David Warner has signed with New South Wales for three years to end the chances of a move interstate

Cricinfo staff09-Apr-2010Two days after missing a Cricket Australia contract, the opener David Warner has signed with New South Wales for three years to end the chances of a move interstate. Despite being a fixture of Australia’s Twenty20 side, Warner is not a first-choice Sheffield Shield player for the Blues and appeared in two 2nd XI games during the summer.There had been talk Warner, 23, would leave the SCG in the hope of gaining more first-class action but he has decided to stay at home. “It’s great news,” he said. “I am very much looking forward to continuing my playing career at NSW. I have played all my junior and senior cricket here and I would like to perform well for my home state.”Warner doesn’t want to remain pigeon-holed as a limited-overs star and hopes to be part of the New South Wales tradition of producing “great cricketers”. Dave Gilbert, New South Wales’ chief executive, said Warner has a very promising future.”We are obviously thrilled to have secured his services for the next three years,” Gilbert said. “His performances over the past 18 months in limited-overs cricket have been exceptional and, at times, stunning. He is determined to make his mark in the longer form of the game and Cricket NSW will provide him with the necessary support to achieve his aims.”In the Sheffield Shield over the summer he scored 89 runs in three games and 195 in eight FR Cup appearances. It is in the shortest form that he excels and his strike-rate was an amazing 232.87 in five Twenty20 domestic fixtures, which came after he helped the Blues to the inaugural Champions League trophy in India. He is currently with Delhi in the IPL and has signed with Middlesex for their Twenty20 Cup campaign in England.

Essex were forced to settle for a draw against Kent after being presented with a victory target of 338 in a minimum of 78 overs at Chelmsford

13-May-2010Essex 341 and 254 for 4 drew with Kent 474 and 204

Scorecard
Tom Westley followed up his first-innings hundred with an unbeaten fifty in the second•Getty Images

Essex were forced to settle for a draw against Kent after being presented with a victory target of 338 in a minimum of 78 overs at Chelmsford. The hosts closed on 254 for 4 after they opted for a safety-first approach following the dismissal of number five Ryan ten Doeschate.He arrived in the 50th over with 188 still required but was unable to produce the fireworks needed to mount any sort of challenge. The Dutchman made only 13 from 17 deliveries before he was trapped leg before by Azhar Mahmood, leaving Tom Westley and captain Mark Pettini to drop anchor.Kent even had time to send down additional overs but they were unable to separate the fifth-wicket pair. Westley followed up his century in the first innings with an unbeaten 58 that spanned 122 deliveries and brought him seven boundaries. Pettini finished on 40 not out.Earlier England opener Alastair Cook, without moving into top gear, made a sedate 72 containing half-a-dozen boundaries before his defences were breached by occasional leg-spinner Joe Denly.Denly also removed Jaik Mickleburgh, trapped lbw victim when sweeping, while James Hockley had Billy Godleman caught at slip to end a first-wicket partnership of 52. Soon afterwards Hockley withdrew from the action with a pulled hamstring.Kent had earlier lost their remaining wickets for 54 runs after resuming on 150 for 5. The first two were claimed by David Masters, Matt Coles and Hockley the batsmen, during a four-over spell before a shin problem prevented him continuing.That paved the way for leg-spinner Danish Kaneria to claim the three remaining wickets, including that of Sam Northeast, who scored 71 to record his second half-century of the game.Northeast put up a simple catch to Tim Philips at point, before Makhaya Ntini was trapped lbw with the next delivery as Kent were bowled out for 204. Earlier Kaneria had also accounted for Mahmood on his way to figures of 4 for 68 from 24 overs.Kent emerged with 11 points from the game and are still looking for their first championship win of the campaign. Essex claimed eight points.

One-day cricket in its familiar form could soon become a thing of the past after the Cricket Australia board gave the green light to a trial of split-innings state games next summer

