Sreesanth's figures don't show it yet - even in the game today he took none for 52 from 10 overs - but he has the makings of a seriously good bowler. He comes in of a longer run-up than any Indian paceman I can remember, and it's not all for show - he really does hit the bat. I like the look of his grooved run-up and the pistons that appear to fire all over in his delivery stride - he looks like he means business - and crucially, he generates pace without appearing to place much strain upon himself.

He also moves the ball away from the right-hander, which is a rarer and more valuable trait than the ability to bring it in, and in his spell today he produced some excellent slower balls without an apparent change in action. That is a good base, at 23, from which to slowly develop some of the higher arts of bowling, such as cutters and reverse-swing. Indeed, he looks ready for Test cricket, and a year or two from one sees the makings of a decent seam attack, good for all conditions, made up of Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, and perhaps one of RP Singh or Lakshmipathy Balaji (who showed just too much skill with the ball in his brief spell of uninterrupted cricket to be left by the wayside).

And the other thing that has given me much pleasure recently has been the fielding of Raina. In two games here he has not got a hit yet, and indeed he has played just one crucial innings for India so far - his 39 not out against Sri Lanka at Pune - so it is perhaps too early to judge his batting. But his fielding is wonderful to watch - here is a man who, in the tradition of all the great fielders in the game, really wants the ball to be hit his way and is on the prowl all the time, looking for the half-chance. He seems beautifully balanced at all times and, for a big fellow, has no difficulty in getting down low to field - so harmonious are all his movements that he catches the eye even when a simple ball is hit straight to him.

There was a moment at a crucial juncture in the game today, at 234 for 6 in the 44th over, when Abdul Razzaq hit the ball straight to him at mid-off, and took off for a single almost as he played the stroke. Pakistan must have garnered perhaps a hundred cheaply bought singles in the Test series from pushes straight to mid-on and mid-off, but the contrast of that with this could not have been more stark. Raina swooped down on the ball and threw down the stumps with the greatest confidence and certainty with Razzaq still short of his ground. And the taking of that half-chance exposed the tail, and made a difference of perhaps 20 or 30 runs to Pakistan's score.

Raina looks to me (with due respect to Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif) the best Indian fielder since Mohammad Azharuddin. In a couple of years the three of them might be batting at four, five and six in the Test line-up - not as formidable a set as Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly maybe, but perhaps they'll make up the difference in batting averages on the field.

Sreesanth is the real key. Can he step up to test level. He doesn't possess height, but a decent action. He will have to learn reverse though.

Hmmm.. Raina seems to be finding the stumps way more often than anybody (sacrilegious to place him above Kaif and Yuvraj, but nevertheless).
As for Sreesanth, we have seen a zillion pacement do well in the past. But all of them seem to have fallen by the wayside for whatever reason. For that reason alone, no offense to his capabilities, I am still in a wait and watch mode.
Btw, I missed the first 15 overs of the Pak batting, but looking at Cricinfo's live commentary, I seem to have picked up a distinct vibe that he was wayward with the new ball. Overs 7 to 10 in the death did the trick for him.

I think India should put Sree Santh in the XI against England-see what he can do against Trescothick and Vaughan-and make sure he is fit enough to bowl accurately when he is tired. His outswinger will be very useful against Left Handers. Also bring back Balaji-I'm still not convinced about RP Singh-if Pathan is a Ducati, RP is a Vespa- and please put Agarkar out to pasture and tell Tendulkar to get a new best friend. With Pathan as a genuine all-rounder, you can play Harbs, Anil, Sree S and Balaji and give the Poms no end of pressure.

Wait a minute! Don't rule out Zaheer Kahn yet; he has a few years left in him, doesn't he? And formwise...

That's correct, Marcus, Zaheer Khan will definitely be picked ahead of Balaji-so to adjust my bowling suggestion-Pathan, Zaheer, Anil, Harbs and Sreesanth, 2 Lefties, a Rightie, an Offie and a Leggie, if one of the Seamers does not fire you still have 2 fellas to share the load. Don't forget Fletcher and Vaughan are 2 of the sharpest minds in the business and with S. Jones coming back , India should not underestimate England just because they don't have spinners, there are plenty of ways to skin a(fat) cat.

I agree with your comments on Balaji. He showed in Pakistan in the 2004 tour that he can move the new ball significantly in the air and off the wicket (something very few Indian bowlers have been capable of), as well as getting the old ball to reverse. It's a shame he's injured right now, as he's got the potential to become a major strike bowler. I just hope the selectors haven't forgotten him - with all the talk about VRV's promise (even though he also played very little this season), and Munaf Patel having a good Ranji season for Maharashtra, he's got a lot of competition as far as making it back to the test side is concerned.

Meanwhile, I certainly hope we don't have to see a middle order in tests of Yuvraj, Raina and Kaif (or any permutations of that). Y Venugopal Rao has been one of the most consistent batsmen in first class cricket for the past few seasons (only having a relatively fallow performance this year), and I hope that he's given a chance to earn a middle order berth in tests sooner rather than later.

Kaif's 109 in the Ranji final this year was his first f/c hundred in over three years. With his first-class record, I'm not convinced he should be in the test side right now. He's got a good temperament and a lot of fight in him, but I'd like to see him learn how to build on starts and turn them into big scores more often at first class level before he gets a place in the test side again.

Aw heck, every time I diss RP Singh, he gets 4 wickets..
OK, from now on RP Singh is a "terrific bowler". He can do no wrong. Good for India they have some depth now-up to Chappell and Rahul to see if they can capitalize. Too many loose shots in ODI's for my liking, so hard to gauge the quality and ability of a bowler. Even Sachin looks very useful.
Like the medium stuff.

Team India performed like champs in Lahore bringing to fore tremondous resilience.In spite of dropped catches and match seemingly slipping away from our hands especially after loosing two early wickets and not to mention non availability of Sehwag Indian team made our day with some brilliant rearguard batting by Sachin and later blitzkreig by Dhoni. Calm, composed and confident way in which Yuvraj batted was extremely heartening. Value of his knock at such crucial juncture should not be lost sight of.
For the 4th onedayer, I strongly feel that Gautam Gambhir should be replaced by Romesh Pawar. This would greatly strengthen our batting and bowling besides giving another good fielder.India should continue with spinning options of Tendulkar,Yuvraj and of course Powar(if included)

Let me throw Nehra's name in the bowling list (assuming he can stay fit for a season).

As for RP Singh and Raina, I blogged about them here: http://yorker.wordpress.com/2006/02/17/told-ya-so/

Chandrahas

Indian selection panel liked your 1st paragraph, and the selection for the 1st Test vs. England reflects that:-)