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However, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the second Test in Vizag, are both recovering well and expected to be available

Sidharth Monga and Nagraj Gollapudi07-Feb-20241:00

Manjrekar: I would look at another wicketkeeper until Pant returns

Virat Kohli’s absence in the England series is set to be extended, with the senior India batter expected to miss the third and fourth Tests in Rajkot and Ranchi, respectively. ESPNcricinfo has learned that doubts also persist on Kohli’s availability for the fifth Test in Dharmasala, which starts from March 7, a factor that the selectors will consider when they meet this week to pick the India squad for the final three Tests.It was on January 22, three days from the start of the England series, that the BCCI announced that Kohli had pulled out of the first two Tests for “personal reasons”. Kohli had landed in Hyderabad the same morning to join the Indian squad, but flew out the same day. The BCCI has not made any further comment on Kohli’s absence since that statement, which said: “Virat has spoken to Captain Rohit Sharma, the team management and the selectors and has emphasised that while representing the country has always been his top priority, certain personal situations demand his presence and undivided attention.”

Rahul, Jadeja in running for Rajkot

Among the players who missed the second Test, Mohammed Siraj is set to make a comeback after he was rested as a precaution. The fitness of KL Rahul, who sat out with a quad strain, and Ravindra Jadeja, who sustained a hamstring injury during the first Test, is being monitored at the NCA in Bangalore.Related

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• Dravid: We were under pressure but individual performances kept us in the game

ESPNcricinfo has learned that the final report from the NCA physio is still awaited, but the outlook for both players is positive. With the third Test not starting for another week, India are optimistic about the chances of at least one (if not both) of Rahul and Jadeja being available for the game, pending fitness clearance.Rahul and Jadeja were India’s best batters in the first Test, though both missed out on centuries. Rahul filled in the No. 4 slot left vacant by Kohli and his return now would boost the middle order which was light on experience in Vizag.

Siraj back for third Test

The one confirmed returnee for the Rajkot Test is Siraj. The fast bowler, who had bowled 11 overs in the first Test defeat at his home ground in Hyderabad, was rested for the second Test for workload reasons.The return of Siraj will be a boost for the bowling line-up, which relied on Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance to win the second Test. The only bowler in the world to have reached the top of ICC rankings in all formats, Bumrah made a comeback from a stress fracture of the back starting with the World Cup last year. Managing his workload will be a consideration for the team management, but he is likely to play in the Rajkot Test next Thursday.After losing the first Test – only their fourth defeat at home since the start of 2013 – India made a comeback in Vizag to level the five-Test series 1-1. The next two Tests will be played back-to-back before the final Test in Dharamsala starting March 7.

Crystal Palace fans have delivered a suitcase of fake money to UEFA's headquarters as they continue to protest their demotion from the Europa League.

• Palace demoted from Europa League
• Fans incensed by UEFA's decision
• Deliver fake money to governing body

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Palace looked set to play in next season's Europa League after winning last term's FA Cup but UEFA deemed they had breached their multi-club ownership rules and demoted them to the Conference League. While they appeal this matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Palace ultras Holmesdale Fanatics travelled to UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, to protest the decision and presented the governing body with a suitcase of fake money.

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• WHAT THE PALACE ULTRAS SAID

  A post on X reads: "Members of the group travelled to UEFA headquarters to protest the club's unjust expulsion from the Europa League. We gained access to the building to hand deliver a letter addressed to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin demanding a reversal of this moral injustice and Palace's reinstatement to the competition.

  "Accompanying the letter, we symbolically presented UEFA with a suitcase of fake cash representing the contradictions between their supposed "fundamental values" of integrity and fairness and the reality of their business methods and general conduct.

  "Following this, we then travelled to the CAS headquarters in Lausanne to remind their organisation that this ruling can and should be overturned. The protests against those responsible will continue. REINSTATE PALACE NOW."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Palace had seemingly earned the right to play in the Europa League after winning their first-ever major trophy at Wembley earlier this year but at present, they won't be playing in the competition. Palace chairman Steve Parish said this was "one of the greatest injustices" ever witnessed in European football, and it is clear they will continue to fight their cause for a while yet.

