Rustiness not reflexes cause for dip in Tendulkar's form

Mumbai: From 2008 to April 2011, when the ball was pitched full and the drives were flowing, any error in line was met with a fierce cut or an elegant flick. It was a period when Sachin Tendulkar was at his best.

It was only natural that he was expected to carry on in the same vein when he returned from a break after the World Cup win at home. He had raced away to 99 hundreds then. When he didn't get runs in a flood, it was blamed on the pressure of the 100th hundred.

For those who had thought the floodgates would open after he finally got to the mark in March this year, they have been surprised that it hasn't.

After all, the Kiwis should have been easy meat for the man with 100 hundreds.

Returns of 19, 17 and 27 have been a puzzle. At 39, scrutiny is inevitable as everyone is looking for signs of ageing, especially when he remains the only player of his era who is still playing at the top level.

However, it is early to jump to the conclusion that his meagre return of 67 runs in three innings is about slowing reflexes. To give him the benefit of doubt, the manner of his three dismissals looked a case of technical issues caused by rustiness which can happen at the start of the season. Most of the players in the India versus New Zealand series came with a series behind them (the Kiwis versus the West Indies and the Men in Blue vs Sri Lanka), Tendulkar was playing after the Indian Premier League, which meant an almost three-month gap.

In every innings, a batsman, like a tennis player, subconsciously ends up making small changes in his game like grip, back-lift, which can be ironed out as you spend more time in the middle.

Tendulkar is guilty of committing the same mistake twice. Last season too he went straight into the England series without any match time under his belt and he did the same this season.

Hence, it's his next four innings against England which should provide a clear indication of the cause, whether the poor return is due to ageing or rustiness.

Tricky situation
It's a tricky situation for Tendulkar. At his age, he has to get the balance right and the amount of load he can put on his body. At the same time, he will need to spend enough time in the middle to get into rhythm and be at the top of his game.

In preparing for the season-opening series, he had intense training sessions for a month at the Mumbai Cricket Association's indoor academy at Bandra and the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

But he will vouch that to get into the right frame of mind, the bowling machines and net practice cannot replicate the experience of facing a bowler with a slip cordon in place.

It's where you get the shot selection right.

Rustiness again will be the challenge before his next assignment. Except the Champions League Twenty20, he hardly gets to play any cricket before the England series in mid-November.

At 39, age is a factor, and from a great player he's been reduced to a good player. He will not dominate a pace attack like he did against Australia at Perth or South Africa at Newlands in the 1990s. But he could be an effective contributor with the bat while adding value to the dressing room by helping the team tide over the transition phase.'

Trott out of South Africa finale

England's Jonathan Trott has been ruled out of the fifth and final one-day international against South Africa in Nottingham on Wednesday because of a hand injury.

The South Africa-born batsman was hit on the right hand by a short ball from Proteas paceman Dale Steyn during England's six-wicket victory at Lord's on Sunday, a result that put them 2-1 up in the five-match series, but was cleared of any "major fracture" after an X-ray on Monday.

He took no part in Tuesday's practice, however, and the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed later Tuesday he would not play in the series finale.

Somerset batsman Jos Buttler was called into the squad as cover on Monday, but Jonathan Bairstow is a more likely candidate to play his first match of the series.

Meanwhile England coach Andy Flower will miss Wednesday's match as well.

Flower is taking a short break to spend some time with his family, before England continue their packed schedule with three Twenty20s against South Africa -- and then fly to Sri Lanka to defend their ICC World Twenty20 crown.

England fielding coach Richard Halsall will deputise for former Zimbabwe batsman Flower in Nottingham.

Pujara, Kohli fill void left by India greats

Mumbai: Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli's exploits with the bat in the two-Test series sweep of New Zealand will encourage India to believe they have pinpointed the right men to help carry the team through a tricky transitional period.

The series was the first for India since the retirements of batting stalwarts Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, and represented the earliest test of a situation that had been lurking on the horizon for quite some time.

The 24-year-old Pujara replaced Dravid at the number three spot in the Indian batting line-up and displayed a temperament as cool as his predecessor when he hit 159 in the opening match in Hyderabad, his first Test since January 2011.

On Monday in Bangalore, the right-hander showed fine technique and a steely nerve during his innings of 48 which helped set up India's successful run chase of 261 in the second Test.

The 23-year-old Kohli, man of the match in Bangalore, walked in to bat in the second innings with India under a bit of pressure and the match evenly poised. It was almost an identical situation to the first innings when Kohli had to rescue the hosts from a spot of bother with his second Test hundred.

The first innings centurion once again shut New Zealand out with a mature, unbeaten knock of 51 which convinced Dravid that Kohli was now India's leading batsman.

"Virat has been fantastic. On current form, he is the best batsman in the Indian team. He has really grabbed the opportunities provided," Dravid said while speaking as a guest commentator for the broadcasters.


India will host higher-ranked England and Australia for eight Tests later this season and the series against New Zealand was seen as a prelude to the tougher tasks ahead.

While those matches will be the acid test for Kohli and Pujara, the early signs bode well for the two batsmen.

"Virat played really well in this Test match because we needed someone to soak up the pressure," India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said after the match.

"He was the guy who did that in both the innings. Pujara was good in this innings as well as in the last test also. So it is a continuous learning process and they are shaping up well. It is a big positive for us."

Number Six

India's biggest concern remains over the number six position in the batting order.

While limited-overs regular Suresh Raina enjoys Dhoni's confidence, he failed to cement his place with two failures in the three innings he batted against New Zealand.

The left-hander scored a battling 55 in the first innings in Bangalore but his wild swat to get bowled for a duck against off-spinner Jeetan Patel in the second will not go down well with his critics.

"These are the men we have to fight the war with because you have put in a lot of time and effort on these players," Dhoni said, hinting he was willing to stick with Raina little longer.

"It's not that in just one or two games you see players who will always perform. I think these are the individuals who will be featuring in the test matches. They have to take up a little more responsibility as the season progresses and hopefully they will come right."

Swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag has in recent times not ruled out the idea of batting in the middle order, another option for India to plug the hole at the number six spot.

Ajinkya Rahane, who has tons of runs in domestic cricket, could fill in for Sehwag at the top of the order with left-hander Gautam Gambhir.

Gambhir, who has not scored a fifty in his last seven innings in tests, looked in fine touch in the second innings in Bangalore before he poked at an away-going deliver, a shot which has been his bane in the recent past.

Bangladesh bans Haque for spot-fixing

Dhaka: Former international player Shariful Haque has been found guilty of spot-fixing and banned from cricket indefinitely, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said on Tuesday.

"The allegation made against the player has been substantiated," BCB president Mustafa Kamal said.

"We have decided to ban him from all cricketing activities until further notice. We will keep watching him and only if we are satisfied will his ban be lifted."

A BCB inquiry had looked into an allegation by former Test captain Mashrafe Mortaza that he was approached by off-spinner Haque about spot-fixing before the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 Tournament in February.

Mortaza said he was told he would be paid 15 to 20 per cent of the earnings from spot betting, in return for providing information about whether he would play in certain matches and even whether he would be wearing sunglasses.

Haque, who denied wrongdoing, played one one-day international against India in 1998 and is the first cricketer in Bangladesh to be punished for match-fixing.

He was part of the Bangladesh squad in the 1994 International Cricket Council (ICC) Trophy in Kenya and played three first-class matches.

Haque said he would fight to prove he was innocent.

"Allah is above us and I can swear on him that I have done nothing wrong," he told Reuters. "I am confident that I will be able to prove my innocence."

Afridi doubtful for Pakistan's T20 series with Australia

DUBAI- All-rounder Shahid Afridi is a major injury doubt for Pakistan ahead of their Twenty20 series against Australia in Dubai.

"You must have witnessed it yesterday -- Shahid had a thumb injury, where his left thumb was wounded quite badly, the skin tore off and blood was oozing quite profusely," team manager Colonel Naveed Akram Cheema told reporters on Tuesday.

"He's received about two stitches. The doctors intend to examine the intensity of the wound (and) how far can it be healed.

"We haven't taken a decision yet (on whether he will be fit for the first match on Wednesday)."

Afridi had the injury bandaged and was able to complete his 10-over spell in Monday night's third and final one-day international in Sharjah, but his bowling was ineffective and he took 0-62 as Australia won the match by three wickets to seal a 2-1 series win.

The absence of Afridi, who missed last Friday's second match of the ODI series with a back injury, would be a major blow to Pakistan as both sides prepare for the ICC World Twenty20 that starts in Sri Lanka in less than two weeks.

Afridi was man of the match in the semi-final and final when Pakistan won the World Twenty20 tournament in 2009 in England, and he has taken more wickets in the shortest international format of the game than any other player in history - 58.

If Afridi is absent, more responsibility is likely to fall on his fellow spinner Saeed Ajmal and also fast bowler Umar Gul, recalled after being left out of the ODIs.

Gul (55) and Ajmal (54) are second and third on the list of all-time Twenty20 international wicket-takers behind Afridi, but captain Mohammed Hafeez said his side's hopes would depend on the team rather than individual brilliance.

"Yes, Umar Gul is a match winner and he has done a great job for Pakistan over the years, but everyone has to play their role to win a game and we're not depending on one particular player," Hafeez said.

Australia welcome back 19-year-old fast bowler Patrick Cummins after the latest in a series of injury problems that has restricted him to six limited-overs matches since he took seven wickets on his Test debut against South Africa last November.

