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	Anil Kumble now completes the triumvirate of spin bowlers who have taken 600 or more wickets in Tests © AFP

August 9, 1990
A bespectacled and studious-looking Anil Kumble makes his Test debut against England at Old Trafford in 1990. Bowling first-change, he takes 3 for 105 – his first wicket is Allan Lamb, caught at silly point for 38 – as England score 519. Goes wicket-less in the second innings, and does not play in the third Test. An inconspicuous entrance into Test cricket, and Kumble does not get another opportunity for two years.November 29, 1992
Back in the Test side after a long gap, Kumble, with 6 for 53, dismisses South Africa for 252 in their second innings during the second Test in Johannesburg. Five of his victims are bowled, beaten either by his zip off the pitch or frustrated into playing across the line by his accuracy. The match is drawn, but Kumble has his reputation enhanced.February 1993
Plays his first home Test series, against England, and produces his first series-winning performance. He takes 21 wickets in three Tests, and establishes himself as India’s front-line spinner. Opens the bowling in the second Test in Chennai – trapping Robin Smith leg-before for 17 – but it is his 6 for 64 in the second innings that really leaves a mark. Admits that the first delivery he taught himself was the flipper, the lethal ball that tends to embarrass the Test world’s batting elite, and it is with this gem that he runs through England despite Chris Lewis’ best efforts. Signals the end of Richard Blakey’s England career, the substitute wicketkeeper handling Kumble as convincingly as “Phil Tufnell against Patrick Patterson”, notes Lawrence Booth after Kumble’s magical series.March 1993
His eight wickets in the match – including 5 for 70 in the second innings – helps India to an innings and 13-run victory over Zimbabwe in a one-off Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Kumble crossing 50 wickets in the process, in only his tenth match. After helping force Zimbabwe to follow-on, Kumble gives the ball a flip and takes centrestage.January 1994
Takes his first ten-wicket haul, in his 14th Test. Eleven wickets in the match, replete with his first seven-wicket haul, gives India a thumping win over Sri Lanka in Lucknow, and Kumble, 23, his first Man-of-the-Match award. Bounding in, shoulders arched and eyes ablaze with intent, Kumble is a sight to behold on the third and fourth days, sending down over after over of fizzing, ripping legspin that confounds the hapless Sri Lankans. Four vital scalps in the first innings forces the tourists to follow-on, only for Kumble to relentlessly continue his mastery – despite a bleeding nose and heat exhaustion – on the fourth day.October, 1995
Takes his 100th Test wicket, that of Martin Crowe, in his 21st Test, in front of his home crowd in Bangalore. Complements his 4 for 39 in the first innings with 5 for 81 in the second, as New Zealand succumb for 233. His 100th, 300th and 400th wickets all come at this venue, much to the pleasure of the supportive Bangalore fans.

	Anil Kumble collects another scalp on his way to all ten in an innings against Pakistan © AFP

February 7, 1999
Undoubtedly Kumble’s finest moment on the cricket field, becoming only the second bowler, after Jim Laker, to take all ten wickets in a Test innings, claiming 10 for 74 in the second innings against Pakistan in Delhi. Strikes decisively to dismiss Shahid Afridi and Ijaz Ahmed off successive deliveries after Pakistan, chasing a record 420 for victory, begin with a century partnership. Wasim Akram, the second man in the innings to survive a hat-trick ball, becomes Kumble’s tenth victim by pushing a catch to short leg. History is made, and India gain their first Test win over Pakistan in 19 years. Modest as ever, Kumble jokes in an on-air interview following the incredible achievement: “As a bowler, everybody dreams of getting 10 wickets. My mum, whenever I go to see her, says ‘Get a hat-trick, get a hat-trick’, the next time it will be ‘Get ten wickets’.”October, 1999
When he traps Matthew Horne leg-before in the second innings of the Kanpur Test, Kumble completes his 250 wickets – the fastest Indian to do so. Becomes the third Indian bowler after Kapil Dev (434 wickets in 131 Tests) and Bishan Singh Bedi (266 wickets in 67 Tests) and the 21st bowler (fifth spinner) in Test history to achieve this milestone. Playing to his strength and rarely offering any width to the batsmen, Kumble’s 6 for 67 shatters New Zealand’s top order in its second innings, setting India up for a clinical eight-wicket win inside four days. His match figures of 10 for 134 earns him another Man-of-the-Match award, and as India go on to win the series, Kumble is fittingly named the Man of the Series for his 20 wickets.May 2002
Nursing a broken jaw – heavily strapped around his jaw, over his head and across the back of it – Kumble takes the field on the third day of the fourth Test at St John’s and sends down14 numbing overs, dismissing Brian Lara lbw with one that rips from off. None can deny the efforts of Kumble, whose grit and resolve are there for all to see. The match ends in a tepid draw, and Kumble flies home – a hero, no less – to have his jaw sorted out.August, 2002
Kumble, often derided for being ineffective in away Tests, takes 7 for 159 in the third Test against England at Headingley, as India win by an innings and 46 runs. In a fine fifth-day spell, Kumble provides the killer blows, removing century-maker Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart, as India snuff out England’s dream of a miracle escape by completing a series-leveling win. This performance comes as a forceful reminder to his critics as Kumble, who goes past Allan Donald’s tally of 330 wickets, proves that he can win India matches abroad.December 2003 – January 2004
Gets a chance to play the second Test against Australia after Harbhajan Singh is injured, and delivers one of his best performances, taking 24 wickets over three Tests as India draw the series. Inspired and inspirational on this tour, Kumble’s spells in Adelaide – ignore the figures, his 5 for 154 reigns Australia in magnificently – and Sydney – where he almost single-handedly bowled India to victory on a final day dominated by Steve Waugh’s farewell – are among the best by an Indian overseas. Throughout the series, Kumble demonstrated that he could be a potent a strike bowler overseas as at home, and it was befitting that one colossus (Kumble) claimed the other (Waugh) in a thrilling final day’s play.October 6, 2004
Takes his 400th wicket in his 85th Test, against Australia in Bangalore, bowling Simon Katich off the hip, becoming the first Indian spinner to do so. Pumping his fists and losing himself in the embrace of his team-mates, Kumble, before his home crowd, evokes a lasting image of a hero destined for this mark.April 16, 2004
Four wickets on the fourth day of the third and final Test in Rawalpindi scripts India’s first ever Test victory in Pakistan. With India’s young pace brigade putting in a stunning performance on day one, Kumble is, surprisingly, left in the shadows. On the fourth day, however, he comes back for the kill, dealing swift, crushing blows at the death to submit the hosts to an emphatic innings and 131-run defeat. The series produces exciting cricket all the way and consistent performances from Kumble – who again tops the wickets tally for both sides – helps India break the barrier of a first overseas series win in well over a decade.December 2, 2004
Kumble, in his 90th Test, equals Kapil’s record of most Test wickets by an Indian bowler, against South Africa at Eden Gardens. Achieves the feat when he has last-man Makhaya Ntini caught by Rahul Dravid in the slip cordon for 12 to signal the end of the South African second innings, setting up another Indian victory on the fifth day.

	Anil Kumble becomes India’s leading wicket-taker when he removes Mohammad Rafique © AFP

December 10, 2004
Goes past Kapil as India’s leading wicket-taker with the wicket of Mohammad Rafique, trapped in front, on the opening day of the first Test against Bangladesh at the Bangabandhu Stadium. Needing just one wicket to overtake Kapil before the start of the match, Kumble takes two to boost his Test tally to 436. Has a chance of a hat-trick after removing Tapash Baisya via a catch at first slip but Mashrafe Mortaza defends the fifth ball of his 12th over. Accolades pour in from current and former cricketers, including a congratulatory message from Kapil himself.March 2005
Six wickets on the final day in Kolkata scripts a splendid 195-run win over arch-rivals Pakistan, giving them a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. Despite a belligerent onslaught from Shahid Afridi that propels Pakistan to an ominous start, Kumble holds his nerve to dismiss him just before stumps on day four, and returns the following day to skittle the tourists out for 226. Stands tall with ten in the match, his 7 for 63 being the standout bowling performance of the match. Once again, Kumble proves his match-winning capabilities at home.December 14, 2005
Playing his 99th Test, Kumble takes ten wickets for the eighth time in his career, and hands India a comprehensive 188-run victory over Sri Lanka in second Test in Delhi. Goes past Muttiah Muralitharan as the bowler with the most caught-and-bowled dismissals with a stunning, session-turning return catch off Marvan Atapattu. Two more wickets on the final day signals a thumping win.March 11, 2006
Becomes the first Indian and the fifth overall to take 500 wickets in Test cricket when he traps Steve Harmison lbw in the 2nd Test against England in Mohali.July 2, 2006
Kumble bowls India to a history series victory in the Caribbean, 35 years after they last did so, under Ajit Wadekar. Takes 6 for 78 to bowl West Indies out for 219 as they chase 269.August 2007
At The Oval he goes past Glenn McGrath’s 563 Test wickets, moving to No. 3 on the all-time list to accentuate his role in spin’s golden era. In the same Test he knocks up a maiden hundred, one 17 years and 118 matches in the coming.January 2008
Takes his 600th wicket in the third Test against Australia in Perth.August 2008
Has a forgettable tour of Sri Lanka, where he picks up eight wickets at an average of 50.November 2008
In the Bangalore Test against Australia, he goes wicketless and a shoulder injury doesn’t help matters. He sits out of the second Test and returns for the third, in Delhi. He suffers a finger injury and decides to call it quits on the fifth afternoon. He finishes his 132-Test career as the third-highest Test wicket-taker (619), behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.

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Rajasthan clung on to beat Railways by one wicket and six balls to spare in a thrilling finish at Indore. Having dismissed Railways for 220, Rajasthan scraped together 223 for 9 with Rohit Jhalani smacking an unbeaten 35 off 24 balls at the death. Shreyas Khanolkar top-scored for Railways with 53 and Sanjib Sanyal chipped in with 44. At one stage Railways were 131 for 7 but the tail wagged them to 220. Several Rajasthan batsmen got starts but none made them count. They were sinking at 154 for 6 but Jhalani batted aggressively to seal a tense win.
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Mohammad Kaif’s century formed the backbone of Uttar Pradesh’s crushing 169-run win against Vidarbha at Indore. Kaif struck 118 off 135 balls to spur UP to 286 for 6 before a disciplined effort from their bowlers skittled Vidarbha for 117. After losing Anshul Kapoor cheaply, Kaif joined Praveen Kumar for a 84-run partnership for the second wicket and then added 135 with Raina for the third wicket. Kumar and Raina contributed 62 and 59. Chasing 287 was a daunting task and Vidarbha were hampered by a regular fall of wickets. The lack of a partnership crippled their chase and they were gradually shut out of the contest. Avinash Yadav took 3 for 32 for Uttar Pradesh.
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Parvez Aziz’s unbeaten hundred secured a comprehensive victory for Assam, who finished first in the East Zone, after their bowlers had dismissed Tripura for 194 at Cuttack. Aziz struck four sixes in his 108 off 130 balls and finished the match with 61 balls to spare. He received solid support from Jagadeesh Arunkumar who was also unbeaten on 76. They added 189 runs for the third wicket after Assam were reduced to 6 for 2 in the fourth over. Assam’s bowlers backed up their Arunkumar’s decision to bowl first by striking at crucial times. Arnald Konwar was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4 for 37 as Tripura collapsed for 194.
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Bengal won a low-scoring contest against Jharkhand by five wickets at Bhubaneswar. Chasing a modest target of 202, Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha and Manoj Tiwary struck contrasting half-centuries to lead Bengal to victory with 15 balls to spare. Saha anchored the innings with 85 off 137 balls and Tiwary hit a run-a-ball 69. Together they added 121 for the third wicket and wrested the game from Jharkhand. After winning the toss, Jharkhand got off to a miserable start, losing their top five wickets for 93. Rajiv Kumar was the only batsman to pass 30 though seven others got into double figures.

