‘GO HOME’ THREAT

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31560, 23 December 1967, Page 15

‘GO HOME’ THREAT

Indians Get Pep Talk (N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) SYDNEY. “A threat of being sent home has spurred the wayward Indian cricketers into the first real show of form of their Australian tour,” the Sydney “Daily Telegraph” writer, Phil Tressider, said yesterday. He wrote that the threat could galvanise their performance in the first test against Australia, whic_. starts at Adelaide today. Tressider said that the manager, Mr Ghulam Ahmed, told his team in Launceston: “Develop a tougher approach or expose yourselves to the risk of being humbled.” His ultimatum coincided with a statement by India’s Minister of Education, Dr Triguna Sen, in New Delhi, saying the performance of Indian teams in recent international events “have made a laughing stock of us.” Tressider said that Mr Ghulam Ahmed had lashed the; team for this lackadaisical approach. extremely poor fielding, and the tendency of dismissed batsmen to laud the capabilities of Australian bowlers. “Dismissed batsmen’s high praise of Australian bowlers in the dressing room had left a marked affect on other batsmen struggling to find form,” Tressider wrote. The pep talk was “a ringing success.” The Indians ran riot in Launceston, hitting a total of 402 for four.