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England look certain to ditch the seven-batsmen policy for the Third npower Test in the knowledge that they must bowl Australia out twice if they are to have any chance of winning the Ashes.So far England have captured only 22 of the tourists’ wickets in the first two Tests so know they face a tall order. Their task is made no easier by the absence of skipper Nasser Hussain who, as expected, failed to recover in time from his broken finger. Once again, Michael Atherton will lead the side.In order to lend variety to the support bowling for Darren Gough and Andy Caddick, the selectors have added the names of Alex Tudor and Robert Croft to the squad for the Trent Bridge Test.Chris Silverwood is again named in the squad so it looks like a toss-up between him and Tudor, though the latter’s batting ability – as scores of 116 and 86 in the CricInfo Championship this summer testify – might make him favourite.For the first time this summer, England are likely to field a spinner and it will be down to Croft to do the donkey work on a flat Trent Bridge wicket.There is a certain irony that on the day Croft was brought back into the squad, his spinning rival Phil Tuffnell captured his 1,000th first-class wicket. In addition, Croft’s record in England – his 13 wickets in 11 matches have cost him 73.23 apiece – is hardly auspicious.However, the selectors feel that Croft offers continuity – a watchword for the current England set-up – after some reasonable performances in Sri Lanka during the winter.”We did not want to make wholesale changes to the squad for this TestMatch,” said chairman of selectors David Graveney.”But we feel we will need more variety in our attack at Trent Bridge and theinclusion of Alex Tudor and Robert Croft will give more bowling options.”Dominic Cork misses out this time as we have decided to go for the extrapace of Alex Tudor, who has performed well for Surrey this season since comingback from injury.”We wanted to show continuity of selection by including Robert Croft as hewas included in the squad earlier in the season and also performed very well onthe winter tour of Sri Lanka.”On the batting side, Usman Afzaal could win the battle with Ian Ward for the number six spot on his home ground, Ward having posted a highest score of only 39 since coming in against Pakistan in May.With Graham Thorpe (broken hand) and Michael Vaughan (knee) both out untilthe Fourth Test at Headingley, Afzaal could stake his claim for an extended run in the side. He is in form, having hit a century for Nottinghamshire in their current Championship game against Derbyshire.Graveney added: “After the last Test match, you have to hold your nerve against a side like Australia.”If you hit the panic button, it not only affects the people you leave out,but other guys that are still in and looking over their shoulders.”Phil Tufnell is always in with a shout for selection, but you also have tolook at the continuity aspect.”Croft did very well in the winter and we brought him back into the squad atEdgbaston and may be with hindsight, we should have played him there.”It was a close call, as was Alan Mullally, but Tudor would have beenselected had he not been coming back from injury for the last Test.”As far as Croft is concerned, Nottingham is a pretty flat wicket and Croftcan beat the bat from both sides. He is likely to have to spend a lot of timebowling overs.”And the fact that the pitch will not spin so much is not something that weare unduly concerned with. He will enable us to use our quicker bowlers in shortspells.”We have to get runs on the board – when we are batting second we are notgetting to 200, and under those circumstances it is very difficult.”We are getting players out at vital times when they have made 30 and 40,they are getting out in clutches, and out before and after intervals.”If you look at the difference between the sides, they have already got twoor three 100s in every Test Match, and we are not getting those scores. At theend of a series, those tallies hurt you.”Graveney also spoke of the injuries which have disrupted both selection andfinal team make-up.He added: “It is up to other people to say how they have affected us, but itis a huge thing to lose your captain.”It is very difficult for guys like Alec (Stewart) and Mike Atherton to comein as captain and try to keep the continuity going.”The injuries are a factor. We have lost five guys for this series alone, andthat affects you in any Test match you play.”Squad: Atherton, Afzaal, Butcher, Caddick, Croft, Gough, Ramprakash, Silverwood, Stewart, Trescothick, Tudor, Ward, White.

