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Tamil Nadu’s M Vijay is set to play his first competitive match since making 82 in India’s series-leveling victory over Sri Lanka in August

Amol Karhadkar14-Oct-2015Just when Tamil Nadu’s tailenders were getting a feel of the bat towards the end of their training session at the the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai’s business hub, M Vijay padded up to take guard for the second time in an hour.Vijay, seeking to return to match fitness after missing two of India’s three Tests in Sri Lanka due to a hamstring injury, defended balls from pacers for a while. Vijay’s defence, which has been the hallmark of his game during his resurgence as a Test opener over the last two years, was tight as ever.Tamil Nadu may be taking on Mumbai in one of the more high-profile clashes of the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season, but more than the rivalry between the sides, the spotlight over the next four days will be on Vijay, with the Test series against South Africa starting in three weeks.Vijay may have emerged as the leaver in Tests over the last couple of years, but he started his prolonged training stint in an unusual manner. He first asked spinners and seamers to bowl onto his pads for a good 20 minutes. Then, the line changed to outside off stump. But Vijay hardly had any difficulties in judging it. He returned towards the end of the session to finish off with a string of defensive strokes.It was Vijay’s first serious net session since scoring 82 in Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell Test. His stint at the crease on Tuesday, hours after joining his team-mates in Mumbai, was all about expressing himself freely.”I am pretty excited to play this game because it has been a long gap,” Vijay said. “After the Sri Lanka tour, I did not get any game at all. I am really working hard on my fitness. I am looking forward for a positive result if I play all four days of this match and get some confidence going.”It will be music to the ears of his Tamil Nadu team-mates, as well as the national selectors if Vijay gets into his groove straightaway.
It will not be that way for the hosts, though.After earning a bonus point against Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai will be striving for consistency. They will be banking on the new-ball duo of Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur to pull the brakes on Vijay early on.Six years ago, Vijay scored a breezy 154 against the same opponents. If he can produce a knock of similar quality over the next four days, it would be the most opportune manner for him to prove his fitness.

Sussex have lost Australian John Hastings, from the Friends Life T20 tournament this season, because of an ankle operation.

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2013Sussex have lost John Hastings, the Australian overseas player signed for the Friends Life T20 tournament this season, because he is about to undergo surgery on an ankle injury.Hastings will undergo surgery in Melbourne next week to remove bone spurs on his left ankle. He will now focus on rehabilitation ahead of the 2013-14 season with the Victoria.A quality replacement will be difficult to find for Sussex – although the difficulty of attracting high-class players could be even more difficult next season when the counties revert to T20 on Friday nights for much of the summer.”There’s never a good time to get it done, but it’s pretty disappointing,” Hastings said. “I was in quite a bit of pain during the last three months of the season and it wasn’t allowing me to deliver my skillset like I would like.”Hastings was determined to see out the season, having missed the 2011/12 Victoria season because of shoulder surgery – and that has cost Sussex dear.He seemed an astute Sussex signing as he took 27 wickets at 24.51 including career-best figures of 5-30 and 7-87 against Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield this season, as well as scoring useful runs in the lower middle-order. He also finished third on the RYOBI One-Day Cup wicket-takers’ list with 15 at 25.46 and averaged 44 with the bat.Mark Robinson, Sussex’s professional cricket manager, said: “Obviously the news is really disappointing and it is a shame that Sussex supporters will not get to see John in action this season. We wish him a speedy recovery from his surgery and our attention now turns to finding a suitable replacement.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the opening match of IPL 2012 between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Chennai

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran03-Apr-2012

Match facts

Wednesday, April 4, Chennai
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Harbhajan Singh, the Mumbai Indians captain, could use the IPL as an opportunity to make a comeback•Mumbai Indians

