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ScorecardMiddlesex opener Sam Robson made his second century in as many innings•Getty Images

It is most unlikely that Sir Alex Ferguson has relinquished his position at Manchester United with a view to pursuing a career as a county cricketer. But, if he had done, he might be encouraged by what he saw at Edgbaston yesterday: on the strength of this, a 71-year-old Scotsman could yet take the new ball for the County Champions.Such is the paucity of options at Warwickshire at present that anyone with a pulse and bladder control will be considered if they have another injury. And they will compromise on those qualities if necessary.Quite what Ferguson would have made of his beloved Manchester United being devastated by call-ups to a B international during the Premier League season is anyone’s guess. It seems safe to assume that his reaction would not have been resigned and phlegmatic.Yet Warwickshire were obliged to go into this important Championship match – a match which pits the second-placed team in the table against last year’s champions – without so many first-choice players that the integrity of the event has been compromised.While no-one can do much about the raft of injuries Warwickshire have suffered, the decision to take three players away on Lions duty does seem punitive. To exacerbate the situation by allowing Steven Finn to play for Middlesex is simply rubbing salt in the wound. Middlesex, it should be noted, were also without Toby Roland-Jones (on Lions duty) and James Harris (injured).Few would dispute the value of the Lions programme. Players who have graduated from county to international cricket have spoken in glowing terms of the assistance the Lions scheme gave them in making the step-up in quality.Even fewer would dispute that Finn, who admits he “needed a bit more bowling,” should be involved in this game if it helps him go into the Test series against New Zealand in good form. The success of the England team is vital to the funding of county and recreational cricket and, within reason, everything that can be done to that end should be encouraged.But does scheduling Lions games in the middle of the Championship season really help? Or does it create as many problems as it solves? By creating another tier between domestic and international cricket, the Lions team is equally creating a greater divide between the two levels.Had the likes of Chris Wright and Chris Woakes been involved in this match, the Middlesex opener, Sam Robson, would surely have faced a more searching examination of his skills and, as a consequence, would have been better prepared for his possible future elevation to Test cricket. By weakening the Championship, the foundations of the England team, the ECB are actually creating a problem which the Lions then have to solve.There is a strong argument to suggest that Lions games should be limited to the off-season. Besides, quite what England will learn about Woakes from another Lions game – he has played 28 times for the Lions and 14 times for the full England side – remains unclear.Such was Warwickshire’s predicament before this game that serious consideration was given to selecting Neil Carter, who retired from county cricket at the end of last season (he continues to represent Scotland) and is currently in Birmingham staying with his old friend Jonathan Trott.Among the three Warwickshire first team players absent on England Lions duty are first-choice bowlers Chris Wright and Chris Woakes (opening batsman, Varun Chopra is the other player with the Lions). But Warwickshire are also missing their other new ball bowler Keith Barker to injury, while allrounder Rikki Clarke is recovering from injury and was able to bowl only four overs at a reduced pace.Potential replacements such as Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Chris Metters and Paul Best are also injured, as is their other opening batsman, Ian Westwood. But the spectacle of Jonathan Trott coming on to bowl the 15th over with his gentle medium-pace said it all: this Warwickshire side bears no comparison to the one that won the Championship title last season. The rain that fell shortly after tea came as merciful relief to Warwickshire.”We’re down to the bare bones,” Warwickshire’s director of cricket, Dougie Brown, said. “If we had one more injury, I’m not too sure what we would do.”In the light of such issues, Robson’s second century in successive Championship innings – his second in five days – does need to be put into context. He is, without doubt, a high-class player who has every chance of going on to play Test cricket. He has the technique, talent and temperament to flourish against good new-ball attacks and a love of batting that is the hallmark of some of the very best players. He drives, off front and back foot and on both sides of the wicket, beautifully, and leaves unusually well.The regularity with which he bats for whole days is testament to his desire and his concentration. This innings – his fifth score above 50 (two centuries and three half-centuries) in seven Championship innings takes his campaign average to a Bradman-esque 100.Like Bradman, Robson hails from New South Wales. Unlike Bradman, he has a mother from Nottinghamshire and, on the surface at least, has committed to playing for England. But, as things stand, Robson does not qualify for England until this time next year and until he actually represents England, he remains eligible for Australia. Bearing in mind the shallow reserves of young batting they currently have, it seems most remiss of them not to at least attempt to lure Robson back. In selecting 35-year-old Chris Rogers, not 23-year-old Robson, for the Ashes, they may well have picked the wrong Middlesex opener.There were a couple of uncomfortable moments for him. He was dropped on 73 by Clarke in the slips as he attempted to run one from Tom Milnes down to third man and, on 52, he was beaten by a brute of a ball from Boyd Rankin that took the shoulder of the bat and flew between the slips and gully for another four.That apart, this was surely the most straightforward of his seven first-class centuries. On a decent pitch offering decent pace and carry, Warwickshire over-pitched and, at times, struggled with their line. Tom Allin, a 25-year-old whose father Tony, played for Glamorgan, was making his first-class debut and bowled respectably without ever threatening; Milnes, 20-years-old and as green as the outfield, was taken for 32 from his opening four-over spell – over-pitching often; and Rankin, on a comeback from injury, failed to harness his considerable weapons often enough to create meaningful pressure.Rankin showed flashes of his menace, though. He caught Rogers a horrible blow on the elbow which caused a lengthy break for treatment and eventually made the breakthrough when the same batsman edged an attempted cut.Joe Denly fell when he came down the pitch and played for spin that was not there, while Dawid Malan was trapped leg before by a quicker one. It makes not a jot of difference if Malan was hard done-by – he clearly thought he was – but he can consider himself very fortunate if his show of dissent afterwards does not earn him penalty points from the ECB.But this was Robson’s day and, given the toothless nature of the attack, the good character of the pitch and his insatiable appetite for batting, and there is a fair chance that the second day might be as well.

