espncricinfo

espncricinfo Told earlier this year that he was being considered as more of a Test match bowler, Harris, 31, was omitted from the limited-overs squad for the Sri Lanka tour despite showing he had returned to full fitness during the Indian Premier League. Bayliss said Harris' combination of speed, skid and movement both ways would make him the sort of bowler capable of troubling the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. "From a pace point of view someone like Ryan Harris could be dangerous," Bayliss told ESPNcricinfo. "


He is someone who bustles in, a bit quicker than what you think, but bowls a fairly consistent line and length, but nips the ball about and can nip it about off the seam and through the air a bit. "Someone like that on their wickets over there ... early on with those wickets you get a little bit of swing and a little bit of seam, and someone who maybe skids onto the bat a bit quicker than what you think, and maybe nipping it back in, I think he could do well. [He is] someone who can bowl reverse swing as well when the ball is older." Beyond Harris, the questions surrounding the Australian attack are many and varied. Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle, the opening bowlers for much of the Ashes last summer, were conspicuously toothless with the new ball in Zimbabwe. Across the two-day and first-class portions of the tour, not once was either able to claim a wicket in their first spells to the top order.

espncricinfo

espncricinfo

espncricinfo India's early strikes could have undermined a less composed outfit. When he played down the wrong line to Zaheer, Cook was sent on his way for his lowest Test score since the final innings of the 2010 summer against Pakistan. Moreover it was the first time he had failed to pass fifty since England's Ashes defeat at the WACA back in December, seven innings ago. However, the shock of the setback did not initially rattle his partner Andrew Strauss, whose eventual dismissal at Zaheer's hands seemed a rare moment of recklessness, rather than anything more sinister to England's series prospects.


The hook shot hasn't been a particular flaw in Strauss's armoury since his grim run of form in 2006-07, when he stepped out of his comfort zone in a bid to fill the void left by his more forceful opening partner, Marcus Trescothick. He fell in that manner twice at Brisbane and again at The Oval against India nine months later, when Zaheer was again the bowler, but on this occasion, it did not seem indicative of anything other than over-confidence.

The weather had been threatening to clear, and England sensed a chance to raise the tempo after a dour morning. Nevertheless, the fact that Ishant Sharma was still lurking at deep backward square was intriguing. Perhaps Fletcher knows his former pupil better than the batsman does himself. Kevin Pietersen is another man whose card will have been marked by India's coach, but his initial foray was atypically cautious, not least when Kumar began operating with Dhoni standing up to the wicket. Against a lesser opponent, KP might well have taken the bait and been left to regret it, but the manner in which he built up his form throughout the recent Sri Lanka series suggests he is back in the zone mentally. An overnight score of 22 from 73 balls is no more than a beginning, but he'll take it.

espncricinfo

espncricinfo

espncricinfoMallya, however, said the Bangalore franchise had been in touch with IPL management about the possibility of keeping Gayle, but would only know for certain after the Champions League Twenty20 in September whether they can hang on to him. The IPL, Mallya said, won't give out the guidelines until the Champions League is up. (Sundar Raman, the IPL's chief executive, did not respond to an email asking if the league was considering new guidelines).

Gayle, in 2011, also helped Bangalore's fans come to terms with the departures of Rahul Dravid and Ross Taylor, two favourites who were not retained by the franchise. "There was a lot of backlash but there was [also] a lot of backlash when Shah Rukh Khan didn't keep Sourav Ganguly," Mallya said. "Ross Taylor was a big favourite for Bangalore. The crowd loved him and we thought that would have an effect but when you have players like Chris Gayle and [AB] de Villiers, it was easy for the fans to get over that and they have taken to the new side very well."

Off the field, Mallya said he was not worried by the drop in television ratings this season because, he felt, there was naturally going to be a lag in the wake of India's successful World Cup campaign. He also felt that shuffling the players every few years while allowing teams to retain a four-man core was a good system. "Then it doesn't become like an English Premier League where only one or two teams will keep winning. It makes it (the IPL) even and it makes it open."

Mallya also said that he was satisfied with the amount of input franchises had in the running of the league, "We do get a voice. We are heard... After the season finished, Peter Griffiths of IMG came and spoke to us all. He took our feedback on the season. He was more than happy to listen to us about what our feelings were. Because at the end of the day they want to do what's best for the league, best for us and best for everyone moving forward.

espncricinfo