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[justforkix]

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/engvind/content/current/story/308030.html

England v India, 2nd ODI, Bristol

India battle flu ahead of second ODI

The Preview by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan at Bristol

August 23, 2007

From the vast, high-tech arena that was the Rose Bowl, the one-day caravan has shifted to the idyllic County Ground at Bristol, a venue set up as early at 1889 and one steeped in history.

It's a ground where the memory of WG Grace, Gilbert Jessop and Wally Hammond lives on, from an age where the sport was still an amateur pastime. There is a suite named after Jack Russell, the former England wicketkeeper, who was one of the most eccentric men to walk the cricket field. Temporary stands have been set up for this encounter and makeshift flood-lights arrangements are being put in place.

Narrow, winding streets provide an approach to the ground and locals say the route will be choc-a-block tomorrow. This miniature ground is lined with houses on one side and trees on the other. A thick edge is bound to fly over third man for six and, if the pitch plays true, the match could be a high-scoring one.

Twice in nine games has a score of more than 300 been seen here and India have been involved in both. The first was against Kenya in the 1999 World Cup when Sachin Tendulkar made an emotional hundred after returning from his father's funeral; the next was against Sri Lanka in the Natwest Series of 2002, when Tendulkar smashed another century in India's 63-run win. He batted at No. 4 in both instances. India will need something similar from him tomorrow, this time at No. 1.

Worringly for India, Tendulkar missed practice on the eve of the game along with Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, RP Singh and Yuvraj Singh, all of whom were suffering from flu and body ache. With Munaf Patel returning from injury, India find themselves heavily depleted at such an early stage of the series.

England are likely to stick to the same combination, one that ran away to an overwhelming win at the Rose Bowl. "There's a lot of energy in the side," said an upbeat Stuart Broad, England's opening bowler. "It's an exciting place to be playing. We had a great performance at the Rose Bowl. If we fulfil our potential, we're difficult to beat."

A fiery return for Andrew Flintoff added an potency to their side. Steaming in at more than 90mph and hitting the awkward middle length, he made life difficult for India's middle order. The fact that James Anderson and Broad teamed up for such a good combination first up made things easier. "Jimmy bowls a swingy length and I hit the pitch and get bounce," said Broad. "It's good to have such a combination. Certainly our aim is to bowl straight and [be] aggressive."

Rahul Dravid admitted that Gautam Gambhir's spot was under scrutiny, adding that he might miss out if they go with the five-bowlers option. "Like everyone else in this side, he has earned the right through performances," Dravid said. "When he goes back to domestic cricket he scores runs and must be given the opportunity. Whether he takes those chances or not is up to him. In Ireland he got a 70, did well in Scotland. He's got runs in all the side games between the Tests. Now it's up to him to stand up and make the jump."

India have a few factors to consider while picking their XI - the pitch, which the curator feels is "a 300 wicket" and the size of the ground, which is conspicuously small. It might be tricky playing two spinners here, especially with the 30-yard circle dangerously close to the boundary line at the pavilion end. One meaty hit is all it will take to clear the Hammond roof, the Grace pavilion, and the Jack Russell suite. Three legends floored with one stroke.

England (likely) 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Matt Prior (wk), 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood (capt), 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Dimitri Mascarenhas, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 James Anderson,11 Monty Panesar

India (likely) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Sourav Ganguly, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Rahul Dravid (capt), 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7 Dinesh Karthik, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Ajit Agarkar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 RP Singh.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is assistant editor of Cricinfo

[ruchir]

Completely Pissed Off … not with the fact that a few of our players are sick with Flu, but this statement from RD:

Rahul Dravid admitted that Gautam Gambhir’s spot was under scrutiny, adding that he might miss out if they go with the five-bowlers option. “Like everyone else in this side, he has earned the right through performances,” Dravid said. “When he goes back to domestic cricket he scores runs and must be given the opportunity. Whether he takes those chances or not is up to him. In Ireland he got a 70, did well in Scotland. He’s got runs in all the side games between the Tests. Now it’s up to him to stand up and make the jump.”

