preview - NZ vs SA - 3rd test

In the previous two tests , New Zealand have faced a few dilemmas regarding the composition and balance of their side .Firstly - whether they should keep playing four specialist fast bowlers - a tactic which helped them immensely against Australia . But again , it weakens the batting considerably , the lower middle order

becomes more vulnerable to collapse.

Secondly - if the captain and the coach of the New Zealand team decide to have four genuine quicks in the eleven , they have to prepare a bowling friendly pitch ( a green pitch to be specific) . They will have to think twice before taking the decision since South Africa arguably has the best pace attack in the world at

the moment which can easily outgun the weak New Zealand batting line up .This is certainly how it's turned out so far - New Zealand have dismissed South Africa for 238 and 253, but have been unable to turn that into any sort of dominance in either match because New Zealand's batsmen have been so severely outclassed. Hence the captain has some important decisions to make before the test.  If you think those two are the only problems New Zealand are going to face , you are wrong . They split up the Guptill/McCullum opening pair they now seem to be desperately going round the houses before they put them back together, instead of just doing it and accepting they’ll look a bit silly. Kane Williamson is everything but convincing . The youngster who has been given a fairly long rope hasnt matched the expectations , he batted at three in Australia but now he has been asked to bat at five . Jesse Ryder is still out for disciplinary reasons.

Now New Zealand go into the third Test needing to win, but at the exact time that they require an aggressive approach they have been forced to temper it and pick an extra batsman. Had Dean Brownlie been fit for the first two Tests then they probably would have had him at six from the beginning. Now it all feels a little too late, but Brownlie should add an extra all-round element and comes into the side on the back of a half-century for his domestic team Canterbury. Their other change, which sees Daniel Flynn replace Rob Nicol, also feels like too little, too late and could be a case of a square peg in a round hole. Nicol was hopelessly out of his depth, to the point where even his bizarre dismissal in the second innings at Seddon Park could hardly be termed unlucky.

Flynn comes in with previous success in Test cricket - before he got injured in 2009, he was becoming one of New Zealand's tougher Test batsmen to dismiss - but may now be asked to open the batting. He has only done so once in his 29 Test innings to date (he made a duck in the fourth innings in Galle), but he is made of stern stuff. After all, this is a batsman who lost two teeth to a James Anderson bouncer in just his second Test but has not been cowed by the experience.

Although there has been some debate as to whether Flynn or Brendon McCullum should open, when all is said and done New Zealand should have a stronger and more balanced side, who will be more confident of at least holding their own.There is less to say about South Africa, who will go into the match with the same side that played the first two Tests. Theirs has become a settled XI over the course of this tour, which is providing them with a good base from which they could attain the top ranking.The extra two days off after the Hamilton Test seem to have been used well, with the squad scattering around New Zealand to explore the country. Given the compressed nature of this series, a break from the cricket grind was probably needed.

The bowlers will struggle to top their performance in Hamilton, particularly with the windy conditions in Wellington set to provide them with a tough challenge - something they have spoken about at length. If there is a landmark to keep an eye on during the Test, it's Vernon Philander's bid to reach 50 wickets. He needs five more, and if he does it in this match he will be the fastest to 50 since the 1800s.If there is one area of the game that the Proteas will want to improve though, it is their susceptibility to batting collapses - especially in the first innings. It's something that will cost them Test matches against stronger opponents.

Key Men

New Zealand: Martin Guptill has been out of form, enduring a horrific second half of the season after a prolific first, so whoever bats with him needs to provide more solidity to give the middle order something to work with. That puts added pressure on Daniel Flynn, but he's a gutsy batsman who should be able to handle it.

South Africa: He's been forced to play second fiddle to Vernon Philander for most of the season, but Dale Steyn is bound to grab a big haul at some stage. He bowled with better rhythm in Hamilton and rediscovered his pace, and since he can expect to bowl with the wind at the Basin, his speed could be too much for the New Zealand batsmen here.

Last Five Head-To-Head Results

March 2012, Second Test: South Africa won by nine wickets at Hamilton

March 2012, First Test: Match drawn at Dunedin

November 2007, Second Test: South Africa won by an innings and 59 runs at Centurion

November 2007, First Test: South Africa won by 358 runs at the Wanderers

May 2006, Third Test: South Africa won by four wickets at the Wanderers

Prediction

New Zealand's batting should be strengthened, and it sounds as if we will have another pitch where there isn't a great deal of assistance for the bowlers. Throw in a bit of rain, and all the signs seem to point to a draw.

Probable Teams

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daniel Flynn, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor (capt), Kane Williamson, Dean Brownlie, Daniel Vettori, Kruger van Wyk (wk), Doug Bracewell, Mark Gillespie, Chris Martin.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Mark Boucher (wk), Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel.

In response to Dhoni's latest statement

Dhoni lashed out at the selectors yesterday during a presser.


