South Africa have been successful at disrupting Australia’s plans for a summer of domination. By Boxing Day Ricky Ponting’s men would have expected a 1-0 lead, especially after taking a 490-run buffer in Perth, but they were thwarted by the type of application that has made them such enjoyable and irritating opponents. The MCG is in the final stages of its redevelopment for the Commonwealth Games and the second Test starting on Monday should act as the perfect dress rehearsal.Crowd predictions for the first day have already stretched towards 80,000 and following the most competitive Test of the summer expectation is high of a repeat performance. Australian supporters now know their team cannot walk over South Africa and most are excited by the threat of an extended contest.The countries have played only ten Tests at the ground and while the home side has won six times, the Proteas have enjoyed some of their most famous Australian performances there. When Jack Cheetham’s side sealed a surprising drawn series in 1952-53 both victories came at the MCG. It remains South Africa’s most successful campaign in Australia ahead of the 1-1 results in 1963-64 and 1993-94.Eight years ago Jacques Kallis also held up Australia at Melbourne with an innings strangely similar to Jacques Rudolph’s 102 not out at Perth on Tuesday. Both displays salvaged unlikely draws, built the young batsmen’s reputations and made sure they would not be bullied like most touring teams. Playing his seventh Test, Kallis hit only six fours in the 101 and blunted the threats of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.South Africa hope Kallis can resume his battle against the older and wiser pair in his 95th Test on Monday. His fight over an elbow injury has covered most of this tour and he is confident of filling the crucial role as the side’s world-class allrounder. The problem is he felt the same way before Perth and was ruled out, giving Rudolph his chance. Ashwell Prince is likely to make way if Kallis returns while the spin of Nicky Boje will be a vital option to the fast-medium battery and will probably force Charl Langeveldt aside.Slow bowling is also a talking point in the Australian camp with the Warne and Stuart MacGill combination being considered again. It is unbelievable that the discussion continues after their performances together over the past year, but the pairing still concerns the selectors despite the side’s inability to win the opening match.Nathan Bracken is MacGill’s greatest threat; MacGill has no doubt over his ability on the MCG pitch, but the curator Tony Ware predicts it will be more beneficial for a three-seamer attack. Ware expects the surface to turn as the match concludes and he has left more grass on in the hope it provides pace and bounce. “I just can’t remember a time when two spinners have been really effective here,” he said in .Warne was over-worked and under-rewarded in the first Test and has been recovering from the back and shoulder aches that take longer to leave his 36-year-old body. With Australia depending on him, he will need more support in this match and the next one in Sydney.There is also uncertainty at the top of the order after Justin Langer succumbed to a hamstring injury last weekend and Phil Jaques, who did not meet Ponting until this week, was called from New South Wales. He becomes the third batting debutant for Australia this summer and at 26 is a long term-prospect. Four of the top six have played fewer than ten Tests and South Africa must exploit the inexperience if they are to continue making things difficult for the hosts.Australia (possible) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Phil Jaques, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Brad Hodge, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Stuart MacGill, 11 Glenn McGrath.South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 AB de Villiers, 3 Jacques Rudolph, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Herschelle Gibbs, 6 Justin Kemp, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Nicky Boje, 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Andre Nel.

When he made his debut, over a year ago against Australia, little in his 18 overs suggested that Mohammad Asif would soon become the leading candidate among a group of Pakistani pace bowlers pushing in from the fringes of the national team. Ten wickets against England in a warm-up game pushed him closer but with Mohammad Sami and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan dropped and Umar Gul not picked, Asif’s chance has finally come in this series. In that time, he has, in Bob Woolmer’s words, been the most improved bowler of the lot and though an inert Faisalabad pitch revealed only slithers of that, the grass of Karachi strengthens that assessment.Surprisingly confident while attending the end of day press conference, Asif suggested his debut might have come too early. “I learned a lot after making my Test debut. I did not know much about how to bowl in Tests then as I had only played domestic cricket at the time. But since then I have had a lot of help and the pre-tour camp, with people like Bob Woolmer and Waqar Younis, has also helped a lot.”By dismissing Zaheer Khan to end the Indian innings, he finished with four wickets, three of whom make for glittering victims. Yesterday, by dismissing Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, he had showed an intelligent mind, by bowling a nine-over spell this morning, he displayed a willing body too. Dravid’s wicket in particular was cherished; having beaten him once already, he caught his edge by angling one in and straightening it a fraction. “Dravid’s wicket was special because he is such a great player. If there is one batsman in the side whose wicket is really important, it is him. I like bowling to batsmen like Dravid who allow you to settle into a line, unlike a Sehwag with whom you can never settle into one line,” he said.Laxman’s dismissal – bowled by a fast, sharply-cutting off-break – also had its roots in Faisalabad and only slightly less special. “I tried to beat him in similar fashion at Faisalabad but the ball did not dart in as sharp as it did here. I had been planning to get him that way and here the pitch helped.”Since his debut, Asif has also altered his action slightly although it retains an ease of movement about it. “I used to fall away too much on one side after releasing the ball. I worked with Waqar on it and although I still do now, it isn’t as much as before.” He was sent as one of a clutch of Pakistani fast bowlers to the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai last year although he isn’t sure how much that has contributed to his improvement. “I was only there for ten days so I am not sure how much of a difference it has really made.”Something though has clearly made a difference in the last year and with Pakistan pulling themselves into a position of some strength by the close of play, Asif’s role in this match is far from complete.

