By Bagpuss
February 22 2006

Our foreign correspondent is on her travels again, to India this time. Nicky King (Bagpuss) reports from the friendlies. On Blackie's bid for Test domination and a culture a little different from a vet's experiences in deepest darkest Scouseland!

All those new puppies and kittens called Freddie that I vaccinated last summer are now reaching adolescence. Last week I castrated my first Freddie. Time to leave for India.

CCI v ENGLAND 18 – 20 FEBRUARY 2006. BRABOURNE STADIUM, MUMBAI

The Brabourne Stadium, home of the Cricket Club of India, used to be the venue for international matches in Mumbai. That isw until internal politics reared its head and breakaway group the Bombay Cricket Club went off and built the Wankede Stadium about half a mile away up Marine Drive. England return to the CCI ground for the first time in about 25 years. The stadium is attractive in a rather faded elegance sort of way, the members sit in an open-fronted pavilion overlooking the ground and at close of play wicker chairs and tables are brought out to the outfield as tea or something a little stronger is served.

England’s opposition for their opening game of the tour is the CCI President’s XI, or should that be XVI. The fixture does not have first-class status and is designed to get all the touring squad out on to the park – eleven from each side to bat or field at any one time. I don’t really recognize any of the CCI team, the local press are describing them as “less than second-string opposition”. The outfield is a lush green and the pitch itself only a slightly paler shade – plenty of grass and no cracks in the surface. Cant imagine the Test pitches will look anything like this. Hazy sunshine and temperatures in the mid 30s are relieved very slightly by a gentle breeze.

Suspicions about the bowler friendly wicket are heightened when the home captain wins the toss and puts England in to bat. No Trescothick who is back at the hotel with a mild dose of the flu, Plunkett too is indisposed though reports suggest a more traditional subcontinent illness is the culprit here. Strauss opens with reserve keeper Prior who struggles a while and then plays on in the 5th for a duck Vaughan joins Strauss looking to test both form and knee. Both seem to stand up to the occasion. Strauss is bowled by a yorker before lunch having scored 51 (65 balls 11x4). Vaughan too reaches 50 (64; 11/1) then edges a cut to the keeper. Bell and Pietersen are next in, KP is going along quite nicely when he plays on to Ansari for 26. Flintoff doesn’t look particularly fluent and chips one to mid on about 5 minutes before tea.

Collingwood joins Bell and this partnership seems to carry on where it left off in Pakistan. Bell is looking the pick of the England batters so far when he hits Bachhani into the press box. Next ball he comes down the wicket to the left arm spinner and is stumped.for a good 78 (131, 7/1). Jones G joins Collingwood for a brief spell and a single, as does Blackwell. Hoggard sticks around to make 3, last man in todays batting line up is Panesar who wins the battle of the bat amongst the potential twirlers on this occasion with a three before a mix up and a run out in the penultimate over leaves England 299 all out at close of play.

Day 2 is a little warmer with a bit less of a breeze. Hoggard and Harmison open the bowling for England and the home side find scoring runs difficult – Hoggard is proving difficult to get away, Harmison is a bit wayward but when he does get the line right he causes some problems. Forty runs are scored in the first 80 minutes before the first of two wickets in Simon Jones’ over, though the bowler will get no credit. Sharp fielding and a direct hit by Pietersen gets Kukreja, two balls later it is Vaughan who swoops and hits the stumps to run out Indulkar. Jones is taking things a bit gingerly and is replaced after 4 or 5 overs by Harmison, now from the pavilion end. As often seems to be the case with this returning spell the radar is working better and opener Uthappa fends one to the keeper. 40-0 has become 42-3.

Panesar is the first of the spinners to get a bowl, coming on with about 20 minutes to go before lunch but opportunities are restricted by a long pause to treat Muzumdar when he is hit on the thumb. The subsequently diagnosed fracture results in him retiring hurt, though in this fixture a substitute batsman is allowed.

Aftr lunch Hoggard and Panesar resume and Hoggard is rewarded by the wicket of Shende edging to Flintoff at slip. Blackwell is brought on. The partnership of Shah and Mota is proving stubborn and puts on 55 runs before Blackwell gets his man, tempting Mota to come down the wicket he is neatly stumped by Jones. Ten minutes before tea we get the comedy moment of the innings as the batters collide midwicket and Flintoff is credited with the simple run-out. 162-6 at tea.

Blackwell gets his second wicket in the 70th over, also his third. It is Panesar who would win the ball of the day when he bowls Redkar (thought that was a racecourse) around his legs. But Blackwell secures the best bowling figures of the innings when he takes the final wicket. CCI are all out for 251 and England have a first innings lead of 48. Blackwell’s 4-57 off 13.3 would earn him a date with BBC radio for the close of play interview but Hoggard, Harmison and Panesar all bowled well. Flintoff seemed a bit anonymous and Jones bowled a fairly gentle seven overs testing out the ankle.

