The New Zealand captain retained the Player-of-the-Year award and the Winsor Cup for first-class bowling, and also won the Walter Hadlee trophy for being the best ODI bowler

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2010

Winners at NZC awards 09-10

• Player of the Year – Daniel Vettori

• Walter Hadlee Trophy – Best batting in ODIs – Brendon McCullum

• Walter Hadlee Trophy – Best bowling in ODIs – Daniel Vettori

• JR Reid Best All Rounder Trophy – Brendon McCullum

• Redpath Cup – Best batting in first-class cricket – Ross Taylor

• Winsor Cup – Best bowling in first class-cricket – Daniel Vettori

• Domestic Player of the Year – men – Michael Bates

• Domestic Player of the Year – women – Nicola Browne

• The Phyl Blackler Cup – Best bowling in women’s cricket – Nicola Browne

• The Ruth Martin Cup – Best batting in women’s cricket – Suzie Bates

• Young Player of the Year – Matthew Rowe

• The Bert Sutcliffe Medal – for outstanding services to cricket – Martin Horton

• Sir Jack Newman Award – outstanding junior cricket administrator – John Grocott

• Fans Choice for Outstanding Individual Performance – Brendon McCullum

Daniel Vettori has won three of New Zealand Cricket’s major awards for the 2009-10 season: he retained the Player-of-the-Year award and the Winsor Cup for first-class bowling, and also won the Walter Hadlee trophy for being the best ODI bowler.”Daniel is and has been a consistently excellent performer for New Zealand over a long period and his fourth National Bank Player-of-the-Year award is a reflection of his hard work and dedication,” NZC chief executive, Justin Vaughan, said. “He has been a force in all forms of the game, and you just have to look at the ICC rankings for confirmation with Daniel ranked as the top ODI bowler, second ranked Test allrounder and fourth highest Twenty20 wicket-taker.”Vettori won the accolade of New Zealand’s top cricketer for the fourth time in six years. During the period of adjudication, he scored 742 runs in Tests at an average of 49.46, 398 at 30.60 in ODIs and 120 Twenty20 runs at 24. He also took 32 Test wickets at 36.75 each, 27 ODI wickets at 20.29 and 10 wickets at 22.80 in Twenty20 internationals.Vettori apart, Brendon McCullum also picked up a couple of awards – the Walter Hadlee Trophy for best ODI batting, because his performances in the UAE helped New Zealand achieve their first away series win against Pakistan, and the John Reid Best Allrounder Trophy for his batting and wicketkeeping. During the period under consideration, McCullum made three centuries and took 55 catches in all forms of the game.Ross Taylor claimed the Redpath Cup for his batting performances in first-class cricket. In 2009-10, he scored 1078 in 11 matches at an average of 53.90 and also set a national record for fastest century by scoring one off 81 balls against Australia.The awards for best bowler and batsman in New Zealand women’s cricket, the Phyl Blacker Cup and the Ruth Martin Cup, went to Nicola Browne and Suzie Bates. Browne took 16 Twenty20 and nine one-day international wickets and was the Player of the Women’s World Twenty20. Bates scored 185 runs in ODIs and 230 in Twenty20s. She was the Player of the Series on the recent tour of England.Browne was also the women’s domestic Player of the Year, top scoring in both List A and Twenty20 domestic games with 474 and 150 runs for Northern Spirit. She also took 16 one-day and five Twenty20 wickets.Auckland’s Michael Bates was the domestic Player of the Year in the men’s category, taking 37 wickets in the Plunket Shield, 14 in one-dayers, and 15 in the HRV Cup.

Torrential rain and a crucial ninth-wicket stand between Jim Allenby and Dean Cosker stalled Surrey’s progress on day three of the County Championship encounter with Glamorgan at the Brit Oval

09-Sep-2010
ScorecardStuart Meaker picked up 5 for 97 but Glamorgan avoided the follow-on•Getty Images

