M Nicholas: Time To Absorb An Outside View Watching India's Different Planet (6 Jan 1997)

6 January 1997

Time to absorb an outside view watching India`s different planet

By Mark Nicholas

SATURDAY brought an astonishing, unforgettable afternoon, much as Friday had done, though for different reasons and in different countries.

On Friday in Harare the England team fell apart in the face of impressive but not irresistible Zimbabwe cricket. They were humiliated and left for New Zealand with their tail between their legs while at home their nation called for heads.

In Cape Town on Saturday I saw the post-lunch part of a 222-run stand by Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammed Azharuddin, which lasted for less than three hours and lit up the whole Indian legend, in the second Test against South Africa.

Azharuddin hit 11 boundaries in the first 15 balls he faced after the interval during his power-crazed, risk-riddled, 94-ball hundred; Tendulkar hit 17 fours (and eventually 26 fours in his 169) with the precision and style of the grand masters.

It was by chance that we were there - Mike Procter, John Traicos and I - and what good fortune. We had changed planes and arrived in the morning from Harare.

The beefy Procter was there as a South African selector, the wiry Traicos as chairman of Zimbabwe`s selectors; his country are due in South Africa this month.

I wanted to talk with them - these two wise, kind men, who are fond of English cricket - about what they had seen during the past three weeks.

Staying objective while I was commenting on England`s visit to Zimbabwe had become difficult, so littered as it was with cockups, so better to hear how it had appeared from the outside.

Traicos: I think that to win, you must have passion and desire. You can`t want to win, you must need to win. It was there in individuals, Croft and Stewart, Gough and Knight, but it didn`t look as if it was there collectively as a team. It was unfortunate that Atherton was out of form - I wonder how worn he is mentally - and there isn`t enough natural ability to switch on and off at will. For England it has to be a collective desire and effort all the time.

Procter: Yes, there is an emotional side to bringing passion into cricket, to play as if every game is your last.

After all you might drop dead tomorrow or be dropped. The South Africans have it, India have it at home in front of their own people, but get splintered when they are abroad. They have been saved here by two players of genius, England don`t have any geniuses I`m afraid.

Traicos: Togetherness in practice and preparation is crucial. It is almost a culture, and it leads to the confidence which England lack.

I think they have some very good players, but they look frightened to express themselves. Their togetherness appeared to be an insular thing which is unhealthy.

Procter: County cricket is selfish by nature, there is not the same togetherness as in cricket in South Africa or Australia. The players, understandably but wrongly, look after themselves for contracts and averages. Money shouldn`t matter, but once your livelihood is at stake, it becomes a case of every man for himself.

Actually I`m a little concerned this attitude might creep into South Africa as more of our players become full time, though here it is not an inbred thing like in England, where the more cavalier, more generous approach disappeared with amateur status in the early Sixties.

For some reason cricketers in South Africa and Australia appear more mature than some English players, and these days they seem to do the simple things better, be it technically or mentally.

We talked amid the roars of approval as, in the middle of the glorious sun-drenched Newlands, ball after ball was flayed to the boundary.

This cricket had nothing to do with what we had seen during the previous weeks, a game from another planet on which England, at present, could not possibly live.

Procter played county cricket for Gloucestershire and loved every second. `Glorse` became `Proctershire` and no man, not Grace, not even Hammond, can have been held in more awe than `Proc`, the South African. He was restricted to 41 wickets in seven Test matches and then came the Rest of the World, World Series and all that.

Traicos played seven Tests too. Three with Procter for South Africa in 1970, when they marmalised the Australians, and four for the new Zimbabwe. He bowled fizzing, miserly off-breaks and fielded gully brilliantly.

Traicos: I thought they were getting it right in the second half of the Bulawayo Test. Hello, I thought, here come the Englishmen I know, tough pros here to give us a lesson with uncompromising, efficient cricket.

Then they let it slip. I suppose I expected more direction, players to do a job in all three departments in both disciplines of cricket.

With their background of pro cricket I thought they would take advantage of strong situations and play decisively enough to win.

Procter: Yes, you think of England and the basics being done well. I wonder if the best players were picked. I know Cork wasn`t available, but where were Lewis, Hick, Smith? How could Caddick not get a game and Thorpe not play in the one-day internationals? Where are the Embureys and Edmonds, who batted resolutely down the order?