 Speaking to HT before boarding the flight to Sydney, Dhoni lamented how he would give a list of players to the selectors only to find many of them he wanted not named in the squad. “I don't have a say in selection. I ask for certain players, send it in writing to the selectors and when the squad is announced their names are missing,” said Dhoni.

My two points regarding Dhoni's statement -


1 ) Dhoni speaking against the cricket board . It shows that there is a complete communication breakdown between the selectors and the team. The team has no idea about what the selectors are on about . It was clearly highlighted when there was a news regarding Dravid's retirement . When the BCCI was asked whether they had any clue about the retirement , the official replied in the negative .


2) Dhoni's word shouldnt be taken while selecting the team . 
He asked for a half fit Rudra Pratap Singh during the tour of England . The left-arm seamer arrived looked well-rested and plump and even though the selectors tried hard, they just couldn’t hide the fact that he was clearly unfit. How could RP get into the team . I wont answer this question but all i will say is he is managed by the same company that manages Dhoni. (The management company, Rhiti Sports Management run by Arun Pandey ,Dhoni’s childhood friend and  manager). Raina never looked comfortable in tests played overseas . Everyone knows about his weakness against short pitched deliveries . I wont tell ( i dont know , actually ) how he got selected for England .All i can say is -he is also contracted with Rhiti Sports. Another thing about Rhiti sport - the exclusive marketing rights for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are with them . 

If Dhoni picks players like RP for important tours , then i dont think he should be ever allowed to represent his thoughts during selection . 

More importantly these arent the kind of statements one should make during a important tour . It highlights a loss of mind , the state of affairs in the management and the relation between the players and the board .  

Indian Squad for ODIs/tri-series - 1) MS Dhoni

The Indians are scheduled to play two Twenty20 matches on February 1 and 2, followed by the tri-series, also involving Sri Lanka, from February 5. 




M S Dhoni (C), Virender Sehwag (VC), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Unesh Yadav, Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan.

MS Dhoni :- 

Recent scores  - 12 , 2 , 57 , 2 , 6 , 23 , 3 , 5 , 8 , 13.  
* 1 score of 50+ in last 10 innings .

Dhoni isnt in the best of forms . However he is  a different batsman in ODIs and t20s . He has come under severe criticism because of his failure as a captain and player . So he will be trying his best to prove a point to the selectors and his critics . 

His scores in his last 10 ODIs - 75 , 15 , 35 , 87 , 50 , 78 , 69 , 6 , 33 , 91. 

Some reasons why he is being criticised by one and all - 



 Removing forward short leg and silly point when new batsmen are tentatively poking around is a recipe for disaster. Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke were allowed to play themselves back to form in this manner;
* Pushing the field back, thus, allowing easy singles is tailor-made to ease the pressure on batsmen. The three Aussies referred to above as well as Ian Bell, Alistair Cook and Kevin Peterson all benefited hugely from this;
* Resuming the post-lunch session on Day 4 of the Lords Test with part-timer Suresh Raina when Ishant Sharma was on fire and raring to go allowed England to claw its way back in that Test;
* If one opposition batsman has scored a triple century and three others have crossed the 200-mark over the last six away Tests, then something is very, very wrong;
* If lower order opposition batsmen are consistently adding 100 runs-plus in every innings, then there’s something wrong with the way the fielding side is being led.
* Chasing 180-odd runs to win the final Test match against the West Indies at Roseau, India abandoned the chase and settled for a draw with 85 to get from 15 overs @ less than six runs per over.


The ODI series will be a huge test for Dhoni . Further failure might result in him being scrapped from captaincy (test
 matches) .  


Dhoni averages 69 in Australia ( ODIs ) . India will need their captain to fire in what is going to be a battle of epic proportions .  

                                                                                     

Time to introspect

If you are a cricket fan who likes to trace out the ‘culprit ‘ of a match or a tour, or if you are really interested in ‘who are accountable’ for the performance of the team in any specific tour or test match, then this piece isn’t for you. Instead of going for someone’s throat or claiming that ‘this/that player should be axed’, I am going to break down the reasons behind the failure of the Indian cricket team in the first two tests versus Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), into smaller parts to help you understand the situation better.


There is no doubt in the fact that India is one of the best test teams in the world, on paper at least, and at home. If you have these players in your side; Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar, V.V.S Laxman, Virat Kohli, Dhoni; more often than not you are expected to win. But, the team’s performance in the last couple of years, especially on foreign soil, has been very ordinary.


After 24 Jan 2008, Tests played outside the subcontinent (by subcontinent, I mean the combined landmass of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India):


Played 17 Won 3
Lost 8
Draw 6


Last 9 matches away from home:
Won 0
Lost 7
Draw 2


Since Jan 1, 2011. Test matches lost:
India 7
Sri Lanka 2
West Indies 2
Pakistan 1
Australia 1
New Zealand 1
Bangladesh 1


Captaincy:


A good captain should possess nerves of steel, he should be inapprehensive, unflinching, tactically aggressive,  determined and have the will to win. He should be flexible (ability to bring a change in the pre-planned tactics when required), should be a good mind-reader and last but not the least, he should be a good motivator; man of action.


