Mullally adds to the attack (30 May 1999)

30 May 1999

Mullally adds to the attack

Michael Atherton

This was England's most important match of the tournament since the opening game. It was crucial to take two points through to the Super Sixes and as the remarkable news from Chelmsford seeped through, victory was needed to even ensure progress. Moreover, after three easy victories and one drubbing, England needed a tough game here to make sure that they were battle-hardened for the matches ahead.

After Alec Stewart won another important toss and elected to field, England's bowlers once again repaid their captain's faith. They have looked increasingly effective and confident as a bowling unit as the tournament has progressed. In almost a carbon copy of the South Africa match a week ago, England reacted well to pressure and managed to restrict an Indian side who had begun brightly and were well placed at the halfway mark for a manageable score of 232.

Whereas most teams have been striking early with the new ball, England have struggled to take early wickets. In fact, in the first 10 overs of their matches so far, England have taken only two wickets. Here they were not helped by the fact that India had two left-handers at the top of the order. Due to his inability to swing the ball back in at them, Angus Fraser has less margin for error and here was guilty of bowling both sides of the wicket, being picked off by Sourav Ganguly, fresh from his near record-breaking effort at Taunton.

But it has been after the first 10 overs that England have come into their own. Principally, this has been due to the excellent form of Alan Mullally, whom England have held back until first change. Initially, I was sceptical of this move, in the same way that I feel Australia have erred in not giving Glenn McGrath the new ball. After all, in conditions to suit you may as well give your best bowler maximum chance of reaping his rewards.

England's management feel, however, that by holding Mullally back it prolongs the number of overs that an attacking bowler delivers. By replacing Darren Gough rather than bowling in tandem with him, they look like taking wickets at least from one end until mid-innings. Also, it may be that with the amount of swing and lateral movement on offer he may have struggled to control the new ball. So far, the selectors are being proved right and the tactic is working.

The balance of the attack looks good: the more defensive bowling of Fraser and Mark Ealham being the perfect foil for Gough and Mullally. Again, it was Ealham, much as he had done against South Africa, who applied the brakes in mid-innings. He picked up the crucial wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, who looked out of sorts, almost as if it was an affront that he could not dominate from the start.

He was soon into his stride, however, and was looking ominous when he pulled an innocuous delivery to Graeme Hick, who took a good and crucial low catch.

England again chose to field a longer batting line-up at the expense of a fifth bowler. It is not a tactic that has been employed with much success so far in this tournament. It cost the West Indies and Australia dear in their matches against Pakistan. England just about got away with it here with the combined overs of Andy Flintoff and Adam Hollioake going for 62. Clearly, Stewart seems to have lost some faith in Robert Croft, although as the sun shines more often and the wickets flatten out some kind of variety will prove essential.

England's pace bowling, then, looks in safe hands for the time being. Mullally, Gough, Dean Headley and Alex Tudor are a pace quartet who will trouble every nation in Test cricket and may well lead England's next attempt to regain the Ashes.

In fact, in my time as an England player, I cannot remember England having such riches in the pace bowling department. Only the lack of aggressive wicket-taking spinners remains a worry, but in conditions such as these, will spinners ever prosper?

The bowlers were once again well supported in the field. Nasser Hussain, although he dropped Tendulkar, has been simply brilliant at backward point and is an inspiration to others. He may well have thought he was fielding in Bombay not Birmingham when an early full-length dive left him covered in dust. Flintoff, too, was prepared to get his creams dirty, nearly decapitating a cameraman at long on. Even Fraser looked comfortable under the most awkward of skiers. England have looked surprisingly good in the area that so many thought they would struggle.

The wicket has often proved capricious at Edgbaston in recent times and Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad were as good an opening partnership as I faced in Test cricket. A combination of both factors made England struggle at the start of their innings. After a successful start against Sri Lanka, Stewart's form seems to have dipped again and here he fell cheaply to Debashish Mohanty as he played too early at a what appeared an unthreatening outswinger.

Hussain, on the other hand, was playing the ball as late as possible and fully deserved the bits of luck that went his way. He was lucky to survive an lbw appeal from Mohanty but the work he puts in with Graham Gooch seems to paying off and his technique has certainly enabled him to survive as well as anybody in the testing conditions.

England's middle order have been underused so far and Neil Fairbrother found himself at the crease in conditions which would have reminded him of his Test debut in 1987 against Pakistan. Murky conditions, quality bowling and a match to win .

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