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“It goes back even to our regional cricket as well. I think as a whole we need to do better,” he added.

Andrew McGlashan27-Jul-2021West Indies captain Kieron Pollard took a fierce swipe at the pitches produced for the one-day series against Australia in Barbados, calling them “absolutely ridiculous.”While acknowledging that his team did not bat well in making 152 all out in the decider – which followed their 123 all out in the first match – he said that the fact that batting was difficult for both sides was a sign that the surfaces weren’t good enough.In the third ODI, Australia knocked off their target with 19 overs to spare to take the series. Australia also made comfortably the highest team total of the series with 252 for 9 in the first match. The pitch for the first match was used once, with the second two matches on the same surface.”Coming here to Barbados, I think both teams struggled on the pitch and I think that’s unacceptable for international cricket,” Pollard said at the presentation. “We’re not going to make excuses. We accept that we batted badly but I don’t think the scores that we have gotten in this three-match series, for two top international teams, I think that’s very embarrassing for us as a people. Coming from St Lucia to this, I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”When asked to elaborate on the conditions, he said: “It was plain for the world to see. If I continue going on about it, it’s going to be headlines, ‘Pollard this, Pollard that.’ That’s fine with me. But the reality is, we as players sometimes we get the brunt of the accusations and all the bad stuff. But give guys the opportunity to come and play on some good cricketing wickets.”It goes back even to our regional cricket as well. I think as a whole we need to do better, and we as individuals need to do better as well. So we’re not going to cast blame. We’re going to accept responsibility as well. But I think as a holistic approach and holistic view to move forward.”‘West Indies did not score 200 in the ODI series against Australia•CWI

Unsurprisingly, the victors were able to reflect on the challenge in a more sanguine way. Mitchell Starc, adjudged the Player of the Series, praised how Australia’s batters adapted after slumping to 45 for 6 in the second match.”I feel like this wicket we played on in the last two games has probably been ready to go 10 days,” Starc said. “We knew it was going to take turn, obviously Ash Agar comes into the team for this game. It was difficult for both teams, I thought with the bat, but certainly I think our batting group took some learnings from the last game where we probably struggled quite a bit against spin.”So to learn a bit from that and transition into this game, that partnership especially at the end there with Matt Wade and Ashton Agar, and with Alex Carey and Wadey in the middle, was fantastic.”Player-of-the-Match Agar, who took 2 for 31 before an unbeaten 19 in his first match of the series, claimed his first wicket with a delivery that disturbed the surface to Shai Hope. West Indies’ shot selection was also questionable in a situation where 200 could have made it a contest.”It’s pretty favorable conditions for a spinner,” Agar said at the presentation. “You just had to get your length right. As long as you were hitting the stumps for the right-hander and pitching the ball to a left-hander, where it’s spinning in and hitting the stumps to bring all modes of dismissal into play, that’s all you can do and you let the pitch go to work.”Really difficult conditions, really interesting style of cricket that was played. You don’t get many pitches like that and I hope we end up seeing a lot more like that in the future.”

Former India allrounder wants the national team to hire a team psychologist

ESPNcricinfo staff13-May-20202:38

Here’s who Yuvraj Singh thinks will break his fastest fifty record

Yuvraj Singh believes Hardik Pandya has the potential to become a “massive asset” for India by the 2023 World Cup, subject to the latter working on his temperament. Yuvraj said Hardik was a “phenomenal” talent and only one of the two current batsmen, along with his Indian teammate KL Rahul, who have the potential to break his record for the fastest T20I fifty, achieved in the 2007 World T20 against England.”I feel Hardik has the potential (to break my fastest T20I fifty record),” Yuvraj said on Sportscreen’s YouTube page. “I feel Hardik is someone who has got amazing talent, phenomenal talent. But probably someone needs to work with his head, where his head is, he is such a hard working guy, he is a nice guy.”Yuvraj buttressed his assertion by pointing to having seen Hardik’s amazing ball-hitting skills from up close during his stint with Mumbai Indians in IPL 2019. He cited the example of Hardik’s 91 – his personal T20 best – against KKR at the Eden Gardens. Mumbai still lost the game, having been set a massive target of 233.Yuvraj had even called Hardik’s innings “the best” he had seen in IPL, and had told the Baroda allrounder he could be India’s lynchpin at the 2019 World Cup with both bat and ball. Eventually, Hardik made 226 runs in the World Cup without a half-century, and picked up 10 wickets. In the semi-final against New Zealand, Hardik made 32 a slog across the line proved to be his undoing.According to Yuvraj, Hardik still needed to perform in “crunch” moments, which could be achieved by working on the mental side of the game.”He hits the ball spectacularly,” Yuvraj said. “I was at Mumbai Indians last year and he got 90 odd off 30 balls [91 off 34 against KKR], it was a phenomenal innings. He can actually be the next big allrounder for India, but he hasn’t performed at crunch times. Those performances haven’t come because he is a big hitter and he likes those big hits, but when he starts to know when to take a single and a double, and when to hit those big sixes, then he will actually work as a better player. So Hardik has massive potential to be a world class player. If someone works on his mind, he can be a massive asset till we get to the next World Cup.”Yuvraj Singh joins in the celebrations•Craig Golding/AFP/Getty Images

