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Watch against complacency

From a spectator's point of view, the first week of this tournament has been unusual, in that the matches have all, to varying degrees, been dominated by the bowlers. Certainly, the viewers from India and Pakistan would have been surprised to some extent by these events -- on the sub-continent the one-day international wickets invariably favour the batsmen and the games feature superb shot-making and a succession of high scores. But over the past seven days things have been very different.

In Australia, the white balls are a little bit harder and have higher seams, so that on pitches such as the ones we've played on during the past week, with something in them for the quicker bowlers, the batsmen haven't had things all their own way. This was never more evident than at the SCG last Thursday, when batting became extremely difficult, especially after a shower of rain 'juiced up' the wicket and made India's meagre (on paper) total of 100 a difficult one to chase. In fact, the Indians might have missed an opportunity in Sydney, for as events turned out their decision to bat first was definitely the correct one. But a couple of tough chances were missed, and Damien Martyn and Andrew Symonds batted extremely well to get us over the line.

We consider that we should have won all three of our matches in this first week, but we got a little bit complacent chasing Pakistan's total in our opening encounter and paid the price. However, since then, in our two matches against the Indians, we have played very well. Glenn McGrath, not for the first time, has been our stand-out performer but, in truth, all our bowlers have been excellent, and our catching and fielding have been top quality. In fact, if I had to nominate two things that have separated us from India, it has been our fielding and our aggressive running between wickets.

I'm sure all of India would have been disappointed by the absence to date of a big innings from Sachin Tendulkar. To some degree, Ganguly and Dravid have compensated for their captain's lack or runs, while Srinath has been outstanding, definitely India's most dangerous bowler. However, the Indian batsmen still seem unsettled by the pace and especially the bounce of the Australian wickets. It hasn't helped that the SCG pitch is now one of the quickest in Australia, and certainly a lot bouncier than what the tourists would have expected. But please don't think that they are not trying. Dravid, for one, seems to be trying too hard, and consequently his natural game has suffered. He's giving 110 per cent, for sure, but some times you can put too much pressure on yourself.

The pressure, too, seems to be impinging on Tendulkar's form. The demands on his time and the incessant questioning of his team's performances might be taking their toll.

The next week is crucial, especially for India, who urgently need a win to stay in touch. If they can't get something from their next match, their tournament will be all but over. From our perspective, the game tomorrow against Pakistan is critical, and not simply because a victory will put us on top of the competition table. We don't want to suffer a losing streak of any length against any side -lose two in a row and you start having doubts about your ability to win those matches -- so we need to quickly set the record straight against Wasim Akram's men.

One of the big stories of the past week came from our MCG match against India, when a small section of the big crowd got a bit agitated after the third umpire ruled that Ganguly had been run out. I understand how it happened -- first the green 'not out' light came on, and then the first replay on the big screen was inconclusive. But clearly the right decision was made in the end, and there can be no excuse at all for those who disrupted everyone else's entertainment.

And without a doubt the cricket has been entertaining. In my view, the fact that the bowlers are going so well in these one-day matches is not a bad thing at all. Some of the most thrilling matches in the recent World Cup were dominated by the bowlers, and I, as a participant, certainly enjoyed them. There's nothing wrong with a batsman having to work hard for runs, and I think spectators enjoy these types of contests, when anything can happen off any ball.

Gameplan

Steve Waugh