The weather was sunnier in Brissie today and the forecast is good for tomorrow. Pitch should flatten out.

The pitch is a bit more grassy than normal but test players should be able to deal with it better than they have. Some have gone out to injudicious shots; Symonds and Punter in the second innings for starters.

Well done to the kiwis for utilising the conditions on offer. Injudicious batting from Watson. Disappointing again from Haddin. I wouldn't bet on NZ overtaking us though.

Pom I guess it's play money for Fletcher if he's living in CT anyway. He can earn the real money in the English season. A greentop is predicted for the Gabba on Thursday.

Saman, you'll love Australia so much you won't want to return to SA. KP was trying to hold the pommy innings together. The pitch was very conducive to spin towards the end and he had an escalating run rate to contend with.

Next time you have Mark Waugh in your sights then Tuesday, please use the term 'apparently over-rated' rather than 'horribly over-rated' - I don't think 'horribly' counts as a modifier... I did suggest it was wise to opt or modifiers but if you really are emphatic about something you don't always have to. I do recommend words such as most, many some, as opposed to all but the word horribly is a subjective term which someone is entitled to use if they really believe it. Just to reiterate regarding Waugh, he's often the subject of commentators waxing lyrical about, his name often comes up to describe great batsmen, elegance etc. but I'll stick to my assertion that I think he's largely overrated. Incidentally I know I'm not alone there. He averaged 41 in an era of batting dominance having arrived in test cricket at the backend of the great Windian era and played England when they were carp. He didn't have to face the might of the impressive Pakistanis that much either. Apart from that innings in Port Elizabeth which he's disproportionately lauded for, he didn't play terribly many great ones under pressure. In fact he was apt to fail, often fending to gully or playing away from his body when the pressure was on. The informed critics don't have him in our best or even second best XI, yet some have multiple orgasms over the mere mention of his name.

Pom, apparently is a good word to use, it is always wise to use modifiers rather than absolute terms. and words which allow some degree of argument, rather than ones which brook none.

Indians setting poms a steep task. This tally won't be easy to overhaul.

Punter is a better batsman than captain but he's still almost the best leader going around. Jayawardene was terrible when he came to Australia last summer.

I think Border was primarily defensive because he endured so many losses in the years when the Windies used to whip us.

True Prophet. It was pom who suggested it. I thought he might mean exorcise. Punter is copping heaps from the media in oz right now. He's not one to back down from his actions though.

Krejza conceded the whole of our first innings total plus one in runs. Pom, exorcise or exercise? - the two are totally different in meaning.

Pom, KP destroyed Murali in England. You're just looking at one series.

The loss hurts to some extent but was not unexpected given the great players we've recently lost and the reality that India has not been a happy hunting ground for us even in our pomp. The most annoying aspect was enduring poor selection decisions and Punter's ridiculous tactics in employing his part-timers instead of Watson and co. when India was starting to feel the pressure after Sachin's suicidal run. Interestingly, Dhoni looked a worried man under duress when Hayden started belting the ball around the park and went ultra-defensive. His mettle couldn't be tested enough because of the Punter-induced huge total we had to chase.

Pom, I wouldn't really call Oram a spinner. He tends to mainly bowl medium, at some time he actually bowled fast medium. KP has been successful against Warne and other spinners. He treated Harris with disdain, and he's SA's only spinner. He's murdered Murali at times. Both Murali and Warney think he's arguably the hardest they've had to bowl to. If he has one weakness, it's against the moving ball. But most batsmen succumb to that. I agree Lewis is a pie chucker and after that ill-fated day, he never represented us again and his career faded. In the context of the match it wasn't perhaps the worst spell of bowling ever.And remember Bracken dropped a sitter off Gibbs when he was 120 odd, off Lewis's bowling. Louw is struggling against the Banglas.

KP is a gun against spin Pom.

It's almost like history repeating itself for the SA fans. Last time we were licking our wounds from the fallout pertaining to the Ashes in England. We went on to smack SA so badly that they even shut up for a while - even Captain Lard. I can't see SA having the attack to dismiss the likes of Hayden, Punter, Hussey et al. They're spraying it everywhere against the Bangers. Imagine how quickly we'll score against those pie chuckers. How bad is Louw?

Congratulations to India on playing better and more intelligent cricket throughout the series and to Ganguly for completing a great career. Saman, KP is a legend.

That Louw is a pie chucker. Well done Amla, he's really improved. Fascinating day ahead in the test match tomorrow but I suspect it will end in a draw. It was a bizarre day's cricket in Nagpur.

The 438 game is a while ago now and there are not a lot of those special days for Gibbs. I see Captain Lard will return tomorrow. Is he still waddling?

Heboric you have to remember that your guys played on a greentop and a dustbowl. Wickets tend to fall more easily on those types of decks. SA winning under the leadership of an in shape skipper in Botha. When will the waddling Captain Lard return?

You're scraping the barrell if Dippanaar is battingdepth. Shifter Krejza bowled with some good turn and drift. How many wickets has Harby taken thus far? Clarke just gone to Sharma.

If Krezja can destroy India, what will he do to the notoriously weak against spin Saffers? I can see SA really struggling this summer with their inconsistent bowlers and out of form batsmen.

Saman, no positives from not having Gibbs, do you mean you missed him, or that he might have disappeared for good? I doubt his inconsistency will ever rescue you. Katich and Hussey are making steady progress, India is very defensive in mindset. I think saman your domestic competition is very weak which is why the players you call up can't mix it with the best. Look at Krejza, he's testament to the strength of our Sheffield Shield competition.

We've fought our way back and could at least draw this match against the Indians. Meanwhile, SA's mediocre form continues. If they don't improve, we'll beat them with as much ease as we usually do later this summer. Louw looks to be a shocking bowler, Morkel is expensive, Ontong's sub-standard.

This will be the end for Gibbs surely, even though they like to pick quota players. Ontong would only be picked because he's a quota player wouldn't he? He's never looked a viable international player.

Saman, McLaren may not be flavour of the month in three years time, the Proteas may be looking elsewhere. But Pretorian pom, is right, he'll probably end up playing for England, even though he has no ties with them by birth or otherwise. The rapacious poms might as well set up an academy in SA and cut out the middleman! As for his rants about pretend Africans, there are lot of Africans moving here pretending to be Aussies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My gut feel is that this time they might opt for Krejza for two reasons. Firstly Punter has been making those sort of noises in the press and secondly he was reluctant to bowl White in the second innings in the last test, even after he claimed Tendulkar's wicket. I think he believes that they have to opt for the specialist spinner, regardless of how carp he might prove to be.

Hey editor in the matches you have to come, Bangladesh and SA are playing their first two matches on Friday the 7th. Either it's a blockbuster entertainment fixture for the crowd or one of the teams is going to obliterate the other in a short space of time so they had to schedule two on the one day.I'm glad to see that Karma has put saman right regarding McLaren who's more likely to play for the poms than the saffers. Ditto Du Preez who's also pulled out of the SA squad. England seems determined to weaken SA cricket. Yousuf going weakens Pakistan whose fortunes seem to go from bad to worse.

Editor, please put saman straight, McLaren will be coming into a Saffa team in no time soon. Kent has banned him from playing internationally for two years and McLaren decided not to fight the county. He's ineligible to play for SA. I think our pace question is just as much in the spotlight as our 'spin' poser for the Nagpur test.

Saman, what part of McLaren deciding not to play for SA don't you understand? He won't be part of any SA team anytime soon. Morkel might be a better cricketer than Harris but I doubt he'd spin it more, as ordinary a spinner as Harris can be. The only way Albie would make it into a test team is if Boucher made way for AB and SA opted for an all-rounder. Interesting selection poser for us - Krejza or White? And do we drop Clark or Johnson for Bollinger or Siddle?

Ms, I don't think the Stanford game was fixed as artificial as it all seemed. The West Indies crew seemd to take the game seriously and prepared accordingly. In contrast, the poms seemed to think they could turn up and turn it on. They were more worried about how they would spend the money than how they would win the game. Kudos to the Windies for working hard and some of them are very poor so they needed the money more. I just hope now they concentrate on translating that assiduity to the big, real stage in cricket.

Well done Kumble and given that he was well past his best it's pleasing to see he won't suffer in Nagpur because the kids of today are seeing a bowler who's only a shadow of his former self. Australia set a teasing challenge but I doubt they'll take it up with too much gusto. Pretorian pom, I find it amusing you chastise me for racial 'generalism' considering you do that same thing in reference to Afrikaners. And remember, as I've said ad nauseam, the divide wouldn't quite be so great if people reproduced according to their means. It's up to the ANC to rectify the situation but unfortunately corruption often overrides the needs of its subjects. Sorry to be so political. Look no further than Mugabe for how 'freedom fighters' can be so flawed.

Australians have been incredibly aggressive but we haven't resorted to physicality. Gambhir is a recidivist in this respect. Well done to Gayle's boys and let's hope it proves a fillip for Windian cricket. Pom, at least the Afrikaners don't go robbing people's housing and indiscriminately killing people. Would love to see the Delhi test enlivened today by some wickets or good batting but I doubt this will happen.

Kumble put his hand up to play in the match so has to be assessed as harshly as any. Pom, regardless of the break-up of the poms living in SA, officially there are meant to be more living in SA than the reverse. It's true many Saffas may take advantage of a UK passport but trends apparently reveal that a large % return home after making a lot of money and converting it favourably into rands. With the economic downturn, some will be forced to return home, like some of our Aussie workers. The UK gov. is also making it more difficult for some Commonwealth workers, especially saffers, to obtain working visas in the near future.

Pom, if the Afrikaners are a throwback to the 80s, they probably won't fit in anywhere. It's not just SA which is moving forward. Did you know that according to official figures, more poms live in SA, than SA folk in England? That will probably surprise you. We finally get bowled out. Clarke completed a gritty, albeit fortunate hundred, while there were contributions all round. Looks headed for a rather dull draw.

Zondeki's always failed to impress. Pom, I read the other day that believe it or not, the white population has actually risen in SA following the last census and is around five million. Apparently many who leave return so you'll still have to put up with a few of the hated whites yet. Australia proving that their batting still is very powerful. India attacks lacks penetration, they need to improve their bowling if they are going to dominate to the extent that some predict.

Albie did play against Kenya. Tough fight coming up from the Aussie batsmen but a draw would still be favoured.

Good consistent effort from the top order. If our tail collapses when it arrives at the crease, it's still game on but the draw would be favoured among possible results. Is Captain Lard the only cricketer in the world who can't snare a woman?

Punter has his failings as captain but at least he shades Captain super Lard any day of the week. We're showing today that our batting is still strong. India's attack loses penetration when the overrated Kumble returns.

Heboric, we're a different team at home. If Captain Lard does bring his sore elbow to our shores, Lee and Clark will have his measure. Steyn and Morkel may break down, many overseas quicks do on our hard surfaces.

The SA attack without Steyn will lack bite. He has a mystery virus and Captain Lard looks finished with his elbow concerns. This test could be heading for a draw unless the pitch starts to crumble. Could be a victory for the curator.

Karma, nobody I know condones what went on with the aboriginal massacres but quotas are inappropriate because unlike in South Africa, no indigenous people were actively prevented from representing their country.

CA is trying to rectify our lack of indigenous players with new programs to interest them in our great game.

Karma your darling skipper could miss our tour due to his sore elbow. Well batted India. Punter looked bereft of ideas at times but it was a tough toss to lose.

Good effort from Vettori but he needs to do it against top-line opposition.

Pom I fully understand your arguments but those you mention (Strauss doesn't count because nobody objects to him playing for England) choose England after counties actively court them when they've spent their formative years in their homeland, in KP's case born there and in Malan's case played for SA under 19s. The problem as I see it is that England has too many counties playing cricket and is unable to find enough quality players to turn out decent teams without recruiting from the rest of the world which hurts its own cricket short and long-term. It seduces Saffas with the lure of the pound. In some cases the quota system also a deters them from staying home. That KP has one English parent who went there as a teenager is irrelevant. If we delved into the parentages of all players, you could trace familial lines in a number of directions. The reality is that England fails to properly produce and nurture enough of its own and relies on other countries to fill the void. McLaren for instance was born in bred in SA of SA parents, yet a tin-pot regime such as Kent thinks it can ban him from test cricket and has. The ICC should step in and ban this silly little county from first class cricket indefinitely, or at least until it justifies its existence by producing its own. What a joke that it prevents him from defecting because it's built a team around someone it poached from another country. It's been relegated to the second tier in any case. McLaren must be thick to put second-tier first class cricket above international honours and the potential further riches this can generate.

