England's Collingwood announces Test retirement

SYDNEY: England batsman Paul Collingwood said on Thursday he will retire from Test cricket after the final Sydney Ashes Test against Australia.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said Collingwood, 34, would remain as England's Twenty20 captain and play for England's one-day team.

Collingwood's announcement comes in the midst of a poor Ashes series, scoring just 83 runs from six innings at the number five batting position.

"Representing England at Test level has always been a dream of mine and I've been fortunate enough to have enjoyed some amazing highs throughout my Test career," Collingwood said in a statement.

"I'm proud of the fact that I've always given my all for the England Test team.

"But I feel that this is the right time to leave Test cricket having reached some very special achievements, none more satisfying that retaining the Ashes in Australia.

"I also feel now is the time to ensure some of the younger players are given an opportunity at Test level as we have a wealth of talent pushing for places in the England Test team.

"Clearly I still feel I have a huge amount to offer England in terms of limited overs cricket and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to continue leading the Twenty20 squad and playing a significant role in England's ODI team."

Collingwood made his Test debut in 2003 against Sri Lanka at Galle and has earned 68 caps.

The Durham right-hander has scored 4,259 runs in Tests at 40.95 and taken 17 wickets.

England retained the Ashes after beating Australia in last week's fourth Melbourne Test and are on top in the current final Sydney Test, set to become the first England team to win a series in Australia for 24 years.

Collingwood led England to their first-ever success in a global tournament when his team defeated Australia by seven wickets in the World Twenty20 final in Barbados last May.

Hugh Morris, Managing Director of England Cricket, said: "Paul Collingwood has made an outstanding contribution to the England Test team.

"His performances have been admired and recognised by his teammates and England supporters over many years and his tireless commitment in the Test match arena will be something he will always be remembered for.

"I'm delighted that Paul will be available to continue to make important contributions to our ODI and Twenty20 teams."


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Kallis' 40th ton puts Test almost beyond India

CAPE TOWN: Jacques Kallis had a simple message for the Indian cricket team on Wednesday: "If you want to conquer the Proteas, you'll have to do it over my dead body." India tried everything to get him but the valiant soldier was just not willing to leave Battleground Newlands. The call of duty required him to forget physical pain and keep fighting as the citadel was in danger of being breached. Kallis fought on till the fort was more or less secured. His 40th Test century took South Africa to 341 and left India with a victory target of 340 on the final day, a most unlikely prospect.

It required an exceptional performance from an exceptional cricketer to dramatically change the contours of the game after the havoc Harbhajan Singh wreaked in the morning. Four gone for 64, Harbhajan making the ball talk and dance and Kallis hurting, South Africa were in troubled waters.

Kallis then stitched together two small partnerships -- with AB de Villiers and Ashwell Prince. But when de Villiers and Prince also left to make it 130 for six, with the lead being only 128, India were right on top with grand images of a first-ever series win here dancing in front of their eyes. The sucker punch was waiting to be unleashed but India failed to bring it on. And with that, possibly, went the golden chance of a historic triumph.

Kallis leaves emotions and sentiments at home when it comes to playing cricket for South Africa. He is like a humanoid on one of those space ships. No situation affects his equilibrium. All he needed was some support from the other end because he knew that a lead of 225-250 could be a winning one in this Test. He got that from the other veteran in the team, Mark Boucher. The two put on 103 priceless runs and batted together for 138 minutes to fundamentally alter the state of the match. As their alliance prospered, they gained in confidence and India lost theirs.

What caught the eye was the way Kallis and Boucher rotated the strike and tackled Harbhajan. Their experience came to the fore and so did their love for a scrap. Soon, one started wondering why MS Dhoni wasn't using a part-timer to try and break the stand? He did, in the 78th over of the innings, and it paid dividends when Sachin Tendulkar trapped Boucher leg before with one which refused to rise.

But there was more trouble waiting for India. With the inspiring presence of Kallis at one and South Africa much better off now, even the tailenders like Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel had the confidence to swing their bats to good effect. The two pacemen helped Kallis add 54 and 46 respectively for the 8th and 9th wickets to effectively take it beyond India's reach.

