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When sports teams travel, it is with the intention of taking something away from the place they are visiting. Most of the time, that something is tangible like a trophy. Sometimes it is something much more.”I have learnt the most from India – just from general respect and treating people the way you do. Indian people, as a culture, are the friendliest people around,” Faf du Plessis, South Africa’s T20 captain said. “I have mentioned it to the team and said to them, ‘Really open your eyes and try and listen because there is so much you can learn from people here.”Du Plessis has been to India at least five times, only once (2011) as an international cricketer. Every year since then, he has been part of the IPL and his experience at Chennai Super Kings has shaped his idea about the country and by extension, the cricket.Du Plessis has previously credited the tournament with South Africa’s success in the subcontinent and now he hopes they can draw from it both in preparation and over the course of their 11-week tour of India. “From a skill perspective, I have learnt a lot from batting in these conditions and practising every day against the world’s best spin bowlers,” du Plessis said.Ultimately, the spin factor will have a say in whether South Africa leave India with more than just a cultural education. How their batsmen play it, will be as important as how their bowlers deliver it.For the first time, South Africa have reason to believe they can match up in both departments thanks to their growing spin resources. Their Test squad includes three specialist spinners and their limited-overs’ sides two, although JP Duminy provides a handy part-time option as well. “I suppose they know we have got spinners who can win us games. Imran has proven it right across the world and he has changed the way we have played in the white-ball format. We have always relied on pace to strike first and now our success in the one-day or T20 team lies heavily on his shoulders,” du Plessis said.Tahir is South Africa’s leading bowler in ODI cricket this year and lies fourth overall with 30 wickets from his 17 matches at an average of 22.46. He has only played one T20 in 2015, in order to manage his workload, but was South Africa’s most economical bowler in that match and is certain to play a part in the World T20. Tahir has combined control in the middle overs with the ability to attack, and that has meant South Africa have a genuine means of keeping batting line-ups under pressure during passages of play where they have sometimes let things drift, after the seamers had bowled their opening spells.He will be particularly important in the T20 series, because that is the format in which South Africa are fielding their least experienced pack. In the absence of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada and Marchant de Lange will carry the load. Luckily for them, they are starting on what du Plessis has called “probably the quickest wicket in India”, but will be aware that it will only get more difficult after Dharamsala.That’s not to say anyone is going to find playing at the picturesque ground easy. A surprising amount of dew greeted South Africa during an evening training session, which du Plessis expects will make things tricky for the fielding side but could mitigate against the spin factor. “Dew is never a nice thing for a bowling team or fielding team because the ball gets slippery but the wet ball takes away a little bit of challenge from the spinners.”Ordinarily, that would be seen as advantage for South Africa, who are perceived to be susceptible to spin. But these days, a more well-travelled South African outfit – 10 of the current squad of 15 have played in the IPL and all of them have been to India before – embrace the turn and Du Plessis has promised it has not made them any less aggressive in their intent to leave India with tangible and intangible trophies.”It doesn’t take away the edge to win or the competitiveness on the field. The boundary of right and wrong doesn’t get crossed as much anymore. But when I am batting I am trying to hit you for six or four every ball and I am trying to win the game. It’s just that balance is really good at the moment.”

The South African players were fined 5% of their match fees – Graeme Smith, their captain being fined 10% – for a slow over-rate during the second Test against West Indies in Cape Town.Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, imposed the fine after South Africa were ruled to be one over short of its target after time allowances were taken into consideration.In accordance with the ICC Code of Conduct regulations governing over-rate penalties, players are fined 5% of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount.South Africa won the match by seven wickets to square the series 1-1. The next Test, to be played at Kingsmead in Durban, begins on January 10.

In a year when he defined his captaincy with a crushing 5-0 Ashes recovery, Ricky Ponting has created further history by becoming the first man to win the cleansweep of the Allan Border Medal, the Test Player of the Year and the One-Day Player of the Year. Like last season, Michael Hussey was the runner-up in the Border Medal tally but unlike 2006 – when Ponting squeezed home by only three votes – this year’s win was as comprehensive as the Ashes campaign.Ponting, the only man to win multiple Border Medals, polled 107 votes, almost doubling Hussey’s 58 and the 56 collected by Shane Warne in third place. Warne was two votes short of capping off his dream retirement year with a second consecutive Test title, finishing with ten votes to Ponting’s 12. In the limited-overs contest Andrew Symonds (18) was next in line after Ponting (20).Ponting said we was amazed to win the one-day award and the Border Medal – he thought Hussey deserved to be the hot favourite – and it drew to a close “the best cricketing year of my life”. “I knew I’d had a good Test year,” he said. “I thought my one-day season had been very up and down. To win the Allan Border Medal on top of a five-nil Ashes series is a really good year. If we can finish off and win the Commonwealth Bank Series it’d be almost a perfect year for all of us.”He said the focus now turned to Australia’s World Cup defence after 18 months of pure determination to regain the Ashes. “The first part of the summer was focused on the Ashes and making sure we played a certain style and certain brand of cricket through the Ashes and we managed to probably exceed everybody’s expectations,” Ponting said. “Since the 2005 Ashes series our Test cricket has been almost flawless. We haven’t lost a Test and we’ve won every one bar one.”Ponting dominated Australia’s stellar year – they won all ten of the Tests played in the voting period – beginning with two centuries in the three-match tour of South Africa, whistling through Bangladesh with an unbeaten 118 and finishing with a brilliant Ashes series that featured back-to-back hundreds in the opening two games. His ten Tests yielded 1115 runs at 74.33.Warne’s final year of Test cricket almost provided a fairytale ending but despite polling in six of the ten Tests, his surprising lack of any three-vote games meant he was denied the Test award. He topped Australia’s wicket tally with 49 dismissals and Stuart Clark, who claimed 47, completed his impressive debut year with third place.In the ODI arena, Ponting’s 968 runs were enough to earn him his first title since 2002. Australia warmed up for their World Cup defence with their first Champions Trophy win but despite Ponting’s disappointing form in that tournament, his outstanding finish to last year’s VB Series and his excellent efforts in the current CB Series pushed him over the line ahead of Symonds and Michael Clarke. Ponting’s two centuries in his last two games – 111 against New Zealand at Perth and 104 against England at Melbourne – wrapped up the prize.Ponting was famously annoyed last year by a tongue-in-cheek segment in which Phil Tufnell mocked the Australians for “dropping the Ashes”. But this year, Tufnell’s return effort went down slightly better. “I suppose you want me to eat humble pie but I prefer doughnuts because that’s what we bloody served up to you all summer,” Tufnell said in a recorded message. “I’ve got a little tip for you: don’t upset Ricky Ponting. He turns into a run-machine and every time he smashed us for four he saw my face on that ball. During the Test series you had four players retire. We had four players retire as well – they just don’t know it yet.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Shoaib Akhtar provided the initial incision with the prized wicket of Rahul Dravid, and Mohammad Asif and Abdul Razzaq then produced sterling displays of seam bowling as Pakistan romped to a 341-run victory at the National Stadium. The triumph was every bit as emphatic as the marginsuggested, with India left to look back ruefully at the opening morning when Kamran Akmal’s century for the ages lifted Pakistan from the depths of 39 for 6. Set a mammoth 607 to win, or more realistically 164 overs to survive, India lasted just 58.4 overs, with Yuvraj Singh’s magnificent 122 the only spot of balm on a gaping wound.India’s stumble towards their second-heaviest defeat – Australia had routed them by 342 runs at Nagpur in October 2004 – started in the very first over when Shoaib’s fearsome pace induced the thinnest of edges from Dravid’s bat. That set the stage for Asif, the 23-year-old whose accuracy and use of the seam at lively pace evoked the incomparable Glenn McGrath.He got prodigious movement back to flummox the leaden-footed Virender Sehwag and leave India down for the count. Sachin Tendulkar, perhaps playing his final Test innings against Pakistan, then walked to the middle and appeared determined to go down swinging, playing two superb back-foot punches through the off side and a pull for four off Shoaib bowling at near-maximum pace. He and Laxman drove and nudged their way to lunch, swaying out of the way of some nasty bouncers, but soon after the interval, it all went pear-shaped. Again, it was Asif’s brilliant use of the seam that did the damage, with Laxman undone by subtle movement into him and Tendulkar floored – literally – by one that kept slightly low to cannon into the middle of off stump.

