Calcutta: Sourav Ganguly has never minced words. Neither as a player, nor now when he dons the commentator’s hat.

So it wasn’t a surprise when the former India captain said that dropping Gautam Gambhir from the squad for the first two Tests against Australia was a correct decision.

He in fact backed the selectors’ choice, the in-form Shikhar Dhawan, as one of the three openers in the squad.

“Gambhir wasn’t scoring runs… That’s why he has been dropped. Dhawan, on the other hand, has been amongst runs. So if you score, you will be in the team… And if you can’t, you won’t be considered.

“Now, Gambhir should try and get back among runs if he wants to return to the Indian team,” Sourav said on Monday, on the sidelines of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) working committee meeting.

Sourav said that the likes of Dhawan and Murali Vijay should make the most of the Australia series as tougher tests await later this season. “This is the platform for players like Vijay and Dhawan to make a mark and try and cement their places in the squad. In other words, this is a very good opportunity for them since India’s future assignments are far more tougher.”

Asked about India’s chances against Michael Clarke’s men, Sourav predicted that Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Co. are the favourites to win the series.

Both teams will miss key senior batsmen who have retired — Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman for India and Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey for Australia.

But the visitors’ weakness in the spin department would give the Indians a definite edge, Sourav said.

“Both India and Australia are going through a transitional phase… At the end of the day, though, the team that plays spin better will be on the winning side. However, Australia’s spin attack isn’t too strong. (Nathan) Lyon and (Xavier) Doherty aren’t as good as England’s Graeme Swann and (Monty) Panesar. The English spinners were far better,” Sourav said.

He, however, warned that the Indians should be on guard against Australia’s superior pace attack. “Australia have some quality pacers, who can certainly come in handy,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean that he belittled the Indian pace trio of Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ashok Dinda.

“Both Bhuvneshwar and Ishant fared well in the recent ODIs (against England). Dinda, too, has been performing well. So at present, this is the best possible attack.

He also had some advice for statemate Dinda. “My advice to Dinda would be to just focus on accuracy,” he said.

Sourav welcomed the selectors’ decision to include Harbhajan Singh in the squad. But he wasn’t sure if the off-spinner, who is on the threshold of playing his 100th Test, will get a chance in the playing XI of the first Test, which begins in Chennai on February 22.

“It’s great to see Harbhajan back… He’s a world-class bowler and deserves a comeback… Whether he’ll play in the first Test depends entirely on Dhoni,” Sourav said.

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A spinner is as good as his repertoire and confidence. But looking at the three spinners Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin — picked for the first two Test matches against Australia, experts doubt they have the arsenal dismiss the Australian batsmen twice even on the turners likely to be on offer during the upcoming series.

While Harbhajan is definitely short on confidence having not done much in the last two years, Ashwin has been sorted out ever since India’s tour to Australia in 2011- 12.

The most surprising fact is that Ojha, who is now the leader of the spin attack, was till recently considered for the supporting role to Ashwin.

Ojha has been in good form and has shown that bowling a consistent line reaps rewards, but he lacks the guile and variation that spinner requires to dismiss quality batsmen.

Legendary spinner Erapalli Prasanna said that it was more a case of hoping that the inexperienced Australian batsmen — with the exception of skipper Michael Clarke — will fail stand up against the Indian spinners rather than them dismissing them with their guile.

I don’t know if our spinners have the quality to bowl out quality batsmen twice. But luckily, the Australian team is going through a transition phase and I don’t think that apart from Clarke, any of the other batsmen has the quality to face spinners on turning tracks,” the legendary off- spinner told MAIL TODAY . Ashwin needs to realise that one needs to attack and buy wickets in the longest format — deceive the batsmen with loop and penetration.

He needs to work on his basics.

His stock delivery isn’t top class and at the international level, you can’t succeed if your stock delivery isn’t up the mark and you rely more variations.

Comeback man Harbhajan also does not inspire Prasanna with confidence.

“Harbhajan doesn’t seem to be the spinner he used be. I don’t think he has been selected on the basis of powerpacked performances. He didn’t impress much in the Irani Cup either. I don’t think the wickets took had much to do with trapping the batsmen with guile.

