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Children conducting the presentation ceremony after the Delhi-Maharashtra match in Nagothane © Cricinfo Ltd

A round for knife-edgesUntil yesterday Indian first-class cricket had recorded only four matches ending in victories of three runs or less. In a span of a few minutes, Jhalawar and Mysore produced two more. Barely had Mumbai sneaked to a dramatic two-run win against Rajasthan in Jhalawar than Saurashtra almost matched them with a three-run triumph in Mysore. Mumbai needed three wickets off the final over and Rajasthan, nine runs. Murtuza Hussain, a medium-pacer in just his second first-class game, prised out two wickets and saw a third fall to a run-out.Karnataka, needing six runs in the last mandatory over, also committed hara-kiri. No. 11 KP Appanna did well to steal a single off the first ball, only to see Yere Goud, the captain, pick up another single instead of finishing it on his own. This brought Appanna back on strike and he had no answer to a well-directed short one that ballooned up in the air. For Indian first-class matches that have ended with margins of five runs or less, click hereBouncing in KarnailDomestic cricketers who have visited the Karnail Singh Stadium never tire of complaining about the lack of bounce. Jharkhand, the latest visitors, had a surprise in store. An interesting piece in the talks about an old-school idea coming in handy: using jaggery to bind the pitch. Abhay Sharma, the Railways’ coach, told the newspaper: “I recalled what I had seen in a Duleep Trophy match in Bikaner a long time ago. I remember playing that match and that wicket had a tennis-ball bounce. I had asked the groundsman, who was about 70 years old then, how he managed this and he told me to use jaggery, and its syrup is very good for making a stiff base.”That’s how I tried it here. But we have to be extra careful while using it on the top soil. A little overdose and insects will eat into the wicket.” Curator Rakesh Mehrotra, who represented Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy in 1986 and has been involved in preparing tracks for the last five years, said: “We have also used a special glue so that the wicket doesn’t break, and also sprayed lot of insecticide to prevent damage to the grass. That way, the grass doesn’t die even when the roller is used and assists movement. Also, it’s important to increase the clay content of the soil and also observe little methods to preserve it.”Tricks from Sony and AwanaSony Cheruvathur became only the second bowler from Kerala, after Sreesanth, to grab a hat-trick. Snapping up the best match-figures in the Plate Group so far (12 for 105) Cheruvathur’s hat-trick comprised Nos. 9, 10 and 11 – Amit Singh, Siddharth Trivedi and Hitesh Majumdar – to clean up the innings. Three days later Parvinder Awana matched him with a hat-trick to allow Delhi to force the issue against Maharashtra. Awana became the fourth Delhi bowler to take a Ranji hat-trick, after Ravinder Pal, Bishan Bedi and Shankar Saini.

Snap of the week: a Nagothane special © Cricinfo Ltd

Nagothane nuggetsFor the smaller and far-off venues, a first-class match is a big occasion. It was no different for Nagothane, as at the end of the match they had a proper post-match conference organised, something that is not usual with Ranji Trophy matches. The spin here was that there were school kids questioning the captains at the presentation ceremony. Also Vijay Dahiya, mistaken for Virender Sehwag, was being asked for his autograph by one of the kids. While Dahiya had a hard time trying to convince the biy that Sehwag and he were two were different people, Aakash Chopra said, “No no it’s him only,” before dashing away.Mumbai and the left-arm curseMumbai didn’t have to face a left-arm seamer in this round but they’ve struggled against the breed this season. In the third and fourth rounds, Delhi’s Pradeep Sangwan and Maharashtra’s Samad Fallah accounted for 12 wickets, most of whom were top-order batsmen. Mumbai are obviously aware of this weakness, getting their trainer and left-armer Amogh Pandit to bowl at them, but a real test awaits them in the next round: Himachal Pradesh’s Ashok Thakur, the highest wicket-taker in the Super League so far, on home turf. Interestingly (apart from Zaheer Khan) the last left-arm medium-fast bowler in the Mumbai ranks was Sandeep Dahad, who was in and out of the side in 2001 before moving to Goa.Stat snapsAssam offspinner Arnald Konwar and Karnataka’s medium-pacer R Vinay Kumar now have 100 wickets in first-class cricket. Meanwhile former Indian Sanjay Bangar, playing for Railways, picked up his 200th wicket in the game against Jharkhand in Delhi. Bangar became the fourth Indian to manage the double of 200 wickets and 6000 runs. He has a bit of catching up to do, though with ML Jaisimha (8942 runs, 325 wickets), Vijay Hazare (8504 runs, 311 wickets) and Madan Lal (8141 runs, 512 wickets) ahead of him.

