Rain, rain, go away After two days of Worcestershire's tour match against the Indians, the scoreboard remains the same - except perhaps for a note indicating that rain prevented play on both days. The County Ground at New Road, Worcester, now sees little hope of meaningful match practice for the Indians, which is bad news. After the defeat at Lord's, what the tourists needed most was a good knock in the middle to get their batting into shape. Ajit Agarkar may have struck a century, and VVS Laxman may look in fine fettle, but the remainder of the top order - including maestro Sachin Tendulkar - looks woefully out of touch. Whispers about Tendulkar's big-match temperament are already starting to do the rounds in the media, and the game against Worcestershire would have been invaluable for him to regain his form. As it stands now, rain may threaten the remainder of the game too, and India can only hope that Tendulkar shrugs off his worries and blazes away at Trent Bridge.

The quintessential team man If there is one thing about Rahul Dravid that few can doubt, it is his commitment. If Dravid is the wall, commitment is just spray-painted all over his brick extrerior. The NatWest series was merely another example in a long sequence of Dravid's willingness to do anything for the good of the team. "You have got to do what a team requires. You have got to learn to adapt, you've got to find a way to make the team stronger," said Dravid to PTI. "That's the goal, and it sometimes makes you do things that are out of your comfort zone. If you have to do it, then you should do it." Donning the wicket-keeping gloves after a long hiatus was not easy. "I used to keep when I was a youngster, probably 16 or 17. I used to keep regularly for the school, and a little bit for college," said Dravid. "I even attended a couple of national camps for U-15 and U-17 as a keeper. But I had to pick it up again after 12 years. So, it is a bit of a learning curve, and I have a lot to learn and put in that extra effort." But he is slowly getting into the groove of the job, realising that the extra balance his dual role accords to the team is valuable. "I will have to work harder on my fitness and certain specific areas like my legs, which I haven't done for years," he said. "It's a hard job physically. But it's got to be done, and people who do it should love and enjoy it. If someone doesn't want to do it, he shouldn't." Spoken like a team man.

Hove sweet Hove for the Turbanator? Harbhajan Singh may not have played at Lord's, but he has already impressed Sussex enough to invite him for talks to become their second overseas player next season. The county are willing to offer Harbhajan a one-year contract at Hove. Sussex skipper Chris Adams apparently has even higher opinions of the spinner than Sourav Ganguly. "A look at his record tells you that Harbhajan is a quality performer," sai Adams. "He averages nearly five wickets per Test at the moment and is the sort of bowler who is consistently going to get good players out." Sussex is not alone; Lancashire is also reported to be interested in obtaining the services of "The Turbanator."

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