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Scorecard

Queensland’s inconsistent batting and poor weather cost the Bulls victory at the Gabba, where Tasmania were 14 runs in front on the Duckworth-Lewis method when the rain set in. Chasing 206 for victory, the Tigers had reached 1 for 60 after 15.5 overs, which was enough to begin their title defence with a win.Ben Hilfenhaus and Brett Geeves proved to be a handful for the Bulls, who had chosen to bat. Hilfenhaus found some swing early and drew an outside edge from James Hopes before Clinton Perren and Lee Carseldine settled the innings down with a 50-run stand. But after Carseldine departed for 29 the Queensland middle-order men struggled to make use of their starts.Particularly disappointing was that Andrew Symonds did not even get that far – he looked rusty in his six-ball stay and lofted Xavier Doherty to mid-on without scoring. Perren, who had been promoted to open, needed to see the innings through but he fell for 49 to a brilliant one-handed catch from Daniel Marsh, who dived to his right midwicket.Ashley Noffke and Nathan Reardon put together the Bulls’ version of a bailout package as they tried to bat out the overs but Hilfenhaus and Geeves were too accurate. The same could not be said of Brendan Drew, who when attempting a run-out threw the ball at full speed into the back of Hilfenhaus, whose attempt to duck out of the way was in vain.Hilfenhaus and Geeves finished with three wickets each as they ensured a gettable target for their batting colleagues. The chase began poorly when Michael Dighton was caught behind for a golden duck but Dane Anderson moved to 31 not out and Tim Paine had 17 when the weather turned bad, and it was enough to kickstart Tasmania’s one-day season on a high.

Yuvraj Singh, who was overlooked for the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy, will captain the Board President’s XI in a four-day warm-up match against the Australians in Hyderabad, starting October 2. The squad also includes fast bowler Sreesanth, who missed the tour of Sri Lanka because of injury, and opener Wasim Jaffer, who lost his place in Test side to Gautam Gambhir. Aakash Chopra, not selected for India A’s matches against Australia A, makes a comeback.This move could mean Yuvraj’s return to the Test fold. Since 2006, he has played 13 Tests – four in the last two years – and has averaged 29.42 with two centuries.Jaffer, Ashok Dinda and Pragyan Ojha also make their way towards national reckoning since they are part of Irani Trophy and Board President’s squads. Apart from Ojha, Saurashtra bowler Rakesh Dhurv is the other left-arm spinner in the squad. Dhurv took 23 wickets at 21.56 from eight Ranji Trophy games last season.Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan will lead the bowling attack along with Manpreet Gony and Pankaj Singh.Meanwhile Dinesh Karthik has fallen off the national radar by neither making it to the Board President’s squad nor the India A squad for the two Tests against New Zealand. Wriddhiman Saha, the Bengal wicketkeeper, has made the cut instead. Suresh Raina will lead the India A side now that S Badrinath has been called up to the Rest of India squad as a replacement for Sachin Tendulkar. Jaydev Shah, the Saurashtra captain, has been picked as Raina’s deputy after a successful series in Israel.Board President’s squad Yuvraj Singh (capt), S Badrinath, Wasim Jaffer, Aakash Chopra, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Parthiv Patel (wk), Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha, Pankaj Singh, Manpreet Gony, Yogesh Takawale, Rakesh Dhurv.India ASuresh Raina (capt) Jaydev Shah, M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Sahil Kukreja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashok Dinda, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sudeep Tyagi, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohnish Parmar.

