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Scorecard
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Live videoDay 5Bulletin – Hayden and Ponting seal victory
Verdict – Not rolled over
Quotes – Setting the stage
Quotes – ‘Sachin didn’t suggest it’
News – Pitching for trouble
News – Gillespie in Australian squad for Sydney TestDay 4Bulletin – Australia need 95 after India falter
Verdict – Wag the tail
Stats – A study in contrasts
Quotes and more – Williams – `A dream come true’Day 3Bulletin – Ponting leads Australian charge
Verdict – End of the Indian summer
Stats – Ponting’s mastery
Quotes and more – ‘I’m surprised Tendulkar didn’t come out to bat’
Roving Reporter – ‘It can’t end this way’
Comment – Should Zaheer have played?
Day 2Bulletin – Hayden and Ponting take charge
Verdict – Out of Jail
Stats – The perils of spongy bounce
Quotes and more – ‘It’s a rewarding place to play’
Day 1Bulletin – Sehwag century puts India in command
Verdict – The sublime savage
Stats – The length bowlers go to
Quotes and more – Sehwag – ‘I was too busy enjoying myself
Roving Reporter – The gladiator’s stage
Roving Reporter – Victoria Bitter at the MCG
Pre-match packagePreview – Unfamiliar territory for both sides
Facts and figures – Faster the better
Roving Reporter – Ferocity of desire
Comment – Missing McGrath
Feature – Brett Lee’s date with destiny
Feature – The fastest pitch in Australia
News – Lee replaces Gillespie for third Test
Comment – No signs of panic

MELBOURNE, Dec 30 AAP – Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath is a shock withdrawal from this week’s fifth Ashes Test against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground because of a side strain.West Australian paceman Brad Williams will join Australia’s suddenly injury-struck squad as Steve Waugh’s men attempt to secure the first 5-0 Ashes clean sweep since 1920-21.McGrath joins batsman Darren Lehmann and leg spinner Shane Warne on the injured list.Lehmann is recovering from a severe infection in his right leg while Warne will miss the rest of the Australian summer because of a dislocated shoulder.McGrath’s disappointment at missing his hometown Test is compounded by the fact he will be on the sidelines when his skipper and good friend Waugh plays what may be his last Test in Australia.McGrath expressed disappointment at ending his run of 54 consecutive Tests, stretching back to the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in October, 1998.”I knew I was a chance of not playing but once you find out you won’t play it hits you harder than you realise,” McGrath said in a statement.”I guess it’s a question of looking at the bigger picture as I did something similar in 1992, played on with it, and reckon I was eventually sidelined for three or four months.”It’s now a case of getting things right for the rest of the summer as we’ve plenty of cricket left to play.”I’ve always prided myself on my longevity and I would have liked to have played more Tests in a row but the number of successive matches I’ve managed isn’t bad for a fast bowler and to play one match for Australia is a huge honour.”Western Australian fast bowler Brad Williams has been drafted into the squad for the Sydney Test, starting on January 2.McGrath suffered the injury to his left side during the fourth day of the fourth Test in Melbourne on Sunday and was unable to take the field after tea.Australian team physiotherapist Errol Alcott said it was prudent for McGrath to miss the next Test match.”It is a soft tissue injury and we are confident it will resolve over the short term,” Alcott said in a statement.McGrath’s fitness will be reviewed at the end of the fifth Test with a view to his availability for the resumption of the one-day series on January 9, when Australia takes on Sri Lanka in Sydney.Williams will be replaced in the Australia A squad for matches against Sri Lanka on January 1 and 7 in Adelaide by NSW left-arm fast bowler Nathan Bracken.

Writing for The Athletic, journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke has praised Fabio Paratici for the double capture of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski in the January transfer window. 

The lowdown: January chaos

Signed in a last-gasp deadline day swoop, Tottenham bolstered their squad to the tune of two apparent Juventus outcasts.

Swedish forward Kulusevski arrived on an 18-month loan deal whilst Uruguayan central midfielder Bentancur made a permanent switch in a deal worth up to £21.5million (Sky Sports).

Of course, those moves came at the end of a chaotic month which saw other deals fall through, but both players have since had a positive effect on Antonio Conte’s side and at present have made a combined 17 Premier League appearances.

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The latest: Pitt-Brooke impressed

Taking to Twitter, Pitt-Brooke hails the ‘rare’ success of the ‘really good’ January additions after the winter window was initially dismissed as a failure.

The Spurs journalist has described the duo as ‘instantly’ improving Conte’s charges, with 24-year-old Bentancur lauded as an ‘instant upgrade’ on previous options.

Going on to describe the Uruguayan as a ‘very gifted’ footballer, Pitt-Brooke also states that the 20 times capped Swedish ace, Kulusevski, has ‘notably improved’ Tottenham.

