Nasser Hussain: India are definitely favourites
Santhosh S - 18 December 2001

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Nasser Hussain is a very confident captain who has marshalled his meagre resources with aplomb. There is a certain professional edge to his captaincy, making one wonder whether he just walked out of a business school. It surely will not be long before Hussain will be called Captain Marvel, a name synonymous with the English soccer captain of yesteryears, Bryan Robson.

Any conversation with Hussain on cricket is a very clear analysis of the game and its intricacies. Talking to the media on the eve of the third Test, the England captain said that the wicket in Bangalore looks similar to the one at Ahmedabad. "It is completely different from Mohali. It looks a very good wicket, and I think that it will be flat for two or three days and then turn. It is a good wicket and a very good ground."

Hussain, though, made it amply clear that it was very difficult to make any specific predictions of the pitches in India. He revealed that he had expected the track in Motera to turn greatly but that it did not do nearly as much as expected. When Hussain was reminded of the fact that this was a newly laid pitch and that no first-class game has been played on it, the English skipper said, "Usually history tells you what the wicket is like. If it is newly laid, then it could be anything; it looks okay."

After holding the upper hand for the first four days of the second Test, Hussain had to settle for a draw at Ahmedabad. The English skipper was candid about the final outcome of that Test. "I think India probably missed out on an opportunity to wrap up the series. It was a flat wicket, and we tried as hard as we could for 100 overs, but we got just three wickets. It must have been a very good wicket. We tried everything, over the wicket, around the wicket, seamers, spinners and cutters...we tried everything and we got one run-out and two wickets," he said. "We need to keep trying hard, as we have an inexperienced bowling line-up and India has got a good batting line- up. We didn't even get the likes of Laxman and others in, in the second innings. We got to do a lot of hard work, and India are definitely the favourites."

Hussain brushed aside some slight ailments carried by a few players and reckoned that his men will be fit for Wednesday’s Test. He also could not see any reason why the team should be changed. "I am very pleased with what my team did in the last Test match. That is about as well my team could play, and I don't see a reason to make changes."

The English skipper backs his team, and his teammates reciprocate the goodwill extended to them. This was more than apparent when Hussain started talking about Andrew Flintoff. "I am very impressed by Flintoff; he has bowled quicker than anyone in this series and obviously has not scored as many runs as he would have liked to," he said. "It is difficult for him; he has come down from the academy in Australia, and the conditions are different here. He is still worth his place in the side, and if he can score a few runs as well, he is going to be a very good all-rounder."

There was then more solidarity expressed, the beneficiary this time being the current England wicket-keeper. "James Foster is our number one wicket-keeper. He is young, and we are going to give him a go. We are not going to chop and change just for the sake of it. We feel that he is one for the future, and anyway he will get better."

About his spinners, Hussain said, "They did well in the last Test match; Giles picked up five wickets playing in his first match in a while, and young Richard Dawson got Sachin Tendulkar in the second innings. He is still on a high on getting Sachin's wicket, and that shows our inexperience. They have learnt more in the last four weeks than in the last four years."

Hussain emphasised that they would have to work hard and that the strategy would have to be to post a big first-innings score and put pressure on the Indians. The English skipper must miss the classy Graham Thorpe, who had to rush home due to personal reasons. "It is left to Graham to decide when he is mentally and physically prepared to come back to international cricket," he said. Hussain added that chairman of selectors David Graveney will hold a discussion with Thorpe soon to sort out the situation. He reckoned that, as Uzmaan Afzaal had been batting well in the nets, he would the standby if there were to be a last-minute injury scare to any batsman.

Hussain deftly handled the query on why Flintoff was brought in to bowl to Sourav Ganguly in the fag end of the second Test. "The new ball was due, and Andrew Flintoff had got Ganguly in the first innings. I try and play the game hard. It doesn't matter whether it is the last 20 minutes or the first 20 minutes of a game," he said. "There are no easy times in Test matches."

These words clearly give an insight into the positive frame of mind that the English skipper will carry into the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Wednesday. Hussain looks to be aiming at nothing short of victory at Bangalore.