The Indian cricket board is seeking to add a third Test to its New Zealand tour itinerary to help recover revenue lost from canceled events, a senior official said on Monday. “We have requested New Zealand to accommodate an extra Test and are waiting for their response,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said. India is scheduled to play two Tests, five One-Day Internationals and one Twenty20 international in New Zealand from March. The cash-rich BCCI reported a revenue loss of around $25 million on Saturday from the scrapping of two one-day games against England and the tour of Pakistan in the wake of militant attacks in Mumbai in November. It also took into account the money it would have received for taking part in the Champions Trophy, postponed from September to late 2009 after a possible boycott by teams due to security concerns over playing in Pakistan. The Indian government refused permission for the cricket tour of Pakistan, which was scheduled from this month, due to strained bilateral ties after blaming militants based in that country for the attacks which killed 179 people. India, which has no international cricket scheduled until the New Zealand tour, is also in talks with Sri Lanka to stage a one-day series. Aussies in driver's seat Peter Siddle's first five-wicket haul in Tests put Australia back in control of the third and final Test by bowling out South Africa for 327 for 118 runs lead at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday. It was the rearguard action of wicketkeeper-batsman mark Boucher (89) and Morne Morkel (40) that saved South Africa from embarrassment. Siddle's 5-59 included Boucher and Morkel. Boucher and Morkel combined for a 115-run sixth-wicket stand. Australia closed the day with an advantage of 151 and on a cracking surface it was a more than useful buffer with ten wickets in hand. Siddle kept the ball on target and rattled the stumps of Morkel, Steyn and Boucher and trapped Paul Harris to hurry the end of South Africa. Three wickets and a strangling of the run-rate suggested the match might not head in the same direction as the first two Tests, and Siddle's strikes ended the day on a high. The Boucher-Morkel effort continued the series trend of lower-order batsmen outshining their more fancied colleagues, just as Johnson and the Australian tail had done in the first innings. Graeme Smith has flown to Melbourne for treatment on his injured elbow and the visitors needed another tough customer to show some grit. Boucher began in defensive mode, just trying to stem the flow of wickets, and gradually built up his strokeplay to keep the scoreboard ticking. He was the last man out. Morkel, like his fellow left-hander Johnson, played with a straight bat and put away some boundaries with proper cuts and pulls. His 40 was his highest Test score and the stand with Boucher proved a major frustration for Australia. Scores: Australia 445 and 33-0. South Africa 327 (Boucher 89, Morkel 40, Amla 51, Siddle 5
