Dean Elgar raised concerns about the condition of the pitch at The Gabba in the closing stages of Australia's six-wicket win in the first Test against South Africa.

The hosts secured victory on day two in what was the second-shortest Test in the country after the same two sides played out what remains the shortest Test in history in 1932 in Melbourne.

A green pitch offered considerable bounce and movement, which led to wickets falling regularly as the match was over after a total of just 144.2 overs.

After a first innings score of only 152, South Africa limited Australia to 218, before capitulating with the bat again and posting just 99 in their second innings, setting the hosts a target of a mere 34 to win.

Even then, four Australia wickets fell as Kagiso Rabada (4-13) tore through their top order, though the target was reached in large thanks to the bounce of the pitch, with the top scorer being the 19 extras that mostly came from bouncers that flew over wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne and raced to the boundary.

"I did ask the umpires when [Rabada] got [Travis] Head out down leg, I said 'how long does it go on for until it potentially is unsafe?'," South Africa captain Elgar said.

"And then [Anrich] Nortje was bowling those short ones that were flying over our heads. I know the game is dead and buried, it was never to try and change or put a halt to the game. That's where the umpire's discretion comes into play, not us as players. I am definitely not going to say it was safe or unsafe.

"There were only a handful of runs left so I thought maybe they thought I was just trying to take the mickey," he added, having not received any response from the officials. "But it's not a bad reference point going forward to get a reply.

"You've got to ask yourself the question – is that a good advertisement for our format? Thirty-four wickets in two days – a pretty one-sided affair, I would say.

"The nature of it, how it started to play with some seriously steep bounce with the old ball, you are kind of on a hiding to nothing as a batting unit. I don't think it was a very good Test wicket, no."

Elgar's opposite number Pat Cummins, who took 5-42 in the second innings, felt the surface was well short of concerning levels.

"No way, it was fine," he said. "Sideways movement, there was a little bit of up and down bounce, but it was fine. There were no balls jumping off a length or anything like that.

"It was certainly tricky. Two days probably isn't ideal… personally, I don't mind it if the groundsman err on the greener side occasionally. [I've] played a lot of Tests where they've erred on the flatter side. I think it was the same for both teams."

Day two also saw Mitchell Starc take his 300th Test wicket when he bowled Rassie van der Dussen with a trademark inswinger, and Cummins paid tribute to his team-mate.

"You can talk about strike rate, average, all those things," he said. "[But] the longevity you've got to have to get 300 as a fast bowler, the injuries you've got to overcome… you've seen it all by the time you get 300.

"I've seen him mending a lot of scars, bruises and blisters in the change room. You see the toil behind the wickets and performances. It puts him right in the upper echelon of great Aussie bowlers. Now he's nipping the ball a bit more. I reckon his next 300 will come pretty quickly."

Harry Brook scored a third century of the series as England finished the second day of the third Test against Pakistan with a 29-run advantage.

In-form batter Brook struck a brilliant 111 as the tourists recovered from 145-5 to post 354 all out in reply to 304 and Pakistan closed on 21 without loss on another absorbing day at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Having started the day on 7-1, England were in trouble after Nauman Ali (4-126) got rid of Ben Duckett before Joe Root edged his first ball to Agha Salman at slip.

Ollie Pope made an assured 51, but was on his way after being bowled by a beautiful delivery from Abrar Ahmed (4-150) and Ben Stokes was run out for 26 following a mix-up with Brook.

England needed Brook to deliver again after the calamitous loss of his skipper and he continued his purple patch with a stylish innings, putting on 117 for the sixth wicket with the impressive recalled Ben Foakes (64).

Brook showed a combination of great timing and power, scoring a third hundred in on his fourth Test, and Foakes showed his class with the bat to frustrate Pakistan.

Mohammad Wasim trapped Brook leg before to end his sublime knock, but Mark Wood (35) and Ollie Robinson (29) offered support for Foakes with enterprising knocks to enable England to take a lead.

Abrar cleaned up Robinson to end the innings, with Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood negotiating nine overs late in the day to reduce the deficit without any damage being done.

Brook's dream start continues

It was only in January that the 23-year-old Brook played his first England game and a Test debut followed in September.

He looks very much at home on the international stage, hitting three sixes and a further eight boundaries in his latest outstanding innings.

Foakes shows his class

Wicketkeeper-batter Foakes missed the first Test due to illness and Pope kept the gloves for the second Test as England wrapped up the series with one match to spare.

Back in the side for the final Test, Foakes gave yet another demonstration of his class with the bat – as well as being a brilliant keeper.

