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A battling century from captain Ryan Carters helped Australian Institute of Sport force a draw against India Emerging Players at Endeavour Park No.2 in Townsville. However, India finished on top in the points table, thereby capping a successful series for them – they were also victorious in the Twenty20 tournament that preceded the three-day games.Australia ended the second day at 93 for 2, still 236 runs adrift of India. Carters, who was unbeaten overnight on 56, continued to look solid. He and Glenn Maxwell had added 65 before stumps on day two, and they carried on the good work on the final day, adding a further 55 before Maxwell was dismissed for 73. Any hopes that India might have had of causing a collapse were dented as Tim Armstrong joined his captain and the duo put on 87 for the fourth wicket. Carters was finally dismissed for 115, but Armstrong (75) featured in handy partnerships for the fifth and sixth wickets to deny India a win, as Australia ended the day on 328 for 7.Reeza Hendricks completed his double-century and Richard Levi reached a century but South Africa Emerging Players were not left with enough time to bowl New Zealand A out at Endeavour Park in Townsville. South Africa’s only hope of notching up their first win of the three-day leg of the tournament was to score quickly on the final day and then hope for a New Zealand collapse. But Hendricks and Levi took their time, and South Africa used up 54.2 overs in the day to get 177 runs, which put them 169 runs ahead. New Zealand lost two wickets in the 34 overs they had to bat.Hendricks’ 218 was his second double-century of the tournament and his 566-run aggregate earned him the Batsman-of-the-Tournament as well as the Player-of the-Tournament awards. India’s Iqbal Abdulla was named Bowler of the Tournament for his nine wickets.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies batsman, has rated his unbeaten 116 against India in Dominica as one of his finest Test innings. In a match in which he became West Indies’ most-capped player, and in a new-look line-up where the other five specialist batsmen had a combined experience of 49 Tests, Chanderpaul battled for more than eight hours to help secure a draw.Coming in with the team struggling at 40 for 3 in the second innings soon after lunch on the fourth day, and still trailing by more than a 100 runs, Chanderpaul defied India almost till tea on the final day.”I would say this was one my best because of the situation of the team when I went in to bat and the way the game was going,” Chanderpaul said. “To be batting on a fifth day pitch and the way the ball was bouncing and turning – some would grip and bounce and you weren’t always sure which way the ball would go. You had to be very patient and very watchful and careful.”You couldn’t play as freely as you would have liked to so I had to use all my skills, and it took a lot of mental effort as well. Also, [MS] Dhoni blocked up all the areas where you had scoring opportunities and it was a lot of hard work. It was really tough out there.”It was Chanderpaul’s first Test century in more than a year, during which he had made starts in most innings without converting them to a big score. His partner in the resistance was debutant Kirk Edwards, who also made a hundred during a 161-run stand for the fourth wicket.”He [Kirk Edwards] was positive and had the right mindset. He was not afraid. He played it his way and did what he knows and what he does best.”It was a great effort for someone to come in under so much pressure and play the way he did. I had a discussion with Kirk and we were talking about the 20s and the 30s. He told me to put that behind and we worked towards the team goals which was building big partnerships and pulling the team out of the trouble we were in.”During his innings, Chanderpaul was also awarded Dominican citizenship recognising his contribution to cricket and for playing his record-breaking 133rd Test. “I’m extremely pleased to reach this milestone. I believe it is a really big occasion,” he said. “High point? I’m still looking for it. There is still more to come. Whatever knowledge and experience I have gained I would like to pass it on and help the other members of the team with their game.”

Australia’s off-season coaching appointments have been completed with Steve Rixon, the former wicketkeeper, named as the new fielding coach. Rixon joins the new bowling coach Craig McDermott and the assistant Justin Langer as the panel that will help the head coach Tim Nielsen as Australia aim to climb their way back up the Test rankings.Rixon, 57, has replaced Mike Young, the former baseballer who spent the best part of a decade working with the Australia team. A gloveman who played 13 Tests and six one-day internationals for Australia, Rixon has also had a lengthy coaching career, in charge of New South Wales and New Zealand during the 1990s before a second stint with New South Wales; in total he steered the Blues to four Sheffield Shield titles.It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Rixon, though, and a two-year appointment with Surrey ended unsuccessfully. He also joined the now-defunct Indian Cricket League, before finding a job as an assistant to Stephen Fleming with the two-time champions the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, and he helped them win the Champions League in 2010.Wade Seccombe, the former Queensland wicketkeeper, appeared to have the front-running to become Australia’s new fielding coach after he joined the squad on the tour of Bangladesh in April. However, Cricket Australia’s acting CEO Michael Brown said Rixon would be a valuable addition to the coaching staff.”We are very excited Steve is joining our staff as a fielding coach,” Brown said. “His experience as a player and successful coach at both domestic and international level will be invaluable for our group as we prepare for tough tours to Sri Lanka and South Africa in the next six months. The group of coaches we now have in place has a great blend of coaching expertise and cricket experience to benefit this developing Australian side and Steve has an important role to play as we move forward.”Rixon said he was thrilled to be working with the team during the coming tours. “Fielding skills play such an important role in the modern game and often proves the difference between winning and losing,” Rixon said. “I feel my experience firstly as a player and more importantly a successful coach across the world can help many of these young Australian players, together with the outstanding group of assistants Tim Nielsen has at his disposal.”The Australian team has long been known as one of the best fielding sides in world cricket and my job will not only be to maintain the good work done before but about setting the benchmark for opposition sides.”

Australia’s new bowling coach is expected to be named this week, with Craig McDermott and Allister de Winter among the leading contenders. The former Test fast men Jason Gillespie and Andy Bichel have already been eliminated in the race to become Troy Cooley’s replacement, while at least one high-profile overseas candidate is still in contention.McDermott, 46, has been coaching at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane for two years and appeared to be the front-runner when he went on last month’s tour of Bangladesh with Michael Clarke’s side. However, de Winter, the former Tasmania allrounder, has also made it through the first round of interviews and could be a surprise appointment.A fringe player during his seven seasons with Tasmania during the late 1980s and early 1990s, de Winter took 35 wickets in 21 first-class appearances at an average of 50.51. It is a far cry from the 291 Test victims collected by McDermott, but it’s a similar record to Cooley, a former team-mate of de Winter at Tasmania, who took 54 first-class wickets in 33 games.de Winter, 43, joined Tasmania as an assistant coach in 2007, after returning from Bangladesh, where he was head coach of the National Cricket Academy and the Bangladesh Under-19s. He has also toured with the Australia side, joining them in South Africa in 2009 as part of Cricket Australia’s coaching development programme.Last summer, de Winter guided a Tasmanian bowling attack that was instrumental in securing the state’s second Sheffield Shield title, utilising swing and seam on helpful pitches. The new mentor will play a key role in guiding Australia’s bowlers on their next Test tour, a planned visit to Sri Lanka later this year, before the trip to South Africa in October and November.

Scorecard
Captain Andrew Hall took five wickets and wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien smashed 94 not out as Northamptonshire began their Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign with a seven-wicket demolition of Leicestershire at Wantage Road. Hall turned in figures of 5 for 22 as the Foxes were bowled out for 162 in just over 35 overs, with only James Taylor’s explosive 69 off 61 balls providingany resistance.Ireland wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien then smashed an unbeaten 94 off 63 balls, including 14 fours and four sixes, as the Steelbacks comfortably reached their target with 59 deliveries to spare.Leicestershire won the toss and chose to bat but they got off to an awful start as they lost Paul Nixon in the first over when he edged Hall to O’Brien for a five-ball duck. Hall struck again four overs later when he pinned Jacques Du Toit lbw for 15 and Josh Cobb went for the same total when Lee Daggett clipped his off stump.Wayne White added just a single when he was trapped leg before by Daggett to leave the Foxes struggling on 61 for 4. Taylor then crashed his way to his half-century off just 40 balls but17-year-old Shiv Thakor, making his limited-overs debut, made just 13 before pulling David Lucas to Mal Loye at deep fine-leg.Having batted well in reaching 69, Taylor then went softly when he launched Hall high into the air and was easily caught by Alex Wakely at square leg. Claude Henderson went for one when he was bowled by Hall’s yorker before wicketkeeper Tom New (20) was snared by his opposite number O’Brien off David Willey.Nadeem Malik was then bowled by Willey and Hall wrapped up his five-for by skittling Nathan Buck to wrap up the innings.Chasing 163, the Steelbacks lost Loye in the ninth over for 11 when he was trapped lbw by Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard. But a 50-run partnership between Stephen Peters and O’Brien put the hosts back in control with O’Brien completing a brilliant half-century off 44 balls.Peters made it to 34 before he was out caught and bowled by Henderson to break a second-wicket stand of 75 and Wakely (15) went when he smashed Hoggard straight to White at point.Eventually, the winning runs came in the 31st over and inevitably it was O’Brien who had the last word when he hammered Henderson for six over midwicket.

Match Facts

March 24, Ahmedabad
Start time 1430 hours (0900 GMT)Whether Virender Sehwag will play Australia in Ahmedabad is not yet public knowledge•Associated Press

The Big Picture

This match can be seen through several prisms: champions of the world v pre-tournament favourites, misfiring middle order v misfiring middle order, pace-reliant attack v spin-heavy attack, athletic fielders v incompetent fielders. Australia against India is a clash between teams with obvious imperfections. The loser goes home while the winner heads to Mohali, to play Pakistan on March 30.If any of Ricky Ponting’s men are relatively weak-willed, compared to the Australians of campaigns past, they have had plenty to help them focus in the days leading up to this quarter-final. An Australian paper reported Cricket Australia were going to discuss Ponting’s future as captain. An English paper reported Ponting was going to jump before he was pushed. An Indian paper reported sinister allegations about Australia’s game against Zimbabwe, prompting an angry retraction demand from the ICC. Whether they were planted to drive Australia to distraction is debatable, but none of the stories was substantiated.Off-field dramas aside, Australia’s progress in this World Cup was smooth at first – a comfortable win against Zimbabwe, a smashing one against New Zealand – and then uninspiring, when they laboured against Kenya and Canada. In each of those matches, at least one weakness was evident: a captain struggling for form, a middle order troubled by turn, spinners incapable of striking, and fast bowlers with wonky radars. All of these frailties were exposed by Pakistan, who ended the legendary unbeaten World Cup run on 34 matches. Australia’s successes have been built around the opening partnership of Brad Haddin and Shane Watson, and the energy of Brett Lee. That might not be enough to topple India – but it might, for MS Dhoni’s team is far from the shoo-in semi-finalist it was expected to be.Before the World Cup began India’s batting line-up was thought to possess the armour of God, their bowling was considered less formidable but effective in home conditions, and the fielding was known to be average. As their campaign played out, it became evident that the armour didn’t fit the middle order – there were collapses of 9 for 29 and 7 for 51 – and the bowling, while adequate on helpful surfaces, was mediocre on flat pitches. The fielding has not been average. It has been abysmal. Slow anticipation, slower approaches to the ball, failure to cut off angles, and plain lethargy have allowed opponents to run at will.For a long time during West Indies’ chase, it seemed as though India would make the quarter-finals by beating only the three weakest teams of their group, which would have vindicated this forgiving format designed to prevent the upsets of 2007. But Zaheer Khan saved the day, as India expect him to. Zaheer apart, India have relied on Yuvraj Singh for an extraordinary number of wickets, as well as consistent runs in the middle order. The key, though, is at the top, where Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have provided tremendous starts. But even if they do it again against Brett Lee and Shaun Tait, it may not be enough.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
India: WLWWT
Australia LWWWW

Watch out for…

The batting Powerplay was conceived as an asset for the batting team, an aid in the pursuit of fast runs. In the months leading into the World Cup, it began to be a banana skin, with wickets falling as batsmen resorted to rashness during the fielding restrictions. India have slipped spectacularly on it during the tournament, scoring 9 for 154 off 130 balls. During the batting Powerplay, India lost 1 for 32 against England, 4 for 30 against South Africa and 4 for 28 against West Indies, squandering positions of immense strength. Australia haven’t mastered it either, making only 4 for 121 off 100 balls. Those five tricky overs could make or break a campaign tomorrow.If the stakes weren’t large enough to fire up Ponting, the talk about his captaincy and retirement will have strengthened his determination to end his form slump with a cathartic performance. Ponting has been dismissed by the short ball – a strength turned weakness – in this World Cup and by spin, a more traditional subcontinent susceptibility. His composure has also been strained. Eight years ago to the day, Ponting ended India’s World Cup dream in Johannesburg with a century of frightening brutality. He plans to watch videos of it in the hope that it will help him reproduce something similar in Ahmedabad.Sachin Tendulkar watched that World Cup slip out of India’s grasp as the bowlers conceded 359 in the final. He was then dismissed in the first over of the chase. The Player-of-the-Tournament prize was little consolation. He has the opportunity to write a wonderful script tomorrow – a 100th international century in a victory that will dethrone the World Champions. But cricket, like life, is never perfect.

Team news

Virender Sehwag missed the last group game because of an inflamed knee and India are keeping news of his fitness under wraps. He batted on Tuesday and on the eve of the game as well, but Dhoni said they might wait as late as match morning to take a decision on his participation. If Sehwag does not play, India are likely to field the same XI that beat West Indies.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag/Gautam Gambhir, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir/Suresh Raina, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 R Ashwin, 11 Munaf Patel.Australia have had an unchanged team since Michael Hussey replaced his brother in the XI, and they are likely to do the same against India. The weakest links have been middle-order batsman Cameron White and offspinner Jason Krejza and potential replacements could be David Hussey and allrounder John Hastings.”We haven’t finalised our 11 yet. We’ll have a bit more of a think about things this afternoon, make sure all our players have got through training well, with no injuries or illnesses,” Ponting said. “There’s a good chance that any of our guys could come in for this game. Coming off a loss last game wasn’t ideal for us, and we have to have a look at what we think is going to be the best make-up and balance for the game tomorrow.”Australia (probable): 1 Brad Haddin (wk), 2 Shane Watson, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Cameron White/David Hussey, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Steve Smith, 8 Jason Krejza/John Hastings, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Mitchell Johnson, 11 Shaun Tait..

Australia played their World Cup opener at Motera, where they started slowly against Zimbabwe before accelerating to a formidable total. Ponting expected tomorrow’s pitch to be similar to that one. “It was pretty much what you’d expect for a subcontinent wicket: a little bit slower, spun a bit more in the second innings of the game maybe than the first,” he said. “We’re going to send our coaches down late tonight to have a look at the ground and see if there’s any dew about. I think it’s supposed to be 41 [degrees] or something [similar], so it will be nice and hot for the boys out there.”

Stats and trivia

• India have lost their last four games in Ahmedabad. They batted first in three of those matches.
• Brett Lee has 50 ODI wickets against India, the highest by an Australian bowler. Four of his nine five-wicket hauls are against India.
• India have not won a game against Australia in a global tournament while chasing. Their last win against Australia in a World Cup was in 1987.
• In 14 ODIs against India in India since 2007, Australia have won eight and lost five.

Quotes

“People have been talking about the short-pitched ball a lot, and not to forget the best batsmen in the world don’t like facing the short-pitched deliveries. One good thing, it’s not something new to us. It follows us. Wherever we are, the shadows of short-pitched deliveries can be seen. I don’t think it’s a new strategy.”
.”Maybe we’ve just learned to keep our mouths closed a bit more. A lot of that chat hasn’t really happened since [Glenn] McGrath and [Shane] Warne went out of the team. Hopefully, our cricket will do the talking on the field tomorrow.”
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Mark Taylor and Doug Walters will become the latest inductees into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame at the Allan Border Medal night in Melbourne on Monday. Taylor, who captained Australia in 50 Tests for 26 victories, and the middle-order star of the 1970s, Walters, will be the 33rd and 34th men added to the group, which began in 1996 with 10 inductees.”This year’s inductees are two Australian cricketing icons who both originated from country New South Wales and who in their own distinctive way, have had an enormous impact on Australian cricket,” Bob Lloyd, the chairman of the selection panel, said. “Both have outstanding playing records; Mark with over 7500 runs as an opening batsman, brilliant slips fieldsman and one of Australia’s greatest captains and Doug as an exciting and entertaining batsman who averaged 48.26 over his 74 Tests.”Averages in excess of 50 are quite common now but up until the time Doug retired there were only two batsmen in Australian cricket who averaged more than 50. Off the field, Mark continues his involvement in cricket at the highest level as a Cricket Australia board member and as a Channel Nine commentator.”Doug chose a different path post cricket and he has been one of Australia’s most popular entertainers on the speaking circuit over many years. There are many thousands of sports loving Australians who’ve enjoyed listening and laughing with Doug at one of the hundreds of functions he has attended in all parts of Australia.”Hall of Fame inductees Fred Spofforth, John Blackham, Victor Trumper, Clarrie Grimmett, Bill Ponsford, Sir Donald Bradman, Bill O’Reilly, Keith Miller, Ray Lindwall, Dennis Lillee, Warwick Armstrong, Neil Harvey, Allan Border, Bill Woodfull, Arthur Morris, Stan McCabe, Greg Chappell, Lindsay Hassett, Ian Chappell, Hugh Trumble, Alan Davidson, Clem Hill, Rod Marsh, Monty Noble, Bob Simpson, Charles Macartney, Richie Benaud, George Giffen, Ian Healy, Steve Waugh, Bill Lawry, Graham McKenzie, Mark Taylor, Doug Walters.

ScorecardA second successive century from Marcus North and a brutal innings from Luke Ronchi saw Western Australia coast past Tasmania at the Hands Memorial Oval in Bunbury. Western Australia struggled to score in the first 20 overs, and reached the break at 2 for 63. Tasmania were able to score quicker in their first 20 overs, but lost wickets at regular intervals – Nathan Coulter-Nile picked up three of them – to wind up 6 for 84 when their innings was suspended.Western Australia proceeded to lose quick wickets on their resumption, slumping to 5 for 125 with only 13.2 overs remaining, but Ronchi launched an audacious attack on the bowlers in the company of North, smashing nine fours and four sixes in his 44-ball, unbeaten 79. The pair added 115 for the sixth wicket at a run-rate of 10.14 to take the game away from Tasmania before North was run out right after he had reached his hundred.James Faulkner and Luke Butterworth made a determined effort to keep Tasmania in the game, adding 77 for the seventh wicket, but it was always going to be a case of too little too late, and Matt Johnston wrapped up the game by taking the last three wickets in a two over burst.

Trinidad & Tobago surged to the Caribbean T20 title for the second time in three years after beating Hampshire by 36 runs in the final at the Kensington Oval.It was a fitting result, with T&T the best team in the tournament having won all their games bar a rained-off group fixture against Hampshire. Having already sealed their place in the lucrative Champions League by virtue of being the best Caribbean side, T&T were free to entertain in the final.On the day it was Darren Bravo that starred, emphasising again the glittering talent that West Indies fans desperately hope can shine at the World Cup next month. In front of a healthy crowd he ensured Denesh Ramdin’s decision to bat first was vindicated, despite an accurate start for Hampshire’s new-ball pair.Danny Briggs, the 19-year-old left-arm spinner who will return to the Caribbean with England Lions in February, gave Hampshire an ideal start by removing Adrian Barath in the first over. Alongside Simon Jones, who ended the tournament joint top wicket-taker with 12 at 10.25, the pair restricted T&T to 10 for 1 after three overs.Thereafter, with the change in bowling, Darren Bravo cut loose. Tall, elegant and demonstrating again that Twenty20 batting extends beyond vein-popping power, he scythed five fours and two sixes in a 28-ball stay that changed the match. His clean striking down the ground, including a four and a six in successive deliveries from Chris Wood, was a notch above anything else in the game.He found a willing partner is Lendl Simmons (31) and was eventually dismissed for 41 by the impressive Briggs. Ramdin’s late flurry, making 33 from 19 deliveries pushed the score up to 147.If the target looked difficult during the innings break, it became much harder after Ravi Rampaul’s maiden first over. Jimmy Adams couldn’t get him away and set the tone for a scrappy Hampshire effort with the bat. Johann Myburgh fell second ball to Samuel Badree, beaten by a tossed-up legspinner and after making a promising 23 James Vince was the next to go, missing a pull shot to be bowled by Jason Mohammad’s offspin.After 10 overs Hampshire 55 for 3 and had a chance but Sean Ervine, who may well have played his last game for Hampshire after rejoining the Zimbabwe set-up, fell to Mohammad and the chase fell away. Kevon Cooper picked up two wickets with his accurate medium-pace and despite a lone 28 not out from Benny Howell, Hampshire ended well short.Meanwhile, the third-place play-off was a tighter affair with Jamaica holding off a spirited chase by Windward Islands to win by 9 runs.The victory was crafted on Xavier Marshall’s careful 36, an unbeaten 43 from 21 balls from Danza Hyatt and a solid all-round bowling effort.Marshall struck four sixes before being run out while Hyatt scampered hard between the wickets to hold the Jamaica innings together. Around him wickets tumbled as none of No.5 to No. 9 reached double figures. Nelon Pascal finished with 3 for 21 from his four overs but Hyatt ensured a competitive 153 was posted.The Windward batsmen were guilty of not making the best of good starts as seven of the line-up reached double figures, with nobody passing Linden Lawrence’s 36. Aside from the expensive Andre Russell, who leaked 49 from four overs, the Jamaica bowlers with a picture of parsimony.Sheldon Cotterrell top and tailed the innings with the wickets of Johnson Charles and Keon Peters and David Bernard took three wickets.The Windward innings forever threatened, with Gary Mathurin reaching 25 from 13 balls to set-up what looked like a late charge to victory, before he was undone by Bernard. Odean Brown’s legspin was dangerous throughout the innings and he picked off three wickets to ensure Jamaica the spoils.