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• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  While Palace continue to fight their corner, as they await a response from CAS, the Eagles' pre-season campaign continues with fixtures against Crawley Town, Augsburg, and then Liverpool in the coming weeks.

The two, along with former head coach Grant Bradburn, were given roles at the National Cricket Academy after the 2023 ODI World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2024After Grant Bradburn ended his tenure with the PCB, Mickey Arthur and Andrew Puttick have also resigned from their respective posts at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. All three were given a new portfolio after the 2023 ODI World Cup.Arthur had joined as director of the Pakistan men’s team in April 2023, while Bradburn and Puttick were appointed head coach and batting coach respectively.”All three individuals informed the Pakistan Cricket Board of their decision to leave their respective jobs by the end of January 2024,” the PCB said in a release. “The decision was taken amicably between all the stakeholders.”Arthur will continue in his role as Derbyshire’s head coach, a job he juggled with his duties with the Pakistan team. Last week, Bradburn signed a three-year deal as Glamorgan’s head coach and Puttick as Afghanistan’s batting coach.After Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup, all three were in limbo as the PCB’s temporary management committee lacked the authority to relieve them from their duties. They have had their roles reassigned and none of them travelled with the team for their recent Test tour of Australia, with Mohammad Hafeez acting as both team director and head coach, and Adam Hollioake as batting coach. Pakistan lost all three Tests there.Currently, the team is in New Zealand for a five-match T20I series and is trailing by 3-0.

Stats preview of the fourth Test between West Indiesand India

Stats preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran29-Jun-2006

At the WACA, they say, batsmen can leave alone balls pitched at a good length. Some tellable pitchside tales from Wild West Perth

Dileep Premachandran16-Jan-2008

To understand just how frightening the WACA used to be for batsmen, you only have to watch the footage of Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop in their prime in 1992-93. Australia had been denied a first series win in a generation in Adelaide, and the teams had come to Perth all square. And although Australia lost Justin Langer early, caught behind off Bishop, they were pretty handily placed at 58 for 1 when the match and series went pear-shaped. Again, it was Bishop, targetting Steve Waugh’s body, and the diffident glance was taken by Junior Murray.The initial incisions may have had a Trinidadian flavour to them, but it was all Antiguan aggression after that. Ambrose had enjoyed a stellar series, beating Malcolm Marshall’s record for most wickets in a series against Australia, and with the flick of an imaginary switch, he produced one of the great spells of fast bowling seen anywhere.Mark Waugh nicked one behind, and David Boon was helpless against one that lifted off a good length. When Allan Border was squared up and caught behind first ball, the innings was in disarray. But Ambrose was far from done. Of the seven wickets he took, conceding just one run, six were caught by the keeper or the slip cordon. The seventh, Merv Hughes, perished to an ambitious hoick that was taken at cover.It wasn’t the fastest spell you’ll ever see, but it was an object lesson in what length to bowl on the fastest pitch in the world. Ambrose was never too short, and his height and the steepling bounce meant that even balls that landed on a driving length were too hot for batsmen to handle.After Australia succumbed just before lunch on the third day, the curator was sacked. It was West Indies’ fourth win in four attempts at the WACA, and it was small wonder that Border used to regard Perth games against the men in maroon caps as an away fixture.The next match West Indies played here would mark the end of an era. They arrived having lost a series in Australia for the first time since 1975-76, but there would be one final sting in the tale from the last of the great assembly line of the Caribbean quicks.Only Mark Waugh and Michael Bevan offered resistance as Ambrose and Bishop again triggered a slide to get Australia all out for 243. In reply, Brian Lara produced one of his greatest Test hundreds, the equal of his glorious 277 at the SCG four years previously. His 132 was the difference between the sides, and by the time Australia wiped off the deficit, they were eight wickets down.This time, the destroyer in chief was another legend, Courtney Walsh, who ignored a hamstring injury to bowl 20 overs on the trot for his five wickets. West Indies haven’t won a game in Australia since, and the game is immeasurably poorer for their decline.The first sign of their years of plenty, when they were almost invincible, had also been glimpsed at the WACA in Greg Chappell’s first series as Australian captain. Australia had won comfortably in Brisbane, and Ian Chappell’s scintillating 156 gave them a decent total of 329 on a lightning-fast pitch in Perth.At least, it appeared decent until Roy Fredericks went to work. Kid Cement, as Fredericks was known for his courage against fast bowling, got away with a miscued hook for six off Dennis Lillee, and there was seldom a false stroke afterwards as a four-pronged attack of Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Gary Gilmour and Max Walker was put through the mincer. Fredericks hooked, pulled, cut and drove with awesome power and imperious timing on his way to 169 from 145 balls. Such was the awe it inspired that Clive Lloyd’s regal 149 (off just 186 balls) became almost an afterthought. Viv Richards, who made just 12 himself, called it a “privilege” to be there, to witness the best innings that he ever saw.

