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For a long while after his Test debut, Nathan Lyon was viewed as a consistent performer with one key question mark still surrounding his game. Could he bowl Australia to victory in a fourth innings? A few opportunities came and went, and were not grabbed – when South Africa held on at Adelaide Oval in 2012, for example. But at the same venue two years later, Lyon proved he could do it.That was a turning point for Lyon, his seven wickets in the fourth innings against India delivering Australia victory and earning his first – and so far only – Man-of-the-Match performance. It was the first Test of a home summer and David Warner scored a century in each innings; Australia will be hoping the parallels continue on the fifth day at the Gabba, where they need seven New Zealand wickets.”I think I’ve matured a lot since making my debut and having Shane Warne’s legacy hanging above me,” Lyon said after the fourth day at the Gabba. “Saying that, it’s a fourth innings and we’ve got five bowlers out there to take 10 wickets, so we’re going to have to bowl in partnerships and it doesn’t always rely on one person’s shoulders.”That is true, but Lyon showed on the fourth day that he has plenty to offer on a Gabba surface with plenty of bounce. The presence of three left-arm fast bowlers in this match has also offered Lyon the chance to work into some decent footmarks, and on a day five pitch it will be interesting to see how much rip he can get out of those areas when he comes over the wicket.”With Trent Boult, Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc running down outside that wicket, it’s creating a lot of footholes for me to hopefully hit and create a bit of havoc for the right handers,” Lyon said.On the fourth day, he switched between over- and around-the-wicket lines to New Zealand’s right-handers, and picked up both of his wickets from over: Martin Guptill drove at one that didn’t turn much and was caught behind, and Kane Williamson was lbw to one spinning in. Lyon said he had tried the around-the-wicket line to Williamson because it brought in more modes of dismissal.”Kane Williamson is an unbelievable bat,” Lyon said. “He’s got quick hands and he’s got quick feet as well, to be able to get deep into his crease and turn it around the corner. That’s from over the wicket. Coming around the wicket brings more dismissals in for me personally, to Kane.”Guptill wasn’t really looking to score today. I don’t know what he was doing, to be honest. It was chewing up a lot of balls and … building a fair amount of pressure on Kane. I was lucky enough to take the outside edge after dropping him.”Nicknamed GOAT by his fellow players – an acronym standing for Greatest of All Time, after he overtook Hugh Trumble to be Australia’s leading wicket-taker among Test offspinners – Lyon will face the challenge on day five of working against Brendon McCullum, who went to stumps not out on 4. Although a New Zealand win is exceptionally unlikely with 362 runs still needed, if McCullum stays in for a couple of hours, runs could come quickly.”He’s a world-class player,” Lyon said. “He’s dangerous, but I love challenges and I’m looking forward to it. Bring it on.”

The West Indies Cricket Board has confirmed that the five-ODI tour of Zimbabwe at the end of the month will proceed after a report for an independent security firm gave them the all clear.The side will arrive in Zimbabwe on November 27 and remain there until December 10, playing five one-day internationals before heading on to a full tour of South Africa. The Zimbabwe board had hoped that West Indies would play two four-day matches but it appears that this will not happen.A statement said that the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) and West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) have agreed that the tour should proceed but will continually monitor the situation in Zimbabwe from the perspective of safety, security and food integrity.It is not clear where Dinanath Ramnarine, the CEO of WIPA, stands on the trip. In July he was against the A-team tour to Zimbabwe and that trip was subsequently cancelled after the board struggled to find enough players to go. But Ramnarine has now been co-opted onto the board and as such it seems inconceivable that he could oppose the tour with his WIPA hat on while being on the WICB executive that approved it. It seems unlikely that the security situation has changed between July and now given that at the time the WICB insisted that they had been given the all clear to tour.

