Mumbai, Aug 15 (IANS) Stung by India’s humiliating defeats in the first three Tests against England, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Monday decided that the president and the secretary should chart out the team’s future course of action.

The BCCI working committee that met here at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede, discussed India’s performance in the ongoing series, where there were dislodged from the top spot in Tests by England.

‘The series was discussed extensively at the working committee meeting. The members felt that president (Shashank Manohar) and secretary (N. Srinivasan) should decide the team’s future course of action to arrest the slide,’ a top official of the working committee told IANS.

This was the last meeting of the working committee chaired by Manohar, who will hand over the reins to president-elect N. Srinivasan.

Among other issues discussed, the BCCI decided that a former cricketer can be eligible to become a national selector after five years of retirement instead of 10 years. The BCCI took the decision to increase the pool of probable candidates for selectors.

‘We have several cricketers who can become good selectors. But we are not able to rope them in because we have to wait for 10 years. Now we will we have a wider pool of eligible candidates to become national selectors,’ the official said.

It was also decided that subsidies to state associations from television rights should be raised from existing Rs.23 crore to Rs.27 crore.

The working committee is also looking into a request by Kochi IPL franchise to shift their base from Kochi to Ahmedabad.

BCCI Secretary and President-elect Srinivasan said in a statement: ‘The Accounts for the year 2010-11 were approved at the meeting. It was also decided that the 83rd Annual General Meeting of the Board will be held on 19th and 20th September 2011 at the Cricket Centre, Mumbai.’

BIRMINGHAM, August 10, 2011 (AFP) – England enjoyed an excellent opening day in the third Test against India as they pursued a win that would see them replace the tourists at the head of the ICC’s Test Championship table.

They closed on 84 without loss in reply to India’s modest first innings 224, a deficit of 140 runs, at Edgbaston here on Wednesday.

England captain Andrew Strauss was 52 not out and fellow left-handed opener Alastair Cook 27 not out in front of a sell-out 25,000 crowd at Warwickshire’s headquarters, redeveloped at a cost of GBP 32 million (USD 52 million).

Their unbroken stand rounded off a good day for England, already 2-0 up, as they pursued a victory that see them take the four-match series and go to the top of the Test standings.

Strauss, in what was his best Test score this season, set the seal on a fine first day for England shortly before stumps by completing a 76-ball fifty including 10 fours.

Earlier seamers Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan, England’s heroes with both bat and ball during their crushing 319-run second Test win at Trent Bridge, shared eight wickets.

Broad took four for 53 in 17 overs, with the fast-medium bowler dismissing both Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar as the India stars managed just one run between them.

Meanwhile Bresnan, recalled at Trent Bridge in place of the still-injured Chris Tremlett, had four for 62 in 20 overs.

India have yet to post 300 this series but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni prevented total embarrassment with a swashbuckling 77 after a top-order collapse reduced his side to 111 for seven.

Together with the resourceful Praveen Kumar, he added a run-a-ball 84 for the eighth wicket.

Dhoni, whose previous best score this series was 28 in the opener at Lord’s, launched James Anderson for a straight six and also clubbed Bresnan high over long-on as he at last found his form with the bat.

Kumar was no silent partner, hitting a six and four fours in his 26 before, trying to hook Bresnan, he was caught by wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

Dhoni was evenually out when an edged drive off Broad was held by first slip Strauss to end a 96-ball knock featuring three sixes and 10 fours.

Injury-hit India, after losing the toss in overcast, seam bowler friendly conditions, slumped to 75 for four at lunch with Rahul Dravid, a century-maker at Trent Bridge, brilliantly bowled by Bresnan for 22 off the last ball before the interval.

India then lost their next three wickets for just 19 runs, with Bresnan again exposing Venkatsai Laxman’s vulnerability against the short delivery when the elegant batsman didn’t get over a pull short and holed out straight to Broad at long leg for 30.

Broad had previously struck first ball to remove dynamic opening batsman Sehwag for a golden duck.

Sehwag, playing his first match of the series after shoulder surgery, tried to sway out of the way of a short ball but gloved to Prior, with a review overturning Davis’s initial verdict as it also did when Kumar was dismissed.

Bresnan then ended a stand worth 51 when left-hander Gambhir inside-edged onto his stumps for 38.

Gambhir’s exit brought in Tendulkar who received a standing ovation as he walked out in pursuit of an unprecedented 100th international hundred.

But Tendulkar made just one before he was lured into playing a Broad delivery outside off-stump he might have left and edged to third slip Anderson.

courtesy:-http://cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/news/article?id=item/2.0/-/story/cricket.yahoonews.com/england-seize-control-edgbaston-test-20110810/

BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) – England captain Andrew Strauss and India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni played down the significance of the world rankings for different reasons on Tuesday ahead of the third test.

India are currently the number one side but England will leapfrog them and second-placed South Africa if they win the four-match series by two clear tests, a feat they would achieve with victory at Edgbaston.

“We’re not approaching this test match any differently,” Strauss told reporters. “That number one ranking comes as a consequence of playing good cricket. So all we’ve got to concentrate on is playing good cricket.

“Rankings are not at the forefront of our mind at the mind, what is at the forefront of our mind is starting this test match well and hoping to get into a position to win it later in the week.”

Dhoni, whose team lost heavily at Lord’s and Trent Bridge and have been hampered by injuries to key players like Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag, was equally unconcerned by the rankings.

“We don’t talk much about ratings,” Dhoni said. “I’ve said in the last two years, ratings are not what are important for us.

“What we concentrate on is the kind of cricket we are playing so we try to break the sessions into smaller sessions not look five days ahead as to what may be the result.

“What’s important for us is how you go about doing stuff in the first hour. We know the small things that matter and we will try to stick to that.”

ONE CHANGE

England look set to make one change to the team that won by 319 runs in Nottingham with Ravi Bopara replacing the injured Jonathan Trott. Bopara’s last test was two years ago and he averages 33.46 in 10 matches.

Chris Tremlett has been released from the squad having failed to recover from a back injury, so Tim Bresnan should retain his place for the match starting on Wednesday.

“I think Ravi being the only change would be a reasonable assumption to make barring any last minute injuries,” Strauss added. “We’re all delighted that Ravi has got a chance again.

“He has been knocking on the door for quite a long time. He fills the role that has been vacated by Jonathan Trott very well with his batting and his ability to bowl a few overs. It’s great to see him have the opportunity come into the Test side again.”

India’s selection is less clearcut. Sehwag has recovered from shoulder surgery and while he made only eight in the warm-up match at Northamptonshire, Dhoni said his place was almost assured. Gautam Gambhir will also return, from a bruised arm, and open with Sehwag.

Harbhajan is out with a stomach muscle problem and India are deciding whether to pick a replacement spinner, slow left-armer Pragyan Ojha or leg-spinner Amit Mishra, or a fourth pace bowler.

“He (Sehwag) is practising every day, which means he’s available for selection and I can see no good reason why he shouldn’t play,” Dhoni said.

“He’s a very dynamic player who backs his instinct to play shots, irrespective of which bowler he’s facing. He believes more in looking at the ball and just giving it the treatment it deserves.

“We all know an aggressive opener can have a very big impact on the opposition bowling attack — so he’s a very good player to have in the side.”

courtest:-http://cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/news/article?id=item/2.0/-/story/cricket.reuters.com/strauss-dhoni-play-down-top-ranking-20110809/