Reserve player avoiding matches?

Surely the team management would do well to point out the case of Yashpal Sharma, one of the unsung heroes of the World Cup triumph in 1983. Yashpal seized every opportunity with both hands to come out with flying colours in that tournament. Despite his limitations, he edged out such outstanding batsmen like Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar from the eleven. His was a triumph of character.

Meanwhile, away from this distressing news, the Indian team is pleased with the white Duke’s ball that has stirred so much of a controversy. Unlike the South Africans, the Indian pacemen have been able to swing and seam the ball prodigiously. They point out the raised seam, which is far more pronounced than the Kookaburra ball’s seam, and hold that it swings and seams more than the Australian ball.

The South African complaint, however, is puzzling. They have bowled numerous wides in their last two games (19 and 17). So they must be moving the ball around without too much control.

Dilip Jajodia, the Bangalore-educated owner of Dukes (his Morand Sports also makes batting pads for Sachin Tendulkar among others), believes that the ball the South Africans used at home against West Indies was the export variety which has nylon threads for its seam rather than the cotton threads of the balls used in England. This, he believes, is the only difference.

If the Indians are unhappy about anything, it is the poor scheduling of their practise matches which caused them to miss the second match. The team management was disgusted that they were shunted off to Harrowgate on May 9 when, in fact, the Headingly was free on that day.

Apparently, there is a slope at Harrogate and rain water had settled down at the bottom end to leave the pitch unsuitable for play.

“The pity was that it was a sunny day, there was a big crowd to watch us play, and because of the state of the pitch we could not get a game,” said one livid member of the team. The team has communicated its displeasure to the ECB.

Meantime, locals claim that Hove, Bristol, Leicester and Taunton (where the Indians are scheduled to play), the southern and western part of England, receive more rain at this time of the year. The Eastern coast is said to be relatively less wet.

In fact, indications are that Messrs Duckworth and Lewis (the ones who wrote the rain rule) may make a bigger impact in this World Cup than Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Shaun Pollock or anybody else.