Story England host India, South Africa [C2005] (Eng 81-0,1st Ings, Ind 412 all out)

[surendar]

Sachin ruled out :crying

I will supprt England then
to England!!!!

I guess,

TOUGH PLAYERS OF INDIA : one and only Dravid ( as he had a great recrd in England).

TOUGH PLAYERS OF ENG : Almost entire 11 especially Pieterson!!!!

So going to be too too tough for India without the master!!!!

 

[m_vaughan]

Sachin ruled out :crying

I will supprt England then
to England!!!!

I guess,

TOUGH PLAYERS OF INDIA : one and only Dravid ( as he had a great recrd in England).

TOUGH PLAYERS OF ENG : Almost entire 11 especially Pieterson!!!!

So going to be too too tough for India without the master!!!!

Maybe you are giving England too much credit. India have two of the best spinners in the world in Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, and I am not very good against spin in this game.

 

[Yorkshire_No1]

Can't wait for it to start Vaughnie

 

[m_vaughan]

Indian team arrives

Team India arrives in England

Picture Credit: Getty/AFP

Rahul Dravid's team touched down at London's Heathrow airport today, beginning their two month long tour, which will see them play besides tour games, three test matches, one twenty20 international, and a triangular series also involving South Africa and hosts England.

All the players and management were sent straight to the team hotel in Cambridge, where they will playing a British Universities side in three days time. However, the newsreporters did manage to get a few comments out of the visitors.

Captain Rahul Dravid looked optimistic about his team's chances, saying: "Unlike before, we are now capable of winning matches outside the subcontinent. We have a strong and talented team, and each and every player will want to prove a point in this tour. I have full faith in the lads, and am confident that we will do well."

Coach Greg Chappell was however critical of India's record overseas. He said:"Even though we have improved our overseas record, we are still without a series win against quality opposition. That is something that we need to change, and in doing so, we will have to focus and work extremely hard. Beating England in England is going to be extremely tough, but we are capable of doing it. However its important that we concentrate and work hard."
Regarding the return of Simon Jones, Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff to the England side, the coach said:"Well to be honest, we want to play and beat their best team. Those three are probably three of the best in the world today, and personally I rate Simon Jones as good as anyone else. But we have our own players, and have our own gameplan and tactics for each and every England player. Lets hope we are able to execute it on the field."

Former skipper Sourav Ganguly expressed his relief in being called back to national side after a near 5 month absence. He said:"It was great news, and I am glad I have been given another oppurtunity by the selectors to prove my place in the Indian team. It is going to be difficult as there are so many talented guys in the team, but I think what I can offer is the experience of having played in England, both for India and domestically. However the important thing to note here is that our primary aim is to win test matches for India, and make sure that India win the test series."
When asked about his relationship with coach Greg Chappell, Sourav said:"We have always had a good relationship from the very beginning. We have always respected each other's views and opinions, and I think he is doing a great job as coach of the Indian side. I am looking forward to working with him again."

Left hand seamer Irfan Pathan is also looking forward to the tour, and had this to say:"The conditions here are good for me, as there is a lot of assitance to swing and seam. I have been working hard on my bowling, and the three tour games coming up will help me prepare for the test matches against England."
He said it would be tough to bowl against the English batsmen:"They have some really good players who know the conditions and pitches very well. I think Marcus Trescothick and Kevin Pietersen are their two main batsmen, and I think the sooner we can dismiss them, the better it is for us. It is going to be difficult to bowl against them, but we will try our best."

The Indian team management also informed us that there will be an official press conference tomorrow at the team hotel, the same day as England have theirs.

So stay tuned for both press conferences.

 

[surendar]

This is a great chance for Ganguly!!! But he has to be watchful against the bouncers of great bowlers like Flintoff, Harmison and Hoggard!!! Well, its doubt for Bhaji to outsmart in English pitches!!! So Indian coach is going to have a tough tour!!!!

 

[m_vaughan]

England press conference

Vaughan ready for India
England captain Michael Vaughan believes his England side are up and ready to face India in the three match npower test series. The Yorkshire batsman returning to international cricket after a long injury layoff expects a tough series, but one his team are more than capable of winning.

At his team's press conference, Vaughan said:"India are a difficult side to beat as they have a lot of talent and experience. They have a very strong batting lineup, with established players like Dravid, Sehwag, Laxman and Ganguly. But we have a potent bowling attack, which has become stronger with the return of Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff. So it should a good battle between ball and bat."
"Our batsmen did very well against Australia during the Ashes and if they can carry on that form in this series, then I am sure our bowlers will have enough time to pick up 20 Indian wickets."

