Scotland are pushing to be included in next season’s Twenty20 Cup on the back of their impressive performances in their early outings in the National League.Gwynne Jones, Scottish Cricket Limited’s chief executive, is believed to have been talking to several counties to press the case for Scotland being brought in to the competition."We would love to be involved in the Twenty20, which I’m convinced would be a major draw in Scotland," Jones told the Herald newspaper. “The indications I’m getting are that we could get an invite and that it could happen as early as next season.”The main obstacle to their involvement would appear to be that the 18 first-class counties neatly divide into three divisions of six. However, such is the success of the competition that an alternative structure might be considered with two divisions and more games, and that would boost Scotland’s chances.

Gloucestershire 221 for 9 (Malik 74) beat Derbyshire 219 (Kaif 72) by one wicket
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Mike Smith strikes as Derbyshire are restricted to 219

Dominic Cork put a disappointing first spell behind him to bowl Derbyshire to the brink of a famous comeback, but Gloucestershire’s final pair kept their nerve to secure a one-wicket victory and secure their path to the final at Lord’s, where they will play either Lancashire or Worcestershire.At one stage, Gloucestershire were cruising to victory. They had restricted Derbyshire to a sub-par total of 219, and after a few early wobbles, had progressed serenely to 193 for 5, with Mark Alleyne playing the supporting role to Shoaib Malik’s well-crafted half-century. But when Lian Wharton picked up Alleyne and Jack Russell in the space of three balls, the innings was turned on its head.Cork, whose first three overs had been pasted for 31 runs, now rose to the occasion. With two runs still required for victory, Shoaib hoisted a short ball to Kevin Dean at backward square-leg, before Martyn Ball was spectacularly caught at gully by a diving Michael di Venuto (217 for 9). Cork, however, was unable to make it three in the over, and James Averis bided his time before clipping Graeme Welch through square-leg for four.Shoaib was deservedly named Man of the Match for a fine allround performance. His offspinners had earlier played a major part in Gloucestershire’s success in the field, Although Mohammad Kaif top-scored with a brisk 72 from 83 balls, Derbyshire’s total was undermined by some sloppy running between the wickets, and eventually fell several runs short of a par score.Mike Smith had given Gloucestershire the perfect start by removing both openers, di Venuto and Steven Selwood, in a typically thrifty opening spell. He had been doubtful ahead of the match after picking up a back injury, but his influence set the tone for the innings. Averis and Alleyne helped to apply the pressure, before the spinners Ball and Shoaib chipped in with three wickets.Derbyshire were nevertheless well-placed for a good score when Dominic Hewson and Luke Sutton were run out by direct hits. Hewson was the most culpable, failing to run his bat in as he was beaten by Matt Windows’s shy from the deep. His dismissal brought an end to a 75-run partnership with Kaif (134 for 4), and the rest of the batting didn’t hang around.After cracking a car windscreen with a straight six, Kaif was eventually beaten in flight by Ball and holed out to Windows at mid-off (193 for 7), and fittingly, the innings ended with a third run-out in a frenetic final over, as Welch failed to make his ground.

Rameez Raja, the chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, has said that he will use his visit to Mumbai next month for an International Cricket Council committee meeting to press for a restoration in ties between the two countries.”The matter of cricket revival with India will definitely be the issue,” Rameez explained. “The world is waiting for the standoff to be broken. Pakistan have been willing to play India and we believe that ties should be resumed as early as next year.”Rameez admitted that initially he was not going to travel to the meeting. “I was reluctant to attend because of matches in Pakistan, and also because normally cricket officials from Pakistan have not been issued visas to visit India for any purpose,” he told the News. “But now I have changed my mind and we have sent the visa application for processing. I believe given the media interest that will surround the meeting it is the best time to get across Pakistan’s point of view to Indians in India on cricket relations.”Raja added that the ICC has also hinted at the possibility of matches between Pakistan and India in the United States and Canada next year. He said that the proposal “would give a huge boost to the sport in that part of the world”.

