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Dhoni and Jadeja crush England

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 11:37:00 +0000

India 300 for 7 (Dhoni 87*, Raina 61) beat England 174 (Cook 60, Jadeja 3-34) by 126 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

MS Dhoni's hard-hitting 87 not out was the bedrock of India's victory

MS Dhoni marked India's homecoming with a brutal innings of 87 not out from 70 balls, before the left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja sparked a dramatic English batting collapse, as the team that failed to win a single international fixture on their recent tour of England returned to form with a crushing 126-run victory at Hyderabad.

Dhoni's performance was his fourth half-century in as many international innings, but whereas the last three had been insufficient to force victory, this performance was more reminiscent of his last performance in a home international - his crushing 91 not out in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in April.

After winning his first toss in six attempts against England, Dhoni chose to bat first on a slow surface, but India were struggling on 139 for 4 after 34 overs before he and Suresh Raina turned on the after-burners as a further 161 were added in the final third of the innings. As had regularly been the case in England, he started cautiously against a disciplined attack, and had reached 5 from 18 balls before belting his first boundary, from Ravi Bopara, to signal India's late charge.

In total, Dhoni belted 10 fours and one six in his innings, the latter coming from a trademark helicopter flick off Steven Finn in the penultimate over of the innings. Finn had started his day's work with impressive pace and accuracy, and should have had a first-over wicket when Jonathan Trott dropped a sitter off Ajinkya Rahane at second slip - a moment that only the 26,000 crowd were able to witness, thanks to a TV rights dispute that caused a three-over blackout. But Finn finished with the bruised figures of 1 for 67 in nine overs, with his solitary wicket that of Raina in his seventh over, moments after he had been battered for another six over long-on.

Raina, whose brutality against the full length ball was a sight to behold, crunched 61 from 55 balls, with both of his sixes coming from the final four balls of his innings. Like Dhoni, he had opted for circumspection in the early part of his stay, but the longer his 62-run stand for the fifth wicket continued, the more boisterous the Hyderabad crowd became.

It had been a more muted affair in the early part of India's innings. Parthiv Patel was run out at the non-striker's end for 9 as Finn fingertipped a Rahane drive onto the stumps, while Rahane himself had reached 15 from 41 balls when Graeme Swann dragged him out of his crease with his third delivery of the match to give Craig Kieswetter an easy stumping.

In his first match since recovering from concussion, Gautam Gambhir confirmed his fitness with a fluent 32 from 33 balls. However, Jade Dernbach's liquorice allsorts proved hard to pick and tough to get away on the surface, and the slower ball that did for Gambhir was a beauty. It looped up above the batsman's eyeline and dropped sharply to rap his shin in front of leg stump.

At 79 for 3 after 18 overs, the game was very much in the balance. However, England's position could, and probably should, have been even better after 25 overs, when Samit Patel repeated Finn's trick of dropping his fingertips on a straight drive. It was Raina this time who was in peril as the bails were dislodged, but after a lengthy delay for the TV adjudication, he was given the benefit of the doubt by the third umpire, Sudhir Ashani.

In the final analysis, however, it really didn't matter. Though Alastair Cook continued his impressive form as England captain with 60 from 63 balls, his dismissal in the 23rd over of the innings precipated a dramatic collapse at the hands of Jadeja and R Ashwin. England tumbled from 111 for 2 to 134 for 7 in the space of 40 balls, and only Samit Patel (16) and the No. 10, Finn, with a run a ball 18, provided any resistance.

Praveen Kumar, India's star bowler from their ill-fated tour of England, had launched India's defence in fine style, opening up with a maiden to Cook, and he had not conceded a run when he extracted Kieswetter with his eighth delivery, a full-length ball that jagged off the seam to take a thin edge through to Dhoni.

The loss of their top-order powerhitter caused England to rejig their conventional batting order, with Kevin Pietersen emerging at No. 3 ahead of the more staid Trott. The plan looked to be paying off as Pietersen launched his innings with ominous resolve, but having struck three fours in a 28-ball 19, he attempted a quick single to mid-on where Ashwin nailed him with a direct hit.

Trott then appeared at No. 4, and for 13.3 overs he and Cook steadied the innings, adding 71 for the third wicket to give England a solid platform. But then, having brought up his fifty at exactly a run a ball, Cook gave his innings away with a loose clip to deep midwicket off Ravindra Jadeja, and thwacked his pad with his bat in frustration as he left the crease.

Worse was to follow for England two overs later. Trott, whose 26 from 42 balls had been a typically measured performance, attempted an ungainly smear across the line against Jadeja and lost his leg stump, and eight balls later, Ravi Bopara drove loosely at Ashwin and chipped a simple return catch to the bowler.

Jadeja by now was on a roll with the crowd fully behind him, and he extended England's collapse to four wickets in 26 balls when Jonny Bairstow, the hero of the run-chase in Cardiff, last month, also offered up a return catch. His figures after four overs were 3 for 17, and England's unbeaten run against India in 2011 was soon all over.

Slow bowlers take Kolkata to dramatic win

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:07:00 +0000

Kolkata Knight Riders 121 for 6 (Bisla 45, Kallis 33, Mills 2-24) beat Auckland Aces 119 for 6 (Vincent 40, Yusuf 2-21) beat by two runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Kolkata Knight Riders recovered to successfully defend 121 against Champions League debutants Auckland Aces. Having chosen to bat first, Kolkata ran away with 72 for 0 in the first eight overs before the tenacious Auckland side pulled the game back with just 49 runs in the remaining 12. Lou Vincent then scored 30 of his 40 runs in boundaries, threatening a huge net run-rate advantage, but his run-out was followed by Yusuf Pathan's two wickets in two balls, and a squeeze then by Kolkata's slower bowlers on a two-paced pitch. It came down to 22 off the last two. Andre Adams hit Jacques Kallis for a straight six to get 11 off the 19th, but Brett Lee's yorker proved to be too good for him and Kyle Mills.

Kolkata Knight Riders 121 for 6 (Bisla 45, Kallis 33, Mills 2-24) v Auckland Aces
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

We often tend to pigeonhole New Zealand sides for their tenacity, but Auckland Aces did little to correct that preconceived notion on their first day in the Champions League T20, 2011. Kolkata Knight Riders were a runaway train at the start of the sides' first qualifier, racing away to 72 for 0 in eight overs, but, led by Michael Bates' left-arm seam, Auckland pulled the game back through accurate bowling and athletic fielding. Twice bowlers hit the stumps, twice did the fielders, and Kolkata's last 49 runs came for the loss of six wickets in 12 overs.

It was all going swimmingly for Kolkata until Bates, all of whose overs went for fewer than six, intervened. The openers, Manvinder Bisla and Jacques Kallis, liked the early pace on offer, and hit the new ball cleanly. The inside-out shot over extra cover was a favourite for both, and Bisla was especially harsh on Chris Martin who bowled Test lengths to begin with. Bisla found them easy to pull and drive on the up. Auckland tried to change the pace through Andre Adams' medium pace and Ronnie Hira's left-arm spin, but Bisla and Kallis had little trouble clearing the field, which still looked to cut the singles.

Bates came back for his second spell in the 10th over, and produced a leading edge off a full toss. Bisla fell for 45 off 32, and Bates welcomed Yusuf Pathan with three straight dots. His 2-0-6-1 were easily the most respectable figures at that moment.

It was still going to plan for Kolkata. Kallis was still the anchorman, and they had made the bold move to try to capitalise on the big start from Bisla through Yusuf's promotion. However, Hira and Martin now choked up the runs a bit. Seven came off 15 balls after Bisla's dismissal. Yusuf grew impatient, and took Hira on. One boundary resulted, but he soon slogged all over a straight delivery from Adams.

Mills bowled the next over, and Kallis' frustration showed as he drop-kicked one straight to Rob Quiney at deep midwicket. His last 11 balls produced eight runs. Two balls later, Manoj Tiwary slogged, and the stumps lay splayed again. Now was the time for the fielders to hit the stumps. First Jimmy Adams, from short point, halfway between the stumps and regular point, took his time to aim and run Ryan ten Doeschate out. Adams did the same to Shakib Al Hasan from a single-saving mid-off.

In between Bates bowled another one-over spell for just two runs. The regular wickets meant there was no final charge, and Bates finished off with just five off the 20th over.

BCCI's profit soars to $39.68 million

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:04:00 +0000

The BCCI earned $24.90 million from the 2009-10 IPL

The BCCI has registered a surplus of Rs 1.89 billion ($39.68 million) for the year ended March 31, 2011, an increase of 200% over the previous year. The 2010 IPL was the big money spinner for the board, generating a surplus of Rs 1.19 billion ($24.90 million), a complete turnaround from the loss of Rs 419 million ($8.77 million) the league posted in 2009, and more than 10 times the BCCI's budgeted target of Rs 115.60 million ($2.41 million), according to the board's annual report.

The 2010 Champions League Twenty20 was the other big contributor to the board's finances, yielding a surplus of Rs 482.91 million ($10.11 million), up 23% from the previous year. According to the BCCI's balance sheet, the board is currently worth Rs 25.31 billion ($529.50 million).

In all, the board reported revenues of Rs 8.68 billion ($181.59 million), down 2% from the previous year, of which Rs 3.89 billion ($81.38 million) came from media rights. India's tours home and away were also lucrative, with the board raking in Rs 1.94 billion ($40.59 million) as India's status as the No. 1 Test team meant they were a big draw wherever they played. India is also the largest market for cricket, which helped to attract sponsors. Distributions from the ICC totalled Rs 238.13 million ($4.98 million), down about 6% from 2009-10.

