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In a game that was severely affected by rain, Jamaica thrashed Somerset by a whopping 61 runs at the Kensington Oval in Barbados to join Windward Islands and Jamaica at the top of the table in Group A

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2011In a game that was severely affected by rain, Jamaica thrashed Somerset by a whopping 61 runs at the Kensington Oval in Barbados to join Windward Islands and Guyana at the top of the table in Group B.The match was reduced to six overs per innings after the start of play was delayed by three hours due to rain. Somerset won the toss and decided to bowl. Jamaica promoted Marlon Samuels to open and it was a decision that paid rich dividends as Samuels thrashed the Somerset bowlers all over the park. Samuels and Danza Hyatt blasted 47 runs in three overs, including 14 runs off the first over bowled by Somerset captain Alfonso Thomas. Though Hyatt fell for a breezy nine-ball 21 in the fourth over to Max Waller, Samuels didn’t let the momentum shift. He hit four fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 21-ball 45 and was particularly severe on fast bowler Steve Kirby, whose only over went for 21 runs. Shawn Findlay chipped in with a handy 13 off seven balls as Jamaica reached an imposing 85 for 1 off their 6 overs.Faced with a daunting chase, Somerset’s batsmen capitulated right from the first over when Jerome Taylor dismissed Jos Buttler. They lost two wickets in the second over, Nikita Miller picked up two wickets in the fourth over and at that stage Somerset were reeling at 17 for 6. They finally ended up at 24 for 8off their 6 overs; an abject surrender as none of their batsmen managed to reach double figures.The second game between Windward Islands and Guyana was a more evenly-contested game that Windward won by two runs. Guyana won the toss and chose to field, but it was Windward who got off to a strong start with their openers Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher slamming 27 runs in three overs before Charles was dismissed. Fletcher top scored with 40 and Keddy Lesporis and captain Darren Sammy chipped in with 26 piece as Windward reached 138 for 8 off their 20 overs.In reply defending champions Guyana started poorly as left-arm spinner Gary Mathurin who was brought into the attack in the second over, dismissed openers Travis Dowlin and Richard Ramdeen cheaply. Esuan Crandon and captain Ramnaresh Sarwan soon followed and at 36 for 4 in the eight over, Guyana looked in trouble. A 42-run fifth-wicket partnership between Royston Crandon and Steven Jacobs steadied the innings before they feel in quick succession. Christopher Barnwell and Derwin Christian who blasted a 13-ball 40 in Guyana’s thrilling two-wicket win over Combined Campuses and Colleges on Jan 14, hit some big shots but some tight bowling from Windward kept them in check as Guyana fell three runs short of their target. Nelon Pascal was the pick of the Windward bowlers with figures of 3 for 23 which included the crucial wickets of Jacobs and Barnwell.

The floodwaters had receded but the devastation was still easy to see around Goodna, west of Brisbane, where the Australian cricketers did their bit to give the community something to smile about during time at a local school

