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S SPORTS Friday, 1 March, 2013
spin formula india’s best bet
CHENNAI aGeNCIeS
A string of injuries to their fast bowlers means spin is India's only chance at victory; a lack of quality spinning options means acutely crumbling tracks are the need of the hour. An American football coach once had the basic principle of sports writing explained to him by a reporter: "When you lose, we make fun of you. When you win, we make fun of the other guy." Much fun, therefore, is being made of Australia's bloopers in the Chennai Test and India are spared the pincushion treatment for now. They would hope the respite lasts for another few months at least. Victory in the Chennai Test has brought relief rather than fist-pumping 'payback' celebration. Three Tests and three months of introspection lay between India's last Test victory in Ahmedabad against England and the Chennai Test. This was a victory they needed as much as they wanted. It was eked out through a fairly simple formula, one that India hopes will keep working through the rest of the series. Chennai was dusted and done, in that order, 90 minutes into day five. After MS Dhoni's brutal double-century on Sunday, the Indian spinners brought their brand of business into play on day four. R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Ravinder Jadeja ran through the Australian batting on a track that spat, bit and either leapt with venom or sizzled with zip.
I’ve played quite a bit of one-day and Twenty20 cricket here and in those matches, it's as close as you get to the Gabba around the world. – Shane Watson
de villiers way of ‘dangerous’ Pakistan
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SPORTS DESK
OUTH Africa batsman AB de Villiers is expecting a different Pakistan to the one that folded meekly in the Test series when the teams meet in the first of two Twenty20 internationals in Durban. The Proteas completed a clean sweep of the three-Test series with an innings victory on Sunday but Pakistan have shown much better form in the shortest form of the game and beat South Africa the only other time the teams have met at the ICC World Twenty20 last year. "I have seen the names in their T20 squad and there are some serious cricketers out there. We are playing in our home conditions so we have some confidence from that but they are a dangerous side," De Villiers said on www.cricket.co.za. "They don't only have world-class players but they have experience as well. They have won World Cups before. They are a really good team and I think they will be a good challenge for us." All eyes will be on South African seamer Kyle Abbott after his stunning debut in the final Test, where he took nine wickets and was named man of the match. The Proteas squad is short on star names, with Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla all absent, while Henry Davids, Aaron Phangiso, Chris Morris and Quinton de Kock are given another chance after making their Twenty20 debuts against New Zealand in December.
De Villiers will keep wicket, and he said: "It is a nice way of giving youngsters a chance to perform and to showcase their talent. "I definitely see why we are doing that, there are so many youngsters that have come through that have won games for their domestic teams on a regular
basis. The squad we have now will not change too much over the next 12 months. If we play a lot of cricket together the results will start to show." De Villiers was named man of the series over the three Tests but has struggled to replicate that form in Twenty20s and stood down as captain for
that reason. "I still haven't found my rhythm in T20 cricket for South Africa," he said. "I feel we haven't played a lot, so it's difficult to find your way when we play one or two matches in a series then three or four months down the line you play another one."
I missed bowling in Chennai: Watson CHENNAI aGeNCIeS
As India's batsmen piled on runs in Chennai, Watson was itching to take the ball confirming in his mind that giving up bowling wouldn't be a permanent move. If Shane Watson's commitment to playing as a batsman only on this tour was ever going to be tested, standing in the field for 154.3 overs during India's the first innings in Chennai was the time. As the runs piled up for India and Australia's attack struggled for impact they missed Watson's bowling, and Watson missed being part of it. But he said while the possibility of bowling later on the tour had crossed his mind, he knew that for the sake of his fitness and form, he had to stick to his plan. Over the past few years in Test cricket, Watson has had a happy knack of breaking partnerships and an unhappy habit of
breaking down. His most recent injury, the problem with his left calf that ruled him out of the third Test against Sri Lanka in January and the one-day series that followed, prompted him to declare that he would give up bowling for the Test tour of India to concentrate on his batting, and on stringing together as much cricket as he could. Having missed the whole of the previous Australian Test summer due to calf and hamstring injuries, and then the Brisbane and Adelaide Tests against South Africa, Watson decided his best option was to temporarily give up bowling. As India's batsmen put on a series of frustrating partnerships in Chennai, Watson was itching to take the ball and he said the experience had confirmed in his mind that giving up bowling would not be a permanent move. "That was a time that reaffirmed to me that I do want to bowl," Watson said.