Torrential rain and a crucial ninth-wicket stand between Jim Allenby and Dean Cosker stalled Surrey’s progress on day three of the County Championship encounter with Glamorgan at the Brit Oval.Glamorgan had just scraped past the follow-on target of 231 when the heavens opened shortly before 2pm, and although the ground was bathed in sunshine after the rain relented, it was not possible resume until 5pm.When play did get under way again Allenby (65*) brought up his fifty in 80 deliveries and, in alliance with Huw Waters (16*), safely negotiated the remaining twenty overs, trimming Surrey’s lead to 107 as Glamorgan closed on 273 for 9.That Surrey even entertained the prospect of enforcing the follow-on prior to the rain delay was due to a superb exhibition of seam bowling from Stuart Meaker, who ended the day with 5 for 97, and Chris Tremlett, who chipped in with 3 for 53.Tremlett picked up the wicket of Ben Wright with his first delivery, caught at third slip. Seven overs later, Meaker accounted for Jamie Dalrymple, who provided Gareth Batty with the first of three catches. But Tom Maynard and Allenby put the home side on the back foot with an intelligent fifth-wicket stand that harvested 87 in 20 overs.Maynard, playing adeptly square of the wicket, hit a 79-ball half-century – his third championship fifty in six innings – which included nine fours. But having been 184 for 4 with five minutes to go before lunch, Glamorgan went into the break six men down.Maynard was caught at first slip for 61 of Meaker, while five balls later, Chris Schofield got one to skid on to leave Mark Wallace’s middle stump lying on the ground. Glamorgan’s ill-fortune continued after the break when James Harris was adjudged leg before.When Meaker had Robert Croft caught down the leg-side, to record his second five-wicket haul of the season, the visitors looked destined to follow-on. But thanks to a belligerent 33-run ninth-wicket alliance between Allenby and Cosker, Surrey’s hopes of sticking the visitors in again were thwarted.The follow-on was averted when, in the 60th over, Cosker stole a quick single off Meaker. Cosker departed in the very next over, but having achieved his team’s objective.

Shane Warne has angrily rejected the tactics of Ricky Ponting for Nathan Hauritz on the final day of the second Test via a short blast on Twitter

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2010Shane Warne has angrily rejected the tactics of Ricky Ponting for Nathan Hauritz on the final day of the second Test via a short blast on Twitter. As Hauritz was hit for 22 from his opening two overs, Warne backed up the struggling offspinner.”How the hell can hauritz bowl to this field??” Warne tweeted. “Feeling for hauritz , terrible!! What are these tactics? Sorry Ricky but what are you doing.”At times Hauritz had a field with a deep point, long-on and long-off, while also having a slip, short-leg and leg slip. In his first over Hauritz went for 12, with Cheteshwar Pujara off-driving two boundaries, and there was a cover drive to the boundary from M Vijay in the second.”With the wicket up and down and spinning big, tactics and backing bowler [are] crucial,” an earlier tweet said. “Pressure on Ponting and Australian bowlers.”Ponting and Hauritz have had differences of opinion over how he should bowl during the series and the offspinner has struggled for impact. In the first Test he returned 3 for 161 and in the opening innings of this match managed 2 for 153.

ITV are understood to be close to signing a deal with Cricket Australia to show daily highlights of England’s Ashes campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2010ITV are understood to be close to signing a deal with Cricket Australia to show daily highlights of England’s Ashes campaign, as they aim to build on a successful first foray into the cricket market following their exclusive UK coverage of this year’s Indian Premier League.According to The Guardian, no deal has yet been signed, although talks are believed to be at an advanced stage with IMG (who handle the Australian board’s TV rights) for a 60-minute highlights package on ITV4 at 10pm on each day of the five-Test series, which gets underway at Brisbane on November 25.The ITV digital channel, which is available on Freeview in the UK, has never yet broadcast Test cricket. However, it did attract audiences of more than 500,000 for some matches of this year’s IPL. In addition, the channel would show highlights of England’s seven one-day and two Twenty20 internationals against Australia in January and February.Sky Sports has exclusive UK live TV rights to all matches of England’s tour of Australia, and if the deal goes ahead, the ITV4 highlights would be broadcast shortly before Sky’s live coverage of the following day’s play gets underway. ITV has so far declined to comment.

Brendon McCullum has been ruled out of the rest of the HRV Cup due to a back injury that could affect his participation for the early part of the Pakistan series

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2010Brendon McCullum has been ruled out of the remainder of the HRV Cup due to a back injury that could affect his participation for the early part of the home series against Pakistan. McCullum had injured his back during the second Test against India, where he scored a double-century to secure a draw, but played in the third Test and three of the five ODIs that followed.An Otago association statement, as reported in the , said the decision to rule out McCullum was “the most common-sense approach for Brendon to rest to give him the best possible opportunity of taking a full part in the upcoming international series”. McCullum has played just one HRV Cup game for Otago since returning from India. The series against Pakistan comprises three Twenty20s, two Tests and six ODIs, with the first Twenty20 game to be played on Boxing Day in Auckland.McCullum opened the batting for New Zealand in both the Tests and the ODIs on the tour of India and captain Daniel Vettori suggested he could keep his place at the top of the order while Jesse Ryder, a regular opener, could be pushed down, given his sound ability against spin. The practice earlier had been to play McCullum down the order when New Zealand’s batting was experiencing a low.”I do feel sorry for Brendon because it’s the first suggestion [that is made],” Vettori was quoted by the as saying. “It’s tough on him and I think he’s a real asset at the top of the order in the World Cup. Jesse is such a good player of spin, and with his finishing qualities as well we’ve put a little more thought into him batting at No 4 in the one-dayers.

India batted marginally better than they did on the first day in Centurion, but another exhibition of top-class fast bowling from Dale Steyn put South Africa in charge

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran26-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Lonwabo Tsotsobe took two wickets and an excellent low catch to assist Dale Steyn, who took four wickets, in dismantling India’s batting line-up•AFP

Take a green, pacy pitch, add overcast conditions, and unleash perhaps the world’s best new-ball attack on it. That’s what awaited India’s batsmen at Kingsmead, and though they responded marginally better than they did in the first Test in Centurion, another exhibition of top-class fast bowling from Dale Steyn put South Africa in charge. Several of the batsmen got starts, but then either played poor strokes or received near unplayable deliveries – everyone got into double-digits but the highest score was VVS Laxman’s 38.

Smart Stats

• Dale Steyn is the second bowler to dismiss Virender Sehwag six times in Tests; Matthew Hoggard is the other. No bowler has dismissed him more often.

• Sehwag averages 7.67 against Steyn in Tests in South Africa (23 runs in 45 balls; three dismissals). In India, Sehwag averages 51.67 against him (155 runs in 162 balls; three dismissals).

• Steyn has taken 43 wickets against India, which is the most he has against a single opposition – those wickets have come at an average of 18.95.

• Rahul Dravid’s average of 32.55 in South Africa is his lowest in any country. His average in Sri Lanka is marginally higher at 33.10.

• VVS Laxman’s six off Steyn was only his fifth in Test cricket. The previous six he hit was in March 2005, off Danish Kaneria in Kolkata.