Kallis, who was last out in the first innings, remained unbeaten in the second to complete what must be one of the greatest performances of his glittering career. In all, in this Test, he batted for 839 minutes and faced 531 balls while scoring 270 runs. He struck 38 fours -- 19 in each innings. Most of these runs were scored while he was batting with painkillers!

What hurt India other than Kallis was the placid wicket and an indifferent performance by the pacers. Bhajji, who got a wicket each in his 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th overs, and who had figures of 5-0-10-4 at one time, had to wage a lonely battle for most of the day. He finished with seven for 120 but could have done with more incisive support on the day.

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England ready to succeed India as No. 1 Test side

STAFF WRITER 14:42 HRS IST

London, Jan 5 (PTI) Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock believes England are ready to challenge India's number one status following their sensational all-round display against Australia in the Ashes Down Under.

"England have got a great squad - they've got a really settled line-up. All those guys know their role in the side and there's real strength in depth too, because you've got players like Eoin Morgan on the sidelines as well.

"Everyone has contributed in Australia but these are players that have played together for a long time and know each other's games well. They're feeling comfortable with each other, they're feeling comfortable with the way they play and they're feeling comfortable that they can get through pressure scenarios," Pollock was quoted as saying by 'Daily Mirror'.

India-SA: Early wickets put India on top ‎

Cape Town: Harbhajan Singh gave India the perfect start by getting rid of Alviro Petersen and Hashim Amla early on day four of the third Test at Cape Town on Wednesday.

Earlier on day three, Sachin Tendulkar cracked his 51st Test century in difficult conditions as the visitors eked out a slender 2-run first innings lead and then scalped two quick wickets to take a slight upper hand when the stumps were drawn.

Tendulkar held the innings together brilliantly to not only notch up his second century in the series but also pull India out of trouble and keep their hopes alive for a first ever series triumph on South African soil.

Apart from Tendulkar's heroic 146, Gautam Gambhir (93) and Harbhajan Singh (40) were the other notable contributors as India scored 364 in response to South Africa's first innings total of 362.

The hosts were struggling at 52 for two at close with Harbhajan Singh claiming the wickets of skipper Graeme Smith (29) and Paul Harris (0).

Alviro Petersen (22) and Hashim Amla (0) were at the crease when play came to an end on an absorbing day.

With two full days of play left in the decider India will try to capture the remaining eight wickets as quickly as possible and push for a victory.

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5th Test: England 488/7 at stumps on Day 3

SYDNEY: Centuries by Alastair Cook and Ian Bell put England within sight of their first series victory in Australia for 24 years after a dominant third day at the final Sydney Ashes Test on Wednesday.

Cook again tormented Australia with 189 while Bell broke his 18-Test drought against Australia with 115 and his elusive first Ashes century to have England in command with a 208-run lead and two days left to force a result.

When bad light ended play with five scheduled overs left, England were 488 for seven with Matt Prior on 54 and Tim Bresnan yet to score.

Cook was finally out driving at Shane Watson and getting a thick edge to a diving Michael Hussey at gully not long after tea, while Bell was caught at slip by Michael Clarke off Mitchell Johnson.

Cook blunted Australia's attack in over eight hours' of supreme concentration spread over 342 balls with 16 fours.

Along the way, the left-handed opener extended his series aggregate to 766 at 127.66, second only to Wally Hammond (905 in 1928-29) for most runs for England in a series in Australia.

Cook, who has batted for almost 36 hours in the series - equivalent to six days' play - tilted the pendulum towards the tourists with a 154-run sixth-wicket partnership with Bell.

He was denied his second double-century of the series after his unbeaten 235 in the first Brisbane Test. He also scored 148 in Adelaide.

It was his 16th career Test century and he now has 5,130 runs at 47.50.

The Essex left-hander survived a fright on 99 when close-in fielder Phillip Hughes claimed a catch off spinner Michael Beer, only for a referral to show that the ball had bounced just before the fielder's hands.

It was Cook's second close shave of his innings - both off debutant Beer.

Beer celebrated what he thought was his first Test wicket late on Tuesday when Cook, then on 46, skied to Ben Hilfenhaus at deep mid-on only for umpire Billy Bowden to ask for the third umpire to check on a suspected no-ball.

Replays showed the spinner had overstepped and Cook batted on.

Cook's magnificent series was also a remarkable turnaround in personal fortunes after coming into this Ashes contest averaging just 26.21 against Australia.

