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Glenn Phillips has been given more time to build match fitness but Daryl Mitchell is available after injury

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2025

Kane Williamson has been included in New Zealand’s squad for the first Test against West Indies in Christchurch and pace bowler Blair Tickner handed a recall for the first time since 2023 with Kyle Jamieson held back as he continues a carefully controlled return to red-ball cricketFellow seamers Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes, who took nine wickets on debut against Zimbabwe, are also part of the 14-player squad, but Jamieson wasn’t considered for the start of the series as a cautious approach is maintained in increasing his workloads after a back injury.Glenn Phillips, who played in the opening round of the Plunket Shield, also hasn’t been included as he works his way back to full match fitness after a groin injury. Daryl Mitchell has recovered from injury to take his place in the squad.Williamson, who is among the group of players to hold a casual contract, missed New Zealand’s most recent Test series in Zimbabwe earlier this year to play the Hundred. Having announced his T20I retirement, he played the first two ODIs against England before picking up a groin injury.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Kane’s ability on the field speaks for itself and it will be great to have his skills as well as his leadership back in the Test group,” head coach Rob Walter said. “He’s had a bit of time off to get himself ready for red-ball cricket, and I know he’s looking forward to playing for Northern Districts in the second round of the Plunket Shield in the lead-up to the first Test.”Tickner, meanwhile, played the most recent of his three Tests against Sri Lanka in early 2023. On his return to the ODI side against England he claimed eight wickets in two matches.”Both Jacob and Blair have been around a while and know what it takes to perform at the highest level,” Walter said. “They’ve impressed in their white-ball opportunities so far this summer and we back them to do so in the Test arena if called upon.”Zak couldn’t have performed much better in his first Test against Zimbabwe. That, along with his recent form across the white-ball tours, has rightfully earned him selection.”Matt Fisher (shin), Will O’Rourke (back) and Ben Sears (hamstring) were not considered for selection due to injury.The West Indies series marks New Zealand’s first matches of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycleNew Zealand squad for 1st Test vs West IndiesTom Latham (capt), Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Kane Williamson, Will Young

تحدثت صحيفة ذا إندبندنت اليوم الأحد عن تطورات وضع محمد صلاح مع ليفربول، والتصريحات النارية التي أدلى بها الدولي المصري تجاه النادي الإنجليزي.

محمد صلاح تواجد في آخر ثلاث مباريات لعبها ليفربول في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، ولم يشارك في أي دقيقة خلال لقاء الريدز مع ليدز يونايتد بالدوري أمس السبت، حيث تعادل ليفربول 3-3.

وخرج محمد صلاح عن صمته بعد نهاية المباراة، وأكد أنه محبط من وضعه الحالي في ليفربول، مشيرًا إلى أن علاقته مع المدرب آرني سلوت قد تدمرت وأنه لا يشعر بالتقدير من قبل إدارة الريدز.

وذكرت الصحيفة، أن ليفربول من المتوقع أن يكون له رد فعل تجاه ما قاله محمد صلاح، حيث لن تمر هذه التصريحات مرور الكرام على النادي الإنجليزي.

وأضافت أن محمد صلاح قد تفاجأ كثيرًا بما حدث معه حيث اهتز كبرياؤه وأدلى بتصريحات لم يكن للاعب بهذه المكانة أن يدلي بها في إنجلترا، منذ أسطورة مانشستر يونايتد وريال مدريد، كريستيانو رونالدو.

وأوضحت أن مستوى محمد صلاح هبط بشدة خصوصًا على الصعيد البدني، حيث لم يسجل هذا الموسم سوى خمسة أهداف في 19 مباراة بكافة المسابقات.

اقرأ أيضًا.. جيمس بيرس مهاجمًا محمد صلاح: ليفربول يلعب أفضل بدونه.. وتصرفه غير محترم

وأردفت أن محمد صلاح ليس هو اللاعب الوحيد في ليفربول الذي تم إجلاسه كبديل، وإنما هناك فلوريان فيرتز، على الرغم من سعره الكبير البالغ 116 مليون جنيه إسترليني، والذي ضمه الريدز قادمًا من باير ليفركوزن.