Sourav Ganguly started with a couple of sublimely timed off-drives and with Yuvraj also driving and pulling like a dream, the runs came at a frenetic clip. Asif kept probing away, beating the bat regularly, while Shoaib came back for a fiery second spell where an edge from Yuvraj felljust short of Imran Farhat at second slip. With the match almost certainly lost, both batsmen played with great freedom as Pakistan set attacking fields. Yuvraj took just 45 balls for his half-century, and both he and Ganguly saw off the threat of Danish Kaneria with only the odd alarm.Any hope of great escapes and miracles was however extinguished as soon as the players came back after tea, with Razzaq shaping one back onto Ganguly’s pad. Having already taken three wickets in the first innings and made 135 runs, Razzaq made an even greater impression with his spell in the final session. Faisal Iqbal dropped a sitter at square leg with Yuvraj on 77, but Razzaq didn’t let his shoulders droop, getting Mahendra Dhoni on the drive with some extra bounce and then having Irfan Pathan fend off a bouncer to gully.Kaneria, who finally got a bowl in the 24th over of the second innings, then winkled out Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan, before Razzaq capped a splendid allround display by having Yuvraj caught behind. By then, Yuvraj had let his stamp on proceedings with a second Test century, an innings of the highest class in a patently hopeless situation. He drove beautifully and pulled with power when the ball was pitched short, finishing with 19 fours and a six in an innings that stood out among the ruins of a famed batting line-up.Before doing untold damage with the ball, Pakistan had exacerbated India’s pain with the bat, piling up 88 runs from just 13.1 overs in the morning before the declaration came. Razzaq thumped his way to 90 before lofting Kumble down to Yuvraj at long-on, soon after Iqbal had departed, having stroked a wonderful 139 from just 220 balls.Razzaq started the morning’s carnage by slapping a Rudra Pratap Singh delivery past point, and then took 14 from an Pathan over that included a big six over long-on. Iqbal joined in the fun, pulling and flicking Rudra Pratap in another 14-run over. That prompted Dravid to turn to spin, butRazzaq’s response was to smash Kumble over long-on for six. Tendulkar’s introduction provoked a similarly violent reaction from Iqbal, who smacked him down to the sightscreen and over cover, before an effortless loft cleared the rope behind the bowler’s head.By the time he and Razzaq tried one biff too many, the damage had been done, leaving India with a Himalayan target to scale. With the exception of Yuvraj, no one even left base camp, and they can now reflect on a match where Pakistan finally produced the promised green-top and then pulverised them.

PakistanFaisal Iqbal c Tendulkar b Zaheer 139 (598 for 6)
Abdul Razzaq c Yuvraj b Kumble 90 (599 for 7)
IndiaRahul Dravid c Akmal b Shoaib 2 (8 for 1)
Virender Sehwag b Asif 4 (8 for 2)
VVS Laxman b Asif 21 (63 for 3) Sachin Tendulkar b Asif 26 (74 for 4) Sourav Ganguly lbw Razzaq 37 (177 for 5) Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Farhat b Razzaq 18 (208 for 6) Irfan Pathan c Iqbal b Razzaq 4 (216 for 7) Anil Kumble c Farhat b Kaneria 5 (231 for 8) Zaheer Khan b Kaneria 10 (251 for 9) Yuvraj Singh c Akmal b Razzaq 122 (265 all out)