Big picture

A year ago, the hangover of the World Cup had barely ended before another exhausting tournament started. Fans dehydrated by the emotions of India’s World Cup victory were now expected to show up in those numbers for the IPL. The fans and players had one thing in common – both were knackered. The scenario this year is not entirely different. India’s horrific season must have drained them mentally. Their followers are tired of defeat. The next two months will reveal the fans’ true faith in their own players.Indian cricket has come a full circle in a year, and the man at the epicentre is MS Dhoni, who’s back to leading Chennai Super Kings tomorrow in the IPL opener against Mumbai Indians. Public memory is short, and all it could take is a few victories for his fans to restore their faith. The reshuffling of squads last year didn’t affect the defending champions Super Kings. They thrived on a power-packed batting line-up, backed by a competent spin attack. They spent their auction purse in getting hold of a spinning-allrounder in Ravindra Jadeja. Dhoni, unfortunately, found himself shouldering too much burden as India captain, which affected his performances. If Super Kings are to succeed again, this squad, with varying degrees of experience, need to rally around him.His Mumbai counterpart, Harbhajan Singh, was largely disconnected from India’s plunge because he was dealing with a slump of his own. Poor form and injury kept him on the sidelines, but he regained pride by leading Mumbai to the Champions League title last year. He finds himself in the same role this year, after Sachin Tendulkar decided to step down as captain. Mumbai may be missing Andrew Symonds, but the squad’s intimidating enough without him. It’s fitting that the defending champions are taking on the team to beat in the opener.Mumbai are lucky to have their entire international contingent available for the season. Super Kings have a couple of injury concerns, but the core of their squad – barring Michael Hussey who is to join at the end of the month – is available.

Players to watch

Since his 95 in the IPL final last year (and 434 for the tournament), M Vijay has had a quiet 11 months. He underperformed in the West Indies and found himself out of contention. He had his moments of success during the domestic season, but this IPL will again be crucial towards making a return to the national side, at least when it comes to auditioning for the World Twenty20. Another chance beckons for the opening batsman.Harbhajan Singh is another player who could use this tournament as an opportunity to make a comeback. The criticism was that he had become a defensive bowler, bowling flatter lengths which weren’t fetching him enough wickets. His domestic season wasn’t good enough to force a return either. R Ashwin’s mixed returns in Australia should improve Harbhajan’s chances. But Harbhajan will know that he will be up against the likes of Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma, at least in the limited-overs formats. He needs wickets, and plenty of them.

2011 head-to-head

Mumbai and Super Kings played each other just once last year. Rohit Sharma’s 87 off 48 balls took Mumbai to 164. Super Kings were well-placed at 98 for 2 in the 12th over, but Harbhajan inflicted a collapse, taking five wickets to give Mumbai an eight-run win. S Badrinath was the last-man standing with 71.

Stats and trivia

Rahul Dravid has been included in the MCC side to play County Champions Nottinghamshire in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2011The former England seamer Simon Jones has been forced to withdraw from the MCC squad to face the champion county, Nottinghamshire, in the English-season curtain-raiser in Abu Dhabi next week. He has experienced some discomfort in his knee and has been withdrawn as a precautionary measure, to be replaced by the MCC Young Cricketer, Paul Muchall.Muchall is a batting all-rounder who had an excellent season for the YCs in 2010, scoring over 550 runs in the Second XI Championship, and also played well for Kent in the CB40 tournament towards the end of the summer. He is currently captaining the YCs side in a pre-season training tour in Abu Dhabi, and will provide cover for the MCC Champion County squad.”It is a shame that Simon has had to pull out of the match, but I am very pleased to welcome Paul Muchall into the squad,” said John Stephenson, MCC’s Head of Cricket. “One of MCC’s key objectives is to provide a pathway into the professional game for talented young cricketers, and this represents another avenue for Paul to develop his game, and share a dressing room with some very experienced players. I am sure that Paul will be raring to get stuck in and make the most of the opportunity.”One of the men he will be able to learn from is the former India captain Rahul Dravid, who is a prominent member of the MCC World Cricket Committee. Dravid will be joined by England wicketkeeper Steven Davies and the side will be led by former Australia opener Chris Rogers who has joined Middlesex.Other notable inclusions for the four-day game at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium which, as in 2010, will be played under floodlights using a pink ball, are the Afghanistan pair of Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi, who are former MCC Young Cricketers. Sourav Ganguly will replace Dravid for a Twenty20 event which follows the four-day match and also features Nottinghamshire, Durham and a Fly Emirates XI.MCC squad Chris Rogers (capt), Stephen Moore, Rahul Dravid (four-day only), Stephen Peters, Dawid Malan, Mohammad Nabi, Steven Davies, Hamid Hassan, Gary Keedy, Paul Muchall, Steve Kirby, Toby Roland-Jones, Sourav Ganguly (T20 only), Omar Ali (12th man)Nottinghamshire squad Ali Brown, Jake Ball, Neil Edwards, Scott Elstone, Luke Fletcher, Paul Franks, Alex Hales, Steven Mullaney, Akhil Patel, Samit Patel, Ben Phillips, Chris Read (capt & wk), Charlie Shreck, Mark Wagh, Graeme White

