the post-match press conference, saying that it was an important match both for the team and himself personally and he was pleased with the result.”We’ve had a tough four or five months and it’s good to come back to our winning ways,” he said. “At one stage yesterday I was worried the game would end in another draw, because the pitch didn’t appear to be giving our spinners much assistance. But I become more confident after that one over that Anil Kumble bowled to Graeme Smith from around the wicket, just before tea [in which Kumble beat Smith repeatedly]. And today our Harbhajan and Kumble did the job for us.”On Kumble equalling Kapil Dev’s Indian record of 434 Test wickets, Ganguly remarked: “It’s an outstanding achievement. And he’ll probably go on to take a lot more wickets. I’ve played international cricket with Anil for ten years, and known him since [our] U-15 days. His determination and his will to succeed have always been impressive.”Ganguly was in a relaxed mood after the win. One of the last questions concerned his two run-ins with the ICC in the last month [he was given a two-match suspension for India’s slow over-rate in the ODI against Pakistan that was subsequently overturned on appeal, and then fined 30 per cent of his match fee after an incident with Jacques Kallis yesterday]. “I’ll have to change my ways now,” said Ganguly. “Otherwise I’ll soon be playing Test matches for free.”Graeme Smith, Ganguly’s opposing number, said that the South Africans had probably lost the match because they had not made enough runs in the first innings. “Our second-innings score was actually quite a good one. If we had made 400 then they wouldn’t have got the lead they did, and that might have left them about 200 to chase, which would’ve been interesting.”Smith also bemoaned the absence of a front-line spinner, saying it was a serious problem that South Africa needed to resolve before they could hope to succeed on the subcontinent. Asked if he was disappointed with the series of losses this year, he said that it was indeed frustrating to keep losing. “But you’ve got to be honest with yourself and the team we’ve got. I think that right now we’re at the same stage as Australia were in the early 1980s when Allan Border took charge of a team that lost often, but gradually built it up into a strong outfit.”Harbhajan Singh, the man of the match, and always an interesting and a relatively unguarded talker, made some intriguing observations in his characteristic style. Praising Kumble’s achievement, he remarked, “Anil is 34 but he still competes as if he is only 20. It’s a great feat.” Harbhajan said that Eden Gardens was among his favourite grounds, as he’d taken a wickets each time he’d played a Test here. Unusually for a member of a tribe of bowlers who always feel themselves hard done by, Harbhajan even agreed that Shaun Pollock was actually not out: “I saw it on TV and it didn’t hit the bat.”Harbhajan was finally asked if he felt that he sometimes got too pumped up on the field, and let his emotions get the better of him. “I wish I could be like Rahul Dravid – cool all the time,” he said. “But everyone has his own way, and I like to be aggressive. Actually, it has to do with my age. I’m only 24 and I think I’m so pumped up because I’m young. If I was like Dravid, I might end up taking less wickets.” At this Harbhajan paused and considered this last remark seriously. “Or maybe more.”

Durham have signed Callum Thorp, a right-arm fast-medium bowler, on atwo-year contract.Thorp, 28, was born in Perth and has played 16 matches for WesternAustralia. But since both of his parents are British, he will not countas an overseas player, even though on England’s 2002-03 tour ofAustralia he took 4 for 58 against the tourists.”Callum comes to the club highly recommended by our new captain MikeHussey who is confident that he will be able to perform well in Britishconditions,” said Martyn Moxon, Durham’s coach. “It will be particularlyuseful to have another bowler in the squad to ensure that there isconstant competition within the team for places on the field.”David Harker, the county’s chief executive, was also enthusiastic: “Weare looking forward to having his experience within the squad,especially in our battle for promotion next year, and to offer guidanceto our developing players.”The last Australian fast bowler Durham signed was Shaun Tait, who,though highly regarded by Geoff Lawson, Damien Fleming and Wayne Clark,failed abysmally in two matches: figures of 18-0-176-0 tell one story, but not how he struggled with no-balls. There were 26 of them.

The ongoing dispute over the ownership of Headingley is set to rumble on, as neither side is willing to admit responsibility for the breakdown in negotiations.On Monday, Yorkshire released a statement in which they said at they were willing to talk. “The club confirms that it has not withdrawn from the negotiations, neither orally nor in writing.” The statement said, “It has no choice at present but to regard the negotiations as at an end, but it wishes to make clear that they have been ended by Leeds CF&A unilaterally.” Yorkshire stated that since they did not pull out, they would not have to pay a £500,000 fine. The statement went on to say that Yorkshire would like a further reduction in the asking price, which “might be less than the one which Leeds CF & A’s commercial standpoint has produced but, if a deal could be done, the benefits for Yorkshire would be beyond measure and enduring.”But the current owner of Headingley responded swiftly, presenting their version of events. reported that Leeds Cricket Football and Athletics has not withdrawn from the negotiations, and quoted them as saying: “Leeds CF&A has not withdrawn from the negotiations to settle the contracts,” they said. “It remains ready, willing and able to finalise them. However, a price reduction – on top of the discount already given – is not an option. It is wrong of Yorkshire CCC to criticise Leeds CF&A for not being willing to reduce the price further.”

