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ScorecardLiam Plunkett added to Yorkshire’s total with a half-century•Getty Images

Some may think this match is all about Kevin Pietersen’s comeback but in reality it is about Yorkshire maintaining their hold on top spot in Division One and whether Surrey are strong enough in their fragile state to resist them, without relying on rain for a helping hand.There was enough of it to keep Pietersen a peripheral figure on day two, from which 36 overs were lost. Yorkshire resisted any thoughts of a declaration until they were nine wickets down, at which point Steven Patterson, the not out batsman, was hopping about in some discomfort after being struck on the foot by Chris Tremlett and in need of attention. Yorkshire sent him to hospital for a precautionary x-ray and he was not on the field when Surrey batted.Pietersen, who joins England for the second of the Twenty20 internationals against New Zealand on Thursday, will have been padded up, presumably, in readiness for a potential top-order collapse when Surrey’s first innings, at first delayed by a lengthy shower and then interrupted by bad light, eventually began.It might have come. Ryan Sidebottom, his hackles quickly rising, gave Arun Harinath a fairly stiff examination in his opening spell from the Football Stand End, during which Harinath twice manage to edge the ball between second and third slips and survived a direct chance to second slip on 18, where Adam Lyth spilled it. Sidebottom gave him a thunderous look before pounding back to his mark.Harinath succumbed eventually to Jack Brooks, who had opened at the Kirkstall Lane End and was then required, in Patterson’s absence, to relieve Sidebottom. But by then there were less than two overs left and Surrey sent in Tim Linley as nightwatchman.Yorkshire’s game plan, presumably, had been to score heavily and perhaps need only to bat once, although if Patterson cannot bowl they will be less equipped to take 20 wickets. Nonetheless, with no Ricky Ponting to offer experience and stability to Surrey’s none-too-confident batting line-up, some early success on the third morning could set nerves jangling and add to the pressure on Pietersen to come up with a responsible innings with the team in mind.If some of Andrew Gale’s form could rub off, it would help. The Yorkshire captain, 114 overnight, had an escape of his own on 121 when he was dropped at second slip by Vikram Solanki off Tremlett. He had made 148 when he was bowled by Gary Keedy, the ball coming back a long way from outside off stump to beat Gale’s attempted drive.By that point, a partnership of 81 between Gale and Liam Plunkett had strengthened Yorkshire’s position significantly. Plunkett, whose move from Durham has transformed his confidence, hit several handsome drives and a number of lusty pulls on his way to his first half-century in Yorkshire colours.He was caught behind when he eventually mis-hit one, the ball flying high off the top edge, but then Sidebottom unleashed a few tasty thwacks of his own to add 26 off 37 balls before at last bringing Pietersen into the game when he sent a ball from Linley airborne towards long-off. Pietersen turned in pursuit and felt confident enough in his physical soundness to fling himself into the catch, from which he emerged unscathed and with ball in hand. The declaration followed immediately.Barring a deluge, Pietersen will bat eventually. Whether he can do so for long enough not to necessitate an appearance in England’s pre-Ashes friendly against Essex remains to be seen.