The Netherlands allrounder, Ryan ten Doeschate, has been named as the Associate Player of the Year for 2008 at the ICC Awards in Dubai.The Voting Academy favoured ten Doeschate ahead of other top Associate players, including Ireland’s Niall O’Brien and the Kenyan pair of Alex Obanda and last year’s winner of this award, Thomas Odoyo.During the 12-month voting period, ten Doeschate played four ODIs for the Netherlands taking 10 wickets at an average of 9.50 and a highly efficient economy rate of 2.87. He also averaged 31 with the bat at a strike-rate of 87.73.In the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup, his batting average was 68.50 and included a top score of 146 against UAE in Sharjah, one of two centuries in the competition this season.Ten Doeschate, 28, is a regular first-team player for Essex, and said: “I’m delighted to have won this award and I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank the Dutch coaching staff, the management and my team-mates for their support.”And also I’d like to offer a big thank you to the ICC for their continued support of Associate cricket.”The Associate Player of the Year Award was one of eight individual prizes given at this year’s ICC Awards. It was announced by South Africa allrounder and ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2005, Jacques Kallis.The Associate Player of the Year Award serves to recognise and reward the efforts in ODIs and ICC Intercontinental Cup matches of the outstanding cricketer from the top teams outside the ICC Full Members.The ICC Awards 2008 – presented in association with FICA – are based on the 12 months between August 9, 2007 and August 12, 2008. The LG ICC Awards ceremony is now in its fifth year and this is the first time it has been staged in Dubai, the home of the International Cricket Council. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006) and Johannesburg (2007).

Division One

Lancashire laboured to 206 all out on the first day against Sussex at Old Trafford, yet this represented an useful comeback after the hosts floundered at 90 for 5. Jason Lewry did the early damage: Lou Vincent dragged one on for nought while Iain Sutcliffe was also bowled by a cracking delivery which held its line on off stump. Stuart Law hung around for 52 balls for his 9 before edging a good-length delivery from Luke Wright to the wicketkeeper. However, Lancashire weren’t done just yet and fought back impressively through Steven Croft (46 from 87) and Francois du Plessis who put on 59 for the fifth wicket. Ollie Rayner removed du Plessis and Croft fell 10 overs later, smartly held by Chris Adams at first slip, but Luke Sutton (45*) and Dominic Cork at least ensured Lancashire reached the lofty heights of 200, with a patient stand of 53. Rayner mopped up the tail with 5 for 65, his third five-wicket haul, and Sussex were 9 without loss at stumps.England’s one-Test wonder, Darren Pattinson, ran through Somerset with 5 for 40 on the first day of their match against Nottinghamshire at Taunton, traditionally a batting paradise. In reply, however, Nottinghamshire had lost six wickets of their own but had gained a vital first-innings lead of 79. Nottinghamshire made crucial early inroads, with Charlie Shreck trapping Justin Langer leg-before while Pattinson picked up Marcus Trescothick’s wicket. When Ian Blackwell fell for 1, Somerset had fallen to 25 for 5, prompting a salvaging act from their lower-order. Craig Kieswetter began proceedings with a brisk 18, while Steffan Jones stroked 27 from 45. Somerset were blown away for 106 in 39.1 overs. Yet Nottinghamshire struggled too, as Andy Caddick removed Matthew Wood for a duck, but Bilal Shafayat (25) and Mark Wagh (46) steadied their reply with a stand of 65. Samit Patel stood out for the visitors, celebrating his call-up to England’s one-day squad, with a fine 56 from 80 balls as Nottinghamshire went to stumps with a lead of 79, though with only four first-innings wickets remaining.Sixteen wickets tumbled at Taunton and another 15 crashed at Chester-le-Street between Durham and Kent, as the visitors closed on 43 for 5 in reply to 146. Durham trail the Division One leaders, Nottinghamshire, by 10 points but have a match in hand, and they began solidly today with an opening stand of 58 between Michael di Venuto and Mark Stoneman. Ryan McLaren struggled in his opening spell, so the onus fell on Robbie Joseph to make the breakthrough, removing the openers, before Amjad Khan put Durham onto the back foot with the wickets of Shivnarine Chanderpaul (edging to second slip) and Dale Benkenstein (inside edge onto his stumps) in quick succession. Liam Plunkett led a brief revival with a punchy 21 from 39, but Martin Saggers found immense swing to clean up a brittle tail with 4 for 26, the hosts skittled for just 146. Kent suffered the same difficulties as Durham, losing Rob Key (4), Joe Denly (21) and Neil Dexter (1) with 26 on the board. When Mark Davies picked up his third wicket, that of the nightwatchman Saggers, Kent were limping on 43 for 5 and trail by 103 going into the second day.Jacques Rudolph rescued Yorkshire with a solid 83 on the first day against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl. Rain delayed the start by two hours and, when play got underway, Chris Tremlett’s snorting fifth delivery removed Andrew Gale while Anthony McGrath was struck plumb in front. Chris Taylor didn’t last long, edging James Tomlinson – who swung the ball prodigiously – to a diving Nic Pothas, while Adam Lyth drove a limp return catch to Dimitri Mascarenhas. However, at 82 for 4, Yorkshire’s South African dug deep to salvage the innings while his team-mates came and went in a procession. Cautious and steady throughout, he was nevertheless alert to scoring opportunities and stroked 12 fours. Crucially, he found support in David Wainwright whose 65-ball 18 might have lacked fluency but at least provided solidity. At stumps Rudolph, who was dropped on 78, was unbeaten on 83.

