Winning the Session

Indian Vs England, 2nd Test, Trent Bridge, 1st August 2011, pre match start Day 4.

By Vikram Afzulpurkar

A positive approach, no less by the England late order may have tilted the scales in favour of the hosts. Was this the big session that has already decided the course of the match?

Stuart Broad scored 64 at number 9.

The curious Indian fan will probably do a post mortem of how England mustered up 221 in the first innings even after India had felled them to 124 for 8! This allowed India a lead of only 67. The last two wickets, that is the last three batsmen for England, Stuart Broad no less probably adopted a carefree attitude, best remembered by that nation as one displayed by their tailenders during the famous series in 1981 against Australia, now affectionately titled Botham's Ashes.

Mercurial all-rounder Ian Botham led England from certain defeat to win the match but not without a significant stand with tailender Graham Dilley when the match was virtually lost. The psyche adopted was that nothing could get worse so we might has swing our bat to have some fun. This helped rid off any nervous tension and the ball evaded the Australian fielders with regularity and found the boundary. It was only when Dilley, better known for his bowling, realised that 117 runs had been put on and more could be done that he made the fatal mistake of playing with care. The result was that his lost his wicket and the tail's resistance ended. In hindsight Botham and others analysing the situation said it had been a wrong thing to do to 'comply with reality' whereas with the carefree attitude even more runs may have resulted.

Graham Dilley's unexpected shots in 1981 had upped England's chances

Anyway, the Englishmen then had done enough damage and Botham and Willis bowled strongly to defeat Australia.

The current day's perspective is of course more professional after so many years and opportunities to analyse innings. Most teams tell their latter order to go after the leather, that is, get runs fast because inevitably the end will come. It seems the best tactic to adopt but few would have guessed at Trent Bridge that England's last two wickets would put on almost 80 % more runs than the top and middle orders had done.

The moral of the story is that provided you adopt the right attitude, luck may favour you to the extent it did the Englishmen two days ago in Nottingham. Now, with a massive second innings lead of about 380 (four wickets in hand) before the start of the 4th day's play, the English seemed to have done something very right early on in the match, namely the positive approach adopted in the first innings.

Cricket's Fit Old Men

By Vikram Afzulpurkar

Misbah-ul-Haq's position in the team is strengthened as he is appointed Pakistan's universal captain at a late age. Cricket has several late debutants, late blossomers and may see in the next four years, another frontier of age broken by three Indians.


Master Stroke
Among other reasons, Misbah ul Haq’s elevation to Pakistan captain for all formats seems to be a good way to prolong the career of a talented but late blossoming cricketer. It’s a tough call sometimes for the selectors when a batsman 37 years of age does not get the runs, understandably because of a lean patch or sheer scoring opportunities, yet knowing that there is more than one last hurrah from the hard hitter.

As a captain, he fulfills a utility role and doubtless in that volatile climate seems to be a man the whole team gets along well with. From Pakistan’s point of view, it’s a master move.

Late Debutants

Aamir Sohail debuted at 28

John Crawley came at 28

Talking about late blossomers, Aamir Sohail from that country made his debut at age 28 which in the relatively conservative times of 1991 was considered very late. He too went on to captain the national side and showed a commanding presence. Other late debutants in international cricket during the 1990s have been John Crawley of England at 28 and possibly the biggest trendsetter of that decade, Colin Miller, the multi utilitarian (could bat, bowl pace and off spin). However, by the time of Miller’s debut around 1998-9, the trends had changed globally to allow for an older but fit player to make his initial mark.

Colin Miller debuted at 33

Longevity
The question mark in most Indians minds is whether or if so when Rahul Dravid or Laxman will call it quits. For that matter even Tendulkar. Our mindsets dominate to make us believe the current tour of England is ‘definitely their last.’ However, if these three musketeers just confine themselves to play Test cricket, they may even have another tour of England, in 2015. As one astute observer said “As long as they stand in the slips and catch everything, how difficult is it to bat to hundreds and continue to contribute to the team.” Yes, especially with the fitness levels attained by cricketers these days and specialist physios help available, this may even may possible.

