Ahmedabad Test, Day 5
Saturday, December 15, 2001

In the end it wasn't to be. To be honest we had banked on the pitch deteriorating far more than it did, and apart from a few areas around the bowlers' footmarks it had held together pretty well. Our bowlers are a dedicated and disciplined bunch of guys, but it's fair to say there's not a whole lot of mystery about them. To dislodge a batting line-up of this calibre we really needed the pitch to explode.

Again there was very little in it for the seamers. I remember a few years ago Courtney Walsh got a lot of wickets here on a pitch that developed some uneven bounce, but there wasn't a lot of that to be had. And for some reason, which I cannot for the life of me understand, the ball didn't reverse-swing for us. That was really odd - it had done for the Indian seamers, and the abrasive wicket should have had more effect.

Our plan revolved around the spinners. We wanted to put India under a bit of pressure, with a few men around the bat, maybe an in-out field at first, but unfortunately Daws lacked a bit of rhythm so we couldn't overattack. But it wouldn't be fair to criticise the lad - he's very inexperienced, in just his third Test innings - but to his credit, when he did settle down later on, we got the men back in and he picked up a couple of wickets.

Ashley Giles went off the field late in the afternoon, but that was only because we'd accepted that we couldn't force the win. Ash is a central part of our plans, and with only three days off before the next Test, we realised how important it was to look after him now, rather than risk his fitness in a dead afternoon of cricket. He certainly wasn't suffering any more than he has done already in this match.

I said we had three days off, but that's not strictly the case. Tomorrow is a travelling day, and as anyone who's travelled in the subcontinent will tell you, there's nothing restful about them! When we get to Bangalore we'll have one day on the golf course, and then we'll be back hitting the nets hard. That's the way of the professional cricketer these days. The schedule is tight, but we have a job to do and we will just get on with it. I think the days of twenty-year careers like Goochie and Gatt are a thing of the past now. Most of the guys have got over their various illnesses and niggles, and if they haven't then they'll play through them. They know that their careers at the top don't last forever.

The biggest positive to be taken out of this game is that we've learnt that we can win. I can't overemphasise the learning curve these guys are on. From being written off as no-hoping jokers in the first Test - candidates for the whitewash and all that - we've come out here and played good, positive cricket for, I'd say, 95% of the game. We scored 400, we bowled India out, we set them a target and we gave ourselves a chance of victory. I can't ask for anything more than effort.

Of course none of this affects the next match in any way. We haven't seen the wicket yet, and we don't know how it'll play. All we do know is that India are a quality side, and if we play at anything less than the top of our potential, we will get stuffed. But 1-0, 2-0, whatever scoreline, it doesn't bother me. What matters to me is potential and fulfilment. I would far sooner see us give 100% and draw, like we did today, than coast along at 50% and beat a lesser side.

Nasser Hussain was talking to Andrew Miller. His thoughts will appear on Wisden.com throughout the Test and one-day series.

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