Everyone starts from zero: Dravid

LONDON, July 18: Captain Rahul Dravid believes that, in the final analysis, experience counts for nothing. It may sound like a fatalistic way of looking at life but look beneath the cover and you might see another gem hiding there.
After all, when it comes to Lord's, the Indian team only has one century to draw solace from; Ajit Agarkar has got one too but he is not part of the Test squad.Hopefully, the philosophy will only act as a balm against the team's rather poor record here.
"You can have all the experience in the world but everyone starts from zero. What really matters is not what you have done in the past but what you do at this point of time," he said. Well yes, Sachin Tendulkar doesn't have a century here; VVS Laxman doesn't have one either; Dravid himself missed his own by a whisker on his debut. Anil Kumble too has only a 3 for 84 as his best.
But then, it is just a minor blemish on illustrious careers, the revenge of fate against those who dared to dream. "We will be more than happy if none of us gets one here as long as we win the Test and the series," he told at a match-eve press conference. "Winning is more important than scoring a hundred, really," he added.
Looking at the bigger picture, he said: "It will be a very special feeling to win a Test series here. We haven't done that in 21 years."
India, of course, achieved that in 1986 when Kapil's Devils scored a remarkable 2-0 victory. Dravid refused to name the eleven and solve the 11-piece jigsaw. However, he gave a big enough clue to make the puzzle simpler.
"Dhoni has done nothing wrong so far in his international career. Like anyone else coming on his first tour of England, his keeping and his batting will be tested under the conditions," he explained.
Translated, it means Dhoni will keep wickets and Dinesh Karthik will open the innings. That also means India will go in with seven batsmen and four bowlers. His evocative silence over Yuvraj Singh and effusive words for VVS also settles that debate. The only question now is how the team fares in these conditions.
Surprisingly, England were facing their own set of problems with the news over Matthew Hoggard. With the seam-spearhead jostling with a back spasm, their attack suddenly looks less potent. "I am very excited about such a young attack," captain Michael Vaughan said, before he got to know about Hoggard's condition.
"Chris (Tremlett) and Stuart (Broad) are bright prospects. It will be a good test for them, a big challenge to bowl to such a good batting line-up," he said. Vaughann was optimistic about his trumpcard Monty Panesar too. "He is a good Test bowler and a very fast learner. This series will be a big test for him because of the batsmen he will be up against.
"If he gets conditions that suit him, he can be very dangerous," he concluded, while conceding that India will be a far more dangerous opponent than the West Indies recently were.