South Africa were also helped by two vital contributions from Lonwabo Tsotsobe, whose place was under scrutiny coming into the second Test: first removing Sachin Tendulkar with a delivery angling across, which was edged to second slip, and then pulling off an incredible low catch at mid-on to end Laxman’s resistance.The perils in store for the batsmen were evident right from the first delivery of the match, which reared from a length and struck Virender Sehwag painfully on the fingers. The ball was jagging around prodigiously and the openers had a tough time: Sehwag was beaten by a peach off the final ball of the first over from Steyn. In the next over from Morne Morkel, a ball swerved in sharply to cut Sehwag in half. Other batsmen may be unnerved by that; Sehwag just smiled and went for his shots without worrying about the movement. The approach paid off for a while, bringing the usual flow of early Sehwag boundaries.With Morkel guilty of bowling too short and Tsotsobe unable to control the runs, India survived nearly till drinks. Steyn, though, had been probing consistently outside off, working his outswinger beautifully. It was one of those outswingers that accounted for Sehwag – pitched up and asking to be driven, only for the late movement to get the outside edge to slip.In his next over, Steyn sent back the other opener, M Vijay – in for the injured Gautam Gambhir – who had looked less in control than Sehwag. A beauty of a delivery had Vijay fishing outside off, and nicking to the keeper. Vijay had started the innings leaving most deliveries outside off, but had a chancy stay – dropped by Paul Harris at first slip when on 3, and later by AB de Villiers, who nearly plucked a blinder at third slip.Tendulkar was adventurous in the short spell till lunch, using the uppercut to pick up a couple of boundaries, though he also had the fortune of a pull flying over the keeper for four. India would have been satisfied with the 74 for 2 they posted in the morning session, but they lost the big wicket of Tendulkar off the fifth ball after the break.India’s two other middle-order stalwarts – Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman – then started a recovery act. Neither batsman was particularly fluent, and their 38-run partnership had periods of total calm sandwiched by bursts of boundaries. Three fours came in the space of seven deliveries early on – with Laxman capitalising on some wayward Tsotsobe bowling – before a six-over spell in which only four runs were scored. Steyn was brought back to break the stand but bowled his only expensive over of the day – a gorgeous straight drive from Laxman brought up India’s hundred before he pulled a short ball for a flat six, only the fifth of his Test career.Once again, just as India seemed to have stabilised, Steyn struck: working over Dravid with a relentless offstump line before getting him to nick an away-going ball to the keeper. Two overs later, he was gifted a wicket as Tsotsobe held on to a casual pull from Laxman and India were down to 130 for 5.Cheteshwar Pujara, taking the place of the struggling Suresh Raina, responded well to the challenge. He had a reprieve when Hashim Amla dropped him at forward short leg, but he was confident through his innings, highlighted by an uppercut for four off Morkel one delivery after he had mishit an attempted hook. He had moved to 19 when he threw it away, miscueing a pull to the keeper.That left India at 168 for 6, and Graeme Smith a satisfied man. Only a couple of overs were possible after tea, with the fading light forcing an early stop. Harbhajan Singh and MS Dhoni have added 27 brisk runs, and India need them to stick around to boost their hopes of staging a comeback in the series.

Twitter reactions to Sachin Tendulkar becoming the first batsman to make 50 Test centuries

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2010
Sanjay Manjrekar: “He has got it finally! and judging from his reaction..meant a lot to him…the 50th test ton..this is one record that is there to stay.”
Harsha Bhogle: “All great players redefine their profession.50 Test hundreds was considered unthinkable. Sachin has done it.”Yuvraj Singh: “Greatest achievement by a bats man ever! His name is sachinnnnnnn tendulkarrrrrrrrrr!! Wooohooooooooo.”Iain O’Brien: “Congrats you little massive legend!”

ESPNcricinfo previews the fourth ODI between South Africa and India in Port Elizabeth

The Preview by Sriram Veera20-Jan-2011

Match Facts

January 21, Port Elizabeth

Start time 14:30 (12.30 GMT, 18.00 IST)
Will Yuvraj Singh come up with a match-winning performance?•Associated Press

Big Picture

India are on the verge of a rare series win in a land where they have their worst win-loss record. Prior to this series, they had just won just three ODIs against South Africa in South Africa. It was that bleak. The start to this series hinted at more of the same as they capitulated against bounce in Durban. However, they bounced back in style, with a little bit of help from South Africa, to go 2-1 up.The last pieces of the World Cup puzzle are slowly falling in place too. Yusuf Pathan sealed the No. 7 slot with a violent knock, and Virat Kohli continues to put pressure for a spot in the top order with impressive performances. It’s the opening position that seems a bit wasted on players who aren’t in the World Cup squad. And neither M Vijay nor Rohit Sharma has seized their chances. Vijay has combusted cheaply and Rohit has looked out of the depth. Will India replace one of them with Parthiv Patel in the next game? Rohit might stay for he offers an extra option with his offbreaks.South Africa have lost two in a row now but there have been a couple of positives: JP Duminy played two responsible knocks and is beginning to show that he can lead the lower order through crisis situations and Faf du Plessis showed promise. He played a responsible and restrained knock in the last ODI and will have two more games to show his hitting prowess. Albie Morkel, who was drafted in for the last two games, has since been released from the squad, leaving South Africa without a suitable all-round option to replace the struggling Wayne Parnell. They may be forced to stop shielding legspinner Imran Tahir against India and give him a chance to prove his worth.

Form guide

South Africa: LLWWL
India: WWLWW

Players to watch out for…

Hashim Amla has looked in great touch, and got off to great starts but has rarely converted them. He has paid the price for attacking all the time. If he can temper his approach and make more judicious shot selections, he can really boost this South African batting line-up.Yuvraj Singh hit a half-century in the second ODI and was looking fluent in the third when he fell. There are enough indications that Yuvraj will play at No. 4 in the World Cup. One hour of his batting can win games for India, while his nagging slow bowling adds immense value in suitable conditions.

