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Stuart Broad may have to call time on his England Twenty20 career to give him a better chance of staying fit for Test and one-day international cricket

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge26-May-2014
ScorecardStuart Broad required injections in his knee to get him through the World T20•ICCStuart Broad may have to call time on his England Twenty20 career – and with it the “kudos” that goes with being captain – to give him a better chance of staying fit for Test and one-day international cricket.The 27-year-old fast bowler is playing competitive cricket for the first time since the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh as Nottinghamshire take on Durham at Trent Bridge and bowled six overs in no obvious discomfort after suffering tendonitis in his right knee.But Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket and now one of the England selectors, said that the likelihood the problem would flare up again placed a question mark over Broad’s involvement in all three formats at international level.Given his importance in England’s Test and ODI attacks, managing his workload would probably mean sacrificing his place in the Twenty20 side.”Stuart is a key man for Test cricket and one-day internationals, so in terms of managing his fitness I think we are going to have to look at Twenty20 for Stuart,” Newell said.”The last two or three years he has picked up a lot of little things and he would want to have played more cricket than he has.”There is a lot of ODI cricket coming up and how you manage the workload for players like Stuart through the summer and as you prepare for the 50-over World Cup next February is something that will have to be looked at.”Broad needed painkillers to get through the World Twenty20 and was rested for England’s current one-day series against Sri Lanka. Earlier this month, speaking at the launch of Royal London’s sponsorship of English one-day cricket, Broad expressed a desire to continue in all formats but Newell believes he would accept the need to give one up to give himself a better chance of prolonging his Test career, even if it means relinquishing the captaincy.”Of course there is kudos in being captain, but I think he will get his head around [losing] that,” Newell said. “He is proud and ambitious, but captaincy in a longer form of the game, perhaps in one-day cricket, would remain a possibility.”In the shorter term, Newell expressed concern that the poor weather forecast for the remainder of the current round of matches would not help either Broad or Ben Stokes in their plans to prove themselves match-fit ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka next month.Broad has the current match against Durham and Nottinghamshire’s next Championship fixture, against Sussex next week, to get some overs into his legs. Stokes, who is back in action in this match following his self-inflicted broken wrist, is scheduled to play also against Middlesex at Chester-le-Street. The first Test begins on 12 June.”I was quite impressed with what Stuart did,” Newell said. “He bowled a good length, the full length we talked about on this pitch and swung the ball early on to the left-handers.”But the forecast for the next two days is poor and if he comes out of this game with only six overs it will be disappointing and there will be a need for him to bowl a lot of overs at Hove.”Newell said that the same would apply to allrounder Stokes, although in his case he simply needs to demonstrate overall fitness. Although he still has some residual pain from needing a screw inserted to help his damaged scaphoid bone knit together, his bowling mechanism is not affected.”Ben has that bit of magic about him, he makes things happen,” Newell said. “He is a real competitor, he has a bit of fight, as you could see in Australia when he took it to the Aussies and stood up for himself. Once he is fully fit, as a fourth seamer he gives England what Shane Watson gives to Australia.”He is desperate to start playing again and the only danger is that he rushes back too soon. Durham play Middlesex next and we will be looking at how much cricket he can get in.”Matt Prior’s chances of regaining his place as wicketkeeper will also depend on how much cricket he can play in this and the next round of games. There was no play at all in Sussex’s match against Middlesex at the Merchant Taylors’ School Ground in Northwood on day one and the question mark over Prior’s Achilles tendon means that he will have to demonstrate not only that he can keep wicket without discomfort but to show no reaction afterwards.”After what happened in the winter, the first Test against Sri Lanka is a massive game for England and you have to go into that match with people who are 100 per cent fit,” Newell said. “You don’t want to be worrying about injuries or managing fitness.”Newell, who was interviewed for the England coach’s job, has put aside his disappointment at missing out to Peter Moores and his relishing his involvement as a selector, a role in which his willingness to share his thoughts with frankness and clarity can only be welcome.”It is a challenging time,” he said. “There are probably only four or five players who are inked in, which is interesting given the history in the last few years.”He identified the wicketkeeper’s position and the debate over replacing Graeme Swann as the spinner in the side as the biggest of the immediate challenges.”Swanny not being around is one of the biggest headaches,” he said. “Are you going to pick an out-and-out spinner, in which case you go for the best spinner, or is there a balance of team to be had? If your spin bowler is a batsman of quality, such as Moeen Ali or Samit Patel, and you have an allrounder such as a Stokes or Chris Woakes or Ravi Bopara type, then the wicketkeeper could come in as low as eight.”The ‘keeper situation is massive. If you are going to have high-quality seam bowling you want to have a good man behind the pegs. There are two camps of keeper – there is the Kieswetter, Buttler, Bairstow group and there is the Foster, Read group, more the old-school wicketkeeper. I watched Foster last week and he was terrific. There will be an interesting debate there.”What has come out of the winter is a complete rethink with five, six, seven spots up for grabs, which is a bit scary but exciting at the same time.”