Division Two

Graeme Hick crashed his 136th first-class hundred to lead a dominant Worcestershire performance on the first day against Derbyshire at New Road. Hick, who turned 42 in May, made 149 from just 151 balls – his highest score for two years – and shared in partnerships of 184 with Ben Smith (76) and 123 with Steve Davies (71) during Worcestershire’s 450 for 8 declared. They raced along in the first session, smacking 118 runs in boundaries alone, as Vikram Solanki became the first to notch 1000 Championship runs in the season. Derbyshire’s bowlers leaked 45 extras in a disappointing display, with seven no-balls from Graham Wagg, and Dan Birch should have held Hick at midwicket on 74. Hick was relentless before he fell to a rare loose shot, lofting to Charl Langeveldt at long-off.A fine 104 from Marcus North put Gloucestershire in a good position on the opening day against Leicestershire at Cheltenham. No play was possible in the first session and Leicestershire were soon in business when William Porterfield, who returned from Ireland duty, nudged a leg-side delivery behind to Paul Nixon. And though Kabir Ali looked in excellent touch, he edged Dillon du Preez to Boeta Dippenaar at second slip to leave Gloucestershire tottering. However, North bristled with confidence – particularly against Claude Henderson – and found a useful ally in Hamish Marshall, with whom he put on 167 in 46 overs. North ought to have been held on 52 when Joshua Cobb fluffed a running catch at mid-off and, in spite of reaching the nineties three times this summer, he finally notched three figures from 142 balls. It was his first ton for 14 months, and the relief told when he slapped one straight to mid-off. Marshall, who made a patient 70, also fell to Jim Allenby but Gloucestershire – who are still seeking their first Championship win of the season – are reasonably placed at 256 for 5.A superb, rearguard 103 from Jamie Dalrymple hoisted Glamorgan out of the depths against his former county, Middlesex, on the opening day at Colwyn Bay. Glamorgan were put in and soon slipped to 53 for 5 as Middlesex’s seamers took advantage of helpful bowling conditions. Tim Murtagh had Richard Grant edging behind while David Hemp was held neatly at third slip by Ed Joyce off the impressively disciplined Alan Richardson. When Tom Maynard offered no shot to Danny Evans, Glamorgan were 53 for 5 and going nowhere. Enter Dalrymple. He put on 56 with Mark Wallace and, after another rain delay, a further 66 with Dean Cosker (39 from 62) to irritate Middlesex. Nurturing the tail brilliantly, he put on 145 for the last three wickets to notch his first hundred in three years as Glamorgan went to stumps on 258 for 9.

