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Hampshire 306 for 7 (Crawley 97) v Essex at Chelmsford
Scorecard”It’s not all doom and gloom,” Essex’s coach, Graham Gooch, reportedly said following their trouncing at the hands of Yorkshire last Saturday. For those county members who had been hopeful of a promotion challenge this season, Gooch’s words may have been wondering how no Championship wins in seven attempts can constitute anything other than a terrifying nightmare. But their spirits were lifted on a day of several shifts in power, that ended with Essex seizing the initiative, just about.Nic Pothas and Dimitri Mascarenhas’s assured sixth-wicket stand of 62 had threatened to spoil the day for Essex, but their Pakistani import, Danish Kaneira, struck two late blows in two balls – including Shane Warne first ball – as Hampshire closed with 306 for 7, on a pitch that has plenty more runs in it yet.Essex haven’t had a matchwinning spinner since Peter Such and John Childs, back in their early-1990s’ heyday. But, come the end of the season, Essex may be very grateful for Kaneria’s contribution. He finished the day with 4 for 91 from 32 sweaty overs, showing that his 13 wickets last week against Yorkshire was no one-off. He doesn’t find a great deal of turn, but he rarely offers batsmen gift-horses. Rather he ploughs on at one end like a shire horse, boring the batsmen into false shots.It wasn’t the first time in the day that Essex had seized the initiative. The first hour, in muggy heat, produced claustrophobic bowling from Darren Gough and Graham Napier. Hampshire lost Michael Brown without a run on the board, as Napier plucked out his off stump to a pitched-up delivery. Only 26 runs were scored in the first hour by Derek Kenway and John Crawley – perhaps a symptom of the the 12 o’clock start, after last night’s floodlit National League encounter between the teams.The wicket of Kenway, caught at gully by Andy Flower off Kaneria with the score on 38, should have had Essex scenting blood, but instead it was the Australian Michael Clarke who took control, upping the tempo and the eyelids of the spectators. Crawley joined in the fun after lunch as they put on 137 and looked like taking the game away from Essex. But Clarke’s innings of 69 was brought to an end when he mistimed a drive and offered a return catch to Kaneria.Just after tea, Darren Gough produced his best bowling spell in an Essex shirt, to remove Will Kendall (19) and Crawley, who drove at a widish one three short of his first century of the season. At 224 for 5, Hampshire were back in trouble, but throughout the day, fortunes fluctuated as much as Peter Andre’s singing career. The partnership between Mascarenhas and Pothas, who reached his fourth half-century of the summer, had Essex worried. But Mascarenhas fell to Kaneria, again snaffling a return catch. Warne followed, playing around a straight one. The wicket may have embarrassed Warne, but you could bet he – and the Essex batsmen – were thinking: “If this boy Kaneria can do it, then I sure as hell can too.”

After Pakistan’s convincing win over Zimbabwe in their opening match of the Mobilink Cup in Karachi, the two teams head to the unfamiliar territory of the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad, where no international match has taken place for ten years.Although Pakistan’s team management is believed to be keen on playing another bowler and using the wicketkeeper, Kamran Akmal, as an opener, the selectors are understandably reluctant to tinker with a winning combination. Pakistan though will hope for an improved performance from their inexperienced pace trio – Iftikhar Anjum, Sohail Tanvir and Samiullah Khan – who between them managed only two expensive wickets in Karachi.Samiullah, on debut, went wicketless while conceding 60 runs, which was particularly disappointing, especially after such an impressive performance for the Patron’s XI against Zimbabwe in the tour match before the series.Pakistan were never seriously tested during Zimbabwe’s run-chase at Karachi, and so their strategy of playing only three specialist bowlers didn’t come under scrutiny. They ended the match with the bit-parters Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq bowling the last eight overs between them.The strength of Pakistan’s batting – all of whom, bar the unfortunate Salman Butt, went about their work ruthlessly in Karachi – and Zimbabwe’s weakness with the ball means it may not matter. Twenty-three fours and eight sixes in Karachi do not fully depict the intensity of their stranglehold over Zimbabwe’s bowlers. But five half-centuries in the innings – a world record – meant Zimbabwe were under attack from the very first over with Nasir Jamshed, the debutant opener, leading the way.The captain, Shoaib Malik, is understandably confident of another Pakistan win. “We are looking forward to giving our best in the next match to extend our lead,” he said. “I’m quite satisfied with the team’s overall performance and am confident that they will perform even better in Hyderabad.”Zimbabwe, in light of the mauling their bowlers received, may decide to bring in Gary Brent. He was missing at the National Stadium after a stomach upset left him dehydrated and unable to take part in training, but with 74 ODI wickets, he remains the squad’s highest wicket-taker. A gritty batting display in the four-day match against Patron’s XI means Brent will also add substance to Zimbabwe’s lower order.While the bowling provides their captain Prosper Utseya with reasons to worry, the batting will give him considerable hope. Even though the chase at Karachi was