Yuvraj further emphasised the need for India to rope in a mental conditioning coach, particularly with a view to help youngsters deal with the intense scrutiny and pressure of the international game. He cited the examples of Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw, who he felt could benefit most from such an appointment. Pant, in a short international career, has already experienced volatile ups and downs scarcely imaginable for a 22-year old, and Shaw, a centurion on Test debut, has served a ban for a doping violation.During Yuvraj’s time, Paddy Upton combined as the mental conditioning and strategic leadership coach, finishing his three year stint in those positions after India won the 2011 World Cup. Yuvraj felt that though India had done well under the current coaching staff, a psychologist was needed to help youngsters cope with the mental side of the game.”I feel the current players don’t have anyone to speak about the mental side of the game to,” Yuvraj said. “We have guys like Rishabh Pant, guys like Prithvi Shaw, they are so talented, and obviously unfortunately there’s intense scrutiny these days because of the number of media outlets – one game you fail, you feel like you’ve failed the series. So, there’s nobody to talk to them about the mental side – what’s going on? How can we get better? Or probably don’t do this or do that. Share your experiences. I’ve been saying for a while, the team needs a good psychologist. But it should be someone the players respect. That’s important because there are a lot of young players, and younger players, as when we are growing up, we feel we know more than our parents and coaches.”Yuvraj even questioned whether the Indian coaching staff lead by Ravi Shastri and batting coach Vikram Rathour, while being equipped to deal with the technical stuff, could manage to sort the mental challenges players faced.”Players have done quite well under Ravi Shastri. They won in Australia, they have done quite well. But my point is – as a coach I don’t know how Ravi is – I know that you cannot have a particular way with every player, you have to have a different way with every player. I don’t see that with the coaching staff. You have guys like Vikram Rathour, he has been my senior, he has been a mentor at times when I was playing state, but with all due respect, if someone has not played cricket at that level for a long time, the younger generation which is more prone to T20 and 50-over, what are you going to tell them? Vikram Rathour might tell them about technique or how to hit the ball, but there’s no one to work on the mental side. The captain can only do so much. The coach can only do so much. That’s why I’m saying that you need a psychologist who actually talks to players after a particular session.”

With the World Cup coming up, the focus has been on the ODIs and those plans are ‘pretty much nailed down’, says West Indies captain

George Dobell in St Kitts11-Mar-2019Jason Holder insisted he was “not too disheartened” by West Indies’ defeat in the T20I series against England.While West Indies had appeared to have turned a corner in recent weeks, they rounded off England’s tour of the Caribbean by subsiding to two of the heaviest defeats in their T20 history in the last couple of games.But while Holder, the West Indies captain, admitted the results were disappointing – not least for the good-sized crowd of locals that packed Warner Park to watch despite bush fires blowing smoke and ash across the ground – he felt they had to be kept in perspective.”We’re a bit disappointed,” Holder said, “but there are still a lot of positives. I definitely would have accepted these results when England started their tour. Winning the Test series was exceptional and parts of the ODI series were equally as good.ALSO READ: England’s World Cup puzzle just got harder – Bayliss“We probably let ourselves down in other parts of the ODI series but England played some great cricket as well. And we were just outplayed in the T20 series. But we’ve seen Sheldon Cottrell come into the side and do well and Oshane Thomas, too. And Chris Gayle has been outstanding. So overall, I’m pretty pleased.”Holder refuted the suggestion that his side’s batting had “fallen apart” despite being bowled out for 45 and 71 within 48 hours, but accepted they had failed to adapt to a pitch he characterised as “two-paced”. He also pointed out that West Indies had decided to keep their ODI side together for this series with a view to the World Cup that follows and that, as a result, they were left wanting a little tactically.”We just didn’t adjust to the wicket,” Holder said. “It was a bit two-paced and England bowled a really hard length and asked us to hit them off that length.”The batting didn’t fall apart. We just didn’t play the surface as well as we would have liked. I still feel the batsmen are pretty confident, but the batting is a bit inconsistent in terms of our T20 performances. We need to be tighter at the top to build partnerships.”We don’t want to brush this result aside, but we obviously kept the ODI squad together to play the T20s. And then, we didn’t adjust to the T20 format. We have our plans pretty much nailed down for the ODIs and we played a really good series in that format.”So there’s still a lot of improvement to be had and I’m obviously disappointed. But I’m not too disheartened by the performance. Overall the guys had a pretty good ODI leg and I feel there’s a lot to build on.”