Kings XI Punjab are potentially the most fearsome batting side in the Champions League T20, but their thin bowling attack has been dealt a blow with an injury to Mitchell Johnson

Karthik Krishnaswamy17-Sep-2014How they got to the CLT20Without Mitchell Johnson and Sandeep Sharma, Kings XI will hope Akshar Patel will carry on his form from the IPL season•BCCIAbu Dhabi, April 18, 2014. When they let Chennai Super Kings hammer their way to 205, it appeared as if Kings XI Punjab had made another disappointing beginning to another disappointing IPL season. What followed was mayhem. Glenn Maxwell smacked 95 off 43 balls, David Miller an unbeaten 54 off 37, and Kings XI won with seven balls to spare. It set the template for their season, and an awe-inspiring batting line-up, led by Maxwell and Miller, powered Kings XI to top of the IPL league table, with 11 wins in 14 games.They lost the first Qualifier to Kolkata Knight Riders, but reached the final on their next attempt, by brushing Super Kings aside with another brutal batting display, led this time by Virender Sehwag’s 58-ball 122. In the final, Knight Riders proved they were a better-balanced side than Kings XI, beating them for the third time in four meetings by chasing down 200.StrengthsKings XI made the four highest totals in the 2014 IPL, emphatic proof that theirs was the most potent batting line-up in the tournament. And it wasn’t about one or two individuals. Maxwell and Miller hogged most of the attention in the league stages, and the others put their hands up in the knock-out matches. Sehwag was the game-changer in the second qualifier against Super Kings, while Wriddhiman Saha set them up in the final with an unbeaten 115 of 55 balls. Looking through the other batting line-ups in the tournament, it’s hard to see any that can match Kings XI for relentless explosive quality.WeaknessesIf Kings XI were the best batting team in the IPL, they were also the most suspect bowling attack. Though they posted four of the nine 200-plus totals in the 2014 season, they conceded four of the other five. One of these instances, crushingly, came in the final. With Mitchell Johnson missing at least the first half of the tournament with a rib injury and Sandeep Sharma sidelined until December, their bowling stocks look pretty bare.Player to WatchHaving begun the IPL season looking absolutely unstoppable, Glenn Maxwell tailed away towards the business end of it. He had a similarly mixed tri-series in Zimbabwe last month, starting with a bang – a 46-ball 93 in the first game against Zimbabwe – but scored only 22 runs in his next four innings. Kings XI, and a lot of neutral fans, will hope to see the inventive, thrill-a-minute Maxwell rather than the indifferent Maxwell.Newbie to Watch Out ForIn a team that leaked runs copiously through the IPL season, Akshar Patel gave Kings XI control with his left-arm spin, picking up 17 wickets and conceding only 6.13 runs an over. Not bad for someone who considers himself a batting allrounder. A calm, unbeaten 42 to steer Kings XI to a four-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils also bolstered his resume and Akshar gained selection for India’s ODI tour of Bangladesh. But the selectors weren’t impressed enough with his performances there to retain him for the England tour. Akshar will want to show everyone he can sustain the level of performance he maintained during the IPL.Past RecordKings XI are making their first appearance in the Champions League T20 tournament

Europe's premier club competition heads to Portugal with eight of the continent's biggest sides still in with a chance of lifting the trophy

After its unplanned, coronavirus-enforced hiatus, the Champions League is back.

