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India tucked the first win of their South African tour into their kit coffins when they beat the Nicky Oppenheimer XI by five wickets in a gentle stroll at Randjesfontein on Monday.The Indians moved comfortably to victory after the home team had declared at 244 for three with the winning margin slightly misleading. Two of the Indian batsmen retired in a match in which the bat unquestionably held sway over the ball.and, if nothing else, Sachin Tendulkar’s form suggested he is well over the foot injury that sidelined him recently.It was, said Sourav Ganguly, “a lovely ground, a lovely wicket, a nice relaxed way to start the tour”.Ganguly was reluctant to read too much into what was, effectively, a practice outing, but coach John Wright said the two big pluses for the Indians were the bowling of Anil Kumble – “He looked good, he was pleased with the way he bowled” – and the batting of Tendulkar – “He looked good, too. It’s very much a confidence thing”.The NFO innings, which demonstrated the depth of young talent available to South Africa, was built around two century partnerships and a gem of a hundred from Jacques Rudolph, the 20-year-old Northerns opener who is tipped by many for higher honours.Rudolph and Loots Bosman put on exactly 100 for the first wicket after the home team batted first by mutual agreement between the captains. Bosman was the aggressor, spraying four sixes and four fours around the picturesque ground owned by the Oppenheimer family.Bosman carved out 62 off 77 balls before he tried to cut Anil Kumble and chopped it on at 100 for one.Rudolph, meanwhile, once again emphasised that among his considerable talents is the ability to pace an innings and in harness with Graeme Smith 117 was put on for the second wicket.In the process Rudolph moved to his hundred, a landmark he celebrated by heaving Kumble over mid-wicket for a huge six before holing out to mid on in the same over for 109. Smith went on to record the third half-century of the innings, reaching 54 before he was run out.The declaration came after a first session that lasted 187 minutes and 52 overs and was followed by a second session during which just 21 overs were bowled, the players coming back in for tea as the lunchtime crockery was still being gathered up.India managed 109 for two in this period, Tendulkar crunching 45 off 36 balls before falling leg before in Nantie Hayward’s first over, a decision which disappointed the crowd as much as it pleased Hayward.Sourav Ganguly compiled a more measured 34 before holing out to midwicket off the left-arm wrist spinner Goolam Bodi while SS Das breezed his way to 59 before retiring to let someone else have a go.As was the case in the NFO innings, the bowling lacked bite (with the possible exception of Hayward who might yet force his way back into the South African Test side this summer). The Indians, then, were seldom under any pressure against NFO part-timers and Dale Benkenstain and Rahul Dravid also retired himself out for 48.Virender Sehwag was the last wicket to fall, run out for 44, before Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Deep Dasgupta saw India home.

