Short ball,long faces

Mukund ton only bright spot as Indias struggle against the rising ball continues.

The Northamptonshire Cricket Club ground is an ideal venue for a runs-and-wickets-dont-really-matter sort of a practice game. Its a friendly place where lunch boxes get passed around across rows during meal time; fans leave unopened beer cans on seats when they go out for smoke without being jittery; birthday wishes are announced; and in the crowd,a witty guy with a megaphone conveys the whispers in the stands to the players on the field all day.

On Friday,in this relaxed and cheerful atmosphere,there was a corner of gloom: the Indian dressing room.

If the visitors were looking to work on the problem areas in this two-day game against Northamptonshire,it wasnt to be. It is said that there is no substitute for time spent in the middle for a batsman facing a confidence crisis. But in case of many Indian batsmen,it added to their confusion. As in the Test series,India were found wanting while dealing with the swinging ball and the steep bounce off the wicket.

The dismissal of Suresh Raina was the perfect example of how the Indian batsmen didnt quite learn from their past mistakes. The tall Northants pacer Luke Evans has the looks of a bowler who could pose problems to someone with short-ball issues. Evans has strong legs,runs in hard and hits the deck.

From quite early in his contest against Raina,it seemed that Evans had subscribed to Sky TV,the rights holders for the India-England series. With Raina out pulling twice during the Trent Bridge Test,Evans knew what his length was going to be. As a ball climbed on Raina,the left-hander decided to bring it down,rather than ducking under it. With the bat sticking out like a periscope over his head,Raina reached for the ball. The audacious shot resulted in an edge going into the hands of the keeper.

All ends up

If Raina was too aggressive while facing the short ball,Dhonis reaction to a similar delivery was hard to describe. He seemed shocked as it suddenly sprung at him after hitting the pitch. Before he could even think of being defensive or attacking,the ball reached the wicketkeeper after kissing willow.

Raina did score 38 runs but his mode of dismissal would mean another long session at the nets with coach Duncan Fletcher. Dhoni is also likely to spend more time with the computer analyst.

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The one bright spot of the day was Abhinav Mukunds 113,but in the context of the playing XI for the next Test,those runs might just be irrelevant. With Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir back together,Mukund is likely to do drinks duty at Edgbaston. Unless of course,the Indian team management comes up with the radical move of replacing the troubled middle order batsman Raina with the opener Mukund.

The other bit of action that gave some idea about the playing XI at Edgbaston was the inclusion of Zaheer Khan in the line-up. He batted for 13 balls and hit the only six of the day,but it will be his bowling that will be under scrutiny on Saturday. At stumps,India were 327/7 and once again a county side had done their bit for the national cause.

Waning powers

At Taunton before the first Test,Somerset had demystified the World No.1 Test side. Here at Northampton,the games biggest stars were once again reminded about their waning powers. England skipper Andrew Strauss would have smiled at the modes of dismissal of Indias middle-order.

Just before the final over,the days raffle draw winner was announced. Once again a cheer went up and fans went to the aisles with smiles on their faces. But there were a few grim faces among the visitors. Zaheer was bowling from a full run-up,and those in Team India training gear were keeping their fingers crossed.

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Brief scores: India 327/7 Abhinav Mukund 113 retd,VVS Laxman 49,Amit Mishra batting 48,Luke Evans 2/60,Lee Daggett 1/52 vs Northamptonshire