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Brad Hodge says he’s in the form of his life, but it might not be enough to get a game against South Africa © Getty Images

Andrew Symonds’ expected comeback to face South Africa on Saturday is likely to sideline Brad Hodge, despite his brutal first one-day century in the win over The Netherlands. Hodge has borrowed a line from Glenn McGrath, thinking he is in the best form of his career, and believes there is nothing more he can do to hold his spot after two 90s and a century in his past eight games.”I’m in the side at the moment and my job is to perform and make runs,” he said in The Age. “I’ve done that today. Next week is a different prospect and that is the reality for me at the moment.”Alex Kountouris, the physiotherapist, said Symonds would be clear to play in the vital match against South Africa if he could finish ten overs during a training session. Symonds is recovering from arm surgery and is almost back to full strength.”From Tuesday onwards, there will be very little restrictions on him, certainly no batting, very little fielding and he’ll be bowling a lot more in the nets,” Kountouris told the paper. “He’s about 85 or 90%, his bowling effort at the moment. That will go to 100% on Tuesday … He’s looking like being available for the next game at this point, but it is a week away. Hopefully, I can just hand him over to the team and they can decide whether they want to pick him or not.”Hodge’s 123 off 89 balls drove Australia to a comfortable 229-run win against The Netherlands on Sunday and it eased his worry that he might never earn a one-day hundred. “It’s a good personal milestone,” he said. If both Australia and South Africa qualify for the next stage the team that wins on Saturday will carry two points into the Super Eights.

Mehrab Hossain, the Bangladesh batsman, has received an official reprimand for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his country’s match against England at the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka.Hossain was found guilty of breaching 1.4 of the ICC code of conduct by the match referee, Roshan Mahanama, in a hearing after play concluded in Colombo on Saturday. The code of conduct clause refers to the use of language that is obscene, offensive or insulting and/or the making of an obscene gesture.The charge related to Hossian’s reaction to an appeal being turned down as England moved towards victory in the Super League quarter-final match against his side at the P.Saravanamuttu Stadium.Mahanama said: “The player pleaded guilty and apologized for his actions but he has been made aware there is no excuse for the way he behaved and it will not be tolerated.”All Level 1 breaches carry a maximum penalty of an official reprimand at the U-19 World Cup.The charge was brought by the on-field umpires, Asoka de Silva and Krishna Hariharan, and the reserve official Ranmore Martinez. The hearing was attended by the three officials, Roshan Mahanama, the Bangladesh team manager Golam Mohamed Nowsher, the captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehrab Hossain.

ScorecardSylvester Joseph and Wilden Cornwall hit centuries to put Leeward Islands in a decent position and end the first day on 299 for 6 against Windward Islands in Grenada. After struggling at 68 for 4, Joseph, with 111, and Cornwall, with 105, added 181 for the fifth wicket to lead Leeward’s recovery. Electing to bat first, Leewards lost Shane Jeffers for 14 to Kenroy Peters, who bagged 3 for 55. Joseph, the Leewards captain, then hit 10 fours and three sixes after batting for nearly four hours. Cornwall, who has been in terrific form with the bat, brought up his second century of the series and struck 13 fours in just over four hours. For Windwards, Rawl Lewis, Deighton Butler and Shane Shillingford chipped in with a wicket apiece.
ScorecardOn a rain-shortened day at Shaw, Trinidad and Tobago were struggling on 196 for 8 against Jamaica with only Daren Ganga, the captain, providing some stability in a fragile batting display. T&T suffered an early blow when Jerome Taylor bowled Lendl Simmons for 0 in the first over of the game. Ganga, unbeaten on 104, held the innings together with modest support from Imran Khan, the opener, scoring 48 in a 103 run-partnership. After the dismissal of Khan at 102 for 2, there was a batting collapse that left T&T reeling at 138 for six. Taylor was the most successful of the Jamaican bowlers with 3 for 48, while Odean Brown took 2 for 20.Ganga, who brought up his first century of the series and his fifth regional hundred, dedicated it to his younger brother, Sherwin, who is recovering from a recent surgery following a facial injury suffered against Jamaica.Match abandoned
ScorecardHeavy rains forced a suspension of play between Guyana and Barbados at Georgetown. This was the second consecutive match for Guyana which has been affected by rain twice; the previous occasion being against Jamaica. Guyana is tied for third in the championship with Windward Islands on 38 points, while Barbados stands last on 20 points.

