Struggling to survive

Editor's note: Follows, the series of conversations on cricket as it happens -- this one, on Sourav Ganguly's captaincy and the third and final Test between England and India.

Prem: Good morning, Sujata. Recovered yet from the farce that was day five of the second Test?

Sujata: Good morning, Prem. England didn't see it as a farce. Craig White has come out and said the Indians were scared to chase, but I tend to believe Ganguly when he says that the pitch was not conducive to high scoring and, besides, England bowled defensively. Hussain didn't have the confidence to try and attack throughout, did he?

Prem: Frankly, I couldn't figure out either of the sides. Hussain switched between defence and attack -- one minute you had everyone defending, the next there were four round the bat. And India never did try to do something about that line -- I noticed South Africa on day four of the Test go defensive, but Matt Hayden and Mark Waugh made a sustained effort to score off that line and suddenly, the Protean ploy went to pieces. As far as I could see, neither side seemed to want to make a real go of it -- which from a spectator's point of view is a real pity.

Sujata: Oh, absolutely, there's no doubt about the fact that Ganguly was scared of losing and the spectators could go hang. I guess we saw before us a captain whose only thought was how to keep the axe at bay, and therefore drawing the Test was infinitely safer than being an intrepid and telling your top batsmen to have a go at it. Now, he can rest easy because no matter what happens at Bangalore, he will not lose the series.

Prem: Good point -- a captain sure of his own place in the side is more likely to attack, to be positive. And that brings up a very valid question -- how much longer can Ganguly lead, when his personal form is shot to bits? I remember the hoo-haa there was about "captaincy affecting Tendulkar's batting" -- this despite SRT scoring over 1000 runs in both forms of the game during that period, at an average only marginally less than his overall rate. Against that, you have Ganguly -- who this year has one 98, and little else, to show with the bat. And he is no Brearley or Taylor -- so skilled at captaincy that you tend to excuse his lack of form with the bat. I wonder how long this can go on before something snaps?

Sujata: I'm not sure how long Ganguly can survive with all those glaring weaknesses he seems to have developed lately. When we hear the selectors are pondering on whether a batsmen should be dropped for the next Test to accommodate a spinner, a lot of us wonder if Ganguly can be rightly called a batsman any longer. The western media too, is not helping his mental state by getting out their knives for him. I'm assuming he does read and get affected to some extent by media opinion.

On the one hand I sympathise with his plight, on the other I think he is not helping matters when he casually drops a dolly catch or makes amateur field placements and forgets to bring on the bowler who looks like getting wickets, as he did in South Africa in the second Test when he ignored Srinath post lunch!

Prem: Interesting that you should bring up that media thing. As far as I know, Ganguly does read every line written about him -- and I guess that can only add to the pressure he is under. What really sucks, though, is that a lot of what is written is, pardon the word, undiluted crap. I'd like to see critical analysis of his captaincy, his batting, etc. Instead, what we get are snide references to startlets and to his upbringing and suchlike -- the western media seems to have a vested interest in taking him apart, and a sizeable section of the local media is blindly aping that mindset, unfortunately. Criticism based on fact can actually help -- I am not sure the kind of criticism I've been reading lately does help, though.

Sujata: Oh sure, calling him Lord Snooty and other names is pandering to the image that Steve Waugh broadcast to the world. They know they've got him where they want him now, down and out with home support flagging as well. When you hit the captain of the team and mentally disable him, you disable the team as well. If you've noticed Ganguly can give back as good as he gets after either an Indian win, or a flamboyant demonstration with the bat. He rarely gets that kind of ammunition to fight with, now. As for the local media blindly aping the western one; I disagree and think that Ganguly had his fair share of support. The same local media supported the team against Denness and gave a hoot for what the west thought, so why can't they call a spade a spade now?

Prem: Hang on a minute, Sujata -- the Mike Denness thing and how the Indian media treated it had nothing to do with Ganguly, did it? The strangest thing about that whole affair, in fact, was that while Tendulkar's supposed tampering and Sehwag's ban become key issues, no one really took up for the captain, who copped it in the neck for supposedly failing to control the team. I was thinking of this, and of the comments I keep reading even in the local media, about Ganguly's arrogance, about his on-field behaviour, et al. And the more I read, the more I wonder whether we haven't got suckered into accepting Steve Waugh's view on this rather than think for ourselves. If we are all that concerned about image, how come no one thinks to go after a Steve Waugh for instance? When it comes to controlling the team, there is one guy who in fact goes the other way and actually eggs them on to behave like brats.

Sujata: Prem, Steve Waugh does not leave himself open to criticism or media manipulation simply because he's a winning captain. The day he starts to mimic Ganguly rest assured the vultures will attack. Even Nasser Hussain has earned plaudits for his leadership despite losing the first Test. So, simply put, I think Ganguly will have to shut up the critics by results.

Prem: Hmmm... in a sense, that is precisely my beef -- Steve Waugh can get away with murder because he is a winning captain, and we don't really look at the two sides to see why one wins and the other doesn't. Whereas Ganguly can be damned for sneezing too loudly, because the team hasn't won much of note. Seems unfair, really -- but in a sense, you could be right, too, this ain't about 'fair' and the only way Ganguly can shut them up is to produce results, both personally, and for his team. Which leads to the question -- we go into Bangalore 1-0 up. What do you think the team should be looking at doing at the Chinnaswamy stadium, both in terms of changes in personnel, and gameplan?

Sujata: Let's see, I wouldn't really change anything. It's not the right time to make deep changes either in batting line-up or the team. I know many are of the opinion that India should go in with three spinners but that would mean dropping a seamer and I don't see that happening. What's your take on the Test?

Prem: Well, for starters, I hope India isn't going in with the view that it is preferable to draw rather than lose -- it is time the side developed a hunger for wins, a readiness to go for the win every chance it gets, and this England side is as good a chance as any. Teamwise, I hear there is a thinking that it might make sense to drop Yohannan, open with two, three overs of Ganguly and/or Tendulkar bowling seam at one end, and switch to spin immediately thereafter, with Sarandeep joining Harbhajan and Kumble. And I am not sure it is such a bad idea -- the Motera didn't give Yohannan much scope to bowl and if the Bangalore pitch lives up to its reputation, there will be even less there for him. Why then pick a second seamer, if all you want out of him is around 20 overs in the Test?

Sujata: Dear me, Prem, the mind boggles a bit at the thought of Ganguly opening the bowling. It could very well work, as you said, but are the selectors going to take their chances with a man who is low on confidence? More to the point, will Ganguly himself take the challenge? Somehow, I doubt it. I think they will look to Tendulkar and Shewag for spin and hope the seamers take an early wicket or two.

Prem: Hmmmm... the point about confidence is well taken, but I still wish it would happen. Tell you what, though -- more than team composition, I hope they go in to the Test wide awake. Having spinners is one part of the story, remembering to use them is the more important part. Ganguly came up with a fancy explanation of why he didn't use Harbhajan on the fourth morning but frankly, I was completely underwhelmed. And again, we could do with some wide-awake fielding. Ah well... 24 hours from now, we'll know, won't we? If I were sticking my neck out, I'd back India to win this Test, actually.

Sujata: I'd back them to win the Test, too, especially if they hold on to their catches! I've never seen such a display of generosity towards the opposition. It's a wonder Harbhajan hasn't revolted and sued a few of the butter fingers. Let's hope his bowling figures do more justice to him this time.

Prem: Right... and with Motera in mind, I'm hoping for a keenly fought contest, with both sides actually going in there wanting to win, as opposed to trying not to lose. Right, then -- talk to you after the game, adios.

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