The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Mithali promises positive display

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 25, 2006

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Mithali promises positive display

Special Correspondent

MUMBAI: Indian women's cricket captain Mithali Raj believes that BCCI's decision to financially back them will motivate the team to play positive cricket during the tour of Ireland and England.

"This will be my third tour to England. I made my debut there in 1999, played a drawn Test series in 2002 and now I'm looking forward to the 40-day tour of Ireland and England, especially the Twenty20 tie at Derbyshire and also playing at Lord's for the first time," she told The Hindu.

The team will play two one-day internationals at Dublin before travelling to England for two Test matches and five one-day internationals.

"During the three-week camp in Mysore we played on soft wickets. Showers also helped us in our preparation. We played matches against boys' teams and also two Twenty20 games," she said.

Hemlata Kala and Asha Rawat are staging a comeback while Preeti Dimri and Nidhi Buley have been picked for the first time.

The team: Mithali Raj (capt.), Jhulan Goswami, Anjum Chopra, Amita Sharma, Nosshin Al Kadeer, Hemlata Kala, Monica Sumra, Reema Malhotra, Karuna Jain, Sulakshana Naik, Rumeli Dhar, Preeti Dimri, Nidhi Buley, Asha Rawat. Coach: Sudha Shah. Manager: Meena Dalal. Asst. Manager: Anjali Pendharkar. Physio: Dr. M. Hansraj.

The schedule: July 25: Arrival at Dublin; July 29: 1st ODI vs. Ireland; July 30: 2nd ODI vs. Ireland; July 31: Arrival in London; Aug. 2: vs. England `A' at Uppingham; Aug. 3: vs. MCC at Uppingham; Aug. 5: Twenty20 match at Derbyshire; Aug: 8-11: 1st Test at Leicestershire; Aug. 14: 1st ODI at Lord's; Aug. 17: 2nd ODI at Shenley; Aug. 19: 3rd ODI at Arundel; Aug. 24: 4th ODI at Hampshire; Aug. 25: 5th ODI at Hampshire; Aug. 29-Sept. 1: 2nd Test at Taunton.