Ian Healy, the wicketkeeper playing in his 100th Test, dived in front of first slip for the catch.Kirsten, who scored 77, and Bacher, 64, provided a sound foundation, taking 140 runs from the opening 50 overs Bacher finally edged to Shane Warne, at second slip. Kirsten also fell victim to Warne and Jacques Kallis was trapped lbw, perhaps luckily, to the Test newcomer Stuart MacGill.First day; South Africa won tossSOUTH AFRICA – First InningsA M Bacher c Warne b Bichel 64G Kirsten c Warne b Kasprowicz 77J H Kallis lbw MacGill 15*W J Cronje not out 70H H Gibbs c Healy b Blewett 37D J Richardson not out 0Extras (5lb 1nb) 6Total (for 4, 96 overs) 269Fall: 1-140 2-148 3-160 4-269.To bat: J N Rhodes, B M McMillan, S M Pollock, L Klusener, P L Symcox.Bowling: Kasprowicz 24-3-94-1; Bichel 26-10-54-1; Warne 13-2-41-0; MacGill 14-2-43-1; M Waugh 2-0-6-0; Blewett 13-5-25-1; S Waugh 4-3-1-0.AUSTRALIA: *M A Taylor, M T G Elliott, G S Blewett, M E Waugh, S R Waugh, R T Ponting, I A Healy, S K Warne, M S Kasprowicz, A J Bichel S C G MacGill.Umpires: D B Cowie (NZ) and S G Randell (Aus).. South Africa 269-4

v Australia
Hansie Cronje, the captain, led by example as South Africa fought their way into a commanding position on the opening day of the third and final Test against Australia yesterday, forging to 269 for 4 by stumps at the Adelaide Oval.A spirited fourth-wicket stand of 109 by Cronje, 70 not out, and Herschelle Gibbs, 37, restored the advantage after South Africa lost three wickets for 20 runs following a superb partnership by the opening pair, Gary Kirsten and Adam Bacher. Bernhard was holing a lot of good ones, which made it even more frustrating, but you have days like that.”Langer, second to Colin Montgomerie on last year’s European Order of Merit after winning four times, was 40 in August, but he said: “I still have great desire and the same hunger.” His schedule has been revised, though, because he has made a commitment to his family that he will not be away from them for more than two weeks at a time.. Maddy’s dismissal enabled Sri Lanka to pin England down with Knight and Mark Ealham restricted to just 20 runs in the 15 overs which followed tea.Knight was eventually held in the covers by his rival captain, Marvan Atapattu, and Andrew Flintoff was then caught behind for four just before stumps.First day of four; England A won tossENGLAND A – First InningsS P James c De Silva b Samaraweera 23*N V Knight c Atapattu b Samaraweera 85D L Maddy b Chandana 50M A Ealham not out 30A Flintoff c De Silva b Hettiarachi 4B C Hollioake not out 2Extras (b4 lb2 nb2) 8Total (for 4, 94 overs) 202Fall: 1-48 2-142 3-179 4-189.To bat: A F Giles, C M W Read, D A Cosker, J Ormond, P M Hutchison.Bowling: Villaverayan 9-2-42-0; Perera 8-2-18-0; Samaraweera 25-6-50- 2; Hettiarachi 26-7-48-1; Chandana 23-11-34-1; Jayawardene 3-1-4-0.SRI LANKA A: *M S Atapattu, R P Arnold, S Ranatunga, M Jayawardene, L De Silva, U D U Chandana, N Nawaz, T Samaraweera, D Hettiarachi, N Villaverayan, S Perera.Umpires: G Pushparajah and S D S Dissanayake.- Myles Hodgson, Kurunegala. Knight and Maddy then added a steady 94 in 55 overs by mastering the Sri Lankan spinners before the Leicestershire batsman misjudged Upal Chandana and was bowled for 50.

England A 202-4

v Sri Lanka A
Nick Knight, the captain, was dismissed 15 runs short of his first century of the tour – but by then had steered England A into a commanding position on the opening day of the international against Sri Lanka A in Kurunegala. The Warwickshire left-hander produced a disciplined and determined innings as the touring team took advantage of an easy-paced pitch to reach 202 for 4 at close.The Glamorgan opener, Steve James, was caught behind in the 14th over after setting off at a breakneck pace, England having won the toss and elected to bat. Jose Maria Olazabal, second behind Woosnam overnight, and the US Open champion, Ernie Els, could not make the progress they were hoping for when confronted by the “Freemantle Doctor” wind after lunch. Olazabal compiled 72 to remain five under, Els had a 71 and is six back at three under.Woosnam, winner of the event two years ago, said: “I’d made only one decent putt all day, so that was a great way to finish. Langer was at the back of the green in two, but took three more and so they both reached half-way on 135, Woosnam shooting 69 and Langer a 66.
The pair are three clear of Scotland’s Andrew Coltart, the Dane Thomas Bjorn and the Australian Craig Parry. Ian Woosnam yesterday wove a piece of magic to regain a share of the lead at the Heineken Classic in Perth, Western Australia.

His playing partner, Bernhard Langer, three behind Woosnam at the start of the second round, moved into a four-stroke lead by collecting seven birdies in the space of 12 holes. Then Woosnam cut the gap to two and on the 525-yard ninth, their closing hole of the day, he pitched into the hole from 60 yards for an eagle three. Sumo wrestlers will take part in the opening ceremonies of the winter Olympics in Nagano next Saturday.Recognition of the four federations is valid for a two-year trial period After that, full recognition can be granted by the IOC. Then, the sport becomes eligible for Olympic status.”The policy of the IOC is to open the doors to all sports,” Carrard said. We know the federation is doing a lot to eliminate drugs and to have its sport clean.”The recognition of sumo will be particularly welcome in Japan, where it is one of the country’s most popular sports. “Recognition doesn’t necessarily mean they will go on the Olympic programme.”There are more than two dozen recognised federations which are not in the Olympics, including golf, bowling, rugby and squash..