India squad for Delhi Test

MS Dhoni (capt), M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma
In: Suresh Raina
Out: Shikhar Dhawan

Suresh Raina has been called up to the India squad for the fourth Test against Australia as replacement for the injured Shikhar Dhawan, who has been ruled out for six weeks with a fractured left hand. Gautam Gambhir, who had been dropped in favour of Dhawan for the Australia Tests, was also added to the squad initially, before a blood test showed he was down with jaundice, a BCCI release said.Dhawan had injured his hand while trying to stop a Phillip Hughes square drive during Australia’s second innings on the fourth day of the Mohali Test. He did not field for the rest of the day and also did not bat during India’s chase after having made 187 in his debut innings. ESPNcricinfo understands the selectors had discussed that the need for naming a replacement for Dhawan would arise only if the team management asked for it.Dhawan’s fracture, Gambhir’s illness and Virender Sehwag’s axing after the Hyderabad Test leave M Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane as the only openers in the squad. Vijay is the only India opener to have played in all three Tests so far, with hundreds in Hyderabad and Mohali. Rahane is yet to play a Test but looks most likely to partner Vijay in Delhi.However, with Raina’s inclusion as a back-up batsman, it won’t be surprising if Cheteshwar Pujara opens, like he did in the second innings in Mohali, and Raina bats in the middle order, leaving no place for Rahane.The last of Raina’s 17 Tests came against New Zealand in Bangalore in September 2012. He wasn’t part of the squad for the four Tests against England and the first three Tests against Australia. He had an underwhelming Ranji season, with 304 runs in six games at an average of 33.77, although he did make 134 and 71 in the Irani Cup game against Mumbai last month.

