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Kepler Wessels: ‘South African cricket will not benefit at all’© Getty Images

Kepler Wessels, the former South African captain, has said that there is little South Africa can gain from the Zimbabwe series which begins today. Key South African players, including Jacques Kallis, have been rested for the three-game one-day series against Zimbabwe. Kallis was an important part of the team that recently inflicted a heavy one-day series defeat on England.”South African cricket will not benefit at all,” said Wessels to News24, a South Africa-based website. “It will not have any influence. The players must do as well as they can, but one cannot really read anything into the performances in this series.”He said that the tour to the West Indies was more significant, and that the players had to put the results of the Zimbabwe tour behind them. Wessels’s comments echoed Graeme Smith’s belief that the only thing his players could take away from the Zimbabwe series was self-confidence.However, Peter Kirsten, the former South African batsman, considered the series to be an opportunity for Zimbabwe to acquire experience even if South Africa had nothing to gain. “South Africa cannot take a lot from the series. I really do not think it will do their self-confidence a lot of good. My experience of victories over poor opponents is that they give you a false sense of security.”Kirsten suggested that South Africa could instead participate in the SuperSport series, as those matches were more difficult than a series against Zimbabwe.

Melvyn Betts has joined Middlesex from Warwickshire, where he spent three seasons and took 83 first-class wickets.Betts, 28, started his career at Durham in 1993 and toured Zimbabwe and South Africa with England A in 1998-99.”I am looking forward to performing well for Middlesex and I am very excited by the prospect of playing at Lord’s," he said. “I feel I have a lot to offer and am just about reaching the peak of my career. Middlesex are a good, young side and I can’t wait for next season to start.”

An assured 140 not out from Mathew Sinclair put Central Districts in a commanding position on the first day of their sixth round State Championship match against Canterbury at Christchurch’s Village Green today.Central Districts was 267/4 at the close of the first day on a slow pitch with an even more lethargic outfield.Sinclair, the specialist converter of centuries into 150s and beyond, did it again today at QEII in front of the man who counts.Watching chairman of selectors Sir Richard Hadlee was noticeably impressed by the way Sinclair built his innings after coming in at 37/1 in the 12th over.Canterbury struggled to produce chances all day with Ryan Burson (2-52), who was not selected in Canterbury’s original XI, the only successful bowler in the morning session, trapping David Kelly (24) lbw on the crease.Kelly began with a couple of pulled boundaries, but the juicy outfield prevented several shots adding to the total of fours between the tenth and the 26th overs.Before the start Canterbury’s Stephen Cunis failed a fitness test on his injured thigh and Paul Wiseman was recalled. The former New Zealand off spinner was the day’s only successful bowler other than Cunis’ stand-in, Burson. Wiseman had promising newcomer Peter Ingram caught at slip for 35 shortly after lunch, which brought in Ben Smith, who scored 200 not out at New Plymouth when the sides last met in December, to join Sinclair, fresh from a score of 161 at Alexandra last week.By then Sinclair had deliberately and leisurely played himself in before reaching 50 off 97 balls and his twelfth career century in 180 deliveries.Characteristically, Sinclair’s smooth stroke play did not stop there.Since the right-hander scored his maiden century he has had innings of 166 not out against Auckland and 203 not out against Northern Districts in early 1999. He made 214 against the West Indies, 182 for the North Island and 102 for CD in 1999/00 then 100 not out against Zimbabwe President’s XI, 150 against South Africa, 204 not out for New Zealand against Pakistan as well as a score of 145 for CD last season.Sinclair’s recent 161 against Otago signalled the 26-year old’s readiness for England and the Test series. With today’s innings only twice has the Australian-born batsman been out between 100 and 150.Glen Sulzberger, his captain, told CricInfo: “When he gets in he just looks to keep going as much as he can. He was disappointed not to get 200 last week.”We dominated most of the last game against Canterbury,” he rued. Canterbury came back from conceding a double century to Smith to win when Aaron Redmond took four cheap wickets in CD’s second innings.Smith (41) departed to Burson in the 82nd over today, cutting late to Canterbury captain Gary Stead at gully.The score was then 222/3 and could have been more but for the outfield and Canterbury bowling some good lines in the middle of the innings.Sinclair and Sulzberger continued to stumps, quietly emphasising the CD advantage on a lethargic pitch that may take spin on the third and fourth days.”The pitch is starting to crack up a little, especially at one end,” said Sulzberger, rubbing his hands at the thought of bowling his off spin in the fourth innings. “Historically it doesn’t turn here,” he added, “but time will tell I suppose.”Canterbury, lacking hamstring-strain victim Warren Wisneski as well as their salvo of CLEAR Black Caps, struggled with the easterly wind all day. Quick bowlers Burson and Wade Cornelius bowled tight spells prior to lunch, but it may be the team’s spinners who decide the outcome of the match.Sinclair, the man who believes one hundred is never enough was reluctant to speak until the end of his innings.”See him on the third day,” joked a team mate. He might need to be taken seriously by Canterbury unless they can surprise him with the new ball tomorrow morning.

A sublime 83 from 23-year-old Pierre de Bruyn guided Easterns to a first innings total of 222 for eight when bad light ended play on the first day of their Supersport Series match against the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Friday.De Bruyn was promoted up the batting order in the absence of Mike Rindel, who was ruled out of this match by a finger injury, and relished the opportunity to prove his worth.Under overcast skies, the talented youngster peppered the boundary rope with his 15 fours and one six.De Bruyn was also involved in two significant partnerships.”Pierre would’ve batted further down the order, probably at six, seven or eight. But we decided to move him up the order and he took the chance well, especially on a pitch as unpredictable as this,” said Easterns skipper Deon Jordaan.Dolphins captain Dale Benkenstein won the toss and sent Easterns in to bat, with the hosts limping along at 21 for two after 13 overs.That brought in De Bruyn, who together with Brad White stabilised the innings with a 72-run stand for the third wicket.White departed on 33 when caught behind by Errol Stewart off the bowlingof Benkenstein.Derek Crookes then entered the fray against his old team-mates in his first Supersport Series outing for Easterns.With De Bruyn leading the way, the duo combined for a fourth-wicket partnership of 61 runs as Easterns showed signs of early domination.De Bruyn was certainly the dominant force after lunch.But the very shot that had earned him so many runs was to be his downfall.The partnership ended when De Bruyn was caught brilliantly by Eldine Baptiste at deep third man after trying to execute his square cut off a ballfrom John Kent.That took Easterns into the tea break at 163 for four.Crookes was the first to go shortly after tea, scoring a mere 24 runs that stood out amidst a shaky Easterns middle-order.The collapse was rapid after that, with the Easterns tail flicking ever so briefly as the innings went through its final death throes, sparked by Kent’s figures of 4-66.A solid 30-run partnership between Albie Morkel (14 not out) and Kenny Benjamin (11 not out) took the Easterns total to double Nelson when the batsmen took the option of bad light 20 overs before the scheduled close.

Alex Neil will be hoping to extend his current unbeaten run in charge of Sunderland to five games as his side host Crewe Alexandra this afternoon.

The Black Cats beat Fleetwood 3-1 in their last outing at the Stadium of Light and can now make it back-to-back wins on their own turf today.

If results go their way, Sunderland can move up to fourth in the table and above Oxford with a win, whilst also potentially moving to within six points off the automatic promotion places.

One change that Neil must make to his starting XI for this match is the removal of Patrick Roberts from the line-up after the 25-year-old’s disappointing performance last time out.

Former Black Cats boss Lee Johnson dubbed the winger an “amazing coup” upon his arrival at the Stadium of Light in January, but he is yet to prove the since-sacked manager right.

Neil offered Roberts a huge opportunity to showcase his quality against Fleetwood and he spurned that chance with a worrying display. He lined up on the right of the front three and failed to show that he deserves to retain his place in the team.

The ex-Manchester City winger struggled on and off the ball before being substituted in the 71st minute. As per SofaScore, he lost five of his eight individual duels and failed to make a single clearance, block, interception or tackle. This suggests that he was lacking on the defensive side of the game, as he was too weak in his battles and did not do enough to win back the ball for his team.

