Stand Up And Be Counted

India is in deep trouble. They did too many things wrong in the Newlands:batting, bowling or fielding.

If an opposition cannot be put away from a position in which India was in,then the hopes recede faster than the sum in your wallet in a club. This spellsbig time trouble.

Sure, the lost chances in the field would be mulled over for long. JustinKemp included there were as many as three lives afforded to key South Africanbatsmen.

This is not just your ability with bat and ball failing you in testingconditions: it is a major negation of even ordinary skills which most of uscricketers possess at all times. There are too many pieces on the floor forIndia to pick up and rearrange in the thick of battle. The wind is too strongand the foothold too skewed, I am afraid.

You can meet as many times as you want in the hotel; have as many meetings asyou could possibly squeeze in; hold as many video analysis as you humanly could;hold up coach or captain for your ills but the basic surge has got to come fromthe men in the squad.

It is they who form the muscles, sinews, bones everything of a team's form.There simply are too many failures for any single individual to be heldresponsible. The buck stops with them.

I have spoken to a few distinguished old-timers of Indian cricket in recentdays and most of them are unanimous that there are not enough good core oftalented cricketers in the land. They all speak of a core group of 15-18cricketers and then the list runs out. It is thus a difficult choice forselectors: whether to lay off those who are not measuring up and replace themwith some little known names.

Wholesome replacements have never been the answer. I know fans and media backhome are unforgiving and it is a big-time trouble leading up to the World Cupbut pulling these men out of the fray at this juncture is not going to be ahelp.

Every time I speak in support of the visitors, the voice sounds shriller andlost in the din of criticism but I still feel this Indian team can turn thingsaround. They can work on the South African batting and build on the advantagewhich they have over the top order.

In both games, India has been good with the new ball and have made earlyinroads. They would like to believe that they have got the measure of the homecaptain and a few other batters in the line-up.

It is a good starting point, the window of light, which should offer themenergy and hope. They must push on from this basic premise, gather forces atthis cape of reasonable stability. Otherwise, such defeats would have a knock-oneffect on the Tests as well.

They could also look to scratch at the disquiet in the home camp over teamselection prior to the Newlands game and see if the hurt runs deeper than a merematter of Andre Nel's exclusion. I am not sure if it was annoyance before thegame which cost Graeme Smith his wicket but he sure had smoke coming out of hisears.

The home top order, Smith including, was once again exposed and lookedvulnerable. They sure have work to do.

The return of Anil Kumble to the one-day bowling crease was in line withexpectations: he was miserly and in complete control during his 10 overs. Thathe came at number 11 and looked laboured in the outfield is a concern which musttake the backseat for now.

India must look to maximise its potential rather than look at the perfectpicture. They have to draw on every ounce of their positive strength if they areto be counted on this tour.

PTI