Rose Bowl gives the Indians a bad hangover

Namaste England

The Indian players woke up to a gloomy Wednesday morning in London, and not the least because the morning’s papers revealed a whopping 104-run defeat in the first one-dayer. The chill and the rain could only have added to the despondency. Is the Indian summer, so to speak, over?

That would be a premature conclusion to make. With six matches to go, the series has only just begun. And Rahul Dravid’s side had shown during the Test series that they have the resilience to come back from behind.

Yet, almost every cricket writer has been disparaging about India’s tepid performance, with the fielding drawing the most adverse comments. Former England all-rounder Derek Pringle called it ‘geriatric’ in his report for the Daily Telegraph, and while others like Angus Fraser were less scathing, no one was impressed for sure.

Indeed, because of the tardy Indian fielding, the usually lethargic Monty Panesar’s run out of Sourav Ganguly became the talking point of the day, upstaging the brilliant hundreds by Alistair cook and Ian Bell, and the fiery spells from James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff.

As this series winds its way through various counties and the remaining six matches, India will have to show dramatic improvement in the field to win. But the issue, one thinks, goes beyond just this tour. Success in cricket — certainly in the shorter versions like 50 over and 20 over matches — will depend increasingly on super fitness leading to superb fielding. In India’s case, such superlatives seem far away.

This is a crowded and daunting year for Indian cricket. While winning the Test series here was a tremendous achievement in the context of what had transpired in the preceding six months, the next six will be doubly difficult (apart from the Twenty20 World Cup, India play Australia and Pakistan) unless India can show a dramatic improvement in the fielding.

For skipper Dravid, that should now be priority No.1.

Fredalo is passé
The first ODI was significant for Andrew Flintoff in more ways than one. Apart from proving his fitness, the all-rounder has also to regain some of the aura he has lost since the Ashes whitewash last year, and his alcohol-induced peccadilloes in the Caribbean during the World Cup.

Former England coach Duncan Fletcher, whose autobiography is to be published in November, is reported to have raised several questions about Freddie Flintoff’s commitment. The all-rounder’s superstar status has also come in for scrutiny after some modest performances this season.

But Flintoff will be happy with his comeback effort. In his choirboy hair-cut, he looked to be tugging at the heart-strings of fans seeking an ‘ole English’ hero. More importantly, he bowled thunderingly fast, keeping even the dashing Mahendra Dhoni runless for a long spell. But as one English scribe observed, what if this makes Flintoff feel full of himself again?

Vaughan’s uncertainty
The one guy feeling quite empty nowadays, however, is Michael Vaughan. The Ashes victory of 2005 is now distant memory, the Test defeat against India this season was a setback, and worst of all, Vaughan finds himself sidelined from the one-day team. Only 32, he says he wants to make a comeback.

Vaughan’s plight is understandable. He is in that ‘corridor of uncertainty’ where limited overs cricket is concerned - neither old enough to be completely disregarded, nor young enough to believe that he still time on his side. Moreover, he is captain of the Test team, and this obviously creates its own complications.

Only the Australians, who have developed an extraordinary work ethic once they wear the country’s baggy green cap, have been able to cope with this specific functional responsibility system effectively.

Even so, Ricky Ponting’s methods as one-day captain were quite different from Steve Waugh’s in the Tests, and if they had not played in such a great side, perhaps the differences in approach could have had an adverse effect on the team’s performances.

Everybody agrees that a single captain for the Test and one dayers works best. But the captain must be a certainty in both teams. Unfortunately for Vaughan, his one day record stands in complete contrast to the Tests. He doesn’t have a single one day international hundred to his credit yet, the average is niggardly and his fielding remains mediocre. 

That makes Vaughan’s cup of woe full, which makes it understandable why he is feeling so empty nowadays.

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And finally, I learn that rock star Pete Doherty escaped going to jail on charges of drub abuse because police officers didn’t bring him to court within 24 hours of his arrest.
Now, why do I feel a sense of déjà vu even in England?