South Africa v West Indies, 3rd Test

Jacques Kallis pulls another boundary. Jacques Kallis smacked 74 as South Africa's domination of the Durban Test continued

Modern-day cricket very rarely sees teams all square heading into the final match of a Test series. One team usually dominates the series and wraps it up well before the final game and, if we are lucky, we usually see some sort of fight-back from the losing team in the finale as they bid to salvage some pride.

Graeme Smith began the day in positive style

Well, this has not been the case for the South Africa-West Indies Test series and, while it may not have been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons - like Bhajjigate Down Under - it's been good, hard Test cricket.

If the first two matches are any indication of what to expect, we could be in for another gem of a Test in Durban.

Gayle - won't play in Durban.

The sleeping giant that is the West Indies appears to be stirring into wakefulness. They might not have a Brian Lara, a Malcolm Marshall or a Curtley Ambrose in the team, but they are operating extremely well as a unit. Some might say the reason is exactly because they don't have a superstar dominating the team. Even if they fail to win the third Test, the West Indies can take plenty of positives from the series.

Sammy to Amla, OUT, out of nowhere a wicket, on the stumps and Amla closes the face of the bat as he tries to turn into the leg side. The edge flies to silly mid-off where Dwayne Bravo holds a sharp catch to end a stand of 199

The Windies will be without their inspirational skipper Chris Gayle for the game in Durban. Their captain certainly led by example in Cape Town and PE, and it is a triple setback for the visitors in that they lose their skipper, their opening batsmen and the one man who can put South Africa's bowlers on the back foot from the word go.

"Even worse than losing the match was the expected prognosis that my thumb injury will necessitate another layoff of two to three weeks," Gayle said, "so I'm definitely out of the final and deciding Test match. I'm not sure about Fidel (Edwards) though. I hope he can play because having him is a significant advantage for us."

Dwayne Bravo will take over the captaincy from Gayle. Bravo was relatively successful when he captained the West Indies during the one-day series against Zimbabwe. But the South Africans are a different kettle of fish entirely.

The home side have played better as the series progressed. Graeme Smith and Ashwell Prince were among the runs in PE while Dale Steyn and Andre Nel have found their rhythm again after sluggish performances in the first game.

On the downside, the form of Herschelle Gibbs, who will come in for the injured Neil McKenzie, is still a major headache. The third Test may well be his last chance to show that he still has a place in Test cricket. Makhaya Ntini has also flattered to deceive in the first two games.

South Africa will make changes to the bowling line-up, according to their coach Mickey Arthur. Dale Steyn, who is struggling with a hamstring injury, or spinner Paul Harris could make way for Shaun Pollock.

"It's sometimes necessary to introduce fresh legs into a team for a particular match," Arthur told The Mercury.

Fresh legs or not the South Africans - who are no doubt already looking towards the series against England later this year - need to show why they are the No 2-ranked team in the world. They've been distinctly average in the two games and need to pull the finger out in Durban. Nothing but a convincing victory will silence a chorus of doubt amongst fans and media alike, especially those calling for Smith's head in the wake of a bad run of form and some dubious captaincy.

Key men:

West Indies: There will be added pressure on Shivnarine Chanderpaul with Gayle out of the picture. Good ol' Shiv contributed his obligatory half-century in Port Elizabeth, but he will need to convert that into triple figures if the West Indies want to stand any chance of upsetting their hosts again.

South Africa: If their openers, be it Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs or Smith and AB de Villiers, get off to a good start you can see the South Africans dominate the rest of the game.

Last Five Results:

2008: Second Test: South Africa won by seven wickets in Cape Town

2007: First Test: West Indies won by 128 runs in Port Elizabeth

2005: Fourth Test: Match drawn in St John's

2005: Third Test: South Africa won by an innings and 68 runs in Bridgetown

2005: Second Test: South Africa won by eight wickets in Port of Spain.

Prediction

South Africa definitely have the momentum going into the final game and they will want to prove that they are the best of the rest. It should be a comfortable victory for the hosts against a Gayle-less Windies team.

