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If you’d told the average Indian at the end of the catastrophic one-dayseries that they’d be heading to Cape Town, and the most beautiful groundin the world, on level terms in the Tests, you might have been greetedwith an incredulous look or two. But a month on, the team arrives atNewlands with more than a tinge or two of regret. Having won so convincingly against all odds at the Wanderers, they had more than their fair share of opportunities at Durban. But South Africa’s greater desperation prevailed on a tense weather-interrupted final day, leaving the series beautifully poised.When they look back at the Kingsmead game, India will be able to isolatetwo or three key moments where the game slipped away. On the opening day,Sachin Tendulkar gave Ashwell Prince a reprieve at slip. Prince, then on41, went on to make a doughty 121, putting together a priceless 73 withthe last two batsmen on the second morning.When India batted, Tendulkar provided a measure of atonement by managing his first half-century of the year. But with the situation incontrol, he played a distinctly ordinary shot to give South Africa a toein the door. The tail wagged as it has done all series, but a deficit of88 was always going to be hard to bridge.They still gave themselves a chance, with the outstanding Sreesanthsparking a collapse that saw South Africa lose six second-innings wicketsfor 44. But again, they couldn’t finish the task, with Shaun Pollock’sunbeaten 63 buttressed by valuable cameos from Andrew Hall andthe impressive Mornè Morkel.The vagaries of the weather, and the grey skies that descended everyafternoon meant that survival was still very much an option, but India’sbatting the second time was as woeful as it could possibly have been.Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s brave 47 delayed the inevitable and offeredtantalising glimpses of light, but the abject failure of the top order puttoo much pressure on those that followed. With Makhaya Ntini leading theline splendidly, South Africa always had that little bit in reserve.India’s bowlers could still feel proud of their efforts, with Sreesanthtaking his series tally to 16 wickets, and the attack will be furtherstrengthened by the return of Munaf Patel in Cape Town. VRV Singh bowledwith real pace and menace in patches, but has yet to acquire theconsistency needed at this level. If his ankle gives him no trouble, Munafwill be a far tougher proposition, capable of extracting steep bounce offa naggingly accurate length. With Zaheer Khan causing all manner ofproblems with the new ball, and Anil Kumble applying the tourniquet, SouthAfrica certainly won’t enjoy facing India’s four-man attack.Unfortunately, rapid strides on the bowling front have gone hand-in-handwith a steady regression on the batting side of things. Wasim Jaffer gotgood starts in both innings at Kingsmead, but his partnership withVirender Sehwag has been a non-starter all tour. The team management isn’tin favour of drastic action – there was a great deal of heartburn oversending Irfan Pathan home – but Sehwag’s wretched form demands drasticmeasures. Expect Gautam Gambhir to be padding up at Newlands.

The other less likely change could be behind the stumps. Despite a coupleof fingers on his right hand being terribly bruised, Dhoni showedtremendous courage both with the bat and the big gloves in Durban, thoughyou could clearly see him grimacing each time he collected a delivery sentdown at nearly 140 km/h. With Dhoni being such an integral part of theWorld Cup plans, he might not be risked unless the team management iscertain that he can handle five more days of finger-pounding. Though theman himself would be loathe to miss out, Dinesh Karthik is a more thancapable deputy.South Africa’s problems also centre around their top order. Graeme Smithfinally made some runs in Durban, but if Jacques Kallis returns from aback injury, Hashim Amla might have to make way at No.3. The other optionis Jacques Rudolph, though he did fail in both innings in the tour gameagainst the Indians at Potchefstroom.Depending on the surface at Newlands, South Africa may elect to give PaulHarris, the left-arm spinner, a game. If he plays, Andrew Hall could bethe one to sit out. The fourth pace slot will also come under the scanner.If he can convince the team that his fitness worries are behind him, DaleSteyn should return, with Morkel making way after a promising debut.The pitch will attract as much attention as the final XIs. A dry surfacethat was watered excessively ahead of the Test against Australia earlierthis year produced a three-day finish, with Stuart Clark routing the hostson his debut. But less than two months later, the game against New Zealandwas a run-fest, with both team scoring in excess of 500. South Africa willbe wary of a surface that’s too dry, given Kumble’s quality, but asSreesanth and Zaheer have shown already, even a fast and bouncy pitchwon’t be any guarantee of success. The various permutations should makefor one hell of a game.

