India In England 2011 Test Series Preview By Babar Naveed

Did you write this BoomBoom786? Very nice

I think he did Moiz, where are your reports? You still writing them?

I am but I'll only submit the Pakistan ones here InshaAllah.

England THRASH India by 196 runs in the first test!

England have scored over 400 runs today. Lead is 370...England surely on their way to victory?

See, it is still to his credit that he has put his team on top of world rankings and also won them the world cup.

Well the 100th 100 is still elusive, however it would be befitting if he were to get that hundred in a lost cause. Indians won't mind it though. They have this penchant for records, and for 90% of the indians, Tendu century is worth more then a mere Test Win or even draw..

Bring on Amit Mishra, says former Pak leggie Mushtaq Mohammad

Edgbaston-based Former Pak leggie Mushtaq Mohammad says Amit Mishra should be in Playing XI after injuries force Bhajji and Yuvi out for remainder of Test series

Who said things couldn't get worse for the Indian cricket team on the injury front?

Yesterday, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh were ruled out for the rest of the four-Test series in England through abdominal and hand injuries respectively.

India's litany of woes continue after Virender Sehwag was ruled out for the initial part of the tour due to a shoulder operation. Not long after the Lord's Test started, Zaheer Khan pulled a hamstring and has yet to return to the field. In the second Test at Trent Bridge which came after the 196-run caning at Lord's, Gautam Gambhir could not be fit enough to be in the playing XI due to an injury suffered on his elbow in the latter half of the Lord's Test.

Has India had a more frustrating recent tour is a question which will not get many affirmative responses. Down (2-0) and out they probably are.

The BCCI announced that replacements, batsman Virat Kohli and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, but in all probability Amit Mishra, despite not hitting the high notes in the warm-up game against Somerset, will get the nod.

Former Pakistan captain Mushtaq Mohammad, a leg-spinner himself, told MiD DAY yesterday from his home in Birmingham that a leg-spinner would be ideal as against playing an off-spinner. "You have got to give Mishra a chance now. He is fresh and hungry to do well. The leggie will be good against the English fellas rather than the offie," said Mushtaq, who spoke to MiD DAY before the news of Harbhajan's absence was made official.

Yuvraj fractured his left index finger on Day Four at Nottingham while tackling a bouncer from Tim Bresnan. In the end, finally, another bouncer from the Yorkshireman dismissed him.

Harbhajan's Grade I abdominal muscle strain means he cannot play his 100th Test at the Oval.

Mushtaq watched the Lord's Test with his younger brother Sadiq and followed the Nottingham Test on television. "India's bowlers look tired. They have played too much cricket... unimportant cricket with the Indian Premier League and all that. The human body can take only so much. I can understand that the boys are playing IPL because of the money, but then, if you want to play for your country, you have to be 100 per cent fit. The Indian cricketers looked tired -- physically and mentally," said the 67-year-old former all-rounder, who played for Northamptonshire, the team Mahendra Singh Dhoni & Co have to tackle in a two-day fixture here tomorrow.

Mushtaq added: "The bowlers fared well in the initial stages of both Tests, but they couldn't continue in that vein because they got tired. The batsmen did not respond to the challenge too. Rahul Dravid is among the runs, but Sachin Tendulkar doesn't look in good form. He must fire now. India must put 400 plus runs in the first innings of the Edgbaston match to have any sort of grip on this England team. India should bat first considering their world-class batting order.

"While the fast bowlers appear fatigued, Harbhajan looked uninterested. There are a lot of things wrong, but it boils down to too much cricket before coming to England."

Bring on Amit Mishra, says former Pak leggie Mushtaq Mohammad

'Can't blame spinner if the batsmen don't score'

Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has defended Indian spinners, saying their criticism is harsh when the conditions are against them. “What can the spinner do when the batsmen have failed to put runs on the board,” asked Saqlain, who spent time with under fire Harbhajan Singh on the sidelines of the Northampton tour game before the bowler pulled out of the series with an abdominal injury.

Saqlain, who took 208 wickets in 49 Tests and was a huge success in county cricket, is now settled in Leicester.

Excerpts from an interview:

Spinners don’t seem to have a role to play on this tour?
A: The conditions have not been ideal for spinners. For the last few seasons at Trent Bridge, spinners’ turn to bowl hasn’t come. It takes four to five overs for the fingers to warm up. In a Test if he bowls 10-15 overs, how do you expect him to take five wickets? And without runs on the board he will only be thinking of bowling dot balls.

What is the key to bowling here?
A: You get more bounce here than the subcontinent. But you have to be more patient here. I have taken wickets here but I have bowled on an average 25 to 30 overs. Even when Warne has got wickets here he has bowled a lot of overs. Here the spinner has to use his brain. It is like you spread the net to catch fish. You have to gamble and you need strength in your arms.