Baroda beat Western India by 3 runs in Rajkot, 1942-43
Western India beat Gujarat by 3 runs in Rajkot, 1945-46
Andhra beat Tamil Nadu by 1 run in Salem, 1974-75
Haryana beat Mumbai by 2 runs in Bombay, 1990-91
Madhya Pradesh beat Karnataka by 5 runs in Bangalore, 1992-93
Tamil Nadu beat Sri Lanka by 3 runs in Madras, 1972-73 (Gopalan Trophy)

‘If we can build up a big score tomorrow, we can use the wear and tear on days four and five. It only needs two or three balls to misbehave to get you wickets’ – Shaun Pollock © Getty Images

Shaun Pollock was delighted by the manner in which South Africa foughtback on the second day at Newlands, but he wasn’t about to take anythingfor granted with his side still 270 adrift on first innings. Pollock’s naggingaccuracy fetched him figures of 4 for 75, and contributed to India losingtheir way in the afternoon – the last five wickets fell for just 19.By stumps, Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla had taken South Africa to 144 for1 after Sreesanth had got AB de Villiers early. According to Pollock, thefate of the match rested largely in the hands of South Africa’s batsmen,with batting supposed to be at its easiest on day three.”We haven’t discussed that at this stage,” said Pollock, when asked whatsort of score his team was looking at. “There’s a lot of cricket to beplayed. We can’t afford to get too ahead of ourselves. We need to find apartnership tomorrow and launch from there. But the quicker we do get abig score, the more time it gives us to try and win the Test match.”That’s the ideal route. We find ourselves in a good position now becausewe got those five wickets so quickly at the end. That was really theturning point for us. And to have batted the way we have sets up a base tolaunch from. We were pretty comfortable throughout the afternoon.”While Pollock’s wickets came as no surprise, there would have been someconsternation in the Indian dressing room over the identity of the otherfour-wicket man. Paul Harris was making his debut, and at times thismorning, he was clouted over the infield. But each time, he held his nerveto strike back with a telling blow, showing the sort of character that wonPollock’s approval.”They do score quickly, and their idea was to take on the spinner,” saidPollock. “There was a little bit of risk involved [in bowling Harris fromone end], but we always knew there was going to be an opportunity. Ithought he bowled very well. To take some big scalps like he did – I thinkSehwag and Sachin are pretty good players of spin. For him to come intohis debut Test match and have those two was pretty big for him.”Though the pitch showed few signs of deterioration late on day two,Pollock was hopeful that things would be different once the game went intothe final two days. “If we can bat well in this innings, it might beeasier for the bowlers later on with variable bounce and the cracksstarting to widen.”We’d like to get as much as we possibly can. It’s very dangerous to talkabout big targets; it can easily backfire on you. Any lead we can get willbe fantastic. If we can get them into a pressure situation and be 150ahead, then they will be behind the eight-ball fighting back to try andget back into the game. If the wicket starts misbehaving, then we’rereally in the front seat.”His one-time new-ball partner, Makhaya Ntini, went wicketless; a rareoccurrence for him in a home Test, and Pollock admitted that bowling on aplacid pitch had been no vineyard stroll. “There’s probably not that muchin it for the seamers,” he said. “Maybe, there’s a little bit of reverseswing going. There’s some assistance for the spinners, especially from outof the rough at one end.”You’d expect that day three is best for batting, and you’d expect thepitch to wear on days four and five. If we can build up a big scoretomorrow, we can use the wear and tear on days four and five. It onlyneeds two or three balls to misbehave to get you wickets.”Before all that though, he might need to bat. And on the evidence ofDurban, where his accomplished second-innings 63 set India an imposing 354to chase, few will be as well-equipped to handle the Kumble factor.