The 25-year-old also offered very little in possession. As per SofaScore, he completed 16 passes and failed to create a single chance, whilst also failing with three of his six attempted dribbles. He lost the ball 16 times from 38 touches, a recurring theme for him since joining the club.

In six League One appearances for Sunderland, Roberts has lost possession 48 times from 98 touches, which effectively equates to losing the ball every two touches on average. This is a shocking statistic and shows that he has been far too wasteful on the ball for the club in his short time on Wearside so far.

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Therefore, Neil must brutally axe him from the starting XI, as the winger’s abysmal form does not suggest that he will have a positive impact on the team against Crewe Alexandra. Hopefully he will be able to rediscover his best form soon, but he may have to do that whilst coming off the bench to prove that he deserves the time to get back to his best.

AND in other news, Neil must now unleash 21 y/o Sunderland gem with “persistence” and “effortless” natural ability…

	Gary Kirsten: “The important thing for me is to focus the Indian players back on cricket. I would certainly want the Indian players to play their brand of cricket on Australian soil.” © Getty Images

Gary Kirsten, the former South African batsman who will take over as the India coach on March 1, feels this a good time to join the Indian team, mid-way through an Australian tour marred by controversy.”Maybe it’s not a bad position to be in because I’ve been so far removed from what’s been going on,” said Kirsten, who arrived in Perth on Saturday to join the team in his interim capacity as a consultant coach ahead of the third Test, starting on January 16.Kirsten, who had flown from Johannesburg, appeared fresh this morning and, along with his wife Deborah, awaited the arrival of the Indian team from Canberra. “It’s probably a healthy position and I bring a fresh perspective,” he told Cricinfo. “The important thing for me is to focus the Indian players back on cricket. I would certainly want the Indian players to play their brand of cricket on Australian soil. I don’t want them to play any other brand; they must play to their strengths. I’m sure they are already doing that.”Kirsten says the only way the Indians can now bounce back into the series, which they currently trail 0-2, is to stay calm. “It’s a cricket tour full of emotion but one needs to calm oneself and create some composure; that’s the only way you can be at your best. If you sidetrack to the other issues you are going to have problems. I’m a looking at it from a distance so I was trying to look at it very objectively as to what went right and what went wrong.”So where did it go wrong for India in Sydney? “The Indians are naturally disappointed with the last game. There’s no doubt that they came over here to win a Test series. They can’t anymore. That’s why they felt that at the SCG they were back in the series after being outplayed in Melbourne. And they felt they were right in the Sydney Test and naturally the emotions started to run high when things didn’t go their way.”They played well and they played like anyone knows that they can play,” he said of VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. “For a period of time India dominated that game. That’s what they were looking to do and they were able to achieve that.”

	I have tremendous respect for Kumble’s captaincy and he has certainly led by example, taking plenty of wickets. Equally his performance in the last hour-and-a-half in Sydney was testament to his character as a person where you could see he was desperate to save that game

Having said that, he was critical of the way they approached their second innings, considering how dependent they are on their batsmen. “When you get to the last day of a Test match and Australia are still batting you always have to be aware of these guys, that they are capable of doing something and knocking teams over very quickly. It was disappointing to see India get bowled out in effectively two sessions and I am sure the players would have been hit hard.”At the MCG we lost in the first innings after being bowled out in the 100s. You are dead [after that], aren’t you? Then you really have to bowl very, very well. But we know the strength of the Indian team is weighted towards their batsmen and they knew from the outset that their batsmen needed to be in good form.”India, who were crushed by 337 runs in the opening match in Melbourne, took refuge in their lack of preparation ahead of the game. Kirsten, though, doesn’t think the argument holds water. “More time helps but players are fully aware that one can’t use that as an excuse for losing a game,” he said, not wanting to come across as harsh. “It’s uncontrollable.”Kirsten felt Anil Kumble had towered over the rest in this series, picking up 15 wickets in the first two Tests. “I have tremendous respect for his captaincy and he has certainly led by example, taking plenty of wickets,” he said, revealing that he had been exchanging text messages with Kumble throughout the series. “Equally his performance in the last hour-and-a-half in Sydney was testament to his character as a person, where you could see he was desperate to save that game. I’m sure he would have an influence on other players in the team.”The tour of Australia is a very much a mental battle,” he said, drawing on his experience of touring Australia three times, in which he managed a healthy average of 43. He said he had prepared a report for the players once he went back to South Africa after his brief visit to Bangalore during the Pakistan series. That visit, he said, was to acquaint himself with the players; they hadn’t much discussed the Australian tour.”Before the Australia series began I sent a document with my thoughts of the experiences I’d had in Australia,” he said. “It was quite lengthy but for their benefit, with my opinions and my ideas of how I think things are going to pan out on a tour like this and maybe how they should play against the Australians.”They have to start thinking very seriously about how they can win the next two Tests. The only message I’m going to pass on is: ‘You must believe you can win the next two’. It would be crazy to try and just exist in the next two Test matches. Each individual needs to think seriously about what special thing he can do to come back.”

