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Cricket
Green Park pitch unlikely to encourage strokeplay
By Vijay Lokapally
Andrew Caddick gets things ready for fellow paceman Darren Gough at the England team's nets on the eve of the fourth one-dayer at Kanpur on Sunday. Right: Sanjay Bangar (preparing to bowl), Mohammad Kaif and Sarandeep Singh at the Indian team's practice session. - Photos: V.V. Krishnan
KANPUR, JAN. 27. The Green Park wears a beaten look. The outfield is brown and the stands reflect the poor maintenance of the venue. The atmosphere at the ground only confirms the belief that some things just don't change. Like the chaos on the eve of an international cricket match in this dusty, noisy and polluted city. It, indeed, is a sad decline of a traditional Test centre.
The poor cricket being served in the on-going one-day series has not stopped the fans from swarming the venue even though a patriotic movie featuring Sunny Deol at a theatre close to the ground attracts more youngsters. Patriotic stars of a different variety will be engaged in a battle of wits against their former rulers tomorrow on a field which saw the home team win the last two skirmishes at the venue.
The confusion on the roads here might resemble the scene inside the Indian dressing room where tactics and implementation have not enjoyed any co-ordination despite the team management making claims of all sorts. The `good' news on the eve of the India-England one-day contest is that skipper Sourav Ganguly has declared himself fully fit and ``ready to play.''
It is another matter that Ganguly was not really missed when India won at Chennai. His return may now force a few changes with Virender Sehwag being pushed down the order and Mohammad Kaif filling up the void created by the sacking of V. V. S. Laxman.
``The chances of Kaif playing are bright,'' confirmed Ganguly, who had a few encouraging words for Laxman. ``He's a class player and I'm sure he'll be back soon. It's a question of time.'' Ganguly spoke his mind and denied that dropping Laxman was a move to tell the strokeplayers to mind their shots.
The National selectors may have introduced a new policy of accountability by axing Laxman but it would serve its purpose only if the same yardstick is applied to the others too, including Ganguly. It also speaks volumes about India's batting talent if the selectors could take such a brave step - omitting Laxman for playing a poor shot.
The Indian camp was not happy with the pitch which is unlikely to encourage strokeplay. A pitch expert felt that the ball might even keep low, and that could prove a dampener. If Kaif is preferred, the talented Sanjay Bangar would have to watch from the sidelines along with Sarandeep Singh who's still awaiting a chance to prove his mettle.
Far from convincing
The Indians, leading 2-1, have been anything but convincing in the three matches. The batsmen have been inconsistent and the bowlers tardy. A couple of exceptions may not absolve the bowlers of their failures. The less said about the fielding the better. The same holds true for running- between-the-wickets.
Wright took exception by stating that he was happy with the running-between-the-wickets during the Challenger Series and by the Ajay Ratra-Hemang Badani pair in Chennai. ``It gave the impetus to the chase,'' said Wright. But then, Ratra, Kaif and Badani are the only sprinters in the side which looks awfully below standards when it comes to fitness and agility.
England has no pretensions and hence lesser worries. It had a goal to test a few individuals for tougher encounters and the plan has worked well. Coach Duncan Fletcher gave a hint of the team's tough policies when he said that Graham Thorpe would have to earn his place, just like Andrew Caddick against a hard-working Matthew Hoggard. Would Thorpe replace a struggling Nick Knight? Would Gough make way for Caddick? The questions remained unanswered as England delayed announcing the final XI.
The Indians, as always, would look up to Sachin Tendulkar, who was shattered by the news of the death of his agent - Mark Mascarenhas - in a road accident. The Master is yet to score a one-day century against England in 17 outings.
A century from Tendulkar is what the spectators here desire most. That would be as exciting as the `reel' stuff dished out by a Sunny Deol-starrer in a nearby theatre. Life otherwise, is as chaotic in Kanpur, as always.
lThe teams (from):
India: Sourav Ganguly (capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Mongia, Virender Sehwag, Hemang Badani, Mohammad Kaif, Sanjay Bangar, Ajay Ratra, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Sarandeep Singh and Zaheer Khan.
England: Nasser Hussain (capt.), Marcus Trescothick, Nick Knight, Graham Thorpe, Michael Vaughan, Owais Shah, Ben Hollioake, Paul Collingwood, James Foster, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough, Jeremy Snape and Mathew Hoggard.
Umpires: Messrs C. R. Mohite and I. Sivaram; Third umpire: Mr. S. V. Ramani; Reserve umpire: Mr. T. R. Kashyappan.
Hours of play: 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 1.15 p.m. onwards.
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