Cricinfo previews the return match between Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers in Nagpur

The Preview by Sriram Veera11-Apr-2010

Match facts

Deccan v Bangalore, Nagpur
Monday, April 12
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Anil Kumble has been magnificent with the ball and has led from the front.•Associated Press

Big Picture

Deccan Chargers refuse to fade away. Just when you thought they were slipping away, they bounced back with a win. Just when you thought they were over-reliant on big names, T Suman led from front. Just when you thought they were really poor while bowling in the end overs, they produced a near-perfect end game against Chennai Super Kings.The clarity over each player’s role, so well defined during last year’s winning campaign, is gradually coming to the fore. Andrew Symonds is the finisher, Rohit Sharma the engine of the batting, Suman provides the momentum and Monish Mishra the much-needed blast at the top.Deccan will hope Adam Gilchrist fires in the upcoming pressure games. It isn’t as if he has looked out of touch, but he has rarely converted any of his starts. The bowling, despite their good showing against Chennai, has not looked completely reliable.Things won’t be as easy against Royal Challengers Bangalore, as was the case with Chennai. Bangalore, too, were appearing to lose the plot after they lost four out of five games, but roared back with a commanding performance against Kolkata Knight Riders.After Rahul Dravid joined the form men with a delightful fifty in that match, Bangalore’s batting looks solid. The bowling has been iffy; they conceded 180-plus totals in the three consecutive games before improving against Kolkata, keeping them to 160. Despite that performance, the bowling will remain a headache and Deccan have the batting firepower, on their day, to take full toll.If Bangalore win on Monday, they will move a step closer to qualifying for the semi-finals with 14 points and two games to play. Deccan are currently placed seventh, and are in a tougher situation with a poor net run-rate of -0.539. If they win, though, they will be level on points with three other teams and climb, depending upon the margin of victory, at least two places up.

Form guide (most recent first)

Bangalore Royal Challengers WLLWL

Deccan Chargers WWLLL

Team talk

Who will partner Jacques Kallis in the opening slot? Sridharan Sriram, who can slip in couple of overs, or will Bangalore return to Manish Pandey?Deccan seem a settled unit, finally, on the batting front, but the bowling remains a problem area. It says a lot about RP Singh’s skills on flat tracks when Symonds looks a much better option to complete the quota of four overs. The bright spot for Deccan in their bowling has been Ryan Harris, who, chosen over Chaminda Vaas, was the Man of the Match in the last game.

Previously

Deccan 3, Bangalore 2
In the previous game between the teams, Suman played a responsible hand to steer Deccan to a seven-wicket win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

In the spotlight

Anil Kumble has been a treat to watch. The two-fingered googlies have worked like a charm and he has shown mastery in varying his pace. He has never been shy to take on the toughest batsmen and continues to be Bangalore’s best bowler.Andrew Symonds may not have been at his brutal best, be but he is playing his role to perfection. In the last few games, he has showcased his great skill of knowing exactly when to play the big shot and has backed his instincts.

Prime numbers

• With 61 fours, Jacques Kallis is way ahead of Andrew Symonds (27 fours), the nearest competitor from the opposition. With 21 sixes, Robin Uthappa has six more than Adam Gilchrist, the man with the most sixes for Deccan.
• Uthappa’s 179.74 is the best strike-rate among those who have scored 200 or more in this IPL.
• Both Vinay Kumar (4 for 40) and Anil Kumble (3 for 9) feature in the list of the top five bowling figures in an innings. There is no one from Deccan in the top ten..

The chatter

“We’re still in the mix now. We are improving our performances though I wouldn’t say we are at our best. If we can secure some wins by not playing at our best, it’s a good sign.”
“The balance and depth of our side can be judged by the fact that someone like Kevin Pietersen has to sit out. But that’s how it is. You can only play four foreigners and rightly so. This is the Indian Premier League.

