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Sanjay Bangar took four wickets to bowl Haryana out for 193 (file photo) © Photosport

Twenty wickets fell in a day at Jammu as the hosts secured a 28-run first-innings lead against Jharkhand, which may prove crucial in the low-scoring encounter. Jharkhand, opting to bat first, crossed the 100-run mark, thanks only to a 30-run last-wicket stand between Kuldeep Sharma and Sandip Roy. Kuldeep scored 24 and stayed unbeaten. For Jammu & Kashmir, the new-ball bowlers did all the damage, with Vijay Sharma taking five and Samiullah Beigh taking four wickets.The two were not done, though, as they put on 48 for the eighth wicket to take J&K past Jharkhand’s total. Beigh stayed unbeaten on 33, while Vijay scored 26. For Jharkhand, Kuldeep followed up on his batting performance with 3 for 57, while SS Rao took 3 for 56.
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Haryana never really recovered from the early blows Sanjay Bangar dealt them, and were bowled out for 193 on the first day at Rohtak. Railways made a bright start and reached 80 without loss by stumps.Bangar struck in his second and fourth overs to start the rot for Haryana. Sanjib Sanyal joined in the demolition job and soon Haryana were 71 for 6. Amit Sharma and Sandeep Singh took them to 100 with a 29-run stand, but three quick wickets followed. That’s when Gaurav Vashisht, the offspinner, came up with a timely half-century to provide some respectability to their total.Siddharth Joshi and Amit Pagnis, the Railways openers, came out with an aggressive mindset and hit 13 boundaries in 20 overs.
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S Suresh scored a crucial half-century to take Assam to 198 and then took two wickets to help reduce Kerala to 23 for 5 at Guwahati. Dhiraj Goswami, Suresh’s new-ball partner, took three wickets for five runs in seven overs. Scoring, generally, happened as an afterthought as Kerala scored 23 runs in 22.3 overs.Earlier, it was Suresh’s 57 at the top of the order, along with wicketkeeper Rajdeep Das’s 30, that held the Assam innings together and took them to a total, which by the end of the day, looked huge.
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At Margao, the Madhya Pradesh batsmen punished the Goa bowling to end the day at 334 for 6. They were led by a century by Jatin Saxena and half-centuries by wicketkeeper-opener Naman Ojha and Murtaza Ali.Jatin, who came in at No.3 and shared an 87-run stand with Ojha, scored his second first-class century, in his fourth match. Ali finished the day unbeaten on 75, his maiden first-class half-century. For Goa, Saurabh Bandekar, the former India Under-19 medium-pacer, stuck to the task and took four wickets for 98 runs, even though he bowled eight no-balls.
ScorecardNiraj Patel scored his 10th first-class century to take Gujarat to a comfortable 230 for 3 in Delhi. Niraj’s unbeaten 107 came off 192 deliveries and featured 18 boundaries. Niraj joined opener Nilesh Modi when Gujarat were at a tricky 50 for 2. Modi scored a cautious 51 and put on 75 for the third wicket with Niraj. Bhavik Thaker scored an equally cautious 35 in an unbeaten stand of 105 for the fourth wicket.
ScorecardFaiz Fazal’s second first-class century and Alind Naidu’s 87 put Vidarbha in a commanding position against Tripura, at Nagpur. The two shared a 160-run stand after Vidarbha had lost their first wicket for two runs. Fazal hit 19 fours and a six in his innings of 110.Tripura, though, struck with Naidu’s wicket in 83rd over of the day, after which Vidarbha scored only 11 runs.