لكن فيرتز بات في آخر فترة بديلًا مع ليفربول حيث لم يقدم المستوى المطلوب، قبل أن يعود للعب أساسيًا في آخر مباراتين للريدز.

وأكدت أن محمد صلاح محق في عدم تحميله للمسئولية في كل مباراة يخسر فيها ليفربول هذا الموسم، لكن الدولي المصري بحسب الصحيفة لم يكن محقًا في التصريح عن ضمانه باللعب بشكل أساسي مع الريدز باستمرار.

وأوضحت أن المباراة التي جعلت سلوت يبقي محمد صلاح على دكة بدلاء ليفربول كانت أمام بي إس في آيندهوفن في دوري أبطال أوروبا، والتي خسرها ليفربول 4-1.

وأكملت أن آينهدوفن سجل في مباراة ليفربول من جهة محمد صلاح في الجانب الأيمن، حيث لا يقدم الدولي المصري الدعم الدفاعي كثيرًا، مما جعل سلوت يفكر في التعويل على دومينيك سوبوسلاي في مركز الجناح الأيمن بدلًا من الملك المصري.

وألقت الصحيفة باللوم على سلوت، في ظل تبريره في المقابل لسوء مستوى بعض لاعبي ليفربول، وعلى رأسهم كوناتي وجاكبو.

وواصلت الصحيفة قولها، أن إدارة ليفربول بقيادة ريتشارد هيوز، المدير الرياضي، والرئيس التنفيذي، مايكل إدواردز، قد كسروا سياسة التمهل في التجديد للاعبين كبار السن وجددوا عقد محمد صلاح العام الماضي لمدة سنتين.

وواصلت أن إدارة ليفربول رفضت بيع محمد صلاح إلى الدوري السعودي قبل عامين، حيث رغب اتجاد حدة في ضم اللاعب مقابل 150 مليون جنيه إسترليني، وهو مبلغ يصعب على الريدز الحصول عليه حاليًا إذا أراد بيع الدولي المصري.

واختتمت ذا إندبدنت قولها، أن ليفربول من الممكن أن يقوم بيع محمد صلاح، حيث اقترب عهد الفرعون المصري في آنفيلد من نهايته.

ONE MORE MONTH UNTIL PLAYOFF BASEBALL!

There is a ton at stake over the final four weeks of the regular season in MLB, and we’re here at SI Betting to analyze the latest playoff odds in both the American and National Leagues.

There are three division races — the AL East, AL West and NL West — where the first and second place teams are separated by three or fewer games, leaving a lot up in the air in the wild card picture to close the regular season.

In the American League, a seven-game winning streak helped propel the New York Yankees into first in the wild card and just three games back of Toronto in the AL East entering September.

Meanwhile, the National League wild card appears to be pretty settled, as the Cincinnati Reds (the first team out) have fallen four games back of the final wild card spot.

Is there any value in betting on a team to make the playoffs that isn’t currently in the postseason picture? 

Let’s take a look at the latest odds and a few teams that could have some value — whether it’s to make the playoffs or steal the division — as the final month of regular season baseball gets underway. 

American League Playoff OddsDivision LeadersToronto Blue Jays: N/ADetroit Tigers: N/AHouston Astros: -700

It’s interesting to see a division leader with worse odds to make the playoffs than multiple wild card teams, but that’s the case with Houston.

The Astros are just two games up on the Seattle Mariners in the AL West, and they have worse records than the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox this season. If Houston slips in the coming weeks, it could be fighting for its playoff life down the stretch. 

Oddsmakers don’t feel the same about the Blue Jays, even though they’ve seen their lead dwindle in the AL East.  

Wild Card RaceNew York Yankees: -10000Boston Red Sox: -1400Seattle Mariners: -575Texas Rangers: +290Kansas City Royals: +500:Cleveland Guardians: +1100Tampa Bay Rays: +2000

Texas has moved past the Kansas City Royals for the fourth spot in the wild card race, as it has won five games in a row and eight of its last 10. Not only are the Rangers just 2.5 games out of the third wild card, but they are just 4.5 games back in the AL West.

So, there are multiple paths for Texas to take to get into the postseason. At +290, the Rangers could be worth a sprinkle if you’re not sold on Houston or Seattle running away with the division in the final few weeks. 

