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Zaheer Khan is expected to be back for India, but it’s the fast bowlers that will throw up a debate when the Indian selectors meet to pick the squad for the three Test against Sri Lanka

Cricinfo staff09-Nov-2009Zaheer Khan has recovered well from his shoulder injury and, having featured in Twenty20 matches during the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and a Ranji Trophy fixture, is expected to be back for India when the selectors meet on Tuesday to pick the Test squad to play Sri Lanka. VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid will duly take their places in the middle order, while Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra are likely to retain their spinning roles. Yuvraj Singh is also expected to feature at No. 6 in the batting line-up, but it’s the fast bowlers that will throw up a debate.Including Ashish Nehra in the Test side is going to be tempting. It is also a risk. Nehra has done well after making his ODI return, but do the selectors want to risk his fitness in the longest format of the game? If Nehra does make the transition, he will replace one of the two back-up fast bowlers that went to New Zealand: Dhawal Kulkarni and L Balaji. India will not need a 16-member squad, so just one reserve fast bowler should do. But even if Nehra is not picked, somebody like Sudeep Tyagi might stand a better chance than Balaji and Kulkarni. Going by how Ishant Sharma was persisted with in the ODIs, he is likely to keep his Test place, along with Munaf Patel.Dinesh Karthik was the substitute middle-order batsman in New Zealand, where he doubled up as a reserve wicketkeeper. Here in India, Dhoni might not need back-up behind the stumps. There is another decision for the selectors to make: whether to retain Karthik in a role similar to the one in New Zealand, or draft in a specialist middle-order batsman like S Badrinath.Probable squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik/S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Amit Mishra, Ashish Nehra/one back-up fast bowler.

The ICC task force looking into reviving Pakistan’s reputation as an international cricketing host met in Dubai on Saturday, a meeting which ECB chairman Giles Clarke has called “constructive and purposeful.”

Cricinfo staff06-Dec-2009The ICC task force looking into reviving Pakistan’s reputation as an international cricket host met in Dubai on Saturday, a meeting which ECB chairman Giles Clarke has said was “constructive and purposeful”. Clarke leads the five-member team which discussed how the PCB could fulfill its commitment under the Future Tours Programme given the security problems in Pakistan.”The objective of the meeting was to come up with possible solutions in consultation with the PCB to ensure that the cricketing talent remains attached and attracted to the sport despite the PCB’s inability to host international cricket at home in the near future,” Clarke said. “The PCB made an impressive and strong presentation in which it sought ICC’s assistance in retaining its position as a competitive team in world cricket and a self-sustaining and revenue-generating organisation.”The task force, which also includes the ICC’s general manager for cricket, Dave Richardson, former international captains Mike Brearley and Ramiz Raja, and ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle, will now put together a report which will be submitted to the ICC’s board in February 2010.Several countries have refused to tour Pakistan due to security fears. Cricket in the country was dealt a severe blow when the Sri Lankan team’s bus was attacked in Lahore in March this year, killing eight people and injuring five visiting players. The 2009 Champions Trophy was moved out of Pakistan to South Africa and the country lost its share of 2011 World Cup matches later.

Simon Katich remains in doubt for the Hobart Test against Pakistan with an elbow injury, forcing the selectors to again name Phillip Hughes as a backup opener

Cricinfo staff07-Jan-2010Simon Katich remains in doubt for the Hobart Test against Pakistan with an elbow injury, forcing the selectors to again name Phillip Hughes as a backup opener. Australia named an unchanged 13-man squad for the final Test of the home summer, giving Marcus North a reprieve despite a string of low scores.The remarkable series-winning victory at the SCG discouraged the selectors from making any alterations, allowing North another opportunity to turn around his form after scores of 1, 8, 10 and 2 in his past two Tests. The main query surrounds Katich, who missed the Sydney Test due to his elbow problem.Hughes did not fully grab his chance back in the Test side, with a first-innings duck and 37 in the second innings. The likelihood of Hughes playing at Bellerive, where the Test starts next Thursday, depends on how Katich performs when he bats in the nets in Hobart early next week.”Simon has been having regular treatment on his arm injury since being ruled out of the Sydney Test and will travel to Hobart with the squad where he will continue his rehabilitation,” Australia’s physio Alex Kountouris said. “A decision on his availability will be made closer to the start of the Test in Hobart after he’s had an opportunity to bat in the nets to test his injury.”Katich was Australia’s leading Test run scorer in 2009, with 1111 runs at 48.30, and he is averaging 57.42 in Tests this home summer. One of the SCG heroes, Peter Siddle, was confident Katich could shake the injury in time.”He’s come in a few times in the last couple of days to get some treatment and see Alex and work with him,” Siddle said. “I haven’t spoken to him too much about it but I’d be pretty confident. He’s a strong fella and he’s very wiling to work hard to get back out there. We’ve still got a fair bit of time before day one.”Squad Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Phillip Hughes, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Clint McKay, Doug Bollinger.

Less than a day into his role as New Zealand coach, Mark Greatbatch has chalked out an immediate priority: to help the pool of batsmen play to the top of their game

Nagraj Gollapudi30-Jan-2010Less than a day into his role as New Zealand coach, Mark Greatbatch has chalked out an immediate priority: to help the pool of batsmen play to the top of their game. Greatbatch, who was today appointed head coach after a four-month void following Andy Moles’ resignation in October, has identified batting as an area New Zealand have a lot of work to do on.”In Test cricket you need to take 20 wickets and you also need to score a decent amount of runs. In the past, we have taken wickets but haven’t scored enough runs and that is one area we are looking to improve,” he told Cricinfo after a long Saturday.Greatbatch, who played for New Zealand between 1988 and 1996, will perform the dual responsibility of being part of the national selection panel along with his new appointment. Interestingly, despite being head coach, it is reportedly understood that Greatbatch’s primary focus will remain the batting department with Daniel Vettori continuing to hold the rights on decision-making concerning strategies and selections. The appointment just puts an official stamp on the duties that Greatbatch has already been performing in the last few months.In the aftermath of Moles’ resignation, NZC declared they were in no hurry to fill the breach. In the interim they decided to seek help from within their own ranks. During the ODI series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, where Greatbatch had accompanied the team as a touring selector, he was asked by NZC if he would like to act as a batting consultant. “I went to Abu Dhabi with the team as a selector in November and got involved with the team helping the batsmen,” he said. “At the same time NZC were looking for a replacement for Andy Moles, so they approached me and asked if I would consider an extra role as part of the coaching staff.”The more they talked, the more excited Greatbatch became about the job. “The initial role was predominantly working with the batsmen and helping Dan with any other areas as a captain,” he said.Today, both NZC and Vettori acknowledged the positive impression Greatbatch had made and admitted that clinched him the offer. Greatbatch has already begun talking about pushing forward plans that were set in motion about six months ago. “John Wright and Martin Crowe have been working closely with some of the players outside the Black Caps system on technical and tactical areas to get the best results,” he said. “We also have Glenn Turner on the selection panel, so we have a lot of very good people in our group and it is a matter of utilising them to the fullest and that is going to be the key area through which we are going to improve as a group.”Greatbatch has two previous stints as coach, the first as coaching director at his native Central Districts and then a curtailed two-year experience with Warwickshire with whom he had signed a three-year contract at the end of 2005.His first assignment will be against Bangladesh next week. New Zealand have been robbed of three quality fast bowlers who formed one part of their recent successes. Shane Bond’s fairytale return lasted one victorious Test, Ian O’Brien conceded domestic life was more appealing than finding ways to break through the defence of an opponent, and Kyle Mills has yet to fully recover from injury. In the batting department, the highly-talented Jesse Ryder has been waylaid by a stomach muscle injury.Greatbatch, though, was unruffled and pointed out that his duty was to find out more about the players and what worked best for them, after which the task was to develop it. “As a coaching group, we need to help find the players their A game and work very hard with them on that and help them develop in their practice and repeat it then we can get stronger and more consistent,” he said.But New Zealand, who in 2009 reached the final of the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa and defeated Pakistan in a thrilling victory in Dunedin, their first win in 13 months, face a stern test in March when Australia arrive to play a full series. “The Aussies are looming,” Greatbatch said, “But we are working on improving our Test ranking. We had a very good Test series against Pakistan in December but unfortunately it rained despite us playing well. We are making some progress.”New Zealand will then travel extensively in the Indian subcontinent with a proposed tri-series in Sri Lanka in July, with India the third team, followed by a tour of Bangladesh and then a full tour of India before the World Cup next March.Greatbatch understood the various challenges in the pipeline but was relaxed. His source of confidence remains the same as that of the whole of New Zealand: his captain, Vettori. “I admire the way he plays,” Greatbatch said in praise of Vettori, who started his career when his was ending. “He has his own methods. It is a little bit unique to him but again he has found his A game. He consistently performs with both ball and bat and is a great leader. He is nice and relaxed in the dressing room and I’m looking forward to complementing that.”

