Amended playing conditions to take effect

The changes to the playing conditions for different formats of cricket, which include amendments to Powerplays, DRS, no-balls and bouncers among others, will take effect from October 30, when Sri Lanka play New Zealand in a Twenty20 international in Pallekele.

These recommendations were made by the ICC's Cricket Committee in June, and they were endorsed by its Chief Executives Committee later that month.

General changes

DRS (Test and ODIs)
An amendment has been made to the LBW protocols. The margin of uncertainty applicable to the point of impact with the pad has been increased so that it is the same as provided for determining the projected point of impact with the stumps. For example, if the centre of the ball is shown to be impacting in line within an area demarcated by a line drawn down the middle of the outer stumps (and the bottom of the bails), then the decision will always be out.

If the whole of the ball is shown to be impacting outside the line of the stumps, then the decision will always be not out. If there is anything in between, the original on-field decision will stand.

No-balls (All formats)
After every dismissal that is not permitted off a no-ball, and subject to the availability of technology, the third umpire will check for a foot fault and advise the on-field umpire accordingly over a two-way radio.

Dead ball (All formats)
The playing conditions have been altered to include the use of the Spydercam, a camera that moves over the field on suspended cables, by broadcasters. If the ball, while in play, is hit by the batsman onto the camera or its cables, it will be called a dead ball.

Over-rates (All formats)
The allowances given to the fielding team because of time wasting by the batting team will be deducted from the allowances granted to the batting team in the determination of its over-rate.

Changes for Test matches

Day-night Tests
Participating countries can decide whether to play a day-night Test. The two boards will decide on the hours of play - six hours per day - and on the specifics of the ball that will be used.

Intervals
Although the duration of the lunch and tea intervals remain unchanged - 40 and 20 minutes respectively - the host team, with the consent of the other side, can apply to the ICC for an approval for intervals of 30 minutes each.

Changes for ODIs

Powerplays and fielding restrictions
There will be only two blocks of Powerplay overs, instead of three. For uninterrupted innings, the first block will be during the first ten overs and only two fielders will be allowed outside the 30-yard circle. The second block, comprising five overs, will be taken by the batting side and must be completed by the 40th over. Only three fielders will be allowed outside the circle during the second Powerplay.

During non-Powerplay overs, a maximum of four fielders can be placed outside the circle, a reduction from the earlier five.

Short-pitched deliveries
Law 42.6 (a) has been amended to allow the bowler a maximum of two short-pitched deliveries per over in an ODI.

Changes for Twenty20 internationals

One-over per side eliminator
In both innings of the eliminator, the fielding side will choose which end to bowl from. Only nominated players in the main match may participate in the eliminator. Should any player be unable to continue to participate in the eliminator due to injury, illness or other wholly acceptable reasons, the relevant laws and playing conditions as they apply in the main match shall also apply in the eliminator. Any penance time being served in the main match shall be carried forward to the eliminator.

The fielding captain or his nominee shall select the ball with which he wishes to bowl his over in the eliminator from the box of spare balls provided by the umpires. The box will contain the balls used in the main match, but no new balls. The team fielding first in the eliminator shall have first choice of ball. The team fielding second may choose to use the same ball as chosen by the team bowling first. If the ball needs to be changed, then playing conditions as stated for the main match shall apply.

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IPL teams face October 31 player deadline

The IPL franchises have been given an opportunity to reduce their player costs, should they wish to do so, because of a tweak to regulations made by the league's governing council earlier this month. The franchises have been asked to submit a list of players they want to retain for the next season, to be played in April-May 2013, by October 31 while the rest will go into the next auction.

What this effectively means is that a franchise can release a player who was bought at a high price, make sure he is included in the auction pool, and then try and buy him at a lower price.

"It is possible for a team or teams to rectify a player's price. For instance, Saurabh Tiwary was bought by the [Royal Challengers] Bangalore at $1.6 million, way higher than the estimated price for the batsman," an IPL official told ESPNcricinfo. "If they wish, they can cut ties with him and again buy him at the auction at a cheaper rate."

Such an approach, however, is fraught with risk. "No team would like to disturb its core group for reducing the player's fees, so I doubt if any team would actually take the risk of putting a key player into the auction pool," another IPL team executive said. "If Irfan Pathan, bought at $1.9 million by Delhi Daredevils, goes into the auction pool for a correction and if two and three teams are looking for an allrounder at the auction, then there is every likelihood that the player will be sold for almost the same amount and Delhi may lose him eventually."

