MUMBAI, Nov 29: So the Indian cricket team lost another series abroad? What else is new? Nothing really, except perhaps that the contest was even more tame than one expected.
Two defeats, one by an innings and the other inside four days, and a draw that had the Indians fighting with their backs to the wall were not exactly the kind of results envisaged at the beginning of the series by fair-minded and knowledgeable critics.
Of course, these were the supreme optimists who seriously reckoned that India had a chance in the series.
Pray tell me, on what grounds can such an estimate be made? This is a side that, on paper, has one strong department the middle order batting.
Certainly, a line-up of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman would normally give bowlers bad dreams.
But can this alone cover up for the various weaknesses in the squad the question mark over the opening batting, the weak seam and spin attack, the inability to find a wicket-keeper of even near international standards, the lack of an all-rounder? And when even the much-touted middle-order batting performs below expectations, the results are bound to be disastrous.
The trouble is, we get carried away by the Indian teams impressive record at home and expect them to carry this form abroad, aware as we are of our abysmal away showings.
We get so caught up in the seemingly awesome credentials of some of our prima donnas that we feel they can do no wrong.
What we conveniently forget is that the opposition is also strong, and they too have players who could walk into a World XI.
We overlook the fact that they have a balanced team, with the right blend of youth and experience, a more-than-adequate attack, and a batting line-up consisting of both stonewallers and swashbucklers.
They also do not have any opening-slot or wicket-keeping problems.
And, oh yes, they have three all-rounders, whereas we have none.
When will we learn not to put unnecessary pressure on our players? As it is, there is enough pressure on them when they play on faster and bouncier tracks in alien conditions abroad.
It is worth recalling that almost all our notable performances abroad have come about when there was no pressure on the players and the expectations have been modest.
Did any of us expect the Indian team to win in the West Indies in 1971? Or in England later the same year? Did we honestly see the Indian team drawing a tough series in Australia in 1980-81? And what about the World Cup triumph in 1983? On the eve of the 1999 World Cup, a national news-magazine ran a long cover story entitled "11 reasons why India will win the World Cup," which analyzed, in a hopelessly one-sided manner, the countrys prospects in the competition.
The gist of the story was that India was sure of winning the World Cup as the team had the worlds best batsman in Tendulkar, who had the support of Dravid, Ganguly, Azharuddin, Jadeja and others.
Besides, it was argued, the team had a balanced seam attack, so very important in English conditions; it had ten-wicket-man Anil Kumble; it had a lucky captain in Azharuddin, and so on.
A proper and balanced perspective would have also provided the strengths of the other competing teams.
But the lop-sided cover story just ignored this aspect, as if India had all the giants and the other countries had just schoolchildren playing marbles.
Of course, we all know now how India fared in that World Cup.
Are not many Indian cricket followers just as imbalanced in their thinking? Do we not look only at our strengths and ignore the strong points of the opposition? Just because we have cricketers performing super-feats at home, we raise them to a pedestal on which they do not belong.
Playing at home and playing away are very different propositions, particularly as far as Indian cricket is concerned.
Just one look at our record should convince us of this.
Let us therefore face facts squarely and bravely and admit that we are just not good enough.
Let us just be thankful that there was no infamous double collapse, like being bowled out for 100 and 66 at Durban in 1996.
On the other hand, this was perhaps the worst performance of any Indian team in South Africa.
For, on the last tour, we at least came close to winning the final Test.
The pity of it all is that the latest debacle will soon be forgotten if and when we get the better of England next month.
That, of course, is if there is any play at all.
A case of better late than never MUMBAI, Nov 29: Sanjay Bangar must have pleasantly surprised even himself with his figures of 14-6-32-5 against England in the three-day match at Hyderabad.
A few days later, though, there was a better surprise awaiting this 28-year-old all-rounder, who plays for Railways in India; the selectors picked him for the national squad for the first Test at Mohali.
Bangar has been representing Railways for the last eight years in the Ranji Trophy championships.
A very modest man carrying a smile, Bangar spoke to CricInfo in an exclusive interview soon after the three-day match.
He talked us through the five wickets, which were to help him to break into the national squad.
"I was lucky to get Graham Thorpe out; it was not a very good ball, just the up and down stuff, and he played all around it," said Bangar.
"In the morning, I had spoken to Anshuman Gaekwad (former India player and coach), and he told me that I should make some changes when bowling to Nasser Hussain.
It actually worked for me; it was a well-planned and hard-earned wicket." "In the first innings, I tried to induce him into driving the ball, but he got away with a couple of boundaries.
I was told that I was giving him a lot of width," added Bangar.
"He used to put his foot down the track and try to make room to play through the covers.
Gaekwad asked me to bowl closer to the stumps and the out-swinger to be bowled on the off stump." Hussain once again tried to make room but only spooned a catch to Murali Kartik at gully.
The English skippers weakness has now been exposed, and we can expect a few interesting contests between the Indian bowlers and Hussain.
Bangar added that Craig White was prised out with a reverse-swinging delivery, the batsman trying to hit out a bit too early in the innings.
"Foster was done in by the pace; though the ball kept low, it had done the trick by the time the bat came down." A modest Bangar was quick to add that he was lucky to get Richard Dawson lbw to complete his five-wicket haul.
"I never expected that, within the span of two sessions, I would be sitting happy with five wickets in my bag," says Bangar about his first game against an international side.
When asked about his trade, Bangar said, "I am more inclined to think of myself as a batsman.
But whenever I have been in some trouble in my career, it is the bowling that has helped me through.
This season onwards I have been concentrating more on my bowling." This workaholic cricketer thinks that he is at the peak of his career as a bowler.
He is honest about his batting, which has not really been falling into place this season, although he enjoyed a good season last year.
Bangar says, "I like to be involved with all aspects of the game.
That is what I expect from me.
As an all-rounder, there is an added responsibility on you; it is just not to be called an all-rounder that you bowl seven or eight overs." Bangar is an opening batsman, and he talks about his modest success.
"Maybe I am trying a bit too hard, maybe it is just around the corner, the big runs." Bangar, who was dropped from the Railways side for the Ranji Trophy league matches last year, made a brilliant comeback by scoring 465 runs in four matches to propel Railways to the Ranji Trophy final against Baroda.
He reckons that was the best phase of his career thus far.
It will only augur well for both Bangar and India if he can make a similar mark at the highest level.
Bangar was born in Beed, Maharashtra, and was soon playing cricket at school level in Aurangabad.
It was his coach, Kiran Joshi, who helped him initially in his junior days.
Another person who made a lot of difference to Bangars cricket was Vasanth Ambladi, who also coached Sunil Gavaskar in his young days.
Now 28 years old and a father of a one-year-old son, Bangar has been a late developer in cricketing terminology.
He says, "Railways has given me the opportunity to become a complete cricketer; it was more of on-the-job experience than being a totally finished product and walking into the team." If anything influenced Bangar growing up, it was a gift from his father.
"It is the Sunny Days book; I must have read that book 15-20 times.
Sub-consciously, it has had its effects." The family-oriented man keeps shuttling between his base in Delhi and Mumbai to catch up with his family.
In between all these trips, Bangar has also made it a point to play in the Minor Counties in England during the rainy season in India.
He reckons that the stint with Minor Counties has helped him a lot since, as a professional, he is expected to turn up for a match on every Saturday and bowl 20-25 overs in a 50-over game.
This sort of physically demanding cricket has helped keep him fit, reckons Bangar.
The soft-spoken all-rounder did believe that he should have been considered for the Indian squad for a few previous tours.
He was crestfallen after not being picked the Irani Trophy team this season.
Even though he is vehement in saying that he has never idolised any cricketers, he does look up to Robin Singh for all the kind words and encouragement passed on to him.
Bangar found himself lost for words when asked whether he is mentally and physically prepared to play for India.
After a long silence, the voice came out: "Yeah." Little did this reliable Railways all-rounder know that he had caught the eyes of the selectors, among them the South Zone representative, Shivlal Yadav, who was mightily impressed with Bangars bowling on a dead third-day track in Hyderabad.
No Test if Sehwag plays, says ECB Chairman LONDON, Nov 29: The Chairman of the England & Wales Cricket Board, Lord MacLaurin, says England will not play against India if they choose banned batsman Virender Sehwag for the first Test in Mohali.
Sehwag, 23, was banned for one match by referee Mike Denness for excessive appealing in Indias second Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth.
The International Cricket Council insist Sehwag has not served his ban, as they have ruled Indias third Test against South Africa (which Sehwag missed) to be unofficial, after both teams refused to accept Denness as referee.
Lord MacLaurin insists the tourists will not allow India, who have named Sehwag in their 14-man squad, to defy the ICC.
"We will not play a friendly Test match," MacLaurin told the BBC.
"We are there to play real cricket and we support the ICC in that this gentleman has been suspended for one Test match so the gentleman concerned has a one-match ban to sit out.
"We will not be playing against a team with a banned cricketer in it.
I sincerely hope that doesnt come to pass.
To have had one Test match withdrawn from Test-match status in South Africa is very sad and if it goes on it will be very sad for the game of cricket.
"Im not unduly surprised.
The situation is between the ICC and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
The ECBs view is that its a matter between the ICC and the Indian board and we are awaiting developments.
"We will be discussing the matter with our management board and we will decide what to do.
The ICC want an answer from India by Friday morning.
We are now taking it a day at a time.
I sincerely hope good sense prevails for the good of everybody.
"We support the ICC.
They are the governing body of world cricket and I would like to think all our other colleagues around the world would also support them." England beat India A by three wickets JAIPUR, Nov 29: England were made to sweat for victory by part-time leg-spinner Gautam Gambhir (6-1-12-3).
They, however, did go on to beat India A by three wickets on the third and final day at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday.
Chasing 173 for a win, England were helped along by their skipper Nasser Hussain (59) and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff (40 off 48 balls).
They will thus go into the first Test match with a positive frame of mind, their first win on this tour under their belt.
Earlier in the day,India A resumed on their overnight score of 75/3 and soon found themselves in deep trouble, losing wickets in a hurry to be bowled out for just 109 in their second innings.
Craig White (13-3-31-5) and Flintoff (17-7-27-3) shared the bowling honours for England, giving their selectors something to think about.
England now finds that it cannot afford to drop either of the two all-rounders from the first Test team.
It was Flintoff who struck first, with the seventh ball of the morning, as Yere Goud (13) was caught behind.
Rashmi Ranjan Parida (13) was the next to go, trying to pull a short delivery from White and top-edging to Nasser Hussain.
Ajay Ratra perished with the very next delivery for a duck, cleaned up by White.
Abhijit Kale was caught by Mark Butcher off the bowling of Flintoff for just three.
Skipper Sunil Joshi (13) was caught by Trescothick in the slips off Flintoff.
Iqbal Siddiqui tried to celebrate his inclusion in the national squad with some attempted heavy blows, but was caught behind off Richard Johnson for just one.
India A set their rivals a target of 173 runs for a win, and England got off to a disastrous start, losing the important wicket of Butcher.
Butcher played from the crease to Dodda Ganesh, the ball flew off the glove to Gautam Gambhir at forward short-leg, who took a sharp reflex catch.
New batsman Hussain was involved in a controversial decision.
He pulled a ball high to long-on, where Siddiqui completed a good catch.
He, however, threw the ball back in to avoid it being declared a six, as he was falling over the boundary line.
TV replays suggested that the catch was taken and that fielder had full control over the ball.
Umpires gave Hussain not out, much to the dismay of the fielders.
Marcus Trescothick got into the act quickly, punishing the wayward bowling for half-a-dozen boundaries before being caught by Ratra off the bowling of Siddiqui.
The left-handed batsman made 30 runs and must feel a bit disappointed on losing out on some valuable batting practice.
Mark Ramprakash played a brisk knock of 22 before being bowled by a short delivery from Joshi that hardly bounced.
Hussain, meanwhile, held the other end intact.
With Michael Vaughan indisposed, Andrew Flintoff joined Hussain in the middle, and the runs started flowing.
He was particularly severe on Joshi, smacking the bowler for a six and two fours.
England went in to the tea break with just 27 runs required and seven wickets in hand.
Hussain threw his wicket away by giving the charge to Gambhir and was brilliantly stumped by young Ratra.
The English captain made 59 runs off 123 balls, striking six fours and a six in his patient knock.
Craig White (3) gave a tame return catch to Gambhir.
Flintoff got bogged down against the spinners, and Joshi got one ball to turn and bounce to take the edge of his bat.
There was some doubt regarding the catch being taken cleanly at first slip, but the umpire did not hesitate to award the benefit to the bowling side.
Ashley Giles swung a ball from Gambhir to the mid-wicket fence for a four to take England close to victory.
James Foster (0) then flashed at Gambhir to give Joshi an easy catch at first slip.
It took Giles, with an unbeaten 10, to take England past the target.
Jacques of all trades JOHANNESBURG, Nov 29: Jacques Kallis missed out on the Man of the Series award that went to his Western Province team-mate Herschelle Gibbs in the recently concluded India-South Africa series, but there is a quiet air about the dependable cricketer that augurs well for the South Africans as they embark on a tour to Australia.
Excerpts from an interview: Q: You have taken up a lot of responsibility on yourself, in terms of bowling and batting.
Even when you field, you prefer being in the slips rather than laze around in the outfield.
Dont you think it could burn you out in future? A: I dont think that way.
My priority is to contribute to the team in whatever way I can.
I enjoy bowling and batting, and I love being in the slips.
My body is standing up to the pressure well, and I dont see why I should shun responsibility.
Q: But surely coming in at number three and as first change bowler for your team is going to take its toll? A: When it does take a toll, I will know.
There is no point in worrying about it at present.
The critical thing is that I am enjoying what I am doing.
Q: Do you think that, because you take on so much, you are not given as much credit as you should? Do they expect you to take five wickets and score 100 runs every time you go in to bowl and bat? A: My standards are pretty much my own.
I would be happy even if I have scored a zero and not taken a wicket in an innings, as long as I am happy with the effort that I have put in for my team.
Q: You started off as a flamboyant bowler.
Lately, one has noticed you are more intent on sticking around and spending hours at the crease.
Is this a true assessment? A: Yes, in a way.
Our batting works in combination and, amidst dashing stroke-makers like Herschelle Gibbs and Neil McKenzie, there is a role for batsmen like me and Boeta Dippenaar.
I would like to play a role in which I drop anchor and the rest of the batting revolves around me.
Q: Do you harbour captaincy ambitions? A: It would be an honour to captain South Africa, but I am not angling for it.
When it comes along and I am entrusted with the job, I will be happy.
Q: Coming to the next World Cup, which is being held in South Africa.
What do you think of South Africas chances? Will they be able to get over the tag of chokers in finals in the one-day arena? A: I think we have already got over the tag of chokers.
We have shown enough resilience and won enough tournaments since the last World Cup to lay claim to being one of the most consistent sides in the world.
The tag of chokers should apply to us no longer.
Q: Who is your favourite batsman and why? A: My favourite batsman is Steve Waugh, and I think he is the best batsman in the world.
He is gritty, tough and is someone you would back to bat for your life.
Q: Even ahead of Sachin Tendulkar? A: It is my personal opinion, although Tendulkar hasnt done badly.
Both are different batsmen.
Tendulkar is more flamboyant.
His average shows that he hasnt done too badly himself.
But if asked to make a choice, I would plump for Waugh.
England to abide by ICC verdict, warns against inclusion of Shewang LONDON, Nov 29 (NNN) : The International Cricket Council (ICC) is sitting pretty waiting for Friday as Lord MacLaurin, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, on Wednesday threatened to take "dire measures" if suspended Delhi batsman, Virender Sehwag, wais selected to play in the Mohali Test against Nasser Hussains team, hinting that he is fully with the world cricket body decisions.
And ICC seemed to be playing cool to the announcement from Indian selectors that suspended Delhi batsman, Virendra Sehwag, had been included in the 14-man squad for the Mohali Test against England, with an ICC spokesman merely saying "We are focussed entirely on Friday afternoon, Indian time, which is the deadline for the BCCI to announce whether or not Sehwag will be playing in the Mohali game." The ICC officials here, however, preferred to "hope for the best" till the Friday deadline runs out, in an apparent attempt to persuade Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Jagmohan Dalmiya to remove what Speed has called the "direct challenge to the authority of the ICC".
ICC Chief executive, Malcom Speed told newsmen that world cricket body had no contingency plan to prevent a head-on collision with the BCCI, if Dalmiya refuses to back down on the issue of Sehwag and the status of the Centurion Park match.
"We want at the moment to stick flat out with Plan A," Speed said, adding that he would be speaking to Dalmiya "as often as needed between now and Friday".
In a carefully-worded revelation clearly meant to pile on the pressure, Speed said "more than a majority of the 13-member executive board supported the ICCs position".
He rejected all talk of expelling India as "inappropriate," pointing out that "this course of action is not within my powers and is a matter for the ICCs executive committee in conference".
