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The highest score in Test cricket

The highest individual score in Test cricket – batting’s blue-riband record – has only changed hands ten times since the first Test of all, 127 years ago in 1876-77. Here’s how the bar has been raised:

Charles Bannerman: first holder© Getty Images

165* – Charles Bannerman
Australia v England, Melbourne, 1876-77
Neatly, the man who scored the first run in Test cricket extended his innings to 165 before being forced to retire hurt with a hand injury. Charles Bannerman, 25, dominated Australia’s innings in this inaugural Test, scoring 67.3% of his side’s total – still a Test record for a completed innings.211 – Billy Murdoch
Australia v England, The Oval, 1884
Bannerman’s record lasted seven and a half years, until Billy Murdoch hit Test cricket’s first double-century, in a huge Australian total of 551. But England hung on for a draw in what was only a three-day match. Murdoch, who later played a Test for England too, was 29, and Australia’s captain, at the time.287 – Tip Foster
England v Australia, Sydney, 1903-04
Reginald Erskine “Tip” Foster, the only man to captain England at cricket and football, marked his Test debut with an amazing innings. It remains the highest score by a player in his first Test, and is still England’s highest in Australia. Foster, 25, put on 130 for the tenth wicket with Wilfred Rhodes (40*) as England posted a matchwinning total of 577.325 – Andy Sandham
England v West Indies, Kingston, 1929-30
Playing in what turned out to be his last Test, three months short of his 40th birthday, Surrey’s Andy Sandham scored 325 as England ran up 849 in a supposedly timeless Test – ironically, though, the match was left drawn when the England team had to catch the boat home. Despite a first-innings lead of 563, the England captain, Freddie Gough-Calthorpe, didn’t enforce the follow-on: his eventual declaration left West Indies just 836 to win. They made 408 for 5 …334 – Don Bradman
Australia v England, Headingley, 1930
Three months later the record changed hands again, and to no-one’s great surprise it was Australia’s “Boy Wonder” who broke it. Don Bradman was only 21, and in the middle of a record-breaking tour of England in which he made those who had doubted his ability to score runs on English pitches eat their words. He scored 974 runs in the Tests – still a record – 309 of them on the first day at Headingley.336* – Wally Hammond
England v New Zealand, Auckland, 1932-33
Hammond, second only to Bradman as a batsman at the time, eclipsed The Don’s record with a murderous innings against a weak New Zealand side in 1932-33. Hammond, 29, smashed ten sixes and 34 fours, and his 300 came up in 288 minutes, still Test cricket’s fastest in terms of time. Since Hammond had made 227 in the first of the two Tests that followed the acrimonious Bodyline tour of Australia, he finished with a series average of 563.364 – Len Hutton
England v Australia, The Oval, 1938
Hutton, 22, took advantage of a benign pitch and a toothless Australian attack to beat the record in what had become, with the series undecided, a timeless Test. Hutton hit 35 fours in what was England’s 100th century against Australia, and their eventual 903 for 7 remains the highest in Ashes Tests. Hammond, by then England’s captain, apparently didn’t declare until he was assured that Bradman, who had injured his leg while having a rare bowl, wouldn’t be able to bat.365* – Garry Sobers
West Indies v Pakistan, Kingston, 1957-58
Sobers had played some promising cameos before he extended his maiden Test century past 300 to come of age as international cricketer (well, he was 21 at the time). He hit 38 fours, and piled on 446 for the second wicket with Conrad Hunte (260) as West Indies took advantage of a depleted Pakistan attack – one opening bowler pulled a thigh muscle in his first over, and another fractured his thumb – to set a record that lasted for 36 years.375 – Brian Lara
West Indies v England, St John’s, 1993-94
Sobers was there to see his record go, in Antigua in 1994. Lara, 24, batted for 768 minutes and hit 45 fours, and very nearly trod on his stumps in hitting the boundary that took him past Sobers’s old mark. A few weeks later Lara, in the form of his life, completed the double by breaking the first-class record as well, with an innings of 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham.380 – Matthew Hayden
Australia v Zimbabwe, Perth, 2003-04
A perfect pitch, and a friendly attack in which all five bowlers used eventually leaked more than 100 runs, added up to the ideal recipe for Matthew Hayden, the solidly built left-hander, to annexe the record. Hayden, 32, bludgeoned 11 sixes and 38 fours as the Zimbabwe bowlers wilted (slow left-armer Ray Price, who did well in the next Test, had figures of 0 for 187).400* – Brian Lara
West Indies v England, St John’s, 2003-04
Ten years after his 375, Lara returned to Antigua. The circumstances were different: West Indies had been walloped 3-0, and Lara himself, by now 34 and captain, was under intense pressure to avert an unthinkable whitewash. And Lara, with barely a false stroke, became the first man to regain the top spot, hitting 43 fours and four sixes as he reclaimed the record – and West Indian pride – on his way to the first Test quadruple-century.Steven Lynch is editor of Wisden Cricinfo.