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Floyd Reifer sweeps during his fifty © The Nation

Captain Sylvester Joseph and Tonito Willett missed out on centuries as Leeward Islands and Jamaica remained locked in a tense battle, after honours were evenly shared on the second day of their first-round Carib Beer Series match at St Mary’s Park in St Kitts.Joseph failed to add to his overnight 97 while Willett was dismissed for 89 as Leewards were bowled out for 396, after resuming at 291 for 4. At the close, Jamaica had reached 165 for 3, with Brenton Parchment stroking 51.Joseph, who batted soundly on Thursday to steady the innings, survived just 12 balls on Friday before being caught at square leg by Tamar Lambert, attempting to pull a short ball from fast bowler Jerome Taylor with the score on 297. Willett unbeaten on 43 overnight, again batted enterprisingly as he held the innings together after Joseph’s dismissal.He failed to find a steady partner, however, as wickets tumbled around him. Taylor, who finished with 3 for 69, produced a sharp, lifting delivery to Omari Banks which the batsman fended to Parchment at short square leg, to leave Leewards 314 for 6.Jermaine Lawson, Jamaica’s best bowler with 4 for 72, took care of Jason Williams for ten with a slower delivery, and Willett’s knock finally ended when he edged a faster ball from offspinner Samuels to wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh. He batted just under four hours, faced 173 balls, striking 11 fours.Jamaica quickly dispatched the two remaining Leewards wickets and hastily started their pursuit of first-innings points, with Chris Gayle and Parchment adding 70 for the first wicket. Gayle was bowled by the first delivery after tea when he played over a pitched up delivery from Adam Sanford.Samuels was brilliantly taken one-handed by Banks at second slip off Carl Simon for 34 with the score on 127, and with no addition to the score Parchment was taken at silly mid-off off Banks. Captain Wavell Hinds was unbeaten on 30 at the close.
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Barbados are behind the eight-ball for the moment. A keen-battle for first innings honours was slightly in favour of Trinidad and Tobago at the half-way stage of their opening round Carib Beer Series match yesterday. When stumps were drawn on the second day at the North Stars Club ground, Barbados were trailing Trinidad and Tobago by 53 runs with only two wickets intact.Had it not been for the resolute Floyd Reifer, the situation might have been worse. It was pleasing to see the diligence and application from Reifer, especially after a lean season last year. There wasn’t a flurry of exciting strokes, but you saw the value of watchful occupation of the crease. If some of his teammates could take a leaf out of his book, it would serve them well for the remainder of the season.Reifer’s unbeaten 54 off 212 balls stretched almost four-and-a-half hours and contained seven boundaries. He left countless balls outside the off stump, defended a whole lot that were on the wicket, nudged the ball around and spanked some of the bad balls to the fence. A lot rests on his shoulders if Barbados are to get close to Trinidad and Tobago’s total.Dale Richards, polished and purposeful, and Dwayne Smith, exciting and selective, wasted the benefit of promising starts by giving away their wickets on the approach of an interval. Richards was especially strong when driving through the off-side but failed to capitalise on a sharp chance he offered low to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin. Seven minutes short of the first refreshment break of the day and two shy of a half-century, Richards should have done better with a long-hop from offspinner Amit Jaggernauth which he pulled to the man running in from deep midwicket.Smith sent a buzz around the ground with a wonderful straight drive off Mervyn Dillon and then batted with increasing responsibility for the better part of an hour-and-a-half. The time he has spent working with the legendary Seymour Nurse, it seemed, was paying off.Ten minutes before tea, Smith picked up the medium-pace of Bravo and deposited him down the throat of deep midwicket after making 38. It was a waste of a wicket. Kevin Stoute is the darling among local fans at the moment and he immediately created a favourable impression upon his arrival. He played a few attractive strokes and looked at ease on the way to his 24 in front of another good crowd.Stoute surely shouldn’t be batting as low as No. 8, but he didn’t let it bother him. There were occasions when he appeared not to be sure which way the ball was turning when he was facing up Dave Mohammed’s chinamen. He survived that uncertain period before falling to an edged catch at gully in the second over with the new ball.If the final line-up Barbados put out on Thursday raised a few eyebrows, there was even more debate about the batting order yesterday. Patrick Browne is a wicketkeepe- batsman and capable of handling himself in front of the stumps, but in a team packed with a plethora of specialist batsmen, No. 3 is not the place for Browne.He batted soundly for an hour- and-a-half before falling to an outstanding one-handed catch at forward short-leg by Jason Mohammed. Browne’s elevation pushed promising rookies Kirk Edwards and Stoute down to No. 7 and 8 and more significantly, denied Barbados of an experienced head at a critical position.Either the captain Ryan Hinds or Reifer or possibly Smith should be given the responsibility of No 3. In a tight battle for first innings, you can hardly afford two run outs. Both Hinds and Tino Best fell by that route, but neither could be faulted.The two dismissals involved Reifer, but he could not be targeted either. On both occasions, Reifer slipped in the process of running, forcing his partners to try to regain their ground at the opposite end.
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Early morning rain and another sharp shower during the tea break condemned the second day of the first round Carib Beer Series match between the Windward Islands and Guyana to just 40 minutes action.In the 10.3 overs allowed at the Tanteen cricket ground, the Windward Islands moved to 185 for 6, continuing from their overnight 163 for 5. A soggy outfield delayed the start of play until 2:30 pm and Windwards quickly lost danger man Junior Murray in the third over of the day for 44.Murray, unbeaten on 38 overnight, edged offspinner Narsingh Deonarine to wicketkeeper Derwin Christian to miss out on his 31st regional first class half-century, with the score on 170 for 6. Captain Rawl Lewis, 10 not out, and Liam Sebastian, unbeaten on 3, were together when rain ended play prematurely.

