The African Safari: Make or break test series

[rkt.india]

i am not going to cast my vote :yayo: i think raina will play in all test there. :bubblegum:

me too..he will play at least first test if not more than that..

[Chandan]

Can you give us the link for that Duleep trophy match, rkt?

Oh well, just got the link of the match: SZ vs CZ So this match took place in Jan 2009, ie, two years back. If anything, Yadav should have been picked in these two years when we had so many vacancies for bowlers. But selectors went ahead with Mithun in SL earlier this year and now he is cast aside like a piece of dirt. I've found an interesting piece of information here. Wonder if we can believe it completely since it is from Mumbai Mirror : Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat are interesting choices for South Africa considering that some experienced names have been disregarded. So are two new quicks too many? Yadav, Mumbai Mirror learns, had the backing of Gary Kirsten. The India coach believes that Yadav, with his raw pace and sharp nip-backer, should be handy in South African conditions. It has emerged that Kirsten wanted to draft him into the Test XI when Sreesanth sustained an injury in Sri Lanka. What made Yadav irresistible was his 7-74 in the Plate Division match against Maharashtra in Nasik. Two selectors were watching the game with keen interest and felt the time was just right to push Yadav through the ranks. They have an equally high opinion about Unadkat after his exploits in the ‘A’ series in England. Swinging the ball both ways is Unadkat’s forte, but whether he has the speed to be effective at a higher level is the question. In a certain context, one of the selectors told this paper that contrary to what is perceived Unadkat’s pace “could be very deceptive” at times. “They feel he is the future and worth the investment. It probably explains why he was chosen ahead of Munaf Patel who may not have been a bad choice in South Africa,” an official associated with the Indian cricket board told this paper. Why no Mithun? He clarified why Abhimanyu Mithun, who wasn’t spectacular in Sri Lanka but didn’t do anything wrong either, fell out of favour: “They feel Mithun is yet to learn his craft. When it comes to swing and variations, he is not quite there at the moment. He was quicker in domestic cricket but his speed dropped by about 10-12 kph in his first series. It could be attributed to nerves or the unforgiving surfaces in Sri Lanka. We’re not holding it against him. But he has a fantastic work ethic, is blessed with an athlete’s physique and can only get better.” Not too long ago Irfan Pathan challenged the perception that a pacer shouldn’t be blooded on a mentally exacting tour. For a start Yadav and Unadkat need not look further than that. Wonder what the selection policies of the selectors are. But that is none of Yadav's or Mithun's fault! Hence, since he has been picked, he will have my full support and good wishes. Hope he proves me terribly wrong and comes out with flying colours, if he gets an opportunity. Now Dhoni says that that Raina might be rested from the Centurian test if he plays all the 5 ODIs and I suppose that will be a sensible thing to do as the 1st test starts just 5 days after the 5th ODI ends. Link If that is the case, then what about Gambhir? Will he be excused from the final 3 ODIs so that he could get rest ahead of the important SA series? I hate this lack of planning and preparation for a massive series. At one side you see the English team having a gigantic preparation in Australia since last one month and here our players don't even get one single warm up before a series in completely different conditions!

[ZodiaC]

The best thing is that we're going with our strongest ever pace attack in this tour assuming that Zak, Sree & Ishanth are all gonna play. This is the best chance of a series win in SA for us.

[saneindian]

Gambhir, Raina, Vijay, Sreesanth These are the players from the test squad who are also in the ODI team for 1st 2 ODIs vs kiwis. Will they too be allowed to reach SA well before the test series starts or will they be playing all 5 ODIs? If at all they play all 5 ODis, that will give them not more 2-3 days of acclamatisation in SA before the 1st test in SA (Gambhir, Raina and Sree will be near certainities for that test at this point of time). Also has the BCCI announced any dates when the some test team members will leave for SA? Also will those players have any practice matches there, has any schedule ben worked out? Will Kirsten also move with the batch going to SA or will he be in India for the entire NZ ODI series?

[pensionplan]

Gambhir, Raina, Vijay, Sreesanth These are the players from the test squad who are also in the ODI team for 1st 2 ODIs vs kiwis. Will they too be allowed to reach SA well before the test series starts or will they be playing all 5 ODIs? If at all they play all 5 ODis, that will give them not more 2-3 days of acclamatisation in SA before the 1st test in SA (Gambhir, Raina and Sree will be near certainities for that test at this point of time). Also has the BCCI announced any dates when the some test team members will leave for SA? Also will those players have any practice matches there, has any schedule ben worked out? Will Kirsten also move with the batch going to SA or will he be in India for the entire NZ ODI series?

