THE Englishmen visit India once in nine years, at least that has been the trend on the last two occasions. Cattle on the roads, beggars at every street corner, smog and rotten food have been some of the reasons for some of the prominent English cricketers never visiting India. And those who come, like the ones on this tour, do it with great reluctance.
It is a pity that the English cricketers make such a fuss. Their fear is understandable but then cricketers like Alec Stewart, Andrew Caddick and Darren Gough created a kind of scare which affected the others too before better sense prevailed. The legendary Ian Botham too did little to help the cause when he demanded the series to be called off.
The fear of travelling to India is not new for the Englishmen. The factors that influence such decisions could be many but one suspects it has mainly to do with the English failing to counter the challenging conditions in India - on and off the field.
For years the Englishmen have looked for excuses. The fear came from all quarters. The fear of umpires; the fear of food; and most importantly the fear of pitches. The excuses on some occasions have been silly - the smog as we were told by Ted Dexter when England last visited India.
Then there was this occasion when the Englishmen blamed the hotel food for their stomach disorder when the fact was that it had to do with the amount of intake and not the quality of the food served to them.
Why has the sub-continent proved so dreadful to the Englishmen. The above mentioned reasons apart, it could have been related to the overall structure of Indian cricket where ill-equipped centres were granted matches, leading to complaints from the English cricketers. But the situation had changed when Graham Gooch brought his team to India nine years ago. The English could not have found flaws in the playing conditions and the quality of accommodation provided to them.
Why then this English aversion to travel to India?
It is the fear of losing that haunts and influences the approach of the English cricketers when it comes to playing in India. Obviously, the English seam bowlers find the pitches in India least helpful. The heroes of the English county championship would come a cropper on pitches which help the spinners a lot. And the English just do not have a single decent spinner.
England has four players yet to play a Test - off-spinners Martyn Ball and Richard Dawson; wicketkeeper James Foster and seamer Richard Johnson. It reflects on the reserve strength of England which will miss Caddick and Gough more than it would miss Stewart. The retirement of Mike Atherton had clearly increased the pressure on seniors like Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe to guide the young side on a most difficult assignment.
It is bound to be a tough tour for England, what with India enjoying the reputation of being a tough side at home. The two-Test loss to South Africa last year was not quite on expected lines as India suffered humiliation at home after a long time. It was thus with lot of pride that India bounced back to stop the invincible Australians when the teams last met.
The English cricketers lack the resilience which the Australians boast of. In the process of rebuilding the side, England might well treat the series against India as a learning process for its young guns. There are a few exciting cricketers around but then they would find the challenge overwhemling against some of the best names in business.
The Indians, playing below potential in South Africa, have learnt a few lessons but then have been guilty of not making any attempts of improving. Often the Indians fail to raise their game at crucial stages and the policy of making compromises has not helped the side at all when playing overseas.
For all the hype and passion that marks Indian cricket, the team has plenty of areas which have not been attended to despite the weakness being so glaring. Poor fitness has affected the performance of the players and the overall attitude has not shown the Indians in a good frame of mind.
The search for a quality opening pair has continued for years and it will not be fair to expect Deep Dasgupta to play the role of an opener and also keep wickets. He may have just about managed to keep his place intact but then he certainly is not the answer to the opener's slot. He also has to improve considerably as a wicketkeeper to win the confidence of his skipper and the bowlers.
The Indian performance in South Africa was tardy. The batsmen continued to be shaky against the short ball and looked so clumsy against the moving ball. The attack too lacked the skill to penetrate the defence of batsmen who revelled essentially because the Indians were wayward.
The home series against England may well hide the problems of the Indian team. The pitches will be prepared to the instructions of the captain and should suit the needs of the spinners with Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh being the torchbearers. When playing at home, all India needs is quality performance from its spinners and this English side looks vulnerable against the slow men no doubt.
This English team should rank as one the weakest sides to travel to India for a long time. Hussain and Thorpe will have to strike their best forms and expect Mark Ramprakash, Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher to provide the support and keep the Indian spinners at bay.
An India-England cricket contest does not generate the kind of excitement one experiences when India plays Australia, Pakistan or South Africa. This English team lacks characters like Botham and Greig, who had a great following among the Indian supporters but then there would be enough reasons for Hussain and Ramprakash to leave an impression on the cricket fans in India.
Having made the decision to travel to India amidst rising security concerns, the Englishmen may have won a few friends already in this cricket-crazy nation. The passion for cricket in India is unmatched and Hussain did well to acknowledge on his arrival. He was keen to play in India, his first visit to this country, and it was a statement which was well received by the cricket lovers.
It will be tough for England to read the wily Indian spinners and tougher for its inexperienced and weak attack to contain batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and V. V. S. Laxman. It would be a feat if the Englishmen bowl the Indian team twice in a match. Given the strength of their bowling, it looks quite unusual even as the Indian spinners look forward to reaping rich hauls in the three Tests at Mohali, Ahmedabad and Bangalore.
England has had a mixed experience during its visits to India. The first time the English visited India for a series was in 1951-52. Led by N. D. Howard, the Englishmen drew the first three Tests but won the fourth quite comfortably. The Indians too improved their approach and tied the series by winning the fifth and final Test at Madras by an innings.
England next visited India in 1961-62 for a five-Test series. Again, the first three matches failed to produce a result before India won the last two Tests at Calcutta and Madras.
Three years later, England toured India and returned with honours intact as all the five matches were drawn.
Tony Lewis led England in a five-match series in 1972-73 which India won 2-1. The home team came back after losing the first match at Delhi as England lost at Calcutta and Madras.
England's first series triumph in India came in 1976-77 under Tony Greig's captaincy. The English won at Delhi, Calcutta and Madras in a row before India drew consolation with a win at Bangalore and a draw at Bombay. England maintained its reputation in the one-off Test at Bombay in 1979-80 when it won under the captaincy of Mike Brearley but the Indians dashed their hopes in 1981-82 when they won the six-match series 1-0, the lone triumph coming at Bombay.
In 1984-85, India began with a win at Bombay but losses at Delhi and Madras gave David Gower's English side an unexpected 2-1 triumph. On their next visit in 1992-93, England was outclassed by Mohammed Azharuddin-led India in all three Tests.
Back from South Africa, the Indians have a reputation to maintain. The ball is now in their court. The draw in the second Test at Port Elizabeth was a very significant mark in the Indian approach. It showed the team's resolve to come together. It is this collective approach, and a refreshing change in attitude, that will guide the Indians in this series against England. The fact that the competitions will be on spinner-friendly tracks makes India a clear favourite.
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