After the culmination of the last 16 saw heavyweights Juventus and Real Madrid eliminated, the competition is down to its final eight sides.

The quarter-finalists have travelled to Lisbon for the final stages, all of which will be played as one-legged matches rather than the normal double-headers.

With the draw all mapped out, clubs know who their prospective opponents could be all the way through to the final. But who are the favourites, and which teams still have work to do?

Goal has ranked the runners and riders to work out who is in the best shape to lift the famous trophy on August 23…

Getty8Lyon

Despite holding a narrow advantage from the first leg, very few observers believed an undercooked Lyon side would have enough to knock Juventus out in Turin.

Rudi Garcia's side, however, stunned the Bianconeri as they just about held off Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. to seal their place among the quarter-finalists.

There they will face an in-form Manchester City, and as the clear underdogs on their side of the draw, it is difficult to see them progressing much further.

But then we said that before the last round, so…

AdvertisementGetty Images7RB Leipzig

They may not be able to call upon talisman Timo Werner in Portugal after he opted out of playing following his move to Chelsea, but RB Leipzig's chances may actually have improved over recent days.

Their quarter-final opponents, Atletico Madrid, have been thrown into chaos this week after two players tested positive for Covid-19, and Julian Nagelsmann's side will hope they can take advantage in Lisbon on Thursday.

Getty Images6Atalanta

Despite the three-month break from football, Atalanta have shown no signs of slowing down since football's resumption, with the free-scoring Bergamo outfit setting Serie A alight on their way to a third-place finish.

They now return to the Champions League with a quarter-final against PSG awaiting them and a potential path to the final which is far less daunting than what faces more established sides on the opposite side of the draw.

Josip Ilicic, who scored five goals across the two legs of their win over Valencia in the last 16, will miss the mini-tournament due to personal reasons, but Gian Piero Gasperini's side still have plenty of firepower to cause opposition defenders problems.

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Getty5Barcelona

It was far from a vintage performance from Barcelona, but Quique Setien's side got the job done against Napoli to book their place among the final eight.

This is where things get difficult though. A quarter-final meeting with many people's favourites, Bayern Munich, awaits them on Friday in a match some are predicting could get ugly for the Blaugrana.

Manchester City are also in their half of the draw, and thus Lionel Messi will likely have to be at his very best for Barca to even have a chance of reaching the final.

However, if any player can single-handedly drive his team forward through adversity, it is the Argentine magician.

Somerset needed just 75 minutes of the final day to record their first win of the season by an innings and 11 runs against the leaders Sussex.

Press Association30-Apr-2014
ScorecardEd Joyce fell seven short his hundred•Getty ImagesSomerset needed just 75 minutes of the final day to record their first win of the season by an innings and 11 runs against the leaders Sussex.Starting the day 68 runs short of making their visitors bat again, Sussex saw their hopes of taking the game into any sort of a contest ended when Ed Joyce chopped on for 93.Joyce represented Sussex’s best chance of salvation and, after he fell just short of a third century of the season, Somerset quickly wrapped up the tail and Sussex’s innings for 219.They started as they went on with an early wicket as England hopeful Chris Jordan, a useful lower-order batsman Sussex will have hoped could stick around, edging Jamie Overton to James Hildreth at first slip for 7.James Anyon joined Joyce in the middle and the pair at least looked like sending Somerset out again before Joyce perished. Marcus Trescothick’s decision to make a bowling change 45 minutes in paid off with Lewis Gregory, the game’s stand-out bowler, coming on and removing Joyce, who tried a nudge to third man but ended up diverting the ball onto his stumps.That was the main breakthrough Somerset had sought, before another bowling change produced dividends in the next over. Peter Trego was handed the ball by his skipper and he needed five balls to snare Anyon, who dragged a short delivery from the all-rounder down the throat of Chris Jones at midwicket for 10.The game was pretty much up at that point, and it was for sure when Jon Lewis lost his middle stump to Gregory for seven, giving the bowler impressive match figures of 9 for 97.