Jack and Matt Taylor finish on losing side as Tymal Mills wins on captaincy debut

ECB Reporters Network31-May-2024Sussex Sharks scrambled a bye off the final ball of the game to get their Vitality Blast campaign off to a successful start with a three-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Hove.Chasing 168, the final over began with Sussex needing ten to win but Fynn Hudson-Prentice, whose 47 appeared to have taken them to the brink of victory, was caught behind to give Matt Taylor his third wicket. With eight needed off three deliveries, Jack Carson swung a six onto the pavilion roof and then scrambled a single to leave Nathan McAndrew facing the final ball.McAndrew failed to make contact, but James Bracey missed his shy at the stumps and Sussex, who only won once at the 1st Central County Ground in last year’s tournament, had completed a breathless triumph.Gloucestershire will feel it was a game they should have won, in particular the Taylor brothers Jack and Matt. Skipper Jack Taylor got them up to what looked to be a competitive total of 167 for 8 on a hybrid pitch offering decent pace and carry with 52, then Matt became the third bowler in the match on a hat-trick when Ollie Carter failed to control a short ball and Ben Charlesworth dived full length to his right at short third to brilliantly cling one-handed onto Tom Alsop’s full-blooded cut shot.When James Coles was bowled making room to manoeuvre David Payne through the off side and debutant Daniel Hughes played around a straight one from left-arm spinner Graeme van Buuren, Sussex were 53 for 4 in the eighth over and up against it, but John Simpson joined Hudson-Prentice to add 56 off 37 balls and get the chase back on course.Simpson made 36 off 19 before pulling a ball from Marchant de Lange to midwicket, but Lamb and Hudson-Prentice maintained the momentum with 47 off 32 to take Sussex to within 13 of victory with two overs remaining. There was another twist when Ajeet Singh Dale deceived Lamb with a slower ball and conceded just three runs to set up a thrilling final over but Sussex got over the line.Jack Taylor clearly benefited from a move up to No. 5 as he made his third fifty in the format before becoming one of three victims in the final over for Sussex’s new skipper Tymal Mills, who finished with 4 for 25.Taylor came in halfway through the innings and took the initiative after McAndrew had picked up two wickets with successive balls in the 14th over to leave Gloucestershire on 111 for 5.He helped plunder 19 off the penultimate over, swinging Lamb over midwicket and out of the ground for his third six before Mills showed all his experience at the end of the innings, conceding just three runs and removing Taylor to a catch at deep square leg and foxing van Buuren and Matt Taylor with his slower ball. It was to prove a crucial contribution.Gloucestershire had been in good shape when openers Miles Hammond and Cameron Bancroft added 59 but it was a good night for Carson, who was making his T20 debut and took two wickets in his only over to remove Hammond and Bracey.Bancroft looked untroubled until a searing yorker from Australian compatriot McAndrew spectacularly split his leg stump in two, but Jack Taylor helped wrest back the initiative by adding 64 off 35 balls with Charlesworth and his sibling maintained Gloucestershire’s momentum before Sussex fought back.

There have been few instances of visiting batters being comfortable against India in India and this was one of them

Sidharth Monga09-Mar-20232:22

Chappell: Khawaja’s calmness this series has been exemplary

Australia managed only the fourth opening stand of 50 or more for a visiting side in India in the last five years. Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith batted through the middle session, the first wicketless session of the series, the most comfortable any batting side has been in a session against India in India in the last 10 years. Khawaja scored a fine, patient hundred, only the sixth against India in India in the last five years.Yet it was India who controlled which way the game headed for the most part after losing the toss on a flat pitch. Only to lose the gamble with the new ball at the end of the day and hand Australia a slight advantage. Khawaja ended unbeaten on 104 having brought up the milestone in the last over of the day, and Cameron Green feasted on the new ball to score 49 in 64 in an 85-run stand that started after the loss of two wickets for 19 runs.The Ahmedabad pitch was a complete contrast to the first three Tests. Bowlers had to work hard to maintain control, defend with the fields and attack the stumps. Sometimes the payoff stretched across spells like when Umesh Yadav bowled a spell full of bouncers, and Mohammed Shami took the wicket with a full ball in the next spell, his second. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja managed one each, and Axar Patel provided control in his 12 overs for just 14 runs.A measure of how difficult it was for the bowlers is that India managed to draw only 34 false responses; there were 40 in the first session of the last Test. Yet through most of the day, India made sure the batters had to take risks to even go past 2.5 an over. Knowing they could trust the pitch, Australia waited for the loose balls, which also showed in an unusually high control percentage. The six false responses in 33 overs in the middle session was the highest control percentage for a visiting side in India in a session of Test cricket in India in the last 10 years.This is where the quality of Ashwin and Shami, and the depth in the attack, shone through. For long periods, Ashwin managed to keep the batters in check even though he didn’t beat the bat. The presence of a fifth bowler meant India could toil away tirelessly. It paid off with a break in concentration for Smith, who played Jadeja on, and a beauty from Shami to send Peter Handscomb back to reduce Australia to 170 for 4.The spinners then all but shut down Khawaja and Green, bowling five overs for three runs when Rohit Sharma asked for the new ball. Now this was a departure from how India usually operate on such days. They don’t risk taking the new ball with bowlers who have had a long day in the field. Usually they bowl around four overs with the new ball in the evening, and then have another shot at it on the next morning.India’s bowlers had to toil hard on a flat pitch•BCCI

