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Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor believes his team could spring a few surprises on Bangladesh in the one-off Test which starts on Thursday, and also suggested that conditions in Harare would suit the Zimbabweans.”It is great that we are coming back to play Tests and as we go into our first match the good thing is that our opponents don’t quite know what to expect from us and we have a few surprises for them,” said Taylor.Zimbabwe have played 33 ODIs against Bangladesh since their Test suspension – including 14 in 2009 alone – with Bangladesh having dominated those games, winning 24 of them. Mohammad Ashraful is the only member of Bangladesh’s squad to have played a Test against Zimbabwe, however, a situation Taylor is hoping work out in his team’s favour.”They have been playing over the years and they have always been improving, so have we behind the scenes,” he said. “They know an awful lot about us in the one-day format of the game but they may not have the information they would have wanted as far as Test cricket is concerned, and we are looking to make good use of that.”Despite Bangladesh’s supremacy over Zimbabwe in recent times, Taylor insisted there was little to separate the teams going into the Test, saying: “We will take each session as it comes and play positively with a winning mindset. We know they will be up for it and so will we and we are confident that if we play our best cricket this is a winnable match.”They are a strong side especially when they are playing at home, but we are at home where we will make sure we put our conditions to good use. We should just make sure they are not as comfortable as they would want to be. We have a plan and if we stick to it we should win.”Zimbabwe will also be bolstered by the return of wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, one of their most experienced players and one of only two current Zimbabwe cricketers to have recorded a Test century. Taibu has not quite fully recovered from the thumb injury that kept him out of cricket since the World Cup earlier this year, but said he was fit enough to play in both the Test and the limited-overs series that follows.”It’s not fully healed but it is comfortable enough for me to play in the Test match and the ODIs as well,” said Taibu. “It is a very important match and we will need all the resources we can get.”

Virender Sehwag, who is yet to fully recover after undergoing surgery on his shoulder, has made it to 17-man India squad for the Test series in England, but will miss the first two weeks of the tour to give him time to recuperate further.Sachin Tendulkar returned to the squad after skipping the West Indies tour to rest, while Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth made comebacks from injury breaks. Yuvraj Singh, who missed the West Indies tour with a chest infection, also forced his way back into the Test plans following his excellent performance in the World Cup. M Vijay and Virat Kohli, who have so far failed to impress in the West Indies Tests, were dropped, while Suresh Raina’s strong show in the same series helped him retain his place.Abhinav Mukund, who made a dogged 48 in Barbados on Friday, will travel to England as the reserve opener. Wriddhiman Saha was included as the back-up wicketkeeper, edging out Parthiv Patel. Cheteshwar Pujara is yet to recover from the knee injury he picked up in the IPL, and misses out once again.Munaf Patel made the squad despite missing the first two West Indies Tests with fitness issues. Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar, who have been among the wickets in the Caribbean, round off the pace attack, while Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra make up the spin department.The tour begins with a three-day warm-up match on July 15, with the first Test starting on July 21 at Lord’s.The squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Gautam Gambhir (vice-capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Abhinav Mukund, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar

Dilhara Fernando, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, has been ruled out of the limited-overs series against England due to an injury he sustained during the third Test at the Rose Bowl. Fernando, who played two Tests on the tour and will be returning to Sri Lanka, has been replaced by seamer Dhammika Prasad.Prasad, 28, last played an international game in November last year and hasn’t played an ODI since August 2009. He’s been on the fringes of the national side since he made his debut in February 2006, but will now be part of a pace attack that also includes Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Angelo Matthews and Thissara Perera. The limited-overs’ games include a Twenty20 international, starting on June 25, followed by five ODIs.

Match facts

Saturday, May 7, Mumbai
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Can Virender Sehwag do it once again for Delhi?•AFP

Big picture

Virender Sehwag has made 422 runs at a strike-rate of 178.81, the most in this IPL. Sachin Tendulkar is next, with 351 at 113.59. While Tendulkar might well reclaim the orange cap from Sehwag, the gaping difference between the strike-rates also reveals the gulf between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils. It has taken three outstanding performances from Sehwag to power his struggling side to three of their four wins. Tendulkar’s solidity has been enough for Mumbai’s strong bowling attack to defend par scores. Sehwag has had to be spectacular to make up for a misfiring batting line-up as well as a bowling unit lacking firepower.The three most successful Mumbai bowlers have taken 42 wickets at 6.07 runs per over; Delhi’s top three have 24 at 7.64. Mumbai must be one of the few Twenty20 sides whose batting serves the principal purpose of providing just enough cushion to their bowlers. What some may call a cautious approach has brought them seven wins in nine games, while even a furious churning of the playing XI hasn’t worked for Delhi.The two teams began their season facing each other at Feroz Shah Kotla, where Delhi ran in to Lasith Malinga who shot them out for 95. Their fortunes have followed the pattern of that game, and unless Sehwag can continue to fight adversity with another blinder, tomorrow could see Mumbai extend their stay at the top of the points table.

Form guide (most recent first)

Mumbai Indians: WWLWW (first in points table)
Delhi Daredevils: WLWLL (seventh in points table)

Team talk

Delhi surprisingly left out David Warner for Aaron Finch against Deccan Chargers and he should return tomorrow. They could also consider playing S Nadeem or Roelof van der Merwe as spinning options to add some variety. Apart from that, there should not be too many changes to the XI that played against Deccan.Mumbai’s problem is about dealing with too much of a good thing. Tendulkar and Ambati Rayudu have been so efficient, and Rohit Sharma so effective when required, that the others have hardly been needed. The only time they were, against Rajasthan Royals on a difficult Jaipur surface, they managed 94. That, and the fact that the top order, especially Tendulkar, has preferred accumulation to acceleration, seem to be the only niggles for Mumbai.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Morne Morkel may have not had the impact of a Malinga, but he has been Delhi’s best bowler by quite a distance. The Wankhede Stadium pitch usually offers bounce, and Morkel with his natural short of a good length should enjoy it. Delhi’s chances will depend on how quickly they can get through to the Mumbai middle order, and Morkel will be crucial for that to happen.Munaf Patel has taken as many wickets as Harbhajan Singh, at a slightly better economy-rate. His role as second seamer behind Malinga has gone unnoticed, and as always, Munaf has gone about his job quietly. He has performed both roles admirably, taking wickets when needed as well as keeping batsmen in check. Expect more of the same tomorrow.

Prime numbers

• Lasith Malinga’s strike-rate and average in this IPL are both under ten, and his economy rate is below six
• Mumbai and Delhi are among the four IPL teams who have an overall scoring rate exceeding eight an over

The chatter

“If we go too hard, we can get out for 95 also. We have to decide based on the track.”

ScorecardNeil Dexter took three wickets as Middlesex consigned Surrey to the bottom of the second division with victory by an innings and 42 runs at Lord’s.It marks an improvement on last year for Surrey, but not by much. The last time the London rivals met here in the Championship, Surrey went down by an innings and 44. Middlesex now stand top of the second division after winning each of their first three games. Given that they won just four in the entire season last year, their start this time round represents a remarkable revival.The result was set up on the second day when Surrey lost 12 wickets but Dexter, the Middlesex captain and Man of the Match, can point to his first-day hundred which hauled his side out of early trouble as a key contribution. He was in the thick of the action again on the final day – taking 3 for 46 – as his team sealed the result with a day and half to spare.One of Dexter’s victims was Steve Davies, whose 94 was a lone hand in Surrey’s line-up. Though never quite giving an air of permanence, Davies’ classy off-side timing brought him his highest score of the season so far.When the day began much of the focus was on Steven Finn but instead it was another sky-scraper seamer – Toby Roland-Jones – who did much of the damage, finishing with 4 for 38 which included his 50th first-class scalp in his 11th game.Though not yet as quick as Finn he offered more control and got the first wicket of the day when Gary Wilson, who had resisted for the best part of an hour, hacked at a wide delivery to be caught behind for 18. Two overs later Rory Hamilton-Brown prodded limply at a length ball to collect the third of four ducks in the Surrey innings.Tom Maynard played so well the day before that he can be forgiven for falling early in a lost cause, but the soft manner of dismissal will irk Surrey fans. Dexter had positioned two short catchers at cover and Maynard duly punched a drive straight to one of them a ball later.All the while Davies merrily drove and cut sweetly towards a century but he was running out of partners as Gareth Batty and Chris Jordan fell. In the end it was Dexter who denied him though as a wide drive-me invitation was inside-edged onto the stumps. Roland-Jones finished off the job, snaring Yasir Arafar and Jade Dernbach, who ended with a pair, in three balls.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outPaul Valthaty’s 4 for 29 were the best figures for a Kings XI Punjab bowler•AFP

Don’t shake Paul Valthaty’s hand any time soon. You might just turn to gold. He followed up his century in Kings XI Punjab’s previous game by surprising everybody with his split-finger slower balls, in the Dilhara Fernando mould, taking 4 for 29, the best figures by any Punjab bowler, and then – with a 47-ball 75 – made a mockery of a target he had himself kept down to 165.The turnaround for Punjab began with a good piece of fielding, and then a fortuitous lob off what should have been a leg-side wide. Until then Kumar Sangakkara and Shikhar Dhawan had put up a fine display of driving in a 75-run second-wicket stand, Deccan’s best for any wicket this season, but both fell within three runs to send the hosts into rebuild mode for the best part of the second half of their innings.Deccan Chargers had reached 88 for 1 in the 11th over, and the set batsmen were just looking to open up further when a diving Shaun Marsh at extra cover made sure Sangakkara stayed on strike. Sangakkara slog-swept the next ball to deep midwicket where Ryan McLaren took a good, low catch. In the next over, Valthaty’s slower ball went wrong, and was going way down the leg side until Dhawan decided to try and clear short fine leg. Instead, the ball landed in the fielder’s lap. Two starts had been wasted, Deccan had to become circumspect.Valthaty’s next over featured two similar slower balls. Bharat Chipli escaped long-off off the first, but the other was picked up near long-on. Daniel Christian’s 30 off 14 threatened a major assault towards the end, but Valthaty once again pulled Deccan back with two wickets in two balls: Christian was bowled attempting a slog, and Amit Mishra then missed a scoop over the keeper’s head and was trapped lbw.Valthaty didn’t get a chance to finish a hat-trick: the wickets came off the last two deliveries of the 19th over. However, he would get a chance to make the match his own when opening the innings. And how he owned the game. Carrying the confidence that he could do no wrong, Valthaty upper-cut and flicked Dale Steyn, then cut Ishant Sharma for a six, and took Manpreet Gony apart with some merciless hitting in the fifth over, which went for 23 runs.In that one over, Valthaty did everything to suggest that as a batsman there is nothing he cannot do. He judged a shortish delivery early, and pulled. He lofted a delivery of similar length over mid-off. He danced down the track to hit a six over long-off. He drove wide of the fielder once long-off went back. He drove a near-yorker past point for four. Adam Gilchrist, one of the cleanest hitters the game has seen, was a mere admirer. At 59 for 0 after five, the game was all but over.Gilchrist wasn’t to be left behind, though. Soon he was hitting Gony for one of the longest sixes of the tournament so far; soon he was pipping Valthaty to the fifty, bringing it up in 30 balls. Valthaty was 46 off 29 then. More clean hitting followed. Valthaty brought up his fifty with a six over long-off, and then hit another to overtake his captain. Gilchrist finally fell for 61, walking back to a hearty applause for his former home crowd, but Valthaty stayed back, and became the joint-highest run-getter this season, before finally getting out after having scored 195 runs between dismissals.

The BCCI has said it is taking all the necessary steps, including coordinating with the government, to secure the World Cup matches in India following a reported alert issued by the country’s Intelligence Bureau of possible terror attacks.”We are in touch with the home ministry,” Rajiv Shukla, the chairman of the Indian board’s media wing, was quoted as saying in the . “We are taking all the required precautions. The local administration and state government are making all the necessary security arrangements for the players, officials and spectators.”The Indian news channel said it had accessed a letter, dated March 2, issued by Intelligence Director to the chief policemen and security heads of India’s coastal states that warned of a “near term attack”.India is co-hosting the 2011 World Cup with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and the final will be held in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on April 2.

Michael Hussey’s hopes of winning a surprise recall to the World Cup squad have been boosted with the news that Australia’s selectors have delayed naming a replacement for the injured fast man Doug Bollinger. The selectors had been expected to rush a bowler to Colombo in time for Australia’s next match, against Sri Lanka on Saturday, but they have decided not to hurry their decision.A key factor in their hesitation is likely to have been Hussey’s expected return to elite cricket after recovering from a serious hamstring injury. He is set to play for Western Australia against Queensland in a Sheffield Shield match that starts at the WACA on Thursday, and if he gets through the match without any trouble he could be on a plane to the World Cup.That would leave the squad short of a bowling option, but the allrounder John Hastings is already in reserve and can step in if required. Bollinger did not play after the opening warm-up game and with Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson handling the pace duties, he would have found it difficult forcing his way into the starting XI in any case.”It is obviously disappointing to lose Doug Bollinger from the World Cup squad through injury, however, we have decided to delay the naming of a replacement for him until later in the tournament,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “Currently all our fast bowlers are fit and we have John Hastings in the squad ready to play if an opportunity presents itself.”We also have cover in the event of an injury to Brad Haddin [Tim Paine] or any one of the batsmen [Callum Ferguson] so there is seen to be no rush in making the decision. The national selection panel will make a decision as we approach the later stages of the tournament so we can select a replacement player who in our view will give us the best chance of success in the World Cup.”That last line is a strong hint that Hussey, who is the fourth-ranked ODI batsman in the world, will be in the frame. In the meantime, the Australians are relying on Cameron White as the experienced man in the lower middle order, and White knows that he will need to step up against Sri Lanka after beginning the tournament with scores of 22 and 22 not out.White has not made a half-century in his past 11 ODI innings, and he enjoyed having some time in the middle against New Zealand in Nagpur, where he was under little pressure as the Australians completed a low chase. The big shots for which he is renowned have not been on display so far, and White knows that he needs to lift in the absence of Hussey.”I felt okay [against New Zealand],” White said in Colombo. “I’ve been feeling pretty good at the crease for a while, just not converting any starts really. Hopefully I’ve started something in this tournament. The middle overs are going to be where it’s most difficult. Starting is the hard part.”By the time Saturday’s game against Sri Lanka arrives, the Australians will have had a seven-day break between matches, but they are enjoying some downtime for the time being. They’ll be even happier if they see Hussey make big runs for Western Australia later in the week.

