India A to play 3 first class matches on the A tour to WI, June 2012

[rkt.india]

India A vs West Indies A : 1st unofficial test match, 2nd June, 2012 Young India A attack faces Caribbean test An India A tour provides an opportunity not just to players aspiring for higher honours, but also to the selectors to assess how players who have come up the domestic ranks shape up against opposition of a higher quality. As the India A team, led by Cheteshwar Pujara, embarks on a month-long tour of the Caribbean to play West Indies A, several players will be keen to make a mark and put their hand up for national selection. Pujara leads a strong batting line-up also consisting of Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund, who have all already played for the country, but there are concerns that the bowling attack is a little light. Ashok Dinda, Parvinder Awana, Shami Ahmed and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar will form the pace quartet, while Rahul Sharma and Akshay Darekar are the two specialist spinners. Despite the relative lack of experience of the bowling unit, Lalchand Rajput, the team coach, believes this is the best attack available at the moment. Ūt would have been good to have S Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma on the tour, but theyÃÓe recovering from serious injuries. Rushing them back just to test them out was not even an option, he said. Rudra Pratap Singh, initially named in the squad, was ruled out through a knee injury, paving the way for the inclusion of Awana, who picked up 57 wickets during an impressive domestic season. Awana, the Delhi pacer, carried his good form into the IPL, emerging the highest wicket-taker for Kings XI Punjab with 17 wickets from 12 matches. Awana, who idolises Shaun Pollock, said he had benefited immensely from his interactions with the South African legend. Ū attended the Mumbai Indians camp for two years (2010 and 2011), where Shaun gave me a lot of tips. He rectified my wrist position. I was unaware of several technicalities of fast bowling; talking to Shaun made a lot of difference to my bowling, Awana told Wisden India. Awana, 25, has impressed with his pace and accuracy, as well as his ability to hit the deck. He said he received more inputs from Joe Dawes, the Kings XI bowling coach. Å©e helped sort out my delivery stride and follow through. He pointed out my technical flaws through video analysis and helped me fine-tune my action, said Awana. Awana is likely to share the new ball with Dinda, who has completely recovered from a side strain picked up during the IPL. Dinda, who had a successful season for Bengal, credited Allan Donald, the Pune Warriors India bowling coach, with making him a versatile bowler. Å©e helped me become a complete bowler without modifying my action. It is important to have a lot of variations, otherwise you will be branded a one-dimensional bowler. These days, unless you are a bowler like Malinga who is a yorker specialist, you have to possess skills to bowl at any time and that is what IÃ×e worked on, said a confident Dinda. Dinda also felt he was mature enough to handle the pressures of an important tour. ŵhere is no pressure on me, he stressed. ŪÃ×e been picked for this tour only because IÃÎ good enough and the selectors have faith in me. IÃ×e played for India, so that experience should help me. DindaÃÔ new-ball partner for Bengal, rookie Shami, will be on his first India A tour. WV Raman, who has worked with the 22-year-old in his capacity as coach of the Bengal team, rates the youngster very highly. ŵhe most admirable quality in Shami is that he is never shy of approaching people for help. He is extremely committed and hardworking. Not many know that he once played a game for Bengal despite suffering from dengue. The West Indies tour should be a good apprenticeship for him. He is on the right track, but I feel it will take him at least one more year to fully develop as a bowler, added Raman. Bhuvaneshwar rounds off the pace component. In his second first-class season, he dismissed Sachin Tendulkar for his first duck in domestic cricket in the Ranji Trophy final, and has since been a regular member of the Uttar Pradesh side. Dismissing any chances of him being used as a defensive option, Rajput remarked, Ÿe will never know unless he is tried. He has been around for four years now and going by his domestic performances, he deserves an opportunity. Numbers donÃÕ suggest he is a defensive option. Among the spinners, Rahul is coming off a tough IPL season, while Darekar had an excellent run for Maharashtra in the Plate Division of the Ranji Trophy, picking up 32 wickets at an impressive average of 17. Rajput expressed satisfaction at the bowling resources at his disposal. Ÿest Indies A will be tough opponents. They have a few players who toured India with the Test team last year, so our bowling will be challenged. At the present moment, given our constraints, this is the best bowling line-up to board the plane, he signed off. http://www.wisdenindia.com/beta/archives/5301

[msb1991]

I'm anxiously looking forward to how India A perform on this tour. Hope all the bowlers get a good opportunity to show how good they all are.

[saneindian]

The likes of Shami, Awana, Bhuvnesh are on their first A tour. Hope our zombie selectors show some faith and give them more opportunities on the future A tours as well. Otherwise these A side selections especially for bowlers has been awefully handled with Mithun, Unadkat, Dhawal going to England in 2010, two of them going onto play for India and now becoming the forgotten bowlers of our cricket.

[Chandan]

Any idea who is covering this WI A vs India A? I'm sure there is no live telecast of the matches. But are the matches covered live on webs, like CI, or any other sites? If you know, please give the link.

[jj_28]

any links for this match?

[Number]

I think Cricinfo will cover it. http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/match/562896.html

[Feed]

'Chance for Simmons to prove fitness' Stuart Williams, the assistant coach of West Indies' A side, has said that the series against India A, that begins on Saturday in Barbados, will be a good platform for Lendl Simmons to prove his fitness and return to the West Indies national team. More... India A in West Indies 2012 'Chance for Simmons to prove fitness' ESPNcricinfo staff June 1, 2012 Stuart Williams, the assistant coach of West Indies' A side, has said that the series against India A, that begins on Saturday in Barbados, will be a good platform for Lendl Simmons to prove his fitness and return to the West Indies national team. Simmons, who scored 1100 runs from 36 ODIs at 34.37, hasn't played top-flight cricket since he injured his left knee during the WICB Regional Four-Day Tournament in February this year. "Simmons will want to use this series to prove his fitness and readiness to return," Williams said. "He was excellent for West Indies in limited-overs cricket last year and he will want to get back in the groove and re-start his international career. Williams said that the series also gave legspinner Devendra Bishoo and batsman Kraigg Brathwaite, who played in the Test series against Australia in April, a chance to find form. "The 'A' team serves several purposes, and sometimes players lose form, and this series will be a chance for players like Bishoo and Brathwaite to regain their form and look to get back into the senior side," Williams said. "They are both young, talented players and they have a lot to offer West Indies cricket." Speaking after a training session on Thursday, Williams said that the 'cohesion and camaraderie' between his player would help them challenge the visitors. "They have brought a team with some experienced players (at the international level) so this series will be a good test for us," Williams said. "It is always good to compete against good, strong opposition and push yourself to the limit. Our players recognise that this will be a 'big' series for them as they look to show continued development and progress." Both India and West Indies have a mix of youth and experience in their side on the tour. Bishoo, Brathwaite and Simmons are among the capped West Indies players in the squad, while India have Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma and Ashok Dinda in their mix. Williams said that he was confident his side would put on a good show, as a number of players have competed at this level before. "We have a great bunch of players and it is clear we have a very good team spirit," he said. "We have formed a good unit and everyone is familiar with each other. The team has quite a few players who were part of the Sagicor High Performance Centre, as well as others who have played together for the West Indies A team before." The series will feature three four-day matches, two Twenty20s and three 50-over matches.

[saneindian]

westindies westindies Welcome to a bright and sunny Barbados. Kensington Oval looks picture perfect as we prepare for 1st day WI A vs India A https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=westindies Looks like the WICB will have regular updates on their twitter handle.

[jj_28]

West Indies A will bat first after India A won the toss and decided to bowl first

[vvvslaxman]

is this actually a test?

[vvvslaxman]

West Indies A will bat first after India A won the toss and decided to bowl first

that is unusual.

[zaheer]

India XI - Pujara ©, Saha (vc/wk), Mukund, Dhawan, Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Dinda, Kumar, Ahmed; 12th: Bisht good to see Ahmed in the squad.. seems Awana missed out

[bangladeshifan]

2 bangla pacer there

[zaheer]

WI XI - Permaul ©, Holder (vc), Bishoo, Bonner, Brathwaite, Carter, Delorn Johnson, Leon Johnson, Pagon, Simmons, Thomas (wk)

[Number]

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar playing. He may come good but not sure if it's a good decision. Should have played Awana, you already have 6 batsman and Saha.

[vvvslaxman]

Simmons is going to make feast of our bowling.

[jj_28]

Big chance for Shami Ahmed and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar

[zaheer]

WI 1-0. Simmons 1* Brathwaite 0*. Dinda with 3 slips, gully, short leg beats Simmons twice outside off. Good over from the seamer

[bangladeshifan]

WI 1-0. Simmons 1* Brathwaite 0*. Dinda with 3 slips' date=' gully, short leg beats Simmons twice outside off. Good over from the seamer[/quote'] pm me the link pls

[GautiMaan]

WI 1-0. Simmons 1* Brathwaite 0*. Dinda with 3 slips' date=' gully, short leg beats Simmons twice outside off. Good over from the seamer[/quote'] Share the links plz:pray: