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Match facts

November 27-December 1, 2015
Start time 1400 local (0330 GMT)4:32

Ponting: Don’t see a lot change in strategy

Big Picture

Back in 2009, the MCC World Cricket Committee discussed its concerns about the future of Test cricket. “Except for certain icon series, such as the Ashes, Test cricket throughout the world, and in particular the lower-ranked nations, is in very real danger of dying,” the committee said in a blunt statement. It went on to recommend that day-night Test cricket be trialled as a means of keeping the game alive. After six years and countless tweaks to the pink ball, that recommendation is about to come to fruition. One of the sport’s oldest venues, Adelaide Oval, will play host to the newest concept in Test cricket. For the first time in 138 years, a Test match will be played with a ball that is not red. For the first time in 138 years, a Test match will be played at night.It is a significant moment in the history of Test cricket but it also represents a continuation of the evolution of the game. The first Test match was timeless, with four-ball overs and a red ball; Test No.2188 will has a five-day limit, six-ball overs and a pink ball. One of the key mysteries is how the pink ball will perform. Will it swing, and for how long? Will it seam? Will it discolour too quickly? Will the players be able to see it properly in the evening? And will the spectators? Whatever the case, trials at Sheffield Shield level have satisfied Cricket Australia that the Kookaburra pink ball is sound enough to be used in a Test match. There have also been concerted efforts from administrators and groundstaff to ensure a non-abrasive Adelaide Oval pitch to preserve the ball as well as possible.The change has been made largely for fans, so they can watch on TV in prime time or head to the ground after work to catch the second half of the day’s action. But it is the players who must deal with the subtle differences in how the ball will move, and how visible it may be. And the players from Australia and New Zealand do so in this Test with a series on the line. Australia have already done enough to retain the Trans-Tasman Trophy by taking a 1-0 lead after two matches, but New Zealand could yet escape with a second consecutive drawn series in Australia if they win in Adelaide.And as well as being the start of a new era for Test cricket, it is also the dawning of Australia’s post-Johnson period, with Mitchell Johnson’s retirement after the Perth Test altering the look of their attack. His departure also completed a series of retirements during 2015 with Michael Clarke, Ryan Harris, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin and Chris Rogers also having ended their Test careers. Now in the space of five months they have lost 523 Test wickets and 20,323 Test runs of experience. The times they are a changing.

Form guide

Australia: DWWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand: DLWLW

In the spotlight

Mitchell Starc has in the past spoken of his dislike of the pink ball, but his record with it suggests he ought to change his tune. In his only two pink-ball day-night Sheffield Shield games, Starc has collected 15 wickets at 13.80, and notably both of those matches were at Adelaide Oval. The retirement of Mitchell Johnson has left Starc as the clear spearhead of the attack and if his record is any indication, he may begin the post-Johnson era by strengthening that claim even further.With scores of 23, 23, 1 and 17 so far in the Test series, Martin Guptill needs to provide New Zealand with something more. And maybe this is his opportunity. His only two fifty-plus scores of the tour have come in the practice matches in which the pink ball was used. Against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra last month he scored 94 and against the Western Australia XI in Perth he managed 103 before retiring to allow others a chance. Guptill is renowned as a dangerous one-day striker and perhaps the pink ball, which some observers say is more similar to the white ball than it is to the red, might suit him.

Team news

Australia must make at least two changes due to the retirement of Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja’s hamstring injury. Shaun Marsh comes in for Khawaja, with Steven Smith likely to move up to No.3, and Peter Siddle is the probable replacement for Johnson, having been 12th man in the first two Tests. James Pattinson would likely only get a look-in if the selectors were worried about Josh Hazlewood’s workload. Steve O’Keefe has been released from the squad to play in the Sheffield Shield despite his remarkable record with the pink ball – 18 wickets at 18.22 from three day-night Shield games.Australia (possible) 1 Joe Burns, 2 David Warner, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Adam Voges, 5 Shaun Marsh, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan LyonAn unchanged New Zealand XI had appeared likely until captain Brendon McCullum hinted at the pre-match press conference that there could be changes. Neil Wagner took five wickets and Mitchell Santner four in the practice match in Perth – where admittedly 13 wickets were taken due to the playing conditions – and might be a chance of playing. Trent Boult bowled without apparent discomfort at training on Wednesday and is expected to play, having struggled with back soreness following the Perth Test.New Zealand (possible) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Brendon McCullum (capt), 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner/Mark Craig, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Matt Henry/Neil Wagner, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent Boult