James Pattinson’s state coach David Saker has raised concerns that the fast bowler could be “underdone” ahead of a possible return to the Test team for the first time in more than 18 months. Pattinson was named in Australia’s 13-man squad for the day-night Test in Adelaide and may be competing for a place in the XI with Peter Siddle and Steve O’Keefe after the retirement of Mitchell Johnson.On Thursday, Pattinson admitted he was surprised by the call-up, which came after he collected four wickets in each of his first two Sheffield Shield matches of the summer. He is still adjusting to a newly remodelled side-on action after suffering from two severe back injuries over the past two years. Pattinson’s most recent Test was in Cape Town in March 2014, and he has played just five first-class games since then.After failing to take a wicket in two ODIs in England in September he was left out of the Test squad for the tour of Bangladesh, which was ultimately cancelled. Although Pattinson has shown some encouraging signs during the start of the summer his Victoria coach, Saker, said he would be worried about Pattinson’s ability to get through a Test if the conditions were as batsman-friendly as they were in Perth.”I would have concerns if they produced another wicket like they did in the week just gone,” Saker told the . “If he’s in the field for a really long period of time and bowling spells I’m not sure he’s ready for that yet.”I think their hand’s been forced a little bit by what happened to Mitch. I hope he goes well but I’m a little bit concerned he’s underdone. He hasn’t got any history of putting lots of games together. When you don’t have that you’ve always got questions, I’ll always doubt people who can’t play four or five Shield games in a row – how can they get through two or three Test matches?”However, Saker agreed that the selectors had little choice but to pick Pattinson due to the lack of other options around the country, with other potential Test bowlers such as Nathan Coulter-Nile and Jason Behrendorff battling injuries. Pattinson has played 13 Tests and has collected 51 wickets at 27.07, but those appearances have been punctuated by long injury lay-offs.Pattinson is now 25 and if his body has developed to the stage where he can string matches together, he could form part of Australia’s long-term Test attack with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Asked on Thursday whether he could put his injury problems behind him, Pattinson was hopeful but said he would not stop himself bowling as fast as possible.”I hope so, I suppose I don’t want to put the mocker on myself,” Pattinson told reporters in Melbourne. “I’m doing everything possible to stop myself from getting injury. Most people who know me know that I go 100 miles an hour all the time. If I get injured, I get injured. There’s not much you can do about it. All you can do is prepare the best possible way.”But there is every chance that Pattinson will find himself carrying the drinks at Adelaide Oval, with his state team-mate Siddle also in the squad having been named 12th man for the first two Tests against New Zealand. There is also the possibility that a two-man spin attack will be deployed, with Steve O’Keefe’s outstanding pink-ball record earning him a call-up.”If I was Sidds and missed out I’d probably be pretty disappointed too,” Pattinson said. “It’s good that’s there’s good competition. I’m just really rapt to be in squad to be honest – I probably wasn’t expecting it. If I don’t get selected so be it, I’ll just keep pushing and putting my name forward.”

The big surprise of the day at the NatWest Series game between Australia and Pakistan at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, yesterday, came when the Australian team sheet was made public. On the list was one Number 58, Brett Lee.Although it was known to all and sundry that Lee, who hadn’t bowled competitively since an elbow operation in February, was training with the Australian team in England, he was not chosen as a member of the one-day squad and was expected to commence his playing comeback in a Second XI game for Nottinghamshire next week.Lee’s return to the Australian team was fast-tracked, however, after injuries to Nathan Bracken (shoulder), Jason Gillespie (hamstring) and Damien Fleming (calf muscle) made the new-ball situation in the one-dayers desperate.

In the end, despite Australia’s easy victory, it was not the happiest of matches for Lee. His ten overs brought one wicket – that of Shahid Afridi – but cost 85 runs. This set a new record as the most expensive ten overs by an Australian bowler in one-day international history. (The world record for ten overs is 97 runs by Asantha de Mel for Sri Lanka in the 1987 World Cup, while New Zealand’s Martin Snedden conceded 105 runs in 12 overs in the 1983 World Cup.)Lee’s last four overs went for 48 runs as Pakistan made their dramatic late-order fightback. A more unfortunate statistic is that Lee has conceded 157 runs in 18 overs in his last two ODI appearances, including the game against Zimbabwe on February 4 where he suffered the elbow injury that required an operation.Following the Cardiff game yesterday, the Australian camp announced that Andy Bichel would join the squad until Bracken, Gillespie and Fleming had recovered from their injuries. Bichel is playing for Worcestershire in county cricket this season, and in eight limited-over appearances to date has taken 13 wickets at 21.23 from 77 overs – and scored a century batting at number three.

Justin Langer is racing against time to be fit for the Australians’ final warm-up game before the First Test at Edgbaston next Thursday.Batsman Langer was hit on the wrist while fielding in the tour game against the MCC at Arundel yesterday.The wrist is now swollen and it is doubtful whether he will even be able to hold a bat before tomorrow when the Australians take on Essex at Chelmsford.Langer will be desperate to play following a meagre return of four runs in two innings at Arundel.Team physiotherapist Errol Alcott decided an X-ray was unnecessary for Langer and is confident the Western Australian will be fit.”The wrist is very swollen but it has a good range of movement,” saidAlcott. “He will survive.”The swelling has actually gone down a little and he’s got the colour back inhis face – he was a bit pale for a while.”It’s moving very well. It’s one of those impact injuries when the softtissues get squeezed by the ball.”It will be pretty sore today and we will have to work on it solid for him tofeel comfortable.”The decision on whether Langer plays will depend on how much discomfort he feels when gripping the handle.”I think we will have to wait until the morning of the game to see aboutthat,” added Alcott. “I am confident about it, put it that way.”Openers Michael Slater and Matthew Hayden will also search for form againstEssex while Adam Gilchrist, who will captain the side, Mark Waugh, RickyPonting, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee are all likely to return.

New Zealand manager Jeff Crowe has learnt to be philosophical about bad days in cricket but he can’t have suffered many worse than today’s effort against a lowly ACT President’s XI at Manuka Oval.With Test spin bowler Daniel Vettori leaning on crutches in the stands and gun all-rounder Chris Cairns being belted about the park by batsmen who have neverplayed first-class cricket, New Zealand’s preparation for the upcoming Test matches against Australia was looking shaky.The ACT side, including five players on the fringes of the New South Wales team, made the most of the Kiwis’ predicament and amassed 6-439 before declaring.ACT’s Jack Smith (156) and Sydney grade player Grant Lambert (101) hit entertaining centuries and made sure the Kiwis had plenty of fielding practice.At stumps, the Kiwis were 1-133, with Mathew Sinclair on 51 not out and Matthew Bell on 44 not out with a full day’s play remaining.Uncertainty still hangs over Vettori’s tour after twisting his right ankle heavily underneath himself yesterday when attempting to field a hot drive off his own bowling.He was due to have an MRI scan which would then be assessed by a sport doctor.”Really, it is only at that point that we will know what the future is for Daniel,” Crowe said.Discussions would be held with cricket management in New Zealand overnight to decide the next step, he said.”We’ll know more tonight whether it is in the serious category or not. I just hope that it’s not. It could well be that he’s playing in the first Test.”Cairns returned the figures of 1-115 from 25 overs in his first serious hit-out back in the Kiwi team in eight months after a serious knee injury. He bowled in five-over spells but was severely dealt with by century-maker Lambert this morning.”The thing is that he got through it. Let’s face it, it’s been a tough four and a half sessions for our guys,” Crowe said.”Those are the sort of days you’re going to have to endure anyway. That’s just mileage.”Crowe said Cairns needed to get back into match fitness with some long spells of bowling.”I’m just very pleased that Chris got up this morning … he’s a bit sore but he’s got through it OK and he feels good about it.”Last night he was working with the video guy just to make sure his action was looking good.”He said Cairns had two more matches in Queensland to find form before the first Test in Brisbane starting on November 8.Crowe said it was no embarrassment to have two centuries hit off the team’s bowling by players who had not played first class cricket.”Anyone who’s played cricket in Australia knows there’s some good talent in this place, all through the grades basically,” he said.”Our guys are not in Test mode just yet.”Lambert’s ton was the feature of the day’s play. He collected 15 boundaries from cuts, pulls and drives and brought up his century with a six over midwicket fromoffspinner Glen Sulzberger.

