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Tasmania 6 for 165 (Bailey 86, Dighton 63, Bollinger 5-48) trail New South Wales 7 for 512 dec (Forrest 177, Haddin 100, Hughes 51, Katich 51) by 347 runs
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Doug Bollinger damaged the Tigers early with three wickets from seven balls and finished with 5 for 48 © Getty Images

Doug Bollinger’s five wickets set Tasmania a major challenge to avoid the follow-on after Brad Haddin’s century helped New South Wales post a threatening 7 for 512 declared. Bollinger snaffled three wickets from seven balls in his first spell and returned for two late additions as the Tigers reached stumps at 6 for 165, needing a further 198 to make the Blues bat again.Luke Butterworth was on 3 and Brett Geeves had 4 at the close following an insipid batting display from all but George Bailey and Michael Dighton. The pair came together when Bollinger’s new-ball efforts had felled Tasmania to 3 for 10 and their 144-run partnership guided the visitors out of the immediate embarrassment zone.Bailey made 86 and Dighton scored 63 but their strong performances only served to highlight the disappointing results from the rest of the order – no other player reached double-figures. Bollinger initially trapped Michael Di Venuto lbw in the fifth over and three balls later had Travis Birt bowled for 0, before returning in the seventh over to add the Tigers’ new captain Daniel Marsh (0) to his collection.The steadying partnership lasted until late in the day when Grant Lambert bowled Dighton, at which time Bollinger came back to have Bailey caught behind and Sean Clingeleffer bowled two balls later. The Tigers’ batting was all the more frustrating for them after they had seen the Blues post a huge score thanks in part to Haddin’s 100.Peter Forrest had set things up on the first day with 177 and Haddin took over the responsibilities on day two. He had good support from Lambert (32), while Beau Casson and Matthew Nicholson each finished unbeaten on 34. The Tigers desperately need a similar lower-order fightback to avoid a completely one-sided affair.

Ricky Ponting: “What Symonds brings to the team is excitement and energy” © Getty Images

A recent magazine survey suggested that 41% of Australian men would give up sex for a month if it meant their cricketers would regain the Ashes. This time next week, that period of abstinence could finally be at an end. Australia are 2-0 up with three to play, and need one more victory in tomorrow’s third Test at Perth to ensure the return of the Urn.Ricky Ponting, however, has taken an even more drastic vow than the readers of Zoo magazine. Mindful of all the hype and hysteria that consumed their campaign last time around, he has banned all talk of the Ashes from Australia’s dressing-room. Victory in the series will be a byproduct of victory in this match, he told reporters on the eve of the Test, and not the other way around.”That’s not what this week is about for our team,” said Ponting. “It’s about being ready for tomorrow morning, and playing better cricket than we did last week and at Brisbane. As soon as you start looking too far ahead in this game it can turn back and bite you, as we’ve seen in the past. The Ashes won’t be mentioned about the group at all.”We’re going out to win the game, and win the game as best we can,” he added. “But winning the Ashes will be a result of that, not something that’s going to motivate us to play well. We’re just going to have a relaxing afternoon and turn up tomorrow with a great attitude for the Test match.”Relaxation is the key for all the Australians, but particularly so for one man. Andrew Symonds, Ponting confirmed, will return at No. 6 for his 11th Test, with Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke bumping up the order to No.4 and 5 respectively. “I’m confident in him,” said Ponting. “I’ve watched him closely and he’s extremely excited to be around this group. He might have thought his Test career had passed him by a few months ago, but he feels better about his game than ever before.”Symonds averages 19 with the bat and 45 with the ball in his ten previous Tests, the last of which was against South Africa at Johannesburg in April, and admitted on Monday that he had been hampered by anxiety in the past. “What Symmo brings to the team is excitement and energy,” added Ponting. “We want him to have that around the group, but he needs to keep his emotions inside in check. Once he gets out there in the middle, he’ll no doubt be nervous, but he’ll have learned a bit from last time.”

