Cricket: Inspired Jarvis brings England a rare victory

England 218-9; India 170. England win by 48 runs

AFTER six weeks when an England victory has seemed as rare as a plate of roast beef and Yorkshire pud, yesterday's comfortable win over India here was more gratefully welcomed than one-day success usually is.

However, jubilant as England were, and none more so than their match-winner Paul Jarvis, the champers was not overflowing. That is not just because its most renowned cricketing consumer was in the commentary box. With Indian wine of limited appeal and imported plonk pounds 30 a bottle, a large wallet is required to order bubbly here.

This is not a trip where England are going to get rich on prize-money - even if they are winning - and yesterday's success earned them 7,500 rupees (pounds 170) between them. It cost them an estimated pounds 250-plus each.

That was the result of an over-rate which, had Jarvis not claimed his fifth wicket to end the match six overs early, would have seen it played out to the glow of the fires burning on the terraces as India's innings went up in smoke.

With India themselves managing only 47 overs before lunch - they were fined 15 per cent of a comparatively paltry pounds 170 match fee - England only had to bowl 13 overs an hour.

Yet when their three and a half hours were up they had managed just 40. England were aware of the risk, for they were stung for about pounds 40 each the only other time they won a game here on 18 January. At least the way they ambled about the field rebuffed the crusty old criticism that modern players are only in it for the money.

Gooch, who is more ancient than modern these days, said he approved of the fining system and tried to chivvy his team but 'if they don't get into position quickly what can you do? Maybe the fine will have an effect on us.'

Gooch himself turned in a sterling performance. He made 45 batting solidly at No 6, holding the innings together with the ever-improving Hick, who scored 56, after Javagal Srinath - another Test reject responding with a five-wicket bag - had wrecked England's promising start.

He also took two catches in a nimble fielding display and if he had bowled an over or two he could have become the latest middle-order all-rounder to be touted as the new Ian Botham.

Gooch will stay at No 6 for the one-dayers and his reasoning again carried the air of someone considering a final curtain call. 'I have always been happy to open, it is the best place to bat,' he said, 'but going down the order may be best for the team. I am not getting any younger.'

Gooch and Hick at least gave England something to bowl at - a rare sensation - even if their 218 for 9 was about 30 runs short. Put in on a good wicket with some early movement, Robin Smith and Alec Stewart survived some testing Kapil Dev deliveries - though not enough of them for Mohammad Azharuddin, who thought his opening bowlers wasted the conditions.

At this point the Indian captain whistled up Srinath, 24, an occasional pupil at Dennis Lillee's coaching school in Madras, and very promising indeed. Srinath, who hails from nearby Mysore and has a physique seemingly modelled on the incense sticks it is famous for, was one of the few successes of India's South African tour.

But with a game-plan based on spin, Srinath was left out of the Test series. Given the results he cannot complain, but his response was impressive. Stewart was trapped leg before, Smith drove at an outswinger after making 29 and Mike Gatting was then put through the grinder before being mercifully beaten for pace.

The crowd, estimated at around 60,000 and with a dozen firecrackers each, went wild as Srinath, like Anil Kumble, plays for the state team. Such is the local enthusiasm, the parliament voted themselves a day off to watch the match.

The din reached a climax when Neil Fairbrother was run out by Azharuddin's direct hit. At 102 for 4, with England reliving a nightmare, enter the skipper. Batting under considerable pressure, he proved the perfect foil to the confident Hick in a 68-ball 55-run partnership. But when Srinath returned to take his figures to 5 for 41 England folded and were grateful when the bell went three overs early - with Devon Malcolm and Dermot Reeve at the crease a 10-an-over late slog looked unlikely.

India began badly as Chris Lewis brilliantly ran out Manoj Prabhakar, picked up as Vinod Kambli and Navjot Sidhu shared in a stand of 58 but were then rolled over by Jarvis. His first ball accounted for Kambli, his seventh for Azharuddin and his 29th for Pravin Amre.

In between Sachin Tendulkar went to Hick, who had been well placed as a lone third slip, and then Sidhu, suddenly realising that the only embers were those on the terracing, gave up waiting for a spinner and holed out off Phillip DeFreitas.

