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Match facts

Saturday, August 30, 2014
Start time 10.30am local (0930 GMT)

Big Picture

There was a century from an Indian middle-order batsman to resuscitate an innings going astray. In reply, England’s batting faltered. That only increased questions over Alastair Cook’s captaincy. India went 1-0 up. England in disarray. We’ve been here before. The rigours of limited-overs cricket might pale to Tests, as MS Dhoni has often pointed out on this tour, but in a four-match series success hinges on the ability to harness advantages. England will know India haven’t been outstanding in that department. And India will know England are still discovering their identity as an ODI side.They are testing a new opening partnership, which in the last two years has produced only one century stand. Cook was part of that and has politely brushed aside the punches aimed at himself and his team through the summer. Occasionally he has thrown them back. But his words will ring hollow unless accompanied with examples on the field. Lately though, the ammunition is in the hands of their critics: West Indies had them 89 for 6 chasing 160 in March, Sri Lanka routed them for 99 in May, India had given them a shock at the Champions Trophy final and did it again in Cardiff. The visitors have England down, but how long can they maintain that?India were authoritative at Cardiff, but can they keep up the intensity?•Getty Images

Rohit Sharma, one of the more important variables in India’s one-day formula, is out injured. The top three haven’t managed the kind of foundations Dhoni prefers. The India captain likes his cogs in place. He likes a strong score on the board. He likes to come in late and hike the total further. He likes a couple of early wickets so his spinners can prey on uncertain batsmen. He knows how to work his individual resources to harmonise with each other, like an orchestra conductor. However, in the past five years, India have lost four series on the road and one of their two successes have been against Zimbabwe. Dhoni and his team would want to prove they have the requisite ruthlessness that comes with being world champions.

Form guide (last five completed matches, most recent first)

England LLLWL
India WWWWL

Players to watch

India’s top order has often been stuck in the dressing room, watching their team-mates or their opponents cash in when the pitch eases out. None would know that rankle as much as Shikhar Dhawan. He sees the region outside his off stump as if it is poison. His feet are often splayed on leg stump with his hands leading away from him. When in form, he can be fluent through that very region but he needs to last beyond the early overs to rediscover that.England might be reeling under the impression of being stolid, but in Eoin Morgan they have a batsman that can upset most bowling attacks. His range of strokes often goes beyond the textbook, unlike the top order’s which has helped him average 55.50 in the Royal London One-Day Cup. He has Middlesex’s lone century so far in the tournament so far and England will hope the seeds he sowed in the domestic circuit bear fruit for them too.

Team news

England’s batting, if they can live up to potential, can offer challenge. But the composition of their bowling might be of greater concern. They have a left-arm seamer in Harry Gurney with the squad who could offer some variation.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ben Stokes/ Moeen Ali, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Chris Jordan/ Harry Gurney, 10 James Anderson, 11 James TredwellThe loss of an opening batsman leaves India with little options. They have flown M Vijay back, but he hasn’t arrived in England yet. The team management is likely to promote Ajinkya Rahane to open and employ Ambati Rayudu at No.4.India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ambati Rayudu/ Sanju Samson, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohit Sharma

Pitch and conditions

Trent Bridge has plenty to make up for after the pitch for the opening Test was deemed poor. A chance to redress that comes with the added bonus that rain would be expected to play, at worst, a minimal part. The batsmen can expect a true deck, with Alex Hales, the hometown boy, bashing a century and overpowering a target of 303 last week.

Stats and trivia

• James Anderson averages 19.37 at Trent Bridge, as compared to an overall figure of 28.91
• India have only played four ODIs at Trent Bridge and have lost three of them. Their lone victory was against England in 1990

Quotes

“We still need to achieve a lot of goals, goals that we have set in team meetings. Hopefully we will do well in upcoming games.”
Suresh Raina relays that India are keen to build on their work so far
“We’re not hiding behind the fact it was a poor team performance all round but we spoke about it, wiped the slate clean and we’ve talked about our tactics and we’re feeling fresh and confident heading into this game.”
Alex Hales and England are looking for a new start.

Rowan Richards, the Titans‘ left-arm seamer, bagged the first hat-trick of the South African summer and secured a 170-run victory for his team against the Warriors in Benoni. Richards’ three wickets formed part of his seventh career five-for and followed on from a much stronger Titans batting effort than they have displayed for almost a season.Although the Titans’ top two – who only managed a single half-century stand last summer – still struggled, Test opener Dean Elgar managed scores of 44 and 45 in what will be his last first-class outing before he is needed for international duty. The big runs came from other sources. Theunis de Bruyn, a 21-year-old batsman from the University of Pretoria scored 95, which included an 80-run partnership with Elgar, but barely hinted at what was to come.It was only when Roelof van der Merwe got going that the tide turned in the Titans’ favour and strongly so as van der Merwe converted a maiden first-class century into a double with 205. Farhaan Behardien contributed to a 155-run fifth-wicket stand and Mangaliso Mosehle helped add 186 for the sixth-wicket to beef up the Titans innings. Behardien’s 74 was the third half-century in as many innings.The Warriors’ fortune also came in threes, but of the disappointing kind. For the third innings in the competition they could not break big stands and this time were unable to even bowl their opposition out. The Titans declared on 539 for 6, after van der Merwe’s raised his bat to a double-ton.At 86 for 5 in the reply, the Warriors were already facing the possibility of conceding a big first-innings deficit. Only one of the top four made it into double figures as Behardien took two wickets in two overs, to prove an unlikely aggressor with ball in hand. Captain Colin Ingram held his team together with Simon Harmer, who helped put on 111 for the sixth-wicket, and Andrew Birch but the Titans took an advantage of 248 runs into their second innings.With quick run-scoring the priority as they tried to bat the Warriors out of the game, none of the Titans’ batsmen converted starts but they frustrated their opposition nonetheless. Their 165 runs came at a rate of 5.89 an over and they declared having set the Warriors a target of 414, as day three was drawing to an end.Eight overs into the Warriors reply, they had already lost both openers and knew the final day would be a fight. Two more wickets fell in the first session but again, Ingram was in the way. Ryan Bailey provided some stern resistance as well and the pair posted 113 for the fifth-wicket with Ingram threatening to score a second century. But within a short space of time Bailey and Ingram fell with the score on 224 and 225 respectively and the Warriors resistance unravelled quickly. They lost 6 for 19, including three in three balls to Richards to leave them winless after two matches.At the opposite end of the table, the Knights stormed to a second victory of the season after beating the Lions by 143 runs in Potchefstroom. Both teams came off wins in their first matches and the Lions appeared to take the early advantage when they had the Knights 84 for 3 on a traditionally batsman-friendly pitch. Left-armer Lonwabo Tsotsobe claimed all three early wickets.Rudi Second led the recovery and captain Werner Coetsee contributed a half-century but 267 still seemed a below-par score. Recent T20 call-up Kagiso Rabada was the most successful Lions bowler with 4 for 57.The Lions also stumbled at first in their reply. They were 0 for 2 and 68 for 4 thanks to a burst from Quinton Friend and Dillon du Preez. Quinton de Kock’s third fifty of the competition began the counter-attack but it was Thami Tsolekile’s century which took the Lions into the black. Tsolekile had lower-order assistance, particularly from Hardus Viljoen who scored a patient 59 and spent seven minutes short of three hours at the crease, to give the Lions a lead of 101.Reeza Hendricks’ dismissal the second ball into the Knights’ second innings may have suggested the Lions would push home their advantage but they could not. Gihahn Cloete and Gerhardt Abrahams wiped away the deficit, Cloete went on to a century and Second was among the runs again to make a draw seem the only likely outcome at the end of the third day.That changed mid-way through the final day. Viljoen’s five-for allowed the Lions to slice through the Knights’ middle and lower order. They lost 6 for 75 and were bowled out for 381, setting the Lions a target of 281 runs in a minimum of 55 overs.The Lions signalled their intent to chase it down when de Kock was promoted to No. 3 but they collectively fell on their swords. The Lions were outspun by Coetsee and Malusi Siboto and were barely clinging on at 74 for 6. Tsolekile was again their bridge over troubled water and contributed 56 but the he could not stop the collapse around him. He was the last man out, as the Lions lost late in the day.The first-class competition will take a break until December and as things stands, the Knights are at the top of the table, 4.18 points ahead of the Lions. They also have the top run-scorer, Second, who has 259 runs to his name, four more than Ingram and 13 ahead of Tsolekile, in their ranks. Lions’ Viljoen leads the wicket charts with 14 scalps, followed by Harmer with 11 and Coetsee with 10.