Team news

Parthiv Patel, who came in as replacement for Sachin Tendulkar, might take M Vijay’s opening slot. The Port Elizabeth pitch aids spin and Piyush Chawla, who is in India’s World Cup squad, might get a game.India (possible): 1 Parthiv Patel, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Piyush Chawla / Ashish Nehra, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 Zaheer KhanSouth Africa are likely to bring in Imran Tahir in the place of Wayne Parnell.South Africa (possible): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Colin Ingram, 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Johan Botha, 8 Dale Steyn, 9 Wayne Parnell / Imran Tahir, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Stats and trivia

• At Newlands, Zaheer Khan became the 21st bowler to get 250 ODI wickets. He is the third left-arm seamer, after Wasim Akram and Chaminda Vaas, and the fifth Indian to capture 250 or more. Harbhajan Singh is currently on 246
• Yusuf’s 59 was the first half-century by an Indian No. 7 batsman South Africa. The previous best was 47, made by his brother Irfan

Quotes

“South Africa have got a bit of problem with their selection issues. They must select seven coloured players out of 15. Their tail will be too long. They have a problem with the batting down the order.”

New Zealand walked to an easy 97-run win over Canada in Mumbai and sealed their place in the quarter-finals

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill13-Mar-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
A century stand between Ashish Bagai and Jimmy Hansra was the highlight for Canada but they suffered another heavy defeat•Getty Images

New Zealand walked to an easy 97-run win over Canada in Mumbai and sealed their place in the quarter-finals. They romped unchallenged to 358 for 6 and then held Canada to 261 for 9 in reply. Brendon McCullum’s century, and a brutal late assault from Ross Taylor and the lower middle order, put the score well out of Canada’s reach. Ashish Bagai’s 84 and an unbeaten 70 from Jimmy Hansra ensured Canada at least reached their highest total of the tournament, but there was never even a hint that they would mount a challenge against New Zealand’s effort.Canada won the toss and Bagai chose to bowl, hoping to take advantage of any early-morning moisture on a pitch that had a typically reddish tinge to it. But after a reasonably disciplined start the bowlers’ lines started to waver and Brendon McCullum, in particular, took a heavy toll. He repeatedly rifled cuts and drives through or over the off side, and had entered the 30s at better than a-run-a-ball when New Zealand’s fifty came up in the ninth over.Canada struck through some dogged medium pace from Harvir Baidwan and a stellar piece of wicketkeeping from Bagai, who has greatly enhanced his reputation behind the stumps in the course of this tournament. He held onto a thick edge, standing up, to get rid of Martin Guptill.McCullum passed fifty and soon tired of accumulation when the field was set back, reverse-sweeping John Davison for the first boundary in six overs and then jumping down the track to swat legspinner Balaji Rao high over long-off. Jesse Ryder, who had tempered his usual aggression to reach 38 from 55 balls, looked to follow suit against Davison soon after but sliced across a flighted offspinner to present Henry Osinde with an easy catch at long-on.Taylor flicked Osinde twice to the leg-side boundary to kick-start his innings and partnered Brendon McCullum to his third ODI hundred in the 36th over. With New Zealand’s two most devastating batsmen at the crease, the batting Powerplay was called for immediately afterwards, but Brendon McCullum was its first victim when he slapped Baidwan straight to Ruvindu Gunasekara at extra cover.Though Rao picked up two wickets in the remaining overs, including that of Taylor for a 44-ball 74 that included four mighty sixes in the space of a single over, Canada completely unravelled in the field as the score went stratospheric. A whopping 74 runs came from the batting Powerplay, and 122 from the last 10 overs, including 31 from the final over of the innings during which Rizwan Cheema was removed from the attack for his second beamer of the innings.The signs were ominous for Canada when Ruvindu Gunasekara slashed at the first ball of Kyle Mills’ second over and Taylor timed his leap to perfection at first slip to pluck the ball out of the air one handed. The boundary had still not been reached when, two overs later, Zubin Surkari hung his bat out limply at another Mills outswinger to offer Taylor his second catch.Canada were 4 for 2 and sinking fast, but Bagai and Hiral Patel wasted no time in launching a spirited fightback. Their effort was no doubt helped by a premature end to Mills’ spell when he pulled up lame one ball after he had dismissed Surkari, clutching at his left knee in some pain and leaving the field straightaway.