The one thing working against the Rangers is that they have the fifth-hardest remaining schedule – per Tankathon – in MLB. 

National League Playoff OddsDivision LeadersPhiladelphia Phillies: N/ALos Angeles Dodgers: N/AMilwaukee Brewers: N/A

While the NL West is still up for grabs, oddsmakers believe the the Phillies, Dodgers, Brewers, Cubs and Padres will all make the postseason, as they’ve all seen their playoff odds come off the board.

The Reds – the closest chasing team in the wild card race – are seven games back of San Diego and nine games back of Chicago entering September. 

Wild Card RaceSan Diego Padres: N/AChicago Cubs: N/ANew York Mets: -600Cincinnati Reds: +700San Francisco Giants: +1200Arizona Diamondbacks: +2500St. Louis Cardinals: +3000

While the NL wild card may already be set, there has been a ton of odds movement for the Mets (the No. 3 wild card) and the chasing pack:

Mets: -350 to -600Reds: +310 to +700Giants: +2000 to +1200Diamondbacks: +3000 to +2500

New York has a four-game cushion on the Reds and at least a five-game cushion on every other team in the chase. Barring an epic collapse from a team, the six NL playoff teams appear to be pretty secure entering the final month of the regular season.

Derbyshire four-down at the close with an uphill battle awaiting them

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay31-Jul-2025

Derbyshire 377 (Andersson 105, Chahal 6-118) and 52 for 4 trail Northamptonshire 550 for 9 dec (Broad 171, Keogh 125*) by 121 runsAllrounder Justin Broad hit a brilliant 171, his second score in excess of 150 this month amid a Northamptonshire run-fest against Derbyshire at Wantage Road as the hosts racked up a mammoth 550 for nine declared.Returning from a wrist injury, Broad struck 18 fours and a six, following his maiden first-class ton, 157 not out at Canterbury at the beginning of July. On a day of records, his 171 was the highest score ever made by a number seven from any team against Derbyshire.With Rob Keogh also striking an excellent unbeaten 125, the pair put on 208, the highest seventh-wicket partnership for Northamptonshire against Derbyshire as the visitors’ attack wilted in the afternoon sunshine.Luis Reece was the pick of Derbyshire’s bowlers, finishing with figures of three for 114.Northamptonshire declared 173 ahead and reduced Derbyshire to 52 for four at stumps, Indian legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal picking up two wickets in two balls. It leaves the visitors with a mountain to climb on a pitch offering turn and bounce, still trailing by 121 at the end of day three of this Rothesay County Championship fixture.Earlier, resuming on 265 for five, Broad and George Bartlett extended their sixth-wicket partnership to 127, also the highest for Northamptonshire against Derbyshire. But after posting 66, his highest score this season, Bartlett was trapped lbw by a Ben Aitchison delivery which nipped back and kept low.Broad and Keogh though looked relatively untroubled by a lacklustre Derbyshire bowling display throughout the morning as they focused on building a partnership and taking a first innings lead, picking up a handful of boundaries along the way. Broad, 64 overnight, deployed the pull against Zak Chappell and on drove handsomely, while Keogh swept and reverse swept against Joe Hawkins’ spin.Broad lunched nervously on 99, but despite flashing outside off stump against Martin Andersson after the break, he took a single off Hawkins to celebrate his first century at home.With the scoring rate accelerating, Keogh drove Andersson sweetly through midwicket to reach his second successive half-century off 112 balls and crunched Andersson through extra cover to bring up the 100 partnership and put Northamptonshire ahead. Broad then punched Blair Tickner down the ground for another boundary.Derbyshire plugged away, trying several short-term experiments to try to force a breakthrough. Andersson bowled consistently wide outside off-stump to Broad, while Aitchison reverted to bowling spin. Then for Chappell, three fielders were stationed in the area between mid-on and short midwicket.But Northamptonshire’s batters continued unabated, Keogh cutting Tickner to backward point to bring up the 150-partnership before passing the previous highest seventh-wicket stand (163) by Josh Cobb and David Willey at Derby in 2015.Frequent Northamptonshire milestones continued to keep the public address announcer busy, Keogh turning Andersson away for two to bring up his century, Broad taking a single next ball off Hawkins to reach his 150.In a scrappy passage of play before tea, Derbyshire’s tired fielders shelled three catches, but picked up one vital wicket in between. First, Keogh, on 101, swept Hawkins firmly to short midwicket where Madsen put down a straightforward chance. Then after Broad smashed Reece through extra cover, Caleb Jewell dropped one at backward point off an attempted reverse sweep.Undeterred, Broad and Keogh celebrated their 200 partnership, Broad swinging Reece for six into the sightscreen as Northamptonshire accelerated further. Broad’s 273-ball knock finally ended though when he hit Reece down the ground again but was caught just inside the ropes.George Scrimshaw won an immediate reprieve when Aitchinson failed to hold a one-handed grab at first slip off Reece. But his intentions were evident as he quickly went on the offensive against Hawkins.Tickner struck after tea castling Scrimshaw with a full and straight delivery, but Keogh found good support from Liam Guthrie (22), Northamptonshire declaring when Hawkins had the Australian caught hitting down the ground.Derbyshire’s reply started ominously when Jewell flashed outside off, Ricardo Vasconcelos snatching the ball at first slip.Promoted to opener Zak Chappell made 22 before Chahal’s double strike. First Chappell reverse swept straight to backward point, then Harry Came was lbw playing back to a slider. Finally skipper Wayne Madsen edged Keogh to Broad at first slip to further compound Derbyshire’s woes.