"It's going to be particularly important, especially once we get to Sri Lanka (for the World Twenty20) to have that genuine out-and-out pace," Australia captain George Bailey told reporters.

"It makes it hard for teams to settle, and there's no doubt that Patrick's got that express pace. He's well skilled with his changes of pace, his slower ball and his bumper, which is very good, and a very good yorker.

"For someone so young I think his execution is outstanding, and he gives us great versatility as he's someone who can bowl at the top, through the middle or at the back-end of the game."

Australia have opted to keep fellow fast bowler Alister McDermott with the squad for the Twenty20 internationals.

McDermott, the son of former Australia fast bowler Craig, was called up as a replacement for Clint McKay after the latter suffered a hamstring strain during a pre-tour training camp, and although McKay is now fit again, McDermott, 21, will stay on.

Parnell issues Dale warning to England

South Africa's Wayne Parnell has told England to expect a fired-up Dale Steyn as the Proteas look to square the five-match one-day series at 2-2 in Wednesday's day/night finale in Nottingham.

England went 2-1 up with one to play after a victory at Lord's on Sunday rounded off by Craig Kieswetter -- a former South Africa junior international -- launching Steyn for six.

It is not a gesture any fast bowler takes kindly to, especially one regarded as the world's best, and left-arm seamer Parnell told reporters at Nottingham's Trent Bridge ground on Tuesday: "He (Steyn) obviously wasn't happy with that.

"No fast bowler likes to be hit, but Dale's a competitor -- and he'll be back tomorrow [Wednesday]."

But South Africa's biggest problem in losing back-to-back matches in London at The Oval and Lord's has been a lack of runs, not wickets with England easing past scores of 211 and 220 for eight respectively.

By contrast, England fell well short of the 287 for five South Africa made in the second one-dayer at Southampton, where Hashim Amla compiled a brilliant 150.

"We just didn't score enough runs," said Parnell. "Whatever it might be, if England have bowled well or we have batted poorly, is up for debate ... it's probably a bit of both," he added.

"But we have a pretty quality batting line-up, and I expect us to do better tomorrow."

South Africa are currently without the outstanding Jacques Kallis, currently being rested after helping the Proteas to a 2-0 Test series win over England.

One of the world's leading batsman and a fine fast bowler, Kallis leaves a big whole to fill but Parnell insisted South Africa could win in the absence of the all-rounder.

"It's up for debate," he said. "If he were here and we were 2-1 down, what would people be saying?"

"Now he's not, people are questioning whether he should be here or not."

Pakistan, Australia change gear for World Twenty20

Dubai: Pakistan and Australia will be looking to tune up for this month's World Twenty20 championship in a three-match series which starts here on Wednesday.

The Twenty20 series follows a three-match one-day series which Australia won 2-1 but Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez hoped a new format and some fresh players will help his team.

"These matches give both teams a good chance to settle for the mega event," said Hafeez of the fourth edition of the World Twenty20 to be held in Sri Lanka from September 18 to October 7.

Pakistan finished runners-up to India in the first edition of the World Twenty20 held in South Africa in 2007 and two years later bagged the title in England.

They were losing semi-finalists to Australia in the 2010 edition held in the West Indies. These stats, Hafeez believed, make Pakistan a good Twenty20 team.

"It's disappointing not to win the one-day series but the confidence is still high that we have got a good Twenty20 side and I am confident that we can beat Australia," said Hafeez, who replaced Misbah as T20 captain in June this year.

Hafeez admitted off-spinner Saeed Ajmal will be the key player after taking ten wickets in the one-day series.

"Ajmal is a world class bowler but we are not depending on him alone," said Hafeez. "I think other bowlers must support him from the other end."

Pakistan will be boosted by the return of spearhead Umar Gul who was rested for the one-day series, while allrounders Abdul Razzaq and Yasir Arafat, opener Imran Nazir and paceman Mohammad Sami also make the squad.

Allrounder Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's top player in Twenty20 cricket, is likely to miss the first and second match (in Dubai on September 7). He may return in the third, also in Dubai, on September 10 after injuring his hand in the third one-day on Monday.

Australia were strengthened by the return of star allrounder Shane Watson, pacemen Ben Hilfenhaus, Clint McKay and Pat Cummins, as well as middle-order batsman Cameron White and spinner Brad Hogg.

Their captain George Bailey was confident that new players will boost the team.

"There'll be a nice injection of some energy and enthusiasm into the group. We'll try to find a settled lineup as quickly as possible, particularly with the batting. These will be really important games against Pakistan.

"Any momentum that we can get that we can take into Sri Lanka will be excellent."

Bailey said allrounder Glenn Maxwell, who hit a match-winning 56 not out in the third one-day, will be a key component for Australia.

"Glenn was someone Mickey Arthur (head coach) and I pushed really hard for (at selection) just because of the x-factor and the versatility that he has," said Bailey.