Smart Stats

• New Zealand’s total of 358 is their second highest in World Cups behind the 363 they made against Canada in 2007. They have six scores above 300 in World Cups.

• Brendon McCullum’s century is his first in World Cups and his third overall in ODIs. His previous highest in World Cups was 76 against Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad.

• New Zealand scored 74 runs in the batting Powerplay, the most by any team in this World Cup. Pakistan are second, with 70 runs against Kenya.

• Ross Taylor’s strike rate is the third highest for a New Zealand batsman for a fifty-plus score in World Cups.

• The 12 sixes hit in New Zealand’s innings is the second highest for them in an innings in World Cups. The overall record is 18, jointly held by India and South Africa.

• Rizwan Cheema’s economy rate of 13.24 is the fourth highest among all bowlers who have bowled at least four overs in an innings in a World Cup match.

• The 125-run stand between Ashish Bagai and Jimmy Hansra is the third highest for Canada for the third wicket in ODIs and the second highest in World Cups.

• Bagai’s 84 is his 16th fifty in ODIs and his highest score in a World Cup match. He has scored two hundreds and 16 fifties at an average of 38.44 in ODIs.

• Canada’s 261 is their highest total in World Cups, going past the 249 they made against New Zealand in 2007.

After a nerveless, shotless start to his innings Patel took Tim Southee on in stirring fashion, targeting the off side in a series of imperious thumps. He reached a fluent 31 but was then undone by a well-directed bouncer from Jacob Oram that cramped him for room, a thin edge nestling safely in Brendon McCullum’s gloves.Their partnership had stretched to 46 at a good rate before it was broken, and Bagai’s contribution had been steady, composed accumulation. He went into the 30s with a classy loft over cover off Nathan McCullum and continued in much the same gear in Hansra’s company.The pair added 125 for the fourth wicket, a partnership dominated by ones and twos but punctuated by a couple of strong shots whenever a bad ball was bowled. Though there was no chance it could result in a win, there was still the achievement that it was Canada’s second-highest against a Test-playing nation, beaten only by Geoff Barnett and Ian Billcliff’s 177-run stand against Bangladesh at the 2007 World Cup.Bagai went to fifty by spanking a full toss from Kane Williamson to the cover boundary, but the searing heat of the Mumbai afternoon after he’d also kept wicket for the first half of the game began to take its toll. As cramps set in Bagai began to hit out in search of a century, but perished when a flashing drive resulted only in a thin edge behind.It was cramp that did for Hansra too, and he retired on 53 – his second half-century in successive games – soon after the batting Powerplay was taken in the 41st over. The match had long ceased to be a contest by that stage, the situation typified by Davison’s amateurish run-out, but Canada’s lower order did at least throw the bat around and Hansra returned to the crease after rehydrating to ensure they batted out the full 50 overs.They can at least take some comfort in the way they have improved as a team in the course of this tournament. For their part, the win means New Zealand now top the Group A points table.

Match Timeline

ESPNcricinfo previews the Group B game between India and West Indies in Chennai

The Preview by Sidharth Monga19-Mar-2011

Match Facts

March 20, Chennai

Start time 1430 hours (0900 GMT)Chennai will provide Harbhajan Singh with the best conditions to pick up wickets•Getty Images

