India provide toughest test for England (29 May 1999)

29 May 1999

India provide toughest test for England

Michael Henderson

By his lights, Alec Stewart was as chirpy as a woodbird yesterday. The captain with the career diplomat's gift of giving away as little as possible was almost rhapsodic. He even called Mohammad Azharuddin, the Indian captain, "one of the nicest men in the game", which he is, though it is not the kind of thing one normally hears before an important World Cup match.

Throughout the competition Stewart has invested each game with significance. Today he can tell his players, without a hint of a fib, that this is the most important game so far. For, despite that defeat by South Africa at the Oval last Saturday, that is what it is.

If England win, and finish second in Group A, they will carry through two points into the Super Sixes, so long as India accompany them as the third-placed side. To be absolutely sure of going through, India need a victory themselves. As four points ride on the outcome, it is a match well worth winning, and India are the only side in this competition scoring their runs at more than six an over.

Were England to lose, there would be some long faces in their dressing-room. "If we got through with no points," said Stewart, "it would be difficult to qualify for the semi-finals. I reckon teams will have to win two games out of three to qualify. If we took no points we would have to win all three."

There is also the not-so-little matter of team morale. England have been stretched only once in their four matches, when South Africa walked all over them. There is virtue in beating Kenya and Zimbabwe, and a bit more in beating Sri Lanka, but true glory has eluded them. They need to know how good they can be, and would profit from a real test of their ability from which they emerged as winners.

Having made a preliminary inspection of the Edgbaston pitch, and knowing how it befriends the quicker bowlers, England will probably stand by the players who beat Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. That would mean no place for Ian Austin and Robert Croft, who have taken part in the competition, and also no place for Nick Knight, who plays for the host club, and who has become the forgotten man.

India will recall Nayan Mongia, their wicketkeeper, who missed the thrashing of Sri Lanka with a wrist injury. They may even recall him at the top of the order, as Sourav Ganguly's partner, in order to accommodate the bowlers they will need. The alternative would be to drop Robin Singh, who took five wickets in the overwhelming victory against Sri Lanka at Taunton.

That remarkable onslaught from the bats of Ganguly and Rahul Dravid will have put them in the right frame of mind for today's game, which will be attended by thousands of Indians. Every one of them will be rooting for an innings of substance from Sachin Tendulkar, who has made 22 hundreds in one-day internationals, but whose 13 limited-overs games against England have brought only two scores of more than 50.

It was at Edgbaston three years ago that Tendulkar made a brilliant century in a Test that just about crept into a fourth day. Since then he has confirmed his reputation as the wonder of the age, and it is upon his still-young shoulders (he is 26) that a nation's bloated hopes rest, however absurd that seems.

Tendulkar made a brilliant hundred against Kenya at Bristol last Sunday, upon his return from Bombay where he had attended his father's funeral. To win England must get him out cheaply because, in that mood, he can win any match, if not on his own, then without a major contribution from his mates.

Stewart was standing firm on the subject yesterday. "We have bowled really well so far, and if you bowl well it is not so easy for batsmen to whack the ball about, no matter who you are." No, captain, it is not. And so Stewart will look towards Darren Gough and Alan Mullally, and tell them: "We need wickets today from you two. Don't disappoint us."

India's well-documented mastery with the bat should not disguise the fact that their bowling is well suited to English conditions. Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad form an excellent new-ball pairing, and Anil Kumble, the wrist spinner who took 105 wickets in 1995 for Northamptonshire, is familiar with the terrain. It should be quite a match.

England (probable): *-A J Stewart, N Hussain, G A Hick, G P Thorpe, N H Fairbrother, A Flintoff, A J Hollioake, M A Ealham, D Gough, A R C Fraser, A D Mullally.

India (from): S C Ganguly, S Ramesh, -N R Mongia, R Dravid, S R Tendulkar, *M Azharuddin, A Jadeja, R R Singh, A Kumble, J Srinath, A B Agarkar, B K V Prasad.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)