Ponting: “If Panesar plays he’ll be a bit nervous so we will be very positive against him” © Getty Images

Symonds was the pick of Queensland’s attack in their recent match against Western Australia at the WACA. He bowled medium-pacers in the first innings and offspin in the second, and Ponting predicted that his versatility would be a great asset to the Test team, especially when the Fremantle Doctor blows into town after lunch. “Apparently his medium-pacers nipped about and he was a handful,” said Ponting. “We’re going to need a few guys to bowl a number of overs up into the breeze, to give Shane and Glenn a bit of a rest, and Symmo gives us that.”Medium-pacers, spinners … it’s a far cry from the traditional pace-bowling paradise at the WACA, a fact that Ponting lamented, for all that Australia possess, in Warne, the best possible weapon for the new conditions. “It’s not good for the game if all our grounds lose character,” said Ponting. “This wicket is not as fast and bouncy as in the past, so I think it will turn and turn early. But whether it turns quickly, which is what Shane likes, we’ll have to wait and see. But in the form he’s in at the moment, you wouldn’t want to be facing him on a bit of glass.”Warne needs just six more wickets to become the first bowler to take 700 in Tests, a statistical skyscraper that puts into perspective Monty Panesar’s probable first appearance of the series. Andrew Flintoff was characteristically guarded when asked about the make-up of his team, but Ponting was already planning a hot reception for the new face.”He’ll be under pressure and no doubt he’ll be putting pressure on himself,” said Ponting. “If he plays he’ll be a bit nervous, and that’ll dictate the way he bowls. He might bowl quick and spear them in early on, so we will be very positive against him, try to put it right back on him and see how he copes. We’ve got a lot of left-handers, and they’ll enjoy the balls spinning into them.””Monty has started his international career very well,” added Flintoff. “He’s bowledwell, he’s got fine players out and he is someone who works really hard athis game and he’s improving all the time.” It was hardly a glowing endorsement of his credentials, but that is England’s guarded way at present.

England could field two spinners, with James Anderson – the pick of the bowlers in the warm-up match – missing out © Getty Images

Flintoff was hardly any more effusive about his friend Steve Harmison, whose woeful lack of form has been a key reason for England’s struggles in the first two Tests. “Everyone is staking a claim and everyone wants to play in this Test,” he said, when asked if Harmison was certain to start. “The lads have all worked hard and today all the bowlers have run in and hit the nets hard.”As Alec Stewart pointed out over the weekend, Harmison is a matchwinner, and therefore he has to play in a must-win match. But until the team-sheet is unveiled tomorrow morning before the toss, England’s bowling attack will remain one of sport’s most guarded mysteries.The likeliest change is Panesar for Ashley Giles, although that would completely contradict Duncan Fletcher’s first law of team balance. Alternatively they could field two spinners, with James Anderson – the pick of the bowlers in the warm-up match – missing out.A third and less trumpeted alternative would be the introduction of Sajid Mahmood for Anderson – Fletcher’s team balance would be maintained, with an extra dose of incisiveness thrown in for good measure. “These selection issues crop up,” shrugged Flintoff. “For four days at Adelaide it wasn’t really an issue and then for one-and-a-half hours of almost crazy cricket everyone’s looking at the side.”For four days that side performed and performed well I thought,” he added. “It wasn’t really an issue apart from at 12 o’clock on the Tuesday at Adelaide. But this Perth Test is huge. We’ve got to believe we can get back into the series.” If for no other reason than to keep Australia’s population growth in check.Australia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Stuart Clark, 11 Glenn McGrath.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss, 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Kevin Pietersen, 6 Andrew Flintoff (capt), 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Sajid Mahmood, 9 Matthew Hoggard, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Monty Panesar.

