Commonwealth Bank Series 2011-12

New faces will reinvigorate India - Raina

January 30, 2012

Cricket +

	Suresh Raina says he has been working on his wristwork© AFP Enlarge
Related Links Interviews : 'I want to play at least 80 Tests'  Players/Officials: Suresh Raina Series/Tournaments: India tour of Australia Teams: India

Changes from Test squad Out: Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Pragyan Ojha, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane In: Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel, Manoj Tiwary, Ravindra Jadeja, Irfan Pathan, Rahul Sharma, Praveen Kumar

Suresh Raina, who has been branded a limited-over specialist but wants to add significantly to his 15 Test caps, does not want to talk about what went down, and what went wrong in the Test series that India lost 0-4 in Australia. Raina says the limited-overs leg of India's tour will be different, and there is a josh[passion] to do well. The limited-overs leg begins with a series of two Twenty20s against Australia, the first of which will be played in Sydney's Stadium Australia on Wednesday.

Raina, who was not part of the Test squad, was asked to describe the mood in the dressing-room. "The motivation is good," he said. "The new boys [who have joined the team for the limited-overs leg] saw the matches. We haven't done well in the Tests, but there is a passion inside to do well. Andar kuch karne ki tamanna hai [There's a desire inside to achieve something].

"We have worked hard. The new boys have been playing a lot of first-class cricket and we have done well in internationals too. It will be a good challenge for the youngsters and we are ready."

Raina promised a better performance from the side. "Definitely. The one-dayers and Twenty20 games will go differently to how the Tests went. Hopefully we will give you positive results. In the World Cup we beat Australia in the quarter-final and hopefully we will do well against Australia again."

The week before India arrived in Sydney was a wet one and, though it was hot when India went out to train on Monday, the practice pitches at Stadium Australia, nestled in a corner under the roof, were still damp. All the Indians really managed on Monday was a long fielding session. Raina said fielding would be important over the next month and a half, over which India will compete with Australia and Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth Bank Series.

"Fielding is going to be a big factor. We have to take brilliant catches, affect brilliant run-outs. We have to bat till the end and we have good allrounders. They can hit the ball as well as take wickets. We have good variation bowlers like Irfan [Pathan], Vinay [Kumar] and PK [Praveen Kumar]. They have been bowling really well. Hopefully you'll see good performances from them."

Raina was part of the squad that won the Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia four years ago, but didn't play a single game. He said he has been working hard in preparation for his first international matches in Australia. "I went to the NCA [National Cricket Academy in Bangalore], then practised in Bombay. I am working on my wrist position and have been practising on bouncy wickets."

With the seniors under pressure, it is inevitable that Raina will get his third chance in Tests at some stage. Raina said it was important for him to show the world he can play Tests. "I have done well in the West Indies. I played three or four games in the domestic season, got a double hundred, and I am working on my batting. I can play Test cricket and I know that. I didn't do well in the England series, but I know I can play more and more Test matches. I do believe in my hard work, and whenever I get a chance I will prove myself again."

IPL 2012

Laxman, Sreesanth, McCullum get maximum reserve price

January 30, 2012

Cricket +

	Brendon McCullum and VVS Laxman are two of the four players who will enter the IPL auction at a reserve price of US\$ 400,000 © AFP Enlarge
Related Links News : Only Swann commands highest reserve price Players/Officials: Mahela Jayawardene | VVS Laxman |Brendon McCullum | Sreesanth | Tamim Iqbal Series/Tournaments: Indian Premier League

VVS Laxman, S Sreesanth and Brendon McCullum - all part of the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the 2011 IPL - have commanded the highest reserve price of US$ 400,000 in the final auction shortlist for the 2012 season. The Kochi trio joins England offspinner Graeme Swann, who is yet to feature in the IPL, as the four players to command the maximum base price in the 144-strong list.

On January 20, the BCCI had released a preliminary list comprising of 183 players, who hadn't participated in earlier seasons of the IPL. That has been pruned further by the IPL organisers based on the feedback received from the franchises. The Kochi players, who weren't part of the earlier list, were expectedly included, and the entire roster of players will go under the hammer on February 4 in Bangalore.

"The shortlist comprises some outstanding cricket talent," the IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said. "Given that it was prepared on the basis of the feedback of the franchises themselves, the stage is set for an exciting and eventful player auction, this Saturday. The franchises purchased the bulk of their respective squads in 2011. Their aim at the upcoming auction will be to bring in some players who can make a difference to their prospects in the tournament. The auction will mark the formal opening of IPL 2012."

