Sports India

West Indies batting maestro Brian Lara would have been stunned had Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene broken his world record for the highest individual score yesterday.

More so since Lara had picked out Indian opener Virender Sehwag to beat his record 400 not out against England, in a recent chat in Dubai. “Give him a day-and-a-half and Sehwag could do it,” was his answer when asked to identify one player who could beat his record.

Jayawardene never figured in Lara’s list of batsmen who could break his record for the highest number of runs. But the fact is that he has nearly 6,000 runs in both forms of the game. At 29, the Lankan skipper has many years of cricket ahead of him too.

Jayawardene was close to erasing Lara’s 375 against Pakistan at Kingston in 1994. Incidentally, Lara also recalled an interesting incident involving Matthew Hayden when his record of 375 was erased.

“Soon after Hayden hit 380 against Zimbabwe at Perth in 2004, I called him to congratulate him, but strangely, his response was abrupt,” revealed Lara.

Jayawardene became Sri Lanka’s highest individual scorer, erasing Sanath Jayasuriya’s 340 vs India at Colombo in 1997. Ironically, that was Jayawardene’s debut Test where he made 66.

Biggest critic

Jayawardene’s previous best was 242 against India in the 1999 Asian Test Championship in Sri Lanka. Despite his 14 Test centuries and 29 fifties, he is the biggest critic of his own game.

Once during an interview I’d asked him whether he reckons his 242 as his finest knock. His remark was: “It was a lucky knock. I was dropped many times.” He picked his 167 against New Zealand in 1998 at Galle as his best. “It was a real turner and Vettori was bowling at his best. I had guided Sri Lanka to victory,” he said.

A quote from Jayawardene is a clear indication of his maturity level. He said: “One day, you can get a hundred, the next day you can be dismissed for zero. This teaches you to accept success and failure. I think I’ve learnt a lot about life from cricket.”

It all seemed so symbolic—-a silver chariot as a memento; over the years Madras Club has provided many chariots to youngsters to ride on their skills and reach their destination. One among them was sitting as a chief guest in their annual function at the Ferozeshah Kotla —-that very place where selectors first ignored his talent, until a messiah in Satish Sharma noticed, and Madras Club provided the platform.

If the world knows Virender Sehwag and his exploits with the bat today, it is because Satish Sharma urged him to join his club and promised justice to his talent, when he was disconsolate with failure. That was 1995; unfortunately Sharma didn’t live long to see 2006 and Sehwag’s rise in a decade

And for all myths attached with the Indian vice-captain, he hasn’t forgotten the path traveled. “What I am today is all because of Sharmaji and this club,” he said recalling “I wasn’t selected for Delhi under-19 team and then I joined his club. Frankly, I haven’t failed from that moment onwards and have achieved everything what I aspired for. I cannot forget their contribution. I am willing to help then in whatever they (Madras Club) need.”

Viru was not merely mincing words; and to surprise everyone he arrived half-an hour before the 5pm annual function and stealing a wink through the packed speeches of DDCA, Sehwag distributed the prizes and spared time to interact with players.

Sachin Tendulkar has been included in the India squad for the tri-nations series in Sri Lanka next month.

Tendulkar missed the recent tour of the West Indies with a shoulder injury but has been named in the 15-man party for the one-day tournament which also includes South Africa.

All-rounder Dinesh Mongia, currently playing for Leicestershire, and Rudra Pratap Singh are also recalled.

India chairman of selectors Kiran More said: “Sachin played about five matches in England (in charity games for a Lashings XI) and performed well.

“He batted and bowled so we felt there was no need to do a fitness test.

“Also, there will be a camp before the tour, so there is no issue on his fitness.”

On Mongia, More added: “Mongia is an ideal cricketer. He bowls left arm and has been bowling well in the County Championship.

“His main strength is his batting, so he is an all-rounder.”

Leicestershire are likely to look for a short-term replacement while Mongia is away.

Leg-spinner Anil Kumble and batsmen Robin Uthappa and Venugopal Rao all miss out on selection for the series, which begins in Colombo on 14 August.