What is your prediction for Mishra, at Edgbaston and The Oval?
A: At the Oval and here (Edgbaston), spinners will come into play. Whenever I have played at Birmingham, I have got help from the wicket. It is a perfect situation for Mishra as no one is expecting anything for him. He will be able to bowl freely. But if Indian batsmen put runs on the board then he will be a different bowler.

Pietersen and Prior have hurt Harbhajan. How does one bowl to them?A: Pietersen is an attacking batsman. If you bowl dot balls to him and play on his patience, keep him off strike for long spells, then he will take risks. It is a cat and mouse game. You will have to figure out which side to attack him. Prior too is an attacking player. I have always blocked him on one side. He doesn’t mind playing with the spin and against the spin.

You had a meeting with Harbhajan last week?
A: He was on the verge of 100 Tests. He was a bit upset to get injured when it was time to play matches where conditions would have suited the spinners more. The criticism of Harbhajan has been unfair. Swann hasn’t done well either but no one is talking about him. He was bowling on the first day at Lord’s when conditions suited the fast bowlers and you are blaming Harbhajan. Not one, two or three years, he has done well for 12 years. The difference is their batsmen have got runs, yours haven’t. There is a negative sort of attitude against Harbhajan. With Murali, Warne and Kumble retired, for me, he is the No 1 spinner in the world. It is important not to confuse him.

What will be your advice to Harbhajan?
A: He should ignore everything that is being said about him and enjoy his cricket. He doesn’t need to think or do anything differently. His lack of success here had a lot of reasons beyond him, the pitches, the conditions, his injury, the lack of runs on the board. For example: ‘If the match is at the Oval, the Sun is out and the pitch is dry, Yeh unko udake rakh dega (he would blow away the England line-up).

'Can't blame spinner if the batsmen don't score' - Hindustan Times

Talk about whooping lads, check out the England score! 700 plus and just declared! Cook falls six short of a triple ton!

Lol juggernaut thanks for the warning! It goes from bad to worse for India, Sehwags overhyped return results in a KING PAIR!

BCCI responsible for Indian team's debacle in England: Mushtaq Mohammed

KARACHI: Former Pakistan Test captain Mushtaq Mohammad has blamed the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) for the debacle of the Indian team in England where it has lost the Test series and its number one ranking.

"The BCCI is very much responsible for poor planning of this tour. They thought their cricketers were machines and are being treated like machines. They (the players) can't play day in day out, they are human beings and they do get tired both physically and mentally and they do need rest," Mushtaq said

The 67-year-old had no doubt that the Indian players look tired in the ongoing tour.

"I have watched India play in all the matches so far and what I have found is that they look tired. It is not only surprising but very disappointing too.

"You got to have enthusiasm to compete in any kind of competition. Mentally and physically, they are very tired and it is showing on their faces and bodies. You can tell a lot by how a player thinks and reacts to different situations, but due to tiredness they have no answer to England," he said.

Mushtaq also said that the Indian bowlers, in particular, looked worn-out with a lack of backup options.

"The bowlers looks as if they have over-bowled. From the series in the West Indies, they came straight to England and went on to play the four-match Test series without any preparation."

The former cricketer said that the Indian batsmen were not given an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the tough English playing conditions.

"Indian batsmen never had a chance to settle down and score runs. They only played one three-day warm-up game and straight away went on to play the Test series. This is one of the reasons why the Indian batting has failed.

"For any major series such as this one, if you do not have proper preparation, it is bound to come back to hurt you and this is exactly what has happened," Mushtaq said.

Stating that he was surprised to see India's famed batting line-up, which has got the reputation of 'the best in the world' has failed to reach 300 in any innings so far, Mushtaq said, "They must realise that Test cricket is very tough and it's not over in a day and you have to survive and battle for five days. One of the best batting line-ups in the world has failed miserably and disappointed all their fans and supporters."

Mushtaq, who has played 57 Tests and 10 one-dayers, also blamed the Indian players for giving competitions like IPL more preference than playing for the country.

"I also blame the players for running after the money in the IPL. They had put their body through all kind of strain and pain and didn't think about the tour of England, which was a very important tour. I hope they learn their lesson that too much IPL and unnecessary cricket spoils the ranking of the team," he said.

BCCI responsible for Indian team's debacle in England: Mushtaq - Times Of India

Ouch Tendulker out on 91! This was his chance to get that 100th hundred!!!!

Still a chance for ANOTHER innings victory!

India have been whitewashed 4-0!
Another innings defeat!!!!