With less than two days to go for the deadline to submit the player list to the IPL authorities, the teams seemed to prefer to keep most of their leading players. Officials of three franchises confirmed they "won't fiddle around with most of our overseas players". And those officials also confirmed they "will release a few of the domestic players".

"After all, we cannot ignore the trading window that will precede the auction," an official said. "If we need to have a re-look at the core group of our squad, we can do so even during the trading window. But some of the lesser exposed and lesser skilled domestic players will turn out to be free agents in two days."

Another factor the franchises are dealing with ahead of the October 31 deadline is finalising whether their veteran players can last another season. Sourav Ganguly's decision not to feature in the next IPL is a result of the same. However, two other veterans, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, are set to play at least one more IPL season. Neither Rajasthan Royals nor Mumbai Indians intend to part ways with them.

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A chance for Milne and Latham to grow

In his second over in international cricket, Adam Milne clocked 151 kilometres an hour. At eighteen, he had perhaps brewed more hype at home than even Daniel Vettori had enjoyed when he first arrived in international cricket as a teenager. Slim and long, almost pencil-like, with a willowy run-up and a wind up and release that was nearly liquid, it was not difficult to see what all the excitement was about. As countless fast bowling coaches have said, you can teach swing and seam, but you can't teach pace.

Tom Latham debuted just over a year later, and he too had already been earmarked, at 19. He didn't have a mountain of domestic runs behind him, as Kane Williamson did at a similar age, but he did have a startling range of strokes and the power to make them count. In his second ODI, he proved he was as adept at the shuffle-and-paddle past fine leg off the medium pace bowlers, as he was at the bludgeoned slog sweep off the spinners.

Now both men are 20, and are being invested in. Captain Ross Taylor has hinted Milne will be unleashed at Pallekele in the Twenty20 on Tuesday. He only bowled one over in the World Twenty20, but with the stakes much lower in a bilateral series, New Zealand can afford to blood their tearaway, particularly on a track as fast and bouncy as can be found on the subcontinent. Martin Guptill, meanwhile, sits out the limited overs leg so that Latham can assume his favoured role of facing the new ball - a luxury he has not had so far in his international career.

"We're trying to give everyone a go in the next three matches, but that depends on a couple of things," Taylor said on the eve of the tour opener. "Tom Latham will be given the job of opening the innings. Being a left hander, he gives us that flexibility and change up the top."

Despite an encouraging first series against Zimbabwe, Latham's talent has only been visible in brief glimpses since. Against West Indies in July, he was uncharacteristically circumspect, striking at less than 50 and scoring poorly as a result. Perhaps beginning his innings against good quality spin hindered him. Openers, it is said, are a breed apart, and at his age, the lower middle order must have seemed alien. He has not yet acquired the versatility to suddenly become a finisher. Latham will not have the same excuse in Sri Lanka, though. With the hosts also blooding a new fast bowler in Shaminda Eranga, who will likely take the new ball in the first Twenty20, Latham can compete on more even terms.

"He has had a lot of success at the top of the innings as well, through age group cricket," Taylor said. "A lot of new players come in to the middle order where it can be a little tough to manipulate the field. If Tom opens, the field will be in and the ball will be hard and it gives him the opportunity to hit through the line and hit over the top."

Milne's returns have also been disappointing, despite his promise. His cheapest spell from four Twenty20s is no wicket for 46 from four overs. Too often he bowls too short, and at his pace, even the mishits barrel to the fence or sail over it. There are good balls amid the tripe, but even at 150 kph, Milne's present inconsistency is unacceptable at international level.

He couldn't ask for a better mentor than New Zealand's last true fast bowler. If it was not obvious that Shane Bond's pace was allied with considerable fast-bowling acumen during his career, he has surely made his brilliance clear during insightful stints in the commentary box. Bond knew that pace and intimidation alone would not bother top-level batsmen, and developed one of the best inswingers in the game. Milne has been introduced to international cricket much earlier than Bond was, but if he doesn't mature as quickly as he has risen through the system, he risks squandering his potential.

There is some elusive ingredient missing currently missing from New Zealand's set up. The talent is there, and now with Bond on board, they also seem to have a capable team of coaches. But there has not been a spark to set off that concoction, no catalyst to spur them out of mediocrity. For all their promise, Latham and Milne have played like boys so far. If they devote themselves to learning their craft and take the chances being afforded them, perhaps they can grow into the men that bring New Zealand out of the darkness.

