Cape Town, January 1
India's emphatic win in Durban has set the tone for a high-voltage climax as the visitors go into the series-deciding third cricket Test against the Proteas here tomorrow seeking to record their first-ever series triumph on South African soil.

India, the world number one team, bounced back valiantly after an innings and 25 runs defeat in the first Test to level the series with an 87-run triumph in the second Test.

What seemed like a doomed tour after their shambolic batting in the opening Test suddenly came alive with a fightback in Durban, setting the stage for what promises to be an electrifying contest between two sides battling it out for the number one position.

The match is set to be played at a venue where India have never won, with a draw in 1993 being their best result here.

In all, India have played three Tests at the Newlands Cricket Ground and ended up on the losing side twice (by 282 runs in 1997 and by five wickets in 2007).

But the morale-boosting triumph in Durban means that having history against them would hardly matter for Dhoni's men when they step on the field tomorrow.

Most of the credit for the turnaround in India's fortunes goes to the return from injury of pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and middle-order batting mainstay VVS Laxman.

In fact, in Durban, the 96-run second innings knock of Laxman and the six wickets by Zaheer were ultimately the decisive contributions in what was a topsy-turvy match.

Zaheer's presence was especially inspiring for the rest of the Indian bowling and S Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma, both struggling in the opening Test, found their rhythm in Durban.

Sreesanth was particularly lethal in the second innings, grabbing three wickets.

The batting, however, remains a bit of a concern as India collapsed in both the innings.

Had it not been for some good bowling that dismissed the South Africans for 131 in the first innings, India could well have been in trouble due to their famed batting line-up's below-par show.

Murali Vijay, who came in the side to replace an injured Gautam Gambhir, could not make use of the opportunity and would most definitely be out if the regular had recovered completely from the hand injury he sustained during a practice session before the second Test. — PTI

Cape Town, January 1
Temperamental paceman S Sreesanth was today rebuked by his own captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his verbal spat with rival captain Graeme Smith, who accused the Indian speedster of crossing the line by "bringing in family and personal things".

While Dhoni said that Sreesanth should learn to control himself and not cross the line, Smith disclosed that the Kerala pacer had become personal during his verbal exchange during the second Test in Durban and had stepped over the mark.

Giving details about the unsavoury episode, Smith said "I think pretty much every series you play, guys would like to have a go at you. Its just that through out my 90 Tests, I have played many Tests and it hasn't been that aggressive...

You stop by bringing families and few personal things into the game. May be you are crossing the line".

Asked whether the altercation will mar the relationshop between the two team, he said "No, not between the teams. It's one individual that has caused a few hassles and maybe crossed the line in certain ways. Both the teams are mature and we have dealt with - even myself and MS - there is a lot of respect for both teams," However, the South African captain didn't want to divulge whether they would take up the issue with the match referee.

"Look that's stuff I don't really want to get into. If we have a concern, we raise it with the ICC and the match referee, not in press conferences," he quipped.

Smith feels that two teams can remain competitive without even crossing the line.

"I think it's going to be competitive, and that's what everyone wants to see. No one wants to step over that mark as it has been at times. We all need to take the responsibility to play the game in the right way," the Proteas skipper said.

His Indian counterpart Dhoni also admitted that it's difficult to control Sreesanth at times.

"It's quite difficult to control Sreesanth. Hopefully, he will be on the right side this time, and if he's suppose to say something, say something that's not very personal and to the point," the Indian captain said.

"When you are representing your country, you try your best to win games, but as I always say, certain guidelines need to be followed. You always have to be on the right side of that line," Dhoni said. — PTI

Sydney, January 1
England will carry an air of unfinished business into the final test of the Ashes series starting Monday, despite having already ensured it retains the famous urn. England cannot lose the series after its emphatic win in the fourth test at Melbourne, but the Sydney test offers the enticing prospect of its first Ashes series win since 1987.

That achievement, laudable in itself, would take it closer to its longer-term goal of attaining the world's No 1 ranking in test cricket.

Australia enters the final test of an unsuccessful series under an unpopular stand-in captain, but will be eager to square the series, save some face and begin a much-needed rebuilding process.

Michael Clarke will start as Australia test captain for the first time, replacing Ricky Ponting who has a broken finger.

While teammates have rallied around Clarke and pledged their support, newspaper polls have shown only eight percent of Australians support his promotion to the captaincy.

Ponting is not a universally popular captain, but is admired for his past successes and embodying the qualities of doggedness, grit and fortitude associated with the captaincy since the days of Allan Border and Steve Waugh.

Clarke, 29, is more of a flamboyant character with his bleached hair and very public breakup with his former model fiance.

Teammates have worked this week to alter that image, to paint Clarke as a more mature and driven individual.

"He's got a very good cricket brain, he thinks about the game very well, he'll be an aggressive captain," Mike Hussey said.

"He'll always be looking to take wickets out there, he'll be looking to make changes to the field, changes to the bowlers, searching for a wicket all the time and he'll always want the game going forward." Hussey said Clarke had been an energetic captain when leading the national side in limited-overs games.

"I guess the challenge for him is to be able to maintain that over the five days of a test match. It's going to be hard graft but we have 100 per cent confidence in him."

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who will be Clarke's vice-captain, said the public perception of Clarke could quickly change.

