Cricinfo previews the A team tri-nation series featuring Australia, New Zealand and hosts India

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran14-Sep-2008
Shaun Tait needs to convince himself and the selectors that he’s fit and ready for the big league © AFP
Had the Champions Trophy gone ahead as scheduled, the A team triangular series, which starts in Hyderabad tomorrow, would have been pushed into relative obscurity. However, the postponement of the event could well be the best thing to happen to a bunch of hopefuls from three countries, India, Australia and New Zealand. The series serves as a warm-up for their respective domestic seasons as well as an opportunity to impress the selectors for the forthcoming international fixtures. For Australia, this series gives a couple of fast bowlers the luxury of more time to acclimatise to Indian conditions before the Test tour of India starting next month. India have players at the fringes of selection for both the Test and limited-overs squads and a handful will be playing for places in the home Tests. The New Zealand senior team is on a rebuilding phase, so this series assumes greater significance for future selections.Poor weather in Hyderabad washed out two whole days in the recent three-day match between the A teams of Australia and India. The normally sound drainage facilities at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium weren’t enough to counter the showers, and only 23.1 overs were possible in the entire match. However, the good news is that the opening match tomorrow between Australia and New Zealand looks a certain starter, with the ground apparently in good condition. The pitch, according to the head groundsman, should have plenty of bounce. The city has been hit by overnight showers over the last few days, so it’s fingers crossed for the three one-dayers scheduled at this venue. The teams then head to Chennai for the four remaining games.The New Zealand squad has three players from their victorious Emerging Players tournament campaign in Australia – Trent Boult, BJ Watling and Martin Guptill. The squad stopped over in Australia, playing three warm-up games against Queensland before setting foot in India. The opening three-day fixture was washed out, but the New Zealand top order enjoyed a good workout nevertheless. They ended the short tour on a high, winning the first one-dayer by 36 runs and the second by a much narrower margin of four runs.Players to watchPeter Fulton: Fulton made a comeback to the New Zealand senior team following an injury lay-off but he’s yet to firmly establish his place. He found his touch against Queensland earlier this month, scoring a run-a-ball hundred in the second one-dayer, as well as an 83 in the three-day game. Left out of the squads for the Bangladesh tour, Fulton’s target will be the tour of Australia in November.Martin Guptill: A right-hand opening batsman, Guptill was the top run-scorer in New Zealand’s State Shield with 596 runs at 59.60. His efforts took Auckland to the final, which they eventually lost to Otago. He carried his purple patch into the Emerging Players tournament, where he led the run charts for New Zealand with 280 runs. He may have missed out on selection for the one-day squad to Bangladesh, but age is certainly on his side – he’s pushing 22 – making him a prospect for the near future.Squad: Peter Fulton (capt), Brent Arnel, Neil Broom, Grant Elliott, Mark Gillespie, Martin Guptill, Greg Hay, Nathan McCullum, James Marshall, Michael Mason, Jeetan Patel, Aaron Redmond, Bradley Scott, Reece Young (wk), BJ WatlingAustralia have had the luxury of acclimatising to the conditions, with their three-day games scheduled before the one-dayers. Unfortunately, the weather in Bangalore and Hyderabad hasn’t allowed for much match practice. The team, led by Cameron White, has six players with very limited international experience, with Shaun Tait being the only one to have played Tests for Australia.Players to watchShaun Tait: Tait’s making his first serious comeback into the international reckoning after taking a break from the game in January, citing physical and mental exhaustion, and not surprisingly, his inclusion instantly hit the headlines. He joined the squad just before the second game in Hyderabad and opted for light training. Finding a place in the Australian squad isn’t guaranteed, but a stint in the subcontinent will give him the opportunity to convince himself and everybody that he’s ready for national selection.Doug Bollinger: A left-arm seamer, Bollinger’s 45 wickets in the Pura Cup – the highest in the competition – helped New South Wales progress to the final. His efforts earned a selection for the tour of the West Indies and for the Test tour of India. The Indians would want to keep an eye on him in particular if he eventually plays next month.Squad Cameron White (capt), Phillip Hughes, Adam Voges, Marcus North, George Bailey, Peter Forrest, Luke Ronchi (wk), Ashley Noffke, Xavier Doherty, Ryan Harris, Brett Geeves, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger, Shaun TaitThe time’s ripe for budding Indian cricketers to impress the selection committee, with the home series against Australia and England coming up. S Badrinath leads arguably the strongest outfit in the competition, with as many as nine players having international experience. Irfan Pathan, fighting to reclaim his place in the national squad, leads a seam attack not very heavy on pace, with the likes of Praveen Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni to partner him. The middle order has two explosive batsmen in Abhishek Nayar and Yusuf Pathan. Piyush Chawla is the lone specialist spinner.Players to watchRobin Uthappa: Indifferent form in the last few months led to Uthappa being dropped for the one-day series in Sri Lanka. Given another chance with the A squad, he will be scrutinised during these one-dayers and it can be gauged from his responses to the media that he’s very particular about letting his performances in the field do all the talking.Swapnil Asnodkar: Asnodkar was among several unknowns in the domestic circuit who grabbed everybody’s attention in the IPL. After a prolific season with Goa, a state not known for its cricketing talent, he aggregated 311 runs from nine matches for the Rajasthan Royals and his flamboyant starts as an opener won the praise of his captain Shane Warne. While his Twenty20 abilities aren’t in doubt, his suitability to the one-day format will be tested.Squad: S Badrinath(capt), Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Swapnil Asnodkar, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Abhishek Nayar, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Piyush Chawla, Ravi Teja, Yusuf Pathan, Jaydev Shah, Wriddhiman Saha (wk)