Srinath’s tips for openers in Australia

Javagal Srinath, up there right at the top shelf when it comes to the fast bowling greats from India, sees reasons to worry when he looks ahead at India’s tour of Australia, and the men who must fight the best cricketers in the world, at their own terms and playing conditions.

The injuries to the prime pace bowlers, the lack of depth in the talent pool, bothers him most. Then, the uncertainty over of the opening batting combination is worrisome. According to him, how you start in Australia will determine how you finish.

He says that to do well in Australia, the openers need to have the right technique, patience — and also the instinct to get the runs when they’re available. He says you can’t afford to be over-attacking and over-defensive.

Srinath examines the case of the four openers in the list of 24 probables for Australia, though he says, firmly, that he won’t say who will be the three he would pick up if he were a selector:

Wasim Jaffer

He looks a class apart, and he can adapt to different conditions. A backfoot player, he should do well on the Australian pitches. But he has too many strokes, and he must try to curb his attacking instincts a bit. The problem with him is that when he’s in the groove, he plays too many strokes. He should pace his innings better. Maybe a chat with Rahul (Dravid) will help. He must make sure that he handles the responsibility well.

Gautam Gambhir

He’s solid, has patience and all kinds of strokes. I would say that he’s better than Jaffer. Gambhir is a natural strokeplayer. His success in T20 and ODI cricket have given him confidence. But he is a compulsive puller, and for Australia, he needs to be prepared to handle the short stuff well. That’s one area he would be targeted in. If he sticks around, after handling the initial part, he should score a lot of runs. 

Dinesh Karthik

He made lots of runs this year, and that’s keeping him going. My worry about him is that he has failed to replicate his England show in this series against Pakistan. He has the technique, he looks good as long as he’s at the wicket, but we haven’t seen him play long in recent times. Balls outside the off stump are a problem right now. He lives on scoring runs, and once his scoring is curbed, the problems arise. For Australia, you need to have patience.

Aakash Chopra

He’s been there in Australia before, and he can block the ball well, but he was over-defensive, which is something he has realised. Maybe, if he gets an opportunity this time, he has to correct that aspect of his batting. He has a tight technique, which is essential for an opener. But there are too many openers in the fray right now, and one must see how it goes for him.

India should play as a team, not individuals: Kirsten

JOHANNESBURG : The Indian cricket squad does not exactly have an enviable record playing abroad but newly-appointed coach Gary Kirsten believes he can definitely help with changing this.

“I want the (Indian) players to play less as individuals and more together as a team,” Kirsten told the Afrikaans daily Beeld here on Thursday.

“There are fantastic players in the group and I’m looking forward to working with them.”

The BCCI announced on Wednesday that Kirsten would take over the reigns after the Indian side was without a coach for the greater part of this year. Australian Greg Chappell lost his position as coach after the shock first round ousting of India in the World Cup in March in the West Indies.

One of Kirsten’s first tasks will be to help India outwit Graeme Smith’s side when they tour India in March and April next year.

Kirsten said that he was excited about the new challenge: “I thought very carefully about the offer because of few logistical reasons, but not over the post itself. I have previously turned down offers for coaching, but I could not say no to this one.”

Kirsten will join the Indian team as a consultant in Australia early next year before taking over as coach.

Reacting to reports that cricket veterans and the media in India having mixed feelings about his appointment, Kirsten said, “Things will come done soon.”

Rejuvenated Hewitt looking ahead to new season

SYDNEY – A month-long layoff due to an ankle injury has put Lleyton Hewitt in a good position to challenge for next month’s Australian Open, the former world number one said on Thursday.

The 26-year-old, who missed the last month of the 2007 season because of the injury, said the year-ending schedule for most of the world’s top players, including world number one Roger Federer, could take its toll in the heat at Melbourne Park.

“I’m going to be a lot fresher than Federer,” Australian Hewitt told reporters. “Even when you look at (Novak) Djokovic, (Rafael) Nadal … (Nikolai) Davydenko were getting tired at the Masters Cup so I’m going to be a lot fresher than those guys but I’ve just got to try and get some matches under my belt.”

The world number 21, who annually carries the weight of his country’s hopes of a first home champion at the Australian Open since Mark Edmondson in 1976, has been working with Federer’s former coach Tony Roche to climb back up the rankings and prepare for 2008.

“It’s long hours, trying to get the miles in my legs but also working on specific areas,” he said of working with compatriot Roche, who helped Federer win six grand slam titles before they parted in May.

“The hard work’s probably been done up until now and the next week or so and then try and taper off a bit more.”

Hewitt, who will warm up for the Australian Open by appearing at the Sydney International event which starts on Jan. 6, added he would also compete at next year’s Beijing Olympics.

“At the moment I’d look forward to playing hopefully singles and doubles with Paul Hanley,” said Hewitt who represented Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“I feel like we’ve got a great opportunity of winning a medal.

