Indian batsmen dissipate opportunity

Indians 327 for 7 (Abhinav 113 retd, Laxman 49, Mishra 48*) v Northants

On a tour where India's cup has not exactly run over, a century from Abhinav Mukund in the two-day practice match versus Northampton could have been a solution to a problem. All it is now is yet another nagging poser as the third Test at Edgbaston nears.

India ended the day at 327 for seven, after the loss of two quick wickets after tea that took some of the air out of their innings and put Abhinav's century into perspective.

Abhinav is not the stereotypical left-hander whose dip in scores is easily defended by his advantages of flair or style. His first five Tests have been played on demanding wickets in the West Indies and England, fiery baptisms for all batsmen, never mind openers. Today Abhinav saw the first signs of daylight in weeks at No. 3, largely against a second-string county attack, and was alert enough to cash in.

Unfortunately, the other batsmen who could have done with much-needed time in the middle were unable to do so. Gautam Gambhir's elbow put in nearly 90 minutes of work against the new ball and a disciplined Northants attack before falling for 18.

The two middle-order men who needed a strong dose of confident batting, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni, did not have the day they were hoping for either.

Yet the irony is that Abhinav will not be an instant pick for Birmingham, despite the resolution he showed in his testy second innings in Nottingham and his smart batting today. His runs came at a good pace; the seamers were attacked when their width and length demanded it. He was secure off his backfoot of the quicker men and nearing his 100, feasted on the spinner. It came with a single to mid-on and was celebrated fervently, Abhinav driving his arms aloft and pulling off his helmet.

His 132-run third wicket partnership with VVS Laxman came off 26 overs and upped the tempo of the innings. Had Laxman been rested for this game, like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar were, it would have been understandable, but the crowd would have been deprived of some entertainment. Under a clear, sunny sky, Laxman cut and drove and had the crowd enjoying his private carnival.

He had whistled to 49 before a pull so ugly it could have belonged to his nightmare ended up in square leg's hands. .

Read more »

Taylor may put back injured Trott

England Lions captain James Taylor maintain his offer for a place in the third Test vs India after just falling small of a hundred in the drawn match with Sri Lanka A.

Taylor has been spoken of as a likely substitute for Jonathan Trott if the batsman fails to recover in time from a bear injury suffer fielding in the second Test at Trent Bridge, where England won by 319 runs to go 2-0 up in the four-match series, for the third Test starting at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old Leicestershire right-hander follows his first innings 76 with a fluent 98 before he was bowled by Sachithra Serasinghe.

Taylor's dismissal broken a 146-run stand with Yorkshire wicketkeeper-batsman Jonathan Bairstow, who made 109 not out from 133 balls. That enables the Lions to declare at 415 for five and set the tourists a notional victory target of 326 from 43 overs.

The Sri Lankans did not effort to run down the target and finished on 127 for none on the final day of this four-day match. "To play for England Lions is a great freedom and to score runs is very pleasing, chiefly here at Scarborough," Bairstow said afterwards.

"It was significant that James Taylor and I put in a solid presentation to give us a big enough lead and it was a shame that James didn't quite get his hundred," added Bairstow, the son of former Yorkshire and England wicketkeeper David Bairstow.

He said: "I'm back with Yorkshire now for the next few days before the one-day series next week which by the looks of this Sri Lankan side will be a spirited series."

The first match in the one-day series between the England Lions and Sri Lanka A is due to be played at Worcester on August 12. England will name their third Test squad on Saturday.

Read more »

Sachin confirmed to join Machdar Motorsports

Sachin Tendulkar has officially decided his association with the Machdar Motorsports board for the i1 Super Series car racing meet. It is planned to begin from December 18. It is, however, not long-established if the champion batsman will be buying a team.

"Sachin Tendulkar officially confirmed joining Machdar Motorsports board for the i1 super series. Tendulkar will be the consultant, brand diplomat and will be part of the i1 family," a spokesperson from the company said.

It was earlier reported that Tendulkar, along with Yuvraj Singh, had been approached to buy car racing teams, costing US$ 5 million each, for the proposed series.

Nine teams, with two cars each, will vie in seven Asian cities in a short calendar, consisting of 14 races over seven weekends.

"Cricket and Bollywood stars and a few top industrialists have previously shown keen interest to own the nine Indian city-based franchise teams. Cricketers Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh have been approach," said the CEO of event promoters Machdar Motorsports, M Darshan at a media conference on Friday.

Tendulkar is a enormous Formula One fan and even owned a Ferrari car, talented to him by the manufacturers, till recently. He has sold that car to a Surat-based businessman.

Asked whether India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a motorcycle enthusiast, had also been approach for the purpose, Darshan said "No comments." "The cricketers, if they want, can also form a conglomerate and own a franchise team," he said.

The nine franchises are being sold at a base price of US$ five million and it is obtainable only by invite and not auction. The list of owners along with the series' broadcast partners would be announced in the coming weeks, the promoters said.

Each team will have an Indian and a foreign driver and each franchise will race with two cars, thus form a 18-car grid.

The series will be held in seven Asian cities - New Delhi and Chennai in India, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai in the Arabian Gulf, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Pattaya in Thailand.

Read more »

Ponting: Will give an opinion Clarke if needed

Ricky Ponting doesn't want to give any unwanted advice to his teammates but said if the boys and Captain Michael Clarke need help, he will always be accessible.

"I am just a player in the team now and if Michael or any of the boys want advice, I am just going to be there to give it to them when asked," Ponting was quoted as saying by The Australian.

"My time of being in charge - those days are over and I will just sit over in the corner and make sure I prepare well for every game, and out on the pasture if there is advice I am being asked for, I will be more than happy to give it," he said.

Ponting, however, admit that he does have some wisdom for his teammates. "One thing we can't afford to do, particularly when you go anywhere on the subcontinent, is worry too much about wicket circumstances," the former skipper said.

"In the past we have talk ourselves into what we think conditions are going to be like before we in fact started and made things ever more difficult for ourselves. There won't be any talk about that.

"We've got abundance of time to get ready; we've got five days of training before the one-dayers come around. Michael and I are not playing Twenty20, but we've got five one-dayers before the tour game. So, there is plenty of chance for us and there should be no excuse come Test time," the former skipper said.

Ponting also said that he is not ready to field in slips since he has not improved fully from the fractured finger, which he had operate on again after the World Cup.

Read more »