India find themselves caught in an ODI series that is neither here nor there. This is no preparation for the World Cup by any stretch of the imagination, for the surfaces, the overhead conditions, the pressure, will be completely different in February and March in India. Still, everything is going to be looked at with an eye on the World Cup. If, for example, one of the younger ODI specialist batsmen struggles against the bouncing ball, the team is not likely to fret too much. The conditions, it will be said, will be different in the subcontinent.The series is not even a chance for the final 11 or 12 players who will be expected to feature in the World Cup to play together; Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Praveen Kumar are already back in India, nursing injuries. Also, winning is looking difficult, especially if even one of the bowlers has an off day, as Ashish Nehra did in the first ODI, in Durban. That leaves the batsmen with a lot to do, and the younger lot is not going to find it easy on bouncy pitches against an attack featuring Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.The Wanderers game on Saturday will be India’s last before the final World Cup squad is announced, which should get rid of any distraction there might be because of the ICC tournament. MS Dhoni, though, wants his side to forget the tournament even before that, saying the second ODI would not have any bearing on who gets picked for the World Cup. “I don’t think it is just one performance that will matter,” he said. “The guys who have worked hard throughout the year, and have delivered in the last one to one-and-a-half years will get a chance. It will be wrong if you try to select the team on the basis of one performance. We will try to select the best XI [in South Africa].”That seems to be the best way to go: let the selectors do their job in India, let us do our job of trying our best to win the series here. To do that, India will have to quickly adjust to the conditions here in South Africa. If Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh don’t do well, the middle order looks inexperienced despite the number of matches they have played between them.Dhoni called for better shot selection, but not at the expense of scoring runs at a good pace. “Being selective is important, but positive intent is too because you can’t look to [just] survive. There will be something for the fast bowlers initially, especially if you are batting second, but you need to score runs and boundaries off the bad deliveries because that takes the pressure off you. If you are scoring at 2.5 an over, at the end of the day, you are mounting pressure on yourself.”With overcast conditions predicted for Saturday’s match, and perhaps rain interruptions too, the bowlers will look for a better showing than in Durban. The job will only become tougher for the batsmen, with more seam movement expected than in Durban, especially if Dhoni keeps up with his form at the toss, which would mean India will be batting under the lights again.”What we have told ourselves is that the toss is one thing beyond our control. Irrespective of what happens at the toss, we shouldn’t really let it have any impact on ourselves because what is important is to give our 100% on the field, and if you are concentrating too hard on the toss, you are not giving your 100% in a way.”Dhoni said the right mindset will be the key to whether India can make a comeback from yet another slow start to a series. “You lose games, you win games. What is important is to have the same mindset throughout the series. It will be very important to start afresh because whatever has happened has happened. You have to start from scratch, we just need to play to our potential.”Duncan Fletcher, South Africa’s batting consultant, spoke of the need for his side to stay alert to the kind of comeback India staged in Durban after they were outclassed in the Centurion Test. However, both the sides know, with the difference in quality between India’s Test and one-day sides, Wanderers is not as likely to see a comeback as Kingsmead was.

Gautam Gambhir will bat for India on the fifth day at Newlands, but he has been ruled out of the ODI series. Making a comeback from a hand injury that kept him out of the second Test in Durban, Gambhir had his troubles compounded when a Lonwabo Tsostsobe delivery hit him on the left elbow in the first innings. He could be seen sitting with a splint on his arm in the dressing room during the fourth day, raising doubts over his availability in the second innings.He scored 93 in the first innings, and sustained the blow when he was on 91. He did not take the field for the entire duration of South Africa’s second innings.”He should be [fit],” Harbhajan Singh, who took seven wickets in the second innings, said. “He has rested the whole day today [Wednesday], he has been icing his arm and getting treatment. But he is going to miss out on the one-day series.” India will play a Twenty20 international against South Africa on January 9 and a five-match ODI series starting on January 12India need 340 to win on the fifth day and Harbhajan said that India’s first concern would be to see off the new ball, and then rethink their strategy on whether to go for a draw or a win depending on how the first session goes. “Our approach, to be honest, will be to see off the first hour. If we play the new ball well, and get some fireworks from Virender Sehwag, then anything is chaseable. This is a ground where a lot of runs can be scored fast. I hope Viru clicks tomorrow and gives us a good start. A hundred for no loss will be a good beginning. The new ball will be crucial.”Sehwag excepting, the first instinct for India will surely be to feel safe first, and then go for the target if possible.