The board set up four specialist academies during the year. A spin bowlers academy was set up in Chennai, a batsmen and wicketkeeper academy in Mumbai, a pace bowlers academy in Mohali and an umpires academy in Nagpur. The total cost of setting up the academies was Rs 90 million ($1.88 million).

The BCCI spent Rs 4.90 billion ($102.51 million) on hosting tournaments, by far its largest expense. The players' share of gross revenue was Rs 212.20 million ($4.44 million), down 53% from the previous year. That number does not include the bonuses paid for winning the 2011 World Cup, however, which amounted to Rs 367.50 million ($7.69 million) distributed to the team, support staff and selectors. Coaching expenses totalled Rs 73.70 million ($1.54 million), up 26.13% from the previous year.

The board also chose to write off the Rs 466 million ($9.75 million) that they had claimed was due from former president Jagmohan Dalmiya in light of their decision to drop their case against him at last year's AGM. They also paid out Rs 131.1 million ($2.74 million) to Rajasthan Royals as compensation for the cancellation of the 2008 Champions League.

End of an ERA-Rahul Dravid

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:19:00 +0000

New Delhi: Though Rahul Dravid has been labeled as a Test batsman by the so called cricket pundits throughout his career, his record in the limited-overs cricket outweighs many. The batsman, who was considered 'slow' by many for 50-over cricket, is now 343 matches old and has plundered close to 11,000 (10,820) in this form of the game.

The 38-year-old player has not only been involved in some memorable victories in Test cricket but has also given India moments to cherish in ODI cricket. And despite being left in the wings by selectors on numerous occasions, the commitment Dravid has shown whenever called up for the national duty has been exemplary.

Here we look back at some of those moments of Dravid's career which make us to bewilder in awe about the peak the Karnataka batsman reached in his 15-year-long career.

The Highs

1999 World Cup: With 461 runs, he finished as the leading run-scorer, including a knock of 145 against Sri Lanka at Taunton.

Standing the test of time: His career-best of 153 in ODIs came in a world record 331-run stand (for any wicket) with Sachin Tendulkar against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999. Incidentally, this epic partnership broke his record 318-run stand with Sourav Ganguly against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup.

The big chase: During the fourth ODI against West Indies at Ahmedabad in 2002, his knock of 109 helped India to the third highest run-chase in ODI history (at the time) of 325.

2003 World Cup: Doubling up as a wicketkeeper and batsman, he was part of the side that won eight games in succession to power into the final. Dravid top-scored in the crucial win against England, and struck unbeaten knocks to guide India home against Pakistan and New Zealand. He finished with 318 runs, 15 wickets and a stumping.

History-making: During the historic tour of Pakistan in 2003-04, Dravid was instrumental in India winning maiden Test and ODI rubbers on Pakistan soil. He top-scored in the five ODIs with 248 runs.

Golden run: During his captaincy stint, India broke the 14-match West Indies record for most consecutive successful run-chases in ODIs. For this 17-match run, Dravid was the captain for 15 games while Sourav Ganguly was captain for the other two.

10,000 ODI runs: In Feb 2007, he joined the club during the Goa ODI against Sri Lanka.

The Lows

Axed: Having scored just two fifties in 11 outings, Dravid struggled to find a place in the XI in October 1998. However, he became a permanent fixture in the side two months later.

Racially abused: His quick fire 84 in Johannesburg almost took India to victory in the final of the tri-series in February 1997. When he struck a six through the on side, Allan Donald, who racially abused him, mentioned this incident in his autobiography. Even Dravid lost his temper and refused to accept Donald's apology after the match.

Ball-tampering: In January 2004, he was found guilty of ball-tampering during an ODI against Zimbabwe at Brisbane. TV cameras caught him rubbing a cough lozenge on the shiny side of the ball. The incident was reported to match referee Clive Lloyd, and he was fined 50 per cent of his match fee. Later, India coach John Wright defended Dravid, stating that "It was an innocent mistake".

2007 World Cup: Dravid was captain of the Indian team during the Caribbean debacle.

Not young enough: Despite playing a few match- winning knocks in the ODI series in England (2007), the selectors were ready to invest in the youth.

Dravid was axed from the ODI squad after few failures against Australia in September 2007. He wasn't picked again until August 2009.

Return short-lived: His return in 2009 lasted two months. Dravid was primarily picked to help the young Indian team tackle the bounce in South Africa (Champions Trophy 2009). Two months later, he was dropped, yet again.

Calling it quits: Having got a surprise call from selectors for the England ODIs in 2011, Dravid announced that this series will be his last in this form of the game.

Warne 'definitely' to play Big Bash League

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:17:00 +0000

Shane Warne will be back in front of Australian fans this summer

Shane Warne has declared that he will come out of retirement to play in the Big Bash League this summer, but he has not yet decided which team will win his services. Warne, 42, has not played elite cricket in Australia since his final Test, at the SCG in January 2007.

His return will be a massive boost for the first season of the BBL, a competition that Cricket Australia has high hopes for when it starts in December. Warne said on The Footy Show on Channel Nine that he had not decided whether to turn out for the Melbourne Stars, who will play at the MCG, or the Docklands-based Melbourne Renegades, but that he was definitely planning to play.

"It's great that there's two teams here," Warne said. "I'm not leaning one way or the other. I'm definitely going to play a few games and have some fun. I think it will be nice to help the young players out and have a bit of fun with the Twenty20."

Warne retired from the IPL this year but has beenhinting for some time at a possible comeback for the BBL. He won't be the only former Australia star to come out of retirement for the Twenty20 tournament; the Brisbane Heat have already signed Matthew Hayden.

Bangladesh A lose despite Naeem ton

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:24:00 +0000

Bangladesh 311 for 9 (Ashraful 83, Tamim 65, Mushfiqur 63, Nafees 50, Mahmudullah 4-75) beatBangladesh A 234 for 8 in 39 overs (Naeem 101*, Rubel 3-38) by 36 runs (D/L method)
Scorecard

Half-centuries from their top four batsman powered the Bangladesh national side to a massive 311 which proved too much for the A team despite a century from Naeem Islam in a rain-shortened match in Mirpur.

After being sent in, Bangladesh's openers made contrasting fifties, with Tamim Iqbal scoring at nearly a run-a-ball while Shahriar Nafees contributed a more patient effort. Both were dismissed in the space of two overs by the offspin of Mahmudullah but the national side didn't squander the base provided by the openers. Mohammad Ashraful and captain Mushfiqur Rahim both made quick half-centuries as they put on 130 in 18.2 overs. The partnership ensured that despite a glut of wickets towards the end of the innings, Bangladesh posted a total in excess of 300.

Rain then curtailed the chase to a 39-over affair, with the target revised to 271. The A team's reply was hampered by a couple of early strikes by medium-pacer Rubel Hossain. Opener Junaid Siddique (45) and Naeem then steadied the innings with a 66-run stand but their slow scoring pushed the required-rate beyond nine by the 20th over. Naeem continued to fight, and remained unbeaten on 101, but there was little support for him from those who followed and the national side won comfortably.

ICC to debate monitoring of international venues

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:34:00 +0000

Haroon Lorgat wil chair the ICC's chief executives' committee meeting

A new method for evaluating international venues is the main issue on the agenda of the ICC's annual chief executives' committee (CEC) meeting in London on September 12. While the ICC has an approval process for granting venues international status, it does not conduct on-going appraisals of stadiums to ensure they continue to meet international standards.

The committee will consider a "Venue Accreditation System" in a response to the ICC's own Strategic Plan for 2011-15, which highlighted the need for grounds with better facilities for both players and fans. According to a statement from the ICC, "the proposal is that a venue will have to be re inspected and re-accredited every five years or when it undergoes major rebuilding or renovation."

The chief executive officers of the various national boards, or their representatives, will attend the meeting. The BCCI, however, does not have a chief executive and since its secretary, N Srinivasan, is unable to attend, the board nominated Sundar Raman, the IPL chief executive, to be its representative at the meeting even though Raman is not a BCCI office bearer.

A former advertising executive, Raman was hired by ex-IPL chairman Lalit Modi to help market the league. After the removal of Modi from the helm of the league in April 2010, Raman has been responsible for the operational aspects of the tournament.

Among the other items on the agenda are updates on international umpire performances, a subject that has come in for much discussion in connection with the Decision Review System (DRS). The DRS has been criticised in both the India-England and Australia-Sri Lanka series for failures of technology, failures of implementation and the lack of consistency in using the system.

Other topics that are up for discussion include the Future Tours Programme Agreement, the implementation of domestic anti-doping and anti-corruption codes and the ICC World Test Championship.

The CEC is made up of the chief executives of all 10 Full Member countries as well as three Associate Member representatives. The ICC's chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, will chair the meeting. The ICC president, in this case Sharad Pawar, and the chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, Clive Lloyd, will also attend by invitation.

The Associate representatives are Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of Cricket Ireland, Francois Erasmus, the chairman of Namibia Cricket and John Cribbin, the honorary secretary of the Hong Kong Cricket Association.

Haddin calls for DRS consistency

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:30:00 +0000

Australia are convinced they have Tharanga Paranavitana caught behind

Brad Haddin, Australia's wicketkeeper, has said the use of technology to review decisions should be made uniform across international cricket or thrown out altogether following another day of close decisions and inconclusive replays in Sri Lanka.

Often at the centre of Australia's appeals for the use of the DRS, Haddin was twice convinced he had caught Tharanga Paranvitana on the fourth afternoon of the Test. On the first occasion he was denied due to the lack of conclusive evidence and may have been fortunate to be given the second one, off the bowling of Michael Hussey, after it too seemed to have only circumstantial backing on the replays offered by the host broadcaster.