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Cummins left out of Sheffield Shield match

Pat Cummins has been left out of the New South Wales side for their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland, to start at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Friday. However, there is a chance that Cummins, 19, could be included as a substitute player for the last day of the match on Monday, with several of the New South Wales players due to join Australia's Test squad.

If the Blues were bowling on the final day of the match, that would allow Cummins to ease his way back into red-ball cricket after spending the past two months playing Twenty20 cricket with Australia and the Sydney Sixers. Cummins, who has not played a first-class match for nearly a year, is expected to be considered for the third Test against South Africa in Perth, but only if his body and form holds up through Shield cricket in the meantime.

New South Wales have named a squad featuring four members of Australia's Test squad - Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, David Warner and Mitchell Starc - and only two players who have not played for or toured with the Australians. Brad Haddin will keep the wicketkeeping gloves ahead of Peter Nevill, who has been named as a specialist batsman.

The Blues will be without Moises Henriques and Steven Smith, who will instead be part of the Australia A team to play South Africa in Sydney.

New South Wales squad David Warner, Shane Watson, Scott Henry, Nic Maddinson, Michael Clarke (capt), Peter Nevill, Brad Haddin (wk), Steve O'Keefe, Mitchell Starc, Trent Copeland, Josh Hazlewood, Doug Bollinger.

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Rowe anguish fires World Cup push

England Women endured the anguish of a defeat in the final of the Women's World T20 to Australia but for Susie Rowe, her frustration was multiplied by having to watch the tournament from her home in Kent.

Rowe, a lower-order batsman, had been a feature of the England T20 side that won 29 out of 32 completed matches since her debut against Sri Lanka in November 2010. She made 20 appearances before breaking a thumb in the second of a five-match T20 series against West Indies, which England won 4-1. The injury at Old Trafford ruled her out of the Women's World T20.

"I've never felt anything quite like it really," she told BBC Radio Kent. "The moment I had that X-ray and put into terms what that actually meant, missing the World T20, there's no way I can describe that feeling."

England fared well in Rowe's absence, comfortably winning four matches en route to the final. But they failed to regain the title they won in 2009, losing to Australia by four runs.

"It was very painful to not be there," Rowe said, having been forced to become an armchair supporter. "Seeing them on TV when I wasn't there was a bit strange to get my head around. I think my niece heard a few swear words. I was getting quite into it."

Rowe will now turn her attentions to the longer format of the game, targeting a place in the squad for the Women's World Cup in India in February next year. She has something to prove having only made one ODI appearance. "My forte is more Twenty20," she conceded. "The 50-over format has no guarantees for me. I'll be looking to get into that final 15 for the World Cup. I need to work hard and put in good performances in training."

England will travel to India as defending champions, having won the 2009 World Cup with a four-wicket win over Australia. Rowe is keen to quickly regain her fitness and begin pressing a claim for more caps in the 50-over side. "To be honest, they know generally who they want to take," Rowe said. "I'm going to do everything that I can to try and put my case forward."

She began by entering the Great South Run. "I'm literally twiddling my thumbs at the moment for rehab. I hope to be training properly in a couple of weeks once I get my thumb fully strong and mobile. I've started batting already but I feel like a village cricketer at the moment."

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Title win was no fluke - Haddin

Brad Haddin, the victorious Sydney Sixers captain, has said his side's comprehensive ten-wicket-win in the Champions League final was no fluke, and that they had been preparing for the big game for over two weeks. The Sixers restricted the home side Lions to a below-par 121 on a Wanderers pitch expected to favour the batsmen, and needed just 12.3 overs to chase the target.

The Sixers, winners of the Big Bash League in Australia, were the only team to remain unbeaten throughout the tournament. They began with a 14-run win in a high-scorer against Chennai Super Kings and won their next three matches convincingly until they were stretched to the final ball in the semi-final against the Titans.

"We've been building for this the last two weeks. If you look at the start of the tournament we were very nervous," Haddin said. "We had a lot of nervous energy in the first game and the semi-final, but leading into today's game we were quite relaxed. I'm just glad it came on the big stage. We've worked hard and the performance tonight wasn't a fluke."

The Sixers had one of the strongest seam-bowling attacks in the competition, comprising Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. However, Haddin chose to open with his spinners, Nathan McCullum and Steve O'Keefe, and the change in strategy worked in the Sixers' favour as the Lions top order suffered a meltdown. The hosts were reeling at 9 for 4 and despite a fighting innings by Jean Symes, the Lions couldn't post a challenging total.