And I wonder too about some of the tactical decisions. Too many people in English cricket think they know the lot, when in fact they are falling behind the rest of the world. See, for example, how far ahead Sri Lanka have gone ahead in terms of tactics and planning. A few years ago that would have been unthinkable. In those few years England seem to have stood still.

What about this pinch-hitter thing in the one day games? Pinchhitters are for flat pitches, proper batsmen for awkward pitches, yet in Bulawayo on a flat one Atherton came in at number three after England had 40 from the first 10 overs. In Harare when a new ball moved around and they needed his technique, he came in at number five. That old English attitude of superiority still lingers I`m afraid.

Traicos: Yes, that sort of `a few games in the colonies to dust up the natives` approach. I don`t blame the players at all, more the system in which they are produced.

Tendulkar was first to a hundred, and Newlands rose to acclaim modern cricket`s most impressive man. Procter, who was quite captivated, said that the Indian was the nearest thing to Barry Richards that he had seen.

Azharuddin soon followed, and Traicos said he had not seen a faster hand-eye coordination in a batsman. Mind you, we agreed, he needed it, what with that increasingly unorthodox, almost daring technique.

Traicos: I was surprised by the itinerary of England`s tour and by the length of their preparation. Perhaps they could have come earlier and then had a break at home for Christmas. Why didn`t they have more than a few days preparation, after a long twomonth lay-off, before a tough game against Mashonaland? Did they take Mashonaland too lightly?

The other thing that struck me was the fielding, which is a key part of the structure of the modern game and where England were certainly not as athletic as Zimbabwe.

Fielding is something that can be worked on, but your guys play so much cricket that there doesn`t seem to be enough time for that sort of work. Hussain was brilliant and Knight looked good, but in the end all 11 have to shine, otherwise the noncontributors drag the others down.

Procter: I think county cricket is fantastic, the greatest education there is, but it is how you use it that counts. Once you`re in that mentality of praying for rain you`ve had it, and I`ve known a few pros who have prayed for rain.

County cricket should be streamlined. Three one-day competitions is ridiculous, you`ll never produce an international quality fast-bowler who is brought up on three one-day competitions. I don`t know enough about the two-division argument, but I would say that, although I found county cricket very competitive, some sides and players out of contention cruised through the second half of the season, which brings bad habits.

Traicos: Strength must play strength, so fewer teams might help.

I`m no expert on county cricket, but if it is to change, it needs to be quick, not in five years time, even if it means putting some noses out of joint.

Procter: Another thing that surprises me is how England kid themselves. Last winter in Pretoria they batted first, made around 350 before the rain came, didn`t bowl a ball at South Africa in either innings and claimed a moral victory.

Then this business in Bulawayo with David Lloyd saying: `We murdered them` - two teams play for five days and a match goes to the last ball and one team is "murdered". . . Dream on.

Traicos: That was wrong, poor David probably knows it now, as by the way, was the idea that England dominated the second Test. I think Atherton has missed in the PR department.

If he liked people and publicity a bit more, it would reflect better on him and his team. I really like Michael and, having played against him on the A tour in Zimbabwe five years ago, admire his play. Good company on a one-to-one, but this doesn`t come over and he should work to change that.

Procter: Lovely guy, no question, but he won`t let the rest of the world find out. If you are no good at PR, you`re not a captain, simple as that. Look at what Tony Greig did in India in 1976, look what Colin Ingleby-MacKenzie does every day. The word is `warmth`.

Traicos: Croft had it. Seemed to enjoy his cricket and communicate with the locals. I mean Zimbabwe people are pretty friendly, yet I was told that some of the players said they couldn`t wait to get out of the place. Surely you must study the country you are going to and prepare accordingly so that you can get people on your side through goodwill, rather than feel put upon.

Procter: Yes, to embrace the country you are visiting is the secret. I truly believe that if this England side had enjoyed themselves more off the field, they would have played better on it.

OK, so Zimbabwe is not a place of mobile phones and great luxury, but it is a place of special, welcoming people, who were looking forward to hosting England for the first time. I know some who feel let down.

Which is I suppose how England feel. It was a deflating tour and one which upset believers of English cricket.

Most of our conversation took place during two hours of the most exhilarating batting we could remember.

New Zealand will welcome this England team. Now is a true test of character.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)