Greg Chappell’s take on it is slightly different. “Fredericks played very well, but to be fair we bowled badly,” he says. “We were too short most of the time and too wide the rest. It was a very good pitch for fast bowlers, hard and well grassed, but good for the batsmen too if you gave them room or length to work with. The West Indies didn’t give us the room and their extra bounce made it difficult. It was the perfect wicket for their combo of shot making and tall, fast bowlers.”They were too good over the three to four days of the Test. Ian Chappell was the only one who batted well for us and his innings was probably the better of the two, because he was made to work harder than we made Fredericks work. We couldn’t have bowled more to suit him if we had tried.”Australia would win the four remaining Test matches, though, with West Indies unable to cope with the pace barrage, the sledging and what Richards called blatantly racist abuse from sections of the crowds. Chappell, though, regards that 5-1 series win as one of the high points of Australia’s cricket history, though he qualifies it by saying: “I think the series we drew with them in the West Indies during WSC [World Series Cricket] when their bowling was more mature would rank as highly.”As for India, this has seldom been a happy hunting ground. It’s 16 years since they last played here, a one-sided match remembered only for the bright kernel of hope to emerge from the embers of a defeat triggered by one of cricket’s quintessential journeymen. “Ripping through a line up containing the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev and Mohammed Azharuddin takes some doing,” says Michael Whitney, looking back on his 7 for 27 from 12.1 overs that pushed India to a 300-run defeat after Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Navjot Singh Sidhu had put on 82 for the first wicket in the second innings.Tendulkar still regards that first-innings 114 (161 balls) as one of his finest hundreds, and those who have watched him since 1989 would find it hard to pick a knock that has eclipsed it. Kiran More, who added 81 for the ninth wicket with him, had the best view in the house. “For any batsman to play at Perth for the first time is not easy,” he says. “He played some shots straight through the covers off the back foot. On that pitch, if you play on the back foot, most of the shots go square and fine, but he was playing through extra cover and cover. Sachin’s a short person, and those shots are difficult to play, but he was doing it so easily.”The best assessment of Tendulkar’s masterpiece came from an Australian with a gift for the pithy phrase. Merv Hughes’ language may usually have been colourful, even blue, but he was spot on when he turned to Border and said: “This little prick’s going to get more runs than you, AB.”

A stats preview to the seven-match ODI series between India and Australia

Mathew Varghese28-Sep-2007Australia would be looking to extend their 11-match unbeaten run in ODIs when they take on India in a seven-match ODI series. Australia’s last ODI was the win in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka, while India went down 3-4 in the last series against England.

Australia have an edge over the hosts especially since 2000, having lost only three of the last ten games. The series begins with the first ODI in Bangalore, where India have won all their matches against Australia barring the previous game in 2003.The Ponting factorRicky Ponting, the Australian captain, is still suffering from a hamstring strain that he picked up during the ICC World Twenty20. Since the start of last year, Ponting has missed 11 ODIs, with Australia winning only four and losing seven in his absence.

