The patch-up between Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell gives both of them the opportunity to let their actions speak louder than words,
writes Abhijit Chatterjee

THE peace brokered in Mumbai between Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell has given the Indian skipper one last chance to prove that he still has it in him to lead India, at least till the 2007 World Cup.

The Review Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had little option but to hammer out the compromise between the warring captain and Chappell. It could neither have dumped Ganguly, in view of his impressive overall record, nor the coach, who had been called upon to shape the team for the World Cup.

The credit for hammering out this compromise of the high-profile dispute, which for more than a fortnight had held centrestage, relegating even politics from the front pages of most newspapers, must go not only to the three former Indian captains, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, but also the BCCI President, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, as also his predecessor, Jagmohan Dalmiya, all members of the Review Committee. The other member of the committee was S.K. Nair, the "lame duck" Secretary of the Board.

All three former captains who attended the meeting of the committee must have had a soft spot for Ganguly for his loss of form in recent times. They, too, have during their playing days suffered a slump in form and know how big the struggle is to regain their touch. They also knew that the record of the Kolkata southpaw was indeed very good and he deserved some more time to deliver the goods again.
But at the same time they could not ignore the record of Chappell, both as player and coach. As a player, of course, Chappell has a very outstanding international record but he has yet to prove his coaching credentials while at the helm of affairs of a national-level team. Incidentally, the Australian was invited by the Search Committee of the BCCI when they were looking for a replacement for John Wright. The members of the Search Committee as well as the Review Committee were identical.

When selected, Chappell, whose name first came up during the series against Pakistan when Wright had expressed a desire to return home, also had the recommendation of the skipper himself. Ganguly had once travelled all the way to Australia in August, 2003, prior to India’s tour Down Under, where he ironed out flaws in his batting under Chappell’s tutelage. And post-training, Ganguly scored a classic century at the Brisbane Gabba.

There is no doubt that Ranbir Singh as well as Dalmiya, both very persuasive speakers, must have played a major role in hammering out the truce, no matter how temporary. The patch-up was brought about even though both the captain and the coach had been warned that the issue would be settled on the basis of performance. Now it is up to these two to prove they have it in them to stay on.

Ganguly has the home series first against Sri Lanka and then against South Africa to prove that he has some cricket left in him. The painstaking century scored against Zimbabwe is no proof that he has regain his batting touch. He has to score runs and do so consistently if he has to justify his place in the team. The issue of captaincy will, of course, be decided on a series-to-series basis, but if Ganguly can regain his batting form then the whole issue can be looked from a different perspective.

As far as the coach is concerned, he will have to gel well with the boys, especially with players like Harbhajan Singh, the lone member of the squad that toured Zimbabwe who came out in open support of his captain, even alleging that the coach has brought about an air of fear and insecurity among the players. There are also reports that the coach is putting too much of workload on the players. All this has to be sorted out. But more important than that Chappell will have to imbibe the Indian ethos (just as Wright had done over the years) if he is to get along well with the boys.

In their place come fast bowlers Shaun Tait and Nathan Bracken and all rounder James Hopes. The selectors will be hoping that Hopes will emulate Andrew Flintoff and will be a cover for Gilchrist or a non-performing bowler.