Ozias Bvute, the Zimbabwe Cricket chief, has questioned why several cricket bodies are taking a hard-line position against his country’s board when no other sporting organisation has opted for such a stance.”We [Zimbabwe] are a full member of FIFA and are currently participating in a World Cup qualifying campaign; we have a swimming programme which has produced Kirsty Coventry, a recent winner in the world championships,” Bvute told BBC’s . “So it would be strange that the only sport to take action on so-called current worries is cricket when all the other world sporting bodies have not taken that stance.”Last week the boards of South Africa and England suspended their bi-lateral agreements with Zimbabwe in light of the worsening political situation in the country. The issue will be discussed in the ICC’s annual meeting in Dubai this week and a two-thirds majority vote within the ICC board – seven out of 10 votes – is needed for any resolution to be moved on Zimbabwe.Peter Chingoka, Zimbabwe Cricket’s chairman, wrote to all the members of the ICC executive claiming that any move to ban Zimbabwe would be made for political and not-cricketing reasons. Bvute echoed Chingoka’s remarks and said reports of violence in the country was a matter for politicians to speak and decide on. “Over the last few years there have been problems between England and Zimbabwe,” Bvute said. “This is not a new phenomena. I cannot speculate on the outcome but we have obviously noted the actions of others.”The Indian board said it would like to back Zimbabwe on the issue of full membership at the ICC meeting. And if the majority vote is in favour of Zimbabwe’s continued membership, then the ECB will be forced to allow them to participate in the World Twenty20 next year or face the threat of the tournament being shifted out of England.

From a venue which has now produced six successive draws in Tests, England and South Africa move to one which has seen nine consecutive results – if past trends are any indication, expect one of the teams to go 1-0 up in the four-Test series after the game. The last time a Test in Headingley ended in a draw was way back in 1996, when Pakistan and England didn’t even finish three innings between them. Since then, though, England have won six times, including thrice in a row, but the last team to beat them was South Africa, by 191 runs in 2003. (Click here for all results at Headingley.) Overall, South Africa have lost six times in 11 games, but five of those losses were before their readmission into international cricket.

Unlike at Lord’s, where all the England batsmen average more than 50, the numbers are mixed for them here. Kevin Pietersen has shone in his two Tests, scoring two centuries, including a double, in three innings. For the rest, though, the venue has been less generous. Andrew Flintoff, who is set to resume his Test career, has particularly bizarre figures here – his first four innings here didn’t yield a single run, as he got ducks against South Africa and India. In his next three innings, though, he has notched up half-centuries, getting to within six of his hundred against New Zealand in 2004.

Among the South African top seven, only four have played at Headingley, but none of them have numbers they’ll be proud of. Jacques Kallis has played four innings here, but none have fetched him a score of more than 41. Mark Boucher has fared even worse while Graeme Smith managed just 16 runs in two innings in 2003.

Kallis will still have fond memories of the ground, though, for the last time he played here, he destroyed England’s batting line-up with his seam and swing. Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain, Ed Smith and Flintoff fell to him at least once in the match as he returned figures of 9 for 92, leading a 191-run thrashing of England. His 6 for 54 in the second innings of the game remains his best figures in a Test innings. Makhaya Ntini hasn’t done badly either – his nine wickets have come at less than 25.

Ryan Sidebottom is easily the most successful at this ground among England’s current bowlers: in his only Test here, against West Indies last year, he took four wickets in each innings as England completed a massive victory.

Over the last five Tests, pace bowlers have done better than spinners, but the difference isn’t as much as one might expect: fast bowlers concede more than 35 runs per wicket, and only two of them, Kallis and Pakistan’s Umar Gul, have taken five-fors in this period.

If past trends are any indication, the toss could play a vital role: the last five Tests have all been won by the team winning the toss. The coin spun England’s way in their last three Tests here, while South Africa and India were the lucky teams in the two previous matches. In fact, since 1993, only two out of 13 matches have been won by the team losing the toss.

Rohit Paudel, in great form in the ongoing T20 series against the visiting West Indies A side at home, will lead a familiar-looking Nepal squad at the T20 World Cup, to be played in the West Indies and the USA next month.From the expanded Nepal squad that is playing the T20s against West Indies – and are 2-1 down after three games – Aarif Sheikh, Bibek Yadav and Aakash Chand have been left out of the 15-man squad for the World Cup. Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal’s best-known T20 cricketer, is currently serving a jail sentence for rape.In the series against West Indies A, Nepal’s preparatory series in the lead up to the World Cup, Nepal won the first game by four wickets courtesy Paudel’s 54-ball 112, but they have since lost by ten runs and 76 runs. The last two games of that series will be played on Thursday and Saturday.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The experienced squad includes the likes of Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Sompal Kami and others, as well as Dipendra Singh Airee, who made history last month when he became just the third batter to hit six sixes in an over in a men’s T20I. He achieved the feat against Qatar in their ACC Men’s Premier Cup match.At the World Cup, Nepal are in Group D, which also has Bangladesh, Netherlands, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Nepal start their campaign on June 4 against Netherlands in Dallas.