There was good news for Somerset young cricketer Neil Edwards whose visit to Australia after Christmas with the England Under 19’s was put in jeopardy when he was diagnosed with glandular fever last month.The tall left handed opening bat who hails from Penzance made a good impression in his first team debut against West Indies A at Taunton, and has been taken onto the staff for next season.Thankfully Neil has made a good recovery and this morning he was back working in the office at the County Ground in Taunton.He told me: “I have been back to the doctor and he has given me the all clear to start training again. I have also been in touch with Paul Farbrace the England Under 19’s coach and the trip to Australia is now very much back on. Of course I am absolutely delighted and looking forward to it immensely.”Commenting on the situation Mr Anderson told me: “Neil Edwards has been declared fit to go on the Under 19 tour to Australia.This is great news and will give a lift to everyone especially the girls in the office where he is a popular member of the staff.”

Cheltenham and Gloucester Man of the Match hero Keith Parsons has been named as captain for the 3-day match against West Indies A that starts at Taunton on Wednesday.Taunton born Parsons said: "It is a real honour to have the chance to captain Somerset in a first class game. I always enjoy being captain, and I led Somerset Seconds in the final of the 1 Day Trophy competition last season, but this is something special."The 29 year old all rounder has enjoyed considerable success against the tourists at Taunton. He has scored a century against Sri Lanka, and in 2000 hit a career best 193 not out against the West Indies.Parsons leads a young Somerset side that includes three players making their first class debut, left handed opening batsman Neil Edwards and all rounders Arul Suppiah and Wes Durston.The full Somerset line up will be: Neil Edwards, Matthew Wood, Piran Holloway, Keith Parsons, Arul Suppiah, Keith Dutch, Wes Durston, Carl Gazzard, Graham Rose Peter Trego and Matt Bulbeck.Chief Executive Peter Anderson told me: "We are hoping for a big crowd to come along and support this match against West Indies A. They are an attractive side and have enjoyed some good results on this tour, and of course they are managed by former Somerset favourite Joel Garner, who will be here with the side."Play in the 3 day match starts at 11 am on Wednesday. Entry is free to members, £10 for adults, and free for youngsters up to the age of sixteen.

An explosive century by captain Ronnie Irani swept Essex to a six-wicket victory over Derbyshire at Chelmsford to catapult them up the Division Two table in the Frizzell County Championship. Set 190 to win after a spirited effort by Derbyshire in their second innings, Essex were in trouble at 26 for three until Irani struck 101 from 76 balls with 12 fours and three sixes as his side scored at nearly six an over to claim their tenth victory in 12 competitive matches this season.Derbyshire resumed on 73 for five on the final day and had added only ten runs to the total when Jason Kerr was bowled by John Stephenson. However, that was when Karl Krikken joined Kevin Dean and the pair frustrated further Essex attempts to break through while adding 67 for the seventh wicket.It was only when Dean was out for 48 shortly after lunch that Essex saw a chance of victory in a match severely restricted by rain. Even then, Krikken went on to make 48 before he was last out, setting the target in a minimum of 34 overs, providing the rain did not return.Darren Robinson hit four fours before he was out with the score on 16, Graham Napier was run out after facing three balls with the total on 26, and John Stephenson fell before the total had moved on. That was when Irani joined Andy Flower to put on 155 for the fourth wicket. Flower was on 55 not out when the winning runs were hit with one over to spare.