I know one thing they will not be going before the 6th December to SA. VVS has confirmed to the HCA that he will play and lead the Hyderabad team in the Plate Division Match vs Goa from Dec1'Dec'4. He wants to lift the morale of the team and perhaps get them a win to boost their chances to get to the SF and in the process help himself too to play in a FC game before embarking on the SA tour. Looks like they will leave on the 5th or the 6th at the earliest which means they will get there 8-9 days ahead of the First Test which is not bad. Of course the BCCI can always advance the dates but as of now it appears they will not leave before the 5th at the earliest.

[express bowling]

It may be your opinion, but none of us here think that Yadav has pace to soften up an international batsman, which has to be consistently above 145k, with few going above 150k regularly. As far as I have seen, Yadav occasionally touches 140k and that is bread and butter for batsmen anywhere. So sorry. He fails on that count.

It would have been better if we had a bowler who could bowl at 145k consistently but we do not have one. Given that situation it is possible to soften batsmen by using a bowler bowling at 135 to 140 k if he hits the deck hard and generates bounce and pace off the pitch, especially if he is tall [ case in poiint -- Ishant Sharma ]. Umesh Yadav does get good bounce and pace off the pitch but his height is average compared to fast bowlers, that’s the problem.

And Srinath has been a beautiful swing bowler, not hit the deck type!

You must surely be talking about the last 2/3 years of his career. For the first 6/7 years he generated a lot of pace and bounce and had tremendous carry even for his goodlength deleveries. Donald had, in an interview, said that Srinath was atleast as quick as him if not marginally quicker. His body language was rather non aggressive and hence many people have underestimated his pace. He had badly hurt two batsman on the face -- Lanka Silva and Merick Pringle -- although they were wearing helmets with visors. During that phase of his career he could not bowl swinging deliveries consistently unless the conditions were very helpful like in England and depended more on the off cutter. Deck hitting is a pace bowling type, where you hit the deck hard in an attempt to generate bounce, and not float the ball. This can be done even at 125 k if a bowler is tall. Walsh and Shaun Pollock, during the last 2/3 yrs of their career, did just that quite effectively. Please do not confuse that with the ball release pace which is what we see on TV. There are quite a few 145k skidding type bowlers who are less effective in generating continuous bounce e.g - Mohammad Sami.

[rkt.india]

It would have been better if we had a bowler who could bowl at 145k consistently but we do not have one. Given that situation it is possible to soften batsmen by using a bowler bowling at 135 to 140 k if he hits the deck hard and generates bounce and pace off the pitch' date= especially if he is tall [ case in poiint -- Ishant Sharma ]. Umesh Yadav does get good bounce and pace off the pitch but his height is average compared to fast bowlers, that’s the problem. You must surely be talking about the last 2/3 years of his career. For the first 6/7 years he generated a lot of pace and bounce and had tremendous carry even for his goodlength deleveries. Donald had, in an interview, said that Srinath was atleast as quick as him if not marginally quicker. His body language was rather non aggressive and hence many people have underestimated his pace. He had badly hurt two batsman on the face -- Lanka Silva and Merick Pringle -- although they were wearing helmets with visors. During that phase of his career he could not bowl swinging deliveries consistently unless the conditions were very helpful like in England and depended more on the off cutter. Deck hitting is a pace bowling type, where you hit the deck hard in an attempt to generate bounce, and not float the ball. This can be done even at 125 k if a bowler is tall. Walsh and Shaun Pollock, during the last 2/3 yrs of their career, did just that quite effectively. Please do not confuse that with the ball release pace which is what we see on TV. There are quite a few 145k skidding type bowlers who are less effective in generating continuous bounce e.g - Mohammad Sami.

Even Dale Steyn is not a tall man...only as tall as Zaheer or Nehra or Irfan or RPS...its your skills which matters most...Kemar Roach and Fidel Edwards are not tall but both the have the ability to soften any batsman on earth right now with their pace and bounce

[express bowling]

Even Dale Steyn is not a tall man...only as tall as Zaheer or Nehra or Irfan or RPS...its your skills which matters most...Kemar Roach and Fidel Edwards are not tall but both the have the ability to soften any batsman on earth right now with their pace and bounce

What I am saying is -- you either have to be 140k + ( any reasonable height is ok ) e.g Shoaib, Steyn, Brett Lee, Roach OR TALL and bowling at 135 to 140 k e.g Ishant, Gillespie, Fernando, Merv Dillon, AND Hit the deck hard ( for both the above mentioned bowler types ) to be able to bowl effective bouncing deliveries consistently that soften the batsmen and push them on the back foot.

[rkt.india]

no bowler now a days consistently bowl over 145 in tests..even the names you mentioned above...140 is enough speed in test to soften a batsman if you are accurate....main thing is accuracy

[express bowling]

no bowler now a days consistently bowl over 145 in tests..even the names you mentioned above...140 is enough speed in test to soften a batsman if you are accurate....main thing is accuracy

You are right. I am changing the above post to 140k +.

