Strauss, Morgan and Prior to practice in India for Pakistan series

[saneindian]

England's Test captain Andrew Strauss will prepare for January's Test series against Pakistan in United Arab Emirates (UAE) by joining the touring England Performance Programme (EPP) in India next month. Strauss has been out of action since guiding England to the No.1 spot in Test cricket with a 4-0 whitewash against India in August. The London Evening Standard reported that Strauss, 34, will be joined at camps in Mumbai and Pune by Eoin Morgan, who is returning from a shoulder injury, and Matt Prior. Fast bowlers Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett and Graham Onions will also join the EPP in separate camps to be conducted in Potchefstroom in South Africa. Anderson was called up after he was rested for last month's limited overs series against India while Broad, Tremlett and Onions are all returning from injury. "The England Performance Programme camps will offer the England players the perfect chance to step up their training and preparations ahead of the forthcoming Test series against Pakistan in January," England performance director David Parsons was quoted as saying by the daily. "The players attending these camps didn't participate in England's recent ODI tour of India or have been sidelined through injury so this is the ideal opportunity to build up their preparations during an important period leading into January and provides the talented young players on both the EPP and EDP programmes a chance to train alongside and learn from some of the very best," he said. Wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow, who played in India in all five ODIs and the lone Twenty20, will head to Pune as part of the EPP. "It was a great experience. It was the first time I had ever been to the sub-continent so to go out there and experience the crowd, the culture, the heat was a fantastic thing to do. To be thrust in at the deep end and then to go back now with all those experiences behind me is a fantastic thing to have had and I will hopefully take those with me over the next few weeks," Bairstow was quoted as saying by Sky Sports News.http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_andrew-strauss-to-practice-in-india-for-pakistan-series_1614085 Kudos to their board for such detailed planning. Shows how serious they are about their performances in the sub continent where they play their next 3 big series in the next 12 months. Hopefully though, they do not get to practice against good bowlers. Still remember how Flower and the ECB had asked Monty not to practice with Sachin before the tour began.

[cowboysfan]

helping our enemy-from 1600.

[Jersey #10]

:haha: why can't they just practice in Pakistan?

[mastana]

A fatwa coming your way Strauss, Morgan and Prior from Pakistan.

[Sooda]

EPP team in India, thats the kind of exposure young Eng players are getting which our Board do not really provide our guys with, not to the same extent anyway. EPT's are too brief. Lions play a lot of cricket around the world, took part in the WI domestic tourno last season. India A do nothing of the sort. It is no wonder if Eng younger players are more ready for test cricket

[Cricket_Guru]

we will still batter em.

[surajmal]

Gotta give credit where its due. English prepare well. Unfortunately this preparation will be for nought when they lose 4-0 and 7-0 in test and ODIs respectively and we get the #1 ranking back.

[Ultimate_Game]

Gotta give credit where its due. English prepare well. Unfortunately this preparation will be for nought when they lose 4-0 and 7-0 in test and ODIs respectively and we get the #1 ranking back.

4-0 won't happen in Tests. India hasn't beaten a decent team that comprehensively in a long while. I would be over the moon if India can manage maiden test series win in Aus coz if we lose to Aus in Aus and then manage to beat Eng it would be 90s all over again.

[carnish]

India certainly is going to beat ENG 7-0 in ODIs once again next year but i guess RD and VVS may retire after AUS tour(gut feeling...though i hope not) and with new players in the test side it will be difficult to win the series, forget about a 4-0 result. I am just hopeful we dont loose a test series from the pommies at home this time... that would be embarrasing

[maniac]

Are they going to have some baseball pitchers bowl spin to them otherwise they may not be able to handle Afridi and Ajmal in ODI's

[Sooda]

I dont dislike Pakistan generally, and now I am seriously hoping they smash England. Was supporting them when they toured Eng last year too. There is just so much talk in the English media and commies , it would be great if they had something to shut them all up.

[vvvslaxman]

4-0 won't happen in Tests. India hasn't beaten a decent team that comprehensively in a long while. I would be over the moon if India can manage maiden test series win in Aus coz if we lose to Aus in Aus and then manage to beat Eng it would be 90s all over again.

For that to happen.. you need to dig up the wickets and you need a bowler like Anil Kumble in his prime. He would wreak havoc on under-prepared wickets against any team.