 Sidebottom's consistency could be an important asset for England |
England are unlikely to risk paceman Ryan Sidebottom as they attempt to bounce back against India in Monday's second match of their one-day series. The 30-year-old left-arm seamer missed Friday's humiliating 158-run loss in Rajkot with Achilles problems. Coach Peter Moores said he was keen for him to come into the side, possibly for the third match on Thursday in Kanpur. "Everyone who has seen Ryan bowl knows his great strength is moving the ball both ways," said Moores. "That's something we would like to have in the side. Ryan has certainly bowled very well in the nets with great control."  | 606: DEBATE |
Moores said it was not impossible for Sidebottom to play on Monday, adding: "If we're looking to risk him in the second game we'll see how he is on Sunday. "We're a little bit wary because he's had a long time out of competitive cricket and the last time we brought him back in the Stanford practice game he tweaked something. "We're trying to get as much competitive bowling into him without playing a game before he plays again." Sidebottom's last one-day international was against New Zealand at Lord's last June and he missed most of the Test series and all of the one-day series against South Africa with side injuries. All-rounder Paul Collingwood is among those in the England camp calling for more aggression from the tourists. | As of now Yuvi and Ishant may be rested for the next two matches but the last call will be taken before the game |
He said: "They hit us hard at Rajkot. We need to be aggressive. The key is early wickets, there is a bit of inexperience in their middle order and we can expose it a bit." The theme was also explored by captain Kevin Pietersen, who wrote in his regular newspaper column: "Our body language was wrong [on Monday]. "We have to be more like the Australians and get in their faces in every aspect of the game - bowling, batting and fielding. "It doesn't mean sledging the opposition, it is just a state of mind and means being positive in everything we do - and we didn't do that in the first game. "It is a case of sticking your chest out getting into India, really hitting them hard, which we didn't do on Friday and they thrashed us. It was hard to take.  Yuvraj Singh is still in pain following his back strain on Friday |
"There is a lot of mediocrity that people settle for in England in terms of the county cricket and the comfort zones of international cricket. "But I am not one for settling for mediocrity, that is far from my thoughts." India are hopeful Rajkot hero Yuvraj Singh will recover from his back problem in time for the Indore match. Left-hander Yuvraj pulled a muscle during his ferocious 138 not out and was forced to use a runner. But paceman Ishant Sharma may remain on the sidelines with an ankle injury. Captain Mahendra Dhoni said: "There is improvement in Yuvi's case, he has improved a lot. "There is a very good chance that we might rest Ishant for one more game so that he gets a break of six or seven days. "As of now Yuvi and Ishant may be rested for the next two matches but the last call will be taken before the game."
India (from): Mahendra Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh, Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay. England (from): Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire) capt, James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Alastair Cook (Essex), Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire), Steve Harmison (Durham), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Matt Prior (Sussex), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Luke Wright (Sussex).
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