India 266 for 8 (Kapil Dev 175*; Rawson 3-47, Curran 3-65) beat Zimbabwe235 (Curran 73; Madan Lal 3-42) by 31 runs
Scorecard

Kapil Dev launches another boundary during his remarkable innings © Getty Images

This was one of the great one-day matches, with a truly great innings by Kapil Dev giving India an amazing victory after all seemed lost.Tunbridge Wells was quite a small ground, but that day was packed with a large crowd, squeezing in between the marquees and hospitality tents that surrounded much of the boundary.After India had decided to bat, Zimbabwe losing the toss for the fifth consecutive time, Peter Rawson and Kevin Curran bowled as if inspired, moved the ball sharply off the seam, found a lot of lift in the pitch and routed the Indian top order. Openers Gavaskar and Srikkanth both failed to score, and the five top batsmen were all gone for a mere 17 runs, with Dave Houghton taking three catches behind the stumps.Gavaskar fell in the first over, playing forward defensively but down the wrong line. Srikkanth, always eager to dominate, tried to pull Curran and got a top edge, the ball looping into the air to be well caught by Iain Butchart running about thirty metres backwards from mid-on and taking it over his shoulder. Mohinder Amarnath received an off-cutter from Rawson; he played back, the ball took an inside edge and Houghton dived to his left to take a superb catch. Sandeep Patil and Yashpal Sharma departed to the more conventional outside edge.The organisers of the match by now were getting worried, afraid that the match would be a fiasco and over by lunchtime. They mentioned their fears to Dave Ellman-Brown, who cautiously advised them that things could still change. The BBC, anticipating a startling Zimbabwean victory, phoned him as well, intending to come over and do an interview. He told them too, “The game is not over,” and so it proved.At some stage a recovery is always expected and Roger Binny stayed in with Kapil Dev, but India were in further danger later on at 78 for seven, when Madan Lal joined Kapil Dev. Kapil played an incredible innings, but he did gain some advantage from the fact that this match was played on a pitch at the very edge of the square at Tunbridge Wells. This meant that one boundary was immense, making it possible for batsmen to run three for a hit about ten metres to the side of a boundary fielder on that side, while on the other side two runs were impossible for the same hit. On the other hand, of course, fours and sixes were so much easier to hit on that side; a strong hit only a few yards from a boundary fielder would invariably beat him for four.Kapil Dev took full advantage of the short boundary and, in the opinion of both Pycroft and Houghton, a mistake that Duncan Fletcher will always own up to with regret, due to lack of experience in this form of cricket, was his decision to take off Rawson and Curran at the same time after bowling eight or nine overs of their permitted twelve instead of keeping one of them going. Instead, Fletcher brought himself on in tandem with Iain Butchart, and this was the only match in the World Cup when Fletcher bowled poorly. On the other hand, Robin Brown feels that 12 overs was a lot for a pace bowler to bowl without a break, even when taking wickets, and that they needed to have a break before they lost their effectiveness.This removed the pressure from Kapil and Roger Binny, his partner at that stage, and enabled them to settle in and begin a recovery that Kapil completed in partnership with Madan Lal and Syed Kirmani. The latter partnership, unbroken, added 126 and is still an official one-day international record for the ninth wicket. Both junior partners did a superb job for Kapil, working the ball around to give him most of the strike, and they have not received enough credit for the invaluable role they played that day.Kapil gave no real chances, if one excepts a very difficult one to Grant Paterson on the boundary in the nineties and a number of miscued