What the F***? GG’s spot is under scrutiny, because he scored only 3 runs? What about SG, who scored only 2 runs? Or YS, who scored a duck? Or AA, who gave away 65 runs in 9 overs (1 maiden) without a wicket? What about Master Blaster SRT? Are all these guys immune from scrutiny? Don’t their places come under threat at all? What, are these guys gods or something? Of all the failures in this loss, RDravid had to point at GG of all people, and say that his place was under scrutiny. How about being brave and dropping SRT, SG from 2nd ODI and give a chance to the youngsters (RU, RS)? Stop the rot at the top. When will the time come for SRT, SG, etc. to stand up and make the jump? Or maybe they are exempt because they can't jump anymore!

Interestingly, of the guys who fell sick (SRT, ZK, AA, YS, RPS), three flopped in the first ODI. Is this a coincidence?

[feverpitch]

ruchir, are you pissed off with dravid?

[dextrous]

ruchir, are you pissed off with dravid?

i think he's more pissed at sg and srt so dravid is not being spared 

[OldPal]

Interestingly, of the guys who fell sick (SRT, ZK, AA, YS, RPS), three flopped in the first ODI. Is this a coincidence?

3 out of 5 is not a coincidence . To be fair to performance measurement tools, if 11 had fallen sick, the statment should be read revised :

Interestingly, of the 11 guys who fell sick , 11 flopped in the first ODI. Is this a coincidence?

 

[justforkix]

We will play GG and RU for 2-3 games each and both will give neither-here-nor-there performances and we will be as confused as before about whether GG and RU are good enough or not. RS will again be a mere water-boy !!!

SG, RD, SRT will either flop or continue to bat like tortoises in a shell but we will continue to pick them 

AA will be dropped after this series and will not be picked for Aus and Pak ODIs, but will again make a comeback in the VB series where he'll be thrashed all over by the Aussie and Lankan psychos 

[dextrous]

SG, RD, SRT will either flop or continue to bat like tortoises in a shell but we will continue to pick them 

I believe the next great DG war teams are already building up--Icon lovers vs. terrorist sympathizers

[fineleg]

i think he's more pissed at sg and srt so dravid is not being spared 

Ruchir,
Bait alert.

[fineleg]

Are we gonna be able to field 11 if half the team is out on flu? 

[justforkix]

Are we gonna be able to field 11 if half the team is out on flu? 

On the positive side, we beat SAF when our players had flu

[ruchir]

ruchir, are you pissed off with dravid?

i think he's more pissed at sg and srt so dravid is not being spared 

Of all the failures in this loss, RDravid had to point at GG of all people, and say that his place was under scrutiny.

This is the crux of my statement. Read it any way you want. 

[dextrous]

ruchir, are you pissed off with dravid?

i think he's more pissed at sg and srt so dravid is not being spared 

Of all the failures in this loss, RDravid had to point at GG of all people, and say that his place was under scrutiny.

This is the crux of my statement. Read it any way you want. 

In that case...I believe you're a Gangulian now. 

[ruchir]

Interestingly, of the guys who fell sick (SRT, ZK, AA, YS, RPS), three flopped in the first ODI. Is this a coincidence?

3 out of 5 is not a coincidence . To be fair to performance measurement tools, if 11 had fallen sick, the statment should be read revised :

Interestingly, of the 11 guys who fell sick , 11 flopped in the first ODI. Is this a coincidence?

 

Some guys have strong immune system. They don't fall sick easily. 

[ruchir]

ruchir, are you pissed off with dravid?

i think he's more pissed at sg and srt so dravid is not being spared 

Of all the failures in this loss, RDravid had to point at GG of all people, and say that his place was under scrutiny.

This is the crux of my statement. Read it any way you want. 

In that case...I believe you're a Gangulian now. 

I would rather be slapped than abused like this. 

