India vs England 2012

[SLICKR392]

None in B'lore :((

[Number]

Match in Ranchi on Saturday.

MSD captaining in his hometown. If he doesn't take rest. :--D For Dharamshala too, I'm really happy that it got an intl game. One of the most beautiful grounds in the world.

[Trichromatic]

MSD captaining in his hometown. If he doesn't take rest. :--D For Dharamshala too, I'm really happy that it got an intl game. One of the most beautiful grounds in the world.

First game in Ranchi, I don't think he would take a rest.

[SLICKR392]

Whose gonna open with Cook? Compton?

[Crookbond]

^ That itself is now a debate. They want Trott to open but Trott wants to trott out at the fall of the first wicket viz. No.3

[Crookbond]

Beyond the Stalwarts http://www.wisdenindia.com/cricket-blog/stalwarts/31590

As the Indian Test squad starts out on November 15 against England in Ahmedabad, how about trying out two of Shikhar Dhawan, M Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane for the opening slots? India are going through a ‘period of transition’ – two senior players have retired – and this apparently explains the team’s craven clinging to heroes from better times. Right now, Virat Kohli is the only member of India’s Test Top Six who fits into the team, whether playing at home or abroad. Cheteshwar Pujara does, too, though he is yet to prove himself in alien conditions. But with most of the current season to be played in India, Pujara will have the chance to settle down, get some big runs against his name, and prime himself for the tougher tests later. Which is exactly what, in my opinion, India should be doing with the rest of the batting slots too. Try out batsmen in their mid-20s who have the potential, and the runs in domestic cricket to back their cause. Give them a run in home Tests and prime them for the long haul. And here’s the imperative. Virender Sehwag averages 35.68 in nine Tests in the last 12 months. Gautam Gambhir averages 27.12 in nine Tests in the same period. And Sachin Tendulkar – He who must not be named except in deference – averages 35.50 from the same number of Tests. Considering how poorly India have performed in this period, and that most of the Tests have been played away from home, averages of 35-plus aren’t unreasonably bad, but are they good enough? Are they good enough for batsmen No. 1, 2 and 4? Interestingly, these are also three batsmen who, probably because of contractual obligations, are playing the Champions League Twenty20, instead of preparing for the upcoming Test series. Not ideal, but who will bell the cat? Besides, it’s not like they would have played the Duleep Trophy if they had not gone to South Africa. Look at Kohli. Yes, brilliant – but why was he not a part of the North Zone team? Yuvraj Singh was, but that’s probably because he is on the comeback trail. Indeed, our friendly neighbourhood statsman, Mohandas Menon, gives me the following data: Sehwag last played a domestic match in November 2008. Gambhir too played that match and, in 2011, played in the Challenger Series. Tendulkar last played a Ranji Trophy game in January 2009. Kohli last played a domestic game in December 2010. And MS Dhoni, whose position as captain looks a wee bit shaky these days, last played a Ranji Trophy game in March 2005 and the Challenger Series in October 2009. This isn’t news. We know that, once the Indian team spot is sealed, players usually don’t bother with domestic cricket. Part of this is because of the hectic international schedule, and partly because the lower grade of cricket holds no interest for the top players. Unless, like Yuvraj, you need match practice after a layoff or, like Harbhajan Singh, you have been dropped from the team and need to claw back. Coming to the England Test series, while wholesale changes might be unpopular, some tough calls do need to be taken. Perhaps it was a burden the previous selection panel should have carried, but there’s little point in examining that, is there? On paper, a Top Five that reads Sehwag, Gambhir, Pujara, Tendulkar and Kohli looks better than Dhawan, Vijay, Pujara, Badrinath/Rahane and Kohli. But I don’t see results in the present there, or preparation for the future. So why not study the potential of players who are scoring runs by the sackful? Dhawan, in the last couple of months, has played in the Challenger Series, where he had scores of 99 not out, 152 and 61 in his three innings, and then, in the Duleep Trophy, scored 101, 50, 121 and 37 in four innings. He has been somewhat stop-and-start in his domestic career, but is in the form of his life at the moment. Vijay, who missed the Duleep game, had an innings of 266 in the Irani Cup in September, and then 15, 93 and 155 in the Challengers. And, while we are at it, it would be useful to figure out if Suresh Raina is India’s best long-term option for No. 6 in Tests or whether 32-year-old S Badrinath can be given a go. Or, maybe, Yuvraj can slot in for a while, health permitting. If cricket is serious business – and yes, worth a lot of revenue – current form must be weighed against stature and past performance. I don’t know if keeping some of the stalwarts in the team adds to the revenue (maybe it helps), but I’m sure poor performances don’t send the cash registers jingling. It might be better then to make the call now and prepare, rather than wait until a decision is forced upon the team. Like it was when Dravid and Laxman decided enough was enough.

[SLICKR392]

^ That itself is now a debate. They want Trott to open but Trott wants to trott out at the fall of the first wicket viz. No.3

I went through that article. He did mention he would open if his team asks him to. Infact I don't see why Trott shouldn't open for the time being. No.3's are more like an opener and a solid middle order player.

