England-India test series preview

• 2000th match in history of test cricket
• 100th test match between India and England
• 1st test in a new series between the No.1 and No.3 in ICC Rankings
• Sachin Tendulkar on 99 in the number of centuries (tests + ODIs)
• Sachin with a sub-40 highest score at Lords

It does not get any bigger than this as a build-up to the test series that starts this Thursday. The return of Sachin, Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth to the test squad will add strength to the Indian team. The English team is looking at the pinnacle of the ICC rankings by toppling the Indian team. 

The Indian team did not get good practice on English soil in the single warm-up match last week. The last time they toured, they played the ODI tri-series and two warm-up matches (one of them had Strauss in the line-up) before the first test. Obviously, the result of the series was 1-0 in favor of the Indians. This time, it is just one match against Somerset to adapt to the conditions. The English pitches typically suit the batsmen on a normal sunny day but change their stripes rapidly after a passing shower. This is where the Indian team has to be careful about. The English bowlers could not dislodge the Sri Lankan batsmen mostly during the three test series except for a bizarre session when the Lankans collapsed.

Players to look for will be Alistair Cook and Ian Bell from the English batting line-up. Andy Strauss and Kevin Pietersen will be under pressure thanks to their recent failures. Similarly, Rahul Dravid and Suresh Raina will be on the spotlight after their successes in the Caribbean islands. 

On the bowling front, Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma can support Zaheer Khan in driving the advantage towards India. Harbhajan's lack of form will be worrying but after his 400-wicket landmark, he will be itching to go flat out. How much Greame Swann can trouble the batsmen will be key to the English bowling attack when the ball does not do much. The tall bowlers will be looking for the pitch to help their height and swing but will the pitches help?

Shane Warne thinks England will win 1-0 but I feel that there is a high chance of a drawn series. 

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• India tour starts in England later this week (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• WI-India 1st test - India win the series 1-0 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Ashes series - England go 1-0 up

Scene at the Adelaide Oval soon after the match ended

The Australian team lost the second test match today - the innings wrapping up in double quick time, especially after Hussey got out to an ill-advised pull. Greame Swann took this opportunity to cut through the tail-enders.

Stuart Broad and Simon Katich will no longer play in this test series - the Aussies will miss the player more than the English team.

Ricky Ponting must be feeling the heat from his supporters and frankly, all the planning he can conjure up over the next ten days is of no use if he cannot get his bowlers to take wickets. After the first innings of the first test, the bowlers have not been able to bowl to the lower order batsmen at all.

Can the selectors bring back Shaun Tait to the team for the Perth test - his extra speed will surely help give an edge to the Oz team. Or are they desperate enough to call back Brett Lee? More than the bowlers, the batsmen will have to pull up their socks and perform in the next three tests. The team-morale needs to be improved upon, for they would have taken a big beating in this match. How will the team management deal with this, will determine the fate of this series.

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• Kevin Pietersen: We'll have the Ashes by Christmas (independent.co.uk)

Ashes series - starting soon

Image via WikipediaThe Ashes is definitely the most-anticipated series across the world - the amount of articles written about it are numerous. Being an Indian, I feel that the India-Australia or the India-Pakistan series are even more liked but that is probably restricted to the Indian sub-continent. 



Interviews are happening with almost every English player active in the cricketing circles. There are a number of people who believe that England has a chance to retain their urn while some more think that the Aussies will be able to repeat the performance of the last Ashes in Australia (which they won 5-0). The TV crews are all over the place in Australia while the English at home are following the action very closely.

The English team has started the warm-up matches in right earnest - the Indians must take a leaf out of their English counterparts - by starting the tour almost three weeks earlier and getting used to the ball, bounce, pitches in Australia. One can only laud the ECB for their planning. Will Andy Flower succeed where his predecessors failed?

The teams are evenly matched at this time - probably, the spin bowling department is one where Swann scores higher than Hauritz. The spectators must be hoping for the lead batsmen (Kevin Pietersen and Ricky Ponting) to return to form.

England has not done so well to call themselves the favorite for the series but try telling that to their supporters. The Aussies have slipped from the heights of their achievements but on their soil, they are still a mighty force to reckon with. They lost the test series against South Africa but this series should see them straining every sinew to bring back the urn. 

I feel that the series will be closely fought but still rate the Aussies as favorite to win the Ashes back. 

The great performance that I feel has happened even before the series has started has been (yes, on for the last 14 months) by a person who has been cycling for more than 25000 kms from Lords to Brisbane - really superb feat by this great person - HATS OFF!!!

Related articles

• Ashes 2010: Greg Chappell in favour of spinner for Gabba (panasianbiz.com)
• Swann will have Aussies reeling: Botham (news.theage.com.au)
• The Ashes 2010: Ricky Ponting will quit Australia captaincy if he loses, says Michael Vaughan (telegraph.co.uk)