Andy Atkinson, the ICC’s pitch consultant, has come down heavily on the ground authorities at the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA)

Nagraj Gollapudi23-Feb-2010Andy Atkinson, the ICC’s pitch consultant, has come down heavily on the ground authorities at the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) for over-ruling the recommendation of Daljit Singh last year, which led to the abandonment of the final match of the India-Sri Lanka ODI series at the Feroz Shah Kotla on December 27. As a consequence, Daljit , chairman of the BCCI pitch and grounds committee, and his panel, were sacked the same day by the BCCI, which held him responsible.But Atkinson, who visited various Indian venues hosting next year’s World Cup earlier this month, inspected the Kotla pitch on February 14 and 15. Though he was happy with the remedial work in progress that has started under the supervision of Venkat Sundaram, former head of the BCCI curators’ panel, Atkinson stated in the report to the BCCI, a copy of which was available to Cricinfo, that all the controversy could have been easily avoided if the DDCA ground officials had heard Daljit’s suggestions.”As a consequence of the state of affairs that occurred with the pitch throughout last
year, the decision to use of Perennial Rye grass was the only option left at a very late
stage in an attempt to obtain some grass cover for the ODI on the 27th December and
was recommended by Mr. Daljit Singh (Chairman BCCI Pitches Committee) quite
correctly as an emergency measure,” Atkinson wrote.”Unfortunately the then local authority of DDCA did not agree with that course of action and went ahead and planted some local Cynodon grass, creating damage to the surface levels in doing so,” he addedIn the eight-page report, addressed to Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI’s chief administrative officer, Atkinson explained the disastrous consequences. “As predicted this grass did not grow then, and now the remains of it which is decomposing below the surface of the pitch will need to be removed mechanically so that the organic content will not further dilute the clay content of the soil and reduce the ability of that soil to produce fast hard pitches in the future.”According to Atkinson the surface level, too, was damaged as a result of using a heavy roller, thereby “creating low and high areas (Ridges)”. This was amply evident during the Sri Lanka ODI where Alan Hurst, the match referee, in his report submitted to the ICC few days after the game, said he was forced to stop the match after 23.1 overs because he deemed the Kotla pitch “dangerous” and “unfit”.Consequently the ICC penalised the Indian board and suspended the venue from hosting any international matches until the end of 2010. Though the BCCI appealed against the ICC decision, which was arrived at by the pair Dave Richardson, the ICC’s general manager of cricket, and Ranjan Madugalle, the chief match referee, Michael Beloff QC rejected their plea, insisting the penalty was in order.Fans were not happy when the match was called off and Andy Atkinson said the situation could have been avoided•AFP

Last April, after the second edition of the IPL had moved to South Africa, DDCA decided to re-lay the whole ground and Daljit was appointed as a consultant. But just months after the main pitch block was re-laid, DDCA agreed to host the Champions League Twenty20 games, an erroneous decision according to Atkinson.”The new grasses planted then were not given adequate time to grow in and establish a resilient deep root structure,” he wrote, “and when rolling began to prepare the pitches for the IPL Champions League the grass quite unsurprisingly died off as it was too delicate at that time to survive the stresses that were put on it by the act of rolling.”But he is against the re-laying the entire pitch square. “I can find no appropriate reason to excavate and reconstruct the pitch block at this time,” Atkinson said. “The basic construction of the pitch block as supervised by Daljit Singh is sound in my opinion and the reasons for the problems encountered were basically self inflicted by basic and terminal mistakes made by playing on the pitch far too early after its reconstruction in 2009.”With just twelve months to go until the World Cup the process is at a critical stage to get the Kotla back in shape. But Atkinson is not panicking yet as long as his suggestions are followed. “The problems to be overcome for CWC 2011 are fundamental issues of additional correction of the surface levels and ensuring the re‐establishment of the correct grass species by replanting the entire pitch block with the most suitable grasses for its long term benefit.”If the various authorities, and importantly the DDCA, adhere to his guidelines, Atkinson said Delhi would have no problems in hosting their four World Cup games. But there are some strict timelines that need to be adhered to. As soon as the last IPL game ends on April 17, Atkinson has said there will be no play at the ground, which would then undergo complete corrective work for 20 weeks between April 17 and August 31. This would be followed by hosting trial matches to test the pitches between September 1 and November 30. For the next 16 weeks, between December and February 17, 2011 the ground would be completely closed for maintenance and preparations of the pitches and the venue.Atkinson also stated that he would be visiting Delhi frequently, starting on March 15, two days ahead of the first IPL game, to inspect the developments.

