Practice tie solves little for Indians

India, concerned with the form of Sehwag and Yuvraj, put the two among the first three in a practice match but still there was no evidence that they were back to their best.

It was a day that began in gentle fashion, weatherwise that is. And we all know how important that is in this part of the world. The sun was at its affable best, there was a gentle breeze blowing across central England and the incessant rain of the past week was conspicuous by its absence. By the time Thursday headed towards its end, it was freezing, the day had turned a familiar gray and chilly winds were making the Indian team's life miserable as they fielded in a practice game in this oversized village about half an hour from Birmingham.

The weather of course, did not excuse the casual manner in which the Indians approached this game, especially after getting some much-needed time batting in the middle. Amit Bhandari --- who can perhaps be excused as he's just about got into town --- did not have a happy time with the ball but Ajit Agarkar has no extenuating circumstances for his lackadaisical spell. But a couple of players from the opposing team played quite beautifully.

Yes, the morning was confusing. No one, not even the Indian team, knew who they were playing. "It was supposed to be an ECB XI but we found out about this team only when we got to the ground," said Indian team manger Gautam Dasgupta.

This team was the Midlands Clubs Cricket Conference, a group of about 400 clubs that populate the Midlands region and the team is intriguingly called the MCCC XI. "The team was actually supposed to play Pakistan," said Alan Neal, chairman of the MCCC, "and India were supposed to play an ECB XI but Pakistan called off their match, and as these boys had already been selected, it was decided that they would play India instead."

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