stiff, Zimbabwe were given a brisk start and while Vusi Sibanda was in the middle, the merest glimmers of an upset remained. Two more half-centuries followed and the fact that Pakistan were unable to dismiss them will give Zimbabwe a boost ahead of Hyderabad.With both sides relying more on their batting, the toss could be an important one. The early start (9.15am local time) means the conditions should assist seamers in the first few overs. Never at ease in such conditions, Pakistan will still retain distressing memories of facing up to a lightweight attack in bowler-friendly conditions. If he wins the toss again, Utseya might bowl first to play to his strengths and Pakistan’s relative weakness.Niaz Stadium has not hosted a Test for over 23 years and the last ODI played here was way back in 1997 when Pakistan beat India in a low-scoring match. However, Hyderabad hosted six Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches here this season. Judging by the numbers on display – 29 half-centuries and nine centuries in those matches – the pitch is partial to runs, though an early-morning wobble might have to be negotiated first.

The back injury that prevented Brad Hodge from playing in the Twenty20 international has kept him out of Victoria’s FR Cup match against Tasmania on Saturday. Hodge hurt himself in the dressing room, an event which led to Luke Pomersbach’s hasty inclusion, and Trefor James, the Australia doctor, said he had a minor disc problem.James hoped it was a one to two-week injury and said Hodge’s fitness would be monitored in the lead-up to the tour game against India starting on December 20. “It has caused him considerable discomfort since Tuesday,” James said, “and there is a risk of him further aggravating the injury by playing.”Hodge said the situation was “frustrating”. “Missing a couple of big matches this week has been tough,” he said. “Hopefully this is just a minor setback and I can be back on the park for either the India match or the Twenty20s early in the new year.”Aaron Finch will replace Hodge for the game in Hobart and David Hussey regains the captaincy. A groin injury has ruled out Shane Harwood while Peter Siddle, who took five wickets in the Pura Cup win over Tasmania, and Matthew Wade have been added to the squad. Tasmania have made two changes with Dane Anderson and Mark Divin replacing Ricky Ponting and Nathan Wegman.Victoria squad Robert Quiney, Michael Klinger, Aiden Blizzard, David Hussey (capt), Andrew McDonald, Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade (wk), Adam Crosthwaite (wk), John Hastings, Bryce McGain, Dirk Nannes, Peter Siddle.Tasmania squad Travis Birt, Michael Dighton, George Bailey, Daniel Marsh (capt), Dane Anderson, Luke Butterworth, Mark Divin, Tim Paine (wk), Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, Brett Geeves, Ben Hilfenhaus.

Mohammad Yousuf will have legal counsel representing him at the next arbitration hearing in Mumbai examining his pull-out from the Indian Cricket League (ICL). The representation will be arranged by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the hearing on January 24.Yousuf initially signed up with the ICL after being dropped from Pakistan’s squad for the World Twenty20 last September. Soon after, however, he was convinced by the PCB to turn his back on the ICL, represent Pakistan and also sign up the Indian Premier League (IPL), a rival circuit officially sanctioned by the BCCI.Organisers of the ICL have insisted that Yousuf cannot renege on his contract and appear for the IPL and sent him a legal notice last year, which prompted the arbitration hearing. However, Yousuf or any representation, failed to appear at the last hearing in Mumbai in December.”There is another hearing on January 24 in Mumbai and we are keen for them to hear Yousuf’s side of the story before they take any decisions,” Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, said. “This is an arbitration hearing trying to mediate in this dispute, not a court of law. They issued a hearing without listening to Yousuf’s version last time and we want to make sure that doesn’t happen this time. We will have legal representation at the next hearing.”At the same time, the board has also filed a petition in the Lahore High Court, arguing that the dispute should be heard in Lahore, where Yousuf is based and where the contract was signed.Ashraf also said that the board was considering the cases of other players who played in the ICL and are, for the moment, barred from playing domestic cricket in Pakistan. Former Pakistan openers Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar, as well as Shabbir Ahmed, played in the ICL recently and the PCB has subsequently prevented them from playing domestic cricket.The players have gone to court challenging the ban but Ashraf said the court had dismissed the petition. Farhat and Umar were prevented from playing in the just-concluded Quaid-e-Azam trophy final for Habib Bank. But their futures will now be discussed at the board’s governing committee meeting on January 25 and there appears a chance the domestic ban might be revoked.”We will look at their cases, but I want to reiterate that they all had an opportunity to play for Pakistan,” Ashraf said. “Some of them [Farhat] even had central contracts but they handed them back and chose to play there. That is their choice certainly for the contracts are lucrative, but we are also now paying players well when they play for regions.”The players should be asked why they chose that option, but we would like to move forward from the matter now. We don’t want a confrontation with any of them.”