Haddin said giving the second over to the left-arm spinner O'Keefe was a spontaneous decision.

"I made the decision to give O'Keefe the second over after the fourth ball of the first, but I was always going to open with McCullum," Haddin said. "They would have been looking at our fast bowlers leading to this game and I don't think their two openers would have been thinking too much about our spinners. Tonight it paid off. I think the Lions were quite surprised we did that. They (spinners) allowed our quicks, the best bowlers, to bowl the last ten overs.

Haddin said the win was a result of contributions from several players. "I said to our guys at the start of the game that there's going to be some big moments and if we did the simple things right then they will crack before us, and they did. We did very well in the BBL with our fielding, it won us a lot of games or put us in good positions," Haddin said.

"We built a lot of pressure, we were able to get wickets early, which in Twenty20 is a big bonus. In the first over, Nathan was hit for a six but came back and took a wicket."

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'Our worst game' - Petersen

There is a lot to be said for an honest assessment of a bad performance, and Lions' captain Alviro Petersen managed to say it all. With a straight face, he summed up their showing in the final as nothing short of what it was: abjectly poor.

"We just played some terrible cricket. We kept our worst game for last," Petersen said, without flinching as he handed down a damning judgment. "We're going to have to forget this final quickly and move on because there is nothing we can take out of it. I spoke about us running at 75% in the group stage and in the semi-final we got up to 85%. Today, we were at about 50%."

After two weeks of surprising everyone, including three of the four IPL teams and themselves, the Lions just couldn't manage it one more time. Their batting, which threatened to fall apart, did and the bowlers could do nothing but the necessary to hand Sydney a comprehensive win.

On the face of it, it would seem the big stage was a platform too big for the Lions. At 9 for 4, something more than just a better team had taken hold of them but Petersen could not pinpoint what. "I don't know if it was the occasion," he said. But Brad Haddin said the Lions were "surprised," by Sydney's tactics of using two spinners to open and had probably been focusing so much on the quicks that they forgot about the rest of the attack.

What that did was allow Sydney to keep their best bowlers for the latter parts of the innings, where the Lions have been strong in this competition. This time, too, they showed glimpses of that when Jean Symes led the fightback. "At one stage, it looked like we could get to 140 and then we could have competed," Petersen said, admitting that the eventual 121 was not enough.

Despite Sydney's success with spin, Petersen did not think the Lions could have tried the same thing, because of the change in conditions after dark. "When the sun was out, the ball just gripped a bit for the spinners but then in the evening it just skidded on," he said. "We knew that we had to do something [with the ball early on] and it would be our seamers who had to it. They bowled nicely in the first few overs but then…"

But then there were two catches dropped in the field and Sydney were given a free pass. Petersen was particularly irritated with those lapses. "Up until today, I think we had only dropped one catch in the tournament when we put Kevin Pietersen down and then we doubled our count with that today," he said.

He was annoyed that the Lions had undone the hard work of a good run to the final but not angry with his men for their failures. "I can't be [angry] because at the start of this tournament if someone said we would play in the final, I would have told them we are smelling their socks," he said. "We're obviously disappointed to go out like this."

Despite the heartache of losing, Petersen was able to identify many positives for the Lions. "We played good cricket up until today. Different guys stood up at different times," he said. "Now we've got to try and build for the future. Guys like Dwaine Pretorius and Quinton de Kock got that experience and even though we had two experienced bowlers, the rest learnt a lot from them. I'm really pleased with the way someone like Chris Morris came on."

He also thought some of the Lions' lesser-knowns took their opportunity to make names for themselves which will stand them in good stead for coming seasons. "Jean Symes and Aaron Phangiso have been good performers and in a big tournament like this, if players do well, they tend to stand out."

With those thoughts, rather than the defeat on their minds, Petersen hopes the Lions can make the turnaround quickly. They play their first match of the domestic one-day competition next Friday and Petersen and Thami Tsolekile leave the camp to join the national squad in Australia.

Petersen said he would have liked to have spent more time with them following such a shocking loss, but won't be able to. "It's difficult to leave now because there are a lot of young players who will be hurt but national duty always comes first. The guys will have to find a way of picking themselves up for the one-day cup," he said, leaving them with words of encouragement.

"The expectation on us for the other events will be higher now because we know what we are capable of. There are big things for us waiting around the corner."