Nepal squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Rohit Paudel (capt), Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Pratis GC, Sundeep Jora, Abinash Bohara, Sagar Dhakal, Kamal Singh Airee

Hardik Pandya, who didn’t bowl a single ball in IPL 2021 across both legs in India and the UAE, is still not fit enough to bowl. Virat Kohli, however, has said that India value his big-hitting so much that he will start the T20 World Cup as a specialist batter. Pandya has had to deal with a long-standing back issue, which has severely limited his bowling since he underwent surgery in 2019.”Honestly, I feel that Hardik presently with his physical condition is getting better in terms of being prepared to bowl at least two overs for us at a certain stage in this tournament,” Kohli said on the eve of India’s T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan in Dubai. “We strongly feel that we can make the most of the opportunity at hand till the time he starts bowling, we’ve considered a couple of other options to chip in for an over or two. So, we’re not bothered about that at all. What he brings at that No.6 spot is something you cannot create overnight.”Related

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Although Pandya’s recent batting form isn’t too encouraging – he managed only 127 runs in 11 innings in IPL 2021 – Kohli pointed out that his middle-order power-hitting had played a vital role in India winning the T20I series 2-1 in Australia last year. Pandya’s finishing salvo – 42 off 22 balls – had helped India hunt down 195 and wrap up the series in Sydney.”I was always in favour of backing him in Australia as a batter purely, and we saw what he did in the T20 series and how he can take the game away from the opposition when he is in full flow,” Kohli said. “So these things from a talking or discussion point of view seem very interesting that if he doesn’t bowl, will he be left out. But we understand the value he brings to the team as a No.6 batter, and in world cricket, if you look around, there are specialists who do that job. It’s very important to have that guy, especially in T20 cricket, who can play an impact innings at that stage. Even when the chips are down, he’s someone who can play a long innings in that way. So for us, that is way more valuable than forcing him to do something he’s not ready for at the moment.”The pitches in the UAE for the recent IPL were largely slow and low, curbing stroke-making. While Kohli was still wary of the relaid Sharjah tracks, he reckoned that the ones in Dubai and Abu Dhabi would play better at the T20 World Cup.”Looking at the IPL finals, I believe the quality of pitches is definitely going to be far better in this T20 World Cup,” he said. “Also it being an ICC tournament, we know that the standard of pitches has to be maintained to a certain degree, which is consistent across all venues. I understand that to protect the pitches for a tournament like the World Cup, there had to be some kind of compromise in terms of the playing conditions when we played the IPL. So, we all understood that the wicket in the IPL finals was very, very good.”I think the dew factor is becoming prominent as we head into this time of the year in Dubai and that is also going to help the pitches play much better. I presume Abu Dhabi and Dubai are probably going to be the best pitches out of all the venues. Sharjah, more or less, will stay true to its true nature, which is slow and low. I don’t see many high-scoring [matches] unless dew becomes such a massive factor there as well.”

Jos Buttler and Jack Leach have been recalled to England’s squad for the fifth and final Test at Old Trafford.Buttler returns after missing the fourth Test while on paternity leave, while Leach is in line to play his first Test since England’s innings defeat to India in Ahmedabad six months ago. Sam Billings, who was included in the fourth Test squad as cover in Buttler’s absence, has returned to Kent.With just three days between the fourth Test – which ended in victory for India by 157 runs after going the distance – and the start of the fifth on Friday, England face some big selection decisions, particularly in relation to their bowling attack.Related