Give young bowlers time to settle: Sohail Tanvir SPORTS DESK Pakistan's 3-0 mauling at the hands of the world's number one Test team South Africa, does not make for easy reading. The manner of Pakistan's defeat has left many a mental scar on the psyche of Pakistani players and it's supporters. However a Pakistani cricketer who is enjoying individual success in South Africa is Sohail Tanvir who is proving to be an integral part of the as yet unbeaten Highveld Lions squad in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge. Tanvir has played 28 T20Is, taking 23 wickets at an average of 29. In his last outing in national colours against Pakistan's arch rival India, Tanvir's figures read a dismal 4 overs for 44 runs. He was subsequently not considered for the Pakistani team's tour to South Africa but has been participating in the ongoing Ram Slam T20 tournament. The Lions have maintained a 100% record after four games and remain one of the favourites to lift the trophy. Tanvir's Pakistani colleague's struggles with the bat against South Africa in the recently-concluded Test series have largely been
attributed to the exceptionally quick and bouncy local pitches but Tanvir believes that the pitches have eased since the early season "Actually we're currently nearing the end of the South African season so the pitches are a bit dry, so batting has become easier. Earlier on in the season, as we know, it's quite difficult for the batsmen." Tanvir's visit to India with the Pakistani team at the end of 2012 could at best be classed as below par however, his recent form for the Lions in the Ram Slam has been excellent and he has picked up 6 wickets from his four matches at an average of 16.33. He is understandably disappointed at not being part of the Pakistan squad in South Africa and added "It's always disappointing to be dropped, especially as I felt I had the experience on the South African wickets and in these conditions so yes it is disappointing, however I am currently playing cricket, I will continue to perform. I'm performing well at the moment and am the second highest wicket taker here, so I will keep working hard and performing in order to make a comeback. It's hard knowing that the
team is playing here in South Africa yet I'm not part of it. That's difficult for any player, but it's part and parcel of the game. You have to look forward rather than back." Despite his omission from the limited overs squad for the South African tour, Tanvir has his sights set for participation in the Champions Trophy and believes his experience of conditions in South Africa will stand him in good stead "The conditions in England are similar to those here in South Africa, they support seam and swing bowlers like myself. I will get the same amount of support there so I'm very hopeful of making a comeback in the Champions Trophy. These decisions are made by the team management and the selectors, my job is to keep working on my form and fitness and continue to perform. Let's see what decision they take." Despite Pakistan's dismal showing in the Test series, Tanvir has high hopes for his former team mates as they prepare to take on the host nation in a 2 match T20 series which begins on 1st of March "I've taken part in net sessions with the Pakistan team here in South Africa and I feel that Pakistan's ODI and T20 team is
quite strong, and I expect them to play competitive cricket in the limited overs series. I don't expect to see one-sided games and whichever team wins will have to work very hard to defeat the opponent." Tanvir also had some words of encouragement for Pakistan's rookie fast bowlers as he felt that they need all the support in the initial stages of their careers but he also singled out Junaid Khan as one who could have made a difference had his fitness not been an issue "They're all new and in the learning process. I think it cost Pakistan a lot when Junaid Khan became unfit as he was the perfect bowler for those conditions. He has the ability to swing the ball both ways, and here you need a swing bowler more than a pace bowler. Had Junaid been fit, perhaps the result of the 2nd Test would have been different as he could have supported Saeed Ajmal from one end. I don't think we should criticise anyone so quickly, international cricket is not easy, especially when you are playing against the world's number one team. We have to give the young bowlers time, let them settle into the international arena."