BatsmenSachin Tendulkar has been India’s most prolific batsman against Australia, having scored 592 runs against them at home in the last ten ODIs, with VVS Laxman averaging above fifty as well. However, other than Rahul Dravid, no other Indian batsman in the current line-up has managed to hold fort against the Australian bowlers, even at home.

The top three – Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting – have fired for Australia against India, all averaging above 40 in matches since 2000 in India.

BowlersAjit Agarkar, the highest wicket-taker for India at home against Australia, has been dropped for the series, while the other bowlers have failed to make an impression. Interestingly, Tendulkar is the only Indian bowler to take a five-for at home against Australia, in Kochi, the venue of the second ODI, and has picked up 10 wickets at 27.50 apiece.

Nathan Bracken will miss the first few ODIs of the series as he’s back home to attend the birth of his first child. Among the current crop of bowlers, he’s the most successful against the hosts in India, with 15 wickets from seven matches. The rest of the bowlers have limited experience of playing against India.

Australia’s part-time bowlers also have done well against India, with Andrew Symonds picking up 20 wickets at 35.70, while Michael Clarke has nine wickets at an impressive 23.66.PartnershipsAustralia’s domination since 2000 in matches in India can be attributed to the success of their batsmen, with the partnerships for the first three wickets averaging over 50.

In the last ten matches against India in India, Australia average a high 44.30 against India, who manage 30.91.Batting first/second
Australia have a better record against the hosts while batting first in India, having managed to defend a target in four matches since 2000. In the six matches that they batted second, they have a 3-3 win/loss record, indicating India’s chances of a win increase while batting first. Following are the overall records for both the teams when they have played each other in India:

The next time people start talking about New Zealand as favourites, Daniel Vettori might just want to tell them to shut up