Javed Miandad, Pakistan’s coach, has demanded a meeting with Lt-Gen. Tauqir Zia, the chairman of the Pakistan board, to discuss “pressing issues”. Miandad has come under fire from Aamer Sohail, the chief selector, and the criticism is reported to have left him seething.The incident blew up on Thursday when Sohail said that it would not be difficult for Pakistan to beat a weaker South Africa team as long as the players were handled properly. “I think that more concentration and professionalism is required to exploit the abilities and skills of the players,” Sohail told reporters.Minadad took the comment as a personal dig, but waited until the end of the first ODI at Lahore – which Pakistan won by eight runs – before reacting publicly. “If anyone thinks he can do a better job than me as coach he is welcome to come and give it a try,” he fumed. “I don’t need any advice from anyone. What I have done with the team is visible to everyone. I am committed and trying hard. I think everyone knows what I have delivered since the World Cup.”I am satisfied with what we have achieved in the last six months,” Miandad said. “We have found two or three good players for the future and they are improving. The team is now playing like a proper team.”

Australia’s vaunted bowling attack moves onto centre stage in the first Test with New Zealand at the Gabba over the next two days.Only 87 minutes of play were possible on another rain-affected day today in Brisbane, and in that time Steve Waugh was able to declare his innings closed at 9/486, leaving New Zealand the immediate job of reaching 287 to avoid the follow on and the prospect of defeat.But with more rain forecast tomorrow the prospects of enough time being available may ruin the match.What time was available did see Adam Gilchrist carry on and score his deserved fourth Test century. It was a fine innings, although he must have had a difficult lunch when sitting on 98.He had survived a run out chance not long into the day, which was delayed by nearly two hours due to the rain, when New Zealand twelth man Lou Vincent narrowly missed a direct hit at the batsman’s end when Brett Lee hit the ball behind point and called the single.It was Lee who was first man out on the day for 61, having added only one more run to his overnight total. He was given out caught by wicket-keeper Adam Parore from Cairns’ bowling, although the replays suggested he hadn’t hit the ball.Jason Gillespie proved the right man to support Gilchrist as he built toward his century, and he contributed mightily with some lusty blows of his own, especially after Gilchrist had reached his century.That came in the first over after lunch when he cut the ball behind point and ran two. It came after 143 balls and included 14 fours and a six.With as many quick runs as possible before the declaration, the pair hit out finishing on 49 runs in 43 minutes before Gilchrist skied a shot to deep mid-on where a diving Vincent held a good catch to give Cairns his fifth wicket, his 11th time in Test matches.It was a tough return to Test cricket for Cairns. Playing his first match since Zimbabwe in September, he bowled 37 overs for his five for 146. He has never bowled more overs in an innings and he has never conceded more runs.He had bowled 36 overs twice, at Brisbane in the 1993/94 Test series, and at Bulawayo against Pakistan in 1997/98.In the last Test match he played, at Harare against Zimbabwe last year, he bowled 33 overs.Clearly he still remains a formidable force in the New Zealand bowling armoury.The New Zealand openers came into the match under pressure, after some poor performances in the lead-up matches. However, when rain ended the day’s play they had seen the score through to 0/29 with Richardson on 10 not out and Bell on six not out.

Signing a central defender is understood to be one of Southampton’s main priorities heading into the summer transfer window, as revealed by The Athletic’s David Ornstein and relayed by Dan Sheldon via Twitter.

The Lowdown: Saints’ defensive record

The Saints have maintained a reasonably balanced record so far this season. Out of their 29 top-flight matches so far, they have won eight, drawn 11 and lost ten.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have netted 36 goals this term, whereas defensively they have the eighth-worst goal concession record in the Premier League, being breached 45 times.

Only recently has conceding become a more prominent issue for Southampton. In their last four games in all competitions, they have let in 12 goals, with just three scored at the other end – and three of those matches were at St Mary’s.

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The Latest: Saints targeting centre-back

Ornstein reported for The Athletic that centre-back is viewed as a transfer priority during the summer for Hasenhuttl at Southampton.

