This should give Andrew Flintoff and Stephen Harmison something to work with

This should give Andrew Flintoff and Stephen Harmison something to work with. The rough, dry nature of the pitches will scuff the ball up and this, in turn, should allow Simon Jones to reverse-swing the old ball.If England are to compete with India they will need their batsmen to post totals in excess of 450. If the seam of a cricket ball bowled by a spinner grips the surface and turns, then it is going to do the same for a seamer. Giles fared little better but 51 of his 140 Test wickets have been taken on the subcontinent.The one consolation is that turning pitches tend to offer assistance for the faster bowlers. India won 2-0.England need Giles to be fit because he is the only spinner Michael Vaughan can rely on.

Shaun Udal has taken almost 700 first-class wickets but his three Test scalps in Pakistan cost 92 runs apiece. Indian batsmen are wonderful players of spin, as Sri Lanka found out in a three-Test series before Christmas. India backed their batsmen to get the better of Muttiah Muralitharan – the second highest wicket-taker in Test cricket – and they did. Realistically, it has to be a left-armer, because bowlers who turn the ball away from the bat are more likely match-winners.The spinner England pick will find pitches that help him, but taking wickets will still be a huge challenge. If Giles has no chance of playing in Nagpur the selectors will pick either Blackwell or Panesar – a left-arm spinner who turns the ball away from right-handed batsmen.Loudon will enter the equation only if Giles is fit because England may want the back-up spinner to be a right-armer. The selectors will keenly await a report on the session and will announce the 16th tourist after that.The chances of Giles being available for selection in the first Test on 1 March will dictate which type of spinner England opt for.

Giles returned home early from England’s pre-Christmas tour of Pakistan and immediately had an arthroscopic operation on his right hip. It was hoped the 10-week break would give him time to recover but the team are now less than a month away from departing for India and their premier spinner has only just started jogging.Once Giles regains confidence in his hip progress should quicken up and the 32-year-old intends to have his first bowl since 28 November next week. But exactly what fresh information he expects from any of the contenders at Loughborough University in January is difficult to comprehend.Concerns over the fitness of Giles are understandable, and the last time England toured with injured players – to Australia in 2002-03 – it proved disastrous. When David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, announced the Test and one-day squads for India yesterday morning he suggested there was no reason for his committee to make “a hasty decision” and that the delay would give it more time to study Ian Blackwell, Alex Loudon and Monty Panesar.
Duncan Fletcher’s involvement with the England team will have prevented him from seeing much of Panesar and the coach – currently at home in Cape Town – would probably like to watch him at first hand before making a decision. Australia posted 318 for 5 before their bowlers made early headway to break up the visitors’ response.. England’s dithering in naming a final spinner for the three-Test tour of India can only be the result of doubts over the fitness of Ashley Giles.

Why do you people have to read more into everything?” Chappell told a news conference. A team source said that the discussion had centred on who would open, with both the former captain Ganguly and Dravid keen to take one of the slots.* Australia won the first match of the VB Series by 116 runs after restricting Sri Lanka to 202 for 7 at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne. Yousuf hit 10 fours and one six in his unbeaten 95 before bad light stopped play.The India coach Greg Chappell has denied any rift in the team after television images showed Saurav Ganguly engaged in an animated discussion with him and the captain Rahul Dravid before the Test.”It was nothing, we were just discussing cricket. His unbroken stand with Yousuf had reached 190 by the close, a record for the third wicket against India at Lahore, beating the previous mark of 148 set by Mudassar Nazar and Javed Miandad in 1982. In the fifth over, Younis was struck on the pads by Irfan Pathan, and the umpire Darrell Hair gave it not out, although television replays suggested it would have struck middle and leg.
Pakistan had a shaky start, losing Salman Butt in the third over when he was run out for six trying to take a quick single when Shoaib Malik hit to square leg. He was beaten by a direct hit from Yuvraj Singh after being sent back by Malik who went on to reach 59 before offering an easy catch to Harbhajan Singh at cover off Irfan Pathan.Having survived his early scares, Younis reached his 10th Test century in 183 balls shortly after tea. Mohammad Yousuf was on the verge of joining his partner in triple figures as he finished the day on 95.

Younis struck 19 fours off 243 balls during the day, but India will be upset that he survived a dubious call for leg before while on one. Younis Khan helped Pakistan to lay the foundations for a big score on the opening day of the first Test against India, hitting an unbeaten 147 as his side reached 326 for 2 at stumps. Julius Joseph led Rocks with 25 points, supported by 15 from former Eagle Frank Bennett.
Sheffield Sharks fans will not be holding their breath over a possible guest appearance by Dennis Rodman, the 44 year-old 6ft 7in former Chicago Bulls team-mate of Michael Jordan who won five National Basketball Association titles and led the league in rebounds for a record seven consecutive seasons.Rodman is in England as a Celebrity Big Brother internee and has been touted around BBL clubs by his agent, who is looking for a £23,000 fee for an entire game – presumably after Rodman has been kicked out of the house.The Sharks coach Peter Scantlebury, whose team are away to Guildford Heat tonight, said: “The last I heard it was £15,000 and he’d play 20 minutes But I don’t think it’s likely.”. Newcastle are now 10 points behind the Rocks with two games in hand. The British Basketball League leaders Scottish Rocks exacted revenge over the Eagles last night, with an 81-55 hammering in Newcastle over the club that defeated them in the BBL Trophy semi-final eight days ago. It’s no excuse but it does affect the way I play.”O’Shea was not overly upset. “I’m not disappointed because I’ve lost to a legend of the game Neither of us was at our best but it was still a good game I’ll be back playing better.”.