ScorecardJames Foster played nicely in hand with Graham Napier•Getty Images

Once again runs from Graham Napier rescued Essex from a precarious position, as he and captain James Foster ensured the hosts posted a modest yet acceptable first innings score.Together, Napier and Foster put on 88 for the seventh wicket with some great interplay that allowed both to play their natural games. Foster was aggressive in his counterattack when he first came in but pushed the ball around nicely when Napier – Division Two’s leading run scorer, now with 421 runs – strode to the crease.While he does have a propensity to slog, Napier’s runs today and so far this season have come through proper cricket shots; hit very, very hard. His strokes made the outfield look like glass and when he did go big – a straight six off Mark Davies – it was a product of finesse rather than fury; taking a step down the wicket before stepping into a lofted straight drive with immaculate timing.The talk at tea around the stands was of an eventual move up the order for Napier – but why risk it? Those in the know say his batting this year is a lot more disciplined – “He’s got his head down” being the figurative and literal change seen in his approach. Napier didn’t pass fifty in the County Championship last year but already he’s done it five times – top scoring in four innings – and we’re still not out of May.But a permanent move into the top six (realistically it would be a top seven, but Ryan Ten Doeschate will be closely monitored having returned from the IPL) could see him curb his natural attacking instincts, not least because such a move would be testament to the value of his runs to the side’s fortunes. At the moment, they are a very welcome bonus.James Tredwell won the toss and opted to field in overcast conditions but Tom Westley and Jaik Mickleburgh batted sensibly to give Essex a decent platform. They certainly took their time – the score only got to double figures after 61 balls – but they pushed things along as soon as they got to the pace of the pitch. When Westley was bowled by a sharp delivery from Mark Davies which jagged in off the seam, Essex had been provided with a decent platform by their young openers.But the afternoon session brought an air of familiarity as their soft batting line up was once again gutted – this time losing four wickets in 32 balls for the addition of only eight runs. While Kent can claim they provided the knife, it was Essex who sharpened it before showing them where to make the first incision.Ravi Bopara cashed out on his good form, after 178 runs in the previous game against Glamorgan, by hanging his bat out to dry and giving Darren Stevens catching practice at gully. Mickleburgh followed for a well fashioned 37 before Ryan Ten Doeschate – thrust straight into whites after a month in Kolkata purple – played rather flakily at a wide ball that should have been left alone to give Geraint Jones his first catch of the day.Ben Foakes was trudging back two balls later after trying to leave a ball from Charlie Shreck – having taken a big forward stride he retracted his bat face behind his elbow but failed to hide it completely from the ball, which deflected off it for another easy take for Stevens.When Foster and Napier fell, the tail soon followed, as Kent took the new ball to remove David Masters and Tom Craddock for little damage.With 12 overs to negotiate before stumps, Masters removed Rob Key with the help of Foster – though Key was less than pleased as he trudged off. In the end, that was the only casualty and they will return tomorrow on 20 for 1.

ScorecardJimmy Adams recorded the 17th century of his first-class career•PA Photos

At this level, on this pitch and against this Worcestershire attack, Jimmy Adams will score runs. Just about every time he goes out to bat. The 17th first-class century of his career, and fourth since becoming captain of Hampshire, was made with characteristic application, concentration and an unerring ability to dispatch the loose ball.There was little discernible difference in Adams’ approach to this innings at the start of the day, after he had won the toss, and in the final session, when he was well into three figures. John Woodcock once wrote an appreciation of another accumulative left-hand opener, John Edrich, noting that after falling asleep and waking to find a century had been reached, he had no need to ask how the runs had been scored.So it is with Adams. He is not as good as Edrich was, but he plays to similar strengths. An innings progresses at a certain pace. It is for the likes of Michael Carberry and James Vince to play the more expansive shots, as indeed they did on Wednesday. Already, Hampshire have a substantial first-innings total.Carberry added 113 with his captain, making 64 with 11 fours before Moeen Ali had him leg before, the front pad relatively far forward. This was the first of three wickets taken by Moeen, a talented batsman who looks as if he will be given more bowling this season than his record would suggest he might have. George Bailey, who will not be a part of Australia’s Ashes party this summer, was caught at slip aiming to drive and Vince rather casually lofted a drive to wide mid-on.Before that, Liam Dawson was caught at point aiming to turn to leg. Adams reached his century with his 12th four, driven through mid-off. His innings moved by reader on the ESPNcricinfo blog to describe his technique as akin to “a crab attempting to line dance” but this shot belonged to the textbook of nuggety left-handers. Meanwhile, Vince was batting about as well as he did in his century against Leicestershire in the first match of the season, even if the manner of his dismissal was unnecessary. His 52 included six fours.There was scant help for any of Worcestershire’s bowlers, fast or slow. Chris Russell, who once played lamp-post cricket on the Isle of Wight with his schoolboy friend, Hampshire’s Danny Briggs, had an extended bowl in the morning, his flowing action more impressive than his direction, although he did pick up two wickets later on. Had David Griffiths been playing for Hampshire, there would have been three representatives from the island, to which the club would like to return. There is talk of county cricket being played on the Isle of Wight, at the New Close ground, for the first time since 1962.That Russell was not playing for Hampshire owed to his manager having introduced him to clubs in the west Midlands; this was the first time he had played on this ground. Doubtless he will be able to learn from Alan Richardson, who just keeps on bowling. He took a wicket late in the day when Sean Ervine and Adam Wheater, again preferred to Michael Bates, came and went.Both this total and their first innings against Leicestershire a fortnight ago were higher than anything Hampshire managed at home last year, so it has been a good start to the season. Having been foiled by the weather in their opening fixture – the final day’s play was abandoned – they need to make the most of this.