Sheldon duly shared a link to his colleague’s article via Twitter, with an added caption of: “Southampton’s plans for the summer transfer window are starting to take shape. Signing a central defender is thought to be one of their priorities.”

The Verdict: One in…one out?

The Athletic claimed that, whilst Southampton are keen on signing a new centre-back, it could mean that one of their current options may need to depart in order to make room for any incoming in that position.

The central defenders currently at Hasenhuttl’s disposal are Mohammed Salisu, Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens and Lyanco. Furthermore, the Saints also have Dynel Simeu, who joined from Chelsea last summer, and his loan deal with Carlisle United is set to expire at the end of May.

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Therefore, if Hasenhuttl does choose to bring someone in to strengthen that position, it is likely that the squad will be reshuffled to accommodate the new arrival. With Lyanco and Stephens featuring only sporadically this season, they could be fearing for their futures at the club if another centre-back is brought in.

In other news: Southampton are confident of keeping this young gem

Scorecard

Gautam Gambhir’s 84 might just have bought Delhi a ticket to the semi-finals © Cricinfo Ltd

The Delhi top three scored half-centuries to take their side within one shot of Tamil Nadu’s 268, with four wickets in hand. For Delhi, this is a definitive step towards the semi-finals as the other contenders, Mumbai and Maharashtra, have struggled to bowl their oppositions out.After Rajat Bhatia finished the Tamil Nadu innings early, Gautam Gambhir and Aakash Chopra put on their third 100-plus stand of the season. Gambhir missed out on what would have been his third century this season, as he and Chopra fell one after the other. Chopra was the first to go for 55, while Gambhir scored 84. Shikhar Dhawan, the No. 3, held firm even as Delhi kept losing wickets frequently. Dhawan was the last wicket to fall in the day, but his 59 had seen Delhi to within 16 runs of the Tamil Nadu score. For Tamil Nadu, C Suresh took 4 for 65.
Scorecard
Piyush Chawla and Praveen Gupta took four wickets apiece to bowl Hyderabad out for 193, a first-innings lead of 143 runs, and thus laid a foundation for Uttar Pradesh to go for an outright win that will ensure them a place in the semi-finals.After an early blow, Hyderabad had proceeded to 69 for 2 when Gupta removed captain Arjun Yadav. In the same over, he got Amol Shinde and Hyderabad struggled for partnerships following that. Only a 46-run eighth-wicket stand between Pragyan Ojha and MP Arjun helped Hyderabad avoid the follow-on.Earlier, resuming the day at 293 for 6, UP added 43 runs before being bowled out.
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P Vijay Kumar bagged his maiden first-class five-for to bowl Bengal out for 98, a first-innings lead of 23 for Andhra. Andhra were 147 for 6 in their second innings, setting up an exciting finish to the low-scoring match at the Eden Gardens.Bengal needed an outright win to give themselves a chance of avoiding relegation and their abject batting performance didn’t help their cause after the bowlers had shot Andhra out for 121. They were 46 for 1 at one stage. Vijay Kumar struck twice in one over and triggered a dramatic collapse – nine wickets fell for 52 runs. Vijay Kumar also accounted for the crucial wickets of Manoj Tiwary and Laxmi Shukla.Hemal Watekar gave Andhra a quick start, but they they too collapsed from 88 for 1 to 109 for 6, thanks to Ranadeb Bose. After the middle-order caved in, MSK Prasad and AG Pradeep consolidated, adding an unbroken 38 runs for the seventh wicket.
ScorecardIn the relegation face-off match, Himachal Pradesh obtained a crucial first-innings lead over Rajasthan by bowling them out for 218. Vikramjeet Malik took four wickets, while Vishal Bhatia and Ashok Thakur took two apiece.The rot for Rajasthan started in the first over of the day when Malik claimed Vineet Saxena’s wicket. Although Shubhanshu Vijay put together two useful partnerships with Rajesh Bishnoi and Nikhil Doru, the rest folded easily. Vijay missed out on a maiden century by 12 runs when he became the sixth wicket to fall with Rajasthan 90 behind Himachal’s score. Malik, Bhatia and Thakur took a wicket apiece in quick time and Bhatia effected a run-out to take the last four wickets for 28 runs.
ScorecardShiv Sunder Das scored a painstaking unbeaten century to take Orissa close to a first-innings lead against Baroda which, if they hold on for a draw should be enough to ensure they don’t get relegated.After Orissa took the last Baroda wicket early in the day, their batsmen dug in and ground the bowlers down. Baroda had to wait for 15 overs for their first breakthrough, following which Das and Niranjan Behera added 65 for the second wicket in 32.4 overs. Although Baroda got the third wicket soon, Das and debutant left-hand batsman Payas Sinha batted the rest of the day out. Das ended the day on 100 from 275 deliveries, while Sinha had scored 43.
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The Shitanshu Kotak special continued for the second day running as he scored a personal-best unbeaten 162 to all but ensure Saurashtra would not lose the match, the only circumstance that can keep them out of the semi-final line-up.Barring the three overs that Mumbai took to get their first wicket, Kotak has now batted for the rest of the two days and has faced a whopping 514 deliveries for his 162. Resuming the day at 202 for 2, Saurashtra had lost three wickets for 43 runs, but Kotak found support in Ravindra Jadeja who also outdid his previous best of 53. When Jadeja got out for 87, Saurashtra were one short of 400, but Kotak was clearly not done.For Mumbai the medium-pacers Murtaza Hussain and Mun Mangela managed four wickets apiece.Karnataka 239 for 5 (Pawan 102, Raghu 67) trail Maharashtra 276 by 37 runs
Scorecard KB Pawan scored a century and C Raghu a half-century to take Karnataka close to a first-innings Maharashtra in Ratnagiri. After Robin Uthappa and Devraj Patil fell early, Pawan and Raghu consolidated the innings and added 156 runs for the third wicket. This was Pawan’s second first-class century.Although Maharashtra took three wickets for 28 to come back into the match, they met dour resistance from Yere Goud and Thilak Naidu who added 27 unbeaten runs for the sixth wicket. Maharashtra need no less than an outright win to stay alive in the competition, while Karnataka are already out of the semi-finals race.

