NZ-Pak: New ball will be key, says NZ's Arnel

Hamilton: The second new ball should help New Zealand's bowlers as they attempt to make in roads into Pakistan's batting order on the third day of the first test, according to pace bowler Brent Arnel.

Pakistan ended the second day at Seddon Park in a strong position at 235 for four, with Asad Shafiq on 74 and captain Misbah-ul-haq on 50.

The visitors had exploited a relatively new ball and some overnight moisture on the pitch earlier on Saturday to bowl New Zealand out for 275, an addition of just 15 runs to their overnight score of 260 for seven.

New Zealand will have the option to take the second new ball first thing on Sunday, having bowled 80 overs on Saturday, and Arnel was adamant it should provide Chris Martin, Tim Southee and himself with some added pace and bounce.

"You will find that any pitch, first thing in the morning is a bit fresher and will have that little bit more zip and you'll see that tomorrow," Arnel told reporters.

"We are in a position now with the new ball coming up first thing in the morning and if we can get a couple of early ones like they did this morning we can be right back into their tail.

"Then we can set up the game where they can be only 20, 30 or 50 ahead, then game on for us to bat big."

Arnel said the flat pitch was now a good batting strip.

"It looks like a generally good cricket wicket and if you work hard as a bowler you will get reward and if you work hard as a batter, as the two boys (Misbah and Shafiq) are right now, then it pays off.

"Looking at it right now its a pretty decent test wicket."

Pak make New Zealand pay for poor shots

Poor shot selection saw New Zealand squander a steady start to the first Test against Pakistan and they were battling for respectability at the close of the opening day here Friday. 

At stumps New Zealand were 260 for seven, their innings built around only two partnerships of note. 

Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill put on 83 for the second wicket while Kane Williamson (44) and Tim Southee (56) have put on 83 in their unbeaten eighth-wicket stand. 

In between, New Zealand lost six wickets for 85 runs as they wrestled with the miserly spin of Abdur Rehman, who was able to produce prodigious turn at times to finish the day with three for 51 off 30 overs including 13 maidens. 

When Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl they did not get the assistance expected from the overcast conditions and after New Zealand lost Tim McIntosh early, McCullum and Guptill guided them through to lunch at 78 for one. 

But when it appeared the top order pair were lining themselves up to build a solid foundation, the innings began to fall apart when play resumed. 

McCullum, who was fortunate to survive a caught behind appeal when on 34, reached 56 before he was the first wicket to fall when he abandoned his circumspect approach of the opening session to hit out at Umar Gul. 

Since stepping down as the New Zealand wicketkeeper, McCullum has been intent on forging a name for himself as an opening batsmen while retaining the swashbuckling approach to batting that served him lower down the order. 

He succeeded with two sixes off Gul, a drive and a pull, to reach his 18th Test half-century before flashing at a wide delivery which went straight to Azhar Ali at deep point. 

Ross Taylor was tucked up by Rehman attempting a cut shot that was not there and bottom-edged the ball to wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal to be out for six. 

Jesse Ryder was run out for 22, and Guptill who had battled patiently for nearly four hours to reach 50, patted a full toss from Rehman straight to Misbah-ul-Haq at cover. 

Reece Young (14) and Daniel Vettori (0) both mistimed sweep shots to fall leg before wicket leaving Williamson and Southee to mount a face-saving stand. 

The 20-year-old Williamson has faced 110 balls for his 44 while Southee, who came in at the fall of Vettori's wicket, has reached 56 off 81 deliveries. 

Supporting Rehman with the ball, Tanvir Ahmed finished the day with two for 54, claiming the wickets of McIntosh and Vettori, while senior bowler Gul captured the wicket of McCullum while conceding 78 runs from 20 overs. 

Poor shot selection saw New Zealand squander a steady start to the first Test against Pakistan and they were battling for respectability at the close of the opening day here Friday. 

At stumps New Zealand were 260 for seven, their innings built around only two partnerships of note. 

Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill put on 83 for the second wicket while Kane Williamson (44) and Tim Southee (56) have put on 83 in their unbeaten eighth-wicket stand. 

In between, New Zealand lost six wickets for 85 runs as they wrestled with the miserly spin of Abdur Rehman, who was able to produce prodigious turn at times to finish the day with three for 51 off 30 overs including 13 maidens. 

When Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl they did not get the assistance expected from the overcast conditions and after New Zealand lost Tim McIntosh early, McCullum and Guptill guided them through to lunch at 78 for one. 