strokes that fell clear of the fielders. Otherwise it was an amazing innings of clean striking against a quality attack, a performance that Kapil never equalled in a similar situation at any other time in his career. The vital statistics of his innings are: 181 minutes, 6 sixes, 16 fours, and century off 72 balls. The total number of balls he faced has not apparently been recorded. As Houghton remembers it, most of his six sixes were actually over the long boundary.After reaching his century Kapil called for a new bat, one of the new fashion at that time with tapered-down shoulders and shaped almost like a baseball bat, and he stepped up the assault even more. Rawson and Curran when they returned later were pulverised and had their figures ruined in their last three overs, conceding about ten an over at that stage. Butchart, who bowled five overs at the death, was rather more economical as he aimed consistently at the blockhole. At the close of the innings Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil’s rival for the captaincy, met him as he came off the field with a cup of water, which Ali Shah thought a very nice gesture of respect. It was a legendary innings, and even four years later in the World Cup in India the Zimbabweans frequently had people remind them or spectators call out to them, “Remember Kapil Dev!” They were not about to forget in a hurry.Dave Houghton believes that on this beautiful batting pitch Zimbabwe should still have been able to win this match. Once again, though, so many batsmen made a start but failed to build on it. They began with a good opening stand of 44, but were set back by two run-outs. Heron’s run-out was particularly unnecessary; he hit the ball out to the sweeper on the short boundary and tried to take two, which was completely impractical, and the batsmen had scarcely crossed when the return came in. Robin Brown also feels he was greatly at fault for running himself out; he was playing the sheet-anchor role when he called Fletcher for a leg-bye that was never on. Fletcher refused the call, but Brown insisted and ran through from the non-striker’s end, to be easily run out.All appeared lost as the score slumped to 113 for six, although Brown feels that the Indians did not bowl as well this time as they had at Leicester. Curran played a superb innings, though, in partnership with Butchart and Gerald Peckover, before being out to a very tame catch. He apparently misjudged the pace of a long hop and lobbed an easy catch off the splice. As long as he was still there, the Zimbabweans had favoured their chances of winning. In the end they fought back well to finish only 32 runs short of a victory they had looked like winning easily a few hours earlier. Kapil Dev bent down to kiss the ground as he came off the field as the victorious captain.In this innings, as well as others, Robin Brown feels that too often the Zimbabweans would lose wickets in twos. They had not yet learned that when a wicket fell they needed to consolidate, start again as it were, even if it meant not scoring for three overs.Again Zimbabwe felt afterwards they should have won the match, even after Kapil’s historic innings. Due to their inexperience they had not paced their innings well, got behind the required run rate and lost wickets at the wrong time. For India, it was the turning point of the tournament, for had they lost to Zimbabwe they would almost certainly have failed to reach the semi-finals. As it was, they went on to win the whole tournament, surprisingly defeating an over-confident West Indies in the final.This match was not televised, to the disappointment of Kapil Dev himself among others. One Indian supporter made himself a lot of money, though, as he had brought his video camera to the match and captured Kapil’s great innings on it from his place in the crowd. Kapil was very happy to buy the tape off him for a large sum.

Muttiah Muralitharan reacted to “substantial provocation” from a man in the crowd © Getty Images

