Mini-session Analysis, 3rd test, Australia vs South Africa, WACA, 2012/13

Here is the final mini-session analysis for the third test between Australia and South Africa at WACA, Perth, Australia

A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.

Mini-Session	Score	Winner
1-1a	South Africa 38/1 off 11.3	draw
1-1b	South Africa 25/2 off 13.3	Australia
1-2a	South Africa 34/3 off 13	Australia
1-2b	South Africa 44/1 off 14	South Africa
1-3a	South Africa 65/2 off 18.2	Australia
1-3b	South Africa 19/1 off 3.4	South Africa
	Australia 33/2 off 11
2-1a	Australia 40/4 off 12	South Africa
2-1b	Australia 45/1 off 13	Australia
2-2a	Australia 31/1 off 13	South Africa
2-2b	Australia 15/2 off 4.1	South Africa
	South Africa 24/0 off 6
2-3a	South Africa 125/1 off 17	South Africa
2-3b	South Africa 81/1 off 15	South Africa
3-1a	South Africa 56/0 off 13	South Africa
3-1b	South Africa 34/1 off 15	Australia
3-2a	South Africa 85/0 off 17	South Africa
3-2b	South Africa 62/2 off 13	South Africa
3-3a	South Africa 96/3 off 13	South Africa
3-3b	South Africa 6/2 off 2.5	Australia
	Australia 40/0 off 13
4-1a	Australia 33/1 off 13	South Africa
4-1b	Australia 37/2 off 12	South Africa
4-2a	Australia 42/1 off 13	draw
4-2b	Australia 52/3 off 13	South Africa
4-3a	Australia 118/3 off 18.5	Australia

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First drinks, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied up, 0-0

South Africa won the toss, and went on the attack early against the inexperienced Australian bowlers. However a good ball from Watson levelled up the first mini-session.

Lunch, Day 1: Australia lead the mini-session count 1-0

When a left-armer manages to swing the ball he becomes deadly. Mitchell Starc just proved exactly why that is. He bowled Petersen and Kallis through the gate by pitching it up and letting it swing. Advantage Australia.

Middle drinks, Day 1: Australia lead the mini-session count 2-0

South Africa chose to bat and are probably regretting it now. 6 wickets down for less than 100 runs, and Australia have 4 quicks, so they are all fresh. South Africa are going to require a big effort from Faf and the bowlers if they are going to stay in this match.

Tea, Day 1: Australia lead the mini-session count 2-1

A good recovery here from South Africa. They were looking a lot better before Peterson was dismissed, but it was still their hour.

Final drinks, Day 1: Australia lead the mini-session count 3-1

It was all looking so good for South Africa, but Australia are playing like the wily veteran boxer who lands a flurry just before the bell to take the round. Two quick wickets and the hour goes to Australia. Mitchell Johnson is great to have as a fourth seamer. He is erratic, bowls some filth, but he does take wickets.

Stumps, Day 1: Australia lead the mini-session count 3-2

Some quick runs from Morkel followed by some beautiful bowling by Steyn and Philander have meant that this game is back in the balance. I think Australia are in the lead, but it could potentially be a real cracking test.

First drinks, Day 2: The mini-session count is tied up, 3-3

It's not often after a team lose 4 for 40 in a mini-session that you can say that they finished well. However Australia got 12/4 off the first 5.2 overs. Hussey and Wade are looking reasonably confident, but Australia are going to require a similar rearguard effort to what South Africa had yesterday.

Lunch, Day 2: Australia lead the mini-session count 4-3

A very good hour of cricket for Australia. Mathew Wade has looked like he is batting on a different pitch to everyone else. He has a chance at going past Kapil Dev's record for the largest proportion of a team's score by a lower order batsman.

Middle drinks, Day 2: The mini-session count is tied up, 4-4

South Africa get the big breakthrough and dismiss Wade. They put some pressure on to dry up the runs, and eventually Peterson came in and the pressure was converted to a wicket.

Tea, Day 2: South Africa lead the mini-session count 5-4

Robin Peterson was prepared to roll the dice and he picked up a couple of wickets for his trouble. The South African openers then had to face a tricky spell. Petersen looked jumpy, and edged a few, but scored quite well. Smith looked reasonably solid, but has struggled to score.

Final drinks, Day 2: South Africa lead the mini-session count 6-4

This was possibly the most decisive mini-session since Welegedara and Herath picked up 5 top/middle order wickets for next to no runs against South Africa in December last year. Amla and Smith were scoring almost off every ball. They looked like they were batting on a belter in an ODI.

Stumps, Day 2: South Africa lead the mini-session count 7-4

Hashim Amla is poetry to watch. They used to say about Frank Worrell that he played grammatically correct shots. I never got to see Worrell,but watching Amla must be similar. It was clever captaincy from Clarke to keep him stranded on 99, because at the moment it seems the only way to get Amla out is to have him get himself out. South Africa are now very hot favourites.

First drinks, Day 3: South Africa lead the mini-session count 8-4

After the past 2 mini-sessions, 56 runs in 13 overs seems almost pedestrian. In reality it is anything but. Amla hasn't looked quite as composed as he did yesterday, but he has still looked good. Kallis, however, has looked impenetrable.

Lunch, Day 3: South Africa lead the mini-session count 8-5

Australia broke the partnership, and then kept the new batsman quiet. It was a good hour for them. Shane Watson looks like the best bowler in the Australian team. Batting looks so much more difficult when he has the ball in his hands. Clarke has to make the difficult decision about how much to bowl him. The good news for South Africa is that AB de Villiers seems to be finding going difficult. This indicates that there is still life in the test, so Australia batting out a draw won't be particularly easy.

Middle drinks, Day 3: South Africa lead the mini-session count 9-5

South Africa have continued to take the game away from Australia. de Villiers has found his timing, and is scoring runs quickly. It's now de Villiers biggest innings as a keeper, but it possibly shows why it might be an idea for him to move lower in the order. Often it takes a while for a keeper to get into batting mode after keeping. Batting at 6 might be more suitable than 5.

Tea, Day 3: South Africa lead the mini-session count 10-5

Amla fell just short of his double century, and Elgar completed his pair on debut, but despite losing the two wickets, South Africa scored a lot of runs quickly. AB de Villiers has completed his hundred, and looks like he is just wanting to push on further. Faf du Plessis has been solid in defense, without really looking to dominate.

Final drinks, Day 3: South Africa lead the mini-session count 11-5

More runs. Graeme Smith seems to be enjoying watching the Australians struggle in the field. The TV commentators are talking about a declaration, but I can't see Smith declaring unless he decided to give his bowlers 5 or 6 overs at the end of the night.

Stumps, Day 3: South Africa lead the mini-session count 11-6

Despite a couple of scares, Australia have survived the tricky evening period. They actually got a relatively significant benefit from cleaning up South Africa's tail so quickly, namely that they had 14 overs, and so the South African bowlers don't really get a second bite of the new cherry in the morning. This pitch is a lot easier to bat on once the ball loses its shine. The South Africans will be looking to get the ball to reverse, because if it doesn't then they will have to do a lot of bowling with significantly less assistance.

South Africa are still clearly leading this match, and it feels like a question of when and not if they will win, but there is a glimmer of hope for Australia.

First drinks, Day 4: South Africa lead the mini-session count 12-6

One down. South Africa are about 15% of the way there. After the early loss of Warner; Cowan and Watson have survived a testing hour of quality bowling. If anything Ed Cowan looks like the sort of batsman who is going to really thrive with this challenge. He may not win a battle of skills, but he is likely to win a battle of wills.

Tea, Day 4: South Africa lead the mini-session count 14-6

I went away to take a practice with my team and returned to find Australia in disarray. I checked the score progressively and every time there had been another wicket fall. I can't see Australia surviving the night tonight. If Australia are still going when the new ball arrives they are certainly unlikely to be after that.

End of match: South Africa win the match and the mini-session count 14-7

It was always going to be a bridge too far for Australia. They probably had one of the best chances of any team who have faced such an enormous challenge, but that's like saying that they were the lamb that was most likely to survive a week in the tiger enclosure at the local zoo. A fantastic post-script partnership by Lyon and Starc, but it was like trying to put out a building fire with a water pistol, and fell significantly short.

Mini-session analysis 2nd test, Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, 2012/13

Here is the final mini-session analysis for the second test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at P Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka

A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.