ScorecardSuccess for David Wigley as he removes Phillip Hughes•Getty Images

The pressure is mounting on Phillip Hughes. No sooner had Australia’s embattled opener fallen cheaply to David Wigley, Northamptonshire’s journeyman seamer, than reports were surfacing of Justin Langer’s proposed comeback to Test cricket. And if that wasn’t enough, the two batsmen best placed to usurp Hughes this tour, Shane Watson and Michael Hussey, both notched half-centuries on a rain-interrupted day in Northampton.A day removed from overtaking Don Bradman as Australia’s high first-class run scorer, Langer revealed he would be prepared to “play the third Test for Australia next week for nothing”. The likelihood of Australia’s selectors accepting his offer may well be infinitesimal but the stir it caused at Wantage Road on Friday said much about the concerns harboured about Hughes and his diminishing returns.Since arriving in England with the Australian team, the 20-year-old has scored just 82 first-class runs at 13.66. Never before in his 28-game first-class career has he endured a stretch this long without registering a half century. His prolific feats for Middlesex now resemble a false dawn.Hughes’ efforts in South Africa, as well as his brisk 78 in the unofficial match against Sussex, might just have provided him with enough selection credits to carry through this Ashes series, but should his struggles continue Phil Jaques and Chris Rogers will certainly enter the frame for Australia’s next Test assignment against West Indies. Langer may present a fair case with a typically solid 529 runs at 44.08 for Somerset this season, but at 38, and with no Tests to his name since the fifth and final match of the 2006-07 Ashes, his prospects are remote in the extreme.”One of the boys in the Somerset changing room asked me ‘if they asked you to play tomorrow, how much would it take?’ and I said I would play the third Test for Australia next week for nothing,” Langer told the Press Association on Friday. “When you have played that much, you miss the big Tests. I miss the hype of the Ashes series.”I also miss the challenge of playing against Andrew Flintoff. That is what it is all about. That is the great test for batsmen. I really miss being in those sort of battles. I miss Test cricket. There is a lot I don’t miss about it but these big series, I’d play tomorrow if I was asked.”Langer has previously likened Hughes to Steve Waugh in terms of temperament, but the out-of-sorts opener appeared anything but assured during his brief stint at the crease on Friday. Hughes opened the day with a firmly struck cover drive to the boundary, but was promptly reined in and eventually fell to a short-of-a-length delivery, continuing a worrying trend on this tour.Wigley, who possesses a modest first class average of 34.72 across stints with three counties, rocked Hughes onto the back-foot with a rib-high delivery around off-stump. Hughes fended at the ball but succeeded only in making contact with the shoulder of his bat, resulting in a simple catch to Alex Wakely in the gully for 10.Hughes’ opening partner, Simon Katich, represented the only other Australian wicket to fall during a rain-interrupted first two sessions. Katich pushed at a fuller, seaming delivery from David Willey, the son of the former England batsman Peter, for 25, but Watson spared Australia’s blushes with a sparkling 84 from 96 deliveries, including 15 boundaries and a six.Watson, in his maiden first-class appearance this tour, was ruthless square of the wicket, particularly on the hook and pull. The allrounder showed few ill-effects from his extended bout with a thigh strain, and can further press his case for selection with the ball over the weekend.Watson eventually played under a delivery from Graeme White, an emerging left-arm finger spinner, and feathered an edged to the wicketkeeper. Hussey, however, maintained the pressure on the opposition with a determined innings of 75 not out before bad light stopped play late on the first evening.

Match facts

Sunday, July 5, 2009
Start time 09.30 (13.30 GMT)
MS Dhoni has been in prime form this series•Associated Press

The Big Picture

It may have been a dismal World Twenty20 for India, but when it comes to one-dayers they have been unstoppable over the past year. MS Dhoni’s boys have strung together four comfortable series victories since the defeat in the Asia Cup final, and with plenty of ODIs coming up India will want to extend that winning sequence with a success on Sunday.On the other hand, West Indies haven’t won a series against serious opposition in more than a year. To salvage this one, they need their pace spearhead Jerome Taylor to fire; in the absence of Fidel Edwards there’s more responsibility on Taylor, whose performances have mirrored West Indies’ fortunes in this series. Unless he and his pace-bowling colleagues provide the early breakthroughs, West Indies will have a tough time against the savage hitters in the Indian middle order.Friday’s game at the Beausejour Stadium was shortened to a 22-over affair due to rain, and showers are forecast for Sunday morning as well, raising the possibility of another curtailed game.

ODI form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
India – WLWLW
West Indies – LWLLL

Watch out for …

The absence of several big names opened up the opportunity for Dinesh Karthik to get an extended run in the side. With Dhoni firmly ensconced in the keeper’s spot, it was as a specialist batsman that Karthik had to make an impression, and he’s delivered. His 67 in the first game helped re-build the innings after two early wickets, and a 47 on Friday gave India the perfect launchpad.Runako Morton has been providing the solidity at the top of the order to complement Chris Gayle’s flamboyance. The pair have provided decent starts in each of the games, reducing the pressure on the West Indies middle order. Morton is also the home side’s leading run-getter this series, with 149 runs.

Team news

It will be hard to drop allrounder Abhishek Nayar, who didn’t get to bat or bowl on his debut on Friday, without giving him a chance to prove his credentials, meaning Ravindra Jadeja could remain on the sidelines. Fast bowler RP Singh has been ineffective in the series so far, which might lead to Praveen Kumar returning. With part-timers Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, and Yusuf Pathan complementing Harbhajan Singh in the spin department, Pragyan Ojha is likely to continue warming the bench.India (probable) 1 Dinesh Karthik, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Abhishek Nayar, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Ishant SharmaWith West Indies naming only a 13-man squad, there isn’t too much room for them to tinker. Narsingh Deonarine and Lionel Baker are the two players who sat out on Friday, and it’s unlikely they will get to play on Sunday either.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Runako Morton, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Darren Bravo, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Jerome Taylor, 9 David Bernard, 10 Suleiman Benn, 11 Ravi Rampaul.

Stats and trivia

• India have won only one one-day series in the Caribbean so far, a rain-affected contest in 2002
• Dhoni’s unbeaten 46 on Friday pushed his one-day average above 50. Only Michael Bevan and Michael Hussey (min 25 innings) have a higher average than him. Dhoni has scored 632 runs at 90.28 this year.
• If more proof was needed of Chris Gayle’s hitting ability, take a look at the number of sixes he has hit this year – 27, which is ten more than the next highest.

Quotes

“He’s had a magnificent series and he’s played some really good one-day cricket for us.”

Fidel Edwards: blazing speeds, but little support•Getty Images

Fidel Edwards – 9An outstanding, if somewhat puzzling, display from the quickest bowler on either side, and maybe even in the world game. At Lord’s Edwards’ figures of 6 for 92, although magnificent, failed to take into account three dropped catches that could and should have set him up for an eight-for. At Chester-le-Street, he reserved his best and most venomous spell for James Anderson, of all the unlikely targets. Quite why he couldn’t rouse himself for more obvious targets, such as Kevin Pietersen, is a mystery. Perhaps he was just fed up at his lack of support.Sulieman Benn – 7Cruelly under-rewarded for his efforts. Bowled with attacking intent and cunning varieties, and from a height that had the potential to turn every ball into a hand-grenade. Pietersen certainly didn’t enjoy the best of the battle, and he wasn’t alone, as the combative cricketer who had taken eight wickets in the Jamaica triumph returned to something approaching his best form. Had fun with the bat as well at times, and wasn’t shy in dishing out the verbals either. West Indies could have done with more of his spirit.Ramnaresh Sarwan – 6Not quite the superhuman who cracked 626 runs in the previous series, but away from the featherbeds of home, Sarwan still helped himself to his fourth century in six Tests, which was quite some achievement for a man who never got going in his other three innings. His strength through the covers was diminished by the threat of the moving ball, although with the sun on his back on the fourth day at Chester-le-Street he made hay impressively to record West Indies’ only hundred of the series. Nevertheless, he was dismissed twice in the same day in both matches, which was something of an unwanted ignominy.Denesh Ramdin – 6Caught the eye with two free and easy half-centuries, the second of which, at Durham, had England’s bowlers on the run when they thought they were going for the kill. His glovework was still prone to untimely lapses, however, not least the leg-side drop off Alastair Cook that condemned his bowlers to yet another long and fruitless day in the field.Brendan Nash – 5Enhanced his credentials with a pugnacious 81 at Lord’s, but either side of that innings he was swept away in West Indies’ tide of futility. Out-thought at Chester-le-Street, first by a bouncer barrage that made him susceptible to a loose under-edged drive, then by Bresnan’s booming swing in the second dig. And then there was his dropped catch at square leg on the first afternoon at Lord’s – the error that arguably transformed the momentum of the series.Chris Gayle – 4Led by example, which is not meant as a compliment. His late arrival ahead of the Lord’s Test set the tone for a hideously forgettable series, and not even his fourth-day fireworks could atone for his divisive comments about the future of Test cricket. He is entitled to his opinion of course, but there’s a time and a place for expressing sentiments, and this, sadly, was neither.Devon Smith – 4Two starts, two failures, and no surprises. At times in the first Test at Lord’s, Smith looked the most accomplished batsman in the side, but then would come the inevitable error, and all his hard work would unravel. He attracted the odd good delivery, it has to be said, not least the Onions yorker at Lord’s, but his travails against Swann became the subject of ridicule when Strauss elected to open the bowling with his spinner for West Indies’ first innings of the series.Shivnarine Chanderpaul – 4Equalled Viv Richards’ record of 121 Tests at Chester-le-Street, and overtook his runs tally in the very same game which was a spooky coincidence. But aside from a futile 47 in the follow-on, there was little for the ICC World Player of the Year to cheer. At Lord’s he made 0 and 4 as Swann got his number in both innings, and though things improved in the second Test, he found simply being a barnacle wasn’t sufficient to get his team back into the contest.Lendl Simmons – 3His temperament at times seemed unflappable, which meant that his series haul of 55 runs in four innings was a crushing disappointment. Simmons is unquestionably a name for the future – anyone who can score 282 off an international attack, as he did in St Kitts for West Indies A against England in February – has to be worth investing in. Somehow his returns failed to stack up, but watch this space, he’ll get it right soon.Jerome Taylor – 3 Innocuous and superfluous, and a dreadful shame it was too. What has become of the man who rampaged through Sabina Park back in February? A combination of injuries and ennui seems to have set in ever since, for Taylor’s pace was powder-puff at times, not least in a critical first over to Kevin Pietersen in the second Test. Taylor is in need of a long lay-off and recharging of the batteries.Lionel Baker – 3Bowled one superb delivery to castle Ravi Bopara, and that was that, really. With a lithe, whippy action that is designed to be repeated, Baker really ought to be a line and length merchant, the steadying influence around which a team can build. Instead no two deliveries ever landed in the same place. Four-balls were only ever a matter of time.

Persistent Cape Town rains made sure that Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t get onto the park for their match. The rain was intermittent all day, and the umpires decided to call it off close to three hours after the scheduled start. Both teams will now share a point.Incidentally this is the third IPL game to be washed out without a ball being bowled. The first was at the Feroz Shah Kotla between the hosts Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata last May, and the second was between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians earlier this season.Chennai and Kolkata would have started the game level at two points, and they now have three points each, from four matches each.

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif is set to begin his rehabilitation in England this summer and possibly play league cricket to work his way back into form and fitness before the Champions Trophy this September. Asif is currently serving a one-year ban after testing positive to the banned substance nandrolone last year.Salman Ahmed, one of Asif’s agents, said they have applied for a work permit which will allow him to train in England for at least four weeks before taking up offers with clubs in Cambridge and Greater Manchester, which have reportedly shown interest in signing him up.”All the setbacks that have hit him in the last year or so have left Asif really exhausted,” Ahmed told the . “We have prepared a fitness regime for him that will help him recover both mentally and physically.”We have applied for a work permit which should be ready in about a month’s time. Once it’s ready, we will work out a contract for him with some club in England.”Asif will have to return home in August to make himself available for selection for the Champions Trophy in South Africa. His ban runs till September 21, 2009, and the tournament begins three days later.Asif, who already left for London on Tuesday for a two-week stint, will fly to South Africa to watch a few IPL games. He was a member of the Delhi Daredevils team for the first season but the franchise banned him for a year following an internal dope test. He was banned by the PCB as well. He is still embroiled in another controversy after being detained at the Dubai airport last year for possessing opium, a case which the PCB is still investigating.

ScorecardGavin Hamilton’s ton ensured Scotland retain their financially lucrative ODI status•Ian Jacobs / Cricinfo Ltd