"There was a good noise [on the first one]," Haddin said of a legside catch off the bowling of Mitchell Johnson. "I was pretty confident that we'd nicked the glove. Young Uzzy [Usman Khawaja] at bat-pad thought he'd seen it come straight off the glove but it wasn't to be.

"It's pretty hard with those ones in general for umpires where it comes off the glove or the hip or the bat. It's pretty hard with no Hotspot as well; it's hard to make a decision. I was pretty confident then that we got some glove.

"I was 100% sure there was an edge [on the second appeal] and I said so to Michael [Clarke]. We were a bit nervous when it went up stairs because there was no Hotspot. We threw the dice a bit but I was 100% sure there was an edge."

Haddin argued that technology had to be consistently applied if it was to be used, as players and umpires were constantly forced to re-adjust their sights under the current system, a product of political expediency and cost constraints.

"My opinion on it is that I think it needs to be consistent all around the world," Haddin said. "I think it needs to be the same. I don't think you can chop and change from series to series. I think if you've got the technology there you might as well use it and if not don't use it at all and leave it up to the umpires.

"I think it's important with Test cricket that everything's consistent. If you're going to have Hotspot for other series, you need to have it for this. That's only my view, I think it all needs to be consistent and one message, wherever you're playing in the world."

Australia's chances of victory in the second Test appear to hinge on the second new ball, a fact acknowledged by Haddin.

"That's why we were trying to get through some over pretty quick today from about 70-odd so we could maybe have three or four overs with it tonight but it wasn't to be the case," Haddin said. "The game basically sits on the first session tomorrow. We've got to do damage with the new ball. If we don't it's going to be tough work from there.

"It's a good wicket but it's up to us to make sure we make things happen. With that we've got to make sure with the new ball that we're getting them driving and making sure we're trying to create chances either behind the wicket or possibly even some short catches. It's important that we bowl well with the new ball and get the new ball up there, make them play as much as we possibly can to have a real red-hot crack in this first session. It's a pretty important part of the game."

Sri Lanka's success on day four was based on an opening stand of 81 between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Paranavitana. However Haddin pointed out they were fortune not to edge any number of balls from Ryan Harris and Trent Copeland early on.

"They played and missed a bit with that new ball and probably had a bit of luck go their way rather than find the edge and have it go to hands. That was the big difference there [from other innings]," Haddin said. "You need to create chances with the new ball on these sort of wickets. I actually thought we bowled quite well but the chances they weren't there for us today.

"[It was a] typical day of Test cricket. It's a good batting wicket, we had two pretty good players at the end and we've got to do damage with the new ball tomorrow to get a result out of this game."

Parthiv to keep playing his shots

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 06:56:00 +0000

Parthiv Patel is looking the world in the eye. He's gone eyeball to eyeball with any bowler glowering on the follow through. In Chester-le-Street, he was happy to enter a staring contest when taunted by England fast bowler James Anderson. It may have looked ugly at first, but Parthiv used England's aggressive tactics to his advantage. Unfortunately, he fell five runs short of what would have been his first one-day century, but it was still his career-best score and helped India to what appeared to be a winning total before rain forced the match to be abandoned.

As they have done all through their successful summer, England's fast bowlers fired in the short-pitched stuff at Parthiv. The previous afternoon, in the nets at Durham, Parthiv had trained facing the hard new ball against such a line of attack.

In the three tour games prior to the Twenty20, Parthiv had batted in a desperate fashion. In the T20 in Manchester, he once again went charging at everything but mostly in vain. In contrast, Ajinkya Rahane showed him what a combination of a straight bat, a straight elbow and a straight head could do. Rahane finished with a scintillating 61 in his debut match, which India lost narrowly. Parthiv had departed early for 10.

In Durham, Rahane once again batted purposefully until he went chasing a short delivery from Stuart Broad. Parthiv was again watching and applauding his partner's fluent strokes, but he had realised that the pitch was on the slower side and even though it had good bounce, he had time to play his shots. So when Anderson, bowling from around the stumps, pitched short but outside the off stump, Parthiv upper cut him for four. When Anderson repeated the same delivery, Parthiv this time opened the full face of the bat at the last minute to glide it to the third man boundary.

Of his 95 runs, 75 came against the four-pronged England pace attack. Eventually, he went chasing a fuller delivery wide outside the off stump from Anderson, and the bottom edge carried to Craig Kieswetter behind the stumps. Anderson let out a laugh. Parthiv threw back his head in disgust.

"Obviously they will come hard at me with the short balls. But I've worked on it. Personally, I don't think I need to change my game at all," he said in defence of his shot-making. "I've played like that in West Indies and scored runs; I've done it in the first one-dayer here."

With Tendulkar joining India's long casualty list, India may be forced to go into Tuesday's game with only six batsmen, and Parthiv is aware that the rest of the players will have to work hard to fill the breach. "Obviously if we are playing a batsman short you need to take the responsibility," he said. "It's every individual's responsibility to make sure that if he gets in he goes on and scores big runs."

Parthiv made his debut as a wicketkeeper on India's 2002 tour of England but he has always believed he could play as a specialist batsman. "That belief kept me going. That is the reason I have been always working hard on my keeping and batting. Obviously I had age on my side - when I was dropped I was only 21 and lot of players do not even start playing at 21. So I had experience, and belief kept me going."

On this tour, there has been one other thing that has encouraged him: in every training session, Duncan Fletcher has kept a close eye on Parthiv. He has said little, but the words he has offered have built Parthiv's confidence. Many times during training over the past two weeks, Fletcher, hands in his jacket pockets, has walked up to Parthiv and started a conversation. He has taken in Parthiv's intentions and whispered a suggestion or two. What Fletcher has not done, despite the occasional unconvincing stroke, is to push Parthiv towards altering his batting. What Parthiv has taken in and what shows now at the crease, is a freedom to learn.

Depleted India seek new start

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:09:00 +0000

Match facts

Stuart Broad keeps his eye on the ball in training

August 31, Old Trafford
Start time 1800 (1700 GMT)

Big Picture

A week of relative downtime, and India's tour of England is finally up and running. Three low-key county fixtures - against Sussex, Kent and Leicestershire - have given a bruised squad a chance to rediscover that winning feeling, and with a trio of hard-earned victories to fall back on, attention now turns to the limited-overs leg of their campaign, starting with the one-off Twenty20 at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

As far as India are concerned, a change ought to be as good as a rest. A chance to swap their benighted whites for their familiar blue one-day outfits is an opportunity to draw a line under their shortcomings of the Test series, and revert to the mindset of champions. After all, less than five months have elapsed since that night of nights in Mumbai, and no matter how poorly they may have fared in the interim, they'll always have that achievement to fall back on.

Wednesday's fixture, however, is unlikely to prove much about the mindset of either set of players. In Twenty20 cricket, it is England, not India, who are the reigning world champions, although their squad has little in common with the one that triumphed in the Caribbean in 2010, and has been selected very much with a view to next year's defence in Sri Lanka.

A trio of youngsters - Alex Hales, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes - are vying for an opportunity to present their credentials, under the leadership of Stuart Broad, whose captaincy career started edgily against Sri Lanka in June, but will doubtless have benefitted from an injection of confidence courtesy of his Man-of-the-Series performance in the Tests against India.

As for India's line-up, it's a pragmatic blend of old and new. Gautam Gambhir heads back home, and Sachin Tendulkar will sit this match out, but Rahul Dravid, at the age of 38, will make his T20I debut - in recognition, perhaps, of the liveliness of English wickets and the fallibility of some of his batting colleagues against the moving ball. With no Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Gautam Gambhir or Harbhajan Singh, among others, there's an air of experimentation on display in India's selection. But, ahead of the serious business in the ODIs, this is clearly the game in which to test the waters.

Form guide

(Most recent first)

England LLWWW
India WWWWL

In the spotlight

In the build-up to their triumphant World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, England stumbled upon a pair of hard-hitting openers in Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb almost by chance. The challenge, with a year to go until the defence of their title, is to find a combination that can prove equally as explosive. Kieswetter endures, even though his problems against the moving ball appear to hamper his effectiveness in English conditions, but Lumb appeared to bid farewell in a flaccid final outing in Bristol. Into the breach, therefore, steps the young Nottinghamshire slugger, Alex Hales, whose raw power has proven effective even in the naturally swinging environment of Trent Bridge. At the age of 22, his time is now.

It's a young man's game, so they say, but not if that man in question is Rahul Dravid. Back in 2007, when India first fell in love with Twenty20 cricket, Dravid, along with Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, opted out of the epoch-changing campaign in South Africa. He didn't even play in India's last World Cup victory, the 50-over version at home, but now, with his country in need of a solid batting presence on the most abject of tours, he's finally been given his bow. In the circumstances, it's little surprise he's announced his retirement from the limited-overs game at the end of this tour. But before then, we'll have a chance to see one of the game's smoothest operators get to grips with the rough and tumble of the fastest format.

Team news

With the probable selection of Alex Hales at the top of the order, England are set to field their 19th opening partnership in 38 Twenty20s. The bowling attack is set to have a familiar look to it, with Jade Dernbach's performance in a rain-reduced game against Ireland having cemented his value in the shortest form of the game. Jos Buttler, who once again demonstrated his big-hitting credentials for Somerset on Twenty20 finals day, could find himself squeezed out of the reckoning by fellow newcomer, Ben Stokes.