India squad: Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Sri Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Rudra Pratap Singh, Dinesh Mongia.

On the road to the 2007 World Cup, every tournament presents an opportunity in itself to rectify the flaws. The Indians need to look at the bigger picture. Are they doing so?

It is clear that there are areas to improve upon for the Men in Blue following the 4-1 debacle in the Caribbean. The pacing of the innings was awry, the pacemen lacked discipline, and the fielding was not always seen in good light.

Worse, the Indians were found wanting in end-game skills. This is perhaps the most critical aspect of limited-overs cricket, where the difference between the leading teams has narrowed.

Of course, the setback in the West Indies should not be seen in isolation and India did enjoy some glorious moments earlier in the season at home and in Pakistan where it emerged as a vibrant, innovative and flexible unit under the Greg Chappell-Rahul Dravid combine.

Wake-up call

But then, the ODI campaign in the West Indies was a wake-up call and, perhaps, a timely one too for a side discovering itself.

Though the emphasis, for most part, has been on youth, the selectors have been sending mixed signals of late. The 29-year-old Dinesh Mongia, who makes a comeback for the tri-nation series in Colombo from August 14 to 29, is not exactly a young man.

Mongia’s experience in the middle-order, his handy left-arm spin, and his good form on the English county circuit, might have earned him a spot in the side, but someone like Robin Uthappa, who has displayed promise and potential, should consider himself unlucky to miss out.

An extra top-order batsman could have benefited the side more than an additional middle-order option, especially since Yuvraj Singh, like Mongia, can send down left-arm spinners.

Anil Kumble, India’s foremost bowler, does not find a place. If the selectors and the think-tank are planning to induct him in the squad for the World Cup, the ace leg-spinner should be given a run now so that he settles into a rhythm.

Kumble may be 35, but skipper Rahul Dravid might desperately require his services in crunch situations.

Economy rates

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh’s economy rate was a creditable 3.91 in the West Indies, but he picked up only three wickets in five matches. Ramesh Powar has the ability, not the experience.

India does have bowling worries. The pace bowlers, with the exception of Ajit Agarkar, were taken for runs by the West Indian batsmen. Irfan Pathan’s economy rate was a poor 5.59, Munaf Patel’s 5.80, and S. Sreesanth’s 5.47. And left-armer Rudra Pratap Singh has gone off the boil after the tour of Pakistan.

Worrying factor

Pathan’s slump in form is particularly worrying since India relies on him for early breakthroughs. Munaf and Sreesanth, men with pace, need to work on their reverse swing.

In the event, there was a strong case for the inclusion of Zaheer Khan, among the wickets on a regular basis in county cricket. R.P. Singh is lucky to keep his place.

Sachin Tendulkar, cleared by the fitness panel, should add a huge dose of confidence to the team. He commands respect in the side, contributes positively as a legend and a senior cricketer. Tendulkar should be opening the innings with Virender Sehwag, which suggests Dravid would get back to his role in the middle-order.

Lacking momentum

The Indian batting lacked momentum in the West Indies. Though Mohammed Kaif topped the averages with 51.25, his strike rate was a less than satisfactory 67.88. If M.S. Dhoni rediscovers his punishing ways, the Indian run-rate is bound to receive a fillip.

Sri Lanka would be a formidable opponent at home, and even a less than full strength South Africa might prove hard to beat. Chasing could be hazardous under lights at the Premadasa Stadium, where the pitch tends to slow down.

The dynamics of the game could be different in the day game at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground, where there is likely to be early assistance for the pacemen.

Importantly, the Indians need to perform under pressure.

The master blaster is back but the moot question is where will he be in the pecking order for the Tri Series in Srilanka.

Sachin Tendulkar has been declared fit and is set to return to the Indian team for next month’s tri-series to be held in Sri Lanka. With his return, the team management will now have to recalibrate the batting order. So will he come back to his favoured place at the top of the innings? Or will Dravid drop down the order? These are Questions that need to be answered.

