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Sharda Ugra19-Aug-2011The Decision Review System (DRS), comprising the audio tracker and Hot Spot infra-red cameras, will be used for the first time in a bilateral series in India later this year. India had, till recently, strongly opposed the DRS but will now use the system in all 13 home international games before the tour of Australia in keeping with the ICC’s new guidelines that make it mandatory for Tests and ODIs.Warren Brennan, CEO of BBG Sports, which own the Hot Spot camera technology, confirmed that the BCCI had asked for the cameras to be set up in place for India’s home season. Brennan told ESPNcricinfo that four Hot Spot cameras would be in use for the five ODIs against England and three Tests against the West Indies, while two cameras would be in use during the five-match ODI series against the West Indies.During its annual conference in June, the ICC had made the DRS mandatory in Tests and ODIs with a minimum requirement of the audio tracker and infra red cameras. In its announcement, the ICC had, “unanimously recommended universal standards for the usage of technology in decision-making (Decision Review System) in all Test matches and ODIs subject to availability and commercial considerations.” The “availability and commercial considerations” were brought into play as the Hot Spot technology – the only infra-red cameras being used in cricket – is an expensive tool which must be paid for by the home boards and/or broadcasters. It is why the current Zimbabwe v Bangladesh series does not feature the DRS, with the two boards agreeing on not using it.

Hot Spot in South Africa

Brennan also confirmed that Hot Spot will be used for all international cricket in South Africa. ”We’ll be doing all of South Africa’s international cricket since they’ve just come on board, including the Australian series in October and the Sri Lankan series after Christmas,” he was quoted as saying by the . Australia play two Twenty20s, three ODIs and two Tests on the tour of South Africa. Against Sri Lanka, South Africa play three Tests and five ODIs.

The BCCI’s earlier objection to the DRS was based on its lack of belief in the reliability of the ball-tracker technology used in the DRS and the expenses involved in the Hot Spot cameras, which they pegged at US$60,000 per match, while estimates had it down to $5000 per day and a maximum of $25,000 per Test.Previously the mandatory requirements for the DRS were “clear stump mikes”, a Super Slo-Mo camera and ball-tracking technology. The new regulations have, however, left ball-tracker out of the mandatory requirements but incorporated the infra-red cameras.The acceptance and use of Hot Spot cameras will mark another step in the BCCI warming to the DRS. Hot Spot cameras were not used during the ICC World Cup earlier this year over issues of the speed of security clearances.

Ireland veteran Trent Johnston says the first-class structure needs to be in place before the country gets Test status

Brydon Coverdale in Bangalore03-Mar-2011The Ireland veteran Trent Johnston does not believe his country is ready for Test cricket despite Wednesday’s triumph over England, which he described as “the greatest performance that Irish cricket has ever put on”. However, Johnston said the Ireland team should be playing far more ODIs against the leading countries, and that they were spurred on by the ICC’s decision to cut the next World Cup to 10 teams.Johnston, 36, was captain of the Ireland side that upset Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup, but he said the win over England was a greater moment considering the size of the chase and the need to prove the Associates belong at the tournament. Ireland began with a fighting loss to Bangladesh and they are now a realistic chance to make the quarter-finals, but Johnston said talk of Test promotion was premature.”I think Test cricket is probably a good while away,” Johnston told ESPNcricinfo on the morning after Ireland’s win. “We need to get things set up back in Ireland, the infrastructure and first-class setup and that sort of stuff. But one-day cricket and Twenty20, definitely, I think we proved yesterday that we can mix it with those guys.”Without a World Cup in our season I’d say we’d play those guys two or three times a year, where we should be playing them 10 times a year. If we’re doing that then we’re beating Bangladesh in our first game because we know how to win those games. That’s a big factor for us and Warren Deutrom, our CEO, has got a massive job on his shoulders to try and get us into that programme.”Last year, Ireland played four one-day internationals against Test-playing sides, two in Belfast against Bangladesh and one each against Australia and West Indies. The previous year, a one-off ODI against England, which Ireland lost by just three runs, was their only 50-over exposure to a full-member country, and this year they are scheduled to play another ODI against England in Dublin in August.But it’s at the World Cup that Ireland have really made their mark, after their St Patrick’s Day triumph over Pakistan in 2007. In that tournament they also tied with Zimbabwe and in the Super Eights beat Bangladesh, but the Irish players could be watching the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand from a pub in Dublin, with pints of Guinness in hand.”We have to prove that we want to be at the top table, it spurs us on a little bit more,” Johnston said of the ICC’s decision to reduce the number of teams. “At the end of the day it’s a world game. It’s not just the elites that play at World Cups. I think we warrant our selection there and warrant being there. I think we proved that against Bangladesh and we proved it yesterday against England, and hopefully we can do the same against India.”We want to mix it with the big boys. We want to play those guys 10 or 20 times a year … We just go out there and enjoy each other’s success. I think that’s the biggest thing, we go out there as a team. Whether we go out and get flogged or we win comprehensively or we get over the line like we did last night, we enjoy each other’s success. That’s what it comes down to. We play for each other, and I honestly couldn’t say there’s too many teams in the World Cup could do that.”Johnston was speaking at the team hotel in Bangalore, where the Irish celebrations had lasted into the small hours of the morning after Kevin O’Brien’s record-breaking 50-ball century set up their three-wicket win. Phones were ringing all through the night, calls coming from friends and family back home, as well as a host of interview requests from Irish radio stations.And the success couldn’t have come at a better time for Ireland, a country that has struggled with a serious financial crisis over the past couple of years. At the same time, there has been plenty of support for a cricket team that has gone from being made up almost entirely of amateurs to now being a thoroughly professional outfit.”It’s been a tough 18 months or two years for Ireland,” Johnston said. “The economy is not doing so well and what have you, but sporting wise it gets the nation together. Yesterday would prove that. There were radio stations ringing left right and centre, and TV stations. It was just like four years ago, and that’s great. That’s one thing that we spoke about when we first came out here, was let’s try to lift a nation, let’s try to win a few games out here and it’s not all doom and gloom.”Four years ago we had two guys on central contracts and the rest of us were amateurs. Now we have 13. That makes a massive difference and we can only do that through sponsorship and great support and that sort of thing. The big thing is that it’s great for Irish cricket that we can get out there and perform on the world stage and put ourselves out there.”As long as the ICC lets them keep mixing it with the big boys.

ESPNcricinfo previews the fifth ODI between India and New Zealand in Chennai

The Preview by Sriram Veera09-Dec-2010

Match Facts

Friday, December 10

Start time 14.30 (0900 GMT)
James Franklin provided a perfect end to the positive approach showed by New Zealand in the fourth ODI. Can they carry on in the same vein?•AFP

The Big Picture

The fourth ODI hinted at a New Zealand revival. Their approach was certainly different and refreshing. It was visible in their batting and bowling, and they were just about pinned down only because of Yusuf Pathan’s brutality. Their fans will hope that New Zealand continue with this positive approach in the final ODI. Despite being put into bat under overcast conditions in Bangalore, they weren’t circumspect. They didn’t focus on survival, as they had tried to do but failed earlier in the series, but chose to attack. It didn’t feel like a desperate attempt either – they never swung wildly – but a positive strategy to turn their fortunes around. Their bowlers too, nearly did the job, but were shoved out of the contest by a violent knock. They haven’t won an ODI in nearly four months and something had to give. This new approach might well be the right path to lead them out of the hole.For their part, India are likely to view the top-order collapse in Bangalore as an aberration and revel in the fact that the situation produced the best out of Yusuf, and raised hope of removing a weak-link in the lower order. They might also see their death-over bowling woes in the last game – 63 runs in the last five overs – as an aberration as it was Ashish Nehra, normally their best bowler in such situations, who gave away 38 in his last two overs. And even then, just like New Zealand didn’t account for Yusuf, India were blindsided by James Franklin.

Pitch and conditions

The good news is that Chennai, which had heavy rains earlier in the week, hasn’t seen a downpour since Wednesday. The bad news, though, is that the forecast suggests that it might rain on Friday.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
India:WWWWW
New Zealand: LLLLL

Watch out for…

Is Martin Guptill on the cusp of breaking free from his old failing of throwing away his starts? Or is he still stuck in the same rut? He played a skillful knock in the previous ODI, using conventional shots as attacking options, but fell when set.Ashish Nehra is no Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis, of course, but he is a capable bowler in the end overs of an innings. He is the man MS Dhoni turns to during both bowling and batting Powerplays, and in the final overs. If he had got complacent – there is no evidence to suspect that – the fourth ODI would have been a wake-up call.

Teams

New Zealand could focus on one change: Jamie How hasn’t grabbed his chances and might be replaced by Kane Williamson, whose offbreaks provide another option. The case against Williamson, articulated publicly by former New Zealand batsman Craig McMillan, is that he is not a perfect fit for No. 3. The view is that Williamson slows down the run-rate as he is the type of batsman who needs time at the crease to get going. Is it just a perception? Can Williamson, given enough experience in that slot, change his game? Or is this not a good time to extend him that opportunity as the World Cup is around the corner? He could be pushed lower down the order, but would that role fit him?New Zealand (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Jamie How/Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Scott Styris, 6 James Franklin, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Andy McKayIndia, too, will probably make one change: they will most likely give Zaheer Khan a rest and bring back Munaf Patel.India (probable): 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Saurabh Tiwary, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Stats and trivia

• Nehra conceded 70 runs in nine overs in the last game. It was the ninth time he had leaked more than 70 in an ODI and he holds the dubious record of doing it the most times.Three other bowlers – Waqar, James Anderson, and Naved-ul-Hasan – have given more than 70 runs seven times.
• Yuvraj Singh took his 75th catch to dismiss Guptill in the fourth game of the series. Only six other Indians – Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, and Virender Sehwag – have caught more.

Quotes

“We will look at it as we do every game – to win it. I know that’s hard to say after losing so many games in a row but we still think we can do it. The batsmen showed how good they can be. If we get that performance again we hope our bowlers can do better.”

The six Pakistan players who have appealed against the punishments handed out by the PCB will appear before a one-man tribunal on Friday

Cricinfo staff27-Apr-2010The six Pakistan players who have appealed against the punishments handed out by the PCB will appear before a one-man tribunal on Friday. The tribunal will be chaired by Irfan Qadir, a former retired high court judge who was appointed to the task by the PCB last week.”I have issued notices to the players to appear on Friday for a preliminary proceeding on their appeals and they will be given all basic rights under the law,” Qadir told . “If some of the players demand specific reasons for their punishment, we will provide them with that as well, as this is their right.”The PCB took action against seven players it believed were responsible for Pakistan’s failure to win a single game in Australia. The captain Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan were banned indefinitely, Shoaib Malik and Naved-ul-Hasan were banned for a year while Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers were fined and placed on probation for six months.Yousuf and Younis were accused of infighting and having a negative influence on the team. Yousuf announced his retirement from international cricket after the ban and is the only one among the punished players who didn’t appeal.The Akmal brothers and Naved lodged their appeals first, followed by Afridi, Younis and then Malik.

Habibul Bashar, the former captain of the Bangladesh team, today announced his retirement from all forms of cricket

Cricinfo staff22-Mar-2010Habibul Bashar, the former Bangladesh captain, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.”It has been a terrific journey for me and after two decades of international, first class and cub cricket I feel I have reached the end of the road. The Port City League (PCL) T20 in Sharjah next week will be my last competition as a player,” Bashar wrote in his letter to the Bangladesh Cricket Board.”I thank the BCB for giving me the honour of captaining Bangladesh and for the support throughout my career,” Bashar wrote. “I will cherish the memories of my time in the Bangladesh dressing room and my heartfelt gratitude goes out to all the players, coaches, team officials and staff I have had the privilege of knowing and working with.”As I bid bye I also feel excitement at the way the Bangladesh cricket team is progressing. I wish them every success.”Bashar played fifty Tests for Bangladesh, including their inaugural Test in 2000. He went on to lead the side in 18 Tests, including one victory and four draws. His most memorable moments as captain came in 2005 when Bangladesh stunned Australia in an ODI in Cardiff, and in the 2007 World Cup where his side relegated India to enter the Super Eights.As a batsman, Bashar massively under-achieved for a man of his talent, often succumbing to a propensity to hook, and finished with a Test average of 30.87. He was dropped from the national side after a protracted run of poor form and headed to the ICL in 2008, where he captained the Dhaka Warriors.The BCB president AHM Mustafa Kamal led the tributes in praise of Bashar. “We are indebted to this fantastic cricketer who had instilled belief in the players and inspired them to perform.”Under his able leadership Bangladesh had tasted the first Test victory and had progressed to the Super Eight stages of the 2007 Cricket World Cup. With his batting he showed others the way to dominate and score at international level. We hope that he will continue to be associated with Bangladesh cricket after his retirement,” he said.

Impact Player rule in focus: Super Giants could start with three overseas players, while Capitals look to plug allrounder’s hole

Hemant Brar31-Mar-20233:15

Moody: ‘Warner is one of those captains who are an over ahead’

Big picture

After an impressive inaugural season where they made it to the playoffs, Lucknow Super Giants will play at their home ground for the first time, with the IPL returning to the tradition home-and-away format.Last year, Super Giants’ middle order looked brittle at times, so at the auction, they bought Nicholas Pooran. How much they value his batting is clear from the price they paid – INR 16 crore (USD 1.95 million approx.) – for him despite already having two wicketkeeping options in KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock in their first-choice XI.Super Giants’ squad is brimming with allrounders, which is a big advantage. However, left-arm quick Mohsin Khan’s shoulder injury, in head coach Andy Flower’s words, is “a blow” for the team. Moreover, Flower is not expecting him to be available at all this season.Related

• Delhi Capitals have firepower despite Pant's absence

• Lucknow Super Giants bank on all-round strength

Delhi Capitals are without their regular captain, Rishabh Pant, this year. But in David Warner, they have a leader who has won the IPL previously, in 2016 with Sunrisers Hyderabad. Prithvi Shaw and Mitchell Marsh’s batting form also bode well for them. In fact, Marsh is expected to bowl as well this season.While Capitals still lack a genuine allrounder, their head coach Ricky Ponting is confident the Impact Player rule will help them plug that hole.

Team news

Super Giants will be without de Kock, who will join the squad on April 3, after South Africa’s ODI series against Netherlands is over.Capitals’ South African players – Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi – will miss Saturday’s match too. Mustafizur Rahman, who was rested for the final T20I against Ireland in Chattogram on Friday, tweeted that he was flying to join the squad on Saturday, when Capitals play the evening game in Lucknow.

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Lucknow Super Giants
Super Giants could start with three overseas players, irrespective of whether they bat first or bowl. If they bat first, their three overseas players could be Kyle Mayers, Pooran and Marcus Stoinis. In the second innings, Mark Wood can come in as an Impact Player for a batter, say Ayush Badoni.Probable bat-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt & wk), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Ayush Badoni, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Prerak Mankad, 9 Jaydev Unadkat, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Ravi BishnoiIf they bowl first, they could start with Mayers, Stoinis and Wood, with Pooran replacing Wood in the chase.Probable bowl-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt & wk), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Prerak Mankad, 8 Jaydev Unadkat, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Ravi BishnoiRavi Bishnoi has dismissed David Warner three times in three meetings•BCCI

Delhi Capitals
In Pant’s absence, Sarfaraz Khan is likely to keep wicket. He had donned the big gloves in three matches during the latest Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well.If Mustafizur is not available, it weakens Capitals’ death bowling. To counter that, they may beef up their batting by having four overseas batters in their XI. Ishant Sharma could be the Impact Player and replace Shaw when they bowl.Probable bat-first XI: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 Sarfaraz Khan (wk), 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Aman Khan/Kamlesh Nagarkoti, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Chetan Sakariya, 11 Khaleel AhmedIf they are bowling first, Ishant starts, with Shaw replacing him in the chase.Probable bowl-first XI: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 Sarfaraz Khan (wk), 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Aman Khan/Kamlesh Nagarkoti, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Chetan Sakariya, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Ishant SharmaBut if Mustafizur is available, Ishant sits out, and Lalit Yadav replaces Powell. In that scenario, Mustafizur could share the Impact Player role with Shaw. That, though, would also mean three left-arm seamers in the side, to go with two left-arm spinners.

Stats that matter

• Since the start of 2021, Rahul’s powerplay strike rate in the IPL is just 109.73. He picks up as the innings progresses, scoring at 149.09 in the middle phase and 207.14 at the death.
• In the same time period, Rahul hasn’t been able to score freely against left-arm fingerspinners: a strike rate of 111.46 even though he has a healthy average of 35.00. Capitals can use Axar Patel to tie him down. Against Axar, Rahul has managed only 22 runs off 34 balls while getting out twice.
• In contrast, Pooran has smashed Axar for 30 runs off nine balls without any dismissals. Pooran can be equally destructive against pace as well. In fact, he is one of only three batters in IPL history with 200-plus runs at a strike rate of above 150 against both pace and spin. Andre Russell and Virender Sehwag are the other two.
• In T20 cricket, Ravi Bishnoi has dismissed Warner three times in six balls. He has had the better of Powell too: four dismissals in 34 balls for 28 runs.

Pitch and conditions

Lucknow has hosted six T20Is to date – teams batting first have won five of those. The only time a chasing team won, Hardik Pandya called the pitch “a shocker”. In that game, New Zealand scored 99 for 8 batting first, and India chased it down on the penultimate ball of the match. During the 2022-23 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Lucknow had hosted 14 games. Teams struggled to post big totals then as well.

The time that an ODI affords – as opposed to T20 cricket – allowed the batsman to get into his groove again

Sidharth Monga25-Mar-20217:48

KL Rahul – ‘I didn’t want to sit back and overthink about two or three bad performances’

It is often joked – given how fans pine for players who are not playing – that the quickest way to improve as a cricketer is to spend some time outside the playing XI. However, that only fits for struggling teams. If your team is going through the kind of patch India is, you can be forgotten in no time at all. And then when you come back to play, the pressure can be immense because you know there are so many new players breathing down your neck.KL Rahul is not exactly that story, but the noise around his failures in the T20I series tells you something about the riches of Indian cricket. Not long ago, Rahul was the answer to India’s long-persisting ailments in limited-overs cricket: a middle-order batsman who could score consistent and quick runs. A couple of indifferent matches, an injury during the Tests ruling him out when India could have done with a batsman, and then four failures in the T20Is against England later, he was suddenly the one having his position questioned.Related

• KL Rahul looking forward to Riley Meredith's 'proper pace' in IPL 2021

• Virat Kohli, Vikram Rathour back KL Rahul as India T20I opener

• On show in Pune: England and India's differing methods of ODI batting

• Why India's recent debutants might make other sides envious

During all this, those fit and outside the squad spent time in the middle in the domestic competitions and scored tons of runs. Nothing encapsulates it better than the ease with which Krunal Pandya batted with Rahul, who scratched only early in the innings, during the match-winning partnership in the Pune ODI. Rahul had played 31 balls in the middle in the last three-and-a-half months, and Pandya had come off a bumper Vijay Hazare season.Once Rahul got through that initial struggle, he matched Pandya stroke for stroke. It was that time in the middle that T20 cricket doesn’t allow you that Rahul was missing. “I didn’t do anything different [during the T20Is against England],” Rahul said. “I wasn’t too stressed. Obviously, as a player, you are disappointed sitting on the bench. The last time I played was three-three-and-a-half months ago. So I was really excited and looking forward to doing well in the T20 series as well. Every cricketer, every player in the team wants to do that. Sometimes it doesn’t happen, and you accept it.”For me the most important thing was, when I sat back and tried to look back and things, I asked myself if I had prepared well and if I was training hard and if there was anything I didn’t do in terms of preparation. When I thought about it, I had done everything right. After that if I don’t score runs, I can accept that. Having said that, it doesn’t mean you don’t feel disappointed. You do feel disappointed because you are representing your country. And you are playing at this level. You want to keep performing and keep winning games for your team.”But you always have to accept that it is not always going to go your way. You have to be patient at times. I have been doing well at whatever roles and responsibilities that have been thrown at me for the last two-two-and-a-half years. When things were going right, I didn’t question my process, I didn’t question my passion or my commitment to the game or how I was preparing. So I didn’t want to sit back and overthink. You need to accept it sometimes. I was doing most things right. Whatever is in my control. Even after that if you don’t score runs, you accept it and move on.”Having spent some time in the middle, KL Rahul found his footwork and range returning•BCCI

The only thing that changed was the length of the innings, which provided him some time for that initial struggle. “The one-day format, playing at No. 5, I could take a little bit more time than I took in T20s,” Rahul said. “In T20s also, I wanted to give myself time but it wasn’t going my way. Having spent a little time in the middle, having hit a couple of good shots from the middle of the bat, footwork going well, your nerves tend to calm down a little bit more. When I walked in, Shikhar [Dhawan] was batting well. We lost a couple of wickets. I knew when Krunal walked in, me having played a little bit more cricket than Krunal, we knew we had to stitch together a partnership. When you stop thinking about your own personal game and there is a team responsibility ahead, you start thinking a little bit clearer. And having spent 20-25 balls in the middle, I started to feel a little bit more confident.”The more time you spend in the middle, the calmer and more confident you start feeling. Getting a few boundaries off the bat, that sort of calms you down and you start focusing on the task ahead. That is the only thing. I don’t know if top of the order or lower makes much of a difference. The only thing is to spend a bit of a time in the middle.”The return to form won’t move Rahul off his toes, though. “When you are part of this Indian team you always know the competition is going to be really really high,” he said. “You can never sit back and be comfortable and feel like you own your position. You’ll always be challenged. That’s the good thing about… that’s how our country is. There is such a lot of talent, and there will be players coming and knocking on the door all the time. As a player in the team you always try to push yourself and keep training harder and keep working on your game and try to get better and better every time. And whenever the opportunity comes, you try to grab it with both hands. Try to keep doing that every series.”

Alzarri Joseph and Sunil Ambris also on the comeback trail, following injuries, for the two-Test series against India in October

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2018Jomel Warrican, the left-arm spinner, returned to the West Indies Test squad for their two-match series against India in October. Warrican played the last of his four Tests in January 2016, but was handed a red-ball contract by Cricket West Indies in January this year, indicating that he remained very much part of their plans.Warrican has spent the last two months with the West Indies A team, playing England Lions and India A in England. While his numbers from those games are not particularly striking, he did cause the touring Sri Lankans issues in May, claiming 4 for 81 in a warm-up game in Tarouba. In India, he will offer West Indies a second-specialist spin option behind legspinner Devendra Bishoo.Alzarri Joseph, the 21-year old fast bowler, is also set to return to Test cricket after more than a year. Joseph broke into the West Indies side as a 19-year-old in 2016 and has since played six Tests, the last of which was last August in England. Joseph is returning from a stress fracture in his back, which he picked up in New Zealand in December. He returned to limited-overs cricket in the preceding series at home, against Bangladesh, and was picked in the squad for the second Test of that series. He, however, did not play, making this his first chance at long-form cricket since the injury.Batsman Sunil Ambris is also back for his first Test of the year, having missed out recently due to injury, according to West Indies’ chairman of selectors Courtney Brown. It is not clear what the injury was. Ambris had fractured his left forearm during the series against New Zealand last December – his debut series, where he was hit-wicket twice in two games – but it was believed that he had recovered from that injury ahead of West Indies’ home-summer series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.Jahmar Hamilton, the uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman, also made the 15. Hamilton was picked for the home Tests against Sri Lanka but didn’t get a game. In India, he will provide back-up with the gloves to Shane Dowrich.

West Indies Test squad

Jason Holder (capt), Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Jahmar Hamilton (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican

Batsman Devon Smith, who made a return this season against Sri Lanka after three years out of the team, and fast bowler Miguel Cummins are the only two to miss out from the squad that played the Bangladesh series.Browne said: “The panel congratulates Jason Holder and his team on the excellent performance against Bangladesh. As the team embarks on a tough tour of India, the successes against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh should hold them in good stead. The panel welcomes back Sunil Ambris, who missed the last couple of series due to injury, along with Jomel Warrican, who adds a second spin-bowling option to the attack.”While West Indies are coming off a convincing 2-0 series win against Bangladesh and a drawn series against Sri Lanka, they have struggled significantly against their upcoming opponents. Their last Test win against India came in Kingston in 2002, while their last Test success in India was a 243-run win in Mohali in 1994.The two Tests in India will be followed by five ODIs and three T20Is.

Tim Paine and Pat Cummins showed fight with the bat, and Cummins was a constant threat with the ball, too, but South Africa remained firmly in control of the match, and almost certain to complete a historic home series win against Australia

The Report by Brydon Coverdale01-Apr-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:53