Sri Lanka will head into the first Test at Lord’s generally fortified in their hopes of scalping England at home for the third series in a row and a little wiser about their starting line-up

Alan Gardner at Wantage Road08-Jun-2014
ScorecardDhammika Prasad, whose last Test appearance came at the start of 2013, took four wickets in Northampton•Getty ImagesSri Lanka will head into the first Test at Lord’s generally fortified in their hopes of scalping England at home for the third series in a row and a little wiser about their starting line-up after a gentle workout in one of the quieter corners of the county circuit. Dinesh Chandimal, promoted to open the second innings, managed only a single-figure score but Dimuth Karunaratne’s scratchy 38 did not quite cement the batting order. Four wickets for Dhammika Prasad, however, suggested at some clarity in the bowling.Karunaratne was dropped at slip on 32, slashing hard at David Willey, and then played a delivery from Matthew Spriegel on to his stumps shortly before Sri Lanka called a halt to their batting practice and the game was declared a draw. The decision to send in Chandimal ahead of Kausal Silva, whose 152 on Thursday assured his place for Lord’s, suggested at a final opportunity to stake a claim but neither he or Karunaratne managed to build an unequivocal case.Lahiru Thirimanne, Sri Lanka’s Test vice-captain, said afterwards that there were still some decisions to make on the final XI, while indicating he would bat in the middle order rather than return to opening. Neither Thirimanne, who also made a first-innings hundred, or Silva were required to pad up again in the 31 overs the tourists were afforded on the final afternoon, with only Kumar Sangakkara hinting at fluency before holing out short of a half-century.”Batters had the chance to bat through the innings and the bowlers did well, because it was not a bowling-friendly wicket,” Thirimanne said of the match, which became a three-day contest after Saturday was washed out. “Dhammika bowled really well, good areas and he bowled with some good pace. We have some experienced bowlers but we don’t have that extra pace.”That Sri Lanka’s second innings became a rather desultory affair was down to Northamptonshire’s unexpected resistance, as they passed 300 for only the second time this year. Rob Keogh made an impressive century before falling to Prasad, who was more threatening than his seam-bowling colleagues largely thanks to an effectively deployed bouncer. Shaminda Eranga, who did not feature against Northants, is already pencilled in as a member of the Test attack, with Chanaka Welegedara and Nuwan Pradeep seemingly contesting the third seamer spot.”It’s really tough [in England] because this is the early summer and we haven’t had that much practice. We’ll expect some tough conditions in the Test matches,” Thirimanne said. “We have to take 20 wickets to win matches, that’s the main thing we have to work on.”Confidence levels are really high. We haven’t had much luck in the past, we want to win a Test series here so that is the main concern. Boys are really confident.”There were a couple of encouraging firsts for Northants, two months into a season that has repeatedly given optimism a cold-water dunking. Keogh reached three figures, the first Northamptonshire batsmen to do so in first-class cricket in 2014; and Willey took his first senior wicket since September, bowling with encouraging pace and swing. He also clubbed 48, including a couple of sixes, before impetuosity got the better of him and he was stumped.Keogh’s landmark was indicative of the club’s travails in Division One, as much as his own promise. A broken finger – inflicted by another man who could be playing in the Lord’s Test, Liam Plunkett, during pre-season – had ruled him out of the early fixtures but he should have earned himself a run in the first team with this innings, notable for regular appearances of a vengeful cover drive, against an attack with 41 Test caps between them.Having navigated his way steadily from an overnight 26, Keogh was on 80 when the eighth and ninth wickets fell to Dilruwan Perera. Confident that first-class debutant Chad Barrett had the minerals to hang around, Keogh took his time before opening up with three fours through the off side against Pradeep to bring up the second hundred of his career. Barrett, initially nudging and blocking before becoming emboldened, hung around to help add 64 in little more than 12 overs.Sri Lanka had already expressed a preference for batting again ahead of the Test series, despite Northants starting the day well adrift of passing the follow-on target of 408. The hosts were not quite as accommodating as they had been in the first half of the match, however, with Keogh gluing together the lower order and 119 runs coming for the loss of just two wickets during the morning session.Dilruwan bowled an extended spell, tossing the ball up but extracting little turn, while Thirimanne rotated his seamers. Welegedara’s left-arm angle of attack appeared to test Keogh the most but he watched the ball well, picking up boundaries driving square of the wicket, to pass fifty in first-class cricket for only the third time.His stand with Spriegel was worth 86 when Dilruwan made the breakthrough – though it was more like leaning heavily on a partition wall than battering down the front door at Fort Knox. Spriegel had survived the only chance of the first hour when a nick off Prasad skipped low past Prasanna Jayawardene but he eventually fell chipping tamely to mid-on, giving Sri Lanka their first wicket in more than 30 overs.