The Big Picture

No wonder India play so much cricket without seeming to overly mind it. When MS Dhoni walks out for the toss for this game, it will have been more than a week since they last played in the World Cup. The off days for the Indian team, however, have been days of plenty of buzz and activity for the Indian cricketing public and media. Dhoni has suddenly gone from being Midas to moron for getting Ashish Nehra to bowl the final over; Yusuf Pathan is no longer a good choice to bat in batting Powerplay; heated meetings between selectors, board secretary and captain have been reported and denied ; the moon’s proximity to the earth has had its say; the next coach has become a topic of discussion; UDRS blunders and Sachin Tendulkar’s impending 100th hundred have been overshadowed; everything that can be debated, even those that cannot be, have been debated.If you have been watching news channels in India, or reading news publications, doom is not too far. Which is why the players have been asked to stay far away. Which is why it is a good thing that they are back on the field where they can sort out their team combination for the knockouts, and there are issues bothering them. Piyush Chawla’s inclusion in the XV, always a bit inexplicable, has so far been exposed as a mistake, a gamble gone wrong, which reduces India’s options if they feel that either of Munaf Patel or Nehra is out of form.And Virat Kohli – this will sound harsh on a young man in the form of his life – has hurt the team balance a bit, forcing Suresh Raina out, who is more suited at the slog end and is a pretty canny part-time offspinner. For this game, though, India might not have to make a choice, for Virender Sehwag is down with an allergic reaction to a painkiller injection.India’s opponents are now assured of a place in the knockouts, but the game is just as big for them. Bangladesh are the only Test team West Indies have beaten in an ODI since June 28, 2009, which hurts them bad. Also painful will be how they didn’t trust themselves to play normal cricket and finish a middling chase against England after the explosive start by Chris Gayle. They will dearly love to end that unflattering streak, and in the process finish at No. 2 in Group B, thus avoiding the best two sides from Group A in the quarter-final.If it provides some comfort, the previous major team West Indies beat was India, in Jamaica, through aggressive bowling. They will rate their chances because they are up against a side that is under pressure, no matter how much it avoids the media and the public. A side that will have done really well if it plays uninhibited, free-flowing cricket. West Indies might think the iron is hot.Chennai is certainly hot, and its spinner-friendly track and reverse-friendly square have provided the two matches of the tournament so far. The World Cup will want to bid it a fitting farewell before it moves to the flatter, more predictable surfaces.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
India LWWTW
West Indies LWWWL

Watch out for…

Chris Gayle has to be hurting. In a chase of 244, he left his side at 58 for 1 in the seventh over, but the rest still managed to fall 18 short. Will he go back to reining himself in and playing through the innings? Will he decide to make Sunday his day and his day alone, and go swinging?Sides have decided the best way to beat India, at least when they are on the field, is to play Harbhajan Singh out and not give him wickets. Hence an economy-rate of 4.41, but only five wickets. At times it works for India, producing more wicket-taking opportunities for the other bowlers that the batsmen feel compelled to attack. In this World Cup, it has worked for the batsmen. Chennai, though, will be Harbhajan’s best chance of taking wickets: a turning pitch, and a fair sprinkling of left-hand batsmen.

Team news

R Ashwin, through all indicators, seems to the be the man India want the world to see as little of as possible before the big matches. Is a match that determines whether they face New Zealand or Sri Lanka in the quarter-final big enough?Sehwag is a big doubt. “Viru has got an allergic reaction in his right knee, so we will take that call either in the evening or on the morning of the game,” Dhoni said.India (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 & 11 two out of Ashish Nehra, R Ashwin and Munaf PatelLeaving Shivnarine Chanderpaul was a brave move on paper, but it did backfire on West Indies when they missed one batsman who would take the responsibility and anchor the chase on a difficult track. Do they bring him back? If they do, that will mean dropping either one of the specialist batsmen or one out of Andre Russell and Devendra Bishoo, both of whom had a superb game against England. Right now, Ramnaresh Sarwan seems to be the most disposable member of the XI that lost to England.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan/Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Darren Sammy (capt.), 7 Devon Thomas (wk), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Sulieman Benn, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Devendra Bishoo.

Expect another baked turner with a hard square that should facilitate reverse-swing. For those looking for respite from the Chennai heat, the following is not good news. Chance of precipitation on Sunday: 0%.

Stats and trivia

• Legspinner Bishoo took three wickets on his debut in Chennai. Twenty three years ago, a legspinner in a similar mould, took 16 wickets on his Test debut, again in Chennai. West Indies then were at the receiving end of Narendra Hirwani.
• Everybody knows Sachin Tendulkar is one short of reaching 100 international hundreds, but he is also just 47 short of 18,000 ODI runs.
• The World Cup head-to-head between the teams is tied at three and three.

Quotes

“It is a big learning curve and hopefully we won’t repeat the same mistakes that have happened so far. We are human beings, we are always supposed to commit mistakes. Hopefully the interval between two will be long.”