Date-stamped : 13 Nov96 - 14:13 11 November 1996 Selectors Show Uncharacteristic Sentimentality by Colin Bryden IF there is a place where sentiment is appropriate in profession- al international cricket, it is least so in the unpitying en- vironment of India. The national selectors have shown both an uncharacteristic sentimentality and a rare gambling streak in de- ciding against sending reinforcements to India for the forthcom- ing Test series. The 14 players who have traversed the length and breadth of India over the past four weeks have done their country proud in winning six out of seven limited overs international matches, even though hey lost the final, the match they most wanted to win. The fact is, though, that they were one-day games and not Test matches. It has been said so often that it may seem like stating the obvious but there is a world of difference between the two. South Africa will go into the most challenging Test series since their return to the world game with the same 14 players who represented them in the one-day games. At best there are 11Test players in the party, and that is after giving the benefit of the doubt to the much-improved Nicky Boje. In any event, a squad of 14 is surely the smallest in history to go nto a Test series in India, where sudden illnesses or injuries are a fact of life. On Wednesday the loss of one key player, Brian McMillan, proved crucial. For once it was South Africa, not India, who were jug- gling their bowling resources and when South Africa`s batting was in disarray the massive presence of the Western Province allrounder was sorely missed. Derek Crookes has never been spoken of seriously as a Test player and played in only two Titan Cup matches, scoring just 12 runs and taking three wickets. Herschelle Gibbs played once, scoring 35. Neither, realistically, would be in a Test squad for a home Test match. Lance Klusener seems to have the qualities required of a Test cricketer but his bowling requires much refinement. At present he would seem best suited to hard, grassy pitches which he will not find at any of the three Test venues in India. It is alarming to imagine a situation similar to that which be- fell England in 1992/93 when Graham Gooch, the captain, and Mike Gatting, a senior batsman, ate prawns in a hotel restaurant the night before the second Test match in Madras and were so ill they had to withdraw from the team. England, already one down in a three-match series, were beaten by an innings. It is only of minimal comfort that Shaun Pollock and Paul Adams are on standby. If they are called up they will have scarcely any time to adapt to Indian conditions. If they were to join the team they should already have been in India, playing in the three-day match against Karnataka which starts in Cochin today and against a Board President`s XI in Baroda starting on Friday. If the condition of Pollock and Adams was so fragile that it was thought unlikely they could survive this build-up, sentiment and the desire for two quality players should have been discarded and the next best fit players should have gone instead. Such is the itinerary that once the Tests start there is scarcely time to catch breath, let alone find form. The first two Tests in Ahmedabad and Calcutta are back to back and there is a single three-day game between the second Test and the third in Kanpur. The only time for experiment and assessment of form and fitness of fringe players is in the two warm-up matches in the next nine days. The bowling resources in particular seem thin and although many of the prime candidates are out of action or lack condition, it would have been reassuring to have had an experienced bowler of the calibre of Meyrick Pringle bowling in Indian conditions and being available if needed for the Test side. Similarly any one of a number of batsman with the mettle for Test cricket could have been selected to augment the current squad. Adam Bacher and John Commins are two who have shown form this season. Then there is the matter of a successor to Dave Richardson. Although it may be noble of Richardson to state his willingness to keep wicket in all the matches in India, his successor needs to be groomed. Steve Palframan has already suffered from the am- bivalence of the selectors on this issue, being tried and then discarded before being called up in an emergency for the World Cup, where he was found wanting. If Nic Pothas had been sent to India he would have been able to keep wicket in at least two three-day games and would have bene- fitted from being part of the national squad. Picking the best possible side for each challenge is the prime task of a selection panel and one from which they have seldom shirked, even when unpopular choices had to be made. Clive Rice, now a selector, was unceremoniously dumped in 1991 to make way for Kepler Wessels as captain. Similarly, Peter Kirsten was dropped just one Test after making a heroic century against England. It was hard on the veteran Border batsman but facilitated the emergence of a settled, younger bat- ting top order. In this instance the selectors seem to have got their thinking muddled. It is commendable to give a vote of confidence to the current squad but they were selected solely for one-day cricket. Although one-day cricket provides compelling entertainment, it is the five-day game by which a nation`s cricket prowess is meas- ured. Winning in India is one of the greatest challenges of all. South Africa have not been beaten in a Test series since losing the one-off comeback Test against the West Indies in 1991/92. It is an extraordinary record which has as august a publication as Wisden ranking South Africa number one purely on the basis of results, even though many experts still rate e Australia as the best side. India at home, though, are close to invincible. They have not lost a series in India since being pipped 1-0 by Pakistan in 1986/87. Their recent record is outstanding, with 10 wins in 14 home matches. Only the West Indies were able to share a series, coming from behind in 1994/95 by winning at Chandigarh, one of the few venues in the sub-continent which favours fast bowlers. If South Africa were able to win or share a series in India and then beat Australia in South Africa later in the season they would be entitled to shout from every rooftop. With the pinnacle in sight the selectors seem to have taken their eye off the ball. Contributed by Ros.Brodie (tcb@iafrica.com)