South Africa reject Indian board's itinerary

Graeme Smith heads towards the pavilion to change into his whites© Getty Images

The South African board (UCBSA) has rejected the Indian cricket board’s itinerary for their tour of India in November, on the grounds that they want to play two Test matches and not the seven one-day internationals that are scheduled. According to SABC News, Brian Basson, the general manager of cricket affairs in the UCBSA , has said that it would be pointless to go back to India again at a later date to play the two Tests.The packed schedule of both sides has meant that it is not possible to schedule both a Test and one-day series, as would normally be the practice, and with one-dayers being far more profitable for the home board than Test matches, it was always likely that the Indians would opt to omit the Tests. However, there is a sign that the distressing emphasis on one-day cricket may finally be changing in the subcontinent. India’s series against Australia in October, it is being speculated, may be revamped to accommodate one extra Test, with the one-dayers being scrapped.The ICC’s stand on this matter is that the dispute should be sorted out through bilateral negotiations, and there is no need for them to get involved. “It’s not unusual for these discussions over schedules to occur,” said Brendon McClements, their general manager, “and they can split the Test and one-day series if they want to. Besides, their only obligation is to play each other in a Test and one-day series, home and away, at least once in a five-year cycle.”South Africa last played a Test series in India in early 2000, which does not leave much space in the five year cycle to play another one.

Mubarak to lead Sri Lanka A

Jehan Mubarak will lead Sri Lanka A against England later this month in twounofficial four-day Tests. The national selectors, who met on Tuesday,picked a squad of 15 players for the two games, which are to be played at theCCC Grounds from March 7-10 and at the NCC grounds from March 13-16.Mubarak, the 24-year-old left-hander, has been retained after a glowing tourreport in England last year when he led Sri Lanka A to victory in eight outof ten matches against the English Counties, who admittedly did not playfull-strength teams. They only lost one game to Somerset, the last match,and drew one match with the West Indians.Mubarak’s success in England prompted the selectors to fast-track him backinto the national side against Pakistan in October, a controversial movethat led to Tillakaratne Dilshan being ousted from the team against thewishes of Marvan Atapattu, the national captain. Under intense pressure,Mubarak was unable to clinch his opportunity but clearly remains in theselectors’ thoughts for the future.Thilana Kandamby, who has been in scintillating form for Central province inthe last two weeks, has been appointed Mubarak’s deputy for the tour. He has rattled off two centuries and his average before the current tournament final was 98.66. Kandamby also toured England with the A team in 2004, as did a total of 10 players selected in the squad.The new faces include fast bowlers Nandika Ranjith and Chanaka Welagedera,both of who are left-armers and play for North Central Province. Malinga Bandara , the legspinner, and Sajeewa Weerakoon, an orthodox slow left-armer who wasthe leading wicket-taker in last year’s Premier League with 50 wickets, plusbatsman Anushka Polonawita are the others given an opportunity to press fora place in the senior squad.Selection sources have also revealed that there is a chance that a handfulof the squad will also be selected for Sri Lanka’s postponed tour of NewZealand which starts at the end of the month. That team is expected to benamed next week.Squad Jehan Mubarak (capt), (CCC), Thilina Kandamby, (Bloomfield), Avaishka Gunawardene (SSC), Ian Daniel (Bloomfield), Shantha Kalavitigoda (Colts), Anushka Polonowita (CCC), Malintha Gajanayake (Chilaw Marians), Gayan Wijekoon (Chilaw Marians), Prasanna Jayawardene (NCC), Thilina Thushara (NCC), Nandika Ranjith (Tamil Union), Chanaka Welagedera (Moors SC), Malinga Bandara (Galle CC), Sajeewa Weerakoon (BRC), Suraj Mohamed (SSC).

