Tendulkar in particular was mightily displeased by the even-paced wicket provided by the Cricket Association of Bengal for the recently completed second Test, which India lost by the massive margin of 330 runs.

The thinking obviously is that India would like to take advantage of the home conditions to go 2-1 up in the series, considering that it expects to be greeted with fast, bouncy wickets when they land in South Africa on December 19 for a three-Test series beginning December 26.

And South African coach Bob Woolmer, for one, appears unfazed by the prospect of his team having to face the Indian spinners on a turner at Kanpur. Arguing that the host country has the right to choose the kind of wickets it wants to play on, Woolmer said that Cronje and his men had, in course of the tour thus far, played enough spin to be confident of doing well in the third Test.

``We expected to get a turner at Kanpur, and we are ready for it,'' the S'African coach said.

Neither Woolmer nor Cronje are particularly worried about going into the crucial game without the services of strike bowler Allan Donald. ``Donald has been sent back home so he can get his injury treated and be ready for the return leg of the series, when India arrives in South Africa for the reciprocal three-Test series,'' Woolmer said.

Asked whether Donald's absence will dent the teeth of the S'African attack in the key Test, Woolmer pointed out that the side had taken the field during the Indian second innings at Calcutta without Donald, and done spectacularly well. ``We have others bowlers in the side, who are good enough to make up in Allan's absence,'' the S'African coach said.

Meanwhile, the Indian camp continued its rather inexplicable decisions, when chairman of the national selectors Ramakant Desai, on behalf of the committee, summoned pace bowlers Abey Kuruvilla and D Ganesh, as also left-arm spinner Venkatapathy Raju, to be present in Kanpur during the upcoming third Test. The three players were asked to report to the Indian cricket manager as early as December 6.

Desai, however, affirmed that there will be no changes in the team already announced for the third Test. Which makes the question of why Kuruvilla, Ganesh and Raju have been summoned to Kanpur rather intriguing.

Of course, one reason could be that the Indian batsmen will get an opportunity to use the three for net practise, but that seems a rather silly, not to mention unsympathetic, reason to summon three top flight players to the venue of a Test they don't have a hope of playing in.

Desai himself explained that the three players will be given some tests, and their performances assessed by The Management.

To what end? Perhaps with a view to assess their fitness for the South African tour? ``Oh, it is still too early to talk about that tour,'' says Desai.

So there we have it - three players who will drop everything and go to Kanpur at the selection committee's whim, to be subjected to tests the nature of which is yet unclear, and the result of which seems to have nothing to do with anything in the foreseeable future.

To paraphrase an oft-used quote, they move in mysterious ways their blunders to perform!