England: (possible) 1 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Ravi Bopara, 6 Ben Stokes / Jos Buttler, 7 Samit Patel, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad (capt), 10 Graeme Swann, 11 Jade Dernbach

Dravid's debut coincides with the end of Gautam Gambhir's tour. He has not been himself since thwacking his head on the Oval turf while dropping Kevin Pietersen in the fourth Test, and has finally bowed out with a concussion. Parthiv Patel, the diminutive wicketkeeper who first made his name on the 2002 tour of England, is set to open the innings, with the twin spin attack of Amit Mishra and R Ashwin also likely to get an outing.

India: (possible) 1 Parthiv Patel, 2 Rahul Dravid, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt / wk), 7 Amit Mishra, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 R Vinay Kumar

Pitch and conditions

Old Trafford had a reputation as being one of the quickest decks in world cricket, until the square was rotated as part of the ground's redevelopment. Since then, the pitch conditions have been somewhat subcontinental, although that didn't aid Sri Lanka in their ODI-series-deciding loss earlier in the season. The weather, ever a factor in Manchester, is set fair. Which is nice.

Stats and trivia

England's most recent Twenty20 against India came at Lord's in the 2009 World Twenty20, when Ryan Sidebottom's aggression on a lively pitch helped to defend a middling total of 153 for 7.
The only other Twenty20 between the two teams came in Durban in September 2007, a match made unforgettable by Yuvraj Singh's six sixes in an over off England's current captain, Stuart Broad. Yuvraj finished with the fastest half-century in international cricket, as England were knocked out of the World Twenty20 in the group stages.

Quotes

"The Test series is hard to forget because from an England point of view we played very well and confidence is high. But it's different in the white-ball game, they have a few new players and we have to be aware of that."
Stuart Broad knows England cannot take their Test dominance for granted

"He went to an eye specialist today and it seems he continues to suffer from concussion."
Shivlal Yadav, India's manager, on the end of Gautam Gambhir's tour

Swann's six completes India's humiliation

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:33:00 +0000

591 for 6 dec (Bell 235, Pietersen 175) beat India 300 (Dravid 146*, Bresnan 3-54) & 283 (Tendulkar 91, Mishra 84, Swann 6-106) by an innings and eight runs

Scorecard

Sachin Tendulkar reached his fifty but there is a much greater milestone looming

Graeme Swann's six wickets led England's charge to a famous whitewash on a dramatic final day at The Oval as India collapsed during the afternoon session which included Sachin Tendulkar falling for 91. An increasingly agitated home side had been frustrated as Tendulkar and Amit Mishra added 144 for the fourth wicket, but once Swann made the breakthrough the rest of India's resistance crumbled. The innings folded in 15 overs with England winning by an innings and eight runs.

Swann's success made it the complete series for England, where everyone has played a key role in either setting up, positioning or securing a victory. This was a display of attacking offspin of the highest quality although the wide smile he wore when he savoured his fifth wicket as Gautam Gambhir sliced to backward point, and his sixth to complete victory, hadn't been so evident during the earlier part of the day.

By batting throughout the morning without further loss India had managed their first wicketless session of the series, increasing the prospects of a draw that would have salvaged a modicum of pride. However, that was being overshadowed by the progress of Tendulkar towards the century that would have completed his 100th international hundred - the landmark that has stalked him throughout the series. It continued to prove elusive.

Tim Bresnan, with his first ball of new spell, swung one back into Tendulkar who was taken on the pad and Rod Tucker raised his finger. There was a mixture of celebration at a vital wicket mixed with shock and disappointment. Replays showed it was clipping leg stump, so DRS wouldn't have saved Tendulkar. It hadn't been a classic Tendulkar innings by any means, but the fact he'd had at least three lives raised the belief that it was to be his day.

The previous evening England had failed to appeal for a stumping when Tendulkar momentarily lifted his foot and two further opportunities were missed on the final day. Alastair Cook dropped a relatively straightforward chance at short leg when Tendulkar had 70 and Matt Prior shelled a thick edge with him on 85. During a wonderful contest with Swann there was also an lbw appeal from a missed sweep that, had there been the DRS and England had reviewed, would have been overturned. The look on Tendulkar's face when he was finally given suggested he, too, would have reviewed given the chance but it wouldn't have mattered.

To highlight that Tendulkar's innings wasn't fluent, it was Mishra who dominated the partnership and caused England, possibly, the greater headache. His second Test fifty had come from 103 balls and he used his feet against Swann while playing leg-side shots off the quicks that wouldn't have looked out of place coming off the bat of Tendulkar.

For all his failings with the ball, Mishra has shown tremendous application with the bat that has often been missing from some of his team-mates. For a while it appeared he may even beat his partner to three figures but Swann's persistence paid off when a delivery scooted past the edge. His presence, and the missed chances off Tendulkar, had certainly got England hot under the colour and Andrew Strauss was given an official warning for his players walking across the pitch.

It wasn't the most edifying sight - and England's on-field temper can still boil over - but it showed the hunger to win. The final two days of this match have been of terrific value to them, even if the foot-sore bowlers might not agree, because Test victories shouldn't come easily. To be made to work, as they were yesterday by Rahul Dravid and today by Tendulkar and Mishra, and to come through with victory, will stand them in good stead.

England certainly know how to sense an opening and continued to surge through line up. Suresh Raina completed a horror match as he was given lbw to complete a pair, which used up 42 deliveries, although it was a poor decision from Simon Taufel with inside edge before pad and the ball was also heading over the stumps.

The new ball was taken straight away - Swann had said he, too, preferred a harder ball on this surface - then Stuart Broad, the pick of England's quicks on the final day as James Anderson struggled with the foot holes and the hosts' Man of the Series, made swift inroads. MS Dhoni flashed an edge to second slip and three balls later RP Singh edged behind. The only question now was whether India would at least make England bat again.

Even that proved too much as Swann wrapped up the innings against batsmen who had decided to have a swing. Sreesanth was the last to fall, heaving an inside edge into the stumps to send England into another round of celebrations. It has been a familiar scene in this series, a run of performances that will go down in the game's history as one of the most dominant displays. England have set a benchmark for this generation of Test cricket and now others need to follow suit.

ECB may ban counties from Champions League

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 03:35:00 +0000

Somerset competed in the 2009 Champions League Twenty20

The ECB may prevent counties from playing in the Champions League Twenty20 unless payments are made up front, according to a report in the UK'sTelegraph.

The board insists that the two counties that qualify for the qualification stage of the tournament - which will be the winners of the two Friends life T20 semi-finals; Lancashire v Leicestershire, and Hampshire v Somerset - have to receive the money to cover their costs from the tournament organisers before they are allowed to compete in the tournament that starts in September.

Many of the teams that played in the first two Champions Leagues have either not received their payment on time or in full. Somerset and Sussex played in the inaugural 2009 Champions League in India, while no English county played in the second event, in South Africa in 2010, after a dispute between the ECB and the tournament organisers over scheduling.

Richard Gould, who was Somerset's chief executive when they went to the Champions League in 2009 and is now Surrey's, told the Telegraph: ''The payment was late but was paid eventually, within about five months, and it was paid in full minus about 20% Indian government tax.''

The Champions League is currently given a window in the Future Tours Programme, unlike the Indian Premier League which is regarded purely as a domestic competition.

The qualification stage of the third tournament starts in Hyderabad on September 19, with both English counties scheduled to play the following day. Only teams from India, South Africa and Australia have been given direct berths in the main stages of the tournament, with teams from all other countries having to qualify first.

Taylor century sets up series win

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:43:00 +0000

England Lions 282 for 9 (Taylor 111, Stokes 73) beat Sri Lanka A 147 (Kerrigan 3-21, Rankin 2-19) by 135 runs

James Taylor's century and Ben Stokes's fifty set up a series-clinching 135-run victory for England Lions over Sri Lanka A at Northampton.

It was Taylor's second hundred in three games and helped the Lions bounce back emphatically from their 10-wicket drubbing the game before. Taylor and Stokes helped the Lions recover from 38 for 3 to post 282 before the bowlers finished the job in style, skittling Sri Lanka A for 147 with over 20 overs to spare.

It was a captain's innings in the old sense from Taylor, anchoring the recovery at one end while Stokes was more positive from the other. Tharanga Lakshitha had done the early damage taking each of the first three wickets before the fightback started.

The pair added 98 with Stokes reaching his fifty first - from 45 balls - hitting seven fours and three sixes in his 65-ball 73. He fell just past the half-way stage to legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna. Though he had time to score plenty more his contribution would not have gone unnoticed by the England selectors who will be considering their squad for the upcoming India series.

Taylor was more restrained, taking 91 balls to make his half-century but steadily increased his pace as the innings wore on. At one stage - when the Lions slipped to 178 for 6 - it looked as though he may run out of partners but James Harris offered him sound support with 29. It took Taylor just 37 deliveries to go from fifty to his century and by the time he was last man out in the final over, he had struck eight fours and a six in his 111.

283 looked a challenging target and it proved much too difficult for the visitors. The promising four-pronged seam attack, which included Ireland's Boyd Rankin for the first time, shared seven wickets, while Lancashire left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan took the other three. The chase was as good as done by the third over when Sri Lanka A were reduced to 7 for 3.

