Exposing the chinks in the visitors' armour

V. V. SUBRAHMANYAM

THE learning process for England cricketers might have got a jolt with some harsh lessons dished out during the three-day match against the Board President's XI at the new-look Lal Bahadur Stadium (November 22 to 24) which ended in a draw. For, at the end it was clear that it is not just spin that can have England in a spot but even quality medium-pace with the ball swinging around.

If they enjoyed batting against a comparatively weak bowling attack in their tour opener against Mumbai CA, the Englishmen got the first real clue of what is in store for them on the tour. Off-spinner Sarandeep Singh (five for 98) and left-armer Murali Karthik (three for 84) duly exposed the batting inadequacies of the tourists as they scored 320 in the first innings. They relied more on accuracy and variations on a slow pitch.

Everytime, the spinners made them play, England looked uncomfortable and there was the strange sight of most of the frontline batsmen charging too far down the crease and then deciding which stroke to play. Not a good sign indeed considering the fact that they would be up against the class of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the Test series.

With the exception of the 32-year-old, middle-order batsman Mark Ramprakash (105) and to some extent opener Mark Butcher (41), who had a charmed life and captain Nasser Hussain (46), none of the batsmen showed the willingness to play the waiting game on a slow pitch. Ramprakash's century (105, 229 min, 182 balls, 9 x 4, 2 x 6), in a way, served warning to the Indians that he has the patience and strokes to play a long innings. He was one batsman who used his feet to reach to the pitch of the ball. No doubt, he too thrived on a dropped catch (when he was on 45) with Murali Karthik failing to latch on to a straight forward chance in Railways medium-pacer Sanjay Bangar's first over. Ramprakash, who had been in and out of England team for more than a decade now in his 46-Test career, threw enough hints that he means business on this tour. What must have disappointed English coach Duncan Fletcher was that Butcher and Nasser Hussain failed to convert the good starts into big scores. The visitors had reason to be happy at the end of the first day's play thanks to Ramprakash's century.

But when the Board President's XI batted, the bowling chinks were exposed by 25-year-old southpaw Sridharan Sriram (149) and captain Jacob Martin (89) during their 202-run stand for the third wicket. A partnership which put to fore the lack of bite and variety in the England bowling - both pace and spin. Though Mathew Hoggard bowled well initially when he surprised Wasim Jaffer (0) with a beauty which had him squared up to snick to wicketkeeper James Foster, soon he and his partner James Ormond were handled comfortably. So was the case with the spinners Richard Dawson and Martyn Ball. The two looked good with the hard ball forcing the batsmen to be cautious. However, once the ball softened up, they were ineffective.

However, Sriram, playing in his third match against any touring side, put himself back in the national reckoning, taking full advantage of the conditions with a knock which can be split into two phases. If he was overtly cautious in the beginning as he took 105 minutes to hit his first four and scored his first 50 in 136 balls, his second half-century came quicker - off just 66 balls - as he made some exquisite strokes on either side of the wicket. He clearly demonstrated that he is a much better five-day cricketer (he played in six one-day internationals without any success). Jacob Martin was more aggressive from the start playing the square drive too often and never hesitant to pull the erring bowler.

On the third morning, the England bowlers came back strongly to take a few wickets with Hoggard denying Martin a century - bowling him neck-and-crop, medium-pacer Craig White and Martyn Ball picking two wickets apiece with the latter even surprising Rohan Gavaskar in flight to take a simple return catch. In this session, they seemed to have become wiser by pitching the ball up to beat the bat quite frequently. President's XI declared its first innings at the lunch break scoring 339 for seven on the final day.

If the English camp was delighted at the sudden progress of its bowlers, their faces might have turned red by the end of the day as there was a collapse of sorts when they batted. What was worse was they were done in by the medium-pace of Tinu Yohanan, who had the privilege of re-arranging the stumps of opener Michael Vaughan (18), and left-armer Surinder Singh from Jammu & Kashmir, who lured Mark Butcher (12) with a perfect outswinger to snick to wicketkeeper. In fact, the two made amends for their dismal show in the first innings. Later, the gentle but accurate medium-pace of Sanjay Bangar, who swung the ball around appreciably by pitching the ball up, was too good. This 28-year-old bowler, playing in his first match against any touring team, sent shock waves in the England camp. His effort was the best ever by an Indian against the Englishmen at the venue since 1962, according to Mr. Thomas Blessington, official scorer of HCA. "He bowled six out of six in the zone, pitched the ball up and made them play and that was the reason for his success," acknowledged Duncan Fletcher.

That England struggled to finish at a miserable 163 for nine when play had to be called off was a sad reflection on their attitude and approach as Bangar's splendid spell of five for 32 illustrated their uncertainty even against the swinging ball. The way he got rid off Nasser Hussain with one that swung away and forced him to snick to gully was a sight he would love to remember for a long time. That his haul included seasoned campaigner like Graham Thorpe, who played on trying to cut, was a fair indication of the conviction and confidence with which he bowled and his utility value. Sarandeep Singh bowled just six overs in the second essay, perhaps deliberately to deny the Englishmen any batting practice against his variety.

The big question remains - what justice will the five-member national selection committee, headed by Chandu Borde, which was there in full strength throughout the match do to those who performed so well in these matches?

The scores:

England 320 (Mark Butcher 41, Nasser Hussain 46, Mark Ramprakash 105, Sarandeep Singh five for 98, Murali Karthik three for 84) & 163 for nine (Nasser Hussain 38, Mark Ramprakash 32, Sanjay Bangar five for 32) drew with Board President's XI 339 for seven decl. (S. Sriram 149, Dinesh Mongia 44, Jacob Martin 89, Martyn Ball three for 89).