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Eat your veg, England
Wisden CricInfo staff - September 8, 2001

by S.Vijay
Saturday, September 8, 2001

I was dejected to hear that Alec Stewart and Darren Gough would not be making it to India in December. I think this is mainly because of their fear of the weather, the accommodation and the food.

Let me inform them that there is no better place to play cricket than in India, which has a cricket-crazy populace that always treats the opposition respectfully. In fact, any anger is usually directed towards the Indian team, who screw up with irritating regularity.

As for the food, Gough and Stewart presumably both like Indian cuisine and eat at Indian restaurants in England, so why not try the real thing? The hotels are among the best in the world, so comfort is not an issue either. Most of the players who have come to India and have played here will vouch for this.

It was also surprising to read that the England and Wales Cricket Board have laid a condition on the players, that they can only go to New Zealand if they tour India. This reminded me of my mum, who used to threaten me with 'Eat your vegetables, else no dessert for you boy'.

I hope I am wrong and the English will come and eat the Indian vegetables lovingly, before having their desserts in New Zealand.

As Steve Waugh put it, players who deliver 100% are needed in the English squad for India, otherwise the mauling will be pretty severe. Steve knows this better than anyone.

Let's just have a nice game of cricket, guys. We don't want to feel sorry for you and see some of our undeserving youngsters make tons of runs and get a permanent seat on the tour bus. We will cheer for you. Thanks for coming.

S.Vijay, 28, works for a software company in Mumbai and describes himself as a handy allrounder. He supports "India and the underdog".


Punter's Point is the weekly column that is written by a Wisden reader. It should be an opinion piece of up to 500 words on the subject of your choice, topical or otherwise. Please send it to feedback@wisden.com, giving your phone numbers and a postal address. The best piece to arrive by 4pm Friday (BST) will be published on Wisden.com the next day. Wisden reserves the right to edit the pieces.

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