The 10,000 club welcomes a new member

Exactly a year after Mahela Jayawardene become the first Sri Lankan to reach over 10,000 Test runs, fellow national Kumar Sangakkara has also shot into the record books – becoming the 11^th man in history to make that coveted Test target.

During an intense opening day of the Boxing Day Test with Australia, Sangakkara hit a neat cover drive off Mitchell Johnson for four to ensure his place in cricketing history. He went on to make 58 in the first innings, a respectable score considering Sri Lanka mustered just 156 from their first assault.

Despite Australia finishing day one of the second Test in complete control, the day was reserved for Sangakkara, who received a warm reception from the Melbourne crowd when that four finally flicked over the boundary rope.

What makes Sangakkara’s feat so special is the speed in which he reached this milestone. For although he joins an elite group that boasts Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis in its ranks, Sangakkara becomes the joint-fastest ever player to record the feat. He sits alongside Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar as men who have reached 10,000 runs on their 195^th innings.

Ponting was just one innings short of that record when he made the required runs against West Indies in May 2008, while Shivnarine Chanderpaul needed 239 innings to make the target.

At 35 years of age, Sangakkara is unlikely to mount an assault on Tendulkar’s all-time record of 15,645 Test runs, but his feat nevertheless confirms his status as a true legend of Sri Lankan cricket. Along with Jayawardene, Sri Lankan fans have a player they can not only be proud of, but who will hopefully inspire a new generation of batsmen to take up the Test helm.

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Pietersen deserves new England deal

Kevin Pietersen is to be rewarded for an outstanding tour of India with a new contract from the ECB that will banish any suggestions over a wavering commitment to the England Test side.

Pietersen was superb in the England whites during their tour of India this autumn, scoring two half-centuries and a staggering 186 in Mumbai to win the second Test. Such a positive influence has the right-hander been on the squad that the ECB have rightly decided to extend his contract.

The contract wont be a problem, said selector Andy Flower. Kevin has been excellent in every way.

For him to score as quickly as he did there and put such pressure on the opposition bowlers really helped us turn the series around.

Indeed, Flower is right to praise Pietersen after some sublime performances with the bat against India. Before that Mumbai Test England were on the ropes. They had just lost by nine wickets in Ahmedabad and looked completely lost on the turning wicket. Pietersen came in and, along with Alastair Cooks century, steadied the ship.

There were certainly doubters in the betting world who suggested KP would not be given the chance to fully redeem himself after exile from the squad over the summer. Hopefully that Mumbai Test silenced these critics for good, for he was rightly called back into the team for the tour of India and had he not been present England would not have won that series.

We can now expect KP to be given a deal that at least extends to the end of the 2013/14 Ashes series. Over that time he will have his work cut out, with a tor of New Zealand, a home Ashes and a series Down Under to look forward to, but if Pietersen can keep his head down and perform like he did in India then the ECBs decision to bring him back will be vindicated.

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Anderson starts thinking about Ashes

James Anderson will be a crucial part of England’s hopes in this summer’s Ashes series, and the fast bowler has admitted he is already beginning to think about the prospect of taking on Australia again. 

The seamer again proved his importance to this England team during the recent series victory in India, bowling over after over on pitches that were in no way suited to fast bowling and playing a key role in the tourists 2-1 series victory.

Head coach Andy Flower decided to rest Anderson for the one-day series, which is a break the bowler has definitely earned over the course of a gruelling four Test series in India. Anderson was the only England pace bowler to play in all four matches, and England will know keeping their premier bowler fully fit for 2013 will be critical to the team’s hopes of reclaiming the number one spot in the Test rankings.

While allowing the Ashes to enter their thoughts, Anderson has made it clear the squad is more focused on the upcoming tour of New Zealand.

"The guys are going back to India for the one-day series and then we've got a tough tour to New Zealand first. We've got to worry about the present rather than the future too much, but there's always an eye on the Ashes when it's less than six months away,” insisted Anderson.

The win in India was the perfect way to end a mixed year for England. The signs certainly look positive under Alastair Cook’s leadership, and there are a number of exciting young players knocking on the door looking to earn a chance to impress ahead of the Ashes.

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Afridi challenged to earn Pakistan spot

Shahid Afridi has been challenged to win back his place in the Pakistan one-day side after the former captain was dropped from the squad ahead of the three-match series against India. The all-rounder has kept his place in the T20 squad that will play two games against the Indians, but a disappointing year in the 50-over format has resulted in Afridi being overlooked for the ODI party.

Despite making nearly 350 one-day appearances for Pakistan, Afridi has been told that he needs to rediscover his 50-over form if he is going to be able to break back into the squad. A dismal run of form this year has seen the 32-year old record just 182 runs from his 16 ODI appearances in 2012.

Chief selector Iqbal Qasim has admitted Afridi needed to show he was still committed to playing ODI for Pakistan if he was going to return to the team, revealing the team were looking to blood a number of younger options during the upcoming matches against India.

"If he performs in the Twenty20s then he can make a comeback into the one-day team. It was a difficult decision. He is a great player who can win matches, but in the interest of the team we have decided to left him out,” revealed Qasim.

"We have tried to infuse new blood into both teams as we feel the way forward in these formats is to try out new faces. We want to give exposure to more young players."

The upcoming series, the first between the two nations since 2007, gets underway with Twenty20 clashes in Bangalore and then in Ahmedabad. Following that, Chennai will host the first one-day international on 30 December, followed by matches in Kolkata (3 January) and New Delhi (6 January).

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Absent pair unlikely to trouble stuttering England

The news that both Steven Finn and Ian Bell are out of the second Test in Mumbai later this week is unlikely to upset England’s preparations for the match after a dismal performance in the first clash against India left a lot to be desired.

Finn picked up a thigh injury against India A, two weeks before the first Test in Ahmedabad, yet was only in slight contention for a place in the bowling attack anyway.

And, after England’s appalling seam-bowling display last week that saw just one wicket taken in 72 overs, captain Alastair Cook is unlikely to add another seamer to his arsenal and instead is expected reduce his pacemen to two in place of another spinner as he looks to defy the latestcricket odds in Mumbai next week.

Bell, meanwhile, returned home for the birth of his first child following a poor display at the crease in the first Test. The right-hander was caught first ball to spinner Pragyan Ojha before being nicked lbw for just 22 in the second innings. With both Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root on hand as competent replacements, Bell’s presence at fifth man shouldn’t be missed.

In fact, these two absentees should ease Cook’s selection decisions as the pressure builds to eradicate the mistakes of the first Test. England, who are now vast outsiders according to the latest Betfair India v England odds, need another spinner in their ranks and Finn’s absence means selecting Monty Panesar is now a straight-forward decision to make. Bell’s absence also means there is no pressure to drop Samit Patel, who’s ability to bat and bowl could be crucial to England’s fortunes this week.

Indeed, selecting either Bairstow or Root as Bell’s cover will do wonders for either youngster on the toughest tour on the planet. India’s turning wickets are like few others in the world and for one of this pair to get the chance to bat on the subcontinent will only enrich their international pedigree.   

Returning Duo Critical to England

England fans placing a bet on sports are still waiting to discover whether or not they will have Stuart Broad and Steven Finn available for the first Test against India in Ahmedabad.

The fast bowling duo returned to the nets following their respective injuries, but England will have to leave it late before deciding to include either or both for the first Test.

Broad has been struggling with a heel injury, with Finn suffering a thigh strain soon after arriving in India.

While the back-up bowlers all did their best to strengthen their cases during the drawn warm-up clash against Haryana, there is little doubt the selectors will be desperate that both Broad and Finn are able to play the first Test if possible.

Alastair Cook admitted he would have liked Finn and Broad to have been able to get more practice time under their belts before the first Test, but the skipper made it clear it would be a huge boost to the team to have both fast bowlers in the line-up.

"In an ideal world, I'd certainly have liked them to have had more match bowling. The one part of this preparation period that has not quite gone right is those two not getting some overs under their belt.”

"But what we do know is they are quality performers, world-class bowlers. It'd be great if they were fully-fit, and had some overs under their belt, but they haven't,” admitted Cook.

It will be interesting to see just how effective either bowler would be should they play the first Test.

Neither has manage to get many overs under their belts since arriving in India, and it certainly weakens an area of England’s team that will need to be firing on all cylinders if the tourists are going to have their best chance of success. 

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Batting form should relieve England bowlers of pressure

When your team is in a slump, there is nothing like a high-scoring innings to bring confidence back into the ranks. England, who have not fared overly well in previous warm-up games on the subcontinent this autumn, sure found their stride in the first day of their final warm-up before the Test series with India starts next week.

Following uninspiring matches against India A and Mumbai A, England went into bat against Haryana on Thursday and knocked up a confidence-boosting 408-3 before close of play. Not only will the score boost their latest cricket odds ahead of the first Test, but with all six batsmen showing good form at the crease there are great reasons to be optimistic.

Captain Alastair Cook and new opener Nick Compton staged a magnificent 166 partnership that is likely to unnerve India’s bowling attack ahead of the first Test on 15 November. Cook fell three short of his century while Compton looked every bit a seasoned international with 74 before being taken lbw by spinner Amit Mishra.

Their replacements didn’t fail to impress either. Jonathan Trott tallied 46 at third man before also falling to the Mishra spin; meanwhile, the marmite man that is Kevin Pietersen proved his worth to the side yet again with a resplendent 110 before retiring hurt with cramp in the hot conditions.

With Stuart Board suffering a bruised heel and Graeme Swann returning home for the next few days, Cook was relying on his top order to instil some confidence into the side and take the pressure of his bowlers. Former skipper Michael Vaughan has already spoken of the importance of the upper order leading from the front in the tough and unforgiving conditions of the sub-continent.

They certainly did this, and if Cook can inspire more high performances from his batsmen then England’s fragile bowling attack will be free from unwanted pressure to strike out India on their own turf.