Jimmy Adams has now been put in charge of shaping West Indies’ future players © Getty Images

Jimmy Adams, the former West Indies captain, has been named as the new manager of West Indies Under-19s ahead of the World Cup in Sri Lanka. Adams replaces Roger Harper who left the position to take up the coaching role with Kenya.Zorol Bathley, the cricket operations manager of the WICB, told the : “We have appointed Jimmy because of his leadership skills and knowledge of the game and what goes on within the game.”Adams added that he was pleased to have a part to play with the future generation: “I’m excited about the role and I’m happy to serve West Indies cricket again. I’m excited to work with the boys and help to guide the next generation of West Indies cricketers.”His first role will be to co-ordinate the five-day training camp being held at the cricket development centre in Trinidad. The squad then leaves to play five matches against Pakistan Under-19s before the World Cup starts on February 5. West Indies’ first match is against the USA a day later.Adams played 54 Tests and 127 one-day internationals for West Indies in a nine year career.

Shoaib Akhtar: how much longer will his run-up get?© Getty Images

Shoaib Akhtar has refused to shorten his bowling run-up, a suggestion put forth by Bob Woolmer, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain. Shoaib compared himself to a jet plane gathering speed on a runway and said he would not compromise on his 40-yard run-up.Woolmer was concerned about Pakistan’s sluggish over-rates in the first Test at Perth, where they were humbled by a massive 491-run margin, and pinpointed that as one of several areas that needed to be rectified ahead of the Boxing Day Test. Woolmer had termed the over-rate “ridiculous and very poor”. Shoaib, though, whistled a different tune and told the : “We’re going to go through our overs quickly. We talked about it. I’m not going to change, but I’m going to go back to my run-up quickly.”I’ll ask you a question. Can a plane take off without a run-up? No, so I’ve got to take the run,” he said. “It’s how I generate my pace and everything flows into the right action. I’m not going to cut down.”Imran had spoken to Shoaib in Kolkata recently, where Pakistan played India in the BCCI’s Platinum Jubilee game. “I used to bowl all day at his age,” said Imran. “He sprints such a long way that he could easily cut it down without losing any pace, but he would have more stamina.”

Those who had rashly criticised Michael Kasprowicz and Alex Wharf for leaving the fieldlast night in poor light were made to eat their words as the pair continued their merryassault on the Yorkshire bowling, with the pair adding an invaluable 137 runs in 26 oversas Glamorgan amassed a formidable 466 on the second morning of the Champiohsip match at Colwyn Bay.Wharf raced to 50 off 76 balls, with eight fours and a six, before hoisting Steve Kirby ontothe pavilion roof for another six. A single to third man brought up the 100 partnership – injust 17 overs – as the pair recorded a record 8th wicket partnership for Glamorgan against Yorkshirein Championship cricket.Kasprowicz then reached his half-century from 79 balls with 5 fours and two sixes, as Yorkshirethen opted for the spin of Andy Gray and the medium pace of Anthony McGrath. For a while, the runspree continued as Wharf lofted Gray out of the ground, but three balls later, the switchdid the trick as Wharf was caught behind off Gray for 79.Only one more run had been added when David Harrison was leg before to McGrath, and then Kasprowiczwas caught on the mid-wicket boundary for 51, as Glamorgan`s first innings came to an end – the fifthtime in succession that they had passed 450 on this ground.Then it was the turn of the Yorkshire batsmen to take advantage of the placid wicket, as Matthew Woodand Stephen Fleming added 104 in 32 overs. Fleming survived an early chance against Dean Cosker, butthereafter showed good judgement and timing to reach 50 from 81 balls, with six boundaries.Wood dropped anchor at the other end, after also surviving a sharp chance in the slips, but theintroduction of Robert Croft`s off-spin brought the opening stand to an end as Fleming was caught atshort-leg for 61. McGrath then came in and maintained the assertive approach, hitting Croft for a six anda four as he became the next batsman to score a fluent half-century.But there were few loose deliveries on offer and the Yorkshire batsmen had to resort to quick singlesin order to keep the scoreboard ticking over, as their partnership passed the 100 mark. Wood eventuallyreached his composed century with a crisp ondrive off Dean Cosker – his 17th four from 214 balls.Glamorgan`s perseverance was eventually rewarded as three wickets fell in the last half hour, withMcGrath, on 92, top-edging a sweep off Cosker to Mike Powell at slip. Michael Lumb was then bowled byCroft shouldering arms, before Yuvraj Singh was bowled by Cosker for 2. However, Wood remained unbeatenat the close on 124, as Yorkshire ended the day on 291/4, still 175 runs in arrears.