Probable teams:

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini

West Indies: Devon Smith, Daren Ganga, Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo (captain), Denesh Ramdin, Rawl Lewis, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell, Fidel Edwards / Pedro Collins

Dates: 10 -14 January

Morning session: 10:00-12:00 local time (8:00-10:00GMT)

Afternoon session: 12.40-14.40 local time (10:40-12.40 GMT)

Evening session: 15:00-17.00 local time (13:00-15.00 GMT)

Match referee: Roshan Mahanama
Umpires: Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel

Ponting turned down request - Kumble

Anil Kumble has revealed that he had approached Australian captain Ricky Ponting after the third play's day of the Sydney Test, requesting him to not press the charge of racism against offspinner Harbhajan Singh.

"I did make a request actually when that incident happened on that particular day," said Kumble, speaking in Canberra in what was the first official press conference since the Sydney Test.

"I did make a request that it should be handled ... if the issues can be sorted out. But it went up to the match referee and there was a case. His response was it had already been reported. Having played cricket for this long, [i knew] such an allegation would definitely spiral into what it has now. I anticipated that.

"And I envisaged that it would spiral into a larger issue. So that was the only reason. There was a hearing and now we've made an appeal. I'm sure things will be sorted out now."

However, Kumble didn't think the incident would affect the relationships between the two captains during the third Test in Perth, which starts on January 16. "It's important that Ricky and I got together and spoke about it and then get together and address it," he said.

"It was not that the spirit of the game was attacked but the focus has been to ensure that better spirit prevails in the game. We [captains] are all equal partners to ensuring that cricket is played in the right spirit and, I'm sure moving forward, everybody will stick to that. On behalf of my team, I'm sure we'll play in the right spirit."

The ICC has appointed Ranjan Madugalle to mediate between the two captains. But did Kumble think he could have a chat with Ponting in the current situation? "I have no problems. What's the problem there? It was just a temporary setback. We need to move on. The game is bigger than the individual. As a nation we've played good cricket. I'm proud of the way Indian cricket teams have played over the years and we'll continue to do that.

"The relationship between India and Australia has always been good," said Kumble after the heated exchanges after the second Test. "It was only meant for the Sydney game. I've respected Australian cricketers. I have great respect and regard for all the players who have played for Australia. It was just one of those incidents which everybody has seen and if people think I had a biased opinion, there has been a poll and people who have seen the game have also said it could have been better."

Kumble, who had said he would want to review the captains' agreement on low catches, said he hadn't thought about it yet and would bring it up in discussion once the team reached Perth.

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Sachin Tendulkar's ton lights up SCG

Having been dismissed in the 90s on several occasions in the recent past, Sachin Tendulkar heaved a sigh of relief when he scored his 38th Test century, more than any other player in history, on Day 3 of the second Test against Australia, at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.

"I breathed a sigh of relief as I had missed eight or nine hundreds in 2007," Tendulkar, who punched the air in joy and looked towards the heavens on reaching the ton, said later.

He did not look at the scoreboard during his knock, but admitted that he asked Harbhajan Singh to run quickly for the two runs that got him to the hundred.

The veteran batsman was particularly pleased that his effort put India in a good position, with a first innings lead of 69 runs.

"I kept fighting and tried to play according to the merit of the ball and waiting for the loose deliveries," Tendulkar said.

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Tendulkar's ton lights up SCG

January 4, 2008

Tendulkar scored an unbeaten double-century on his last visit to Sydney four years ago and now averages an astonishing 326 in four Test appearances at the world's third oldest Test ground.

On Friday, he added a vital 129 for the eighth wicket with Harbhajan (63), which rescued India from a difficult situation.

"I knew Harbhajan can get runs and he put his head down today. If you give confidence to lower-order batsmen, they get charged up to prove themselves," the 34-year-old batsman added.

Tendulkar did not protect the tailenders and gave them plenty of strike.

"The field was back for me and I took the singles on offer. There was no point playing a rash shot and getting out. I thought the field would come in for the tailenders and they could hit some boundaries," he said.

Comparing his innings in Sydney with the efforts in the previous Test in Melbourne, he said, "In the first Test, there were attacking field placements and I could hit boundaries.

"Here, there were fielders on the fence and I had to pace my innings."

Tendulkar felt spinners will have a major role to play in the remaining two days of the Test.

"There is turn and bounce and the ball is also stopping on the pitch. Spinners will trouble batsmen more from here on as there is not much there for pace bowlers," he said.

He also added that the match had all the makings of a classic.

"I don't want to take anything for granted in this game. Right now it's evenly poised. There's plenty of cricket left.

"We need to put the ball in the right areas and it should be backed by good fielding for us to have a chance."