West Indies fall short despite Ramdin's heroics

Scorecard andball-by-ball details
How they were out

Yuvraj Singh: returned to form with a fine century © AFP

India entered the final of the IndianOil Cup after scoring a tense seven-run victoryover West Indies in Colombo. A century by Yuvraj Singh and a well-paced knockby Mohammad Kaif helped India reach 262 for 4, the tournament¹s highestscore, following which a fatal mixture of mounting run-rate and inexperiencesaw the West Indians stumble out of the competition.Denesh Ramdin, let off luckily when he was caughtplumb in front by Anil Kumble off his first ball, fought until the end, striking boundaries andinventing strokes to throw the bowlers off. Ashish Nehra went at seven anover, Zaheer Khan narrowly evaded being called off for bowling beamers.Ramdin ended unbeaten on 74, an admirable knock from a man who had keptflawlessly in the sweltering heat all afternoon. He followed Runako Morton,whose controlled 84 kept West Indies in the running until the final stretch,even while wickets fell all around him. In between there was Dwayne Smith, whocrashed 26 off 12 before Kumble did him in.Ramdin¹s wonderful innings was a fluent one, full of fight, and while hestruggled to comprehend Kumble’s variations, he persisted and dealtwith the more straightforward bowlers with ease. Most batsmen before himfailed to do even this, though their troubles against Kumble wereanticipated. Kumble has a way with newcomers unused to this brand oflegspin; they remain motionless in their crease, trapped by indecision, andare easily undone by a man who preys on uncertain minds. He dismissed threeof them in a flash, and would have had three more if Daryl Harper saw what he, the fielders, the television, and Hawk-Eye all saw; straightforward decisions were turned down, and this assisted West Indies’ survival. It is debatable whether the match would have run this close otherwise. Against a team more capable of grabbing chances, India could have suffered dearly. In any case, Rahul Dravid bowled Kumble through his quota in one go, and then watched Nehra and Yuvraj leak runs to the tune of 82 in 12 overs.But Yuvraj was India¹s man of the hour earlier, and Kaif his support, whenthe team had effectively lost four batsmen and were in trouble. At 51 for 3,with Dravid, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman out, and Sourav Ganguly inhospital after a short delivery thudded into an unprotected arm, Yuvraj andKaif had quite a task ahead. Neither the flow of the game nor their formfavoured them. But bit by bit, they pulled it India’s way with pinched runsand angled bats that frustrated and deflated West Indies. The slower bowlerswere nudged and pushed for singles and once the time for acceleration came,the two managed it seemingly without effort. The India of the 1990s had AjayJadeja and Robin Singh to fight fires and twist thrust swords. This team hasthese two. They were followed by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whose daring againstTino Best’s 140kph deliveries – a sweep, for example – added a touch ofbravado to the Indian innings. The last ten overs yielded 89 runs. But thefirst ten had seemed a repeat of India’s most recent experiences in SriLanka: India managed only 24 for 2.But it was the bowlers’ accuracy and persistence that forced Ganguly’s injury andthe general unease early in the innings. They weren’t exactly the fearsome four, theterrible three or even an ominous one, but Daren Powell, Deighton Butler andBest put on a fine show to have India hopping and falling about theircrease.Sylvester Joseph, the West Indies stand-in captain after ShivarineChanderpaul pulled out due to illness, began with an attack of Powell’s paceand Butler’s swing. Sehwag and Ganguly both lost control of their feet asballs swung late and rose awkwardly. Powell, in particular, alternatedbetween aiming for the stumps and Ganguly’s ribcage. Butler rapped Sehwag’spads twice and even bowled him off a no-ball, but was finally lucky with histhird appeal. After a brief stay Laxman nick one, and Dravid played aloose stroke on to his stumps.India became the second international team to walk off a cricketfield relieved today, but West Indies ran them far closer than they would have liked. The final, two days away, is an opportunity to start afresh.