Trescothick has been out tin the field today and is back in the openers slot with Strauss. The partnership lasts just three runs before Strauss is out in the 4th over. It is Pietersen who joins Trescothick for the four and a bit overs remaining of day 2. 27 runs are added to the total as Trescothick finds his early-tour groove and scores 16 off the final four balls of the day to finish on 23 overnight, the England total is 30-1.

Day 3 if anything is warmer than the preceeding two. Pietersen is out early on, being sent back by Vaughan when going for a third. Vaughan is out hooking. Flintoff scores a boundary and is out next ball. Eventually Trescothick finds a partner to stick around with him in Jones G and reaches his 50. There is some slight confusion as the teams go off about 15 minutes before lunch. England, 145-4, are just 193 ahead. Surely not a sporting declaration-but no, just an early lunch.

Redkar breaks the partnership after lunch getting first Jones stumped (bringing Blackwell to the crease for an all-Somerset partnership) then Trescothick holes out at mid off for 88. Bell starts confidently but edges to slip for 15 whilst Udal survives two balls before missing a sweep and going for a third ball duck. Blackwell is still there but needs someone to stay with him. Plunkett proves a willing ally and the pair put on 65 for the 9th wicket, Blackwell is out for 59 which included six 4s and four 6s, he is caught at long on going for another six. The batters have crossed whilst the ball was in the air and Harmison scrambles a single to put Plunkett back on strike, where he produces a carbon-copy of the Blackwell shot. England are all out for 265 in the 62nd over, an entertaining scoring rate. The lead is 313 and with less then ten minutes to go tea is taken.

There are 32 overs of scheduled play left in the match so a draw seems likely. Some may question why a declaration didnt come earlier to try to force a win – but should not lose sight of the purpose of this match, to give everyone a decent chance for a bat and a bowl. Plus question the wisdom of sending eleven players out to bowl and field in temperatures in the high thirties when the result is meaningless. However, with thirty-odd overs to go there will be bowlers who have something to prove.

Hoggard opens again from the pavilion end. It is Jones who shares the new ball. After a relatively pedestrian performance in the first innings-and being the only England player who did not bat-he has something to prove. Firstly that he has recovered from the ankle surgery that kept him out of the Pakistan tour. More difficult maybe is to prove that he is more than just the seventh sexiest man in the world (as recently announced in a popular women’s magazine). He cranks up the pace and gets Uthappa lbw with an inswinger in his first over. In his second he finds the edge and Indulkar is caught by Flintoff. Not just a pretty face then. 2-9 off 5 overs in his opening and only spell of the innings, this looks much sharper from Jones and with the new ball. Flintoff replaces Hoggard and Plunkett comes on for Jones. Drinks have been taken and Flintoff is bowling to a field with four slips and two gullies – unlikely that this will be repeated in the Test series! Flintoff finds Kukreja’s edge and Jones G takes the catch. Plunkett chips in, bowling Shah. CCI are 39-4 off 12 overs and a morale-boosting victory seems a possibility. Harmison replaces Flintoff and Panesar comes on for Plunkett. Panesar strikes next, the edge from Shende is a sharp catch for Trescothick at slip. 5-59 in the 18th becomes 6-67 in the 21st when Jones takes a regulation keepers catch off the bowling of Harmison. Panesar gets his second wicket when Samant top edges a slog-sweep and the catch is taken by Udal, Harmison is building up to full steam and is too much for Waingankar who edges to Jones.

71-8 in the 23rd surely England can wrap this up now. Blackwell appears from I’m not sure where and comes on from the pavilion end. A wild slash to Trescothick accounts for Nabi in his first over then Hazare drives to Udal at cover in his second. Two for nowt off 1.3 overs. England have bowled out a fairly feeble looking opposition in style, in 26.2 overs, in 128 minutes and for a total of just 75. Pretty clinical stuff.

The England supporters – five of us the usual suspects plus another three or four newcomers – wander over to the pavilion in anticipation of some sort of post match presentation. But there is nothing to disturb the members as they settle for a sundowner in their wicker chars on the outfield. And the reward for the England players? Out to the middle as the temperature cooled to the low 30s for another net session. Tomorrow I get the train to Baroda.

MUMBAI 17-21 MARCH 2006
Curries – 3
Cups of chai – 19 (approx)
Mosquito bites – 3
Malaria pills missed – 1
Medicinal gin and tonics – 2 (to counteract the above)
Number of times 2002 Natwest final at Lords shown on Indian TV - 1