The Hindu : Sport : High quality stuff from Hoggard

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Saturday, Mar 04, 2006

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Sport

High quality stuff from Hoggard

Not much in the pitch for spinners

England have upset quite a few calculations, writes Geoffrey Boycott

WRECKER-IN-CHIEF: Matthew Hoggard (second from left) bowled a perfect line and length to leave the Indian top order in disarray. — Photo: S. Subramanium

Well, England have upset quite a few calculations with their performance, including mine, I might add.

The way Matthew Hoggard bowled on a flat, dry, slow-paced batting pitch was fantastic, and his line and length were perfect. When you have those two aspects under control, you don't need much else, and the way Hoggard was bowling in the corridor of uncertainty just around the off stump meant that no batsman was sure with his feet movement against him.

The way Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman got out illustrates my point. Dravid, along with Wasim Jaffer, played absolutely beautifully on the second day, but Friday was a different day, and they had to start all over again.

All I can say is that Dravid looked a different batsman, with his feet all in a tangle. Laxman had the same problem, and his feet just didn't seem to move in step with Hoggard's high-quality bowling. Regarding those two dismissals, at least, there is no room for doubt in my mind. It was brave umpiring by Aleem Dar, because too many batsmen are given not out on the benefit of doubt.

Doubtful decision

However, I'd be pretty disappointed if I were Sachin Tendulkar. A lot of people will point to Andrew Flintoff's dismissal and say the same, but I thought it was 50-50. Whereas if I were batting and got the kind of decision that Sachin did, I would be really, honestly, disappointed.

But that should take nothing away from Monty Panesar. Doing good, lad! Can any experience in life match the thrill of getting Sachin Tendulkar's wicket in your maiden Test match? I think not. Tendulkar may have got a bad decision, but he's still out, and the wicket-taker is Monty Panesar.

Pure magic

And the ball that got Mohammed Kaif at the end of the day was pure magic, the way it pitched on leg and middle and turned. But that was a rare moment.

In general, Panesar has bowled tidily and steadily, but I would still say he is a little too defensive and flat. And to my mind that has little to do with this being his first Test. I think it's his natural way of bowling.

Now if he were to develop a wonderful loop like Bishan Singh Bedi, who made the ball go high up in the air but come down quickly, he would take some beating.

For the remaining two days of this Test, England obviously need to take a big lead, and for that they must bat well all day, so they can bowl all day on day five.

The pitch will not break enough, I think, and only the odd ball will turn. Both teams need early wickets, but they also need to clean up the tail.

In the first innings, one batsman from each team, along with the tailenders, got his side out of trouble — Collingwood for England and Kaif for India — after both teams lost the top order pretty quickly.

The bowling will obviously be a big factor, but the spinners may play less of a role than they normally do in India.

Of the 19 wickets to fall in this Test, the seamers have got 14, seven from each side. So there's not that much in the pitch for spinners.

In fact, Panesar's magic delivery to Kaif was a big surprise, but it obviously hit a rough patch because you could see the big puff of dust.

Unwarranted

Off the field, there has been much discussion regarding Greg Chappell's Guardian interview. All I can say is that it was unnecessary, unwarranted and insulting. In the first place, if Chappell had to give the interview, he should have done so to the Indian media, not to an English paper. He was, after all, talking about the culture of India and the former captain of India.

Also, it was a bad slur on Sourav to imply that he was only interested in the captaincy because of the money. I would be insulted in Sourav's place, and I don't know why Chappell wanted to rake the whole issue up again.

Sourav has been a fantastic captain, a brilliant ODI player, and an idol in India. He has served Indian cricket very well, and doesn't deserve slurs like that. You should treat your idols better.

Gameplan

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