Kiran More, Chairman of selectors said: Sachin has been declared fit. We have got a report from John Gloster saying that he is available for selection for the forthcoming series in Sri Lanka and this is surely a good news for India.

These words from the Chairman of selectors clearly indicate the importance of Sachin in the Indian team. Having played the game for close to 17 years, Sachin continues to be the top drawn in the Indian team. But the question is where will Sachin bat on his comeback. Tendulkar has opened the innings in one-day cricket with both Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly. In his absence, that job was taken over by Rahul Dravid and occassionally by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. So will Sachin walk into his old position?

Top world teams have shown that the best way to make your prized asset last is to play them in the middle order and also only in key games. Inzamam Ul Haq does that with great success and so does Brian Lara. Could Tendulkar do the same for Team India? Some of his teammates disagree.

EAS Prasanna, former player, said that India will be competing in one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka and Sachin has been an opening batsman throughout, so I think that he should play as one.

While Sreesanth, Bowler, Indian team said: “Playing as an opening batsman is the easiest form to get some run in the opening stand, and thus, it is much easier to play.”

Whatever the position, Sachin will still have to push himself to stay ahead of the young guns. Coach Greg Chappell is known to have equal yardsticks for fitness and performance for all players. And in spite of having so many runs under his belt, Sachin will invariably walk out under pressure.

Sachin has made a return to the Indian squad arousing a debate as to whether he should don the role of opening batsman or should he play in the miidle order. However, at this juncture, it hardly matters when he bats. His presence on the ground is good enough, not only for the team, but for the nation to celebrate.

When Indian cricket was in the news for all the wrong reasons during the tour of Zimbabwe last year, the word from the team management was that if Sourav Ganguly and his backers were not rooted out of the system, the Men in Blue would become as bad as the West Indies within six months.

“Indian cricket stands at a crossroads today. If it continues like this, we’ll head the West Indies way. We need to act now to stop that from happening,” was how an important member involved with the side had told Mumbai Mirror in an informal chat during the meaningless series which became famous for Ganguly’s spat with coach Greg Chappell.

Ironically, almost a year later, after the team has been cleansed of its supposed devils and infused with a host of angels, India still find themselves at a crossroads.
The selectors will sit down at the Wankhede today with their scalpels to dissect the 4-1 defeat at the hands of a team that was not thought highly of. And, yes, they’ll also pick the squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka next month.

Kiran More and Co, indeed, will be at loggerheads over filling quite a few spots, mostly in the bowling department, in the side, which looked set to take on the world over the next year, before they had embarked on the Caribbean snooze cruise.

HOST OF PROBLEMS

The return of Sachin Tendulkar will be welcomed with a sigh of relief but the poor form of Irfan Pathan, the ineffectiveness of Munaf Patel in the shorter version, RP Singh’s sudden slip off the radar, the blow-hot-blow-cold nature of S Sreesanth’s bowling, and the expensive returns of Harbhajan Singh will be a matter of much debate. And therein hangs a strong possibility of the chickens coming back to the roost.

There have been talks of a possible recall of Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan and Dinesh Mongia to the side. The sooner it happens the better as they seem to be at the top of their game currently.

Zaheer, engaged with Worcestershire, has picked a bucket-full of wickets this English summer. Mongia, the dapper Punjab left-hander has been keeping the scorers busy for the last three seasons at Leicester, and Kumble — as we all know — is still a force to reckon with. His much-improved batting too would bring a sense of comfort to captain Rahul Dravid.

NO MORE EXPERIMENTS

With over 20 one-day internationals before the World Cup gets underway next year, there is simply no time left for the inane experiments that have been the way with Team India in recent times. The policy of backing greenhorns over seasoned campaigners needs to be reviewed urgently. The reverse in West Indies is a timely wake-up call, if we ever needed one.

The scorelines of the five matches in the last series tells us that the young guns, who have been heavily backed, failed to fire. On the contrary, it was the old warhorses who stood up when it mattered. The bowling of Ajit Agarkar and the all-round utility of Virender Sehwag in the West Indies are fine examples of that.

