Category Uncategorized

Scorecard
A sensational spell of bowling from Paul Wiseman for Canterbury resulted in the second-best haul in an innings in New Zealand cricket history. Wiseman took nine for 13 off 16.4 overs as CD slumped to 122 all out, and defeat by 343 runs. Only AE Moss, who took 10 for 28 for Canterbury in the summer of 1889-90 on his first-class debut, has done better.It was a stunning performance in a match where the bat had dominated the ball, but Wiseman said afterwards that it was an ideal pitch for spin bowling because of the bounce it possessed and the footmarks left by Central Districts’ two left-arm medium-fast bowlers.What was expected to be an all-day battle for CD was over before lunch with Wiseman joining three other bowlers in New Zealand to have taken nine wickets in this country, not forgetting Sir Richard Hadlee’s nine wickets in an innings at Brisbane in 1985-86.Chris Martin was the only other wicket taker in the innings, having taken Jamie How’s wicket, the first to fall in the innings. CD were two down overnight and then Wiseman struck, as eight wickets fell for 24 runs.
Scorecard
Otago needed to bat well into the second session to be in a position to deny Northern Districts an outright win at Gisborne’s Harry Barker Reserve but they were unable to prevent an eight-wicket defeat. Craig Cumming, the Otago captain, achieved his 10th first-class century after being 99 not out overnight, but could add only seven more runs before being dismissed. The end came all too quickly, with the last five wickets falling for 12 runs as Joseph Yovich and Graeme Aldridge cleaned up the innings. Yovich took 4 for 42 and Aldridge 3 for 55.This was a remarkable win, with the highlight being four young players making their debuts in the same game. One of them, Brad Wilson, who just missed a century on debut in the first innings, was unfazed by the importance of the job ahead of him as ND chased down the 186 they needed for victory. Wilson scored another 35, while BJ Watling, who debuted earlier in the season, scored 64. Matt Hart, the side’s old hand, was there when the winning runs were scored.
Scorecard
Wellington head into the last day of their match with Auckland in danger of undoing the chance they have of beating the home side at Eden Park. Having achieved a 99-run lead on the first innings, Wellington slipped to 97 for six by stumps, as Kerry Walmsley (3 for 23) and Andre Adams, with two for 24, pinned them down. It was the first time in the series that Auckland had been denied first-innings points.Auckland struggled through the latter stages of their innings. Aaron Barnes scored 75 and at 310 for 6, they were looking competitive. However, they lost their last four wickets for only 18 runs as James Franklin, who took four for 64, and Iain O’Brien, with four for 76, did the damage.Wellington then set out to build an unassailable position only to find the Auckland bowling shut them down. Neal Parlane’s innings typified this as he top-scored with 41, painstakingly compiled in 132 minutes. Matthew Bell also laboured 108 minutes for 17.

Shoaib Akhtar’s appeal against a ban for one Test and two one-day internationals has been rejected by Richie Benaud, in his role as ICC Code of Conduct Commissioner.Shoaib was handed the ban by Clive Lloyd, the match referee of the first Test at Lahore, during which Shoaib was alleged to have used abusive language to Paul Adams, thus breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct. He will now be ineligible to play in the second Test against South Africa at Faisalabad, but he was doubtful for that game anyway after straining his hamstring. Shoaib’s next game, fitness permitting, will now probably come in the third ODI of the forthcoming home series against New Zealand.Benaud, the former Australian captain who is now a respected TV commentator, said in his judgment: “In my view, the reason for the implementing of the ICC Code is so captains in particular and players in general will embrace the Preamble to the Laws of Cricket, which makes quite clear what is required of them on the field.”He went on: “The appeal I am asked to determine relates to the sentence imposed by Mr Lloyd, not to the actual offence. It seems to me that Mr Lloyd correctly followed the Code of Conduct rules in every way after Shoaib Akhtar accepted, and said, he was guilty.”This was Shoaib’s second breach of the clause involving abusive language in the last 12 months, so the penalty imposed was “upgraded to that of a Level 3 offence in line with the provisions of the Code”, according to the ICC.

New South Wales is the national Under-19 champion for 2001-02, having outlasted Queensland to win a thrilling tournament final in Newcastle this afternoon. After a topsy-turvy two days of cricket, the Blues were forced to weather a brilliant late order revival from their opponents before ultimately sealing a 22-run victory.All-rounder Daniel Christian, whose innings of 68 extricated the home team from trouble and lifted it to an eventual total of 242, was the hero of the victory and fittingly claimed the last wicket of the match.Also instrumental in the Blues’ march toward a first national title since 1998-99 was Brad Roworth (3/43), who followed a belligerent innings of 37 with guileful medium pace bowling that caused the young Bulls to lose their way in the middle stages of the chase.The Blues’ lower order had resumed at 8/210 at the Number 1 Sportsground this morning, and again provoked frustration for their opposing bowlers by eating up more than an hour of play today before surrendering a wicket. As it happened, another then fell just two deliveries later to finally put a seal on the innings.But, by then, Christian and wicketkeeper-batsman James Allsopp (28) had hoisted the home team to a position so strong as to ensure that Queensland’s quest to snare a third consecutive national title would be a difficult one through the afternoon.Left arm paceman Chris Summers (2/9) was the successful bowler, trapping the plucky Christian in front of his stumps and then finding the outside edge of Allsopp’s bat with only one further run added to the total. But the wickets came after around 70 minutes of play on the second day, limiting the time available to the visitors to chase down their target.Aaron Maynard (42) and Greg Moller (35) swiftly pushed the Queenslanders into a sound position at 2/93 in the hour after lunch, and a missed slips catch off the latter’s bat in the closing over of the morning session was beginning to look like a very costly miss.But the New South Wales bowlers, ably led by Roworth, made a series of incisions in the afternoon session to decisively wrest back the initiative. Nathan Kruger (9) and captain Craig Philipson (8) had perished before lunch, and now teammates Maynard, Moller, Julian Nielsen (0), Murray Bragg (19) and Chris McCabe (16) all joined them in the pavilion prior to tea.Maynard and Nielsen fell in the space of three Roworth deliveries; a disastrous run out claimed Moller; McCabe edged to Allsopp as Roworth came around the wicket; and then Bragg lost his middle stump to New South Wales captain Jarrad Burke.The match started to turn again as Scott Brant (49) launched a blistering counter-attack that rivalled New South Wales’ own late order recovery earlier in the match. With a 62-ball assault that featured seven well timed boundaries, the number ten batsman led a stand of 41 runs for the ninth wicket with Luke Davis (31) and another threatening liaison of 24 with Summers (3*) for the tenth.But a mix up in running saw Davis lose his footing – and his wicket too – as he tried to scramble back to the striker’s end to beat a throw from cover. And, with around 12 overs still potentially available, medium pacer Christian (1/7) then established his team’s place in the annals of the championship when he beat an attacking shot from Brant with the first delivery of a new spell to artistically shatter the stumps.Elsewhere in Newcastle, Tasmania and Victoria enjoyed great days to fill third and fourth placings respectively.The Tasmanians earned their place in Section A next season when they scored a tough three wicket win in a low-scoring contest with Western Australia.Victoria, meanwhile, relied on an innings of 99 from Adam Crosthwaite to amass a score of 6/252 in response to South Australia’s total of 175 from yesterday.And in the battle for seventh and eighth, the Northern Territory prevailed in a thrilling finish against the Australian Capital Territory. Needing 234 for victory, the Northern Territorians passed the target with a solitary wicket to spare.The Championships reach their formal conclusion at an official dinner in Newcastle tonight, at which the Player of the Championship and the squad of 14 players chosen to represent Australia in next month’s Youth World Cup in New Zealand will be named.

A light shower in the final session forced stumps to be called almosttwelve overs early and prevented Hyderabad from mopping up theKarnataka tail this evening. Tomorrow the Ranji Trophy holders will beformally administered the push from this year’s edition, a result thatwas arguably on the cards by the end of the first dayitself. Karnataka’s last pair averted the follow on but there will belittle relief in the home camp, trailing as they are by 188 runs at523/9.Not even a washout of the last day’s play can save Karnataka. Theplaying conditions affirm that in case of a no result on firstinnings, a comparison of run rates will decide the winner. Karnatakahas an inferior run rate, a natural corollary to having an inferiorbatting, bowling and fielding.Karnataka started the fourth day trailing by 442 and with the secondnew ball due in five overs. Raju and Kanwaljit bowled three overs eachbefore the new ball was handed to Fiaz Ahmed who had beendisappointing yesterday, with 40 runs being taken off his six overs.Bharadwaj became the fourth successive batsman to get to his fifty andneither he nor Barrington seemed to be in undue discomfort as theseamers tried to find their rhythm.The first boundary off the bat came in the 13th over of the day whenBarrington got Fiaz away between second slip and gully to third man,bringing up the 300 in the process. But when Barrington tried tostreak one through the slips in the same over, he saw Mohd.Azharuddin’s left hand come in the way at the last possible moment andcatch the ball inches off the ground at second slip. In that onemoment the difference between the two sides was there to see inunmistakable terms.Barrington’s stout resistance at the wicket had netted him 65 runs andalthough Bharadwaj played a glorious cover drive off NP Singh, Fiazwas not done yet as he had Thilak Naidu caught down the leg side byRiaz Sheikh in his next over. Naidu tried to help the ball to backwardsquare leg but the bounce defeated him and suddenly two wickets hadgone down for nine runs against the run of play to leave Karnataka at311/4.Vijay flirted with danger when he followed one outside off stump fromFiaz and although the fielders appeared convinced that he’d got anick, umpire Jamula showed no interest. Satwalkar had replaced NPSingh at the pavilion end and Bharadwaj played a classy extra coverdrive, putting his front foot down and hitting on the rise to send itcrashing into the advertising boards. Fiaz went off after a nippyspell of 8-1-29-2 and Raju got some turn and bounce outside off stumprightaway.One such delivery flicked Vijay’s bat on its way to the keeper andKarnataka’s middle order was collapsing like a house of cards. Afterlunch another flicker of resistance came to an end when Bharadwajstepped out to drive Raju on the leg side and ended up presenting thebowler with a simple c&b for 90. Sunil Joshi walked out with a runnerin Mithun Beerala after having hurt his foot at a practice sessionthis morning. He showed his hand early when he went for a almightyheave across the line and connected thin air. Joshi is nothing if notan entertainer and soon enough he was connecting leather with the meatof the bat, savaging Raju with the biggest hit of the match, the balllanding in the uninhabited stands at deep midwicket.The bowlers gave him a wide berth after that with three and even fourfielders on the boundary line. Raju did bowl a beauty that turned andwent through Joshi’s gate, only to pass over the stumps. Hyderabad sawthe back of Akhil when he turned a ball pitched up on leg from Rajuinto the hands of forward short leg. Ganesh and Joshi now cametogether in the most entertaining association of the innings. Joshipulled Raju on bended knee over the fence at deep backward square andhis fifty came with another six over the straight boundary. Ganeshjoined the party with an authentic late cut to the square third manfence off Kanwaljit Singh that would have made any top order batsmanproud and the runs began to flow fast and thick now.The 70 run stand (66 minutes, 100 balls) was finally broken when FiazAhmed trapped Joshi leg before for 72 as he played back. Although RiazSheikh than dropped a straightforward chance offered by Prasad,Kanwaljit had him spoon a catch to midwicket soon to leave Karnatakaat 508/9 with four runs still needed to avoid the follow on. Ganeshhit three boundaries in one over off Fiaz to spare Karnataka’s blushesalthough Hyderabad wouldn’t have been too unhappy about that, havingalready spent a long time in the field. Ganesh brought up his fiftyoff just seventy balls but dark clouds were now hovering over theground and sure enough the sun vanished under a cover and a lightdrizzle enveloped the ground as the umpires called off play at 3.56p.m.

Tottenham Hotspur are lining up a shock swoop for Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the word?

That’s according to German publication Sport Bild, who claim that negotiations over a new contract extension at Bayern Munich have stalled with the two parties facing a gulf in salary valuations.

It is believed to have put Spurs on high alert as well as arch-rivals Chelsea, too.

By the summer, the Germany international will be entering the final 12 months of his current £115k-per-week deal at the Allianz Arena.

It remains to be seen whether the Bundesliga giants would sell the 26-year-old, who is currently valued at £63m by Transfermarkt, before then or if he will be allowed to leave on a free, following in the footsteps of Niklas Sule this season and the likes of David Alaba and Jerome Boateng in years gone by.

Forget Moura

Gnabry would be quite an astounding signing for Tottenham, especially under the stewardship of Antonio Conte as it would seriously bolster his attacking ranks with one of Europe’s top wingers.

The Lilywhites faithful will know his attacking exploits all too well and that’s not because of his time down the road at Arsenal but rather for his part in Bayern’s 7-2 demolition of Mauricio Pochettino’s side in the Champions League back in October 2019.

He found the net four times in one of the most embarrassing nights in Spurs’ history and a month later, the Argentine was sacked by Daniel Levy.

The 26-year-old has emerged as one of the best players in Europe since his move to the German giants, leading to high praise from BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand, who waxed lyrical about the former Gunners graduate following his performance against Lyon in the UCL semi-final.

