Time running out for Duncan Fletcher as coach of the Indian team

Eighteen months ago, when Duncan Fletcher was appointed as the coach of the Indian cricket team, he was expected to fill a huge void created by the exit of Gary Kirsten. The latter had set such high standards for himself, as well as the team; to emulate that would require an enormous effort. Nevertheless, Fletcher had the reputation of transforming even mediocre sides into formidable units, and it was expected that he’d nonchalantly fit into the shoes. Moreover, the Indians were newly-crowned World Cup champions when Fletcher took over, and all that was expected of him was to keep the momentum going.

India, under Fletcher’s reign, began cautiously. After the World Cup triumph, India’s first away tour was against the West Indies, where they won the Tests 1-0 and the One-Day International (ODI) series 3-2. A better performance was expected, but considering the fact that a few key players weren’t available, it was a noteworthy effort.


Then began the downward slide; India were whitewashed in England and Australia — eight consecutive away Tests losses. The only consolation was a victory over West Indies at home. Nonetheless, only superficial changes were made and the head honchos decided to wait for things to sort themselves out.

The decline was evident even in the ODI arena, notwithstanding wins at home against England and West Indies. The World Champions crashed out of the Asia Cup following a loss to a relatively weaker Bangladesh side. Such was the slump that India couldn’t guard itself away from home.

The table below reveals India’s performance overseas in all formats of the game under Fletcher’s reign:

Format	Played	Won	Lost	Win Percentage
Test	11	1	8	9.09%
ODI	20	8	10	40%
T20	6	3	3	50%

The decline is appalling, since a similar unit under Kirsten’s tenure registered Win Percentages of 42.85, 58.53 and 50, respectively, in Tests, ODIs and T20s overseas.

Fletcher has done a commendable thing by not hogging the limelight as a coach, but is this tight-lipped approach really helping? Kirsten wasn’t a man of many words either, but the fact that he was constantly at work behind the scenes was well known. Most importantly, the results on the field reflected that. However, the same cannot be said about Fletcher. Nevertheless, he’s got the backing of the current players and that cannot be discounted. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni too has often been optimistic of Fletcher. “He’s a great guy to have. It's not like he has become the coach and we have lost two series and he's to be blamed for all the defeats, it's up to the 11 players to go out and perform,” Dhoni said post the Australian debacle.

However, there is the other side too. A few former cricketers never recommended Fletcher’s appointment as coach right from the very beginning. Sunil Gavaskar reckoned an Indian coach would do a better job, whereas Kapil Dev went one step ahead and said, “Who is Duncan Fletcher? I don't remember much of him as a player. I would like to see (Venkatesh) Prasad and Robin (Singh) as coaches of the Indian team. Not because they are Indians but because they did a great job at the T20 World Cup in 2007." If anything, their opinions on Fletcher would’ve only gotten stronger now. Former Australian cricketer Marcus North too stated in his column that Fletcher has managed to undo all of Kirsten’s hard work.
The upcoming series against England will be yet another litmus test for Fletcher, and albeit there are lesser chances of things going haywire since India is playing at home, a below-par performance will only result in voices against him gaining in momentum. Also, it’s important to note that Fletcher was appointed as coach during April 2011 with a two-year contract, and hence there is not enough time left to turn things around. Thus far, the ship has been heading in the opposite direction, and it remains to be seen if Fletcher can play his part henceforth and finally deliver. The series against England should offer some clues.
 

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England take huge lead against Haryana despite Rahul Dewan's impressive ton

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Rahul Dewan remained unbeaten on 144 but his brilliant knock failed to prevent England taking a huge lead of 188 runs in the third and final warm-up match at Ahmedabad on Saturday.

In reply to England's 521, the Haryana side were bowled out for 333.

For England, Tim Bresnan and Stuart Meaker took three wickets each while Samit Patel bagged two.