Since 1998, Steve Waugh has made a personal commitment to help the children at Udayan in Calcutta, India. Udayan is a home for 250 boys and 50 girls aged 5 to 19 from all religious backgrounds, that come from the leper colonies of the Calcutta slums.Once at Udayan, the children receive medical treatment, an education, food, clothing, access to recreational facilities and vocational training.Udayan gives the children the opportunity to grow up in an environment free of the crippling stigma associated with leprosy. They leave Udayan’s doors with the education and self confidence necessary to be happy and productive members of Indian society.Steve Waugh has recently established the Steve Waugh Foundation – Australia to raise much needed funds for Udayan so they can continue to look after and care for the children.The first fund raising effort of the Foundation is an online Art Union which will be a lottery directed to Indian and Australian cricket supporters.A ticket in the lottery offers a chance for:

An Aussie Supporter to Win
A 7 day holiday for 2 people to India, following the Australian One Day Team, for the final of the Triangular Tournament between Australia, India and New Zealand on November 18th in Calcutta.After watching the game from VIP seats, the winner will get a chance to meet with Michael Bevan and be presented with a cricket bat signed by Steve Waugh.The winner will then fly to New Dehli to stay at the luxurious 14th Century Heritage Neemrana Hill Fort Hotel at Kesroli for 4 nights and a tour of the magnificent Taj Mahal, in Agra.Or if the Winner is Indian
They’ll win a 7 day holiday for 2 people to Australia, to watch the 1st Test in Brisbane between Australia and India from 4th – 8th December 2003.After watching the game from their VIP seats, they’ll get a chance to meet with Steve Waugh and be presented with a signed cricket bat.They’ll spend 6 nights at the luxurious four and half star Rydges Hotel, Brisbane located riverside on the South Bank Parklands.

Ticket price is AUD$10 and all funds raised will go to the kids at Udayan.The Steve Waugh Udayan Art Union will run from September 29th to October 31st and will be promoted to cricket supporters via a dedicated web sitewww.mdsa.com.au/stevewaughudayan

