Just as expected Ponting plonked his foot forward but escaped, it could have been game again. Hayden's last innings? If he goes to SA, then Australia must be clutching at the straws.

Delay due to sight screen, preparing dodgy pitches to get upper hand after defeat. Sounds very familiar.

Proph, it has got to do with MacDonald sitting close to the sightscreen.

This is one Test played three times. Dodgy start, dropped catch and wagging tail. Change the script already.

In the hall of famers, India is represented by Bedi and Australia is represented by Harvey. Anybody in Saffa in the list, reliable enough to produce cringe worthy commentary on their current country team?

This is not exactly a post for calling Ponting's head. When there is a new team is getting built, as it is happening for Australia, it is better for the team to hand the building process to a newer captain. Ponting has been spoilt by the greats who have left. Maybe the Aussies will do it after the Ashes. Hayden's innings was not too bad, he was willing to buckle down and not try to hit out of his form.

Most of Ponting's dismissal in the recent times have been identical. Bowlers seem to have sorted him out.

Hayden is already experiencing some "third world problems" right there in Sydney!

shifter, yes, SCG needs a new sight screen near the bowling crease when McDonald is bowling. Shouldn't be a problem in ODI.

Thanks Gloves, so I guess Bollinger has a good chance. I hope one of these guys play, to me they are still some mythical people! Ed, I see that the posts are displayed much earlier in the day that usual, nice to see that.

Gloves, we keep hearing of Hilfenhaus and Bollinger. How good are they, are they out and out quicks? Noffke seems to have slipped from the selectors mind for sometime.

Ah saman, finally a Saffa who believes in spreadsheets and calculations! emerlander, it is fun to take the mickey out of the guy who had won rather then the loser. But I wouldn't stop you. Happy new year to c365 staff and fellow ranters.

Hilarious stuff! Happy new year to c365 folks.

Plus NZ has a few hours advantage to practice in 2009, i think they already are in the new year. That makes me even more circumspect.

That is very reasonable prediction NeilB, not at all trying to be bombastic. According to my calculations, it looks like a draw series in SA. I will change the variables if we win in NZ. Cold and hard calculations. And yes, thanks a ton for winning in Aus. If it is not too much to ask, can SA team do a quick hop to NZ and beat them before we tour? We would be even more grateful.

shifter, we are talking about an India tour. I would predict a draw on SA tour. Of course that depends on the NZ results. After that I will upgrade or downgrade that prediction.

"Indians are known for their unemotional, objective and unbiased views. ", precisely Proph. I just closed a couple of spreadsheets after analysing both teams. Unemotional, objective and unbiased view, not to belabour the point, it will be n-zip victory for India.

mspr1nt, not being patriotic or biased, seriously, we would kick SA butt.

Penny, last time India toured NZ we sucked lemons, so I wouldn't be too sure of that one! we had Bangar as opening batsman and Yohannan as opening bowler(remember these legends?) and NZ had Bond. But *if* we can win in the sprawling meadows that are NZ pitches with the new captain that will be a start. shifter, India, lately, has started traveling a little bit better.

Bangers weren't bad at all! To continue what Binkaf posted, it will be a good few years with countries like SA, India, England, Sri Lanka getting better. mspr1nt, interesting question. I don't think SA can beat India in India, bunsen burners or not. While both teams have gotten mentally stronger, India has a markedly different squad from the last time SA were in India in terms of bowling and captaincy. I would love to see India touring SA right now! I would probably start believing India's away performance if we win in NZ.

Tuesday, from hackney, eh? and _pbuh comes and goes for Proph. Here's to a great new year, people.

lol@penny, same thoughts here, but I wouldn't begrudge briggs today though!

Fantastic scenes at MCG, glad that I recorded the winning moment. This one is for keeps. More than the younger guys, for the older guys like Kallis, Ntini and Boucher this should be even greater moment. The look on Smith said it all. Damn, aren't I jealous or what!

Well done Saffas!

You da man Smith! What a transformation between his last tour and this one. Thanks Ed, surely you are not getting ahead yourself?! I bet it will be totally wet win.

Damn, it is painful to watch Lee. I hope he comes back to his prime quickly. Only him though.

dhillon and gameoveraus, this isn't superfly snuka/andre the giant tag team championship. From WWF to cricket, anybody from Melbourne be kind enough to update about weather in that neck of the woods?

dhillon28, I don't think it is fair to get some reflected glory on India. We didn't win that series and even if we had won, how would that help Steyn to take a fiver or Duminy to score a century.