Sourav Ganguly: Will he? Won’t he? © AFP

Since the night of the fifth, when the Indians landed, quite a bit has changed in Lahore. The freezing chill has abated, the breeze isn’t that biting, the sun has begun to shine pompously, and the tense pot of India-Pakistan cricket is just beginning to simmer.There was no way this series was going to match the previous one in the hype stakes. While that was historic, this promises to be more cricket oriented; while that had three one-sided games, this might just involver tenser scraps; while that was watched by a smattering of spectators, this is bound to get far bigger audiences. The players too have had a more relaxed schedule – a practice game played in a picnic-like atmosphere, leisurely net sessions with only a few press corps watching.One thing though is tough to change – the inevitable air of tension before the teams tee off. “A little bit of tension is always good,” said Greg Chappell in the pre-match press conference. “We’re glad that the Test is starting tomorrow. The players are slightly tense, keyed up but not overly. We’re ready.”Which eleven of the 16 is ready to play, Rahul Dravid refused to divulge, though admitting that he had made up his mind on the team composition. Once Sourav Ganguly had made the cut, India’s final XI was always going to cause umpteen speculations. Will he? Won’t he? Considering that he was one of the first specialist batsmen to pad up in the nets, and that he practiced against the bowling machine after that, just might. He may not necessarily replace Yuvraj Singh, but come in for Gautam Gambhir. Will India decide to leave out both their specialist openers? Has there been any board directive? There are too many questions; it adds to the buzz.The pitch too can never be too far from the spotlight. Barring any dramatic horticultural developments, it’s tough to imagine a grassy surface for the Test and it may be Anil Kumble, rather than Shoaib Akhtar, who will be smacking his lips. Bounce it might, but Sehwag’s scything horizontal-bat, and the fact that Indian batsmen usually struggle more against lateral movement, will be a cause for comfort.That means that India, in all likelihood, will play both spinners, their strength, in conditions more Kolkata than Headingley. The bounce, which both Chappell and Dravid predicted, should aid Harbhajan Singh, who, in all probability, will walk out tomorrow for his first Test in Pakistan, Zaheer Khan, largely inconsistent in the warm-up game, may have to wait for his recall with Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar sharing new-ball duties.The series gives India, currently ranked No.2 in the rankings, a chance to improve on their gains of the last few months. It’s their first big series abroad after their 2004 trip here and will provide indications of how far they have come under a new captain and coach. Both have insisted that the processes are more important than the final results and that improving day-by-day is the focus. Sometime during the series, though, maybe, just maybe, they may realise that when it comes to India v Pakistan, the destination is as important as the journey.Indian team (likely) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid (capt), 4 VVS Laxman, 5 Sachin Tendulkar, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Ajit Agarkar, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Anil Kumble.

