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[poondu]

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The English bowlers showed the ability to swing the ball at a lively pace

Monty Panesar was punished by the Central middle order


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Vadodara: Mohammad Kaif (64) sparkled with some fierce cutting and firm driving in front of the wicket, on a day when England Lions’ speed merchants generated pace and exhibited skill with the new and old ball to contain Central Zone to 238 for seven wickets in the Duleep Trophy league match at the Motibagh Palace Ground here on Sunday.

Handled cleverly by skipper Michael Yardy, the quartet in Graham Onions, Alan Richardson, Steve Kirby and Jonathan Trott showed the ability to swing the ball at a lively pace and work the seam to extract sufficient lift off the pitch.

They provided a glimpse at how well they are trained to operate on days when weather varies across the three sessions — from nippy early on to a mellow afternoon and harsh and dry heat towards close of play.

England Lions sustained a high quality performance on the field, completing 91 overs in time — a lesson for Indian first class teams that usually force a day’s play stretch by half an hour because of a lack of purpose and urgency.

Respect for rules


Though informed by the match referee B. Raghunath that the visitor would be penalised for slow over rates, the team showed respect for the Indian first class rules and managed to send down an extra over despite the four seamers bowling 63 overs and seven no balls.

Though the Central openers Fazal Faiz and Vineet Saxena began with a flurry of shots on either side of the wicket on a superb and fast outfield, the home team’s batsmen were not allowed to take command, except when Kaif was in the middle. Onions and Richardson — Liam Plunkett was left out — carried the bulk of the attack, bowling 41 overs between them.

Splendid exhibition


After the second new ball was claimed in the last ball of the 83rd over the two gave a splendid exhibition — Onions beat Harshad Rawle by sheer pace and length for an emphatic dismissal and Richardson removed Mahesh Rawat with extra bounce, the edge resulting in a high lob to Ed Joyce in the cordon. England Lions’ first breakthrough came in the 19th over when Kirby trapped Faiz leg-before. Wicketkeeper James Foster had an excellent outing with three catches, one of which ended Saxena’s three hour eight minute stay at the wicket to make 34.

The arrival of Kaif, who excelled in sure defence and brilliant strokeplay, saw the Central’s innings gain momentum. He rocked back to stroke the ball front of square and through mid-off and mid-wicket and was unafraid to hit in the air. Kaif lasted two and a half hours before he attempted a sweep that proved fatal against leg-spinner Adil Rashid — the ball turned almost square to peg back the middle stump.

Monty Panesar was punished by the Central middle order. Given the 48th over, Panesar did meet with success — in the form of Sanjay Bangar’s wicket — only after he had sent down 81 balls.

The scores: Central Zone — 1st innings: F. Faiz lbw b Kirby 37, V. Saxena c Foster b Richardson 34, J. Saxena c Foster b Onions 9, M. Kaif b Rashid 64, S. Bangar c Foster b Panesar 29, H. Rawle b Onions 27, M. Rawat c Joyce b Richardson 13, S. Sanyal (batting) 8, P. Gupta (batting) 4, Extras (lb-5, nb-8) 13; Total (for seven wkts. in 91 overs) 238.

Fall of wickets: 1-54, 2-70, 3-124, 4-179, 5-201, 6-223, 7-227.

England Lions bowling: Onions 21-6-71-2, Richardson 20-11-32-2, Kirby 11-3-34-1, Trott 11-2-30-0, Panesar 18-5-49-1, Rashid 10-3-17-1.

[caught and bowled]

He should have been captaining the ODI side right now, if not, atleast playing in it. So many youngsters have been taken in spite of having an ordinery domestic season. Why not go for this youngster with atleast tons of experience..

[LosingNow]

He should have been captaining the ODI side right now, if not, atleast playing in it. So many youngsters have been taken in spite of having an ordinery domestic season. Why not go for this youngster with atleast tons of experience..

