Twelve inches of turf that made the difference

It was on twelve inches of turf that a crucial match was probably decided. In the BBC radio commentary box, when India were struggling at...

It was on twelve inches of turf that a crucial match was probably decided. In the BBC radio commentary box, when India were struggling at 30 for 4, the former New Zealand cricket captain and hugely entertaining commentator Jeremy Coney remarked that India seemed to be getting the edges while the ball seemed to go past them when Australia were batting. It was the length that made the difference.

When Javagal Srinath bowled in the morning, on a slightly responsive track, he was fast and he got a lot of movement but he gave the ball enough space to move; to deviate so much that by the time it reached the position of the bat, it had done enough to miss the edge. By contrast, Glenn McGrath bowled a much fuller length so that the ball couldn’t deviate too much and did just enough to catch the edge.

He admitted after the match that he was trying not to get carried away by the bounce he was getting from the track. Instead, he said, by bowling a fuller length, he could actually use the bounce to his advantage.The best spinners do that on a turning track as well. They just bowl the right length and let the pitch do the rest.

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It is the mark of a great bowler that he rises to the occasion and bowls the great spell at just the right moment. The two best bowling performances of the tournament came from McGrath; against the West Indies and now here. Australia won both matches and from a cricketing point of view, I am delighted that bowlers are winning matches again.

Contrast that with the top six batting performances in terms of number of runs. India have made all of them and yet they are struggling because they are not a consistent bowling side. On the sub-continent, as Sri Lanka showed and as India’s record suggests, you can be a very good batting side and an average bowling side and still win fairly regularly. Here in England, as in Australia and South Africa, you need to spice your dish more evenly; you need to spread your talent across the board.

Steve Waugh had said before the game that the team that winsthis match will acquire the momentum to go all the way. And after this performance, you have to back Australia to do that. In fact their biggest gain in this match was as much McGrath’s brilliant form as the fact that Mark Waugh got among the runs again. They now have a head and a tail which is crucial because Australia’s middle-order has been very shaky and need the momentum of a good start to get them going. Even here, in spite of a near-century opening stand, they almost floundered to a total of 250. It’s been a funny tournament for India. Their backs have never left the wall. Like the raider in kabaddi, they have gone for a sortie and returned. They have picked themselves up remarkably so far but I fear that this defeat will drain them.

Manchester will be a very interesting game because it will provide a pointer to the mental strength of this team. But they must do something about those twelve inches of turf.

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And finally, did Azharuddin "do a Stewart"? Or was he, and the team management, done in bythe fickleness of the English weather. As he went out to toss, a huge cloud was overhead. In the half hour that it took for play to start, it had sauntered away and allowed the sun to watch some cricket.

I guess that is what people mean when they say "it was a good toss to lose!"y