When it mattered, Scotland finally produced a performance meritingtheir pre-tournament status as one of the two favourites, thumping UAEby 122 runs and, with it, retaining their status as an internationalcountry by the thinnest of margins.To produce it at this last-gaspstage of proceedings, however, will not lessen the disappointment ofthe loyal supporters – a few of whom were scattered around Benonitoday – nor, more prosaically, Scotland Cricket or the ICC, both ofwhom have invested four years of money and time into a team who haveplayed well beneath themselves. A Scottish stalwart, Gavin Hamilton,came to their rescue yet again with 127 from just 124 balls, butquestions remain about Scotland’s poor performances.UAE either fire explosively or implode rather limply. Today they chosethe latter, though were undone by a fine display of seam-and-swingfrom Scotland’s ever-green allrounder Craig Wright. The formercaptain, now 34 and who many expect to stand down at the end of thistournament, produced tidy figures of 4 for 41 from 10 nagging overs asUAE chased an unlikely, but gettable, 300 on a very flat surface.John Blain removed Amjad Javed, who has sunk rapidly since hisbreathtaking 164 earlier in the tournament and, in the 10th over,Wright picked up his first wicket when Arshad Ali was neatly held byGavin Hamilton. Saqib Ali was also safely held by Calum Macleod atmid-off, but Nithin Gopal stood in Scotland’s way with a carefullycrafted 50 from 72 balls. Two of his three fours were streaky, but heprovided UAE with a vital anchor upon which to base their chase. On50, however, he dropped one out to Neil McCallum at point whose throwto the non-striker’s end was fast, flat and left Gopal comfortablyshort. At 125 for 5, in the 27th over, UAE’s chase was all butfinished and, as evidence of Scotland’s growing confidence, KyleCoetzer held a fine chance on the deep extra cover boundary.Fayyaz Ahmed hit three of the crispest boundaries in the innings,including a skilful square-drive through the hands of point, but acalamitous mix-up ended his frolics on 19 when Dewald Nel – below hisbest with the ball – left him short of his ground. The rest of thetail folded without so much as a whimper, losing with more than 10overs to spare.Excellent in the field, it was Scotland’s batting – such adisappointment in the last three weeks – which finally fired to putthem in the box seat. It was a conundrum, though, combining boththoughtlessness and aggression in a Jekyll-and-Hyde performance splitalmost evenly by 25 overs. On a flat pitch offering only a hint ofswing with the new ball, their openers, Hamilton and Navdeep Poonia,crawled and nudged nervously, too aware of the pressure on theirshoulders. UAE’s opening bowlers were reasonably accurate to beginwith but nevertheless offered several gifts, none of which were takenadvantage of. With Poonia retiring hurt after top-edging into hisforehead – a nasty blow that required stitches – Scotland took 13overs to reach their fifty. Their hundred came up in the 25th and,with twenty overs remaining, had reached an unconvincing 128. UAE’sspinners were controlled and bowled an excellent length, but where wasScotland’s inventiveness?Well, it took a while to arrive, but eventually Hamilton opened hisshoulders to loft Amjad over midwicket before uppercutting himbeautifully over the slips. With McCullum for company, the pair put on121 off 123 as Hamilton’s hundred – celebrated with a subdued raise ofthe bat and nothing more – came up from 110 balls. UAE’s brittleconfidence snapped in two; the blistering last 20 overs yielded 171runs, the sort of match-defining partnership which Scotland havefailed to produce in this tournament.As a nervous changing room waited for news of the other matches, newsfinally came through that Scotland had snuck into fifth place and,crucially, retained their ODI status by the skin of their teeth. “Weobviously had our eyes set on a high-placed finish, and obviouslythings didn’t go to plan at various times and we just lackedconsistency really,” their coach, Pete Steindl, told Cricinfo. “All inall, today, the way we played, I’m much happier and it was a goodperformance and it’s nice to get in there in the top 6.”The man most under pressure is the captain, Ryan Watson, who againfailed with the bat today, with a former player, Paul Hoffmann, calling for hisresignation. Steindl, however, was right behind his skipper andrejected calls for widespread changes to the squad. “You’ve got totake stock, reflect on what happened any time you get into asituation, and there’s a momentary loss of form,” he said. “Ryan inparticular has worked hard but had a poor tournament, but he’s stillcontributed as a batsman and bowler. It’s the way it is. He has mysupport. It’s not helpful when former players add in little comments,if indeed that was what was said.”

Tasmania fast bowler Brett Geeves has been called into Australia’s Test squad in South Africa as cover for Doug Bollinger, who suffered an abdominal strain while training during the Wanderers Test. Geeves will join the touring party on Monday for what will be his first overseas trip with the Australian team, while Bollinger will remain with the squad for the time being.The left-armer Bollinger, who made his Test debut in Sydney, has been ruled out of the second Test in Durban but will be monitored over the next few days to determine if he has any chance of playing the final game in Cape Town. Bollinger was not chosen for the first Test in Johannesburg with the allrounder Andrew McDonald being preferred instead.”Doug Bollinger sustained an abdominal muscle strain on day two of the Test during a training session,” Australia’s physio Alex Kountouris said. “An MRI scan confirmed the presence of a moderate size muscle strain that will effectively rule him out of contention for the secondTest against South Africa in Durban.”Geeves, 26, got his first taste of international cricket in August when he was included in the squad for the one-day series against Bangladesh in Darwin, where he played one of the three games. He has been in strong form for Tasmania and in a match that finished this weekend, he collected 6 for 47 in the second innings, finishing with eight for the game.He is third on the Sheffield Shield wickets tally with 37at 23.86 each. Geeves has also been in excellent batting form and twicethis season has run out of partners on 99 while looking for his maiden first-class century.”Brett performed well during his time with the Australian one-day teamin Darwin last year and we are looking forward to seeing another youngplayer with an opportunity to perform at the next level,” AndrewHilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “He has been consistentagain for Tasmania this season. The national selection panel will workclosely with the team’s medical staff over the next few days to assessif Doug will remain with the squad or return to Australia to continuehis recovery.”

