Tag Futebol

Duo share 76-run stand as hosts chase 141 on pulsating final day

ECB Reporters Network15-Jun-2022Glamorgan 494 (Ingram 178, Byrom 176) and 141 for 5 (Northeast 45*, Carlson 45) beat Sussex 376 (Carter 185, Clark 55) and 258 (Carter 83, Rawlins 57) by five wicketsGlamorgan beat Sussex by five wickets as 12 wickets fell on a pulsating final day.Oli Carter and Delray Rawlins had put on 104 for the sixth wicket after Sussex had lost two early, as they looked to settle the nerves, taking the lead into three figures just after lunch.Glamorgan roared back into the contest with three wickets in five balls and bowled the south coast county out for 258, after they had been 220 for 5.Set 141 to win from 43 overs, Glamorgan struggled against the new ball and fell to 9 for 3 with Sean Hunt picking up two early wickets. Sam Northeast and Kiran Carlson steadied the ship with a partnership of 76Tim Seifert was the first wicket of the day as he slapped a full toss from Andrew Salter into the grateful hands of Carlson at midwicket. Michael Neser was then rewarded for a probing spell in the morning as he trapped Daniel Ibrahim lbw for just 5 with Sussex still trailing by two runs.Carter once again showed his class with another well-compiled half-century before the break, backing up his first-innings century. Delray Rawlins joined Carter at the crease and rode his luck early, as Neser dropped a caught and bowled chance when he was on 13.Sussex got to lunch at 183 for 5 and Rawlins soon reached a stylish half-century after the interval. The two compiled a sixth-wicket partnership of 104 and looked like they would pull their side towards a draw as Sussex were 220 for 5.Glamorgan then blew the game wide open with three wickets in five balls. Colin Ingram came back into the attack and took the massive wicket of Carter, who swept another innocuous delivery straight to short fine leg for a well-made 83.Andy Gorvin, the Covid substitute for Michael Hogan, then struck twice in the next over as he bowled Rawlins for 57 and had Henry Crocombe caught behind for a duck and Glamorgan were firmly in the ascendency as Sussex fell to 224 for 8.Neser finished off the rest of the tail removing Jack Brooks for eight and Sean Hunt for two as Sussex were dismissed for 258 with Glamorgan requiring 141 runs to win from 43 overs.A simple chase was turned on its head as the century makers from the Glamorgan first innings, Eddie Byrom and Colin Ingram, were removed by Brooks and Hunt for two and nought respectively, before Hunt bowled the Glamorgan skipper for seven.Northeast and Carlson settled some nerves with their stand, then Carlson ran past a googly from Archie Lenham and was stumped for 45. It became five down when Billy Root was well caught by Seifert off the bowling of Brooks, with 22 runs required for victoryThe batters then took 13 off the next over to make things a formality before Chris Cooke smashed Lenham through the covers to seal a memorable win at Sophia Gardens. Northeast finishing unbeaten on 45.Glamorgan take 23 points away from the victory and leap to joint third in the LV= County Championship table.

A total of 244 test results are out, and results for 40-45 tests, all from one franchise, are awaited

