Das, Williams begin well

By G. Viswanath

CENTURION, NOV. 26. Javagal Srinath will miss the first Test against England starting in Mohali on December 3 and perhaps the full Test series that will end a day before Christmas. A hand specialist Dr. Michael Carides did a manipulation and inserted a splint near the head of the fifth metacarpal (little finger) where he was hit by a delivery by Mornantau Hayward.

``The hand specialist was not sure whether it was the old injury or a new one and hence the minor surgery,'' said manager Dr. Mahandra Bhargava. According to sources, the injury might have been worse, had it not been for a special plaster he had around the injured part of the hand.

Srinath did not bat after he suffered a blow on Saturday evening, but bowled 27 overs in South Africa's first innings and took two wickets in the Castle Lager/MTN five-day first match at the Super Sport Park. ``He will not be fit till December 6 and he will not be available for selection for the first Test against England. I have already informed the BCCI Secretary, Mr. Niranjan Shah about Srinath's injury. Sourav Ganguly is okay and Venkatesh Prasad is recovering. He woke up with a spasm on the back of his neck,'' said Dr. Bharagava.

The injury to Srinath and the health status of Ganguly and Prasad overshadowed every other event, including a fine opening stand of 92 by Shiv Sundar Das and Connor Williams. There were injury concerns about Srinath and doubts about whether he will be able to stand the rigours of playing in seven one-day matches of the tri-series and the Test series. He shot back at his critics with a performance that fetched him 13 wickets in the two official Tests played at Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth. Even in this match he was a very spirited bowler.

The second important event on the fourth day of the match was the sudden appearance of Clive Hubert Lloyd at the venue. The `big cat' spoke a lot of sense at the sidelines of the Super Sport Park's press enclosure. The captain of the all- conquering West Indies team and a man who employed four fast bowlers to perfection to dismantle rival teams in the 1970s and until the mid 1980s and captain of two Prudential World Cup- winning West Indies team, Lloyd said he would have handled things `differently' towards the continuation of the Test series. ``I have come from the United States of America and I have only read events in the newspapers. I think the people are paying for a Test match, not a match like this.'' The Guyanese who has served as an International Cricket Council (ICC) Match Referee, a position he had to quit to become the coach of the West Indies team, Lloyd, measured his words and said: ``I am wondering whether the present situation has set a terrible precedent.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Anand begins defence with white
Next     : Dalmiya maintains Test is official