While Kapil Dev was left there was always the chance of a revival but Malcolm, after a period when his radar was being operated by Indian air traffic control, bowled one Kapil could reach and he mis-hit to mid-off. Jarvis came back and finished the innings with his fourth ball to claim a personal England-best five for 35 and a share of the man-of-the-match award with Srinath.

BANGALORE SCOREBOARD

(India won toss)

ENGLAND

R A Smith c More b Srinath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

(82 min, 50 balls, 4 fours)

A J Stewart lbw b Srinath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

(44 min, 32 balls, 2 fours)

G A Hick c Amre b Prabhakar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

(115 min, 81 balls, 3 fours)

M W Gatting b Srinath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

(11 min, 13 balls, 1 four)

N H Fairbrother run out (Azharuddin). . . . . . . . . . 5

(20 min, 15 balls)

* G A Gooch b Prabhakar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

(78 min, 61 balls, 2 fours)

C C Lewis c Tendulkar b Srinath. . . . . . . . . . . . 19

(20 min, 19 balls, 1 four)

D A Reeve not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

(26 min, 11 balls, 1 four)

P A J DeFreitas c Prabhakar b Srinath. . . . . . . . . .2

(3 min, 3 balls)

P W Jarvis c Azharuddin b Kapil Dev. . . . . . . . . . .1

(5 min, 3 balls)

D E Malcolm not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0

(2 min, 3 balls)

Extras (lb15 w4 nb8). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Total (for 9, 211 min, 47 overs). . . . . . . . . . . 218

Fall: 1-42 (Stewart), 2-65 (Smith), 3-79 (Gatting), 4-102 (Fairbrother), 5-157 (Hick), 6-185 (Lewis), 7-210 (Gooch), 8-213 (DeFreitas), 9-218 (Jarvis).

Bowling: Kapil Dev 8-1-27-1 (w1) (7-1-24-0, 1-0-3-1); Prabhakar 10-0-50-2 (nb2 w1) (4-0-17-0, 6-0- 33-2); Srinath 9-1-41-5 (nb7 w2) (6-1-16-3, 3-0-25-2); Venkatapathy Raju 10-0-46-0; Kumble 10-1-39-0 (one spell each).

Progress: 50: 58 min, 78 balls. 100: 117 min, 156 balls. 150: 157 min, 223 balls. 200: 194 min, 270 balls.

Hick's 50: 100 min, 72 balls, 3 fours.

INDIA

M Prabhakar run out (Lewis). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0

(13 min, 10 balls)

N S Sidhu c Gooch b DeFreitas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

(150 min, 57 balls, 4 fours)

V G Kambli c Stewart b Jarvis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

(73 min, 60 balls, 4 fours)

S R Tendulkar c Hick b Lewis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

(7 min, 6 balls)

* M Azharuddin lbw b Jarvis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

(2 min, 3 balls)

P K Amre c Hick b Jarvis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

(30 min, 24 balls, 2 fours)

Kapil Dev c Gooch b Malcolm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

(67 min, 44 balls, 3 fours)

K S More lbw b Jarvis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0

(2 min, 2 balls)

A Kumble b Jarvis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

(63 min, 39 balls, 3 fours)

J Srinath c Hick b Malcolm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

(8 min, 7 balls)

Venkatapathy Raju not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

(7 min, 3 balls)

Extras (lb4 w11 nb3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Total (218 min, 41.4 overs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Fall: 1-3 (Prabhakar), 2-61 (Kambli), 3-66 (Tendulkar), 4-67 (Azharuddin), 5-100 (Amre), 6-114 (Sidhu), 7-115 (More), 8-160 (Kapil Dev), 9-166 (Srinath).

Bowling: Malcolm 9-1-47-2 (w5) (5-1-24-0, 1-0-12-0, 3-0-11-2); DeFreitas 8-0-27-1 (nb4 w3) (2-0- 8-0, 3-0-15-0, 3-0-4-1); Lewis 10-0-32-1 (w2) (8-0-22-1, 2-0-10-0), Jarvis 8.4-1-35-5 (w1) (8-1-33-4, 0.4-0-2-1); Reeve 6-0-25-0 (nb1) (2-0-8-0, 4-0-17-0).

Progress: 50: 71 min, 86 balls. 100: 126 min, 146 balls. 150: 190 min, 224 balls.

Umpires: V K Ramaswamy and M R Singh.

(Photograph omitted)