The Hindu : Sport : It is not going to be a soft start, says Dravid

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 15, 2006
ePaper

Sport

Sport

It is not going to be a soft start, says Dravid

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: Rahul Dravid refused to accept India's opening match of the Champions Trophy against England as a `soft start.'

"In a competition of this nature, with the top eight teams in the world playing, there are no soft starts. In fact I believe that any of the eight teams here can go on to win not just the Champions Trophy but also the World Cup. We don't think of England as a soft team," said Dravid at a pre-match news conference.

Reflecting on India's 5-1 victory over England at home this year, Dravid said, "It is an advantage but it has no relevance on this game, because we still have to go out and play good cricket. It's the performance on the day that is important."

Dravid agreed there were concerns in certain areas but sounded optimistic. "The last six to eight games will again have very little relevance tomorrow.

"Before that, we had a very successful run, winning against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England. I am happy and confident with the preparation of the team leading into this tournament."

On his assessment of England, Dravid said, "I think it will depend on how they play our spinners, how they adapt and adjust.

"Flintoff at the top of the order will provide exciting possibilities. Freddie is an exciting cricketer and it's great to see such players being successful, but not against India! We would like to see him fail as much as possible against us."

England skipper Andrew Flintoff sounded confident when he said, "It will be nice to start off the season playing well and getting off to a winning start, but you can't read too much into it.

"It is an important tournament, we reached the final of the last one, and we want to do well this time too. Tomorrow is a big game for us."

Flintoff did not agree his team was a two-man team (Kevin Pietersen and himself).

He said, "Ours is a flexible team. There are nine other players who play an important part as well. It is a strong side with a lot of flexibility, and we are hoping we will have success here."

Flintoff confirmed he would bat at number three and would not bowl until he had recovered fully from the ankle injury.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport