Steve Kirby, the Gloucestershire pace bowler, is in hot water with officials again after being ordered out the attack towards the end of the Championship match against Gloucestershire at Bristol.Bowling the penultimate over of the game, Kirby let fly a ball that thudded into the chest of Andy Gray, the Derbyshire tail-ender. Kirby tried to apologise but Gray had already turned away, dropped his bat and ripped off a glove. Neil Mallender, the former England seamer who was officiating the match, told Jon Lewis, the Gloucestershire captain, to remove Kirby from bowling.The two players later shook hands but Kirby will still be reported to the ECB. The Gloucestershire chief executive, Tom Richardson, told the Press Association: “Kirby was taken off under Law 42 [fair and unfair play] but I don’t want to say anything else at this stage.”The umpires have to make their report but at the moment I don’t anticipate there will be much further action. Everyone knows Kirby is a whole-hearted trier who gives everything to the game.”It isn’t the first time Kirby, who joined Gloucestershire from Yorkshire, has been in trouble. Last season he was found guilty of ball tampering during a match against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens.

South Africa are facing an injury crisis ahead of the one-day tri-series against Sri Lanka and India on Monday, with three of their leading cricketers, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock and the captain, Mark Boucher, all nursing injuries.Ntini has a left hamstring strain which prevented him from bowling more than 7.2 overs in the second innings of the second Test in Colombo, which South Africa went on to lose by one wicket.”Makhaya is under treatment and his injury is being monitored closely by the physiotherapist,” said South Africa’s coach, Mickey Arthur. “But we are confident that he will pull through by Monday. He is due for a fitness test over the weekend and it is very unlikely that he will play any part in the team prior to that.”The fast bowler, Dale Steyn, who was to fly home at the end of the Test series, has stayed back as cover for Ntini. Meanwhile Pollock, 33, a veteran of 102 Tests and 259 one-day internationals, has a niggling injury in his lower back. He bowled just three overs with the second new-ball on that same final day.Pollock suffered a similar injury in the home series against Australia and was forced to miss the first Test at Cape Town in March. “Probably age and the heavy workload on him over the years is taking its toll,” said Arthur.Boucher, 29, who will lead South Africa in the tri-series, is nursing an injured left elbow after being hit during the second innings of the second Test.”As a precautionary measure Mark and Shaun will be rested from tomorrow’s practice game,” said South Africa’s media liaison officer Gordon Templeton. “Both should be available for selection on Monday.”Templeton added that AB de Villiers would keep wicket for South Africa in their one-day practice match against a Sri Lanka Academy in Colombo on Friday.Ashwell Prince who was replaced as captain by Boucher in the one-day squad will lead the team.South Africa one-day squad
1 Mark Boucher (capt, wk), 2 Boeta Dippenaar, 3 Loots Bosman, 4 Herschelle Gibbs, 5 A.B. de Villiers, 6 Shaun Pollock, 7 Johan van der Wath, 8 Robin Petersen, 9 Andrew Hall, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Makhaya Ntini, 12 Ashwell Prince, 13 Roger Telemachus, 14 Thandi Tshabalala

Zaheer Abbas has been replaced as manager of Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy in October, by former Pakistan opener Talat Ali. The decision was taken following a meeting of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) ad-hoc committee in Karachi to discuss, among other subjects, the Oval fiasco which saw Pakistan forfeiting a Test for the first time in the game’s history.Shaharyar Khan, chairman of the PCB, told reporters, “Talat Ali has been chosen to replace him for the Champions Trophy as manager.” The move had been widely expected in Pakistan after Abbas had come in for heavy criticism for his role – or lack of it – during the Oval melee.While negotiations were underway to try and save the Oval Test on the dressing room balcony, Abbas was seen by many outside the Pakistan dressing room talking on his mobile phone. His apparent inaction prompted a barrage of criticism from ex-players in Pakistan who felt he should have taken a more proactive role in resolving the matter and negotiating with the ICC and the umpires.Others attacked him for a number of statements he made in the immediate aftermath of the incident, including his terming of Darrell Hair’s US$500,000 resignation offer, a “moral victory” for Pakistan. Even before the team left for England, concerns had been voiced about his aptitude for the job. When asked by a local TV channel about left-arm paceman Samiullah Niazi’s inclusion in the squad, Abbas professed ignorance about the player.But Shaharyar denied that the move meant Abbas was the first victim of ‘Hairgate’. “He has not been replaced because of what happened at the Oval. We need him as a witness for the ICC hearings later in September. After that, if the need for an appeal rises, then we might need him further so that might interfere with his role as manager. This is not a criticism or indictment of his role. It is no reflection on him.”Shaharyar added that Inzamam-ul-Haq [captain], Danish Kaneria and Umar Gul will attend the hearing alongwith Abbas. Both Gul and Kaneria were bowling when the umpires inspected the ball, and have been asked by the PCB’s lawyers to provide evidence.In the PCB’s defence, however, it must also be pointed out that managerial appointments rarely follow steadfast rules of employment. Generally, managers are hired on an assignment-by-assignment basis; Abbas, for example, was manager for the tour to Sri Lanka earlier in the year but was replaced by Salim Altaf for the subsequent ODI series against India in Abu Dhabi. Not many in Pakistan, though, will buy the chairman’s reasoning and certainly most journalists – admittedly a cynical lot – didn’t.The man who replaces him – Ali – was in line for the job for the England series and had the robust support of at least one senior PCB official. Ali, who played ten Tests for Pakistan between 1972 and 1979 as a dogged opener, was also an ICC match referee for the same number of Tests between 1997 and 2001.One of the central figures of the controversy – Inzamam-ul-Haq – was, however, given the full backing of the board. “The events of the Oval Test were considered at the meeting which showed full confidence in Inzamam,” Shaharyar said. But referring to further comments Inzamam made to a local TV channel on arrival in Pakistan, Shaharyar warned that more comments “would be tantamount to hitting on his own feet (shooting himself in the foot) if Inzamam said anything on the matter now.” He was referring to ICC’s warning last week to the PCB and Inzamam for making “unnecessary and inappropriate” comments over the issue.About the other figure – Darrell Hair – the PCB was understandably reluctant to say too much. When asked what Pakistan would do if Hair was chosen to officiate in the Champions Trophy, Shaharyar said, “what steps we have thought about cannot be revealed at this point of time, we would disclose them after a decision on the hearing.”Reuters, however, quoted a board source as claiming that Pakistan had made its objections to Hair clear to the ICC. The board source said that the ICC had been informed in writing that if Hair was put on the umpires panel for the Champions Trophy, it would consider strong action including pulling out from the event. “Pakistan is very clear on Hair’s future appointments. It does not want him appointed either in the Champions Trophy or any other series in which Pakistan is playing.”

England’s selectors have opted for a blend of youth and experience for the forthcoming one-day series against Pakistan, by recalling Darren Gough to the squad at the age of 36, and offering a first international opportunity to Leicestershire’s 20-year-old Stuart Broad.Gough is looking to extend his record of 157 ODIs by playing his first match for England since last year’s NatWest Series final against Australia, while Broad and Sussex’s Michael Yardy are the only uncapped players named in the squad.Middlesex’s Ed Joyce returns to the England squad after suffering a series-ending ankle injury in England’s Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka in June, while Surrey’s Rikki Clarke has been recalled after last playing a limited-overs match for England in 2004.Commenting on the selection, David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, said: “On reflection of the NatWest Series defeat to Sri Lanka earlier in the summer, the selectors felt that we needed some experience in the line-up for Andrew Strauss and Duncan Fletcher.”As the 30-man ICC Champions Trophy squad illustrated, the selectors recognised that Darren Gough has bowled with great confidence for Essex this year. We are aware that in recent weeks Darren has been suffering from injury to his shins but we are in constant consultation with the Essex and England medical staff and therefore confident that he will be fully recovered by the first match next Monday based on ongoing assessment.”Of the young bowlers currently making a strong impression in first class cricket, Stuart Broad has performed exceptionally well for Leicestershire this year, as would have been noticed by the public during the recent Twenty20 Cup finals day.”Stuart, along with Darren Gough and Jon Lewis, give the captain and coach options when opening the bowling, something that proved to be a problem in the series against Sri Lanka.”Gough said: “I’m delighted to get another opportunity with England. I’ve worked hard all year and this call-up is my reward. I’m playing in the best one-day team in the country and my own performances have been very good – that’s why I’ve been picked. I’m relishing the prospect of coming up against Pakistan as they have some of the best one-day batsmen in the world. It’s going to be a challenge but I’m looking forward to it immensely.”Alex Loudon, Kabir Ali, Geraint Jones and Vikram Solanki are the players to miss out on selection after being included in the NatWest Series against Sri Lanka earlier this year.Glen Chapple and Tim Bresnan, both members of England’s initial one-day squad for the Sri Lanka series, are two of nine players not considered for selection due to injury, the others include Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff, Simon Jones, Ashley Giles, Ian Blackwell, James Anderson and Liam Plunkett.A scan has cleared Steve Harmison of any injury yesterday while Jamie Dalrymple has overcome a recent groin injury to retain his place in the squad.Graveney added: “In the absence of Ashley Giles and Ian Blackwell, who are both injured, we’re keen to look at Michael Yardy as an option with both the bat and the ball. Michael has performed well for Sussex in what is shaping up as a successful year for the club.”After ongoing discussion with the Lancashire and England medical teams Glen Chapple was not considered due to injury even though he is playing for Lancashire. It was felt that Glen wouldn’t be able to do himself justice at an international level despite the fact that he is still playing for Lancashire.”In light of the series defeat to Sri Lanka both the captain, Andrew Strauss, and the Selectors are keen to see a far better performance against Pakistan who will prove to be a very difficult opponent. The selectors see this series as another opportunity to look at the options available as we draw closer to the World Cup next year.”Squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Rikki Clarke, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, James Dalrymple, Darren Gough, Steve Harmison, Ed Joyce, Jon Lewis, Sajid Mahmood, Kevin Pietersen, Chris Read, Marcus Trescothick, Michael Yardy.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

The trend of low scores and poor pitches continued at the Champions Trophy, as New Zealand crushed South Africa by 87 runs at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. In conditions where batting was an onerous task, Stephen Fleming played an outstanding knock for the second time in a major one-day competition against South Africa. In the World Cup, he had creamed 134 effortless runs; here, his 89 was the difference between the two sides, enabling New Zealand to mount 195. His opposite number for South Africa, Graeme Smith, was the second-highest score with 42 – but none of the other batsmen had much of a clue.The pitch was a different one to what had been used a couple of days back when West Indies were mauled by Sri Lanka, but the result wasn’t much different. Early on it offered more pace and bounce than the track on which West Indies got rolled over, but as the day wore on strokeplay became increasingly tougher, especially against the older ball. By the time South Africa were midway into their innings, there was a puff of dust every time the ball landed on the turf, and the abrasive nature of the pitch made the ball grip the surface – it was all far too much for the South African batsmen, and for most of the New Zealanders as well.The one batsman who conquered these tough conditions was Fleming. At the start, when strokeplay was relatively easier, he executed some crisp strokes, flicking wide off mid-on with characteristic flair and cutting and driving with panache on the off side. He played and missed more than once early on, but when wickets fell regularly at the other end, he cut out the risks and ensured that he stayed through most of the innings.The stand-out feature, though, was his crisp timing in a match where everyone else struggled. Even as wickets fell around him, Fleming calmly worked the ball around for ones and twos, seemingly unconcerned by the lack of support, and then opened out again towards the end, sweeping the spinners and hoicking Makhaya Ntini when he returned for a second spell. In fact, Ntini’s extra pace made him the easiest bowler to get away, as he leaked almost six an over.Fleming’s innings meant that New Zealand managed a decent total – in the circumstances – despite the absence of a significant partnership: there were five stands of 20 or more, but none topped 47 as batsman after batsman deserted Fleming despite getting starts. The South African bowlers did a fine job, but the extravagant turn Robin Peterson and Smith managed – more than once Smith managed to rip it past Fleming’s outside edge – should have suggested to both the captains that batting in the evening would be even more fraught with danger.

And so it turned out, as South Africa struggled right from the start of their run-chase. The wreckers, however, were the medium pacers, as Mills and Oram used the conditions to perfection. Mills did the early damage, trapping Boeta Dippenaar in front, and nailing Herschelle Gibbs with a superb indipper. Jacques Kallis, the birthday-boy who had celebrated with three wickets in the afternoon, walked out, and on a pitch getting increasingly treacherous, he was the one batsman who had the technique to cope. Mills, however, ended his resistance too, effecting a superb one-handed return catch as Kallis went on the drive too early.Smith continued to battle hard, though, just as his opposite number had done for New Zealand. While Fleming managed 89, Smith couldn’t even make half as much, as Oram took over from where Mills had left off. Mark Boucher gifted his wicket away to a wide one, Smith himself miscued a pull, while Shaun Pollock was left wide-eyed as an Oram special stopped on him, making him scoop a catch to cover.With six wickets in the bag, Fleming finally unleashed his twin-spin attack to wrap it up. Daniel Vettori was supposed to be the dangerman, but on a track offering so much turn to any slow bowler who could land the ball, the ability to bowl it flat and hasten it after pitching was a more deadly proposition. Vettori, flighting it generously, managed only one wicket in seven overs as Jeetan Patel ripped through the tail with his flat offbreaks. Andre Nel, his face usually a rich concoction of expressions, was left gaping after a huge turner got through his defences, and thereafter the end was only a moment away.At the post-match presentation, Smith offered his congratulations to Sri Lanka before realising he had got the opposition wrong – the way the ball turned, though, he could be forgiven for imagining they were up against Muttiah Muralitharan, not Jeetan Patel.

New ZealandLou Vincent b Pollock 17 (27 for 1)
Nathan Astle b Hall 14 (74 for 2)
Hamish Marshall b Nel 1 (76 for 3)
Peter Fulton c Boucher b Kallis 2 (86 for 4)
Jacob Oram c Dippenaar b Peterson 7 (99 for 5)
Brendon McCullum c & b Peterson 21 (135 for 6)
Daniel Vettori c Boucher b Smith 9 (156 for 7)
James Franklin b Kallis 9 (180 for 8)
Stephen Fleming c Pollock b Kallis 89 (192 for 9)
Jeetan Patel run out (Pollock) 2 (195 all out)
South AfricaBoeta Dippenaar lbw b Mills 0 (1 for 1)
Herschelle Gibbs b Mills 0 (3 for 2)
Jacques Kallis c & b Mills 8 (25 for 3)
Mark Boucher c McCullum b Oram 8 (50 for 4)
Graeme Smith c Vettori b Oram 42 (69 for 5)
Shaun Pollock c Patel b Oram 1 (71 for 6)
Andrew Hall c Vincent b Patel 13 (99 for 7)
Robin Peterson c Fleming b Vettori 0 (100 for 8)
Andre Nel b Patel 0 (105 for 9)
Makhaya Ntini b Patel 1 (107 all out)

It’s hard to describe what Gravy did. He can’t explain it himself. He doesn’t like to be called an ambassador, yet he represented Antigua in the manner best befitting it: with joy. Gravy is a performer. He cross-dresses and dances and writhes and swings from the rafters and puts on a show that you will not ever forget. For twelve years he kept doing it. In many ways, he was the face of the Antigua Recreation Ground more than Viv Richards or Curtly Ambrose.It’s easy to stereotype Gravy. A chap slightly off his rocker, a blazing extrovert, an attention seeker, and a man with no worries. Actually, he is soft, sober, sentimental. On the record he has always said that his official retirement – exactly two cricket seasons ago – had all to do with the fact that he had given 12 years of his life to another country, USA, and so wanted to give exactly 12 years to his own country.Off the record he will tell you of the hurt that came along with never, ever being given any financial support even when he had requested it, from sponsors or from the Board. Continents away, Percy Abeysekara is flown around with the Sri Lankan team as official cheerleader. Gravy says he has never received a cent for buying the costumes he wore every day of cricket at the ARG. Today, he says, the guys at the gate ask him for a ticket if he wants to enter.He has not walked away in disgust – and he hasn’t gone to the press about this because it may show Antigua in poor light – but he cannot be asked, for anything in the world, to return to his act.So, the summer of 2000 it was when he walked around the ground in a white wedding dress and waved goodbye. "When everybody came to the edge of the balcony with the cameras and the flashin’ and the waves and the thank-yous, it felt like I wasn’t touching the ground."It was quite by accident that Gravy started doing what he did. He visited his first Test here in 1988. It started to rain during the presentation ceremony, and the podium was left open. "Something told me, Gravy, this is your time. I went down on the podium, in the rain, and started dancing. Everybody was excited about it. They loved it."Gravy now runs a little stall by the Sir Vivian Richards Pavilion with his girlfriend, Hyacinth. "I been talkin’ to her 6 years before I held her hand." Why? "Everything takes time, and good things come to those that wait."At least three posters mourn Gravy’s retirement. One of them says that ARG grounds men are on strike because Gravy retired. Thus the dead pitch. Another one illustrates the great triangle of retirement. Curtly Ambrose forms one side, Courtney Walsh the other, and Gravy the third. It’s actually quite apt if you listen to Gravy’s most cunning plan of all:"The only three people who knew what I was going to do was myself Gravy, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. We had a plan and we used it systematically. When the water cart comes onto the field, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh supposed to get the drinks first. Then I start my antics. That is when I’m at my best, when the water cart is on the ground. It allows me a chance to make the opposition not to be a part of the water cart. They forget to drink the water because they’ve never seen anything like me. They’re thirsty and they’re back in play. They’re listening to me, watching me. By that time, Ambrose and Walsh have taken their wickets."The nicest thing anyone has told Gravy has come from Viv Richards. "Gravy,what you’re doing," Richards told him, "keep on doing it, cause the world is happy when you do it.""Everybody tells me that they miss me. What they don’t know that I miss it more than them."More Roving Reporter
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Just lukewarm

Adil Rashid, Yorkshire’s teenage legspinner, hopes to return to full fitness by the end of January following the diagnosis of a stress fracture in his back.”I’m really looking forward to getting in some practice,” Rashid told Yorkshire’s website. “I can’t wait for the new season to get underway. I thought I was suffering from only bruising when my back began to hurt, but then I had a scan, which revealed I was suffering from a stress fracture.”I had to take a complete rest. I was absolutely gutted, because I had to turn down the invitation to go on the trip to India with England’s emerging players in the autumn, and then I couldn’t be selected for the England Under-19 tour of Malaysia, which begins in late January.”Rashid, though still only 18, was somewhat of a sensation in the summer. He took 6 for 67 on his Championship debut against Warwickshire, en route to 25 wickets in five matches. Against the touring India Under-19s, he took 8 for 157 and struck 114 to confirm his immense promise with both bat and ball.”It has been very disappointing and frustrating, but I’m over it now, and am eager to get started,” he added. “There is no question of me not being fully fit by the start of the new season, and one of my aims is to play in every Championship match for Yorkshire in 2007.”I could, of course, even get picked to play for England, and although I am not expecting that to happen quite so soon I will certainly do everything to grasp the opportunity should it arise.”