Tinu Yohannan © CricInfo

When the going gets tough, the tough are supposed to get going. In SouthAfrica, where things were tough for the Indian team, the medium-pacersfailed to get going in conditions that assisted their trade. Inresponse, the national selectors have sent the whole lot of mediumpacers packing, while announcing the squad for the first Test againstEngland. While Venkatesh Prasad and Javagal Srinath were spared theignominy of being dropped since they were already injured, the trio ofZaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar were axed. Taking theirplaces are the uncapped, unsung yet talented Tinu Yohannan, IqbalSiddiqui and Sanjay Bangar.”The performance of the medium-pacers in South Africa was notsatisfactory,” said Chandu Borde, chairman of selectors, in explainingwhy the committee had opted for such drastic changes in the medium-pacedepartment. “We though this was the right time to give these guys(Yohannan, Siddiqui, Bangar) a break,” he added.When asked about the inexperience of these cricketers, Borde countered,”We can’t always go by the number of wickets someone takes. We feelthese boys have talent and deserve a chance.”Siddiqui, who made his first-class debut way back in 1992, has a fairlyundistinguished first-class record, claiming 236 wickets in 69 matchesat an average of 30.58. A well-built, energetic sort of character,Siddiqui has been in and out of the reckoning without ever making thegrade until now.Yohannan is the greenhorn of the lot, with just eight first-classmatches to his credit. However, his ability to generate a bit of extrapace and slip in a well-aimed yorker make him a tough customer tohandle.

Sanjay Bangar © CricInfo

Railways all-rounder Bangar is perhaps the most deserving of the threenew faces in the side. Having bowled his heart out on Indian tracks for84 first-class wickets at an average of 37.80 , Bangar also makes a morethan useful contribution with the bat. Opening the innings in the longerversion of the game, Bangar’s 3,112 runs include 5 tons and has come at anaverage of 35.77. His ability to move the ball both ways while stillmaintaining a good line and length makes him a very useful player tohave in any condition.The rest of the Indian team retains itself. Connor Williams, by virtueof his showing in the unofficial ‘Test’ against South Africa clings onto his spot as Shiv Sunder Das’ opening partner. The middle-order whichboasts some of the brightest talents in the game – Sachin Tendulkar,Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly – escapes all manner ofselectoral censure. Deep Dasgupta will continue to don the gloves.

Sarandeep Singh © CricInfo

The most interesting thing to note in the forthcoming tour however wouldbe the composition of India’s spin attack. Harbhajan Singh and AnilKumble will do the bulk of the bowling, with Sarandeep Singh waiting onthe sidelines to be called up if needed. Virender Sehwag, who isunlikely to play given the recent controversy over his suspension,completes the fourteen.The press conference announcing the team was marred by needlesscontroversy as the British journalists badgered both Borde and NiranjanShah, BCCI secretary about the selection of Sehwag in the fourteen. However Borde pointed out that the job of the selectors was to pick the side purely on cricketing merit and nothing else. It will now be left to the BCCI top management to decide the final XI that will be take the field on next Monday.India’s 14 for first Test:Sourav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid, Shiv Sundar Das, Connor Williams, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Sarandeep Singh, Sanjay Bangar, Iqbal Siddiqui, Tinu Yohannan.

