Woolmer can play by the ear

Sachin Tendulkar had a most determined look on his face when he walked out to face the World Cup favourites South Africa. He, in his mind...

Sachin Tendulkar had a most determined look on his face when he walked out to face the World Cup favourites South Africa. He, in his mind had singled this out as India8217;s most defining match in essence, the final before the final. He was to be disappointed not only with his own performance but that of his team8217;s upper, who squandered a wonderful start to post a modest 253 on an outfield made, one thought, of concrete the way the ball raced away from the fielders. Weighing all the factors, 300 plus should have been achieved.

At one stage Hansie Cronje would have been anxious as Dravid and Ganguly laid the platform for what should have been a match-winning score. The middle to late overs, however, proved to be India8217;s Achilles heel as they failed to dominate the attack by perhaps taking some risks, hitting over the top and creating a different length by using their feet. To be fair South Africa did bowl with discipline. Boundaries were paramount on a small field and those were not enough.

There is a formulaplayers work to: the total at 30 overs to be doubled, more if you have wickets in hand. India were 133 for 1 at 30 overs and should have got 300 but watchful batting and perhaps the pressure of the whole nation watching inhibited both Dravid and Ganguly at a time when caution had to be thrown to the wind. Ganguly8217;s dismissal is a perfect illustration of the mindset in the subcontinent. On 97, with overs running out, Kallis was called on to bowl completely without notice as Cronje had to do some hasty recalculations to ensure Donald and Klusener bowled at the end. Three dot balls, each of which Ganguly was looking for singles to claw over the 100 mark and the fourth was a classic square cut and you could almost see the relief on Ganguly8217;s face.

Enter Jonty Rhodes who flung himself to his right, gathered the ball and passed it to Kallis right above the stumps. In fielding terms, it was sheer poetry but the point was how careful Ganguly was in pursuit of 100 rather than the necessary flailing of the batespecially with wickets in hand. You can8217;t blame Ganguly because so much importance is put on individual success, that players stand and fall by it when selectors are sometimes erratic. It is a disappointing aspect of Indian cricket and maybe a reason they have not fulfilled their potential in terms of results. South Africa are a stark contrast where peer pressure ensures that players have total commitment to the team8217;s needs first and individual ones second.

South Africa do not enjoy being favourites but the juggernaut rolls on and both captain and coach would be mightily pleased with the result. They are close-knit and have a wonderful working relationship taken to a higher plane by the use of a earpiece while Cronje was on the field. It will be sad if news of the earpiece overshadows a good solid team performance. Bob Woolmer has always been a wonderful innovator and thus is an extension of what other sports do. Future generations will ask what the fuss is about.

Traditionalists will say that acaptain should be his own man. Maybe so, but you can8217;t see everything and I don8217;t have a problem with on-field communication. Perhaps in the fullness of time it will lift the profile of coaches and really make them accountable for performance.

The match threw up what we expected. Donald albeit slower, is still a mighty performer and will stamp his authority. All-rounders Kallis and Klusener will be trump cards and give South Africa a versatility that most other teams can only dream about and South African fielding will set a new standard.

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India can take heart too, it was closer than it looked at the very end. Ganguly is a class player and Rahul Dravid is starting to show that he will be a force in England. India though really had trouble with the fifth bowler. Ganguly, Singh and Tendulkar shared the honours but were not successful. It is something that might plague them for the whole tournament.South Africa have cemented their status as favourites and on this performance it will be a brave man who saysthey won8217;t be at Lord8217;s on June 20.