Proph, Ed, Australia's batting is not that much of a concern compared to their bowling. Even if Hayden cannot find a place in this team, Phil Jacques is waiting in the wings. Ponting, Clarke, Hussey sounds like a pretty good middle order. Haddin is hitting the straps too. As for the players being in thirties, isn't it the Aussie selection policy not to include a newplayer unless he has been thoroughly tested in the domestic league? Here is my take, stop drinking from the milk cup and start defending the shield! I don't think it is a coincidence and this is the reason behind the decline in Aussie cricket :-). Anyway, still one more day to go. Though the fat lady is clearing her throat, stranger things have happened in this series.

Gibbs, Karma? you must be kidding.

May, it seems like you were skimming the Aussie lineup to look for a token selection! Johnson ahead of Zaheer as a left arm quick?

Proph, Arrogant is the alter ego of Rip Van Winkle. Last time he was yawning around these parts. So it might be a while. Wouldn't he be surprised when he wakes up!

Penny, point taken. And calling his performance ordinary may be a bit harsh, but it was in comparison with his usual bradmanesque form.

Penny, I agree that it was a wrong call. Anyway I wasn't referring to this match alone. But for failures due to umpiring errors, a wise person once said "Woulda, coulda, shoulda, didnt". Oh, that was you!

Two down and as I type, three down. Australia needs some overhaul. Even Hussey looks so ordinary in these days.

If fully fit and has the pace, Tait should be given a go. Bracken can be a replacement for Clark. There has to be a little bit of menace in the bowling. Can't wait for the days play. Till then, I have to watch a highlights of a match in which Caddick and Gough are carted around the park by Gilly. I think Harmison is the perfect successor for Caddick. Sometimes very impressive at home but falls apart while touring. Yeah, match against WI excepted.

Boetieboo, since you ask, I am using not-enough-sleep-so-crabby mentality. Yes he is a no. 10 batsman but I am respecting his batting more than you do! When Duminy isn't trying to protect him, which is good, he should be looking to hang around a little more.

Saffa's costliest drop was Ponting and Aussie's costly drop was Steyn! Though Mr. Cricket's little jiggle under the sun was funny it was made difficult because of the sun but Hauritz drop was very casual, as if he was already switched off.

Well done Duminy! Though Steyn tried his best to throw away his wicket, he must have got 5 chances, he got a fifty. Gutsy play by both of them.

It is still early morning here and the sound of Aussie commentators is hurting my health. A voice which sounded very much like Taylor went on and on about how Aus should be 30/0 after finishing SA off by now. This went on far too long.

Good to see Saffas not giving up yet, though it is miles to go yet. This Duminy chap is having a great start to his career.

Poor Pom, had to go for this Test instead of the one in Chennai! Lots of time wasted in delayed starts due to fog and this time of the year it was expected. Both the venues were poor choices. Luckily the one in Chennai was not washed out even though it was monsoon season.

This is bad cricket from India delaying the declaration, so one of the batsman can get a century. It is poetic justice that he didn't get one. One lesson learnt for Dhoni.

Unless India declares now, this match will be just a pissing contest between KP and Yuvraj.

The Test format is well and kicking, inspite of lot of countries falling off the wagon. In one of the news reports there was this statistic that, this year 34 of 43 Tests played so far yielded results. This must be a record of sorts. Australia had set the tone for faster rate of scoring for a while now. I don't know how much can be attributed to the different formats of the game since the Test players don't usually play the other formats. What could be the reason for this?

Sorry to hear that Dazz. As somebody else said he is having the best view.

And yes, saman you got your money's worth already. Have a good time strutting around Perth!

What a win for the Saffas! One of the greatest Test wins and finally Saffas have crossed their mental Rubicon. They haven't lost a series for a long while, so that makes them, currently, the team to beat. Smith did a great job yesterday and as Penny said, never in the fourth innings did they look like not getting the target. So 439/9 changing your id to 414/4 now?! Ed anybody took that id yet? Maybe you can auction it off! Aussies still have a strong batting lineup but their bowling stocks look pretty weak. I thought Johnson did well in the first innings, but that is one spell. Still looking back to McGrath and Warne would not help, it is more than three years since they retired and Australia always seemed to have a strong bench strength. The talk of Bracken replacing Siddle shows that the cupboard is not exactly full. Since Tait took a break, there is no buzz about a bowler in the wings. So, is there any potential star out there in the domestic circuit? Tuesday, i hope you meant "superior sporting gene" in a non-literal sense. Otherwise it is fairly obnoxious even though it failed spectacularly.

Flimflam, yeah Ntini has been serving up some tripe lately, it takes just one to release the pressure. He got a good start for this match though.

Move along India.

Proph, while Dravid is not in the best of form, he fault is not his alone. The batting order should be nimble enough to float him in different batting positions depending on the match situation.

Thanks ProudlyProtea, it says it his official website. I thought there might be more to it.

Whats with the website printed on AB's bat? He sponsors his own bat?

right heboric, that should be another reason why SA should not lose hope yet.

