The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : ‘I am used to the Duke ball’

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Saturday, Aug 11, 2007
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‘I am used to the Duke ball’

Special Correspondent

Mumbai: Ajit Agarkar is hoping for rich sunshine during the weekend so that he can bowl ten overs for the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in the MCA Kanga league inter-club competition on Sunday.

Picked for the ODI series against England and the ICC Twenty20 in South Africa, the Mumbai seamer said his optimism of getting one match under his belt before he joins the Indian team in England have diminished.

“It’s rained so much in the city in the week. All I can do is hope that the rain stays away for two days. No way could I have stepped out for a stretch since I returned home after the series in Ireland. It’s rained so much,” said Agarkar, who has 279 wickets in ODIs.

The 29-year-old had practised with the Indian team, and with the Duke ball, before the first Test at Lord’s. “I spent two more weeks in England with my family, but it’s been just fitness training once I returned home.”

Though quite adept and comfortable bowling with the Indian ‘SG Test’ and Australian ‘Kookaburra’ balls, Agarkar is also accustomed with the English-make Duke variety.

“I am quite familiar with it having played in the English County season and also in the 2002 series. Five years ago, a new Duke ball did not swing as much. That’s probably because of the weather. It behaved differently. But it swung once it had lost its lacquer coat.

“But I did find the Duke ball moving a lot during my short net session at Lord’s before the first Test. Nasser Hussain observed that the Duke ball has swung right through this season. Zaheer and R.P. Singh have made the most of it.”

Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla, Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa will join the Indian team at the Heathrow airport on August 14 before proceeding to Glasgow.

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