With Tendulkar back, India will get the much-needed resources in the field and the experience at the top. After all, it was the little champion who turned things around during the series in Pakistan, where Dravid’s men won so convincingly.

A little bit of maturity — especially if Kumble gets back in with 264 ODIs under his belt — will do India no harm, and a lot of good, in the bowling department.

With The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) bowing to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) demands that the shortest version of the game so far - Twenty20 format – be included in the domestic calendar, the players, who are already overstretched, may feel the additional burden.

Cricketers world over have already voiced their displeasure about ICC’s scheduling of Test and One-Day matches and have been complaining of too much cricket. In fact many of the players, including the Aussies and the South Africans, who are considered as the fittest, have been hit by injuries due to over exposure.

Nearer home, batting ace Sachin Tendulkar, who is considered as one of the fittest Indian cricketers along with his skipper Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Irfan Pathan, has not been spared as well and is still recuperating after a major operation.

Even youngsters like Yuvi and Pathan too have had their share of injuries and with the introduction of the Twenty20, the casualties are bound to increase as the workload on the players will certainly double.

The Twenty20 may also help lose spectators interest for Test matches, which according to hardcore cricket followers is still the real thing even though the present day life makes it difficult for a layman to follow the longer version of the game for five long years.

As it is, the Test matches are losing its popularity after the introduction of One-Day matches as it was quite evident in the recent Test series in Asia and in the West Indies where just a hand full of spectators watched the matches in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.

With the introduction of Twenty20 format, the Test matches might take a further beating as the spectator gets what he wants (quick results as well as some action) and he need not wait for five long days to see a match end in a tame draw.

India’s Yuvraj Singh (110 points) and Australian captain Ricky Ponting (163) are heading the Maruti Suzuki one-day and Test cricket ratings respectively.

In the one-day ratings, the hard-hitting Mahendra Singh Dhoni (101) is a close third, behind West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan (104), while Indian captain Rahul Dravid (145), Man of the Series in four-match Test series in the Caribbean, is placed second.

Vice-captain Virender Sehwag is fifth in the Test rankings, according to a release from ESPN-STAR Sports, which show these ratings.

These are one of the several cricket ratings floating around, though the official one is that of the International Cricket Council.

Among the bowlers, Australian seamer Nathan Bracken (174) leads the one-day charts, followed by Indian left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan (169). Another Indian Ajit Agarkar is at the ninth position with 136 points.

In the Test rankings, Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble (183) is second to Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Murlitharan (195). The other Indian in the top bracket is off-spinner Harbhajan Singh (89), placed at No. 10.

In the team rankings, Australia are the undisputed leaders in both Tests (129 points) and one-dayers (88 points).

Pakistan (98), after victories over Sri Lanka and England, are the second best team in Tests, followed by India (94), who recently won their first series in the Caribbean (1-0) after 35 years.

They are followed by Sri Lanka (88), New Zealand (77), England (71), South Africa (65) and the West Indies (14). Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are yet to open their accounts.

In the ODIs, New Zealand (75) are second while India, despite the 1-4 defeat by the West Indies recently, are at No. 3 with 65.

South Africa (60), Sri Lanka (58), West Indies (49), Pakistan (46), England (32), Bangladesh (15), Zimbabwe (10) and Kenya (3) complete the list.

IT was their first series win in the Caribbean in 35 years, but it was not enough to prevent the visitors from dropping in the LG ICC Test Championship table.

According to the latest revision of the table, India has lost two points and therefore, due to the close points difference between the top six teams, and the shift has implications in the positions.

The slip means that India, the number three ranked test team prior to the start of the series against the West Indies, now sits in fourth spot, below Pakistan. India was expected prior to the start of the series to whip the lowly ranked West Indies team convincingly in both test and One Day International (ODI) series. That was not the case as the West Indies won the ODI series by a 4-1 margin and narrowly lost the test series by 0-1 margin in four tests, by 49 runs at Sabina Park.

Australia still leads the test rankings, with India now holding the number four spot, with the West Indies making marginal gains of two points to still hold the number eight spot. The regional side has 74 points, still 23 points adrift of Sri Lanka and New Zealand in sixth and seventh places respectively.