Though SA had stuffed it in the end, I don't think all is lost for them yet. Frankly, I don't think SA bowling was top notch in the first innings and even then they had Australia on the mat on couple of occasions. Aus is clearly in front by yards, Saffers still have a chance if they can tighten up the bowling.

There is talk of Laxman promoted to No.3 and Dravid to bat at No.5. That would be a welcome move. Laxman's best innings was at No.3

Johnson has picked up seven, sensational stuff! He didn't do that well in India but in Australia he seems to be at his best. And his wickets include both the right and left handed bats, I had thought he does well mainly against the right handed batsmen. Come on Saffas, this wont do.

Sober and sensible cricket from the Saffas. Good to see Kallis among runs.

9 wickets on the first day of the tour is pretty good effort from Saffas even though Aus fought back from 15/3 and still scored at 3.5+ runrate. But are you SA guys really happy with the bowling effort?

Come on tisatito, show some passion. For all the dramatic last ball hundred, that is all you got to say?

What stands between us and continuous glorious cricket? Tuesday. No offense, Tuesday!

hey Pom, have fun in Chandigarh drinking lotas of lassi! Ed, I hate to say it, yes it appears that his form is gone for good. I wouldn't be too surprised if he announces something now. Still, it is difficult to imagine a lineup without him. After that scratchy innings in England and relinquishing captaincy he has been a shell of his former self. The reason Dhoni might fit No.3 is that he has changed his batting style to an anchoring mode and can unfurl his aggressive batting when required. Yeah Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni will be a statement of intent!

Ed, I hope he doesn't go now. There swashbucklers abound to fill the other places but there is no batsman in sight to take Dravid's place. His must be the hardest spot to replace. It might be heretical to suggest this but Dhoni, perhaps, is ideal for that role.

Dravid's loss of form does not do good to India's batting fortunes. His way of batting is in stark contrast to the other Indian batsmen and their way of playing and for this reason the earlier he finds his form the better for India. Or to find the next Dravid before it is too late. Dravid has been the rock on which many Indian innings had been built.

Well done India, I thought India was toast. While this has been an epic chase and win, India should not have got into such a position in the first place. I don't think England stuffed it, they were ahead in this match except for last 4 sessions. Sometimes it is not your day. Swann was the pick of the spin bowlers from either side, and Flintoff was amazingly relentless. With Dravid is finding hard to find form, it is very pleasantly surprising to see Yuvraj performing well and filling the breach, I didn't think he had it in him. Sehwag and Zaheer has been consistently awesome for sometime now. And Tendulkar has got the albatross off his neck after the second innings ton.

Saman discounted the possibility of a tie. Let me go even braver than saman and proph and boldly say there are four possible outcomes from now on.

Damn, India is going to lose this game. India's batting frailty against spin is getting exposed more often these days. Flintoff has been magnificent too. Dhoni should have more faith in his tail enders, he just threw his wicket away.

Yuvraj the water carrier departs.

There is a forecast for rains in Chennai on sat and mon. I hope these clowns let the play continue till the light fades away. Fair number of Chennai folks in this forum, isn't it?

Proph, it was the match when Pakistan won by 16 runs or something, where the good people of Chennai gave the visiting team a standing ovation. So the guy wouldn't have minded if I was waving a Pakistani flag!

Ok, now I am really starting to care now! A good test for Yuvraj's Test cajones.

Proph, for the first time in many years I really don't care who wins, I am just happy that there is a Test going on in India. Still, this Test is gripping. I haven't seen the match on TV yet and maybe things have changed since I moved from that place, I don't think the Chennai crowd is very vociferous. I remember an elderly guy shushing me for waving the flag during a Test!

England has frittered away a great start but well played Strauss and Cook. They shouldn't have called for stumps now, considering there should be still sunshine in that part of the world and rains may affect the match anytime in the next few days. I hate this nightwatchman nonsense as a strategy. A specialist batsman should be able to negotiate the final few overs of the day. A wicket is a wicket and if the nightwatchman falls it adds to pressure.

Penny, while you are a good sport, do you think the two dubyas would not have known what they were getting into or gotten into? They can't be all that naive for international sportsmen. Smacks too much of mom give to me defence. ROFL@Proph. Bowden is a showpony and he isn't all that he is cracked to be. Taufel is right up there.

Penny, will it rain tomorrow in Sydney?

I think both England and Indian bowling lineup are more or less evenly matched. Flintoff/Harmison and Zaheer/Ishant. While Harbhajan is ahead in terms of records, England have a specialist spinner which is more than what the touring teams have managed thus far. The third seamer is a tossup for both teams. Both batting lineups are pretty impressive on paper, if England get their batting tuned up for local conditions, it will be a cracker. And great to see BCCI use their collective brains to pick Chennai as the venue, considering it is monsoon/cyclone season there.