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Wade in Test squad, Haddin misses out

Matthew Wade has been confirmed as Australia's first-choice Test wicketkeeper but Brad Haddin remains a "player of significant interest", according to the national selector John Inverarity. Wade was named in a 12-man squad to take on South Africa in the first Test, starting at the Gabba on November 9, and there were no surprises in the group, with Mitchell Starc included and Pat Cummins, who has not played first-class cricket for nearly a year, left out.

The selectors chose four fast men - Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Pattinson and Starc - along with the offspinner Nathan Lyon, and the main question in the lead-up to the Test will surround the final make-up of the attack. There were no changes to the top six with the opener Ed Cowan given a chance to make the position his own, after beginning his Test career with encouraging but not outstanding performances against India and West Indies over the past year.

The major decision for Inverarity and his panel was whether to give the gloves to Wade, 24, who was wicketkeeper for the tour of the West Indies in April, or return to the veteran Haddin, 35. Inverarity said both men had made compelling cases for inclusion and while Wade had won his place for the Gabba Test, Haddin, who still holds a Cricket Australia contract, remained in the frame for future international selection.

"Matthew came into the Australian ODI team in February and has since acquitted himself especially well," Inverarity said. "Matthew and Brad both went to the West Indies; Matthew as our preferred ODI and T20 player and Brad as our incumbent and preferred Test match keeper. As is widely known Brad returned to Australia early in the tour due to family circumstances and as a consequence Matthew was our Test keeper for the three Test matches.

"He kept and batted very well and made a match-defining brilliant century in the second innings of the third and final Test against West Indies. Since then he has played and gained valuable experience in England, the UAE and Sri Lanka. As a young player, getting better by the month, he is thoroughly deserving of his retention. While Matthew has been retained as the Test keeper, Brad remains a player of significant interest."

The selectors decided against including Cummins, 19, who is likely to be available for the third Test in Perth after playing Sheffield Shield matches for New South Wales over the next few weeks. Injuries and short-form commitments have meant Cummins has not played a first-class match since his Test debut in Johannesburg last November, and with Siddle and Pattinson fit again after missing Australia's most recent Tests in the Caribbean, the selectors decided there was no reason to rush Cummins.

"The last Test match that Australia played, the third Test in the West Indies last April, included Ryan Harris," Inverarity said. "Ryan is continuing his rehabilitation from injury and is unavailable. Peter Siddle and James Pattinson have recovered especially well from the injuries that rendered them unavailable for that last Test in West Indies. In fact, they have been enjoying an ideal preparation for the first Test in Brisbane having played in three Sheffield Shield games with another one to come later this week."

The squad will assemble in Brisbane on Monday and will have three days of training ahead of the first Test. The second Test begins in Adelaide on November 22 and the third Test starts in Perth on November 30.

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Swann cautious ahead of India return

Graeme Swann will travel to India on the verge of becoming England's most successful offspinner in Test cricket but he has cautioned against expectations that his bowling will be the decisive factor in the tourists' attempts to win the series.

Since taking two wickets in his first over of Test cricket in Chennai four years ago, Swann has added a further 190 to the tally to leave him within one wicket of Jim Laker's mark of 193. Although Swann has taken 39 wickets in 2012, his ten victims during the English summer came at an average of 59 and he was dropped for the first time in more than three years when England opted, unsuccessfully, to play four fast bowlers against South Africa at Headingley.

A chronic elbow injury, which has required periods of rest to ameliorate the pain of floating bone fragments near to the nerve, has also dogged Swann. He acknowledges that the expectations of Indian pitches will add to his burden, as England seek to improve on a record that has seen them win just one Test match in the country since 1985, but can take confidence from an impressive record in Asia, which includes taking his second ten-wicket haul in Tests against Sri Lanka earlier this year.

"As a spinner it stands to reason that when you go to the subcontinent people are going to look to you and how you bowl," Swann told the Independent before heading off for England's training camp in Dubai. "But if we do turn up just expecting the spinner to win the series for us then we're screwed.

"The key to Test cricket is that the more you play the more confident you get and the more confident you get ergo you bowl more consistently. Having looked at the schedule I know two of the pitches might turn, in Kolkata and Mumbai. I am not sure about the other two. I have been reliably informed that Nagpur is the flattest wicket ever devised by groundsmen but that was by Cooky, who got a hundred there on his debut."