“His stats are phenomenal. He’s sitting in the top-level, world-class,” the former Manchester United defender said. “He’s come to Germany and set the place on fire, he was absolutely stunning tonight. His decision making has been extraordinary.

“I’ll go as far as to say he’s one of the most improved players in football at the moment. I don’t think anyone’s upwards trajectory is as sharp as his.”

Despite the contractual issues, Gnabry has still delivered on the pitch for Bayern, where he has scored 12 goals and provided nine assists, taking his total for the club to 98 direct goal contributions in 157 appearances, via Transfermarkt.

The 5 foot 9 dynamo, dubbed a “real weapon” with abilities that no one else has in the German top-flight by former Die Roten boss Niko Kovac, would subsequently be a mega upgrade on Lucas Moura at Hotspur Way.

Conte’s current right-winger has struggled for consistency ever since that night in Ajax and his form is summed up by the fact that he’s reaching levels nowhere near that of Gnabry.

As per Transfermarkt, the Brazilian has managed only two goals and four assists in the Premier League this season, with just one direct contribution coming in the last eight outings.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Subsequently, he has recently lost his place in the starting XI to Juventus loanee Dejan Kulusevski.

On the above evidence alone, it’s evident that the former Arsenal man is a far greater threat and talent than Moura – he’s doing it for a team challenging for the title and in Europe’s biggest competition, too.

Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici must do all he can to lure Gnabry back to north London following the conclusion of the current campaign. It may seem like an unrealistic signing but with Conte at the helm, anything is surely possible.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Lloris: £18m-rated Spurs flop proves he’s not good enough for Conte…

Amazing acts of individual brilliance have sometimes decided the outcome of Cup finals, and three breathtaking moments of magic from Shawn Findlay effectively settled the KFC Cup final last night.

An ecstatic Chris Gayle lifts the trophy © Daily Nation

As a result, Jamaica’s long wait for regional limited-overs glory is over, triggering emotional celebrations that included a spontaneous rendition of their national anthem moments after the mission was accomplished at 9.20pm.Under lights at the 3Ws Oval before an appreciative crowd, Jamaica won an absorbing duel against dethroned champions Trinidad and Tobago by 28 runs in a match in which Findlay’s sensational triple-play in the field proved decisive.As Trinidad and Tobago were trying to keep hope alive in pursuit of 231 from 50 overs, Findlay produced magic at critical times to help limit the men from the Land Of The Hummingbird to 202 in 49.3 overs.Daren Ganga’s men were just about starting to recover from the early discomfort of 36 for three in a fourth-wicket partnership of 43 between the solid Lendl Simmons and the potential big-hitter Kieron Pollard when Findlay intervened.Spectators at long-off were scampering for cover when Pollard launched into a drive against medium-pacer Brendan Nash that seemed headed for six, but were stunned to see Findlay leap to clutch in a spectacular left-handed catch.It was almost unbelievable. It was out of the top drawer. It was one of the finest ever in regional cricket. More was to come. With Simmons on 64 and a lot depending on him, he was prised out required confirmation from the television replay umpire.It left Trinidad and Tobago 130 for 5 in the 31st over and the match still delicately poised, but Jamaica refused to let up and went on to claim their first regional limited-overs success since 1999.Denesh Ramdin tried his best to rally the effort for Trinidad and Tobago, but when he was caught at extra-cover for 48 in the 42nd over, the match was as good as over. Findlay’s third piece of magic was late in the piece, a wonderful diving catch running in from the cover boundary in which the ball was taken inches off the turf as he dived forward.Jamaica owed their early inroads to incisive fast bowling from their West Indies combination of Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell, who combined to claim the first three wickets, including Trinidad and Tobago’s two most reliable batsmen at this level, Ganga and Dwayne Bravo.Taylor started things by removing Mario Belcon, who was an lbw victim playing across the line, in very much the same way Powell accounted for Bravo for a first-ball duck. In between, Taylor took care of Ganga, whose unconvincing attempt to hook ended up in a catch to the keeper. Twice, Taylor and Powell knocked batsmen on the helmet and their early impact was just as crucial as Findlay’s contribution.The two fast bowlers were earlier part of Jamaica’s rally at a time when Trinidad and Tobago might have been fancying their chances of restricting Jamaica to a total of less than 200. It was somewhat of a surprise that Trinidad and Tobago chose to field first and their decision seemed to be paying off when Jamaica were 167 for 7 in the 42nd over, subsiding to a quick three-wicket burst from leg-spinner Samuel Badree, after off-spinner Sherwin Ganga, who also took three wickets, stemmed the early flow of runs.Brenton Parchment provided the early impetus with 52 off 67 balls, but after Jamaica ran into the trouble they required important runs from the lower half which was getting a chance to bat for the first time in the competition. Danza Hyatt, who batted at No. 5, made 28 and there were also useful runs from Carlton Baugh (25), Nikita Miller (26), Powell (20) and Taylor (18).