Jack Taylor’s suspension from bowling for England and in competitive county cricket because of an illegal bowling action has been lifted by the ECB with immediate effect.

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2014Jack Taylor’ssuspension from bowling for England and in competitive county cricket because of an illegal bowling action has been lifted by the ECB with immediate effect.This follows a reassessment as permitted within the ECB regulations, carried out on 4 February 2014. This was subsequent to a period of remedial work undertaken by Taylor on his bowling action after an initial analysis in May 2013.Taylor, an offbreak bowler, had become Gloucestershire’s first-choice spinner before his season was abruptly interrupted by an investigation into the legality of his action.The Banbury-born bowler undertook much rehabilitation work in Gloucestershire as well as visiting the ECB’s national performance centre at Loughborough to seek advice from experts in bio-mechanical sports science.Gloucestershire’s director of cricket, John Bracewell, himself a former international offspinner, said: “This is great news and a lot of credit must go to Jack himself for the dedication and determination he has shown throughout what must have been a very tough time in his life.”I must thank our coaching staff. In particular, specialist spin bowling coach, Richard Dawson, who has put in hour after hour with Jack and Chris Bodman for his work on mind management. Lastly, thanks to the University of Gloucestershire for allowing us access to their first class 3D test facilities. Good job guys. Jack can now get on with his career.”

Cheteshwar Pujara has said he has begun to bowl in the nets so that he can add another aspect to his game and push for ODI selection

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2014Cheteshwar Pujara has said he has begun to bowl in the nets so that he can add another aspect to his game. Pujara has increasingly become a popular choice for a batting slot in the Indian ODI side, but the team management has resisted playing him. His only two ODIs have come against Zimbabwe when most of the senior batsmen were resting. The popular dissatisfaction around Pujara’s non-inclusion reached a height when former captain Sunil Gavaskar almost alleged “favouritism” when India didn’t play Pujara in what was an inconsequential match against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup.India had already been knocked out after defeats to Sri Lanka and Pakistan. There was similar uproar when Pujara didn’t get picked for the New Zealand ODIs despite the failure of the incumbent batsmen in the ODIs in South Africa.”I have also started bowling in nets so that I can contribute as a part-time bowler,” Pujara, who has bowled in 10 innings in 93 first-class games, told . “I want to help my team with part-time bowling if the captain wants me to. I am looking to bring improvement in my game, most important being playing on the rise. I am targeting specific areas, which include analysis of my batting and what mistakes I am committing in the middle. It will help me in the longer run.”Pujara is also banking on a good IPL season to further stake his claim. He has played 24 matches over four seasons, collecting 265 runs with a strike rate of 99.25.”If I can prove myself in the IPL, I am confident that I can get success in ODIs too,” Pujara, who was bought by Kings XI Punjab, said. “I had played a couple of good innings for my last franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, which proved that I have the talent to excel in the shortest format also. It’s all about getting more opportunities in the coming future. I am looking forward to have a successful IPL.”The commitment to expanding his skills comes on the back of wanting to be part of the World Cup side, which will be played in Australia in early 2015. “I do like to play one-day format,” he had told in January. “Especially with the 2015 World Cup coming up, I hope I get a chance to play in that team. As a cricketer, everybody dreams to play the World Cup for India and when I was playing one of the Ranji games India won the 2011 World Cup, and we all were following the game and we felt really proud on India winning the World Cup. And when you have the opportunity of serving the country and be part of the team it will be a different feeling. And there are a few things I am working on to be part of the one-day team.”