[Crookbond]

I went through that article. He did mention he would open if his team asks him to. Infact I don't see why Trott shouldn't open for the time being. No.3's are more like an opener and a solid middle order player.

I think he should stick where he is viz. No.3 The last person I saw succeed with a move up is Justin Langer. Traditionally, No3's have not taken opening roles to a great likening irrespective of how easy it sounds. I think Kevin Pietersen or one of the newcomers should open.

[Aniruddha]

Guys...any idea, when the ticket window will open for Mumbai test (online or at venue) ? Showing following note on MCA website: Note: Dates for public sale of tickets will be announced later.

[Crookbond]

Just walk up to the ground or shoot an e-mail to MCA. If you do, please share the details with us too - kindness helps!

[ShebbySB]

The England test series will be played in the winters but the venues picked do not have any sort of a winter. Even in Nov-Dec' date=' Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Nagpur will be around 33-34, hot enough for England to cry about the weather, pollution, noise etc.[/quote'] It's end of Oct & hardly touching 30s in Kolkata.It'll around 26-27 in Nov. So Poms shouldn't have any prob.They will struggle big time though on a low & slow Kolkata track against Ashwin & Ojha.Still can't forget how they sucked on that very track against Jaddu's bowling.That was embarrasing even for us to see Jaddu destroying Poms with the ball in hand.

[India-KXIP fan]

A match is Dharmashala Would be bloody cold in Jan

The most beautiful ground in the world. And which team plays there I wonder :proud:

[saneindian]

Heard that the three warm ups for the poms are vs India A, Indian BP 11 and a Mumbai A side respectively. With the domestic season in full swing wonder who will be picked for the India A and Indian BP 11

[rkt.india]

Heard that the three warm ups for the poms are vs India A' date=' Indian BP 11 and a Mumbai A side respectively. With the domestic season in full swing wonder who will be picked for the India A and Indian BP 11[/quote'] Mumbai A will be a completely new side, probably Mumbai U22. India and BP XI may have most of same players which played in NZ and in Irani trophy and some Duleep Trophy performers.

[namasteji1]

India A should have Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir , Raina, Rohit and Dhoni for practice!

[MCcricket]

I wanna see some good rookies rather then tried and trusted oldies who are mediocre, last remember how Munaf came to the fore in Englands previous tour side games, Mohd Amir, R Shaikh both have been bowling fast this season,also hope to see Shami, Suyal, Tyagi, Gony,Veer,Unmukt, Rayudu all the young talented players,no PK, VK, crap.

[SLICKR392]

India is England's biggest challenge - Prior

Matt Prior, the England wicketkeeper, believes that winning a Test series against India in India equates to a bigger task than beating Australia away, which England did for the first time in 24 years in 2010-11. Prior's contention is perhaps one of the reasons why he was central in attempting to smooth Kevin Pietersen's return to the England set-up ahead of the India series. Prior was one of the senior England players to meet with Pietersen ahead of his return to the Test squad. He was also quick to pick up the phone to Pietersen in the aftermath of the batsman's extraordinary press conference at Headingley when he stated "it's tough being me" in the England dressing room.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/587805.html The complete video interview with Alison Mitchell is included in the link.

[Crookbond]

No Rohit Sharma and spinners in India A squad against England, Yuvraj picked India A Suresh Raina (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, M Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Bist, Ashok Menaria, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda, Vinay Kumar, Parvinder Awana http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/587885.html

Yuvraj Singh, who marked his return to first-class cricket with a double-century in the Duleep Trophy last week, has been included in the India A squad to play England in Mumbai from October 30. In their first formal meeting since taking over as national selectors on October 1, Sandeep Patil and his colleagues decided not to pick a spinner in the 14-member squad to be led by Suresh Raina. The decision to not play a spinner is perhaps because the Indian team management does not want to give England exposure to what is likely to be their biggest challenge during the Test series. While Raina, Yuvraj, Ajinkya Rahane and Manoj Tiwary were included among nine specialist batsmen, Rohit was left out, an indication the Mumbai batsman could have to revive his chances by scoring big in the Ranji Trophy. Yuvraj's selection was on expected lines after his 208 for North Zone against Central Zone. He had returned to competitive action after a nine-month break because of a rare germ-cell cancer during India's Twenty20 international against New Zealand and the World Twenty20 that followed in September and October. And when he was named in the North Zone side for the Duleep Trophy semi-final, Yuvraj had admitted he wasn't sure how his body would cope with four-day cricket. He made most of the opportunity, though, and his 208 - against an attack that included Praveen Kumar, Bhuvneshvar Kumar and Murali Kartik - was only a run less than his highest in first-class score. Should Yuvraj perform against Alastair Cook's team in the three-day fixture at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium next week, he is likely to be a contender for the No. 6 slot in India's Test batting order. After VVS Laxman's retirement ahead of the two-Test series against New Zealand in August, Suresh Raina was the preferred No. 6, ahead of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Manoj Tiwary. However, Yuvraj will now have an opportunity to stake his claim.

[Old guy]

what a joke bowling line up why is shami not there who was in last 2 a tours ?

[King Tendulkar]

Pathan , Dinda and Vinnay picked in A team. Trundlers personified