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Though disappointed that the winning streak was brought to an end in Bangalore, Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, said his team still hopes to become the first South African squad to win a one-day international series on Indian soil.”We were disappointed to lose after 20 games,” Smith said on the eve of the fourth one-dayer at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday. “But our main target is to win the series. We want to be the first South African team to win a ODI series here.”Undeterred by India’s valiant comeback into the series at Bangalore, Smith said, “I don’t think the momentum is with India. Tomorrow’s game is a fresh call. Our confidence is still way up there. Hopefully, we will be able to win the match.”He added that “winning the toss would be crucial” at Kolkata. The pitch, he said, looked different from that of Bangalore, where the ball turned too much and the pitch was not conducive for an international one-dayer. “The wicket looks good. There is a little more grass than expected. If the wicket behaves well, it will be a really good game.”Asked if there would be any special strategy for in-form youngsters Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Smith replied: “In a team of 12, you can’t take anyone for granted. No one is more important than others. For us, every guy is equally important. We are just going to concentrate on our own game.”The super-substitute rule, he felt, gave additional advantage to the team winning the toss. “You need to rethink on that so that the super-sub can be chosen after the toss to balance the advantage to either side.”With Kolkata holding a special place for South Africa as it marked a re-birth of their cricket in the post-apartheid era in the 1991 series, Smith said, “It’s always a good occasion to play here. It’s going to be a massive experience for our youngsters. This is a rainbow team, part of a new culture. Hopefully we will be able to win here tomorrow.”

The international cricket community is moving quickly to organise a fund-raising match for the victims of the natural disaster that struck South Asia days ago. Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, sent a proposal to all world player associations asking if they would support a match played on January 11 or 12. Needless to say, the response was overwhelming.The Herald Sun newspaper reports that May then rushed his proposal to Cricket Australia, who gave their immediate support to the cause. Then, the proposal was put before the International Cricket Council in an urgent attempt to get official recognition for the match.The match is likely to be played in one-day format, probably as Australia v Rest of the World. Players from the England and South Africa teams will be unable to take part as the two countries are locked in a five-Test series at the moment.All that is required now is for the logistics to be worked out. “The only reason why it would not get up would be if there was too much to do but I don’t think that is an excuse,” May is quoted as saying. “It took only two minutes for the devastation to occur. It should not be too much trouble to organise a cricket match in 12 days.”If the match is endorsed by the ICC, and it widely expected that this will happen shortly, it has potential to raise a healthy amount of money. The world’s best, and most glamorous, cricketers, including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist and Brian Lara are set to take part in the game.Sri Lanka, one of worst-hit countries in the tragedy, has cancelled its tour of New Zealand but May revealed that the Sri Lankan players would be more than willing to play this fund-raising match. “The Sri Lankan players told us that if the match was approved they would be here in a heartbeat.”

The uncertainty regarding the venue for the first Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh ended after a Pakistan court allowed the board to host the match at Karachi.The Test was in jeopardy when the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) filed a petition in the Sindh High Court after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that it would set up provincial cricket associations to organise matches. According to that decision, the Test at Karachi would have been staged by the newly formed Sindh Cricket Association (SCA) instead of the KCCA. However, Ataur Rehman, a Sindh High Court judge, ordered the parties to “maintain a status quo", and said that the petition would be heard on August 28. The first Test starts on August 20.The KCCA had taken exception to the Pakistan board’s decision to form the new association. Arshad Tayyab Ali, the KCCA’s lawyer, called the move “unconstitutional”, saying that it was “an unjust action against the KCCA”. “We had no other option but to go to the court as our last resort and would still not want to disrupt the Test match,” Sirajul Islam Bukhari, the KCCA secretary, told AFP. But the PCB’s spokesman Samiul Hasan expressed dismay over the action: “It is disappointing, and on the eve of a hectic home season we should have spent our energies on organising the Test.”Bangladesh will play three Tests and five one-day internationals in Pakistan, after which South Africa will tour Pakistan for three Tests and three ODIs.