Kumar Sangakara was finagler, one of the finest examples of how a captain manages his resources well. Sri Lanka have limited resources, but he has made the best possible use of it. Misbah-Ul-Haq’s contribution to Pakistani cricket, as a captain ,I believe will be acknowledged once his tenure runs out. He is a team man, never panics, has the support of the players and in my opinion, the man responsible for the ‘resurgence’ of Pakistan cricket. Andrew Strauss with the support of Andy Flower has changed the fortunes of the English team. Our very own Sourav Ganguly leads the race when it comes to tactical aggression, belligerence and being a genuine leader.


Dhoni succeeded Kumble as the captain of the Test side. In the first few years, he was very successful and had a good win/loss ratio. The Test team was faring well and so was the ODI team. There was no one who had any issues with his captaincy. The team won the World Cup under his captaincy, and he was lauded by one and all. Dhoni’s success, in my opinion shouldn’t have been surprising. When you have so many potential match-winners in the side; people like Dravid, Sachin, Laxman in your test batting line up. Add that too good spinners, you have to be really a hapless captain to lose matches. With so many senior players he didn’t need to be the mentor-guide to the team, he just needed to keep it in good fettle. He never had to display pugnacity to prove his leadership abilities. The team performed well enough without that. Nobody ever blamed him for missing the fighting spirit. The spirit is missing at the moment.


Knives are out for Dhoni after the losses in England and now in Australia. The flaws in his captaincy have been highlighted. It is now believed that he was just not good enough to achieve whatever he has achieved so far. He has been lucky far too long; it’s time for a reality check. Dhoni scores low when it comes to field placements. He was criticized for setting defensive fields after sending 4/5 opposition batsmen to the pavilion conceding a few runs. He isn’t a great motivator, since, till now he never felt the need to do so. In Test matches, unlike other captains, you rarely see him walking to the bowler and giving him some advice.


There have been plenty of instances when the quick’s, like Zaheer and Ishant, have provided the break-through, but India have failed to capitalize on it. What Dhoni has done is, his gone for defensive fields, men in the deep protecting the boundaries. Even in the series in England he was found guilty of setting defensive fields, taking off the third slip fielder very early. Dhoni, asking a man to field at short point, forward-short-leg against quicks, is indeed a uncommon sight. One could see that Clarke had a man at forward-short-leg against India.


India in South Africa Test Series – Jan 2, 2011


South Africa were reduced to 2-34 and then 4-164, but they fought back and scored 362. In the second innings, they found themselves at 5-89, but again they managed to score 364.


India tour of England, 2011


1st Test: In their 2nd innings England were 5-62 at one stage, but they ended up scoring 6-269 (declared).


2nd Test: England were at 8-124 at one stage, but they ended up the final score of 221. In the 2nd innings England were 6-339 and managed a mammoth score of 544 runs in that innings.


India tour of Australia, 2011/12


1st Test: In the 1st innings, Australia after being 6-214 scored 333 . They were 4-27 at one stage in their 2nd innings but in spite of that they posted a total of 240.


These are only a few examples, there have been many such occasions when teams have taken advantage of his defensive field-placements.


Batting


People seem to have taken it for granted that India has the best batting line up. Is this true?
In the last 13 months India has played 11 test matches;
Scores above 500 – none
above 400 – once
above 300- thrice


Opening has been a major issue. The injury prone, Sehwag and Gambhir have disappointed in Tests. Their replacements (Murali Vijay and Mukund) don’t seem to have the class to deliver the goods at the highest level. Also they have never been given enough chances to prove their mettle. Openers haven’t been able to leave the ball well. Gambhir, in most matches edges to the wk/slip cordon, Sehwag chases for deliveries outside off and invites trouble. Gambhir had it in him to play knocks of substance, but these days he looks very tentative with his foot movement against deliveries on the off stump.


Only Sachin and Dravid, look somewhat assured against fast bowling. Both of them are good leavers of the ball and know where their off-stump is. Especially Sachin leaves the ball on the 3rd /4th stump better than anyone. This has been the weakness of Sehwag, Laxman and Dhoni; all 3 of them have unique techniques. Laxman has a tendency to play away from his body, especially the cover drives, his back foot doesn’t move much . He has been able to survive with his technique all these years, but that doesn’t seem to be working these days. Sehwag hardly moves his feet but his ability to pick the line of the ball quickly and time the ball well even without much feet movement helps him. Dhoni’s technique is difficult to describe, his walking-cover-drive has resulted in his downfall too many times. These three have an exceptional hand-eye coordination which has been of immense help to them in their careers.