Andrew McGlashan at Old Trafford26-May-2008

The next time people start talking about New Zealand as favourites, Daniel Vettori might just want to tell them to shut up. It certainly doesn’t seem to suit his troops to have their chances built up, even when they have secured a first-innings of 179 on a turning pitch. Vettori admitted that the six-wicket defeat at Old Trafford was “a tough pill to swallow”, as the dynamic, incisive cricket of the opening two-and-half-days was replaced by a horrendous batting collapse and ragged fielding display.Even with England 76 for 1 overnight there were positive vibes from the New Zealand camp that the pitch would offer them enough to force victory. However, the surface was far more placid and New Zealand’s bowlers couldn’t maintain their disciplines. “When you turn up on the fourth day and have high expectations of winning, to see the game dragged away from you it’s a pretty disappointing feeling in our dressing room at the moment,” Vettori said.This isn’t the first time in recent history that New Zealand put England on the ropes. It happened twice in the preceding series after the home side had taken a 1-0 lead in Hamilton. England were rocking on 136 for 5 in Wellington, before Paul Collingwood and Tim Ambrose turned the match around. Then, in Napier, New Zealand lost 9 for 65 against an inspired Ryan Sidebottom.After their equally rapid demise of 7 for 29 at Old Trafford, it is becoming apparent that they don’t know how to nail the opposition while they are down. The same charge has been laid at England’s door, too, but they have just been able to find that little extra, in three out of the last four Tests, when it has mattered.”Our third innings has let us down for a period of time, whether it’s with bat or ball, and unfortunately in this game it was with the bat,” Vettori said. “I’m not sure if you can put it down to being bad frontrunners. I think it’s down to not assessing situations. We talk quite hard about staying calm and not worrying about outcomes, just realising the more runs we put on the board the more pressure goes on England. Unfortunately we got caught up in losing a couple of wickets and tried to hit our way out of it.”The disappointment was clear in Vettori’s voice. This was a gilt-edged chance for an unfancied New Zealand team to cause a major upset. It was when that realisation dawned on them that the panic began to set it. Although 294 should have been a tough chase, England had already received a vital boost by rolling the visitors for such a small total second time around.”You always lose a little bit of momentum when your batting folds the way it did,” Vettori said. “To be bowled out for 114 hurts, but when we set out we thought with 294, if we could get through their top three or four, we knew there were some guys who hadn’t had runs in a while, and a tail we were confident of getting out. You sit back and think you can do it. But a couple of their guys stepped up and played really well.”Vettori claimed 5 for 66 in the first innings, ripping and fizzing the ball throughout his spell. However, there was far less joy for him second time around after England’s use of the heavy roller, while Vettori also didn’t seem to have quite the same spark. The captain knew New Zealand’s chances of success rested on his shoulders. “Yesterday’s conditions were almost perfect for bowling spin, it had sharp turn,” he said. “Today only towards the end of the second session did it start to liven up a bit. I think we have all acknowledged that was down to the heavy roller and England’s assessment of conditions. So you have to give Michael Vaughan credit for that.”I think we got a little carried away with the fact that the wicket was doing as much so we went searching. That’s not our strength, which is to bowl maidens, build up pressure and see what happens. We perhaps got a little frustrated that the wicket wasn’t doing as much today.”New Zealand weren’t helped by two untimely injuries during the match, the first sending Daniel Flynn off to hospital after a nasty blow in his mouth from James Anderson, and the second when Jacob Oram hurt his shoulder before the third day’s play. The batting order was altered for the second innings, but Vettori refused to make excuses. “It’s all on us, not the injuries.”Vettori now faces the task of motivating his players ahead of the final Test at Trent Bridge. They have a warm-up match against Northamptonshire first, and Vettori is grateful there is time to regroup. “I think if we rolled around into a Test three days later there would be some guys who are still reeling from this loss,” he said. “Hopefully that game will be a chance to get a few things out of the system and work on a few things. Then we can come to Trent Bridge and hopefully square the series. We still know that if we square the series it’s been a good result for us.”For the first half of this match New Zealand were in control, which is what makes the final outcome even harder to accept. Ross Taylor’s 154 was a thrilling innings and the captain himself showed what a craftsman he is with the ball. However, those thoughts were a long way from Vettori’s mind as he was left pondering what might have been. “We lost a game we should have won. Taylor was magnificent and the way Iain O’Brien bowled into the wind stood out, but I don’t think they matter to anyone at the moment.”

A new year comes with the same problems despite all the resolutions and promises of change

Peter English at the SCG03-Jan-2009

A new year comes with the same problems despite all the resolutions and promises of change. Like giving up smoking on the first day of the year, the fresh start is often false. Australia’s opening hour was full of promise from Simon Katich and Matthew Hayden, but nothing was the same after the first stop for a drink.On a day when Cricket Australia’s chairman Jack Clarke defended his players by saying they “deserve and have earned our respect”, the most senior batsmen followed the pattern of the opening defeats to South Africa and left the side in increasingly familiar discomfort. A significant change in direction does not occur from talk, good intentions or a return to familiar patterns. So Matthew Hayden remains a selector’s headshake away from having his career ended and the first day of the team’s 2009 revival went the same way as the end of 2008, finishing at an insecure 6 for 267.Hayden has been great as an opener because he has refused to bow to opening bowlers and has stuck to his method when in form or out. At 37 altering the approach is impossible and he is suffering because of it. Old openers don’t do new tricks, especially against such a formidable opponent, and his self-belief is no longer enough when weighed down by slowing reflexes.If Hayden wants to play a shot he will. A couple of close fielders on the off side and a man at mid-off may put him off for a few overs, or a few moments, but he will still try to pierce the defence. It’s his will to beat the ball and the tactics. He drove at Makhaya Ntini before lunch and it fell short of mid-off. He was fortunate, as he hadn’t been in Perth and Melbourne, and continued attempting to hold on to his innings and his place.After lunch Hayden and Michael Hussey, another consistent performer suffering from a summer without spark, started more positively. Hayden stuck a firm boundary off the back foot in the first over back before Hussey followed with a sharp cover drive for four in the next. They were the shots of composed batsmen and the hope from the stands was that they had re-discovered their old selves. Then Hayden started attempting to play by leaning back without moving his feet, swinging through the off side without success. He tried it enough times to know he should stop, but didn’t.With Dale Steyn operating from around the wicket, a plan which has worked well against Hayden throughout the series, the batsman had another go at perfecting the shot. This time he hit it, but the inside edge went on to the stumps instead of in front of point. After almost three hours Hayden was gone for 31 and Australia were 3 for 109. Old players who waste their starts quickly become former players.Hussey, whose spot is not in danger even though the 30 was his highest score of the series, will be relieved that he was able to hit through cover and pull with confidence. However, his push at Paul Harris, leading to a catch at first slip, showed his tentativeness had not departed. It is a shame seeing Hussey in such confusion, but he is in a rut while Hayden is camped in a valley. What the dismissals could not hide was that Australia needed more from their most experienced batsmen after Ricky Ponting’s first-ball exit.Michael Clarke is in the processing of gaining the senior tag and the way he has varied his batting pace over the summer has shown a player who will soon average more than 50. Most of the time he knows when a flourish or a dead bat is needed and while it means the excitement of four years ago is reduced, the effectiveness has increased to the point where he can now save the side or speed it away.His unbeaten 73 took his summer collection to four fifties and a hundred, making him the side’s most consistent batsman. Clarke, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson, two other men for the future, lifted Australia from the damage caused by their elders. It is still not a strong position and if something isn’t working it is either fixed or a new model is sought. The sooner the selectors realise this with Hayden the quicker they are likely to gain some respect.

A few errors aside, a tasty biography of the legspinner who discovered the flipper – and the cost of irking The Don

David Frith02-May-2009

The question: was Clarrie Grimmett as good as Shane Warne? Most of us at some stage have asserted that the outrageous Warne must surely be the greatest wrist-spinner of all, perhaps partly out of gratitude for his role in retrieving the golden art of spin bowling as it teetered on the brink of extinction two decades ago.Then came revised thinking: what about Bill O’Reilly and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar… and CV Grimmett, the New Zealand-born Australian who, already 33 before given his break in Test cricket, spun his way to a then unique 200th Test wicket, averaging six per Test match, until the selectors pensioned him off soon after he had taken 44 wickets in a series in South Africa? He was then 44 – and fit.This was the little chap who dismissed Bradman 10 times. He had also upset him with some frank remarks, which probably proved costly. Had “Grum”, “The Gnome”, “Scarlet” (take your pick) played as many Tests as Warne and maintained his strike-rate, he would have bagged 870 wickets.Grimmett deserves a biography. He himself wrote books concerned mainly with technical matters. Ashley Mallett, Australian offspinner from 1968 to 1980 with 132 wickets in 38 Tests, brings a broader approach to this reworking of his own earlier book. It is lavishly illustrated, thanks to Grimmett’s careful archiving (the files passed to his son), and the unconventional approach to the story makes for unpredictability in its telling. Obscure facts – such as the tale of the heavy battery box that fell and just missed him during his Test debut (11 wickets) at the SCG in 1925, and his Roman Catholic upbringing – keep popping up, and there are many departures from the main theme.If anything, the Test series are dealt with rather too superficially, the reports slightly marred by the author’s obsession with the expression “clean bowled”. Some of those dismissals might surely have been off the pad or bat’s edge?Mallett, who was coached by Grimmett in the 1960s for $6.50 an hour, believes nobody has ever pondered more deeply about his art or worked on it at the nets more intently. Among other things, Grimmett invented the flipper.Figures are not everything, but further reasoning, mainly about the batting opposition on offer in different generations, gingers up the debate. So too does the reiteration of Grimmett’s lack of respect for Bradman. He once called him a “bloody squib” after deciding that The Don had shown funk against the raging fast man Ernie McCormick in a Sheffield Shield match. People tended to pay the price for provoking or insulting Australian cricket’s supreme figure. Frank Ward became Grimmett’s Test replacement, and the debate will go on forever over whether Ward, as Bradman insisted, was a better bet than the veteran.Grimmett apparently never bowled a no-ball in his life, but the author and publisher have let a few slip through. It is hard not to wince when Ranji is confused with Duleep, Jack Hearne becomes “George” and the Trott brothers are mixed up. Nor did Claude Corbett originate the term “Bodyline” or Karl Schneider die from TB. As for “Charles” Fleetwood-Smith, the author must subconsciously have had a certain aviator in mind. Very tasty volume otherwise.Scarlet: Clarrie Grimmett – Test Cricketer
by Ashley Mallett
The Cricket Publishing Company, hb, 280pp, £18