IndiaVVS Laxman c Ramdin b Powell 7 (21 for 1)
Virender Sehwag lbw Butler 6 (21 for 2)
Rahul Dravid b Banks 10 (51 for 3)
Yuvraj Singh c Best b Deonarine 110 (216 for 4)
West IndiesXavier Marshall lbw Pathan 19 (37 for 1)
Sylvester Joseph c Harbhajan b Pathan 4 (44 for 2)
Narsingh Deonarine c Kumble b Nehra 6 (59 for 3)
Omari Banks lbw Kumble 6 (70 for 4)
Dwayne Smith lbw Kumble 26 (98 for 5)
Ricardo Powell c (sub) Rao b Kumble 4 (112 for 6)
Runako Morton c Dravid b Nehra 84 (195 for 7)
Tino Best b Sehwag 3 (208 for 8)
Deighton Butler run out (Kaif) 9 (240 for 9)
Deighton Butler run out (Kaif) 9 (240 for 9)

T&T strike in truncated day

With two full sessions lost due to a very damp outfield and square, Windward Islands had reached 48 for 2 against Trinidad and Tobago in the Carib Beer Series fixture at Shaw Park on Friday.Rawl Lewis, the Windwards captain, reckoned the damp conditions that persisted, even after a day of steady sunshine, were better to bat in than field. His decision, at least in the 25 overs possible yesterday afternoon, seemed dubious. The loss of key batsman Devon Smith with less than five overs to go in the abbreviated day, followed less than two overs later by his opening partner Rommel Currency, gave the first day advantage to T&T. Dave Mohammed took both the wickets.The wait for play was long and frustrating for both sides, especially perhaps for the Windwards players, who had sat through four days at Mindoo Phillip Park in their previous match against the Leeward Islands without any play.

Life and death, and enjoying the game

Until the end of the Indian tour of Pakistan, we will be running a daily Paper Round of what newspapers in India and Pakistan, and from around the world, are saying about this series. This is what the media had to say today:

Police search the stadium at Lahore ahead of Friday’s warm-up match© Getty Images

Kapil Dev has announced that the upcoming tour will be a matter of life and death for the players, The Times of India reports. “It may be a goodwill series for some, but for the boys, it’s life and death,” Kapil said. “It’s about their careers. The players need to win for the team as well as for themselves.”He had a few words of advice to counter the pressure. “The boys must learn to enjoy the game and savour the opportunity. They have to just concentrate and work hard for the results to show up.” Kapil spoke about his role during the three-day camp: “There is no chance of making big changes in three days. I just wanted to get them more confident before the series. Of course, there were some technical aspects as well, but I wouldn’t like to talk about them now.”* * *Shoaib Akhtar played down his impending duel with Sachin Tendulkar, saying that cricket was not about individuals. “Cricket is a team game. The Indians now have more than one Tendulkar, and we have to get five Tendulkars out to win matches, but we are up to it.”Shoaib spoke to Press Trust of India about the additional responsibility of leading Pakistan’s attack, and the country’s expectations of the team. His personal goals, however, hadn’t changed from the start of his career. “I want to be the best against the best. That has been my endeavour since I started my career. So I am gearing up.”* * *Ten Sports and India’s cable operators have been involved in a confrontation that could affect viewers when the first Indo-Pak one-dayer gets underway on March 13, PTI reports. The channel had been blacked out because of a dispute over a 400-500% rise in subscription payments. “Not only Ten Sports, most pay-channel broadcasters have asked for four-five times the present subscription payments and they want this agreement for the next one year,” a cable operator said. “We cannot sustain such payments.” However, Ten Sports was confident that the matter would be settled soon.* * *Irfan Pathan is waiting eagerly for the day he opens the bowling with Zaheer Khan, according to a report by PTI. “I am enjoying the prospect of bowling alongside Zaheer Khan. He is a great help and always gives me tips. We vibe pretty well … it will be fun bowling with him.” While training on the last day of the three-day camp in Kolkata, Pathan said he was working on getting his basics right, which was essential for the tour to Pakistan. “Sharing the new ball has thrust greater responsibility on me. I am aware of the demands that come along with it. I am working on the basics and trying to perfect the line and length to get the little things in order … It is these things which will help in Pakistan.”* * *Ramesh Powar came in for praise from John Wright, The Indian Express reported. On the verge of representing India for the first time, Powar’s all-round ability and hard work was commended by Wright. “Apart from being an offspinner, he is a good fielder and can also bat. It’s an advantage to have a player like him in the team,” Wright said. “He has a lot of energy and let’s see how he shapes up for the tour.”* * *The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken steps to ensure that spectators are given every chance to watch matches without untoward incidents taking place.According to The Indian Express, the PCB has put up huge TV screens at various points in Lahore to lessen the pressure on the Gaddafi Stadium. Bar-coded tickets were issued to avoid forgery and the custom of giving away complimentary tickets was done away with. Meanwhile, tickets were issued for the warm-up game in Lahore on March 11.* * *Yuvraj Singh’s father, Yograj, wants his son to marry “someone of the calibre of Steffi Graf.” Why? Genetic preparation’s the answer, according to The Indian Express. “I have read some books on genetic preparations and I want to ensure that Yuvraj, whenever he decides to marry, ties the knot with a strong, athletic woman irrespective of where she comes from.” Yograj also had the country in mind when he said, “Look how he’s [Andre Agassi] planned his generations. He is already talking about careers for his children. It’s an approach everyone should have, only then India can boast about being a sporting powerhouse.”