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Unbeaten centuries from Thilan Samaraweera and Thilina Kandamby rescued Central Province from a perilous overnight position against North Central Province in the final round of Provincial Tournament group matches. Their efforts leave Central Province favourites to qualify for the final next week in Dambulla against the same opposition.Samaraweera had faced one nervy delivery the previous night when three wickets had tumbled in the space of just 11 deliveries after North Central Province were bowled out for 314. However, like he has done many times before, he steadied the middle of the innings and then ground on an on, exploiting a bowling attack weakened by the tactical decision to rest key bowlers before the final.Bathiya Perera (14) departed early in the morning, one of three wickets for Omesh Wijesiriwardene, before Kumar Sangakkara, the Central Province skipper, and Samaraweera wrestled hold of the initiative with an 104-run stand for the fifth wicket. The fall of Sangakkara just before lunch appeared a serious blow to their chances of securing a vital first innings lead but Kandamby continued his purple form.Kandamby has had a difficult time in the recent past, failing to convince doubters about his ability after a short spell in the national squad. Critics, pointing to a sub-30 first-class average and a comfortable waistline, were unimpressed about his abilities despite rave reviews from the A team management. But in the last two provincial matches he’s taken a giant leap in his career, this time scoring 109 from 196 balls with 12 fours and a six.The pair were left undefeated at the end of another sweltering Colombo day having carried the team to 380 for 5 after their unbroken 240-run stand. With two days to go and a rested bowling attacked waiting in the wings, they now have an opportunity to push for an outright victory against a team missing skipper Mahela Jayawardene who is resting a finger injury.
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In the other match being played, Southern Province, also final contenders, were left fighting for survival after Chaminda Vaas produced a captain’s knock for Western Province, scoring 130 from 205 balls, to secure a large 183-run first innings lead. Southern Province finished the day strongly, reaching 93 for 1 at the close, but with much work to do.Vaas had excelled with the ball on the first day, taking 4 for 39 as Southern Province were bundled out for a pathetic 134, the only notable contribution coming from Harsha Vithana. He was then entrusted with batting responsibility as his top order, Ian Daniel (40) excepted, wilted, slumping to 133 for 6. Vaas’s hundred was the third of his career and it left Southern Province on the rack.

Australia is set to shelve its controversial player rotation policy and field its strongest possible side for Thursday’s tri-series cricket match against New Zealand in Sydney.But the Aussies will be without vice-captain Adam Gilchrist, who pulled out of the team tonight for personal reasons.Gilchrist will be replaced by West Australian wicketkeeper Ryan Campbell.All eyes will be on the XI named to play the Kiwis after chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns today indicated rotation of the 14-squad members was likely to be set aside as the world champions attempt to get its spluttering tri-series campaign back on track.Opening losses to New Zealand and South Africa at the MCG have left little other option – it’s the first time Australia has lost its first two games since the series began in 1979-80.Hohns said he would speak to skipper Steve Waugh and coach John Buchanan about team selection and player rotation tomorrow.”We’ve got to try to put a winning team on the park,” Hohns said.”I’ll be speaking to the captain and coach once I arrive in Sydney.”It’s fair to say we’ll be certainly trying to put on the park the best side we can.”Hohns defended the rotation policy, designed to keep all squad members match-fit and in form, and said it was likely to be retained in the longer term with nextyear’s World Cup in mind.He reminded doubters of its success last season when Australia went through the home tri-series undefeated against the West Indies and Zimbabwe.”It’s something we did last year, so it’s not new,” Hohns said.”Last year it was very successful in the one-day games and we had our most successful series ever.”It’s early days in this tournament, but obviously as soon as there’s a couple of losses, people start asking questions.”There were four team changes – two forced by the suspension of Glenn McGrath and injury to fellow paceman Brad Williams – for the second clash which SouthAfrica won yesterday, leaving the world champions languishing in last place in the series.McGrath backed the rotation policy today even though the lack of Ian Harvey’s tight bowling at the death appeared to leave the attack somewhat thin in his ownabsence yesterday.”You look at the squad we’ve got. I think it doesn’t matter which 11 we put on the field,” McGrath said.”I think it’s equally as strong so it’s good to give everyone a go and get them playing at full match fitness and ready for the next game.”McGrath said there were positive signs in yesterday’s loss after a disappointing first match against New Zealand.”We haven’t really sort of clicked, batting or bowling, but there’s good signs there, we’re improving every game,” he said.”It’s a bit like the (1999) World Cup. We started off very slowly but we got better every game, so if we continue to do that then we will be pretty happy.”Another big plus for Australia was the form of speedster Jason Gillespie who made a strong case for his retention with 2-28 off his 10 overs on return from injury last night.Australia’s usually reliable and high-scoring batting spluttered in both tri-series to date, mustering modest totals after failing to kick on in the closing stages.”The batsmen haven’t given our bowlers a great deal to bowl at, so we’ve got to bat better and then I think it will turn around,” opener Matthew Hayden said.

