The Australian team believes the upcoming two-Test series against India will be really tough, but its inexperience shouldn’t hurt its chances

Sidharth Monga in Chandigarh23-Sep-2010The Australian team believes the upcoming two-Test series against India will be really tough, but its inexperience shouldn’t hurt its chances. Australia’s likely first XI will have four players – Marcus North, Tim Paine, Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus – who haven’t played a Test in India, and a specialist spinner who played only one Test back in 2004.Coach Tim Nielsen said the inexperience wasn’t much of a concern, given that some of those who hadn’t played a Test in India had toured the country in various capacities. “I honestly believe it’s not just about playing Test matches,” Nielsen said. “It’s the whole experience – the travel, the fanatical following, the heat, the rain, different food, different culture, different ideas, different ball. Our boys are lucky to have experienced that before.”We are a better prepared team now. Mitchell [Johnson] has been around for three-four years. A lot of other players have been here before, be it for ODIs, A tours, the IPL or the Champions League. Their understanding of conditions in India and their culture is much better.”One such player is North, even though he doesn’t play the shorter versions of the game. “I have played here a lot,” North said. “I’ve toured Bangalore twice with Western Australia and I’ve been here with the Australia A team before the last Australian Test tour. I’ve been to the MAC spin academy [in Chennai] a number of times.”I have had quite a bit of experience in the subcontinent, not at this level obviously. But I have enjoyed all my trips to India. I have enjoyed the challenges of different conditions as well. It’s not foreign to me. I know what’s coming ahead and I am just looking forward to the series.”Doug Bollinger, one of the bowlers who’ll be playing his first Test in India, has played with Chennai Super Kings and Tim Paine was here with the ODI team last year.Michael Clarke, Australia’s vice-captain, said his team was looking forward to the challenge. “Playing against India in any conditions in any form of the game is tough,” he said. “But Test cricket here is especially hard. We need to be as well prepared as we possibly can be and that’s why we’re here so early before the first Test. To get a practice match against a very good Board President’s XI team, to get that feel of the conditions under the belt is very important.”All these guys have played a lot of first-class cricket and some Test cricket,” Clarke said. “We just haven’t played much Test cricket as a team in India. But we’re excited about that. If we can play our best cricket, I’m confident we can beat India in this series.”One of the challenges for Australia will be to not look too far ahead, at the Ashes series that follows their tour of India. North said the team is not running that risk. “Obviously the next seven Tests are pretty exciting,” he said. “Each of these Tests is going to be a big one for us. We respect the baggy green, and respect very Test match we play.”And playing a Test series in India is up there with the Ashes or playing Test matches in South Africa. Especially now, as India is No.1. I am really excited about playing here. That pressure-cooker cricket that India play in their conditions, with their crowds behind them. We all know Test cricket in India is tough, but Australians love tough cricket, we have never shied away. We can’t wait for the Test series to start.”

The weather won again as Victoria and Tasmania were washed out in their one-day fixture at the MCG

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2010Match abandoned Victoria 2 for 112 (Finch 42*) v Tasmania 1 for 9

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Aaron Finch was stranded on 42 not out•Associated Press

The weather won again as Victoria and Tasmania were washed out in their one-day fixture at the MCG. Aaron Finch’s 42 not out pushed the Bushrangers to 2 for 112 after their first 20 overs and Tasmania were 1 for 9 when the rain came 4.1 overs into the reply.The highlight of the contest was a leaping catch by Rhett Lockyear at deep midwicket to snatch Brad Hodge’s swipe off Xavier Doherty, who will be in Australia’s one-day squad this week. Hodge left with 20, the same score the opener Glenn Maxwell managed before he was out slashing Ben Hilfenhaus to third man.Mark Cosgrove was caught down the legside from the third ball of the second innings to give Shane Harwood the wicket. The rain leaves Tasmania with a five-point gap over Victoria and New South Wales.