They might not have got the win, but Sunday evening’s game against Arsenal was a success for Chelsea.

Enzo Maresca’s side utterly outplayed the Premier League leaders in the first half, and despite losing Moises Caicedo for over half the match, came away with a point.

There were sensational performances across the pitch from the hosts, with the most impressive undoubtedly being Reece James’.

The club captain has been unreal all season for Chelsea, and now it looks like Cobham could already be brewing his heir.

James' performance against Arsenal

Now, James putting in a strong performance for Chelsea is really nothing new; he is the captain after all.

However, against Arsenal, the Englishman truly stepped it up to a whole other level and did so from the middle of the park, not right-back.

In a game that was billed as a midfield showdown between Caicedo and Declan Rice, it was the full-back who came out as comfortably the best player on the whole pitch, let alone the middle of it.

That might sound hyperbolic, but his man-of-the-match award would suggest otherwise.

On top of doing all the defensive work you would expect of him, the “gargantuan” presence, as dubbed by presenter Olivia Buzaglo, was a serious attacking threat and provided the assist for his side’s opener.

Moreover, he completed three of his four crosses, played two key passes, was successful in 100% of his dribbles and generally didn’t let up for the entire encounter.

In all, it was perhaps one of James’ best performances in a Chelsea shirt and a shining example of why so many people rate him so highly.

Therefore, fans should be ecstatic about the fact that Cobham may already be producing another version of the international monster.

Chelsea's next James

When it comes to producing top-quality Premier League talent, few academies can match Chelsea’s Cobham.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

As always seems to be the case, there is another cohort of incredible youngsters coming up at the moment, like Reggie Watson and Shim Mhueka.

However, there is another, perhaps slightly lesser-known prospect fans should start taking more notice of, someone who could be the next James: Lewi Richards.

The 17-year-old has been with the Blues since the under-8s level and became a scholar at the start of the season.

However, the youngster has made such an impression this year that he put pen to paper on his first professional paper just a couple of months later, at the end of October.

With that said, what makes him like James?

Well, the first thing is that, like the club captain, he has shown an impressive level of positional versatility, playing at right-back, left-back and centre-back for the u18 and u21 sides.

Moreover, he even spent time playing in the middle of the park when he was playing for the lower levels of the academy.

On top of this ability to be deployed all over the pitch, the teen phenom has already shown an ability to marry technical quality with physicality.

For example, respected analyst-turned-Como scout Felix Johnston has described him as a “technically strong” prospect who is “monstrous in the tackle” as well as “fearless in the air” and blessed with “bags of pace.”

Ultimately, Richards still has plenty of development to do, but he looks to be an extraordinary academy prospect and one whose versatility, technical ability, and power mean he could be another James in a few years.

Man Utd lining up January move for "powerful" £53m Liverpool & Chelsea target

The Red Devils are looking to sign a 22-year-old, who is being targeted by some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.