A spirited effort by West Indies saw them push England in a keen contest on Saturday night but the visitors secured a victory and with it took an unassailable lead in the five-match rubber.

Five wickets from Pat Cummins helped Australia to a six-wicket victory against South Africa in the first Test at The Gabba inside two days.

Having only managed 152 in the first innings on day one, the tourists had an even worse time with the bat on day two as Australia bowled them out again for just 99, with Cummins taking 5-42.

With the hosts resuming their first innings on 145-5, South Africa appeared to have worked their way back into the contest when they mopped up the remaining five wickets for a further 73 runs, and a total of 218.

Marco Jansen claimed the wicket of Cameron Green (18) before ending Travis Head's innings at 92 after forcing the slightest of glove touches to Kyle Verreynne.

Mitchell Starc was caught and bowled by Lungi Ngidi for 14 before Kagiso Rabada cleaned up the tail by dismissing Cummins and Nathan Lyon for ducks.

However, South Africa's batting problems continued as Sarel Erwee (3) Dean Elgar (2) and Rassie van der Dussen (0) all fell early again, reducing them to 5-3.

Temba Bavuma (29) and Khaya Zondo (36 not out) put up some resistance, but after the former fell, only Keshav Maharaj (16) made double figures, with Cummins following up the wicket of both openers by cleaning up the tail of Rabada (3), Anrich Nortje (0) and Ngidi (9) to complete a five-for.

The pitch continued to trouble the batsmen though as the hosts laboured to a modest target of 34, with Usman Khawaja (2) hitting a Rabada delivery straight to Maharaj at gully.

Rabada (4-13) was doing his best to make Australia work for it, also taking the wickets of David Warner (3), Steve Smith (6) and Head (0) as they were reduced to 24-4, but a pair of high wides that raced to the boundary from him and then Nortje helped see Australia home.

Deadly Cummins takes advantage of sorry Proteas

This makes it six Test innings that South Africa have failed to reach 200 runs, and in fact, even failing to make 100 in their second effort in Brisbane, which will have been extra frustrating after keeping their opponents to a first innings lead of just 61.

Cummins led the way in the second innings though, and although he conceded almost half of the tourists' runs, he also took half the wickets as Australia gave themselves a tiny target to chase for victory.

300 up for Starc

Starc ended on 299 Test wickets after the first innings, and was clearly desperate to reach a treble century once the second began.

He had it early on when a trademark inswinging delivery flew between bat and pad to dismiss Van der Dussen and made him the seventh Australian to reach 300 in Test cricket, doing so on the same ground where he claimed his first wicket of Brendon McCullum in 2011.

India beat Bangladesh by 188 runs in Chattogram to complete a dominant victory in the first Test.

A contest that had been largely dominated by India was never in doubt on day five, with the hosts needing another 241 runs with just four wickets remaining, Bangladesh could only add a further 52 runs as India bowled them out for 324.

Chasing a huge target of 513 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, few would have expected the Tigers to muster much of a charge towards it, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz was walking back to the pavilion for 13 after Mohammed Siraj delivered a length ball that he tried to drive, only to find Umesh Yadav at backward point.

Captain Shakib Al Hasan was trying to put on a show at least, adding four more sixes to the two he hit on day four, before he finally fell to Kuldeep Yadav, bowled after trying a sweep shot for 84.

Kuldeep also dismissed Ebadot Hossain (0) before things were wrapped up when Axar Patel bowled Taijul Islam (4).

After the win was sewn up, India captain KL Rahul praised his team, admitting they were made to work hard even if the win was never really in doubt.

"It was a hard-fought Test, and I'm really happy we won," he said. "The pitch did flatten out, it did worry us, but in the first few innings it was difficult to get runs."

Shakib credited the victors and admitted that his team had not done enough with the bat. 

"It was a good wicket to bat on, but we didn't bat well [in the first innings]," he said. "There should be no excuse. Lots of credit to India, as they created pressure."

The second Test begins in Mirpur on Thursday.

Kuldeep dominates with the ball

A fully deserved man-of-the-match award for the 28-year-old spinner Kuldeep, with final match figures of 8-113. Bangladesh just could not deal with Kuldeep, who also hit 40 with the bat in the first innings.

Patel continues to shine

Axar Patel took 4-77 in the second innings, and has now claimed 44 wickets after just seven Tests, the most by an Indian in the men's game after that number of matches, overtaking Ravichandran Ashwin's total of 43 wickets.