Doug Bollinger is almost certain to miss the Bangalore Test after he didn’t bowl in any of Australia’s two training sessions leading up to the match

Sidharth Monga at the Chinnaswamy Stadium08-Oct-2010Doug Bollinger is almost certain to miss the Bangalore Test after he didn’t bowl in any of Australia’s two training sessions leading up to the match. The two-metre tall South Australia fast bowler, Peter George, is likely to get a Test debut, ahead of Mitchell Starc, a New South Wales left-arm quick in the Mitchell Johnson mould.George’s richer first-class experience – he has played 19 Shield games to Starc’s 10 – is likely to tip scales in his favour. Moreover, George is seen as somebody with Glenn McGrath-like control, and Australia would want that in a crucial Test. George played in the tour game in Chandigarh too, taking a wicket first ball in McGrath fashion, with the slant away from the left-hand batsman and some bounce.India, on the other hand, are waiting on VVS Laxman’s recovery before they decide their final XI. Laxman came out for a light training session on Friday evening, where he had both batting and catching practice. “Laxman is much better right now,” MS Dhoni said. “We will take a call in the evening or tomorrow before the game. Five days of game can be difficult if you are injured at the start, and we will take a call later.”Ricky Ponting is expecting Laxman to play, but won’t offer him the generosity of a runner. “If he comes into the game, knowing what we had last week, he can’t bring in pre-existing injuries and expect to have a runner,” Ponting said. “I don’t see any concerns with him, though. He actually looked pretty good with his movements as far as I am concerned about the last game. I am a bit surprised he hasn’t batted today but he is obviously giving himself as much recovery time as possible.”India, though, had good news on another front, with Harbhajan Singh looking good to play. “As of now everybody is available for selection apart from Laxman,” Dhoni said. “None of the players have any injuries to my knowledge.”

ESPNcricinfo profiles the Super League teams in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2010

Mumbai

It’s time for Rohit Sharma to regain the focus•Cameraworx/Live Images

Defending champions for the last two years they might be, but Mumbai’s reign at the top is far from cosy. The questions from the beginning of last season still remain.One glaring problem is the shaky middle-order. Barring Ajinkya Rahane and Wasim Jaffer, there is nobody else who has shown the consistency and the runs to give hope. This could be a vital season for Rohit Sharma. Despite possessing the right skill-set, he is yet to achieve the fluency and command that his talent deserves. Last year he was unlucky to miss out on the semi-final and final thanks to national duty, after scoring his first first-class triple-hundred, but he has enough time to impress this season and jump to the front of the queue once vacancies arise in the Indian middle order.If Mumbai have to retain the supremacy, they need their bowlers to hunt in packs. Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar continue to impress in patches, but age is catching up with this stoic pair. Dhawal Kulkarni will miss out on the opening match, serving an eight-day ban during the Irani Cup, and Mumbai will feel the pinch against a stubborn Saurashtra middle order. With four away matches scheduled this season, the bowlers have their task cut out.For years Jaffer, Agarkar and Powar have guarded Mumbai with unflinching resolve. It is now time for the younger generation to start taking over.What they did last season
It might seems unbelievable now, but Mumbai finished third in their group, with just one outright victory, against Himachal Pradesh at home. In the knockouts, though, they started to seize the opportunities. Haryana were brushed aside through a large first-innings lead in the quarter-final; Abhishek Nayar’s battling century along with Powar’s delectable, loopy offbreaks gave Delhi no chance in the semi-final.Mumbai reserved their best for the gripping final, a match full of drama, tension, steel, and excitement. Vinayak Samant’s gritty fifty, in his last match for Mumbai, and Aavishkar Salvi’s brilliant five-for, got Mumbai a 103-run lead. However, Karnataka’s new-ball pairing of R Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun reduced Mumbai to 51 for 5 in the second innings. This is when Mumbai showed their big-match temperament, first through a 95-run sixth-wicket stand between Kulkarni and Abhishek Nayar, and then through hostile bowling from a pumped-up Agarkar and Kulkarni to seal a six-run win, leaving Manish Pandey heartbroken after his stylish century.Men to watch
Rahane, the second-highest run-getter over the last two seasons, will remain Mumbai’s bulwark in the top order. The middle-order’s inability to build on solid starts only adds weight to Rahane’s big centuries, built mainly on his aggressive yet studious style of batting. He will definitely need the support from Rohit. With the elevation of a contemporary like Cheteswhar Pujara into the Test ranks, Rohit is bound to feel the heat, and this season could be a personal quest for him. Harmeet Singh, the young left-arm spinner, who grabbed a seven-wicket haul in his debut match last season, could be the surprise package.