Paul Sheldon opens the Seenigama Oval along with Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan © Cricinfo Ltd

Fifteen months after the Southern coastal village of Seenigama was hit by the tsunami which took away 125 lives, a cricket ground has been opened there to help empower disadvantaged and displaced rural youth.The grand opening of the Seenigama Oval, the latest project undertaken by Foundation of Goodness, a Sri Lankan NGO, was highlighted by a twenty-over match between the Seenigama Village XI and the Sri Lanka Cricketers’ Association. Both sides fielded former and current Sri Lankan cricketers, including Hashan Tillakaratne and Muttiah Muralitharan.The match turned out to be a high-scoring affair with a record 483 runs being scored off just 37.1 overs. The Cricket Association XI scored 241 for 5 with Chandika Hathurusingha, the former opener, contributing 81 off 42 balls and Nishantha Ranatunga 42 off 15 balls.In reply, Tillakaratne, a former Sri Lankan captain, made the most of the run scoring opportunities to hit an unbeaten 139 from 58 balls in a six-wicket victory, while Muralitharan contributed a breezy 40 off just 10 balls.A proud moment for the village team was the performance of local boy Isuru Sampath, who took 3 for 20 in three overs with his left-arm pace and bagged the Best Bowler award. His victims were Hathurusingha, Ruwan Kalpage and Champaka Ramanayake. Another local lad Kasun Sarathchandra was the Best Fielder, Tillakaratne was awarded the man-of-the-match and Hathurusingha, the Best Batsman.Paul Sheldon, CEO of English county side Surrey, the major sponsor of this project, said that it was a dream come true for both his club and the people of Seenigama. “I am humbled by all this. I am honoured to have played a small part in helping the communities recover from the tsunami by creating these new grounds. It is the first project of its kind anywhere in the world. It has brought ties between Sri Lanka and England closer.”Surrey were responsible for building the entire ground, including the club house, indoor nets, gym and sports office at a cost of ₤100,000. Sheldon added that a Surrey Cricket Village, complete with 50 houses and a cricket ground, would be opened in Kalutara in association with the Sri Lankan board.