Against the short ball, Dravid and Laxman seem somewhat assured; Sachin doesn’t play the pull shot these days. Sehwag and Gambhir have never been good pullers. Same is the case with rest of the batting line up. How can you win Tests abroad ( ]especially in England, S Africa and Australia) if 9 out of 11 of your batsmen are poor on their backfoot ?. When a player is unsure about his backfoot play, the bowler bangs a few short, and then he bowls a fuller one. The batsman, expects another short ball and stays on his back foot, he edges it and perishes. This is where England score high, their top 5 batsmen, Cook, Strauss, Trott, KP and Bell have very good techniques and more importantly they are good players on the off-stump; equally good on the front-foot and backfoot.


India doesn’t have a settled batsman at number 6. Raina’s weakness against short-pitched stuff compelled the management to throw him out. Yuvraj Singh never looked comfortable at 6 and Virat Kohli averages 15 odd in overseas Tests. He is a talented player, majestic on the front foot. His back-foot play needs to improve. Rohit Sharma who is known for his technique against fast-bowling has been never given the opportunity to prove himself. The selectors continue to neglect Badrinath, experienced and a prolific scorer in Ranji.
                              
                                      Opening partnerships (2011) 

                                 
                                               Runs scored (2011)

  








So basically , this is what has happened in most of the matches


1) Openers fall early
2) Hopes pinned on Dravid and Sachin
3) Most of the times the duo come to the rescue . at around 80 , team loses the third wicket
4) The remaining 6 make another 140/150 and the team gets all out within 250

BCCI still in the cocoon of denial


1) Utter lack of preparation, planning and practice. The English team reached Australia well before the Ashes, but the Indians played against West Indies in a rather needless 5 match ODI series at home, on dustbowls. The time that could have been utilized to prepare for the major series was wasted.


2) Playing IPL has had an adverse impact on the technique of the batsmen. In Test cricket you need to be good at two things, leaving the ball and knowing where the off-stump is. The Indian batsmen have forgotten how to leave the balls on the off stump. In T20s you are advised not to waste deliveries, put bat to ball and rotate strike. There are people like Kohli and Gambhir who don’t seem to like leaving the ball even if the ball is pitched on the 5th or 6th stump outside off. Majority of the batsmen these days, in Ranji Trophy and International cricket try to reach out and hit every ball. So the bowlers keep them fishing outside off. Knowing they are going to nick one and get caught behind the stumps. I can assure you every aspiring young cricketer in the country would prefer seeing his name in the scoreboard of an IPL match. The honour’s board at Lord’s means nothing to them.


3) Playing excessive T20s affects the bowlers more than anyone else. When a bowler constantly bowls short bursts at batsman who are out to hammer him, his bowling action is put under severe stress, its gives him bad habbits, the bowler fears to pitch the ball on the good length and on the fourth stump because that will allow the batsman to get under the delivery. Even while playing ODIs on the flat Indian pitches, you either bowl full or pitch it on the short of good length, with the ball directed towards the batsman’s body. Ishant Sharma has been a degraded bowler ever since he started playing IPL.


4) The BCCI was supposed to conduct a detailed review of the England tour. That never happened, instead, they met a few times to discuss the future of the IPL Kochi franchise. The day on which India lost the 2nd Test match at Sydney, the BCCI members met, to finalise the schedule of the 5th edition of IPL. When asked to comment on the horror run in England, Rajiv Shukla said “ We are absolutely happy because we want cricket to grow in England “.


5) Subramaniam Badrinath, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane have the best batting averages in domestic cricket. None of them is in the playing XI.


6) Only a mentally illlusioned cricket board will expect indoor nets and 10-15 day batting camps to produce cricketers of Sachin or Dravid’s calibre.


7) The MRF pace foundation is a private initiative. The board could have made use of it. Instead they have this useless specialist academies.


8) There has never been a sincere effort to build a proper ‘A’ team and send them to play emerging nations tournaments . No one has bothered to select players for the A tours who can compete for places in Australia, those who don’t slog and can think beyond 20s and 30s. Sending players to Australia for emerging players tournaments on the basis of performances in IPL, is like making a serious joke of the entire domestic cricket structure.


9) No one has the guts to nudge any senior player. How poor his form maybe, he still plays and the guys scoring tons of runs in domestic cricket are never rewarded.


10) The richest cricket board still doesn’t have a decent injury management system and database. The board members say it is ‘expensive'.