John Wright: ‘I think there was a bit of a comfort zone’© Getty Images

John Wright has a permanently craggy, semi-dissatisfied look on his face. After several long, and often trying, years as coach of the Indian team, he has gained the respect of a nation that once blanched at the idea of appointing a foreign coach. Surely we could find a coach among a nation of billion, went the chorus. We couldn’t get one like Wright, at least not one who could get as much out of the Indian team. Yet, there’s every chance that he may be on the way out.Wright looked back on the ups and downs in Indian cricket last year while speaking to Cricinfo. “I think the problem really was that we had that break of three months [after the Pakistan tour]. Though we had a camp the batters did not have any form this season. Our performances last year were built on outstanding batting performances so I think there was a bit of a comfort zone.”In many ways, the successes of the last season – a drawn series in Australia and a series win in Pakistan – got the expectations of the public and the media to an unmaintainable high. “You know sometimes success in India can be … not quite an enemy,” said Wright, searching for just the perfect words in his inimitable fashion. “But after the Pakistan tour there was a lot of celebration and perhaps we weren’t as hungry as we had been, when we played the Asia Cup,” he explained. “By then it was too late. We went to Holland, there was a lot of wet weather, the practice facilities were sub-standard. So we never got any momentum going. But that is in the one-day side.”Unusually for India though, while the form in the one-dayers has dipped, the results have not been so disappointing in the Tests. Though India lost at home to Australia – no disgrace – there was some semblance of form. “There have been signs that we were improving but it’s probably picked up since Bombay [Test against Australia] really. That batting form that we had last year just wasn’t there.”But Wright did not think it’s impossible to regain the kind of form India had on the Pakistan and Australia tours. “Oh yeah, definitely it’s not form, it’s just momentum really. We had players who just weren’t getting rhythm, and time in the middle and that can be difficult when you are solely playing a diet of one-day cricket. We pulled it back in Chennai, we played very well against Australia in Chennai. To be honest, there weren’t easy batting conditions either in Nagpur or in Bombay. The fact that they were different, one was a green, seaming wicket and the other was a square turner didn’t make it easy. That [form and momentum] will come, I don’t have any problems, it’s happening already.”[Virender] Sehwag is in good nick, [Rahul] Dravid’s got a hundred now, [VVS] Laxman played well in Bombay. Sourav was in reasonable form. The players are there and the class is there and I’ve never worried about it. It’s just that we just haven’t been at our best. “And Wright was quick to point out, correctly, that even though India lost 1-2 to Australia, it could easily have been different. “We didn’t do badly in that series either. We lost it and that will be judged accordingly but, to be honest, if we had some fine weather in Chennai and some co-operation in Nagpur, it could have been better,” he said. “It wasn’t that far away. We won the last Test in Bombay in interesting conditions and in Chennai, well, who’s to know? If you look at that form in the last year we were the only side who has taken a Test of them (Australia) or even got close to them really. So, though we lost the series, I still say we can give Australia a run for their money.”But that said, there certainly were signs of rustiness in the one-day tournaments India has played since the season-opener, the Asia Cup. “I don’t think we’ve played that good at one-day cricket in the last one year. We did reasonably in Pakistan but we just haven’t been consistent in that part of the game since the World Cup,” said Wright. “In the World Cup it all came together. I know that in big competitions it will come together. Generally our one-day performances are built around the batting, I don’t think our fielding has been as good as it has been or even simple things like running between the wickets. We’ve got to up those areas a lot more.”

‘The players are there and the class is there. I’ve never worried about it. It’s just that we just haven’t been at our best’ © AFP