On a day dominated by the rain, the newspapers of Australasia concentrated on Adam Gilchrist’s fourth Test century, in the first Australia-New Zealand Test at the Gabba in Brisbane yesterday.The New Zealand Press Asssociation had a response from New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming to comments made by Gilchrist about New Zealand’s second day tactics with the wet ball.”Fleming responded to claims by vice-captain Gilchrist that New Zealand’s approach on the truncated second day of play was negative, after they had taken six wickets in the final session of the first day.”‘They had their tail up, the breakthroughs and the momentum and I was really surprised by their attitude from ball one,'” Gilchrist said.”‘They seemed intent on trying to slow the over rate and bowl a little bit with negative fields. It surprised me. It enabled us to settle in and take our time.'”Fleming said the comments were disappointing and that his tactics were determined by the conditions.”‘I think he (Gilchrist) can pull his head in a little bit because the conditions obviously dictated a lot of the plays that we had to make,'” Fleming said.”‘We didn’t have [Daniel] Vettori, we couldn’t change the ball because after an over, a new ball would be the same (wet).”‘It’s very easy when things are going your way to say those sort of things.'”The Sun Herald: “Australia’s amazing run of 23 Test matches without a draw has all-but been consigned to a watery grave after another dreary day took the first Test against New Zealand closer to stalemate.”Only 18.4 overs were possible before tea on the third day, and even the Gabba’s sieve-like surface can do nothing about the prospect of rain continuing through the weekend and into Monday.”Adam Gilchrist completed his fourth Test century before Steve Waugh declared at 9-486, but the opening clash of the summer seems destined to end in Australia’s first draw since the Colombo Test against Sri Lanka in September, 1999.”The Sunday Mail (Brisbane): “Since Gilchrist (118) made his Test debut two years ago, only Justin Langer and Steve Waugh have scored more runs. Another 17 yesterday would have taken him past both of them.”The figures confirm Australia has seven frontline batsmen and he is close to the best.”The Kiwi attack without workhorse Shayne O’Connor, whose knee injury has ruled him out, and spinner Daniel Vettori (unable to grip the wet ball), was as formidable as a three-legged Melbourne Cup runner.”Inspirational Chris Cairns did splendidly to take 5-146 off 37 overs and deserved every scrap that landed on his plate after rushing against the clock to be fit for the series.”

It was a batting day in Johannesburg as centuries from Heino Kuhn and Henry Davids helped make light work of a competitive target to give Titans an eight-wicket win over Lions with a bonus point. It was also their first win in the Momentum One Day Cup.Lions, who were sent in to bat, were powered by Alviro Petersen’s 96-ball 108 that was studded with 11 fours and three sixes. Petersen’s third successive century in the tournament provided impetus after Neil McKenzie consumed 74 balls for his 47. Temba Bavuma’s 27-ball 33 also added some muscle towards the end to shore up the total to 271 for 8. Marchant de Lange and left-arm pacer Rowan Richards finished with three wickets each.Titans lost Mangaliso Mosehle for 25, but Kuhn (119), playing his first competitive match since February, and Davids (101*) negated any hint of pressure by putting together 183 for the second wicket in just 24 overs. Kuhn was caught in the 36th over after hitting 15 fours and three sixes and Titans eventually crossed the line with 65 balls to spare.Wayne Parnell’s four-wicket haul was the cornerstone to Cape Cobras‘ eight-wicket win over Knights with a bonus in Paarl.Knights, who opted to bat, were restricted to 211 for 7, with Parnell finishing with 4 for 40. Knights were in trouble at 101 for 5 in the 31st over after Parnell and Robin Peterson struck but crossed the 200-run mark courtesy a sixth-wicket stand of 107 between Obus Pienaar (73*) and captain Werner Coetsee (51). Peterson finished with 2 for 28 from his ten overs.Cobras then cruised, with Richard Levi contributing 71 in an opening stand of 118 with Stiaan van Zyl, who scored an unbeaten 90.Medium-pacer Malusi Siboto dismissed Levi in the 24th over, but the ground work had been laid by then. While No. 3 Omphile Ramela fell for 43 with his side needing 12 runs for victory, van Zyl steered them through in 38.1 overs for their second successive win. Cobras joined Dolphins on nine points after three games, but sit behind them on net run rate.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
5:09