Meanwhile, Lord MacLaurin, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has said that England will take dire measures if Sehwag is selected to play in the Mohali Test, saying : "We will not play a friendly Test match.
We are there to play real cricket and we support the ICC in that this gentleman has been suspended for one Test match so the gentleman concerned has a one-match ban to sit out".
Speaking on BBC domestic radio, MacLaurin stressed that England would never want to "play against a team with a banned cricketer in it" but the ECB was taking developments "a day at a time".
Visiting England Captain Nasser Hussain too has said his side will abide by the ECBs directive if India includes Sehwag and the world body strips the game of its Test status.
It is worth recalling that earlier on Wednesday, taking another step towards confrontation with the ICC Indian selectors picked up Sehwag, for next weeks first Test against England, threatening to fuel a crisis that could lead to the series being cancelled.
The 23-year-old middle-order batsman, given a match suspension by match referee, Mike Denness, during the just concluded India-South Africa series second Test for "excessive appealing", was included in a 14-man squad announced by the BCCI after a meeting of the selection committee in Rajasthans historic Jaipur city.
Ignoring an ICC chief executive, Malcom Speeds ultimatum to BCCI on Tuesday to comply by Friday with its directive on non-inclusion of Sehwag or face Mohali match being declared unofficial, the selectors picked the Delhi lad, saying it was done on cricketing merit.
But keeping the door open for a solution to the looming crisis, BCCI chief Dalmiya said the team of the final 11 for the Mohali Test will be announced only on the morning of December 3.
It was not possible for the BCCI or for him to say before than whether Sehwag will actually play against England in the first Test or not, he added.
Dalmiya said he was willing to sit across the table for negotiation to defuse the crisis.
India skipper Sourav Ganguly, who missed the unofficial game because of back spasms, has been named captain for the series, but will be asked to undergo a fitness test before the Mohali game.
The ICC ruled Sehwag ineligible to play the first Test at Mohali from December 3 due to the one-match ban slapped on him by match referee Denness after the second Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth.
India maintained that the ban was served during the ongoing third Test at Centurion Park, but the ICC had declared that game unofficial after Denness was removed as referee by both teams.
In case Sehwag is picked in the playing 11 for the Mohali Test, the ICC is certain to declare the match illegal which could force England to pull out of the series.
The ICC has given the BCCI until 6:30 GMT on Friday to confirm if Sehwag will take the field in the Test.
Selection committee chairman Chandu Borde said the selection was done on merit and there was no pressure from any quarter to pick Sehwag.
The crisis between the ICC and the BCCI worsened further on Tuesday as the former set Friday as the deadline for Sehwags withdrawal from the Mohali Test, warning that the referee could stop the youngster from playing - a situation it said could lead to violence-setting the stage for further showdown.
In a letter to Dalmiya, ICC chief said, "It is vitally important that we avoid any risk of injury to the public, players or officials should the ICC referee refuse to allow Sehwag to play in the match." "If this issue is not resolved well ahead of the match, it is possible that it will take place at the start of the match in a highly charged and volatile environment that will exacerbate the risk of injury," Speed warned, asking Dalmiya to reconsider both the availability of Sehwag and the status of the South Africa match which finished Tuesday.
Speed asked Dalmiya to confirm by noon Friday Indian time (0630 GMT) the BCCIs final decision on Sehwag.
In his letter, Speed said, "You will appreciate that BCCI and ICC are on a collision course and that the consequences for world cricket are of great significance." Speed said he was not happy that Dalmiya had chosen to talk about the issue through "troubling media comments" rather than the ICC.
As a former ICC president, Dalmiya knew the workings of the ICC and its decision making processes, Speed said, adding that any contentious decisions should be discussed at the next ICC board meeting.
Meanwhile, ICC president Malcolm Gray said the ICC was meeting with Indian selectors over Sehwag.
"I dont think its time for threats or a quick fix," Gray told BBC Radio on Tuesday.
"We just hope that commonsense will prevail and (India) will understand the position of the ICC and where the ruling is coming from.
I just hope that they will make the best of things and see that the issue is rather silly," said Gray even as match referee Mike Denness, whose controversial decisions triggered the present crisis, said he had "the game of cricket at heart" when making his decisions in the second Test at Port Elizabeth.
"Ive been terribly saddened for the game of cricket," the Daily Telegraph quoted Denness as saying, adding, "If someone says youve got your decisions wrong and they can justify it, you can have a discussion and you can learn from it.
"From my point of view, whenever you do anything, you have to sit back and say to yourself `how well did I do that? Where can I improve, if at all? Youve got the game of cricket at heart, youve got natural justice to look into," he said, adding, "Im not a judge, Im not qualified in the legal profession, but I do have a great interest in the game of cricket." Iqbal Siddiqui destroys England in Jaipur A spectacular batting collapse, triggered in main by Iqbal Siddiqui (4/36), pushed England to 170 all out in their first innings.
India 'A' thus took a valuable first-innings lead of 63 runs on the second day of the three-day match against India A at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday.
By the close of play, India 'A' had moved to 75 for the loss of three wickets.
After restricting India A to 233/9 declared on the first day, England must have hoped to get some valuable batting practice ahead of the first Test at Mohali.
On a lively pitch, Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher had negotiated the India A bowlers for 11 good overs to reach 37 for no loss at stumps on Tuesday.
But their good work suddenly seemed a distant memory on the second morning, which read more like a chapter from a gruesome horror story.
With the 11th ball of the day, Siddiqui struck, claiming Mark Butchers wicket.
Butcher (37) could only add five more to his overnight score before gifting a catch to Abhijit Kale in the slips.
Trescothick (7) followed soon after, given out caught behind off the first ball of the next over by Dodda Ganesh.
The batsman was distinctly unhappy with the decision and stood his ground for some time before making the long slow walk back to the pavilion.
Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain then put together a scratchy partnership of 36 runs for the third wicket.
Vaughan, who must by now be desperate to get some runs under his belt, was lucky to be dropped by Gautam Gambhir off the bowling of Ganesh.
Hussain too enjoyed some luck this morning, being dropped by Rashmi Ranjan Parida off Siddiqui.
Vaughan struck five boundaries in his 22 before top-edging a pull off Siddiqui, only to give Vinayak Mane an easy catch in the covers.
Mark Ramprakash and Andrew Flintoff both failed to open their account, gifting their wicket to Siddiqui.
The medium-pacer from Maharashtra was soon rewarded by the national selectors, who picked him for the first Test squad.
Craig White and Ashley Giles came and went, scoring two runs each.
Hussain's own defiant knock of 40 off 88 balls finally came to an end when he went for a wild heave off the bowling of his counterpart Sunil Joshi.
The English skipper hit five boundaries and a six to top-score in the innings.
A clueless Richard Johnson (5) let through a ball from Joshi (3/39) only to find his stumps disturbed.
England were in serious trouble at that stage - 128/9.
The last-wicket partnership of James Foster (32) and Richard Dawson (19), however, added 42 valuable runs for the last wicket.
Dawson was finally trapped in front by Reetinder Singh Sodhi (2/12) to mark the end of the English first innings.
It was a remarkably lacklustre performance with the bat by the English players, especially considering that the first Test starts on Monday.
In their second essay, India 'A' batsmen struggled to get the ball away for runs.
The pitch was playing up badly, the ball keeping low and creating all sorts of problems for the batsmen.
A ball that stayed low and shot through to hit the pads undid Mane, who must have been keen on impressing the national selectors; he was given out lbw.
Gambhir played valiantly to make 30 before being bowled by Craig White, who was putting together a good spell.
White tasted more success when he trapped Gagan Khoda in front to claim all three wickets that fell in the evening (9-3-21-3).
The match is very keenly poised now, with India 'A' leading by 138 runs.
Brilliant bowling by the Indian bowlers has blown a big hole in the English confidence.
The tourists will be looking forward to an improved performance on the last day of the three-day match tomorrow.
A question of spin Television commentators Sunil Gavaskar and Navjot Singh Sidhu have been quite vocal about the lack of sting in the bowling of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in alien conditions, though they may differ in their perceptions about the effectiveness of India's slow men abroad over the decades.
While the Sikh expressed the view that even celebrated spinners of the past were toothless abroad, the Little Master pointed out that they did not always need the help of the dust-bowls at home to weave their spells around opposing batsmen.
What, then, is the way forward at present? Can India ever regain its superiority in slow bowling? Is a formal institution like the Chennai-based MAC Spin Academy the answer? I feel strongly that a centralized institution like the Spin Academy can at best be a finishing school.
A school can never produce spin bowlers, but it can certainly provide the finishing touches to a product that has already gone through the mill at the local and state levels.
To return to the Gavaskar-Sidhu debate, Indian victories in the West Indies, England, New Zealand and even Australia have owed much to the exploits of our spinners.
From EAS Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar, S Venkatraghavan, and Salim Durrani, down to Dilip Doshi and Shivlal Yadav, spin has found success abroad, even though batsmen played stellar roles too, and the medium-pacers led by Kapil Dev also scripted some of these success stories.
Ironically, it was during the captaincy tenures of Venkat (in England) and Sunil Gavaskar (at home and away) that the old combination of three spinners first gave way to one of two spinners supporting Kapil Dev.
This was a turning point in the history of Indian cricket, introducing a trend that produced short-term gains like the famous 2-0 victory in England, brought about by excellent seam bowling.
In the long term, however, this new trend diluted the strength of the Indian attack.
India produced neither match-winning pace bowlers nor slow bowlers who could do the job effectively, with the honourable exceptions of the Kapil Dev-Manoj Prabhakar and, for a brief while, Javagal Srinath-Venkatesh Prasad combinations.
It took the Ajit Wadekar-Mohammad Azharuddin duo to reintroduce spin trios and win matches at home, a successful ploy that was nevertheless exposed when India toured abroad.
Two factors conspired to bring about this decline - the fall in the quality of spin talent available, and a horses-for-courses policy that led selectors to prefer even mediocre medium pacers to slow bowlers with potential.
Sunil Gavaskar got it right when he stressed the superiority of the spinners of the past.
Even a cursory look at old scorecards will prove the veracity of his claims.
Spinners had a major role to play in India's first series wins abroad - in New Zealand, the West Indies and England - a feat their successors have never been able to repeat.
It is essential to return to the atmosphere of the 60s and 70s, when we placed complete faith in our spinners' ability to bowl out oppositions; when captains brought the slow men on early enough to take advantage of the relative lack of footwork of as-yet-unsettled batsmen as well as the hardness of a newish ball; when spinners bowled a minimum of ten overs in a spell, not expected to do the trick right away; when spinners learnt first to spin the ball, then accuracy, and, much later, variation (an off spinner, for instance, learnt sharp off-spin before he experimented with the 'doosra').
What is imperative is the return of the spin mindset - confident, persevering and calculating.
What is inescapable is hours, days and years of toil on the part of spinners to whom line and length become automatic before they graduate to first-class cricket, and who can land six consecutive balls on the spot.
Crisis deepens as India pick Sehwag in Mohali Test squad Ralph Dellor International cricket's current crisis moved forward by one pace today when the Indian selectors named Virender Sehwag in a 14-man squad for the first Test against England scheduled to start in Mohali on Monday.
Sehwag was given a one-match ban by Mike Denness, the International Cricket Council's match referee, after Sehwag's behaviour in the second Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth.
This decision, along with other penalties handed out by Denness, resulted in India threatening to boycott the third Test.
When Denness was not withdrawn for that match by the ICC, Denness and the appointed third-country umpire were replaced by South Africans and ICC deemed the match not to be an official Test.
The Indian management, not accepting ICC's edict, dropped Sehwag from that game, claiming he was therefore serving his suspension.
However, if the ICC did not recognise the match as a Test, neither do they accept that the sentence has been served.
The problem moved to the first Test against England, which must now be in doubt.
The ICC has given the Board of Control for Cricket in India a deadline of 0630 am on Friday to decide whether to name Sehwag in the starting eleven for the Test.
If he is included, there is every possibility that this match will have official Test status withdrawn and that, in turn, might well lead to the cancellation of the series.
It was always likely that BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya would want to at least see Sehwag named in the squad, for to do anything else would be seen as bowing to the authority of the ICC.
It now remains to be seen how far towards the brink he is prepared to go.
Face could be saved on all sides if the player was to be omitted from the final eleven for Mohali.
India's 14 for first Test: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid, Shiv Sundar Das, Connor Williams, Sachin Tendulkar, Venkatsai Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Sarandeep Singh, Sanjay Bangar, Iqbal Siddiqui, Tinu Yohannan About us | Advertisers | Other Publications | Subscriptions | Advertising Weather | Letters | Search | Suggestions | Send Mail | Vaishnodevi ________________________________________________________ (c) 1998, The Kashmir Times Press Pvt.
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