Peter Chingoka: the players still want him to answer questions © Getty Images

The Zimbabwe players’ representative, Clive Field, has said players will go on and sign the new contracts issued by the board on Monday.Field confirmed that agreements on the new contracts had been agreed by finalized by both sides, although the rest of the grievances raised by the players last Thursday still stand.”The original contracts had overlooked basic aspects,” said Field. “We were still negotiating things like the injury clause and match fees, otherwise there has been no significant rectification annexed to the contracts.”Also added to the contracts was a payment system where players will be paid retainers at a respectable external value. Other issues tackled were players’ safety, and the position of the players’ representative.”Over and above there are still governance issues that still have to be addressed,” Field added. “The contacts are the basis on which to engage the board, and we have cleared that hurdle. The players are hoping that those issues will be resolved. The chairman [Peter Chingoka] responded to the public statement saying issues of governance is not the players’ area. In a way he is right. But like we have said, when these things are having a marked effect on the players’ performance, they not only have a duty, but a right to say act. I hope the provincial chairmen will make the board accountable and discuss those issues at the board meeting [proposed for Saturday].”A total of 37 players were awarded contracts. Two were given international contracts, 14 signed senior deals and 21 junior contracts. Zimbabwe Cricket also agreed to pay overdue match fees for Tests and one-day internationals against New Zealand in August, and India in September, although there remain concerns about hoe much money the board actually has to meet its obligations.International contracts T Taibu, A Blignaut.Level One Senior E Chigumbura, P Utseya, D Hondo, B Taylor, D Ebrahim, H Masakadza, B Mahwire, V Sibanda, G Ewing, C Coventry, T Duffin, S Matsikenyeri, K Dabengwa, N Ferreira.Level One Junior C Mpofu, G Cremer, A Mwayenga, W Mwayenga, T Panyangara, E Rainsford, T Mupariwa, C Chibhabha, S Williams, A Ireland, T Mufambisi, T Hove, T Mawoyo, H Matanga, C Ervine, I Nicholson, J Nyumbu, I Chinyoka, T Garwe, B Mlambo, R Bennett.

Anil Kumble is one of the three spinners playing for India at Kanpur© Getty Images

The thinking behind three spinners
It was not an easy call but Sourav [Ganguly] felt that was best way to get the 20 wickets. We need to take wickets early tomorrow.On the what challenge is
We have to be patient. The wicket is bit slower and some of the boys mentioned that they can beat them in the flight but can’t make much use of the bounce.Why Irfan Pathan was left out
Irfan has been out for a bit through injury and Zaheer [Khan] has bowled pretty well this year. He [Zaheer] has got a bit more pace, he’s been reversing ball the well and was the pick of the two based in the ODI against Pakistan last week.The way South Africa played…
Their application stood out today – they showed a lot of determination. We’re going to have to work particularly hard on this pitch which is on the slower side.…and his own charges
I was pleased with the way we stuck at it throughout the day; would have been nice to get a wicket in the final session.

