Indians vs James Nixon Invitational XI
4-day fixture at Pickford Reserve
Cricket Web XI incumbents, the James Nixon Invitational XI gave an excellent account of themselves by pushing Indians to the very end in a useful warm-up fixture at Pickford Reserve. After mixed fortunes on the opening day, when the visitors chose to bat, the home team fought back with a positive batting performance, then rattled the Indian batting before playing out a draw.
Wasim Jaffer kicked off the game with three consecutive boundaries against Nick Borcich, and after two erratic overs the fast bowler was replaced in the attack by his club mate, Nath Patrick. But Borcich came back sharply and removed Jaffer (30) and Dravid (10) in quick succession. He then pitchd up to VVS Laxman and found a thin edge to leave the Indians in trouble at 98-3. The threat of Yuvraj Singh was brief, and by the time he was lbw to Kyle Wright, the tourists were reeling on 138-4. But MS Dhoni shrugged off his poor one-day international form with 64 (though dropped by Lezama on 30) and provided solid company for the dominant Virender Sehwag (dropped by Lezama on 36).
The Indians regained the initiative with some bold strokeplay, and built a total of 408 around the brave batting of Sehwag. Wright was the pick of the seamers and eventually bowled the opener for 171, but by then the pitch had flattened out completely, so Pathan settled in comfortably for an unbeaten half-century. The Indians declared with 7 wickets down, and Dan Smith and Thamba Mamesh walked out after lunch on day two. Both batsmen looked to promote cases for recall, and neither wasted time in leaning into the Indian pacers with some authority. Even the early signs of spin were handled with ease, so it seemed against the run of play when Mamesh (48) missed an attempted sweep shot and was struck plumb in front of his stumps.
Shortly after Rob Malone jr. swiped a Pathan short ball to Sreesanth at midwicket, and the Indians sensed a revival. Captain Smith continued to battle onward with few difficulties and made his way to a fine hundred. And for the most part he was accompanied by Robert Cribb, who also made the best of his call to the spotlight, notching a 12th first-class hundred. For the Indians it was hardly ideal practice, as the third day featured regular rain delays and clearly affected the concentration of the Indian bowlers, who too often erred short and wide. Cribb advanced serenely to 128 not out - a chanceless knock - and the Invitational XI declared their innings on 389-6, still 19 short of the Indians on the final day.
The Indians took to the crease for the second time with 3 overs to go to lunch. They started positively again and resumed in the second session on 13-0. Again the openers looked to be getting on top of the pacers, until Patrick delivered two sharp blows. First Sehwag (31) and then Dravid (10) fell to the fast man, and the innings proceeded to unravel through a series of alarming shots. Only Jaffer had his name enhanced, and once again the middle order crumbled. Far from his meek showing in the first innings, Martyn Corrin was a genuine force with his legspin. He snapped up Laxman from the top edge of a sweep, then returned to trap Jaffer in front for 45. And by the time Kumble declared for a second time, his team had limped to 155-7.
The Invitational XI then faced 17 overs of batting and a target of 175. There was no attempt to chase the unlikely total, and but for an RP Singh yorker, the openers would have finished the match unscathed. Mamesh was bowled for 30 and Malone faced 1 ball before the teams decided to call the game off, an over short of the scheduled finish.
India 1st Innings 408 for 7 dec.
Sehwag 171, Dhoni 64, Wright 4-79, Borcich 3-100
James Nixon XI 1st Innings 389 for 6 dec.
Cribb 128*, Smith 102, Kumble 2-53, Pathan 1-70
India 2nd Innings 155 for 7 dec.
Jaffer 45, Sehwag 31, Patrick 2-25, Corrin 2-44
James Nixon XI 2nd Innings 52 for 1
Mamesh 30, Smith 19*, Singh 1-12
Match drawn.
For some reason I'm not able to upload the card and commentary.