The verdict: An undoubted success story

Given the previous lacklustre business since the arrival of Fabio Paratici as Managing Director of Football, it would appear the Italian has succeeded on this occasion.

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Whilst Conte was initially disparaging about the winter business as Bryan Gil, Dele Alli and Tanguy Ndombele made way with just two first-team incomings, the upturn in performances would suggest that Spurs are in a better place than before the mid-season market.

Albeit a top-four finish is far from nailed on, with the likes of Bentancur and Kulusevski in the squad, the Lilywhites have given themselves every opportunity.

In other news: Tottenham eyeing record-breaking striker signing, find out more here.

Marlon Samuels scored a determined 94 as West Indies finished the first day in command at 281 for 4 © Getty Images

Almost every preconception, all based on solid statistical or circumstantial evidence, was negated on the opening day of the first Test at St.George’s Park.Only the assumption that the captain winning the toss would choose to bowl followed the prescribed script and even that decision turned out to be flawed. At the end, West Indies, weak, woefully under prepared and seemingly with little hope against superior opponents, were standing tall at 281 for four. Everyone who went to the wicket made a contribution and even Clive Lloyd’s plea for “stickability” was heeded by two unlikely candidates during a period of attribution between intervals and into the final session.The pitch, under cover for much of the previous four days as rain lashed Port Elizabeth, was widely expected to encourage the fast bowlers. It didn’t. It turned out to be slow and provided little movement. A little uneven bounce was its only snag and it contributed to the dismissal of Runako Morton, who jabbed one that lifted from a length to point.Dale Steyn, South Africa’s wrecker of New Zealand with 20 wickets in the two Tests last month, was primed to do the same to West Indies, who had folded for 193 and 218 against lesser bowlers in their preceding match against the A team. He didn’t. Unable to ignite the fire out of the surface as he did on the fliers in Johannesburg and Centurion, he had to wait for the second new ball and his 19th over before he claimed his solitary wicket.It was significant since it ended Marlon Samuels’ quality innings, an extravagant drive flying to slip when he was six short of a long overdue second Test hundred, a quarter-hour before fading light halted play for the day. Until half an hour before the start, it was doubtful whether Chris Gayle’s slowly healing hamstring would allow him to lead West Indies in his first Test match. He did, after declaring himself ready following a casual jog on the outfield, and, in the manner of all worthy captains, made the assertive statement for his men to follow.Soon assessing that the pitch was as flat as South Africa’s early bowling and realising he had chosen a good toss to lose (he admitted he would have done what Smith did), the tall left-hander thumped 13 fours in all directions with typically dismissive power, scoring 66 from 49 balls. Such an immediate assault was not unfamiliar to South Africa. Gayle has blasted them more than once in the past but this was his first innings since his injury in Zimbabwe on December 2.After initially, if inadvertently, putting it to the test with a sharp single and a full length dive for home to get off the mark in the first over, he thoroughly dictated terms. In successive overs from Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel, he reeled off three fours each to raise 50 from 42 deliveries. He and Daren Ganga, who applied a steady approach, raised 98 for the first wicket before two careless strokes claimed them within three balls of each other and spoiled the growing optimism.Two of Ganga’s boundaries were delightful drives through cover and mid-off from Nel. Seemingly sweetened by the effect, he went for another from a delivery too wide to give merit to the stroke and nicked to Mark Boucher. At the opposite end, Gayle punched Paul Harris’s first ball for his 13th four and, trying to repeat, edged a sharp catch to Jacques Kallis at first slip. His commanding play suggested much more but he didn’t give himself enough time to scrutinise the left-arm spinner.West Indies went into lunch at 130 for two, Samuels saved at 14 in the last over to the break by umpire Aleem Dar’s call of Steyn’s no-ball that was edged into Smith’s lap at slip. Soon after, Dar’s eagle eye was again to the rescue, spotting that Samuels’ hand was off the handle when another catch was deflected to slip off the glove, also off Steyn.The morning session yielded 22 fours from 27 overs. It was enough to place South Africa on the defensive and the tactics on resumption involved Jacques Kallis and Steyn testing the batsmen’s patience by bowling well wide of off-stump.The name Larry Gomes is not the first one brought to mind in association with Samuels or Morton but, for long periods during the afternoon, they followed Lloyd’s mantra to dig in like the left-hander used to in his era.The first hour brought 36 runs from 14 overs, the second to tea, also involving the more Gomes-like Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 24 off 14. The difference was that neither Morton nor Samuels remained to post the hundreds of which Gomes tallied nine.Morton’s 33, with seven fours, mostly with his trademark straight drives, occupied 71 balls in a stand of 66 with Samuels. Once he had gone, Samuels’ next partnership with the typically adhesive Chanderpaul was worth 109 when he was snaffled at second slip slip by the leaping Kallis.Either agitated by Nel’s annoying verbal taunts that once drew censure from umpire Dar or seduced by the approach of his hundred, Samuels suddenly changed his long period of defence into all-out attack and stroked four boundaries each off Nel and Harris in successive overs. There are few more graceful batsmen around and it was exciting stuff. It was also fraught with danger and, making no provision for the harder new ball, Samuels fell to a drive executed with a flourish.Chanderpaul, entrenched for three hours already for 43, resumes tommorow with the sizeable total necessary to support the bowlers mainly in his hands. In the circumstances, it was West Indies’ most encouraging start to a series since 2005 when a team, decimated by the loss of captain Brian Lara and four key players through one of the interminable rows with the board, declared at 503 for five after two days at Bourda against the same opponents featuring many of the players they kept in the field for 84 overs here.They might recall that, in spite of enforcing the follow-on they couldn’t quite force victory then and eventually went down 2-0 in the series. A lot of hard work lies ahead here.