Brydon Coverdale11-Jun-2010One-day cricket in its familiar form could soon become a thing of the past after the Cricket Australia board gave the green light to a trial of split-innings state games next summer. If the new format is successful, Cricket Australia will take the idea to the ICC as a plan to keep ODIs alive, meaning the 2015 World Cup could feature a split-innings format.Although there has been no decision on how many overs each innings would be – four innings of either 20 or 25 overs are the most likely – CA will finalise their concept in the coming weeks. The first four rounds of the FR Cup will be played under the existing rules before the new format is introduced for the remaining six rounds, which will start in February.By then, Australia’s World Cup squad will have departed, so their preparations will not be affected. James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, said the innovation was intended as a way to retain all three formats of the game, with the middle portion of 50-over innings having become largely predictable.”It provides a mechanism by which in the eyes of the consumer we can distinguish the one-day game a little bit more from the Twenty20 format of the game,” Sutherland said. “There’s no doubt that there’s some feedback there that suggests that parts of the one-day game are a little bit predictable. That’s certainly something that we are looking to address.”One of the things that’s come back as the feedback from fans and also from a television audience perspective is that by having a split innings, after the dinner break, no matter, you will get to see both teams bat in the evening. That is something that people who might be going to the game after work or coming home after work see as being a very significant plus for this format.”The popularity of Twenty20 cricket has left ODIs in a difficult position, somewhere between the dynamic shortest format and the traditional Test matches. England and South Africa have already reduced their one-day domestic competitions to 40 overs a side, in an effort to eliminate some of the less exciting middle overs.The ICC has been searching for ways to keep 50-over cricket relevant, and next year’s World Cup on the subcontinent could feasibly be the last one played in the existing format. Sutherland said it was hard to predict how one-day cricket would look by the time of the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.”If you’re suggesting that the current playing conditions that one-day international cricket is being played under today is going to be the same in 2015, then I would suggest that it’s probably not the case,” Sutherland said. “There’s a question there about how radically the playing conditions may have developed or changed. I honestly don’t know the answer to that but what we at Cricket Australia are looking to do is to find a landing spot with a new format.”We have also been encouraged to innovate through the ICC cricket committee, who met not long ago. They were very, very encouraging of full members looking to explore innovations within the playing conditions and certainly that’s been raised at chief executive committee level in recent times.”Cricket Australia will now move to finalise the details, although it seems certain that teams will resume their second innings from the point where their first innings concluded. Sutherland said feedback from fans had played a major role in the split-innings concept, which has also been trialled this year in England’s county 2nd XI competition.

Zimbabwe international Elton Chigumbura took four wickets on his County Championship debut as Northamptonshire continued to dominate against Division Two leaders Glamorgan at Wantage Road

06-Jul-2010
ScorecardZimbabwe international Elton Chigumbura took four wickets on his County Championship debut as Northamptonshire continued to dominate against Division Two leaders Glamorgan at Wantage Road.Glamorgan captain Jamie Dalrymple took 4 for 71 as Northamptonshire were bowled out for 494 after lunch, losing their last five wickets for 42 runs, with their skipper Andrew Hall finishing unbeaten on 84. Chigumbura then claimed figures of 4 for 67 as the hosts’ attack reduced the visitors to 207 all out, with David Lucas taking three wickets of his own.Northamptonshire began the day on 355 for 5, with Chigumbura and Hall resuming on 5 and 6 respectively. Glamorgan’s attack continued to toil, as they had on the first day, as the sixth-wicket pair dug their heels in, with Hall reaching a deserved half-century from 87 balls with a four through cover.Dalrymple gave the visitors the breakthrough they desperately needed with the second ball after lunch when he forced Chigumbura (44) to play on to his own stumps to end a partnership of 108.
The captain struck again in his next over, when wicketkeeper Mark Wallace caught an edge from his opposite number David Murphy, who faced ten balls without scoring.Dean Cosker then trapped James Middlebrook (11) lbw before Lucas (8) sliced Dalrymple to Jim Allenby at slip. Dalrymple then claimed his fourth victim when he forced Jack Brooks, who failed to score off five balls, to edge to Wallace to leave Hall stranded on 84 not out.Glamorgan’s reply started disastrously when, in the first over, Mark Cosgrove went for a golden duck by edging Lucas to Murphy. It soon got worse when Tom Maynard (6) launched Brooks high in the air to Murphy, who took the catch at square leg, before Ben Wright (5) edged Lucas to the same man.In the second over after tea, Dalrymple (8) drove at Lucas but Stephen Peters took a fantastic one-handed catch diving to his right at third slip. With the first ball of the next over Brooks pinned Gareth Rees lbw for 29 to leave Glamorgan floundering on 55 for 5.Wallace made 21 before throwing his wicket away by lofting Chigumbura straight to Nicky Boje at midwicket. Chigumbura then took two wickets in consecutive balls in the 35th over when he caught Harris leg before then emphatically bowled Cosker, taking out his middle and off stumps.He then struck again by bowling David Harrison (18) before Will Owen, who smashed 38 off 41 balls, sliced Boje to Murphy with the final ball of the day to leave Allenby on 59 not out.

Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, hailed his team’s unbeaten bilateral tour of West Indies as “terrific” and said the side had bounced back superbly following defeat in the Super Eights in the World Twenty20

Cricinfo staff29-Jun-2010Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, hailed his team’s unbeaten bilateral tour of West Indies as “terrific” and said the side had bounced back superbly following defeat in the Super Eights in the World Twenty20. South Africa had completed a clean sweep of the Twenty20 and ODI series on the tour, and wrapped up the Tests 2-0 with a seven-wicket win in Barbados.”It’s been a terrific series for us,” Smith said. “We can’t hide away from the disappointment we experienced in the World Twenty20. We’ve asked each other to step it up, make sure that happens in every training session, and we performed to the best of our ability.”Smith also praised the duo of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, who shared 29 wickets in the Test series, and said his role as captain included managing them efficiently. “They are an important part of the Test line-up, the firepower they bring and their wicket-taking ability is crucial for our success,” he said. “As a captain it’s about balancing, how much you really want to use them and getting the most out of it. Especially in this heat and these types of conditions, it’s about ensuring each bowler is effective and that they’re trying to achieve something. That’s the goal for me as a captain.”Steyn was Man of the Series for his 15 wickets at 18.13, including six in the final Test. He said he received excellent support from Morkel and was handled well by Smith. “Morne’s been fantastic. Over the last two series, especially against England, he really came out of his shell and bowled fantastically,” Steyn said. “I’m just glad that there’s another guy who’s striking well.”I’ve been on the road for five months now so I’m really looking forward to going home, but with the extra spinner Graeme Smith has rotated us well fantastically, keeping the fast bowlers fresh and brought us on when he needed to strike.”Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, said his team had been let down by poor batting and injuries prior to the game. West Indies, who lost allrounder Darren Sammy and fast bowler Nelon Pascal ahead of the Test, were bowled out for 231 and 161 in conditions Gayle described as “perfect” for batting.”We were on the back foot at the end of the first innings after being bowled out for 231,” Gayle said. “Based on their [batsmen] performance in the last game, I thought they would play decently here but that did not happen. A few injuries here and there didn’t help us either.”Gayle, however, hoped things would turn for the better with some younger players coming through and the return of seniors, like Ramnaresh Sarwan. “You’ve got the High Performance Centre here and hopefully some youngsters come out of that,” Gayle said. “There have been a couple of niggling injuries and we hope we can have the senior guys back. But overall a disappointing series, and disappointing the way we went about it.”Gayle admitted captaincy in such circumstances was proving a difficult job. “It’s tough as captain to be honest with you,” he said. “Sometimes when you actually think you’re getting the support of a particular person…but there comes a time when you’re not actually going to get that kind of support. It’s something I’ve got to deal with and clear the air, and I’ll take it from there.”

Leicestershire’s County Championship clash against Derbyshire is evenly poised after the bottom-of-the-table visitors staged a spirited fightback on the third day at Grace Road

05-Aug-2010
ScorecardLeicestershire’s County Championship clash against Derbyshire is evenly poised after the bottom-of-the-table visitors staged a spirited fightback on the third day at Grace Road.Derbyshire claimed the last four Leicestershire wickets for 16 runs and then converted a first-innings deficit of 94 into a lead of 144 by reaching 238 for 5 at stumps as they look for their first Championship win since April.Wayne Madsen led the way with 66 off 129 balls sharing an opening stand of 86 with captain Chris Rogers and another half-century partnership with Garry Park. But left-arm spinner Claude Henderson kept the hosts in with a chance of their fifth win of the season by dismissing Dan Redfern in the penultimate over of the day to complete a spell that brought him figures of three for 41. Leicestershire began the day on 260 for six, a lead of 64.But they failed to capitalise on the strong position they held, spending more than an hour scoring 16 runs in 16.1 overs for the loss of the last four wickets. Henderson had his middle stump uprooted by Steffan Jones in the second over of the morning and although Tom New reached a half-century – his sixth against Derbyshire – off 85 balls with five boundaries the runs then dried up.Wickets fell with New the last man out when he was beaten going for a single by a direct hit on the stumps from Greg Smith. Smith finished with impressive figures of 3 for 40 off 23 overs and there was also a three-wicket haul for Jones.Leicestershire did not make the best use of the new ball before lunch and both Rogers and Madsen were able to unleash a succession of boundaries as Derbyshire made a run-a-ball start in the first 11 overs. It was not helped by Madsen being dropped at slip off the bowling of Nathan Buck and the same player also survived a big lbw shout from Nadeem Malik.But Rogers, who looked in fine form, fell three short of a half-century with Matt Boyce making up for his earlier drop by taking a sharp low chance at slip off Malik. Madsen had some good fortune on his way to 50, playing and missing on several occasions before Henderson struck finding the edge against Park with a delivery that bounced on the batsman.Madsen’s 129-ball innings came to an end when he mistimed an intended off-drive at Henderson giving Paul Nixon a catch at mid off. Derbyshire’s run rate slowed in the evening session with Henderson keeping a tight grip on things before claiming the vital wicket of Redfern, leaving an impressive Chesney Hughes still there on 30 at the close.It gave Derbyshire a useful lead of 144 but with rain forecast for the final day it will need some enterprising play from both sides to produce a positive result.