India aren’t playing tests abroad till December 2013. This is the time to blood youngsters. I believe it would have been a lot better had the team lost with Rohit and Rahane in the side rather than the seniors in England and Australia. The seniors, Dravid, Sachin and Laxman have hardly 3 years of cricket left in them. Selectors have their job cut out, find good enough replacements. One good option can be to replace one senior every year with a newbie. That will make the transition smoother. The batting line up which used to look like this; Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Sachin, Laxman, Ganguly and  Dhoni will be somewhat like this after a couple of years; Gambhir, Rahane/Sehwag, Pujara, Rohit, Kohli, Dhoni and Raina. I won’t be surprised if India drops further down in the Test rankings in the years to come. The selectors haven’t really bothered to induce fresh blood into the side. India won’t be able to enjoy the services of the golden trio for long. It’s going to be a testing time for the selectors, asking people who has served the country for almost two decades won’t be easy.


I believe, frequent batting collapses, failure of the top order to score runs and ordinary bowling, aren’t destroying Indian cricket; neglect and the  lack of vision are . And the former are the symptoms of the latter.

NEW ODI RULES - A BRIEF REVIEW

The rise of several T20 tournaments coupled with several other factors has resulted in the declining popularity of the longer formats especially ODIs.Audiences for one day cricket slumped by 17 per cent during 2009-10.A  match between Australia and the West Indies in 2010   returned the lowest audience seen for a day-night game in 5 years, with an audience of just 625,000




In the past five years, audiences for the one-day games have been in a slow downward spiral, losing between 5 and 6 per cent each year from an average of 1.18 million in 2005,


There is a plenty of evidence which highlight the fact that ODIs have lost a good number of viewers/spectators


Probably these are some reasons which prompted the ICC to make a few changes in the ODI format. ICC's new ODI rules came into effect from October 1, 2011, . Here's a crisp segmentation of the set of new rules: what each rule actually means, ICC’s intention behind these rules , and how these rules are likely to affect ODI cricket


RULE 1. Two new white balls to be used for each innings , instead of one.


In Detail:  Two white cricket balls will be used from the start of each innings, bowled from either ends.


ICC’s objective behind this rule- It has been very frequently noticed that the white ball accumulates a plenty of wear and tear by the 35th over of the match and it becomes difficult for the batsmen to spot the ball..Hence the umpires go for a change of the ball in the 34th over.The ball which is handed to the bowler after the 34th over is not a new one and in the process of changing the ball we lose a few valuable minutes.To remove this mandatory ball change  drama in 34th the new rule was made.


Its Effect- Pace bowlers who love bowling with the new ball will relish this, since the ball will remain new till the 20-22nd over of the innings. The rule is not expected to help the spinners one bit.Spinners prefer bowling with a relatively old ball i.e. by the 17th -18th  . to bowl with a older ball they have to wait till the 35th over of the match.On another note the rule will help a lot in negating the dew factor , since both the balls will be exposed to the dew/grass ,alternatively and it will be relatively easier for the bowler to grip the ball even if there is a good amount of dew on the ground. In my opinion the rule has both  pros and cons ..On seaming and bouncy tracks  pacers will get huge advantage and batsmen will have a really torrid time.The new rule wont embolden spinners.Role of spinners in  the format will be reduced.The day is not far when fast bowlers will start becoming magisterial in the ODIs.


2. The batsman is out if he is found guilty of  'obstructing the field'.


In detail: -on appeal from the fielding team, if the umpire feels that a batsman, whilst running between the wickets, has significantly changed his direction without probable cause thereby obstructing a fielder's attempt to run him out, the batsman should be given out obstructing the field. It shall not be relevant whether a run-out would have been affected or not.


ICC’s objective behind this rule-Its an attempt to encourage honesty,fair play and sportsmanship .There have been a plenty of occasions when a batsman has diverged from  his path at the last instance, away from their natural running path, to eliminate the fielder’s direct line of vision to the stumps


Effect- Batsmen will come in the path of the ball while taking a run at their peril. Hence we might see a slight higher number of run outs.In my opinion whether a batsman shall be adjudged out for obstructing the field or not will have a lot to do with the way of thinking of the umpire.At times it might get difficult to interpret whether the batsman changed his course intentionally or not. What if a bowler/his partner comes in his way or a fielder charging towards the stumps makes him change course just before the crease? The day an umpire rules a high profile batsman out through this method, a controversy is on the cards.




3. Its mandatory to take the second and the third powerplays between the overs 16-40.


In Detail: The total number of powerplay overs still remains  as 20 per innings. The first ten overs still remain as the – M andatory powerplay.There shall be two other powerplays- bowling and batting powerplays, 5 overs each But both the powerplays have to be taken between the 16th and the 35th over. This restriction will not apply for reduced innings of scheduled duration of less than 40 overs.




 ICC’s objective behind this rule –Make the game more I teresting.They probably felt the overs from 16th to 40th had become  a tad monotonous.