Pitch and conditions

More grass than usual has been left on the Adelaide Oval pitch in an effort to help prevent rapid deterioration of the pink ball, and that may also mean the ball seams and spins. The lack of abrasiveness will also likely make it hard to extract reverse swing. The forecast for the match is for warm weather and possible rain towards the end of the game.

Stats and trivia

• Starc’s record with the pink ball is outstanding but so is that of Josh Hazlewood, who in two day-night Shield games has taken nine wickets at 15.44
• The pink-ball records of Australia’s batsmen vary greatly: the extremes are Steven Smith with an average of 219 from two innings and Joe Burns, who has an average of 9.00 from six innings
• The second Test in Perth was the fourth-highest scoring Test match of the 400 that have been played in Australia

Quotes

Steven Smith on the idea of day-night Test cricket
Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand captain

Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, believes the way his batsmen countered Shane Warne at the Gabba will be a big boost for the remainder of the series. Warne went wicketless during nine overs in the first innings, but picked up four victims in the second, including Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff.”I thought it was quite important we played Shane Warne very well,” Fletcher said in the . “We were pretty confident the way we played him there. The only thing is we gave him two soft wickets, and outside of that we played him very, very well and positively, so that was a big positive which came out of there.”Collingwood, who was stumped for 96, was the first of Warne’s “soft” dismissals and was quickly followed by Andrew Flintoff’s confusing punch to Justin Langer at deep mid-on. Only at The Oval on the past two tours has Warne, who finished with 4 for 124 from 34 overs, given up as many runs in an innings against England. Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen were particularly comfortable in a 153-run stand on day four until Collingwood charged Warne to end his brave resistance.Despite the 277-run defeat, Fletcher was also pleased with England’s work against the fast men in the second innings. “I thought we played the other bowlers pretty confidently as well,” he said. England will have another chance to prove themselves in the second Test starting on Friday.

Ian Bell has been named as captain of the MCC side to take on Yorkshire in this year’s Champion County match in Abu Dhabi. Bell, who still hopes to add to his tally of England caps, was handed the Warwickshire captaincy last month.The four-day first-class match between an MCC XI and the reigning county champions, traditionally the season’s opening fixture, will begin on March 20. Unlike previous years, when the match has been used to trial the pink ball, this time it will be played during daylight hours with a red ball, at Yorkshire’s request.It could be the first of several duels with Yorkshire for Bell, as he attempts to lead Warwickshire to the Championship title they last won in 2012.”This match is perfect for me to get some time in the middle ahead of the new season and I’m very grateful to MCC for offering me the chance to both play for and captain the team,” Bell said.”It’s a nice opportunity for some practice in warm weather, and it will of course be a privilege to represent MCC again. Yorkshire’s team is full of top quality players so it will be great for myself and the rest of our guys to test ourselves against them, and hopefully I can contribute to an entertaining match.”Bell, 33, has previously played for the MCC in 2004 and 2009 but this will be the first time he has done so out in the UAE, which is hosting the Champion County match for the seventh time. The team for this year’s fixture has yet to be announced.John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket, said: “Ian Bell is one of the best England cricketers of his generation and I’m delighted that he has agreed to captain MCC for this year’s Champion County match. It’s an ideal opportunity for him to gain match practice ahead of the new season, and I’m sure his experience will prove beneficial for our squad too.”