Mark Cleary tries to launch a ball across the Yarra River © Getty Images

Even on a cold Melbourne morning with all eyes on the MCG Test, the South Australia allrounder Mark Cleary could not avoid some good-natured sledging about the Redbacks’ woeful start to the season. Cleary won the “Biggest Basher” competition that launched the expanded domestic Twenty20 program, in which a player from each state tried to hit balls across the Yarra River.”It must be strange to win something,” said the New South Wales representative Ed Cowan, as Cleary accepted his prize – a yellow plastic bat that might be South Australia’s only trophy for the year. The Redbacks are languishing on the bottom of the Pura Cup and Ford Ranger Cup tables and questions have been asked by their own hierarchy about team management.Cleary tried to push the official line when asked about their poor form but his colleagues from other states were keen to rub it in. “We’ve got a good side,” was all Cleary managed to tell the media before Tasmania’s Travis Birt piped up with “No you don’t!”The friendly banter was typical of the jovial feel at the launch. But Cricket Australia will be keen for the states to take the Twenty20 format seriously, as it hopes to draw bigger crowds with attendances at Pura Cup and Ford Ranger Cup matches still disappointing.The players claimed they would be out there to win, but perhaps how much the states will focus on Twenty20 could be gleaned from the players enlisted to launch it: Nick Kruger, Aiden Blizzard, Peter Worthington, Cleary, Cowan and Birt are not exactly superstars. Blizzard found himself answering questions from passing Melburnians about when matches were on and who would be playing.But at least one team will be desperate to perform well. Cleary was confident that a string of Twenty20 wins could put South Australia back on the path to success in their four-day ventures. The next fortnight will tell if his optimism was justified or if indeed South Australia continues to be all at sea, like the eventual fate of the 30 yellow plastic balls that floated aimlessly down the Yarra.

A elbow injury might force Jacques Kallis to miss the opening Test against Australia © Getty Images

Jacques Kallis is racing against time to be fully fit for the opening Test match against Australia at the WACA Ground in Perth, starting on December 16.Kallis has been receiving treatment over the last ten days after a scan revealed a grade 1+ in-substance tear to the common tendon of his left elbow. Kallis had a bowling session at the team’s practice today, under the watchful eye of Shane Jabaar, South Africa’s physiotherapist.”We have explored various forms of treatment to get him ready for the Test match. His response has been slow, but we are still hopeful that he will have a significant enough improvement to allow him to participate in the match,” Jabaar said. “We give him until Friday morning before a decision is taken on whether he will play or not.”

The selectors have pointed Brett Lee towards domestic cricket© Getty Images

Brett Lee has been left out of the Australian squad for the third Test to enable him to play for New South Wales against Western Australia in an ING Cup match on January 2. Stuart MacGill, the legspinner, and Shane Watson, the allrounder, have been added to the XI which won the second Test against Pakistan at Melbourne.Trevor Hohns, the chairman of the national selection panel, said the decision to release Lee was taken after discussions with the player. “Following discussions with Brett, we have agreed to give him the chance to get some more game-time under his belt by being available to play for New South Wales,” said Hohns. “We felt it was unlikely Brett would be selected to play in Sydney, as the three fast bowlers currently in the XI are doing a very good job. So in Brett’s best interests, we feel it is important for him to get some solid match practice, not just for New South Wales, but also for Australia A over the next couple of weeks.”Hohns added that the selection panel was sensitive to Lee’s position. “We acknowledge that the last few months have been frustrating for him, but his attitude and work ethic have been first-class.”Watson came in for special praise, with Hohns describing him as an “an exciting young talent”. Hohns added: “Shane gives us the option of going into the match with a combination of two fast bowlers, two spinners and a seamer. His inclusion in the squad certainly gives us some variety if needed. Although he has yet to play a Test, Shane has plenty of experience as part of this squad, most recently in India, so if selected, we feel that he should be able to settle in and do a job for us.”Hohns also gave MacGill the thumbs-up. “Stuart gives us the ability to play two spinners if needed. He has taken a lot of wickets for New South Wales, and has plenty of experience at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He is a proven performer for us, whenever opportunities have been presented to him.”The third Test against Pakistan begins on Sunday (January 2) at Sydney.Australia squad 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Darren Lehmann, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11 Glenn McGrath, 12 Shane Watson, 13 Stuart MacGill.

The fourth in our series of articles examining how the Indian team is shaping up for the coming 2003-04 season. This one focusses on spinners.The emergence of genuine medium-pace bowling options has caused India to rely less and less on their spinners. While Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh might be two of the best spinners around, India often play just one spinner, especially abroad. This virtually closes the door on aspiring spinners in the country. Only injury, or unavailability, even gives rise to the question of India’s spin bowling bench. And strangely, while a new medium pacer seems to crop up every month, you don’t need to look beyond three men if you’re looking to replace Harbhajan or Kumble. Wisden CricInfo examines the options, and takes the opinion of some experts on this matter.MuraliKartik
Murali Kartik is the best left-arm orthodox spinner in the country – youwon’t get any arguments on that count. The fact that he has played justfour Tests and five one-dayers in the last four years, despite showingimmense promise, is testimony to the success Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh have enjoyed. Kartik, once a hot-headed youngster, has matured into a patient practitioner of a difficult art. He has made vital contributions with the bat in domestic cricket, but his bowling skills alone make him the first man the selectors should turn to if Harbhajan or Kumble is injured.SarandeepSingh
Although an off-spinner, Sarandeep is a very different kind of bowlerfrom Harbhajan. Shorter in build and slower through the air, Sarandeep does not quite generate the fizzing turn and bounce that makes Harbhajan so difficult to play. Continued success in the Ranji Trophy keeps him close to national selection. However, it is hard to see the national selectors playing two offspinners in tandem and this weakens Sarandeep’s case. What does go in his favour is the fact that he has made the best of any opportunities that have come his way.AmitMishra
Young, energetic and keen to give the ball a big rip, Amit Mishra hashad plenty of success recently. Fourteen wickets, including a five-forin the India A tour of England, meant that he returned home with hisreputation enhanced. Just 21 years old, Mishra has shown remarkablecontrol over his line and length in the three international outings hehas had so far. If the selectors take the strong move of bringingKumble’s career to an end, Mishra will be the man they turn to.The rest
When you get past these three, there’s not much quality to choose from.SairajBahutule had a good Ranji season with Mumbai, but has had hischances at the international level and failed to deliver. Another manwho caught the eye in the last season, was RameshPowar. Although he did not have five-wicket hauls by the bagful, hisoffbreaks tilted the balance in Mumbai’s favour with crucial dismissals.While it’s all right to entertain some hope, neither should wait anxiously by the phone for a call from the selectors.Expert views
Maninder Singh: For me, Murali Kartik is a class apart. But you have to consider the fact that Sarandeep has made the best of his chances and Mishra has done well on A tours. In the end, though, Kartik wins because he has great attitude to go with talent. He should be allowed to do what he does best. In the few chances he got he was not allowed to flight the ball too much and didn’t always get the fields he wanted. If you gave him the responsibility, and some freedom, I bet he’ll perform beyond expectations.L Sivaramakrishnan: Murali Kartik is the one I would go with. He is by far the best left-arm spinner in the country. If you remember, he was practically the only bowler who did well against the West Indies. He didn’t get to play in New Zealand because of the wickets. I believe he’s the best bet for the longer version of the game. He gives the ball a bit of air, and he can do well on different kinds of wickets. Even in Mohali, where the ball doesn’t turn square, he would be effective because he beats batsmen in the air as well as off the wicket. To my mind, it doesn’t matter whether it’s Kumble or Harbhajan who’s unavailable, Kartik’s the next best spinner and he should get the nod.Arshad Ayub: I would certainly say that Murali Kartik is the first person we should think of in case there’s an injury to one of theestablished spinners. I know that Mishra has been taking wickets andthat Sarandeep is a steady bowler, but Kartik is in a class of hisown. Sarandeep is the kind of bowler who can keep one end tight, bowling a good line and length. But in the longer version of the game, you need someone who can be disciplined and take wickets. In that sense, if Kartik is given the right breaks, I’m sure he can be a matchwinner for India at the highest level.Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Wisden CricInfo in India.Openings for openers
The settled middle order
Finders, keepers
Up to speed