They paid him the highest compliment possible and say he played the gamelike an Australian.Larger than life and always the centre of attention, Darren Gough alwaystantalized his fans with amazing feats but, sadly for him and for England, hecould not produce these consistently.As the consummate performer he knew that it was best to be centre stagewhen the spotlight was brightest and that was, of course, against Australia.The Australians craved a contest and a feisty worthy opponent and they foundthat in Gough.At Sydney in 1995, he captured six wickets and thrashed a scintillating halfcentury. This brought hopes that he would be the saviour of English cricket.Capable of wreaking havoc with both bat and ball.Seventy-four of his 229 wickets were Australian victims (his next highest is SouthAfrica with 43) and he always tried to make inroads into the Australian toporder. More often than not he succeeded and claimed Michael Slater’s wicketeight times and Ricky Ponting and Mark Taylor six each. He never wentwicketless in a Test against Australia.Gough batted at No 9 and 10 for the majority of his career but gave earlyglimpses that maybe he should have been at eight. He had two half-centuriesin his first seven Test matches after which his batting average was 35.Thereafter, Gough somewhat lost much of his proficiency with the blade andhis average steadily declined to 13.When Gough delivered he delivered in spades. With Australia 13 runs shy ofvictory in Melbourne in 1998 and two wickets in hand, within the space ofthree balls Gough cleaned bowled Stuart MacGill and pinned Glenn McGrath infront to give England a famous victory. Four days later in Sydney, Goughcaptured the first English Ashes hat-trick in 100 years. The hat-trickdelivery which cannoned into Colin Miller’s off stump was unplayable.What will history make of Gough’s career? His nickname ‘Dazzler’ provessomewhat ironic. Like a comet, he dazzled brightly but dazzled quickly andall cricket fans will be left pondering what he could have been had he beenable to avoid the serious injuries he suffered.Players might spend hundreds of hours in the nets, and studying videos andthe like, but Gough proved that there is still a place in the game fornatural exuberance and talent.Australian fans recognized his infectious personality and his desire toalways have a go. There was no such thing as a honorable defeat. Going downswinging and fighting. At times he may not have elected to play thepercentages but with his instincts instead. A mercurial talent who left thegame better for his presence. He will be missed.

England chairman of selectors David Graveney has nsisted that security would have to be “A1” for the winter tour of India to go ahead.Graveney was speaking ahead of this week’s International Cricket Conference summit in Kuala Lumpur.The situation should be clarified next week, when a decision could be made on whether England go to India for the three-Test series, followed by the one-day tournament in the new year, or tour somewhere else before the New Zealand leg gets under way in February.Graveney said: “The situation is no different from Zimbabwe in terms the priority of safety of the players, that is paramount.”At the present stage we are obviously waiting for what happens in Kuala Lumpur.”The PCA would never compromise their position about player safety, it’s thecrucial thing.”We would never send anybody into an area where their safety could ever be put at risk, how could you expect them to play and do their best, and what about their families?”But we would second guessing until we know what comes out of Kuala Lumpur. The security would need to be A1, it would have to be on any international sporting occasion.”The ICC meeting will also discuss the West Indies’ concerns about their imminent tour to Sri Lanka. Should the world situation rule out both tours, a logical outcome could be an England tour of the Caribbean.Another alternative might be to re-locate England’s two Tests in the north of India to southern cities, more distant from the troubled area.Meanwhile Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has said: “As far as I am concerned the tour will go ahead.”Graveney was also upbeat about England’s recent 5-0 one-day whitewash of Zimbabwe which ended a run of 11 consecutive defeats, as well as giving younger players valuable experience.”I think we got everything out of it that we needed to do,” Graveney said. “Weworked on the basics of the younger guys taking part, which has been good.”They would have extended their experience so it’s been a good trip. I’ve spoken to the coach Duncan Fletcher who really did feel we are heading in theright direction.”We’ve learned a bit more about some of the younger guys and we’ve won somegames.”England’s one-day squad for the rest of the winter will be named tomorrow morning.

Everton must take advantage of their home form as they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon, with Frank Lampard’s side running out of opportunities to save themselves from their first-ever Premier League relegation this season.

With the pressure on the Toffees to win at Goodison Park, it may be the right time for the 43-year-old to finally drop Michael Keane from the starting line-up after a series of woeful performances from the defender.

There is no doubt that the £65k-p/w centre-back has become a liability after scoring his second own goal in just seven league games against Tottenham on Monday night. He has putting in generally poor performances which have ultimately contributed to the continued demise of the team over the last few months.

When you look at Keane’s most recent display against Spurs, it’s fair to say that he should be dropped for the Wolves clash this weekend.

As per SofaScore, before he was withdrawn on Monday night, Keane made no tackles, interceptions or clearances, scored an own goal and lost two of his three duels, finally being replaced at half-time by Jarrad Branthwaite.

Journalist Sean Lunt criticised the defender, claiming that the 29-year-old had “regressed awfully” following that 5-0 defeat, tweeting: “Another sloppy goal for Everton to concede and it’s Michael Keane again. He’s regressed awfully once again, Everton would do well to sell at this point.”