Captain Dimuth Karunaratne resisted grimly for 30 from 43 balls in a stand with Sachithra Chaturanga, who made 35. Aside from them, though, wickets kept tumbling. It needed a 38-run ninth-wicket stand to push Sri Lanka A towards 150 but Kerrigan and Woakes finished off the match to give the Lions the series.

cook jump on 3

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:07:00 +0000

ICC Player Rankings
Rank	Name	Country	Rating
1	J.H. Kallis	SA	883
2	K.C. Sangakkara	SL	838
3	A.N. Cook	ENG	836
4	S.R. Tendulkar	IND	808
5	I.J.L. Trott	ENG	784
6	S. Chanderpaul	WI	775
7	I.R. Bell	ENG	767
8	T.T. Samaraweera	SL	766
9	A.B. de Villiers	SA	760
10	H.M. Amla	SA	744
	Top 100

Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Zaheer at the crossroads

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 04:58:00 +0000

Yuvraj Singh was the natural successor to India's batting greats, but he isn't even an automatic pick in the Test

As things stand, Indian cricket's acquaintance with the No. 1 status will be a bit like a budget airline's with an airport: land and then a quick turnaround. It must come as no surprise, for those possessed of independent thought and an appreciation of our game have been suggesting that the ascent was unlikely to result in a long reign. And there is a reason rather more different than disdain for the subcontinent or those who inhabit it.

All great teams over the years have been built around outstanding bowling sides; indeed, have represented an excellent bowling generation. West Indies seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of fast bowlers, and Australia, whose best four were probably McGrath, Warne, Gillespie and Lee, had other fine cricketers they could call on: Stuart MacGill, Andy Bichel, Damien Fleming, even Paul Reiffel. For India to stay No. 1 they needed more depth: replacements for the tiring Zaheer Khan, the suddenly inconsistent Harbhajan (not to speak of the large-hearted Anil Kumble). Only Ishant Sharma has seemed to fit the bill, sporadically. New-ball bowlers have come and gone with the frequency of coalition ministers (Irfan Pathan, L Balaji, Abhimanyu Mithun, Jaidev Unadkat, Umesh Yadav, Pankaj Singh, RP Singh for a start), and now even spinners, like grants for the impoverished, are being lost in transit.

Imagine you are a selector and have to make a list of spinners to play for India. You would start with Harbhajan but wouldn't move much past Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin. Maybe you would add Piyush Chawla to that list, though he seems to have acquired stagnancy too. India have sent left-arm spinners Iqbal Abdulla and Bhargav Bhatt to the Emerging Players tournament, and legspinner Rahul Sharma looks a prospect over a 50-over game. Maybe the time has come to blood Ashwin, a fine, thoughtful cricketer who takes his batting seriously but has yet to run through sides. His finest moments have come in 20-over cricket, but fine players of spin bowling like Sanjay Manjrekar and Navjot Sidhu think his time has come. And maybe Ojha needs a comforting arm around the shoulder and lots of bowling in longer games.

But for India to be the best team in Test cricket, there must be a settled bowling line-up, at least some members of which will keep the opposition awake. At the moment, while people may not be queuing up to bat, they aren't exactly quaking in their boots either.



	For India to be the best team in Test cricket, there must be a settled bowling line-up, at least some members of which will keep the opposition awake

India need to be aware, too, that three key players are at the crossroads of their careers. There is a road ahead but it will be paved with extraordinary intent and determination; call it Rahul Dravid Avenue. Zaheer has been an outstanding cricketer for India, as have been Harbhajan and Yuvraj Singh, but this break is a good time for them to think about where they want to be.

Zaheer turns 33 in October, by when he will probably be planting his ankle rather gingerly and waiting to start fitness training. The road from there to becoming one of contemporary cricket's finest bowlers again will be long. The injury will prey on the mind, the pace will drop, and while the mind can remain sharp, his arsenal will deplete. It is not easy to begin afresh at 33, especially if you take the new ball for your country.

Harbhajan is 31 but has been 13 years in international cricket. It has been a stellar career, whatever metrics you use to judge it by. But the future is about incremental results rather than history; for history tells you what you were, while recent results tend to tell you who you are. Recent results have not been flattering for Harbhajan, and while young challengers aren't exactly snapping at his heels, the selectors will be tempted to look elsewhere. Maybe he needs to prioritise, make one form of the game paramount and take what he gets with the rest. All of us face such moments in life but only some can look at the present squarely in the eye.

And surely by now Yuvraj should have been the one holding the baton handed over by Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman. In limited-overs cricket there are few more thrilling players in the game, but Test cricket has yielded relatively unflattering results. So as he heads towards 30, he must make sporting and lifestyle choices. Few tours these days are as demanding as this one in England, so fewer questions will be asked of him, but he must ask himself if he is willing to do what it takes to play 50 Tests, starting now.

Each of the three is accomplished enough to write his own future. But whether they have the unwavering determination we will have to wait and see. India's position in the top three could also depend on that.

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:03:00 +0000

Match Facts

August 10-14, Edgbaston
Start time 11.00 (1000GMT)

Tim Bresnan is certain to keep his place after Chris Tremlett was ruled out injured © Getty Images

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The Big Picture

In 1981 the race riots were an undercurrent throughout a summer where England claimed a famous Ashes series victory. Thirty years later the unrest which began in London and has now spread elsewhere has overshadowed the build-up to a Test match where they can go No. 1 in the world with victory over India.

The England team were locked in their hotel on Monday evening, while India were keeping tabs on the situation, but the match is expected to go ahead as planned at a new-look Edgbaston which has undergone extensive redevelopment. The hosts are a win away from taking over from India at the top spot in Test cricket and they will take some stopping in their current form.

India have been a major disappointment during the opening two matches except for the herculean efforts of Rahul Dravid and occasional bursts from their pace bowlers. The batsmen have failed to reach 300 in four innings, while the support bowling for the quicks has been awful and the fielding often poor. For a side that came with such a mighty tag it has been quite a fall from grace.

MS Dhoni, himself in a poor run of form, and coach Duncan Fletcher have a major challenge. They will hope the return of Virender Sehwag can provide an x-factor but he's played hardly any cricket recently, falling for 8 against Northamptonshire over the weekend. Still, he has never been a player to value warm-up matches too highly.

Despite England's outstanding performances it is now that they could be at their most vulnerable. They have a recent track record of losing their way when a major target is there for the taking; at Headingley in 2009 and Perth in 2010 they stumbled with the Ashes up for grabs before recovering to claim the prize while last summer against Pakistan they lost at The Oval having been 2-0 up. This time they'll be desperate not to leave the series open.

Form guide

(Most recent first)

England WWDDW
India LLDDW

Watch out for...

India have sent out their SOS - Send our Sehwag. After three months on the sidelines with a shoulder injuryVirender Sehwag has returned to action although it remains to be seen how effective he can be. His shoulder is still causing trouble and he's also suffered partial deafness. Yet he has the ability to open some old scars. His 83 off 68 balls in Chennai was the key innings in India's successful run chase during the 2008 series against England. Sehwag is the type of batsman who can score a hundred in a session and give a struggling team belief. Still, it's asking a huge amount of one cricketer.

Another batsman returning to Test cricket, although under different circumstances, is Ravi Bopara. However, with Jonathan Trott unlikely to be absent for long it is set to be a one-off chance for Bopara to show his game has matured to make him a viable option in the Test team. He'll slot in at No. 6, a more natural position than No. 3 where Australia found him out, but still needs to convince he has the technique and temperament for the top level. However, having narrowly missed out to Eoin Morgan earlier in the summer he knows he's still the next in line.

Team news

With Trott and Chris Tremlett ruled out England don't face any last-minute selection issues. Steven Finn is part of the squad but won't keep out Tim Bresnan after his outstanding display at Trent Bridge. Bopara is likely to bat at No. 6 on his Test return which means Morgan moving up one spot.

England (probable): 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 James Anderson.

India know they'll be without Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh for the rest of the tour, but will at least be able to welcome back Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to strengthen the batting and allow everyone to play in their usual positions. Given Suresh Raina's problems against the short ball Virat Kohli, who replaced Yuvraj, may be considered while Amit Mishra is still favourite to come in for Harbhajan despite talk of a four-man pace attack.

India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (c) (wk), 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Sreesanth.

Pitch and conditions

The surface was very green in the days leading up to the game and although some grass will be taken off there should still be plenty to encourage the seamers. However, Steve Rouse, the Edgbaston groundsman, said there won't be much pace. The ground has had problems with wickets this summer and one Championship pitch was ruled 'poor' and cost Warwickshire eight points. The forecast, meanwhile, is mixed with rain expected to be around at times.

Stats and trivia

England have won four out of five Tests against India at Edgbaston although the two teams haven't met on this ground since 1996, when Nasser Hussain and Sachin Tendulkar scored hundreds.
Kevin Pietersen averages 60.57 at this ground but the next best among the fit England batsmen is Andrew Strauss's 32.10.
For a full stats preview

Quotes

"Even in the two Tests we've played, there are moments when we've really had our backs to the wall. We're not expecting anything different from them, we're going to have to work very hard and hopefully earn the right to get on top in this Test match."

Clarke forecasts Sri Lanka success

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 06:23:00 +0000

"If we keep the same attitude we've had over the last couple of months with our training and our dedication, if we continue on this road I can see us having some succes

Ever the optimist, Australia's new captain Michael Clarke has refused to concede his team may be facing some painful days ahead as he departed for a tour of Sri Lanka, which will be followed by series against South Africa and India.

Australia's Test squad featured a handful of names that were a surprise even to Clarke - he is still to meet the offspin bowler Nathan Lyon - but he reasoned this newness would help foster an attitude of enthusiasm and keenness to work hard in Sri Lanka and beyond.

"I'd like to say no, to be honest. I really hope we can turn things around straight away," Clarke said at Sydney airport when asked if short-term pain should be expected.