But when it appeared the top order pair were lining themselves up to build a solid foundation, the innings began to fall apart when play resumed. 

McCullum, who was fortunate to survive a caught behind appeal when on 34, reached 56 before he was the first wicket to fall when he abandoned his circumspect approach of the opening session to hit out at Umar Gul. 

Since stepping down as the New Zealand wicketkeeper, McCullum has been intent on forging a name for himself as an opening batsmen while retaining the swashbuckling approach to batting that served him lower down the order. 

He succeeded with two sixes off Gul, a drive and a pull, to reach his 18th Test half-century before flashing at a wide delivery which went straight to Azhar Ali at deep point. 

Ross Taylor was tucked up by Rehman attempting a cut shot that was not there and bottom-edged the ball to wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal to be out for six. 

Jesse Ryder was run out for 22, and Guptill who had battled patiently for nearly four hours to reach 50, patted a full toss from Rehman straight to Misbah-ul-Haq at cover. 

Reece Young (14) and Daniel Vettori (0) both mistimed sweep shots to fall leg before wicket leaving Williamson and Southee to mount a face-saving stand. 

The 20-year-old Williamson has faced 110 balls for his 44 while Southee, who came in at the fall of Vettori's wicket, has reached 56 off 81 deliveries. 

Supporting Rehman with the ball, Tanvir Ahmed finished the day with two for 54, claiming the wickets of McIntosh and Vettori, while senior bowler Gul captured the wicket of McCullum while conceding 78 runs from 20 overs. 

Strauss salutes team for 'outstanding' tour

Sydney: Captain Andrew Strauss saluted his players for an "outstanding" tour after England completed a crushing innings and 83-run victory on Friday to win their first Ashes series on Australian soil in 24 years.

Australia's last three batsmen were dismissed shortly before lunch on the fifth day to seal the five-Test series 3-1 and England celebrated wildly in front of thousands of joyous supporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

"It's been an outstanding tour so far," said an elated Strauss, whose quickfire 60 on day two set the tone for his team's record innings of 644.

"The guys can be very, very proud of what they've achieved, not just the players but the backroom staff as well."

After a draw in the opening match in Brisbane, England won the second by an innings and 71 runs in Adelaide, only for the hosts to claim a 267-run victory in Perth.

England recovered spectacularly in Melbourne, thrashing Australia by an innings and 157 runs to retain the Ashes but were quick to wrap up the celebrations ahead of Sydney.

Strauss praised pace bowler James Anderson and man-of-the-match and series Alastair Cook, whose 766 runs anchored England's batting throughout the series.

"Alastair has been outstanding. When you're talking about the likes of Wally Hammond and people like that, he's really had an amazing series.

"Jimmy Anderson in tough conditions has been outstanding as well... You can't really pick one or two players out of the team because everyone's delivered at different times and that generally is a recipe for success.

"It's what we knew we needed to do at the start of the tour and all credit to the players; they've stood up and delivered."

Strauss also paid tribute to batsman Paul Collingwood, who announced his retirement from Test cricket on Thursday.

"Massive loss. There's certainly a tinge of sadness there for us ... Colly's been one of the great servants of the game; there's no doubt about it.

"He kind of epitomises what this team's all about. He'll be sorely missed."

The Sydney Test victory made Strauss the first captain to win a series victory in Australia since Mike Gatting led the tourists to a 2-1 victory in 1986/87.

It was all the more special for the 33-year-old, who was a member of the team that arrived with the urn in 2006/07 but handed it straight back in humiliation after a 5-0 whitewash.

The Sydney Cricket Ground will hold far more precious memories for the England team, whose "Barmy Army" of supporters sang and chanted in celebration throughout the morning.

"We've truly valued all the support we've had over all five Test matches ... A lot of the time it's felt like a home game," said Strauss, who also thanked the players' families as "probably our greatest supporters."

"They deserve it every bit as much as we do."

Ind-SA: Resilient India draw Test series

Cape Town: Set a daunting target of 340 for a win, India opted to play safe and bat their way to a draw in the third and final cricket Test against South Africa to end the high-profile series 1-1 here on Thursday.

The Indians never made an effort to chase down the stiff target and the batsmen played out time to crawl to 166 for three in their second innings before play was called off to mark the end of a fascinating three-match series.

Although the Indians could not achieve their dream of a maiden away series win over South Africa, it was a creditable achievement for the visitors as they drew a Test series for the first time on the African soil. The result also meant that

India maintained their number one ranking.