Amjad Khan, the Danish-born fast bowler, will leave Kent when his contract expires at the end of the 2010 season

Cricinfo staff27-Aug-2010Amjad Khan, the Danish-born fast bowler, will leave Kent when his contract expires at the end of the 2010 season with the county unable to afford him a new deal.Khan, 29, burst onto the county scene in 2002, picking up 63 wickets in his first season with Kent. After being awarded British citizenship in 2006, he popped up on the England selectors’ radar and overcame a career-threatening knee injury to make his Test debut against West Indies at Port of Spain in March 2009.”Amjad has been with the club for nine seasons and we are very sorry to see him leave,” said Jamie Clifford, Kent’s chief executive. “These are financially difficult times for the club and sadly we are not currently in a position to make Amjad a meaningful offer.”This has been a very hard decision. However, we believe that it is the right one given the financial context. I am sure the club’s members and supporters will join me in thanking Amjad for all his efforts and wish him the very best as he moves on.”Khan, who has continued to battle injury, understood Kent’s tough situation but admitted it was tough to have to leave the county. He will now have to hope there is a county willing to take a risk with his uncertain fitness.”I am sorry to be leaving having been with the club since 2002,” he said. “Ideally I would have liked to have continued my career with Kent but it is not to be. I sympathise with Kent’s off-field financial pressures and know that that the key people wanted me to stay. I look forward to new challenges with renewed vigour and believe I have what it takes to put myself back in the England frame.””It is disappointing that the club couldn’t offer Amjad a contract that would have seen him stay,” added Kent’s captain Robert Key. “He has been a pleasure to play cricket with over the last nine seasons and I have no doubt that our loss will be another county’s gain. I wish him the very best.”

Cricinfo previews the second one-day International between England and Pakistan at Headingley

The Preview by Sahil Dutta and Liam Brickhill11-Sep-2010

Match facts

September 12, 2010, Headingley
Start time 10.15am (9.15am GMT)Despite a disappointing summer with the bat, Umar Akmal has the ability to inject life into the one-day series•Getty Images

Big picture

While it seems that nothing could rid the backdrop of spot-fixing allegations from this series, the lingering hope is that a keen contest between these two sides might at least provide a moment of relief. The abject nature of Pakistan’s pair of defeats in the Twenty20 series, played in front of half-empty stands at Cardiff, left a fear that the one-day series could descend into a more unappetising farce than even the seven-match trudge against Australia at the end of last summer. Thankfully, without really threatening England, Pakistan still demonstrated enough spirit and backbone in the first game to keep their fans hoping.The much-hyped introduction of enormous paceman Mohammad Irfan may have failed to match the billing but the veteran Shoaib Akthar sweated through an impressive opening spell and provided enough of a test to keep England’s batsmen hopping. Saeed Ajmal continued to weave the confusion that has hounded England all summer and most significantly, Pakistan’s fielding was smart and at times – such as Umar Akmal’s direct-hit from the outfield to dismiss Tim Bresnan – positively sharp.The batting too was much improved. Kamran Akmal managed his first decent performance of a chastening summer, while his brother Umar flickered with his abundant talent once again and there were spirited contributions throughout the order. It was enough for Andrew Strauss to unleash that most trite of clichés by declaring after the match that “cricket was the winner”. Though It speaks volumes for how low Pakistan had sunk that a comfortable England win was seen as progress, another improvement at Edgbaston could put the teams on more equal footing.England, for their part, are quietly piecing together a team to challenge for the World Cup in February. Their limited-overs cricket has improved beyond recognition since the 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Australia last summer, and the World Twenty20 champions have now won four ODI series in a row and show no signs of stopping.The demand for continual improvement saw Craig Kieswetter dumped out of the team for Steve Davies as the England management set a clear challenge – perform now and book your place for the World Cup. Davies’ response was perfect, striking the ball sweetly to race to 87 from 67 deliveries and both earn the Man-of-the-Match award and high praise from his captain. Alongside him Ravi Bopara’s international rehabilitation continued with a breezy unbeaten 37 to finish the innings. Both still have plenty to prove and that context alone gives England supporters something to follow.