As for Ojha, I think he is a very good bowler when it comes to bowling a steady line. But he can’t be your attacking option. Neither does he have the variations, nor the loop,” Prasanna said.

“I also don’t think Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been too good in using three specialist spinners — as was evident in the fourth Test against England. It looked like the third spinner was redundant and India would have done better to go in with two fast bowlers and two spinners.” Former spinner Maninder Singh feels that while the three picked for the Test series are the best in the country at present, it is difficult to predict if they will dismiss the Australian batsmen twice in a match.

“Harbhajan, Ashwin and Ojha are definitely the best we have in the country at present. But I think they need one of the former spinners to guide them,” he told MAIL TODAY . “ Harbhajan is definitely looking better and I was told that the selectors have had a long discussion with him. But he should be prepared to sit out as I don’t think Dhoni will go in with three spinners.

“Ashwin has a lot of talent, but needs to work on his flight, penetration and action. As for Ojha, I think he bowls a steady line and that is his strength. He might not be in the classical mould, but then sometimes you tend to stick with what works for you.

“On many an occasion, you lose your confidence if you try too many things. So it is better not to tinker much with him,” the left- arm spinner of the 1980s and 90s said.

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HAMILTON (Reuters) - Captain Brendon McCullum led the way with the bat while his bowlers produced a disciplined display to beat England by 55 runs in the second Twenty20 international at Seddon Park on Tuesday and level the three-match series.

McCullum had anchored New Zealand's innings to power them to 192 for six with 74 runs from 38 balls as he plundered England's attack for six boundaries and five sixes.

Mitchell McClenaghan, who took two wickets in successive balls in the second over, Trent Boult and Ian Butler then put the power-packed England batting line-up under constant pressure with aggressive pace bowling.

Butler finished with two for nine from four overs, while McClenaghan had two for 24. James Franklinmopped up the tail to finish with 4-15 off 3.3 overs.

Jos Buttler produced a cameo of 54 but received little help as England were dismissed for 137 in 19.3 overs.

England had won the first match at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday by 40 runs, which was their sixth successive victory over New Zealand in the shortest format of the game and McCullum said he was pleased his side had put that behind them.

"It was good. The other night was disappointing and England blew us off the park," McCullum said in a televised interview.

"The boys are very happy with the performance (and) ... to bounce back from the other day. We knew we were short (on Saturday) and today was a really good performance from us."

Unlike Auckland, openers Hamish Rutherford and Martin Guptill kept the run rate above nine before Rutherford feathered a catch to Buttler off Luke Wright for 40 to leave the hosts well placed at 75-1 in the ninth over.

The run rate however dropped markedly after Rutherford fell as England's bowlers varied their length and pace with Wright and Jade Dernbach adept at disguising their slower deliveries.

Guptill (47), Ross Taylor (four) and Colin Munro (seven) all fell when they failed to pick slower deliveries and lofted mistimed shots into the deep, while Grant Elliott (four) was bowled by a Dernbach delivery that was 30kph slower than the previous one.

McCullum, however, took 22 off the 19th over from Stuart Broad, which included three sixes, before he became Dernbach's third wicket on the penultimate delivery of the innings.

The series decider will be in Wellington on Friday.

"It was obviously a disappointing performance throughout but Twenty20 cricket can be like that," Broad said.

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Calcutta: Gautam Gambhir has urged his fans and well-wishers not to sympathise with him for being dropped from the Test team since he is ready to “fight” in order to earn his place back in the national squad.

“No sympathies plz,” the opener tweeted after the news of his exclusion.

The left-hander will be leading India A against the Australians in a three-day first-class tie and the 31-year-old is looking forward to that game.

”Lookin forward to training then d india a game. Chin up guys, its time to show some steel. Come on,” he wrote.

“Had my bak to d wall in d past 2, dis is no difrent. Will fight. Very hapy 4 vijay shikhar. Want India to win @ all costs, wid or widou me.”

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NEW DELHI: Sachin Tendulkar sparkled before a sparse gathering at the Palam Cricket Ground, but Services ended the first day of the second Ranji Trophy semifinal in a position of advantage. 

The unheralded home team struck crucial blows towards the beginning and end of play, leaving giants Mumbai struggling on 199/6 at close after they had elected to bat on a foggy morning. A delayed start and a premature conclusion allowed for just 78 overs to be bowled.

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An 81-run stand between Tendulkar (56) and Abhishek Nayar (70) restored a measure of control to the innings and it was one of the two partnerships of note on the day. Not too many made it to the nigh unknown venue on Wednesday. The few who did were treated to a rare rearguard by Tendulkar. The maestro walked in to loud cheers from a handful of faithful followers after openers Kaustubh Pawar and Wasim Jaffer had departed cheaply.

EARLY INROADS

The match was delayed by 35 minutes due to foggy conditions. Medium Pacer Suraj Yadav began tidily and made the first inroad into Mumbai’s strong batting line-up when he trapped the Pawar (3) leg-before. The veteran Jaffer was out in the next over, having struck three crisp boundaries in the morning, when seamer Nishan Singh induced an outside edge that was gobbled up gratefully by wicket-keeper Sarabjit Singh. 

Worse was in store for the visitors. Hiken Shah was caught behind off Yadav for a 12-ball duck, leaving the scene for Tendulkar and Nayar, who was remarkably staid in his approach. Tendulkar’s modus operandi was quite the opposite. He began with a diligent inspection of the pitch and soon after hit a rasping cover drive to the fence, following it with another confident drive off Yadav for the same result.

SACHIN SPARKLES

The maestro was struck a blow on the right hand by a screaming Nishan delivery – warranting a two-minute injury time-out –  but he accelerated  furiously after lunch. Boundaries flew off his bat in the second session as he raced to a half-century in 70 balls. Then came the first over of spin for the day, the only six and the big wicket. A hoick off left-arm spinner Avishek Sinha soared over long on for maximum benefit, but on the very next ball Tendulkar was caught at mid on trying to repeat the shot.

Nayar, meanwhile, had plodded to another fifty in 125 balls. He had needed over 40 deliveries to his first couple of runs, but eased up as the day wore on. Nayar pinged fours through mid wicket, third man and square leg, adding a patient 65 with the equally laborious Aditya Tare. But Shadab Nazar struck twice in quick succession in the last session to peg Mumbai back again. 
The well-set Nayar snicked massively to Yadav at first slip. In the same over, southpaw Ankeet Chavan moved too far across and lost his leg stump, as Mumbai slipped to 169/6. Aditya Tare (26 batting) and skipper Agarkar (17 batting) took their team to close without further damage.

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Rajkot: The Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium looks like a home after a wedding. Ladies still cleaning up the stands, five days after it hosted the first India-England ODI, as the five-day semi-final between Saurashtra and Punjab got underway with the eerie echo of ‘Come on boys!’ hitting the concrete in the stands. To not see a spectator at an Indian cricket stadium is a sad spectacle. A first-class reality yet to be ‘tested’. But life goes on, asJaydev Shah won the toss, and asked his batsmen to pad up along with Punjab wicketkeeper Uday Kaul.

The bell rang, announcing the start of play, and umpires Chettihody Shamshuddin and Robert Bailey, the only Men-in-Black pants, made their way to the ground. Punjab’s field was set just as trains whizzed past like whistling caterpillars in the background. Sandeep Sharma who was seen measuring his line up with tape before the game, took the new ball. Openers Sagar Jogiyani and Shitanshu Kotak were keen to stay at the crease, but Siddharth Kaul got one to come in, with Jogiyani’s front foot nowhere in the picture, and the off-stump went for a walk, allowingHarbhajan Singh’s nails some respite at second slip, as the team huddled together to celebrate its first wicket.