Here, India took the new ball with nine overs to go, and Green took to it. A flat pitch, bowlers at the end of the day, and suddenly Australia had 54 runs in nine overs. Green did all the damage as Khawaja kept picking singles to start the final over of the day on 99. Then he got a half-volley to strike his 15th boundary having struck at just 41.43 despite having offered only 13 false responses in a 251-ball stay.This was a little like the start with the first new ball. Shami bowled the first ball straight to second slip, then offered more byes, a catch went down, and Australia raced away to 56 for 0 in the first 14 overs. This is when India would have been reminded of the Chennai Test of 2020-21, one of their only three home defeats in the last 10 overs.Led by Ashwin, India started to turn the screws. The second hour went for just 19. Travis Head tried to break the shackles but found mid-on. There was only a hint of reverse for a while, and Shami took out Marnus Labuschagne with that.With not much expected from their lower order, Australia had to be watchful in the middle session. It was also when all the bowlers gave Rohit excellent control. Just 74 were scored in the second session of 33 overs.Finally Smith defended one loosely, getting out to Jadeja for the seventh time, four of them bowled. Nobody has found his timber that often. With a 70-over old ball, Shami managed to hold the line to go past Handscomb’s edge and send the off stump on a cartwheel.The tension built towards the end of the day. Virat Kohli used to wait for the next morning and fresher bowlers to make the next big move. Rohit chose the evening. Green came out the victor.Amid all this, Khawaja just batted in the purest sense. No premeditation, no attempt to force the pace, just organically responding to what was bowled at him. He was severe off the toes, and also quick to work the ball square every time someone dropped short. Forty-six of his runs came between long leg and midwicket, which should tell you how he waited for the loose balls. As he said at the end of the day, it was a beautiful batting pitch and he just didn’t want to get out.

“If we were to have a 60-run partnership upfront tomorrow morning, that puts us in a good position”

Firdose Moonda13-Jan-2022South Africa’s team of “good cricketers without superstars” has to band together one final time to deny India the chance to make history, and it’s not going to be easy. That’s Lungi Ngidi’s assessment of a series that will come down to a couple of sessions on the penultimate day of the third Test and has made for gripping viewing throughout.”We are not going in there with a team of superstars,” Ngidi said. “We’ve got good cricketers and good cricketing brains, and it’s always a team effort. There are going to be moments where someone is going to have to put up their hand. If someone is not taking wickets, you make sure you keep the runs down, and if it’s your day, you make sure you cash in.”Related

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Ngidi was referring to a question about his own performance in the second session of the third day when he took three wickets in six overs to reduce India from 152 for 4 to 170 for 7. Ngidi started by removing Virat Kohli, who had batted for more than three hours and faced 143 balls for 29 runs, and then had R Ashwin and Shardul Thakur caught off loose strokes, but more notable than the names, it was the manner in which he took his wickets. After making his name as the kind of bowler who hits the deck hard, Ngidi operated completely differently at Newlands by pitching it up and finding swing. He listed this as one of his best series, especially “against this calibre of players” and despite it being “testing at times.”Though bowlers appear to have had it easier than batters in this series, Ngidi explained that it has been challenging for seamers to get their lengths right on surfaces that have not been entirely consistent in bounce. “The ball has been doing something the entire Test series,” he said. “There are patches on the wicket where if you hit it, it does something a little more than others. And we could see, with patience, guys could score hundreds out there, there have been two 70s already, so with the right application, there are runs in the wicket. As a bowler, if you hit the right areas, there are wickets as well.”The match won’t last five days – and if you take into account the rain-affected day in Centurion, none of the Tests has – but Ngidi praised the surfaces, especially this Newlands one. “It’s a good cricketing wicket. Everyone is in the game. It’s pretty evenly matched out.”He sees the match hinging on whether Keegan Petersen will find someone to post a half-century stand with or whether South Africa’s middle order will fold against the relentless Indian pace attack. “If we were to have a 60-run partnership upfront tomorrow morning, that puts us in a good position. If they were to take early wickets, that shifts it to them. It’s perfectly poised at the moment.”India know that too. Kohli was heard on the stump microphone reminding both his team and South Africa how much was at stake. “Just relax guys,” he told Dean Elgar and Petersen. “I can hear your heartbeat.”That’s understandable. As Elgar said before the match, this is South Africa’s biggest Test in the last decade and winning it could complete what has been a very slow turnaround from losing to Sri Lanka at home three summers ago and slipping to No. 8 in the rankings. There’s enormous expectation, at home, and from far away. For instance, in Guyana, South Africa’s Under-19 players, who are gearing up for their World Cup campaign, are keeping an eye. Their captain George van Heerden said they’re unlikely to wake up in the middle of the night to watch but are prepared to find out the results as soon as possible. “The management team have all got their laptops out and we are all watching from there,” he said at a press conference.India, meanwhile, will be eyeing their first Test series win in South Africa. On their last tour here, they won the final Test in Johannesburg. That South African team had superstars. This one, in Ngidi’s words, just believes that “everyone has got to perform when they are asked to”.