Middle order rally keeps Railways in the hunt for first innings points over table toppers Karnataka; Assam eye consolation win

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2017Kulwant Khejroliya and Vikas Mishra picked up three wickets apiece to put Delhi in a position from which they could possibly enforce the follow-on against Hyderabad in Uppal. Hyderabad endured a full-blown collapse that saw them slip from 107 for 2 yto 170 for 8. They finally finished on 194 for 8 at stumps in response to Delhi’s 415, with only Tanmay Agarwal offering any sort of resistance in top scoring with 63.Earlier in the day, Delhi added 79 for the loss of their last five wickets, with Vikas Tokas’s unbeaten 28 helping them cross the 400-mark. New ball bowler Ravi Kiran and left-arm spinner Mehedi Hasan picked up three wickets each for Hyderabad.A middle-order rally from Arindam Ghosh (70 not out) and Mahesh Rawat (86 not out) brought Railways to within 193 runs of Karnataka’s 434 in New Delhi. Shreyas Gopal (44 not out) and No. 11 Abhimanyu Mithun added 46 to take the visitors past 400.In reply, Railways wobbled at 83 for 4, with Mithun and K Gowtham, the offspinner, picking up two wickets each. Shivakant Shukla (28) and Pratham Singh (35) were guilty of frittering away strong starts to hand the advantage to the visitors on a platter. But that was only until the fifth-wicket association of Ghosh and Rawat, the captain, kept the bowlers at bay for a better part of Sunday afternoon. Their stand was worth 158 when stumps were drawn.A four-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Rahul Singh raised Assam’s hopes of finishing the season with a win. After pocketing a first-innings lead of 26 after skittling Maharashtra for 253, their top order carried them to 101 for 3, their overall lead at 127 when stumps were drawn on the second day in Pune. Their hopes of stretching that past 250 will hinge on Gokul Sharma, the captain, and Sibsankar Roy – two of their most accomplished batsmen – who made half-centuries in the first innings.Maharashtra’s middle order has been riddled with inconsistency all season. The story was no different on Sunday. Resuming on 64 for 3, they quickly slipped to 160 for 6 before lunch. It needed two lower order contributions – Shrikant Mundhe (27) and Pragyan Bhati (31) – to lift bring Maharashtra to within 30 runs of Assam.

Group A: Abhinav’s ton and Punjab’s strong reply to UP highlights on day two of the fifth round of matches

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2016Abhinav Mukund’s 25th first-class century, and half-centuries from B Indrajith and Dinesh Karthik gave Tamil Nadu a 244-run first-innings lead over Baroda on the second day of their 2016-17 Ranji Trophy fixture in Raipur. Tamil Nadu’s bowlers had backed Abhinav’s decision to put Baroda in by knocking them over for 93 on the opening day. They ended the day on 79 for 1, with Abhinav on 40 and Indrajith not out on 18.Abhinav scored an even 100 off 165 balls, while Indrajith struck a more sedate 68, off 166 balls. The duo, who came together at 32 for 1, extended their partnership to 147. Karthik then struck a brisk 65, before new-ball bowler Munaf Patel wiped out the lower order in quick time to finish with 4 for 91 and wrap up Tamil Nadu’s innings for 337. Baroda made a more assured start to their second essay, ending the day on 44 for no loss, trailing by 200 runs.In Hyderabad, Punjab responded strongly after dismissing Uttar Pradesh for 335, finishing on 243 for 3. UP had ended the opening day on 300 for 6 with Kuldeep Yadav on 62 and Saurabh Kumar batting on 39. UP added 35 more for their last four wickets. Kuldeep was dismissed for 71 and Saurabh made 52. Sandeep Sharma took 5 for 85 for Punjab, while Shubek Gill, the right-arm medium pacer, took 3 for 57.Punjab were buoyed by their opening batsmen, Manan Vohra and Jiwanjot Singh, who both struck half-centuries and shared a 117-run partnership. Uday Kaul struck 33 and played second fiddle in a 96-run third-wicket stand with captain Yuvraj Singh, who was unbeaten on 72. Punjab are behind by 92 runs.It was a slow day at the SDNR Wadeyar Stadium in Mysore where only 177 runs were scored in 88.2 overs on the second day. Mumbai, who resumed on 244 for 5, put up 345 in their first innings, before reducing Railways to 76 for 3.Suryakumar Yadav, who began the day on 60, compiled 110 – his 11th first-class century. Legspinner Karn Sharma added two lower-order wickets to his tally to finish with 5 for 81. Railways’ top-three took their time and got off to starts, but none could stay on. Left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil took two wickets and Tushar Deshpande, the right-arm medium pacer, took one as Railways went into stumps trailing Mumbai by 269 runs.The Bengal-Gujarat match in Delhi, meanwhile, was called off due to smoggy conditions.