If bygone generations of Indian fans were openlyenthralled by – and secretly coveted – an unendingline of Pakistani pacemen, so too will this generationof Pakistani fans come to appreciate and marvel at thecurrent generation of Indian batsmen and envy them. Ineach case, the enchantment, the fascination has been aderivative as much of their wondrous skills as aglaring paucity of similar resources.Who, for instance, in the Pakistani line-up, can matchthe sheer ballast of Virender Sehwag? Against Pakistanin this series, Sehwag has pillaged runs. Today, withminimum foot movement and fuss, as his is wont, andmaximum hand-eye coordination and threat, as is hisnature, he cut and drove at will, usually audaciouslyand imperiously.Arguably Inzamam-ul-Haq, now at his peak, possesses themastery over conditions and bowling as SachinTendulkar once did. Tendulkar provided a brief glimpse of his skill,passing his 10,000th run and compiling a composed 40thTest fifty. But the one batsman, the glittering jewelin a lavishly studded crown, that Pakistan must cravefor the most is Rahul Dravid.Last year, when Dravid compiled that immense 270 atRawalpindi, Yasir Hameed, standing at point, dropped asitter on 71. Hameed confessed later, onlyhalf-jokingly but revealingly, that he was takinglessons in watching a master at work. Those two daysin Rawalpindi, the sun beat down relentlessly, muchlike Eden Gardens today. As much as the heat, Dravid can be sapping on opposition bowlers.Ball after ball he repels with a painstakingly,composed and studious defense, standing up straightand tall for anything short and crouching forward toswat any mischief in the bounce or movement for fuller-length deliveries. And just in case he still getsbeaten by either, he brings soft hands into play,killing off any unnecessary edges. On this base, hebuilds.His first boundary against Abdul Razzaq was special,leaning into a wide, good-length delivery and drivingthrough just wide of mid-off. To bring up his 19thcentury late in the afternoon, he saved his best. WhenMohammad Sami, beginning an energetic spell, pitchedwide, he got down on one knee to steer through thecovers. Next ball, to bring up the landmark, he leantdown on a ball drifting onto middle and, with astraight bat and a twinkle of the wrists, drovebetween mid-on and midwicket. Many batsmen,particularly from this part of the world, would haveput it squarer, with exaggerated and more supplewrist work, but not Dravid.When he got something short enough, he recoiled;crouch down, step forward then lean back, move andposition the feet wide enough for balance, and uncoila cut, late or early. For effect, to highlight theextent of his mastery perhaps, he nonchalantly pickedup a legspinner from Kaneria outside off-stump overhis head for six, a rare result of any Dravid shot.For much of the day, there was little Pakistan’smeagre resources could do but watch the masterclass,hoping maybe to pick up a tip here or there. They werecommitted in the field and although their bowlingcurrently is unlikely to be anyone’s object of envy,you can’t fault it for perseverance. Shahid Afridiadded an unlikely chapter to the story of his recentredemption, hurrying batsmen, mixing his spin and paceand running onto the pitch twice for added drama.Supported well by Razzaq and, towards the end of the day, by Sami, they made up for an understandably fatiguedDanish Kaneria.But most noticeable, and as a parting thought,consider this. Pakistan’s fightback in the finalsession occurred without Inzamam on the field andYounis Khan as stand-in. You can put it down tocoincidence, as something that just happens incricket, or you can conclude that Pakistan’s rewardsin the last session were the result of theiremancipation from Inzamam’s lethargy as a leader.Certainly the verve and visible enthusiasm with whichYounis ran around the field, marshallingfielders, setting fields and talking regularly, almostexcessively, to his bowlers, contrasted starkly withInzamam. Was his vibrancy infectious enough for theteam to respond in kind and haul back what could havebeen a desperate situation? Or was it justhappenstance that this team, which in any case hasdeveloped a will to fight, most memorably and recentlyin Mohali, did so with Inzamam off the field?

Virender Sehwag will captain the Indians against Australia A in a three-day game beginning in Hobart on December 19.Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly will be rested, while Sadagoppan Ramesh and Murali Kartik are almost certain to play. Kartik was summoned to Australia on the eve of the second Test, but was left out of the side in favour of Anil Kumble, who picked up five wickets in the first innings. This will be Kartik’s first competitive game on the tour.Sachin Tendulkar, with knocks of 0,1, and 37, is likely to use the outing to regain his batting touch.Michael Hussey will lead Australia A, with two express bowlers at the forefront of the bowling attack. Shaun Tait and Paul Rofe have been included in the team, much to their surprise. But the selections were made keeping an eye on the future. Australia’s Test attack has been ageing steadily, and the drought of new quick bowlers has the selectors worried. This was accentuated by India’s domination of the under-strength bowling in Adelaide.Steve Waugh has said of Tait, “He’s probably the quickest, along with Brett Lee.” Tait, a 145kph bowler, has been given full licence to go hard at the Indians. “I think it’s good to have a licence like that, I can concentrate on just bowling fast,” says Tait. “Indians have faced fast bowling before and they can handle it but we’ll have to see how it goes. You never know.”The game will be played on a Bellerive Oval pitch that was found unsafe for play last season, forcing an inter-state match to be called off. The Tasmanian Cricket Association has quashed doubts about the condition of the wicket, saying it is fit for play. “The pitches we’ve had here this year so far have been excellent,” said David Johnstone, their chief executive. “We have no fear of having any problems whatsoever and looking at it the other day, it looked excellent. It’s in good shape.”Weather will play a vital part in the game; there has been a steady drizzle for two days, and the wind is expected to pick up speed tomorrow.Australia A 1 Michael Hussey (capt), 2 Michael Clarke, 3 Chris Rogers, 4 Martin Love, 5 Brad Hodge, 6 Cameron White, 7 Wade Seccombe (wk), 8 Matthew Nicholson, 9 Damien Wright, 10 Paul Rofe, 11 Shaun Tait.Indians (from): Akash Chopra, Virender Sehwag (capt), Sadagoppan Ramesh, Sachin Tendulkar, Deep Dasgupta (wk), Anil Kumble, Laxmipathy Balaji, Murali Kartik, Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Parthiv Patel (wk).

Barbadians Vasbert Drakes and Corey Collymore snubbed the media on Monday evening, denying the public the chance to hear their perspective on the West Indies cricket tour of India and Bangladesh.When asked if he had any comments for the media, Collymore snapped: "No, I going home," but was still seen lingering at Grantley Adams International Airport even after reporters left. Drakes, on the other hand, went from smiling and kissing his son to shouting and pointing at photographers who were taking his picture.This reaction by theall-rounder, who recently made his debut for the team because of changes in the eligibility rule, was clearly a shock to people waiting for family and friends at the airport.In sharp contrast were Pedro Collins and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Collins was the first person through the automatic gates and was embraced by his family and friends, but he spoke briefly to the media.The bowler said he felt he had to take charge of that department after Mervyn Dillon went home early with an injury, but then he too was hurt and had to be rested."Other than that I think we had a decent tour. I think the guys played some wonderful cricket, and the batting really clicked for us,"he said.Commenting on the different conditions, he noted: "The pitches were a bit different in Bangladesh, they give a bit more bounce, more carry. The pitches in India were mostly batting wickets . . . but once you bend your back it is hard work, and hard work will pay off."Although it is the Christmas season, Collins does not intend to eat, drink and be merry.He is very aware that the team has to be in camp by January 13 to prepare for the ICCWorld Cup."The physiotherapist gave everybody a programme you have to go through everyday. We have the camp coming up, so instead of being lazy I am going to be active," he said.

Indian captain Saurav Ganguly, who ended his recent run-drought with apainstaking 85 to lay the foundation for India’s four-wicket winagainst Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Wednesday, thanked one and all forsupporting him through his lean period.”It is good to score runs. I thank my teammates, family, friends andall supporters here and back home for their encouraging words,” arelieved and happy Ganguly said.Asked whether he would continue with the winning team in the next twomatches, the Indian captain replied in the negative.”We will give a chance to all. There are players who have not playedfor quite some time and all of them are good enough to play in theeleven,” he said. “In the process, we will also be able to fix acombination for the final."Man-of-the-match Rahul Dravid, who saw his team home with an unbeaten72, said, “Sourav showed a lot of character to hang in there and scoreruns.”On his own performance, Dravid said “I am happy to score a matchwinning knock and continue my good form on the tour. Even in the netsI am hitting the ball well.”Guy Whittal, leading Zimbabwe in the absence of Heath Streak, said histeam missed the services of Streak. On the team’s further progress inthe tournament, Whittal said “We will try to play as hard as we can inthe next game too.”

Shane Warne will be the Indian Premier League’s most expensive signing, at a cost of US$400,000 for the first season, set to kick off in April 2008. The finance committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India met in Mumbai on Friday and approved several decisions taken by the IPL’s governing council regarding payment of its players.The fee quoted for Warne is the signing amount for him to be part of the player pool from which franchises will bid for the rights to employ players within their ranks. With Brian Lara reportedly being paid US$1 million to appear in the Indian Cricket League, and the market heating up over the two rival leagues, Warne and similar big-ticket signings could rope in well in excess of US$1 million, sources revealed.The second-highest signing-on fee has, not surprisingly, been paid to Glenn McGrath, whose nifty line-and-length bowling see him join up for US$350,000. Stephen Fleming, whose agents flirted with the ICL but in the end held back – to the extent that Fleming was one of those present at the IPL’s launch – also nets US$350,000.Mohammad Yousuf, who had reportedly signed with the ICL before being lured away by the Pakistan board – which made no effort to stop Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq or Imran Farhat from joining the unrecognised league – has signed up with the IPL for US$330,000. A surprise entrant in the top five – and at the moment the list does not include current Australian or Indian cricketers – is Shoaib Malik, who is guaranteed US$300,000.The ICL, which is nearing the end of its inaugural edition, will hand out approximately Rs 18 crore [approx. US$4.5 million] in total prize-money for its 16-day tournament.The fees have been decided for only 34 of the 49 cricketers signed up by the IPL, sources said, and, of these, only 11 have received [partial] advance payments. The only player to receive payment in full is Yousuf, not surprising given that he was once a dead certainty to join the ICL. It is understood that McGrath is among those who have been given a sizeable advance.The 29 others who have received contracts:[All amounts in US$]
Australia Justin Langer 175,000
Sri Lanka Farveez Maharoof: 150,000, Kumar Sangakkara: 250,000, Mahela Jaywardene: 250,000, Muttiah Muralitharan: 250,000, Sanath Jayasuriya: 250,000, Nuwan Zoysa: 100,000, Dilhara Fernando: 150,000, Chaminda Vaas: 175,000, Lasith Malinga: 200,000
Pakistan Mohammad Asif 225,000, Shahid Afridi: 225,000, Shoaib Akhtar: 225,000, Younus Khan: 225,000
West Indies Shivnarine Chanderpaul 175,000
New Zealand Daniel Vettori 225,000, Jacob Oram 200,000, Scott Styris 150,000, Brendon McCullum 175,000
South Africa Loots Bosman 150,000, AB de Villiers 175,000, Albie Morkel 200,000, Graeme Smith 225,000, Herschelle Gibbs 225,000, Shaun Pollock 200,000, Ashwell Prince 150,000, Makhaya Ntini 175,000, Mark Boucher 175,000, Jacques Kallis 200,000.

Nagpur is yet to produce a world-beating cricketer. Prashant Vaidya is the only international player from this city – CK Nayudu is from here, too, but made his fame in Indore – and his four one-dayers don’t really qualify him for the moniker, ‘Nagpur’s most famous cricketing son’. But Nagpur has managed to snag a famous son-in-law.And Rahul Dravid hasn’t given his in-laws much reason to complain – he averages 110.33 in four ODIs at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, including one century and three fifties. Around 15 months ago, he started his captaincy stint here, a game when India surprised Sri Lanka and began a roll.Now he returns, with his plans somewhat in disarray after watching India stutter in the last few months. His own form has been patchy and his team-building plans would have received a jolt after the 4-0 thrashing in South Africa. The sprightly youngsters didn’t seem to have the wherewithal to handle the heat; the battle-scarred seniors who’ve returned can’t inject any youthful zest.He has six matches to figure out the World Cup jigsaw, before the final 14 are selected; he can’t afford to lose too many games, and he is going to be facing a side that has the “psychological edge”.Amid all this confusion, with everyone expecting the usual diplomatic talk at the press conference, he revealed a forthright side. First up, he announced the 12 for tomorrow; next he named the openers, something he’s rarely disclosed in the past; then he explained why; later, he candidly argued for Virender Sehwag’s exclusion, stating that being out of the side can have its benefits. No wishy-washiness, no verbal gymnastics, just a forthright session where he laid out his cards.”When I’ve got runs, it’s made a difference to the side,” he said without a second thought when asked about his lean patch. “I was happy with my form till I broke my finger in South Africa. But it was a strange tour for me. It’s not easy to miss four weeks in the middle of the tour and then to come back. Things didn’t go as well as I would have liked in the Tests as well. In a close series, one key innings can change the series. It’s not about the number of runs or averages. It’s about getting the critical innings when it matters. It didn’t happen but we need to pull up our socks and move on.”

The Virender Sehwag question wasn’t avoided. Did it make sense to not play Sehwag, when it was almost certain he’d make the World Cup squad? “Veeru [Sehwag] when playing well, when he’s in a good state of mind mentally and physically, is an asset,” said Dravid. “Sometimes, playing games helps but sometimes a bit of time off – switching off mentally – can be beneficial as well. The selectors have taken a decision and we need to respect that.”Veeru’s been playing quite a bit of cricket,” he continued, “and sometimes being away from the game can do you a world of good. As far as I see it, the best players must go to the World Cup – in terms of form and fitness. It’s not reputations that we need to go by. We’re very close to identifying key players for the World Cup squad. You must have a key group and we’ve identified them a while back. There have been a few form blips, a few fitness issues – obviously some spots available for selection – but we have a good idea of our plans.”He admitted that Robin Uthappa was unlucky to miss out, adding “Gautam’s been on the South Africa tour recently and did well. We thought he deserved an opportunity first.” He accepted that there were only two options with the bowling department – either five specialist bowlers or four bowlers and three part-timers in Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Suresh Raina. Listening to Dravid, it was tough to imagine that here was a captain in need of urgent solutions, trying to rediscover a consistent winning formula. But this was Nagpur after all.