Gary's Diary

Much as I enjoyed watching the Indian Premier League from a distance, it has been fantastic to resume my job with India. In many ways, it was frustrating to interrupt the process immediately after my first series, against South Africa, but we're back on track and I'm excited by the challenges ahead.

The Asia Cup is almost unique in that, outside of official ICC tournaments, it is one of the very few places where Test-playing nations compete against 'minor' teams on an equal footing.

It was great to return to India after the IPL and begin a tour with the one-day team with whom I had not worked before. I was a little apprehensive about how the first few days with this team would unfold as I felt there would be a major "hangover" from hustle and bustle of the 20-over game.

But I was pleasantly surprised to find a group of individuals who have very quickly adapted their thinking and their skills to the longer version of the one-day game. I was also encouraged by their desire to play for India again and what it means to each one of these players to represent their country.

The world is changing at such a pace that our children are learning things at school that they will need to use in careers that have not yet been discovered. School leavers today are entering careers such as internet marketing which wasn’t even around when they entered grade one in 1992.

Likewise encyclopaedia salesmen have had to reinvent themselves as their once very stable occupation ended rather abruptly with the creation, first of CD-based, and now internet-based encyclopaedias.

Businesses are being forced to re-think the value they offer to their customers in order to survive against this backdrop of extreme change. Cricket is faced with the same challenges, and in this column I’m exploring ways that Test cricket can survive and thrive in this fast evolving environment.

My first couple of weeks in India have been outstanding. I was fully expecting some things to differ from my expectations and I was hoping to learn from those differences and avoid disappointment because of the expectations that have been created by my own life and career.

That has not happened so far - I'm still waiting! So far, all the unexpectedness has been extremely positive. I organised a pre-tour camp before South Africa arrived in India and I asked all the players to bring no cricket kit, none whatsoever. It was an important time to do other things.

It would have been easy to feel frustrated when this camp was cancelled but I did not. I am just the coach and there are many aspects of business and peoples' lives over which I have no control, and wish to have no control. There were good reasons for the dates of the camp to be changed and, as it transpired, we did everything we wanted to do in Chennai before the first Test began.

I've asked Paddy to pen a few words updating you on what has been happening over the past weeks. Over to Paddy...

Paddy: Since the last post, both Gary and I have been through a period where the learning curve has sufficiently steep that it's resembled an overhang. We have just had dinner together at the hotel in Ahmedebad, where we reflected on the past 2 weeks. I thought I'd share some of that conversation. Talking about dinner, or Indian food more generally, let me start by answering probably our most frequently asked question; "so how are you finding the food?" My two most favourite foods are South and North Indian (the jury is out on which tops the other), which at home my wife cooks probably every second day. I now get to eat it 3 times a day, actually more if I count the snacks, so I am as happy as a Paddy in an Indian restaurant.

Gary is a bit more of a pasta and braai-guy, and it's been fascinating to watch him fast becoming a chilli-loving vegetarian... and he claims that he's really getting hooked. Although he still fancies the ice-cream dessert rather than the delicious Indian desserts that I am yet to learn how to spell, never mind pronounce.

First of all, many thanks to so many of you for the words of encouragement and support I have received over the last few months. From the moment I accepted the job I have been inundated with good wishes, not to mention requests for interviews! Apologies if I have been unable to respond personally to all of you, but I'm still trying.

I was never in doubt about the enormity of the position as coach of India but if I had been unsure then I certainly would not be by now. I have only been in Bangalore for a few days but I'm settling in very quickly, as I knew I would. My wife, Deborah, hasn't been to India since the South African tour of 1997 and is amazed by the changes the country has undergone. Having two small children this time around will also ensure that it is a very different experience!

I am delighted to be able to confirm that Paddy Upton has agreed terms with the BCCI to join me as mental and fitness coach to the national squad.