Andrew McGlashan in Brisbane28-Jan-2011The floodwaters had receded but the devastation was still easy to see around Goodna, west of Brisbane, where the Australian cricketers did their bit to give the community something to smile about during time at a local school. They now hope to give Queenslanders some joy by securing the one-day series against England with victory at the Gabba on Sunday.This was the first time the squad had returned to Brisbane since the flooding – although Shane Watson went to his hometown, Ipswich, two weeks ago just as the recovery work began – and they visited schools and shopping malls around some of the worst-affected areas west of the city. The swollen, murky brown Brisbane River which snakes through the city is a reminder of how recently the disaster unfolded.Australia are now aiming to make this the city where they seal the series after giving England a lifeline at Adelaide and Watson believes the local support will make a huge difference. “It’s going to be a very emotional day and hopefully that can help pull us over the line and win the series,” he said.England have made their own donations to the flood appeal during this series and are aware of the motivating factors involved in this match for Australia. “Our hearts have gone out to the people. Seeing those things on TV is pretty shocking,” Chris Tremlett said. “The England team have been fully behind it. I imagine it will be a very emotional time for people on Sunday and we are glad to be part of it.”Watson has previously spoken about how his mind has often been on events in Queensland during the one-day series, yet he has been able to maintain his consistent form with a match-winning 161 at Melbourne and 64 at Adelaide. But while his success for Australia gives him great pleasure these past few weeks have given him a sense of perspective.”There’s no doubt that during the period when you didn’t know the extent of devastation, around Ipswich especially, it was something that took my mind off the cricket,” he said. “After the disappointment of the Ashes series it put my life into perspective for sure. It’s just great I was able to score runs during that period but life is bigger and greater than cricket, even though I love playing it.”Although the Suncorp Stadium, which is used for rugby and soccer, was flooded, the Gabba was largely unaffected and recently staged back-to-back Big Bash games. Kevin Mitchell Jr, the Gabba curator, has no concerns about the pitch for Sunday’s game despite the horrific weather of a few weeks ago.”It’s looking pretty good with nice even cover of grass so should play uniformly,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “With all the rain, we’re not too bad. The only way the Gabba gets flooded is if the stormwater and the tide from Norman Creek occur together. Since the redevelopment of the ground it’s happened four times. The wicket block is never affected.”Mitchell Johnson’s occasional state appearances now come for Western Australia, but he was born in Townsville and retains a strong connection to his home state. “Just driving through now and seeing where the levels were, Shane [Watson] showed me some photos of the water. It does blow you away and it’s hard to believe,” he said. “The Queensland spirit is nice and strong and we are sticking behind each other. The day after it all happened you saw the pictures of everyone lending a hand, digging that mud up, and doing everything they can.”Johnson, who struggled during the Ashes apart from his matchwinning performance in Perth, has been a frustrated watcher during the last three matches due to a throat infection. He hopes to return to the side in Brisbane and build form ahead of the World Cup in what he believes will be a memorable occasion.”I’m certainly looking forward to getting back and playing again,” he said. “It was hard sitting back on Australia Day and not being able to play, it’s one of the ones you want to take part in. Coming here on Sunday, back on home turf, hopefully I’ll get a game and be able to raise some more money.”

Netherlands failed to build on their strong performance against England, while West Indies flexed muscle against minnows after they were beaten by South Africa

Firdose Moonda in Delhi28-Feb-2011West Indies came sashaying back into this World Cup with a performance so calypso it was a pina colada for the eyes. It had flamboyant batting, destructive bowling, over-the-top celebrations and that essential ingredient, something orange that had been turned to pulp.The colour was provided by Netherlands, who came into this match on a high, anticipating a decent performance after their competitive showing against England. Ryan ten Doeschate’s century had propped them up comfortably, and even though they weren’t able to secure victory with the ball, they had shown a determination beyond their minnow status. They had arrived in Delhi with a real base on which to start from.They came to the capital with so much to live up to, so much promise, so much expectation and so much belief that they were going to compete in the tournament. Against West Indies, they were even spoken about as competing as equals. In a daze of hype, it looked as though the Dutch forgot that beyond the confidence and the positivity, they would actually have to turn up and play, before any of that became a reality.They had spoken about an improved performance in the field, which they were not able to execute half as well as they talked about. Even though batting has been their strength, without getting the other half of their game to work, it’s negated. Peter Borren had no answers, no excuses and by the looks of it, no motivation at the end of the match.After the game, his one statement summed up an evening that left his team gutted. “If we are going to bat and bowl and field as poorly as we did today, it actually makes no difference if we bat or field first.” With that empty statement, and the hollow expression that accompanied it, he left the room. It’s going to take a lot for Netherlands to pick themselves up from this demoralising defeat, and they only have three days to figure out how to.For West Indies, the three days between games can’t be over with soon enough. After their initial defeat to South Africa, their 12th in succession, the critics were saying the same thing: that the West Indians were not good enough and would have to battle for their place in the quarter-finals. Then, albeit against an associate side, all the big guns fired. Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard belted out half-centuries and Kemar Roach, their premier strike bowler, ended up with 6 for 27, including the tournament’s first hat-trick.Roach said the victory buoyed the team, particularly for their next challenge in Dhaka. “We take a lot of confidence into the game against Bangladesh,” he said. “This match was good preparation for the Bangladesh game. We’ll go there on a high. Bangladesh are an improving team but we are better than them.”That kind of confidence is rare for a current West Indian bowler, especially because bowling is considered their weak link, with some suggesting that they would always need big runs because they would struggle to bowl sides out. Roach, who often operates as the lone strike bowler, said that although being a seamer in the subcontinent is challenging, he is adapting. “It’s tough coming here as a bowler to the subcontinent, you have to be very accurate and consistent, once you get that right, you get wickets.”Roach opened the bowling with spinner Sulieman Benn in the last two matches, and even though West Indies were renowned for hunting in fast-bowling pairs, he said he doesn’t miss not having another quick on the other end. “I don’t feel as though as I am left out. Benn is a very good partner of mine. To see that two guys from Barbados are opening the bowling for the West Indies is great.”Although Ravi Rampaul and Andre Russell are waiting in the wings to add to the seam contingent, Roach is happy to carry the load, with Kieron Pollard to help out, if he has to. Roach has been particularly inspired by a message the injured allrounder Dwayne Bravo gave him. “He is my big brother. He said go hard and enjoy it and be confident in whatever you do.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran16-Apr-2011