Blasts from the past Rest of the World teams have often come up trumps in encounters with leading sides. A peek at these unique clashes: 1970: The cancellation of South Africa’s tour to England prompted the formation of a Rest of the World side that took on the hosts in a five-match "Test" series. The formidable team boasted of legends like Sir Garfield Sobers, Clive Lloyd, Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock, Rohan Kanhai and Lance Gibbs. There were two players from the subcontinent — wicketkeeper-batsman Faroukh Engineer (India) and all-rounder Intikhab Alam (Pakistan). England, led by all-rounder Ray Illingworth, had in their ranks Geoff Boycott, Colin Cowdrey, Basil D’Oliveira, Tony Greig and John Snow. Rest of the World won the series 4-1, with captain Sobers scoring the most number of runs (588) and also taking most wickets (21). 1971-72: The cancellation of South Africa’s tour to Australia brought a World XI Down Under. It included Bishan Singh Bedi, Zaheer Abbas, Intikhab Alam, Tony Greig, Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd and above all Sobers. The result was the same: Ian Chappell-led Australia were thrashed 4-1. The high point of the tour was Sobers’ 254 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, an innings Don Bradman rated as one of the best played in Australia. Facing a first-innings deficit of 101 runs, Sobers turned the match around with his blazing knock which included 35 fours and two sixes. World XI won by 96 runs. 1977-79: Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket pitted World XI against Australia and the West Indies. The latter won both limited-overs tournaments. 1987: A Rest of the World combination played MCC at Lord’s in 1987 to mark the latter’s bicentennial celebrations, with Sunil Gavaskar and Gordon Greenidge responding to the first-innings centuries of Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting. 1996: To celebrate the Victorian Cricket Association’s centenary, Australia played against an international side. Dean Jones, one of the state’s finest, was "exported" to the world side, while current captain Ricky Ponting was Australia’s 12th man. Jones scored 103 against his old team-mates, but Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh’s half-centuries pushed Australia to victory.

But Bopanna will have to play consistently and win matches and tournaments to assert his credentials.

IN THE NEWS
Dazzling duo

FOR a change, Sania Mirza was not the star performer for India at the Sunfeast Open in Kolkata. The Uberoi sisters — Shikha and Neha — played superb tennis to reach their maiden WTA doubles final. They were blown away by the Russian duo of Anastasia Myskina and Elena Likhovtseva in the title clash, but the upset win in the semis against Melinda Czink of Hungary and Yulina Fedak of Ukraine showed that the sisters were no pushovers.

Shikha also did well to reach her first WTA singles quarterfinal, where she lost to Myskina. She certainly outshone Sania, who was shocked in the second round by Czink and bowed out in the doubles semis.

Shikha’s impressive show has improved her WTA ranking from 152nd to 139th. Her doubles ranking has also risen to a career-best 208th, while Neha’s is up to 188th.
— Agencies

— Photos by PTI/AFP/Reuters

SPORTS MAIL

INDIA won both Tests against Zimbabwe to register their first series win outside the subcontinent after nearly two decades. It was in 1986 that India, under Kapil Dev, won an away series against England 2-0.

The victory against Zimbabwe was on expected lines as the latter had a weak team. Irfan Pathan excelled as a wicket-taker, claiming as many as 21 scalps in two matches. He even proved to be a reliable lower order batsman. No wonder Pathan won the man of the series award.

It is time for Javed Miandad to eat his own words. He had equated Pathan, on his induction into the Indian team, with one of the innumerable kids playing cricket on the streets of Pakistan.

— D.K. Aggarwala
Hoshiarpur

The Kiwis played a superior game and deservingly lifted the Videocon Cup by winning the final of the tri-series in Zimbabwe. Both Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle hammered the Indian bowlers all over the place. The Indian bowling attack proved ineffective before the onslaught of Astle, who stood firm till the end.

On a wicket which was playing quite easy, the Indian total should have exceeded the 300-run mark. Barring Virender Sehwag and Mohammad Kaif, the Indian players did not play up to their potential and hence could not consolidate the innings. New Zealand bowlers were successful in containing the Indian batsmen in the slog overs. The total of 276 runs failed to challenge the Kiwis and they achieved it comfortably.

— Nirmal Kumar
Panchkula

Flop show

The Indian hockey team was outplayed by three top teams — Pakistan, Germany and Spain — in the Rabo Trophy at Amstelveen. They secured a face-saving victory in the last match against England to avoid the wooden spoon.

On the other hand, Pakistan put up a spirited performance to lift the trophy. Defeating Olympic champions Australia was no mean task, but their determined effort made it possible.

With an eye on the Champions Trophy in December, the Indian selectors and the coach should gear up to meet the challenge.

— Manju Dhawan
Chandigarh