John Gloster is all set to take over as the new physiotherapist of the Indian team, and has indicated that he is ready to join the squad whenever required. Andrew Leipus, the former physio, had earlier resigned from the post to pursue a postgraduate course in Adelaide.Leipus first expressed his desire to stand down during the Mumbai Test against Australia last year, and had said that he planned to leave at the end of January. Gloster, who has earlier worked with Bangladesh and Surrey, told : “I am more than keen to take over and will come over whenever the BCCI wants me to. If it means flying out this week, I am ready for that as well.”SK Nair, the board secretary, said that Gloster was the “first choice”, and added, “We have made an offer to him. If he agrees to our terms and conditions he will take charge. We are hoping to get a response in the next couple of days.”The NKP Salve Challenger Trophy – the annual one-day tournament played between India, India A and India B – is scheduled to be held in Mumbai from February 7, and Gloster is expected to join the squad by then.

Darren Gough is confident that Steve Harmison will soon regain his form. The fast bowler Harmison slipped from top of the world bowling rankings to eighth after an indifferent Test series. He picked up just nine wickets at 73 apiece as England completed a 2-1 series victory against South Africa.”Confidence plays a big part in fast bowling,” Gough told the BBC Sport website. “Especially after a couple of games haven’t gone your way. It goes in spells and he’s a quality bowler. He’s going to take wickets sooner rather than later. I don’t think Harmison is doing that much wrong. He had two catches dropped on the last day of the last Test.”Although Harmison will be fit for England’s third ODI this Friday after recovering from a calf strain, he knows that he will not be an automatic selection. “It is progressing nicely,” Harmison said, “and with a bit of luck I will be fit for Port Elizabeth, [but] the way the boys have bowled I might not get a game.”England take a 1-0 lead into the second of seven matches on Wednesday at Bloemfontein.

Scorecard

For subcontinental fans, every World Cup has two narratives: the one about who actually wins the tournament; and the equally important one of who wins the encounter between India and Pakistan. For that one match, the tournament goes beyond sport and into nationalism. A defeat in the tournament can be forgiven; a loss against the neighbour cannot.In 1996, controversy set in before the match began, when Wasim Akram, Pakistan’s captain, decided not to play because of injury. (His house was to be stoned later after the defeat.) Aamer Sohail took over the captaincy and promptly lost the toss. Mohammad Azharuddin, India’s captain, chose to bat.Waqar Younis began with a hostile spell first up, as Sachin Tendulkar batted with a restraint befitting of the importance of the occasion. But the longer innings he set himself up for did not materialise. Instead, it was Sidhu who was to be the fulcrum of India’s innings. Batting with a runner because of a leg injury, he gritted his way to an invaluable 93 before Mushtaq Ahmed got him with a flipper.A score of 250 seemed likely, but all that was transformed at the end of the innings. Ajay Jadeja, who had once harboured dreams of opening the innings for India, came in at No. 6 and seized the day, and the momentum. He smashed 45 off 25, as Waqar’s last two overs went for 40. Those were decisive runs.India’s 287 was a daunting total in those days, but Pakistan began well. Sohail and Saeed Anwar added 84 in 10 overs before Anwar was out for 48, off just 32 balls. Then came a defining moment of the game, as hothead met hothead. Sohail, having smashed Venkatesh Prasad for a four to extra-cover, indicated to the bowler that the next ball would disappear there as well. Prasad, a mild-mannered man outside the field of cricket, glared at him, strode back to his mark, and rushed in. Sohail tried to make room for the shot he had promised, and the ball middled the off stump.That was the decisive turning point. Prasad, mixing it up beautifully, then took the wickets of Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Anil Kumble had Pakistan on a leash after that. Javed Miandad, playing his last one-day international, came out at No. 6, but his day was done, and so was the game. India won, in the end, by 39 runs.Firecrackers went off across India. A different kind of welcome awaited the Pakistanis at home.Amit Varma is contributing editor of Cricinfo. He writes the independent blogs, India Uncut and The Middle Stage.