Shaun Tait is due to make his long-awaited comeback from elbow surgery after being named in South Australia’s FR Cup squad to face Victoria on Friday. The problem forced Tait out of Australia’s tours to South Africa and India and prevented him from playing in South Australia’s humiliating Pura Cup defeat to the Bushrangers this week.While Tait is expected to play, Darren Lehmann is still missing after injuring his hamstring in the pre-season. The Redbacks have chosen Andy Delmont, the uncapped allrounder, in the squad after he posted 134 for University in the Adelaide grade competition.Delmont has been working with the new coach Mark Sorell to make his game more consistent. “I am rapt this has paid off and that I have been given this opportunity,” he said.Victoria’s successful Pura Cup debutant Matthew Wade has been overlooked and Adam Crosthwaite is set to take the gloves. Victoria will also be boosted by the inclusion of the fast bowlers Shane Harwood, Mick Lewis and Clinton McKay, while Aaron Finch and Aiden Blizzard could slot into the batting line-up.Wade, Nick Jewell, Dirk Nannes and Gerard Denton were left out of the one-day squad despite being part of the side that thrashed South Australia. Denton and Nannes each took five wickets in the first-class win, while Wade marked his debut with 83 and six catches.Harwood’s pre-season was hampered by a shoulder injury but he has been included in the 13-man squad after a successful performance for his club side on the weekend. A state debut for Finch, 20, would be a pleasing turnaround after he was suspended from the Centre of Excellence in July for keeping his room continually untidy.Cameron White said the additions would strengthen Victoria’s chances in the 50-over format. “It was a pretty emphatic win this week, but then again the Redbacks’ form in the FR Cup has been stronger than the Pura Cup in recent seasons,” he said. “There’s no doubt we’re hell-bent on leaving Adelaide with points in both matches and the inclusion of guys like Shane Harwood, who’s been our best one-day bowler, gives us a great boost.”South Australia squad Matthew Elliott, Daniel Harris, Cameron Borgas, Mark Cosgrove, Nathan Adcock (capt), Andy Delmont, Graham Manou (wk), Mark Cleary, Dan Cullen, Jason Gillespie, Ryan Harris, Shaun Tait.Victoria squad Michael Klinger, Robert Quiney, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Aiden Blizzard, Aaron Finch, Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Clinton McKay, Bryce McGain, Peter Siddle, Mick Lewis.

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Bangladesh have taken the most significant step yet in their coming-of-age as a Test nation, as the West Indian bowlers were first beaten back and then brushed aside on the final day in St Lucia. Their hero was Khaled Mashud – also known as Pilot – who steered Bangladesh to safety and beyond with his maiden Test century.Mashud’s efforts secured a lead of 336, which enabled Habibul Bashar, Bangladesh’s captain, to declare for the first time in his country’s history. As the West Indians wandered off the field like zombies, Mashud was cheered from the pitch by his team-mates, and slapped on the back by well-wishers. With 29 overs remaining, they were never going to force the victory that the country so craves, but they did everything that could possibly have been asked of them. It was a victory in all but name.In any ordinary circumstances, the finale of this match would have been pretty dull, regardless of Chris Gayle and Devon Smith’s piquant response, in which they clubbed 113 unbeaten runs as the match drifted to its conclusion. But the context alone ensured that could not be the case.Bangladesh had previously avoided defeat in just two of their 28 matches, and both of those owed everything to the weather. But here, in the Caribbean of all places, they not only defied all precedents, but mocked them as well. At one point in the overs leading up to tea, Habibul made as if to declare, but was dragged back into his seat by his team-mates, who were happy just to drink in the moment and wait for Mashud to reach his hundred.Mashud and the Bangladeshi tail batted with such consummate ease in the afternoon session that it was difficult to recall quite how perilous their position had been at the start of play. For the record, they had resumed on 94 for 6, with a fragile lead of 158, and had been four quick wickets away from conceding the advantage in a match that had they had dominated since the second day. But Rajin Saleh produced a fighting 51, before Mashud and Mohammad Rafique carried the team to lunch with an unbeaten 52-run stand for the eighth wicket.Eighty-one runs were added in that first