But now with a win in the last Test against Australia, the series win against South Africa and a clean sweep against Bangladesh, India are building up a good head of steam ahead of Pakistan’s arrival in February for three Tests and five one-dayers. “I don’t think we are out of momentum. Our aim here is to go forward, win these matches [against Bangladesh]. We play Pakistan and we want to win both the Test and one-day series,” he said. “We’ve dropped some matches to Pakistan, two of those games have been very close, we need to get that back and I’m confident that we will. Definitely.”But, Wright is not ready, yet, to talk about his aims, and whether he did or did not achieve them in his stint as India coach. “I will tell you that when I’m finished,” said Wright. “There are a lot of objectives you have in mind. But there are sometimes issues that don’t help you achieve them but anyway that’s part of the job. So I will be judged when I finish my term really.”My contract goes till the end of May [2005] so people will judge me on whatever; they can judge me on whatever they like.”In the course of his journey with the Indian team, he has had to deal with difficult characters, stubborn board officials, and a system that was simply alien to transparency and positive change. Yet, Wright is not one to moan. He is constantly hounded by the media, and the nation’s expectations are often unrealistic. Steve Waugh recently remarked that four years was about the right length of time for someone to be captain of a high-profile team, because the job took so much out of you. Is four years about the right timespan for a coach? “Those are the sort of things that myself and the board will review when I come to the end of my contract. That’s something that I will think about and no doubt the board will think about at the end of the next term. You cross those bridges when you come to them. I know when I first took over the job a lot of people were saying ‘he won’t last six months’.”Well, Wright has not just outlasted six months but he has done so in such a manner that it’s now becoming difficult to find the right man to replace him, if and when he chooses to give it up.

Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra will miss the Challenger Series in Bangalore in the second week of September. SK Nair, the secretary of the BCCI, has announced the teams for the tournament, while saying that these three players would not be playing because of injuries that would be monitored by Andrew Leipus, the Indian team’s physiotherapist. Sehwag’s back, Harbhajan’s finger and Nehra’s ankle are the zones of affliction.The Challenger Series is an important tournament in India’s calender because it is the only event in which the Test and one-day stars of the national team play alongside the cream of the domestic circuit. Top players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly rarely get time off the busy international calender to play in the Ranji Trophy or the Duleep Trophy, India’s two main domestic tournaments. It thus becomes difficult to guage how good India’s wannebes really are.Three teams contest the Champions Trophy: India Seniors, India A and India B. India regulars are equitably distributed among these teams, which are generally evenly matched. From a perspective of one-day cricket, the Challenger Series is a good hunting ground for talent ready to break through to the highest level. It also provides a look at the captaincy styles of the frontrunners for the top job in the national side. While Sourav Ganguly is captaining India Seniors, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid are captaining India A and India B respectively. John Wright coaches India Seniors while Sandeep Patil and Ashok Malhotra will look after the other teams – but the results are hardly likely to reflect on them, given that they will have had no time to groom their squads.The squads
India Seniors Sourav Ganguly (capt), VVS Laxman, Hemang Badani, Ambati Rayudu, Sanjay Bangar, Parthiv Patel (wk), Amit Mishra, Murali Kartik, Sarandeep Singh, Zaheer Khan, L Balaji, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Akash Chopra. Coach – John Wright.India A Anil Kumble (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rohan Gavaskar, Mohammad Kaif, Wasim Jaffer, Sridharan Sriram, Ajay Ratra (wk), Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Mithun Manhas, Ramesh Powar. Coach – Sandeep Patil.India B Rahul Dravid (capt), Shiv Sunder Das, Satyajit Parab, Vijay Bharadwaj, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Thilak Naidu (wk), JP Yadav, Avishkar Salvi, Siddharth Trivedi, Sairaj Bahutule, Amit Bhandari. Coach – Ashok Malhotra.

Canterbury will field the strongest team possible against Northern Districts in Gisborne for the next round of State Championship play.The return of New Zealand team members from Australia will boster the side considerably, giving two benefits, one for the Canterbury side to build on its second round victory over Otago this week and two, for the CLEAR Black Caps to keep their form from the Australian series in readiness for the two-Test National Bank series against Bangladesh starting in Hamilton on Tuesday, December 18.The team is: Gary Stead (captain), Jarrod Englefield, Michael Papps, Aaron Redmond, Chris Harris, Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Gareth Hopkins, Wade Cornelius, Paul Wiseman, Warren Wisneski, Shane Bond, Chris Martin.

Everton correspondent Patrick Boyland has relayed another positive injury boost ahead of the Toffees’ clash with Wolves this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Gray’s absence

The 25-year-old hasn’t had the best of seasons so far, with his last league goal coming against Arsenal in December.

Since then, Gray has been out with a hip problem and missed the defeat to Tottenham last Monday due to illness.