Pakistan’s cricketers focused primarily on fitness and batting skills during the six-day training camp in Abbottabad, which concluded on Wednesday, ahead of the Champions Trophy in England. The players returned to their hometowns and will reassemble on Monday in Lahore before departing for Scotland.The weather in Abbottabad, at an altitude of 1260m, remained pleasant throughout the camp and the players took part in some practice matches. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said the players had ample time to gel.”The purpose of coming here was that the team should train without any distractions,” Misbah said. “It’s a bit cooler here and the pitches had offered some movement for the batsmen to cope with.”Misbah also said the players needed to pay more attention to fitness. “We are seeking improvement in fitness, at least close to the requirements of international cricket. We are not there yet but we are trying to hit the benchmark.”During the camp, you must have seen that fielding is directly associated with your level of fitness and we are working on both,” Misbah said. “We understand that if your fitness and fielding does not improve you will suffer in international cricket, especially in T20 and one-day cricket.”Misbah said the team’s defeats in South Africa had made his players mentally stronger. “In South Africa we played some tough cricket in tough conditions and the boys will benefit from it mentally. You get ready to face difficulties and I think our performance will be good in the Champions Trophy.”Opening batsman and T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez had rigorous net sessions, mainly working on his technique against seam bowling. Hafeez had a poor tour of South Africa, where he scored only 43 runs in the Tests and 118 in the ODIs, and was dismissed by Dale Styen on six occasions.Pakistan’s coach Dav Whatmore said it was more of a skills camp. “Obviously this is not the northern hemisphere, but it’s a destination where we can achieve a few things,” he said. “This is not a conditioning camp, this is skills camp because we are close to the competition. We are pretty happy with what we got, we had some bad (rainy) weather on Sunday but we managed to get 70 overs for ample match practice.”Pakistan had lost the Test series in South Africa 3-0 but fared better in the one-dayers, losing 3-2. “In the last series we were one game from winning the series,” Whatmore said. “We are okay, we just needed to improve on a couple of areas and we would have been a series winner.”Chances in the Champions Trophy is difficult to predict accurately, but I tell you what this team has got the ability. If we play to our potential we can put pressure on any team. Our goal is obviously to win it.”Pakistan will play two ODIs each against Scotland and Ireland later this month before taking on West Indies, South Africa and India in its Champions Trophy Group B matches.

Northern Districts bowling allrounder Bradley Scott has ended his association with the team, citing personal reasons and will be leaving for Dunedin, along with his family.Scott, who is a left-arm medium pacer and a lower-order batsman, moved to Northern Districts in 2008-09. He was a key player for Northern Districts in all forms of the game but, in the last two seasons, his participation was largely restricted to limited-over formats.Before joining Northern Districts, Scott represented Otago in the national competition. After his transfer in 2008, he played 17 first-class games and took 21 wickets for Northern Districts, and was a part of the team that won the Plunket Shield and two domestic one-day tournaments. His last first-class and List-A appearances were in 2011, but Scott played the recent T20 tournament for Northern Districts.Northern Districts’ coach Grant Bradburn said Scott would be missed by the team. “Bradley can be proud of the contribution he has made to the Knights both on and off the field,” he said. “His positive, bubbly character has been infectious in our team environment and will be missed.”