session, and it was a measure of the spirit in the Bangladeshi camp that West Indies did not bowl especially badly. Tino Best, who had prompted last night’s collapse, resumed first thing and immediately found his range in a hostile spell, but was repeatedly beaten back by Saleh and Mashud, who both needed treatment after being rapped on the gloves and forearms in a bruising passage of play.At the other end, Pedro Collins kept the score in check with an immaculate line and gently outswinging length, and Bangladesh needed a considerable amount of luck to keep him at bay. Saleh edged him through gully for four and was then dropped next ball by Chris Gayle to move sheepishly to his half-century, and Mashud later fished a brace of fours through the cordon as well.West Indies made a solitary breakthrough, courtesy of the drinks break, as Fidel Edwards trapped Saleh lbw with his third delivery after the resumption. At 122 for 7, with more than 90 overs left to be bowled, West Indies were back in the hunt, but Mashud and Rafique carried the lead beyond 200 with a resolute partnership, and by lunch, Brian Lara had turned to his part-time spinners, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Gayle, in a vain pursuit of a breakthrough.That marked the end of the West Indian resistance. They were a broken team in the second session, as Lara persisted with the spinners, quite probably in a pointed gesture to the selectors who sent him into the game with four seamers on a featherbed of a track. Not that Rafique and Mashud minded – Mashud in particular had been uncomfortable against the short ball after Best’s barrage, but he gritted his teeth and battled his way to his century.Rafique was eventually caught behind off Sarwan for an invaluable 29, whereupon Tapash Baisya took up the mantle, only to fall on the stroke of tea. But, for the second time in his debut Test, Tareq Aziz rose above his No. 11 status to help out his team-mate. In the first innings he had seen Rafique to his century, this time Mashud was the beneficiary of his watchful approach.At the start of play, Bangladesh’s primary aim had been to keep West Indies in the field until lunch at the very least, thereby insuring against defeat. Now, however, they had earned themselves 29 overs to inflict some psychological scars ahead of the second Test. However, West Indies avoided humiliation, with Gayle in full flow as he flogged the ball to all parts. It was, however, a very hollow and all-too-late riposte.All of this was achieved without the presence of Bangladesh’s inspirational coach, Dav Whatmore. He flew home to attend the funeral of his brother-in-law, and is unlikely to return for the second Test. West Indies might have thought that would be a factor in their favour. They won’t be so sure now.

New Zealand have announced winter contracts for the first time with seven players, including Grant Elliott, on the list. The deals run from May to September and cover the Emerging Players Tournament in Queensland in July and the New Zealand A tour of India in September.”All players contracted will be under consideration for winter tours by the New Zealand A or Emerging Players Tournament sides, or even the Blackcaps,” a New Zealand spokesman confirmed to Cricinfo.”These contracts have been awarded in recognition of their performance in the last domestic season,” Glenn Turner, one of New Zealand’s selectors, said. “We have identified them as possible future Blackcaps, or as players who we expect to build on existing international experience. There is an expectation that they will keep working on their game during the winter.”The allrounder Elliott, 29, made his Test debut against England last month but was overlooked for a full contract two weeks ago. However, the winter deal gives him hope his international career will not stall at one match.Nathan McCullum is one step closer to joining his brother Brendon in the national set-up again after receiving one of the seven contracts. His only match in New Zealand colours came at the World Twenty20 last year, when he made 1 and was not required to bowl against South Africa.Neil Broom, Martin Guptill, Greg Hay, Bradley Scott and BJ Watling were also included in the list. McCullum, Broom and Scott have played together for New Zealand A in 2007, the trio appearing in the Emerging Players Tournament final in Australia where they lost to South Africa.Guptill, 21, is a former New Zealand Under-19 player who made his first-class debut two years ago while Watling, 22, played his initial first-class match in the 2004-05 season. The deals begin on May 19 and continue until the end of September, before the resumption of major association contracts.

