Some captains lead by rousing speeches, some by intricate tactical theories. Alastair Cook
leads by example. Three times he has captained England in Tests and
three times he has produced a century in response. Against India in
Ahmedabad, he summoned his most monumental innings of all. Long before
the end of the day, India's spinners could feel it in their bones.
Cook met mounting criticism of England's hapless displays against spin
bowling with an innings of striking certainty, more than eight hours so
far. He finished the fourth day with an unbeaten 168 to his name.
England, after trailing by 330 on first innings, are 10 runs ahead with
five wickets remaining. India remain favourites but they are one good
batting session away from feeling decidedly nauseous.
This defiant hundred, to follow two as captain in Bangladesh when Andrew
Strauss was on sabbatical, is already one of the finest innings of an
increasingly grand Test career. It affirmed his right to lead and it
left Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin, who at the start of the day had every
expectation of becoming match-winners, with only two wickets to show
from 85 overs.
A draw is not impossible; Andy Flower knows that. Zimbabwe drew a Test in Nagpur
12 years ago after following on when Flower, now England's director of
cricket, batted for more than nine hours for an unbeaten double century,
his highest Test score, on a tour that cemented his reputation as one
of the best players of spin in the world.
It was a hot day at Motera, and a parched, cracked pitch promised to be
deadly. But the surface looked tired long before India's spinners.
Dangerous turn was a rarity. "More red clay!" you could imagine India's
coach, Duncan Fletcher, ordering from behind his inscrutable shades as
the virginal, relaid pitch failed to break up as expected.
Famously, Cook does not sweat much, but he found a worthy ally in a man
who sweats buckets, Matt Prior, who played in characteristically punchy
fashion for an unbeaten 84, feasting on whatever width the spinners
allowed. While Cook batted on phlegmatically, so cool that he had no
need to change his gloves, Prior ducked his head repeatedly and tipped
sweat from his helmet. Wet or dry, these two batsmen have carried
England's fight throughout the Test.
It is a fact that had DRS been employed in this Test, both might already
have been dismissed and India would probably have been 1-0 up in the
series. Cook, well forward on the sweep to Ojha, survived an lbw appeal
on the third day, having made 41; Prior, bat alongside pad in approved
pre-DRS method, in England at least, survived on 61. On both occasions,
for Aleem Dar, the umpire, the uncertainty was too much. Hawk Eye would
have had no such compunction.
Cook's Block Party was based upon sound principles, limited in ambition
but possessing a onfidence that his defensive technique provided a
stable basis for long-term survival. The surface was so slow that
picking off a single or two could sometimes look the easiest job in the
world. About half an hour before the close, Ojha finally made one spit
viciously and he shrewdly turned away and took a blow on the shoulder.
About his only show of emotion came at the close when he puffed out his
cheeks in recognition of an exhausting day.
No player has ever made hundreds in their first three Tests as captain.
But, like Michael Clarke for Australia, captaincy seems to stir him to
even greater levels of concentration. He brought up his 21st Test
century by quietly tucking Umesh Yadav into the leg side but his best
shot of all came slightly earlier when he took him through midwicket
with exquisite timing.
The prospect of Indian domination on a turning pitch has quickened
interest in this contest. The weekend crowds have been much bigger
(there are no official figures, not even guesstimates), renewing hope
that an attractive Test can still draw the crowds. And after two
sessions, with India five wickets to the good and England still 66
behind, the match was by no means certain to reach a final day.
It tipped India's way just before the second new ball was due when Ian
Bell and Samit Patel fell lbw to successive deliveries from Yadav , a
strong-shouldered quick who reversed the old ball and continued to make a
good impression.
Patel stomped off in disgust as the umpire, Tony Hill, failed to spot an
inside nick. It was his second bad decision in the match, not helpful
when he is trying to prove himself worthy of a top-six place and his
left-arm slows are likely to be less useful in the second Test in
Mumbai, should Monty Panesar be recalled. Bell, meanwhile, soon heads
off for a bit of paternity leave and might struggle to regain his place.
The morning undoubtedly belonged to India. While Cook proceeded serenely
through the 90s, all sorts of turmoil ensued 22 yards away as Jonathan
Trott and Kevin Pietersen both departed, Pietersen to left-arm spin yet
again. Nick Compton had gone earlier, a troubled half-hour in marked
contrast to his equilibrium on the third evening as England had reached
stumps at 111 without loss.
Compton resisted in workmanlike manner. He won an England Test debut by
stripping down his game at Somerset and becoming reliant on a solid
defensive technique. In this Test, he has stripped it down some more,
spending 181 balls in the match for scores of 9 and 37.
In the half hour or so he survived, he lacked the certainty of the
previous evening. He was fortunate to survive an lbw appeal from Ashwin -
another wicket that an India spinner might have gained had DRS been in
place - and, when he tried to advance down the pitch to the same bowler,
MS Dhoni entirely missed a stumping. Zaheer Khan got deserved reward
for a combative potpourri by swinging one back to have him lbw.
Ojha then switched ends to remove Trott with one that turned, bringing a catch for Dhoni, but such occurrences were rare.
Pietersen's first innings had involved a series of cavalier advances
down the pitch. On this occasion, he had little time for such
fripperies, attempting an ungainly pre-meditated sweep to the sixth ball
he faced, from Ojha. All he heard was the sound of ball against stump
as a full-length delivery bowled him around his legs.
India's spinners bowl straight at him, like others have in the past,
with the recognition that his defensive technique is fallible. Pietersen
does not have a problem against left-arm spin apparently. And bees do
not buzz and there is never honey for tea.
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