Mohammed Kaif and Dinesh Mongia are to stay with the India squad for the Test series against England – but neither will see any action unless there is an injury crisis.The batsmen are being reteined as cover for the original party, principally to keep up fitness levels ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in September.An emergency meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] decided to allow Kaif and Mongia to stay in England, where they were members of India’s one-day squad.”We don’t want to disturb the composition of the Test squad,” said BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya.”If the team management felt necessary to field either of those two players in a Test match, it will need to seek the Board’s permission.”The tour party has already been augmented by batsmen Shiv Sunder Das and Wasim Jaffer, all-rounder Sanjay Bangar and wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel, who were in the original squad for the Test match leg of the tour.All-rounder Yuvraj Singh will be returning home after chipping a bone in his right hand during last Saturday’s NatWest Series final win over England at Lord’s.

North Zone

Punjab completed a 184-run chase against Services to earn four much-needed points, as they close the gap on group leaders Delhi. Services were put into bat, but a spirited spell from Sandeep Sharma left them reeling at 11 for 4. Nakul Verma and Rajat Paliwal then put together a 59-run stand for the fifth wicket.Paliwal finished as the top-scorer with 96 off 118 balls; once he fell the tail couldn’t contribute, and they were bundled out for 183. Sharma took career-best List A figures of 3 for 28. Contributions from Chandan Madan (38), Gurkeerat Singh (49) and Mayank Sidhana, who finished 43 not out, helped Punjab finish off the chase in the 46th over.Delhi beat Haryana by 66 runs and retained their place at the top of the group table. Delhi were asked to bat and opener Dhruv Shorey continued his good form with another half-century (57) in consecutive innings. Jagrit Anand also scored 57, and helped guide Delhi to 235 for 6, with Sumit Narwal striking a quick fire 46 off 24 towards the end.Haryana’s chase didn’t start ideally, as they lost two quick wickets with the score at 2 for 22. Amit Mishra, India’s former legspinner, promoted himself to open, validating the decision with 55 before succumbing to Pradeep Sangwan. Parvinder Awana’s 4 for 33, along with Sangwan’s 3 for 30, helped keep Haryana out of contention as they were dismissed for 169.Himachal Pradesh beat Jammu & Kashmir by 73 runs, thanks to opener Aakhash Chopra’s 72. J&K chose to field and HP’s openers put on 59 for the first wicket. HP were able to string regular partnerships together as they scored 248 for 9 at the completion of their fifty overs. Zahoor Sofi took a career-best 4 for 62, with Ram Dayal’s 3 for 41 helping keep HP in check towards the tail-end of their innings.J&K started poorly with Shubham Khajuria falling early on. Ahmed Bandy and Ian Dev Singh put together 52 runs for the second wicket to help stabilize the chase. Following that J&K lost a slew of wickets to leave them reeling at 7 for 74. Dayal and Waseem Raza put together a 60-run stand, but were always facing an uphill battle and J&K were dismissed for 175. Rahul Singh bowled a career-best 4 for 37 to help lead his team to victory.

Ishwar Pandey, the Madhya Pradesh bowler who is the leading wicket-taker in this season’s Ranji Trophy, has been signed by Pune Warriors ahead of IPL 2013. It is his maiden IPL contract.”I am happy that my consistent performance has been rewarded. My focus will be to do well for Pune Warriors and cement my place in the playing XI,” Pandey said. “For an upcoming cricketer like me, IPL is the kind of exposure that will help me understand the rigours of top-flight cricket.”Pandey, 23, took 48 wickets at an average of 21 in eight matches this season but Madhya Pradesh did not make it past the league stage. He was also picked in the India A team against England and took 1 for 29 in the List A game.Pandey said he was looking forward to working with former South African fast bowler Allan Donald, who is part of the Pune coaching team. “When you get a chance to interact with someone of Donald’s stature, you can’t ask for more,” he said. “It’s an opportunity that every fast bowler looks forward to and I am no exception. Hopefully, once he watches me bowl at the nets, he would tell me the areas where I would need to work upon.”

