da fazobetai： India, by contrast, have had their preparations disrupted, they have yet tosettle on an opening pair and they seem very likely to attempt to play theseries with only four bowlers, two of whom will be the spinners Anil Kumbleand Harbhajan Singh.
Peter Robinson02-Nov-2001After a week during which the Indian tour found itself bogged down in theslush at Chatsworth slightly better service should be resumed inBloemfontein on Saturday with the start of the first Castle Lager/MTNTest match against South Africa.You’d probably have to go a fair way to find anyone who doesn’t believeSouth Africa to be firm favourities as the really serious business of thetour gets under way. The emphatic nature of South Africa’s triumph in theStandard Bank Series final last Friday, the re-emergence of Nantie Haywardas a bowler of genuine pace, the form of the South African top order allpoint to the home team prevailing.India, by contrast, have had their preparations disrupted, they have yet tosettle on an opening pair and they seem very likely to attempt to play theseries with only four bowlers, two of whom will be the spinners Anil Kumbleand Harbhajan Singh.This last would represent a massive gamble, not from the point of view thatKumble and Harbhajan might not be up to it, but it would leave them terriblythin if things start to go wrong. It has been a persistent criticism ofIndia for some time now that they tend to droop in the field after tea. Ifthey’re planning to go in with only two seamers, presumably two of theexperience Javagal Srinath, the skiddy Ajit Agarkar or the left-armer AshishNehra, whoever plays are going to be out their feet at the end of the day’splay.And who will open their batting. It is understood that neither Rahul Dravid,who has the technique, nor VVS Laxman, who hasn’t but compensates with awonderful eye, wants the job. The middle order, then, will consist ofDravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Laxman, but they will beparticularly vulnerable at the front where the names of Connor Williams,Virender Sehwag and Sameer Dighe as possible partners for SS Das have been tossed around.Will the Indians use Williams with Das, which seems to be the intention ofthe selectors? That remains to be seen, but it would yet another gamble tothrow Williams in at the deep end against a fired-up Hayward having hardlyput bat to ball on South African soil.The root of India’s problems, however, lies in the lack of a genuineall-rounder, a point underscored by the wealth of all-round talent in theSouth African team. Without an all-rounder, India lack balance and overthree Tests this could be cruelly exposed by the home team.And yet, the tourists possess such pure talents that you would never wiselydismiss them out of hand. Tendulkar remains the finest batsmen of the moderngeneration and if Ganguly isn’t quite in the same class (after all, who is?)then the Indian captain seemed to have adjusted perfectly well to SouthAfrican conditions.The South Africans have seen enough of Kumble over the years to be aware ofwhat he is capable of, but Harbhajan is new and a bit different and rated by anumber of very good judges as a match-winner. How the South Africans copewith him should form one of the central duels of the series.Still, when all is said and done, South Africa remain a very fine cricketteam despite the efforts of the selection convener to undermine it. It is nosurprise, for instance, that Nicky Boje should have been recalled to play athis home ground. But as the team was once again handed over to a third partyto announce, we still don’t know where Claude Henderson stands in the grandscheme of things.Hayward’s current form should do much to compensate for the absence ofAllan Donald and Mfuneko Ngam and his presence will ease the pressure bothon Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis to provide the incisive moments.There may well be still a place in the South African middle order open for contention with Boeta Dippenaar likely to bat at five in this Test. Daryll Cullinan will play this weekend for the Highveld Strikers against Easterns, but he needs to make runs quickly if he is to be considered to play against India. And the longer this takes, the less likely will be his chances of touring Australia for a third time.And what we don’t know is what kind of pitch will be provided atGoodyear Park. Against New Zealand last year it was low and slow and despiteyielding a 300th Test wicket to Donald, it made for a slow moving and oftentedious game. South African cricket needs fast, bouncy pitches, not justbecause they would suit the home team, but also because they provide forbetter and far more entertaining cricket.And if India can help provide that, we could still have a series worthremembering.