The BCCI has formed ad-hoc committees to look after cricket administration in Bihar and Uttarakhand

Sidharth Monga07-Aug-2015The BCCI has formed ad-hoc committees to look after cricket administration in Bihar and Uttarakhand. This move will ensure the states participation in BCCI’s Associate and Affiliate tournaments.The two states were without proper representation in the BCCI ever since the Indian government split some of the country’s bigger states into two in the year 2000. Bihar gave up Jharkhand, which went on to earn member status in the BCCI. Uttar Pradesh yielded Uttarakhand, but the new state didn’t exist for the purpose of cricket administration in the BCCI, not even as an Associate or Affiliate member.Niranjan Shah, the former BCCI secretary and Saurashtra Cricket Association patriarch, will head the ad-hoc committee for Bihar, and MP Pandove of Punjab Cricket Association, a former BCCI treasurer, will lead the panel for Uttarakhand. The committees have five members each, with a BCCI game development officer each to act as coordinators. Ratnakar Shetty, GM – game development of the BCCI, will coordinate the Bihar committee, and KVP Rao Uttarakhand.Since the bifurcation of the states, many different associations have claimed the right to represent Bihar and Uttarakhand, resulting in clashes but no representation. The cricketers of the states have struggled the most, looking to Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, and other neighbouring states, for chances.”Due to infighting among different associations present in these states, aspiring cricketers of these states have to suffer for no fault of theirs,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said. “To ensure cricket grows in these states, the BCCI has decided to form ad-hoc committees for these states, which will function till the affiliation issues of these states are resolved. During my recent visit to Bihar, I got representations of at least 17 organisations to start cricket once again in Bihar, and similarly I’ve got representations of various organisations in Uttarakhand.”Bihar remains the more curious case. Not only because the new state came in and took the full-time status in the BCCI, but also because a scorned Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) began the legal proceedings against the BCCI, which have resulted in full exposure of rampant conflict of interest in the national board. All of BCCI’s legal troubles date back to a public-interest litigation filed by Aditya Verma, secretary of CAB, one of the many organisations that claim to represent cricket in Bihar. In April 2014, Verma told ESPNcricinfo there is no saying if his association would have also overlooked the issues – like most of the others – in the board if it had been given BCCI membership and the rewards that come with it.Bihar didn’t lose its membership as soon as the state was divided in 2000. It continued to represent both the states until 2003-04. MS Dhoni made his first-class debut for Bihar, and played in the last first-class season the state played, in 2003-04. When Jagmohan Dalmiya was the BCCI president, the BCCI changed the name of the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA), led at that time by controversial chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, to Jharkhand State Cricket Association. Soon Association of Bihar Cricket (ABC), led by former India player Kirti Azad, came up with claims that it represented the cricket of Bihar, and in 2005 settled for Associate status, as former election commissioner TS Krishnamurthy recorded when conducting the controversial BCCI elections of that year.Two years later, the BCA suffered a bigger blow. This was when the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) came around. Yadav was the union Railways Minister by then. The ICL was struggling for venues to play its tournament in. Yadav promised them grounds owned and maintained by the Indian Railways. The ICL tasted the BCCI’s vengefulness soon, as has Bihar since. Another two years on, a third representative of the cricket of Bihar emerged, the CAB. Its secretary, Verma, has led the crusade in the courts, which has resulted in the Supreme Court intervention to suspend two IPL franchise owners with more administrative reforms awaited from the Justice Lodha panel.Verma said it was finally a step in the right direction, but was not ready to settle for just Associate and Affiliate tournaments for his state’s cricketers. “If we don’t get our first-class status back in due time,” he told ESPNcricinfo, “this will just be lip-service. We don’t want to play just five-six Associate and Affiliate teams, we want to play against all states, starting with junior tournaments.”