ALSO SEE: Quotes | Services stretch Mumbai

The Kaul brothers then operated in tandem, to send back Rahul Dave, a caught-and-bowled wicket for the family archives. Old warhorse Kotak with his ‘I’ll show you my stumps, but not my wicket’ stance kept things going along with skipper Shah. Harbhajan’s off-spinners were promptly offered the front foot, and the off-colour tweaker could only put his hands above his patka, full-sleeved arms intersecting, as the two left-handers defended and drove to 93/2. At 12:00 P.M, it was time to fill up their plates with lunch. 

Match referee Raju Mukherjee went ding dong for the second time, and the post-lunch session began with three fours, all from Jaydev Shah’s bat at Siddharth Kaul’s expense. He soon brought up his half-century with another boundary, off opposite number Harbhajan, with the fielder at short cover diving only to find his hands going green. Kotak became the second to raise his bat, responding to the affection offered by the dressing room. A 40-year old who doesn’t have age on his side, but has a tidy average that has kept him in the side for long. However his longevity at the crease, was brought to an end by Harbhajan, partly by Kotak’s own doing, as he hit the ball straight into the hands of Mandeep Singh in the slips.

With the batsmen getting comfortable with the off-leg combination of Harbhajan and Ladda, the former took himself off, bringing in young Kaul to bend his knees at the bowling crease. The ball was coming on nicely to the bat, Shah and Jackson had no problem playing their shots, as there was lots of room on offer.  All that changed when Bipul Sharma came on to bowl his first over of the day.

Ten minutes before tea, Jaydev Shah tried to clear long-off with a cross-batted hoik, only to find the ball in the hands of Sandeep Sharma. Bipul celebrated with a Bhangra dance in slow-motion, as Shah walked offreluctantly. 70 of the man’s 87 runs came off boundaries, and his 18th attempt at clearing the fence, did him in. Numbers can tell a story, but this one stopped before it made it to the last page, of what should have been a 100-page notebook. 

After the third and final bell, thankfully, there was a small crowd that came in to watch from the pavilion stand, hooting and cheering for Sheldon Jackson and Aarpit Vasavada. The latter fell leg-before-wicket to a good in swinger from Taruwar Kohli, while Jackson (70*) completed a well-deserved fifty with Kamlesh Makvana (13*) for company. This status quo could have changed if Kaul hadn’t missed out on a three-wicket haul, when he had Jackson caught by Harbhajan in the slips, albeit, off a no-ball.  Saurashtra 274/5 after 87 overs.

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Bangladesh cricket chiefs said Wednesday that Pakistan had refused to release any of its players for a Twenty20 competition which begins this week after a planned bilateral series had to be scrapped.

Pakistan had been due to host Bangladesh for a Twenty20 game and a 50-over match in Lahore this month in what would have been its first home internationals since a deadly attack on the Sri Lankan team bus nearly four years ago.

But the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cancelled the tour, saying Pakistan was not safe for its players.

According to a BCB spokesman, Pakistan has now responded by preventing any of its stars from competing in the Bangladesh Premier League which begins Thursday.

"The chief executive officer of PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) called our CEO today and informed him that they won't allow Pakistani players to play in the BPL until we send our team to their country," spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP.

"We've now decided to host the event without Pakistani players," he said, adding the BPL's seven franchises would now find replacements for the 26 Pakistani players they bought in the auction last month.

The move represents a major blow for the second edition of the BPL since Pakistani cricketers have a big following in Bangladesh.

More than 50 Pakistani players took part in the auction for the second edition of BPL, with opening batsman Imran Nazir fetching $280,000.

Last year more than 20 Pakistani players took part in the inaugural edition, with all-rounder Shahid Afridi sold for the highest fee of $700,000.

No international matches have taken place in Pakistan since the militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus that killed eight people in March 2009.

Spokesman Yunus said Bangladesh has not ruled out touring Pakistan in the coming months but wanted to reassess the security situation before sending a team.

Bangladesh was also due to tour Pakistan last April, but the tour was blocked by the Dhaka High Court on security grounds.

Anti-Pakistan sentiment still runs strong in Bangladesh, which was part of Pakistan until 1971 when it won independence after a nine-month war.

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Kochi: For Alastair Cook, the 100-odd runs in the death overs was what made the difference between the two teams on Tuesday, in the second one-day International.