By
Dominic Lund

Dec 2, 2025

SEATTLE – Six ground balls do not make a national crisis, unless you happen to be the recently minted franchise player of Canada’s only Major League Baseball team staring at the eighth level of Dante’s version of Hell, which is to say not quite as low as it gets but just about there. In Dante’s nine levels of Hell, the penultimate level is Fraud. In the American League Championship Series, it is a near-must win in Game 3, having lost the first two games at home.

The Toronto Blue Jays were descending fast, marked most absurdly by going 1-for-42 in the third through ninth innings of the opening two games. Almost as troubling was how their bedrock hitting star, Vlad Guerrero Jr., after terrorizing the Yankees in the ALDS, suddenly had devolved into a ground ball out machine. Guerrero was 0-for-7, including six groundouts.

“Vlad can hit anybody’s fastball,” said Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly. “Anybody’s. He’s a great hitter with power, not the other way around. But sometimes, like when the crowd is really loud and the moment gets big, you can see by his body language he wants to do so well he gets out front a little bit. That’s when the pull-side grounders happen.”

Hell apparently hath no fury like the best hitting team in baseball and its $500 million slugger getting shut down at home. The Blue Jays got back into the series with a 13–4 bombardment of the Mariners Wednesday. All Guerrero did was become just the second player in postseason history to get on base in all five plate appearances while racking up three extra-base hits and nine total bases with his team trailing in the series. The other was Babe Ruth in Game 4 of the 1926 World Series with the Yankees trailing St. Louis, two games to one. 

Blue Jays make ’em fly—fast

Game 3 was seismic. Toronto walloped Seattle pitches with percussive loudness never seen in the postseason, at least in this decade of recording how hard baseballs get hit. The Jays smashed 11 hits at 100 mph or more, breaking the record of 10 by the 2018 Red Sox and 2020 Dodgers.

Guerrero accounted for four of those hits at more than 102 mph, joining Kerry Carpenter (2025 ALDS Game 5) as the only players to smash four hits so hard in a postseason game. The tally of Guerrero’s night of whistling baseballs throughout T-Mobile Park read like someone fiddling with the FM radio dial looking for a decent tune: 102.8 (single), 104.9 (double), 106.4 (home run), 108.0 (double).

It was a whiplash of a turnaround in this series. It was not, however, any surprise to David Popkins, the Toronto hitting coach who, after getting dumped by the Twins last October, helped transform the Blue Jays from 19th in batting average last year to first this year, as well as from 23rd in runs to fourth.

“I felt good about today,” Popkins said about the Game 3 matchup. “The guys have been resilient all year. Our back was against the wall and that’s when this team plays really well. I always like to compare hitting to fighting. And when guys get a little paralyzed in the ring, sometimes the only thing to do is put your head down and start throwing some haymakers.”

Toronto takes control of the zone

The inside story of how the Jays and Vlad turned it around begins with how Mariners pitchers, who take pride in throwing strikes and controlling counts, shoved with impunity against Toronto in Games 1 and 2. Seattle flooded the strike zone with 57% of their pitches, well above the MLB average of 50.7%. Popkins knew the attack rate would remain high in Game 3 with Seattle starting George Kirby, a fastball-pumping sharpshooter who broke the record for the best strikeout-to-walk rate through a pitcher’s first four seasons that had stood for .

Popkins took inventory of those first two games and came up with a plan to counterpunch. It would mean being even more aggressive on the offensive side than the Mariners had been on the pitching side.

“We talked about trying to scare them out of the zone,” Popkins said. 

All 18 hits for Toronto came three or fewer pitches into an at-bat, an amazing display of dictating a game. Mission accomplished.

“Yeah,” Popkins said. “They’ve been attacking us in the zone, trying to induce weak contact. So, they want to fill it up. … The counter to that is to punish 'em when they do that. So that was the goal tonight. 

“We were just ready to do damage on something. We knew they were going to fill it up. They do a good job attacking the zone and they were getting really comfortable with filling it up on the halves [of the plate] and not nibbling. We had to make sure that they are a little more careful next time and attack one of the edges and it’ll get us into better counts in the future.

 “But yeah, we were just looking to put things in play early and today we were looking to do some damage on something.”

Guerrero’s secret adjustment

Guerrero needed to make his own adjustment. Guerrero has the flattest swing in the game. He comes at the baseball with an attack angle of just 1°. The major league average is 10°, right in the middle of the ideal window espoused by Ted Williams (between 5° and 15°).  In ALCS Games 1 and 2 it was down to -6° for his seven outs. He was swinging down on the baseball. Baseball’s second-best hitter against fastballs in the zone (.370; only Aaron Judge was better) went 0-for-4 against 14 heaters in the zone in the first two games.

Moreover, Guerrero’s contact point on his outs was five inches deeper than his regular season average, mostly because the Mariners were getting him out on pitches away. Here are the pitch locations for his seven outs:

Parent company of Major League Cricket takes legal action over termination of commercial agreement

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2025There has been a power struggle at the heart of cricket in the USA for over a month now and it escalated on Tuesday, with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), the parent company of Major League Cricket (MLC), taking USA Cricket (USAC) to court for “improper termination” of their contract.The two parties had been commercial partners since May 2019 but a few weeks ago USAC ended it saying ACE had failed to “fulfill its contractual and fiduciary obligations”, including payments due to the national team and support staff. ACE disputed this, claiming it had actually offered more than the agreed amount.An ACE press release said on Wednesday: “USAC’s handling of the ACE agreement has been chaotic and reckless. It is emblematic of USAC’s bad faith. A small group of USAC directors have chosen to prioritize politics rather than preparing teams that can build on their recent successes.”These actions have jeopardized ACE’s significant investments into U.S. cricket over the last six years, as well as the continued success of cricket in the U.S.”USAC’s wrongful conduct cannot go unanswered, so today, ACE filed legal proceedings against USAC regarding its improper termination of the ACE agreement.”

“We have commenced legal proceedings against USAC to prevent the irreparable harm caused by its wrongful termination of the ACE agreement and to protect the thriving cricket community that ACE has cultivated in America”Johnny Grave ACE chief executive

This situation has caused unease among the USA players. ACE runs the highest profile cricket tournament in the country – MLC – and the development league associated with it – Minor League Cricket. It also owns the ground that houses the High Performance Centre at Grand Prairie in Dallas, Texas and operates other facilities in Morrisville, Florida and California.At the time of USAC terminating its deal with ACE, on August 21, it said it was open to renegotiations. Seven days later, it even suspended the decision to cut ties. On September 16, however, “USAC then unilaterally reinstated its original termination, effective today, without holding any meaningful discussions directly with ACE”.Johnny Grave ACE chief executive, said, “We’re disappointed with the actions of USA Cricket. For the last six years, ACE has been focused on the athletes, fans, and partners who have helped develop US cricket. We have commenced legal proceedings against USAC to prevent the irreparable harm caused by its wrongful termination of the ACE agreement and to protect the thriving cricket community that ACE has cultivated in America.”This standoff is taking place two months after the successful staging of the 2025 MLC season and less than six months out from the men’s T20 World Cup. USA are due to participate in that tournament in India and Sri Lanka and ACE had planned a training camp for 35 top men’s players with trial matches – three 50-over games and three T20s – in Morrisville against West Indies A.”Is that all still taking place or not? These camps have to take place for the players to get ready for those things,” USA allrounder Corey Anderson said recently. “All of those things are very much in a big question mark at the moment, which again just creates more uncertainty around the players.”

Like Kanpur, Bengaluru is expected to have a black soil pitch, which will support the spinners over the course of the Test

Ashish Pant14-Oct-2024Three fast bowlers or three spinners? Play Akash Deep over Mohammed Siraj or go for a three-pronged pace attack with both along with Jasprit Bumrah? Pick one of Kuldeep Yadav or Axar Patel or stay with the tried and tested duo of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.India have a problem of plenty and will have a number of things to ponder upon when they finalise their playing XI for the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru starting October 16.In home Tests, at least in the current World Test Championship [WTC] cycle, India have mostly gone with three spinners and two fast bowlers. The two Tests out of seven at home in which they played a third seamer was during the recently-concluded series against Bangladesh where they went with Deep, Siraj and Bumrah in the playing XI both times.Related

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Steven Smith's Test opening stint over with middle-order return for India

