Cricket: Time for India to end a drought

By RICHARD BOOCK

India reckon they have their World Cup plans almost sorted.

The big problem is getting a 16-year-old monkey off their backs.

Considered one of the front-runners for next year's World Cup in South Africa, the Indians arrived yesterday for a six-week tour, including two tests and seven one-day games.

They appear to be bristling with firepower, but they have not won a test series outside the sub-continent since 1986, when Kapil Dev's side triumphed 2-0 in England.

Worse still is India's record in New Zealand, where they have not enjoyed any success since 1976, when Sunil Gavaskar's team won by eight wickets at Eden Park.

For all that, captain Sourav Ganguly and coach John Wright were cautiously optimistic yesterday as they assessed their side's chances for the test series and beyond, saying recent progress had been noticeable.

"We've played well over the past year and we've come close to winning without being able to win," Ganguly said.

He was referring to his side's narrow loss in the West Indies and their drawn test series in England.

"We hope to do better here. If you look at our record in England, the batsmen did pretty well in conditions which are similar to what we expect here, so there's every reason for us to feel confident.

"But there's no guarantees, there's no short-cuts, and we'll have to play well for any successes we have."

Wright, a former New Zealand opening batsman who has surprised most pundits by remaining Indian coach for almost two years, made no bones about the power of his star-studded side.

He claimed they were good as they looked.

Wright, who became an instant hero in India after the famous 2-1 series win over Australia last year, said there was no shortage of talent in India, and it eventually came down to players taking their opportunities.

"It is a strong side," Wright said. "Probably the most pleasing aspect of the English tour was that we batted well on sporting pitches at Headingley and Trent Bridge, something we'll obviously be trying to continue over here.

"We've had a good run. We had a close series against the West Indies and won a test when we had key players out, which was good for us."

Wright, who scored a dozen test centuries for New Zealand, said the most dramatic difference between cricket in New Zealand and India was the enormous amount of Indian talent on tap.



The rapid development of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and top-order batsman Vangipurappu Laxman were good examples of how quickly a player's career could take hold if he was lucky enough to be noticed by the selectors.

"The thing you notice in India particularly is the great natural talent, and that there's a lot of it," he said.

"Those who can get into the team and get the experience often go on to become very good cricketers, and in some cases great cricketers.

"Harbhajan and Laxman are two who have taken their chances and they're now critical to the team's performance.

"They've played outstanding cricket at the highest level and apart from anything else, they're very exciting players."

India's first match will be a televised game of Max against New Zealand in Christchurch tomorrow night.

Ganguly said he was aware of the Max format, but did not know much about it.

Wright has had a glimpse of the 20-over slogathon, and is unlikely to be treating tomorrow's outing too seriously, or attaching much significance to the outcome.

"I only know what little I've seen on television," he said. "But we'll see how we go."