Umar Farooq02-Mar-2021Two more overseas cricketers and one support staff have tested positive for Covid-19 a day after the game between Islamabad and Quetta Gladiators had to be postponed aftter Fawad Ahmed, the Islamabad legspinner, had returned a positive test. The new positive tests include another player from Islamabad United, but that game is going ahead as rescheduled today, and all players and others to have tested positive have been isolated.The three new positives came from a total of 244 tests carried out this morning, with one team’s results – about 40-45 tests in all – are still awaited. Rapid tests were carried out yesterday, and members of all franchises underwent another round of testing – the PCR test – today, and a special request had been made to process the results of the Islamabad and Quetta contingents first so that their game can go ahead as planned.A second positive test in Islamabad is not yet a cause for concern with regards to their game; ESPNcricinfo understands that the status of a match is unaffected until five players in one squad test positive.”We have a virtual meeting with franchise owners and team managements to give them the confidence, assurances, to take their support, reminding them of the protocols and the way forward,” PCB’s media director Sami-ul-Hasan Burney said at the National Stadium in Karachi on Tuesday. “The organising committee has already sent out a reminder to every stakeholder to exercise extra caution and nobody has been told to go into self-isolation, just a caution that involves using face masks, avoid wandering on the hotel floor, and members who have tested positive will remain in ten days’ quarantine. And since yesterday, now PCR tests will be carried out every fourth day.”The 2021 edition of the PSL has had its share of Covid-19 scares, even before these latest cases. On February 21, Peshawar Zalmi captain Wahab Riaz and coach Daren Sammy had to go into a three-day quarantine, which was later relaxed, after meeting a person – later confirmed to be their team owner Javed Afridi – outside the bio-secure bubble.Ahmed, it has emerged, tested positive three days ago and was in isolation, but the news became public only before yesterday’s game.”It’s tough to find out how these cases have developed and we don’t know what are the causes,” Hasan said. “But life in a bubble is very difficult and managing it is also very tough. This is happening in other different sports in the world – NFL, NHL, Formula 1 or Australian open – breaches do happen but that doesn’t mean the bubble is weak or there are loopholes. So we are carrying out Covid tests all over again on Thursday, and then after every third day.”It’s everyone’s responsibility, especially PCB, to protect the credibility of the event, its integrity and its reputation, and that is why we are taking all the measures. Other than this, we have taken some extra steps, making sure the groundstaff at National Stadium use gloves as well, and that we don’t reuse the balls that go into the crowd. If it is thrown back into the ground, it is properly sanitised.”So we are doing every possible thing to make sure the event’s credibility isn’t affected. But we are operating in a very different environment, even the world is facing similar challenges. Every sports in the world is meeting these challenges and overcoming them and carrying on with their events. We are also putting our efforts with the help of franchises to carry on with the event in a good way, keeping all the excitement and quality and hoping to end it on a high note.”

After his second-innings dismissal in the Pune Test, he lashed out at a solid object in frustration, resulting in a fracture

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2019Aiden Markram has been ruled out of the third Test against India after fracturing his right wrist as he lashed out at solid object in frustration following his second-innings dismissal in the Pune Test.

Watch cricket on ESPN+

India v South Africa is available in the US on Hotstar and ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the Ranchi Test.

Markram was given out lbw for a duck by the on-field umpire, and after a consultation with his opening partner Dean Elgar, he chose not to review the decision. However, replays showed the ball would have missed the leg stump.”A CT scan of Aiden Markram’s wrist showed a fracture involving the wrist bones,” team doctor Hashendra Ramjee said in a CSA press release. “The medical team has therefore ruled him out of the next Test match against India. Arrangements have been made for him to see a specialist on his return to South Africa for further management of the injury.”Markram has had a mixed tour of India. While he scored two hundreds in the practice games, he couldn’t carry forward his form into the Test series. After scoring 5 and 39 in the first Test in Visakhapatnam, he was dismissed for a pair in Pune.ALSO READ: Lockers, bread rolls, amateur barbers – cricket’s famous self-inflicted injuriesThe 25-year-old opener accepted he had let his team down. “It’s sad to be going home on this note and I completely understand what I’ve done wrong and take full accountability for it,” Markram said via the press release. “It’s unacceptable in a Proteas environment and to let the team down is what hurts me the most. I’ve learned a lot from this and the other players I’m sure, have learned from it as well.”We understand in sport that emotions run high and sometimes the frustration gets the better of you as it did for me, but like I said, it’s no excuse. I’ve taken full responsibility for it, I have apologised to the team and hopefully I can make it up to them and the people of South Africa soon.”Earlier this week, Mitchell Marsh too had fractured his right hand after punching the dressing room wall at the WACA following his dismissal in the Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania.The team management hasn’t called up any replacement for Markram who left for South Africa on Thursday morning. The third Test starts on October 19 in Ranchi.

The 21-year-old fast bowler is likely to move to England in a bid to give his career a new boost

