Let players drink before the game
Dileep Premachandran comes up with the plays of the third day of the Lord's Test between England and India
Dileep Premachandran
21-Jul-2007
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Thrice as nice: Having scalped Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar on
Friday, James Anderson completed a golden triangle of sorts with a
magnificent delivery to Sourav Ganguly. Pitched outside his off stump, it
swung late and crashed into off and middle. The five-for should breathe
life into a career that's promised much and delivered very little so far.
Temper temper: With India struggling to breakthrough in the second
innings, Sreesanth's frustration boiled over and a wayward shy at the
stumps struck Andrew Strauss flush on the back of the thigh. As he ran in
for the next ball, Strauss backed away, and Sreesanth ran down the
pitch to mouth 'Sorry' before going back to his mark. And after the final
rain delay, he emerged from the pavilion practising his left-arm action.
Never a dull moment and all that.
Catching practice: Having already steered one delivery in the
direction of the slip cordon, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's quest for perfection
resulted in the deftest of slaps into the hands of Ian Bell at third slip.
An appalling shot in a finely poised match, and Dhoni's day didn't improve
with some clumsy takes behind the stumps. When he did finally manage to
gather one down the leg side, he turned and bowed to the ground - showing
an ability to smile even as his world and a dozen ad campaigns crumbled
around him.
That's how it's done, boys: When Chris Tremlett pitched one a
little too full, India's nightwatchman leant forward and executed a
polished off-drive. Rudra Pratap Singh stuck around 40 balls for his 17.
Not bad for a man with a first-class average of 9.22, and an indictment of
some celebrated colleagues who could barely put bat to ball.
Simply the best: As the hype was stripped bare
yet again, Michael Holding was asked how this Indian line-up compared to
the all-conquering West Indians of 1984, the team of Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Larry Gomes, Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd. He smiled diplomatically and said: "They haven't really lived up to the reputation, have they?
Especially not away from home." The numbers may be twisted to say all
sorts of things, but in reality, there's no comparison. This Indian
line-up couldn't even dream of scoring 342 for victory on the final
day of a Lord's Test, and in 66.1 overs at that.
Rest-room graffiti: Lord's is too polite for there to be
spray-painted messages in the toilet, but next to the wash basins, there
are small placards with quotes on the game. The best one comes from Paul
Hogan, who played Crocodile Dundee in the cult movie. "Cricket needs a bit
of brightening up," he says. "My solution is to let the players drink
before the game, and not after. It works in our picnic matches."
Dileep Premachandran is associate editor of Cricinfo