Alastair Cook, now elevated to the position of England captain, shares with Swann the experience of an impressive debut in India. But Swann was also swift to recall the result of the first Test in 2008, when Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten hundred helped India to reach a fourth-innings target of 387 with six wickets in hand.

"It all started for me there and I can't quite believe it has come round again so quickly," Swann said. "It all seems like a dream when I think about the start of it. I remember the smells that were wafting over the ground when I took the ball. It's all very romantic when I think back.

"The rose-tinted glasses are removed of course because of the fact that we had 360-odd chased down at a canter by Mr Tendulkar. But it's got fond memories for me personally because I did well. To realise that you can compete at a level that you have always had a sneaking suspicion that you weren't good enough for is one of the greatest weights ever to be lifted off your shoulders. I will be indebted to those first two Test matches for making me realise it was just another game of cricket."

Swann will return to India have long since usurped Monty Panesar as England's No. 1 spinner and, despite the protestations to the contrary, his form with the ball will almost certainly be as important to the team as the return of Kevin Pietersen to the fold. The summer rupture between members of the England squad and Pietersen was compounded by a painful series defeat to South Africa, and the loss of the No. 1 ranking, but Cook in his new role has been instrumental in seeking a fresh start.

It was during Pietersen's brief spell as England captain that Swann came into the side and he was among the players Pietersen met with during his "reintegration" process. Swann expressed relief that the situation had been resolved and, after becoming a father for the second time only a week ago, he was perhaps understandably looking forward to focusing on more important issues.

"More than anything it is a good thing it is done and dusted," said Swann. "A line has been drawn under it and the actual cricket can go back to doing the talking rather than off-field antics. I am sure it can get back to how it was. I think a lot depended on Kevin. He seems in a place now where he is happy to play again, he has committed himself to the team and that's good moving forward.

"I think that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet now. I think there has been a bit of honesty and a bit of contriteness from certain parties. I think everybody is fed up with it and that's why we just want to play cricket."

After almost a month off post-World Twenty20, England will begin playing cricket again on Tuesday, with a three-day game against India A. That will be followed by two more warm-up matches, before the first of four Tests begins in Ahmedabad on November 15.

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Turning tracks for England Tests not unfair - Kohli

In wake of the criticism leveled at India over the absence of spinners in the A-team squad that will play England in a warm-up game, batsman Virat Kohli has said there would be nothing unfair with making England play on spinner-friendly pitches in the Tests. On India's tour to England and Australia last year, he said, the conditions during the warm-up games and those in the Test matches were vastly different, which was not 'fair' to India.

"Why not [turning pitches]? We were given flattest of tracks during practice matches in England and Australia and then suddenly presented with a green-top during the Tests," Kohli told PTI. "During practice matches, we would face those 120kmph bowlers … If they [England and Australia] wanted to be fair to us, they could have provided us with same kind of tracks for practice matches, like what were used in Tests.

"Especially, when they knew that visiting teams get very less time to practice. Now they would be playing on turning tracks and definitely would know where they stand."

The tour of India marks the return of Kevin Pietersen to the England side, after a 10-week stand-off with the team. Kohli said he will be under a lot of pressure to perform, especially taking into account England's traditional struggles against spin.

"There will be huge pressure on KP as he has been playing in India for quite some time and considered to be a good batsman against spin.

"You may say that the senior England cricketers have an understanding of these conditions but let me tell you, it's not that easy. You might feel they would like to hit spinners but end up doing exactly opposite."

He pointed to England's tour of the UAE, where they were whitewashed 3-0 by Pakistan in the Tests, as an example of England's continuing issues with spin. "That particular series, there wasn't much turn on offer but England couldn't negotiate one quality spinner [Saeed Ajmal]; they lost the battle in their heads."

Kohli also defended his team-mates, saying the talk about them being poor against short-pitched bowling did not make sense. "I have never really understood this theory. Are people like Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag poor players of short-pitched bowling? Show me how many Indian players were out to short-pitched deliveries in Australia?

"No batsman in world cricket is comfortable against a good bouncer. If you get a good bouncer, give credit to the bowler rather than finding chinks in batsman's armoury."

Similarly, he backed MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher, saying any criticism directed at them for India's recent poor overseas form was unfounded. "Under him [Dhoni], we have won the World Cup, been No. 1 in Tests ... He has also encouraged the juniors."

"Duncan is also a thorough professional. He would quietly stand in one corner and observe. If he needs to say something, he would come up and give a suggestion. He believes international cricketers know their jobs. If we have lost eight Test matches, blame us and not the coach."

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