National Cricket Academy were unstoppable on the second day of their MRF-Buchi Babu tournament title clash with Oil and Gas National Corporation at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai today. Mohd. Kaif had little difficulty in completing his hundred in the morning as the NCA boys closed their first innings at 449. The NCA bowlers then knocked over ONGC for just 154. Indeed that figure would have been even more modest but for an entertaining 74 from No.8 Sandeep Sharma which rescued the oilmen from an embarrassing 76/8. NCA, preferring not to enforce the follow on, lost the wicket of SS Das in the only over they negotiated in their second knock before bad light stopped play.In the fourth over of the day, before a single run had been added to the overnight score of 360/6, Amit Bhandari got rid of Romesh Powar who top edged a pull behind the wicket which Virender Shewag, running to his left from slip, safely collected. Kaif played some lovely strokes off a wayward Sandeep Sharma and duly reached three figures off his 182nd delivery, by pulling a shortish delivery to the fence at square leg. His concentration seemed to flag a little after the landmark was posted, twice going down on one knee for cross batted heaves that failed to make contact. Rakesh Dhruve, who’d contributed precisely 2 out of a partnership of 47 with Kaif, hoisted Rahul Sanghvi high and straight down Mohd. Saif’s throat at mid on. Kaif fell soon after for 123 (212 balls, 15 fours, 1 six), a fierce horizontal thrust on bended knee going like a bullet to Gagan Khoda at mid wicket who almost had his hands dislocated.A most entertaining cameo from Mrityunjay Tripathy followed, the No. 11 making 28 of the 32 run last wicket stand with Rakesh Patel, including a lofted hit over long on, and five searing boundaries. Sanghvi who’d borne the brunt of Tripathy’s assault knocked out the batsman’s middle stump as the batsman made room to cut a fullish length delivery. The innings ended in the 118th over and Tripathy was nicely warmed up for the mayhem that now unfolded. The UP seamer sent back Radheshyam Gupte in the penultimate over before lunch. The batsman looked to deflect it to third man but Shiv Sunder Das scooped up the low chance at second slip. The umpires had to confer before serving marching orders.Soon after the interval, skipper Khoda drove loosely outside the off stump to present wicket keeper Rohit Jhalani with a straightforward offering. Virender Shewag, of short stocky build and wearing a pair of distinctively faded pads, began well, displaying felicity square of the wicket on the off side. But he played a pretentious drive which failed to connect and looked back to see his off stump clean out of the ground. That made it three out of three for Tripathy, a wiry chap, not really tough looking like fast bowlers of yore but able to generate surprising pace with a smooth action.Dhruve spilt a sitter at gully to let off Gautam Vadhera but he made no mistake when it happened again in Sodhi’s first over. Sodhi was bowling a probing line around off stump which drew the next two batsmen, Rizwan Shamshad and Mithun Minhas, into edges behind the wicket as ONGC dipped to 60/6. Rakesh Patel, having switched to the pavilion end, removed Saif just before tea at the same score and from the first ball after the break, Sanghvi was leg before to Tripathy.Then began the rearguard action by the two Sandeeps, Sharma and Dogra. Punjab all rounder Sharma who made a lusty 98 on his Ranji Trophy debut coming in at No. 10 and who frequently plays the role of pinch hitter for his state was in a combative mood. His 74 came off just 89 balls, including 12 boundaries and a pulled six off Dhruve. Just after reaching his half century, he singled out the same bowler for more punishment in a purple patch that produced three successive boundaries. Sodhi took a brilliant tumbling catch at mid on to finally nix the 78-run stand at 154. Four runs later Powar ended the innings with his first wicket. Tripathy (4/50), Sodhi (3/26) and Patel (2/27) all were in their elements.Despite a humongous lead of 289, NCA chose to give their bowlers some respite by declining the follow on option. SS Das edged Bhandari to stand-in keeper Shamshad off the third ball of the NCA reply and then had the mortification of seeing the players come off for bad light at the end of the over although the light was no better or worse. There were 11 overs left to be bowled when stumps were drawn at 5.00 pm and the match as a contest is decidedly buried.

West Indies captain Jason Holder said that the fate of suspended head coach Phil Simmons lay “with Phil and the board” but added that he had been a “wonderful inspiration” during his brief time in charge.Holder hoped for a swift resolution that would allow Simmons to return to the squad in Sri Lanka after his position was put in limbo when he expressed discontent over West Indies’ ODI squad for the tour.Simmons has since apologised for his remarks, but has been asked to answer for “breaches of confidentiality” by the WICB and is currently awaiting at HR hearing.”The comments made by Phil were by Phil, and I can’t comment on those things,” Holder said in Colombo. “It’s down to him and the board. We can only control the cricket because that’s what we came here to do. Whatever his situation, his fate lies with him and the board. Hopefully he can deal with that and be back to us as soon as possible.”The timing of Simmons’ suspension has posed a significant problem for West Indies, coming as it did only days before the squad was scheduled to assemble in Sri Lanka, and less than three weeks before the first Test. Simmons was appointed West Indies coach in March and the Sri Lanka tour would have been his first international foray with the outfit. It is also Holder’s first assignment as Test captain.”No doubt [Simmons’ suspension] is a bit of setback for us, but at this present stage, all we can do is focus on the cricket. I just hope that the situation with him is solved quickly because we would love to have him back. He’s been a wonderful inspiration to our team thus far.”West Indies are scheduled to begin their tour with a three-day warm-up match which now begins on Friday, having been pushed back 24 hours due to poor weather, before moving to Galle for the first Test, which begins on October 14.SLC announced on Tuesday that the two-match Test series will be named the Sobers-Tissera trophy, after West Indies great Garry Sobers and Sri Lanka batsman Michael Tissera, who was among the island’s pre-eminent cricketers in the pre-Test era.”Having the trophy named after Sir Garfield Sobers is something truly special,” Holder said. “He was one of the greatest to play the game and he still makes a major contribution to the game. Only recently he joined us in Barbados and wished everyone the very best for this tour of Sri Lanka.”It is always good to see him and interact with him and it would be great for us to take home the trophy with his name on it. We got some pretty young faces in our squad and a lot of them look up to the past greats who played the game.”

The Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) has launched an inquiry into the poor performance and alleged discipline issues during Lahore Whites’ campaign in the Haier Mobile T-20 Cup in Rawalpindi. Lahore Whites finished last in the league and had the poorest run-rate of the 12 teams despite having international players such as Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Wahab Raiz and Mohammad Irfan.The inquiry committee comprises former PCB CEO Saleem Altaf, LCCA secretary Shoaib Dar and former first-class cricketer Imran Bucha.”After watching the matches we have realised they have performed poorly,” Khawaja Nadeem, the head of LCCA, told ESPNcricinfo. “We understand there was lack of cooperation within the team and issues related to discipline, so we have formed an inquiry committee to find out why they haven’t performed to their level. We had the best team and this result is not what we expected.”I don’t see any problem with our other team [Blues], and we are only investigating Lahore Whites to bring all the facts in public,” he said. “The first meeting is on Monday and we will have a report to decide what is in our jurisdiction.”Lahore fielded two teams in domestic cricket because the city’s population is over 10 million. Whites were led by Pakistan ODI captain Azhar while Blues were captained by Adnan Akmal. Players like Nasir Jamshed and Kamran Akmal, who were with Lahore for the last nine years, left the team to join Rawalpindi and Multan. Mohammad Hafeez left Faisalabad Wolves to join Lahore two years ago.

Offspinner Sunil Narine has been included in the West Indies squads for the ODIs and T20Is in Sri Lanka in October, after having opted out of their 2015 World Cup campaign because of issues with his action. There were eight changes from the squad that travelled to Australia and New Zealand: Chris Gayle was out of both squads after having a back surgery, but Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Sulieman Benn, Sheldon Cottrell, Nikita Miller, Kemar Roach, and Dwayne Smith were omitted from the ODI set up.The players included in the ODI squad were: Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Andre Fletcher, Jason Mohammed, and Ravi Rampaul. Narine and Darren Bravo, withdrawn from the World Cup squad, made comebacks. Bravo, who had injured his hamstring during that tournament, was also in the T20I squad.

Changes in the squads

ODIs
In: Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Andre Fletcher, Jason Mohammed, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine and Darren Bravo
Out: Chris Gayle Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Sulieman Benn, Sheldon Cottrell, Nikita Miller, Kemar Roach, Dwayne Smith
T20Is
In: Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Jerome Taylor
Out: Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Ashley Nurse, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith

Allrounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard continued to be kept out of the ODI set-up, a decision that was revealed beforehand by Phil Simmons, who was later suspended as West Indies coach for saying there had been outside interference in the selection of the squad. Both players, however, were included in the T20I squad.The selectors dropped a lot of the players who fared poorly in the World Cup, where West Indies struggled during the group stages and were beaten heavily by New Zealand in the quarterfinal.Allrounder Smith made only 93 runs in six matches during the World Cup and was hardly used as a bowler, while batsman Lendl Simmons scored 173 in five innings, of which 102 came in the defeat against Ireland. Allrounder Sammy also had an ordinary tournament – 177 runs in five innings and only one wicket in 28 overs. Simmons and Smith were also missing from the T20I squad, having been part of West Indies’ previous Twenty20 matches in South Africa before the World Cup.Fast bowler Roach and left-arm spinner Benn played three matches each in the World Cup. Roach took only one wicket and went for 6.81 runs an over, while Benn claimed two and conceded 6.34 an over. Miller, another left-arm spinner, played only the one game in the tournament, while fast bowler Cottrell had sat on the bench throughout the campaign. Cottrell and Benn were also cut from the T20I squad.Rampaul, a fast bowler, made a comeback in both formats after not even being included in the list of 30 probables for the World Cup; his last game for West Indies was during the aborted tour of India in October 2014. Legspinner Bishoo has not played an ODI or T20I for West Indies since October 2011, while wicketkeeper-batsman Fletcher has not played an ODI since May 2010. Allrounder Mohammed, who bowls part-time offspin, has played only one ODI, in December 2011.Blackwood has not yet made his ODI debut, while Brathwaite had been left out of the World Cup squad after playing the preceding series in South Africa in January. Brathwaite, however, was dropped from the T20I squad after having been part of the tour to South Africa. Offspinner Ashley Nurse was the other player dropped from the T20I squad.The four other players included in the T20I squad after missing the matches in South Africa were legspinner Samuel Badree, fast bowler Jerome Taylor, and batsmen Jonathan Carter and Johnson Charles.Narine has not played international cricket since he was reported for a suspect action during the 2014 Champions League T20 and barred from bowling for Kolkata Knight Riders in the final of that tournament. He underwent remedial work and was included in West Indies’ World Cup squad, but pulled out of the competition to give himself more time to work on his action. Narine once again ran into trouble with his action during the 2015 IPL after the World Cup, and was given a final warning, though sanctions during the CLT20 and the IPL are not applicable to international cricket.The limited-overs leg of the tour of Sri Lanka comes after the two-Test series and begins with the first of three ODIs on November 1. West Indies will be coached by the selector and former fast bowler Eldine Baptiste, after Phil Simmons’ suspension.ODI squad: Jason Holder (capt), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome TaylorT20I squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor

Australia’s allrounder James Faulkner believes instances of sledging will be inevitable in Thursday’s high-stakes World Cup semi-final at the SCG, on a pitch that has already been the subject of enormous speculation and will continue to be all week.The confrontation between Shane Watson and Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz enlivened the tournament, even if the two combatants paid for their aggression and emotion with a pair of ICC fines. While India do not possess any bowler capable of matching Wahab for speed, Faulkner expected men on both sides to be replicating his attitude.”I think there always is in the game, if there isn’t you’ve got problems,” Faulkner said. “It’s the nature of the game, it’s a semi-final, it’s cut-throat. There’s going to be words said and it’s going to be a really tough contest. Neither team will be backing down.”Chances of Indian aggression being witnessed at the SCG have increased over the past month as MS Dhoni’s team have found a fresh sense of purpose, direction and confidence over the course of a seven-match unbeaten run. Their form in this tournament is the exact opposite to what was glimpsed in the Tests and triangular series that preceded it – India had not won a match in three months down under before the Cup.File photo – James Faulkner believes India and Australia will not hold back on aggression during the semi-final•Getty Images

“We have come up against them a hell of a lot over the last 12-18 months and they’ve spent a fair bit of time in the country,” Faulkner said. “They’ve adapted well to the conditions. A lot of nerves were on show a couple of nights ago [in Adelaide] and I think that’s good. Both teams are exposed and if you don’t have nerves you’ve got issues.”Faulkner’s press conference began with a question about whether or not the ICC’s pitch overseer Andy Atkinson would need to be called in to ensure the surface was equitable. While the query went over the head of Faulkner, who rightly pointed out that he had not even seen the turf, it underlined curiosity about a pitch that has largely favoured spin over pace this season.”A lot depends on the wicket,” Faulkner said. “The last time we played here, the wicket was obviously very good against Sri Lanka. We made 360-odd, they made over 300. It was a great one-day wicket. If it’s much like that, I’m expecting a lot of runs scored. If you look over the recent past, over there or here, you’ve seen a lot of runs.”Against Sri Lanka, the wicket didn’t really spin and it was quite easy to get hold of. I’m not too sure what make-up they’ll go in with or what make-up we’ll go in with. The wicket dictates a lot, so we’ll wait and see what is come game day.”The hosts’ subsequent inspection of the surface revealed the strip to be the same one used for South Africa’s rapid quarter-final beating of Sri Lanka. It has been watered and brought back up again, and only the thinnest film of grass was evident on Monday afternoon. Clippings have been and will be rolled into the surface over the next few days, but it is difficult to see the pitch offering much in the way of moisture or assistance for pacemen.Australia’s best hope of seeing the sort of pitch they would prefer is likely to be rain, with showers forecast for Tuesday likely to keep the surface under the covers for some hours and prevent it from drying too much more. Either way, the Australians are ready for the likelihood of a crowd where Indian support will outweigh local fans.”We were talking about it last night at dinner, the last game we played here it definitely felt like that,” Faulkner said. “The passion the Indian fans show towards their cricket team is sensational, so we’re definitely expecting that come match day.”