The Hindu : Sport : Players get back to the basics

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Wednesday, Sep 06, 2006

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Players get back to the basics

Principal Correspondent

JOYFUL AS EVER: Even after all these years Tendulkar's enthusiasm for the game and practice sessions have not diminished one bit. — Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

Bangalore: The senior brass of Indian cricket had their hands full, as the third phase of the cricket skills camp commenced at the National Cricket Academy here on Tuesday.

Skipper Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Mongia and Ramesh Powar, along with rookie V.R.V. Singh, had a practice session both at the NCA and the Chinnaswamy Stadium under the watchful eyes of coach Greg Chappell.

On Monday, in his initial remarks about the camp, Chappell had said: "The good thing about senior players is that these guys have been around for a long time but are prepared to revisit the basics from time to time. There are no short cuts, no magic formulas... it is about applying the basics better than the other person or the opposition.

"We won't have any trouble with the senior guys because they revisit the basics all the time." And as Tuesday wore on, it was obvious that the basics were reiterated all through the practice sessions.

The players had sprint exercises for a short period in the morning. Every player's speed was timed while running between the wickets before all the players trooped into the NCA for the individual sessions with the coach and the support staff.

Quite challenging

Later, they had some catch practice before indulging in batting drills at the KSCA (B) ground using a lone stump to counter a golf ball. Meanwhile, Anil Kumble, who is recovering from tendonitis in his right shoulder, bowled a brief spell at the Chinnaswamy Stadium while physio Gloster kept watch.

Powar took first strike with a stump and a golf ball. The Mumbaikar initially struggled to time his shots, and played and missed quite a few times. He eventually got used to it and middled a few strokes.

The quartet of Chappell, trainer Gregory King, bio-mechanist Ian Frazer and Gloster took turns to bowl while the players got familiar with the concept of using a stump as a bat.

Soon the experienced duo of Tendulkar and Dravid stepped out for an extended session. Tendulkar played with poise, sighting and stroking the golf ball with consummate ease. The only occasions he missed were when he tried to play a reverse sweep and an uppish drive. At the adjacent cement pitch, Dravid too settled into his groove while Mongia replaced Tendulkar.

Fence collapses

A few minutes later, it was chaos all around as the steel fence of the compound wall nearby collapsed under the weight of the fans perched on top.

The security guards ran towards the wall and a few autograph hunters scrambled towards the cement pitches, disturbing the players. Among the fans who fell, one of them suffered a minor head injury and was taken to a nearby hospital before being discharged.

After the incident, the players switched to the Chinnaswamy Stadium and had a long session, facing the bowling machines and some friendly bowling from the coaching staff.

The emphasis was on lofted shots and Mongia struck some big hits with skipper Dravid too joining him, playing some inside-out lofted drives.

Powar, Harbhajan and Singh had a very brief stint with the bowling machines. A few short-pitched deliveries that rose sharply caused a few problems, but overall the trio managed well in their short stint before Tendulkar and Dravid stepped in. The duo swapped their sessions on the adjacent pitches and also faced Harbhajan, Powar, Singh and Mongia later.

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