Gilchrist and Sachin at Middlesex?

Next season’s Twenty20 cup looks set to be an altogether more glamourous affair, with Middlesex having already signed Adam Gilchrist and hopeful of adding Sachin Tendulkar as well. Add to this the arrival of Ajantha Mendis at Hampshire, and county cricket in general is looking like it might be a little easier on the eye [...]

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India vs Sri Lanka: Test Series Preview

The build-up to India’s Test series with Sri Lanka has been somewhat overshadowed by the continuing coverage of Sachin Tendulkar’s 20th year in international cricket, but with top spot in the ICC Test Rankings up for grabs, the contest has much to offer. Sri Lanka’s record in India suggests that the tourists will face a [...]

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The Return of the Wall

Rahul Dravid is set to return to One Day International cricket after being included in India’s squad for the upcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka and the autumn’s Champions Trophy. Although Dravid hasn’t played an ODI since 2007, his performances in this year’s IPL and the relative weakness of India’s middle order in the World Twenty20 [...]

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West Indies vs India: One Day Series Preview

After the sugary delights of the World Twenty20, it’s back to the slightly more balanced diet of 50-over cricket for the West Indies and India with the four-match ODI series which starts tomorrow at Sabina Park. The tourists have been hit by injury (Sehwag, Raina) as well as the desire to give some key players [...]

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Abhishek Nayar and Ashish Nehra in India squad

India’s squad for their upcoming tour of the Caribbean makes interesting reading. In the absence of Sehwag and Raina (injured), Tendulkar and Zaheer (rested), and Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan (dropped), there are one or two names that require a little mental exploration before recognition is achieved. Ashish Nehra hasn’t played for India since 2005, [...]

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India win a Test in New Zealand

Lots of things have happened in the last 33 years. Punk, Margaret Thatcher, Chernobyl, a cloned sheep, and my entire life. Until today, that list didn’t include an Indian Test win in New Zealand. India’s 10-wicket win in Hamilton was effectively sealed by Harbhajan Singh‘s 6 for 63 in the second innings, but it was [...]

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Tendulkar: still awesome

In these troubled and unpredictable times, it’s comforting to have some constant, reliable events to fall back on: Liverpool being drawn against Chelsea in the Champions League, England being rubbish at Twenty20 cricket, and Sachin Tendulkar scoring centuries. Sachin’s latest against New Zealand was his 42nd in Test cricket, and his 85th in international cricket [...]

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Sachin still springing surprises

I’m not quite sure what’s more remarkable – that Sachin Tendulkar is still scoring One Day centuries, or that he hadn’t scored one in New Zealand until today. The Little Master’s truly remarkable career may be in its latter stages, but he’s still capable of surprising things. For example, did you know that Tendulkar is [...]

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New Zealand vs India: One Day Series Preview

After the Black Caps’ surprising 2-0 victory in the Twenty20 matches between these sides, India are facing claims that they can’t cope in Kiwi  conditions. Gambhir in particular hasn’t looked comfortable, and Tendulkar hasn’t yet played a game since arriving in New Zealand (partly due to the BCCI’s ongoing attitude to ICL-tarnished players), so the [...]

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KP and the IPL

One of the interesting ramifications of Kevin Pietersen’s departure from the England captaincy is the prospect of an extended participation from the ‘uppity bok‘ in the second season of the IPL. Pietersen, along with the rest of the England squad, is yet to sign his central contract, and the recent events in England have been [...]

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India shock England in Chennai

V.S. Naipaul could hardly have scripted it better for India. The crowd favourite tore up the fourth-innings rulebook, the young gun and the Mumbai legend completed the feat. For Indian fans, this must have been cathartic in the extreme – a famous triumph against ridiculous odds, victory from the jaws of defeat. Best of all, [...]

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Are India the Best One Day Team in the World?

All over England, people are bemoaning the national side’s run of ODI defeats to India. Some are pointing to an outdated attitude to the batting order, others to a fundamental misjudgement of Indian conditions, yet others to the general attitude to limited overs cricket that, it is argued, persists in the UK. There is another [...]

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