League of nations fight for supremacy (30 May 1999)

30 May 1999

League of nations fight for supremacy

Tony Lewis

Batting first in this World Cup, in the morning on moist pitches against the white ball, is not a job for make-shifters or pinch-hitters. Sourav Ganguly and Sadagoppan Ramesh, India's openers, nicked and sparred so often at Edgbaston yesterday that they provoked The Full Mullally - killer eye and sledging tongue.

The lacquered ball is full of mischief but that is not to say that swing is unplayable: Late swing, however, requires a batsman of quick reflex and certain technique. A collector's piece was the half-hour of Sachin Tendulkar coping with the away-swing of Jacques Kallis at Hove earlier in the tournament. Lesser players find their confidence destroyed by late movement, and both Ramesh and Ganguly were a mix of concrete boots and swishing bats.

South Africa have been well prepared for any eventuality because their one-day side is their Test team. This is the perfect situation. I recall a long-ago conversation with Sir Gary Sobers when limited-overs cricket took a firm hold on our first-class game: he believed that a Test team was made up of the country's finest cricketers and that they should be the best over any length of play. For batsmen it was simply a matter of raising the tempo and for bowlers the rules of accuracy were just that little bit more stringent. There could be no such player as a one-day specialist.

You might say that Pakistan are confirming that by including Saqlain Mushtaq, however attractive it might be to have another seamer nip the white ball about in the air or off the pitch. Saqlain is a force in the one-day game with his genuine flight and substantial spin. Other teams also have come to the conclusion that batting technique up front is crucial and this is why Nasser Hussain has edged out Nick Knight by his tighter technique.

Alas poor Sri Lanka rarely got around to relegating the openers who gave their innings such ferocity in the first 15 overs, Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana. They were always likely to struggle against the moving ball. Roshan Mahanama was the other option but Sir Gary was not talking about good, ordinary players doing the job, he meant the highest quality. The world champions never got going, nor did the magical partnership of Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva find momentum.

The tournament in 1987 was hosted by India and Pakistan and I remember thinking while out there reporting it that the Indians believed it had been set up merely for them to retain the cup in front of their own tumultuous crowds. Pakistan would be the victims in the final and all media advertising was slanted that way. And yet it was clear that India did not carry favouritism well.

It is burdensome to carry the expectations of a whole nation. Playing at home can be agony and especially for Indians who had been walking around as world champions for four years. Indian players had become spoiled by their commercial pickings, one-day cricket proliferated and a handsome living could be earned by bowling a few tidy overs or by whacking a fast 40 over the early-innings field restrictions. Cricket became a matter of selling television rights and off-course betting.

Sri Lanka have suffered the aftermath of their success. There has been trouble in the camp, happily resolved, but Ranatunga had much work to do in order to persuade his players that history would not repeat itself. There may be complacency, perhaps conceit, most likely fear of failure, or disappointing the expectations of the followers.

The Sri Lankan side, who stayed in Leicester earlier on, had to travel to London to attend a supporters' dinner-dance. It was a tough chore after a day's cricket preparation for the biggest tournament around. I had been asked to say a few words, but I had heard that the function, which was to be in the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, was falling victim to many cry-offs. I was to travel from Glamorgan and so I rang up for encouragement. Was my journey really necessary? Would there be only a small group in attendance?

"Yes, I am sorry," replied the organiser. "There have been calls to cancel. In fact I am just going over to the Grosvenor House to give the news of the final numbers." "And how many is that?" "We are down to eight hundred and ninety." he said.

Only West Indies have won the World Cup twice in succession. No home side has ever won it. Would it not be wonderful if England gave us a glow of national pride for the summer game?

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