Reports that Zimbabwe’s cricketers had signed contracts offered to them by the board have turned out to be false.Yesterday, unknown sources said that Zimbabwe Cricket had bypassed group negotiations and had approached players on a one-on-one basis to offer them new contracts. It was claimed that 16 had signed after meeting board officials during the day.But a source representing the players told Cricinfo that nothing had been signed, and in fact the players had not only refused to do so, but had also again withdrawn from all cricket in frustration at the board’s handling of the dispute. That means that tomorrow’s final round of matches in the Faithwear one-day tournament is likely to go ahead without any of those involved in the negotiations.”We decided to pull back and not sign the contracts,” the source told Cricinfo. “And further, we’re not going to play cricket until this thing is sorted out.”The players remain concerned about the way that their outstanding backpay is being addressed, and most are also not happy with the new contracts they are being offered, which they feel are inferior to what they were presented with before.They are also very unhappy that Zimbabwe Cricket has refused to allow Clive Field, the players’ association representative, to act on their behalf and is forcing them to deal individually with the board. “It’s a further step back,” the source explained, “because now we have the player rep issue as well as the contract one.”Hamilton Masakadza endorsed that view, telling Cricinfo: “Anything to do with us, you can still speak to Clive. He still represents us and its not right for anyone but us to do away with him.”Zimbabwe Cricket is unlikely to improve the contract and it is possible that offers could be made to the next tier of players. However, this week’s Faithwear matches have shown that those players are nowhere near being good enough to play international cricket.

Ramnaresh Sarwan: one of the players caught in the corporate clash© Getty Images

The war of words between the West Indies team sponsor, Digicel, and its rival, Cable and Wireless, gathered momentum with C&W lashing out at Digicel’s statement which said accused them of “continued ambush marketing”. They described Digicel’s comments as `half-truths, mis-statements and blatant lies’.Digicel had blamed C&W for declining their offer to make some concessions involving Brian Lara’s and six other players’ individual sponsorship deals to avoid affecting Digicel’s agreement with the WICB. Responding to this, C&W said in a statement to that Digicell is “unilaterally sabotaging the work of the Caricom Prime Ministers” and that C&W could no longer “sit back and allow its integrity to be attacked, and West Indies cricket to be threatened.”C&W also questioned Digicel’s ability to call themselves “proud sponsors of the game”, considering the leaked memo to the press that questioned the integrity of some players who also happened to have personal endorsement deals with C&W. “Digicel have embarked on a crusade to follow the memo up with pressure on the WICB to drop these players from the team and abandon their obligation to field the best players.”The statement also mentioned that C&W had entered into personal contracts with all the players – except Lara – before April and May last year; two months prior to the agreement between the West Indies board and Digicel. C&W added that a copy of the individual contract, without the player’s name and financial details, had been furnished to the board, so they were fully aware of the players’ endorsement deals prior to this agreement. These contracts, C&W said, were in line with their sponsorship of the 2007 World Cup.”Frankly, it is outrageous that Digicel can, with a straight face, claim to support West Indies cricket out of one side of its mouth, while working to destroy it out of the other.”The release also denied that C&W had refused to match Digicel’s US$20million-five-year sponsorship offer, saying that they had offered US$30million.C&W demanded “that the WICB fulfill its mandate to field the best, most capable West Indies team by reinstating the seven Cable and Wireless-sponsored players to eligibility, and that Digicel stop its capricious behaviour and its attempts to buy and bully its way into getting what it wants.”

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Adam Gilchrist: first ODI century against India © Getty Images

To Ashish Nehra, who was playing his first game since the World Cup final on March 23, it must have seemed like a horrific deja vu. As on that day, Australia’s batting ruthlessly demolished the Indian bowling at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, divesting it of 347 runs with all the finesse of a master butcher.As in the World Cup final, Ricky Ponting scored a hundred – an unbeaten 108 – but the platform was laid by Adam Gilchrist’s magnificent 111, his first ODI century against India. Although India’s batting put up a brave fight, maintaining a rate of almost seven runs per over for 50 overs proved too much to ask, and Australia won by 61 runs.When Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar walked out under the lights, Australia had arguably already batted India out of the game. To have even a realistic shot at the target, India needed to begin in a mad frenzy. Tendulkar was in supreme control from the very beginning, but Sehwag, dropped three times – most notably by Matthew Hayden at slip – took some time to get his eye in and his form flowing. Just after he had done so, however, he played across the line to a straight Ian Harvey delivery (103 for 1).VVS Laxman stayed only briefly before chipping Michael Clarke to cover (148 for 2), but the biggest blow came when a delivery from Harvey kept low, took Tendulkar’s pad and cannoned into his stumps (172 for 3). Although his 89 came quickly, Tendulkar had looked extremely unhurried at the crease, cleverly paddling bowlers of all pace to fine leg numerous times and placing the ball to optimum effect throughout.After Sourav Ganguly slashed Andrew Symonds to deep point and Michael Kasprowicz, big man that he is, leapt athletically to his right to snap up Rahul Dravid’s return catch, India effectively were trying to reach 278, to deny Australia the bonus point and take one for themselves. That they achieved, leaving both India and New Zealand on ten points, and ensuring that the final league match at Hyderabad is a virtual semi-final.

Sachin Tendulkar: led India’s run-chase, but it wasn’t quite enough © Getty Images

Earlier, Gilchrist, passing 1000 one-day runs against India, put together a potent cocktail of booming hits and knee-pumping running. Ponting, gritting his teeth through an initial period of struggle, hit seven sixes in a century that was less polished but just as valuable as Gilchrist’s. As at Johannesburg, Damien Martyn set about his supporting role effectively and efficiently, even as nothing – not the bowling, not the fielding – went right for India.That held true right from ball one, with Gilchrist cheekily gliding Nehra for four. Gilchrist singled Nehra out for punishment throughout his opening spell, taking three fours off his first over and two fours and a six off his fifth, at the end of which he had conceded 44. Ganguly hurriedly introduced spin, but Australia’s openers marched on. When India finally got the breakthough, it came in what had seemed the only conceivable way – a run-out. Hayden (44) drove Anil Kumble to point, set off, stuttered twice, and finally tried to regain his crease – but by then, Ganguly had already thrown accurately to Dravid behind the stumps (119 for 1).Gilchrist’s characteristic pomp and grandeur then gave way to a rhythm of hard running; bustling between the wickets and still putting the frequent bad ball away with awesome power, he put Australia firmly on track for the massive total they eventually achieved. He missed being run out once – when Ponting drove into the covers and called for a risky single. The return to Dravid was awry, but even a fairly reasonable throw would have found Gilchrist short of the crease.At the other end, Ponting was a picture of struggle. Twice in two balls he tried to hit Kartik over long-off, but barely cleared Zaheer Khan at mid-off. He could not come to terms with the turning ball, and only Dravid’s rustiness behind the stumps saved Ponting from an easy stumping chance in the 30th over. It was another stroke of misfortune for Kartik, who bowled magnificently, with flight and courage.Gilchrist, on the traditionally unlucky score of 111, swept Kumble straight into Zaheer’s hands at square leg (198 for 2), but, magically, Ponting immediately got his groove back. His feet moving much more fluidly, he repeatedly waltzed down to smite the spinners off his legs for sixes over midwicket and long-on. Under this assault, India’s bowling rapidly went to pieces: balls were rarely anything other than too short, too wide or too full. It was almost too easy for Australia’s batsmen, and, if they make the final yet, India’s bowlers cannot afford an encore of Bangalore.

Auckland continued to make every post a winner in the State League competition today when they thrashed Otago by seven wickets in Auckland.Otago batted first and were all out for 65 with CLEAR White Ferns captain Emily Drumm unleashing her bowling arm to take three wickets for one run.Then, Auckland took only 22 overs to secure the winning runs for the loss of three wickets. Drumm was to the fore again with 34.There was no play at all in Hamilton for the Northern Districts-Canterbury game. An early lunch was taken and it was decided to start play at 3pm but that plan got washed out when more rain fell.Two more games will be played tomorrow.

Hrishekesh Kanitkar notched up a strokeful century to give Maharshtratheir first victory of the Ranji One-Day West Zone League againstSaurashtra at the Alembic ground in Baroda. Saurashtra skipperShitanshu Kotak won the toss and decided to chase a target. Maharshtrapiled up a healthy 280 for 8 in their 50 overs.Kanitkar (133) and Abhijit Kale (56) piled up a 166 run partnershipfor the fourth wicket. Shitanshu Kotak (4/58) and Rajesh Garsondia(3/26) shared the wickets.Saurashtra in their reply lost their way early and were dismissed for182 for 9 in their 50 overs. Mukund Parmar (69 not out) put up a lonebattle. Sameer Shaikh walked back with bowling figures of (4/38).Maharashtra registered a 98 run victory and picked up their firstpoints of the tournament.

