India's batting sadness continue in 3rd Test

England 84 for 0 (Strauss 52*, Cook 27*) trail India 224 (Dhoni 77, Broad 4-53, Bresnan 4-62) by 140 runs

India arrived in England this summer as the world's top-ranked Test side and with high hope for their much-vaunted batting order but none has clicked so far.

Hampered by injury to Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, although, they have together failed to deliver, failing to even reach 300 or bat out 100 overs in any of their first five innings. Here, Press involvement Sport's Tom White looks at the travails of the frequently stellar line-up.

Team totals
The first two Tests both saw touring captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni win the toss and invite England to bat first, and India were left to respond to a strong England total of 474 for eight declared at Lord's but a mere 221 at Trent Bridge. It made little difference to their approach, though, as they were bowled out for 286 in 95.5 overs in the first Test and 288 in 91.1 at Nottingham. Second-innings totals of 261 and 158 left them 2-0 down and the pattern continued today as they were dismissed for 224 at Edgbaston despite Dhoni's counter-attack.

Averages
The traditional mark of 40 as a target average for a top Test player has long been seen as outdated - yet Rahul Dravid aside, the Indians have failed to even muster that mark. Dravid has made the only two Indian centuries of the series en route to an average of 71 from his five innings, with Yuvraj Singh's 35 the next best.
VVS Laxman has impressed in flashes and averages almost 31 and Gambhir, hampered in the second innings at Lord's by an elbow injury which then ruled him out of the second Test, has three times failed to build on starts and averages 25.
Only Tim Bresnan's drop saved Abhinav Mukund from being dismissed by the first ball of each innings in Nottingham and he averages 16, while Sehwag's return in his place today also brought a golden duck.

Tendulkar (23.80) is still waiting for his landmark innings after scores of 34, 12, 16, 56 and one, while Suresh Raina's 78 in the second innings at Lord's could only lift his average to 19 and Dhoni, similarly, is down at 25.20 even after today's 77.

Innings
Dravid's 117 at Trent Bridge and 103 not out at Lord's stand in isolation among a slew of mediocre scores by India batsmen, with only six other half-centuries.
Mukund made 49 in the first innings at Lord's before Laxman (56) and Raina, with that 78, emerged with some credit from the second.

Dravid could look to Laxman (54) and Yuvraj (62) for much-needed support during his Trent Bridge marathon and Tendulkar battled to 56 in the second innings, which also saw spinner Harbhajan Singh blast a defiant 46 from 44 balls. Dhoni played a lone hand today.

England can boast Kevin Pietersen's 202 at Lord's, further hundreds for Ian Bell (159) and Matt Prior (103no) and eight half-centuries shared among six players, including bowlers Bresnan and Stuart Broad.

Partnerships
Six times in two Tests England's batsmen have produced century partnerships. India's only such effort was Dravid and Yuvraj's 128 in the first innings at Trent Bridge, which came on the back of 93 between Dravid and Laxman. Their highest partnership outside of that series-high innings of 288 is today's 84 between Dhoni and tail-ender Praveen Kumar.

Lower-order runs
England's last four batsmen were rarely needed at Lord's, seeing the hosts from 390 for six to 474 for eight declared in their only outing, but added 133 of a first-innings total of 221 at Trent Bridge and another 205 in a huge second innings.

That gives England 422 runs for 10 "lower-order" wickets, or an average of 42.20. India's equivalent is 324 runs for 20 wickets - 46 and 36 at Lord's, a paltry 15 and a Harbhajan-boosted 103 at Trent Bridge and 124 around Dhoni today - giving an average of 16.20.

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It's been hard for the batsmen to become familiar: Fletcher

India's well-known batting lineup has flop for a fifth successive innings as they are stressed to handle the alternation and seaming conditions in England, India Coach Duncan Fletcher said on Wednesday.

So far India, a team which include the two highest tests runs scorers in Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, has failed to score 300 runs in a single innings during this series and are in danger of relinquish the top test ranking to England after being walloped in the first two matches.

India was bowled out for 224 on the first day of the third test after behind the toss, before England's openers cruise to 84 without loss at stumps.

Apart from Dravid, who scored hundreds in the first two tests, the other batsmen have struggle, counting world record holder Tendulkar and fellow expert VVS Laxman.