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James Anderson, Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson looked weary having toiled for nearly 150 overs in India’s second innings and Craig Overton suffered a blow to the elbow while batting, although he has been included in the latest 16-man squad announced on Tuesday.England could opt for two spinners, while Mark Wood, returning from injury, and Sam Curran, who was dropped for the fourth Test, are available to freshen up the seam stocks. Wood resumed bowling practice at the end of the third Test after injuring his right shoulder in the previous match at Lord’s.Chris Silverwood, England head coach, confirmed that Wood would come into contention for a place in the starting XI.”We have got some aching bodies, I’m not going to deny that,” Silverwood said. “So we obviously have to keep an eye on that. He could come back and if he does, he will obviously add that pace for us. If the pitch is abrasive as it usually is at Old Trafford there should be reverse swing.”Silverwood also said he would liaise with Anderson about whether he needed to be rested.”It’ll be a discussion that he and I will have together,” Silverwood said. “He will have input into that, without a shadow of a doubt. James knows his own body. He will certainly give me an honest opinion of where he is at, and it’s certainly something I will listen to.”I know what it’s like, he won’t want to miss any cricket. We have to make sure we look after him. Although there is a gap between the final Test and what’s in front of him, he’s certainly someone I want to make sure is looked after.”Meanwhile, England will be seeking a sharper performance in the field if they are to secure a series-levelling victory in Manchester, having missed six chances at The Oval.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Their batting, as ever in recent times, needs to improve to an extent where they can drop their reliance on the in-form Joe Root – especially in the absence of Ben Stokes, who remains out indefinitely on a mental health break. While half-centuries to Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes in the first innings and openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed in the second were useful, England lost 10 for 110 in their second innings with no one from No. 5 down reaching 20 amid a pivotal spell from Jasprit Bumrah, who removed Pope and Jonny Bairstow cheaply as England lost 4 for 6.”We have to recognise situations first and foremost,” Silverwood said. “The spell from Bumrah was as good a Test bowling spell as you are going to see but at the same time if we want to be where they are we’ve got to manage those situations.”He blew us away with that spell and made it very difficult for us but it is certainly something that we have to learn and that is what being ruthless is being all about.”India at times have proved a really tough nut to crack… it was an outstanding bowling performance. It seems they get half an opportunity and they push the door open and go for it.”India will be without Ravi Shastri, Bharat Arun and R Srindhar, their head coach and bowling and fielding coaches, after the three tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday. The rest of the India squad returned negative PCR tests the following day and Silverwood had no concerns about the possibility of the fifth Test being called off.”I hope the guys who have Covid are fine and well, and obviously wish them a speedy recovery,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned and from what I’m hearing the final Test is going ahead as planned and we’re looking forward to it. Obviously we want it to go ahead because we want to bounce back and even this series up.”

The spotlight on pitches has returned to Indian cricket following their defeat inside three days on a rank turner in Pune by an unfancied Australian team. Preparations at the venue for the second Test, Bangalore, though suggest the playing surface might not be as extreme.R Sudhakar Rao, secretary at the Karnataka State Cricket Association, said that the groundstaff at M Chinnaswamy stadium were working towards providing a strip that helps a Test match last its entire duration. He also said the Indian team has not arrived on site yet and have not left any instructions to be followed either.”So far we have not been told anything,” he told , “Once they arrive, we have to see if they make any suggestions.”Our intention is to prepare a sporting, Test-match pitch. We want a five-day match. We definitely don’t want to see the match end in two and a half days.”The last Test match at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, between India and South Africa in 2015, was washed out with only one day’s play possible. That prompted a large-scale renovation and though the pitches on the square were untouched, the outfield itself was dug out to install a state-of-the-art drainage system. Bangalore has already hosted an international match since then – the T20I between India and England – but this will be its first Test since its makeover. PR Vishwanathan, the South Zone head of the BCCI’s ground and pitches committee, is expected to oversee preparations before it begins on March 4.For now, the Chinnaswamy deck, under the supervision of the in-house curator K Sriram, continues to get water. “We like to keep some moisture underneath. So we haven’t stopped watering it,” Rao said. “We’ll water it until two or three days before the match. Then we will see what the pitch looks like, two days out, and take a call.”On the first two days, the pitch should be good for batting and help medium-pacers. On days two and three there should be slow turn. Then on the last two days there should be more turn. I have told Sriram to prepare that kind of wicket,” Rao said “At least, that is our intention.”