England cautious about flat Indian wickets: Cook
Hyderabad, Oct 5 (INN): England cricket captain Alistair Cook on Wednesday felt that the forthcoming ODI series against India would be a tough one. This is despite the players being high on confidence levels after the glorious showing in the recent series.
He told reporters at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Wednesday that they would focus on going about the job with a new perspective. This would be a new series and they had devised their own strategies to continue from where they left.
England arrived in the city on Tuesday. They will play five ODI matches and a Twenty20 match against India during the series. The first one will be held in Hyderabad on October 14.
Stating that the host team has a decisive advantage in terms of pitch condition-exposure, Cook, however, said that his team had the wherewithal to take on the Indian bowling attack at its own game.
`We understand that the conditions in the sub-continent would be pretty tough for us, but we are sure that in the next one week we will get acclimatized to the weather conditions and also the tracks,' Cook said with a sense of optimism.
Cook also admitted that beyond some experience on Sri Lankan wickets, his boys lacked genuine exposure to flat tracks that are so dominant on Indian soil.
He said that they would miss the services of Stuart Broad and James Anderson, considering the conditions here. He was quick to point out that India would also be weakened with the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.
On the absence of Harbhajan Singh from Indian ranks, he said it would work to England's overall advantage. Talking of the new ruling by ICC whereby each team will use a ball for a maximum of 25 overs in a completed innings, Cook said this would not have much of an impact on the outcome considering that both the opponents will have to reckon with two balls.
The ruling will come into effect with the forthcoming India-England series. On the controversial DRS, which the BCCI has opposed tooth and nail, Cook said that he was personally in favour of the system. He contended that this was more precise compared to hot spots.
Hyderabad, Oct 5 (INN): England cricket captain Alistair Cook on Wednesday felt that the forthcoming ODI series against India would be a tough one. This is despite the players being high on confidence levels after the glorious showing in the recent series.
He told reporters at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Wednesday that they would focus on going about the job with a new perspective. This would be a new series and they had devised their own strategies to continue from where they left.
England arrived in the city on Tuesday. They will play five ODI matches and a Twenty20 match against India during the series. The first one will be held in Hyderabad on October 14.
Stating that the host team has a decisive advantage in terms of pitch condition-exposure, Cook, however, said that his team had the wherewithal to take on the Indian bowling attack at its own game.
`We understand that the conditions in the sub-continent would be pretty tough for us, but we are sure that in the next one week we will get acclimatized to the weather conditions and also the tracks,' Cook said with a sense of optimism.
Cook also admitted that beyond some experience on Sri Lankan wickets, his boys lacked genuine exposure to flat tracks that are so dominant on Indian soil.
He said that they would miss the services of Stuart Broad and James Anderson, considering the conditions here. He was quick to point out that India would also be weakened with the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.
On the absence of Harbhajan Singh from Indian ranks, he said it would work to England's overall advantage. Talking of the new ruling by ICC whereby each team will use a ball for a maximum of 25 overs in a completed innings, Cook said this would not have much of an impact on the outcome considering that both the opponents will have to reckon with two balls.
The ruling will come into effect with the forthcoming India-England series. On the controversial DRS, which the BCCI has opposed tooth and nail, Cook said that he was personally in favour of the system. He contended that this was more precise compared to hot spots.
News Posted: 5 October, 2011
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