Last season Wellington recorded their lowest score of 78 against Northern Districts at WestpacTrust Park, Hamilton. They are not yet sure of passing that dubious landmark in this year’s corresponding fixture, having finished day two at 76/8, 151 short of ND’s first-innings 227.It is a match full of notable statistical achievements, the most striking of which is that ND’s Michael Parlane scored 146, while the second-highest individual total has been 22. That was by Wellington pace bowler Andrew Penn, who registered career-best bowling figures of seven for 71.The pitch has been the main talking point. It began the day retaining the bright green colour of yesterday, turning a more conventional brown as the day went on. It remained challenging for the batsmen of both teams – Parlane gloriously excepted – all day, but how many demons does it really contain?Few were apparent in the hour or so after play began two hours late following heavy overnight rain. The only wicket to fall in that time was that of Hamish Marshall, run out for eight when James Franklin deflected a ball onto the stumps at the bowler’s end.Things changed as soon as Penn joined the attack after the drinks break. He struck twice in two overs. First, Grant Bradburn (15) was caught at third slip by Grant Donaldson a ball after edging just wide of the same, diving, fielder.Robbie Hart was Penn’s second victim, lbw for a duck. It should have been three wickets in two overs, but David Sales dropped Joseph Yovich at second slip before the left-hander had scored.Yovich was out off the last ball before lunch, edging a lifter from Penn into the gloves of wicket-keeper Glynn Howell for eight.When Simon Doull – as intent on aggression in the four-day version of the game as in the one-day – holed out to his second ball for a duck, ND were 167/8.Parlane had reached his hundred before the interval. It was his seventh first-class century, made on his first appearance of the season. He faced 200 balls and hit 15 fours. He displayed the familiar Parlane power and timing, but added exemplary shot selection.He added six more fours and a six, straight back against the sightscreen off Brooke Walker, while putting on 60 for the ninth wicket with Bruce Martin.They were helped by the absence of Penn from the attack for most of their partnership. It was a different game when he and Franklin were resting.Penn’s returned to wrap up the ND innings, having Parlane and Graeme Aldridge caught behind off successive deliveries.The Wellington reply fell into disarray almost as soon as it had begun. At tea they were 14 for two, having lost skipper Matthew Bell lbw to Yovich for five and Selwyn Blackmore caught by Martin at short leg of Aldridge for the first of four Wellington ducks.After the interval there was a procession of batsmen as the visitors subsided to 29/6.Richard Jones went to a fine diving catch by James Marshall at third slip off Yovich. Jones had scored 17 of the 21 that Wellington had on the board when he was out.Sales was caught at second slip by Scott Styris off Yovich. The ball was a beauty that straightened and squared Sales up.Matthew Walker was bowled first ball. He pushed tentatively down the wrong line.Franklin survived the hat-trick ball, only for Aldridge to surprise Donaldson with another lifter on off stump. It flew off the top edge to be well taken by Matthew Hart in the gully.Penn, who might have hoped to have had his feet up for the rest of the day, restored a fig leaf of modesty to the Wellington performance with 22 in a partnership of 40 for the seventh wicket.Significantly, the partnership prospered when the strike bowlers were rested. Eleven of the 15 wickets to fall today went to Penn or Yovich, two bowlers of good pace who were capable of making the ball lift off just short of a good length. Aldridge, who maintained a brisk pace and nagging line and length, claimed two.But Walker, Mark Gillespie, Doull and Styris have bowled 46 overs between them in the match for one wicket, that off a leg-side delivery from Doull that Penn chased and glanced to the wicket-keeper.So it is quality fast bowling making use of bounce and pace more than lateral movement, that is responsible for the sorry time experienced by the batsmen of both teams, not a poor quality pitch. If there were more surfaces like this in New Zealand, batsmen would be better equipped to deal with the challenges that they present.Yovich finished the day by dismissing Franklin, caught by Bradburn at first slip for a dogged 16. He may have been overtaken by Daryl Tuffey, and now Ian Butler, in the fast-bowling pecking order, but Yovich is capable of sustained spells of intelligent and genuinely quick bowling, as he demonstrated again today. He has five for 31.Wellington resume tomorrow needing two to avoid the follow-on with two wickets remaining. ND should win the game from here, whether or not those two runs are scored.

It would be wrong to suggest that Mark Butcher has never known a day like today – at Edgbaston in 2001, his criminally under-used outswingers picked up four Australian wickets in six overs. But he is unlikely ever to have it quite so easy again. Well, not until next week’s second Test, at any rate.Of all the excuses used to justify this tour of England, the need to nurture what little that remains of Zimbabwe cricket’s infrastructure was the most plausible. On this evidence, sadly, there is nothing left to salvage. Andy Flower’s retirement always threatened to be an insurmountable loss, but even he couldn’t have expected quite such a capitulation. Nineteen Zimbabwean wickets were lost in a single day’s play – not even Bangladesh set their sights so low.What makes the result all the more disappointing, is that Zimbabwe actually played above themselves for the first day and a half. What might have happened had England won the toss and bowled first under that blanket of first-day cloud? Butcher, one suspects, would not have been given a look-in.How then, do England assess their performance? It will be tough for the selectors to draw any conclusions whatsoever, especially as England are not used to taking on opponents other than Australia, South Africa and West Indies. The contrast between this cakewalk and the life-in-the-fast-lane of the Ashes tour could not be starker. Marcus Trescothick and Matthew Hoggard were two of the most exposed players against Australia, but here they were two of the most composed. Michael Vaughan’s embarrassed struggle for runs is somehow a more apt commentary.The biggest red herring of the Test, however, was Anthony McGrath’s transformation into a world-beating allrounder. As debuts go, McGrath played a blinder, and his deceptive seamers are bound to have a role in future partnership breakings. But if Andrew Flintoff recovers in time for the second Test at Durham, it will be Rob Key who is in danger of being squeezed out of the team, and all because of one poor umpiring decision. Key earned Australia’s respect in the winter, and does not deserve to be marginalised. The Australian way (as Stuart Law can testify) would be for the stand-in to stand down, but will the selectors be able to recognise this match as a non-event?There is one issue, however, that transcends the mediocrity of the opposition. Over the years, English cricket has encountered enough false messiahs to fill the Sinai Desert, so what on earth are we to make of the latest and most convincing applicant yet – James Anderson?Only last week, a 37-year-old chain-smoking former Middlesex spinner was being touted as the saviour of the game, so it’s a little early to get carried away. But there is something about Anderson – his pace, his demeanour, his movement through the air – that few other candidates have ever pulled together into one package. In one sizzling spell after lunch, he wrote himself into the annals of Lord’s history, and reassuringly, the balls with which he took his wickets would have troubled any batsman in the world.But equally reassuring, he struggled to make an impact in the second innings. The sky is the limit for Anderson, but it is just as well he is given the odd reminder along the way, that not everything will go his way at all times. Even against Zimbabwe.

