NAGPUR: During his playing days,
Phillip DeFreitas was known to be a team man. He retired almost 22 years ago, but his philosophy hasn't changed: the 52-year-old former England pacer still doesn't believe in singling out players who can make difference, and says it's teamwork that will make the difference in the forthcoming India-England Test series. DeFreitas, currently involved in coaching in Leicestershire, spoke to TOI. Excerpts...
Will the second part of the English summer favour India?It's very hot here in England and wickets are very dry. I think it will suit India and they will feel at home. Normally, when India come over to England they get a bit of chill and rains. They are used to these conditions and it would be like playing in India.
Since wickets will be dry, will this aid reverse swing?It depends. Duke balls they use swing normally. With wickets and outfield dry due to heat, I think reverse swing will going to play a role.
Are England too reliant on James Anderson
and Stuart Board
?Jimmy is coming back from injury and he has played a few games. Hopefully, he is fit. He hasn't played a great deal of cricket but he has been rested very well. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Anderson will play all five Tests and so is Broad. He hasn't played any Twenty20 or ODI. England would be hoping they remain fit and available for majority of Test matches because both are quality bowlers and they know how to utilize the conditions here.
What are your thoughts on Adil Rashid who hasn't played any longer format cricket for past couple of years?Rashid is one of our better bowlers we have got. It was his decision not to play any red ball cricket. They selected him on the basis of his One-day and Twenty20 performance. I am slightly disappointed and shocked because it doesn't send a good message to the guys who are playing county cricket. The reason why they have selected him because he has done well in One-day cricket and I am just hoping he brings his One-day form to Test arena.
How do you compare India and England spin attack?India has got a better spin attack than England. I think it's going to be very tough and competitive series. It depends on how seamers of both countries bowl. Obviously Anderson and Broad knows the conditions very well but the real test will be how our spinners bowl as compared to Indian spinners, who are very good and they are all playing Test cricket. As you said Rashid hasn't played much of red ball cricket, it will be interesting contest.
Being a pace bowler yourself, how do rate the Indian pace attack?They are very good because as they have IPL exposure over the years. India have a lot more to choose from, especially pace bowlers. Indian pace bowlers have really impressed me. They have got the variety. They can travel anywhere in the world and can compete with any side. They are all good seamers and that's why they are playing Test cricket. You can't pick just one bowler because ultimately it's important how they bowl as a group. To pick one would be unfair.
India didn't do well here last time but now they are an experienced side. Do you think they have it in them to do well in England this time?It's totally different conditions to what they got last time. They are in UK for a while now and they must have got used to the conditions by now. I don't expect any change in the conditions during Test series. Their batters have spent considerable time in the middle now. One thing they have to cope is the swing and there's every chance that the Duke ball will swing.
Considering England have got few inexperienced players in their batting line-up, do you think it's India's best chance to win in England?India have played fantastic cricket till now even they though they lost the One-day series. They have performed well in the different conditions. It's going to be very tough series and it will be very hard to predict who is going to win. Obviously my heart says England but for that to happen they need to play fantastic cricket as they are up against one of the best sides in the world. Yes some of them are still new to Test cricket but they know the conditions well here and that's the key.
There's lot of talk about Virat Kohli's struggle last time. Do you see him score heavily this time around and what are your thought about the Indian batting line-up?Virat Kohli didn't have great series last time but since then he has scored runs all around the world. He is such a world class player. He would know himself that he needs to score here. He must have worked very hard on his technique combating the swinging ball. I personally expect him to score runs in these conditions. They (all Indian batsmen) are all fantastic players. They have got a very settled batting line. They did well in Twenty20 and One-dayers. I don't want single out anyone. All of them are capable of scoring big hundreds.