New Zealand may be at a particularly low ebb but their young bowling attack is the main cause of optimism for the future. To demonstrate their current predicament, the bowler leading their attack has just nine Tests under his belt.Trent Boult is accustomed to the new ball, having opened the bowling in eight of his Tests, but now, with Tim Southee absent from the tour through injury, Boult has assumed the senior role, forging a new partnership with Doug Bracewell – his third opening partner.The pair first shared the new ball at Kingston in August and, along with Southee and the remainder of Chris Martin’s career, should provide a stable base for New Zealand to try and rebuild.”I’m only nine or 10 Tests in but to be leading the attack is pretty special and something I feel quite good about,” Boult said. “I’ve grown a lot and although it’s only a handful of international fixtures I’ve made pretty big strides in developing as a bowler. I’m not looking too far ahead but I’ve got that job with the new ball which I love.”I’ve opened the bowling a few times although Tim or whoever else has been there in the past. I don’t feel any more pressure than normal or any more emphasis that I’ve got to be the man to do the job. We’ve got a good bowling unit that works well together and as a long as we do our jobs and back each other up we’re going to continue to be pretty successful.”Boult has been successful in his fledgling Test career with 29 wickets at 28.79. He is part of a young attack who have proved they can deliver results. Victories over Australia in Hobart in November 2011 – Boult’s debut – and Sri Lanka in Colombo 12 months on were significant feathers in the caps of Boult, 23, Bracewell, 22 and Southee, 24 – a young trio who Boult enjoys playing with.”It’s definitely a collective thing. We’re lucky to be three pretty good mates and we played a lot of cricket together growing up. Tim’s very good, he’s injured but I’m still talking to him and bouncing ideas off him back in New Zealand. He’s played a lot of cricket and I really respect the way he thinks. He’s tactically a pretty smart cricketer.”We work together. I don’t think you can say ‘this is how I do it, this is the best way’. It’s selfish thinking you’re going to do it on your own and I think it’s pretty important that you work as a group.”Regrouping is essential for New Zealand after the embarrassment in Cape Town. New Zealand were fired out for their third-lowest Test total of 45, from which no amount of youthful exuberance could conjure a recovery. Worse still, South Africa’s reply came at a healthy run rate of above four-an-over on the first afternoon.”It’s hard with that score we had on the board,” Boult said. “Maybe a couple of guys were guilty of going out there searching a bit and trying to swing the game and get wickets quickly. I don’t think that’s the way to go.”We need to stick to our plans and what we’ve been talking about, and that’s being patient and trying to outlast our opponents. Although the intensity has been high at training, it’s all about keeping it simple and not getting too far ahead of ourselves.”The swinging ball will again be a factor in the second Test but Boult expects conditions to be different in Port Elizabeth from Cape Town. “There’s swing there with the new ball but I’m not sure how much it’s going to hang around, like the conditions in Sri Lanka or India. It’s a crucial part of it to swing that new ball and use it effectively as possible.”

Match Facts

December 13-17, Nagpur
Start time 9.30am (0400GMT)Tim Bresnan could be recalled by England if Steven Finn is ruled out of the final Test•AFP

The Big Picture

This could be a momentous Test match. From England’s point of view, a win or a draw would secure a series victory in India for the first time since 1984-85. For a new captain, Alastair Cook, that would be a herculean achievement, especially given the various issues he has had to deal with in the early months of his leadership.Then there is India. It would be foolish to write them off despite the margins of defeat in the last two matches, but there is a feeling of significant change being on the horizon. Although a series-levelling win could buy key figures some time, (despite papering over cracks being dangerous) it is not inconceivable that a series loss will see the end of MS Dhoni as captain, the end of Sachin Tendulkar and the end of Duncan Fletcher as coach. That ‘perfect storm’ scenario is unlikely, but even the fact it warrants discussion highlights India’s predicament.As has been the case ahead of each Test in this series, the pitch has been the focus of much attention although, sadly for comedic effect, there hasn’t been the sight of a groundsman being in the middle of a row. What do India think is best? England have shown over the last two matches that they are comfortable on a variety of surfaces. It was the slowest, lowest, pitch of series, in Ahmedabad, that caused them most problems.It’s a sign of the problems England have had in 2012 that defeat in this Test would make it the most losses they have suffered in a calendar year. However, some big lessons have been learned and there is a sense that the team is back on track. Finishing with a series win in India would be substantial proof of that.

Form guide

(Last five matches, most recent first)
India LLWWW
England WWLLD

Watch out for…

Test match No. 194 for Sachin Tendulkar. Could it be his last? Nobody knows what he is thinking about the future, but his powers are waning. There is a series against Australia next year, so maybe that will be time when he goes, but sooner rather than later the day will come for India. Does it need to be dragged out to a bitter end? This is not to say he can’t score runs – he fought doggedly for his 76 in Kolkata – but this is not the Sachin Tendulkar who has entertained the world for more than two decades.James Anderson produced one his finest overseas performances in Kolkata and even three wickets in each innings did not do justice to the skill he showed. He may well need a similar return in Nagpur and it is looking as though he’ll have an even greater burden on his shoulders after the emergence of Steven Finn’s injury. There is also the opportunity for one last duel with Tendulkar. The pair will not meet again at Test level.

Team news

There will be at least two changes for India after Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh were dropped, but such is the state of chaos around the team it is not clear which way they’ll go. It might be back to three frontline spinners, meaning a recall for Piyush Chawla, and Ajinkya Rahane, who averages 63.35 in first-class cricket, could debut at No. 6. The other options include Ravindra Jadeja as an allrounder at No. 6 with a balanced attack. Ashok Dinda and Parvinder Awana were both playing Ranji Trophy until yesterday so have not had much time with the squad.India (possible) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Ajinkya Rahane, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Pragyan OjhaEngland have been hit by a significant blow with Finn suffering a back injury, which makes him very doubtful. Stuart Broad is ruled out, so Tim Bresnan appears favourite to replace him, despite a poor year in Test cricket, although Graham Onions would also have a strong case. There are suggestions that Samit Patel’s spot at No. 6 could go to Jonny Bairstow. Patel has not looked out of his depth, despite not converting starts into a substantial score, and it would be a harsh omission.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Nick Compton, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Samit Patel, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Monty Panesar

Pitch and conditions

“White and dry,” was the basic description of the pitch on the eve of the Test. It had not been watered for two days so it will spin, the question is how much and how soon. The weather won’t be an issue with daytime temperatures in the low 30s.

Stats and trivia

• If Alastair Cook has another successful Test he could rise to the No. 1 batsman in Test cricket. England have not had the top-ranked batsman since Michael Vaughan in 2003.
• Only three England batsmen have scored four hundreds in a series – Herbert Sutcliffe (twice), Wally Hammond and Denis Compton
• Jason Krejza, the Australia offspinner, made his memorable (for right and wrong reasons) debut on this ground in 2008 ending with match figures of 12 for 358. Two years later, Dale Steyn took 7 for 51 after finding considerable reverse swing.

Quotes

“We have kept it really close, and the good thing is we are enjoying cricket, which at times you don’t tend to do when you go through a rough patch. When it comes to dressing-room atmosphere, it’s looking great.”
“Everyone knows how important this game is, but as a player you’ve got to take that emotion out of it. We’ve got to continue on the same path. We know how hard we’ve worked over these last couple of games, and we’ve got to do it again.”