January 7, 2003	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 3, 1423

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NEW DELHI, Jan 6: India’s cricketers, reeling from a string of defeats on their New Zealand tour, should emulate the fight shown by England to win the final Ashes Test, according to former Test all-rounder Chandu Borde.

“I like England, the way they have fought back,” former chief selector Borde told Reuters. “I want our boys also to show the same attitude.”

The Indians have dropped from heroes to zeroes in the eyes of millions of their passionate fans because of indifferent batting which has left them without a win on a tour billed as the final build-up for the World Cup starting next month.

They were routed in a two-Test series, losing both matches inside three days, and New Zealand enjoy an unassailable 4-0 lead in the seven-match one-day series where India continue to struggle to raise a decent total.

Captain Saurav Ganguly has become the prime target for critics for failing to revive his side and for his continued poor form, scoring only 49 runs from eight Test and one-day innings.

Former captains such as Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri have rounded on the batsmen for not showing the application needed to survive on seaming tracks in New Zealand.

Leading batsman Sachin Tendulkar has missed the one-day games so far because of an ankle injury and only opener Virender Sehwag, with a century, and Rahul Dravid have to some extent shown their willingness to adapt.

Borde said Ganguly was repeating the kind of mistakes which took him 28 innings to hit a Test century as captain.

“He is repeating the mistakes he used to make in the past,” Borde said. “In between he had changed and that showed.”

Former all-rounder Kapil Dev, who led India to its only World Cup victory in 1983, described India’s poor run in New Zealand as among the worst in the country’s cricketing history.

“In one year we have seen the best phase and lowest phase in Indian cricket history,” he told reporters on Monday.

Kapil smilingly said he would like to see how the media rated the team’s World Cup chances on bouncy South African pitches.

“They are facing reality now,” he said. “Till last month they were doing well because the ball was coming straight.”

“Suddenly the ball starts moving a bit and they struggle.”

India had enjoyed a good run during 2002, chasing 325 to win a tri-series final against hosts England and then sharing the Champions Trophy with hosts Sri Lanka among the highlights.

Ganguly also rallied his side to a 1-1 draw in a four-Test series in England and 2-0 home series win over West Indies.

Former Test batsman Dilip Vengsarkar said he felt the Indian batsmen were over-rated because they were judged by their one-day efforts.

“Without a doubt, it is the most popular form of cricket, but it does not test the skill and, more so, the temperament of a batsman,” he wrote in his column.

GANGULY CRITICIZED

WELLINGTON: New Zealand media have been scathing in their condemnation of India’s cricketers after the team’s capitulation in the seven match one-day series, which goes into the fifth match on Wednesday with India 4-0 down.

Writing in Auckland’s New Zealand Herald, cricket correspondent Richard Boock said it was time Saurav Ganguly took a leaf out of Antarctic explorer Captain Oates’ book and considered “taking a long walk in the cold”.

Boock said that if Ganguly was a man of impressive influence, able to inspire despite his own lean run of form, there would be a strong case for retaining him.

Boock said Ganguly was not a good team man, and repeated a tale about the Indians’ first tour match in Napier when the skipper, his wife, his maid and child comandeered the 40-seater team bus to take them to their hotel.

Boock believes Rahul Dravid, who he describes as a “jack of all trades” being shuffled up and down the order according to Ganguly’s whim, should be appointed skipper for the rest of the tour.

Jonathan Milmow, writing in Wellington’s Dominion Post, said that to label India the worst cricket team to tour New Zealand might be over the top considering the country hosted Bangladesh last summer.

“But in terms of the most disappointing, it is a one-horse race,” Milmow wrote.

“India have been shown up as spineless and directionless in the Test and one-day series, which would not be such a bad thing if they did not go round the world parading themselves as the most talented batting lineup in commission.—Reuters