England's Wilfred Rhodes played  Test cricket till 52

Records
True, age is solely a number as one finds probably a 42 year old Dravid, Tendulkar or a 43 year old Laxman take on the English in England again. Of course, it would be too much in this era to expect them to drag it on for another ten years. Englishman Wilfred Rhodes holds the record for being the oldest Test player at 52 years. But who knows that even that day may arrive in the latter part of this century when a whole new generation arrives.

Karnataka's Interventions

By Vikram Afzulpurkar

Karnataka is an important centre for Indian cricket's activity and a role model for dynamic strategies by its administrators

Hub
Karnataka is now arguably the de facto headquarters of Indian cricket which statement will have the Mumbaiites and Kolkatans squirming because the former is where the official HQ is whereas the Cricket Association of Bengal in the latter has been a financial power.

Bengaluru is often a temporary home for Indian star players

Team Indian Camps
Karnataka is where the National Cricket Academy is based and this alone allows it to host players and intellectuals throughout the year, therefore moving it close to being the hub. Most Indian team camps have also been held in its capital city, Bengaluru, at least in the last 20 years. The weather simply makes it more amenable, besides, the facilities it has come up with for the NCA.


Karnataka’s talent

National Cricket Academy

Apart from this, Bengaluru is a financial superpower in India and a hi tech state offering a faster execution of projects and plans, not to mention housing some of the best minds, be they in cricket or other spheres of life.

The state, although not producing half as many players of national standing in the last decade as it did in the ‘90s has consistently proved its mettle. Their Ranji Trophy championship record is good although many would have like them to have skimmed past the finishing line in recent times. But they are a daunting opposition, not to forget that they have had three Ranji titles in the last 15 editions.

Fast Action

The KSCA Academy is able to utilise the NCA facilities

Taking the cue, the Karnataka State Cricket Association did not rest on its laurels. Shortly after the National Cricket Academy was founded in 2000, they founded the KSCA academy in 2003 with an effort to apply training techniques and philosophies borrowed from there to help tap the state’s talent.  Some early day problems meant the state academy had to close for about two years in the middle of the decade but was promptly restored around 2007-8.

Administrators Brijesh and his Highness Wodeyar

Innovations
Karnataka also took the initiative to launch the first state based premier league in the country, the Karnataka Premier League, based on the Indian Premier League model. Youngsters can now earn lakhs through this league and see a secure future for themselves at least to maintain their pursuit towards higher honours. This year, after two editions of the KPL, the Association decided to postpone the cash rich league to the end of the season in a bid to get better sponsors and allow for the right window. Dynamic thinking.

Another innovation in the season 2011-12 is to the Shafi Darashah tournament, by inviting the Ranji Trophy champion and runners-up teams, besides other star sides. No doubt financial muscle is required and the state Association is not shy to spend so that their homegrown talent can get the best exposure.

Incoming Karthik Jeshwant

Outgoing Sanath Kumar

It’s a professional world and one of their loyalists, coach Sanath Kumar has gravitated to Baroda this year. Look-alike Karthik Jeswanth, another dedicated coach and number 2 in the KSCA Academy will coach the state’s Ranji Trophy side. Particularly refreshing is the approach of the Association this year as it nominated its coach well in advance, almost four months prior to Ranji Trophy season. This will allow maximum preparation time for all. The future looks bright indeed.

Bubble Burst in England

By Vikram Afzulpurkar

The seeming invicibility of the 'World Champions' and number one side has been shattered by a doughty opposition in heavy weather

The Mighty Will Fall
Cricket is a great leveller and yes, England defeating India comprehensively in the first Test at Lords, shows how the Asian champion side can capitulate. The latter’s feeling of superiority before the start of the match was from several events, one among them the World Cup victory earlier this year. No less their number 1 status in Tests till then.