Firdose Moonda16-Aug-2018Blessing Muzarabani, the two-metre tall, 21-year-old Zimbabwean quick, has made himself unavailable for international cricket to further his career in England. Muzarabani has played one Test, 18 ODIs and six T20Is for Zimbabwe, the latest against Pakistan in July.Muzarabani hasn’t specified any other reason for his hiatus from his home country, but the decision should sound a warning to Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), which continues to negotiate a precarious administrative period.ZC is on financial life support from the ICC, with a drip-feed of funds forcing it to restructure its debt and downsize expenses. As a result, most ZC staff members will be without contracts from August 31, with only skeleton staff working for the domestic season that is slated for November.No other details of the tournament’s structure have been revealed, but ESPNcricinfo understands that fewer teams than last summer will feature. Rising Stars, the team formed from the Tatenda Taibu-run academy, of which Muzarabani was a part, are unlikely to take part. It was here that his raw pace and obvious promise was noticed, leading to his national call-up.Muzarabani went wicketless on Test debut – the four-day Boxing Day Test in South Africa – which Zimbabwe lost by an innings and 120 runs. He then played in an ODI tri-series including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in early 2018, in ODIs and T20s against Afghanistan in Sharjah, and in the World Cup Qualifiers.He also made himself available for the home triangular T20 tournament against Australia and Pakistan in June-July, despite not participating in the practice matches preceding those fixtures. At the time, he had featured for the second XIs for Derbyshire and Northamptonshire.”I wish my former team-mates and Zimbabwe Cricket all the very best for the future. I have been honoured to represent my country but feel this is an appropriate time for me to pursue other challenges both personally and professionally,” Muzarabani said in a statement.Muzarabani is the only player to make himself unavailable for the upcoming tours of South Africa and Bangladesh. This comes after five big-name internationals – Brendan Taylor, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza – refused to play in the home matches against Australia and Pakistan over non-payment of salaries.The ICC has since released a special payment to ZC to allow it to pay players and Taylor has confirmed he will make himself available again.

Chris Lynn thought his Champions Trophy hopes were over when he suffered a shoulder injury during the IPL

Melinda Farrell31-May-2017The Wankhede Stadium is heaving, as it does at every Mumbai Indians home match. Kolkata’s Chris Woakes runs in and bowls to his team-mate in England colours, Jos Buttler. Buttler, aggressive as ever, comes down the track but doesn’t quite get to the pitch of the ball. He tries to hoist it over the long-off boundary but only succeeds in skying it.Chris Lynn, fielding at mid-off, turns and sets off at full speed on the chase. It’s touch and go as to whether he’ll get there. But he’s not the sort to die wondering. He’s the sort who dives, wondering. And so as the ball drops, still a little too far away, he hurls himself full stretch, intent only on taking the catch. He crashes into the ground and he’s just short. But far worse, he feels the tell-tale pop in his left shoulder joint. He’s felt this before and he knows what it means.

****

This was the moment Chris Lynn thought his Champions Trophy hopes were over.A third injury to the same shoulder in less than two years didn’t bode well for a player who has all too often suffered an injury setback at the worst possible time. After the match, of of Lynn’s frustration was distilled in a single tweet: “Dear Cricket Gods, did I do something wrong?”Now, fully fit on the eve of Australia’s Champions Trophy campaign, Lynn vividly remembers the fear that enveloped him when he thought his IPL season was finished and his chances of representing his country in England were gone.”Yeah I was shitting myself to be honest,” said a typically laconic Lynn. “I was in good nick as well. It was probably the first thing that crossed my mind that it would dampen my chances of playing here.”That’s why I stayed over in India because I knew, there’s not a great deal to do over in India, but rehab was the first priority.”So I smashed that every day and I knew that if I stayed over there and tried to get a bit of game time I’d give myself every chance to get myself fit for this.”It took three and a half weeks for Lynn to get himself back on the park and he scored 50 and 84 in his first two matches back for KKR, picking up from his blistering start to the IPL.”I was really determined to get back from that dislocation and I didn’t lose any form over that period,” Lynn said. “I think first game back in the IPL I struck the ball really well so I’m confident if I get a chance that I can contribute to the side and, not only just contribute, but hopefully put up a couple of big scores or match wining knocks here or there.”It’s a good feeling that I know my body a lot better now, know my restrictions, so we’ll see how we go.”Fortunately for Australia, those restrictions don’t affect his batting. But he has been forced to reevaluate his technique in the field.”I can’t dive with my arms outstretched,” said Lynn. “It’s got to be sort of nice and tight in. it’s taken me a couple of dislocations to get that but I’ve got a fair bit of strapping on there to remind me so I think, as much as you want to try and dive and save as many runs for your team, there’s a point where you’ve got to reel it in and be realistic with your body so I’m pretty comfortable with it at the moment.”Such restraint doesn’t come naturally to Lynn, a ferociously powerful batsman whose aggressive demolition of bowlers in T20 tournaments has spawned its own hashtag. But he knows that in a tournament that leaves little room for error and a format which, should he break into Australia’s starting line up, sometimes requires batsmen to craft an innings, he may at times have to curb his natural aggression. A little less #Lynnsanity and a little more #Lynngenuity, if you will.”I guess I’ve got to sum up each game as they come and each scenario,” said Lynn. “If I do get the license out there obviously it’s going to be good fun and hopefully I can get going but if we do, say, lose a couple of early ones then I’ve got to pull my head in and reel it in and play some smart cricket.”I think the way I played in India, obviously there were a lot of big hits over there, but I thought my game awareness was pretty good as well in certain situations so I’ve just got to find the right tempo and find it as early as possible.”Whether or not Lynn gets the opportunity to find his tempo remains to be seen. Australia’s powerful batting line up means there’s no guarantee Lynn will make the starting XI. He claims he hasn’t even thought about selection and is relaxed about slotting in to a 50-over team after an extended run in the T20 format.”Does my role change?” asked Lynn. “I’m not sure yet. At the end of the day it’s a white ball coming down at me and if I can smack the ball like I do in T20 I’ll be pretty happy but finding that right tempo is key and working out when to play smart cricket and when to have a go.”Whoever plays in the best XI is obviously there for a reason and whoever’s missing out is a bit, well, not stiff because who do you drop out of that line up? We’re all good players.”Whatever happens, mate, if we win the comp who cares?`’