Dinesh Karthik, who led South Zone in the finals of the Duleep Trophy, has retained the leadership responsibility the South squad for the Deodhar Trophy

Cricinfo staff23-Feb-2010Dinesh Karthik, who led South Zone in the finals of the Duleep Trophy, has retained the leadership responsibility of the South squad for the Deodhar Trophy. Alfred Absolem and KB Pawan are the most notable absentees from the Duleep Trophy side. The squad includes 15 members and six stand-bys.Squad: Dinesh Karthik (capt and wk), Srikkanth Anirudha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Subramaniam Badrinath, Saurabh Bandekar, Arun Karthik, Abhimanyu Mithun, Pragyan Ojha, Manish Pandey, Sreesanth, Robin Uthappa, Padmanabhan Prasanth, Ganesh Satish, Murali Vijay and Vinay KumarStand-bys: KP Appanna, Chandrasekar Ganapathy, Muralidharen Gautam (wk), Abhinav Mukund, Udit Patel and Ambati Rayudu

On the eve of the opening clash against Deccan Chargers, Sourav Ganguly made his point straightaway that the best way to progress is by “executing” and not wasting time “planning

N Hunter11-Mar-2010On the eve of the opening clash against Deccan Chargers, Sourav Ganguly made his point straightaway that the best way to progress is by “executing” and not wasting time “planning.” The Kolkata Knight Riders captain felt there was no point dissecting the past, and the better alternative was to go out and play. It was trademark Ganguly – he did not spell out his enemy, but he made his point, subtly, leaving no doubts in anyone’s mind as to what he was referring to.Ganguly, along with the new coach Dav Whatmore and the entire Kolkata management have been working hard on an entirely new platform, which from the outset has been more transparent and importantly, simpler, compared to the Sudoku grid John Buchanan had asked the squad to solve in order to excel in Twenty20 cricket. Ganguly hasn’t forgotten the confusion and controversy that was created in the first two years of the IPL, but as the team’s seniormost player, he understands he cannot afford to create any further haze when his primary job is to lead the team in the right direction.”One needs to plan, especially when you are on the park. But I believe in execution. I don’t believe in too many ideas or team meetings,” Ganguly said, with a stern face, after a two-hour long training session at the Bandra-Kurla Complex ground. “I believe planning is 10% and execution 90%.”So batsmen played with straight, slanting and even upside-down bats as Whatmore offered them the freedom and space to understand what they were doing. At the other end, Wasim Akram mentored the bowlers including Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Mashrafe Mortaza and Jaydev Unadkat, the Under-19 bowler. Clearly, there was a sea change in the way the training session went about in the past.In the first two years, various coaches would be spotted, busy noting down various things, just like a nurse records a patient’s heartbeat, pulse etc. The paraphernalia was conspicuously absent today, replaced by more word-of-mouth signals, creating a different kind of buzz.”I would like to leave the player to play to his strengths. That’s how everybody has played and been successful. Maybe you can just tell them the amount of runs needed on the board or what has to be chased,” Ganguly said. “Other than that, if I keep changing (the player’s style) at this minute, it’s not going to help.”While the majority of the teams managed to devise the right processes, along with the right combinations in the first two years of the IPL, Kolkata were affected by a lack of clarity. As a consequence they have underperformed in first two editions. Still, there is hope. Ask Adam Gilchrist, the Deccan Chargers captain, who said he could relate to his opponent’s circumstances as he had been in the same spot that Kolkata now find themselves in: bottom of the barrel.”I know that feeling. I’ve started the tournament like that before,” Gilchrist said, denying the opening clash of the IPL tomorrow was a mismatch considering Deccan, the defending champions, are playing last year’s wooden-spoon holders. “I don’t think you can take it for granted that there are any mismatches in the tournament. Everyone starts afresh.”Ganguly has been stressing the same in his interactions with the squad, out in the open and behind closed doors. It is now up to the players to go out and express themselves.

The prospects of Lalit Modi remaining IPL chairman and commissioner appeared to recede on Wednesday with the BCCI talking tough on action over the allegations against him

Cricinfo staff21-Apr-2010The prospects of Lalit Modi remaining IPL chairman and commissioner appeared to recede on Wednesday with the BCCI talking tough on action over the allegations against him, while the federal intelligence agencies widened their investigations to include the IPL TV rights holders.In New Delhi, Rajiv Shukla, the board’s media and finance committee chairman, issued a statement saying the IPL governing council’s decision, to be taken at its April 26 meeting, would be final and binding on those concerned. “The question of people refusing to back down or not, they don’t matter,” Shukla told PTI. “After the meeting between BCCI president Shashank Manohar and Sharad Pawar yesterday, it has been decided that, at the April 26 governing council meeting, we will sit together and unanimously decide what to do.”Shukla, who is reported to be briefing the Prime Minister on the issue at some point on Wednesday, said the BCCI was ready to take tough decisions if required to uphold its image. “These decisions would be in the interest of cricket and the BCCI. No matter how harsh they might seem, decisions would be taken to protect the BCCI and cricket’s image in the country. We have never compromised on our image in the past 60 years and there will be no compromise this time too,” he said.The controversy began with Modi questioning the role of Shashi Tharoor, the former federal minister, in the Kochi franchise, but has widened considerably to include Modi’s role in the IPL, the financial affairs of the franchises and several of the other stakeholders in the tournament.On Wednesday, the Income Tax department raided the offices of Multi Screen Media (MSM) and World Sports Group (WSG), the two firms that hold the TV broadcast rights to the IPL. The “surveys”, as tax officials call them, were conducted in four different locations, including the home of the WSG’s South Asia president, Venu Nair.In 2008, WSG bagged the TV rights for a ten-year period, with a $918 million bid and a promise to spend $108m on promoting the event. It had simultaneously signed a deal with MSM that Sony would be the official broadcaster. The contract was recast before IPL 2009, with MSM agreeing to pay $1.63 billion for nine years.That contract is now believed to be the subject of investigation but WSG has denied allegations of impropriety. “Any allegation that World Sports Group has used any funds received in connection with its sub-licence of these rights for inappropriate or unlawful activities is completely unfounded and without substance,” read a statement issued by WSG.

New South Wales will look to Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken to drive their bowling attack in 2010-11 after the pair was cut from Australia’s contract list

Cricinfo staff08-May-2010New South Wales will look to Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken to drive their bowling attack in 2010-11 after the pair was cut from Australia’s contract list. Clark is being considered as a full-time captain and Bracken will also have a mentoring role as the Blues aim to develop their exciting young talent.The fast bowler Trent Copeland, 24, has also been elevated to a full state contract following a record-breaking debut season. He joins a batch of young pacemen that includes the promising Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Moises Henriques.”The return of Clark and Bracken will greatly assist the development of our younger players,” New South Wales’ chief executive Dave Gilbert said. “New South Wales has the all-round depth to challenge in all three domestic competitions next year.”Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan has a Twenty20 contract while the senior players Dominic Thornely and Grant Lambert have been cut from the outfit. New South Wales have named a squad of 33 that includes their nine Cricket Australia-signed stars.New South Wales contracts Nathan Bracken, Mark Cameron, Beau Casson, Stuart Clark, Burt Cockley, Trent Copeland, Peter Forrest, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Phil Jaques, Usman Khawaja, Peter Nevill, Stephen O’Keefe, Ben Rohrer, Daniel Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Tillakaratne Dilshan (Twenty20 contract).

Cricket Australia contracts Doug Bollinger, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Phillip Hughes, Simon Katich, Brett Lee, Steven Smith, Shane Watson.

Rookies Tim Armstrong, Luke Doran, Nic Maddinson, Joe Mennie, Timm Van Der Gugten, Adam Zampa.

Lalit Modi has promised a show tomorrow at the Cricket Centre, the BCCI headquarters, but it is likely to end up as a silent affair, barring the media noise

Nagraj Gollapudi09-May-2010Lalit Modi is expected to reply in in person on Monday to the show-cause notice served by the Indian board, comprising five charges, on April 26. However, his appearance at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai is unlikely to produce the dramatic denouement the saga has promised.On Saturday, after sending an emissary with the documents asked by the board last month post his suspension, Modi said that he had nothing to hide and he would “personally reply” to the show-cause slapped on him.BCCI sources said Modi’s reply, once it comes in, will be taken up by the board’s three-man disciplinary committee, comprising Shashank Manohar (BCCI president) and two vice-presidents – Arun Jaitley and Chirayu Amin, who was appointed the interim IPL chairman after Modi’s suspension. “The disciplinary committee is likely to meet in mid-June,” a BCCI official said.Immediately after his suspension, Modi had threatened to come out with various revelations that would expose many names. “Wait for the IPL to finish – I will reveal the men who have tried to bring disrepute to the game and how we stopped them from doing it,” he’d said. It is clear, though, that Modi’s reply is going to be detailed and voluminous – some estimates put it at 5000 pages.But for now, Modi will need to remain patient to hear from the disciplinary committee, which might even ask him to depose before it if need be; otherwise the panel would pass its conclusions to the board. The special general body will then sit to take a vote on the decisions and ratify. Meanwhile, Modi will have the opportunity to challenge the board’s decision.