Muttiah Muralitharan will face an “unofficial reprimand” after responding with a single-finger gesture to crowd taunts in Perth, during Sri Lanka’s VB Series match against South Africa last Tuesday.A statement released by Cricket Australia, the sport’s governing body, on behalf of the International Cricket Council match referee, Jeff Crowe, said the matter would be discussed with Muralitharan in Hobart next week.Muralitharan was photographed making the gesture towards a man in the crowd who had painted his face black and had the words “no-ball” painted across his chest. Crowe advised in the statement that although no official match report had been received, players needed to keep their emotions under control even though there had been “substantial provocation”.”Therefore, an official reprimand will be discussed with Muttiah and the Sri Lankan team management when the ICC match referee and the team gather before the ODI in Hobart on February 7,” the statement said.The Sri Lankans said earlier they were fed up with Australian crowds taunting Muralitharan but would not lodge a formal complaint about racism. The team manager, Michael Tissera, said he would not follow in the footsteps of the South Africans, who have formally complained of racist slurs from Australian crowds, but added that they were upset by the ongoing treatment of their best bowler.Australian crowds have continued to chant “no-ball” as Muralitharan runs in to bowl, in reference to his controversial action. He was no-balled for throwing seven times during the 1995 Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne but subsequent scientific tests cleared him of any serious breach.”It’s not racial, we are not going to do anything on the racial side of it, but we are quite cheesed off that this abuse keeps going on and on and on,” Tissera said. “There’s nothing we can do. This taunting keeps going on and on and on and the player is thoroughly frustrated.”The International Cricket Council is investigating racism amongst Australian crowds following the South African complaint. There have also been reports that racist obscenities were shouted at Sri Lankan players by crowd members during their tour of Australia but coach Tom Moody said earlier this week they had no problems.

South Africa 311 for 7 (Smith 115*, Kemp 80) beat England 304 for 8 (Pietersen 100*) by seven runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Kevin Pietersen’s unbeaten century was all in vain© Getty Images

Kevin Pietersen’s sensational 69-ball hundred, England’s fastest in one-day cricket, was not enough to save them from defeat in a thrilling fifth one-day international at East London. England eventually fell seven runs short of the 311 posted by South Africa, who now take an unassailable 3-1 series lead to Durban on Friday.Graeme Smith and Justin Kemp put England’s bowlers all around the park in a thrilling 117-run stand for the fifth wicket. Smith recorded his second century in three matches, and Kemp walloped 80 from just 50 balls, before being yorked by Darren Gough, the only bowler to emerge with any credit. Smith struck a magnificent unbeaten 115 – his second century of the week – as South Africa exploited an easy-paced pitch to reach a dominating 311.Jacques Kallis (49) and the impregnable Kemp battered England’s attack at either end of the innings as South Africa made full use of their 50 overs after a rain-delayed start to leave England needing the highest one-day score at Buffalo Park. And they nearly did it, but were left to rue a slow start which brought only 59 runs after 15 overs. South Africa had no such sluggishness at the start of their innings.On a small ground where the boundary was brought in after the rain, the second-wicket pair of Smith and Kallis wasted no time in rattling up a stand of 90 in as many balls, to propel South Africa to a lightning start. Kallis demolished Kabir Ali’s first over with five exquisite fours and, along with Smith, put his side in firm control, vindicating the decision to bat. Darren Gough had made an early breakthrough, dismissing AB de Villiers through an edge to Geraint Jones for 2 as England set about attempting to keep themselves in the series (10 for 1). But this merely brought Kallis to the crease, and he immediately displayed his array of classy strokes.

Justin Kemp strikes yet another six on the way to his highest ODI score of 80© Getty Images

Smith brought up the first four of the day with a cracking cover-drive off Matthew Hoggard: but the ball only trickled over the rope on a small but stodgy outfield, littered with islands of sawdust. He added two more off Hoggard, with drives through extra cover and long-on, while Kallis late-cut a four to hurry Hoggard out of the attack after his first four overs went for 28. Michael Vaughan kept faith with pace and brought on Ali, who lasted just one over as Kallis rattled up those five fours, a masterclass in punitive batting.A brave Ali battled back, though, in his second spell after the medium-pace of Paul Collingwood and Marcus Trescothick stemmed the tide. Ali removed Kallis and the in-form Herschelle Gibbs in quick succession: Kallis punched his first ball to the substitute Ian Bell at midwicket for 49, before Gibbs chipped to the towering Pietersen at midwicket (119 for 3). Gibbs, unable to continue his rampant run at No. 4, was gone for 8: but he wasn’t required this time as the others all contributed.Ashwell Prince was dethroned by Hoggard’s throw after a breezy 34 from 45 balls, as South Africa marched on to 181 for 4. But his flighty innings was made to appear pedestrian as Kemp joined the fray and, as in the last match, floored the accelerator. He was in imperious touch – lofting six after seamless six into the stands – and ruined Ali’s figures for the second time in the match, striking 25 from just one over (his other seven overs went for a miserly 21). Smith was also on fire, and played sensibly after an initial assault. His second fifty was devoid of boundaries but full of thought, as he steered his team to a record score at East London.