Rahul Dravid said he was happy to see Sreesanth bounce back during Rajasthan Royals’ six-wicket win against Kings XI Punjab after an expensive spell against Pune Warriors. Sreesanth picked up the wickets of Kings XI openers – Adam Gilchrist and Mandeep Singh – in his first over and was economical giving away 20 runs in his spell.”You have to realise that in T20, you will have bad games,” Dravid said. “It’s part and parcel of the game. Out of four games, Sreesanth’s had three good games. If 75 per cent of the time in the tournament you have good games, then I’ll take it happily. He did really well today and it was good to see him bounce back from the previous game.”Sreesanth drew consistent movement off the Jaipur pitch that offered help to the seamers and, along with James Faulkner and Siddharth Trivedi, helped Royals to limit Kings XI to 124. The Royals had lost four wickets with 46 needed to win, but an unbeaten stand between Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson took them over the line in the last over.”Chasing 125 was not going to be easy on this surface because it was offering movement,” Dravid said. “All wickets should not be of 170-180 runs. 140-150 run wickets can also have exciting games. We are happy with the wicket and don’t interfere with the job of curator. We need to learn to bat better on such wickets.””[Shane] Watson played beautifully to add quick runs and release some pressure. But we got stuck in the middle with fall of couple of wickets but Ajinkya Rahane stood there till the end to steer us home. Sanju Samson also batted beautifully and has shown a lot of promise. All in all, it was a fine team effort.”He also brushed aside any concerns regarding the form of his batsmen, while stating that Brad Hodge’s position in the batting order would depend on the situation the team faces. “As far as the matter of Hodge batting up the order is concerned I feel he has been very good in accelerating at the end overs,” he said. “If the need arises, he can be promoted up the order. The good is thing is that we now have enough cover and options for all positions and can shuffle to meet the demands of situations.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jess Cameron’s half-century was the centrepiece of a strong Australian batting performance•Associated Press

On the day it mattered, every aspect of Australia’s game came good to earn them their sixth Women’s World Cup. The batting, wobbly for most of the tournament, started with a bang and ended with a bang, despite another wobble in between. The bowling and fielding, top class through the tournament, choked West Indies in the chase. Jodie Fields, a captain who wants to get wickets at all costs, took her aggression to another level, consistently targetting the opposition’s best batsmen with her best bowlers. Ellyse Perry did not disappoint her captain, neither did Lisa Sthalekar. It was no surprise and indeed no shame for West Indies to be outclassed by a team that lost just one of seven games, that too, by eight runs.All three day-night games at Brabourne Stadium in the tournament had been won by sides who batted first and posted big totals. Australia did the same after winning the toss and left West Indies needing to chase the highest total in a World Cup final.Rachael Haynes and Meg Lanning went after the new ball, and No. 3 Jess Cameron ensured no let-up for the West Indies bowlers with 75 off 76. Australia’s middle-order worries came to haunt them, though, as they slipped from 181 for 3 to 209 for 7, before Fields and premier fast bowler Perry helped the side rebound with an unbeaten stand of 50 off 40.The pressure of their maiden final seemed to get to West Indies as they fielded rather poorly and conceded too many runs upfront. Medium-pacer Tremayne Smartt was especially ordinary with her lines and lengths and was taken for 43 in five overs. Smartt rounded off a horror day when she hurt herself following a couple of misfields at point and had to leave the field.All three top-order batsmen, Lanning, Haynes and Cameron were severe on anything wide or short. There were several cuts and pulls in the innings, with Cameron also lofting down the ground for boundaries. Lanning departed after an opening stand of 52 in ten overs, as she found mid-off when trying to hit Stafanie Taylor for successive fours. That hardly hurt the progress of the innings, as Cameron arrived. Haynes swept frequently and also used the reverse-sweep, and Cameron carted Smartt for two sixes in an over.Most of the Australia batsmen fell going for more shots. The 17-year old legspinner Shaquana Quintyne helped West Indies claw back with a spell of 10-1-27-3. Haynes top-edged an attempted pull to midwicket off Quintyne. Cameron blasted a Shanel Daley full toss to deep midwicket in the 36th over.That began a period of about seven-eight overs when West Indies regained some lost ground. Sthalekar, Sarah Coyte and Erin Osborne went cheaply trying to go after the spinners. But Australia had more left in the tank. Fields, who had done little with the bat in the tournament, came good with an unbeaten 36 off 38 while Perry, returning after missing the Super Six stage with an ankle injury, contributed 25 off 22.The highest Australia’s bowling had conceded in the tournament was 227, and West Indies needed their key batsmen Taylor and Deandra Dottin to fire. Perry and Sthalekar were to end the game soon.Perry gave Australia a scare when she aborted her run-up for her first delivery twice and felt her left leg. That didn’t stop her from striking off the last ball of her first over, the tenth, trapping Kycia Knight in front with a length ball that straightened into the left-hander.With the first ball of her second over, Perry found the outside edge off Taylor’s bat and Lanning took the ball at slip but the batsman stayed after replays proved inconclusive. Bowling with superb rhythm now, Perry needed three more balls to take out Taylor, who pushed a length delivery back to the bowler. In her third over, Perry sent back Natasha McLean, who swiped across at a full delivery and was caught plumb in front.West Indies delayed the arrival of the powerful Dottin, who eventually came out in the 22nd over after No. 4 Kyshona Knight retired hurt following an extremely defensive stay. The asking-rate was over seven now with Sthalekar’s spell reading 7-2-12-0.Fields brought back Perry against Dottin, giving her two more overs, but Dottin played them out calmly. Sthalekar responded at the other end, flighting the ball and turning it in through the gate to bowl the captain Merissa Aguilleira. Four overs later, the game was all but over as Sthalekar lured Dottin down the track with another flighted delivery, which Dottin completely missed and was bowled. Dottin had hit a few meaty blows, but Fields had stuck with her best bowlers, and got the reward.At 109 for 5 in the 31st overs, it was game over for West Indies and though they lasted until the 44th, there was no doubt over who would be crowned world champions.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTrinidad & Tobago celebrate their emphatic win over Guyana in the Caribbean T20 final•WICB Media

Trinidad & Tobago earned the unique honour of winning the Caribbean Twenty20 for the third successive year, and their fourth title overall, after they trampled over a hapless Guyana with a nine-wicket victory. Anointed the favourites from the moment this final edition of the tournament began on January 6, the defending champions lived up to their reputation with a resounding victory.Kieron Pollard, promoted up the order, swept a massive six over wide long-on for the winning runs, threw his bat aside and stripped off his red Trinidad & Tobago shirt to display a white vest on which was written: “Congratulations T&T team. We have done it. I’m proud.” His team-mate Dwayne Bravo, meanwhile, cut short the victory lap to join the DJ on the performing deck to sing and dance to the popular Soca numbers “Differentology” and “Bacchanalist”, thus adding to the carnival preparations gathering back in Port of Spain and rest of the island.Chasing a modest 117 for victory, T&T started in dominant fashion, racing to 25 after three overs as the opening pair of Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis declared their positive intent. Guyana should have had Lewis early on, however, when he miscued a pull against a short delivery from Ronsford Beaton, one of the most impressive fast bowlers to have emerged from the last two weeks. Beaton charged forward to take the catch in his follow through but wicketkeeper Derwin Christian advanced simultaneously from behind the wicket and both men collided, allowing Lewis, who had run virtually to the other end, to return safely back to his crease.Next ball, Lewis, playing his second match of the tournament, upper-cut Beaton for the first six of T&T’s innings. Lewis meted out further punishment to Steven Jacobs as 20 runs came from the fifth over to bring up the T&T 50, but Beaton got his man when he sent down a short-pitched delivery that Lewis try to duck only to present an easy catch. The Guyana players flashed nervous smiles, perhaps realising the writing was already on the wall. Simmons and Pollard ensured that it was, wrapping up the chase with almost eight overs to spare.Earlier, there had been a lot of emphasis placed on the toss, as only twice in eleven matches played on the St Lucia leg of this tournament had the team batting first won. Veerasammy Permaul, the Guyana captain, called heads, lost and was asked to bat. However, the way the evening panned out, such factors were unlikely to have made any difference to T&T, as they dominated the contest throughout.T&T were coming into the match after a four-day break but they were not slow to regain their rhythm. Guyana’s batsmen were completely at sea against the combination of aggressive fast bowling from Shannon Gabriel and Rayad Emrit, backed up by the wily spin of Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine. It was Gabriel, with his bounding run-up, who clocked consistently blistering pace to put Guyana under the cosh straightaway.After taking just a single from Gabriel’s first over, Christian powerfully drove Badree for the first boundary off the seventh ball of the match. Two balls later, trying to hit straight and over the bowler’s head, Christian mistimed to mid-off. Emrit was the catcher but in Badree’s next over he made a mess of a simple chance from Trevon Griffith, the other Guyana opener, who had attempted a straight hoick.Ramnaresh Sarwan continued his terrible form, falling prey to an familiar ploy. Prompted by Dwayne Bravo, Gabriel adjusted his lengths, pitching more back of length and short against Sarwan, who lost control of his stroke on the charge and top-edged to midwicket. In the same over, Gabriel attacked the ribs of new man Narsingh Deonarine with a lifting delivery, the batsman beaten by the pace to be caught behind.By the time the fielding restrictions were removed after the sixth over, Guyana were 23 for 3. At the halfway mark, they had limped to 49 for 3, with just two fours coming from the bat. It was not the first time Guyana had started off in such sluggish fashion. Throughout the tournament their top order had failed to perform consistently. If anything short cameos and spirited partnerships had carried them to the summit clash.In Guyana’s play-off win over Jamaica, Griffith and Christopher Barnwell had raised a match-turning 79-run run partnership for the third wicket. Less than 24 hours later the pair were once again attempting another rescue act. On 19, Griffith attempted to slog Emrit down the ground but gave another chance to the bowler, who allowed the ball to bounce out of his hands once again. “This guy doesn’t want to be here,” was Ramdin’s response to another life for Griffith and although the batsman slog-swept Narine for a six in the next over he was eventually run out by a Pollard direct hit from short midwicket while going for a tight single.After that steadying, 61-run partnership, the onus was now entirely on Barnwell. However, he was finding it hard to connect and he departed for 32 in the 17th over, top-edging Emrit to point. Two balls later, Leon Johnson was caught in the deep by Simmons: Guyana had lost two wickets for just one run. Although 11 runs came off the final over, Guyana knew it was too little and too late.Guyana, who won the tournament in 2006 and 2010, were playing their fourth match in as many days and were running low on fuel. Clearly they had not had enough time to chalk out a workable strategy, something T&T managed to do convincingly. Possessing as many as seven of West Indies’ World Twenty20-winning squad, T&T had the experience, firepower, nous and balance to win the tournament. In the end they were the deserving winners.

ScorecardSNGPL wrapped up the game quickly on the final day•PCB

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited lifted the inaugural President’s Trophy, beating Habib Bank Limited by 75 in Karachi. When HBL resumed the day at 169 for 6, they had to score another 160 to lay their hands on the title. SNGPL’s spinners took three of the last four wickets, led by Mohammad Hafeez who scalped two on the last day, taking just over 24 overs to wrap up the innings.Chasing 329 was going to be a daunting task after HBL were dismissed for 137 in the first innings. Ahmed Shehzad was the only batsman to provide resistance with a half-century while the other ten players scored only 57 runs combined. Hafeez took four wickets in the first innings in less than 14 overs, giving away only 16 runs. That gave SNGPL a first-innings lead of 146 as they had scored 283 after they were put in to bat. Even though they were in trouble at 49 for 3, they were rescued by Azhar Ali (32) and half-centuries from Misbah-ul-Haq and Ali Waqas.When they came out to bat again, Umar Gul not only got rid of the openers, he dismissed their first-innings top scorers – Misbah and Waqas – for ducks. His six wickets, which included a hat-trick, kept SNGPL to 182 but the lead by then had already reached to 328.

Warwickshire will welcome back Jeetan Patel, the New Zealand offspinner who took 51 wickets in their Championship-winning campaign last season, as their overseas player for 2013. Patel’s form was a key part of Warwickshire’s title success and also helped win him a recall with New Zealand.Patel has played for Warwickshire in three of the last four seasons, taking 74 first-class wickets at 25.72. New Zealand play two Tests in England in May 2013 but Daniel Vettori’s expected return to fitness may mean Patel is not required.”Winning the County Championship with Warwickshire is one of the highlights of my career and with such a strong squad available, I see no reason why we can’t push harder for success in all formats next season,” Patel said. “The new facilities at Edgbaston have made it one of the best grounds in the world and Birmingham has certainly become my adopted home. I’m looking forward to returning in 2013 and hopefully playing a major part in more success for Warwickshire.”Warwickshire will being their title defence against Division Two champions Derbyshire on April 10, with Patel available for the start of the season. One person who won’t be there to welcome the offspinner back is director of cricket, Ashley Giles, who will take charge of England’s limited-overs teams in January.”Jeets is a world-class spinner who’s produced many outstanding performances, and is a great role model to the younger players in the squad,” the outgoing Giles said. “Whilst I’m moving on to my role with the England team, I’m delighted that the club has been able to secure him as the overseas player for the 2013 season before I depart. His 51 wickets were crucial to winning the County Championship last season, and I know that everyone is looking forward to his return.”

Eight players who helped England win the World Cup in 2009 are part of the squad for their title defence in India next year. Warwickshire’s Amy Jones is the one uncapped player, although she was part of the World Twenty20 squad in Sri Lanka, while seamer Georgia Elwiss has earned her first call-up for a global event.Elwiss, who has played nine ODIs, made her debut against South Africa in 2011 and has best figures of 3 for 17 against India, at Wormsley, in July. She is the only addition to the squad that took part in the World T20, while the unlucky Susie Rowe, who was forced out of the World T20 with a broken finger, misses out. Charlotte Edwards, the captain, will be playing in her fifth World Cup.”The whole team is really excited about defending our world title in Mumbai in February,” Edwards said. “I’m so proud to be captaining such a talented team in what is the pinnacle event in our sport.”There is a great blend to our squad with a combination of experienced players who were part of the 2009 success and emerging young players who have already shown that they can perform at this level. Every player in our squad has experience of playing in subcontinental conditions and we will continue to work hard during our final preparations so come February we are in the best possible shape to defend our title.”Clare Connor, the head of women’s cricket, said: “It has never been harder to select the England Women’s squad than ahead of this World Cup. So many players have impressed during 2012 and this final group of 15 should be congratulated on their selection. They have the honour of going to the World Cup as the current world champions and we wish them every success in rising to the challenge of bringing the trophy home again.”England will depart on January 17 for a preparation camp before facing Sri Lanka in their first match of the competition on February 2.Squad Charlotte Edwards (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Arran Brindle, Katherine Brunt, Holly Colvin, Georgia Elwiss, Lydia Greenway, Jenny Gunn, Danielle Hazell, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor (wk), Danielle Wyatt

One name has dominated the post mortems at Headingley: Pietersen. Not Petersen.Although the latter scored more runs than the former, his was not as fierce, in style or in message. Kevin Pietersen may not be playing for England much longer, although that has little to do with the runs he posted at Leeds, but Alviro Petersen took a big step to cementing his place in the South Africa XI and it had everything to do with his innings.Petersen’s 182 came in tough circumstances after South Africa were asked to bat against a four-pronged pace attack and under skies that can become cloudy as quickly as Pietersen changes his mind. After totalling just 42 runs in the four innings on tour before the match, including a duck at The Oval, Petersen was under pressure from outside and owed something to himself.As he had done in Kolkata, Cape Town and Wellington, he delivered again. This time he exceeded those previous occasions and showed why he had never stopped belonging in international cricket, despite what was being said.Ask any one of South Africa’s team management – and the answer they give may sound rehearsed because it is something they feel compelled to say – and they will tell you Petersen was never in danger of losing his place. Allan Donald went as far as to say that Petersen was “not far away from putting it all together” after he made two low scores, of 10 and 11, against Worcestershire.Ask many outside that circle and they will say Petersen was on the edge and had to haul himself back before he fell off.Ask Petersen himself and the answer you get is philosophical but defiant. “I feel under pressure in every game,” he said. Why? “Because I am always one innings away from the media getting on my case.”At times, Petersen has been dealt an unfair hand and this was probably one of those times. Having scored an impressive hundred against New Zealand just two Tests before Headingley, he should not have been under scrutiny. Why he was is a combination of being one of the newer players, being the least known of the top five and having had a lean tour, despite only one bad Test.He must have known that expectation changes and grows in every series a cricketer plays in. He handled it by looking inward before looking out and it paid off. “Even though I hadn’t spent a lot of time in the middle, in the nets I had really worked hard,” he said. “I felt really good about my batting. I didn’t even practice the day before because I felt like I was in a good space. It was all about mental stuff.”For one of the most junior members of the side to be allowed to miss a training session is a sign that Gary Kirsten has placed the responsibility on the players to decide how best to ready themselves for a match. Petersen chose to strategise instead of hit more balls and in so doing, came up with his own set of tactics.Although he played a missed at a large number of deliveries, he did not let that distract him. “It was always a case of getting through that and focusing on the next ball. You are going to play and miss,” he said. “I knew I had a gameplan and I had to stick to that.”Withstanding and counterattacking were the main tenets of Petersen’s innings against an England attack that he felt had also done their homework. “They had different plans for us this time around. I worked that out up front. They were always there and thereabouts. They didn’t give us a lot at all, but when they did we capitalised,” he said.During his almost nine-hour stint at the crease, Petersen strained his hamstring and could not field. He is expected to recover in time for the Lord’s Test and said the injury will not affect his preparations. “I can still bat, it’s just about the running,” he said.A tightly contested drawn second Test has made it difficult to decide who has the mental edge going into the final match. South Africa’s 1-0 lead in the series gives them the overall advantage and Petersen is hopeful they can make it count.”Lord’s is a place you can gear yourself up to play at and we’ve got good memories of Lord’s” he said. South Africa have won three and drawn one of the four matches they have played there since readmission. “I still don’t think there is a lot in it. Most of our batters have scored some runs. Some of them might have wanted to score some more. It will come down to one or two sessions once more.”

ScorecardThe second four-day game at Lodge Road was headed towards a draw, with only 40 overs possible on the penultimate day. South Africa A had added 101 in that period for the loss of two wickets before a heavy afternoon downpour forced an early end. Heino Kuhn made the most of the rain-hit day, making an unbeaten half-century.The visitors resumed on 101 for 4, with Farhaan Behardien and Stiaan van Zyl at the crease. The pair had added 19 before Stuart Thompson got the first breakthrough for Ireland XI, dismissing Behardien for 44. Thompson struck again five balls later when he had van Zyl caught for 44. The hosts couldn’t capitalise on those breakthroughs as Kuhn and Ryan McLaren added an unbeaten 98. Kuhn hit six fours in his 57, while McLaren hit four fours in his undefeated 36. The rain struck around 2.30pm, ruling out the possibility of further play. At 3.50pm, the umpires decided to call it off.The entire first day was washed out.