The BCB has promised that the players’ contracts with the clubs in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League will be legally binding and that payments would be guaranteed

Mohammad Isam09-Apr-2016The BCB has promised that the players’ contracts with the clubs in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League will be legally binding and that payments would be guaranteed. The country’s most prestigious domestic tournament is set to begin later this month with the “players by choice” draft taking place on Sunday.BCB’s senior vice-president Mahbubul Anam, who has also been appointed as the commissioner for the “players by choice” draft, said it will be the first time that such a system has been introduced to the Dhaka Premier League. For the last four decades, clubs and players have relied on verbal guarantees or, at best, a signed piece of paper on the club’s pad.

Players retained by the Dhaka Premier League clubs

• Prime Bank Limited: Nurul Hasan, Shuvagata Hom

• Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club: Rony Talukdar, Sanjamul Islam

• Abahani: Litton Das, Mosaddak Hossain Saikat

• Kalabagan Cricket Academy: Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Mahmudul Hasan

• Mohammedan Sporting Club: Naeem Islam, Ariful Haque

• Legends of Rupganj: Jahirul Islam, Mosharraf Hossain

• Victoria Sporting Club: Nadif Chowdhury, Suhrawadi Shuvo

• Brothers Union: Asif Hasan, Iftekhar Sajjad

• Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club: Sohag Gazi, Arafat Sunny

• Kalabagan Krira Chakra: Abdur Razzak, Tasamul Haque

• Cricket Coaching School: Saif Hassan, Mohammad Saifuddin

The BCB felt that there was a need for a guarantee as there had been allegations that clubs had skimped on making full payments in the 2014 season, the last time the “players by choice” system was employed.”For the first time the Dhaka Premier League players will come under the BCB’s contract,” Anam said. “These will be signed by both the players and the clubs. We believe in professionalism, being an ICC Full Member. The mandatory contracts will be under the law of the land.””In addition, the clubs will have to give a post-dated cheque to the BCB to protect the players’ payment. BCB has a responsibility towards the players who will get 30% ahead of the tournament, 30% during the tournament the rest of the money, 40%, within four weeks after the tournament. We hope that we can maintain the financial discipline.”Bangladesh’s top 12 to 15 cricketers have been under an annual central contract for the past decade. Since 2013, the BCB has also brought first-class cricketers under its books. The Dhaka Premier League said its payment slabs won’t exceed Tk 30 lakh.

The group A match between Lions and Mumbai Indians on Friday is likely to be shifted to Jaipur because of torrential rain in Ahmedabad, the original venue

Amol Karhadkar25-Sep-2013The group A match between Lions and Mumbai Indians on Friday, September 27, has been shifted to Jaipur because of torrential rain in Ahmedabad, the original venue. Both Champions League matches scheduled on September 23 in Ahmedabad were washed out without a ball being bowled because downpours shortly after the toss of the first game left the field flooded.A CLT20 source said the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, resembled a “swimming pool” because of incessant rain over the last week. Once it was clear that the ground would not be fit for the match on September 27, the organisers decided to move the game out of Ahmedabad.”There is no chance of Motera hosting the match even if it doesn’t rain from now,” Rajesh Patel, the Gujarat Cricket Association secretary, told ESPNcricinfo. “The rains have made the ground unfit, at least for Friday’s game.”With the forecast for Ahmedabad looking gloomy until Sunday, Monday’s games at Motera could also be shifted. “The weather in Ahmedabad will be monitored on a continuous basis, and a decision on the double-header on September 30 will be taken a few days later,” the tournament organisers said.Mumbai Indians, who have been stranded in Ahmedabad since Sunday, are set to leave for Jaipur this evening. The shift in venue keeps their chances of making the semi-final alive, because they’ve already had a game washed out after losing their tournament opener against Rajasthan Royals.

