From: vigneswa@ecs.umass.edu
Newsgroups: rec.sport.cricket
Subject: Ball Tampering?  Sack the Captain!!
Date: 20 Jan 93 13:33:01 GMT

Gooch welcomes Gatting back into England fold

By Peter Ball in Jaipur, India   (The Times, Jan 18, Monday)


	Mike Gatting went into England's first one-day international
early this  morning knowing  that his  rehabilitation  as an England
player and potential  captain is now complete.  Gatting was added to
the tour selection committee on Saturday, and now appears certain to
become vice-captain on the Sri Lanka leg of the tour when Gooch goes
home.

	''We have co-opted Gatt because we want to make the best use
of his knowledge and experience,'' Graham Gooch said during net prac-
tice here. ''He has always been a very  committed player for England,
he is very talented, and he is determined to do well for England.''
 
	Once the ban on the  South Africa ''rebel'' touring team was
lifted, it  seemed almost inevitable  that Gatting would be restored
to the inner councils  eventually, and his appointment  is only offi-
cial recognition of what was already happening unofficially.''Graham
and Keith  Fletcher have  been coming  to me and  talking to me  all
tour,'' Gatting said, ''and I just want to help in any way I can.''
 
	Gatting has  consistently  refused to discuss  his hopes for
the restoration of the captaincy, which  he lost in 1988, but  there
seems little doubt that he has  been restored to the order of succes-
sion  should  Alec Stewart, the  present heir  apparent, fall out of
favour.

	With the pressures of the modern game, captaincy is becoming
an increasingly  onerous task, and  both Gooch  and Azharuddin  went
into this  series with  further  responsibility.  The  match referee,
Cammie Smith, the  former  West Indies  opening  batsman, said  that
under  ICC  guidelines  they  are to  be held  responsible for their
players' behaviour.

	Ball-tampering, last  summer's cause celebre, will  exercise
Smith, who made his position clear to the captains yesterday. ''I am
empowered  to suspend  a captain,'' Smith said. ''If the ball is tam-
pered with, unless  we can  pinpoint a  particular player, the  onus
comes down to the captain. He has to be strong, that is the answer.''
 
	There is little doubting Gooch's strength, or his ability to
impose  his will  on his  team.  Improving  England's  form  is less
straightforward, and the  tension showed as he  dealt with questions
before returning  to their headquarters  in the  magnificent Rambagh
Palace Hotel. ''We've only been playing to a maximum of 75 per  cent
of our  ability so far,'' he  said, ''and we know  we've got to play
better if we are going to beat the Indians.''

	In a corner, Gooch always falls back on the tried and tested,
and  the shape  of today's  team was  eminently predictable.  Though
Emburey  came under  pressure for  his place after his  treatment by
Sidhu last week, he held off the challenge  of the younger  spinners.
Whether he will do so for  the rest of the one-day series may depend
on what happens today.

	The only minor  surprise  was Taylor's  inclusion  in the 12,
suggesting that DeFreitas and, possibly, Lewis  are also  under some
pressure. Six years ago, when  England beat West  Indies here in the
World Cup, the pitch had more bounce and was quicker than ususal for
India, and if that  is  repeated it  should give  the  England  seam
bowlers further incentive.
 
	The greater  pressure, however, rests on  Azharuddin's shoul-
ders, his appointment for only the first two one-day matches and the
first Test effectively putting him on trial.  Like England, his team
has  little recent  form to recommend it.  With three  months' solid
cricket behind  them and  only five days' rest  since they  returned
from their unsuccessful tour of South Africa, it would be understand-
able if India feel jaded.  ''We should  have more rest, because when
you are tired you can end up going through the motions,'' Azharuddin
said.

	With local enthusiasm such that yesterday's practice sessions
attracted  a bigger  crowd  than some  county matches, and with fans
willing  to suffer police  baton charges  in their  eagerness to get
autographs, the  Indian  players will  not  want  for  encouragement.
Azharuddin believes that that should inspire his team.  We shall see.

	''They are  very effective in  their own conditions,'' Gooch
said. A win today and that warning could prove true over the rest of
the tour.

	INDIA (from): M Azharuddin (captain), N S  Sidhu, W V  Raman,
S R Tendulkar, V Kambli, P K Amre, V J Yadav, Kapil Dev, M Prabhakar,
J Srinath, A R Kumble, S L V Raju, R Chauhan, S A Ankola.
 
	ENGLAND (from): G A Gooch (captain), A J  Stewart, R A Smith,
M W Gatting, N H Fairbrother, G A Hick, D A  Reeve, C C Lewis, P A J
DeFreitas, J E Emburey, P W Jarvis, J P Taylor.
 
	Umpires: S Venkataraghavan and S K Bansal.

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Vicky:
UMass, Jan 20