Before the second Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium was suspended after just 10 balls, both West Indies and England had voiced major concerns about the state of the outfield. Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, wrote a letter to the ICC through the match referee Alan Hurst, and the West Indies physio put his concerns to the West Indies CEO, Donald Peters.After a meeting yesterday evening it was agreed to bring the boundary ropes in to try and alleviate some of the problems, but in the 10 deliveries bowled the ball never went near the rope. Some areas of the outfield were just bare patches of stand and even the pre-match football game was bringing up huge divots.The sides trained on the outfield on Thursday and quickly noticed that conditions were barely suitable even for light exercises. The new surface was only laid in November after previous problems over drainage during last year’s Test against Australia when half a day was lost despite bright sunshine.However the grass has been unable to take on the sand base and even walking across the outfield in normal shoes brought chunks out of the surface, let alone a pace bowler running it at full steam. Both Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards had to abort their run-ups as they were slipping even with spikes in.”It was evident that the bowler was struggling with the run-up and the second over with Fidel bowling I brought it to the umpires’ attention,” Chris Gayle said. “They came to the conclusion that conditions were unsuitable. I don’t know what will happen now.””It was bad on both ends. Jerome went around the wicket because of the conditions and it’s difficult in a Test when you have to switch so early on.”Gayle wasn’t only concerned about his quick bowlers and their run-ups, but the general condition of the entire playing area. “Even in the outfield someone could make a big effort for a ball and anything could happen,” he said. “We still have a lot of cricket to play and we didn’t want to risk any injuries.”Andrew Strauss said that he couldn’t have a huge say in the decision to abandon play because there were far fewer issues for the batsmen, although the outfield had already made shot-play a lottery because the balls just stuck in the outfield.”From our point of view, being the batting side, clearly we couldn’t voice concerns about whether it was fit enough to bowl on. If the West Indies were struggling to that extent then ours likely would have to,” he said.But he did add that, in training, the England quick bowlers had found it difficult in the sandy conditions. “A couple said it was hard going, but there’s a difference between some gentle run-throughs and coming in at full pace. It didn’t look satisfactory and if you are going to play a Test it has to be in conditions that are fair.”Omar Khan, the West Indies manager, said he had already had fears. “We were concerned with the outfield and had our doubts over whether it would last the whole five days.”Both Strauss and Morris offered sympathy to the thousands of England fans who have arrived in Antigua for this match. “It’s terrible, and no one feels worse for the spectators than we do and they have every right to feel disappointed,” Strauss said. “We are trying to do everything we can to mingle with them but the game of cricket doesn’t need this.”Morris added: “It’s a desperately unsatisfactory situation especially with regards the amount of spectators that have spent so much money to be out here.”

Ricky Ponting has taken the blame for Australia’s poor batting performances during the series loss to South Africa despite being the second highest run-scorer in the opening four games. Only Shaun Marsh (213) has been more successful than Ponting, who has 202 at 50.50, but the captain said he needed to assume more responsibility in the final match in Perth on Friday.”Any team wants their guys at the top, at least someone, to make 100 and we haven’t had a century made in this series so far,” Ponting told AAP. “At the end of the day the buck does stop with me. I’m ultimately the one that is responsible and takes the flak if we lose and takes the credit if we win games.”South Africa took the series in Adelaide despite Ponting’s streak of 46, 64, 29 and 63. “I felt I’ve batted really well in all four of these one-day games, but at the same time I felt I’ve left a lot of runs out there almost every time I’ve been out in the middle,” he said.”So I just want to finish off this series very strongly. I want to put in a good performance for myself and the team, and take a bit more responsibility than I have in the first four games.”