Scorecard
The Super League Ranji Trophy match between Baroda and Uttar Pradesh sprang to life after two turgid days, and the scales are titled towards Baroda. At the end of the third day’s play, Baroda need 155 runs with nine wickets in hand for a win that should seal their place in the semi-finals.The turnaround to the meandering match, though, was provided by UP bowler Praveen Kumar, who bowled with aggression and accuracy to help UP bowl Baroda, who started the day at 259 for 5 in reply to UP’s 269, out for 308. That opened the game up, as UP – two of their frontline batsmen (Shivakant Shukla and Suresh Raina) injured – came with the intentions of going for broke, and got bowled out for 210 in 59.1 overs.Before the start of the play, Mohammad Kaif would have accepted it as a gift had somebody offered them to bowl Baroda out before lunch. Neither the pitch had helped them yesterday nor had Baroda shown any intention of going for quick runs. Every wicket had to be earned and then suddenly things turned on the third morning. A first-innings deficit, a foregone conclusion, became doubtful as Kumar removed Irfan Pathan junior and Ajit Bhoite in the fourth over of the innings. Pathan hadn’t added to his overnight score by then, Baroda had added one. Eventually, the overnight batsman Pinal Shah took Baroda over the line. Kumar finished his five-for with a short ball that was too good for tailender Rajesh Pawar, who had to play at it and lob a catch to slip. After getting his sixth wicket and Baroda’s last, Kumar rushed towards the dressing room: he must have had quick runs on his mind.But Kaif knew he would be tired after sending down 38 overs, eight of them this morning, and chose to open with Tanmay Srivastava and Rohit Prakash Srivastava. Shukla, the other opener, had not fielded in Baroda’s innings, and like Raina, would not be able to bat before No. 7. If any of the three – Kumar, Shukla, or Raina – were eager to bat, their message was heard by other UP batsmen. Kumar was in when the fourth wicket fell in the 28th over, Raina in 33rd, and Shukla in the 34th. The makeshift top order showed lack of application and that was all a fast and accurate Rakesh Patel needed.In Patel’s first over, Tanmay was not so much as beaten as he was slow to bring his bat down and found the off stump out of the ground. In his second over, Patel made Kaif play at one that was best left alone and got the edge. His accuracy prior to that had a lot to do with Kaif committing to the ball that had pitched sufficiently outside the off stump and had moved away a bit. Kaif’s wicket, as it usually happens with UP, spelt panic among UP batsmen. As hard as it seemed Ali Moratza was trying to get out, he could not succeed until he had made 45. He was dropped by Himanshu Jadhav at gully for 14, an edge off Irfan Pathan senior fell short of wicket-keeper when he was 24, and Shah missed a sharp catch off left-arm spinner Pawar when he was 29. A direct-hit from Pathan senior at mid-off found Mortaza short when going for a single, thus ending an 80-run third wicket stand between Rohit and Mortaza.Rohit himself played the best innings among the UP batsmen but got out to a horrible pull shot which went straight back to bowler Patel, in somewhat similar fashion as Wasim Jaffer’s shot in the Durban Test. Rohit made 58. Patel went on to get a five-for as UP could get only 210 on a wicket that was still good for batting. Patel himself testified to that, saying the only heartening sign for him was the bounce he was able to extract.Pathan junior had a better day with the ball; he even showed glimpses of the swing that had made him famous at international level, but only for a three-over spell before lunch. After the interval, a changed man emerged, who was trying far too many things, bowling both from over and round the stumps, unable to find the swing again, unable to stem the runflow, and bowling five no-balls, two wides, and giving away two boundaries as byes. He ended up with one wicket from his 13 overs for 59 runs. In the context of the match, he was perhaps over-bowled, his namesake getting only five overs in which he troubled the batsmen.What came as a blessing for UP has ended as a bane. But with previous second-innings scores of 194, 178, and 100 for 7 in this year’s Ranji Trophy, we should have known better. Yet it would be folly if Baroda think they are through, given the tenacity and persistence and tenacity Kumar and Shalabh Srivastava showed in the first innings. As a UP player commented during Kumar’s onslaught in the morning, he can get half the dressing room out with the aggression he shows on the field. UP will need all that and more.

Scorecard

Brad Hodge justified his bold day-three declaration by setting up another chasing win for Victoria as they moved to the top of the Pura Cup table. Hodge closed the Bushrangers’ innings 117 runs behind South Australia on Sunday and his gamble paid off as he and Michael Klinger were the key contributors in running down the target of 322 for a three-wicket win.Klinger was unbeaten on 87 after steering the final stages of the chase and the home side ended the game with three overs to spare. While Klinger applied the finishing touches, Hodge kept the Bushrangers in sight of the result with 84 from 124 balls, including 11 fours and a six.The dismissal of Nick Jewell, who crawled to 36 off 111 deliveries, allowed Hodge and David Hussey, the first-innings century-makers, to accelerate and they produced a crucial stand of 79 in 71 balls. Hussey fell to a reflex take by Tom Plant at short leg and Hodge left with his side at 4 for 225, edging to first slip off Cullen Bailey.Bailey, the legspinner, was the most successful of South Australia’s bowlers with 4 for 103, but he was unable to stop Klinger. The Redbacks, who kept their two points, reached 5 for 204 before their first-session declaration, with Ben Cameron unbeaten on 51.

50 overs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Shaun Pollock, supported by an assembly line of bristling seamers, set Pakistan up for the kill, before South Africa’s openers finished it with a lack of mercy that Jack the Ripper would’ve shivered at. Pakistan were trounced, ultimately, by ten wickets with 36 overs to spare at Cape Town, South Africa taking a 2-1 series lead with one match left to play.As with the series opening result at Centurion, numbers couldn’t fully convey the carnage. In the end, as Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers rained down a glut of boundaries, it seemed as if the Twenty20 game that started this series with the same result and manner was being replayed.But it was indisputably Pollock though who set up the romp, and in particular his first eight overs, which gave up but eight runs and took two wickets. Smith won a welcome first toss of the series and put Pakistan in under a gloomy sky, on a spicy pitch; a Pollock special he hoped for and a Pollock special he got.Bowling machines have been known to stray more than Pollock did, so precise were his lines and lengths. A little extra movement meant no batsman was ever in any control. He conceded his first run in only his fourth over, that too off a wide. By then, Imran Nazir had already gone in an exemplary first over, memories of the Durban spanking quickly receding. Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan were beaten for fun and at one stage, just getting bat on ball was surprise enough. When Younis did bunt one to short cover, the novelty was such that Akmal took off for a single that wasn’t. He slipped, Herschelle Gibbs didn’t.Eight for two after 10 overs captured Pakistan’s struggle like no words could. Mohammad Yousuf loosened the shackles a touch driving Pollock for the first boundary in the morning’s 11th over, but it was the briefest riposte. Pollock lured Younis into a misguided drive and if Pakistan were relieved that this was the penultimate over of a spell which included four maidens, they were in for a rude shock: to their dismay, the back-up was in no form to be considered that.Andrew Hall and Charl Langeveldt teased batsmen with skiddy pace and a hustling, bustling discipline. Having bowled five overs between them for merely 11 runs, Hall soon struck gold. Yousuf had just clipped him through midwicket politely, before he opened the bat-face and edged behind.That left South Africa fully on top, Pakistan seeking solace in isolated moments of batting parity with a series of scrambled singles and doubles. Inzamam-ul-Haq hung in, though visually his stand resembled that of the sole protestor’s standing in front of the tank at Tianamen Square. Symbolically, it was much less. Shoaib Malik helped offer cursory resistance in a 46-run mid-innings stand, but as he fell to Justin Kemp, even that hope frittered away.

Run-scoring had hardly been hurried before, but it became a tortuously slow drip. Kemp, Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini tightened their grip, Inzamam drew further into himself, wickets fell to loose shots and South Africa, led by de Villiers, relentlessly hounded Pakistan from the field.Famously multi-skilled, de Villiers’s fielding aptitude must be a first among equals. If ever one has so frustrated a batting side, it was de Villiers today, preventing any number of runs at cover and midwicket through the day. Behind the stumps, Mark Boucher threw in his take on Pollock’s consistency, becoming only the fourth keeper in ODI history to take six catches.de Villiers then put on his batting hat, and by the end of the first over, with a cracking cover drive, had helped South Africa to more runs (11) than Pakistan made in ten. With a series of hoisted pulls to balls that weren’t always short, he raced away. As he was pulling Abdur Rehman in the 11th over, South Africa had hit the same number of boundaries as Pakistan managed in their entire innings. With a straight, lofted six next ball, they had overtaken the boundary count.Smith finished it with the dexterity of a butcher and in timely fashion both men completed their fifties within a ball of each other in the last over. It completed a neat full circle for Pakistan, who in a week went from utterly hopeless in Centurion to the sublime in Durban, to the competitive in Port Elizabeth and finally back to the utterly hopeless here.