A sorely needed tour match

Still smarting from the nine-wicket loss at Bloemfontein, the Indian team will take the field at Buffalo Park, East London, on Saturday hoping to iron out some glaring flaws in a first-class match against South Africa A.

Deprived by rain of their earlier preparatory fixture at Chatsworth before the first Test, the visitors sorely lack match practice, especially in the longer version of the game. Barring Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, the Indian batting creaked with rust, as did much of the bowling attack.

Sourav Ganguly, lambasted in recent times for his weakness against the short ball, has opted to place work above family. With his wife Dona giving birth to the couple's first child, Ganguly initially was to have flown home for a brief visit. The Test loss, however, has forced a change of plans; maybe an opportune one, for the skipper now has a valuable chance to sort out his technique ahead of facing Shaun Pollock and Nantie Hayward at Port Elizabeth.

The East London match will also give off-spinner Harbhajan Singh a chance to test his fitness in a match situation. A groin infection forced him to glumly watch the equally glum Bloemfontein proceedings from the pavilion, and there is no doubt that, as India's intended trump card, Harbhajan will be raring to confirm his participation in the second Test.

One player who will not be putting on his whites at Port Elizabeth is Sameer Dighe. It seems now that the selectors' decision to pick two wicket-keepers, which appeared foolish and unwarranted initially, has paid unexpected dividends. Dighe's back spasms, which were to have kept him out of just the first Test, have now been diagnosed as more serious, with doctors stating that he would not regain match fitness before the start of the third Test.

There has, meanwhile, been no call for a replacement to fly out from India. In the words of Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah to PTI, "The team management in South Africa has not asked for any replacement for Dighe, who will be flying back home soon, and as of now we will not be sending any player."

The retention of Deep Dasgupta for the Test series has now proved fortunate, especially from the point of view of the young Bengal 'keeper. Although he showed some nerves behind the stumps on Test debut, he also displayed pluck and sense in his first-innings knock of 34, giving fellow rookie Virender Sehwag the needed support to reach his century.

South Africa, meanwhile, have named an impressive-looking second-string team in spite of some players dropping out with injuries. Captained by Dale Benkenstein, the side includes Jacques Rudolph, mightily successful against the Indians in earlier tour matches, contortionist chinaman Paul Adams, all-rounder Justin Kemp, and tearaway Andre Nel.

The most significant name in the line-up, however, is that of Daryll Cullinan. Returning to first-class cricket last weekend after a several-month hiatus due to knee surgery, Cullinan is pushing for a Test berth ahead of relative newcomer Boeta Dippenaar. If included, he will only strengthen a South African batting line-up that displayed clinical efficiency in demolishing India earlier this week.

India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Shiv Sunder Das, Connor Williams, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta (wicket-keeper), Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh, Venkatesh Prasad, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra

South Africa A: Dale Benkenstein (captain), Jacques Rudolph, Graeme Smith, Martin van Jaarsveld, Daryll Cullinan, Justin Kemp, Kruger van Wyk (wicket-keeper), Paul Adams, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Garnett Kruger, Gulam Bodi