The Junior Sabres website auction is gathering momentum and by the end of the day on Wednesday had received bids amounting to over £300.The highest bid for any lot had been made for the new captain Mike Burns Gunn and Moore 2002 cricket bat that currently stands at £75, and with ten days still remaining this is expected to go higher.When Peter Bowler called in at the County Ground during the afternoon he was so impressed with the with the response that there had been to the lots on offer that he donated two items of his playing equipment to help to swell the funds.The veteran batsman, who became a father for the third time just a few weeks ago, donated the Millichamp and Hall bat that he used during the 2002 season and his Millichamp and Hall batting gloves to add to the website auction.There are now eleven lots in the auction with Peter Bowler’s cricket bat becoming Lot number 10, and his batting gloves Lot number 11.A bid for both of the new items has already been received. £35 has been bid for Lot number 10, and £15 for Lot number 11.An updated list of bids received for all lots will be posted on the site over this coming weekend and please remember that the auction will close on November 30th.Anybody wishing to view the full list of items of offer can find them on the features list on the lower section of the title page of the website.Bids for any item in the auction should be sent to [email protected] items in the auction are genuine and all monies raised by the auction will go towards the Junior Sabres members of the club.

Sussex CCC are pleased to announce that they have signed Mushtaq Ahmed, 32, as their second overseas player for the 2003 season.Mushtaq Ahmed played for Surrey this season as Saqlain Mushtaq’s replacement and was previously playing for Little Stoke CC in Manchester. Ahmed has played 50 Test matches and 143 One Day Internationals. He is a leg spin bowler and was named Wisden Cricketer of the year in 1997.Commenting on the signing, Peter Moores, Cricket Manager, said: “It is fantastic news that Mushtaq Ahmed has agreed to come to Sussex with depth of international experience and knowledge of bowling in all conditions. Mushtaq will contribute an added variation to our attack and crucially will help to open sides up on flat wickets which has sometimes been a problem in the past. His commitment to come back and prove he is still one of the world’s top flight spinners came across loud and clear and a hungry man with talent is one to watch.”Nigel Russell, Chief Executive added: “Mushtaq’s signing considerably widens our bowling options, an area which has been occasionally inhibited in the past and will allow us to challenge vigorously for the Championship in the future. We are looking forward to welcoming him to Hove.”

Southern Sui Gas Company (SSGC) qualified to set up a quarterfinal clash with Baqai Dolphins after scoring a narrow 10-run victory over A.J. Worldwide in the 8th Tapal Trophy Ramazan Cricket Festival at UBL Sports Complex here Monday.SSGC owed their win to Saad Umar, who hit 75 off 52 balls with six sixes and two fours and then claimed two crucial wickets for 11 runs.Batting first, SSGC made 201 for five in their 25 overs, mainly because of a fine opening stand of 107 between Man-of-the-Match Saad and Ashraf Ali (54 off 46 balls, four sixes and two fours).A.J. Worldwide, in reply, were all out for 191 in 24.5 overs. Opener Khurram Manzoor struck a whirlwind 57 off 36 deliveries. His knock was laced with seven fours and a brace of sixes.Rashid Hanif, the slow left-armer, captured three for 34.Tuesday’s final league game between A.O. CC and Customs Academy will complete the quarterfinal line-ups. A straight win for Customs will pit them against Tapal CC in the first quarterfinal Wednesday.In case A.O. CC win, then net run-rate will decide the qualifiers from Group ‘C’ because three teams, including KBCA, will have the same number of points.In other quarterfinals, Group ‘C’ winners Dewan Sugar Mills take on Group ‘A’ runners-up Shalimar CC on Thursday, Group ‘B’ champions KESC meet DHA, the Group ‘D’ runners-up, on Friday while Group ‘D’ leaders Baqai Dolphins clash against runners-up of Group ‘B’ SSGC on Saturday.Summarised scores:SSGC 201-5 in 25 overs (Saad Umar 75, Ashraf Ali 54, Irfanullah 20, Rashid Hanif 20; Akbar Rehman 2-30);A.J. WORLDWIDE 191 in 24.5 overs (Khurram Manzoor 57, Fahim Ahmed 35, Atif Raza 26; Rashid Hanif 3-34, Saad Umar 2-11, Saeed Asif 2-28)Tuesday’s fixture: Customs Academy v A.O. CC at 1.00pm

Lymington propelled themselves into the heart of the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 2 promotion race with a comprehensive 109-run victory over United Services at the Sports Ground.Zimbabwean skipper Danny Peacock led the way for Lymington, top scoring in the New Forest club’s powerful 265-9 and then taking four wickets as United Services dipped to a disappointing 156 all out in reply.Lymington’s sixth successive win sets up a titanic Rose Bowl duel next Saturday against the Hampshire Academy, who maintained the Division 2 leadership with a four-wicket success at Rowledge.But Easton & Martyr Worthy are second – three points behind the Academy – after beating Old Tauntonians & Romsey by six wickets.Lymington asserted their authority during the afternoon session, but initially were never entirely comfortable with 265-9, particularly after their own record-breaking 286-run chase against Hungerford a fortnight ago."After what happened in the Hungerford game, it was in the back of my mind that we might not have scored enough," Peacock admitted."But I backed our bowlers, particularly Aaron Heal and myself, both spinners, who I knew would be difficult to get away."Lymington motored merrily along at four an over from the start, with Peacock’s second-wicket partnership with Heal providing the platform for a sizeable total.The young Western Australian left-hander didn’t time the ball as sweetly as he might have liked, but hit nine fours in an effective 57 before departing at 112-2, just after the mid-innings drinks break.Peacock and Ben Craft (42) ran well, really upping the anti and taking advantage of the fast outfield as Lymington moved menacingly to 202-2, with nine overs left.But Peacock, who struck a six and seven fours in a fluent 75, and Craft departed in quick succession as United Services created middle-order inroads."I thought the lads came back well at that stage, taking four wickets for only six runs," said skipper Gary Hounsome.But Lymington reasserted themselves through youngsters Ian Young (27) and Matt Molloy (23), who plundered 48 runs off the last five overs as the total advanced to 265-9 off 50 overs.Zimbabwean wicket-keeper Warren Gilmour bagged four catches, all off Damian Carson, who finished with a rather expensive 5-74 off ten overs."I must say we fancied ourselves at tea. It was a great batting track, even though 266 was a lot to get."But we batted poorly, with all ten batsmen giving their wickets away. Bad shots got us out," Hounsome confessed.US came out of the traps at breakneck speed – only to lose university pair Tom Clarke and James Robson to consecutive Trevor Phillips deliveries.Their dismissals – Robson was bizarrely caught first ball at long-leg – set the tone for Services, who were clearly looking to the unwell, but nonetheless impressive Pete Andrew to fire their challenge.Andrew, suffering from a bout of food poisoning, punished Phillips and left-armer Martin Hunt with a host of boundary shots.But soon after Lymington switched from seam to spin, US began to buckle.Peacock, bowling off-spin, removed Hounsome (23) at 88-3 and then got the vital break at 104-4 by removing Andrew for a forceful 57.The Services batsmen contrived to offer up catches all around – Peacock finishing with 4-33 and Heal, varying his flight and line, taking 3-40 as the Portsmouth side sank to 156 all out in the 35th over."To be all out with 15 overs left was little short of scandalous," Hounsome complained. "It just summed up the way we batted, but there was no doubt the better side won on the day."

Hampshire Young Cricketers are vying with Middlesex for the Seven Counties Under-16 Championship title.The pair go into their final matches with Middlesex leading the table by eight points.But if the Crusaders slip up against Surrey at NPL Lensbury on August 27, Hampshire could snatch the title from their grasp – provided they beat Sussex in their final match at Burridge, starting on Monday.Hampshire boosted their prospects with a first innings win over Kent at Tunbridge Wells, where Basingstoke’s Mitchell Stokes grabbed 4-30 in 25 overs of off-spin.New Milton’s Neil Summerson (2-23), Rob Snell, Ricky Rawlins and Rob Palmer joined in the wicket taking as Kent were dismissed for 202.Alex Richardson (36) and Steve Williams (21) gave Hampshire a solid start but, after the team had slipped to 129-6, Tom Cledwyn (36) and Andover’s Rob Palmer (37) shouldered added responsibility.The game was back in the balance when both batsmen departed at 186, but Summerson (18) kept his cool to ease Hampshire to 234 all out – and a precious win.