Andrew Symonds’ eventful season has continued with him shoulder charging a streaker while batting in the second final in Brisbane. Symonds, who was at the centre of the Sydney Test controversy, was standing at the non-striker’s end when a man entered the field and began dodging security guards and players.When the spectator ran near Symonds, the batsman moved across and bumped into him in a shepherding action more familiar to the Brisbane Lions Australian rules team when it plays at the Gabba. The force of Symonds’ shoulder sent the man to the ground and security and police swarmed before taking him from the field.Symonds, who sometimes trains with the Brisbane Broncos rugby league team, remained unflustered and went to talk to his partner Matthew Hayden. The ICC’s Level 4.2 regulation covers “physical assault on another player, umpire, referee, official or spectator”, but it is highly unlikely Symonds will be punished. The streaker faces a maximum fine of A$3000 for the ground invasion and police also intend to charge him with willful exposure.”I’d just got out, so I was sooking,” Ricky Ponting said. “I haven’t seen it yet, there’s been a bit of talk and laughter around the dressing room, but I haven’t spoken to Symmo about it.”Another naked man ran towards Harbhajan Singh later in the innings but turned away before reaching the offspinner. This time the players let the security guards take care of the offender.Symonds is not the first Australian to have had an altercation with a spectator. Greg Chappell once whacked a streaker on the backside with his bat after the man ran on to the field and shook the batsman’s hand. Terry Alderman, the former Australia swing bowler, was less fortunate than Symonds when he tackled an English fan during the 1982-83 Ashes series, dislocating his shoulder and not playing a Test for 18 months.

ScorecardMark Stoneman made his second consecutive hundred in the Championship•Getty Images

Depleted Warwickshire battled back at Chester-le-Street after Mark Stoneman’s second century in successive Championship innings for Durham. His stand of 153 with Scott Borthwick took the score to 184 for 1, but Durham were all out for 314 with Rikki Clarke taking 5 for 62.Durham’s decision to bat was probably helped by Chris Wright and Boyd Rankin joining Keith Barker and Richard Jones on the casualty list. Both had stiff backs and Jonathan Trott was on paternity leave. Chris Woakes impressed but was sparingly used in his first appearance of the season, while Tom Milnes recovered from conceding 48 in his first eight overs to take three wickets.Clarke led the attack well, although the lbw decision he gained against Paul Collingwood did not go down well with the Durham captain. He trudged off with extreme reluctance, clearly believing he had nicked the ball. Following his 131 against Yorkshire, Stoneman reached 112 before becoming Milnes’ first victim.Clarke found some movement in a testing opening spell, but Stoneman hit him for three fours in his fifth over, the third one gloved so fine down the leg side that it just evaded Tim Ambrose.Oliver Hannon-Dalby shared the new ball, but there was a bigger threat when Woakes came on for the 14th over. He found Stoneman’s edge twice in his first two overs and, after taking time to settle in, Borthwick became the dominant partner in the run-up to lunch.Stoneman took over on the resumption, scoring the first 22 runs to bring up the 100 stand as his second 50 came off 51 balls. Jeetan Patel had bowled seven overs for 11 runs until Stoneman hit him for four fours off the back foot through the off side in two overs to speed from 84 to his 127-ball hundred.Borthwick fell for 67 to Woakes, who initially looked to be appealing for lbw. But the ball had nicked the inside edge and flown off the pad to gully.Milnes moved a good-length ball away off the seam to hit Stoneman’s off stump, then Michael Richardson aimed across the line and was lbw to Clarke. Another good ball from Milnes had Gordon Muchall caught behind and John Hastings failed to capitalise on being dropped at mid-off. Two balls later he lofted Patel to deep midwicket.Warwickshire were convinced they had Ryan Pringle caught behind on 10 but he played some bold strokes in making 53 before he was last out, hoisting Clarke to deep midwicket. With four overs to bat, Warwickshire reached ten without loss.