Giles concerned over future

Ashley Giles needs a leap of faith to bowl again © Getty Images

Ashley Giles, the England spinner, admits he is concerned over his future with the national side.Giles, 33, underwent surgery on a dodgy hip and missed out on England’s tour to India. He has not bowled since the Pakistan tour in late 2005 and said that it is hard to imagine bowling anytime soon.”I have to face the fact that the injury is career-threatening,” Giles told The Mail on Sunday. “If the rehab doesn’t succeed, the alternatives are obvious. The specialist thought the hip would have done most of its healing after three months but that hasn’t happened. Hopefully this will give it an extra nudge to aid the growth of the new cartilage material.”Though the procedure was undertaken to speed up his recovery, Giles believed that it will take a lot of mental strength to gear himself up. “At some stage I am going to have to take a leap of faith and try to bowl again,” he said. “It may even be a case of having to play through a pain threshold to play. But if the pain was anything like it was in Pakistan, or towards the end of the Ashes, which I only managed to get through with a cortisone injection, I really don’t think it will be possible for me to continue.”Giles, with 140 wickets from 52 Tests, has been a key member of the England side for the past few seasons. But with Monty Panesar and Shaun Udal, the frontline spinners on the tour to India, having performed credibly Giles admitted that it increased the odds against him. England’s domestic season is less than a month away and Giles said he was “struggling” to make himself available for a Test series against Sri Lanka beginning early May.”My targets are still the same – to get fit and to play for England again,” he said. “But I’ve missed all the time-lines so far. I missed the Test series in India, I missed the one-day series and now we are approaching the start of the domestic season.”

Clark, Jaques and Johnson rewarded with contracts

Mitchell Johnson’s fine performances earned him a contract © Getty Images

Stuart Clark, Phil Jaques and Mitchell Johnson are the three new faces in the list of contracted national cricketers, a 25-member group that Cricket Australia announced today. They replaced James Hopes, Cameron White and Mick Lewis. Brett Dorey, who was also upgraded to a contract after selection for several VB Series matches last summer, has not been offered a full contract.”Jaques, Clark and Johnson have all performed very well over the past 12 months and have been rewarded with contracts, while Hopes, Lewis, White and Dorey’s contracts haven’t been renewed on this occasion,” said Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of the National Selection Panel (NSP). “However, they are quality players and we look forward to them performing well in domestic cricket and putting their name forward again for future selections.”The contracted players are paid a base retainer, which is levelled according to a player ranking system decided by the NSP. Each player also receives match fees, tour fees and prize money for on-field success.List of contracted playersNathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Daniel Cullen Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Michael Hussey, Phil Jaques, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Kasprowicz, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Shane Warne, Shane Watson.

Lara keen to build on winning start

‘Samuels’ knock was crucial. It was a question of who was going to start it, and he did. He carried on too, and built on that'” © AFP