Rehan Ahmed's strong Test debut for England was aided by Ben Stokes' low-stakes approach to his captaincy, believes Stuart Broad.

The 18-year-old became the country's youngest male red-ball debutant, eclipsing Brian Close's 70-year-plus record, after making his bow against Pakistan in Karachi on Saturday.

In the third and final match of England's tour, Ahmed posted figures of 2-89, with only Jack Leach bowling more overs than the spinner as they skittled the hosts for 304 all out.

Broad, who has sat out the trip to Pakistan, suggested the teenager was able to play without pressure thanks to Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum's aggressive style to long-form cricket, crediting their impact as key.

"Leg-spinners can offer such variety," he told Sky Sports. "The bowling deserves a lot of credit.

"With Brendon and Stoksey, the mindset is nothing about run rate and as a young leg spinner, imagine what a mindset that is.

"He wouldn't have felt judged or under pressure; all they are saying is get us that one wicket to open the game up for us. The mindset played beautifully into his hands."

England are looking to seal a clean sweep after winning their first two games, and Ahmed is likely set to play a major part in helping to restrict Pakistan's second innings.

Former captain Michael Atherton believes Ahmed can stake a claim to be a long-term part of Stokes' plans, highlighting his improvement across his spells on the first day.

"We can all imagine what he was feeling at the end of his mark, but he quickly settled and got better," he added. "Temperament is the big thing, and he looks temperamentally sound."

Oshane Thomas and Andre Fletcher provided handy contributions to help the Kandy Falcons secure a nine wicket win over the Colombo Stars in the Lankan Premier League on Saturday.

Thomas was economical with the ball, finishing his four overs with figures of 3-20 to help restrict the Stars to 106 all out after they won the toss and chose to bat.

Sri Lankan pacer Chamika Karunaratne was the spearhead of the attack for the Falcons with a brilliant 4-11 off 3.1 overs while Captain Angelo Matthews (41) and Dinesh Chandimal (20) were the only batsmen to provide any resistance for the Stars.

The chase was a simple one thanks to a 101-run second wicket partnership between Kamindu Mendis (51 not out) and Fletcher (44 not out). The pair got together after the wicket of Minod Bhanuka for just six in the second over and guided the Falcons to 108-1 after 16 overs for their sixth win in seven matches.

David Warner should end his Test career on his own terms rather than wait to be dropped, with Australia great Ricky Ponting suggesting he could bow out at the end of the series with South Africa.

The opener was dismissed for a first-ball duck on day one of the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday, amid a two-year spell where he has failed to post a century.

With tours to India and England coming up in 2023 – where Warner has posted historically below-par averages of 24.25 and 26.04 – questions over his future continue to swirl, particularly after he recently withdrew a review of his lifetime leadership ban.

The final match of the three-Test series with South Africa comes at the batsman's home venue of the Sydney Cricket Ground, and ex-captain Ponting has now speculated whether he will call time in the aftermath, before he is pushed out.

"I think what he should be doing is being as realistic and looking to the future as he can," he told Channel 7. "He deserves the chance to finish the way he wants to finish.

"I would hate to see him get to an Indian tour or at the start of the Ashes tour and then get the tap on the shoulder. That would be a disappointing way for his career to end.

"It might be after the [final] Test [of this series]. Let's wait and see."

Fellow Test veteran Nathan Lyon – who took 3-14 as Australia bowled the Proteas out for 152 before reaching 145-5 at the close on Saturday – says the batsman remains supported by the rest of his team-mates, regardless of his future.

"We all know the X-factor of a cricketer that David Warner is and the type of batter he is," he added.

"He's got 100 per cent support from the changing room and [that] should be the whole Australian public, to be honest with you. I'm expecting David to come out and do amazing things."

Rehan Ahmed said his Test debut for England was the best day of his life, after he took two wickets against Pakistan.

Ahmed became England's youngest men's Test player when he started against Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi on Saturday.

With England having won the three-match series already, captain Ben Stokes handed the 18-year-old all-rounder a chance to shine.

Ahmed did not disappoint, finishing with figures of 2-89 as Pakistan were bowled out for 304 on day one.

"It was the best day of my life," the teenager told Sky Sports.

"I couldn't have asked for more and it is the biggest blessing sent down to me. I didn't expect to play.

"I just came on this tour to get better but they've given me a chance to play.

"I believe in myself and I've been given the opportunity so I just tried my best. I didn't sleep at all last night. I was very nervous before the first ball but the whole day was good. I felt more relaxed as the day went on."

