Hookes blames Ganguly for stalemate

The former Australian batsman David Hookes, who is now Victoria's coach, launched a stinging attack on Sourav Ganguly after the Indians' tour opener against Victoria at the MCG petered out in stalemate.

Hookes blamed Ganguly for the dullness of the game, claiming that a pre-match agreement between the two sides was ignored by Ganguly once he had won the toss. According to Hookes, the two sides had agreed to bat 70 overs each in their first innings.

But after the toss, Hookes said that Ganguly told him: "It's our first day on the tour, we should just bat." Hookes went on: "So once he went well past that and his tailenders didn't bat properly, I thought 'bugger it' - we were pretty annoyed.

"They didn't learn to play cricket. It was a staggering approach. They treated the game as a net session." He added that if the Indians adopted the same approach in their next warm-up match - against Queensland - then they would go into the first Test short on meaningful practice.

"You need that game of cricket leading into a Test and they have not had a game of cricket - they've had an extended, glorified centre-wicket practice," he said. "If they treat the Queensland game like a glorified centre-wicket game, then they are, in the words of Brad Hodge, 'nowhere'."

Ganguly refused to be drawn into a row, saying that it was "up to Victoria" how they played the match. "Obviously Brad [Hodge] is trying to find a place in the Test side," he explained. "I believe they were playing a bit for him, that's how it goes. That's what you get these days because the itinerary is so tight. You've got to make the most of what you get."