At lunch, opener Rahul Dewan completed a patient hundred but found little support from the rest of the Haryana line-up as the team crawled to 256 for seven in their first innings against England XI.

Responding to the visitors' first innings total of 521, Haryana were done in by a middle-order collapse despite the strong start they made yesterday.

At the break, Rahul was unbeaten on 112 with Amit Vashisht (8) giving him company at the other end.

Resuming at overnight 172 for four, the fall of wickets started pretty early for Haryana as Sandeep Singh departed after a 35-ball five.

Brief Score: England 521 (Samit Patel 67, Ian Bell 62; Amit Mishra 4 for 67, Jayant Yadav 4 for 110) lead Haryana 333 (Rahul Dewan 144*, Sunny Singh 55; Tim Bresnan 3 for 67, Stuart Meaker 3 for 72) by 188 runs.
 

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Haryana vs England XI, Practice match, Day 2, As it Happened

Over: 61 II Score: 172/4

Haryana were trailing England XI’s first innings total by 249 runs with six wickets in hand. Rahul Dewan (77*) and Sandeep Singh (2*) were still in the middle.
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Over: 57 II Score: 167/4

Haryana were four wickets down in their first innings after losing the wickets of Abhimanyu Khod and Sachin Rana. Khod (3) fell to Bresnan after being caught by Trott while Rana (7) was trapped in front by Monty Panesar.
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HARYANA: Over: 41 II Score: 129/2

Haryana lost their second wicket in Sunny Singh who was caught by Trott off Samit Patel. He scored 55 (74b, 4X11) while adding 97 runs for the second wicket with Rahul Dewan. Abhimanyu Khod is the new batsman in the middle.
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TEA

Haryana responded strongly to England XI's mammoth first innings total of 521 by reaching 103 for one at tea on the second day.

At the break, Rahul Dewan (42) and Sunny Singh (46) were at the crease for Haryana.

Nitin Saini (13) was the lone wicket to fall in the post-lunch session. Saini was dismissed by pacer Tim Bresnan after a 26-ball stay in which he struck three boundaries.

But his departure did not hurt the team much as Rahul and Sunny put on 76 runs for the second wicket. Rahul was the more patient of the two, taking 100 deliveries for his innings which included seven boundaries.

Sunny's 46 came off 67 balls and was studded with nine hits to the fence.

Earlier, England were bowled out for 521 after Samit Patel struck a fluent half-century.

There was a much-improved performance from Haryana bowlers who, after toiling hard for three wickets yesterday, picked up seven in one session today, with skipper Amit Mishra and Jayant Yadav sharing four each.

Patel scored 67 off 105 balls and found the fence 13 times at the Sardar Patel Stadium B Ground, Motera.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Prior had earlier scored a quick-fire 41 off 36 balls -- his knock contained five boundaries.

Resuming at overnight 408 for three, England lost Ian Bell for addition of 20 runs, before the duo of Patel and Prior pushed the hosts on the backfoot with a partnership of 69 runs for fifth wicket.

Bell scored 62 off 99 balls and his knock was studded with seven fours and three sixes.

Prior's dismissal by Yadav, however, triggered a collapse that saw five wickets going down for just 14 runs.

Patel tried to frustrate the host bowlers till Yadav had him caught.

HARYANA: Over: 18 II Score: 67/1

Sunny Singh and Rahul Dewan are in the middle for Haryana and have taken their team’s score to 67/1. Singh has scored 19 (21b, 4X4) while Dewan is batting on 33 (62b, 4X7).


HARYANA: Over: 10 II Score: 42/1

Tim Bresnan gave Haryana an early blow after removing opener Nitin Saini early. Saini was caught by Nick Compton after he had scored just 13.

LUNCH REPORT

England were bowled out for 521 at lunch after Samit Patel struck a fluent half-century on day two of their third and final warm-up match against Haryana.