Assistant coach Roddy Estwick backs Gabriel, Joseph for deciding third Test against England

Matt Roller22-Jul-2020West Indies’ management will trust their frontline seamers to be honest about their ability to get through a third Test match against England in the space of as many weeks, but are confident that there are no major injury concerns heading into the final match of the series at Emirates Old Trafford.While England opted to field a completely different seam attack in the second Test, bringing in Stuart Broad, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes for James Anderson, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, West Indies went in unchanged, and their bowlers toiled for 162 overs in the first innings.Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph both left the field at various points with niggles, but assistant coach Roddy Estwick said that there were “no major injuries” to report ahead of Friday’s decider.”The thing about our seam department is that they’re very experienced,” Estwick said. “We’ll trust them. We’ll sit down with them and we’ll have a discussion. They must have been pulling up quite well because Shannon was ready to go into the nets today and have a bowl. The rain curtailed that but I think they’ll be fine.”We’ll try to get them to stay off their feet and to get the adequate rest and the treatment that they need, because come Friday there’s no second-guessing. We’ve got to be ready, and we can’t have any excuses.”If we had rested Shannon Gabriel for the (second) Test match after getting nine wickets (in the first) and had gone on to lose that Test, people would have been saying ‘Shannon got nine wickets, why did you rest him?’ It’s 20:20 vision, it’s hindsight. We can’t keep looking back and saying ‘we should have done this or that’. Just because England have done it and it proved successful doesn’t mean that it would have worked for us.”ALSO READ: Hope, Campbell in firing line as West Indies mull batting changesGabriel in particular looked stiff and sore at different points during the second Test, struggling for rhythm in his first spell and leaving the field clutching his groin on the second day. But Estwick said that his attitude to fitness had been impressive since his ankle injury last year, and backed him to get through the final Test.Shannon Gabriel went off with an injury in the second Test•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

“Obviously Shannon was injured just before the lockdown in the region, but he was able to put some training in,” Estwick said. “Once I was able to gauge from the 2km run and the time he did as soon as we arrived in England, I knew his fitness was commendable.”Shannon is a very hard-working individual. The key thing for him is to rest and recover. It’s a short turnaround, and he’s an important member for us. He’s an experienced player now, and we’ve got to make sure that he gets the right rest and gets his treatment in or whatever he needs to make sure he’s on the park on Friday.”Estwick said that Joseph’s injury – he went off with pain in his right elbow in the second Test – would be monitored on a “day-by-day” basis.”We know the injury he had, but you could see that he bowled in the second innings on the last morning. He had a bowl and he looked quite well.”The physio is going to keep us updated, but again, we’re going to trust the players. You’ve got to trust them to sit down and have an honest discussion, find out where they’re at and then make a decision.”The two back-up seamers in the 15-man squad are Chemar Holder and allrounder Raymon Reifer, but it may well be tempting for West Indies to pick Rahkeem Cornwall, the offspinner, as a second spin option after Roston Chase’s success in the first Test. The selectors may yet add a batsman – either Joshua Da Silva or Shayne Moseley – to the squad from the reserves amid concerns over John Campbell and Shai Hope’s form, but no decision has been taken as yet.Cornwall took a ten-wicket haul in his most recent Test appearance, against Afghanistan last November, and while Estwick pointed out that the conditions were very different, he said that Cornwall had looked good in training.”We’ll have a look at it – he’ll come under discussion, I’m sure. Rahkeem has been preparing well so if he’s given the opportunity, I’m sure he will go well. We’ll try to make sure we get the best combination from those 15.”