Vaughan then answered a few questions from the press:

Question: England's form has dropped since the Ashes. Do you think you regain that form in this series?
Vaughan: Definately. We've not had results going our way in recent games, but we have been working hard on our drawbacks and have been improving on our mistakes. All this can only help England perform better in this series.

Question: But dont you feel that England always do well at home, and struggle on their travels?
Vaughan: Most teams do that. Only the Australians have managed to dominate all over the world. But I thought we could have played a lot better in the subcontinent. We were unlucky to have had quite a few players missing due to injury, but even then I thought we dint play particularly well. But talking about our record abroad, you must not forget that we did register series wins against the West Indies and South Africa.

Question: How do you feel after having finally made it back to international cricket after that long injury layoff?
Vaughan: Well it feels great to be back. I enjoy playing and captaining England and missed it a lot during my time out due to injury. However it was important that I had my knee problem sorted out completely, which is exactly what Ive done. Now I am looking forward to doing what I like doing best, playing cricket."

Question: Have England prepared any gameplan to handle India's two spinners, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh?
Vaughan: We've been working on tactics and gameplans for each and every Indian player including Anil Kumble and Harbhajan. Facing them will be tough no doubt, but I have full faith in our batsmen.

Question: Is Ashley Giles ever going to play for England again?
Vaughan: Just as it was with me, its imporant that Giles recoveres completely from his injury. There is no point in rushing him back, as long-term it will only harm England. Besides, Monty Panesar has done a decent job in his absence.

 

[m_vaughan]

India draw first game

India held to a draw by British Universities XI
A ninth-wicket stand of 38 from the British Universities denied India a likely victory on the final day of their opening match at Fenner's.

Having reduced the students to 92 for 8, India tried everything at their disposal to remove Paul Harrison and David Balcombe, but their resiliance saw the university home to safety. Under overcast skies, India ripped through the top-order - much as they did in the students' first innings - but were frustrated first by Damien Shirazi, and later by the two tailenders.

Shirazi, after watching three of his team-mates fall, set about blocking out the game: his 20 took 74 balls but, when he fell to VRV Singh, India held clear the advantage. However, needing seven wickets in the final session, they fell short as Harrison, who top-scored with 28, and Balcombe (14*) withstood the pressure with great resilience, and no less skill.

Earlier, India's batsmen set the university side an improbable 405 for victory, yet their batting was once again a mixed bag. VVS Laxman was the top scorer for the visitors with a magnificent 104. Sourav Ganguly who was out for just 3 in the first innings, played well for his 52 in the second outing.

Earlier in the first innings, India were bowled out for 299, with Yuvraj Singh scoring a dodgy 81.

India 1st Innings - 299 (84.2 Overs)
Yuvraj Singh 81(135)
R Dravid 32(98)
Harbhajan Singh 30*(40)

R Brathwaite 3/61
M Richards 3/62

British Universities XI 1st Innings - 135 (49.4 Overs)
R Clinton 44(81)
D Wainwright 40(79)

Z Khan 4/34
S Sreesanth 4/38

India 2nd Innings - 240-5 declared (65 Overs)
VVS Laxman 104(183)
S Ganguly 52(72)

D Balcombe 3-67

British Universities XI 2nd Innings - 130-8 (56 Overs)
P Harrison 28*(44)
D Shirazi 20(74)

S Sreesanth 2/10
Harbhajan Singh 2/20
VRV Singh 2/25
Z Khan 2/64

Match Drawn

Lineups
British Universities XI: D Shirazi, R Clinton, M Richards, L Parker, N Lamb, J Knappett, J Morris, P Harrison, D Balcombe, D Wainwright, R Brathwaite
India: W Jaffer, S Ganguly, VVS Laxman, R Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, M Kaif, D Karthik, Z Khan, Harbhajan Singh, VRV Singh, S Sreesanth

 

[kookaburra69]

India havent started the tour to well

 

[Cricket_60]

Interesting to see Ganguly back into the team. Things aren't looking bad for India atm. VVS made a century, Yuvraj and Ganguly made good scores. Their bowlers also did well even if they couldn't get the last few wickets.

Great to see you back here mate

 

[surendar]

Ganguly got a 50 thts a good sign to the team!!! Also bowlers did a gud job overall!!!

But still, Indians are yet to face the quality pace attack

 

[m_vaughan]

Ganguly was out for just 3 in the first innings, bowled by Brathwaite.

 

[Left_Hander]

Good start to the story. Can't wait Vaughie! .

 

[jazz]

good to see Zaheer Khan selected for India as he has done well in playing county cricket in England

 

[Englishandproud]

Good story so far (as usual).
Is that the proper University side or did you make it up ?

 

[m_vaughan]

Is that the proper University side or did you make it up ?

The same XI that played Sri Lanka this year.