Southee searching for his 'snap' as Test place hangs in the balance

They were faced with a similar situation ahead of the second Bangladesh Test in Kanpur, which was a black soil pitch. There they went with all three pacers in the XI, with Ashwin and Jadeja as the two spinners.In an ideal scenario, India would want to go with three spinners in their unit against New Zealand, especially with the kind of pitch on offer in Bengaluru. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the playing strip for the opening Test against New Zealand is like Kanpur, a black soil pitch. It is understood that the pitch is likely to be a slow turner along with low bounce where shot-making will not be as easy. While it won’t be a rank turner, the surface is likely to support spinners as the Test match goes by.India wouldn’t mind that clearly considering New Zealand possess enough good quality seamers in Will O’Rourke, Ben Sears and Tim Southee, who can use any moisture in the surface to their advantage. In addition, New Zealand’s spin game of late has been rather weak. In 12 innings this year, New Zealand have lost 67 of 104 wickets to spin – their most in five years.Add to that the threat posed by the Indian spinners. Ashwin has the most wickets in this WTC cycle – 53 in ten games at 21.18. Jadeja has 35 in nine, Kuldeep has 19 in four while Axar has five in two Tests. A three-spin attack then you’d think would seem a no-brainer.But the prevailing overcast and damp conditions could play a key role in forcing India to work out whether to pack their bowling unit with three seamers or three spinners.There has been consistent rain in Bengaluru over the last week or so and the forecast for the next few days is of rain and plenty of cloud cover. On Monday – two days before the Test – the pitch was under covers for most of the morning because of a consistent drizzle. Around 1.45pm, when the covers were removed, India captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir and Rishabh Pant all had a close look at the surface while also having a lengthy discussion with the pitch curator.The surface looked devoid of much grass, but being under covers and with the overhead conditions expected to be cloudy, there is a chance there could be some early assistance for the fast bowlers come Wednesday.If that is indeed the case, India could well go with Deep, Siraj and Bumrah in the XI. While the Indian spinners have done the bulk of the damage in the WTC cycle, the quicks have not been far behind. Bumrah has 42 wickets in eight Tests in the WTC cycle, 30 of which have come in India at an average of 15.40. The last time Bumrah played a Test in Bengaluru back in 2022, he picked up eight wickets on a turning track.Deep, on the other hand, has played all his three Tests in India and looked excellent while Siraj has 26 wickets in ten WTC Tests in this cycle. Both bowlers also know the M Chinnaswamy surface well having played for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL.If India do end up playing three spinners, there could also be a selection quandary as to which fast bowler to pick – the experienced Siraj or newbie Deep who has looked the part. Even with the spin unit, while Ashwin and Jadeja look set to start, do they play Kuldeep or Axar?Jasprit Bumrah has 42 wickets from eight Tests in the current WTC cycle•BCCI”Look, it [final playing XI] depends on the conditions, depends on the wicket, depends on the opposition as well. And the best part about this dressing room is that we’ve got so many high-quality players in there. We can select any of them and we know they can do the job for us,” Gambhir said when asked about whether the overhead conditions could dictate India’s playing XI.”And that is what is called the depth. We’ll have a look at the wicket tomorrow. Me and Rohit will have a chat and see what is the best combination to do the job at Chinnaswamy Stadium.”There has been only one Test played in Bengaluru in the last five years – a day-night Test in 2022 between India and Sri Lanka which the hosts won inside three days. The news point there was the ICC match referee Javagal Srinath rating that Bengaluru pitch “below average”. Of the 39 wickets in the match, the spinners accounted for 26 of which 16 fell on the first day itself.In a scathing assessment, Srinath, a former India and Karnataka fast bowler and also a former office bearer at the Karnataka State Cricket Association [KSCA], said the pitch “offered a lot of turn on the first day itself and though it improved with every session, in my view, it was not an even contest between bat and ball.”India went with three fast bowlers in the last two Tests that they won against Bangladesh. With rain in the air, and the weather damp and cloudy, they could stick to their guns and go with a similar attack. In any case, with the next two Tests scheduled for Pune and Mumbai, where the pitch is likely to take much more turn, it is likely India will switch back to a three-spin plan. But what would that attack look like?