Form guide (last five completed matches)

England WWLWL

Pakistan LWLLLL

Watch out for…

Such is his style, Paul Collingwood’s contributions in England’s middle-order can often be overshadowed by his more flamboyant team-mates. But since England’s triumph against Australia earlier this summer, his returns have dipped noticeably and he is due a score in one-day cricket. Positive starts in the second Twenty20 and first ODI against Pakistan – including a dismissive flick over the square leg boundary after charging Shoaib Akhtar in Cardiff – gave a hint of his enduring ability in limited-overs cricket.Before his inexplicable brainwrong at Chester-le-Street, Umar Akmal had threatened to take the game away from England singlehandedly with an array of attacking cricket shots. There is no doubt that the younger Akmal oozes talent, but if Pakistan are to reverse their slide this summer they will need more than attractive cameos from him. Though he is only 20 years old, the sooner Akmal finds the level-head to take responsibility for the middle order, the better.

Team news

England rung the changes for this series and after starting on a winning note they are likely to stick with the chosen XI to deliver the goods again.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Steve Davies (wk), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Michael Yardy, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James AndersonPakistan’s improvement was palpable but Umar Gul’s below-par showing at Chester-le-Street could tempt them to recall Abdul Razzaq to bolster the batting as well.Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Mohammad Yousuf, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Shahid Afridi (capt), 6 Fawad Alam, 7 Asad Shafiq, 8 Umar Gul, 9 Mohammad Irfan, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Shoaib Akhtar.

Pitch and conditions

The Headingley wicket is variable, and – particularly when there is cloud cover – aids seam bowling. Recent matches at the ground have shown that there are runs to be had when the sun shines, however, and Alastair Cook cracked an aggressive unbeaten hundred in a seven-wicket win over Yorkshire in the CB 40 last weekend. With a reasonably sunny day expected tomorrow, this could be a game for the batsmen.

Stats and Trivia

• Shahid Afridi hasn’t looked in particularly good nick since returning to Pakistan’s squad for the limited-overs leg of their tour, which may be an indication of how much of an effect outside events have had on team morale. Afridi has scratched together just 37 runs in three international innings since his return without clearing the ropes once, but he’s still international cricket’s leading six-hitter in ODIs this year, and also still tops the lists for highest strike-rate in an innings. After his hundreds against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Dambulla just over two months ago, much more is expected of Pakistan’s captain.
• Jonathan Trott’s fantastic run of form this summer has brought him 942 runs in home internationals in 2010 at the inflated average of 85.63. He has registered two Test hundreds, one in ODIs, and in matches in which England have won he averages a round 100.

Quotes

The two games I played previously, one was when Matty [Prior] was out and the other was just a one-off Twenty20. But I feel this is now my time. It’s a great chance for me.”

“We all want to go home with respect. We are good cricketers and want to maintain our respect and that is gained by playing good cricket. After a victory the respect will come again.”

Shane Warne, the captain of the Rajasthan Royals team for the first three seasons of the IPL, has questioned the league’s governing council’s move to remove his side ahead of the fourth edition of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2010Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals captain for the first three seasons of the IPL, has questioned the league’s governing council’s move to scrap his side ahead of the fourth edition. The IPL governing council had ejected the Rajasthan and Punjab franchises on charges of transgression of shareholding and ownership norms, but Warne asked whether there were other reasons behind the expulsion.”Is it [the ejection] because the franchises have done something wrong or is there something sinister behind it,” Warne wrote in his personal blog. “Is there an ulterior motive? To me the IPL must be transparent, open, honest, and, above all, fair to all teams! They need to treat them equally; no teacher’s pets!”All of the owners and investors showed a lot of faith and goodwill in the BCCI from the outset. They trusted them to deliver on the massive predictions that led to the franchises being sold at figures never heard of in cricket. With the IPL exceeding all expectations, on all fronts, I find it staggering that the IPL has decided to throw 2 teams out,” Warne wrote.Warne was also critical of the suggestion that Rajasthan did not have the best interests of the game in mind, citing examples of several of his team-mates who have gone on to represent their countries on the back of IPL success.

India last won a Test in Bangalore in 1995 and they have only won four of the 18 matches here. Australia have won two of their four games. Who will win this one?

The Preview by Sriram Veera08-Oct-2010

Match Facts

Saturday, October 9, Bangalore

Start time 9:30 am (0400 GMT)Sreesanth is likely to replace Ishant Sharma in the Indian team•AFP

The Big Picture

Can India and Australia produce an encore? Is it even possible to match the high of that first Test? Both teams will miss key men involved in the drama at high noon in Mohali: Ishant Sharma has already been ruled out, Doug Bollinger is extremely unlikely to play and VVS Laxman is in a race for fitness. India have other worries too: Gautam Gambhir was injured in the first Test and isn’t available for selection. But both teams have always found a way to stretch themselves and produce exciting contests – and Bangalore, weather permitting, should be no different.There are a few concerns, though, and a few questions. Without Bollinger, do Australia have the resources to take 20 wickets? Without him, can they hustle the Indians? Will a replacement bowler release the pressure and will that affect how the others operate? There is also a question mark over Marcus North, who seems to be given endless chances, and enjoys the confidence of his captain and selectors, while the rest of the world wonders why. Thankfully, for North, the rest of the world’s opinion doesn’t matter – though it might soon if he continues producing inconsistent performances.India, too, have tough questions to ponder. Harbhajan Singh wasn’t completely fit for the previous two series and that affected his bowling. Have his ailments healed and will we see a fully-fit Harbhajan bowl? The spinners on the bench don’t seem to have convinced the management that they can be better than a half-fit Harbhajan. The rise of Pragyan Ojha has been because of Amit Mishra’s slide. And is Sreesanth match-fit to replace Ishant? Can Suresh Raina manage to develop a way to tackle the bouncers, or will he slip away like Vinod Kambli?All of this, though, could be redundant if the weather in Bangalore intervenes. It has been raining in the evenings during the lead-up to the Test and that might have affected pitch preparation too.

Form guide

India WWDLW
Australia LLWWW

Watch out for…

Simon Katich has made rapid strides in the last couple of years. Like Michael Hussey, he is extremely aware about his own game and its limitations. Katich has re-assembled his batting bit by bit and knows exactly what he is doing. In the first Test, he struggled a little against Harbhajan in the second innings. The off-stump line with the occasional delivery coming in with the arm had him groping forward. Has he worked things out since then?Zaheer Khan is just back from an injury and produced a stellar performance in the first Test. When he started out playing for India, the new ball was his strength. Now, he’s almost better with the old ball, especially when it’s an SG or Duke. His task in the second Test will be to take out the in-form Shane Watson. Can he?

Team news

Laxman came out for a light training session on Friday evening, where he had both batting and catching practice. MS Dhoni said he was likely to play, in which case Cheteshwar Pujara will have to wait a while for his debut. “He [Laxman] is feeling much better and we would love it if he plays, but the team will take a final call on his fitness before the toss,” Dhoni said. M Vijay, though, will get another opportunity in Gambhir’s absence and Sreesanth is poised to replace Ishant.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 M Vijay, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh , 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Pragyan Ojha.With Bollinger nursing an abdominal injury, Australia are likely to give Peter George, the two-meter tall South Australia fast bowler, a debut. George was part of Australia’s attack in the warm-up game against Board President’s XI in Chandigarh, where he took a couple of first-innings wickets.Australia (probable): 1 Shane Watson, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Marcus North, 7 Tim Paine (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Doug Bollinger/Peter George.

Pitch and conditions

“The pitch will be sporting, but it will help the batsmen more,” the curator Narayan Raju said, before adding that the rainy weather might play a part. “Owing to recent rains, there is a lot of moisture in the pitch, and because of the overcast conditions, the moisture hasn’t dried out. If the conditions remain the same, it could help the bowlers on the first day.”

Stats and trivia

• Sachin Tendulkar needs 27 runs to take his world-record tally to 14,000.
• India last won a Test in Bangalore in 1995, when they beat New Zealand. They have played seven Tests since and lost four. Overall, India have won only four of the 18 Tests at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, while Australia have won two out of four at this venue.
• In the last year Rahul Dravid has been dismissed by left-arm seamers five times. Chanaka Welegedera took him out thrice and Bollinger got his wicket twice.
  

  Quotes

  “Australia will come back strongly in the second Test. That is their culture and also they do not give up easily. We are equally prepared and ready to face the task.”
  
  “The quicks will do a little bit of bowling today but we’ll make sure their recovery is as good as it can be going into the game tomorrow.”