In all, 16 Kochi players feature in the list including the newly-appointed Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene (reserve price US$ 300,000) and the retired offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan (US$ 200,000). India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, whose stock has been on the rise following a successful return to ODI action, was pegged at a surprisingly low US$ 100,000. Tamim Iqbal was a notable addition, and will be the only Bangladesh player in the auction, at a reserve price of US$ 50,000.

Indian interest in the auction will be limited to eight newly-added players, all capped. Seven of them were part of the Kochi franchise last year while the eighth one is the fast bowler VRV Singh. The preliminary list had 25 Zimbabwe internationals, but only seven of them made it to the final draft

India in Australia 2011-12

Haddin wanted for 2013 Ashes

January 30, 2012

Cricket +

	Mickey Arthur on Brad Haddin: "Behind the stumps, the leadership he gives us is insurmountable and you can't put a price on that" © Getty Images Enlarge
Related Links News : Australia to take two keepers to West Indies News : Haddin on ice for early ODIs Players/Officials: Brad Haddin Series/Tournaments: India tour of Australia Teams: Australia

Australia's selectors want to take Brad Haddin to the 2013 Ashes, and have challenged the 34-year-old gloveman to raise his level of performance to get there. Haddin is being rested for the first three ODIs against India and Sri Lanka, granting Matthew Wade the chance to push his case for a greater role behind the stumps, but the senior man remains well entrenched in the selectors' plans as both keeper and leader.

Mickey Arthur, the national coach and also a selector, said the panel wanted to be able to keep Haddin on until the next meeting with England, but needed to see more runs from him to turn the possibility into reality.

"Behind the stumps, the leadership he gives us is insurmountable and you can't put a price on that," Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. "I'm comfortable with where Brad's at, yes we'd like more runs from him, but I'm really comfortable that Brad is on the right track. Yes we've got to get performance and nobody is guaranteed their position, but I'm very comfortable that Brad Haddin could potentially go forward to the Ashes series."

Haddin's current place as Michael Clarke's deputy is significant, as the duo formed a potent leadership axis against India. Alongside Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, Haddin's experience and savvy are considered critical to the team's development. Asked to quantify the value of the elder trio, Arthur said: "They are adding a massive amount, a massive amount."

Australia's series win over India was a marker of significant progress for the hosts, but its aftermath has been dominated by criticism of the Indian effort. Arthur said the Australians were due some credit for the way they had performed across the four Tests.

"I'm not sure what the issues are that [India] have among themselves, but what I do know is that our guys played exceptionally good cricket, and sometimes your opponent is only allowed to play as well as you let them," Arthur said. "There has been a focus on India not performing, but we need to have a look at ourselves and say 'maybe we did play some good cricket'.

"We need to give ourselves a pat on the back. We know it is just the start of this journey though, we're nowhere near the finished article as a Test team, there's a lot of room for improvement, a lot of things we can do better, and it is the start of what could be a very exciting journey."

That journey leads to England in 2013, and Arthur said he had kept an interested eye on the concurrent series between Andrew Strauss' team and Pakistan. A dramatic 2-0 series victory for Pakistan has opened questions about England's No. 1 status, but Arthur said the circumstances they encountered were extremely difficult for any touring team.

"One thing we do need to understand about that is England have just come out of a winter, where they haven't played a huge amount of cricket," he said. "They've gone to conditions where it's turned, which is really tough to counter… [One warm-up match] was a big contrast to last summer … I wouldn't read too much into it, they were us much out of their comfort zone as they could possibly be, and they'll be on the money for the following [Ashes] series, no doubt."

Border-Gavaskar Trophy - 4th Test

Australia 604/7d & 4/0 (0.5 ov)

India 272

Australia lead by 336 runs with 10 wickets remaining

Day 3 - Session 3

• Border-Gavaskar Trophy - 4th Test
• Test no. 2031 | 2011/12 season
• Played at Adelaide Oval
• 24,25,26,27,28 January 2012 (5-day match)

	Australia 1st innings		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	EJM Cowan	c Laxman b Ashwin	30	110	63	3	0	47.61
	DA Warner	lbw b Khan	8	28	23	0	0	34.78
	SE Marsh	b Ashwin	3	10	12	0	0	25.00
	RT Ponting	c Tendulkar b Khan	221	516	404	21	0	54.70
	MJ Clarke*	b Yadav	210	380	275	26	1	76.36
	MEK Hussey	run out (Gambhir)	25	51	33	3	0	75.75
	BJ Haddin†	not out	42	92	66	1	2	63.63
	PM Siddle	c †Saha b Ashwin	2	12	15	0	0	13.33
	RJ Harris	not out	35	64	51	2	1	68.62
	Extras	(b 3, lb 17, w 8)	28
	Total	(7 wickets dec; 157 overs; 636 mins)	604	(3.84 runs per over)