“Grand slams for a tennis player are the priority and we have the US Open about a week after the Olympics.

“It’s fortunate it’s on the same surface but it is a lot of flying, a lot of travel and you’ve got to still have enough in the tank.”

Sri Lanka’s Sangakkara tops ICC batting rankings

LONDON  – Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara has knocked Australia skipper Ricky Ponting off the top of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) latest test rankings, released on Thursday.

Sangakkara is the first Sri Lankan to top the batting rankings after a tremendous run of form, including a superb 152 in the first test defeat of England this week.

Sri Lanka’s world record-breaking spinner Muttiah Muralitharan already tops the test bowling rankings.

The 30-year-old Sangakkara, who has also risen to equal sixth on the ICC’s all-time batting rankings, on Tuesday became the first batsman in the history of the game to register scores of 150 or more in four successive Tests.

England’s Ian Bell has broken into the top 15 on the ICC’s batting rankings for the first time after knocks of 83 and 74 during the first test in Kandy.

Team mate Matthew Hoggard, doubtful for the second test because of a back injury, moved up five places in the bowling rankings and now stands fifth.

2011 cricket World Cup format may be changed

Bangalore: The format of the 2011 cricket World Cup, to be held in Asia, might undergo some changes and more number of matches may be played than the 2007 tournament held in the West Indies.

Niranjan Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said here a number of formats would be discussed at a meeting of the four joint hosts – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – in Delhi this weekend.

“We will be discussing a few formats at the meeting. One of them would be reverting to including quarter final stage instead of the Super Eights,” Shah told IANS.

“According to the proposal, if we play quarter-finals there will be 59 matches in the tournament,” he said.

A total of 51 matches were played in 49 days in the 2007 tournament in March-April while 54 matches were played in South Africa in 2003.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) wants to restrict the number of days of the World Cup. Therefore, it might not approve a World Cup with a quarter final round that will make the tournament longer.

Shah said there was no deadline for submitting the format, to be decided by the joint hosts, to the ICC.

It always feels great to play in India: Vikram Solanki

Panchkula : It’s Thursday morning in Panchkula and Vikram Solanki, in defiance of a famous description often used against him by Ian Botham in the commentary box, is out there for the fitness sessions scheduled for the day. In fact, one of the most illustrious county cricketers of Indian origin could not look more happy or content, as he wanders along the fairways of Tau Devi Lal Stadium, venue for the Indian Cricket League 20-20 Championship.After playing for Rajasthan in the 2006 season, the Worcestershire captain is now playing for Mumbai Champs in what is considered to be his second outing for a domestic side in his native country.

Excerpts from an interview

* You made your debut for Worcestershire as a 16-year-old in 1992. In 2005, you were appointed as the captain of the side. How has the experience with Worcestershire been?
I was fortunate to be picked for Worcestershire after playing for Wolverhampton Cricket Club. I still remember when I made to the Worcestershire; there were big players like Graeme Hick, Tom Moody and Chris Tolly, who were playing for the county at that time. I have always looked up to Graeme Hick, and he has been a huge influence in my stint with Worcestershire. The last couple of years have been very good for the club. We won the one-day Championship in 2006, and the club now also has got a new ground equipped with floodlights.

* After playing for England in the early part of this decade, you and Kabir Ali also played in the 2006 Ranji Trophy Super League representing Rajasthan. How did it come about, and how difficult was it playing in the domestic circuit in India?
Last year, both of us were free during the winter season, and I always dreamt about playing for my home side. The conditions are suited for the batsman in India, and it was a great learning experience for us. I got a chance to play against most of the big names in Indian cricket. It always feels great to play in India. And since it was my first tour to India as a cricketer, I have very fond memories of representing Rajasthan.

* Your career has seen quite a few highs and lows. After a disappointing debut for England in 2000, you were again recalled for England in 2003. You started gloriously, hitting a sparkling century against South Africa at The Oval. But after that, you have been on the fringes of the England squad. Where do we see you in the coming years?
The last few years have been good for me. I remember that I got a score of 24 as my highest score in my first eight ODI’s, and I was quite ordinary in the field. But after that I have worked on my fitness level. I think I am having my best time of my career with Worcestershire. Although I was picked up for the Twenty-20 World Cup held in South Africa early this year, I think I need to perform better to stage a comeback into the England squad.

* After playing in Twenty-20 version of the game for the last three years in England, how does it feel to play in Twenty20 cricket in India? And what are your views about the Indian Cricket league?
Twenty-20 Cricket has revolutionised domestic cricket in England. The kind of crowd support it has got over the last three years has been tremendous, and I enjoy being a part of it. I have been working on my bowling to adapt to this format of the game, and I expect I can be of some help for my team, Mumbai Champs. We have already seen plenty of action in Indian Cricket League, and I think this format of game will generate a lot of interest in India too.