Former Leeds United loanee Alfonso Pedraza has certainly come on leaps and bounds since a disappointing loan spell at Elland Road during the 2016/17 season.

The Spanish left-back joined the Yorkshire club on a temporary basis from La Liga outfit Villareal in January 2017, scoring just one goal in 14 appearances for the Whites before returning to his homeland that June.

Five years on, and the now 25-year-old Spaniard is a regular for the Yellow Submarine who, this week, sensationally knocked out Italian giants Juventus of the Champions League with a 3-0 victory in Turin.

Although the left-back was a late substitute at the Allianz Stadium, he did play 79 minutes in the first leg at left-wing and has made a total of 28 appearances so far this term, contributing six assists in that period with his side seventh in La Liga.

This is a stark contrast to his period at Leeds which saw the then 20-year-old accumulate just 735 minutes of action for Gary Monk’s side, scoring one goal against Birmingham City with the Spaniard deployed as a left-winger. Although he was once dubbed a “threat” by Phil Hay, it never quite happened for him.

Given his unsuccessful loan spell, Pedraza left Elland Road at the end of that season and subsequently joined Alavés and Real Betis on loan for the 2017/18 and 2019/20 campaigns respectively before becoming a regular for Unai Emery’s side.

However, now seeing what the £19k-per-week Spaniard has gone on to achieve with his side winning the Europa League last term and now being Champions League quarter-finalists, it was certainly a mistake to neglect the winger/full-back.

Over the course of his career thus far, the 25-year-old has seen his market value rise and dip regularly, with Transfermarkt currently valuing Pedraza at £15.3m.

The former-Leeds player’s peak valuation came in June 2019 when worth £19.8m, which has subsequently fallen by £4.5m.

Alas, it certainly appears as though allowing the Spaniard to return to his parent club without much fuss was an error by Leeds and Victor Orta, who have struggled defensively this term.

The Whites currently have the second-worst goal difference in the Premier League at -33 whilst conceding 67 goals in their 30 league matches this term, the highest tally in the division at an average of 2.23 per game.

This has seen manager Marcelo Bielsa replaced with former RB Leipzig boss Jesse Marsch who has been entrusted to ensure the Yorkshire outfit survive relegation.

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After back-to-back wins against Norwich and Wolves, the American appears to have made an impact at Elland Road with his side 16th. However, 17th placed Everton have three games in hand and are four points behind whilst 19th placed Burnley have also played three games fewer and are eight points behind; the job is from over.

In terms of current left-back options, summer signing Junior Firpo has underwhelmed whilst Stuart Dallas has been entrusted on that side of the defence regularly, despite the Northern Irishman also being called upon at right-back and in central midfield.

It’s certainly an area that could do with strengthening, which will further frustrate fans when seeing Pedraza doing so well.

In other news: Source drops huge behind-scenes Leeds update that will have supporters over the moon

	Michael Di Venuto will play out the season for Tasmania, but it will be his last for state © Getty Images

