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Cricket
Hussain looking for `greater success'
By Our Sports Reporter
KOLKATA, JAN. 11. England captain Nasser Hussain is hoping for ``greater success'' in the one-day internationals against India in the second phase of action in the country.
Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, Hussain sounded confident about a better showing considering the ``not-so-bad performance'' in the Test series.
``India at home is formidable and with Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly - who is a bigger threat in the one- dayers - and the spinners, the task will be big but the team is capable and willing to face it,'' he said.
Hussain said the shortened version of the game was altogether different from Tests. The loss in the Test series would not reflect on the one-dayers, he averred. He said with full team effort and a good coach (Duncan Fletcher) the goal could be realised.
``We will have to apply the pressure, and India, like any other side, can succumb to it,'' he said, on his team's prospects on the tour. However, he felt the team needed to ``up its performance by 20 per cent.''
The England captain made a short departure from his earlier statement about utilising the coming series as a preparatory session ahead of the World Cup in South Africa (2003) and said ``winning each game will be foremost in the minds of the players. The World Cup is there, but winning the tour against India is the immediate goal.
The series in India and the one to follow in New Zealand would help in analysing the players' abilities and aid in formulating a balanced team before the World Cup, Hussain felt.
The England captain said the tour opener at the Eden Gardens on January 19 would serve as valuable exposure for the team as none of the players, except Graham Thorpe, have the experience of playing before such big crowds under lights.
The 15-member England team arrived here in the morning and were herded off in a specially ``secured'' bus from the tarmac almost immediately after landing at the airport. For the next seven days before the first one-dayer, England will have regular practice at the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club grounds and will also play a practice match against the Bengal Ranji team on January 17.
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