India can’t come hoping to play a high-profile series: Allan Lamb

Former England batsman, in an interview with DNA said that he will always have Rahul Dravid in his side. Excerpts:

Seeing this Indian bowling, did you get tempted to come out of retirement?
I have had fond memories playing against India. My debut game was in 1982 at The Lord’s and here at The Oval, I had got a century. I loved touring India and I got runs there. Since I have retired, India have gone stronger and stronger. I think it has a lot to do with Gary Kirsten.

Coming to the current Indian side, I thought the bowlers bowled the wrong line and too short. Only yesterday (Friday) morning they bowled the best in the series. They have missed Zaheer badly.

What do you think has gone wrong with the Indian batting?
They did not have full strength batting line-up in the West Indies and they came here undercooked. The only guy who looked capable of handling the situations well was Rahul Dravid. They needed some warm-up games. England did the same thing four years ago in Australia. They had only two warm-up games and they came back losing 5-0. They should have been here much earlier than they came.

Under-preparation is only for the first Test or the first two Tests. Don’t you think, by the third Test, they should have adjusted to the conditions?
The problem is, India have always been vulnerable to the swinging ball. Unluckily for them, there was a cloud cover during every Test match. So, the conditions helped the ball to swing around and that exposed the under-preparation of the team.

Did you find any technical shortcomings?
They do struggle when the ball swings around. The only solution is the exposure to the conditions. You need to spend enough time in the middle. They should have played more warm-up games. 

You can’t come hoping to adapt to these conditions straightaway. You can’t play a high-profile series with one warm-up game.

What else is wrong with the team?
The fielding has been very poor. I get appalled by their standard. Gary Kirsten worked hard on their fielding. India need to have some self-belief and Kirsten instilled that in the players. He made every player aware of his strengths. He also worked on their fitness. I don’t think this Indian team is the fittest in the world.  Duncan Fletcher should now know what Kirsten did. They know each other well, they worked under each other. I hope Duncan will have learnt a few things. India’s sporting culture is different from England’s or Australia’s. You can’t try to change what they have got. You should try to use what they have got.

Do you think it will be difficult for India to recover from this thrashing?
I don’t think it will take too much time to pull back. India are a hot nation to beat in their own country. They should regain their self-belief after a good home series.

You spoke of Dravid. What about Sachin Tendulkar?
He is a great player. When the ball swings and bounces, you get vulnerable. So, he too looked a little vulnerable to me. The problem is about confidence. He has to put the recent scores behind him. The Oval wicket should suit him. But England bowlers are very confident. But one can’t blame Sachin alone. Nobody, except Dravid got runs. Gambhir, Laxman, too, looked poor.

What about the England squad? They were never so good.
They have planned well. They stuck to the squad that they got. The support staff is very good. They are not relying on individuals. They are playing well as a team. The team wins even when Pietersen and Bell don’t score runs.

But there are not too many indigenous England players. Are they not relying too much on South African imports? You too were from South Africa.
You can’t stop a player who qualifies to play for England and gets selected on merit. In South Africa, they don’t get too many chances. If they decide to leave school and play here, there is nothing you can do. Jonathan Trott, Pietersen came here as school boys and they got picked on merit.

In the current scenario, who do you think is the best batsman in the world?
On paper, it has to be Sachin Tendulkar. Let me tell you Ian Bell is the classiest player in England. Technically, he is the best player. Pietersen, at his best, looks the best in the world. Alastair Cook is not the most elegant of batsmen but look at his stats. He is the most effective batsman in England.

Trott too is not beautiful to watch but he scores heavily. But on form, I would say Bell is the best batsman in the world today but let me tell you, I will always have Dravid in my side.