Graham Onions had seen it all before as he strode out at No. 11 with a
Test match to save

Andrew McGlashan07-Jan-2010Graham Onions had seen it all before as he strode out at No. 11 with a
Test match to save, and duly guided England to a draw for the second
time in three Tests. However, Andrew Strauss admitted being less
confident in his last man, despite Onions’ heroics at Centurion three
weeks ago.”I was feeling pretty comfortable until Graham went in there,” Strauss
said, which brought a smile from his fast bowler sat opposite. “But he
did a great job again. I always feel that as batsmen we should
apologise to him for having put him in that situation.”One minute Onions was watching Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood guide
England to safety, the next he was the man in the firing line as he withstood
a hostile Morne Morkel. He came within a whisker of gloving the
penultimate ball of the match to the keeper, but TV replays confirmed it had
brushed his shirt after the South Africans reviewed in desperation.
The final ball then sailed harmlessly by off stump, before Onions punched the air and embraced with Graeme Swann.”I thought Ian and Paul Collingwood got us into a fantastic position
and with 10 overs to go I was thinking ‘I’m quite happy with my
trainers on and nothing to worry about’,” Onions said. “All of a sudden a
few wickets fell and I was next into bat.”Onions faced 11 balls in total as he and Swann survived the final 17
deliveries of a pulsating Test after South Africa had created a late
chance to level the series. Having survived the last over against
Makhaya Ntini at Centurion, Onions rated his efforts of fending off
Morkel a greater achievement.”It was a lot worse waiting to go into bat than actually being out
there,” he said. But it was just great again to eventually get that
draw, as it felt a lot tougher. I felt in control of the situation but it was
definitely harder than the one in the first Test.”A lot of credit should go to their bowlers, I’m a massive admirer of
Dale Steyn and I think he ran in and bowled so many overs. Hats off to
both him and Morkel. He’s a great bowler and I’m just thankful I
managed to block it out again.”Onions nickname within the team is ‘Bunny’, one of the more original
efforts going around as it relates to bunions, not batting ability. Which is just as well, because he is proving far from a rabbit with the bat and it makes all the extra work in the
nets worthwhile when a bowler can help save a Test. It’s not as if
South Africa will need any more irking at the moment, but they won’t
like to hear that Onions’ batting ‘buddy’ is none other than Jonathan
Trott.”I’ve been a lot of work with Phil Neale and my throw-down buddy
Jonathon Trott has been doing a lot of technical stuff with me and
just generally giving me a lot of confidence especially for days like
these,” Onions said. “I like to think I’ve prepared myself for days
like these. Obviously, I’m not going to lie – I’d rather not be in
that position, I’d rather see Belly see us through because he played
so well. But to get a draw is the most important thing.”Even though the series now can’t be lost for England, Strauss wants to
ensure that England don’t let South Africa off the hook in the final
Test at the Wanderers. Although the Ashes victory will retain a
special place in the hearts and minds of this squad, a win or draw next
week will secure their most notable success since the 2005 Ashes when
the Australians were near their peak.”It’s nice to know they can’t win it. But ultimately, we came here to
win this series and we’re in a great position to do that,” Strauss
said. “We’ll step on to that plane home pretty unhappy with ourselves
if we allow them back in now.”We understand we’ve got to be better than we were in this game at the
Wanderers. But we’re also quite buoyed by the fact we’re 1-0 up and
have a great opportunity to finish it off, come next week.”