We used to wait for three days for natural wear and tear: Wadekar

It was a Test series some four and half decades ago when the players of the two teams had welcome ‘off days’ from the hectic happenings, but it was also a series where skipper Ajit Wadekar unleashed the spinners against the Tony Lewis-led  England and won the series 2-1 after going down in the first Test at Kotla.

India’s second seamer was Bombay’s Eknath Solkar; he bowled just 25 overs in the five Tests and Syed Abid Ali sent down 62 overs. The spinners — Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Erapalli  Prasanna, Bishen Singh Bedi, S. Venkatraghavan and Salim Durani — bowled 825 overs and took 72 wickets.

To a question whether the ball turned square from day one in that series, the former India captain, who led India to a first series win in the West Indies and England in 1971, said, “I have my doubts. But I may have seen it sometimes in a series, when I was not the captain. I have seen Chandra bowl the first ball, but it was just to take the shine off. Nothing else, once the shine is gone, the ball would be good for the spinners. I have hardly seen the spinners getting many wickets on the first two days.’’

Furthermore and especially in the context of ‘designer pitches’ created in the ongoing Paytm Freedom Series, Wadekar said, “In Test match cricket, it’s not done basically, the ball starting to turn from day one. India’s strength then was spin and we used to wait for three days for natural wear and tear to create opportunities for our spinners.

“We used to jump at the first opportunity. We were very good at slip catches, and this team (led by Kohli) is really wonderful in slip catching. We used to finish the match in four or four and a half days. Spinners ought to have plenty of variations.

“That’s where the skill lies, bowling at a particular pace. The real spinners should do well when they go to England, South Africa and Australia.’’

The 74-year-old is appalled by some Ranji Trophy matches being completed in two days and also the Mohali and Nagpur Test matches ending in three days. “A team has to score runs and build an innings. One would like to see centuries in a Test and a lot of runs on the first three days before making it lively on the last two days.

“To an extent he [Kohli] is right to say that conditions in India will be slow and assist turn. Even a bowler like Wesley Hall could not get many wickets. Having said that, people come to watch a five-day game and they pay for that.’’

When asked to give his opinion on the quality of pitches prepared at Mohali and Nagpur, Wadekar played it safe. “It’s a tricky question, but it’s unfortunate that the South African batsmen lack the technique to play on a turning track. We have played inter-office tournaments on turning tracks at the Oval, Azad and Cross maidans.

“We have played a Ranji Trophy final in Madras on a turning track. International teams should be well equipped, so when the opponent is not well equipped why not attack its weakness? The South Africans have been found wanting in skill to counter spin.’’

The spinners, R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra have taken 47 wickets in five innings; fast bowler Varun Aaron has two. “It’s quite discouraging for them; Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Aaron. I also feel that the batsmen should play domestic cricket when opportunities come by.

“Sunny Gavaskar used to play the Kanga League arriving on the morning of a match from London,’’ said Wadekar who deployed the spinners to win the Test match at Port of Spain in 1971.

The Hindu