It now looks as if he is in line to return for the Toffees, though, with Frank Lampard desperate to guide his team away from danger with three points this afternoon.

The Latest: Gray available v Wolves

Boyland took to Twitter on Friday afternoon to relay news from Lampard’s pre-match press conference.

When it came to injuries, he confirmed that both Ben Godfrey and Gray are ‘fit and available’ for the Goodison Park clash.

The Verdict: Huge

Godfrey and Gray have been regulars for the Toffees when fit, so having them both back is a significant boost for the club. Indeed, the ex-Leicester winger has actually been the squad’s highest-rated player this season according to WhoScored, an illustration of how much he can contribute when fit to feature.

Everton’s home form may well be crucial as they look to avoid relegation, so having the pair back for Wolves today and possibly Newcastle in midweek is huge.

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Hopefully they can play a part in helping Lampard to just a second league victory in charge of Everton this afternoon.

In other news, talks over this Everton transfer will take place in the next few weeks

Regional cricket associations have been knocked for seemingly withholding their best players from representing the West Indies ‘B’ team in the Busta Series.Additionally, team captain Roland Holder feels the cream of the regional Under-23s, with the exception of Test players, should be made to play for the ‘B’ team if it is to make a greater impact.A lot of the territories need to be honest in their nominations for the ‘B’team if it is going to serve the purpose for which it is intended, the experienced former Barbados batsman told NATIONSPORT yesterday.We had a couple of players who could not make their national trials or, in the case of one or two from the Leewards and Windwards, who could not make their national side.It was Holder’s forthright view that a player who is put forward to represent the West Indies ‘B’ team should be someone who is on the verge of making his national team.I think most territories have selected their 16, kept the best of the reserves and then sent basically what has not been a true representation of this team.As a reference, he pointed to Guyana fast bowler Reon Griffith who was kept in their 13-man squad for the first five matches. Griffith did not play a single match and was only released to the ‘B’ team for the sixth round.I know all the territories want to win . . . [but] it is all about the development of West Indies’ cricket, said the 34-year-old Holder, who played successfully for Barbados in regional competition between 1986 and 2001.In cases like that, I think we need to be honest with ourselves.West Indies ‘B’, which is participating in the Busta Series for the second successive year, are languishing at the bottom of the table ahead of their final match against Barbados, starting tomorrow at Kensington Oval.However, there have been encouraging signs, among them centuries from Guyanese Krishna Arjune and debutant Donovan Pagon.For a team which has passed 250 in six of their 11 innings and has only been dismissed for fewer than 200 on one occasion, four defeats in six matches might not been an accurate reflection of their performance.Defeats will always be defeats. It means that you didn’t play better or as well as the opposition, Holder said.We have been batting reasonably well consistently. We have scored on average 500 runs per game.The only problem is that we tend to score most of those runs in the second innings. By then it’s usually playing catch-up cricket.Holder described the overall performance of the team as indifferent.It is very difficult under this present structure to get the sort of results you are looking for granted I’ve seen lots of improvements in all of these players, he said.What needs to happen is that the WICB (West Indies Cricket Board) decides that the best Under-23 side, excluding those who have played Test cricket, be selected to play as this team.Under such a proposal, promising players such as prolific Windward Islands opener Devon Smith, West Indies youth captain Narsingh Deonarine, Barbadian fast bowler Tino Best and fellow pacer Darren Powell of Jamaica would have to play for the West Indies ‘B’ ahead of their national sides.

“It’s cause for concern when people score 2000 runs and average more than 100 in back-to-back seasons … and they are still overlooked” © Getty Images

