The Hindu : Sport : A tightrope walk

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 04, 2005

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Sport

A tightrope walk

It will truly be a thorough examination of Fletcher's man management skills

STEVE WAUGH

The good news for England is that their selectors have shown faith in the side that was swamped by an Australian team that got better as each session passed. The bad news is they can expect Australia to improve in the areas where they weren't up to scratch in the first Test.

There's no doubt that Ricky Ponting and John Buchanan would have both voiced their concerns about the poor shot selection and lack of patience in the first innings of the first Test where the batsmen played with the kind of looseness more in tune with a one-day game. Admittedly, the pitch offered varying bounce and pace but it is rare to see this classy line-up evaluate the conditions so slowly and fail to react accordingly. The same mistake won't happen again and one gets the feeling that the Poms may have missed a golden opportunity to seize the initiative after knocking Australia off balance early on during day one at Lord's.

England will go to Edgbaston for the second Test walking the tightrope of self-belief and self-doubt. Only Harmison and Pietersen will plonk their coffins down with any assurance in the cramped confines of adjoining change rooms with a communal viewing area that is at times uncomfortable when dubious decisions are discussed.

It will truly be a thorough examination of Duncan Fletcher's man-management skills and Michael Vaughan's ability to inspire and motivate his side. They must both see this as a once in a lifetime chance to have a major influence on a game that will directly affect the biggest series of their respective careers.The stakes don't get any higher and it is in these times that the true character of a man is revealed and he shows what makes him tick.

In saying that, England must also make sure that the process takes care of the result and not look too far ahead, thus putting undue pressure on their game. Dropped catches, the curse of England's extended losing streak and a blemish that has ruined their chances on a regular basis, is a direct consequence of worrying about what might happen if you make a mistake, which of course then becomes the dominant thought. The key is to capture the positive elements and discard the doubting ones, which is a skill that is learnt by many but perfected by few. The best example of both ends of the spectrum for me during my career was facing up to Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh on a Perth Test match pitch that offered trampoline bounce. As I watched from the viewing area and saw the method of dismissals and tally of injuries, I became increasingly agitated about my turn out in the middle and by the time I marked out centre, I had convinced myself that scoring runs was an impossibility, which in turn translated into scores of one and zero.

Conversely, I can recall walking up the steps to the Old Trafford change rooms on the first morning of the 1997 Ashes Test at Manchester in an apprehensive frame of mind after being dismissed for a first ball duck at Lord's the week before. I knew I needed to find a way to lift my game, and it simply came when I thought of how Bob Simpson scored his long-awaited century at this ground and went on to complete an epic triple century. It was enough to divert the pessimism and inspire me to produce something special, which materialised in the shape of back-to-back centuries in difficult conditions.

Australia will have scoured the tapes of the Lord's Test and admired their work after day one and no doubt identified the technical deficiencies of most of England's top order. The objective will be to probe and destabilise even further in the hope of having one or two players dropped.

Room for improvement

Both teams have room for improvement, and distressing as it may be for English fans, Australia have more scope to prosper. However, such is the unpredictability of sport and the strength of a positive mind that you are sometimes only restrained by your own level of expectation or lack of it. It is time for an English player to stand up and produce a Simpson-like performance, or else this great Australian team that rarely loses the last session of any day because of its mental toughness will be too hard to stop.

Gameplan

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