He looks set to miss the World Cup bus, having been out of India’s ODI side for nearly two years, but the offspinner isn’t ready to think of himself as Test-only player yet

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2019On June 30, when ODI cricket’s top two sides meet in one of the World Cup’s most anticipated clashes, India’s spin discussions will revolve around Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja. One man who almost certainly will not is R Ashwin.On that day, unless India’s selectors spring a major surprise with their World Cup squad, it will have been exactly two years since Ashwin last played an ODI.Since that game against West Indies in Antigua, Ashwin has found himself cast as a Test specialist, another fingerspinning casualty in the worldwide push for wristspin as a wicket-taking force in white-ball cricket. Kuldeep and Chahal have been India’s first-choice spinners in ODIs since then, and if Jadeja has re-entered the picture over recent months, it’s thanks in large part to his utility as a lower-order hitter and gun fielder.Ashwin hasn’t reconciled himself to being a Test-only player, however, and says his exclusion from limited-overs cricket is down to a “perception” that wristspin is a must in the shorter formats.”I am not looking at it like that because I am no slouch,” Ashwin said in an event in Mumbai on Saturday. “In the white-ball format, my records are not bad like what it is perceived to be. It is out of perception that wristspinners are required in the modern day one-day cricket format, that [is why] I am sitting out. The last one-day match that I played, I got 3 for 28.”I would always look back at my career and say it is not due to my effort that I am sitting out of the team, it is due to the supply and demand that the team requires.”I went and played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali [domestic T20 tournament] and I had a decent outing and that is how I look at it. I am playing cricket and it is not like I need to specialise in one particular format. It is the challenges of the modern-day game, I will be looking forward to do whatever I can do best.”Perception or not, the rise of wristspin in ODIs has coincided with Ashwin trying to reinvent himself as a limited-overs bowler; during last year’s IPL, he alternated between legspin and his usual offspin, and he’s set to do so again this season for Kings XI Punjab.Kuldeep Yadav practices at training as R Ashwin watches•Getty Images

“I have always maintained that you can spin the ball into the batsman or out of the batsman, you can’t do anything more than that,” Ashwin said when asked if he was working on any new variations. “I am just adding more ammunition to my own skill and try and add more strength to my game and that’s all it has always been.”I have never played for the galleries, never really played for the records, never really played for places. I just enjoy the sport, the sport has given me everything. When I picked up the bat and ball as a eight-year-old it gave me everything, I love it. Even today when I play a club game, when I play on the streets, I enjoy it. For me it is all about playing the game that I love and excelling in the best possible way I can.”Ashwin also weighed in on the discussion over whether India’s World Cup contenders should have their workloads monitored during the IPL. Virat Kohli recently said it was up to individual players to monitor their fitness requirements and arrive at the World Cup sharp and match-fit. Ashwin felt a clearer picture would develop as the IPL progresses, and that the bowlers might require rest at some point.”I don’t think as a cricketer you can look far ahead about what needs to be done and how you can manage it,” he said. “As a cricketer or as a sportsperson, you just concentrate on what happens today. The franchise has invested money on you. Obviously it is a massive tournament, everybody plays for pride, everybody wants to perform and excel. It definitely stays at the back of the head because it is being spoken about a lot more right now.”I am sure the players are responsible enough and more fitness-aware and able to handle it better than they ever were. I don’t think going into the tournament people will be thinking about it but as the tournament pans out and the way it goes for each and every franchise and for each and every player, they will take decisions wisely. Probably because of the number of injuries and the amount of premium players that are right now available for the country, and how important every spot is.”It is a dream for every cricketer to represent his country at the World Cup, it is a big stage. I think that is the point of view from where they are coming. Obviously, bowlers have more chances of succumbing to injuries because of the workload they go through, it is physically more hard on the body than the batters. Probably from that point of view, if you look at a [Jasprit] Bumrah or a Bhuvneshwar [Kumar], Bumrah has been fine but Bhuvneshwar has had a few concerns over the last year or so. I think from that point of view the bowlers need to be taken good care of.”