Foreign coaches good for sub-continent

If instructions come in a foreign accent from an unbiased outsider they assume a special significance, writes Amrit Mathur.

This, remarked Ravi Shastri in his usual grand manner, is seriously beautiful. We were driving up to the Pakistan-Windies game but knowing how his active mind works, I was not sure what had caught his attention.

It could be a) The car we were in, a sleek, shiny, new black Audi b) The latest Blackberry gadget, that keeps him connected 24 hours to every corner of the world c) The magnificent Rose Bowl, Hampshire's cricket ground.

Or I could be totally wrong. Shastri is a keen observer, and chances are he caught something I failed to pick up.

The previous evening, during the two and a half hour ride from Birmingham, everyone’s thoughts were on Australia’s unexpected demise. Back at the team hotel, the Australians looked stunned, their dazed manner no different from that of a crack commando unit, blown away by impudent insurgents in the middle of what was supposed to be a triumphant march.

Cricket Australia chief Bob Merriman put the loss down to lack of domination. We should have topped 300, he said, the short statement offering a valuable insight into the Aussie mindset. Having dominated world cricket for so long they think it is their right to rule over obedient subjects.

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