From 177 for five at the end of the 40th over, India went on to post 285 for six in 50 overs. The host finally won the match by 127 runs.

“India dominated specially after the 40th over. We gave away 100-odd runs in the last 10 overs. If we could have taken a couple of wickets and restricted them to 250-260, it would have been still gettable,” Cook said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

India smash England to level series
Good that I misread Kochi wicket: Dhoni

“It’s very tough when you’ve got people like Dhoni batting. You get exposed when you don’t quite get the skills right,” Cook added.

Dhoni made 72 while Man of the MatchRavindra Jadeja was unbeaten on 61. The bowlers skittled out the visitors for a paltry 158 in just 36 overs to level the five-match series 1-1.

Cook was all praise for Dhoni’s big-hitting prowess and said his late-order surge changed the complexion of the match. “He (Dhoni) is probably the best player in the world in those situations, in these conditions.”

Dhoni sent the pace trio of Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach and Chris Woakes to all parts of the park in the closing stages but Cook declined to introduce the occasional spin of Joe Root, which the English captain said wasn’t an option.

“You’re always going to get a hindsight, but probably one batsman you don’t want an off-spinner bowling to is Dhoni. We’ve seen him a number of times and with a spinner at the end, it’s very hard to bowl to him,” he said.

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REUTERS - West Indies have recalled batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan for the upcoming one day series in Australia, but all-rounder Marlon Samuels has not been named in the 15-man squad.

Sarwan has not played for the West Indies in any form of cricket since the second test against India in July 2011 but the 32-year-old, who has a one day average of 43.41, will get a fresh chance in the five match series which begins in Perth on February 1.

The Guyanese batsman, who has had fitness problems as well as disagreements with the team's administrators, has played 173 matches and made 5,644 runs in the 50 over format.

Samuels has been playing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition where he has attracted controversy following a clash with Shane Warne.

The Jamaican damaged his eye socket when he was struck in the head by Sri Lankan paceman Lasith Malinga on January 6.

There is no place either for 38-year-old batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who last week signed a two year contract with English county Derbyshire.

Left-hander Narsingh Deonarine is also recalled having not featured since June 2010.

The squad will be led by Darren Sammy while Dwayne Bravo, who is back from injury, will take on the vice-captain's role.

West Indies squad for limited overs tour of Australia:

Darren Sammy (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice captain), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Narsingh Deonarine, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Thomas.

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New Delhi, Jan. 16 -- It's not just hockey which has taken a serious hit as a result of protests by the right-wing parties in India over the participation of Pakistan players. Equally strong repercussions are expected in cricket. It has put in doubt the Pakistan team's participation in the ICC Women's World Cup to be hosted in Mumbai and extinguished hopes of their men cricketers of participating in the IPL.

The International Cricket Council is yet to take an official decision but it is widely expected that Women's World Cup, scheduled to be organised in Mumbai between Jan 31 and Feb 17, will be played without the Pakistan team.

A Board member explained that the time is too short to shift the World Cup to another country and shifting the Pakistan team's matches to any other city didn't solve security concern.

The official word from the BCCI on Tuesday was that they had left the ball in International Cricket Council's (ICC) court to take a final call on shifting the venue. "The ICC has been informed about the situation. It will take a final call regarding shifting of the venue," said BCCI president N Srinivasan.

However, the Board members feel practically it's impossible to assure security of a team for 15 days against a big protesting mob. According to the previous schedule, the Pakistan women's team is supposed to reach Mumbai on Jan 26 and play league games at the MCA-Bandra Kurla complex. "Logistically, it would be difficult to change the venues at this stage. But the ICC now have to take a call as they had picked the venue," said a committee member.

No Pak players in IPL?

The continuing protests over the killing of two Indian soldiers by Pakistan troops along the border in J&K on January 8, has also ended the chances of the Pakistan cricketers participation in the IPL. When asked, a working committee member quipped: "In the current scenario which franchisee will be so foolish as to invest in the Pakistan players." The committee decided that the IPL auction ahead of sixth edition would be held at Chennai on Feb 3.

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