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Glamorgan were back in whites for the first time in almost a month yesterday, as they faced Sri Lanka A on day one of a four-day match at Swansea. A strong Sri Lankan team, which has won seven of its nine matches on this tour and drew with West Indies over the weekend, took the upper hand on the first day, bowling Glamorgan out for 169 and ending the day nine runs ahead with seven wickets in hand after half-centuries from Ian Daniel and Jehan Mubarak.Glamorgan won the toss and opted to bat first, but got off to a less than ideal start when Mark Wallace fell to Nuwan Kulasekara for 11 (26 for 1). Kulasekara struck again when David Hemp was caught by Bathiya Perera for 10 (44 for 2), and David Hemp fell soon after, bowled by Ranga Dias for 3. After a rain-affected first session Glamorgan went to lunch at 51 for 3, but a 60-run partnership between Matthew Elliot and Jonathan Hughes raised their hopes in the afternoon.However, the introduction of spin into the attack in the form of Mohammad Suraj sparked a dramatic collapse, as Glamorgan lost their last seven wickets for only 58 runs in 21 overs. The first to go was Matthew Elliot, bowled by Suraj for 48 to break his promising partnership with Hughes (111 for 4). Suraj picked up 5 for 40 with his offspinners, also dismissing Ian Thomas and Hughes before Perera chipped in with the wickets of Robert Croft and David Harrison to leave Glamorgan on the brink at 162 for 8. Suraj wrapped up the innings soon afterwards, with Darren Thomas caught by Daniel for 16 and Andrew Davies trapped lbw for one.Harrison, who has not played since the end of June after being sidelined by injury, opened the bowling and struck with his fourth ball to have Shantha Kalavitigoda caught at slip for a duck as Glamorgan threatened a fight-back. Sri Lanka A were 52 for 2 when Harrison had Malintha Gajanayake caught behind for 19, but Daniel and Mubarak carried them out of trouble with a 57-run partnership. Daniel went to his half-century from 66 balls, but was out soon after, lofting Dean Cosker straight to Harrison at long off (109 for 3).Mubarak brought up his own 50 with a six off Cosker, and had added an unbeaten 69 in partnership with Perera (43*) to put Sri Lanka A firmly in control at stumps.

Pakistan A 262 for 3 (Bazid 74, Misbah 65*) beat Kenya 260 for 8 (Tikolo 121, Modi 55) by 7 wickets with 7.2 overs to spare
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A 97-run third-wicket stand between Bazid Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq ensured that Pakistan A nailed down a competitive target and qualified for the finals – against India A – in the triangular one-day series in Nairobi. Kenya may have felt they had enough runs on the board after Steve Tikolo hit a magnificent 121 to guide them to 260, but Bazid (74) and Misbah (65 not out) led the run-chase as Pakistan A eventually won comfortably, by seven wickets with more than seven overs to spare.In a match which both teams needed to win to qualify for the finals, Kenya won the toss and, after a wobbly start, got back on track when Tikolo and Hitesh Modi added 130 for the fourth wicket. They came together after Kenya had slumped to 59 for 3, losing Kennedy Otieno, Ravindu Shah and Malhar Patel. Both were eventually run out, and Kenya lost their way somewhat thereafter.Pakistan’s top-order batsmen all got starts. Kamran Akmal (36) and Naved Ashraf (41) got the team off to a fluent start, and while both failed to convert their starts into something more substantial, they had at least ensured against early hiccups. Bazid and Misbah then built on that with a vital partnership in the middle overs, while Faisal Iqbal provided the finishing touches with an unbeaten 32, to ensure a fourth encounter against India A, against whom they have lost all three matches in this tournament.

England 162 for 2 (Bakewell 50, Watmough 50*) beat Australia 161 (Tredrea 54) by eight wickets
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The women did one-day cricket proud at Lord’s yesterday when England gained revenge for Sunday’s defeat by beating Australia by eight wickets – Australia making 161 in 59.4 overs and England 162 for 2 in 56.2 overs.A crowd bigger than for many a mid-week county match applauded enthusiastically, especially towards the end, with England chasing runs against the fast bowling of Sharon Tredrea and the left-arm medium of Anne Gordon.Enid Bakewell and Lynne Thomas had given England a fine start by scoring 85 before a mix-up resulted in Mrs Bakewell being run out. Having bowled her left-arm spinners accurately for two wickets, she made a splendid 50.She was succeeded by Chris Watmough, a left-hander who gave a splendid exhibition of batting, hitting eight fours, including the winning hit. She had the experienced support of her captain, Rachael Flint, in a final partnership of 69.England made an encouraging start when June Stephenson had the formidable Lorraine Hill, century-maker in Sunday’s match, caught at the wicket on the leg side off the second ball. Fifteen runs later, Glynis Hullah, bowled Janette Tredrea, Jan Lumsden was run out through a smart return by Janet Allen and Mrs Gordon was caught at the wicket off the slow left-arm bowling of Mrs Bakewell.So Australia, probably nervous in the Lord’s atmosphere, had a disastrous first hour, but they were rescued by the strong arm of Sharon Tredrea, supported by Wendy Hills. Fortunately for Australia, Miss Tredrea was missed at the wicket when two. Otherwise, the match would have been over much earlier. These two girls changed the shape of the game, Miss Tredrea hitting as powerfully as a man, driving and making one superb square cut.The last Australian pair, Marie Lutschini and Wendy Blunsden, by admirable strokes and good running, added 32 for the last wicket.Both sides fielded and threw athletically and the only difference from a men’s match was the absence of genuine pace bowling and an inability to pierce a close-set field.