[dextrous]

ruchir, are you pissed off with dravid?

i think he's more pissed at sg and srt so dravid is not being spared 

Of all the failures in this loss, RDravid had to point at GG of all people, and say that his place was under scrutiny.

This is the crux of my statement. Read it any way you want. 

In that case...I believe you're a Gangulian now. 

I would rather be slapped than abused like this. 

tonight i shall make ek toast ruchir ke naam to celebrate his entry 

(this is what happens when you let ppl read things any way they want!)

[kban1]

I would rather be slapped than abused like this.   

I thought you enjoyed both. 

Now we know you have a preference ranking   

[Jai]

ruchir, are you pissed off with dravid?

i think he's more pissed at sg and srt so dravid is not being spared 

Of all the failures in this loss, RDravid had to point at GG of all people, and say that his place was under scrutiny.

This is the crux of my statement. Read it any way you want. 

In that case...I believe you're a Gangulian now. 

I would rather be slapped than abused like this. 

Point noted. *higiri is back. For this reason alone, Sanjubaba should be set free so that he can spread *higiri. Yeh Akshaye ki bas ki baat nahi.

[gouravk]

I think GG does not deserve to be anywhere close to the India team, nor the India A team. He might barely make the Delhi First X1. Under such circumstances, I blame RD for playing him, not so much for saying his spot is under scrutiny. Indeed it is a foolish captain who says his spot is under scrutiny. Any captain with some sense would have banished him into the wilderness long time ago.

[justforkix]

I wish GodK was the Chief Selector announcing the squad and taking Qs from the media. His one-liners would have left the media tearing the hair/clothes etc.   

[keep-it-cool]

Given the constraints,

SRT, SG, RD, YS spots cannot be under scrutiny - we know there is no way any of these guys will be dropped. The odd "rest" may happen.

KKD batted well.

GG is the only guy left - so, under scrutiny if five bowler option is taken.

[justforkix]

what about MSD after his quickfire 19(10^*)

[keep-it-cool]

what about MSD after his quickfire 19(10^*)

that would be something .. dropping the captain of the 20-20 WC team!!

[justforkix]

what about MSD after his quickfire 19(10^*)

that would be something .. dropping the captain of the 20-20 WC team!!

Nah !!! He will only be "rested" 

[gouravk]

Why is everyone forgetting that GG was a miserable failure in the ODIs against SA in Ireland too ? RDs comments would be based not just on one match but on his past few performances.

[keep-it-cool]

what about MSD after his quickfire 19(10^*)

that would be something .. dropping the captain of the 20-20 WC team!!

Nah !!! He will only be "rested" 

exactly .. so, his "spot" cannot be under scrutiny .. only his "fitness" / "tiredness"

[OldPal]

I think GG does not deserve to be anywhere close to the India team, nor the India A team. He might barely make the Delhi First X1. Under such circumstances, I blame RD for playing him, not so much for saying his spot is under scrutiny. Indeed it is a foolish captain who says his spot is under scrutiny. Any captain with some sense would have banished him into the wilderness long time ago.

If I could only get sainthood by seconding GOD.

Anyways i am a common man , thus i believe GG has talent to play and has shown it in domestic and side matches.. This guy can't just pick it up in international matche.. May be temperment .. but not really sure , what his issue is .

[gouravk]

Er .. yes ... GG is talented enough to play around the line of the incoming ball to get out lbw, to slash at the outgoing ball with no footwork to be caught behind and to hook anything remotely short into the waiting hands of the square leg fielder.

[OldPal]

Thats exactly  why he is in scheme of things at  international level from 2004 to 2007 in both forms of cricket , I may be lazy here(lloking into stats) but should have averaged around 30 (+) ( Bang stats included    )

[OldPal]

God is powerful and GG is out of team.
here is GG stats page ..

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/28763.html

[gouravk]

And an average of 32 including bangladesh is in your opinion good enuf to let a player hang around the team for 3 years ?