Allrounder Dwayne Bravo and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin will join the Trinidad and Tobago side as they tackle Jamaica in their second match of the 2006 Carib Beer Series at the UWI ground at the St Augustine campus beginning Friday. But former West Indies fast bowler Mervyn Dillon has been omitted from the national line-up.Both Bravo and Ramdin had good performances on the West Indies tour to Australia, as Bravo impressed with bat and ball, recording his second Test century, while Ramdin shone with the bat and behind the stumps as well. The Ganga-led T&T squad also includes West Indies Under-19 vice-captain Jason Mohammed, who stroked a confident 117 against the Ganga XI last weekend, as well as allrounder Richard Kelly, who had a strong bowling performance in the same trial match.The regional fixture was originally scheduled for the Wilson Road Recreation Ground in Penal, but due to bad weather, the ground preparations will not be completed in time and the match has been shifted to St Augustine.Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels and Jermaine Lawson have been predictably included in Jamaica’s 13-man squad, named on Friday for the match. The 29-year-old Hinds will resume leadership of the team, replacing Tamar Lambert who led the unit for the first two matches of the Carib Beer Series while Hinds was away on West Indies duty.All three players, however, will suit up for the January 6-9 game with some question marks over their form.Hinds enters the match short of form after scoring just 17 in the three-day practice game that concluded Friday. In his only Test on the tour Down Under, Hinds recorded scores of 10 and 15.Samuels, who returned early from the tour of Australia through injury, will also enter Friday’s match in Trinidad with dodgy form after scoring 32 and 1 in the practice game. His four innings in Australia also yielded paltry returns, with 56 runs in just four Test innings, despite amassing 257 against Queensland in the opening tour match. Lawson also struggled on the Australian tour and was dropped after the first Test in Brisbane, where his 20 overs cost 120 runs with just one wicket to show for his efforts. West Indies opener Chris Gayle, who underwent surgery in Australia during the West Indies tour to correct a long-standing heart defect, was not considered.Barbados recalled Tino Best and Dwayne Smith to the team for the upcoming Carib Beer four-day match against the Windward Islands starting Friday at the Tanteen Cricket Ground.Chairman of selectors Joel Garner said the duo would replace left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn and right-arm pacer Antonio Thomas who were in the team for the first match against Guyana.”We have kept what we believe is strong team,” said Garner, who will accompany the side to Grenada. “The two West Indies players are back and we hope they will do well and add strength to the side.”The Barbados team has been on a break since the end of November, after taking first innings points from their drawn opening match against Guyana at the Everest Cricket Ground. They were slated to play against Trinidad and Tobago in early December but that match was put back until February by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). Since the Christmas break, the team has been training at the 3Ws Oval and the Carlton Cricket Club. Wendell Coppin, the WICB’s development officer, along with former West Indies players Vasbert Drakes and Ottis Gibson, has conducted the operations.West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul and his deputy Ramnaresh Sarwan will boost the Guyana team for their Carib Beer Series match against the Leeward Islands starting on January 13. Chanderpaul will take over the captaincy from stand-in skipper Reon King who led the squad in the first match against Barbados. Both Chanderpaul and Sarwan missed the first round game because of international commitments with the West Indies team in Australia.Batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon has also returned to the team after injury while fast bowler Rayon Griffith has been recalled after being overlooked for the first match. Steven Jacobs, Damodar Daesrath and former West Indies Under-19 captain Andre Percival have been omitted from the travelling 13-man party to Philipsburg, St Maarten. The team will play a four-day practice match against a Rest Team, skippered by Percival, from January 5-8 at the Enmore Community Centre ground.Jamaica squad Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Xavier Marshall, Shawn Findlay, Tamar Lambert, Brenton Parchment, David Bernard Jr, Carlton Baugh Jr, Gareth Breese, Nikita Miller, Jermaine Lawson, Andrew Richardson, Jerome Taylor.Barbados squad Ryan Hinds (capt), Ian Bradshaw, Dale Richards, Wayne Blackman, Alcindo Holder, Patrick Browne, Kurt Wilkinson, Floyd Reifer, Ryan Nurse, Ryan Austin, Jason Bennett, Tino Best, Dwayne Smith.Guyana squad Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Krishna Arjune, Narsingh Deonarine, Travis Dowlin, Derwin Christian, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Neil McGarrell, Reon King, Esaun Crandon, Rayon Griffith, Imran Jafarally.Trinidad & Tobago squad Daren Ganga (capt), Tishan Maraj, Gregory Mahabir, Denesh Ramdin, Rayad Emrit, Sanjeev Gooljar, Imran Khan, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Bravo, Jason Mohammed, Richard Kelly, Dave Mohammed, Amit Jaggernauth, Sherwin Ganga.