ScorecardFile photo: Unmukt Chand hammered 80 off 86 balls to seal a chase of 201 for Delhi•PTI

Delhi will play their second Vijay Hazare Trophy final after a comfortable, six-wicket victory over Himachal Pradesh in Bangalore. The last time Delhi set up a summit clash was quite recent too – in 2012-13 – and they won it.The difference between both teams was the contrast in their batting styles. While Delhi were assured and always in control, Himachal were subdued and impatient and could only muster 200 for 9 after being put in to bat.No one epitomised Delhi’s confidence as much as Unmukt Chand, who became the first batsman from his team to cross 300 runs in the tournament. His unbeaten 80 today included nine boundaries and was his third fifty-plus score in List A cricket this season.Chand had walked in after Rishabh Pant became the first wicket to fall, but not before the opener had set the tone for the chase with three crunching fours in the first three overs.Chand too began with a solid straight drive, then moved inside the line of another fuller ball for a flick to the fine leg boundary and capped the series off by skipping down the pitch for a six over long-on. Ronit More was the bowler being targeted; he bowled only eight balls to Chand but gave away 16 runs.Chand’s positivity was apparent even in the break between overs during chats with senior partner Shikhar Dhawan, who joined in the early fun and punished Himachal’s 20-year old medium-pacer Pankaj Jaiswal for trying to bowl short. Delhi collected eight fours and a six in the first 10 overs to set up a strong foundation to their chase.Himachal did have a chance to turn things around. A lapse in concentration resulted in Shikhar playing on to Bipul Sharma’s left-arm spin in the 18th over. Delhi captain Gautam Gambhir misread the line of one from part-time spinner Nikhil Gangta and was trapped leg before, continuing a dismal season with the bat – he averages 24.85 after eight matches with only one fifty. Milind Kumar lifted Himchal’s spirit further when he was run out by Ankush Bains in the 29th over.But Chand was still out there and he remained in charge. Barring a misjudged sweep against Bipul when he was on 55, he dominated the Himachal bowling and sealed the chase without any further hiccups.That Himachal even managed to get to 200, and last the 50 overs, was because of an aggressive half-century from their captain Bipul. He made 51 off 45 balls, the only man from the team to have a strike rate better than 100 on condition of at least five balls faced.Bipul had walked in with his team on 98 for 4 in the 31st over. Allrounder Rishi Dhawan had just got out for 9. The other two batting mainstays – Robin Bist and Paras Dogra – did not make much of an impact either.So it was down to Bipul to provide some substance to the innings. His first boundary came off a back cut against Pawan Negi. Then Bipul went with the turn and lofted the left-arm spinner for a straight six. Next Nitin Saini was taken for consecutive fours, and Nitish Rana’s offspin was launched down the ground for another maximum.His third six – straight again, off medium-pacer Subodh Bhatti – brought up the fifty partnership with No. 9 Mayank Dagar off only 46 balls. A dab into the off side for a single brought Bipul his first fifty in the tournament. But the enterprise he showed was absent in the rest of the Himachal batting line-up.Rishi Dhawan, who is part of the India squad for ODI series in Australia, punched the back of his bat in disgust after he was bowled attempting to sweep across the line of a straight delivery from Negi. Bist, who hit a match-winning century against Punjab in the quarter-final, nicked off when Saini was able to get one to move away off the straight.Dogra, Himachal’s most experienced batsman, was a victim of impatience. He had been part of a slow partnership – 45 off 78 balls – with opener Prashant Chopra who struggled to shift gears during his 33 off 69 balls. Chopra failed to capitalise and cut straight to point, the pressure slowly increased and Dogra, 28 off 64 balls at the time, succumbed to it when he played a half-hearted loft against Negi and was caught at long-off.Himachal could only put up 77 after 25 overs in their first innings, and it was this conservative approach with the bat that proved fatal for them.

Reality bites
Even in the heavy defeat to New Zealand, Ireland were in the game for more than 40 overs. Here, that’s about as long as they lasted, and Michael Hussey’s disdainful slap over midwicket finished things off before lunch could be laid out.New tricks for old master
Glenn McGrath was always renowned for nagging accuracy while pitching the ball just short of a length. Unlike a Waqar Younis or a Brett Lee, the yorker was never his forte. But in the evening of his career, he summoned up a superb inswinging one to flummox Jeremy Bray and set up the rout.What might have been
In a dream world, Trent Johnston might have worn the baggy green [or gold in this case]. When confronted by McGrath, a fellow New South Welshman, he produced a peachy drive past mid-on that sent the Irish fans into raptures. The innings, like the Irish challenge, didn’t last, but it was an image to freeze for posterity in the Johnston home.Doing a Freddie
Johnston had his moment with the ball as well, getting some late movement off the pitch to end Adam Gilchrist’s destructive cameo. Taking the cue from Andrew Flintoff and other English bowlers, he’d gone round the wicket. The celebratory chicken dance was very much his own though.Irish luck runs out
The leprechauns were out in force and the calendar did say the 13th, but it certainly wasn’t unlucky for Australia. Ricky Ponting won the toss on a pitch where most would have bowled, and even the inside edges didn’t go Ireland’s way. The crowd could only console themselves with the thought that there were beaches nearby.Winning, not entertainment
One of the commentators on the radio asked Damien Fleming, who represented Australia at the World Cup in 1996 and ’99, whether the large crowd would have got more value for money if Australia had batted. There was a brief pause, and then Fleming said: “They’re here to win a game.” It summed up the Australian approach, and might throw some light on why they haven’t experienced defeat in the World Cup this century.A kill or a win?
At the press conference, an Australian journalist asked Ponting and McGrath if the players got any enjoyment from “a kill like that”. Ponting smirked for a second before saying: “Win. For us, it was another win in a World Cup game.” Given earlier events in the tournament, some words are best avoided.

Cricket Australia will honour a commitment for its Australia A and under-19 sides to tour Pakistan despite Hockey Australia’s decision to pull out of December’s Champions Trophy for security reasons. The trips are scheduled for September and October, and a five-man delegation from Australia completed a security inspection of Pakistan last week.”It’s our intention to fulfil our tour obligations,” a Cricket Australia spokesman told . “We will continue to monitor with the relevant security agencies both in Australia and overseas on the day-to-day developments in Pakistan.”The commitment was only for this year’s series, however the Australian board said at this stage it was still planning for Australia’s three-Test tour of Pakistan next March to go ahead. There have been security concerns in Pakistan lately, after a wave of suicide bombings and other attacks by militants following an army raid on the pro-Taliban Red Mosque in Islamabad in early July.Last week’s inspection was led by Cricket Australia’s operations manager Michael Brown and Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association. “The group received some first-class presentations from the PCB and Pakistani authorities on a wide range of issues including security,” the Cricket Australia spokesman said. “We feel we are in possession of good and the most up-to-date information.”