Ahmed took his first wicket when Ollie Pope caught Saud Shakeel at short leg, and his second came with a brilliant googly that pinned Faheem Ashraf leg before wicket.

It was a day for the spinners, with Jack Leach taking 4-140, while Babar Azam was run out for 78 during one of Ahmed's overs.

England did lose Zak Crawley for a duck late in the final session, with the tourists reaching stumps on 7-1.

England youngest men's Test debutant Rehan Amhed took two wickets as Ben Stokes' team enjoyed a strong start against Pakistan.

Ahmed made history on Saturday, becoming the youngest male player to make his Test bow for England, at the age of 18 years and 126 days.

The leg-spinning all-rounder had a day to remember at the National Stadium in Karachi, in the third and final Test of a series England have already won.

Ahmed's fellow spinner Jack Leach (4-140) made early inroads for England, dismissing Abdullah Shafique before taking a catch to send Shan Masood packing.

Babar Azam (78) and Azhar Ali (45) guided Pakistan above 100, but Ollie Robinson had the latter walking back to the dressing room after a review showed an edge through to Ben Foakes.

Ahmed's first wicket came next – Ollie Pope lunging forward at short leg after Saud Shakeel edged onto his pad.

The teenager was involved again when the key wicket of Babar fell in one of his overs, Pakistan's captain being made to pay for hesitating when Foakes swept off the bails from Harry Brook's throw.

A superb googly saw Ahmed collect his second wicket, with Faheem Ashraf pinned leg before wicket, paving the way for Leach to round matters off and have Pakistan all out for 304.

Zak Crawley failed to survive the first over of England's innings, Abrar Ahmed's excellent delivery doing for the opener, but Ben Duckett and Pope ensured no further loss as the tourists reached stumps at 7-1.

Ahmed delivers on debut

There has been plenty of focus on history-making Ahmed ahead of this Test, with Stokes able to afford the youngster a chance with the series already wrapped up.

Ahmed did not let anybody down, however, and finished with final figures of 2-89 on a day for the spinners in Karachi.

Captain's knock from Babar

Pakistan might well have been looking down the barrel of a series whitewash already if not for their skipper, whose 78 came from 123 deliveries and included nine boundaries.

He was ably supported by Agha Salman (56), who succumbed to a Leach delivery late in the innings.

Despite Zakir Hasan's century, India need just four wickets on the final day to beat Bangladesh in Chattogram.

Axar Patel struck three times to leave hosts Bangladesh on 272-6 at the end of day four of the first Test.

Chasing a huge target of 513 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium after tons from India's Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara, Bangladesh reached the end of day three with 42 runs on the board for no loss.

That stubborn resilience continued on Saturday as they made it to 124-0, before Najmul Hossain Shanto (67) was finally removed by Umesh Yadav early in the second session.

Yasir Ali was swiftly dismissed after facing just 12 deliveries, Axar picking up the first of his three wickets.

Zakir watched another of his partners fall when Litton Das (19) sent a Kuldeep Yadav googly into the waiting hands of Umesh at long-on.

The 24-year-old reached his debut hundred with a smart sweep for four, but an inside edge to Virat Kohli from Ravichandran Ashwin's full ball saw Zakir's stand come to an end.

Bangladesh's slim chances of victory were further dashed by a brilliant over from Axar.

The left-arm spinner first took out Mushfiqur Rahim's off stump before luring Nurul Hasan out of his crease, allowing Rishabh Pant to smash off the bails.

Axar finished day four with figures of 3-50 off 27 overs, with Bangladesh needing 241 runs from the final day for an unlikely victory, with captain Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz at the crease.

Axar the pick of the bunch

Axar was the only India bowler to take more than one wicket, including those two in a superb 88th over of the innings.

He went for just 1.85 runs an over and is sure to play an important role on day five.

Zakir stars for hosts on debut

In his maiden Test for Bangladesh, Zakir was the man who kept the very slim possibility of a win for the hosts alive.

Bangladesh frustrated India in the first session, with Zakir's steady hands guiding them to 119-0 by the end of the first session.

While his team's innings eventually started to crumble around him, Zakir dug in to reach a memorable 100, which included 14 boundaries (13 fours, one six).

South Africa were bowled out for less than 200 for the fifth successive Test innings, before an unbeaten 78 from Travis Head helped put Australia in a strong position in the first Test at The Gabba.

Dean Elgar's team were torn apart by Australia's bowling attack on day one as the Proteas were dismissed inside 50 overs for just 152.

The hosts also wobbled initially on a fast pitch, but Head and Steve Smith (36) steadied the ship from 27-3, though a couple of late wickets gave South Africa some hope of getting back into the game.

