Australia top order battles hard

Tea Australia 2 for 111 (Khawaja 26*, Clarke 4*) v England

A determined effort from Australia's top order laid a solid foundation on the opening day at the SCG as the hosts reached 2 for 111 when rain brought an early tea in their quest to salvage Ashes pride. Phil Hughes and Shane Watson battled hard against the new ball on an overcast morning before both fell to disappointing shots, but Usman Khawaja settled impressively into Test cricket.

The openers were four balls away from surviving the first session when Hughes edged Chris Tremlett, the pick of England's bowlers, to third slip and Watson, who didn't collect a boundary during the first two hours, fell to Tim Bresnan after yet another unfulfilled innings. Khawaja, though, sped to 15 from his first eight balls and was joined by new captain Michael Clarke who received a mixture of boos and cheers when he walked in.

Clarke earlier won his first toss as Australia's 43rd Test captain and although batting first is normally the preferred option on a pitch that takes turn, a muggy morning meant England's quicks were not without encouragement. However, whereas they regularly found the edge in Melbourne here the ball beat the bat frequently, especially in the first hour, without getting reward.

Tremlett caused the most problems during a probing first spell where he trouble Watson and Hughes with extra bounce. James Anderson also found swing to have a couple of stifled lbw shouts although he was troubled by his take-off area, almost turning his ankle with his second ball, and also gained a warning for his follow-through from Billy Bowden. His first spell ended with figures of 5-0-5-0 and after 12 overs Australia had 17 runs, but the value of not losing early wickets was far greater than what the scoreboard showed.

The determination started to pay off as Hughes tucked into Bresnan's second over with a drive followed by a cut to collect consecutive boundaries and he then cut Graeme Swann's second ball for four to raise Australia's fifty.

Watson gave a good lesson in leaving on length as Tremlett's deliveries kept sailing over the stumps, but Hughes wasn't quite equal to the challenge when he pushed outside off and offered a simple chance to third slip having begun to show England he could handle the top level. It meant Khawaja had 40 minutes to ponder his first ball in Tests, but he calmly clipped his opening offering from Tremlett through the leg side for two then cracked away a bristling pull next ball.

Watson finally located the boundary from his 89th ball with a clip through midwicket, but it was Khawaja who was now attracting the attention. He was given another gift on leg stump which was flicked away and had the skill to play with soft hands so when he twice edged it fell short of second slip.

Either side of a needless stoppage for bad light, he appeared to have plenty of time to play his shots, guiding Tremlett down to third man, and was confident to come into the front foot in defence. Watson was also starting to find his rhythm with a front foot pull through midwicket and a sweet clip off the pads that whistled to the boundary.

However, with another half-century in sight Watson played forward to Bresnan and the ball shaped away a touch to find the edge and was well taken at first slip. Watson slammed his bat in frustration before dragging himself off the pitch. After a mixed reception, Clarke leant on a cover drive first ball to open his account but the rain was closing in and three overs later the players went off with the contest brewing up nicely.

Read more »

Amla and Kallis steer through testing day

South Africa 232 for 4 (Amla 59, Kallis 81*) v India

South Africa's batsmen were tested severely by seam and swing on a stop-start day dominated by drizzle, murky light and a Table Mountain shrouded in cloud. By the time Newlands was bathed in glorious evening sunshine, though, the home team had lost only four wickets and had denied India the rewards that appeared imminent during the morning and afternoon. Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis, the most resolute of South Africans, manned the frontline and three consecutive half-century partnerships ensured the hosts edged ahead in the fight for the series.

The weather, the pitch and the Indian seamers examined South Africa's batting skills after MS Dhoni won his first toss in the New Year, having lost all but one of his previous 14. There were two rain interruptions and the natural light had to be supplemented by artificial ones, which required the batsmen's concentration to be at its peak. The pitch offered the bowlers assistance throughout, forcing the batsmen to be alert to the one that would suddenly jag back in, or seam sharply away. They edged plenty, but most flew into gaps in the field.

South Africa's innings had come to a standstill after they lost their openers - Graeme Smith shortly before the first rain interruption and Alviro Petersen soon after. It sparked to life during the period between the second rain break and tea, with Amla playing the protagonist.

Amla had batted with discipline, leaving majority of the deliveries outside off stump, especially when Zaheer Khan seamed them across him from over the wicket. Zaheer also went around the stumps and caused problems, beating Amla with a blockhole delivery outside off, inducing an inside edge past the stumps and a leading edge that lobbed dangerously towards cover - all in one over.

The pitch at Newlands wasn't as quick or bouncy as the one at Kingsmead, where batsmen could leave the ball on length. India's bowlers had not attempted a single bouncer when bad light and rain stopped play for a second time, with South Africa 61 for 2 after the 21st over. It was not that sort of pitch.

It was a pitch on which the bowlers needed to bowl fuller, and the Indians did. It was a pitch on which the batsmen needed to be made to drive, and the South Africans did. Kallis had driven Sreesanth with power through cover just before the rain, but Amla took charge after the second resumption.

He drove the first ball after the break from Zaheer through point, the next wide of mid-on, where Sachin Tendulkar dived over the ball, and another between midwicket and mid-on - all for boundaries. Sreesanth also urged Amla to drive by delivering swinging half-volleys outside off, two of which disappeared across the moist turf towards the cover boundary. In 4.1 overs after the second drizzle, South Africa had scored 30.

Sreesanth then tried a different line of attack, placing men at long leg and deep square and bouncing Amla, who hooked the first for six to reach 50 off 69 balls. Amla continued to attack, but not all his shots came off. He edged Sreesanth twice, first over gully and then wide of second slip. Zaheer also produced two crackers that pitched straight and seamed across the outside edge of Amla's forward pushes. On 59, Amla pulled Sreesanth again, but this time he spliced the short ball to Cheteshwar Pujara on the deep-square boundary. It was the only wicket that India took during the second session and it ended a partnership of 72.

Kallis had been quiet during Amla's burst but he assumed leadership of the resistance with AB de Villiers for company. Kallis had shouldered arms to his second delivery, from Ishant, and had been hit high on the thigh. He was later struck on the body while pulling, and he was batting with a wrist bruised during his dismissal at Kingsmead.

He faced a difficult over from Ishant right after tea, getting beaten by deliveries that straightened from a good length just outside off stump. He responded to that by flicking the bowler confidently through midwicket, growing his partnership with de Villiers, who had to tailor his free-scoring game to the conditions.

Harbhajan Singh was bowling economically, and the fast bowlers were always threatening to strike. Sreesanth did, inducing the edge from de Villiers with a perfect outswinger, snipping the stand at 58. Sreesanth also had an lbw shout against Kallis, on 54, but his appeal wasn't convincing even though replays indicated the ball would have hit the top of leg stump.

A noticeable aspect was the lack of aggression from India's bowlers today, compared to their performance in Durban, and they were slower in pace too. And once the sun came out, and the seamers tired, survival became relatively easier. Kallis was assured towards the end of the day, Prince was edgy at the start of his innings and they also added 68 runs to make Smith the happier captain at stumps.

Read more »