A round-up of the fourth day’s play from Group B Ranji Trophy matches played on November 24, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Piyush Chawla scored his fifth first-class century before picking up two wickets in Tamil Nadu’s second innings•ESPNcricinfo LtdMedium-pace bowlers Anureet Singh and Ranjitkumar Mali skittled Rajasthan for 136 to push Railways to the top of the Group B table with six points. Chasing 256, Rajasthan fell short by 119 runs as their middle order had no answers to the challenges posed by Anureet and Mali.The Rajasthan openers put on 23 for the opening stand which was broken by Krishnakant Upadhyay in the 20th over. Siddharth Saraf resisted a bit more with a patient 39 off 121 but became Anureet’s first victim 20.4 overs later. Rajasthan were 87 for 2 in 44 overs before the collapse started.Once Robin Bist was dismissed by Anureet for 19, Rajasthan lost their next seven wickets for 36 runs. Ashok Menaria, Chetan Bist, Dishant Yagnik and Deepak Chahar fell for single-digit scores before some resistance from Rituraj Singh and Pankaj Singh. But they were dismissed in successive overs as Anureet finished with 5 for 52, his sixth five-for, and Mali took 4 for 34.
ScorecardUttar Pradesh were happy to let the game drift towards a draw after they had already taken the first-innings lead against Tamil Nadu on the third day in Meerut. But UP captain Piyush Chawla made most of the time by scoring his fifth first-class century as the team stretched the score from overnight 411 for 7 to 500. With the result from the game not likely, Chawla started the day without any pressure before launching three sixes in an Aushik Srinivas over, the third of which took him past 150. However, he was soon dismissed attempting another big hit off the same bowler for a career-best 153.The pitch had flattened out, but Tamil Nadu had a nervy start to their innings. M Vijay had a reprieve when he was on four runs after he was caught behind off debutant Amit Mishra. He started walking off but stopped midway as the umpire checked for a no-ball. The suspense lasted for about four minutes, after which the no-ball was signalled. Vijay, however, could add only 34 more before being trapped lbw by Chawla. The bowler struck soon when he had S Badrinath bowled, but Abhinav Mukund scored an unbeaten half-century to prevent any further damage.
ScorecardA hundred from captain Jaydev Shah and fifty from Aarpit Vasavada helped Saurashtra draw with Bengal after their top-order had collapsed at Eden Gardens. Chasing 273, Saurashtra ended at 189 for 4 to take one point from the draw, two less than Bengal because of their first-innings lead.Bengal were 194 for 8 overnight and lost their last two wickets, without adding a run, to Abhishek Bhatt, who took his maiden first-class five-for. Saurashtra were in danger early on when Sourav Sarkar removed both openers within four overs and Ashok Dinda took the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Sheldon Jackson, leaving them on 38 for 4 in the first session of the day.However, Shah and Vasavada rescued them with an unbeaten 151-run partnership. While Shah scored his fifth first-class hundred with the help of 16 fours, Vasavada played a more patient knock, scoring 50 off 188 in over four hours.Saurashtra are now placed second in Group B, behind Railways, with one win and three draws and Bengal are fifth.
ScorecardMadhya Pradesh batted out the fourth day for the loss of only four wickets to draw their match against Services in Delhi. Naman Ojha scored his second double-hundred, and along with with the middle and lower order, took MP to 385 for 7. Services took three points for the first-innings lead but are still third from bottom in Group B, while MP took one point to be placed fourth.MP started the day on 127 for 3, still behind by 25. Ojha and Devendra Bundela stretched their fourth-wicket partnership to 109 before Bundela was run-out for 40. Udit Birla couldn’t survive for too long as he was caught off Rahul Kanojia for 8. Ojha then built two patient stands – of 85 with Rameez Khan (21) for the sixth wicket and 72 with Jatin Saxena for the seventh wicket. Khan was also dismissed by Kanojjia but Ojha brought up his double-hundred before finally falling for 211, a knock which featured 21 fours and five sixes and ensured there was no late drama in the game.

