The Hindu : England `A' hopes to do well

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 05, 2004

Sport

Sport - Cricket

England `A' hopes to do well

By Our Sports Reporter

BANGALORE, FEB. 4. The England `A' squad, which arrived in the City late on Tuesday night, will be the first overseas team to play in the Indian domestic circuit. And on Wednesday afternoon, the team, guided by coach Rodney Marsh, practised at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

England `A' will clash with India `A' in a series of one-dayers to be held at Bangalore on February 9 and 10 and at Chennai on February 12. The team will then compete in the Duleep Trophy tournament to be held at various venues in the North Zone from February 14 to March 9.

"It is staggering to be here. It is a tour of experience. Hopefully we will go away as better players. We want to give our best and be competitive," said Marsh. And captain Alex Gidman displayed an ambitious streak while he said, "it is a huge honour but we don't want to be the numbers, we will compete and obviously we want to win. We don't want to be rolled over by any stretch."

Marsh, the Aussie wicket-keeping legend, has been entrusted with the task of spotting talent in England. And as director of the England Cricket Academy and selector for the senior squad, Marsh aims to widen the talent base.

"We have players like Simon Jones and Ed Smith who have played for the country while the others have had their experience with the Counties. Some of the guys play exceptionally well and they have to put pressure on those in the senior squad. In recent times, for the senior players there has not been much pressure coming from below, which is not the case with Australia or even India. We do have seven to eight players here who can play at Test level. We are sure about their temperament and on this tour we will look at whether they have the right ability too," Marsh said.

On speedster Simon Jones, Marsh said, "he is coming after a 14 to 15 month break and obviously he will be rusty. He has been training at the Academy and has had his indoor sessions. He had a few outdoor sessions at Malaysia where we played before coming here. He is a little nervous but during this tour, he should be settling into his rhythm."

Skipper Gidman said that touring India is a new learning experience. "I have had a few chats with Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan and they have given me a few tips on the conditions and the importance of keeping the guys together. We are here for the first time and we will learn along the way," he said.

Gidman, who hails from Gloucestershire, believes that he has a team with enough depth to compete in Indian conditions. "We have a typical English team with quick bowlers like Simon Jones backed by swing bowlers and spinners and we bat deep down the order. We are here to win and the immediate aim is to beat India `A' in the one-dayers and then do well in the Duleep Trophy," he said.

The England `A' team will play a practice game against a Karnataka XI at the IAF Ground here on Friday.

The team: Alex Gidman (captain), Kadeer Ali, Simon Francis, Simon Jones, Shaftab Khalid, Michael Lumb, Sajid Mahmood, Graham Napier, Scott Newman, Kevin Pietersen, Matthew Prior, Bilal Shafayat, Ed Smith, James Tredwell and Graham Wagg. Coach: Rodney Marsh.

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