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Srinath's experience missed

By K. Srikkanth

The Indian bowling was wayward once more and again I am deeply disappointed. Discipline and consistency are the keys to success; however, our bowlers appear to have forgotten these vital qualities.

At Nottingham, the Indian pacemen had to bowl on a length at one side of the wicket, and there was a degree of assistance from the surface and the conditions. Instead, they sent down far too many short balls, apart from straying down the leg-side. These were punished ruthlessly by opener Michael Vaughan, in particular.

I am not trying to take away any credit from Vaughan, his was a splendidly attacking knock, but he was helped to a large extent by some aimless Indian bowling.

This Indian attack is short of experience at Test level. It might get away in limited overs cricket, but the shortcomings are bound to be cruelly exposed in Tests.

The truth is there has been none to step into Javagal Srinath's shoes. When he was contributing match after match, his performances never received due recognition, and now when he is not around, the team misses him like never before.

It is the job of the team-management to chart out a game plan, and each bowler should be assigned a specific role. We saw the Nasser Hussain-led England side enter the field with a definite game plan, but, sadly, strategy has not been India's strength.

The fact that Zaheer Khan was warned more than once for running into the danger area also does not present the team-management in good light. Both Zaheer and Ashish Nehra, have been in plenty of trouble in this regard over the last year, and there was enough time for these faults to have been corrected.

Instead, we are constantly facing a situation where India could have a frontline bowler banished for a major part of an innings in a Test match. Things are not how they should be.

Even if the Indian bowling was ordinary, the Englishmen's approach and attitude, when they chased a fairly healthy first innings score, stood out. Seeing the manner in which Vaughan & Co. went after the Indian bowling, for a moment, I felt that it was the Australians and not the English who were batting.

The English response was bold and positive and I am convinced that the decision to attack the Indian bowling was a deliberate ploy. All credit to Vaughan on whom there is that much more responsibility in this series following the absence of the injured Marcus Trescothick, England's best young opening batsman.

There is a sense of correctness in Vaughan's game, off either foot, both in defence and offence, and he appears to have a bright future in international cricket.

For India, Harbhajan Singh's blazing half-century was a welcome bonus, and for a change, it was good to see some fight in the tail. However, there was hardly any fight in the Indian bowling and fielding.

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