New Zealand A skipper Scott Styris provided the all-round inspiration behind his side’s 134-run success in a 50-over friendly with Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.Styris struck a rapid 57 in a total of 279-9 and then claimed 3-34 from eight overs, including the important wicket of Australian Ian Harvey, as Gloucestershire were restricted to 145-9, with wicketkeeper Reggie Williams unable to bat through injury.After Styris had won the toss, Michael Papps and Jacob Oram laid the basis for an imposing score by the tourists with a second wicket partnership of 90 in 17 overs.The runs come quicklyIndeed, the New Zealand top order scored at such a fast rate that the 200 arrived in only 36 overs.Papps struck five fours in his 97-ball innings of 66 which ended with a catch to Jeremy Snape at square leg off the bowling of Gloucestershire captain Mark Alleyne.Alleyne also had Oram caught behind by Williams after the left-hander had hit four fours and two sixes, both from spinner Martyn Ball, in his 50-ball innings of 51.Styris played equally well for his 57 before he skied a catch to Dominic Hewson in the deep to give Harvey one of his three wickets.A late clatter of wickets kept New Zealand under 300, but it was never seriously threatened by Gloucestershire.Disappointment for GloucsHewson and Harvey put together a second wicket stand of 63 in just eight overs, but there was precious little other resistance.Harvey, who took four boundaries off one over from Daryll Tuffey, brought up his fifty from only 38 balls. But he was then out from the next one when he was well caught by James Marshall, low at short extra cover, off Styris.Spinner Bruce Martin bowled economically to remove James Averis and Ben Gannon in a return of 2-10 from 5.2 overs.The last eight Gloucestershire wickets fell for 60 runs in 21 overs and it was a sorry batting display by the Benson and Hedges Cup holders.Their disappointment was compounded by a nasty facial injury to Williams, who was deputising behind the stumps for the rested Jack Russell.Wicketkeeper Williams injuredHe was struck abover the right eye by a delivery from harvey in the 48th over. He was taken to Cheltenham General Hospital and had three stitches inserted in the wound.He later returned to the ground with his eye closed by the severe bruising.Williams said of the ball that did the damage: “It was like a top spinner that flew up off the surface. Until the bruising goes down, I don’t know how long I will be out of action.”

Wolves defender Nelson Semedo could potentially miss up to two months of action with a hamstring injury, reports the reliable John Percy.

The Lowdown: Semedo a key man for Wolves

The Portuguese ace has enjoyed a good season for a flourishing Wanderers defence, making 23 starts in the Premier League in total.

Semedo has been predominantly used in a right wing-back role by Bruno Lage, chipping in with one assist and providing pace and width down the right flank.

As Wolves prepare to host Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, however, a big injury blow has emerged.

The Latest: Defender suffers injury blow

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Percy confirmed that Semedo would be out of action for between four and eight weeks with a hamstring issue:

“Wolves defender Nelson Semedo set to be out for 4-8 weeks with a hamstring injury. Earliest return could be in April after the international break, following scans this week. Portugal international has started 23 of Wolves’ 26 PL games this season. Big blow for Bruno Lage.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“388797″]

The Verdict: Chance for Hoever to shine?

This is a major blow for Lage in his side’s quest to finish in the European places this season, with Semedo’s quality and experience an important part of Wolves’ success since August.

It means youngster Ki-Jana Hoever could now be trusted with filling the void left by his teammate, having made three league starts to date in 2021/22 and fan favourite Jonny Otto not quite fit enough to be a regular fixture in the team yet.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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At 20, the Dutchman’s lack of experience could be a problem, but he arrived as a prodigiously gifted signing from Liverpool, having been described as ‘sensational’ by Jurgen Klopp, so this is a wonderful chance for him to finally prove his worth to the fans.

