Respect overhead conditions, wind factor, pitch conditions for success in England, says Tendulkar

New Delhi, June 19 To succeed in Test cricket, a strong showing in England has always been vital for young cricketers. More than their opponents, the young cricketers face a tougher challenge from the unpredictable weather and diverse pitches. All of this means that each session of Test cricket in England is full of intrigue.

In his distinguished 24-year international career, legendary India batter Sachin Tendulkar enjoyed considerable success in England – amassing 1575 runs in 17 Tests in England at an average of 54.31. His highest score against England came through 193 at Headingley in 2002, the home of Yorkshire, the county he represented as their first overseas player in 1992.

With India all set to being their quest for winning the newly established Tendulkar-Gavaskar Trophy at Headingley on Friday, Tendulkar recalled the rich experiences playing Test cricket in England and cited three critical factors - respecting overhead conditions, wind factor, and pitch conditions – for achieving success as batters.

“There are certain places where if you perform, you get a lot of satisfaction, and England is without any doubt one of those. In England, if one has to be successful, I think there are certain elements in the game that one needs to respect. One is the overhead conditions, second is the wind factor, temperature, and third is the pitch conditions.”

“We need to take all these things into account when we decide to adapt a certain approach. If you want to attack, then all these elements should be taken into consideration. The hardness or the softness of the ball, and when the ball, especially the dukes ball, is hard up front, there is this lacquer on the ball which goes away after 10 to 15 overs, and then the ball starts swinging a little more.”

“That continues till about 50-55 overs and the ball starts reversing from there. But the seam also goes marginally soft. So even if the ball is swinging, it still gives you a little extra time to adjust, as that zip of the surface is not as much.”

“So that is possibly the time to accelerate a little bit more till the time the second new ball comes after 80 overs. So that is one window where the team may have to think of accelerating depending on overhead conditions and how the pitch is playing as well,” said Tendulkar to IANS in a select virtual interaction on Thursday.

Apart from the old yet important adage of hands being close to the body when playing in England, Tendulkar, who was a member of the Rahul Dravid-led side securing a 1-0 series win in the country in 2007, cited a firm front-foot defence as the most critical factor in keeping the opposition bowlers’ at bay.

“Overall, I think to be successful in England, the most important factor that I feel as a batsman is when you're defending on front foot, how solidly you can defend the ball on the front foot. It’s because most of the batters get out on the front foot - I would say 80-plus percent unless there is an obvious weakness against a short pitched delivery.”

“But most of the batters get out on the front foot, so the forward defence to against a fast bowler will be an important factor. The most important ingredient in batting would be that because all batters we have are attacking by nature, so the ball where it is needed to hit a boundary, they will play that shot.”

“But where the ball is not meant to be hit and respected with a forward defence, if the hands go forward and you push at the ball, that could cost a wicket, and that is what we need to be mindful of. If we play close to our body and show a nice solid forward defence to the opposition, it will become that much more difficult for the opposition to get the batters out,” he concluded.

--IANS

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