Strauss handles India attack in warm-up

England captain Andrew Strauss plays a shot on his way to a score of 78 from 98 balls for Somerset on Friday. Photograph: Kieran McManus/BPI

They are used to an England left-hander pummelling the ball to the boundary at Taunton before giving him a standing ovation for a highly entertaining cameo. But on Friday when the maroon helmet was removed to acknowledge the applause there was the urbane visage of Andrew Strauss rather than the more bucolic features of Marcus Trescothick.

It all went rather well for Somerset's latest opener. Strauss struck 16 sweetly-timed boundaries in his 78 from 98 balls; he looked in princely form; he avoided being undermined by the left-armer, Zaheer Khan. In the end he was dismissed by the wrist-spinner Amit Mishra, who is unlikely to play in the first Test.

So Strauss is already in credit in this match even if his debut for Somerset, despite all the pre-match froth, lacked the drama provided by another England opener, Harold Gimblett, who first appeared with his borrowed bat at Frome in 1935.

Strauss stressed before the game that success or failure here would have a modest bearing upon what happens at Lord's next week. He just wanted some time in the middle and a glimpse of the Indian bowlers; this would be far more valuable than another net.

The England captain knows that it will be a bit more taxing at Lord's. For this match there is an old-fashioned Taunton belter of a pitch, the sort, which has batsmen salivating. He was clearly surprised when a little forward defensive scuttled away for two runs. For a county match there is usually more live grass visible. Moreover there were some rusty bowlers in the Indian team. Neither Zaheer nor Sreesanth have been in the Caribbean and were returning from injuries to an ankle and elbow respectively.

Zaheer is India's senior paceman and will presumably play at Lord's but he began very gingerly here, searching for swing at a gentle pace. He found some. When Strauss was on 20 Zaheer propelled a full-length in-swinger, which struck the front pad. An appeal with possibilities was rejected by the umpire Graham Lloyd. Otherwise the faster bowlers offered no alarms for Strauss and only Munaf Patel could keep him quiet.

Strauss was also aggressive against the spin of Mishra, but not flawless. He was dropped by the keeper, Wriddhiman Saha, on 64, but MS Dhoni's replacement could not possibly miss the next chance, which ballooned gently into the air via the inside edge of Strauss's bat and his thigh.His dismissal was the solitary success for the Indians in the first two sessions, during which the clouds gradually rolled in. They looked as if they were treating this match as very gentle practice. They would have liked to have played 14-a-side but that would have been an insult to the 6000 eager spectators, who turned up anxious for a sighting of Strauss or Sachin Tendulkar at the crease. All they saw Tendulkar do was drop a straightforward catch at square leg; Mishra spilled a much tougher caught and bowled chance and had to leave the field. In between the rain, the Indian attack was carted around Taunton with increasing disdain.

Arul Suppiah was unbeaten on 145. He had been content to be a passive ally for Strauss in the morning, looking on admiringly. After lunch he expanded his range of shots beguilingly. At the other end a more permanent Middlesex exile, Nick Compton, made 88 before reverse-sweeping a catch.

Trescothick, meanwhile, has escaped immediate suspension from the England and Wales Cricket Board after attending a disciplinary hearing because of the poor on-field behaviour of his team. He has been given a suspended two-match ban, and his county have been fined ?5,000, and ordered to pay ?500 costs.

View the original article here