In July’s Wisden Cricket Monthly Julian Guyer reports that a fair-play league has club players biting their tonguesAn innovative approach to the problem of players’ bad behaviour is being pioneered in the Middlesex County League, one of England’s leading club competitions.The idea is a fair-play league and the winners in each of the three divisions will receive £500 from the sponsors Ladbrokes. Teams start matches with 30 fair-play points but may lose points if, in the opinion of the umpires, the players’ conduct is not in keeping with the spirit of cricket, dissent is shown at decisions and there is bad behaviour towards the opposing team.So will it make any difference? “We’re in favour of anything that helps umpires,” says the League chairman Bob Baxter. “I don’t think we have a particular problem with discipline in Middlesex but we hope this may concentrate minds.”There is a general perception within club cricket that on-field behaviour has declined in recent years and tales of umpires staging Arthur Fagg-style walkouts during the middle of games in protest are not uncommon.Richard Johns is the manager of Finchley, traditionally one of Middlesex’s strongest clubs. “It will be interesting to see the umpires’ markings when they come out,” he says. “I think behaviour has got worse. A lot of it has to do with games being more competitive because of the introduction of leagues with promotion and relegation.”There are fewer umpires than there used to be. How much of that is down to behavioural standards or a general lack of interest in umpiring I’m not sure. But I do know some umpires who have packed it in because they had had enough of being shouted at by players.”Ladbrokes have run similar schemes in local football competitions. “We are determined to put something back into sport because as bookmakers we make our money from it,” says Dominic Harrison, Ladbrokes’ commercial director. “We want to do something which upholds the best traditions of cricket at a time when, anecdotally at least, they appear to be under threat.”We could throw money at large-scale events but we want our business to be regarded as local because what matters to our customers is what is happening in their area.”Middlesex are our home county (Ladbrokes’ headquarters are in Harrow) but we’ve already had inquiries from Kent and Essex, who’ve heard on the grapevine about what’s going on here. And what’s been really encouraging is that clubs in Middlesex have been coming to us with their own sponsorship ideas.”At a time when English cricket nationally is on the lookout for major backers, is Ladbrokes involvement at club level the sign of bigger things to come?”I rule nothing out,” Harrison says. “But this is the first time, as far as anyone still at the company can remember, that we’ve got involved with cricket and we’re happy to be putting something back into the sport in this way.”If nothing else this season, when the fair-play tables are published, a few sides in Middlesex will no longer be able to say that “bad behaviour is a problem, but not at our club”. Perhaps the ICC should adopt the idea of a fair-play table. It might just be the only thing in the game Australia would struggle to win.Click here to subscribe to Wisden Cricket Monthly

The July 2003 edition of Wisden Cricket Monthly is on sale at all good newsagents in the UK and Ireland, priced £3.40.

The respect for the Indian batsmen has grown and grown, and after their epic performance in this Test, it now borders on awe. Justin Langer, who kept Australia alive for the best part of today, paid his rivals the ultimate compliment by saying that the Australians have a lot to learn from the way the Indian batsmen have batted in this series.”The reality of this series is the extraordinary Indian batting,” Langer said, “there is a lot we can learn from them. They look so patient, as if they are in a meditative state. It’s awesome the way they apply themselves. I can’t remember being under pressure in this manner – the pressure to bowl against them, field against them, and to chase huge scores.”I can’t remember in my career playing a team (like them). It’s a credit to them that they have been able to play like that in these conditions.”Even though Langer blazed away from the start – at one point he had 28 runs to Matthew Hayden’s 1 – and Australia scored at more than four runs for over, Langer admitted that for the first time in his career he was thinking about time rather than about scoring runs. “It’s funny. It never happened to me before,” he said, “usually Matt (Hayden) and I look at the first ten runs, then the next ten and then the next. But today, we were thinking about how long we can bat.”Langer, who scored a hundred in the first Test, and then did precious little in the next two, brought up the 17th hundred of his career with 15 fours and a six in 124 balls, but he admitted the long hours in the field had taken their toll on him. “I am disappointed not to score a big hundred but to be honest, I am feeling pretty tired. We spent a long day in the field at Melbourne and then more than two days here.”Langer conceded that from here on it will take a big performance to save the Test, but asserted that Australia will not give up without a fight. “From the time he (Waugh) has taken over as captain, he has always asked us to get better and fight. It will be nice for him to play a characteristic innings and save or win the game.”But even while admitting that Australia will have to bat long periods in this game to be able to save it, Langer didn’t foresee a defensive approach to batting. “I think it’s in our nature to keep scoring runs, because I honestly believe that if you are scoring runs, the opposition will have some doubts in their mind. If you hang around and try to build pressure, you are going to be under even more pressure.”The bowler who took the Australians by surprise was Irfan Pathan, who struck two big blows by removing Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist in quick succession. “He swung the balls prodigiously. And he was swinging it late. That was surprising because I thought the ball didn’t swing in the first 40 minutes of our bowling. That had an effect I think.”