Brian Lara refused to look too far ahead – “It’s just one match” – but there was no denying his pleasure at the manner in which West Indies stormed to a 54-run victory in their opening game at the World Cup. In front of a raucous crowd that wasn’t quite capacity, they defended 241 with some disciplined bowling and brilliant fielding, and the margin would have been even more resounding but for a defiant innings from Shoaib Malik.”I still think the batting did it in spurts,” said Lara afterwards. “I thought 241 was a good total in the end. The guys did really well then, but we need to be scoring better throughout an innings.” He pointed the finger at himself and his senior colleague, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, for a sluggish start that saw West Indies scoring at less than three an over even after the halfway mark.The momentum shift started with Marlon Samuels, who stroked a superb 70-ball 63, and added 91 with Lara. “We left 20 or 30 runs out there then,” said Lara, talking about the slow start. ‘Myself and Shiv were pretty slow to get started. Samuels’ knock was crucial. It was a question of who was going to start it, and he did. He carried on too, and built onthat.”For Inzamam-ul-Haq and Pakistan, it was a depressing afternoon, after the bowlers had excelled for 40 overs. “It’s a matter of concern,” said Inzamam, when asked about the batting. “We have the experience in the middle order and the batsmen have to take responsibility.”He didn’t think his decision to field first had affected the outcome, with even Lara admitting that he would have chosen the same option. “Our bowlers did well,” said Inzamam, talking in Urdu. “I was happy with their effort to restrict them to a total that I thought we could chase.”There was no attempt to blame the pitch either. “It was a good one,” he said. “There was some help for the seamers, but I have to give their bowlers credit. They bowled a great line, and didn’t even need to use the spinners.”He was happy enough with his own spinner, though Danish Kaneria’s dismal fielding did bring a rare smile to his lips. ‘The fielding was sloppy,” he said in another masterpiece of understatement. “We’ll have to keep working hard on that over the next few days.”Lara was full of praise for the crowd – “You had to be out there to really feel the atmosphere” – and for Dwayne Smith, who justified the decision to play him ahead of Ian Bradshaw by taking three wickets and clouting 32 from just 15 balls. “He played really well today,” said Lara. “When he came in, we were looking at 225 or so. But then he started hitting it out of the park. And he got two of their best players out [Inzamam andYousuf]. But he knows he need to build on that.”So do West Indies, who started the last World Cup with a similarly impressive win only to lose their way subsequently. Soon after the toss on Tuesday morning, the organisers had given the crowd an opportunity to show their respect for the heroes of the 1975 and 1979 campaigns. But in reality, the best possible tribute to those giants of auld langsyne comes in the shape of performances such as the ones Samuels, Smith and Bravo summoned up against Pakistan.

'You have to play well to beat anyone' – Dravid

Rahul Dravid believes that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is just one of the flexible players in Team India © Getty Images

Rahul DravidOn South Africa and their match-winners
They have a good team and it will be interesting to see how they fare in these conditions. Rather than focusing on individual players, we have to look at their whole team. And more importantly, focus on things which we want to do – focus on our processes, our strategies to counter what they throw at us.On the No.3 slot which has seen a lot of experimentation
To be honest everyone’s got this No.3 fancy. Dhoni played at four in the last game so it’s not only at No.3 that we have changed things. In the first game, Yuvraj Singh batted ahead of me when I thought the situation demanded it. Yuvraj played at four in Pune and other places and everyone’s got excited over this No.3. The whole thing about us is we are trying to be a bit flexible, trying to provide guys with new challenges irrespective of the numbers they are batting at. So we will just see what is best combination for the side tomorrow. We did not look to be flexible in the number three area; we are trying to be flexible all round, all through our batting order and even in the bowling department.On whether rankings count in one-day cricket
They don’t necessarily mean that, like we showed, number seven is inferior to number two. It is important what your performances are on that particular day irrespective what your number is. Yes, the rankings are a reflection of your performances in the last year, year and a half or two years. What the rankings reflect is that just because you are number two, you don’t have a right to beat number three tomorrow. You have to play well to beat anyone. We have not done well for a while so that is why we are at the bottom of the table but if we keep doing well, we’ll push our way up.On what will he tell his team
More of the same actually. I would like them to look to grow as a team, grow as players and not worry about the results – only try and get better as a team and that is going to be one of our goals.On the fact that the fifth bowler has not been tested in the series against Sri Lanka
They were tested in Jaipur. Then, they (Lanka) chased 280- odd to win at Ahmedabad. We just try and make the best use of the Supersub. It might not always work. The Supersub tends to get loaded in favour of the team winning the toss. We need to have a bit of luck with the Supersub to be honest.Graeme SmithOn the new boy, Johan Botha
He’s more attacking than most we’re used to. He gets good turn and has variations. But there’s no pressure on him. It’s not make-or-break for him. By 2007, he’ll be ready to win matches for us. Who knows, he might win us the game tomorrow, he’s that sort of guy.On how they will counter India’s top-order batting
I think India are looking at a group of 20 or so. They have some explosive batsmen, but with the ball hard and new, we’ll look to get at them early. We have some plans of our own.On meeting another in-form side
India’s always a challenge but the boys are mentally ready. In these conditions, you need a bit of luck. I think the toss will be very important. But we have to concentrate on our gameplan.On the minimal preparation
These days, the schedules are that way. We go to Australia two days after we return from here. But we’ve made the best use of the three days we got here to prepare.

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