Indian Cricket: considering a stint in the English County season

There is a growing school of thought that young cricketers being brought up on a steady diet of T20 are ill-equipped to handle the demands of the five day game, and in some cases even the fifty over format. They say the batsmen lack patience and concentration and look to play too many shots. The same can be applied to the bowlers; they bowl too many variations and look to take a wicket with every delivery. They aren’t wrong. There’s nothing wrong with being aggressive, but some amount of discretion is expected of international cricketers.

Not so long ago, India lost to England in familiar conditions. The batting was woefully incompetent in that series, apart from Cheteshwar Pujara. Before that, there was 8-0. I realize that it is a little late to criticize our batsmen for being as skittish as cats on a ton of hot bricks, but it does expose frailties that cannot be forgotten so easily. We might have pulverized weak Australian and New Zealand teams, but the Wanderers, Trent Bridge, Leeds and Perth are a completely different ball game. Looking to score quickly in limited overs assignments might be in vogue, but batting time and fighting it out in the face of hostile bowling is a timeless style. Is India producing batsmen who can thrive in such conditions?

I would have to say yes, we have a number of talented young batsmen who have the potential to succeed overseas. However, to have potential is one thing, to convert it into consistent performances is quite another. I can name a number of young batsmen who might perform well overseas; Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Unmukt Chand, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and Manoj Tiwary. Change the criterion to batsmen who will definitely do well and the list shrinks to Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. Does that mean that the other batsmen are bad players? Far from it. It is a combination of the aforementioned T20 plague, unresponsive domestic pitches, and domestic bowlers who are about as incisive as a baby that has not begun teething.

The bowling at our disposal doesn’t inspire much confidence either. For all his ability, R Ashwin is not going to bowl teams out single-handedly outside the subcontinent. In the last 10 years, India has only produced one world- class fast bowler, Zaheer Khan. Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma could be a lethal new ball pair, but they aren’t. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar looks a good bowler, but they said the same thing about Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel and RP Singh.

The answer lies where it all first went wrong, England. County Cricket might not be the hub it was once, but there are still some fine players playing on competitive wickets. You can chastise young Indian batsmen for not being able to handle quality fast bowling, but they haven’t had a lot of exposure. It is worth noting that Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag all had county stints. It did not magically turn them into the great players they are, it was merely a case of learning how to survive and then thrive in difficult conditions. The talent and ability was always there, this just made them more rounded players.

Murali Kartik has been plying his trade in the Shires for years, even Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh put in stints. It’s not all about the fast bowlers, although Zaheer Khan did look a different bowler after his career rejuvenating stint with Worcestershire. Zaheer always had the talent; the challenge of bowling in unfamiliar albeit swing-friendly conditions, the discipline he learnt bowling long spells, the aspects he added to his game, the success he enjoyed and the confidence he gained allowed him to become the bowler everyone knew he could be.

One does not become a better player playing with and against mediocre players. The County Championship this year will feature the likes of Ricky Ponting, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marcus North, Saeed Ajmal, George Bailey, Simon Katich, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Thilan Samaraweera, Chris Rogers, Ed Cowan, Alviro Petersen and Graeme Smith. These are proven performers with an abundance of experience and skill. Rubbing shoulders with them will be a great learning curve. And that’s just the overseas signings; the likes of Marcus Trescothick, Paul Collingwood, Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison might not be playing international cricket anymore, but the old skill still lingers.

Yorkshire recently chased 336 against a good Durham attack with Joe Root leading the way with a superb 182. Clearly, the standard of play is high. Ravi Bopara, Nick Compton, Joe Root, Johnny Bairstow, James Taylor and Jos Butler have all represented England in the last year. The bowling stocks are healthy as well, with the likes of Tim Bresnan, Graham Onions, Chris Woakes, Chris Tremlett, Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker charging in.

Those are the big names, James Hildreth, Owais Shah, Ryan ten Doeschate, Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Dawid Malan, Ed Joyce, Samit Patel, Glenn Chapple, Steven Davies, Luke Wright, Sam Northeast, Joe Denly, Chris Nash, Chris Wright, James Tredwell, Michael Carberry, James Vince, Jimmy Adams, Andre Adams, Robert Key, Jeetan Patel, Rikki Clarke, Mark Pettini, Dale Benkenstein, Sean Ervine, Graham Napier, Azeem Rafiq, Gary Balance, Ben Stokes, Jack Brooks, Tony Palladino, James Harris, Liam Plunkett and Reece Topely among others are a pretty decent support cast. James Foster and Chris Read are among the top wicket-keepers in the world. England keep churning out quality players, their strong Lions outfit is testament to that. Clearly, they must be doing something right.

Mitchell Starc, Phillip Hughes and David Miller all returned their national teams better players after productive county seasons. Yes, the County season lasts long and the players have national commitments. However, those that are not playing all 3 formats and those out of favour with the selectors would do well to consider County cricket as a means to return to the national team better, more rounded players. For those playing regular international cricket, there is precious little time, but then, these players are exposed to all conditions in any case. Ah, the plight of the reserve batsman, to travel everywhere and yet not play.

Ask the players which they would rather play in, the IPL or the County Championship, and for most the answer is simple. The IPL offers big bucks, glamour and fame. In any case, the point is moot unless the BCCI allows its players to miss the IPL to play County Cricket. Unfortunately, that is as likely as an Andrew Flintoff comeback.

Some universities offer a semester abroad, the purpose being to make the student a well -rounded individual with a wider perspective and broader outlook. An overseas cricket stint is a cricketing education that will pay dividends in time. I only suggest England because it is the most viable. There are a large number of teams, quality overseas signings are readily accepted and it does not clash with the Ranji season.

It’s all fine and dandy to state that the national team wants to do well overseas. Without knowing how to bat and bowl in such conditions, there will be a few failures. Give the South Africans and English a crack in the door, and they’ll kick it in. New Zealand pushed England to the limit at home and for all their recent faults, Australia ran South Africa pretty close. I suppose 8-0 could go on increasing, in fact it just might.

This team is young and has a serious amount of talent. It’s a shame that most of it is squandered. You play professional sport to be the best. You want to be the best? It’s really very simple; you work hard, push yourself and keep improving, aim to be the best player you can possibly be and after achieving that, push yourself even more. If you fail to prepare, you had better prepare to fail.