"It's been pretty hard for the batsmen to adapt," Fletcher admits after being quiz by reporters on one more batting let-down. "And I have not seen three pitches, even when I was with England (from 1999 to 2007), that have swung and seamed around as much as these have here."

"Our guys are finding it hard at the moment to handle the swing and seam. They have skillful and there's not much more they can do. It's about receiving out in the middle and putting things into practice."

Surprisingly, one of England's bowling heroes at Edgbaston, Tim Bresnan, said that the conditions did not help the hosts as much as they had expected when skipper Andrew Strauss chosen to field after winning the toss.

"As a seamier you look at the wicket and think ‘I’d prefer to bowl on there as watch someone bat on it'," Bresnan said after final with four for 62 on Wednesday.

"But it didn't really do that much. We were expecting it to be a bit quicker and seem a bit more than it did - so it's a good effort. It swing a bit but not like Trent Bridge did. So it was a case of building pressure."

While Dravid fell for 22 this time, after Bresnan bowled him with a pleasant delivery that swung away from him late, Tendulkar again missed an opportunity to register his 100th international century. He scored just one.

Tendulkar, although, still averages 54 in tests in England, while Laxman's is a shade fewer than 40 in England.

Bresnan discarded any notion that India's batsmen were underperforming and preferred to believe that the credit deserve to go to the bowling unit.

"It goes to show how well we're bowling as a unit," Bresnan added. "There's definitely that 'hunting-in-a-pack' attitude, and we do take pleasure in each other's success. It's good to watch your mate get four or five... or have a really good day with the bat."

"The Indians have not really got themselves out. We've bowled really well and stuck to our plans. It's not like they're invent ways to get out, put it that way."

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'Shahzad has an attitude problem'

Former Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam said opener Ahmed Shahzad was not accessible a central contract by the PCB because of corrective issues and attitude problems.

Alam, a former Test captain, said that in spite of being warned by the chairman of the Board, Ijaz Butt, Shahzad had issues of regulation and attitude problems which are why he was out of the team.

"His performance was not an issue in not contribution him a central contract. In the past also he was reported by managers for his attitude and regulation. Ijaz Butt had spoken to him for myself and advised him not to waste his immense talent and get better his behavior but there were no obvious changes in him," said Intikhab.

Having scored two centuries in one-day series next to New Zealand and in the West Indies and having been a normal member of the squad even in the 2011 World Cup, Shahzad, 22, was a surprise prohibiting when the Board offered central contract to 23 players on Monday.

Media reports said he was drop because he was responsible for causing misunderstanding between former captain Shahid Afridi and head coach Waqar Younis on recent tours.

"There is no uncertainty about his potential and if he improves his behavior he can make a response to the national team," Intikhab said.

He sharp out that while contribution central contracts, the Board had to take into thought not just presentation and physical fitness but also a player's attitude and approach towards team discipline.

The former Test captain, who was a member of the group that finalized the list of players who were obtainable central contracts, said PCB and team management had even sessions of therapy for anxious players and Shahzad was among them.

"We do our best even at the national academy to get better the behavior of problematic players but if they still carry on to make the same mistakes, then it becomes difficult to have them in the national team set-up," he added.

Shahzad has had a background of punitive issues and in 2008 was also reported by manager, Abdul Raquib, for disorderly behavior during the ICC Youth World Cup in Kuala Lumpur.

A source said the team management had also optional special therapy for Shahzad, who it noted came from a 'disturbed' background.

Interestingly, Shahzad, who is playing for his section Habib Bank in the ongoing Corporate Cup T20 Ramazan event in Karachi off the cuff, denied he was a agitator in the team and insist he gave and showed proper respect to his seniors and managers.

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Johnson bowls Australia to 1-0 go ahead

Australia 192 for 3 (Watson 69, Clarke 53*, Ponting 53) hit Sri Lanka 191 (Randiv 41, Johnson 6-31) by seven wickets

Australia cruise to a seven wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first one-day international in Kandy on the rear of a career-best bowling display from Mitchell Johnson.

The left-armer claim six for 31 from his 10 overs as the hosts were bowled out for 191 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Suraj Randiv top scoring with 41 as he led the recovery from 117 for seven.

And it prove to be a simple chase for Australia, who knocked off the runs in 38.1 overs with Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke all passing 50.