Scorecardand ball-by-ball details
How they were out

South Africa cruised to a fourth straight victory in their one-day series against West Indies, thanks to a blistering 37-ball fifty from their captain, Graeme Smith, and a coolly compiled 77 from 86 balls from AB de Villiers. But the man who stole the show on an emotional evening at Kingsmead was Shaun Pollock, who bade farewell to his adoring home fans with one final display of his allround qualities.Pollock has had more taxing assignments in his 12-year, 302-match one-day career, but there was a sense of inevitability about his penultimate appearance. First he strangled West Indies’ batsmen with the trademark figures of 10-3-38-1, and then, against a backdrop of banners reading, among other things, “For he’s a Polly good fellow,” he marshalled the final overs of a trouble-free run-chase, and sealed the deal with a carve for four off Dwayne Bravo.The result was the perfect retirement present, but West Indies had only themselves to blame for missing out on a consolation victory. After winning the toss, their innings was a hotchpotch affair that started with impressive resolve, folded with weary familiarity, then revived itself in an extraordinary final flurry, as the tailenders Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards clobbered 57 unbeaten runs from just 33 balls, to transform their innings from a perilous 206 for 9 to a respectable 263.But it never looked like being enough from the moment that Smith was dropped at gully from the very second ball of South Africa’s reply. After taking an over or two to find his range, he lacerated the new ball and moved from 4 to 50 in just 26 balls. Taylor and Daren Powell were each carved for three fours in an over, and Darren Sammy might well have gone the same way, had Smith not picked out Shivnarine Chanderpaul at square leg as he pulled at and miscued a long-hop.South Africa were 77 for 1 in the 12th over, and they never looked like surrendering the initiative, not even when Jacques Kallis and Herschelle Gibbs both fell to indiscreet forcing shots. In de Villiers and JP Duminy, South Africa had a middle-order pairing with enough nous to play the bowlers on their merits, and they had 99 risk-free runs for the fourth wicket to put the result beyond doubt.Duminy was in sight of his fourth half-century in 24 games when he lofted indiscreetly at Bravo, with less than 50 runs still needed, while de Villiers might have had designs on his fourth hundred, when he miscued a slow full-toss to midwicket. But into the fray, to lap up the acclaim, strode Pollock, and he did not disappoint.West Indies were left to pick out the positives of a performance that had promised better. Thanks to their tailenders, they did reach their highest total of the series, but that should have been achieved with much less drama after Brenton Parchment and Sewnarine Chattergoon had opened up with a composed stand of 97. But in typical West Indian style, the rest of the innings didn’t follow the same script. Chattergoon and Parchment fell in the space of two overs before Marlon Samuels, who slammed a wonderful 98 in the third match of the rubber, ballooned an attempted pull to midwicket for 4.Bravo and Chanderpaul regrouped well in a fourth-wicket stand of 42, but Chanderpaul undid that good work by running his partner out with a crass call to de Villiers’ right at cover, before paddling an attempted sweep to Smith at backward square leg. Patrick Browne then gave a brief indication of the fireworks to come when he crashed consecutive sixes off Makhaya Ntini, who endured a truly dreadful day. His nine overs disappeared for 80, including 24 off the last of the innings. But once again for West Indies, it was an insufficient show of defiance.

Scorecard

After a false start in the first innings, Phil Jaques ignited his campaign to replace Justin Langer in the Test team with 167 on a day when New South Wales overwhelmed their hosts. Western Australia’s under-strength bowlers were unable to contain Jaques and the Warriors’ miserable match continued when Doug Bollinger’s hat-trick had them heading to defeat. At stumps they were 7 for 139 chasing an impossible 469.While Jaques had a stronger Australia A tour of Pakistan than the Warriors’ Chris Rogers, the real battle for the opening spot at the Gabba on November 8 centres around the early-season performances in the Pura Cup. Both specialists failed in the first innings, but Jaques quickly moved on from his 13 to underline his case for inclusion and strengthen New South Wales’ position. Jaques, who has played two Tests and six ODIs, began on 71 and moved cautiously towards his century, which took 171 balls and came with a straight boundary off Brett Dorey.Once Jaques posted three figures he lifted his scoring rate and dominated an attack missing Ben Edmondson, who strained his right hamstring on day two, and David Bandy. “I wanted to get some runs over here, and I suppose I was a little bit scratchy at the start, just to get going and until the nerves settled a bit, and then I started to flow a bit better,” Jaques told AAP. “Today I felt really good, I felt quite fluent and it was a different me today.”He brought up his 150 shortly before lunch and holed out to deep midwicket looking for a 26th boundary from his 250th delivery. Shortly after Peter Forrest fell to Aaron Heal for 64 New South Wales declared at 3 for 300.Bollinger struck in the third over when he removed Langer for 1, but his highlight came when he picked up Shaun Marsh, Bandy and Luke Ronchi in consecutive deliveries, leaving Western Australia at 6 for 78. Marsh was lbw, Bandy was caught at gully by Matthew Nicholson and Ronchi fell to a stunning diving catch from the wicketkeeper Daniel Smith. It would have been four from four for Bollinger if Dominic Thornely had taken Heal’s edge at second slip. Luke Pomersbach stood out with an unbeaten 54 while Bollinger captured 4 for 23.Grant Lambert was also on a hat-trick after ruining Rogers’ hopes of a long stay and following up with the dismissal of Adam Voges. Rogers added 17 to his first-innings 9 on a day that belonged to Jaques, Bollinger and New South Wales.