Dhaka Gladiators made it two wins out of two by beating Rangpur Riders by 35 runs

The Report by Mohammad Isam19-Jan-2013
ScorecardDhaka Gladiators made it two wins out of two after another comfortable win, this time beating newcomers Rangpur Riders by 35 runs. Mohammad Ashraful played like the old, carefree approach he’s been known for with a 47-ball 73. He struck the ball sweetly to set up the win, as Riders couldn’t do enough to reach the target that had a required rate of more than 10 an over.Nasir Hossain and Niall O’Brien steadied the Riders’ innings after they lost three early wickets by the sixth over, which included the wicket of Kevin O’Brien. They added 118 runs for the fourth wicket, the first century partnership of the tournament. A confident Nasir struck half a dozen sixes and five boundaries in his 49-ball 80 which kept the small crowd entertained. He had support from Niall who didn’t contribute a boundary during the partnership, but fed him the strike regularly. He ended up with an unbeaten 40 off 35 balls with a solitary boundary.Earlier, Ashraful began his innings by playing second fiddle to Luke Wright, Dhaka’s latest arrival from the Big Bash League. Wright looked set for a big innings but mistimed left-arm spinner Amit Kumar in the fifth over. The former Bangladesh captain then dominated the second-wicket stand, worth 57 runs, with Anamul Haque as he reached a half-century off 30 balls.Shakib Al Hasan came and went after hitting a six and a four, after which Ashraful and Owais Shah added 36 runs for the fourth wicket. Ashraful, with eight fours and three sixes, dictated the Riders bowling attack that lacked the pace to unnerve him, but it was the final push from Shah and Joshua Cobb that got Gladiators to their second score of over 200 runs. The pair added 54 off just 25 balls, with excellent running and good hitting from Cobb who struck two fours and two sixes in his 17-ball 34.Riders bowled poorly, despite their local experience in the form of Tapash Baisya, Mohammad Sharif and captain Abdur Razzak, though it was Nasir Hossain’s tidy off-breaks that gave away least runs in the innings.

Andrew McDonald took his first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket as he helped Victoria to a 12-run win over Queensland

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2011

ScoreboardAndrew McDonald took his first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket•AFP

Andrew McDonald claimed 5 for 38, his first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket, as he helped Victoria to a 12-run win over Queensland and moved them to third place in the table.Defending 237, McDonald had Peter Forrest caught behind for 27 to reduce Queensland to 4 for 61 before James Hopes’ 39 formed a 79-run partnership with Nathan Reardon. Hopes fell to Clint McKay, whose 10 overs conceded 29, and Reardon was then run out by David Hussey for 53.Again, though, Queensland fought back as Steve Paulsen (36) and Michael Neser (22) added fifty to bring the requirement down to 37 from 33 balls when McDonald removed both batsmen in three deliveries. Cameron Gannon hit four boundaries in his 22 to keep Queensland’s chances alive, but fell to McDonald at the start of the penultimate over.Aaron Finch had led the way for Victoria with 71 from 106 balls but he received little support as Victoria slipped to 6 for 145. However, they were revived by Glenn Maxwell, who struck a 37-ball 50, and Robert Quiney (38) in a stand of 67 for the seventh wicket before Alister McDermott wrapped up the innings to finish with 4 for 30.

The youngsters shone for New Zealand as they defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the first Twenty20 at Eden Park

Andrew Fernando at Eden Park26-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTim Southee’s hat-trick is the second by a New Zealand bowler and the third overall in T20s•Getty Images

