Cricket -> Cricket News -> Report

Indian colts rearing to go vs England
Jan 08, 2001, 18:15 Hrs (IST)

Mumbai: The Indian colts will go into the first Test against their English U-19 counterparts, with their confidence sky-high, as the Rest of India under-19 team recently scored a comprehensive win over them, beginning from January 9 at the Wankhede stadium.

However, the selection of the Indian team done with less than 24 hours left for the Test, showed the Board of Control for Cricket in India once again in poor light as 33 players were present for Monday's practice session and coach Roger Binny was also in the dark about the team he was going to get and hence unable to formulate a strategy ahead of the Test.

The Board, which selected the team only this morning, left the Indians without any net practice as a team, since in the morning session all the 33 boys called for selection were present.

Meanwhile, the English side also had net practice this morning and though their morale would not be the best they are ready to put the defeat in the three-day match and come out all guns blazing in the Test.

Meanwhile, the Wankhede stadium pitch looks like a typical Mumbai wicket, where the batsmen should prosper. Both the teams having three spinners in their sides and the wicket is expected to take turn from the second day. The team winning the toss would, without hesitation, opt to bat first.

Both the sides have not named their playing 11 and will do so before the start of the match. Upcoming wicket-keeper, batsman from Haryana Ajay Ratra was named the captain of the Indian team.

Also included were off-spinner M Dharmichand, who scripted the down fall of the English side in the three-day game played at the MIG cricket club earlier, right-arm leg-spinner Amit Mishra and left-armer Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan.

The teams (from): India: Ajay Ratra (captain), V Mane, Gautam Gambhir, Y G Rao, K Khadikar, Ishan Ganda, P Patel, M Dharmichand, V Sivaramakrishnan, N Agarwal, S Trivedi, Alind Naidu, Amit Mishra, A Das and M Singh. Coach: Roger Binny.

England: Ian Bell (captain), Kadeer Ali, Justin Bishop, Robert Ferley, Kyle Hogg, Andrew McGarry, Nadeem Malik, Gordon Mitchell, Monty Panesar, Ian Pattison, Nicky Pang, Gary Pratt, John Sadler, Chris Tremlett and Mark Wallace. Coach: Tim Boon.

Umpires: S K Sharma and Samir Bandekar.

UNI