Sui Gas fast bowler Wasim Khan claimed a match haul of 14-97 to guide his unfancied team to an innings and 59 run victory over Habib Bank in the second round of the Inter-Department Qualifying Tournament at Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot on Sunday.
Wasim, who took 8-41 in HBL’s first innings score of 97, captured 6-56 in the second innings as Habib Bank, resuming at 145-4, were bundled out for 193. Sui Gas, in their only innings, had scored 349-5 from 83 overs.Pakistan pacer Umar Gul was also in devastating form with a match haul of 10-111 to inspire PIA to an innings and 17 run victory over Pak PWD at the Quaid-e-Azam Park in Karachi. Umar, who took 5-51 in the first innings, snapped up 5-60 in the second as Pak PWD, starting the day at 49-5, were dismissed for 166.Naved-ul-Hasan (6-25) and Aqeel Ahmed (4-7) routed Pakistan Army for a modest 68 to earn Wapda victory by an innings and 127 runs at the Pindi Stadium.Azam Hussain picked up 7-38 runs to bowl DHA to a 10-wicket victory over KESC at the UBL Sports Complex.Scores in brief (day 3 of 3):Pool A:
At Quaid-e-Azam Park, Pak PWD 144 in 52 overs (Zeeshan Pervaiz 33, Umar Gul 5-51, Fazle Akbar 3-32, Nadeem Khan 2-31) and 166 (Ahmer Saeed 57, Umar Gul 5-60, Nadeem Khan 3-39) vs PIA 327-5 in 83 overs (Kamran Sajid 124, Yasir Hameed 127, Bazid Khan 31). PIA won by an innings and 17 runs.
At PCB Academy, Pakistan Navy 86 in 37.4 overs (Junaid Zia 6-19, Imran Ali 3-29) and 279 (Mohammad Ali 50, Kamran Ahmed 47, Rashid Ali 82*, Shahid Mahmood 5-49, Imran Ali 4-47) vs Customs 312 (Kashif Siddique 76, Azhar Shafiq 65, Junaid Zia 47, Bilal Khilji 33, Farman Shah 3-88) and 54-0. Customs won by 10 wickets.
At UBL Sports Complex, KESC 156 in 58 overs (Javed Mansoor [3×4, 108b, Kamran B. Mansoor 42 [5×4, 106b], Azam Hussain 7-38) and 127 (Daniyal Ehsan 30, Azam Hussain 6-38) vs DHA 196-9 in 83 overs (Aamir Iqbal 97 [4×6, 78b], Wajid Ali 36, Saeed Khan 3-61) and 88-2 (Asif Zakir 59 not out). DHA won by eight wickets.Pool B:
At KRL Stadium, KRL 213 in 80.5 overs (Saeed bin Nasir 89 [13×4, 181b], Yasir Arafat 41 [6×4, 2×6, 38b], Mohammad Khalil 4-51, Mohammad Hussain 4-85) and 154 (Saeed Anwar Jnr 54, Ali Naqvi 42, Mohammad Hussain 6-35) vs PTCL 112 in 50.5 overs (Yasir Arafat 3-22, Ali Naqvi 3-23, Mohammad Asif 3-25) and 156-6 (Shahzad Malik 59 not out, Mohammad Idrees 36 not out). Match drawn.
At Army Cricket Ground, Pakistan Army 160 (Zubair Watoo 44, Farooq Iqbal 3-7) and 68 (Naved-ul-Hasan 6-25, Aqeel Ahmed 4-7) vs Wapda 355 in 71.5 overs (Mohammad Zaman 76, Tariq Aziz 62, Atiq-ur-Rehman 47, Hasan Adnan 47, Nabeel 3-36, Zubair Watoo 3-74). Wapda won by an innings and 127 runs.
At Shalimar Ground, POF 260-8 in 83 overs (Ahsan Masood 90, Mohammad Usman Tahir 62, Imran Ali 41, Naseer Ahmed 4-83) and 57-0 vs PTV 185 (Khalid Latif 46, Fayyaz Ahmed 35, Suleman Khan 31, Rashid Latif 3-29, Jamil Ahmed 3-40). Match drawn.Pool C:
At Railway Stadium, Railway 295 in 83 overs (Afzal Shah 75 [9×4, 146b], Asif Butt 50 [5×6, 30b], Khalid Bashir 40, Fahad-ul-Haq 40 [4×4, 68b], Mohammad Shoaib 3-33, Atif Ijaz 2-50, Shoaib Maqsood 2-78) and 288 (Javed Iqbal 106*, Shakeel Ahmed 70, Fahad-ul-Haq 37, Shoaib Maqsood 4-88) vs HEC 265 in 83 overs (Amjad Ali 61, Atif Ijaz 43, Khalid Bashir 6-54). Match drawn.
At Country Club Muridke, ZTBL 282 in 77.1 overs (Zeeshan Mohsin 46, Zahoor Elahi 42, Javed Hayat 40, Faisal Naveed 37, Imran Abbas 30, Aleem Moosa 3-85, Mohammad Javed 3-56) and 279-4 (Naved Qureshi 188, Imran Abbas 108*) vs NBP 325-3 in 83 overs (Salman Butt 190, Naumanullah 76, Akhtar Sarfraz 39 not out). Match drawn.
At Gymkhana Ground Okara, PAF 302-9 in 83 overs (Shakeel Sharif 118, Naseer-ud-Din 45, Nadeem Farooqi 33, Rizwan Ahmed 4-67) and 251-4 (Rashid Butt 105, Tufail Ahmed 56) vs Service Industries 300 in 83 overs (Asif Iqbal 137, Kashif Nizami 46, Tahir Masood 33, Mohammad Asif 32, Naseer-ud-din 4-107, Asif Khan 3-89). Match drawn.Pool D:
At Jinnah Stadium Sialkot, HBL 97 in 22.3 overs (Wasim Khan 8-41) and 193 (Saleem Elahi 65, extras 43, Wasim Khan 6-56) vs Sui Gas 349-5 in 83 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 152, Misbah-ul-Haq 79, Ali Hussain 40, Sohail Idrees 32, Abdul Rehman 3-100). Sui Gas won by an innings and 59 runs.
At Saga Ground, PEB 52 in 16.3 overs (Abdul Rauf 5-36, Tanvir Ahmed 4-15) and 128 (Shahid Pervez Abbasi 67, Tahir Mughal 3-20, Abdul Rauf 2-40, Tanvir Ahmed 2-20) vs ABL 252-2 in 42 overs declared (Wajahatullah Wasti 107*, Farhan Adil 65, Ijaz Ahmed Jnr 35 not out). Allied Bank won by an innings and 72 runs.
At Jinnah Stadium Gujranwala, Saga 292 in 74.5 overs (Ashraf Ali 107, Kamran Younis 42, Shaiman Butt 39, Mustafa Bashir 4-83, Usman Nabi 3-69) and 31-1 vs LEO International 111 in 32 overs (Umair Khan 4-19, Tauqeer Hussain 4-44) and 190 (Safdar Niazi 50, Hasnain Abbas 37, Fahad Liaquat 31, Tauqeer Hussain 6-61). Saga won by nine wickets.