That's a neat gesture from England players and hope the Indian cricketers and board does the same. lol@POM on Cook. Pity I cant watch Sidebottom opening for England and Ishant for India in their hirsute best.

Ed, How about upgrading "Your say" to include POW! effects, so people don't duke it out in the real world? Even though he was one of my fav cricketers I found Steve Waugh's book decent at best. Far too less insights and far too much khe sanh. MasterG , the idea is to grow cricket worldwide, but not necessarily by diluting Test format. I would love to see new countries taking part in cricket world cup but they have to earn their Test status.

Smitthers, the last autobiography i read was Duncan Fletcher's. It was a pretty good read.

karma, shifter, call it hoisted by my own petard! yeah, labeling a country minnow with man to man comparison, qualitative analysis will not get us anywhere. A top six/eight country Test tier system would take care of that, just by the results and relegation.

Proph, that is my point. Having just bilateral agreements between two boards does not lend an overall structure to Test series.

karma, it is a little harsh to include Pakistan and NZ in that group. But the other three are definitely minnows.

Why there are only three tests between SA and Aus? This bilateral series agreements wont take cricket anywhere. Only a proper FTP and tiered competition setup will make the tours sane. The minnows could only improve by A team tours and possible accommodation of them in stronger country's domestic circuit. and saman, have a good trip.

On Tristan's column about FTP expiring in May 2012, there is no point worrying about stuff beyond Dec 2012. Or maybe the new FTP calendar is the event Mayans were talking about.

saman, prediction from a neutral: Kallis, Morkel from SA, Hayden,Johnson from the Aussie side. I would like to go for 1-1, but I don't think there will be a drawn game this series.

gui - graphical user interface. It is very suggestive.

I was traveling all last week. I was in and out of airports and hotels and all these places were thick with security. I have no shame in admitting that I was feeling on the edge more than a few times traveling around. It was a bit hairy even for a random nobody like me, I cant fathom what England team is thinking right now. Mad props to the team and well played, even before a ball is bowled. I really wish 1-1 to be the scoreline. And kudos to Pom too, for still making the trip. As for beer, the local favourite is Kingfisher . It is on tap and has draught and lager variations too. If you are looking for stout, check out Haywards Black. It is my personal favourite. You get the standard imported beer as well. So which city are you traveling to? The beer available, shamefully, depends on the city as well.

I dont get it, Bracken can only tremendously improve the shambles that is Bangalore IPL team.

Excellent piece about the behind the scenes action. Please do more of these. How about what goes behind preparing the wicket before the match. That would be great.

If you are the bus next time in between north Indian towns, when the bus stops near any tea shack, do check if the old men are smoking a cigar like stuff. It has some kind of cloth as part of the contraption. No funny stuff, but the taste and high lasts till end of journey.

hi tristan, am at hotel empire. the one near the stadium and infantry road.

lol@Drizzler! Yeah Tristan, I will drop by Empire Hotel at 8. It is the one near to the stadium, right? Be warned, that place does not serve beer.

Hi Tristan, glad to see you in this part of the world. We could grab a beer if you will be around after the match.

Tristan, I am not a big fan of Symonds, but I am with him on the journalist episode! Sometimes the scribes need to be called out.

"Well whispered."..Nach!

Nice take, Jonhenry. It will be very interesting to watch Mendis in a Test match. He cant bowl six different deliveries in an over, over a long period of time. Does he have a stock delivery at all?!

LOL @ Calm of the week!

Thanks May. This has been long in coming. Do make it a regular feature.

Alan, differences aside, nice of you to come and comment back. I am going to stick my neck out and predict a grass topper in Ahmedabad where Steyn and Sharma are going to clean up the batsmen, but it depends on whether the cricket club in Ahmedabad is opposed to the current ruling faction in BCCI. Complicated, isnt it?!

Rubbish. You have a lot of dots, but do the dots connect? The first pitch in three test series was a batting track. So? Is there any concerted movement by the Indian fans that made BCCI produce such wickets? As if there is a poll done before a series where Indian fans vote for a particular wicket. What a load of bull. Apart from Australia and to an extent England, India is the only place where you get packed houses on a non-weekend playday. and ODI and 20/20. All of them. And Whats wrong with liking 20/20? Its not that India has started this format. BCCI was reluctant to even hold any 20/20 matches before the 20/20world cup. India didnt even play a single 20/20 before that. Now that BCCI is giving shape to a professional tournament, its all capitalist greed. What nonsense. Its not as if the entire world dislikes it. the only matches they get stadium audience worldwide is a 20/20 match. Why is that everything happens to Indian cricket is viewed with some kind of conspiracy angle. Where does even the question of Indian cricket being right and wrong arise? Somehow a dead wicket lead to a baying Indian fans wanting a featherbad to bat on which leads to India holding cards etc etc. This is not some convoluted April fool's joke, right?