Effect- The rule will help the batting side more than the bowling. If the batting side doesn’t lose too many wickets in the batting powerplay , then the powerplay will help them to gain some serious momentum and they can go for the kill in the death overs.But the thing is teams should learn not to lose too many wickets in the powerplays…From another angle, If the batting side gets off to a flyer then the opposition captain can spread the field after the 11th over and check the flow of runs……But this rule is expected to spice up the game..If powerplays are well utillsed totals over 300,350 will become very common. Beause if teams manage to keep wickets by the 40th over, having batted out 20 powerplay overs, they can throw their bats at everything in the last 10 overs. However it might backfire if the team loses a good number of wickets in the powerplays…..I personally like this  bit of experimentation .Earlier powerplays means the middle overs will not be as dull as they used to be.

4. Batsman cant ask for a runner!

In Detail: The batsman shall not be permitted to have a runner even if he is injured etc.He has to run on his own till the time he is on the crease.


ICC’s objective behind this rule –: There have been instances when a batsman has asked for a runner even if he  was fully fit and fine. At times this ploy is used to save the energy of the batsman which enables them to play a longer innings.


Effects:Expect some drama in the next few months over this issue..If a batsman gets a severe strain/cramp when he is in the nineties he might have to return back to the pavillion. I can see a huge uproar if Sachin or any other great player misses out on a century cause of this. Teams will start giving fitness more priority. Half fit / partially fit players wont dare to play a match since they wont be allowed to have a runner. I like this rule.It will promote honesty.Cricket boards will realise the need to have a strong injury management system.


5. Bowler can run out a non striker for too much backing up.


In Detail: ” The bowler is permitted to attempt to run-out the non-striker, before releasing the ball and provided he has not completed his usual delivery swing,. “


ICC’s objective behind this rule –:To discourage non strikers from backing off too far.There have been occasions when non strikers back off too far even before the ball is delivered , at times the non strikers do it intentionally to disturb the concentration of the bowler which is totally unfair.


Effect: Non strikers will think twice before backing off far.Batsmen will take time to get used to this while they stand in the non strikers end - tail enders being the most vulnerable lot. There could be a short period when too many batsmen are getting run out through this method, which won't do good for the game temporarily. However if a main batsman gets run out in this process it may create controversies.


6. Extension of play by 15 minutes into Lunch or Tea intervals.(in test matches )


In Detail: The match officials on the field i.e. the umpires  have been empowered to decide and extend  the play by 15 minutes (a minimum of four overs) extra time at the scheduled lunch or tea interval of any day if requested by either captain if, in the umpires' opinion, it would bring about a definite result in that session.


ICC’s objective behind this rule: To save precious .time It has been noticed that inevitable results get delayed because ot lunch/tea breaks. In such cases the breaks are pretty pointless..


Effect:This rule will be pretty effective in saving time. For e.g if the match gets extended  by 4 overs before lunch and the  batting team gets all out in those overs , the crowd can return home earlier than they otherwise would have. But it is expected to create controversies …if a match is heading towards a nail biting finish with one team slightly ahead of the other , and it starts drizzling or becomes a bit too dark.In that case  one captain may want to continue and other may not want to. For such situations it will be a subjective call to be taken by the umpire.And its all ways important to avoid such subjective calls in a game. However  in my opinion it will be a pretty spectator friendly and player friendly rule if the umpire makes the right and fair call.


With the slack in the TRPs of ODI in the last few years ,ICC has done a fair job by making these new playing conditions.Still a lot needs to be done to make this game even more exciting and ensure that future of the game is safe.

PAYBACK

Team India will have revenge on their mind and heart  when the five-match ODI series against England begin with the opener at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad tomorrow.Just a few months after the horrible unforgettable  summer  which saw the former getting thrashed and the latter being crowned Number One Test side in the world , INDIA will be pretty desperate to prove that they are the world champions in 50-50 cricket.

Things are going to be pretty different this time around.Its too earlier predict , but things wont be that easy for England playing against India at home ,with their fanatical fans team india are a very different proposition.

India are the current World Champions at the 50-over format & have a very formidable home record with only the Australians in 2009 & 2007 defeating them in their last 13 home ODI series. But that said the team played most of the matches with a full-strength side. New Zealand were an easy opposition.The side didn’t have a batsman who looked comfortable against spin, plus with a couple of inexperienced youngsters in their side they were no match for team india .

England never had a record playing in the subcontinent.Their  last two tours have seen an aggregate score of 11-1 in favour of India with the 2008/09 series ending 5-0.Because of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai , two matches were  abandoned saving them from further humiliation.One who had watched that series will tell you that they were thoroughly outplayed in every department . Moreover, they haven’t won an ODI series in India for about 25 years. But  these days things are not the same.England are a stronger unit & made of sterner stuff with a good number of exciting young emerging talents thrown into the mix,thanks to the English selectors who possess a considerable amount of foresight. With convincing home series victories over Sri Lanka and India already secured under the captaincy of Alaistar cool Cook the future looks bright for this  side filled with young blood and excitement.  But this tour of India will be probably  their toughest assignment yet and we will learn a lot about just how far England have come by the end of it.  With their weakened bowling including lack of decent spin options excluding the outstanding Graeme Swann, I feel India have the edge in what should be an competitive & close series