After blistering centuries at Johannesburg, Ricky Ponting and Herschelle Gibbs made significant strides in the latest ICC one-day international rankings for batsmen.Ponting retained his number one spot but attained his highest ratings (with 805 points), while Gibbs moved up from the 22nd position to No.11. Andrew Symonds too earned his highest ranking, getting into the top-three both in the batting list, behind Adam Gilchrist, and in the allrounders list behind Shaun Pollock and Andrew Flintoff.The run avalanche at Johannesburg has affected Brett Lee’s ranking as he slips three notches to No.6. His fall has moved the New Zealand duo of Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori up one spot each, with Bond now occupying the No.3 spot. However, for the Australians, Nathan Bracken made an entry into the top-ten for the first time, taking the ninth position, after taking a five-wicket haul in the fifth ODI as well as finishing as the leading wicket-taker for Australia in the series with nine wickets.While Australia remain on top of the team rankings with 133 points, South Africa’s series victory has narrowed the gap to 15 points between the two. This is incidentally Australia’s lowest rating since October 2003.For the full list of rankings, click here.

Sean Williams has revealed that he is not signing a contract with Zimbabwe Cricket after getting offers to play in South Africa and England.Williams, a 19-year-old left hander who captained the Zimbabwe Under-19 side in the recent World Cup, turned down the board’s offer last week after meeting with ZC Players Welfare and Technical committee chairman Crispen Pyswarai.”I am not signing a contract with Zimbabwe Cricket,” Williams said. “Let me emphasise that it was my own decision. The moment I walked out of Pyswarai’s office I made up my mind not to sign, he mentioned huge figures to me like a ZW$100 million (US$1000) appearance fee, but for how long are the players going to get that money?”Williams admitted that he did not entirely agree with his father Colin’s views on the issue, as he does not want any confrontation with Zimbabwe Cricket, but wants to move on peacefully with his cricket career.He has not picked up a bat since returning from the World Cup after he developed three boils on his right elbow that have since been lanced.Williams could have walked into the Zimbabwe team when senior players went on strike in April 2004. However, his father told him to concentrate on his studies, but he subsequently realised that his son’s talent was as a cricketer. Williams has since made four ODI appearances for Zimbabwe.

The Newlands groundsman, Christo Erasmus, has hit out at the South African management for leaving him as the scapegoat for the pitch he prepared for the first Test against Australia. South Africa lost the match inside three days on a surface that offered lavish assistance to the seamers throughout.However, Erasmus was surprised that South Africa chose to bat after winning the toss and believes Shane Warne’s history against them was a huge factor. In the end, Stuart Clark took nine wickets on debut as Australia won by seven wickets.”It seemed that Shane Warne won the Test for Australia before the game started,” Erasmus told . “Instead of playing the conditions as they were, the South Africans only seemed to worry about facing Warne on the fifth day.”Erasmus added that Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, had phoned him before the start of the Test stating he wanted a pitch that would help the seamers for the first two days. However, Erasmus followed his instincts and produced what he thought would be the best surface.But two days before the Test started members of the South African team said they were not happy with the way the pitch was taking shaped and suggested to Erasmus that it would be tailor made for Warne.”They said I was playing into Australia’s hands,” said Erasmus. “But I’ve been preparing pitches at Newlands for nine years and I knew that it was not a raging turner. Yes, the square is a bit worn at the back end of the season, but the cracks would not have widened.”With two matches remaining in the series, at Durban and Johannesburg, Erasmus cautioned other groundsmen against being pressured: “They shouldn’t blame the groundsman, and I advise other groundsmen not to open themselves up to external pressure, like I did.”

ScorecardsA fine performance in the field helped Barbados stage a fightback after conceding a first innings lead in the third day of the Carib Beer Challenge finals against Trinidad and Tobago at Guaracara Park. T&T held the upper hand with a first-innings lead of 70, but struggled in their effort to extend their advantage, losing half their side with 137 on board, with an overall lead of 207.Lendl Simmons and Daren Ganga, the captain, got T&T off to a decent start, with an opening stand of 45. However, Barbados struck back with two sharp run-outs, sending back Simmons and Jason Mohammed. Brian Lara failed for the second time in the match, falling to a diving catch by Patrick Browne as the home side were in trouble at 99 for 5. However, Richard Kelly and Rayad Emrit consolidated with an unbeaten stand of 38 for the sixth wicket.Resuming their overnight score of 137 for 5, Barbados were buoyed by a sixth-wicket stand of 94 between Keith Edwards and Browne. After Browne’s dismissal shortly before lunch for 33, Barbados lost their way, as Edwards fell to a brilliant catch by Sherwin Ganga, the substitute, off Dave Mohammed for an impressive 64 on debut. Barbados were wrapped up for 270, as Mohammed finished with 3 for 56 in 24 overs to push his tally of wickets for the competition to 41, the most by any bowler.