Delhi

Delhi will hope Shikhar Dhawan can turn out for them for the majority of the season•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Two months before the last season began, Delhi’s biggest ticket and most influential player, Virender Sehwag said he was contemplating leaving his team to play for Haryana. In the last three seasons, this team that belongs to one of the most dysfunctional of the India’s major cricket associations has won the title in 2007-08, was knocked out of the League in 2009-09 and reached the semis in 2009-10. The Delhi that turns up this season could feature a team following any of those scripts.They will begin on the edge itself. Their opening game against Bengal will be the first four-day fixture to be played at the Feroz Shah Kotla after the abandonment of the ODI between India and Sri Lanka last December. Delhi have as many as six current international stars in their side – Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Virat Kohli and most lately Shikhar Dhawan could each turn up at different points in the season and find their way into the Delhi XI. Or, if distant stars collide, they could all do so simultaneously.What keeps Delhi’s engine going however is the middle-order consisting of Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia, and the strong bowling attack, which will be shepherded by new coach Manoj Prabhakar. He worked with the Delhi team that won its seventh title in 2007-08, but was kept out of the frame for the next two years. Now he replaces Vijay Dahiya who stood down after three years in the job. Prabhakar will work with former India pace bowler Sanjeev Sharma as his assistant. Last week, Prabhakar said his goal was to prepare a team, “with a solid combination of seniors and juniors that can’t be pushed for the next five years and who play three Ranji finals in the next four years”. Now that would be predictable, but would that be Delhi?What they did last seasonWhat Delhi didn’t do last season was play at the Kotla, their traditional home venue. Delhi played three of four home games at the old Roshanara Club, which can produce a competitive green top but contains no dressing rooms. Scoring first-innings points away in Baroda, Delhi then dropped them to Karnataka at the Roshanara and then suffered defeat against Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow. They returned home for two victories against Saurashtra and Maharashtra, the weaklings of the group. They earned enough bonus points against Maharashtra and so conceding the first innings lead to Bengal couldn’t deprive them of a place in the knockouts. Roshanara was lined up for parties in the Christmas – NewYear week and the team had to take its quarter-final to the Palam ground whose track is affectionately called “a road.” Once Tamil Nadu’s first-innings score of 400 for 5 was turned into 463 all out, and Delhi’s middle order kept its head, they were through to the final four. There they ran into the old enemy, Mumbai and Ramesh Powar’s 5 for 47 meant that Delhi’s campaign was over.Men to watchLast season, Parvinder Awana was the team’s leading wicket-taker with 29 wickets from 8 matches but it was the tall left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra that made those lamenting the lack of India’s spinning options sit up and take notice. Rookie left-arm fast bowler Pawan Suyal could be their trump card. The team will want opener Mayant Tehlan to shake off a poor last season and seize control of the slot vacated by Aakash Chopra’s departure to Rajasthan. Keep an eye out for wicketkeeper Punit Bisht, Delhi’s top run-scorer last season (543 at 67.87, two hundreds and two fifties) in a line-up chockfull of batsmen.

Haryana

Different colours, different format, different team – but Haryana will want Hemang Badani to retain his class•ICL

Haryana have clawed their way back into the Super League after three years and their challenge this season will be to compete, rather than conquer. The coach Ashwini Kumar says as much. “I want us to maintain our place in the Elite League, and am not setting lofty ambitions. We will take the season one game at a time,” he says. It was a policy that worked well for his team last year as they dominated the Plate League with three victories and two draws with first-innings leads and a fluent win in the semis to qualify for the Super League quarter-finals. There, they had their moments against eventual-champions Mumbai, but lost the initiative to concede a huge first-innings lead that shut them out of the event.One of the reasons for the reversal against Mumbai was the failure of their main batsman, Sunny Singh, who went into that game after topping the Elite run-charts with 617 at an average of 88.14. Sunny, along with opener Rahul Dewan, was instrumental in Haryana’s Plate dominance, while Sachin Rana and Ankit Rawat offered creditable support. The bowling, led by left-arm seamer Sanjay Budhwar (20 wickets), was adequate if not exceptional. Amit Mishra’s presence for two matches when he was away from India duty gave the attack teeth, and his misfortune could be Haryana’s gain if he does not make the cut for the South Africa tour.What they did last seasonSunny set up his prolific season with an attacking triple-hundred as Haryana piled on 546 to dominate the draw against Madhya Pradesh. He struck another ton against Jammu & Kashmir in a low-scoring game that was affected by rain, before Yuzvendra Chahal ensured Haryana secured the first-innings lead again. Budhwar and Rana helped them recover from 92 for 5 on the opening day against Andhra before Joginder Sharma’s second-innings century helped them set up a hard-fought win. They finished their league engagements by hammering Kerala by an innings to set up a semi-final clash with Tripura. Mishra proved his worth in that game after the batting failed, bagging 5 for 41 to give Haryana another decisive first-innings lead.After restricting Mumbai to 55 for 4 in the Elite quarter-final, Haryana’s attack stepped off the throttle to let Ajinkya Rahane and Ajit Agarkar script a strong fightback. Despite a composed 71 from Dewan, Haryana stumbled against the might of Mumbai’s all-round attack to concede the first-innings lead and bow out of the tournament.Men to watchHemang Badani, the former Tamil Nadu player who has represented India in ODIs, joins Haryana after a period of upheaval following his ICL stint. Badani’s presence will bolster the middle order considerably, and if Sunny and Dewan can replicate their form from last season, Haryana’s opponents will struggle to bowl them out. Rana and Mishra will miss the opening fixture with injury and India duty respectively, but expect big things from them during the course of the season.

