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Rediff.com  » News » Caddick prefers Sachin up the order

Caddick prefers Sachin up the order

By Faisal Shariff in Durban
February 24, 2003 18:55 IST
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England pace bowler Andrew Caddick does not want to play father figure to young Turk James Anderson and believes that the 20-year old has already taken the tournament by the scruff of the neck.

The New-Zealand-born Caddick admitted that he missed his bowling partner Darren Gough and believes that though Gough was a world-class bowler, Anderson has done well in his place.

''My job is to try and bowl the same in both Tests and one-dayers, which is rather boring. I have to keep things tight and not give away too many runs in the first 15 overs. With Jamie (Anderson) taking wickets I need not worry about that.

''We are positive now after the game against Pakistan. Though I do not want to inflate expectations of the fans, I think we can continue through the tournament with a level-headed approach,'' he said.

Caddick said coming off the Aussie tour had been a tiring experience but with a tournament as huge as the World Cup players cannot complain of fatigue.

Talking about the match against India on Wednesday, Caddick said India is a huge threat but the fact that their middle-order batsmen haven't got going in the tournament is a boost to English bowlers.

''Sachin Tendulkar is easily one of the best batsman but he is only human.  With Jamie (Anderson), Andy (Flintoff) and Craig (White) bowling well we are in for an interesting encounter,'' he said.

Caddick also played down the mental edge that the Indians enjoyed over the Englishmen with recent wins against them.

''If India has Tendulkar, we have a world class batsman in (Michael) Vaughan,'' he added.

Caddick said the English bowlers would not change their strategy with Tendulkar coming back to the top of the order because when England faced India in India last year Tendulkar had opened with Virender Sehwag.

He pointed out that he preferred Tendulkar up the order because there is a good chance of getting him early.

''With him coming down the order the ball gets soft and the chances of getting him out are tougher.''

Caddick said that there was no bad blood between India and England. He said Ganguly's jersey flashing at Lord's last year after the Natwest final was a simple celebration of a great win.

Caddick picked England's depth in batting and good form as positives while pointing out that pace and bounce has been the undoing of the Indian batsmen.

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Faisal Shariff in Durban