The Asian Tiger’s focus has been on T20’s and for good reason because the global game’s revenues will be derived from this format. In conclusion a suitable compromise must be found to accommodate the interests of both the superfast format and its age old ancestor, Tests.

Judging the ball is a whole different art in England

Test Focus
Possibly, a byproduct of the T20 emphasis has been an unpreparedness to identify players who will perform well in Tests in England in particular. We’re back to square one, the age old lesson that the ball does very different things in England and that too late in the day. “Bowlers always have a chance,” as an astute sub continental commentator put it, unlike back home where they have to take initial advantage and the batsmen on their part stave off initial dangers.

While there is no doubt that the selectors and coaches know who the good Test players are, one wonders if the entire focus of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the cricket loving public has been too much towards the faster formats. The BCCI’s intellectuals too must be fatigued. And suddenly, come July (no doubt there was the Test series in the West Indies prior to this) we need a side that takes on a very strong England team and that too in conditions very challenging for batsmen.

BCCI Test Division
Can the BCCI field a talent scouting unit that focuses only on upcoming Test match players? Search the mofussil areas, scour the cities, maybe even stage a Challenger Series (now renamed NKP Salve series, started in the early ‘90s as a selection tournament and comprised India, India  ‘A’ and India ‘B’ sides) to select Test players?

Emerging Arena
At the moment, the Test-mettle players in the Indian team, barring Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar from an earlier era, may be those churned out from one-day selection. Yes, the latter have sufficient class and have been made to gravitate towards what is regarded as the ultimate test for a cricket – Tests.

Seclude and Exclude
However, if their skills are more towards the fast formats, can they not be reserved only for T20s and 50-overs matches? Therefore, others can play when India tour England or Australia where the physical conditions require the pure grafter.

Shot making is not easy in some conditions

Aggressive Test approach
Agreed when playing in conditions more suitable for their game, India can select two or three fast scorers to force the pace and give their bowlers more time to bowl out the opposition. Somehow we don’t think this way when playing in England, right?

Perfect Steed
Of course this theory begs many questions, one among them, ‘Batsmen apart, what defines a Test bowler?’ While bowlers may be more pliable between the slow and fast formats, perhaps Praveen Kumar is an example of a genuine swing bowler capable of doing greater damage in than others in Tests in English conditions. By that dint, Ishant Sharma may turn out to be the ideal choice to play in Australia where the pitches almost ‘invite’ you to ‘hit the deck’ and bounce the ball either into or away from the batsmen.

The discussion then looms to what type of spinner is suitable for Tests, that is, if we haven’t tired him out enough in T20s and ODIs. There seems to be no pure rhythm bowler among the spinners that India currently have, therefore there’s no harm in sticking to Harbhajan Singh. He relies on variations and surprise balls to claim wickets.

The Purebred

Find pure Test players?

But what if we scouted for a pure rhythm bowler among our domestic leagues? It might give Harbhajan a mental rest window and keep him incisive for the faster formats. Again, it’s a good point at which to reflect. What are we telling our upcoming young bowlers in domestic cricket “Get ready for all formats of the game?” Or are we better off spotting one or two and telling them to “get ready only for Test cricket?” Can a cricketer who is promised nothing but Test cricket become our match winner in alien conditions?

Planning
No doubt it’s only a worthy debate and not practical to make full scale changes in the team right now. But can years of advance planning give us some elusive Test victories in challenging conditions. The previous series in England was no doubt won with Dravid at the helm, but let’s not forget it could have ended up as drawn if MS Dhoni and Sreeshant hadn’t plodded on till the end when 9 wickets were down.

Importance of Tests
Again, in conclusion, India is doing well in the global game, especially the eye grabbing formats of T20 and ODI. But we don’t feel like masters when suddenly upstaged in Tests in difficult conditions. Do we pay heed to the older folks advice about the important of Tests and do something big to arrest this fall? Or do we regard the faster formats as our bread and butter and give only our spare time to developing out Test side?