It takes two to spin
Shivaji Sengupta - 07 Aug 2002

In American English, 'spin' means one’s particular perspective, especially in political discussions. Hence, we have 'spin doctors' - television journalists, full of self-importance, who give their opinions on politicians. What we call 'spin' in sports, the Americans call it 'English'! Doing some etymological work, I discovered that back in the late eighteenth century when America rid itself of the British, the English were regarded as "slimy and slippery, spinning away from the straight and narrow path of virtue.” Hence, spin.

A day away from the second Test at Nottingham, spin of both varieties of 'spin' are occupying the Indian minds. There is the 'spin' in the English/Indian sense: should we go with one or two spinners on a track that Derek Pringle terms luscious green? There is 'spin' in the American sense: Nasser Hussain’s slimy, nefarious tactics of bowling at high speed at Tendulkar’s body.

While Tendulkar is apparently hard at practice trying to master English 'spin', the two Indian spinners are possibly yet again vying for a single spot in the second Test.

It might though rain in Nottingham, at least for part of the Test. I, then, strongly feel that India should play both Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh despite the green tell-tale signs. I am with Partab Ramchand who very wisely pointed out the other day that pace is the weapon of choice only in the first half of the English season. And remember on the last two occasions when India left out one of the spinners, in St. John’s in the West Indies and at Lord’s, they came to rue the decision.

If the pitch is as green as Pringle says it is, I would go with Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan and, yes, leave out Ajit Agarkar. Not a popular decision, I am sure, but to ignore the claims of a genuine swinger like Nehra may be a mistake. Leaving Agarkar out would also give a clear message to the batsmen to perform.

As regarding the second sort of spin the English kind of slime all I can say is that the tactics that Hussain and his men (not “boys!”) have employed are well within the bounds of the game. I agree with Pringle who feels it will not be enough to keep a genius like Tendulkar down indefinitely. I only ask that Tendulkar’s real supporters and admirers do not get carried away by what the English media are writing and talk about Tendulkar being shown-up. They should certainly stop casting their doubts about this great batsman and human being.

Someone wrote recently in these columns that India’s one-day and Test side are not equally good. I agree with this estimate. They seem to be solving the one-day issue with good all-rounders like Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh. But they do not have a all- rounder of Test calibre yet. That is what we are missing. We need a strike bowler who can also strike the ball with regular frequency. Lacking that, the present crop of wicket-takers need to bowl out England twice. Can they do it? I am shaking my head slowly.

The views expressed above are solely those of the guest contributor and are carried as written, with only minor editing for grammar, to preserve the original voice. These contributed columns are solely personal opinion pieces and reflect only the feelings of the guest contributor. Their being published on CricInfo.com does not amount to an endorsement by CricInfo's editorial staff of the opinions expressed.

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