Both teams need to learn to assess conditions better

In his first three overs, bowled at the start of the match, R Ashwin bowled India to their first bilateral T20I series win at home. India bowled Sri Lanka out for their lowest total, 82, to retain their No. 1 ranking, which was on the line in the series decider. Ashwin’s 4 for 8 was the best figures for an Indian in T20Is, beating his own 4 for 11.Ashwin’s immediate impact was crucial because the pitch turned square, and India might have unwittingly given Sri Lanka the second use of such a track. You couldn’t have faulted MS Dhoni, though: the pitch looked white, had zero moisture, and no big cracks. Given the dew expected later in the day, it seemed a prudent decision to ask Sri Lanka to bat because the pitch didn’t look like it would help spin anyway.Just like in Pune where India were left thinking they would have been in the game had they scored 130 or so as opposed to the 101 all out, Sri Lanka could have given India a fight with a half-decent total because the ball turned square even for Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina. Ashwin left them in no position to get a fighting total, though.Ashwin, given the new ball, was happy to give it a rip and some flight, mixing in the seam-up delivery that swings away from the right-hand batsmen. Sri Lanka, though, came out with a plan to try to hit Ashwin out of the attack. Tillakaratne Dilshan faced the second ball of the match, got a single, and immediately signaled to his partner, Niroshan Dickwella that the ball was turning already. It didn’t have any impact on Dickwella, who left his crease early and walked past an offbreak that Ashwin bowled deliberately short.In the same over, Dilshan was done in by a sharp offbreak from round the wicket, turning enough to beat the inside edge and hit his pad inside the line, but not turning too much to be given out lbw. If Dickwella played a headless shot, Dilshan’s was purely a bowler’s wicket: beaten on the forward defensive by the dip and the turn. Captain Dinesh Chandimal looked to counterattack, hit two fours off Ashish Nehra, but skied Ashwin in his second over. In his third over, Ashwin enjoyed some luck as debutant Asela Gunaratne was given out caught at leg slip off his pad. Ashwin had now reduced Sri Lanka to 20 for 4 in the fifth over. In a format not as versatile as the traditional ones, the damage had already been done.The problem with the rest of Sri Lanka innings was twofold: the ball was turning, and the batsmen kept trying the big hits as opposed to looking for a partnership. This was quite similar to what happened with India even as the ball seamed in Pune. Milinda Siriwardana faced only two balls even though he spent three overs in the middle. The first one he pulled Jasprit Bumrah for four, but when he tried the pull second ball he chose a Nehra delivery that was not short enough and also skidded through to bowl him.Only a high full toss from Yuvraj that went for six, and the free hit that was given repeat treatment by Dasun Shanaka gave Sri Lanka’s innings some momentum. Ashwin came awfully close to registering the first international five-for for India, but Jadeja and Raina kept the pressure up and the wickets kept falling. Jadeja’s brilliance showed in the field too, with a delicate back-hand flick to run Seekkuge Prasanna out and catch Thisara Perera in the deep.Under hardly any pressure, India walked away to their target with 37 balls remaining even though the turning pitch made stroke-play difficult. Shikhar Dhawan again displayed his improved leg-side play in his run-a-ball 46 whereas question marks over Ajinkya Rahane’s hitting ability on slower surfaces remained as he mis-hit a few attempted big hits in his unbeaten 22 off 24.

Pool AA fine display from Juan Theron, who took eight wickets for Eastern Province, helped them inflict a heavy 214-run defeat on Western Province at St George’s Park. Eastern Province batted first and reached a middling total of 224 thanks to Michael Smith’s 70 and some lower-order frolicking. They needn’t have been concerned, however, as Basheeru-Deen Walters (3 for 31) and Andrew Birch (3 for 44) ran through Western Province to dismiss them for just 173. Umar Abrahams’s controlled 114 set Western Province an unlikely 311 to win and were blown away for 96 as Theron took 6 for 22. Theron, 22, has now taken 60 wickets at 18.26 in his 15 first-class matches.An excellent all-round bowling performance from Border saw South Western Districts crash to an eight-wicket defeat at Buffalo Park. Darryl Brown and Phaphama Fojela, the two young medium-pacers, shared eight wickets in Districts’ meagre 95. Border easily surpassed that in reply, though they were indebted to Lazola Masingatha (75) and Murray Ranger (90), who boosted Border to 265 with their 146-run stand for the fifth wicket. Districts performed much better in the second innings – Jonathan Beukes’ 120 guiding them to 274 – but a target of 105 never threatened Border’s march to victory, despite losing two wickets. Athenkosi Dyili cracked 45 from 27 balls to motor them home.Pool BRain forced a draw between Free State and Gauteng at Braam Fisherville, but the match was not without two performances of individual excellence – particularly, Ryan Bailey’s brilliant 186 at a run-a-ball. Free State were struggling a little on 65 for 3 when he came to the crease but, four-and-a-half hours later he had put them in command after cracking 20 fours and six sixes. He was given solid support from Hancke van Rauenstein, who struck his maiden first-class hundred and Free State eventually declared on 402 for 7. Their bowlers then reduced Gauteng to 62 for 4 before the rain forced a premature end.David Wiese’s third first-class hundred dug Easterns out of a sizeable hole against North West at Sedgars Park. Easterns were rocked by Craig Alexander’s 5 for 59, stumbling to 197 all out in their response to North West’s 367. Following on, North West’s bowlers again troubled Easterns’ top order who slipped to 98 for 3 before Wiese (115*) and Geoffrey Toyana (86) guided them to safety.