Corrie van Zyl may look like a typical sportsman, always wrapped in waterproof tracksuit tops and shorts, but he isn’t. In fact, in his crisp pink shirt and dark jeans, van Zyl could easily have been mistaken for a movie star. Surprisingly, he was one of the best-dressed men at the welcome party for the Indian team on Monday night in Sandton, exposing his best quality: he simply isn’t really what you think he is.You may think the South Africa coach has sleepless nights about coming up against countryman Gary Kirsten, whose name is being bandied as a possible replacement for van Zyl after the World Cup, but he “isn’t too bothered by what Gary is doing”. You may think that he is slowly going grey about South Africa’s inability to take 20 wickets in the previous two Tests but he “thinks we bowled excellently on the final day” of the second Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi. You may think that if he is at the helm of a series win against the number one side in Test cricket, he will opt to stay on as national coach, but van Zyl is so committed to the High Performance Programme in Pretoria that he has moved his family from Bloemfontein to the capital so that he can commit to the project.It means that the Test series against India will be the last one played under his watch, and although few are likely to remember it for that reason, it represents an important turning point for South African cricket. The Test team has dominated at home since readmission, winning 52 out of 92 matches and losing only 19. They’ve beaten almost everyone who has visited their shores. Almost.South Africa have only suffered five series losses at home after readmission – three of those were against Australia in the last decade, at a time when the baggy green was dominating world cricket. The 2002 series was dubbed the “Kings of Cricket” but South Africa were the complete antithesis of majestic as they crumbled to hefty defeats in the first two matches. The next was a 3-0 whitewash in 2006 and the third an embarrassing 2-1 loss that came just after South Africa had won their first series Down Under in 2009.The India they will face now don’t exactly hold the awe Australia did for such a long time, perhaps because of their dodgy record away from home, but the mantle they bring with them is the same. They are the No.1 side in Test cricket, and a side with that label has always overcome South Africa on their own turf.That territory is particularly important in this series because it is being talked about as the factor that may end up deciding it. South Africa have asked the groundsmen to prepare bouncy wickets, so that they can let their pace attack loose on Indian batsmen known to be uncomfortable against the short ball. Dale Steyn’s reputation needs no elaboration but the development of his partnership with Morne Morkel will be interesting to watch. The pair have become known as one the most feared in world cricket, but their true test will come against the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.Left-armer Lonwabo Tsotsobe looks certain to play the role of the third specialist seamer, particularly because of the variation he will bring to the side. Tsotsobe has played just two Tests, but showed promise in the one-day series against Pakistan in the UAE. This series presents him with a perfect opportunity to lay permanent claim to a spot in the Test XI and help smoothen the mini-transition period the bowling attack is going through.It may not be obvious but the look of South Africa’s pace attack is changing. It’s the first time in a decade that they embark on a home series without Makhaya Ntini, who retired from international cricket last month. South Africa are searching for a black African who can have the same impact on the cricketing landscape of this race-affected nation and it may seem, on the surface, that Tsotsobe is the ideal candidate to fill those shoes. With quotas a thing of the past and teams being picked on merit, if Tsotsobe does cement his place, it’s unlikely to be because of his skin colour, but it will help the administrators kill two birds with one stone.With all the anticipation surrounding the clash between South Africa’s bowlers and India’s batsmen, the flip side has been forgotten. South Africa have a formidable batting line-up, one that will have to contend with Indian bowlers who will be drooling at the sight of responsive pitches. While most of the line-up is settled, there are two important positions that will come under scrutiny: the opener and the No. 6 batsman. Alviro Petersen has had a healthy start to his Test career but will want to perform well enough in the series to silence whispers for Jacques Rudolph to be recalled. Ashwell Prince faces a more immediate threat. JP Duminy was left out of the twelve on Monday, but the pressure is on Prince to take ownership of his spot.While the spotlight will be on some individuals, the team as a whole will take centre stage. This series is being contested between the two best teams in Test cricket at the moment. South Africa have been involved in three such series in the past at home and come out second-best every time. They must feel as though they have a real chance to turn that around. van Zyl said the rankings don’t matter and he’s right. Even if India lose two of the Tests, they will still stay No. 1.The only thing at stake is the series itself. That’s the kind of thinking van Zyl likes. He doesn’t care that, barring a clean sweep, South Africa may be back at the top in his time in charge. He cares about beating this Indian team no matter where anybody is ranked. For some, that attitude may not make him seem like a man who can lead a team to topple the world’s best. That’s exactly why he is the best man for the job.