Mahela Jayawardene will captain Delhi Daredevils in the Champions League in October after Virender Sehwag asked the franchise to be relieved of the responsibility

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2012Mahela Jayawardene will captain IPL team Delhi Daredevils in the Champions League T20 in October after Virender Sehwag asked the franchise to be relieved of the responsibility. Sehwag had led Daredevils in four out of five IPL seasons but said he now wanted to focus on his batting.”Viru told us a few months ago that he wanted to bat freely and suggested that we make Mahela the captain of the side,” Delhi Daredevils mentor TA Sekar said.Daredevils are in Group A of the CLT20, with Kolkata Knight Riders, Perth Scorchers, Titans and a qualifier. Group B comprises Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Sydney Sixers, Highveld Lions and a qualifier. The qualifiers will be two teams out of Trinidad and Tobago, Sialkot Stallions, Uva Next, Yorkshire, Hampshire and Auckland Aces. The tournament begins on October 9 in South Africa.Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), David Warner, Kevin Pietersen, Ross Taylor, Morne Morkel, Andre Russell, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav, Venugopal Rao, Pawan Negi, Naman Ojha (wk), Ajit Agarkar, Unmukt Chand, Aavishkar Salvi.*September 21, 2012. 0700 GMT – This was amended to state that Aavishkar Salvi had replaced Varun Aaron, who was ruled out of the tournament as he is to undergo tonsillectomy

Barely 100 hardy souls witnessed the closing overs of the second day of
Kent’s experimental championship clash against Glamorgan

Mark Pennell at Canterbury13-Sep-2011
Scorecard
As 33,820 roared on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in their Champions
League encounter with Bayer Leverkusen, 60-odd miles east in Canterbury
barely 100 hardy souls witnessed the closing overs of the second day of
Kent’s experimental championship clash against Glamorgan.Two rain breaks adding up to 90 minutes ensured a 9.30pm finish under
lights at the St Lawrence ground, by which time the spectators and the
Kent seam attack appeared frozen solid and utterly disinterested.Having mustered only 237 on the opening day of this end-of-season
day/night game, Kent’s weakened pace attack lacked the cutting edge to
worry a Glamorgan top-order seemingly hell-bent on achieving personal
milestones.Resuming on their overnight score of two without loss, Glamorgan will
go into day three looking in fine shape on 258 for 4, representing a
first innings lead of 21.The second day started with confusion over the umpires, after appointed
ECB official Nigel Cowley rang in sick with a throat infection and
virus. He was replaced, temporarily, by Kent League umpire Bob Whale,
who stood at square leg for 20-odd minutes.Whale was then replaced by former Kent offspinner and Championship 2nd
XI umpire, Steve Dale, who ultimately gave way in late afternoon to
former Glamorgan seamer, Alex Wharf, who drove four hours from his home
in Caerphilly to partner Martin Bodenham.Glamorgan’s openers Gareth Rees and Alviro Petersen made light of the
confusion surrounding the officials by reaching 34 before suffering
their first loss. With his score on 21 and with his season’s first-class aggregate
standing on an agonising 999 runs, Glamorgan skipper Alviro Petersen
pulled loosely at a Matt Coles long-hop to be caught at midwicket by
Adam Ball at the second attempt.Will Bragg became Glamorgan’s first player of the season to reach 1,000
runs for the season by lofting an extra cover drive to the ropes off
Darren Stevens to move to 22. Only three runs later the left-hander dragged his foot when attempting a push drive against offspinner Adam Riley, only to see the pink ball cannon onto the stumps having deflected off the gloves, chest and shoulder of keeper Geraint Jones to effect the most fortuitous of stumpings.Gareth Rees inched his way to a patient 126-ball 50 before he gloved a lifting delivery from Adam Ball to Sam Northeast at short midwicket and, soon after a late tea at 7.50pm, Nick James played across a full length ball from Darren Stevens to go leg before.With little discernible swing or seam movement to hinder their
progress, Glamorgan’s fifth wicket pair of Stewart Walters and Mark
Wallace made unfettered progress through to the close in adding 63 in
16 overs.In the process Wallace, upon reaching 37, became the first specialist
wicketkeeper to post 1,000 runs in a summer for Glamorgan. Sadly, by
9.15pm, few supporters remained on the ground to applaud him.