Having won the toss, opening batsmen Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan initially looked at ease beside the Australian pace attack, with a series of fours in the opening overs.

But with the partnership on 54, Tharanga was the first wicket to fall for 34, bowled by Xavier Doherty, and Dilshan followed three overs afterward with David Hussey taking the catch at mid-on from a Doug Bollinger delivery.

That sparked the commencement of Sri Lanka's difficulty as Johnson took control with the ball.

Mahela Jayawardene (three) was the first of the left-armer's victims and Kumar Sangakkara followed soon after, approaching to short extra cover for 13.

Bollinger accounted for Dinesh Chandimal (12) before Johnson came to the fore once more with the dismissal of Angelo Mathews (15) and Jeevan Mendis (two).

Randiv and Nuwan Kulasekara put up more of a fight for the eighth wicket, producing six fours and three sixes between them in an entertaining spell which pleased the home crowd and reaped 60 runs.

It was Johnson who eventually broke the partnership, though, to total his five-wicket haul, remove Randiv on 41 with Doherty taking the catch at long-off.

Ajantha Mendis fell five deliveries later to the same bowler for a duck before Kulasekara's brave confrontation was ended on 34 by Brett Lee.

In answer, Watson was straight into his stride and after five overs had scored 26 of his side's 31 runs, as well as dismissive sixes off Suranga Lakmal and Kulasekera.

His attack continued and by the time Brad Haddin was bowled by Ajantha Mendis for 12 with the score on 59, Watson was three runs from his half-century.

He passed the mark in the grand manner, then shattered two more sixes off Randiv before the off-spinner had his vengeance later in the over, dismiss Watson for 69 off 51 balls, which integrated five fours and six sixes.

That left Australia 81 for two, and Ponting and Clarke were happy to score at a more walker rate to ease their side to victory.

The pair progress without alarms to add 101 for the third wicket before Ponting fell for 53, bowled off his pads by Randiv, leaving Clarke (53no) to hit the winning run.

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'Wasim must mind his own business'

Pakistan's chief selector, Mohsin Khan, has reacted strongly to former captain Wasim Akram's disapproval on the selection of the national squad for tour of Zimbabwe.

Mohsin said he was upset with Akram's comments that the selectors needed to show constancy in select younger players and that they should not have dropped pace bowlers - Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed and Wahab Riaz - for the Zimbabwe tour.

"I am distress because Wasim does not use much time in Pakistan and is not conscious of what the national selectors are thinking or their line of plan and action," said Mohsin.

He also optional to the former fast bowler to mind his own business and not to make half-baked statements on the matters like national team selection.

"I think he has no business to give such careless statements without knowing the facts about national selection.

"I would propose him to spare some time and talk to us and learn about our policies and our future scheduling before making such damaging statements," the former Test opener said.

Stating that Akram was only busy with his commitment abroad as a broadcaster and expert, Mohsin said, "It is enormously unfair that he comes back to the country after three or four months and without knowing the facts, give statements about the team, the players and the policy, which can be very damaging."

"A player of his stature should realize that such statements can spoil the team spirit and create mistake between the players and the management.

"We know what we are doing and we know how to plan for the future. There is no distrust Wasim is one of the finest players Pakistan has produced but that should only make him more careful while giving statements," he added.

The former cricketer also made it clear that as far as consistency in selection is concerned, the selection board knows what it wants to do.

Mohsin, who played 48 Tests and 75 ODIs, urged Akram to serve up the country in whatever ability possible, instead of just making statements.

"If he is so troubled about Pakistan cricket then he should be serving here rather than other countries in different capacities. I know he has been approach by the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) in the past to come and serve the team but he might not spare time for the national cause," recall Mohsin.

"I think Wasim does not appreciate that we have adopted a certain policy to form a solid mixture of senior and younger players for the future and this tour of Zimbabwe is the best opportunity for us to try out this grouping," he added.

Mohsin said the senior bowlers had been rested because Pakistan has a hectic international list ahead of them next to strong teams in the next six to eight months.

"We feel that the Zimbabwe tour was the best time to give them some relax and also try out the young people as they can form a good back-up for the national team.

"In order to build a nice, balanced mixture with a back-up for the future, we are trying to utilize this tour of Zimbabwe because after this tour there are two very hard series ahead," he said.

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