Michael Di Venuto’s three-year deal with Durham has spelt the end of his time with Tasmania. Di Venuto, 34, had previously insisted that he only wanted to play six months of the year from now on, and his decision to join the English county means the end of his time with the state he has represented for 17 years.His decision to cut down the amount of cricket he plays was based on wanting to spend more time with his family, as well as business interests and he will quit the state at the end of the season. He has also recently undergone surgery for a double hernia and battling niggling injuries over recent seasons.”I first played cricket for Tasmania when I was 18 years old and playing cricket for Tasmania has been my life since then,” Di Venuto said. “I love playing cricket for Tasmania and I am certainly going to miss it, however the opportunity to finish my career at Durham is an exciting one and something my family and I are really looking forward to. It also allows us to spend summers in Hobart and continue to prepare for our life after cricket.”Di Venuto is currently Tasmania’s leading one-day run scorer and is second only to Jamie Cox on their lists of Pura Cup appearances and runs. He was a member of the Tigers’ successful ING Cup team in 2004-05 but he rates his career highlight as being part of Tasmania’s historic Pura Cup-winning team last season.It was the state’s first triumph and Di Venuto was the only player in the side to have also been part of the three Tasmania teams that lost Pura Cup/Sheffield Shield finals, in 1993-94, 1997-98 and 2001-02. Di Venuto said he had thoughts of quitting after the final success against New South Wales at Bellerive Oval last March.”It was undoubtedly the greatest feeling I’ve experienced on a cricket field,” Di Venuto told the . “This retiring could have potentially happened at the end of that game but I wanted to continue on and squeeze out another season because I thought we were a very good chance to do it again.”Although last summer was Di Venuto’s most successful domestic season in Australia – he made 961 Pura Cup runs at 53.38 – he conceded he had not got the best out of himself consistently during his home seasons. “Not in Australia, no, which has been a frustrating thing for me,” Di Venuto said.”I can go year in, year out overseas and put in some pretty good performances but never been able to nail a season back here. Not to say I’ve had poor seasons back here, I think I’ve been quite consistent but for what I can do, I probably don’t get the best out of myself in Australian summers.”Di Venuto’s former Tasmania team-mate David Boon said the state would be losing one of its most dangerous weapons. “I think he has been a great player,” Boon said. “When he is on song, there is none better.”I look at him as one of the best ball strikers that we’ve produced for a long time and not only in Tasmanian cricket but Australian cricket. He is one of those guys that every other state has had on their list as a must get out. He has shown that many a times. One that I most refer to with him is his big hundred in the Sheffield Shield final we lost in ’98. It was a magnificent innings.”To date Di Venuto has played 141 first-class matches for Tasmania scoring 9687 runs at an average of 40.36 including 18 centuries with a highest score of 189. He also has taken 150 catches, the most by a Tasmanian in first-class cricket and in 103 domestic one-day matches he scored 2891 runs with a highest score of 129 at an average of 30.76. He also represented Australia in nine one-day internationals in 1997 scoring 241 runs at an average of 26.77 with a highest score of 89.Overall, combining his Tasmanian, Australia A and English first-class careers for Sussex, Derbyshire and Durham, he has played 261 matches, totalling 19,952 runs with 44 centuries at an average of 44.63. Di Venuto has indicated his desire to continue having an involvement in Tasmanian cricket, which the board is keen to secure in some capacity.

If you had made two fifties in successive Tests would you be keen on batting again? No, if you’re Hashim Amla © AFP

If Hashim Amla had things his way, he wouldn’t have to bat again at Centurion Park on a pitch likely to deteriorate over the next few days. He did his best to ensure the scenario pans out that way, making a battling 71 and helping South Africa recover from a rickety start.It was Amla’s second fifty in successive Tests, following his first-innings 63 in the series-clinching Cape Town victory over India recently. Under pressure through that series, Amla’s starring role will have come as considerable relief.”The ideal is to bat once,” said Amla. “The pitch is quite good for batting but it is already starting to deteriorate and help the spinners, so batting fourth could be difficult.”Pakistan will hope that by then Danish Kaneria can play more of a role than he did on the second day. Kaneria was one of three Pakistan bowlers who failed to make any impression whatsoever as first Amla and then Ashwell Prince and Herschelle Gibbs guided South Africa into a position of some strength. Mohammad Asif, returning to international cricket after having a doping-related ban overturned, was by far the best Pakistani bowler on display, ending with all four wickets in another impressive outing.Asif twinkled out Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers in his first three overs. He sent back Jacques Kallis after lunch as well and troubled all batsmen. Amla, having stroked a delicious, one-knee cover drive in the 45th over, edged the very next ball from Asif, a leg-cutter. It was a performance, Amla said, that reminded him of one of his more illustrious team-mates. “Asif bowled excellently. He asked good questions of the batsmen and bowled in the right areas. He reminded me a bit of Shaun Pollock.”Earlier, Makhaya Ntini was responsible for Pakistan hurtling to what is looking increasingly like an inadequate total and well below the 350-plus they had initially aimed for. Ntini took five for 83, his 16th five-wicket haul in Tests, as Pakistan paid for their compulsion to hook or pull every short ball that came their way. Six batsmen succumbed to hook or pull shots but Ntini said he had to work hard for his wickets. “It wasn’t our plan to bowl bouncers and get them hooking but when we saw how they played we put our fielders in the right places.”