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Prem Panicker

Was it Thomas Alva Edison who famously tried out over 1000 materials before he hit on the right one for the filament of his electric bulb?

One thing's for sure - if Edison had to do his gig before today's media, he wouldn't have gotten beyond experiment two - and we would still be using tallow candles.

The storm of criticism directed at Sourav Ganguly and John Wright for recent experimentation is, to put it kindly, silly. It makes even less sense when you consider that the same duo had been criticized - correctly, I thought -- for not resting the seniors and experimenting with the Kaifs and Yuvrajs in the third Test of the India-West Indies series.

In course of a casual chat over dinner shortly before the third Test, Wright talked to us of what he saw as his immediate priority - to use the 14 one-day games that remained before India began its World Cup proper to experiment, to try out combinations and tactics, to increase the team's overall learning and ensure that, going in to the Cup, it had a clear idea of what worked and what didn't.

This, Wright felt, would ensure that the team knew all the options it had at its disposal, which in turn would permit it to be fluid and flexible in its approach, to change its gameplan according to the needs of each individual situation.

Wright, during that dinner, also explained one of his main concern areas - the bowling mix for South Africa. "We've been going in with two seamers, two spinners, and a fifth bowler made up of Sehwag, Sachin, Yuvraj and very occasionally, Sourav.

"That means we are looking to bowl 30 overs of spin - and in SA that will kill us. Worse, if one of the regulars has an off day, we need the fifth bowler to fill in a few extra overs to make up.

"Look at the records, our fifth bowler on a good day goes for 55-65 - and on a bad day, that could be closer to 75-80. The opposition will have worked this out, and will target this weakness to pile up runs - and we can't always expect the batsmen to keep chasing down big scores."

In this context, what Wright felt the team needed was an all-rounder capable of bowling seam, and getting vital runs, at a quick pace, into the bargain. This would allow the team to go in with three seamers plus either one spinner plus a medium pace seamer, or two spinners.

Hence, the induction of Ajit Agarkar, and his promotion to number three in the order. Agarkar (and mind, this strategy has not yet been cast in stone, it could well be Jai Prakash Yadav) gives the team an extra seam option - that part of it is clear as crystal.

When he batted at three in the first ODI, he produced a 95 off 103. Did the experiment work? Not exactly - a regular batsman, of the order of Ganguly, say, or Dravid, or Laxman, or Kaif, would from that kind of platform have gone on, and made a bigger score at a higher strike rate. Thus, having Agarkar use up 103 deliveries deprived, say, a quality finisher like Kaif the extra room to perform prodigies.

But isn't that the point of the word `experiment'? An Agarkar was sent out, and team learns that, a, the man can get you runs and b, that he like most lower order batsmen sent up the order takes the promotion seriously and bats like a regular batsman.

The strategy would be for the team to have Agarkar as a floater, with his regular slot inked in as number seven. In the event an early wicket fell, he would then be sent in, during the initial phase, to go over the top and look to score at more than a run a ball, ensuring that a regular batsman was not forced to risk his wicket in the quest for maximum utilization of the field restrictions.

what say?

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What precisely is wrong with that strategy? Ganguly and Wright needed to know if the man could deliver - and the only way to find out is to try it. Now, the two know what they can expect from this particular option - and that is more than they knew before this series began. Isn't that the whole point of experimentation anyway?

For my part I'd like to see more experimentation, not less. For instance, I'd love to see Kaif play higher in the order - at say three or four, for a few games. If you start with the premise that it was during the England tour that he settled himself into the side, then here's a statistic worth keeping your eye on: He has played 14 ODIs since the Natwest series opener at Lord's against England, June 29. Of these, he has been not out six times (on four of these occasions, going at better than a run a ball) and he has not got to bat on five other occasions.

Does that look like full utilization of a player Wright himself characterizes as India's Michael Bevan?

Again, if finding a seam-bowling all rounder has been identified as one of the keys to a high caliber World Cup campaign, then I'd like to see an Agarkar sit out for a few games - on the theory that we have tried him and have a fair idea of what he can do - while say a Jai Prakash Yadav gets a go. By repute - and repute is all we have to go with just now - he is a big hitter who could come in handy either up the order in a pinch, or lower down.

Plus, he bowls seam. Knowing exactly how he performs, in the heat and dust of international competition, gives the team one more learning, one extra option to keep in mind.

Again, how about spinners? The selectors' mindset appears locked on the Harbhajan-Kumble combo - but in the 12 games that still remain, wouldn't it make sense to try, say, a Murli Karthik, again a quality bat and attacking spinner who is also a very good fielder?

The team has a choice - keep playing its senior line-up, with a view to winning this series against the West Indies, or keep experimenting, with a view to developing additional strings to the bow for South Africa.

If you had to chose between those two options, which would you pick?