The youngsters shone for New Zealand as they defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the first Twenty20 at Eden Park. Tim Southee ripped the heart out of the Pakistan line-up with a brutal spell of five for 18 in four overs, and Martin Guptill’s fearless half-century ensured the chase went smoothly for the hosts. The visitors had rocketed to 58 for 1 in 5.5 overs before Southee struck five times in nine deliveries to derail the middle order, using his height and pace to torment the batsmen on the quick, hard surface, and throwing in the odd slower ball to keep them guessing. Guptill then attacked the Pakistan bowling with style and chutzpah, to get his team off to a rapid start, and continued to attack throughout his innings, despite the fall of wickets at the other end.Guptill began with gusto as he flayed Abdul Razzaq for 15 in his first over with two commanding strikes and a tickle down to fine leg, before hoisting Shoaib Akhtar for a giant six over square-leg. The pace of the Auckland pitch showed up three balls later as Jesse Ryder’s thick edge off Shoaib flew at shoulder height to slip, almost at the edge of the circle. Guptill continued to make merry despite the loss, hitting Shoaib for another six on the leg-side before the bowler struck again, this time to remove debutant Dean Brownlie for five.Scott Styris uppercut his second ball for six, but was undone soon after by Shoaib, attempting an ugly slog across the line to an indipper that pegged back leg stump. Shoiab had another, and the aeroplane was on show for the third time in three overs, but although there were breakthroughs, Guptill’s fireworks at the other end boosted the score to 55 in five overs.The Pakistan spinners provided some respite, but Guptill motored to his maiden Twenty20 fifty in 23 deliveries, hitting Wahab Riaz for consecutive boundaries and lofting Mohammad Hafeez over long-on. The dazzling knock came to an end when he was run out attempting an ill-advised single on 53, after having pushed the Pakistan fielders to the limit with swift singles during his stay.Ross Taylor was content to cruise alongside James Franklin while the spinners operated, with his side well ahead of the required rate. Hafeez picked up his second wicket when he hurried one onto Franklin, but with 29 runs to get in more than five overs, the victory was all but secured. A couple of trademark slog sweeps later, New Zealand were within striking distance, and Peter McGlashan finished the job for the hosts with 2.5 overs to spare.The Pakistan innings too was off to a rollicking start, thanks to some aggressive intent from the Pakistan openers. Shahid Afridi, having promoted himself to the top, wasted little time unfurling his signature slogs, while Hafeez also swung away with abandon to propel Pakistan to 36 in 3.5 overs, before the wickets began to tumble.Afridi was caught at mid-on by a backpedalling Ross Taylor, after New Zealand’s other debutant, Adam Milne, had shelled a chance off the previous delivery. Pakistan kept the foot on the pedal as they raced to 50 in five overs. Southee then came on to cripple the innings with pace, movement and bounce to leave Pakistan reeling at 68 for 6. Southee’s barrage included a hat-trick – New Zealand’s second in Twenty20 internationals, and third overall – which accounted for Younis Khan, Hafeez and Umar Akmal, who was wrongly given out lbw.Umar Gul and Riaz were on hand for Pakistan, scoring invaluable thirties as the tail pushed Pakistan towards respectability with some sensible batting and a flurry of late boundaries. Southee’s spell, however, had done the damage, and 143 proved too few to defend on a ground with a hard surface and short straight boundaries.

Offspinner Johan Botha has been named in South Africa’s squad for the two Tests against India next month, marking his return after the 2008 tour of Bangladesh

Cricinfo staff18-Jan-2010Offspinner Johan Botha has been named in South Africa’s squad for the two Tests against India next month, marking his return after the 2008 tour of Bangladesh. Another notable inclusion in the 15-man team was left-arm fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who was part of the touring party to Australia last year.There was no place for fast bowlers Makhaya Ntini and Friedel de Wet, both of whom had been part of the recently concluded home Test series against England.”It is important to have a second specialist spin bowling option for a Test series on the subcontinent,” Mike Procter, Cricket South Africa’s (CSA’s) selection convener, said. “We feel this squad covers all our tactical options and will give a good account of itself.”For the three ODIs that follow, the selectors have picked opener Loots Bosman after his impressive performances during the two Twenty20 internationals against England, where he hit 58 and 94. It was during his second knock, at Centurion, that he also shared a world-record opening partnership of 170 with captain Graeme Smith.Having returned to full fitness this summer after a succession of injuries, Bosman would provide “an explosive hitting option up front”, according to Procter. “This will be the ideal opportunity for him to show his worth on the subcontinent where next year’s World Cup will be played,” Procter said.Herschelle Gibbs was also included in the 15-man ODI squad, returning to the national team since the 2009 World Twenty20 in England.However, Hashim Amla, Ryan McLaren and Charl Langeveldt failed to make the cut for the one-day squad, from the one that took on England. Procter indicated, though, that the trio were still “in the running for the World Cup next year.”While Nagpur will host the first Test from February 6-10, the second will be played in Kolkata from February 14-18. The three ODIs will be hosted by Jaipur, Kanpur and Ahmedabad on February 21, 24 and 27 respectively.Test squad Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
ODI squad Graeme Smith (capt), Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe.