No tests for a while

A long period of test-cricket-deprivation begins now (well, at least for the Indian team: India will not play tests again till they tour South Africa in the Dec/Jan time-frame. Given that Indian batting lineups still have to come to terms with the conditions in that country, it'll be an interesting one. And then England in England, and Australia in Australia. A tougher trifecta of test tours is hard to imagine, but if the Indian team emerges from these series with some serious gains by way of a matured bowling attack, and a toughened batting line-up, it'll all have been worth it. Selection headaches await; more false hopes based on one-day internnational success await too. Hopefully, the selectors will concentrate on the tests, and remember the lessons learned from this series, which while getting rid of the overseas win bugbear has served to remind us of the many frailties that remain.