Too few had the desire to follow Cook into battle

England v India - pictures


Virat Kohli drove the ball down the ground past Graeme Swann, and it was over. Never in doubt, the sages said. This was to be no Headingley 1981, no Johannesburg 1995, not even a Brisbane 2010. It felt like a small victory just making India bat again. Then India batted again and it didn’t feel like victory at all.

The target was 77 and it was reached in 93 balls. Had India scored at that rate in their first innings they would have declared after five sessions on 787. They zipped through to the cursory total required and straight on to the ceremonies with barely a change in step.

Cheteshwar Pujara was man of the match, an unbeaten 41 in his second innings to accompany his 206 not out in the first. He said he had a lot of confidence going into Friday’s Test in Mumbai. India’s regular opener Gautam Gambhir had not even been required to return to the ground following the death of his grandmother in Delhi. India’s disposition was that of men who had never entertained an alternative outcome.

Viewed dispassionately, their optimism was understandable. Stripped down to basics, the first Test had been reduced to a single-innings game, recognisable to any club cricketer.

Standing alone: Alastair Cook was not backed up by his colleagues' performances


On this final day, England would bat first and set a target, either by getting bowled out or declaring once they believed their total was insurmountably safe. Unfortunately, in this match, they were starting off five wickets down for 10 runs and whether it was Alastair Cook or fat Charlie from the Sunday fourths, no captain would fancy his chances from that position.

And yet there was a moment, a fleeting moment, when it was possible to dream. On Sunday, day four, there had been visible signs of Indian fatigue. Tea already taken, with an hour to go, it was time for drinks. India’s attack had been at the visitors since Friday but the second innings wasn’t going to plan.

Cook was rooted to the middle, Matt Prior a willing partner and the bowlers had run out of ideas. As refreshments arrived, India’s players sank to the floor. They seemed remarkably reluctant to get going again even five minutes later. The number of overs required in a day could have been easily exceeded by the close of play, but India didn’t fancy the extra work. Their sloth suited England, too, who were not inclined to face one more ball than necessary. There were  13 overs bowled after drinks, which seems reasonable, except 10 of those came from spinners.

What is easy to forget about the  Brisbane Test in 2010 is that England did not win it. They drew. Saved the game, really, because at the halfway stage  Australia were boisterously confident.

By removing that swagger, by digging in for a staggering 517 runs (for the loss of just one wicket) second time, England put doubts in Australian minds that were still there days later in Adelaide. You know the rest. So had England  batted out this final day, lasted until tea, left India without the time to execute the victory their superiority deserved, who knows what would have been  waiting for the tourists in Mumbai?

India are not the most robust Test-playing nation. Their last tour of  England proved that. Yet neither are England. And in the end, too many  players did not have the will, or the game, to follow their captain into battle.

Chief cook and battle-washer. No pun intended. Never has a phrase more truly described one man’s role. Cook wasn’t just England’s general here in  Ahmedabad, but the cavalry relief, too. One shot summed up the difference between the skipper and his team-mates on Monday. Swann, bowled Ravi Ashwin for 17, middle stump, trying to reverse-sweep, 10 minutes before lunch, England 406-9 and leading India by 76.

Illogical: Graeme Swann played a shot which did not make much sense


Obviously, it was an uphill battle by then. Cook had gone, Prior too. Yet Swann was in, and so was Tim Bresnan. Combined Test average: 56.62 (Swann 22.93, Bresnan 33.69); combined Test highest score: 176 (Swann 85, Bresnan 91). So hang about. Hang about until lunch, because that will irritate the bowlers. Then hang about some more if you can. And see what happens. At the very least, make India get you out.

Swann did not have the patience for that, so he got himself out instead. Played a shot that had no logical balance of risk-reward. In doing so, he as good as thumbed his nose at Cook’s efforts. That man was at the crease for nine hours and 20 minutes and then his team-mate takes a wild swing?

Cook might as well have played for fun. Tried to hit the first ball back over the bowler’s head for six. Had a laugh. He might as well have stayed in bed. One man is batting to save a Test match;  his colleagues are batting to please  themselves. Is it any wonder India go to Mumbai with their tails up?

Out: Matt Prior had already gone by the time Swann came in


Of course, it shouldn’t be Swann’s job to grind through two sessions. It was only because England’s specialist batsmen, Cook aside, had performed abysmally across two innings that he was under pressure. Swann is no more to blame for a batting collapse than Kevin Pietersen is for not bowling India out on Thursday. The buck stops a lot higher up the order than Swann.

It is more that, with all that had gone before, how could a hugely respected international cricketer not recognise that he had a sense of duty, even if his ability to discharge it was debatable? Out reverse-sweeping to a bowler (Ashwin) who could not buy a wicket at that stage and was heading to Mumbai utterly demoralised? What was Swann thinking? Cook, as captain, had to remain philosophical.

‘Some people are naturally suited to staying there,’ he said. ‘It would be like wondering why can’t I hit a ball 150 yards like Chris Gayle. I can’t fault the lads for their work-rate but some people will have to concentrate harder on their method and technique to stay in. I’d say it’s both a technical issue and a mental one. There’s always a technical issue before the mental issue kicks in.’

In other words, and leaving Swann aside, some senior England batsmen are not sure enough of their game in the subcontinent, so they become mentally weak and make poor choices.

It would be nice to imagine, as some fancifully imagined an England counter-attack, that this is a problem easily rectified. Broken down, however, it seems huge. Too big to be overcome by Mumbai, in all likelihood. Too big to be fixed before it is time to come home really.