His performance was ordinary over the season... recently he has done well. I am sure if he continues in this vain, he will be in the team for his overall ability to contribute.

[WicketView]

C&B, I think he did not deserve to be in the squad ahead of many of  the other youngsters who had deserved a place and not been discarded yet, definitely not as a surety which is necessary to captain the side. Maybe he will return after some of his recent scores. BTW, to those who are following his scores, does he outshine other good batsmen in games?

[Vick]

He should have been captaining the ODI side right now, if not, atleast playing in it. So many youngsters have been taken in spite of having an ordinery domestic season. Why not go for this youngster with atleast tons of experience..

His performance was ordinary over the season... recently he has done well. I am sure if he continues in this vain, he will be in the team for his overall ability to contribute.

While the start wasnt good he has done quite well after first couple of games. And now he is scoring heavily. But you cant blame selectors for picking guys who were ahead of Kaif.RS and RU has done well in whatever chance they have got, MT was unfortunate to not play because of injuries. Thats actually is a positive from selectors that they havent forgotten guys because of their injuries.

[Vick]

C&B, I think he did not deserve to be in the squad ahead of many of  the other youngsters who had deserved a place and not been discarded yet, definitely not as a surety which is necessary to captain the side. Maybe he will return after some of his recent scores. BTW, to those who are following his scores, does he outshine other good batsmen in games?

In later half of the season for sure. He did better than Raina in ranji and is top scorer for central in duleep. some of his knocks has come on tracks assisting pacers like ranji semi final and this one.

[gouravk]

He is a perect example of mindless waste of resources.

[keep-it-cool]

He should never have been dropped from the test squad at the time he was. Anyway, he seems to have found a bit of form and is playing good innings consistently. So, lets see how he goes from here. At least he is someone who will be noticed by the selectors, given his past experience.

[WicketView]

C&B, I think he did not deserve to be in the squad ahead of many of  the other youngsters who had deserved a place and not been discarded yet, definitely not as a surety which is necessary to captain the side. Maybe he will return after some of his recent scores. BTW, to those who are following his scores, does he outshine other good batsmen in games?

In later half of the season for sure. He did better than Raina in ranji and is top scorer for central in duleep. some of his knocks has come on tracks assisting pacers like ranji semi final and this one.

Thanks, nice to know he is outscoring Raina, who I also hope  is scoring well. Batting options are more competion is always good.

[keep-it-cool]

Raina had a wonderful innings in the Ranji finals .. I saw it on television .. which, I thought helped him get the nod. I was surprised to see his name ahead of Badri.

Btw .. in the match, Pankaj has taken his second wicket.

Silly Neo Sports has got it wrong .. they are showing the other match rather than the one with a stronger side playing.

[WicketView]

Raina had a wonderful innings in the Ranji finals .. I saw it on television .. which, I thought helped him get the nod. I was surprised to see his name ahead of Badri.

Btw .. in the match, Pankaj has taken his second wicket.

Silly Neo Sports has got it wrong .. they are showing the other match rather than the one with a stronger side playing.

Good ... very good. But lost you about Pankaj ... are you talking of the Pankaj playing for us in Australia  .... which match are you talking of?

[keep-it-cool]

Raina had a wonderful innings in the Ranji finals .. I saw it on television .. which, I thought helped him get the nod. I was surprised to see his name ahead of Badri.

Btw .. in the match, Pankaj has taken his second wicket.

Silly Neo Sports has got it wrong .. they are showing the other match rather than the one with a stronger side playing.

Good ... very good. But lost you about Pankaj ... are you talking of the Pankaj playing for us in Australia  .... which match are you talking of?

Pankaj Singh, who was in Australia for the tests, is playing this match.

I would rather have had him in the ODI squad in place of Munaf.

[keep-it-cool]

The two Pankajs - Sharma and Gupta - wreaking havoc .. England Lions at 120/7!!

[broadbat]

Badri out for 23. Done in by SS Paul.

[keep-it-cool]

Badri's figured out that the lower you score the better your chances of getting into the team!

Meanwhile, Pankaj Singh takes another .. four wickets now .. England Lions at 128/8

[broadbat]

I think Poondu ought to rename the topic and make it a Duleep Trophy match thread.

[keep-it-cool]

England Lions all out for 155. Pankaj Singh ends with four wickets.

[keep-it-cool]

Central Zone lose two wickets to be 23/2 at close. Have a healthy 138 runs lead with 8 wickets in hand.

[broadbat]

Onion's peeling Central Zone. 4 down now.

[OldPal]

this pitch seems to be graveyard for batsmen with low scoring game

[Zacked]

CZ 97/5 Kaif battling it out... unbeaten on 32

[pzd]

kaif topscores with 42, however central is 145/7 with only 261 ahead.

[Vick]

kaif topscores with 42, however central is 145/7 with only 261 ahead.

thats a winning total.

[keep-it-cool]

At least in the SZ v/s EZ game there seems to be nothing really wrong with the pitch.

[LosingNow]

Is SA playing ODIs at home during their tour.. if yes and if MK continues like this.. he may get a recall.

[keep-it-cool]

I dont think there are any ODIs ... we would be going into the IPL after the test series.

In any case, I fail to see where Kaif will come in for the ODIs. Tiwary was anyway a stand by for Yuvraj and is the 17th member of the squad.

Unless Sharma and Raina fail miserably or a few go down to injuries, it is difficult to see an immediate comeback.

[LosingNow]

I dont think there are any ODIs ... we would be going into the IPL after the test series.

In any case, I fail to see where Kaif will come in for the ODIs. Tiwary was anyway a stand by for Yuvraj and is the 17th member of the squad.

Unless Sharma and Raina fail miserably or a few go down to injuries, it is difficult to see an immediate comeback.

You are right..the chances are low.. maybe some wishful thinking on my part

[keep-it-cool]

I dont think there are any ODIs ... we would be going into the IPL after the test series.

In any case, I fail to see where Kaif will come in for the ODIs. Tiwary was anyway a stand by for Yuvraj and is the 17th member of the squad.

Unless Sharma and Raina fail miserably or a few go down to injuries, it is difficult to see an immediate comeback.

You are right..the chances are low.. maybe some wishful thinking on my part

He should be in the mix for the test side. Maybe after Yuvraj and Badri.

[keep-it-cool]

England Lions chasing 296 for a victory... 34/1

[broadbat]

Possible victory chance for South Zone.

[keep-it-cool]

England Lions now going well at 77/1

South Zone also doing well at 51/1 .. skipper Badri coming in at 3 to anchor the chase.

Two good contests out there. Good to see matches going beyond the first innings leads.

[keep-it-cool]

Both chases progressing well. Lions are favourites to win and SZ should also count themselves as favourites atleast till Badri stays there (unbeaten on 40 odd).

[justforkix]

I dont think there are any ODIs ... we would be going into the IPL after the test series.

In any case, I fail to see where Kaif will come in for the ODIs. Tiwary was anyway a stand by for Yuvraj and is the 17th member of the squad.

Unless Sharma and Raina fail miserably or a few go down to injuries, it is difficult to see an immediate comeback.

You are right..the chances are low.. maybe some wishful thinking on my part

He should be in the mix for the test side. Maybe after Yuvraj and Badri.

Maybe Kaif comes in for Sachin later this year when he is "retired" from ODIs 

[keep-it-cool]

I dont think there are any ODIs ... we would be going into the IPL after the test series.

In any case, I fail to see where Kaif will come in for the ODIs. Tiwary was anyway a stand by for Yuvraj and is the 17th member of the squad.

Unless Sharma and Raina fail miserably or a few go down to injuries, it is difficult to see an immediate comeback.

You are right..the chances are low.. maybe some wishful thinking on my part

He should be in the mix for the test side. Maybe after Yuvraj and Badri.