Mark Ramprakash has expressed his disappointment at not earning an England recall after selector Geoff Miller called him three weeks before the squad to Sri Lanka was announced and asked him about his future plans.”When selector Geoff Miller rang me before the squad was picked, asking lots of questions about my future plans, I thought I had a genuine chance of going to Sri Lanka,” Ramprakash told the newspaper. “Chairman of selectors David Graveney rang me before the squad was announced to try and explain the rationale behind leaving me out, but afterwards I was still none the wiser. He said I had a great season and couldn’t have done any more to get in the squad, so I replied. ‘Hang on – if I couldn’t have done any more, why am I not in the side?'”Ramprakash was the highest run-scorer of the 2006 and 2007 County Championship with averages of over 100 and was the only batsman to go past the 2000-run mark in the two seasons.”It’s cause for concern when people score 2000 runs and average more than 100 in back-to-back seasons, which is hardly a flash in the pan, and they are still overlooked,” he said.”I would love to know which boxes I hadn’t ticked.”All my fitness charts at Surrey last summer showed I’m as fit at 38 as I was when I broke into the England side at 21. And if age alone was the issue, all I can say is that’s unfair – Graham Gooch scored heaps of runs for England between the age of 35 and 40.”

Mohammad Kaif and Irfan Pathan square off against each other as Baroda take on UP © Getty Images

Uttar Pradesh’s inability to knock off the 129 runs they were set in 25 overs in their previous match against Tamil Nadu means this match is all about the coming together of three players who surely believe they should be in South Africa – Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina – and two others, RP Singh, and Piyush Chawla, who also have Team India aspirations. As it turned out, UP lost wickets in a hurry against Tamil Nadu, settled for a draw, got two points where they could have got five, and are at the bottom of Group A. Baroda are at the top. It is not mathematically impossible for UP to make it to the semi-finals but requires a miracle bigger than they had enacted last year – they had four points in four matches and won everything from then on to become champions; this year they have four points from five matches.And so the next four days will be largely about the five India cricketers.For Pathan, Kaif, and Raina the wheel seems to have turned a full circle. A year ago they promised so much; Pathan was going through a dream run, unable to do anything wrong and getting that hat-trick in Karachi. Kaif and Raina, out of the Test side, were busy winning UP their first Ranji title and, in so doing, strengthening their places in the one-day side and staking a claims for Tests too. Today, they’re wondering how to get back to the team.Pathan has become the first Indian player to have been sent back home midway during a series. Kaif and Raina failed so miserably in South Africa that, instead of pushing towards Test selections, they were dropped in favour of Dinesh Mongia and Dinesh Kartik.With the World Cup probables slated to be announced on January 12, this match becomes all the more important for Singh and Chawla. Pathan, Kaif, and Raina should be able to make it to the list of World Cup probables but this match, for them, could be a trial for the selection for two four-match series against Sri Lanka and West Indies, which in turn could serve as a trial for the final World Cup selections. The two series will be the last cricket India play before setting off for the West Indies.For Pathan this match could mark the start of a long road back. For Raina and Kaif, this could be a major bend on the road. They have had a mixed return to the Ranji Trophy. While Raina started with a duck on a difficult Kanpur surface, Kaif got 91 to bail his team out. UP lost that match narrowly to Karnataka. Kaif got a pair in the next game and Raina failed to do anything special as UP lost by an innings to Haryana. Then came the game against Tamil Nadu where Raina got a timely hundred and Kaif 88, offering the hope that they’d recovered their form. Having failed to finish two games they could have won, they will need to raise their game considerably to convince anyone that they’re serious contenders.Pathan looked quite relaxed at the practice sessions and, if one can hazard a guess, relieved at being away from all the attention and comfortable in the company of old friends and team-mates. The last time he was called Irfan Pathan junior was in November 2003, and he would hope this would be a fruitful return to his home side.After a light warm-up with a game with Frisbees and some exercise, he took aside Pinal Shah, Baroda wicketkeeper, and bowled on the pitch adjacent to the one to be used for the match, which had a look of green on it but experts around feel it should turn out to be a good batting track after a few hours of sun on it. Then after some catching practice, he had another long dig at the nets, both with the bat and the ball.The UP team went about their nets in a typically random manner. Kaif was among the first to reach the ground and padded up right away. This is the first time Kaif and Pathan will go head-to-head since they won their India caps and they prepared for the duel with a lunch at Pathan’s place yesterday. Two friends are looking at the same destination, having taken different roads that intersect tomorrow. Unfortunately for UP, as far as this year’s Ranji Trophy is concerned they on the exit lane.