In these cynical times, cricket can definitely do with a high-quality Test series free of controversy. This one promises to be a contest between two heavy-scoring batting line-ups.

Sidharth Monga in Chandigarh29-Sep-2010Ten seasons ago, with cricket still smarting from the match-fixing blows, India and Australia created magic over three unforgettable Tests. Along with the 2005 Ashes, that series has without doubt been the best Test series in a long, long time. Since then, every arrival of the Australians in India gives Indians an excuse to reminisce about that heady series. It is an indulgence, but the memories of that series alone are enough to create anticipation every time Australia come calling.Ten seasons later, not much has changed. Match-fixing has changed its name to spot-fixing. Hardly any high-profile series goes by without controversy – look no further than the IPL, India in Sri Lanka, Pakistan in England, or even the ICC Test rankings. Cricket can definitely do with a high-quality Test series free of controversy. The controversies have so far stayed away, but the buzz that an India-Australia series should bring is building only slowly. Having been in Chandigarh for the last week or so, it just doesn’t feel like an India-Australia series is around the corner.The reasons are various. Perhaps what has happened in England has disillusioned some. Perhaps the Champions League Twenty20 kept some involved – not least four first-choice players who landed two days before the start of the series. There is, of course, the small matter of the mess masquerading as the Commonwealth Games that is hogging all sorts of headlines in India. The Ashes are an obvious distraction back in Australia.For some, India and Australia are playing each other too often – Australia have been here for some series or other for each of the last three years. The cricketing world is already limited, and these two powerful boards’ manipulation of schedules to exploit the financial opportunities in the two countries doesn’t help much either. More importantly, two Tests hardly a series make. Even earlier this year, the two-Test series against South Africa ended as soon as we had started to smack our lips with India’s rousing comeback after South Africa’s dominant start.Most importantly, perhaps, India loves it when a team comes here looking to complete its world supremacy, a sort of final frontier. The phrase rings a bell, doesn’t it? Australia are no longer that team, team to beat. This is the first time since that 2000-01 tour that they have come here as one of the pack. Nathan Hauritz is almost in awe when he talks of the Indian batting. Michael Clarke is talking up Harbhajan Singh, even his batting. Mitchell Johnson ruins the effect of the short-ball threat when, in the same sentence, he says Virender Sehwag can reach 50 by the time you look up at the scoreboard.Earlier this year, when Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel arrived as arguably the best new-ball pair in the world (well, that was before Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif came together), there was so much anticipation that you wanted India to bat first and get on with the contest between them and Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. That kind of excitement has so far been missing in the build-up to this series.Like India’s recent tour of Sri Lanka, this one promises to be a contest between two heavy-scoring batting line-ups. Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting alone have more than 25,000 Test runs between them, and 87 centuries. Two of India’s main bowlers are coming out of injuries, two of Australia’s main ones have never played a Test in India before. India’s lead spinner has averaged 46 over the last 12 months; Australia’s is not expected to run through sides either. A lot about this series is pointing to a battle of attrition.Perhaps it’s not such a bad thing to let the actual cricket benefit from low expectations. Australia may not be the best Test team in the world, but they are still a really good one. Good enough to challenge any team anywhere. They have the advantage of having gathered here early, and having put in more than a week of training. India arrived disjointedly, and have only now started functioning as a unit. If Australia feel their preparations have been disrupted by the Champions League, India’s captain was in South Africa too.Perhaps once the first Test starts on Friday morning, the cynicism will go away. When Johnson bowls the bouncers to Sehwag. When Harbhajan goes at Ponting again. When Doug Bollinger shouts at his captain from the boundary, asking for another spell. When VVS Laxman comes out to face his favourite opponents. When Gambhir and Shane Watson come face to face again. Who knows a new star might be on the horizon? Even in 2000-01, Harbhajan and Matthew Hayden were largely unknowns. Here’s to the new rivalries, the new Harbhajans and Haydens.