Following the test and ODI series at home England look to concentrate on creating a specialist side for both formats of the games , respectively.,Clearly the NO 1 rank in ODIs in on their mind.On that note , this series should give us a good idea about whether England's masterplan for world domination in every form of cricket is on course, but this time around its unlikely to be one-way traffic.But record books will tell you that  England have struggled in India, winning only one of their last 13 One Day Internationals on indian pitches .And considering the fact that England wont be able to enjoy the services of a few of their top players, any little success enjoyed in this series will be considered as a  real statement of intent from Ali Cook’s men.





Yes…The Indian team is still struggling with injuries that seriously hampered their chances in England with the key players  Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel not fully recovered.But in my opinion  the young and inexperienced( using the term inexperienced might invite controversy since some of these guys have gained enough experience at international level) side, which will also be without Harbhajan Singh who was dropped, has enough arsenal to win in home conditions..In 2011 on  home turf team india-
played 14 ODIs
 won 12  1 tied
 this gives us enough cause to remember that they are World Champions in this format of the game
 

 INDIAN TEAM
You can expect the the team  to continue with Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane as openers after their impressive performances in England with the aggressive Gautam Gambhir, who is back for the first two ODIs at least, at no 3. and there is a chance he could be joined soon by a fit-again Virender Sehwag at the top of the order. Virat Kohli, who has been in fine form in the Champions League T20, will be at No 4 followed by Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni with Ravindra Jadeja as the bowling all-rounder.. He hit 107 in the last ODI in Cardiff & has continued his fine form in the Champions League playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore with scores of 70 & 84 not out in the semi final.SURESH RAINA-He scored an incredible 84 in the 4^th ODI vs England.He has great natural ability and hits the ball incredibly hard.



While the batting looks solid despite missing several key players, the bowling will worry the think-tank.




Apart from Praveen Kumar, the pace bowling lacks experience with Sreenath Arvind, Umesh Yadav, R VInay Kumar and Varun Aaron in the ranks.Alot is expected from Ashwin , a lot has been spoken about his variations and usefullness in the shorter format of the game.He definitely will try to prove a point or two and that he is a better bowler than Harbhajan. India could well prepare turning tracks which will make things difficult for the English batsmen and the side will be looking at Trott and Pietersen to deal with the spin threat
How the bowlers fare against the English batting could well decide the fate of the first two ODIs after which the selectors will meet to pick the squad for the following games.



The Indian bowlers' inability to take wickets in England saw them go down rather tamely despite posting some handy totals and the visitors will take a lot of confidence from those performances.




England have several quality batsmen in their side and the return of Kevin Pietersen, who was dropped for the home series against India, makes the middle order look solid.





Skipper Alastair Cook will continue his role as the sheet-anchor at the top of the order with Craig Kieswetter looking to attack.
Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell also had a lot of success against Indians in England and the hosts would do well to chalk out specific plans for them.
England too are short on experience on the bowling front and the Indian batsmen will be looking to make the most of it.






With spearhead James Anderson rested and Stuart Broad injured, Tim Bresnan will lead the attack with Steve Finn and Jade Dernbach making up the attack while Grame Swann will be the lone specialist spinner and Samit Patel likely to play as the spinning all-rounder. Swann is undoubtedly the best spinner in the world currently but the Indians are fantastic players of spin.So it will be interesting to see if he can be able to trouble Indian batsmen after a good show on pitches which were spinner-unfriendly. Jade Dernbach is another  man who needs to be watched out. He has made himself a vital part of the England attack in the last year with his excellent array of slower balls. These variations will be used in the power plays & end of the innings, increasing his chances of a number of cheap wickets whilst the batsmen are looking to take advantage of the fielding restrictions.









Probable teams:
India: Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, R VInay Kumar, Umesh Yadav
England: Alastair Cook, Craig Kieswetter, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Steve Finn, Jade Dernbach.


WHAT CAPTAINS SAY-

COOK-

I don’t see any relation between what happened in England and what’s going
to happen out here. India are historically very strong at home, and we have
an extremely tough challenge on our hands. It’s a great opportunity for an
England side to play the world champions in their back yard.

DHONI-

We may have not been up to the mark in England, but the fact is that before
that tour, we won the game’s biggest prize, the World Cup. Our performances
over the past three seasons speak for themselves. I am convinced that it is
only a matter of time before we turn the tide.

WHAT ELSE YOU WILL SEE

New ODI rules. Dhoni said the five ODI’s “may not see reverse-swing”
due to the use of a new ball from each end. Counterpart Cook said “you
will see spin a lot earlier” during games. Rules stipulate that bowling
and batting powerplays must be completed between the 16th and 40th overs of
the innings.