"I think it is going to take time for us to work our way back up the rankings, but I'm confident with the talent we have, not only in our squads but around domestic cricket, if we keep the same attitude we've had over the last couple of months with our training and our dedication, if we continue on this road I can see us having some success.

"We're certainly not blinded [to] the fact we've got two of the best teams in the world in their own conditions coming up with Sri Lanka and South Africa, so it's going to be a tough start for us, but it's a good test to see where we're at. If we can have some success against both these teams, playing away from home, I think that'll give us some real confidence for the summer against India."

Lyon was not part of the Australian team training camps in Brisbane that Clarke enthused over, and will meet many of his new team-mates for the first time when he arrives in Colombo later in August. Clarke, however, did not hesitate to suggest that he and the left-arm spinner Michael Beer would be used in tandem on pitches likely to take plenty of turn.

"I think we have a good combination, a left-arm orthodox and a right arm finger spinner, which is good to have two different spinners, as a bowling partnership in tandem I think that can really work well together," Clarke said. "I haven't seen much of Nathan Lyon, he's had a great tour to Zimbabwe with the Australia A team and I've heard some great reports of his bowling over there, so he gets an opportunity to come to Sri Lanka and bowl in what are generally pretty good spinning conditions.

"It's an opportunity, and that's generally how it works, if you don't perform how you'd like as a team, new guys come in and get a chance, and this is what's happened in Nathan's case. He's got an opportunity to grab it with both hands and from all reports I'm pretty confident he'll do that. He's certainly got a lot of talent, now it's about giving him a go and seeing how he handles playing cricket for Australia.

"I'm really confident with the squad we have. I love the fact we've got some new fresh faces that are going to be excited and itching for their opportunity, that's a great thing to have around the group, but the facts are we have to have some success. We have to play good cricket and we have to improve from our recent results in the last Australian summer.

"We need to get better, we know that as players and I can guarantee we're working as hard as ever, as hard as I've ever worked in my career, so hopefully we can turn that around sooner rather than later."

The Don Argus-led review into the performance of the national team is expected to table its findings at Cricket Australia's next board meeting on August 18-19. This is towards the end of the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka and before the Tests, but Clarke was not perturbed by the prospect of recommendations being made public in the middle of a tour.

"It doesn't really bother me to be honest, we knew the review was going to take place," he said. "Whenever the results come from that, that's an opportunity for the players, CA and the ACA [Australian Cricketers Association] to have a look at it and listen to what the experts or the guys have to say and try to implement them. We know what's in front of us and what we have to focus on as players, the rest will take care of itself."

Clarke also dispelled any concerns about his sometimes tender back, which made him retire hurt during a practice match in Brisbane last month. It had previously flared at the outset of the Ashes series.

"It's going really well, it's been again the same as the last 15 years, plenty of physio, plenty of maintenance," said Clarke. "I feel pretty fit and strong at the moment, so I'm actually looking forward to getting out onto the park, I'm sick of training and I'm keen to start playing again."

Sehwag set to join embattled Indian side

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:28:00 +0000

Virender Sehwag has been out of action since the IPL © AFP

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Virender Sehwag, who missed the first two Tests of the England tour, is scheduled to join the Indian team on the morning of August 3. Sehwag, who was ruled out for the first fortnight of the England series when the Indian selectors announced the Test squad on July 2, is expected to be available for the last two Tests. The Indians play a two-day tour match against Northants starting this Friday ahead of the third Test which starts in Birmingham next week.

India would be optimistic about opening with their regular pair of Sehwag and Gautam Gamhir in Northampton and then in the third Test at Edgbaston. Gambhir has recovered from the left-shoulder injury he picked while fielding in England's second innings at Lord's. "He is sure for the next Test," MS Dhoni told the Star Cricket channel.

Sehwag's return would definitely be a shot in the arm for India, who have been completely outplayed in the series so far and are 2-0 down. It was in England that he scored his first century as an opener, at Trent Bridge in 2002, though he missed the 2007 tour.

India lost their premier fast bowler Zaheer Khan to a hamstring injury on the first afternoon of the Lord's Test, and England's bowlers have completely dominated their batsmen, most of whom with the exception of Rahul Dravid have struggled to find their touch, form and at times even stand their ground.

Sehwag had opted for a shoulder surgery after playing the IPL in May and was ruled out for at least two months including the tour of West Indies. When the selectors picked the squad, it came with a rider that Sehwag was given an additional two weeks rest to allow him to rest his shoulder. In Taunton, ahead of India's first tour match against Somerset, Indian coach Duncan Fletcher indicated that he was not sure but predicted Sehwag could be back in time for the third Test.

In Sehwag's absence, India fielded three different opening combinations. The Tamil Nadu pair of Murali Vijay and Abhinav Mukund opened in the three-Test series in the Caribbean that India won 1-0. Gambhir had suffered a shoulder injury during the final round of the IPL, exacerbating an existing injury he claimed he originally picked during the World Cup final in April. Vijay, who was the third-choice opener in the past, struggled and got a tally of 72 runs in the three Tests against West Indies, a series where Abhinav made his debut and impressed scoring 147 runs.

At Lord's, Abhinav joined Gambhir, who was hit on the elbow while fielding in the second innings and batted down the order. Gambhir was then declared unfit to play in the second Test forcing Rahul Dravid to face the new ball in Abhinav's company.

England's batsmen flatten India on 417-run day

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:27:00 +0000

England 221 and 441 for 6 (Bell 159, Pietersen 63, Morgan 70, Prior 64*) lead India 288 by 374 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Ian Bell mastered the Indian attack but was also at the centre of a controversy at tea

For two days, the swinging and seaming ball dominated the bat at Trent Bridge, and eleven wickets fell. On the third, the trend was reversed, emphatically. Faced with adversity - England trailed by 43 at the start and lost Andrew Strauss with the deficit still 10 - Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen played memorable counterattacking innings, batting with the confidence of champions during a 162-run partnership plundered at 4.47 runs per over. Eoin Morgan and Matt Prior then converted England's lead from healthy to practically unassailable with aggressive half-centuries, capitalising on wayward bowling, ragged fielding and listless captaincy. At stumps England led by 374 with four wickets in hand, having scored 417 runs in the day, and India's chances of winning or saving the match were slim. England's cricket was simply superior to India's, before and after the flashpoint that caused chaos minutes before tea.

England's lead was 187 with seven wickets in hand, when Bell, batting on 137 with the mastery of Yoda, made a rookie's assumption that ended his innings, temporarily. Morgan flicked the last ball before tea towards the square-leg boundary, where Praveen Kumar dived to try to save it. And he did, though he didn't think he had. Praveen then took his time to get up and throw the ball towards the wicketkeeper's end, by which time Bell had gone to the non-striker's end, jogging at first and then walking, either because he thought it was a boundary or that tea had been called. The throw reached Abhinav Mukund and he took off the bails, after which the umpire called over and handed Ishant Sharma his sweater. India had appealed for a run-out, though, and after a long delay, while the decision was referred to the third umpire, Bell was given out.

The Indian team was greeted with boos from the Nottingham crowd as play resumed after tea. But suddenly Bell walked out to bat and there were cheers. During the tea interval England's captain and coach, Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower, had asked Dhoni if he was willing to withdraw the appeal. India had been within their rights to appeal for the run-out, and Bell was out according to the laws, but Dhoni agreed to let Bell resume his innings.

Bell added only 22 runs after the drama before he edged Yuvraj Singh to slip. During that time, though, Morgan took charge, finding the boundary frequently during a 104-run partnership. India's flagging intensity in the field plunged further. While most were still debating the run-out that wasn't, Morgan raced past fifty, off 62 balls, with a straight six off Harbhajan Singh.

The second new-ball gave India false hope as Morgan and the injured Jonathan Trott fell in successive overs from Praveen. Prior and Tim Bresnan, however, added an unbeaten 102 runs for the seventh wicket at 5.56 runs an over. Their hitting boundaries at will turned the contest into a bout between a boxer in his prime and an opponent unable to defend himself. England had scored 187 runs in the final session. Whether the Bell incident affected India's psyche after tea or not, there was a drastic decline in their performance. In the 90 overs England batted today, they hit 52 fours and two sixes.

The platform for England's dominance, however, had been laid well before tea. A combination of sunshine and the use of the heavy roller meant that batting conditions were as good as they had ever been over the previous two days. And Bell, batting at No. 3 because of the shoulder injury to Trott, thrived in them. His shot selection and placement were precise, his timing faultless.

Bell had a strike-rate of over 70 against every specialist Indian bowler, an indication that no one troubled him. He cut when there was width, drove straight when the length was fuller and flicked and glanced when the line was too straight. And there were plenty of opportunities to do so. The scoring was all around the wicket and India were powerless to prevent the glut of boundaries. By lunch, he had scored 84 out of England's 130, and built a lead of 63 in Pietersen's company. Unlike Bell, though, Pietersen had not been fluent before lunch.

On the previous two days, there was a wicket in the first over after lunch. Today, there was a four from Bell. And then Pietersen found his fluency, driving Ishant on the up to the straight boundary, and switched into formidable mode. He attacked Ishant again, moving inside the line to glance, pulling with power and driving fiercely to long-on in the same over.

The ensuing passage of play was a blur of boundaries: Bell guiding wide balls to third man and Pietersen glancing towards fine leg. Bell got to his century off 129 balls, England reached 200 in 52.1 overs. India had some respite when, against the run of play, Sreesanth found Pietersen's edge, after which he bowed to the crowd, who had been giving him a hard time. Morgan, however, didn't fall cheaply this time and began a partnership with Bell. And then the drama began.

England question Hot Spot accuracy

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 06:52:00 +0000

England were unimpressed when a review against VVS Laxman was turned down

In a series where a half-baked DRS is being used after Hawk-Eye was made optional, England are unconvinced by the Hot Spot technology after they were sure VVS Laxman had edged a delivery but the third umpire couldn't overturn the decision.

England were trying to force any early wicket on the second morning when James Anderson and the slips were convinced Laxman had got a thin edge which led to Andrew Strauss calling for a review. However, the Hot Spot camera didn't show any white mark on the bat and despite the third umpire, Billy Bowden, saying he could hear a sound there wasn't enough evidence for him to suggest to Asad Rauf that he should change his call.

It led to a small confrontation between Laxman and Kevin Pietersen, but while that was soon nipped in the bud Broad admitted the players are beginning to have reservations about the part of DRS that is now the mandatory requirement.

"All of our players thought that was quite a clear edge and Hot Spot hasn't really shown up the faint edges which is a bit of a flaw I think," he said. "There was a question of what it hit and the answer wasn't what KP thought it was."

There is a suggestion that using vaseline on the edge of a bat makes it difficult for the Hot Spot cameras to detect an edge, but Broad confirmed for himself that Laxman had used nothing on his equipment. "I actually had a cheeky feel of his edge when the ball went past, but there's no vaseline or anything on there," he admitted. "I think it's just Hot Spot, we've found the really faint edges don't show up. It's just one of those things."

The DRS can only be used for catches in this series after an agreement between the teams that it wouldn't be implemented for any element of lbws following the ruling at the ICC meetings in Hong Kong last month to make ball-tracking optional. India are very sceptical of the accuracy of the Hawk-Eye technology, but England have always said they would prefer the full system to be used.

They have experienced both sides of the current set-up during this Test. In the first innings Alastair Cook was lbw to a delivery passing over the stumps but on the second day they benefited from the lack of reviews when Harbhajan Singh, the middle victim of Broad's hat-trick, was given leg before despite a big inside edge. In the previous Test at Lord's, Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina survived lbw shouts that would have been overturned with the full DRS. Overall, though, the standard of on-field umpiring in the two Tests has been outstanding.

Although the potential flashpoint at Laxman's survival didn't escalate there was an England player who found himself in trouble. Graeme Swann was reprimanded by the ICC after kicking off the bails in frustrating at the end of his 12th and final over during a tough day with the ball where he conceded 76 runs.

Swann is the second player to be pulled up by the ICC on the opening two days of this match after Praveen Kumar was fined 20% of his match fee on Friday, following an outburst at Marais Erasmus, when an lbw appeal against Pietersen which was turned down.

Praveen fined for arguing with umpire

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 06:16:00 +0000

Praveen Kumar has been docked 20% of his match fee

Praveen Kumar, the India seamer, has been fined 20% of his match fee for arguing with umpire Marais Erasmus over an unsuccessful lbw appeal on the first day at Trent Bridge. Praveen pleaded guilty to the charge of a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct.

The incident occurred in the 18th over of the day, during which Praveen appealed for a leg before against Kevin Pietersen. Erasmus turned it down. Praveen was disappointed by the decision and argued with Erasmus before being ushered away by Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina.

Pietersen had been struck in line and, though he had made a big stride forward, replays suggested the ball would have clipped the bails. The absence of DRS for lbws during this series, at India's insistence, denied Praveen a chance of a referral.

Praveen was found to have breached Article 2.1.3 of the Code of Conduct, which relates to "arguing or entering into a prolonged discussion with the umpire about his decision." Praveen admitted to the breach and accepted the fine imposed by match referee Ranjan Madugalle.

Praveen bounced back later and bowled an outstanding spell of 6-4-7-2. He removed Andrew Strauss, for 32, and Eoin Morgan in the space of three deliveries. He could have had Ian Bell's wicket had Rahul Dravid not spilled an easy chance at first slip. Earlier in the day, MS Dhoni had given the new ball to Praveen on an overcast morning despite Sreesanth being in the side in place of Zaheer Khan. Praveen swung the new ball both ways and made use of the two-paced pitch with the old ball. He dismissed Graeme Swann with a ball that reared from a length and smashed the glove before lobbing to gully.

In his short Test career, Praveen has had several run-ins with umpires. Billy Bowden warned him at Lord's for running on the danger area of the pitch. Praveen had been removed from the attack for a similar offence in the first Test in the West Indies after two warnings from Daryl Harper.

Test players picked from anywhere, White believes

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 09:47:00 +0000

"It seems as though the door is open for everyone in first-class cricket, one day cricket, and Twenty20 cricket to play Test cricket, if that makes any sense"

Cameron White, the Australian Twenty20 captain, says the rapid promotion of Nathan Lyon to tour Sri Lanka next month suggests the national selectors are employing an open door policy for the Test side, irrespective of the format a player makes his name in.

Lyon's selection, having played only four first-class matches and a handful of T20 and limited overs matches for South Australia last summer, has illustrated how far the national panel is prepared to look in its pursuit of "champion" players.

White certainly sounded bemused when questioned on what Lyon's selection, alongside Michael Beer and Trent Copeland, signified for the rest of Australia's cricketers.

He concluded that it now meant that a player could be plucked from T20s to play Tests or Sheffield Shield cricket to play T20, as talent identifiers ceased to discriminate between formats and disciplines.

"Very interesting question. It is a tough one for me to answer," White told reporters in Brisbane before the T20 squad flew out for Sri Lanka. "I guess if you are in the right place at the right time you can be picked.

"If you are in form and the selectors view that you are the right man for the job they can pick you. It seems as though the door is open for everyone in first-class cricket, one day cricket, and Twenty20 cricket to play Test cricket, if that makes any sense."

Both Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, and Greg Chappell, the national talent manager and selector, have stated that their present policy is to cast around widely in the hope that certain players will show immediate signs of becoming top class performers. It is an approach laced with risk and uncertainty, and far removed from that employed by the national panel when Australia was last struggling so markedly in the mid-1980s.

At that time the selectors identified a group of players with talent to support the captaincy of Allan Border, and largely stuck by them until results began to improve. The likes of Steve Waugh, Dean Jones, Merv Hughes, Geoff Marsh, David Boon and Craig McDermott emerged as the nucleus of a strong Australian side, that later became great when younger talent was introduced to a stable dressing room.

"We're picking the best team for Australia," Hilditch said when announcing the Test squad in Adelaide. "But we need some experienced players, which we think we have got, and we also need to find a couple of new champions in the next couple of years."

Australia's coach, Tim Nielsen, is not a selector, but he defended the scatter-gun ways of the panel, which is under heavy scrutiny as part of the Don Argus-led Australian team performance review. The review is due to table its findings to the Cricket Australia board at its next meeting on August 18-19.

"We are obviously looking for the spinner who can take us forward in all three forms of the game," Nielsen said. "To be honest no-one has taken their opportunity and made it their own yet. No-one has made their spot their own. And that is why we see some fluctuations in who is selected.

"Because whether it be through injury or performance we haven't seen one spinner really take the job on. Lyon and Beer now have the opportunity to stake their claim.

Nielsen did not see anything inconsistent about the rapid distribution of baggy green caps, particularly to spin bowlers. Twelve have now been elevated to the Australian Test squad since Shane Warne retired in 2007.

"We have come off a summer where we didn't have the success we would have liked," he said. "And it's pretty obvious we are searching for the mix of players we think will take us forward.

"We have seen a couple of players who are perceived to have jumped the queue because they have performed well when given the opportunity, and I think that is the way it has always been. If you are given a chance at domestic or Australia A level and do well the selectors will reward that."

Nielsen's role is also being analysed closely by the review, and his support staff has been significantly altered by the additions of Steve Rixon as fielding coach and Craig McDermott as pace bowling coach. The players have enjoyed the presence of more mentors with Test match experience, something Nielsen himself cannot call upon.

Rixon was appointed at the insistence of the new captain Michael Clarke, and Nielsen said the team now bore the stamp of the new leader.

"Michael's very clear on how he feels the team should be playing and the things he feels are important for the team to be playing that way," he told AAP. "We've got some new staff around the place, a new captain, a new vice-captain so all of those things lead to a different voice and a different idea.

"It's been really positive so far, I've really enjoyed working with those guys. I'm sure in the next little while, even if it doesn't transfer into wins straight out of the blocks, we're hopeful the new cricketers we've got in the team and the different direction we're taking will lead us back to the levels we want to be playing at and the standing we want in world cricket."

The Australian T20 squad departs on Saturday for two matches on August 6 and 8, with limited overs and Test series to follow.

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:06:00 +0000

England v India, 2nd npower Test, Trent Bridge

Long odds for injury-hit India

Match facts

July 29- August 2, Trent Bridge
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT, 1530 IST)

Big Picture

England's comprehensive victory at Lord's, with a performance hailed by their captain as "outstanding", has put them one step closer to the much-desired No. 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings. Some are already proclaiming them the best team in the world, irrespective of what the rankings say. Others suggest they aren't yet, and that judgment should be withheld until later in the series, given India's remarkable knack of bouncing back after defeats in series-openers.

An injury-hit India presents England with a great opportunity to settle the debate. MS Dhoni's side is crippled by the loss of arguably their most influential player, Zaheer Khan, due to a hamstring problem.

What will make it worse is if Gautam Gambhir, who is still recovering from a blow to the elbow he took in the first Test, joins the injury list. While India at least have a couple of back-up quick bowlers to choose from to replace Zaheer, Gambhir's absence could end up upsetting the batting configuration. One of three makeshift openers will have to be employed - Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid or Wriddhiman Saha - and the experienced middle order, India's biggest strength, could be exposed early to the swinging ball.

England start as favourites in Trent Bridge, but as India have repeatedly shown, they are a surprisingly resilient side, regularly managing to circumvent problems caused by their relatively weak bowling line-up. Can they do it once again?

Form guide (most recent first)

England WDDWW
India LDDWD

In the spotlight

Harbhajan Singh's place in the XI has rarely come under the scanner, especially after his ascension to the lead spinner's role after the retirement of Anil Kumble nearly three years ago. Now, though, questions are being asked after a run-of-the-mill performance in the Caribbean was followed up with a 1 for 218 at Lord's. While the track for the first Test didn't offer much for the spinners, Harbhajan's inability to keep the runs down hurt a Zaheer-less India. He needs three more caps to complete 100 Tests, a milestone he may not reach in this series unless he turns his form around.

At Trent Bridge four years ago, Matt Prior's career hit one of its lows when he faced a barrage of criticism for the infamous jelly bean saga. Now he returns to the venue acclaimed by some as the best Test wicketkeeper-batsman in the world. With four centuries in the past year and an average that has soared to the mid-forties, Prior has made quite a convincing case.

Team news

The most settled side in world cricket, England's only concern is the hamstring problem that is troubling their tall fast bowler Chris Tremlett. Andrew Strauss is confident Tremlett will be fit to play but even if he isn't, there's a ready replacement in Tim Bresnan. The rest of the XI are certain picks.

England 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Andrew Strauss (capt), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Eoin Morgan, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Chris Tremlett/Tim Bresnan, 11 James Anderson

India have more to ponder. The good news for Indian fans is Sachin Tendulkar has recovered from the viral fever that troubled him in the first Test. The bad news is that Zaheer is out and Gambhir could join him on the sidelines. Sreesanth is likely to get his first Test since Cape Town six months ago, and Yuvraj Singh could get yet another shot at reviving his Test career.

India 1 Abhinav Mukund, 2 Gautam Gambhir/Yuvraj Singh, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Sreesanth

Pitch and conditions

This is a ground that is famous for its swing, and teams have struggled to score big in recent years. India's phalanx of experienced batsmen can expect a thorough workout against an on-song England pace attack.

The clouds are expected to stay away this week, with warm and dry weather forecast.

Stats and trivia

Trent Bridge has been one of the most challenging Test venues for batsmen since 2005, with only Sabina Park having a lower runs-per-wicket ratio.
James Anderson has an outstanding record at Trent Bridge, bagging 28 wickets at 15.89 in four Tests
In this match, Tendulkar will become the first man to play 100 away Tests. The next person on the list is Rahul Dravid with 87 overseas Test

Quotes

"We don't want to look at the negatives, we want to look at the positives, this will give a chance for someone to become a hero."
MS Dhoni makes light of the injuries to key India players

"If we can make it 2-0 here this week we are in a brilliant position to win the series. We aren't looking at Edgbaston or The Oval."
Andrew Strauss is focusing on the here and now

'We're the favourites' - Shakib

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:14:00 +0000

Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, thinks his team is slightly ahead of Zimbabwe as they prepare for their first Test match in more than 14 months. The 15-member squad leaves Dhaka on July 27 to play a one-off Test and five one-dayers in what will be Zimbabwe's return to the game's premier format after six years. While the hosts have played a number of games against the second-string sides of South Africa and Australia, Bangladesh have only gone through a long fitness camp and some two-day games against the Academy side before the tour. Still, Shakib believes that they go into the series as favourites.

"I think we are, but I won't say that we are too far ahead of them since we're playing in their weather and conditions and playing after a good gap. But still, I think we're the favourites," Shakib said during the pre-tour press conference in Mirpur on Monday. "I am not thinking about it as a problem and as Stuart [Law] said, everyone should be excited and I'm sure they're interested to do well in the Test.

"They [Zimbabwe] are getting good practice against South Africa A and Australia A. They will be prepared so we'll have to play our best cricket."

Stuart Law, who was appointed head coach of Bangladesh earlier this month, said that he has set small targets, starting from batting out a good number of overs in the first innings. "It's not a skill problem as I've seen. The players are highly skilled. It's the mental approach that has to change in Test cricket. They have to find a tempo that suits Test cricket with their batting. If we can find the right tempo, we can post scores that the bowlers can bowl at.

"I've set a challenge for us to bat 120 overs in the first innings. If we can do that, 350-plus should be an achievable target."

Bangladesh will go into the Test with just one bowler, Shakib, who has more than 50 Test wickets, and the absence of Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain could be the biggest worry for the team. "I think [Shahadat Hossain] Rajib is a huge loss," Shakib said. "He's been our best Test bowler for quite a while. But those who are in the team, they're bowling well. I think they've the ability to take wickets,"

Of those in the squad, Shakib singled out left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, saying his record over the last 12 months would have given him the confidence to play Test cricket. "[Abdur Razzak] Raj bhai has been bowling well in the last year or so. I have bowled the most as I was the only chosen spinner in the team but I still think Raj bhai can do well if he's chosen. But the burden falls on the entire bowling unit. Everyone has to work hard as the spinners won't get a lot of help from those wickets,"

Shakib was involved in a controversy over team selection on his return from Worcestershire, but wants to make amends in Zimbabwe with a fresh outlook. "Opportunities come all the time. It depends on you when you want to change your attitude and the way you go about your work. I think it's a great opportunity to prove myself."

Anderson leads dominant England to big win

noreply@blogger.com (lucky) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:04:00 +0000

England 474 for 8 dec (Pietersen 202*, Trott 71, Praveen 5-106) and 269 for 6 dec (Prior 103*, Broad 74*, Ishant 4-59) beat India 286 (Dravid 103*, Broad 4-37, Tremlett 3-80) and 261 (Raina 78, Laxman 56, Anderson 5-65, Broad 3-57) by 196 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Enlarge

England's bowlers fought through dogged batting, the absence of DRS for lbws and some sloppy catching to avoid a repeat of Lord's 2007 - when India saved the Test - and completed a comprehensive win 28.3 overs before the scheduled close of a gruelling final-day scrap.

India's four big hopes survived 93, 113, 56 and 68 deliveries, which meant England had to work for wickets and also that they never let those batsmen feel they were in. James Anderson took out Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, although it could be argued that he struck the knockout blows after Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett had softened the batsmen up.

Although there were two dropped catches and two controversial not-out lbw decisions, it all went down in a manner suggesting England had scripted it thus. They wouldn't have budgeted for the strongest resistance to come from Suresh Raina, who proved he belonged with a fighting 78, but by the final session Anderson was in red-hot form. He completed his 11th five-for by breaking through that final piece of Indian fight with a beautiful inswinger from round the stumps. Initially Anderson had fed off the immense pressure created by Tremlett and Broad, and Graeme Swann contributed by accounting for one of the best players of spin today, Gautam Gambhir.

It was just as well that England finished India off and avoided what would have become a major controversy had India hung on with one wicket in hand. The dreaded scenario of disagreement between Hawk-Eye and the umpire occurred twice in potentially crucial circumstances. Broad had comprehensive cases for lbw against Tendulkar and Raina, and would have successfully challenged the original not-out decisions had DRS been available for lbws. Those two decisions cost England a potentially decisive 15.4 overs.

Anderson had drawn Dravid into a rare loose shot outside off, he regularly beat Laxman's bat in a five-over spell, often proving to be too good to take the edge.

While Andrew Strauss's catching at slip and his defensive in-and-out fields in the first session could be argued against, his bowling changes worked like a charm. About 20 minutes before lunch he brought on Anderson, who began with a long hop that Laxman pulled straight to short midwicket.

Laxman's dismissal brought together India's walking wounded, Gambhir and Tendulkar. They hung in bravely, Gambhir for 56 balls with a painful elbow and Tendulkar for 68 with a viral infection. Whatever the debate around DRS be, the umpires had a great match, and it was evident in Gambhir's lbw, in the over after Laxman's dismissal. The Swann arm ball had hit the pad a microsecond before it hit the bat. Asad Rauf sent Gambhir on his way.

From the injured man the burden transferred to the ill man, Tendulkar, who began positively but went into a shell after lunch. That Raina looked more comfortable than Tendulkar during their 17.4-over partnership told a story. While Tendulkar was solid in defence, he let the bowlers bowl to a perfect rhythm, and the odd one was bound to be too good.

After surviving that Broad shout, Tendulkar played 40 balls for one run. Once again Anderson came back and struck immediately. He had Tendulkar dropped by Strauss, but produced an inswinger similar to Broad's two balls later, and Tendulkar was plumb. This was the sixth time in the match that an Englishman had taken a wicket in the first over of a new spell.

In the lead-up to tea, with England easing the pressure as they built up to the new ball, Raina and MS Dhoni gave India hope. Raina showed character in how he avoided bouncers and reached a half-century that will only do him good. With the new ball, though, England were back on course. The ball started jagging around again, and a shaken-up Dhoni finally edged an outswinger from Tremlett.

A cold, ruthless demolition of the tail followed. Harbhajan Singh refused to back away, but England worked him over with precise short deliveries. Praveen Kumar didn't stand much of a chance. Raina got a gem from Anderson, coming in from round the stumps, then leaving him, and taking the edge. Broad deservedly ended the match with a plumb lbw; the last four had fallen for 18 runs.

Scenes of elation followed for the home side and the biggest Monday crowd at Lord's. England will feel relief too at having finished off the job, and not only because they righted what happened in 2007. Had India drawn this, they would have had positives to look at; now they have injured bodies and a series deficit.