India captain MS Dhoni has said the decision to send Virat Kohli in in place of Shikhar Dhawan on the fourth morning was a late one, which resulted in “unrest” in the dressing room

Sidharth Monga at the Gabba20-Dec-20145:23

Match Point – ‘If the nets are no good, don’t bat in them’

The fourth day’s play at the Gabba began with India 26 behind and with nine wickets in hand, and with talk how these Indian batsmen were different: they would not get into a grim battle for a draw and roll over and die; they were going to go for the runs and set some sort of target for Australia.But even before they could get to attempting that, India were in turmoil. Two of their main batsmen injured themselves because of what they believed to be poor net pitches, and they did not even realise until five minutes before start of play that overnight batsman Shikhar Dhawan was not fit to bat immediately.So unimpressed were India with the practice facilities that they issued an official statement stating how the groundstaff had not paid heed to their requests for fresher pitches. Suddenly, all the simmering tension boiled over.ESPNcricinfo understands India are not happy that there is no gym at the Gabba. The only facility present at the stadium belongs to the Brisbane Lions, the AFL team that shares the stadium with cricket. When the Indians wanted to use the gym, the Lions were training at the facility, and turned down their request. More discontent surfaced with two of the players having to step out of the stadium to find vegetarian food on the third day of the Test.However, MS Dhoni conceded that India could have handled the early-morning crisis. The team knew that Dhawan had been hit on the hand, but realised he was not fit to bat only five minutes before 10am. “We went to practise, and the wicket wasn’t good for it,” Dhoni said. “A few of the batsmen batted, and Shikhar got hit and left. After that I had padded up and went in. He was a bit uncomfortable, but he didn’t react as to he won’t go out to bat. He came back to the dressing room, and Duncan [Fletcher] and I were there, and the by the time I finished my batting I too found the wicket to be a bit uneven.”We also came back early, but by the time we came back it was quite close to the start of play. And there we saw Shikhar wasn’t really 100% fit to go in to bat. It was quite late, and we could only give maybe five-10 minutes’ notice to Virat that he would go in to bat. That’s one area, which we could have handled a bit better, but it’s something that we will have to take it in our stride. We thought he [Dhawan] took a blow, but he was good enough to bat but he was not. As you saw he went into bat late.”That kind of a scenario, there is a bit of unrest in the dressing room. The calmness of the dressing room goes for a toss. It was a bit late to verbally resolve the problem. What was really needed was some kind of a partnership, 20-25 minutes batting and things would have been normal. But that didn’t happen. That was the area we lacked, and we couldn’t really capitalise on.”In hindsight, you could probably see Kohli did not really look settled. He, too, had taken a blow on the left forearm. He played 10 balls before playing Mitchell Johnson on. India went from 1 for 71 to 5 for 87, a collapse they never really recovered from, despite a brave half-century from Dhawan and spirited bowling in defence of just 127. Dhawan decided to bat on without going for scans, “playing through pain” at No. 8, and crossed 50 for the first time in six Tests, adding 55 to his overnight 26.Although Dhoni made more diplomatic comments at the post-match press conference, the statement released by India in the first session was strong. It said: “The Indian team has been asking for the fresh net practice wickets several times for last two days, which have not been provided. Instead of that, they [curators] have asked [us] to practice on worn-out wickets, which have uneven bounce. Because of that, two of our batsmen got injured today morning. One of the two batsmen, Shikar Dhawan, had a right wrist injury. Because of that he was unable to bat in the morning. He is being examined by our physio, and will assess his fitness in some time.”Dhoni was more sedate in his comments after the match. Asked about the overall facilities at the Gabba, Dhoni said, “It can improve. I don’t really want to create a controversy, but it can certainly improve.”ESPNcricinfo understands that such a request was indeed made to the groundsmen at the Gabba, but the Indian team was told those new pitches were being saved for future matches. The fresh practice pitches are being prepared on a specific time-frame, which means they will not be ready for use until a Brisbane Heat training session on December 23. India have not lodged an official complaint with Cricket Australia on the matter, though.The Gabba groundstaff was bemused and surprised at not just the complaint, but also that the request was made in the first place. Curator Kevin Mitchell jr prepares the practice wickets for a full week of training, with the intention that they wear in a similar style to the pitch used for the match. Ryan Harris, who missed selection due to injury for this Test, batted on the same practice surface on the fourth morning, facing fast bowler Ben Cutting, and reported no problems with the conditions. Harris even joked that he had no bruises because he used his bat.”The practice wickets are fine,” Mitchell said. “They wear just like a match pitch does and reflect what is happening in the middle. We have never had a complaint from another touring team.”Australia captain Steven Smith was on the side of the ground where Australia have not lost since 1988. “None of our players had any problems with those wickets, to be honest,” Smith said. “I think they’re very good practice wickets. They emulate pretty much what you get out in the middle. That’s what you want at your playing ground and I don’t think any of our players had any problems with them whatsoever.”

