Cricket: Spare a thought for `Azza'

By Richard Boock

HAMILTON - If New Zealand cricket captain Stephen Fleming thinks he has credibility problems, he should spare a thought for his Indian counterpart, Mohammad Azharuddin.

India's fanatical cricket supporters are not known for their ambivalence when it comes to their team being beaten, and are not above greeting their fallen heroes with a barrage of rotten fruit if the failure proves particularly hard to swallow

If dark glasses and false beards are not to be an essential part of the team uniform when the tourists return to Delhi later this month, they will need to win the third Bank of New Zealand test - which starts in Hamilton tomorrow - and win the following one-day series as well

The trouble for Azharuddin, a fairly religious sort of chap who wears a pouch containing verses from the Koran around his neck, is that he has little faith in his bowlers, and even less in his fielders.

The 35-year-old veteran of 93 tests recognises the class of quick bowler Javagal Srinath and legspinner Anil Kumble, but does not consider teenaged offspinner Harbhajan Singh "up to it," and has also been disappointed in the performance of medium-pacer Venkat Prasad.

Harbhajan seems most unlikely to retain his place in the side for this test match and could be replaced by left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi, although if the tourists field as poorly as they did in Wellington it will not matter which bowlers are picked.

It is not in dispute that India are one of the great batting teams in test cricket, but their fielding effort was worth the price of the entry fee alone during the second test, both for its bouts of brilliance and unfathomable incompetence.

Along with a couple of magical pieces of fielding from Rahul Dravid at short-leg, there were at least five dropped catches during New Zealand's first innings, and to mention ground fielding in the second would have been in direct breach of the Trade Descriptions Act.

India have not exactly troubled themselves with over-exertion during this tour, and are possibly beginning to reap the dividends of their strict work-to-rule philosophy.

Their fielding practices have been, at best, token, and their reluctance to bowl more than 90 overs a day has left several of their bowlers underdone.

Neither Prasad or Harbhajan, the two bowlers who struggled most at the Basin Reserve, had played a first-class game since the opening tour match in Napier three weeks ago, and if Joshi receives a run in the third test, he will start the match with just 18 overs under his belt.

Meanwhile, Navjot Sidhu will not be required for the one-day series against New Zealand, and could be under pressure to retain his test spot as well.

Sidhu, an aggressive opening batsman, will be replaced for the five one-day internationals - along with team-mates Harbhajan Singh and Robin Singh jun - and will find out this evening whether he has survived a challenge from V.V.S. Laxman for his test berth.

The Indian selectors have opted to send three utility players in Robin Singh sen, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Nikhil Chopra over for the one-dayers, and Sidhu is perhaps the unluckiest of the trio to miss the cut.

Singh sen is a genuine allrounder, the recalled Kanitkar is an offspinner and left-handed batsman, while Chopra, who made his mark during the Coca-Cola Cup tournament in Sharjah last year, is an offspinner and a right-handed batsman.