Mini-Session	Score	Winner
1-1a	New Zealand 48/2 off 13	Sri Lanka
1-1b	New Zealand 48/0 off 16	New Zealand
1-2a	New Zealand 45/0 off 16	New Zealand
1-2b	New Zealand 34/0 off 16	New Zealand
1-3	New Zealand 48/0 off 19.5	New Zealand
2-1a	New Zealand 45/0 off 15.1	New Zealand
2-1b	New Zealand 30/3 off 18	Sri Lanka
2-2a	New Zealand 54/2 off 19	Sri Lanka
2-2b	New Zealand 44/1 off 16	Sri Lanka
2-3a	New Zealand 16/2 off 4	New Zealand
	Sri Lanka 35/3 off 12
2-3b	Sri Lanka 8/0 off 5	New Zealand
3-1a	Sri Lanka 40/0 off 13	Sri Lanka
3-1b	Sri Lanka 24/2 off 13	New Zealand
3-2a	Sri Lanka 38/1 off 14	New Zealand
3-2b	Sri Lanka 32/0 off 16	Sri Lanka
3-3	Sri Lanka 48/0 off 13.2	Sri Lanka
4-1a	Sri Lanka 19/4 off 7.4	New Zealand
4-1b	New Zealand 59/2 off 17	draw
4-2a	New Zealand 48/3 off 15	Sri Lanka
4-2b	New Zealand 47/0 off 15	New Zealand
4-3a	New Zealand 40/4 off 7	New Zealand
	Sri Lanka 41/2 off 11
4-3b	Sri Lanka 6/2 off 4.4	New Zealand
5-1a	Sri Lanka 27/1 off 14.2	New Zealand
5-1b	Sri Lanka 33/0 off 19	Sri Lanka
5-2a	Sri Lanka 14/1 off 16	New Zealand
5-2b	Sri Lanka 47/1 off 16	draw
5-3a	Sri Lanka 27/3 off 4.5	New Zealand

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First drinks, Day 1: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 1-0

A terrible start for New Zealand. A good ball in the first over to dismiss Guptill followed by a fairly average decision against Brendon McCullum. After that Williamson generally looked solid, pushing good balls for singles. Taylor, however, went for the big shots and narrowly avoided being caught a number of times. These two have survived, but they are certainly not looking unflappable.

Lunch, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied up, 1-1

This is a solid reply from Williamson and Taylor. They have both settled down and are starting to dominate the bowling. Taylor is scoring quite freely while Williamson is being a bit more patient.

Middle drinks, Day 1: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 2-1

This was an absorbing period of play. The highlight was watching the mental battle between Jayawardene and Taylor. There's often something magical about those battles when a captain is batting well. Mahela used a 3-6 legside field and had Randiv bowling just outsie off stump to Taylor. Taylor has recently been dismissed quite frequently playing cover drives against balls that are coming in to him. It was clear that he had decided to remove that shot from his repertoire. Without it, he was hitting with the spin to the leg side and often was unable to score. It was a chance to see who would blink first. Taylor won the little battle, managing to find about 5 or 6 singles through the packed legside field before Jaywardene abandoned the plan.

Tea, Day 1: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 3-1

Sri Lanka have tried hard to restrict New Zealand. Jayawardene has set very defensive fields, waiting for a mistake from the batsmen. It didn't really make for an action packed hour, but there was certainly tension. It was an hour for purists, more than casual fans, but it was a good hour for purists.

Stumps, Day 1: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 4-1

I combined the final two mini-sessions, as there were only 3 overs bowled after drinks. It was another good hour (and a bit) for New Zealand. Ross Taylor brought up his hundred, and Williamson is on 95. A current NZ player said that he felt that Williamson was going to be remembered as either New Zealand's best batsman ever or New Zealand's best batsman since Martin Crowe. This performance shows why they rate him so highly. While he hasn't scored freely, he has not been bogged down, and has looked incredibly solid. Taylor is scoring much more quickly, but is looking a lot less solid. I have been somewhat critical of Taylor for not converting starts to big scores. He now has 119*, but his team needs him to keep scoring tomorrow. He should really be looking at becoming the 13th New Zealander to score a double century, just as the previous captain did last time New Zealand played a test at the P. Sara stadium.

Stumps, Day 2: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 7-4

Soutee and Boult picked up where Taylor and Williamson left off. These two are a special combination. If they remain injury free, they could be the best spearhead New Zealand have had since Bond and Cairns or even Hadlee and Chatfield. In his 6 over spell Southee bowled balls that swung out, seamed out, seamed in, cut in and went straight on. Boult didn't have quite the variation, but managed to take an inside edge, a couple of outside edges and a top edge, as well as a play and miss that went between bat and pad. And they were not bowling to bad batsmen on a green wicket. They were bowling to one of the most formidable batting line ups in the world, in their own conditions, on a pitch that had been described as "benign", "friendly" and "a batting paradise".

Earlier Herath continued to find ways to get New Zealand batsmen out. He removed both of the set batsmen, and then found out a way to get another 4 wickets to keep his incredible run going. Sri Lanka are relying on him heavily too. He has taken 17 wickets at 12.41 so far this series. The rest of the bowlers have taken 13 wickets at 41.15. If Herath takes 6 more in the second innings he will break the record for the most wickets in a 2 match series. I would not be a masssive surprise if he achieved it.

Lunch, Day 3: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 8-5

A couple of breakthroughs from Southee and the match is starting to look like it is in New Zealand's favour. It's often difficult to tell how a match is going until both teams have batted, but New Zealand look to be edging it here.

Tea, Day 3: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 9-6

The match keeps advancing. Patel and Astle kept the Sri Lankan batsmen reasonably quiet, but, other than a couple of moments, didn't look particularly threatening. But they have used up the majority of the old ball, and managerged to give Southee and Boult a rest. The next hour is one of those hours where the game could potentially could change very quickly. If Sri Lanka survive the hour without losing any wickets, then they will probably get into a position they are unlikely to lose from. New Zealand need at least two wickets to put themselves in a position to continue to enforce their will on the match. One wicket and the game is still up in the air.

Stumps, Day 3: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 9-7

While it is a stretch to say that Sri Lanka are on top, Suraj Randiv is playing an innings that one would not expect from someone who had only scored 108 runs from his last 15 innings. Sri Lanka will still need to bat well in the tricky morning session with the new ball.

First drinks, Day 4: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 10-7

Boult has previously not been very effective against the tail. Today he reversed that. New Zealand picked up the last 4 Sri Lankan wickets for only 19 runs.

Lunch, Day 4: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 10-7

New Zealand probably need a lead of about 350 before they will be confident of a win. That means they need 180. So they are a third of the way there. But in removing both openers, Sri Lanka are about a third of the way to the tail, so the honours are really quite even. It would have easily been New Zealand's hour if McCullum hadn't been stumped. That wicket was a great piece of orthodox spin bowling. Herath drew McCullum forward, but bowled it slower than McCullum expected, meaning that he stretched forward that extra couple of centimetres, enough that his foot was on the line, rather than behind it.

Middle drinks, Day 4: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 10-8

At 74/2 it looked like New Zealand were starting to dominate. 4 balls later it was 75/5 and it looked like Sri Lanka were going to pull off a massive momentum swing. Then a small partnership is threatening to swing it back to New Zealand. Isn't test cricket wonderful!

Tea, Day 4: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 11-8

This was very much New Zealand's hour. A fantastic partnership, and the ball started going up and down. This could lead to an intrigueing end.

Final drinks, Day 4: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 12-8

My normally reliable formula awarded that mini-session to Sri Lanka, despite it being clearly won by New Zealand. That really shows part of the beauty of test cricket, context is very important. It's why Faf du Plessis won man of the match in Adelaide despite scoring significantly fewer runs than Clarke. Context is important in test cricket. New Zealand losing the wickets while trying to get through to the declaration target was irrelevent to everything except for the individual players averages. If New Zealand were going to declare at 54 overs anyway, then it was only the runs that counted. Likewise while Sri Lanka scored reasonably quickly, losing the two wickets were more important than a good scoring rate in the first 10 overs. All four possible results are still on offer after that hour, but a draw became less likely.

Stumps, Day 4: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 13-8

Another short final "hour", but one that might prove decisive. For two reasons. Firstly Sri Lanka lost two very important wickets, but secondly Doug Bracewell looked like he was back. New Zealand has a very well balanced pace attack with him bowling well. He gets wickets in a different manner to Boult and Southee, and doesn't rely on the new ball as much as they do, so him bowling well will greatly improve New Zealand's chances of taking out the match.

First drinks, Day 5: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 14-8

The wicket was a run out, and won't be assigned to a bowler, but Doug Bracewell contributed to that, as Samaraweera was looking uncomfortable against Bracewell, and was trying to get off strike. It's a big breakthrough for New Zealand, because, other than Bracewell hitting Samaraweera, the batsmen hadn't played a false shot all morning.