Chamara Silva became the 19th Sri Lankan batsman to score an ODI hundred in a losing cause © AFP

145 – The unfinished fourth-wicket stand between Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh. It’s the highest for that wicket for India versus Sri Lanka, beating the 128 that Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir added at Ahmedabad in November 2005.51.80 – The average partnership between Ganguly and Yuvraj. In 19 innings they have put together two century and four half-century stands49.24 – Yuvraj’s average in ODIs won by India. In matches lost, he only averages 22.09.45 – The number of consecutive ODI matches in which Ganguly hadn’t taken a wicket, before the Visakhapatnam match. The last time Ganguly managed a wicket, he took three – against Australia in the VB Series at Sydney in 2003-04, he grabbed 3 for 41.114 – The number of runs Chamara Silva had scored in his nine previous ODI innings before his unbeaten 107 against India.17 – The number of consecutive ODI innings in which Mahela Jayawardene hasn’t managed a half-century. It’s his longest such slump – his previous longest was 15 innings in 2002-03, which, incidentally, included 21 runs from seven innings during the 2003 World Cup. In the 17 innings during the current drought, Jayawardene has managed 314 at an average of 22.43.19 – The number of times a Sri Lankan batsman has scored a century in a losing cause. India hold the record with 39 such instances, while England come in next with 27.

Robert Haynes has resigned as head coach of Jamaica following their disastrous performance in this season’s Carib Beer Cup when they finished bottom without a win.Haynes, 41, had been coach of Jamaica since 1999 when he took over from Rohan Kanhai. In 2004-05, Jamaica won the Carib Beer Cup at a canter, but this season the side has been a far from happy unit, with reports of internal disputes.”Losing out in the competition was a big blow; this is just part of the same big blow,” said Brian Breese, Jamaica Cricket Association’s cricket operations officer. “I suppose. But we have to wheel and come again and do what we did last year when we won the competition easily.”

South Africa 480 for 7 dec (Prince 139*, Boje 82) beat Zimbabwe 265 and 149 (Zondeki 6-39) by an innings and 62 runs
Scorecard
3rd dayBulletin – Zondeki takes six to rout Zimbabwe
Verdict – Development is the only solution
News – Zondeki named in Caribbean squad
News – South Africa trim central contracts
Big Picture – Boje misses his hundred
2nd dayBulletin – Prince century checks Zimbabwe’s progress
Big Picture – Herschelle Gibbs on the drive
1st dayBulletin – South African apathy keeps Test alive
Verdict – Putting them out of their misery
News – Injury problems for SA
Preview packagePreview – Taibu hopes for better showing

Steve Waugh: a great leader of Australian cricket and Australian sport © Getty Images

Not long after Steve Waugh announced his plans to retire at the end of Australia’s Test series against India, the first of many tributes came flooding in, with Sachin Tendulkar leading the way.”I think he set great examples in the way cricket should be played,” Tendulkar said. “He was completely at a different level as far as mental toughness is concerned. He’s someone I’ve really admired, he’s shown over the years that he’s very gutsy and when the time demands it, he’s there to deliver.”John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister, also joined in, pointing out how the opposition always had total respect for him. “He’s been a wonderful captain, a wonderful batsman, a gritty, determined competitor.”Ricky Ponting, who took over from Waugh as the one-day international captain, and is now expected to lead the Test side too, said he wanted to enjoy the Indian Test series, which he sees as a celebration of Waugh’s success. He said: “What is important to me is that we all enjoy being a part of his farewell series, it’s sure to be something special.”Adam Gilchrist also paid his respects, citing the pride and passion Waugh instilled in the team: “I’m not saying players before him didn’t play with pride and value it, but he’s the main driver behind that passion and the aura of the baggy green.”John Buchanan, Australia’s coach, insisted Waugh would go down in history as one of the greats, both on and off the pitch. “He’s left a significant imprint not only on Australian cricket, I guess world cricket and even Australian society,” Buchanan decreed. “He is going to be, I think, revered as one of the great leaders of Australian cricket and Australian sport.”