The ex-Chelsea boss has been given a huge boost this weekend as Ben Godfrey is available for selection for the first time since the beginning of February, having fully recovered and returned to training after sustaining a hamstring tear. Therefore, the opportunity presents itself further for Lampard to rely on other experienced options for his defence on Sunday.

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Everton need to come out fighting tomorrow after their chastening defeat in north London, and Lampard must duly make some big calls regarding his starting line-up. A good start would be to axe the underperforming Keane.

In other news: Lampard must do everything to keep this man at Goodison Park

Abhishek Nayar, 26, represents a new breed of Mumbai talent © Cricinfo Ltd

“So you think you are Klusener?” Anil Kumble shot out at Abhishek Nayar after being hit for three consecutive fours on the second day’s play at the Wankhede Stadium. Replay this for a moment: after Nayar stepped out to swing the first two balls to cow corner, Kumble shrugged, “That was just a slog”. He fired the next one in quick and short, Nayar went back to slap it to the cover-point fence and smiled at the comparison with Klusener.However, if Pravin Amre and Sachin Tendulkar had not helped, the aggressive 24-year old Mumbai allrounder would not be here today, having a chuckle on the cricket field. He was dropped after three ducks in the 2005-06 Ranji season but just as the self-doubt started sinking in, Tendulkar happened. Nayar recalls with gratitude a special 45 minutes he spent with Tendulkar at the Bandra-Kurla complex in suburban Mumbai.”I was down and was having problems with my batting. I was unable to get any power in my strokes off the back foot,” Nayar told Cricinfo. He says he could drive but knew his back-foot play was going to hinder his cricketing career. Tendulkar asked him to take his stance and play a few back-foot shots. Nayar, who crouches in his stance before shuffling across from an outside-leg-stump guard, tried changing his stance in the Under-16 and 19 days but felt uncomfortable and returned to what he knew best – attack. Tendulkar spotted that his weight was on the heels rather than toes and that Nayar’s shift in balance was not smooth.”He suggested a few drills – playing with a cone, he told me not to bother about changing my stance and talked a lot about the mental strength. He gave examples from his own career – how he once famously played out seven quiet overs from [Glenn] McGrath in a Test before returning the next morning and going onto the attack.”Nayar told himself that if such a famed batsman could swallow his ego and play according to the situation, so could he.Amre, Mumbai’s coach, worked on Nayar’s batting at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana club and gave valuable input on the mental aspect of cricket. Two years ago, Nayar says, he would’ve probably said something back at Kumble but not now. Because Amre has made him realise the importance of being cool, calm and collected.Flash forward to the 2006-07 season when, after playing three games without a point on the board, Mumbai recalled Nayar for a game against Gujarat. Ajit Agarkar was set to play the next game and Nayar knew if he failed there, he would be dropped again. Remembering Tendulkar’s words, he fought hard initially before exploding in the end to finish with 97 from 173 balls. He added 213 with Rohit Sharma, and that turned the tide for both player and team. Nayar was the third highest run-scorer for Mumbai, with 360 runs in five matches, and took 15 wickets to finish third in the bowling tally. Two breezy centuries this season, including one in the Irani Trophy, and life is suddenly sunnier for Nayar.

Naik has that same walk to the crease and although he doesn’t turn it big, you can see the Tendulkar imprint all over him

Unlike many others in India Nayar didn’t play much tennis-ball cricket. Instead, he started off with the leather ball as a 10-year old. One man who shares that uncommon trait is his team-mate Prashant Naik, who tackled Kumble with a straight bat to score a crucial 78 to help Mumbai stretch the lead in the first innings. Like Nayar, he too was drafted into the squad in the last season for the Gujarat game. He didn’t play, but instead of idling his time, Naik hit the gym and lost four kilogramsIf Nayyar’s association with Amre was at the Shivaji Park, Naik came under the former India batsman while playing for Air India, with which Amre was involved. Ironically, for a man who took a confident front-foot stride to tackle Kumble with aplomb, the front-foot movement used to be his major flaw. “I had a very short forward stride and I was struggling a touch with my front-foot play. Amre sir gave me specific drills [he was made to hit golf balls thrown at him with a shortened bat and had to stretch well forward to make proper contact] and that helped.”Naik too has a special Tendulkar moment. Earlier in his life, he used to bowl an assorted mixture of legspin and medium pace. On one occasion Tendulkar, batting at an adjacent net, spotted him bowling his spinners and told him to concentrate on just that. “He gave me tips on my run-up, action, follow-through and the other nuances of the art,” says Naik, who bowled a few overs today against Rahul Dravid, mirroring Tendulkar’s action. He has that same walk to the crease and although he doesn’t turn it big, you can see the Tendulkar imprint all over him.Naik played his junior grade cricket in Pune before he moved to Mumbai upon the advice of his cricket-crazy father and uncle. He missed the U-14 trials as he arrived late to the city, but was given a chance in the U-16 round. He impressed and has risen through the ranks to play for Mumbai and now dreams of representing India. The signs have been good, based on a century on first-class debut in the Mohammad Nissar Trophy recently, and 78 here.In Nayar, Kerala-born but raised in Mumbai, and Naik, from Pune, the defending Ranji champions have found two talents for the future.

Injury problems continue to plague Shane Watson © Getty Images

Shane Watson is out of the Ashes and could be in doubt for the World Cup in March, after sustaining a 5cm tear to his troublesome left hamstring, just three overs into his comeback match at Adelaide. Watson had managed only 18 balls for Queensland against South Australia yesterday when he pulled up sore after bowling a bouncer.He left the field a short time later and did not bowl again during the innings. Watson originally hurt his left hamstring while bowling in a one-day game for Queensland in November. He had been named in the side for the first Test against England but the injury has kept him from being considered for any of the first three Ashes Tests.Watson had hoped to be fully fit by Christmas but Andrew Symonds should now retain his place in the team for the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne. The latest blow was particularly cruel given that Watson had made a dream start to his return claiming 2 for 13 from three overs before leaving the field.

One peaceful pair now © Getty Images

When after ten years Muttiah Muralitharan and Darrell Hair got together in the middle in Melbourne, it was a quiet and friendly affair with no hints of the MCG controversy that initially brought them so much notoriety. Hair’s appointment for the second match of the Super Series revived memories of the previous meeting, but his hands remained clasped for most of Muralitharan’s two spells, although he had to raise both arms when Adam Gilchrist slog-swept a six.Whistles and claps from the crowd greeted Muralitharan’s appearance in the 12th over and the closest sign of a no-ball call came from the stands for the first delivery. Muralitharan said last week the pair had made peace and Hair smiled at the bowler following his second opening-over appeal.Muralitharan’s only success came as he confused Simon Katich on 47 and his seven-over spell finished at 28 for 1. Returning for three more overs at Hair’s end, where he again bowled in partnership with Daniel Vettori, Muralitharan finished with a highly respectable 43 for 1, and was the most economical of the World XI bowlers as Australia went to pile up 328 for 4.At the MCG on Boxing Day in 1995 Hair called Muralitharan seven times in the Test, giving both men more notoriety than either wanted. Hair received death threats and Muralitharan won a lifetime of analysis from naked eyes and laboratories, including biomechanics tests. To prove his innocence he even appeared on TV to demonstrate how his arm didn’t exceed the right degree of flex.His relationship with Australia reached its worst point when John Howard, the prime minister, ruled him a chucker and with the jeers of previous trips in his ears he said he would never tour again. However, the tsunami relief match at the MCG in January 2005 brought him back to Melbourne, where his beaming eyes and twirling figure received a hugely supportive response.