The visitors lost the first Test in Centurion by an innings and 25 runs but showed great character to bounce back and win the second Test in Durban by 87 runs.

The Indians could have entertained hopes of going for the target had Virender Sehwag (11) fired but the dashing opener fell cheaply to end the series without too may runs to his credit.

Gautam Gambhir defied an elbow injury and played a resolute knock of 64 to be the highest scorer in the second innings.

Sachin Tendulkar (14) and VVS Laxman (32) were at the crease when play was called off after 82 overs.

The engrossing series between the the two top ranked teams in the world will be remembered for Tendulkar's historic 50th Test century and the batting heroics of Jacques Kallis who scored three centuries.

Faced with the stiff target, the two Indian openers Gambhir and Sehwag adopted a cautious approach and were more content in playing out the new ball without taking too many risks.

Both the South African pacemen Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel got some movement and bounce from the fifth day track at the Newlands. Some of the balls rose alarmingly but the two batsmen managed to get themselves out of the way.

In the very second over, Gambhir needed some on-field treatment after being hit by Morkel's first delivery. The ball bounced sharply outside off stump and hit him on the elbow.

Both Sehwag and Gambhir were prompt to despatch the loose deliveries to the boundary, both Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe

being given that treatment.

Sehwag, who has not been among the runs right through the series, got a reprieve when he went for a cut and the ball just eluded the outstretched hands of substitute fielder J P Duminy at the point region.

But Sehwag could not capitalise on that chance and returned to the pavilion soon after, falling prey to Morkel who tested on his patience.

Sehwag leaned forward to defend a delivery which straightened after pitching and only succeeded in edging the ball to captain Graeme Smith in first slip.

The umpire checked whether it was a no ball from the third umpire and ultimately ruled the batsman out much to the jubilation of the home crowd.

Dravid, who joined the action after Sehwag's dismissal, was quite content in defending following which India's run-rate fell sharply.

Resuming at the lunch score of 53 for one, both Gambhir and Dravid played cautiously and were just content in playing out time.

Barring the occasional aggressive shot, the two batsmen defended most of the balls and restrained from playing any strokes to the deliveries going outside the stumps.

Gambhir, who had scored 93 in the first innings, notched up his 16th half century when he cut Dale Steyn to the point boundary shortly after the lunch break.

With the experienced Jacques Kallis not on the field because of a rib injury, South African captain Smith bowled a few overs himself to make up for the loss of the fifth bowler.

Spinner Paul Harris got a few balls to jump from the rough and both the batsmen had to face a few anxious moments.

Dravid survived a confident leg before shout when he was struck on the pads off Harris but umpire Ian Gould ruled him not out. Television replays, however, showed that the ball was going to hit the middle stump but the umpire may have thought

there was an inside edge.

But Dravid (31) did not survive for long with Lonwabo Tsotsobe providing the breakthrough for the hosts about half an hour before the tea break and bring some life back into the game.

Dravid tried to defend a short of length delivery off the front foot but could not middle it, edging the ball to Ashwell

Prince in third slip.

Gambhir got a 'life' when he was on 62 with A B de Villiers spilling a sharp chance at silly point off Harris who looked quite dangerous on a wearing fifth day track.

Gambhir fell shortly after the tea break with Dale Steyn taking the wicket. Gambhir tried to get his bat out of he way to a bouncer from Steyn but the ball brushed his gloves and Boucher took a nice diving catch.

England on the door of Ashes victory

Sydney: Relentless England were just three wickets away from their first Down Under series victory in 24 years as Australia folded under pressure in the final Sydney Ashes Test on Thursday.

Needing either a win or a draw to claim the series, England posted their highest-ever score in Australia of 644 and then ripped through Australia to take seven wickets and have a win at the mercy on Friday's final day.

England, who lead the series 2-1, have already retained the Ashes at last week's fourth Melbourne Test and are now looking to crown it with a well-deserved series triumph.

At the close, Australia had been reduced to 213 for seven with Steven Smith on 24 and Peter Siddle on 17 and still 151 runs in arrears.

England outplayed the hosts in Adelaide and Melbourne while Australia won the third Test in Perth. The first Brisbane Test was drawn.

The pace trio of James Anderson, Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett bowled England to the verge of victory with irresistible displays of swing bowling.

Anderson, getting tantalising late reverse swing, snared the wickets of debutant Usman Khawaja and acting captain Michael Clarke to take his series haul to 23.

Khawaja, who made a promising debut in the first innings, played away from his body and deflected a catch to Matt Prior off Anderson for 21.

Clarke looked to have played himself in when on 41 he was bamboozled by Anderson's late movement off the pitch and gave Prior another catch.

It culminated in a dismal batting series for Clarke with just 193 runs at 21.44. Bresnan chipped with the crucial wicket of Australia's leading series scorer Mike Hussey, caught head-high by Kevin Pietersen for 12.

Australia then suffered a tumble of wickets with Brad Haddin (30) and Mitchell Johnson (0) falling on consecutive Tremlett deliveries only for Siddle to see off the hattrick attempt.

Strauss sought an extra half-hour's play from the umpires in a bid to press a result inside four days.

Australia's second innings foundered early with the chaotic run out of Shane Watson for 38 in a dreadful breakdown in communication with Phillip Hughes.

Watson became the third Australian opener run out in the series after he took off for a second run that wasn't on while Hughes hesitated.

Kevin Pietersen whipped in his throw to Prior with both batsmen stranded at the non-striker's end. Watson was also prominently involved in the run outs of Simon Katich in the second Adelaide Test and Hughes at Melbourne.

Hughes lasted just seven more overs before he fell for 13 in a familiar mode of dismissal, tickling outside offstump to a slanting Tim Bresnan delivery to the slips.

Earlier, Prior became England's third centurion as the tourists posted their highest total of 644 in Australia and eclipsed the previous highest score of 636 at the SCG, set back in 1928-29.

It was also the fourth time England have passed 500 in the series. It took Australia's bowlers 177.5 overs and 758 minutes to finally dislodge rampant England, who had three century-makers - Alastair Cook (189), Prior (118) and Ian Bell (115).

Graeme Swann was left unbeaten on 36 off 26 balls as England frolicked along at 3.6 runs an over. Prior, who was 54 overnight, took to the Australian attack and raised his fourth Test century with a four through the covers off spinner Michael Beer.

His 197-minute blitz was the fastest England Ashes century since Ian Botham in 1981.

Ashes: England 644 all out, lead by 364

Sydney: Australia wasted little time after lunch on Thursday to take the last English wicket on day four of the fifth Ashes Test, ending their first innings at 644. The hosts now have to bat for almost five sessions to prevent the embarrassment of an innings defeat.

Earlier, Matt Prior continued the batting onslaught against Australia in the fifth Ashes Test, scoring 118 as England posted its highest total ever on Australian soil and took a 356-run first-innings lead.

Prior shared a 102-run stand for the eighth wicket with Tim Bresnan (35), who batted for almost two hours on Thursday until he edged a Mitchell Johnson delivery to Michael Clarke at second slip.

Graeme Swann was unbeaten on 33 at lunch on the fourth day. He and Chris Tremlett took the score from 609-9 to 636-9, equaling England's previous highest total of 636 all out — set in 1928-29 — for an innings in Australia.

The Australian bowlers lacked any penetration on a perfect, sunny morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground as England moved into a match-winning position. The English have a 2-1 lead and have already retained the Ashes after an emphatic win in the fourth Test at Melbourne last week. With such a commanding lead, England is almost assured of securing its first Test series win in Australia since 1987.

The visitors resumed on Thursday at 488-7 after Alastair Cook and Ian Bell scored centuries on Wednesday.

Cook scored 189 to take his tally for the series to 776 runs, becoming the second-highest English run-scorer in an Ashes series since Wally Hammond's 905 in 1928-29.

Prior wasted no time in reaching his fourth Test hundred, hitting Steven Smith for a boundary to bring up triple figures from 109 balls before he was caught behind chasing a wide Ben Hilfenhaus delivery.

Australia finally got the benefit of a TV umpire's review, with umpire Billy Bowden referring Prior's dismissal to the third official to check for a Hilfenhaus no-ball. After several minutes, the TV umpire Tony Hill ruled that part of Hilfenhaus' front foot did touch down behind the crease. The Australians had a similar decision go against them when Cook was on 46 and miscued a catch off left-arm spinner. Bowden referred the decision to Hill, who adjudged a no-ball based on video replays.

Johnson conceded 20 runs in one over as Swann chased quick runs, another low point for the Australian attack in a demoralising series. Johnson's figures were 4-168 from 36 overs, while Hilfenhaus had 2-120.