Letter of the Day

This letter is in defense of the Indian middle-order. Yes, I think they are doing quite well, despite the three close defeats against England.

Maybe, I should re-phrase that statement. They are performing as well as one should expect. Let's look at the four men who played at Mumbai: D Mongia, H Bedani, M Kaif and A Ratra. All displayed fairly decent form during the series. Mongia, no doubt did the best of the four, averaging over 40. Kaif played two innings at an average of 33, impressive for his first two ODI innings. Bedani was a bit patchy, but played two knocks (in the first and last ODI's) that reiterate why he should be persisted with. Ratra should a lot of promise, especially, during his knock in Chennai. So, why did the Indian batting line-up collapse at least three times?

In my opinion, the most important factor is the lack of experience of playing ODIs. Look at Australia and South Africa, two countries at the top of any ODI ranking. Australia's middle order (in their last ODI) consisted of MG Bevan (171), SR Waugh (325), DR Martyn (87), and DS Lehmann (70) - for a total of 653 ODIs. In the same game, South Africa's middle order comprised of HH Dippenaar (28), JN Rhodes (218), L Klusener (127), and MV Boucher (109) - for a total of 482 ODIs. In comparison, D Mongia (10), H Bedani (26), M Kaif (3), and A Ratra (6) total a whopping 45 ODIs between them. No wonder, that these guys buckled under the pressure! Everyone will agree that walking in at the fall of Tendulkar, Ganguly, and Shewag with the asking run rate at over 5.5 per over is a whole different experience than anything a "friendly selection tournament" like the Challenger Series can throw at you! So, give them time and let them gain in experience.

The burden of the Indian middle-order's failure in these matches like partly on the selectors (Mohinder Amarnath would agree with me on this one:)) and partly on the fallout from the betting scandal. Take a look at the Indian middle-order from June 3rd, 2000 - M Azharuddin (334), A Jadeja (196), RR Singh (126), NR Mongia (140) - had a total of 796 ODIs between them!

We lost that match but that's another story! Over the last few years, the selectors have played Russian roulette with wicket-keepers, so Ratra's in-experience is no surprise. Given the promise that he has shown, maybe they have finally got it right. From a pure cricketing prospective, Azharuddin and Jadeja sacking has left a huge whole void in the Indian middle-order. While, it can be argued that Azharuddin was past-retirement, Jadeja's absence has made a whole lot of difference! More so, it was the cumulative sacking of the entire middle-order that has led to this situation. So, what can be done?

I do not like the idea of re-shuffling the batting order. On Indian pitches, Shewag, Tendulkar, and Ganguly form a potent 1-2-3. Rahul Dravid's (163) return from injury will led some stability to the middle-order. Mongia, Bedani, and Kaif will find themselves vying for the two remaining places in the Indian middle-order. But, herein lies the another problem - where is the all-rounder? Sanjay Bangar was given one game to prove himself - you would think that as ex-players, the selectors know better! Also, as a final word, with Dravid out, the selectors erred in not picking Robin Singh for these games. He can play under pressure!

In passing, the English team deserves all the praise that they are receiving, especially Naseer Hussain for his leadership. But take a look at their middle-order: MP Vaughan (12), GP Thorpe (74), PD Collingwood (13), A Flintoff (34) - a total of 133 ODIs. So, why do we keep hearing about their in-experience?

Prasanjit Panda