Did not bat BW Hilfenhaus, NM Lyon

Fall of wickets 1-26 (Warner, 6.5 ov), 2-31 (Marsh, 9.6 ov), 3-84 (Cowan, 25.5 ov), 4-470 (Clarke, 120.3 ov),5-520 (Hussey, 133.6 ov), 6-530 (Ponting, 136.1 ov), 7-533 (Siddle, 139.6 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	Z Khan	31	4	96	2	3.09	(2w)
	U Yadav	26	1	136	1	5.23	(1w)
	R Ashwin	53	6	194	3	3.66
	I Sharma	30	6	100	0	3.33
	V Sehwag	16	0	55	0	3.43
	V Kohli	1	0	3	0	3.00

	India 1st innings		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	G Gambhir	c Hussey b Siddle	34	140	94	4	0	36.17
	V Sehwag*	c & b Siddle	18	21	18	3	0	100.00
	R Dravid	b Hilfenhaus	1	8	9	0	0	11.11
	SR Tendulkar	c Ponting b Siddle	25	94	69	3	0	36.23
	VVS Laxman	c †Haddin b Lyon	18	61	43	1	0	41.86
	V Kohli	lbw b Hilfenhaus	116		213	11	1	54.46
	WP Saha†	b Harris	35		94	1	1	37.23
	R Ashwin	lbw b Siddle	5		9	0	0	55.55
	Z Khan	c †Haddin b Siddle	0		1	0	0	0.00
	I Sharma	b Hilfenhaus	16		23	3	0	69.56
	U Yadav	not out	0		0	0	0	-
	Extras	(b 1, w 1, nb 2)	4
	Total	(all out; 95.1 overs)	272	(2.85 runs per over)

Fall of wickets 1-26 (Sehwag, 5.1 ov), 2-31 (Dravid, 6.6 ov), 3-78 (Tendulkar, 31.2 ov), 4-87 (Gambhir, 33.5 ov),5-111 (Laxman, 46.1 ov), 6-225 (Saha, 84.4 ov), 7-230 (Ashwin, 87.1 ov), 8-230 (Khan, 87.2 ov), 9-263 (Sharma, 93.6 ov),10-272 (Kohli, 95.1 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	RJ Harris	25	7	71	1	2.84
	BW Hilfenhaus	22.1	5	62	3	2.79	(2nb, 1w)
	PM Siddle	15	2	49	5	3.26
	NM Lyon	21	5	48	1	2.28
	MJ Clarke	6	1	23	0	3.83
	MEK Hussey	6	0	18	0	3.00

	Australia 2nd innings		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	DA Warner	not out	4	4	1	0	100.00
	EJM Cowan	not out	0	0	0	0	-
	Extras		0
	Total	(0 wickets; 0.5 overs)	4	(4.80 runs per over)

To bat SE Marsh, RT Ponting, MJ Clarke*, MEK Hussey, BJ Haddin†, PM Siddle, RJ Harris, BW Hilfenhaus, NM Lyon

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	Z Khan	0.5	0	4	0	4.80

Match details

Toss Australia, who chose to bat

Player of the match tba

Umpires Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and HDPK Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) TV umpire SD Fry Match referee RS Madugalle (Sri Lanka) Reserve umpire P Wilson

Close of play - day 1 - Australia 1st innings 335/3 (RT Ponting 137*, MJ Clarke 140*, 90 ov) - day 2 - India 1st innings 61/2 (G Gambhir 30*, SR Tendulkar 12*, 21 ov)

Match notes

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Drinks: India - 87/4 in 33.5 overs (VVS Laxman 9) India: 100 runs in 40.3 overs (243 balls), Extras 0 Lunch: India - 122/5 in 51.0 overs (V Kohli 21, WP Saha 5) India: 150 runs in 59.4 overs (358 balls), Extras 1 V Kohli: 50 off 100 balls (5 x 4) 6th Wicket: 50 runs in 101 balls (V Kohli 37, WP Saha 12, Ex 2) Drinks: India - 171/5 in 66.0 overs (V Kohli 56, WP Saha 17) India: 200 runs in 72.2 overs (435 balls), Extras 3 6th Wicket: 100 runs in 182 balls (V Kohli 65, WP Saha 32, Ex 3) New Ball Taken: India 220/5 after 80.1 overs (V Kohli 87, WP Saha 34) Tea: India - 225/6 in 84.4 overs (V Kohli 91) V Kohli: 100 off 199 balls (8 x 4, 1 x 6) India: 250 runs in 92.2 overs (555 balls), Extras 3 Innings Break: India - 272/10 in 95.1 overs (U Yadav 0)