Cook last toured Australia as a 21-year-old, scoring 276 runs at 27.60 as Australia swept the 2006-07 series 5-0.

Bell also had the benefit of a referral after he was given out caught behind when 67 off Shane Watson by umpire Aleem Dar.

Replays could not show any mark on the "hot spot" technology and Dar reversed his decision and Bell stayed his ground.

The Warwickshire right-hander was also dropped on 84 by legspinner Steven Smith in a hot caught and bowled chance late in the day.

He batted for 296 minutes and faced 232 balls with 13 fours.

Beer went on finally to claim his maiden Test wicket when he had the out-of-form Paul Collingwood caught in the deep for 13.

Collingwood, whose Test future is up the air after dismal batting returns in the series, tried to smash Beer down the ground only to skew high to a back-pedalling Hilfenhaus at mid-on.

The dismissal took his series tally to 83 from six innings and increased the pressure on him to hold his Test place.

Nightwatchman James Anderson was out 20 minutes into the third day when he was bowled by Peter Siddle for seven.

England, who lead the series 2-1, outplayed Australia in Adelaide and Melbourne while Australia won the third Test in Perth. The first Brisbane Test was drawn.

England were the last team to beat Australia at the SCG, in 2003.

Sachin Tendulkar hits 51st Test century

NEW DELHI: Batting genius Sachin Tendulkar scaled yet another peak in his glittering career when he scored his 51st Test century on the third day of the final Test match against South Africa at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Tendulkar achieved the landmark in the second over after lunch when he top edged a Morne Morkel delivery that went over the keeper and the slips for a six as South Africa opted for the second new ball.

The moment Tendulkar hit the shot, the entire stadium stood up to salute one of the true legends of the game.

During his entire innings, Tendulkar stood a foot outside his crease to negate the swing.

This is his first century in the year 2011.

With established top-order players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman back in the pavilion, Tendulkar found an able ally in Cheteshwar Pujara who not only showed positive intent but also let the maestro play his natural game.

But Pujara fell in the first over after lunch, trapped leg before wicket by Dale Steyn.

On the second day, Gambhir and Tendulkar ground out the first century partnership of the match as India overcame the loss of two early wickets.

Gambhir and Tendulkar put on an unbeaten 114 for the third wicket to enable India to reach 142/2 at the close in reply to South Africa's Jacques Kallis-inspired 362 all out. However, Paul Harris dismissed Gambhir for 93 on Day 3.

The stand enabled India to stay in with a chance of winning a series in South Africa for the first time. The sides came to Newlands locked at one-all.

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No point wasting energy in trying to get Sachin out: Steyn

CAPE TOWN: He bowled one of the most hostile spell of fast bowling one had witnessed this season but Dale Steyn feels that when Sachin Tendulkar is in his element, it is better to focus on trying to get other batsmen out.

"Sachin's a very good player. There's no point wasting energy bowling at him. You focus on the other guys. But if you bowl a good ball to him or a No. 11 it remains a good ball," the fearsome spearhead of the Proteas attack complimented the maestro for his masterful 146 which provided India a slender first innings lead.

Steyn, inarguably the best bowler among either sides in the current series is happy that he is able to generate swing at a good pace.

"It does shape nicely. It's always nice to get wickets. It was even more fulfilling because Kallis wasn't there to bowl for us. To bowl 30 overs in the heat was quite tough. The job's only halfway done," said the bowler who had figures of five for 75 to show for his efforts.

Although South African bowlers were unlucky not to have got wickets even after bowling good deliveries, Steyn feels there is no point in wasting time thinking over it.

"You just have to pick yourself up. There's no point crying about not picking up wickets. That's Test cricket for you. Just the other day, I played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and didn't pick up any wickets. If you play long enough, bowl in the right areas, wickets will come," he added.

Although South Africa are leading by 50 runs, Steyn refused to predict what will be a winning score on this track.

"We haven't really thought about it. We first want to bat and get into a position from where we can't lose the game. We just really want to bat well tomorrow," the bowler stated.

Steyn agreed that the second new ball is doing a fair bit but it's a struggle after that.

"It seems like the new ball seems to do a little bit. If batsmen can survive the new ball, then the ball gets a bit softer and the bowlers really have to struggle to get wickets."

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