Mohali, first Test, day 3
Wednesday, December 5, 2001

He is loved by his Indian team-mates, but Sourav Ganguly, the man long ago labelled the Prince of Calcutta, knows just how to climb inside the noses of his opponents. The Australians couldn't stand him, and not only because he dared to turn up late for the toss with Steve Waugh dressed in a tracksuit.

He was wearing whites when he went in to bat this morning, but as he shambled out like a disorientated stormtrooper in his heavy-knit jumper three sizes too big and his chunky right-arm guard, hackles rose. There were unsubtle mutterings across his path and Nasser Hussain chose to direct his field practically in Ganguly's ear before striding across the pitch millimetres away from those lordly toes.

During the Australian series Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie frustrated Ganguly with unreachable balls wide of off stump before changing the angle and targeting his vulnerable kidneys. The same happened in South Africa and England immediately showed that they had done their homework. Matthew Hoggard hit him just above the rump with his first ball and one short delivery after another made Ganguly squirm like a kicked dog.

Tendulkar saved him, temporarily. The man who had hit a breathtaking on-drive in the fourth over of the day when he'd looked as if he was patting a shuttlecock to a baby, saw Ganguly in trouble and decided to hit Hoggard out of the attack. It's easy when you know how.

Poor Hoggard. On-drive, flick through midwicket, pull - 12 off the over, his figures ruined and his spell over.

But England have brawny northern bowlers to spare in this team, and Lancashire replaced Yorkshire. Ganguly should have known what was coming - he had given Andy Flintoff a verbal workout from short extra cover on Monday, and run him out while they were playing together at Old Trafford.

Flintoff was duly predictable. He hit him, bounced him, eyeballed him, running through so he was close enough to munch on his helmet. Blond giant against dark prince, and some less-than-royal phrases made for an interesting cultural exchange.

Hoggard got his man in the end, bowling both short and wide and luring him into giving a dolly to cover. A little before that, Ganguly had turned down an easy second run to avoid the strike. Running scared? Maybe. But England have only to look at the scoreboard to know that he is not the one who should be worrying.

Tanya Aldred, our assistant editor, is covering the whole of England's Indian tour for Wisden.com.

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