You will notice three stars above the BCCI logo on India’s ODI shirts. They
denote euphoric wins in the 1983 and 2011 World Cups as well as the 2007
World T20.

TAKING the batting ,fieldind,and bowling line ups of both teams into account I feel it might be 3-2 England J

contenderssssss

Various websites,journals,analysts parts of the media claim that the two Manchester clubs are the two to beat in the Premier League this season but i also feel Chelsea are also a force that are being under-estimated. Man United, Man City and Chelsea look to be the potential top 3 come the end of the season, if these early signs are anything to go by.There are other clubs too but these are the three teams who have a real chance of emerging out as winners .




Like any team the three clubs have their own  have positives and negatives.


Man United:


Positives- Man United started the season in tremendous form but their recent form is not satisfactory at all.However if theres any team that deserves to win its united. the strikers have been in prime form and some of their attacking play has left some commentators speechless. Wayne Rooney has been in sensational form this season and has been one of the biggest, if not the biggest attacking force in world football. However, when Rooney gets out of this purple patch of form, can United mantain this goalscoring frenzy and the fluidity of their football? Rooney is the main man in United’s 4-4-1-1 formation, playing just behind Hernandez or previously Welbeck. Rooney has controlled the tempo of Man United’s play and has kept the ball moving at a great pace. He has created and he has scored, so you can’t ask for much more.Luis Nani seems to of finally found his game and looks to be the skillful, pacey winger that Man United have lacked since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Nani looks a real threat every time he is in a forward motion. I think Phil Jones could potentially be one of the best centre backs in world football in future if he keeps improving and working hard at his game, so could have been the best buy of the summer.


Negatives- Man United’s young defence has been raved
about through this early season run of games, but when they got their hardest test yet vs the likes of Mata and Torres, they all came up short, bar Phil Jones. Jonny Evans was run ragged by the sensational movement of Fernando Torres and Smalling was lost whether to track Mata, or let him drift inside. Chelsea’s brilliant attacking game against United may have encouraged other teams to go at the inexperienced United’s defence in future, which could potentially cause problems. Although i think this could be a big weakness if exploited, Man United clearly are in great form and look the team to beat.


Man United lack; A creative player if Rooney drops out of form or gets injured. Maybe a Sneijder type player?…


Man City:


Positives- Man City look to be playing a more attacking style this season, which is different to the way Mancini looked to line up last season. Nasri is a top player who is very versatile and could add alot to the team. Aguero looks to have settled right into the sky blue kit of Man City. Aguero is a top talent but the lucrative wages he was already on at Athletico Madrid, meant that Chelsea and Liverpool were not an option. These two teams did not want to pay him next to silly wages, due to the introduction of the Financial Fairplay rules. Silva looks like one of the best players in the world at this time, and every chance Aguero seems to get is somehow created by the magical creativity of David Silva.


Negatives- Man City may find it hard to contest for the Premier league, along with other competitions, due to them having no top leader in their squad. Vincent Kompany looks to wear his heart on his sleeve but doesnt look like someone who is a born captain and leader, whereas someone like John Terry, is. Kompany could be a great captain for City but with the egos of Balotelli and Tevez in the squad, can he back up Mancini when times get tough? That is yet to be answered as Man City are on a good run of form. Also, when you look closely at the City squad, you soon realise that there isn’t many players who have won stuff in the past and who know how to win, whereas Man United and Chelsea do.


Man City lack; experienced winners and a born leader.


Chelsea:


Positives- Chelsea look like a team who want to play quick tempo football and create chances, which ‘AVB’ has quickly installed quite successfully. Torres now has Mata, Meireles and Sturridge who can create many chances for him in the team, which could make him a goalscoring threat to any side. I see it as though Torres’ Chelsea career properly started against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, due to it being his first start with Mata, Meireles and Sturridge playing with him and since then he has looked sharp aswell as scoring one goal and bagging two assists. Juan Mata looks like a technically gifted player who could be one of the best signings of the summer, who can create and score goals for fun at times. Mata plays in a similar style to how David Silva plays for City, so i think those two players are extremely vital for their teams success.


Negatives- Chelsea’s new attacking style of play means playing a high defensive line, which takes some getting used to. Chelsea have looked sloppy defensively at times from set pieces too, but mainly the high defensive-line is a worry for them. The Chelsea defence will learn how to play the high defensive-line well in the coming weeks, as they continue to play as Villas-Boas wants them too; with attacking flair. The attacking mentality of ‘AVB’ may mean the players get carried away with scoring, which could mean Chelsea get stretched and become open, allowing the opposition to have goalscoring chances.


Chelsea lack; knowledge of the high defensive-line. Also, security when defending set-pieces at times.


The Premier league contenders look as strong as ever this season and the title-race could be one of the best in recent years. I pick these three teams to be the ones up there come the end of the season