Match facts

Sunday, April 17
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Rajasthan need to find a way to shackle Kolkata’s batting•AFP

Big picture

Last Monday, little more than a third of Eden Gardens was filled for Kolkata Knight Riders’ first home game. Nothing, though, gets the fans behind an IPL team like a few wins, and the combination of two straightforward victories for Kolkata, reduced ticket prices and the Sunday evening start should draw a bigger crowd for the match against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.The two teams faced off in Jaipur on Friday, an encounter which Kolkata dominated through the solid, keep-it-simple batting of Jacques Kallis and captain Gautam Gambhir. The two put on an unbroken 152 for the second wicket, the second-largest partnership in IPLs. Kolkata’s strongest suit is their batting; they have the luxury of Eoin Morgan, Yusuf Pathan and Shakib Al Hasan in the middle order in case their experienced players at the top flop.Rajasthan need to figure out a way to shackle the batting might of Kolkata, perhaps by including Shaun Tait who will provide a cutting edge to their attack. They also need to work out where to play Shane Watson after their decision to use him in the middle order on Friday didn’t quite work out. Shane Warne admitted that the biggest hitters in his side, Watson and Ross Taylor, didn’t get enough overs in the middle to decisively influence the game. With Ashok Menaria showing he has the ability to muscle the spinners, and Taylor also lurking in the middle order, perhaps Rajasthan will be tempted to push Watson to the opener’s slot or No. 3 to give him more time in the middle.

Team talk

Johan Botha picked up a finger injury on Friday, which prevented him from taking the new ball. It’s still not clear whether it is serious enough to rule him out of Sunday’s match, but even if it does heal he might find himself benched as Rajasthan could pick Tait instead, to provide more of a wicket-taking threat.With their new arrivals, Brett Lee and Shakib, turning in acceptable performances on Friday, Ryan ten Doeschate is likely to remain sidelined. Kolkata won’t experiment much with their line-up, except perhaps to include Bengal allrounder Laxmi Shukla in place of Delhi’s Rajat Bhatia.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Just as he did for his previous team Royal Challengers Bangalore, Jacques Kallis is providing stability at the top of the order and proving that he can be relied on to bowl a full quota of overs. In a tournament where the fielding standard has been pretty low, his safe hands in the outfield are a bonus. He has been Man of the Match in one game, and a plausible contender for the award in the other two Kolkata have played.As usual, Rajasthan have put their faith in a clutch of low-profile Indians; in the game against Kolkata on Friday they had six players without international experience. Of those, Ashok Menaria looks the brightest prospect; he was India’s Under-19 captain in the 2010 World Cup, smashed centuries in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals of the Ranji Trophy this season, and his naturally aggressive game is well suited to the Twenty20 format. He can also fire in some flat left-arm spin to provide cover in case any of the frontline bowlers have an off day.

Prime numbers

• Gautam Gambhir has the second-highest winning percentage (61.11%) among IPL captains, just behind a surprisingly successful leader Yuvraj Singh (61.29%)
• Yusuf Pathan has hit the second-highest number of sixes in IPL history, with 62

The chatter

“Rahul Dravid is hitting the ball very well and he gives us a lot of stability at the top. Siddharth Trivedi bowled well too and got a couple of nicks. Abhishek Raut was once again sensational in the field, saving at least 10-15 runs. Ross Taylor hit the ball beautifully and showed he’s in good touch.”
“We’re not here to compete. We’re here to win. We’ve got some world class players and once we’re there, we want to finish on a high note.”

