Playing fast bowling

When I used to turn out in my college matches, I used to stride out to the middle with an arrogant gait but underneath there was a fear of getting hit by the brand new red cherry. And I showed how not to play fast bowling. So does Suresh Raina even today at international level. Earlier this week I was very impressed by the Jonny Bairstow, his composure and technique against fast bowling. Here was a man who was hit several times by Darren Sammy (who bowls only at 120/125 ks), Kemar Roach and got caught of short balls just a month back. At Lords he was tackling Steyn, Morkel very confidently.

Wonder why Suresh Raina for all his prodigious talent is not able to fix his short coming against short ball. Sourav Ganguly was certainly not the best against the short ball but you have to admire he found a way to tackle and play the short ball (however clumsy he looked) and averaged 42 in international cricket.

Suresh Raina needs to merely look at Jonny Baristow to figure out how he has managed to seemingly overcome his shortcomings. You dont need to pull everything thrown at you which seems to be the route Raina is taking. For such a classy ODI player, suprising that he has not found his feet in test cricket. With Dravid and VVS moving on, Indian cricket needs someone of Raina's quality to step it up.

Glad to see Badri back in the squad. On the team composition & batting order - a few comments. Agree with Sanjay Manjrekar that you cannot have Sehwag and Gambhir opening against South Africa in 2013. Ideally combination for the NZ test would be:
Rahane, Gambhir, Kohli, Sachin, Pujara, Sehwag, Dhoni,Ohja, Ashwin, Zaheer, Umesh Yadav.

Looking forward to the start of a new season of test cricket. Should be great fun.

Mr. Grace, VVS

VVS Laxman & Rahul Dravid will rank in that order as the top Indian match winning batsmen in test cricket. The man for the crisis - VVS has won/ saved several matches for the India. He was one of the best fourth innings batsman in test cricket and the Indian will certainly miss his quality. His mental fortitude is legendary and needless to say his 281 (Eden), 96 (Durban 2010), 75 (Jamaica 2006), 81 Mohali (2010), 110 (Colombo 2011) were incredible contributions. Neither Gavaskar nor Tendulkar have won as many matches thro their 4th innings contributions. Yet he was always the least regarded amongst the quartert of SRT, SG, RD and VVS.

VVS was a fantastic entertainer. Along with Mark Waugh, VVS Laxman defined grace in batsmanship. It was sheer joy to watch him laze into his drives and his signature flicks onside a la Azhar were sheer magic. I remember a 16 ball 30 against South Africa at Durban 2001 - short quickfire innings but his regal drives and majestic pulls left a lasting impression.

A very selfless cricketer has batted up and down the batting order. Very impressive to see him go back and play Ranji trophy. The Hyderabad team will immensely benefit from his experience.

Thanks VVS for the entertainment.

Kris Sri''C'ant select a team

Indian T20 team for the World Cup in Sri Lanka has been announced and to my mind a few shockers.

I have great respect for the talent, flamboyance and deeds of Yuvraj Singh. But dont think he should be playing T20 World Cup - he hasnt played any competitive cricket since April 2011 World Cup and to bring him back to World Cup directly is shocking. Clearly it appears that the sympathy wave more than logic has been the winner.

Rohit Sharma: Mumbai has to have its reps in the team even someone of Rohit's class or rather lack of it. L Balaji is a superb IPL player but quality in IPL means nothing at international level. At his pace he would go for 40 runs atleast in 4 overs

Piyush Chawla: Cant bat, bowl or field.

Bhajji's inclusion did raise my eyebrows but then there is sheer lack of bowling quality. Atleast in shorter version of the game, Bhajji is as good or as bad as any other spinner sans Ashwin

I am bit dismayed by the absense of Praveen Kumar. Best way to contain a team in T20 is to take wickets and Praveen Kumar with the new ball is still a force. Likewise would have played Rahane instead of Rohit Sharma.

As regards the test team against NZ, I am sure Suresh Raina against one of the worst bowling attacks on Indian soil would come good. So would Tendulkar and Laxman !! Anyway good to play a weak team at home and boost confidence ahead of sterner tests against Australia and England.