End of match, Day 5: New Zealand win the match, and the mini-session count 16-9

New Zealand have found some bowlers. Once Southee and Boult had the new ball in their hands the result looked inevitable. Bobby Fulton is reported to have said that the next great bowlers would be a swing bowler. The idea is that the batsmen's techniques have entropied to such a degree that they get out of position easily. Allan Donald suggested that he felt Tim Southee could become the best bowler in the world. It's probably too early for that, but Boult and Southee are certainly looking good. Angelo Mathews worked hard all day to try and save the match. He batted for abut 6 hours, but almost ran out of partners, so started hitting the ball hard. He scored 20 runs in 8 balls, before finding Guptill at second slip trying to hit a straight one over midwicket. Taylor has now won 30% of his matches. While he has really only just started, it's not a bad start. New Zealand's most winning captains, Howarth and Fleming won 36% and 35% respectively.

Mini-session Analysis, 2nd test, India England, Mumbai, 2012/13

Here is the mini-session analysis for the second test between India and England at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India

A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.

Mini-Session	Score	Winner
1-1a	India 50/1 off 14	India
1-1b	India 37/2 off 14	England
1-2a	India 47/2 off 18	England
1-2b	India 33/0 off 14	India
1-3a	India 45/1 off 14	draw
1-3b	India 54/0 off 16	India
2-1a	India 27/1 off 17	England
2-1b	India 34/3 off 8.1	England
	England 7/0 off 4
2-2a	England 42/0 off 17	England
2-2b	England 28/2 off 15	India
2-3a	England 65/0 off 16	England
2-3b	England 36/0 off 13	England
3-1a	England 78/0 off 16	England
3-1b	England 42/2 off 12.4	India
3-2a	England 71/1 off 17.2	England
3-2b	England 44/5 off 10.3	India
3-3a	India 46/2 off 14	England
3-3b	India 71/5 off 19	England
4-1a	India 25/3 off 11.1	England
4-1b	England 58/0 off 9.4	England

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First drinks, Day 1: India lead the mini-session count 1-0

This first hour was microcosm of the rollercoaster of emotion that is test cricket. England lose the toss again, and after the first ball goes to the fence they must have wanted to dig a hole, as it would have felt very similar . However the next ball saw Gambhir heading back to the pavilion. England would have felt like this was going to be their day. The rest of the hour, however, was them chasing leather as Sehwag and Pujara worked the ball around the ground without ever really looking troubled.

Lunch, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied up, 1-1

Welcome back to test cricket Monty Panesar. After he got smashed in his first over, a lot of captains would have pulled him off. Not captain Cook. He stuck with him, and it paid dividends. First Sehwag then Tendulkar, not a bad brace for his first two wickets of the tour.

Middle drinks, Day 1: England lead the mini-session count 2-1

I think they have two pitchs here. One of them is being batted on by Cheteshwar Pujara and the other pitch is being batted on by everyone else. This might be a short test. If the Indian batsmen are having trouble with the spin, how will the English batsmen fare?

Tea, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied up, 2-2

Great fightback from India. Pujara was lucky to survive a dropped catch 4 balls after drinks, but after that he and Dhoni have quietly gone about building the innings. A score of 300 would probably give India the advantage in this match.

Final drinks, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied up, 2-2

England removed Dhoni, but Ashwin has stood tall so far. There is still the threat of the new ball, which might be a chance for England to get into the tail.

Stumps, Day 1: India lead the mini-session count 3-2

Cheteshwar Pujara probably wishes he was playing against England every week. He's just kept collecting runs, scoring in his areas and denying the bowlers if they are not bowling in his scoring zones. His temperment may be similar to Dravid, but he is his own man, and he could be a real asset for India. As yet he hasn't shown much in his two matches outside India, and he had trouble picking Jeetan Patel, so he might really struggle with Narine or Ajmal, but regardless he looks like a real talent.

Stumps, Day 2: England lead the mini-session count 7-4

England clearly won the day. However they still have a lot of work to do to be in the lead in the match. India may be regretting going with only one seamer, as Zaheer probably looked the most dangerous of the Indian bowlers on day 2. Possibly that will change, however, by the time day 5 arrives.

First drinks, Day 3: England lead the mini-session count 8-4

India have just let this game slide by. They need to start making the game happen, because waiting for Cook and Pietersen to make a mistake might take a while.

Lunch, Day 3: England lead the mini-session count 8-5

India strike, but England are still looking good. They are only 30 runs away from having a lead, with only 4 wickets down. It's a cliche, but the next couple of hours will be vital.

Tea, Day 3: England lead the mini-session count 9-6

A big partnership followed by an epic collapse. This is somewhat fimiliar. The only difference from the usual English performance in the subcontinent is the size of the partnership. England lead by 86, which might be enough to counter the disadvantage of having to bat last, but the game is really still in the balance.

Final drinks, Day 3: England lead the mini-session count 10-6

When Sehwag was dismissed England were happy, but when Pujara was dismissed the whole team lifted. India are in some trouble now.

Lunch, Day 4: England lead the mini-session count 13-6

A clinical performance by England. A complete reversal from the first match. The third test will be really interesting now. Was this just a follow-on hangover, just an aberation or a change in the momentum of the whole series?

Part of the beauty of sport is that we will get to find out in a few days, once test 3 arrives.

Mini-session Analysis 2nd test, Australia vs South Africa, Adelaide 2012/13

Here is the final mini-session analysis for the second test between Australia and South Africa at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia

A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.

Mini-Session	Score	Winner
1-1a	Australia 44/2 off 12	South Africa
1-1b	Australia 58/1 off 13	Australia
1-2a	Australia 108/1 off 12.2	Australia
1-2b	Australia 70/0 off 13.4	Australia
1-3a	Australia 98/0 off 17	Australia
1-3b	Australia 104/1 off 18.5	Australia
2-1a	Australia 22/4 off 13.1	South Africa
2-1b	Australia 46/1 off 7.2	Australia
	South Africa 3/0 off 4
2-2a	South Africa 57/0 off 16	South Africa
2-2b	South Africa 57/0 off 15	South Africa
2-3a	South Africa 46/1 off 14	South Africa
2-3b	South Africa 54/1 off 18	South Africa
3-1a	South Africa 28/3 off 14	Australia
3-1b	South Africa 28/2 off 14	Australia
3-2a	South Africa 58/0 off 17	South Africa
3-2b	South Africa 7/3 off 12.3	Australia
3-3a	Australia 73/0 off 15	Australia
3-3b	Australia 38/5 off 17	South Africa
4-1a	Australia 43/0 off 12	Australia
4-1b	Australia 52/2 off 14	South Africa
4-2a	Australia 61/1 off 12	Australia
4-2b	South Africa 40/2 off 13	Australia
4-3a	South Africa 27/2 off 22	Australia
4-3b	South Africa 10/0 off 15	Australia
5-1a	South Africa 24/0 off 17	South Africa
5-1b	South Africa 25/0 off 18	South Africa
5-2a	South Africa 45/1 off 15	draw
5-2b	South Africa 41/0 off 17	South Africa
5-3a	South Africa 21/1 off 14	Australia
5-3b	South Africa 15/2 off 17	South Africa

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First drinks, Day 1: South Africa lead the mini-session count 1-0

Warner and Cowan started off with a hiss and a roar, but Kallis and Morkel made two quick break-throughs to take the first hour. Kallis has held his pace back a little bit, and managed to take the wicket of Cowan in his first over.

Lunch, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied up, 1-1

A great first session. Lots of runs and lots of wickets. Often when 3 quick wickets fall the batting side go into their shells. Not Clarke and Warner. These two just came out swinging. Almost 4 an over after the fall of the 3rd wicket. Outstanding. However the biggest moment in this hour was when Kallis limped off. Losing him makes a big gap in the South African line-up. They will be sweating on his hamstring strain being just something minor.

Middle drinks, Day 1: Australia lead the mini-session count 2-1

Another hour of attack from Australia. There was some pressure on David Warner coming into this match. There is likely to be a little less pressure after that effort. It was a sensational innings. Clarke is looking solid again, he has just been sensational since taking over as captain.

Tea, Day 1: Australia lead the mini-session count 3-1

This might be the start of another big Clarke - Hussey partnership. They have made it to a 50 partnership more than once every 4 times they have batted together, and to 100 roughly once in 7. While they haven't scored quite as quickly as Warner, but they are still going at a ridiculous 5 an over.

Final drinks, Day 1: Australia lead the mini-session count 4-1

Hussey and Clarke are relentless. South Africa went into this series with a bowling line-up that was rated as the best in the world, and possibly the best ever. But they are looking like they have been deflated at the moment.