Pom, I just wish England would choose the players who spend the majority of their formative years there and represent it in their junior years, i.e. Under 19 stage. It's as clear as that.

Malan was born in England but his Afrikaner father was workig there at the time and then they returned to SA. Of course the opportunistic poms never miss a chance to pounce. About time they realised they're no longer the rapacious empire they once were and let boys who played under 19 cricket for the country they grew up in pursue their dreams there instead of seducing them with money they no the youngsters' homelands can't meet. What a joke that a county can stop someone representing his country.

Interesting that this is actually Alam's fourth go at the coaching job. Pakistan habitually shifts deckchairs on its Titanic.

Malan might to date have been more impressive in T20 but he's very young and promising in the longer form of the game as well. It looks like quotas might be claiming him though.

Poochand, Zaheer pleaded guilty - end of matter! Malan will choose to play for the poachers England, no doubt about that. Always raping other countries of their talent. SA should boycott them.

Prophet, it's not just the words, it's how demonstrative Zaheer was. The words are uninimportant because the bulk of the crowd wouldn't hear them but nobody was in any doubt that Zaheer was contravening the spirit of cricket with his actions. I see Modi is throwing his weight around regarding England and the IPL. He's already bribed the Sri Lankan board. India is determined to wreck cricket.

Poochandi, I don't condone whingeing, cricketers who can't take what they dish out but the fact is the match referee didn't need Hayden to scream to him to enforce a penalty, it was obvious to anyone who was watching at the ground or on television. Aussies have received penalties in the past for infractions; not just Asian cricketers. It's Sunil I take issue with though, every time an Indian receives a penalty he alleges bias against sub-continent players. I also recall Steyn receiving a monetary penalty for what was described as an over-exuberant celebration of a West Indian wicket, yet it was just a harmless show of elation. If you act like Zaheer, if you to wear the penalty.

I think Sunil's recent comments again were beyond the pale. How dare he claim that Indian players are treated more harshly because Zaheer got penalised for his send-off of Hayden. Anybody who saw it knows it broke the ICC code of conduct. It's time the BCCI just focussed on cricket and not politics. They continue to hold players and competitons to ransom in respect of the ICL. I still don't see what players playing there as to do with them when it comes to whether or not they represent their states or franchises in domestic cricket. And Kent isn't blameless in McLarengate.

I endorse Arrogant Oz's comments and I believe too much cowering to India goes on because of the way their money holds the rest of the cricket community to ransom. There's absolutely no doubt that Tendulkar changed his mind for reasons of expediency. And last time I checked I think India had chalked up their 50 in terms of penalties against the spirit of cricket/laws etc. Just because Sachin is treated as a god in India doesn't mean he's beyond reproach.

I agree with Chappell, let the talismanic Dhoni retain the job for the capital's test.

I agree Macca, none of those players are standouts and wouldn't have cracked it for regular test selection. Rudolph was test standard but not really good enough, especially against faster bowling, to be a consistent batsman. Many SA players do choose the pound due to their very weak currency which I benefited from when I travelled there. KP probably left for a variety of reasons including quotas had his province though. I think deep down he wanted to play for his country but he was in a hurry. Editor, please change the spelling of persistant (sic) under the Banger report which headlines the homepage; it's not a good look. I would advise persistent.

KP will save England, there is something indefinably inspiring about him. He has the X factor. SA must rue the day their most talented player flew the coup.

I don't think Smith played at all in SL in 2006 - you have that wrong. He had an ankle injury and was sidelined along with Kallis.

KP missing home so much is more an indication of how Saffers prefer living in, and playing for, - England

I think JP should play in the tests ahead of Prince and Amla. And what's this about making tons consistently at provincial level? When was the last time any of SA's test incumbents played at domestic level on a consistent basis? JP would put more pressure on the opposition than the selfishly slow Prince as well.

I think you'll find AB de Villiers has a bit of talent in the music field as well. Apparently he sings, plays guitar and writes his own material. He and Brett Lee teamed up as a duo to entertain hotel guests in SA.

The Proteas did very well overall but I think that Smith is selfishly taking credit when he did nothing towards securing victory for his side.

Sami is poor, would be a bonus for you that he's missing.

KP was ok but nothing special. Came in when the swing had disappeared and played selfishly. Had an average strike rate compared with some of the other top players in the tournament. Never looked like taking a game by the scruff of the neck. Think he gets overrated.