England Diary: ‘Gangster’ Wharf Makes a Dream Debut

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

Alex Wharf made a dream one-day debut for England at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. The 29-year-old was not in the original squad but was included in the playing 11 and removed the top three Indian batsmen in his first three overs to win the man-of-the-match award. Wharf said he had never thought of playing for England until the late call-up when Kabir Ali reported injured. “It is just amazing. It is great to be around some great players. I am still on cloud nine. I’m a pretty quiet guy so I’ll just take it in my stride,” Wharf said after the match. “I had never dreamed of playing for England, let alone take the wickets of Saurav Ganguly, V. V. S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid in my first match,” he admitted. “I enjoyed going out there and doing the best I could. “ He said it was time for him to get rid of his nickname, Gangster. “It is something that has carried on from my younger days. It is time to get rid of it,” he said. England captain Michael Vaughan was full of praise for Wharf. “Alex has always been good and has a strong action that enables him to take pace off the wicket,” he said. “It was his all-round package that made us pick him. We have seen only one aspect today - his bowling. He is a good fielder and a pretty useful batsman. There is not a lot that can actually go wrong for him,” Vaughan said. “We haven’t been fielding too well and Alex’s inclusion has helped us. I was happy with the discipline we showed on the field today.” Ganguly Frustrated by Continued Batting Failures • Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly said it was frustrating that the top-order batsmen, including himself, did not carry on playing big innings after getting themselves in. He was reacting to the dismal failure of his team to post a bigger score than 170 in the opening game of the NatWest Challenge against England at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. After the seven-wicket defeat, he was hopeful that the side would turn the corner sooner than later. “We haven’t batted well in the last three or four games and we need to sort this out. But I know it is a matter of one innings for things to fall in place. It is not the quality of the batsmen that is in question. It is just a matter of getting the mindset right,” he said. Ganguly said that England’s debutant fast bowler Alex Wharf bowled a good line but denied that the team was surprised by him. “We had seen him take six wickets for Glamorgan last weekend. I tried to dominate him early but did not succeed,” he said of his own fall to a steepling catch to the wicketkeeper when he tried a pull. He defended the composition of the team, including seven batsmen. “It is not a formula and you cannot take it at face value. It has delivered the results for us and I have to back the batsmen who have done well for India in the past,” he said. “We do not need to look at the batting order now since Sachin (Tendulkar) is not available. Viru (Virender Sehwag) is a quality player and we need him to fire. I have to back him,” Ganguly said. In response to a question about the difference in leading the team when it is underachieving compared to the time when it was on a high, Ganguly was candid and said he would find out how good he was as captain over the next four or five months. “We have to get together as a side now and find out how good we really are,” he said. Vaughan Ready for India Backlash • England captain Michael Vaughan said he was delighted with his team’s confident showing against India in the opening match of the NatWest Challenge. He also said his team was ready for a backlash by what he called the world’s second best One-Day International side. “We know they have an outstanding line-up and will come back harder,” he said after the comprehensive seven-wicket win. “I got lucky to win the toss and put them in. I believed we could put them under pressure by getting a few early wickets. Their batsmen played a few strokes that they may not on another day.”