Graeme Smith celebrates his second century of the series© Getty Images

Gough eventually ended Kemp – and the sizable crowd’s – fun with a yorker, but only after Kemp had bludgeoned seven sixes and four fours on his way to an electrifying 80, to all but end England’s series hopes. Mark Boucher fell next ball – another inswinger – and Gough found himself on a hat-trick (298 for 6). Shaun Pollock drove the danger ball, but he was a faller nevertheless as he failed to get back for a third run and Gough removed the bails from Vikram Solanki’s throw. Gough had 3 for 58, but by this time South Africa had reached 300.England made a slow start in their reply as the opening bowlers – Pollock and Makhaya Ntini – continued to work well in tandem, as they have done all series. Pollock was the first to strike, removing Trescothick, who never looked comfortable. He scratched around for 20 balls for his 4 before sending a simple catch to Kemp at first slip (22 for 1).South Africa’s bowlers continued to tie down England’s batsmen, and Andre Nel picked up the wicket of Geraint Jones for 37 after he made another decent start, while Andrew Strauss’s bright knock of 20 was brought to a close by a sacrificial runout. Michael Vaughan made painstaking progress – bringing up his first four in the 19th over – and posted 70 from 94 balls before he became Nicky Boje’s first victim, caught by Prince at midwicket. At 179 for 4, the odds were still heavily in South Africa’s favour.But that was to reckon without England’s talisman, Pietersen, who changed the complexion of the match with an outstanding unbeaten century. He was joined by Solanki. Pietersen rocketed to fifty from 38 balls, and took a particular liking to the leftarm spin of Boje, despatching him for three sixes. He enjoyed taking apart the pace of Ntini, too, carting him for four after four.Solanki, looking to force the pace, played a useful cameo for 19, but he couldn’t get back for a second and Nel removed the bails. Paul Collingwood (4) lent brief support before he was trapped lbw by Kallis (236 for 6). Ashley Giles hit Nel back over his head for a startling six, and then applied the salt with a four next ball. But Kallis burst his ripening innings of 15 from seven balls with a leg-stump yorker. At 254 for 7, England still needed 58 from 32 balls with three wickets remaining.Ali did his best – striking a six on his way to 20 before being run out attempting a second. But it was the punchy Pietersen who was the driving force of England’s innings. He continued to take them close with an exceptional knock, backing himself and his trusty eye for the ball all the way. But at the death Nel backed , and delivered a strangling 48th over which all but killed off the game. Ntini’s experience told in the penultimate over as the batsmen couldn’t strike a boundary. Pietersen may have larruped Nel’s final ball over long-on for six, but his knock was all in vain – and South Africa emerged deserved victors.

The Western Australian Cricket Association Selectors today named to Second XI teams for Cricket Australia Cup matches in Queensland and New South Wales.The first match against the Queensland Cricket Academy will be played at Allan Border Field, Brisbane from November 17-20.Team for QLD
Kade Harvey (C), Aaron Heal, Steven Jacques, Andrew James, Brett Jones, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Scott Meuleman, Luke Ronchi, Craig Simmons, John Taylor, Michael Thistle and Adam VogesThe second match against the New South Wales Second XI will be played at Alan Davidson Oval, Sydney from November 27-30Team for NSWMBR>Scott Meuleman (C), Geoff Cullen, Steven Glew, Aaron Heal, Sam Howman, Andrew James, Brett Jones, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Luke Ronchi, Craig Simmons, John Taylor and Adam VogesTravelling with the side will be WA `A Coach, Doug Harris. The tour party departs Perth on Sunday, November 16. The sides are subject to Pura Cup selection due to take place on Wed Nov 12.