A tentative start from the tourists saw them reduced to 27-4, and things could have been significantly worse had it not been for a partnership of 98 between Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreyne, before the former was bowled by Mitchell Starc for 38.

That began another batting collapse, with Verreyne eventually falling to Nathan Lyon for 62 as the tail failed to wag.

South Africa struck immediately in reply though as David Warner struggled with a short delivery from Kagiso Rabada off the first ball of the Australian first innings and was caught well by Khaya Zondo for a golden duck.

Marnus Labuschagne (11) edged Marco Jansen's first ball into the hands of Elgar before Usman Khawaja (11) also nudged an Anrich Nortje delivery to sub Simon Harmer in the slips.

After a reprieve when a review showed an edge had dropped just short of Elgar, Head took full advantage as he brought up his half-century off just 48 balls.

A partnership of 117 with Smith was ended by Nortje before the close as he sent a terrific delivery into Smith's stumps, before Rabada dismissed nightwatchman Scott Boland (1) off the last ball of the day, though Head remained unbeaten on 78 from just 77 balls as Australia closed on 145-5.

Balanced Aussie bowling downs Proteas

The key to a potent bowling attack – especially in Test cricket – is teamwork and variation, and Australia have that in spades.

South Africa's was an innings of two halves, with Starc (3-41), Pat Cummins (2-35) and Boland (2-28) all picking up early wickets, before the consistent spin of Lyon mopped things up, with the 35-year-old ending with figures of 3-14.

Head leads the way

It has been a very interesting innings from Head, looking nervous after scoring just two from his first 16 deliveries, before deciding to just go for it and smashing 51 from his next 32.

He even brought up his 50 with a six down the leg side, making a mockery of the struggles experienced by almost every other batsman on day one, ending with 14 boundaries (13 fours) to his name by the close.

Renowned former West Indies wicketkeeper, Deryck Murray, has commended the team’s coach Phil Simmons for stepping down from the post but insists he is far from the only one who should be doing so.

The regional team has endured a particularly wretched run of form across all formats in recent months.  A poor showing at the T20 World Cup saw the two-time champions embarrassingly eliminated in the first round of the competition after loses to Scotland and Ireland.

In the aftermath, Simmons, and, then later team captain Nicholas Pooran, resigned their positions.  The Test team then traveled to Australia to face the home team in a two-match series where they were badly outplayed.  In the second Test, for instance, the team lost by a massive 419 runs after being bowled out for 77.

In light of such performances, Murray believes there needs to be many more changes at the broader management level than just Simmons, if the team is to truly start moving forward. 

 “I want to commend Phil Simmons he has done the honourable thing. 
He was responsible for the team when we did not qualify for the T20 World cup and he did the hourrable thing,” Murray told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“We should not assume for one minute, however, that one man, Philip Simmons, is responsible for the decline, for the losses of West Indies cricket," he added.

“I keep looking to see others follow suite but nothing like that has happened…”

Murray went on to state that he believed the entire government system surrounding the sport in the region needed to change.

James Anderson is enjoying the thrill ride of Ben Stokes' England captaincy and the challenge of "thinking differently", ahead of the third and final Test against Pakistan.

The 40-year-old has impressed in the tourists' first two matches and will be rested for the last encounter, with an eye on England's trip to New Zealand in the new year.

With 177 caps, Anderson is second only to India great Sachin Tendulkar for all-time Test appearances, and he has posted eight wickets at 18.50 while in Pakistan.

His efforts come amid a more aggressive approach to the long-form game favoured by Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, which Anderson says is having a galvanising effect on all England's bowlers.

"I love thinking about the game, thinking about plans, and Ben is that sort of captain," Anderson said. "All he thinks about is taking wickets.

"He's not bothered about trying to dry the run rate up or control the game. He wants to take wickets. You see that with the fields he sets. That then rubs off on you as a bowler.

"This seems to be working for this group of bowlers, and we've got a nice mix of bowlers. I've found it refreshing thinking differently, even though I've played a lot of games."

The third Test begins on Saturday, with Anderson expecting England to head in with the same positive approach that has brought two wins so far, as instilled by captain and coach.

"As long as you're getting hit in the right areas, they don't care if you go for the odd four," Anderson said, quoted by Cricinfo. "That gives you confidence to bowl, knowing that you don't have to fret about how many runs you're going for.

"If that's the way you're trying to get people out, with catchers in front of the wicket as they have been out here, then they're completely fine with it."