BarodaThe sooner Irfan Pathan stands up, the better for Baroda and for India•Associated Press

Baroda have been rebuilding over the last two seasons, experimenting with young players as the old guard makes way for new, much like the Indian team. This year marks an almost-final break from the past, with the 22-year old wicketkeeper Pinal Shah replacing Connor Williams as captain in Irfan Pathan’s absence. Veteran Jacob Martin has retired, while Satyajit Parab, is expected to at the end of the season.Coach Mukesh Narula says that Pinal – who led Baroda on the successful tour of Kenya and in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament – has been steadily groomed for the responsibility. Narula says Pinal has been appointed to have a sense of continuity in the leadership, given that Irfan could be called up for national duty.Irfan, who topped Baroda’s runs and wickets charts last year, is rehabilitating from a persistent back injury and will miss the first two games, according to Narula. They will however be boosted by the presence of Ambati Rayudu, who has left Hyderabad to join them. Narula is confident that his inexperienced team can make the knockouts, though they narrowly missed out in the previous two seasons. They will fancy their chances in a relatively lightweight Group B.Among the bowlers whose actions came under scrutiny last season, left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar has left Baroda. Left-arm medium-pacer Sankalp Vohra worked on his action during the off-season and bowled in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament recently.What they did last yearThey managed only five points from the first four games, getting thrashed by Karnataka after following-on, and conceding a 265-run first-innings lead to Delhi. Irfan rose to the occasion, taking seven wickets and guiding Baroda to victory with an unbeaten half-century against Saurashtra. His seven wickets and centuries from Williams and Shatrunjay Gaekwad set up another win over Maharashtra in Baroda’s final match. The late surge was not enough, however, as they fell short of the third-placed Delhi by one point.Men to watchIrfan, when he comes back, will be the key. He averaged almost 50 with the bat last year, and took 22 wickets at less than 19 runs each. More than the numbers, it’s his presence that uplifts the entire team, according to Narula. MS Dhoni has been voicing India’s lack of a fast-bowling allrounder in every forum, a role Irfan performed well in the past, before his bowling fell away alarmingly. This tournament will be crucial for him, especially with the World Cup less than four months away.

Daniel Christian completed one of the great all-round efforts in Australian domestic one-day history, to deliver South Australia a five-wicket win over Victoria in Geelong

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2010
ScorecardDaniel Christian starred with bat and ball•AFP

Daniel Christian completed one of the great all-round efforts in Australian domestic one-day history, to deliver South Australia a five-wicket win over Victoria in Geelong. Christian took 6 for 48, easily his best one-day bowling figures, before blasting 86 as the Redbacks cruised past Victoria’s 198 with 19 balls to spare.The move to the regional centre didn’t suit the hosts, although they did pick up one point for being ahead of South Australia at the halfway mark. Victoria’s first block of 20 overs brought them 3 for 90 – the Geelong local Aaron Finch failed to impress his home crowd with 11 – and thanks to Victoria’s fast men, the Redbacks struggled to 4 for 63 after their opening block.But Christian and Ben Edmondson (4 for 49) restricted the Bushrangers in their second half, with David Hussey’s 45 the top score on a slow drop-in pitch. Adding to Victoria’s woes, their in-form star batsman Brad Hodge retired hurt on 18 after he was struck on the right thumb by a ball from Christian, although he did return to the crease after heading to hospital for precautionary x-rays.Victoria’s total left South Australia needing 136 from their final 25 overs with six wickets in hand, which could have been tricky had the hosts broken in to the lower order. But the captain Michael Klinger (78 not out) combined with Christian for a 138-run partnership that ensured success for the Redbacks, who have now won two Ryobi Cup matches in a row.