Captain's Log - the Gloucestershire skipper's diary

The drawn Test match in India prompted a lot of discussion amongst my friends and family and I am sure it did with you as well. So, this week we will have more of an international flavour as I try to give some insight into a captain's dilemma regarding declarations.

The timing of the declaration is key and there are several points you take into consideration. Enough time to bowl the opposition out is a major factor and although we gave ourselves a day and a bit, it is not nearly enough on a benign surface. Here lies another dilemma because if the pitch is still good for batting, it means you must set a very challenging total to avoid losing comfortably. This would have been the reasoning behind England's extended second innings; they could not afford to lose. Very often the best declarations gives the opposition a chance of winning so their approach to batting is different and maybe not as cautious.

Hussain also knew it was going to take a huge performance from his bowling unit to level the series so he would have looked at his options. Naturally, spin was going to be his main weapon and he had two in his ranks. Despite Giles' five-wicket haul in the first innings the jury was still out on whether he could complete the Test with another big workload on the final day. His spinning partner Dawson was in his second Test match and although he has acquitted himself very well so far, he has only been playing first-class cricket for six months.

There probably is enough there to make a captain uncertain but just in case there is not, he would have looked at his other options. Hoggard is leading the pace attack and is still very inexperienced particularly on an unresponsive pitch. Flintoff backed him up in a role that is foreign to him. Taking the new ball in international cricket is no easy task. Taking it in India is an unenviable one but taking the new ball with no prior experience is a huge ask for the young Flintoff. The reason Flintoff is there at all is because White is not fully bowling fit. It is enough to cast doubt even over the most adventurous captain.

As Hussain pondered over his decision, some statistician would be emphasising how prolific the Indian batmen are on home soil and he would be thinking the series could be lost here and it would not be true reflection on England's near dominance of the Test. Right, the decision is made. We will try to win but we will not give India even an outside chance because we cannot lose.

I predicted this and knew that our only chance of winning was to be bowled out cheaply in our second innings leaving India a fairly modest total to chase. They would have been tempted and may have lost their top five in the bid to chase runs. Considering that they might be still 80 runs or so short of their target, I will then back the bowlers to clean up the lower order with some determined and `fired up' fielders behind them.

If the situation occurs again, I am confident that Hussain will be more adventurous and England will go all out to square the series. The difference is that England can afford to risk losing in an attempt to win.