Stumps, Day 1: Australia lead the mini-session count 5-1

What a day of cricket. South Africa are in some serious trouble here. In all likelyhood they are going to be chasing leather for a while again tomorrow, then will be batting without Jacques Kallis in their top 6. The only glimmer of hope for South Africa is that they have a new ball, a new batsman to the crease, and the bowlers will be fresh(er) tomorrow morning. If they can clean up the tail quickly they can potentially get themselves back into the match very quickly as a swing in momentum could play big psychological tricks on the Australians.

Tea, Day 2: Australia lead the mini-session count 6-4

People are describing this as a good pitch. I'm not so sure. I like an even contest between bat and ball, and this pitch seems too even, with too little grass. There is some bounce, but that isn't likely to bother either of these sides. There is not much movement off the seam, not much spin and a lush outfield, so there's not likely to be any reverse swing. The first day, and first morning of the second day should provide more of a test for the batsmen than this pitch has.

Final drinks, Day 2: Australia lead the mini-session count 6-5

As a junior cricket coach I have seen some appaling runing between wickets. However I can honestly say that Petersen just produced the worst piece of running I've seen this season. The batsman should normally run down the other side of the wicket to the non-striker. The batsman should never assume the ball is going to be thrown to the keeper. Finally the batsman should slide his bat, rather than plonking it over the line. For a close run a dive is also a good idea. Petersen broke almost every rule of good running. Sometimes a run out is a sign of positive intent. This was not one of those run outs. It may also prove to be a vital moment. The Australians had started to drop their heads, and Petersen gave them back some energy.

Stumps, Day 2: The mini-session count is tied up, 6-6

South Africa probably finish the day slightly in the lead, which, after the first day, is almost miraculous. It started with Morne Morkel, then Petersen and Smith and finally Rudolph. I still think that this pitch isn't very good in terms of getting a result, but it has produced an even contest.

Stumps, Day 3: Australia lead the mini-session count 10-8

Cricinfo proclaimed this as Australia's day. They won 4 mini-sessions, but I think that South Africa are actually slightly in the lead. The late wickets have put South Africa in a position where they may end up chasing 350 with a day and a half to do it, and Australia down one of their strike bowlers. Game on.

First drinks, Day 4: Australia lead the mini-session count 11-8

Michael Hussey has batted very well this morning. South Africa's bowlers, however (with the exception of Morkel) have looked toothless. Tahir in particular has looked awful. His strategy of bowling round the wikcet to Michael Clarke looks as sensible as open windows in a submarine.

Lunch, Day 4: Australia lead the mini-session count 11-9

South Africa struck back, but it's feels like too little too late. South Africa is going to need a fantastic effort to come back from this.

Middle drinks, Day 4: Australia lead the mini-session count 12-9

Australia are now in firm control of this match. They had the audacity to declare, as South Africa had taken too long to bowl them out. In the process Imran Tahir has claimed a record that has stood for over 50 years, the player who has conceded the most runs without taking a wicket. 430 will be a phenomenal chase, but South Africa are a team who has a history of unrealistic chases against Australia.

Tea, Day 4: Australia lead the mini-session count 13-9

South Africa are in significant trouble now.

Stumps, Day 4: Australia lead the mini-session count 15-9

The race is now on between Australia and the draw. The idea of South Africa winning is starting to fade. The thing that they do have in their favour is that they will get to use the roller in the morning, and the pitch will settle down for a while. The only issue is that it won't stay flat for ever. Unless de Villiers and du Plessis pull out something remarkable, South Africa are at distinct risk of finishing second in this match.

Stumps, Day 5: Australia win the mini-session count 16-13

Such a dramatic finish. It's the first time that a team has scored 2/15 off 17 overs, and been awarded the mini-session. Faf du Plessis has done very well to keep the wolves at bay, and carry South Africa to a historic draw. He was cramping up, and getting treatment regularly, but batted on bravely and now has a place in South African cricketing folk-lore. In amongst the action, Nathan Lyon managed to bowl a spell of 11 overs, 11 maidens, 1 wicket for 0 runs. That's a very impressive set of numbers, but perhaps giving away a few runs to get an extra wicket might have been a better idea.

Some records from Day 1 Australia vs South Africa in Adeliade 2012/13

Here are some stats/records/trivia that I've noticed from day one of the test between Australia and South Africa.  In no way is this exhaustive, as there has been a lot of things happen on this day.

It is the second highest score by a team on the first day of a test, narrowly behind Australia's 494 against South Africa in Sydney in 1910/11

Clarke became the first person to score 4 double centuries in a calendar year.

Three players hit centuries on the first day of a test. I know that there has never been 4 players hit centuries, and haven't been able to find any other incident of a third century being completed on the first day.

Other interesting trivia:

It was Clarke and Hussey's fourth double century partnership, and second in succession.

Two South African bowlers (Morkel and Tahir) also got (less desired) centuries.

Two South African bowlers (Kallis and Steyn) had to leave the field with an injury mid-over. This is the first incident I could find of this happening twice in a day.

Mini-session analysis, 2nd test, Ban WI, Khulna, 2012/13

The two Darrens, Sammy and Bravo, celebrate the wicket of Shahriar Nafees

© WICB Media

Here is the mini-session analysis for the second test between Bangladesh and West Indies at Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium, Khulna, Bangladesh

A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.

Mini-Session	Score	Winner
1-1a	Bangladesh 47/1 off 12	Bangladesh
1-1b	Bangladesh 41/2 off 14	West Indies
1-2a	Bangladesh 44/2 off 14	West Indies
1-2b	Bangladesh 54/1 off 14	Bangladesh
1-3a	Bangladesh 72/2 off 13	Bangladesh
1-3b	Bangladesh 107/0 off 19	Bangladesh
2-1a	Bangladesh 22/2 off 5.1	draw
2-1b	West Indies 62/2 off 21	Bangladesh
2-2a	West Indies 45/0 off 15	West Indies
2-2b	West Indies 39/0 off 15	West Indies
2-3a	West Indies 41/0 off 16	West Indies
2-3b	West Indies 54/0 off 15	West Indies
3-1a	West Indies 59/0 off 13	West Indies
3-1b	West Indies 69/1 off 16	West Indies
3-2a	West Indies 35/0 off 15	West Indies
3-2b	West Indies 58/0 off 15	West Indies
3-3a	West Indies 56/0 off 19	West Indies
3-3b	West Indies 46/1 off 12	West Indies
4-1a	West Indies 41/0 off 16	West Indies
4-1b	West Indies 34/4 off 10	Bangladesh
4-2a	West Indies 9/1 off 2.3	Bangladesh
	Bangladesh 51/3 off 8.4
4-2b	Bangladesh 34/2 off 12.2	West Indies
4-3a	Bangladesh 67/0 off 16	Bangladesh
4-3b	Bangladesh 74/1 off 19.1	Bangladesh
5-1a	Bangladesh 57/3 off 10.5	West Indies
5-1b	Bangladesh 4/1 off 3.1	West Indies
	West Indies 30/0 off 4.4

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First drinks, Day 1: Bangladesh lead the mini-session count 1-0

What a start for Bangladesh. After the initial loss of Nazimuddin Bangladesh went on the offensive. 47 runs in 12 overs has meant that they have an immediate platform to build on. Sammy was worried enough that he brought himself on to bowl after only 4 overs. Often captains over bowl themselves, but if anything Sammy underbowls himself in helpful conditions. There is not much pace in this pitch, but Sammy probably brought himself on more to dry up runs than to take wickets. Whatever the idea was, it didn't seem to work, as he had 0-16 off his 4 overs.

Lunch, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied up, 1-1

Captain Sammy strikes back! Perhaps he did have a plan when he brought himself on to bowl. I would hazard a guess that that was the first time that Tamim Iqbal has ever been bowled without playing a shot. I certainly can't see him repeating that mistake too many times in the future.

Final drinks, Day 1: Bangladesh lead the mini-session count 3-2

Bangladesh seem to be intent on not allowing this game to go into the fifth day. They have taken an all out attack approach to the day's play. The upside of this is that they will have plenty of time to bowl West Indies out. The downside is that they are unlikely to put together a big score.

One impressive thing is that despite the barrage, Darren Sammy has kept the field up. Traditionally he had conceded more single runs than boundary runs but he has obviously been less afraid to concede boundaries, and instead is still attacking.

Stumps, Day 1: Bangladesh lead the mini-session count 4-2

Take a bow Abdul Hasan. A previous best first class score of 61, and he goes out and hits a magnificent 100 off 106 balls on test debut. That is really some fairy story. Bangladesh now have the opportunity to score over 400 in two consecutive matches for the first time in their history. Perhaps throwing the bat at the ball was a good tactic after all.

Lunch, Day 2: Bangladesh lead the mini-session count 5-2

While Bangladesh have won the most hours, West Indies are probably slightly in the lead in the match. They need a big score here, however, as they are going to have to bat last on this pitch, which is already starting to keep low, and Sohag Gazi seems to be a quite tricky customer.

Middle drinks, Day 2: Bangladesh lead the mini-session count 5-3

At the same time as Australia are hitting the South African bowlers to all partsin Adelaide, the West Indian batsmen are content to gradually accumulate their runs against Bangladesh here in Khulna. There don't seem to be too many terrors in this pitch, so Bravo and Samuels are being careful to make sure they don't get themselves out. I'm not sure how long they will keep this up. It will be interesting to see how long they can rein in their natural games.

Tea, Day 2: Bangladesh lead the mini-session count 5-4

Another steady hour from the West Indies. Samuels is starting to get into the swing of things quite nicely, where as Bravo seems to be almost batting himself out of form. Not hitting the bad ball to the boundary is not somehow being disciplined, it's actually just bad batting.

Stumps, Day 2: West Indies lead the mini-session count 6-5

Perhaps there was method to Bravo's madness. This partnership may have scored at a paltry rate of 2.85 an over, but both batsmen are still there. Marlon Samuels has never scored a big century. This is his 5th time reaching 100, but his highest score is still 123. He is having a fantastic year with the bat, (he's only scored less than 50 four times this year) but he really needs a big hundred to top it off. Perhaps tomorrow is his chance.

Lunch, Day 3: West Indies lead the mini-session count 8-5

Whatever Marlon Samuels had for breakfast today it had a different effect to yesterday's meal. Yesterday he scored 109 from 231 deliveries. Today he has scored 80 off 77. He has finally got past the "just got to 100" stage and is starting to build a big innings. This could be a long day in the field for Bangladesh.

Middle drinks, Day 3: West Indies lead the mini-session count 9-5

A double century for Samuels, his first in tests and third in first class cricket. However when the wicket fell, the match was set up for ready for someone to come out and attack. Instead Chanderpaul came out and scored 10 off 43. Not really what the situation called for.

Tea, Day 3: West Indies lead the mini-session count 10-5

I take back my slight on Chanderpaul. He was obviously just getting his eye in. And now that he is seeing it he is hitting it. Now that even Chanderpaul is going for it, we could be in for some fireworks.

Stumps, Day 3: West Indies lead the mini-session count 12-5

West Indies have mixed attack and defence well to put together a large lead. Three century makers already, and they still have 6 wickets in hand. Samuels worked hard for his 260. It has been part of a trend of dramatically improved performances with the bat for him since October last year. Before then he averaged 29, since then he has averaged 62.38. That is a phenomonal transformation. He is fourth this year (at time of writing) on averages (given at least 10 innings). He is really starting to repay the patience that the West Indies selectors showed him earlier in his career.

Stumps, Day 4: West Indies lead the mini-session count 14-9

West Indies are in a dominiant position now in this match. The only hope that Bangladesh have is that they could bat out the whole day and hold out for a draw, or that there would be a freak weather event. Neither of these seem even remotely likely.

First drinks, Day 5: West Indies lead the mini-session count 15-9

Bangladesh have managed to avoid the innings defeat. However they will not be happy with the way that some of the wickets have fallen. There have been some very injudicous shots.

Lunch, Day 5: West Indies lead the mini-session count 16-9

That brings a close to a game where Bangladesh have been willing, aggressive and somewhat brainless. West Indies have been clinical. I'd assume that Samuels will be man of the match, although Tino Best deserves credit for the fantastic 5 wicket bag in the second innings.

Mini-session Analysis Sri Lanka vs NZ, Galle, 2012/13

Here is the final mini-session analysis for the first test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka

A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.

Mini-Session	Score	Winner
1-1a	New Zealand 45/3 off 12	Sri Lanka
1-1b	New Zealand 35/0 off 16	New Zealand
1-2a	New Zealand 52/1 off 17	New Zealand
1-2b	New Zealand 23/2 off 15.3	Sri Lanka
1-3a	New Zealand 51/2 off 16.3	Sri Lanka
1-3b	New Zealand 15/2 off 5.5	draw
	Sri Lanka 9/1 off 5
2-1a	Sri Lanka 41/4 off 11	New Zealand
2-1b	Sri Lanka 55/0 off 14	Sri Lanka
2-2a	Sri Lanka 55/0 off 13	Sri Lanka
2-2b	Sri Lanka 30/0 off 14	Sri Lanka
2-3a	Sri Lanka 28/2 off 12	New Zealand
2-3b	Sri Lanka 29/3 off 11.2	New Zealand
	New Zealand 35/1 off 10
3-1a	New Zealand 20/2 off 13	Sri Lanka
3-1b	New Zealand 41/5 off 14	Sri Lanka
3-2a	New Zealand 22/2 off 7.1	Sri Lanka
	Sri Lanka 58/0 off 13
3-2b	Sri Lanka 35/0 off 5.3	Sri Lanka

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First drinks, Day 1: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 1-0

New Zealand decided to attack the bowling, and it generally looked like a good idea. What they didn't count on was the superb bowling of Shaminda Eranga. He picked up 2 wickets in three balls to defensive shots. Both were fantastic deliveries that bounced sharply and moved both in the air and off the pitch.

Ross Taylor, however, managed to (again) play a cover drive to a wide ball and edge it into his stumps. I grew up watching Ken Rutherford batting, and saw him cut the ball into his stumps in seemingly half his innings. Ross Taylor is starting to do the same thing with the cover drive.

Lunch, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied up, 1-1

Slow progress, but steady progress. Brendon McCullum went into his shell for a while after Taylor got out, he went from 17 off 15 to 21 off 53, but started scoring again after that. New Zealand will be happy with that hour.

Middle drinks, Day 1: New Zealand lead the mini-session count 2-1

Another wicket to a defensive shot. This time it was Brendon McCullum, and it was an important breakthrough. McCullum and Flynn had weathered the earlier storm, and were starting to build a big partnership. However a great ball from Herath put an end to the partnership at 90.

Final drinks, Day 1: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 3-2

Rangana Herath has managed to find some startling bounce from this pitch. There has been some spin, but the bounce has been the real factor in the wickets. Normally a spinner taking wickets on the first day is hugely concerning for a team like New Zealand. However this is somewhat different, as the pace and bounce in the wicket is likely to reduce as the time goes on.

Stumps, Day 1: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 3-2

Boult and Southee showed that this is certainly a bowlers pitch. There was a lot of swing for both bowlers as well as good bounce and a little movement off the pitch. Doug Bracewell may be a real handful on this pitch.

First drinks, Day 2: The mini-session count is tied up, 3-3

All of a sudden New Zealand's score looks enormous. Boult and Southee have had Sri Lanka in all sorts of trouble. There have been 2 catches dropped as well as the 4 wickets that have gone down, and also a number of close lbw shouts and balls bouncing in front of slips. Ross Taylor shelled a regulation chance, for about the fifth time this year. He was an outstanding slipper before he became captain, but it seems that while he is batting better than ever since becoming captain, it may have had an impact on his focus in the field. He might like to think about doing what a number of captains have done throughout test history and move himself to mid off.

Lunch, Day 2: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 4-3

A good little fight back from Jayawardene and Mathews. These two look like they are batting on a different pitch to the others, or perhaps it's just that Doug Bracewell and James Franklin are not nearly as threatening as Boult and Southee were.

Middle drinks, Day 2: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 5-3

This partnership is starting to build well. These two are taking the game back for Sri Lanka. New Zealand are still probably on top, but not by much.

Tea, Day 2: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 6-3

Things are starting to get serious for New Zealand here. Once the ball stopped swinging the New Zealand bowlers started to look toothless. With Bracewell so horribly out of form the bowling attack is a lot less potent.

Final drinks, Day 2: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 6-4

New Zealand finally make the breakthrough, and from a strange source, James Franklin. Coming into this match, Franklin had only taken one wicket in 120 overs. Even Harry Cave, possibly the most defensive bowler in history, managed to take a wicket every 20 overs. The task for the Sri Lanka tail now is to score as many runs as possible before the new ball arrives and they have to face Boult and Southee with a swinging ball.