Surrey’s youthful pace duo Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker have both extended their deals with the club which will keep them at The Oval until the end of 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2011Surrey’s youthful pace duo Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker have both extended their deals with the club which will keep them at The Oval until the end of 2013.Having both come through the Surrey youth system Dernbach, 25, and Meaker, 22, have 197 first-class wickets between them in 68 matches for Surrey.Dernbach was called into the England World Cup squad after an impressive showing for the England Lions on their recent tour to the Caribbean and has since been named in the England Performance Programme for the 2011. Meaker, meanwhile, has played Under-19 cricket for England.Jade Dernbach said: “I have been a Surrey player throughout my career and am delighted to be committing my future to the club for the next three years. It is the career that I have had so far with Surrey that has earned me selection for England and I look forward to continuing to take wickets and progressing my career at the Kia Oval.”Stuart Meaker added: “Signing on with Surrey for the next three seasons gives me the best possible base to develop my skills and fulfil my ambitions of winning silverware and playing for England.”The club is in a fantastic place at the moment and – with the depth of talent in our young squad – there is nowhere else I would rather be playing my cricket.”

Reigning champions Hampshire enjoyed the best of a five-overs-per-side slog in rain-soaked Tunbridge Wells

05-Jun-2011
ScorecardReigning champions Hampshire enjoyed the best of a five-overs-per-side slog in rain-soaked Tunbridge Wells as Kent slid to their second Friends Life t20 defeat inside three days.Having posted a total of 78 for 1, Hampshire restricted the hosts to 58 for 2 to secure a comfortable 20-run win in a game that finally got under way at 6pm after a three-hour delay.Match umpires Steve O’Shaughnessy and David Millns had inspected conditions at The Nevill at 4.30pm and again at 5.30pm before finally, at 5.45pm, deciding to play the reduced game. The vast majority of a 4,000 crowd had already left.Having lost the toss and taken only 11 runs from their two powerplay overs, bowled by Azhar Mahmood and Charl Langeveldt, Hampshire quickly made up for lost time.Their left-handed opening pair of Jimmy Adams and Michael Lumb bludgeoned 28 from Simon Cook’s only over. The over included three consecutive sixes from Adams, one of which flew into the Kent committee marquee while the next sailed over it.Not to be outdone, Lumb then clipped four successive sixes in Adam Ball’s sole over of the evening, which also cost 28. Rookie left-armer Ball hit back by bowling Lumb for 35 from 11 balls with his final delivery to take the score to 67 for 1 after four overs.Matt Coles sent down a tidier final over to concede 11 and leave Adams unbeaten with 33 from 15 balls faced, while Spitfires faced a daunting asking rate of 15.8 runs an over for victory.Rather than opening up their reply with their big-hitters, Kent surprisingly stuck to their tried and tested batting order, only to lose openers Rob Key and Joe Denly inside two overs and with only 11 on the board.Darren Stevens temporarily improved their chances by taking 20 off Imran Tahir’s over, including a six onto the pavilion roof, but Chris Wood bowled a tidy fourth over, leaving Kent to hit 34 off the final over from visiting captain Dominic Cork. Cork, however, conceded just 13.Stevens had done his utmost for the Kent cause, to finish unbeaten with 45 from 16 balls, but Hampshire travelled home with the points.

Chris Gayle has been named international cricketer of the year and Test player of the year at the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) awards

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2011Chris Gayle has been named international cricketer and Test player of the year at the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) awards. Allrounder Stafanie Taylor picked up the international women’s player of the year award.Gayle’s recognition was chiefly inspired by his triple-hundred against Sri Lanka in November 2010, in Galle. The innings of 333 was Gayle’s top Test score and the second time he went past 300 in Tests, making him only the fourth batsman ever to do so. He is at present out of the West Indies side, following a stand-off with the board over his exclusion for the Pakistan series, and his participation in the IPL.Taylor was in rich form in 2010, scoring heavily in the ICC Women’s Challenge in South Africa where she averaged 97.00. She is currently ranked No. 2 in the ICC women’s ODI batting and allrounder ratings.Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy were named the best ODI and Twenty20 players, while Keiron Joseph was named Under-19 player of the year. Jamaica, who won the Regional Four Day Competition for the 2010-’11 season, were adjudged the first-class team of the year.

Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan will lead India in the Emerging Players tournament to be held in Australia from August 1 to 13

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2011Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan will lead India in the Emerging Players tournament to be held in Australia from August 1 to 13. Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who has an impressive first-class average of 67.72, will be the vice-captain of the 15-member contingent.The squad includes a number of players on the fringes of the India team, who have impressed through the domestic season and in the IPL. Manoj Tiwary, who failed to shine when given an opportunity in the West Indies one-dayers, has been included in the side. Saurabh Tiwary was picked despite a lacklustre IPL.This year, the Emerging Players tournament will feature three-day matches as opposed to limited-over matches as in previous years. India’s campaign at the tournament starts with a match against South Africa from August 1. They will then play New Zealand from August 6, and Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) from August 11.Ashok Menaria, who led India in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand before fruitful Ranji and IPL seasons with Rajasthan, was also picked. S Anirudha, Manish Pandey, and Ambati Rayudu were the other IPL regulars who made the squad. Karnataka’s C Gautam got the wicketkeeper’s spot.Legspinner Rahul Sharma and left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla, who made waves with their incisiveness in the IPL, make up the spin attack. Karnataka seamer Vinay Kumar, who toured West Indies with the senior one-day team, will lead the fast-bowling department. Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, both of whom have built reputations based on their ability to generate pace, and left-arm seamer S Aravind complete the pace attack.India had won the tournament in 2009 after Virat Kohli led the team to a 17-run win over South Africa with a rollicking century. They reached the finals of both the 20-over and 50-over legs of the tournament in 2010, but lost to AIS in the 20-over final and lost out to South Africa for the 50-over title. The final of the 50-over leg was abandoned due to rain and South Africa were declared winners because they finished higher in the points table.Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-capt), S Anirudha, Manish Pandey, Saurabh Tiwary, Manoj Tiwary, Ashok Menaria, C Gautam (wk), Ambati Rayudu, Rahul Sharma, Iqbal Abdulla, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, S Aravind, Vinay Kumar

A consequence of Simon Katich’s removal from the Australian team is that Ricky Ponting is the only member of the Sri Lanka tour squad to have played a Test match on the island.

Daniel Brettig04-Aug-2011A consequence of Simon Katich’s removal from Australian team is that Ricky Ponting is the only member of the Sri Lanka tour squad to have played a Test match on the island.Australia’s captain, Michael Clarke, was a member of the touring squad in 2004 but did not make his Test debut until the visit to India later that year.Australia’s 3-0 victory in 2004 arrived in fighting fashion. The hosts led on the first innings in all three Tests before the batting of Damien Martyn and Darren Lehmann, among others, allowed Shane Warne to spin out Sri Lanka in the fourth innings.It was a momentous way for Ponting to start his captaincy, but now he will be the man handing out advice on Sri Lankan climes to his successor Clarke and his team-mates.”As it turns out I think I am the only player that has played Test cricket over there so I will be giving him [Clarke] advice all over the place I think when the Test matches come around,” Ponting said with a smile before flying to Sri Lanka.David Hussey has already spoken of the challenge to be posed by pitches designed to favour the hosts, but Ponting said his best advice would be to play the conditions on merit, not suspicion.”One thing we can’t afford to do, especially when you go anywhere on the subcontinent, is worry too much about wicket conditions,” Ponting said. “In the past we have talked ourselves into what we think conditions are going to be like before we actually started, and made things increasingly difficult for ourselves. There wont be any talk about that.”We’ve got plenty of time to get prepared. We’ve got five days of training before the one-dayers come around and Michael and I are not playing Twenty20 cricket, but we’ve got five one dayers before the tour game, so there is plenty of opportunity for us and there should be no excuses come Test time.”For his part, Clarke said Ponting’s presence would be far more of a help than a hindrance when he is figuring out how to combat a Sri Lankan team that possesses one of the deepest and most statistically accomplished batting line-ups in world cricket.”We’ve caught up a few times over the last couple of months. We spent a lot of time up in Brisbane chatting about the team and a few of my ideas and I was trying to get a bit of guidance from him,” Clarke said. “That’s the advantage the team has, we have such a great player around the group, who’s had some amazing success not only as a batsman but as a leader, and we’d be silly not to utilise that as much as we can.”One thing he’s said to me is that he’s there for me, anything I need he’s more than happy to help. With him not being captain it’s given him the chance to spend more time with the younger players. He’s been spending time with Usman [Khawaja] over the last couple of days, so I’m really looking forward to working with Ricky.”He was great to me when I was vice-captain and he taught me a hell of a lot, and I feel comfortable in my position knowing that I have learned a lot from him and that he’s right there as well if I need any help or guidance.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the third Test between England and India as the home side aim to become No. 1