Justin Langer on the attack for Western Australia © Getty Images

Western Australia 273 and 265 (Langer 96, Hussey 57) drew with Victoria 355 and 1 for 35
ScorecardVictoria and Western Australia were left cursing the rain after their Pura Cup match ended in a draw at the Junction Oval. Victoria were 1 for 35 chasing 184 in their second innings when played was called off after a 90-minute rain break.Victoria scored two first-innings points, but Darren Berry, their captain, said his side targetted this as a six-point game, and had been vindicated for yesterday’s late declaration. Justin Langer, the Western Australian captain, also had cause to feel hollow, given that the three previous innings in this match had featured big batting collapses and the murky conditions could well have favoured WA’s attack late today.”It’s frustrating because our bowlers did a very good job in this match. Obviously Brad Hodge followed it up with a hundred,” Berry said. “We were in a six-point position, very much so.”Victoria are joint third with eight points, but an outright win would have put them in joint second with 12. Western Australia have no points from three games.”We obviously didn’t bat as well as we would have liked. Again we lost eight for not many,” Langer said of the Western Australian collapse. He also backed Berry’s decision to keep batting late yesterday after taking first-innings points, saying he would have done the same.WA resumed on 0 for 100 this morning after Victoria declared at 9 for 355 in reply to 273. It was 2 for 211 before Langer fell for 96 before lunch and the innings never recovered. Mick Lewis, the Man of the Match, and Mathew Inness tore through Western Australia after lunch, snaring 6 for 29 between them in 12.2 overs. Lewis finished with 5 for 58, giving him six wickets for the game, while Inness returned figures of 3 for 23.Mike Hussey (57) and Chris Rogers (52) were the only other Western Australian batsmen to reach 20.While disappointed not to score more runs, Langer was pleased with his touch ahead of next month’s first Test against India. “It was great to face left-armers, who the Indians are going to have. It was great to face [Cameron] White, who is very similar to [Anil] Kumble, I think.”I would have liked to get more runs so we could have set Victorians more runs. That’s where I was disappointed about not getting a hundred.”Only 44 minutes’ play was possible in the Victorian second innings, with Hodge (20) and Matthew Mott (12) seeing the day through after Matthew Elliott was run out for 3 off a suicidal single.Langer and Berry heaped praise on Lewis, who missed the start of the season with a hamstring injury. “It was like a heavyweight boxing fight last night. He’s just run in hard, hit the deck hard and hit me more times than I’ve been hit for a long time,” Langer said. “For him to do that on a flat, slow wicket … it’s great credit to him.”Berry thought Lewis should press for Australia A selection if he maintains his form from the last fortnight. But Lewis will miss next week’s three-day tour match against India because of general soreness.Berry, who slightly aggravated a broken finger in this match, Allan Wise and Bryce McGain will also drop out of the 12 which played against Western Australia. Ian Harvey, fast bowler Brett Harrop, wicketkeeper Peter Roach and Brendan Joseland will take their places.

Close India 523 (Dravid 233, Laxman 148) and 37 for 0 need 193 more runs to beat Australia 556 and 196 (Agarkar 6-41)
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There was plenty to celebrate for the Indians, while Australia struggled © AFP

An enthralling day’s cricket ended with India requiring just 193 more – with all ten wickets in hands – to pull off a stunning victory over Australia at the Adelaide Oval. After Rahul Dravid, with his 233, had steered the Indians to within 33 of Australia’s first-innings total, Ajit Agarkar turned in his career-best performance, taking 6 for 41 to bundle Australia out for 196. By close of play, the Indian openers had knocked off 37 from the original target of 230.On an increasingly wearing pitch, the Indian bowlers profited from bowling a good line and length, and allowing the footholds at the other end do the rest. The Australian batsmen responded to the challenge as they always do – coming hard at the bowlers and looking to dominate. However, the fourth-day track was no longer the batting beauty it was on days one and two – every time the ball pitched on the rough, it stopped, which made playing on the up fraught with danger. Four of the top six got starts, but they all fell playing one attacking stroke too many.India were helped by the start that Agarkar gave them with the new ball: Justin Langer was trapped in front by one which nipped back – a replica of his first-innings dismissal at the Gabba – while Ricky Ponting followed up his double-hundred with a duck, as Akash Chopra at gully snapped up an uppish back-foot drive (18 for 2). When Matthew Hayden scooped a drive to cover soon after lunch for 17, Australia were struggling at 44 for 3, and the lead was a mere 77.Then came the first of the two substantial partnerships in Australia’s innings, as Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh put together 55. Martyn uncorked some glorious cover-drives in another commanding display, and with Waugh overcoming a scratchy start and playing his trademark rasping square-drives, the Australian innings was back on track.Noticing that the drying track was increasingly aiding spin – even Anil Kumble’s legbreaks turned a great deal when they pitched on the rough – Sourav Ganguly brought on Sachin Tendulkar, and the move paid off spectacularly, as both Martyn (38) and Waugh (42) chased wide ones which spun off the footholds. Dravid held both catches – Martyn’s was a spectacular, one-handed effort, while Waugh’s was more straightforward – and suddenly Australia had slumped to 112 for 5 at tea.Adam Gilchrist then starred in the second mini-revival, bludgeoning a typically thunderous 43, off 45 balls. He survived a stumping chance off Kumble on 13, and made the Indians pay for it, tonking both Kumble and Tendulkar for sixes. His partnership with Simon Katich, who tackled the spinners and the pitch with plenty of confidence, had mounted 71 from a mere 15 overs when Gilchrist’s overconfidence did him in. Attempting to sweep a straight delivery from Kumble, he moved too far inside the line and found his leg stump knocked back (183 for 6).Agarkar then moved in for the kill, with a wicket in each of his last four overs, as Australia added just 13 more. The short ball, so profitable for Agarkar in this series, brought him more success when Katich holed out to Ashish Nehra at fine leg for 31, while the tail succumbed to old-fashioned line-and-length stuff.The Indian openers survived the ten overs left in the day with scarcely a scare, as Virender Sehwag thumped a couple of fours square of the wicket off the seamers, and clunked Stuart MacGill’s first ball – a full toss – to the midwicket fence. Chopra didn’t show any signs of nerves either, cover-driving Jason Gillespie and MacGill with superb timing.The events through the day completely overshadowed Dravid’s achievement earlier in the morning. Resuming on 199, he reached his double-hundred with the first ball of the day, cutting MacGill for four, and then pushed the Indian innings along to 523. He was the last man to fall, top-edging a catch to Andy Bichel off Gillespie, whose figures of 1 for 106 was scant reward for some lion-hearted bowling. It seemed then that Dravid’s innings would, at best, be a match-saving one. Now, it could well be a matchwinning effort.

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Prize winner: Graham Manou picked up a cool A$50,000 © Getty Images

South Australia won a thrilling ING Cup day-night match at the Adelaide Oval, squeezing home against Tasmania by three wickets and with one ball to spare. Chasing 251, Darren Lehmann anchored the chase with 83 before Graham Manou scored the winnings runs – and also hit the sponsors’ sign, earning him A$50,000.Shaun Tait got SA off to a great start as he took 8 for 43 in Tasmania’s innings of 250. That was the first ever eight-wicket haul by a bowler in Australia’s domestic limited-overs competition, enough to earn him the Man of the Match award.After SA had slumped to 106 for 5 in their chase, Lehmann, playing his first game since October having recovered from an achilles injury, guided SA over the stormy waters with 83 from 88 balls. He added 130 with Mick Miller, who scored a valuable 51, but after they both fell, the game was back in the balance.In a nail-biting finish, SA needed nine to win with five balls remaining, and Manou, the wicketkeeper, smashed a six over midwicket which hit the sponsors’ sign, meaning he won a $50,000 prize for the second time in two seasons.He scored two off the following ball to level the scores, and then hit a four past midwicket off the fifth ball of the over to win the match, after facing only six balls in his innings of 14.

ScorecardBangladesh completed a hat-trick of victories in Group Two of the Plate Championship with an eight-wicket demolition of Ireland at Chittagong.Both sides were already through to the semi-finals before today’s match, but the incentive for the winners was a match against Scotland, while the losers knew they would have the stiffer task of facing Australia.Ireland chose to bat first, knowing that Bangladesh have stuttered when chasing small totals in the tournament so far, against Canada and Uganda. But Ireland were unable to set any sort of challenging target, crashing to 141 all out in the 47th over with Nadif Chowdhury, the left-arm seamer, the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 14.This time Bangladesh’s batsmen made few mistakes in their reply. Opener Nafis Iqbal at last found form with the bat, hitting 86 not out to guide his side to victory for the loss of only two wickets in 30 overs.Iqbal was named Man of the Match and said he was pleased to have made some runs for his team. He said, "It is not about scoring centuries, it is all about winning the match for the team. It was just important today that we won the match."Adrian Birrell, Ireland’s coach, singled out Iqbal for his batting performance. "All credit to Nafis for a very good innings, he batted very well against us," he said."I’m not too disappointed with our performance, we just came up against a better team on the day. We will now turn our efforts towards beating Australia and hopefully we may even meet Bangladesh in the final."

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Gary Kirsten was at his fluent best© AFP

Gary Kirsten’s superbly compiled 137 illuminated the second day’s play at Wespac Park in Hamilton, as South Africa continued to have the better of the opening Test against New Zealand. Kirsten made 106 of the 180 that South Africa added today, and by stumps, New Zealand – who need to make 260 to avoid the follow-on – had progressed to 102 for 2, with Michael Papps having made a hit-and-miss 50 on debut.All the headlines belonged to Kirsten, and deservedly so. Starting the day on 31, he lost Paul Adams to the tenth ball of the morning, chopping a Jacob Oram delivery back on to the stumps (281 for 5). Neil McKenzie started nervously, and made just 10, before Daniel Vettori trapped him leg before with one that straightened after pitching (305 for 6).Mark Boucher and Kirsten counter-attacked spiritedly, with Kirsten essaying two powerful square-drives off a wayward Chris Cairns to go past 50. At the other end, Boucher swept Vettori for three boundaries, shots struck with tremendous power and deft placement.Kirsten, with a reputation for dogged resistance, was forever on the lookout for scoring opportunities, and a charge-and chip over the infield off Vettori, followed by a flayed off-drive off Cairns, signalled his aggressive intent.It was all getting a bit desperate for New Zealand when Scott Styris lifted their spirits in his second over of the morning. Boucher had progressed to 22 when Styris tempted him to play across the line. He missed, the ball struck the pad, and umpire Steve Davis had little hesitation in lifting the finger (364 for 7).Shaun Pollock should have followed the very next ball, caught palpably in front by another straight delivery. This time though, Davis didn’t uphold the appeal. Then, just before lunch, Pollock had another reprieve. After driving Paul Wiseman handsomely through the covers for four, he attempted a repeat. The edge flew to Fleming at slip, and was put down.Pollock didn’t make the most of the life. Soon after lunch, Kirsten dabbed a delivery from Vettori towards point, and thought about the run, not once, but twice. By the time he decided to send Pollock back, it was too late for him to beat Papps’s throw to Vettori (379 for 8).Soon after, Vettori watched Stephen Fleming fail to hold on to a difficult chance at silly point off Makhaya Ntini. It was to be a costly lapse, as Ntini – dropped again by Cairns in the deep a few minutes later – gave Kirsten the support he needed to take the total well beyond 400.Ntini contributed 21, before another needless run-out. His attempt to belt Vettori went off the leading edge to Oram at point, and with Kirsten showing no interest in the run, Ntini found himself stranded mid-pitch (415 for 9).Kirsten endured nervy moments on 99, before a swept single off Vettori got him to his 21st Test century.Thereafter, the runs came in a torrent. Vettori was taken for 15 in an over – a loft over midwicket, a powerful sweep and a glorious straight six that left the bowler clutching his head. There were also deft cuts when Styris gave him too much width, as he reeled off 37 from the last 21 balls he faced. He was finally out lofting a catch to Papps at backward point – off the leading edge – after another attempt to give Vettori the charge.When New Zealand came out to bat half an hour before tea, runs were hard to come by, with both Ntini and Pollock giving nothing away. Pollock, in particular, troubled Papps constantly with a probing line of attack outside off stump. Having hit him on the helmet grille with a delivery, he then had to watch Smith juggle with, and put down, a sharp chance to his left at slip.

Paul Adams clean bowled© AFP

Papps celebrated the reprieve with two superb cover-drives off Pollock, though there was more than an element of luck about the four that went off the back of the bat as he ducked into another bouncer, bat up in the air like a periscope.Pollock’s spell was duly rewarded when he trapped Mark Richardson (4) in front with one that nipped back sharply (20 for 1). A while later, with the opening bowlers needing a breather, there was a heated argument between Smith and umpire Russell Tiffin, who warned Andre Nel for running onto the pitch just two balls into his spell. An unnerved Nel then conceded three fours in one over to Fleming, two of them off the edge down to third man, as New Zealand finally shifted out of crawl-mode.Papps had begun to bat with confidence by then, and two powerful pulls for four, followed by a rapier-like cut off Kallis, gave the crowd something to cheer. When Adams came on to bowl the 28th over, he promptly smacked him through cover and midwicket for two more fours.Adams, though, was not to be denied. With the first ball of his second over, he had Fleming leg before with a flighted delivery that caught him plumb in front (75 for 2). Fleming made 27. Papps and Styris then saw it through to stumps, with Papps essaying a back-foot square-drive and then edging one for four off Kallis to bring up his 50, and the 100 of the innings. It was a decent riposte, after Kirsten had ensured that the box seat belonged to South Africa.