I remember eagerly buying and reading, as a schoolboy in the mid-1980s, Kapil Dev’s two earlier shots at autobiography: Cricket My Style, written with the assistance of R Mohan of the Hindu, and By God’s Decree, written with an Indian journalist settled in Australia, Vinay Verma. The most gifted cricketer India has ever produced was then at the height of his popularity; people in all parts of India claimed him as one of their own. As schoolboys we could imagine no greater man in all of history. Kapil was the bowler who had shown that Indians could also bowl fast, the batsman whose incandescent hitting we all held in awe, and the leader who had brought home the World Cup.Both Cricket My Style and By God’s Decree were slim books – the latter just over a hundred pages long. From these books thousands of Indian cricket fans learned, from Kapil himself, of his background and early life as the son of a timber merchant in Chandigarh, his comparatively late entry into organised cricket, his hard work under coach Desh Prem Azad, and his rapid development as a national prospect. From this platform he took off – one chapter in By God’s Decree is called “I Find my Wings” – capturing the Indian cricketing imagination on his debut tour, to Pakistan in 1978-79, during which he made the Pakistani batsmen call for helmets, and lashed the bowlers for sixes even as a night-watchman. We read about Kapil’s memories of the 1983 World Cup, and carefully noted his opinions on various matters of interest: his thoughts on captaincy, what it meant to be an allrounder, his relationship with Sunil Gavaskar. By God’s Decree ended with these striking words, almost like a volley of fierce strokes: “My philosophy is simple. Play to win. Get your runs and your wickets. Never stop trying. Hit the ball, over the slips, over the ropes. Runs on the board count. After seven years of non-stop cricket I have achieved more than I set out to … Cricket has been good to me and for me.”The autobiographies of cricketers are complicated and often multiple affairs: players often have to deal with the approaches of publishers when in mid-career, at a time when their popularity is at its peak, and then sit down again when their decade or two in the spotlight is over, and produce another book that traces a longer arc and supplies opinions on the major issues of the time. Certainly there was much in Kapil’s career post-1986 that was worth describing at length: he played two more World Cups, bowled as well as he had ever done on a tour to Australia, and passed Richard Hadlee as the highest wicket-taker in Tests. These matters, his career in business post-retirement, his embroilment in the match-fixing affair, and his selection as Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century, are all dealt with in Straight From The Heart, a weighty 374-page tome.Cricketers are rarely good writers, nor are they expected to be, and the preparation of a readable cricketing autobiography, therefore, usually requires the involvement of some competent support staff, such as a good sports journalist or a capable editor. But the only investment made by Kapil’s current publishers in this book appears to have been in a dictaphone and some tapes. Much of this book reads like an unedited transcript, and this explains its rambling and somewhat tedious character. Perplexing statements, of the kind that sometimes enter into speech but not into writing for publication, litter these pages.Curiously, some portions of this book, especially those that deal with Kapil’s career in the early and mid-eighties, seemed to read much better than the others. It required a little background work to explain why: the source for all these events is Cricket My Style, from which enormous chunks have been lifted almost verbatim. Straight From The Heart has made its precursor redundant by consuming it whole.The book’s emphases and omissions are rather irregular. Kapil speaks at length about the events leading up to his overhauling of Hadlee’s record, but there is little insight into Indian cricket in the early nineties. The World Cup in Australia in 1992 is not even mentioned, and nor is Kapil’s blistering century, his last in Tests, against South Africa at Port Elizabeth. There is a long section about the match-fixing allegations levelled against Kapil by Manoj Prabhakar, and the sense of grievance he felt at what seemed to be a trial by press. In this book, as in his responses to the press at that time, Kapil seems to feel the need to make a protracted defence against these charges. One almost sees him glower at his detractors as he once did at opposing batsmen.This is a lengthy book, but as a cricketing autobiography, it offers little that is new, and in fact there is much of interest in the second half of Kapil’s career that finds no mention here. Someone with no personal memories of Kapil, and desirous of finding out what was really so special about him, would gain more from reading the two previous books, even if they cover virtually the same ground, than from this one, which ostensibly covers his whole career.