Engineer urges India to restore pride

LONDON: India great Farokh Engineer has said it's vital the tourists restore their own pride and that of the cricket-crazy nation when they try to avoid a Test whitewash against England at The Oval.

India, who came into this series as the world's top-ranked Test team, are 3-0 down in a four-match contest after a trio of increasingly large defeats, most recently last week's mammoth innings and 242 run reverse at Edgbaston that saw England replace them at number one in the ICC's Test Championship table.

Engineer, one of the best wicketkeeper/batsman of his era, said India had been caught cold by Andrew Strauss's men.

"India underestimated England, they were under prepared," he told AFP in an interview after coaching school children at an MCC Spirit of Cricket and Street Chance initiative in Brixton, near The Oval, in south London, on Wednesday.

"England have played far better than everyone expected them -- although the true test will come when they play on subcontinent wickets," added Engineer, who appeared in 46 Tests for India from 1961 to 1976.

"But they've outplayed India in every department: captaincy, bowling, batting fielding, even wicket-keeping," an admiring Engineer, also a mainstay of English county side Lancashire for much of the 1970s, said.

"It has been a shock to the system this India side have never been so badly hammered by any team before.

"So let this be an eye-opener," insisted Engineer ahead of Thursday's start of the fourth Test.

"They've got to play for pride, because Indians are very proud of their cricketing heritage and it's hurt the average Indian big-time that India have performed so miserably on this tour."

It is nearly exactly 40 years ago since The Oval staged one of India's greatest triumphs, with Engineer playing a leading role.

On August 24 1971 India beat England by four wickets, a victory that gave them a first Test win on English soil and the three-match series 1-0 after two draws.

Engineer renowned as both a dynamic batsman and agile keeper, top-scored in India's first innings with 59.

He then guided India to the brink of victory with 28 not out before Abid Ali hit the winning runs in a match where leg-spinner Bhagwat Chandrasekar took six for 38 in England's meagre second innings 101.

"I remember like it happened yesterday," the now 73-year-old Engineer, who has made his home in England, said.

"Chandra was a polio victim who made his defect into a great asset, the way he turned the ball viciously."

Engineer, recalling the closing stages, added: "Abid Ali came in, with about four runs to win and there was only Venkat, Bishan Bedi and Chandrasekhar left -- and none of them knew which side of the bat to hold.

"I told Abid 'don't lose your head'. So what does he do first ball? I think it was Derek Underwood bowling, he charged down the wicket, and Alan Knott missed the stumping -- and Knotty was a great 'keeper

"Next over I took a single, I don't know why. Abid Ali was back on strike and I thought 'I hope he doesn't do anything daft'.

"But Abid, being Abid Ali, charged down the wicket again, got an edge that went over the slips for four and we won the game. Abid was carried in by the crowd and he loved it.

"After the match, the rest of the team went back to India for a ticker tape welcome but I had to play the next day for Lancashire.

"As I went out to bat at Old Trafford, I got a standing ovation.

"I thought, 'there's something wrong somewhere, I've just shafted England the day before and the English people, these Lancastrians, not the Indians, are giving me a standing ovation'.

"It brought a tear to my eye, such was the sporting nature of the British public, and it was wonderful to see that."

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011