There was a much-improved performance from Haryana bowlers who, after toiling hard for three wickets on Thursday, picked up seven in one session on Friday, with skipper Amit Mishra and Jayant Yadav sharing four each.

Patel scored 67 off 105 balls and found the fence 13 times at the Sardar Patel Stadium B Ground, Motera.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Prior had earlier scored a quick-fire 41 off 36 balls -- his knock contained five boundaries.

Resuming at overnight 408 for three, England lost Ian Bell for addition of 20 runs, before the duo of Patel and Prior pushed the hosts on the backfoot with a partnership of 69 runs for fifth wicket.


Bell scored 62 off 99 balls and his knock was studded with seven fours and three sixes.

Prior's dismissal by Yadav, however, triggered a collapse that saw five wickets going down for just 14 runs.

Patel tried to frustrate the host bowlers till Yadav had him caught.

Star batsman Kevin Pietersen had on Thursday prepared himself for the upcoming four-match Test series against India, starting November 15, with a strokeful 110 even as skipper Alastair Cook missed out on his second consecutive ton.

Pietersen smashed a 94-ball 110 before retiring hurt to let his colleagues get some batting practice as England finished day one of the game on a commanding note.

Left-handed Cook, who did not play against Mumbai 'A' in the visiting side's last practice game, yet again batted splendidly but missed out on his century by three runs after electing to bat.


ENGLAND: Over: 118.2 II Score: 521/10

Tweakers Amit Mishra and Jayant Yadav took four wickets apiece as England XI registered 521/10 in their first innings against Haryana. The visitors lost their last five batsmen in a space of just five overs while adding just four runs to the total.


ENGLAND: Over: 114 II Score: 517/6

England lost the wicket of Matt Prior and Tim Bresnan in quick succession. Both the wickets went to Jayant Yadav - the former being stumped off while the latter caught by Rahul Dewan. Prior scored a quick 41 (36b, 4X5, 6X2) while Bresnan could only score 3 (15b).

ENGLAND: Over: 106 II Score: 484/4

Samit Patel continued his good run with the bat as he completed his fifty against Haryana in the practice match being played in Ahmedabad. Along with Matt Prior, he has so far added 46 runs for the fifth wicket. He was batting on 55 (80b, 4X11) while his partner was on 22 (24b, 4X3, 6X1).


ENGLAND: Over: 100 II Score: 444/4

England lost the wicket of Ian Bell who was caught by wicketkeeper Nitin Saini off Sachin Rana. Bell scored 62 (99b, 4X7, 3X6). Matt Prior is the new man

ENGLAND: Over: 90 II Score: 408/3

Star England batsman Kevin Pietersen prepared himself for the upcoming Test series with a strokeful 110 against Haryana in visitors` final warm up game even as skipper Alastair Cook missed out on his second consecutive ton, here on Thursday.

Pietersen smashed a 94-ball 110 before retiring hurt to let his colleagues get some batting practice as England reached a strong 408 for three on day one of the game.

Left-handed Cook, who did not play against Mumbai A, yet again batted splendidly but missed out on his century by three runs after electing to bat.

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hasim amla

Australia vs South Africa: Proteas in command on Day 1

Brisbane: Hashim Amla showed he wouldn't be intimidated by Australia's mind games, scoring an unbeaten 90 to guide South Africa to 255-2 at stumps here on Thursday after a series-opening day dominated by the batsmen.

Amla surpassed 5,000 career runs and shared partnerships of 136 with Jacques Kaliis (84 not out) for the third wicket and 90 for the second wicket with opener Alviro Petersen (64).

A leaked Australia team dossier which appeared in local media in the lead-up to the first Test said Amla was susceptible to "psychological warfare."

There was no indication of any such weakness today as he moved within ten runs of posting a century for a third successive Test against Australia.

He did give some chances and half chances, including a slashing edge between wicketkeeper and first slip off Nathan Lyon when he was on 62, but remained composed.

The 63-Test veteran went in at the dismissal of skipper Graeme Smith (10) with the total at 29. He survived an appeal for lbw before he'd scored and a caught-and-bowled chance to Peter Siddle on 74. He had faced 205 balls and stroked six boundaries and a six when play was halted eight overs early due to bad light.

Kallis plundered the attack for eight boundaries and a six from the 136 balls he faced.

For all the speculation of aggressive pace dominating in conditions aiding swing and seam, the Australian attack toiled without much success on a green-tinged Gabba wicket.

Siddle was frustrated after missing opportunities to break up the Amla-Kallis partnership, which has produced some outstanding 100-plus stands in Test cricket.

Kallis got a reprieve when he was on 42 and the total at 192-2 when he started walking after miscuing a Siddle slower ball and looping a catch to Lyon at mid-off. Umpire Asad Rauf told Kallis to wait while he checked for a no-ball, which TV replays confirmed, showing no part of Siddle's front foot behind the crease at the point of delivery.

Siddle missed another chance in the 62nd over when he couldn't grasp a driven return catch from Amla. South Africa was 206-2 at the time.

Earlier, Petersen also had a let off, getting the benefit of the doubt when Australia referred a not out decision to the TV umpire for an lbw appeal by Ben Hilfenhaus. The ball pitched just outside the line and appeared to hit in front, on Petersen's front toe, when he was on 51.

Petersen hit two more boundaries before mistiming a Lyon delivery to Mike Hussey at mid-on, leaving South Africa at 119-2.

Skipper Smith didn't get any second chances after winning the toss and batting, becoming the first South Africa batsman dismissed in a test at the Gabba ground in 49 years when he was trapped lbw by James Pattinson in the 11th over.

He was initially adjudged not out by umpire Billy Bowden despite being hit on the back pad, directly in front of the stumps, but the decision was overruled on review.

Showers or storms were forecast for today and tomorrow, but there was no rain during the first 82 overs despite the gloomy conditions which finally caused an early end to play. South Africa, playing its first test at the Gabba since 1963, went in with five pace options after selecting seamer Rory Kleinveldt to make his debut at the expense of legspinner Imran Tahir.

Kleinveldt will supplement the world-class pace trio of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel, and veteran allrounder Kallis.

Petersen survived a strong appeal and a review by the TV umpire on an lbw decision on 51, then mis-timed an attempted shot through mid-wicket off Nathan Lyon and was caught by Mike Hussey for 64.

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Inconsistency major hurdle in Raina`s progress: Coach

Inconsistency major hurdle in Raina`s progress: Coachw: Inconsistency might have cost Suresh Raina a place in the Test squad, but coach Dipak Sharma here feels that his prodigy would soon overcome the "hurdle" and return with a bang.

"Raina is definitely a very talented cricketer but inconsistency in his performance is the major hurdle in his progress," Dipak Sharma who taught Raina first lessons of the game told PTI.

The coach felt that for securing a place in the Tests, Uttar Pradesh skipper would have to consistently score big.

"This could be the main reason as to why he has not been able to win over the trust of national selectors... He needs to score big in the Ranji Trophy matches," Sharma said.

Raina, who has scored 768 runs in 17 Test matches with an average of 28.44 runs, failed to find a place in the team for first two Tests against England beginning November 15.

One time praised by the Wisden for his skills, Raina has not been able to do justice to his talent at the Test level.

"It is not because of any problem with his technique he rather requires an appropriate plan," Sharma said.

Starting his Test career with a hundred against Sri Lanka Raina showed a lot of promise, people started to expect a lot from the left-hander and it certainly had an impact on his performance, Sharma said.

"In the present times it is essential for a cricketer to mould himself according to the changing formats of the game, be it Test, ODI or T20 and therefore performing consistently becomes a major challenge," he said.

Sharma though being unhappy at Raina`s exclusion said he is confident that the 25-year-old would soon make a comeback to the longer format of the game

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