New ball wickets help England's cause

Lunch Pakistan 257 and 198 for 7 (Ajmal 11*, Rehman 10*) lead England 327 by 128 runs

Monty Panesar got England's first breakthrough of the day.
England pressed strongly for victory in the second Test on a cool and misty morning in Abu Dhabi. It was more akin to Manchester in October and, although such climatic conditions are not universally hailed as salubrious, they perked up England's bowlers as they took three Pakistan wickets in the first session.

Australia wrap up 4-0 whitewash

Before the Sydney Test, Glenn McGrath gave his typical prediction that Australia would win the series 4-0. Few people truly expected it to happen. But such has been the gulf between the two sides that four weeks later, Australia wrapped up a whitewash within 59 minutes on the last day at Adelaide Oval, the only Test in the series that India managed to take to a fifth day.

'We also won 2-0 in India'

India continue to keep bringing up their home record in response to their back-to-back 0-4 whitewashes in England and Australia. The moment the question about the whitewashes was asked, Virender Sehwag shot back even before it could be finished, "We also won 2-0 in India."

Ross Taylor reached sixth Test hundred

Ross Taylor reached an unbeaten sixth Test hundred just before stumps on day one to put New Zealand in command in the Test against Zimbabwe in Napier. Having been inserted on an unusually green Mclean Park deck, New Zealand collected 331 largely trouble-free runs for the loss of five wickets, with half-centuries to Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill helping set up a strong total.

Australia in control despite Kohli ton

Australia 7 for 604 dec and 3 for 50 (Clarke 9*, Ponting 1*) lead India 272 (Kohli 116, Siddle 5-49, Hilfenhaus 3-62) by 382 runs

Peter Siddle finished with 5 for 49.
Peter Siddle's haul of 5 for 49 is his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests and his first against India. This is the second time Siddle has taken 20 or more wickets in a series after the Ashes series in 2009.

England cautious after Pakistan make 257

Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss have experienced much during the 100 occasions they have stood together as England's opening pair, but rarely anything like this - a trial by spin in the desert, an examination against Pakistan's slow bowlers on the world's driest Test ground.

Yuvraj Singh ruled out of IPL

Yuvraj Singh, the India batsman, could be ruled out of cricket for as many as six months due to the ongoing treatment of his non-malignant lung tumour. This means he will at least miss the Asia Cup and the IPL, where he captained the Pune Warriors last year.

England encouraged by early turn

As double acts go, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar do not appear together very often but they renewed acquaintances in Abu Dhabi today to give England a satisfying first morning against Pakistan at the start of the second Test.

Clarke and Ponting double-tons keep Australia on top

Michael Clarke entered this Test with a whitewash on his mind. After two days, he could hardly have hoped for Australia to be in a stronger position to push for it. A day that started with Clarke and Ricky Ponting both bringing up double-centuries and producing the highest Test partnership ever recorded at the Adelaide Oval ended with India two wickets down, and still 543 runs in arrears.

Ponting and Clarke grind India down

Ricky Ponting was in sight of his second century of the series at tea on the first day in Adelaide, where Australia rebuilt strongly after losing three wickets in the opening session. Ponting and Michael Clarke batted through the second session without much trouble and at the break, Australia had reached 3 for 335 with Ponting on 137 and Clarke on 140.

Sehwag not ruling out move down the order

Virender Sehwag, the India opener, has not ruled out shifting down to the middle order once some of the senior batsmen retire. Sehwag began his career as a middle-order batsman, scored his first Test century there, but had to naturalise to the opener's position because the middle order was packed.

Australia aim for 4-0 whitewash

Four weeks ago, the first Test started in Melbourne on Boxing Day amid great expectations of a closely-fought tour and India's best chance of pulling off a series win in Australia. Now after three Tests, none of which have lasted five days, the best India can hope for is a consolation victory in Adelaide.

Jayawardene to lead SL in Australia

Hours after Tillakaratne Dilshan resigned as Sri Lanka captain, Mahela Jayawardene was appointed in his place to lead the ODI squad to Australia for the tri-series in February involving the hosts and India. Angelo Mathews was named vice-captain of the 15-member squad which also included Dilshan.

Bowlers, Maddinson help Sixers reach final

A spot in the Big Bash final, and qualification for the Champions League T20, was left in the hands of 32-year-old Ian Moran, who had only played four Twenty20 games and 13 List A games before the semi-final. The Sydney Sixers' Moran, who has represented Scotland, held his nerve in the last over as the Hobart Hurricanes' Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Michael Hogan failed to find the 18 runs required to win at the Bellerive Oval.

Defeat a 'good slap in the face' - Prior

Matt Prior, the England wicketkeeper, has described defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the first Test in Dubai as "a good slap in the face", as England arrived in Abu Dhabi adamant that they can recover to square the series.