The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Giles out of India tour

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Wednesday, Feb 08, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

Giles out of India tour

Ted Corbett

LONDON: Ashley Giles, England's only successful spin bowler, a robust lower order batsman and a reliable fielder, will miss the tour of India after failing to recover in time from a hip operation that he had at the end of the tour of Pakistan in December.

When the announcement was made on Tuesday it was revealed for the first time that the operation was more extensive than anticipated. No doubt this change is responsible for the delay in recovery although it may also be that England made a mistake in keeping Giles with the squad in Pakistan after he was left out of the third and final Test.

I suspect that he is also as great an asset as an advisor and that he was still needed off field. If, as the medical bulletin said, Giles has not yet been able to resume bowling, you have to wonder why it was necessary to drag the evaluation process out for so long and whether he will play any part in cricket until next summer.

Still hopeful

David Graveney, chairman of selectors, said: "We are disappointed to lose a player of Ashley's quality. We remain hopeful he will be able to play some part in the tour." Peter Gregory, the England and Wales Cricket Board doctor, said Giles would continue to be treated by the Warwickshire medical staff and that a new assessment would be made in due course.

The Sikh Monty Panesar, the untried slow left-arm bowler, is already in the squad, which is boosted by the addition of Ian Blackwell, the stocky Somerset captain, and a genuine all-rounder as the 16th player on the tour.

Blackwell was to have been an important member of the `A' team for West Indies but now he will leave with the rest of the tour team for India on Sunday.

Inexperience

It is difficult to overestimate how much Giles will be missed, not least because Shaun Udal was hardly a great success in Pakistan and the two men brought in as his replacements have no Test experience. Blackwell has played a handful of One-Day Internationals and looked worth his place in the Pakistan one-dayers; Panesar has a great many supporters who believe he has a great future but can he succeed in the hothouse atmosphere that is Indian Test cricket at the age of 23?

Giles, 32, is the epitome of the good tourist, forever friendly, the captain Michael Vaughan's long-term best pal, one of the brains trust and consulted before every decision on and off the field. He is also a truly effective defensive bowler over the wicket, searching for what rough there may be as he keeps the runs in check. In Pakistan in 2000, Panesar took 17 wickets as England won the series 1-0. He did not turn any ball savagely but he teased out good batsmen and was never dominated.

Not only has he taken 140 Test wickets at 39.60 — oh yes, on the expensive side — but he can control the run rate and think out any batsman who fancies taking a stride or two towards his tormentor. He may not be in the same class as some of the old-timers — like Hedley Verity with his 144 Test victims at 24.38 in the 1930s or Colin Blythe with 100 wickets at the astonishing average of 18.63 just before the First World War that killed him — but he is the best England can offer in 2006.

Giles' contribution

Just to show how his over-the-wicket bowling has played its part in England's recent success, Giles has played in 52 Tests with 27 wins, 10 defeats and 15 draws. That is a win ratio of 51.92 per cent. Compare that with England's ratio since he made his debut of 43.62 per cent in 1998 when 94 Tests have brought 41 wins and 29 defeats. England would not have had its recent good run — spoiled only by the two Test defeats in Pakistan — without him and his absence will be a key factor in the three Tests in India where England have not won a series since David Gower's team brought off an unexpected success in the dramatic tour of 1984-85.

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