Match 5, Delhi
Thursday, January 31, 2002

I said they'd have to be close for us to win one out here, but that was about the closest match I've ever played in. For it to come down to four needed, with the last ball hurtling to the boundary and no-one quite sure if the fielder would get to it or not, it's really good for the game.

But we showed a lot of character out there and deserved to win, and Darren Gough showed just why he is the big-match player with the perfect final over. He's played 100 one-dayers now, and performances like that prove why.

Goughie didn't open up today. After Kanpur where the ball skidded onto the bat a bit, we reckoned today would also be a hit-the-deck type of wicket. Andrew Caddick came back in, so we opted to pair him with Flintoff who also gets that steeper bounce. And it paid dividends. Caddie's first ball back was a bit floaty and he was belted for four, but he recovered well and got the big one. We've spent the entire winter trying to get Tendulkar out - and now Caddie gets him in his first spell. He must be wondering what all the fuss is about!

Ashley Giles also came back strongly. He got smacked by Ganguly in his first four overs, but I just had a gut feeling about bringing him back on. Ganguly would probably have been content to knock the seamers around for singles, but his eyes lit up against Ash and he paid the price. It is very important for English cricket for spinners to have success in internationals. The last guy to take five wickets in a one-dayer was Graeme Hick, but he's not even a regular bowler. I can't even remember anyone before that, and it's no coincidence that we haven't gone on to produce any Shane Warnes in this country.

I stuck Michael Vaughan in for an early spell, partly to get some of the fifth and sixth bowlers' overs out of the way, and partly because India had two left-handers in at the time, and it made sense to have the ball turning away from them. We might have been a little light on bowling, but frankly we didn't have anyone else to turn to - Ben Hollioake has gone in the knee, and Jeremy Snape split the webbing in his hand.

I was happy with our total of 271, but we could have done a little better. They bowled pretty well for the first ten overs, but thereafter it was a real team performance, with Freddie and Nick Knight the obvious stars. There are no plans to make Freddie a fixture in the top four. We're forever thinking about his role, and while it's all very well getting your big guns in early, the likes of Chris Cairns, Mark Boucher - even Agarkar today - they've all shown what can be achieved at the 35-40-45-over marks.

You could see I wasn't very happy when the ball was changed in the second innings, and I've spoken to the match referee about it. Firstly there was no consistency from the umpires - our ball was changed at the 35-over mark, but when they were bowling it wasn't changed until the 45th over. Secondly, I'd just brought Darren Gough back on - the king of reverse-swing and one of the best old-ball bowlers in the world - and immediately he has his ball taken away from him.

There was a bit of trouble out on the far boundary as well. Thorpe and Vaughan both complained they'd been shot at with a pellet gun, but when Flintoff was struck a painful blow I reckoned it was time to intervene. The match referee got security involved, and it soon blew over. That's what they are there for, and it was never a major incident.

Some of the guys got a chance to do a bit of sight-seeing yesterday, and went off to the Taj Mahal which they all enjoyed. I didn't go myself, as I've been a few times before, but we've got out and about quite a bit considering the itinerary. In fact, we're off to the Prime Minister's reception right this minute!

Nasser Hussain was talking to Andrew Miller. His thoughts will appear on Wisden.com throughout the one-day series.

More Nasser Hussain
We took a battering

We lost it with the bat

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