Fletcher - England can be No. 1
*Cricinfo staff
February 12, 2006*
Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, has insisted that England can still become the best team in the world, despite the 2-0 loss to Pakistan earlier in the winter. England head to India today to India for a three-Test series, with the first Test starting at Nagpur on March 1, followed by seven one-dayers.
England will be without Ashley Giles, their senior spinner, and will rely on Shaun Udal and Northamptonshire’s Monty Panesar, who has yet to make his debut, along with Ian Blackwell. Michael Vaughan has recovered from his knee injury and Simon Jones, who was sorely missed for the tour of Pakistan, is also fit.
“Forget what happened in Pakistan, we can still be the best Test side in the world,” Fletcher told the Sunday Mirror. "We can still be No.1 in the world during my time as coach. I firmly believe that. It will help if we can stay clear of injuries to key players. But if we can do that from now on, then we can achieve that aim.
"First, however, it’s very important that we go to India and win the series. I don’t care who you’re playing, winning is extremely important.
“It’s also hard - no matter what the situation. That’s why it’s wrong to suggest that one tour is more important than another. All games have different pressures. That’s why we’re thinking only about the trip to India. We want to beat them in their own backyard.”
Beating any team in their own backyard is an admirable feat; beating India, at home, is considered mission impossible by most touring sides. Australia were the most recent to achieve it, in 2004, and Hansie Cronje’s South Africa managed it in 2000. England haven’t won an away series against India since David Gower’s side in 1984-85. However, Fletcher is confident his current squad have what it takes:
“India is one country we have not won in since I became coach and that’s a real target for the team to achieve this time,” he said. "What effect it will have regarding our next Ashes campaign is difficult to assess. But from my point of view winning is vital. I don’t think motivation was the problem in Pakistan and it certainly won’t be in this time.
“We’ve beaten Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa and Sri Lanka away. So it would be nice to add India to that list.”
Jones, now fully recovered, recently spent some at Dennis Lillee’s academy in India which, Fletcher feels, will stand him and England in good stead.
“It was handy for Simon to go out early to India because he’s gathered some useful information about various things,” he said. "I’ve had a chat with him. He’s quite happy that the ball did swing out there and he already has an idea what to do with the ball when we play.
“Simon is a major component in our bowling attack because he has that added variation of reverse swing. He’s good for those sub-continental wickets because he skids the ball through at a quick pace.”
“I’ve often said that it’s a huge advantage to have a second change bowler who can hit 90mph. He will be a major player in India, just as he was during the Ashes series.”
Giles failed to recover from his hip injury in time for England’s tour, leaving England’s spin attack bereft of experience. Udal, who turns 37 in March, has just three Tests to his name and made his debut in Pakistan last year. While it will be an invaluable learning curve for both Blackwell and Panesar, Fletcher is understandably anxious that the pressure on their young shoulders will become burdensome, in what is one of the hardest tours in the international schedule.
“It is asking a lot to send them in against India and players who play spin-bowling very well,” he told BBC Radio. “Ashley Giles is going to be a huge loss. We need a left-arm spinner and those two are the next best in the country.”
Vaughan brands India tour the toughest
England captain Michael Vaughan believes the upcoming tour of India could be even tougher than the Ashes series in Australia at the end of the year.
England set off on Sunday for a tour of India that will involve three Tests and seven one-dayers against opponents who have lost only one home Test series in the last 10.
It is a daunting challenge for an England side still reeling from their defeat in Pakistan before Christmas, and who will also travel without leading spinner Ashley Giles following his failure to recover from a hip injury.
“I think it’s one of the toughest tours around,” Vaughan told the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)'s website, www.ecb.co.uk.
"If you look at tours around the world, I think Australia and India are the two toughest you can go on.
"With the conditions you get in India and the heat and their record on their home soil, you could even argue it’s the hardest of them all.
"I think this is the biggest test of them all. We’ve just lost in Pakistan and India, as I’m sure everyone would agree, is probably a harder place to go and win.
“We should really have gone 1-0 up in Pakistan but failed to take our chance in the first Test and India will certainly play more of a spin option than we experienced in Pakistan.”
While England’s spinners, Shaun Udal and uncapped pair Ian Blackwell and Monty Panesar, have only three appearances between them, India can call on the skills of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.
“In India there is Kumble, Harbhajan, there is (Murali) Kartik who might also play,” Vaughan said.
"There are players like Zaheer (Khan) and the other left-armer (Irfan) Pathan, so it will be a great challenge as a batsman and an equally big challenge to try and get their top nine batsmen out.
"It’s going to be great because if we come through this tour having done well, it certainly sets us up to be able to go and play in any conditions because it’s one of the most difficult tours of all.
“It’s going to be a great learning experience for a lot of the players because they are so young. I certainly learned a lot from the last time I was there and developed as a player.”
Vaughan and the rest of the 16-man squad fly out for Mumbai from Heathrow on Sunday and play only two warm-up matches before the opening Test starts in Nagpur on March 1.