Rishi Dhawan lasted just four balls in the morning and with his dismissal, any hopes Himachal Pradesh had for getting a positive result came to an end

The Report by Nagraj Gollapudi in Kannur08-Dec-2013
ScorecardPadmanabhan Prasanth and Vinoop Manoharan helped Kerala defend 196•ESPNcricinfo LtdRishi Dhawan lasted just four balls in the morning and with his dismissal, any hopes Himachal Pradesh had for getting a positive result came to an end. Kerala’s spin twins, Vinoop Manoharan and Padmanabhan Prasanth, wrapped up the tail to help Kerala secure an important victory and stay in contention to qualify for the knockouts.Dhawan had remained resolute during an eventful final session on the second day, after Himachal had thrown away a solid start from their openers. From 48 for no loss, Himachal’s batsmen were defeated by a fast-wearing surface, good spin bowling, and some terrible shot selection. In 11 minutes, the visitors had slid to 60 for 6.But Dhawan, in the company of Sangram Singh, who had been pushed to the lower order after opening in the first innings, reinvigorated hopes that had virtually vanished after the middle-order collapse. Even then, the challenge of chasing 196 on a turning pitch with a lot of bounce was too big and Sangram got out towards end of the day. The onus was on Dhawan but Prasanth Padmanabhan, the left-arm spinner who had bagged a career-best 7 for 55 to help Kerala gain a vital 40-run lead, accounted for the Himachal captain for the second time in the match. Dhawan had attempted a slog sweep against the turn in the first innings and was trapped plumb. Today, Padmanabhan changed his strategy a little bit.Former India wicketkeeper Chandrakant Pandit, who was recently appointed director of the cricket academy at the Kerala Cricket Association, had pointed out to Padmanabhan that one of the reasons he had failed to beat Dhawan was because he had been bowling a flatter trajectory on the second day. Keeping that in mind, Padmanabhan practiced bowling slow in the nets to give the ball more flight. His efforts paid off, as Dhawan lunged forward to defend a ball that dipped and turned away after pitching. The bounce helped take an edge and AV Jagadeesh gladly accepted the catch at slips.Himachal’s resistance ended quickly after that as Padmanabhan trapped Vishal Bhatia lbw to end with match figures of 9 for 106.Despite the loss, Himachal should be confident about qualifying for the knockouts because they are on the top of Group C with 23 points after six matches. Kerala have a home game against Maharashtra starting on December 14, followed by two away encounters. With six points from today’s win, Kerala are joint second along with J&K, but they need at least one more outright victory to seal their qualification.