Preview by Andrew McGlashan09-Aug-2011

Match Facts

August 10-14, Edgbaston
Start time 11.00 (1000GMT)Tim Bresnan is certain to keep his place after Chris Tremlett was ruled out injured•Getty Images

The Big Picture

In 1981 the race riots were an undercurrent throughout a summer where England claimed a famous Ashes series victory. Thirty years later the unrest which began in London and has now spread elsewhere has overshadowed the build-up to a Test match where England can go No. 1 in the world with victory over India.The England team were locked in their hotel on Monday evening, while India were keeping tabs on the situation, but the match is expected to go ahead as planned at a new-look Edgbaston which has undergone extensive redevelopment. The hosts are a win away from taking over from India at the top spot in Test cricket and they will take some stopping in their current form.India have been a major disappointment during the opening two matches except for the herculean efforts of Rahul Dravid and occasional bursts from their pace bowlers. The batsmen have failed to reach 300 in four innings, while the support bowling for the quicks has been awful and the fielding often poor. For a side that came with such a mighty tag it has been quite a fall from grace.MS Dhoni, himself in a poor run of form, and coach Duncan Fletcher have a major challenge. They will hope the return of Virender Sehwag can provide an x-factor but he’s played hardly any cricket recently, falling for 8 against Northamptonshire over the weekend. Still, he has never been a player to value warm-up matches too highly.Despite England’s outstanding performances it is now that they could be at their most vulnerable. They have a recent track record of losing their way when a major target is there for the taking; at Headingley in 2009 and Perth in 2010 they stumbled with the Ashes up for grabs before recovering to claim the prize while last summer against Pakistan they lost at The Oval having been 2-0 up. This time they’ll be desperate not to leave the series open.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
England WWDDW
India LLDDW

Watch out for…

India have sent out their SOS – Send our Sehwag. After three months on the sidelines with a shoulder injury Virender Sehwag has returned to action although it remains to be seen how effective he can be. His shoulder is still causing trouble and he’s also suffered partial deafness. Yet he has the ability to open some old scars. His 83 off 68 balls in Chennai was the key innings in India’s successful run chase during the 2008 series against England. Sehwag is the type of batsman who can score a hundred in a session and give a struggling team belief. Still, it’s asking a huge amount of one cricketer.Another batsman returning to Test cricket, although under different circumstances, is Ravi Bopara. However, with Jonathan Trott unlikely to be absent for long it is set to be a one-off chance for Bopara to show his game has matured to make him a viable option in the Test team. He’ll slot in at No. 6, a more natural position than No. 3 where Australia found him out, but still needs to convince he has the technique and temperament for the top level. However, having narrowly missed out to Eoin Morgan earlier in the summer he knows he’s still the next in line.

Team news

With Trott and Chris Tremlett ruled out England don’t face any last-minute selection issues. Steven Finn is part of the squad but won’t keep out Tim Bresnan after his outstanding display at Trent Bridge. Bopara is likely to bat at No. 6 on his Test return which means Morgan moving up one spot.England (probable): 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 James Anderson.India know they’ll be without Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh for the rest of the tour, but will at least be able to welcome back Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to strengthen the batting and allow everyone to play in their usual positions. Given Suresh Raina’s problems against the short ball Virat Kohli, who replaced Yuvraj, may be considered while Amit Mishra is still favourite to come in for Harbhajan despite talk of a four-man pace attack.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (c) (wk), 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Sreesanth.

Pitch and conditions

The surface was very green in the days leading up to the game and although some grass will be taken off there should still be plenty to encourage the seamers. However, Steve Rouse, the Edgbaston groundsman, said there won’t be much pace. The ground has had problems with wickets this summer and one Championship pitch was ruled ‘poor’ and cost Warwickshire eight points. The forecast, meanwhile, is mixed with rain expected to be around at times.

Stats and trivia

• England have won four out of five Tests against India at Edgbaston although the two teams haven’t met on this ground since 1996, when Nasser Hussain and Sachin Tendulkar scored hundreds.
• Kevin Pietersen averages 60.57 at this ground but the next best among the fit England batsmen is Andrew Strauss’s 32.10.
• For a full stats preview click here

Quotes

“Even in the two Tests we’ve played, there are moments when we’ve really had our backs to the wall. We’re not expecting anything different from them, we’re going to have to work very hard and hopefully earn the right to get on top in this Test match.”

“If he nicks it and doesn’t walk it may be different, but apart from that he’s quite good.”