Stumps, Day 2: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 6-5

There was some symmetry in that it took 2 deliveries with the new ball to clean up the tail for each team. Then New Zealand had to face an awkward final session, just as Sri Lanka had to last night. Both teams lost a wicket, but the way it happened couldn't be more different. Where as Boult and Southee had the Sri Lankan openers under pressure, the New Zealand openers did not look to be having too much trouble before McCullum had a brain explosion. Herath had dropped short earlier in the over, and McCullum deposited him into the stand. Two balls later Herath bowled another slow, short one, but this was a little wider, and when McCullum tried to repeat the shot he mis-timed it straight to Nuwan Kulasekara. The approach of making the bowlers pay for a bad ball is completely correct, but the way of doing it was not. A pull shot along the ground for four would have hurt the bowler almost as much as putting him into the stand, but without nearly as much risk. It's easy to criticise from my couch, but that was not the best option Brendon McCullum has ever taken.

First drinks, Day 3: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 7-5

A very cautious start from Guptill and Williamson did not bring the benefits that they would have hoped for. Both were dismissed without adding much to their overnight score, after both allowed the bowlers to settle. Taylor has looked slightly more positive, but has still looked like he is more intent on survival than scoring. Kulasekara is looking very good, and Herath is bowling with good control, without really looking like he's doing much with the ball yet.

Lunch, Day 3: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 8-5

Rangana Herath is giving a masterclass in orthodox spin bowling here. He is setting up batsmen, testing their skills and their mental stability. And finding them wanting.

His dismissal of Flynn should be watched by every young spin bowler as an example of how to bowl spin. He bowled with the same loop that his slower deliveries have, but a little faster. As a result the ball was closer to Flynn than he expected, and caused him to get his feet in the wrong place. The ball then turned sharply, between bat and pad, and crashed into the stumps. It was spin bowling poetry. If a spinner can get a batsman playing off the wrong foot any turn they get is amplified. Herath has spun some deliveries sharply, but it has been what he has done in the air that has allowed the spin to be dangerous. People will look at the score card from this match and think that this pitch is a minefield. It isn't. Instead we have seen an exhibition of quality bowling on a pitch that simply allows the bowlers to show what they can do.

Middle drinks, Day 3: Sri Lanka lead the mini-session count 9-5

The writing was on the wall for New Zealand during Trent Boult's first over. Not a single ball swung. Boult is a swing bowler. If it isn't swinging he has a lot less to offer. He still managed to extract a couple of edges, but one bounced in front of the slips, and the other went wide of third slip to the fence for 4. Bracewell looks a shadow of the bowler who destroyed Australia in Hobart. He doesn't look like he has any weapons to challenge quality batsmen at the moment. Dimuth Karunaratne has looked impressive. While he edged a couple early on, once he got his eye in he has really dominated the bowling. It will take a collapse of 1920's proportions for Sri Lanka to lose it from here.

End of match: Sri Lanka win the mini-session count 10-5

Sri Lanka win the match, after completely dominating this day. New Zealand had no answer to Herath, and they need to find one before the second test in Colombo.

Mini-session Analysis, India vs England, Ahmedabad 2012/3

Here is the final mini-session analysis for the first test between India and England at Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, India

A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.

Mini-Session	Score	Winner
1-1a	India 61/0 off 13	India
1-1b	India 59/0 off 15	India
1-2a	India 70/1 off 15	India
1-2b	India 60/2 off 15	England
1-3a	India 32/0 off 17	draw
1-3b	India 41/1 off 15	England
2-1a	India 44/0 off 16	India
2-1b	India 43/0 off 15	India
2-2a	India 37/2 off 16	England
2-2b	India 55/0 off 15	India
2-3a	India 19/2 off 8	England
2-3b	England 41/3 off 18	India
3-1a	England 29/2 off 17	India
3-1b	England 40/2 off 17	India
3-2a	England 34/1 off 14.4	India
3-2b	England 47/2 off 7.4	draw
3-3a	England 53/0 off 18	England
3-3b	England 58/0 off 20	England
4-1a	England 32/1 off 16	India
4-1b	England 39/2 off 15	India
4-2a	England 42/2 off 14	India
4-2b	England 40/0 off 17	England
4-3a	England 49/0 off 15	England
4-3b	England 27/0 off 13	England
5-1a	England 25/2 off 13.3	India
5-1b	England 41/3 off 13	India
5-2a	India 80/1 off 15.3	India

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First drinks, Day 1: India lead the mini-session count 1-0

India won the toss, and then took immediate advantage. Sehwag showed that he's not really in such bad form as people have said that he is.

Lunch, Day 1: India lead the mini-session count 2-0

If India's batting isn't enough of a worry for England (and it should be), the turn that Samit Patel and Graeme Swann have managed to get on the first day would be. While the turn is reasonably slow, it will get more and more tricky as the game continues.

India, on the other hand will be hoping for more Diwali foreworks from Sehwag and Gambhir.

Tea, Day 1: India lead the mini-session count 3-1

England finally have something go their way. Swann had a good battle with Gambhir. Gambhir was trying to cut, Swann was trying to cramp him. Eventually one slipped through and Swann had his man. Then Swann picked up two big scalps, Sehwag and Tendalkur.

There had been a train of thought that there was no point in bowling spin against India because thier batsmen had such good techniques against spin. Jeetan Patel proved that wrong in picking up 7 in the last series India played. Quality spin still gets out batsmen with a good technique against spin, and Graeme Swann is a quality spinner. India still hold the cards, but not as convincingly.

Final drinks, Day 1: India lead the mini-session count 3-1

Pretty much nothing happened in the last hour other than a dropped catch that Trott claimed.

Stumps, Day 1: India lead the mini-session count 3-2

England have done well to come back into the game, but they are still behind. India will be disappointed with some of the shot selection, but happy with the overall progress. It's good to see Yuvraj Singh back in the side, and looking good.

Stumps, Day 2: India lead the mini-session count 7-4

India win another day. It wasn't as comprehensive as the scorecard suggests, but it wasn't far off it. Nick Compton struggled to score against the spinners, and will seriously need to look at how he is going to turn over the strike if he wants to make it at international level. Ashwin and Ojha are good bowlers, but they turn into great bowlers if you allow them to settle in and dictate terms. Speaking from personal experience, even a bad spin bowler can become very effective against a one dimensional batsman who doesn't enforce their will, and just allows things to happen. Alastair Cook on the other hand was looking reasonably comfortable. Hardly any bad balls did not end up at the boundary, and he moved his feet well. Umesh Yadav must be wondering if he's actually playing this test, as he has yet to bat or bowl.

First drinks, Day 3: India lead the mini-session count 8-4

England's batsmen again managed to find out ways to get out to spin. Cook was lucky to survive an lbw appeal, in what seems to be Tony Hill's attempt to get India to embrace the DRS.

Lunch, Day 3: India lead the mini-session count 9-4

All over England people are waking up to the bad news that their team are in serious trouble. The ball is dominating the bat as much as the bat dominated the ball when India was batting.

Middle drinks, Day 3: India lead the mini-session count 10-4

A good partnership ends with a great delivery. England are going to have to have some big runs from the tail if they want to avoid the follow-on.

Stumps, Day 3: India lead the mini-session count 10-6

After India enforced the follow on, England's openers have negotiated the final session. Nick Compton is still too slow for my liking. I feel that rotating the strike is an important part of a solid defense. Dhoni made an interesting decision to open with Ojha and Yadav rather than Ashwin and Zaheer Khan. I'm not sure that Ojha is suited to bowling with the new ball as much as Ashwin is.

First drinks, Day 4: India lead the mini-session count 11-6

Cook continued to stand strong, but Compton continued to struggle to score. There's nothing wrong with a solid defence, but the object of batting is still scoring runs.

Lunch, Day 4: India lead the mini-session count 12-6

Apparently Kevin Pietersen wants us to believe that doesn't have a problem against left arm spin. Perhaps he would be more convincing if he stops getting out to left arm spinners in really bad ways.

Middle drinks, Day 4: India lead the mini-session count 13-6

Samit Patel will probably be thinking bad thoughts about Tony Hill. He's been given out to two terrible lbw decisions. He'll probably not remember the plumb one that Aleem Dar gave not out.

Tea, Day 4: India lead the mini-session count 13-7

Prior and Cook have batted well again. They were probably the two best in the first innings and they are again showing that they have the right technique and temperment to bat in India. It's probably too little too late however.

Final drinks, Day 4: India lead the mini-session count 13-8

Another good hour from Cook and Prior. Apparently Prior has gotten a new bat for this series with the weight lower than the one he normally uses, in order to counter the lower bounce on the pitches in India. If it's true then it's really good thinking.