Maybe Kaif comes in for Sachin later this year when he is "retired" from ODIs 

Maybe you should start the "minus sachin" tracker for this series

[Cover Point]

I dont think there are any ODIs ... we would be going into the IPL after the test series.

In any case, I fail to see where Kaif will come in for the ODIs. Tiwary was anyway a stand by for Yuvraj and is the 17th member of the squad.

Unless Sharma and Raina fail miserably or a few go down to injuries, it is difficult to see an immediate comeback.

You are right..the chances are low.. maybe some wishful thinking on my part

As much as I like Kaif ... real good attitude and was fielding much much better than Yuvi.... why are we so desperate to get Yuvi in to the team? He got a long long time with the team to solidify his spot and did not. Granted he got most of his chances at #7 .... but still the number of innings was very high.

It is only natural that now he has to compete against all the youngsters that are now ahead of him. Infact I would look at Badri (knocking harder than a Chevy's engine) before I look at no stroke Kaif. (Now if we are looking at Katrina Kaif ... its a different story)

[justforkix]

I dont think there are any ODIs ... we would be going into the IPL after the test series.

In any case, I fail to see where Kaif will come in for the ODIs. Tiwary was anyway a stand by for Yuvraj and is the 17th member of the squad.

Unless Sharma and Raina fail miserably or a few go down to injuries, it is difficult to see an immediate comeback.

You are right..the chances are low.. maybe some wishful thinking on my part

As much as I like Kaif ... real good attitude and was fielding much much better than Yuvi.... why are we so desperate to get Yuvi in to the team? He got a long long time with the team to solidify his spot and did not. Granted he got most of his chances at #7 .... but still the number of innings was very high.

It is only natural that now he has to compete against all the youngsters that are now ahead of him. Infact I would look at Badri (knocking harder than a Chevy's engine) before I look at no stroke Kaif. (Now if we are looking at Katrina Kaif ... its a different story)

Errrr, for s simple reason that he's averaging ~60 this season..... and among the top 3 batters in domestics this season.

[Cover Point]

I dont think there are any ODIs ... we would be going into the IPL after the test series.

In any case, I fail to see where Kaif will come in for the ODIs. Tiwary was anyway a stand by for Yuvraj and is the 17th member of the squad.

Unless Sharma and Raina fail miserably or a few go down to injuries, it is difficult to see an immediate comeback.

You are right..the chances are low.. maybe some wishful thinking on my part

As much as I like Kaif ... real good attitude and was fielding much much better than Yuvi.... why are we so desperate to get Yuvi in to the team? He got a long long time with the team to solidify his spot and did not. Granted he got most of his chances at #7 .... but still the number of innings was very high.

It is only natural that now he has to compete against all the youngsters that are now ahead of him. Infact I would look at Badri (knocking harder than a Chevy's engine) before I look at no stroke Kaif. (Now if we are looking at Katrina Kaif ... its a different story)

Errrr, for s simple reason that he's averaging ~60 this season..... and among the top 3 batters in domestics this season.
/quote]

but did he have badri's consistency over the last couple of years?

[justforkix]

Your post that now he has to compete with the youngsters seems to imply he does not have the scores to back up his claim for selection.  Hence, my reply that he's averaging close to 60 and is among the top 3-4 batters in terms of average this season.

[keep-it-cool]

This logic of Badri over Yuvraj is a bit strange. The latter failed in 4 innings in Australia. Happens to the best of batsmen - RD's average on his first outing was around 15, if I am not mistaken. Similarly, had Australia followed this principle, Ponting would have been dropped post the India series in 2001. The same logic applies to Jaffer as well.

It is almost as if Badri was lucky not to be a part of the Aussie tour.

[keep-it-cool]

Pankaj Singh strikes early to provide some hope for Central Zone ..but England Lions still favourties to pull it off.

Badri gets to fifty as SZ continues to inch towards a come from behind win.