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

After India had stodged and struggled on the first day, West Indies’ batsmen showed that run-scoring wasn’t so difficult on this Antigua pitch after all, rattling up 318 for 6 by close of play on the second day. Chris Gayle led the show upfront with a thunderous 72, while Dwayne Bravo continued to play the role of India’s tormentor with aplomb, scoring a sparkling 68. With Ramnaresh Sarwan chipping in with a classy half-century as well, West Indies finished the day 77 in front.If the batting performances of the two sides was a contrast, then so was the bowling displays. While West Indies’ fast bowlers mostly bowled in the channel outside off and forced the batsmen into indiscretion, the Indian seamers – especially Sreesanth and VRV Singh – sprayed it liberally on both sides of the wicket, offering plenty of scoring opportunities, which Gayle and co. grabbed eagerly.The run-deluge started early, after Daren Ganga was harshly adjudged lbw to Munaf. Gayle, who had survived a far closer shout when on 1, took on the fast bowlers with typically audacious strokes, and India’s total of 241 suddenly looked even smaller. Footwork has never been his forte, and here again, Gayle backed his hand-eye coordination, going hard after the ball when offered the width. The upper-cuts came into play early as Gayle hoisted the ball well clear of the slips. That forced the bowlers to pitch it up further, and Gayle was ready with some brutally powerful shots down the ground, especially memorable being one hit off the hapless Sreesanth which cleared the long-off fence.The early onslaught forced Rahul Dravid on the defensive – the slip cordon reduced to two, a third man was brought in – but the runs continued to flow. VRV Singh came on to bowl in the tenth over of the innings, and his initiation wasn’t a memorable one: the first ball was cut away for four by Sarwan – who played an ideal second foil to Gayle in the 119-run second wicket stand – while there were two more boundaries in an over which leaked 13.It needed Anil Kumble’s guile to winkle out Gayle, but by then West Indies had already gained the initiative. India recovered somewhat when they quickly got rid of Brian Lara – who sparkled briefly for his 18, but then perished thanks to his extravagance – and Sarwan, but that was the cue for Bravo to get his act going.Throughout this series, be it with bat or with ball, Bravo has stamped his authority on the game, and he did it here again. When he came in to bat, West Indies were 182 for 4, still 59 in the arrears. That number whittled away in quick time, as Bravo launched himself at the Indian attack. Precise in footwork, high on confidence, flawless in shot-selection, Bravo pushed India back on the defensive in a trice. His trademark shot was the flick through and over midwicket when the bowlers drifted on leg, and sometimes even when they didn’t. It was effective, and it was glorious to watch – front leg going across, bat going up in a high backlift and ending with a flourish for a follow-through. Even Kumble wasn’t spared as Bravo stroked him cleanly through the leg side, and played a couple of outstanding back-foot punches through cover when the length was marginally short.The bowler who suffered most through the day, though, was Sreesanth. He was clobbered first by Gayle (29 off 27 balls), and then by Bravo (22 off 17), who once crashed him for three fours in an over – a slashed edge, a flick, and a straight-drive as Sreesanth lost all control of direction and served up a juicy full-toss. Eighty-two runs in 13 overs indicates just how much West Indies relished his offerings.For Dravid, it was a tough day in the field. He chose to go with four bowlers, three of whom had little Test match experience, and two of whom inspired little confidence. The situation was dire enough for him to abandon his usual position in the slips and come over to mid-off to talk to his bowlers. That helped little in the case of Sreesanth and Singh – who was far too erratic to be effective – and while Munaf bowled a couple of effective spells, by the final session he was a spent force, bowling at around 120 kmph.India’s plight would have been even worse had it not been for Virender Sehwag, who got the ball to turn, bounce, and was rewarded with two wickets. The ball with which he got Bravo was a beauty – it pitched outside off, turned, bounced, and went between bat and pad as Bravo attempted a drive. Dhoni effected a superb stumping to give the Indians something to cheer about, but with a substantial lead already, and with Denesh Ramdin batting sensibly, West Indies will feel quite satisfied with the way the day panned out.

Munaf Patel b Edwards 0 (241 all out)
West IndiesDaren Ganga lbw b Munaf 9 (18 for 1)
Chris Gayle c Dravid b Kumble 72 (137 for 2)
Brian Lara c Yuvraj b Munaf 18 (159 for 3)
Ramnaresh Sarwan lbw b Kumble 58 (182 for 4)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Dhoni b Sehwag 24 (255 for 5)
Dwayne Bravo st Dhoni b Sehwag 68 (282 for 6)
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