Stumps, Day 4: India lead the mini-session count 13-9

This is a fantastic partnership. England now have a realistic chance of saving this match. They probably need another 200 runs tomorrow, but this parntership is going so well, and the tail is sufficiently strong, that it is not out of the realms of probability.

First drinks, Day 5: India lead the mini-session count 14-9

India have made the two crucial breakthroughs. Firstly Prior then Cook. England's tail is going to have to bat very well now to save the match.

Lunch, Day 5: India lead the mini-session count 15-9

India have had a good morning, and cleaned up the tail well. The question now is how quickly they can score the runs.

End of match India win the mini-session count 16-9

Cheteshwar Pujara has had a fantastic match, and it was appropriate that he was not out at the end. This time opening against one of the best new ball combinations in the world, and he didn't look even slightly troubled. It's easier batting with no scorebaord pressure, but you still need to score the runs.

Despite a good fightback from Cook and Prior, this was a decisive victory for India. The big question for them will be how their bowlers recover from such a big workload for the next test. England on the other hand have some serious questions to answer.

Mini-session Analysis Ban WI Dhaka 2012/13

Powell Solid in Defense © WICB Media

Here is the final mini-session analysis for the first test between Bangladesh and West Indies at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.

Mini-Session	Score	Winner
1-1a	West Indies 67/1 off 15	West Indies
1-1b	West Indies 40/2 off 14	Bangladesh
1-2a	West Indies 59/0 off 16	West Indies
1-2b	West Indies 62/0 off 15	West Indies
1-3a	West Indies 65/1 off 15	West Indies
1-3b	West Indies 68/0 off 15	West Indies
2-1a	West Indies 55/0 off 15	West Indies
2-1b	West Indies 21/0 off 13	Bangladesh
2-2a	West Indies 41/0 off 17	West Indies
2-2b	West Indies 49/0 off 9	West Indies
2-3a	Bangladesh 110/2 off 16	Bangladesh
2-3b	Bangladesh 54/1 off 20	draw
3-1a	Bangladesh 33/0 off 15	Bangladesh
3-1b	Bangladesh 55/0 off 14	Bangladesh
3-2a	Bangladesh 55/1 off 13	Bangladesh
3-2b	Bangladesh 42/0 off 12	Bangladesh
3-3a	Bangladesh 48/2 off 20	West Indies
3-3b	Bangladesh 58/0 off 16	Bangladesh
4-1a	Bangladesh 72/2 off 16	Bangladesh
4-1b	Bangladesh 29/2 off 6.3	draw
	West Indies 8/0 off 4
4-2a	West Indies 51/1 off 13	West Indies
4-2b	West Indies 65/0 off 16	West Indies
4-3a	West Indies 69/0 off 16	West Indies
4-3b	West Indies 51/5 off 15.5	Bangladesh
5-1a	West Indies 29/4 off 9.3	Bangladesh
5-1b	Bangladesh 45/2 off 16	West Indies
5-2a	Bangladesh 38/2 off 13	West Indies
5-2b	Bangladesh 46/3 off 13	West Indies
5-3a	Bangladesh 38/3 off 12.3	West Indies

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Tea, Day 1: West Indies lead the mini-session count 3-1

Chris Gayle started off with a bang, hitting the first ball for 6, but departed soon after. The real star of the day for West Indies so far is the much less flashy Nevisian opener, Kieran Powell. Powell has recently left his flashy stroke making behind, and has started to think like a boring but effective opening batsman. The result is that he has started to play in a boring manner, and do it effectively. While his strike rate of 65.7 may not look particularly boring, he has boosted that with an attacking spree just after bringing up his century, and was prepared to let balls go. During this innings he has the patience to play out 5 maidens. If he continues to bat with this discipline he could go on to a really big score.

Final drinks, Day 1: West Indies lead the mini-session count 4-1

Powell was out right at the start of the session, but the master of being "boring but effective", Shiv Chanderpaul didn't let up. He advanced to 88 in his customary fashion. It took him 38 balls to reach double figures, but he has accelerated steadily since then, scoring at a strike rate of just over 70 since then. The game is closer than 4-1 would suggest, but West Indies are certainly in control.

Stumps, Day 1: West Indies lead the mini-session count 5-1

West Indies are looking like they are in form, and ready to go. Bangladesh are going to need to find an extra gear to keep up with them in this game. Chanderpaul has another century. This is number 27. I've been told that conditions in Bangladesh are quite similar to Guyana, so perhaps it should be little surprise that Chanderpaul looks so composed there. What ever the reason, Bangladesh need some early breakthroughs tomorrow to avoid this match turning ugly.

First drinks, Day 2: West Indies lead the mini-session count 6-1

It would be hard not to drop your head at this point if you were Bangladeshi. The one bright spark is that their new spin bowler, Sohag Gazi has been tidy. He's gone for less than 3 an over in his marathon spell of 42 overs. He has averaged about 46 overs per match in his first class career, and bowled more than 50 in each of his last two first class matches, so he's obviously fairly fit. Less exciting is that he was the last to take a wicket, in his 21st over. Since then there has been nothing on offer for the Bangladesh batsmen as the West Indians have applied the pressure.

Middle drinks, Day 2: West Indies lead the mini-session count 7-2

Bangladesh managed to exert some pressure on the West Indians, as an epic battle of wills started to evolve between Chanderpaul and Shakib Al Hassan. Probably the best player on either side, this is what test cricket is all about. It's safe to say that Chanderpaul is winning this battle, but how he goes later on when the conditions are more in favour of the bowlers is another story. In a match like this it is the battles within battles that are the most interesting.

Final drinks, Day 2: West Indies lead the mini-session count 8-3

And Tamim Iqbal decides to have a turn. After a peculiarly timed declaration from Darren Sammy, Tamim and Shahriar Nafees went crazy at the top of the Bangladeshi innings. However this was different from Tamim's usual innings. At drinks he has 67 off 54, which is a very fast scoring rate, but not out of the usual for him. He has been known to score quickly in the past. The difference here is that of the 67 runs, 52 are in boundaries. Generally he gets a lot of his runs by running, and normally only half of his runs come in boundaries. This departure from his usual trend may be due to the fields that Sammy set for the new ball, or it may signal that Tamim feels like he needs to hit his way into form. Either way it's going to be keeping the crowd happy. Perhaps there is a game on here after all.

Stumps, Day 2: West Indies lead the mini-session count 8-3

A fairly quiet last hour. Tamim departed early and then Naeem and Shakib were content to accumulate slowly after that. My formula actually awarded that hour to the West Indies, but Bangladesh will certainly not be upset with 54 runs for 1 wicket so I called it a draw.

First drinks, Day 3: West Indies lead the mini-session count 8-4

A steady start for Bangladesh. They got through the potentially tricky start of the day and have made slow progress without losing a wicket. In some respect the way that they have ground this out is very promising. For too long Bangladesh have found impressive ways to lose. This stickability does them credit.

Lunch, Day 3: West Indies lead the mini-session count 8-5

Bangladesh are starting to impose themselves on the game now. These two batsmen are getting Bangladesh back into the match, in much the same way that Chanderpaul, Ramdin and Powell tried to bat them out of it.

Middle drinks, Day 3: West Indies lead the mini-session count 8-6

With the new ball approaching Bangladesh tried to increase the pace. They batted well, but lost Shakib. It was a risky shot, but a sensible risk. Now they will have to consolidate with the new ball approaching.

Tea, Day 3: West Indies lead the mini-session count 8-7

The momentum continues with the Bangladeshi batsmen. Naeem Islam has his first hundred, and he has batted well for it. Bangladesh have avoided the follow on, and can now look at trying to look for a first innings lead.

Final drinks, Day 3: West Indies lead the mini-session count 9-7

The game seems to be starting to advance quickly. However the match is still not looking likely to have a result unless something spectacular happens.

Stumps, Day 3: West Indies lead the mini-session count 9-8

Another hour where the scoring rate is roughly at a run a minute. It will be great if this pitch starts to disintegrate and there is a contest between bat and ball. At the moment it's a bit one sided. Just under 1000 runs for only 10 wickets.

Stumps, Day 4: West Indies lead the mini-session count 12-10

Five quick wickets, a potential injury to Chanderpaul and the pitch starting to play tricks means that this is game on here. Earlier Kieran Powell became the 56th batsman in the history of test cricket (and 8th West Indian) to score a hundred in each innings. He joins an impressive list: George Headley, Clyde Walcott, Lawrence Rowe, Rohan Kanhai, Gary Sobers, Gordon Greenidge, and Brian Lara being the previous West Indians to have achieved the feat.

