• I am in the unusual position of having the week off after being rested for three one-day internationals.

     

    When it was put to be that I was going to be rested, part of me was disappointed because you always want to play for your country, especially against Australia.

     

    However, you need to look at the bigger picture, and the constant treadmill I have been on since 2005. I have only missed a few games when I was banned, but otherwise it has been almost non-stop cricket and there comes a time when your body and mind need a rest.

     

    We have got a lot of cricket coming up and it was a strong decision and a good one from the England management. I know how I was feeling, and I was starting to wear down a bit.

     

    It is something quite new, and you don't really know how to respond when you are told, because you are used to just ploughing on and getting little breaks wherever you can.

     

    But it is something Andy Flower and the management team have done increasingly - Jimmy Anderson is also getting

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  • As the Indians were piling up the runs in the Compaq Cup final at Colombo on Monday, I happened to be with Kris Srikkanth. And, while, I remained apprehensive of India's chances given their negative balance sheet as far as results of title clashes in Sri Lanka were concerned, the selection committee chairman was quick to point out that the Indian team had an all-win record in tournaments or bilateral contests since he took over the post about a year ago, and expressed confidence that MS Dhoni and his men would maintain the enviable record.

     

    Sure enough, a few hours later, the Indians had beat back a gallant challenge from the hosts to avenge their defeat in the league stage of the competition and climb to the No 2 spot in the ICC rankings.

     

    It's going to be a long, hard road to traverse in the course of a protracted season ahead but there is nothing like starting off with a victory. It puts the team members in the right frame, physically and mentally, for the sterner tests over the

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  • What a difference the amiable Gary Kirsten makes as compared to the abrasive Greg Chappell? The present Indian coach has the happy knack of saying the right things at the right time. What better way to start a new season than by urging his boys to go for the No 1 spot in the ODI rankings.

     

    He is aware that MS Dhoni and his boys are capable of touching great heights and here he is goading them on. On the eve of the tri series in Sri Lanka - the Indian team’s first international outing of the season - Kirsten has struck the right chords by saying that the side is capable of reaching the top spot.

     

    At the moment they are second to South Africa and a clean sweep in the Compaq Cup will make them numero uno for the first time since the ICC rankings were established in 2002.

     

    Just listen to what Kirsten has to say and the intense feeling he has for the boys, the total confidence he has in them to deliver comes through. "We have got a lot of depth in our cricket at the moment," the

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