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Adaptability is the key

R Mohan

England are so busy celebrating the grand success of Manchester United, who completed a treble of league title, FA Cup and European Cup, that the cricket World Cup has been temporarily banished by the newspapers to sporting wilderness.

And in any case cricket here has become the summer sport that is played between the ever lengthening football season and the already long rugby season.

The faith with which the English were backing their team for the World Cup also seems to have thinned somewhat as reflected in the odds on an England win growing longer by the day. But India beware. The home side are a formidable combination at home, especially in May, when they probably play their best cricket.

It is even suspected that the World Cup was begun in mid-May so that the home side might stand a better chance of getting on to the higher stages. That is the only way the sport can be helped to grow in the national consciousness as right now it is viewed as a curious distraction.

The World Cup is a sell-out in the sense that there are no tickets left for any game. But that is to forget how minuscule the capacity of cricket grounds here. That compared to the over one lakh of people from Germany and England who watched two club sides, Bayern, Munich and Manchester United, meet in Spain, and the picture will be clear.

In cricket Cup action, India have gained great momentum. They have looked a cracking good batting side from the first game itself. They appeared to be that even in the match which they dropped to Zimbabwe for no reason other than the fact that they allowed themselves to be pressured in one over at the very end. India can manage one of three branches of the game very well. It is the other two that should continue to cause concern to the think tank.

The choice of venue - Edgbaston - is intriguing. This is where England beat India on a seaming track in early June in 1996. The match was over in three days. So, have no illusions about what the pitch is going to be like although anything will be better than the couple of seaming horrors that they prepared for a Test against the West Indies, which sort of finished evern as the umpire was calling 'play' and mighty Australia went tumbling down.

It was also here that Sachin Tendulkar played what he rates as the best Test century he has made in his 10-year career. And that is saying a lot because he has made a few centuries, including one at the WACA, on the fastest Test pitch in the world. Harbouring any illusions about the Indian batting going on the rampage as they did against Sri Lanka may, however, lead only to disappointment.

The key to the match is momentum. India has attained it a shade late while England has had a setback since an impressive enough start against Sri Lanka. The England bubble was pricked by South Sfrica at The Oval, but then the pitch in London is about the quickest in this country and the home side were bound to be severely disadvantaged on a surface on which they restricted South Africa to around the 225-run mark.

India have to sustain that momentum towards which it would help considerably if the bowling and fielding picks up. In a contest between evenly matched sides, no one-day wicket is going to be too wicked and a tight finish is possible although the chances of a run feast may not be that high. But with Indian batting there is always the chance that the fireworks will continue. That is if the pitch is dry and there is no undue help from the atmosphere for the swing and seam brigade.

England hold the edge in numerical terms. In the World Cup, they have been beaten only once by India-in a famous semi-final at Old Trafford in 1983-while all other meetings from the very first one which India lost by the huge margin of over 200 runs have gone in favour of England. England also enjoy a home advantage of 8-4 in home one-day internationals against India.

India can buck that trend because it is by far the superior batting side. Batting will count this summer because it has begun on such a dry note. Edgbaston will not produce a run feast and India might have to risk opening with Tendulkar because team composition may demand the dropping of Sadagopan Ramesh to bring in the specialist 'keeper Nayan Mongia.

Adaptability is the key. Teams have to be ready to take steps to vary their tactics. What held good for Taunton, where it would have been of great advantage to bat first, will not be good for Edgbaston, where the ball will move around laterally, mostly in the morning.

To put a side in would make sense, which is an option England will seize upon given their strengths of seam bowling with Gough and Mullally being outstanding in these conditions.

To open with Tendulkar would be a move fraught with risk, particularly if India bat first. But in a chase, his coming in at the top would make perfect sense. In adapting quickly and instinctively to different situations may lie the chances in this match which will be the first big clash of the weekend, the other being the match between the West Indies and Australia on Sunday.

The queues will be long outside Edgbaston and Old Trafford and the touts will be busy flogging their tickets. If their trade roars then cricket might even believe it is more than a distraction staged between 'footie' and rugby.

The cricket faithfuls will be there in numbers with their own intense following of the king of summer sports in England. UNI