This game may well rest on how well the Bangladeshi top order go, because once Narine gets into their tail on this pitch the game may end very quickly.

First drinks, Day 5: West Indies lead the mini-session count 12-11

Bangladesh have taken the ascendency. Sohag Gazi, after being the first bowler to ever be hit for six of the first ball of a match, now has the best figures on debut for Bangladesh. Tino Best got out playing a defensive shot, a mistake that he is unlikely to ever repeat. Now West Indies will need to bowl well to avoid going 1-0 down in the series.

Lunch, Day 5: West Indies lead the mini-session count 13-11

What a cracker of a last day, after a fairly dreary first 4. West Indies and Bangladesh are both mixing up some very good cricket and some awful stuff. West Indies will want to take 4 wickets in the next 2 hours, to give Narine a crack at the tail in the final session.

Middle drinks, Day 5: West Indies lead the mini-session count 14-11

Tino Best is having a good day. He's possibly the most temperamental cricketer who is not from Pakistan. When he is having a good day, he really has a good day. This is not looking good for Bangladesh.

Tea, Day 5: West Indies lead the mini-session count 15-11

After Tino grabbed his 4th, Verasammy Permaul has made his mark on the game on debut, with two big wickets. Mahmudullah is possibly the best number 8 in world cricket, but he has a lot of work to do, if he is to bat with the tail for the last 2 hours.

End of match: West Indies won the mini-session count 16-11

Bangladesh have followed up a score over 400 with a score under 200, like they have every time except 3 that they have scored 400. Tino Best managed to pick up 5 in dismissing them, but the star of the match was easily Kieran Powell.

Mini-session Analysis 1st test Aus SA Gabba 2012/13

Here is the final mini-session analysis for the first test between Australia and South Africa at the 'Gabba, Brisbane, Australia.

A mini-session is (normally) half a session, either between the start of the session and the drinks break or the drinks break and the end of the session. Occasionally a long session will have 3 mini-sessions where it will be broken up with 2 drinks breaks.

Mini-Session	Score	Winner
1-1a	South Africa 36/1 off 13	Australia
1-1b	South Africa 54/0 off 14	South Africa
1-2a	South Africa 35/1 off 13	Australia
1-2b	South Africa 61/0 off 15	South Africa
1-3a	South Africa 49/0 off 19	South Africa
1-3b	South Africa 20/0 off 8	South Africa
3-1a	South Africa 61/1 off 21	draw
3-1b	South Africa 41/0 off 17	South Africa
3-2a	South Africa 43/2 off 15	Australia
3-2b	South Africa 34/2 off 13	Australia
3-3a	South Africa 16/3 off 3.4	South Africa
	Australia 55/3 off 15
3-3b	Australia 56/0 off 11	Australia
4-1a	Australia 46/0 off 17	Australia
4-1b	Australia 57/0 off 17	Australia
4-2a	Australia 50/0 off 14	Australia
4-2b	Australia 42/1 off 13	draw
4-3a	Australia 78/0 off 15	Australia
4-3b	Australia 103/0 off 19	Australia
5-1a	Australia 78/1 off 17	Australia
5-1b	South Africa 31/1 off 13	Australia
5-2a	South Africa 34/1 off 12	Australia
5-2b	South Africa 49/1 off 13	South Africa
5-3a	South Africa 51/2 off 30	Australia

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Lunch, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied 1-1.

In a interesting set of decisions, South Africa chose 4 quicks, and then on winning the toss decided to bat first. Their decision seemed to be justified, however, when at lunch the score was 90/1.

The key moments of this session had been two referrals. Firstly the incorrect referral with Hilfenhaus against Smith, where a catch down the leg side was turned down, then the upheld referral of the lbw shout against Smith.

The other interesting thing was the decision of Clarke to bring on Nathan Lyon early on. Amla hit him for a 6 in his third over, and in a move that captains all over the world will agree with, and spinners all round the world will disagree with, Clarke pulled him off immediately. If he's going to encourage the batsmen to have a go, then he's certainly worth persisting with so early in a test.

Tea, Day 1: The mini-session count is tied 2-2.

Australia again put on the pressure in the first hour, but then South Africa dominated the end of the session. The domination was sufficient that Clarke even turned to Rob Quiney to try and make a breakthrough. The ball did appear to be reversing at the end of the session, although reverse swing with the Kookaburra doesn't seem to be as dangerous as it is with the SG or Duke balls.

Post-Tea drinks, Day 1: South Africa lead the mini-session count 3-2.

A wicket off a no ball and a dropped catch could have made this Australia's hour. However it ended up being South Africa's hour. Again the first hour after the break was quite placid in the context of the game. South Africa scored at about 2.6 rpo, while they have scored at about 4 an over in the second hour of each session. It will be interesting to see if they do the same thing in this hour. The new ball is the due soon, and that may bring more runs, but these two batsmen are also likely to just wait out the first few overs with the new ball.

Stumps, Day 1: South Africa lead the mini-session count 4-2.

The new ball only featured in as much as it ended the day's play. Amla and Kallis became the most prolific partnership for South Africa, moving past Kirsten and Kallis. This is starting to look ominous for Australia here. This could become a very large score, very quickly. However Australia will know that the forecast is for tomorrow to be overcast, and with a new ball Pattinson, Siddle and Hilfenhaus could cause mayhem.

It was South Africa's day, but there is still a lot of cricket left in this match.

First drinks, Day 3: South Africa lead the mini-session count 4-2.

Australia made the breakthrough, but the South Africans have mostly seen off the new ball. The Australians have continued to bowl quite short to Kallis, but seem to have a plan of bowling a bit fuller to de Villiers. The one wicket that did fall, Amla, was to an LBW that looked a bit high. However I think teams are often too quick to review lbws, as often they end up umpires call.

Lunch, Day 3: South Africa lead the mini-session count 5-2.

South Africa are looking relentless. They look like they are going to try and bat only once. That's a big task, but de Villiers looks even more composed than Amla did. The loss of Duminy has been assuaged by the way that the first 5 have batted. He may still be missed with the ball, but his role with the bat is starting to look like it could be somewhat redundant.

Middle drinks, Day 3: South Africa lead the mini-session count 5-3.

It's amazing what 2 wickets can do. Both set batsmen out, and while South Africa are still clearly leading, Australia are back in the match. The key to this hour was a spell of 5-0-13-2 from James Pattinson.

Tea, Day 3: South Africa lead the mini-session count 5-4.

Australia have had a couple of victories in this session, but are still well behind in the match. It does feel a little like the first test between England and South Africa earlier this year, two top order batsmen batting for a long time, then the rest of the players falling reasonably quickly, but scoring quite well.

Stumps, Day 3: South Africa lead the mini-session count 6-5.

This game has advanced quite quickly from lunch. 10 wickets and 204 runs in 4 hours is some high speed cricket.

Ed Cowan obviously enjoyed seeing Kallis bat at about 1.5 times his normal strike rate, and came out swinging. Or at least scoring much quicker than we are used to. It was a good counter attack from Cowan and Clarke, after Australia looked in a lot of trouble at 40/3. The match is poised for a potentially absorbing finish.

If Australia get past the follow on target (which I assume is 250, as it was the second day that was lost, not the first) South Africa will be in an interesting position. They will potentially have to set a target. Graeme Smith has not got a reputation as a particularly enterprising captain, so he's unlikely to set the bar too low, but knowing this, Clarke may declare early, to put extra pressure on Smith. If Australia pass the target just after lunch tomorrow, and declare immediately, Smith will have a difficult job knowing what to do. It's this sort of scenario that makes me love test cricket.

Tea, Day 5: Australia lead the mini-session count 13-7.

While I was off on umpiring duties Australia have taken the game back. Michael Clarke made it past 50 for the 4th time this year. He also made it to 200 for the third time this year. In only 11 innings.

James Pattinson showed us just how good he was, but ultimately it looks like Australia will be robbed by the rain.

They still have a chance, but it will require something magic from here to win it. I was critical when I heard that Clarke had chosen not to declare behind, but on reflection he made more of a statement by his treatment of the South African bowlers. The question will be if he has given himself enough time.

Stumps, Day 5: Australia win the mini-session count 14-7.

Nobody has won anything in this test, and yet Australia take a huge psychological advantage into the second match. To give South Africa matches in Brisbane and Perth, and give Melbourne and Sydney to Sri Lanka seemed to be an act of extreme confidence from Australia. However they have prevailed in the first trial.

South Africa will need to go back to the drawing board and re-think their bowling plans, because these ones did not work. Australia had the chance to test their revised plans in the second innings, and they made some good breakthroughs. How the South Africans respond in match two is going to be really interesting.