South Africa 441 (Smith 74, Kallis 149, Boje 76, Flintoff 4-79) and 222 for 8 dec (Kallis 66) beat England 163 (Ntini 4-50, Langeveldt 5-46) and 304 (Pollock 4-65, Boje 4-71) by 196 runs, to level series at 1-1
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A jubilant Nicky Boje celebrates his spinning success© Getty Images

If 2004 was England’s annus mirabilis, they have come down to earth with a bump in ’05, losing that unbeaten record at the earliest possible opportunity. South Africa wrapped up a convincing series-levelling victory halfway between lunch and tea on the final day at Newlands, bowling England out for 304 to win by 196 runs. Nicky Boje and Shaun Pollock finished up with four wickets apiece.Considering England were only a fingertip away from going 2-0 up at Durban, this will be a shattering psychological blow, and they will need every minute of the six precious days coming up before the fourth Test starts at Johannesburg next Thursday. They will be fervently hoping that it isn’t a case of 1998 in reverse – seven years ago South Africa were inches away from going two up, but England somehow scraped a draw at Old Trafford and ended up winning that series 2-1.South Africa, though, will rightly be cock-a-hoop after a thoroughly deserved triumph. Apart from a couple of spells of turgid batting, which might have caused problems if the Cape Town weather had not been so relentlessly bright and sunny, they dominated this match almost from the start. Apart from the batting stumbling-block that is Jacques Kallis (who picked up his second Man of the Match award in a row), the bowlers were the main difference. Pollock was menacing throughout, Charl Langeveldt swung his way through England’s first innings despite a broken left hand, while Boje – who was treated with disdain at Durban – bounced back here with some testing flight and spin.There will be much soul-searching in the England dressing-room, where a supposedly strong batting sides has been bundled out for successive feeble first-innings totals of 139 and 163. And the fact that their No. 11 Steve Harmison top-scored in the second innings here will embarrass the early order even more. There were some signs of a last-ditch fight today, but the departure of Graham Thorpe early on, and the dismissals of Ashley Giles and Geraint Jones late in the morning session, meant that South Africa went in to lunch just two wickets short.England’s slim hopes of a draw had been firmly based on Thorpe surviving the day. But he perished for a two-hour 26 in Pollock’s second over with the new ball, nibbling a pinpoint awayswinger through to AB de Villiers (158 for 6).Jones dropped anchor, and was almost strokeless in the first hour, during which he collected only three runs. But the drinks interval perked him up – some of the beer from the nearby brewery, perhaps – and he twice clobbered Kallis for successive boundaries, two of them superb cover-drives. Jones and Giles settled in for a sensible stand of 62, and idle thoughts were just starting to turn to the Test century which Duncan Fletcher feels is within Giles’s grasp when he edged Boje to slip, where Kallis took a good low catch (220 for 7). Giles’s 25 had occupied 83 minutes and 65 balls.

Graham Thorpe trudges off, as England stare down the barrel of defeat at Cape Town© Getty Images

The killer blow came just before lunch. Jones advanced down the pitch and spanked Boje back over his head for four, but next ball attempted something similar and edged it low to the right of Kallis, who took an even better catch in his outstretched right hand as he dived (225 for 8).The fast bowlers delayed the inevitable with some airy swishes. While Matthew Hoggard concentrated on defence – he dead-batted to 7 from 64 balls in the end – Simon Jones chanced his arm, belting Boje for two fours on his way to 19 before the return of Pollock set up another slip catch for Kallis (253 for 9). And then Harmison, not as his best with the ball so far in this series, threw the bat cheerfully, clubbing 18 off one over from the unamused Pollock, and also mowing a six off Boje on the way to his highest Test score.The last pair slapped on 51. But it couldn’t last, and eventually Harmison poked one out low to the gully, where Boeta Dippenaar clutched the catch that wrapped up the match.About the only good news for England on a dispiriting day was the injuries to Hoggard’s heel and Andrew Flintoff’s side are not serious and should not affect their chances of playing in the rest of the series. Fears that Flintoff had twanged an intercostal muscle were allayed by a scan that showed only a slight tear in an abdominal muscle on his left side.