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Day of the Black Caps

Considering that the last six Tests in India have produced a result, it was gratifying that the Kiwi Black Caps could battle out a draw on the last day. It was achieved by some gritty batting, a slowish pitch, and the failure by the Indian bowlers to seize their chance.

To survive a last day in dusty, spinning conditions, you need to get away with the odd false stroke not quite going to hand. The dead pitch and the calming maturity of the Kiwis meant the ball never had enough weight on it to carry to fielders. To win with the ball you need to bowl fuller and a little quicker to create enough chances so the number going to hand equates with ten wickets.

Right through the day Srinath bowled with fire and purpose. He always looked the most likely to breakthrough, which is in a way an indictment of the three spinners on show. Kumble wasted too much time bowling around the wicket and outside the leg stump. He should have confined this line to the lefthander Fleming, where finally he had him caught off the very last ball.

Joshi has a balance bowling action and delivery so it is a surprise that he is not a matchwinner in these conditions. Occasionally he made the ball turn very sharply but he bowled too much over the wicket. Like Kumble he was obsessed by the rough yet each time he did go around the wicket he obtained plenty of turn and created many more difficulties for the batsman.

The simple fact is that the ball pitched outside the leg stump can be kicked away. It is only really dangerous when it turns and jumps very sharply. The delivery that is angled in from the opposite side to the batsman's stance is the one that spells real danger if it bites and turns because it is much more likely to take the edge. Even if it misses, the bat it can still take the off stump.

I was disappointed with Bhardwaj. His batting was so brief as to be beyond judgment in this Test, but his offspinning is little more than change bowling. Captain Tendulkar turns his offspinner much more as well as his googly, and of course in the same over he is quite capable of a little outswinger and inswinger as well. I know because he bowled them all in the same over. Bhardwaj is really more of a specialist one-day player and therefore it would make more sense in the last Two Tests to play a specialist Test bowler in Harbhajan Singh or Debashish Mohanty.

The Black Caps did well to hold out through the day with Fleming showing his class with a splendid knock. His poise and balance has almost completely returned with his trademark stroke, the ondrive through midwicket, and the epitome of style and technique. His leadership through a trying Test was immaculate and the whole contest shows how close this series is.

By all accounts the next two Test venues will provide more help for the spinners. This will mean the likely return for New Zealand of Paul Wiseman, the tall offspinner who bowled steadily against India last Christmas. I will make one final recommendation to Black Cap spinner Daniel Vettori, who looks more like the great lefthander Hedley Howarth with every outing.

Daniel needs to emulate his predecessor by switching his bowling side much more frequently. He has such control of line and length that he can do this without loosening up, and he will pose many more questions for the batsman by keeping them guessing in this way. It will be interesting to see how the spinners approach their tasks at Kanpur. (Gameplan)

Martin Crowe