Only programme against Ponting

In the end the spinner was the winner, but it was close. Indeed, it took a dubious leg before decision as Makhaya Ntini padded up to a googly with 43 balls left to bring victory to a deserving visiting side, feels Peter Roebuck, writing in the Witness.

With 557 runs at an average of 111 per innings from three Tests so far in 2006, Ricky Ponting is well on track to surpass the 30-year-old record of most Test runs in a calendar year, set by Viv Richards in 1976. But a quirk of programming could deny Ponting one of the game's most enduring milestones, writes Andrew Ramsey in the Australian.

Captaincy, it seems, has only increased Ponting's hunger for runs. Of all the regular Test match captains the game has seen (to have skippered in 10 matches or more) only the legendary Don Bradman boasts a better batting average while entrusted with the leadership.