In other news, Tim Spiers has reacted to a key Wolves update regarding one player. Read more here.

Steve Harmison: A little bit rusty to start with, but improved throughout his nine-wicket haul © Getty Images

England’s bowling coach, Ottis Gibson, believes Steve Harmison is working his way back to his best form after grabbing nine wickets in the first of his two outings for Highveld Lions in South Africa.Harmison had not played a first-class match since July. He missed England’s Test series against India after undergoing a hernia operation and was not initially included in the squad that sets off for Sri Lanka on Thursday. However, he seems set to earn a late call-up after taking 6 for 91 and 3 for 78 against Cape Cobras in Paarl this week.It was not a flawless performance by any means, and Harmison was once again troubled by a spate of wides and no-balls. But he found an improved rhythm in the second innings, which pleased Gibson no end.”First day, first innings, it was his first ball since July, so you expected probably that he wasn’t going to go in at 100 per cent,” said Gibson. “He’s here to get back into things and he was obviously a little bit rusty for a start.”The second innings was a lot better – he only bowled two wides as opposed to 20 – with a lot more control, and he’s obviously had a lot more bowling under his belt and it showed. He bowled quite well and in pretty good areas.”Gibson was a team-mate of Harmison’s at Durham this season, and has been sent to South Africa to assess his rehabilitation. “I’m feeding back information [to the selectors] all the time on how he’s going, his mindset and the wickets,” said Gibson. “The biggest issue is that we need him to be firing and bowling up to Test standard, but the ultimate decision isn’t mine.””I think as long as he’s happy in himself that he’s bowling well then obviously he’s going to move on to Sri Lanka,” added Gibson. “I don’t think he would want to go to Sri Lanka if he didn’t feel like he was ready for that. He will know whether he is ready or not.”

Jacques Kallis and Durban have made for an irresistible combination © Getty Images

The last time India took the field in a Test match at Durban, they were blitzed by Allan Donald and co. – they managed 166 runs for 20 wickets, and slumped to a 328-run defeat. Going into the second Test of this series, India have the momentum, but Graeme Smith will hope that memories of that win can lift his side as they try to level the series after the Johannesburg defeat. The venue has been a good one for the home team, especially lately – they have a 11-9 overall win-loss record here, but in the last 16 Tests it reads a very impressive eight wins and just two losses – to Pakistan and Australia. (Click here for the full list of results, and here to check out more stats on the venue.)

India’s experiences here have been less memorable, with a draw and a loss win in two Tests. Among the members of the current squad, four players – Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble – experienced the humiliation of 1996 first hand, of whom only Dravid, with a gutsy unbeaten 27 in the second innings, came out with his reputation enhanced.

India were blown away by pace ten years back, and the form book since then clearly indicates that fast bowlers have continued to flourish here. In the last ten Tests, pace has accounted for 266 wickets at 29.47 and a strike rate of 59 deliveries per wicket, while spinners concede 34.60 runs per wicket, and only strike once every 73 balls.

Shaun Pollock has played ten Tests here, and his stats at Durban mirror his career numbers – his 38 wickets here have come at 22.02 apiece. Both his average and strike rate are marginally better than his overall career stats. Makhaya Ntini too has enjoyed the pace and bounce on offer here, with 29 wickets in six matches at 26.58.

Jacques Kallis only managed 39 runs in two innings at Johannesburg, but if his stats in Durban are anything to go by, the Indians can expect to chase some leather when he is at the crease. Kallis averages 57.13 in his ten Tests here, but his recent form at this ground is outstanding: he has made hundreds in each of his last four Tests, versus Pakistan, West Indies, England and Australia. For Smith, though, Durban has been a disaster – in nine innings he has only managed a highest score of 42 and a miserable average of 17.50. The Indians have already had better of him on this tour so far, and these numbers will only encourage them further.