[rkt.india]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Yadav-ups-the-ante--takes-seven/710427 Though they never once wavered from their primary duty at hand, the two policemen who patrolled the side of the ground from which Umesh Yadav did most of his damage did seem as excited as the bowler himself on more than one occasion. The young Vidarbha fast bowler had applied for a job in the police department a few years ago, but had missed out by three marks. On Friday, the 23-year-old Yadav not only gave the cops a lot to cheer about, he also displayed what Indian cricket would have missed out on if he had actually got the job. In a brutal spell of fast bowling, the pacer blew away Maharashtra batsmen at the Golf Club ground in Nasik. Finishing with figures of 7/74 in 21.4 overs, Yadav also ensured a crucial first-innings lead for Vidarbha, who were 14/2 going into the final day. Seeing batsmen wearing chest-guards is not common in Ranji Trophy. But against Yadav, the young Maharashtra batsmen were well-advised to protect every part of their anatomy. While most fast bowlers attempt more at hitting the good-length area in four-day cricket, Yadav bowled in the limited-overs mould. His deliveries either pitched near the batsman’s feet, most swinging dangerously into him, or were hurled hard at the centre of the wicket before zooming past their noses. Vidarbha coach Sulakshan Kulkarni was overjoyed, insisting the youngster was his team’s trump-card.

[vishalvirsingh]

umesh is going to improve further as he has a clean fast bowling action, he will suceed and even if he does not suceed , we need to support him and not kill him like VRV Singh. Raju kulkarni , salil ankola , VRV are three real fast pacers who were never handled well by our selectors and our cricket teams, srinath softened up batsman and they went behind kapil and manoj prabhakar and lost wickets, so it was srinath who were creating fear and the wickets were seen in prabhakar's analysis, prabhakar also got wickets when he was with Kapil, Kapil softened the batsman and Prabhakar got wickets. windies SAF australia england and other teams have taken real care of genuine pacers and we also need to do that , all these genuine pacers have been wayward and have always

[vishalvirsingh]

good post by Rkt.india..Good to see fear in batsman. balls passing thru the nose get many batsmen out and umesh balls them regularly

[rkt.india]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjEIDOF_WDo]YouTube - Umesh Yadav to Parthiv Patel[/ame] One of my favorite delivery by Umesh Yadav and that was his first delivery in IPL ever..who ever has not seen that game of IPL can watch this here...a phenomenal delivery in first game, first over, first delivery though unfortunately went for 4...

[rkt.india]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCtPx59KQv8]YouTube - Umesh Yadav to Manish Pandey[/ame] Another superb delivery by Umesh Yadav and that is on a flat Indian pitch

[vaibhav_delhi]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgrOQck-_vQ]YouTube - Umesh Yadav to Angelo Mathews[/ame]

[rkt.india]

These videos are not working here...anyone wants to watch, can watch on youtube

[Feed]

Raina all geared up for South African tour More... Raina all geared up for South African tour Ajay Naidu, TNN, Nov 26, 2010, NAGPUR: He's a streetsmart cricketer with a wise head on his shoulders and a big heart for the tough grind of Test cricket. And in mere seven Test matches that he has played, Suresh Raina has already experienced the highs and lows of professional sport. Having made a dream Test hundred on debut against Sri Lanka, Raina has gone through a nightmare in the recent series against New Zealand having scored just 26 runs from four innings. As he looks forward to face Dale Steyn & Co on the fast and bouncy tracks in South Africa, Raina, who celebrates his 24th birthday on Saturday, oozes the confidence of a young man keen to scale new heights. "It is a very important series, and a big challenge, for me. Though I have played there before, it has been only in the ODIs and Twenty20. The good thing is that we are leaving early. How well you prepare and how well you feel before a game is important. Self-belief, confidence and mental discipline will be the key to success in South Africa. "I am looking forward to the challenge because when you do well against good teams you get appreciated for having done well. This is also why you want to play international sport," Raina told TOI in an exclusive interview. The elegant left-hander admits that he feels lucky to be sharing the dressing room with some greats. At the same time, the confidence of representing the No 1 Test side in the world seems to have rubbed off on him. "To succeed in Tests, your temperament is more important than your technique. How you handle pressure situations and how you work your way out of trouble through grit and courage is also important." Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has made no secret of the fact that Raina's recent failures have more to do with mental fatigue than with his form and the youngster readily agrees.

[achilles]

"Raina all geared up for South African illusion" would've been a good title, maybe?

[Chandan]

Zaheer Khan has started bowling or so it seems reading his tweets. Sreeshant wasn't bad in the ODI vs Kiwis two days back. Yadav and Unadkat seem to be bowling economically in the recent Ranji match and have taken a wicket each. No news about Ishant though. In batting, Gambhir still doesn't look fluent and Raina is decreasing his chance to play at Centurian with every failure! Wonder which India will turn on 16th!