Indian captain Rahul Dravid enjoyed excellent form in the test series and this has allowed him to maintain his number two ranking. The consistency has allowed Dravid to move within ten points of number one ranked Australian captain, Ricky Ponting. Dravid finished with an impressive 496 runs at 82.66 while he crafted one hundred and four fifties, including two fifties in the crucial fourth test match which his side won by 49 runs. West Indies captain Brian Lara, despite only scoring 211 runs at 26.37, remains the highest ranked West Indies player, and the only one in the top 20. Other big movers for the regional side, according to the latest update, include Daren Ganga up 11 spots to 57 and Denesh Ramdin up 14 spots to 73. For the Indians, Virender Sehwag occupies number 16.

Indias Anil Kumble, with his 23 wickets in the recent series remains at number eight, while Corey Collymore with 15 wickets at 22.46 has moved up seven spots to number 10.

India may have won its first series in the Caribbean after 35 years but the 1-0 victory could not stop Rahul Dravid’s side slipping down the LG ICC Test Championship table.

India have lost two rating points and now sit in the fourth spot below Pakistan. The reason for the demotion: the side failed to live up to its pre-series ranking, an ICC release said.

It began the tour with a massive 39 rating points and was five places ahead of the West Indies. When a team is rated that far above another, it should expect to win by a bigger margin than its 1-0 series triumph in order to justify its place.

India’s failure to do that has cost it rating points, dropping it to 109 - the same as Pakistan - and that was enough to see it slip below Inzamam-ul-Haq’s side when the table was recalculated to three decimal places.

India are now three points behind second-placed England and 22 points behind leaders Australia.

The West Indies remain in eighth position but it is better than expected performance in rating terms as the team gained two points. Brian Lara’s side now has 74 points, 23 adrift of Sri Lanka and New Zealand in sixth and seventh places respectively.

India’s captain Rahul Dravid was outstanding in the decisive Test of the series in Jamaica and he remains in second place in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.

Dravid is now just 10 rating points short of his best-ever mark and only one player - Australia’s Ricky Ponting - lies ahead of him in the list.

Dravid is one of two Indian batsmen in the top 20 along with Virender Sehwag, who lies 16th.

Further down the list, the absent Sachin Tendulkar, recovering from shoulder surgery, is in joint 21st place along with the West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while VVS Laxman is joint 28th alongside another West Indies batsman, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and Wasim Jaffer is 65th.

Lara is in 10th spot, his lowest Test ranking for five years, after a modest series, which saw him average 26.37. He is the only West Indies batsman in the top 20 with Chanderpaul slipping four spots while Chris Gayle is 24th.

The West Indies can take some consolation in the upward movement of Daren Ganga (57th, up 11) and Denesh Ramdin (73rd, up 14).

Each side has one player in the top 10 of the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers with India’s Anil Kumble a non-mover in eighth spot while Corey Collymore ventures into the top 10 for the first time, finding himself up seven places to 10th in the list.

Irfan Pathan, who played just one Test in the series for India, is 15th while Harbhajan Singh, who captured five-wicket hauls in each of the last two Tests, is up two places to joint 22nd, alongside New Zealand’s Chris Martin.

Munaf Patel is in 43rd place, Sreesanth has risen 14 places to 46th, his first time in the top 50, and Jerome Taylor, who impressed for the home side, has climbed 30 places to joint 61st, and now sits next to South Africa’s Andrew Hall.

Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralidaran heads the bowling list, clear of fast bowler Makhaya Ntini of South Africa.

With a player losing one per cent of his rating for every Test he misses, Pathan has dropped down one place in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders and now lies sixth.

South Africa’s Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff of England head that list.

LG ICC Test Championship (after the West Indies - India Test series)

Rank/Team/Rating

1. Australia - 131

2. England - 112

3. Pakistan - 109

4. India - 109

5. South Africa - 101

6. Sri Lanka - 97

7. New Zealand - 97

8. West Indies - 74

9. Zimbabwe - 27

10. Bangladesh 3.