"The reaction with the public with all our players changes from week to week," he said. "You're one good innings away, or sometimes one good cover drive away, from the support being with you.

"Michael's a very strong character so things will be okay. He's got a very good cricket brain. He'll do Australia proud." England has been able to enjoy a relatively untroubled preparation for the final test, its players showing every sign of delight at Australia's discomfort.

Off-spinner Graeme Swann twisted the knife a little today, saying he was at a loss to understand Australia's decision to omit its most experienced spinner, Nathan Hauritz, from its Ashes squad. Swann suggested Hauritz's absence had helped England.

"I honestly don't understand how Australian selection works," Swann said. "It's obviously different to how it works in England.

"I don't know why he (Hauritz) was dropped in the first place and why he's not been brought back in. — AP

Melbourne, January 1
Australian legend Glenn McGrath is not interested in replacing outgoing Troy Cooley as national team's full-time fast bowling coach as he is busy with his charity foundation but ready to offer advice to the players.

McGrath, who took 563 wickets in his 124-Test career for Australia, says he has got enough on his plate running the McGrath Foundation charity, being a dad to his two children and wife to new bride Sara Leonardi.

Cooley has accepted the position as head coach of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane and will step down at the end of the current Ashes series.

"I'm always happy to give advice where I can. There's been a lot happening in my life in the last 12 months especially and there's plenty to keep me busy," McGrath said.

"I guess I'll chat to the boys a fair bit after this Test match and see what I can do but as for an official role, we'll see what the future holds. There’s plenty to keep me busy," he was quoted as saying by Australian Associated Press.

For the third summer in a row, the SCG Test starting on Monday between Australia and England will be turning pink to help raise funds and awareness for the McGrath Foundation.

The foundation was set up by the former Test quick and his first wife Jane in 2002 to raise money to place breast care nurses in communities right across Australia.

McGrath tipped Australia to bounce back and level the series at two-all with a win over England at the SCG and he is also backing the country's cricketers to once again become the best in the world.

"It goes in cycles occasionally ... it was not that long ago where the current Australian team won 13 in a row so I have total faith the boys will bounce back and we’ll get back to the top of the tree," he said.

London, January 1
England pacer James Anderson has revealed that he learnt a few tricks of how to keep batsmen guessing which way the ball will swing from Indian strike bowler Zaheer Khan which helped him transformed into a lethal bowler in the last few years.

Anderson, who played a big role in England retaining the Ashes, said he picked up from Zaheer how to hide the ball in hand so the batsmen didn't know which way it would swing when he visited India in England's tour of 2008.

"Last time we were in India, Zaheer Khan was hiding the ball in his hands so the batsmen didn't know which way it would swing. I picked that up from him," Anderson said.

He said he watched a lot of other international cricketers and learned from them in his determined effort to come out of his disastrous form in the Ashes in Australia four years ago.

"I picked up a lot from Mohammad Asif when he was in England, how he hit the seam and could swing and wobble the ball. He is a world-class bowler and I try to learn and develop different kinds of deliveries from that," Anderson was quoted as saying by 'Mirror' tabloid. — PTI

London, January 1
Former captain Kevin Pietersen had wanted Australian spin legend Shane Warne as coach of England after the sacking of Peter Moores in 2009 but ECB scuppered his plans after finding that the players were against it, a report said today.

One of the sharpest brains in world cricket, Warne's appointment would have plugged the gap in Pietersen's tactical knowledge but the prospect of such a volatile pair running England would have sent waves of panic through the ECB, a report in 'Daily Telegraph' said.

It was only when the England and Wales Cricket Board consulted the other players and discovered there was no solid support for Pietersen's blueprint that he began to lose his grip on the captaincy, the report said.

Warne refused to comment nor deny if Pietersen had approached him about becoming the England coach. They have worked together at Hampshire.

Warne would have wanted to bring in his own coaching team and reports in Australia have suggested Jeremy Snape, the former England one-day cricketer-turned-sports psychologist, and Victoria coach Darren Berry would have joined him in the England set-up, the report said.

That trio masterminded the Rajasthan Royals' victory in the inaugural Indian Premier League. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Need to perform as batting unit: Smith
Cape Town: South African captain Graeme Smith urged his batsmen to pull up their socks ahead of the crucial third and final Test match against India which will start at the Newlands, here from tomorrow. "Look, we were poor in Durban as a batting unit. We have had some good honest chats about that. As a batting unit we have been pretty successful, but in Durban we lost our minds a little bit. Hopefully we can gather our strength - the top six especially - for this Test," Smith told reporters on the eve of the third Test. "Everyone has generally got good records here, and we have played well here in the past. It's a really strong ground for us. — PTI

New skipper Clarke polarises opinion
Sydney: Australia's new Test captain Michael Clarke casts a genial and polite image, yet he polarises opinion among the country's cricket followers. Clarke, 29, has stepped into the hot seat replacing injured skipper Ricky Ponting for Monday's final Ashes Test against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The Ashes are gone, but Australia have the motivation of drawing the series with England if they can regroup after their massive loss in the fourth Melbourne Test and win in Sydney. In a newspaper poll before the series, 74 percent said they did not want vice-captain Clarke to become Australia's next Test captain. — AFP