London, Aug 2 (IANS) Australian spin legend Shane Warne feels that if India have to bounce back in the cricket Test series against England, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has to lead from the front.
Warne said that Dhoni has to get back his positive mindset and set the tone for the team in the field.
‘He needs to lift everyone. He looks too nonchalant at the moment.’
‘He has lost his positive body language. The captain has to set the tone with the fielding. He cannot hang on to a ball behind the stumps and that is hurting his captaincy, batting and having an impact on the whole team. He needs to work really hard on his keeping over the next week because you can’t carry on like that,’ Warne wrote in his column in Daily Telegraph.
Warne admits that India made England’s job easier in the two Tests.
‘India have just rolled over. The best side in the world misfields every ball on the boundary and let them through for four. MS Dhoni can’t hold on to his takes behind the stumps and the bowling looks pedestrian.’
‘It is hard to judge how good England are because India have been so poor.’
Warne, however, says that Andrew Strauss’s side has the same ‘aggressive’ streak that made Australia dominate world cricket for so long.
The spin legend believes England have the depth to become the World’s No.1 Test side.
‘England are improving and have a hunger for victory. They have a good team spirit and, as Andrew Strauss says, they can still improve. Don’t forget they were 124 for eight on day one of this game (second Test).’
‘But most impressive about England was how aggressively they approached the situation. When Australia were on top and dominating world cricket, the things we wanted to do were score fast, take the game away from the opposition and intimidate the tail. England are doing all those and showing qualities that will make them No.1 if they continue to play like this,’ he said.
Warne said that becoming the No.1 team in the world is all about depth. ‘Look at England and the players on the fringe. Guys such as Chris Tremlett, Graham Onions and Steven Finn were not playing at Trent Bridge.
‘If you look back over the past 30 years of Test cricket, there have been two stand-out teams that have dominated no matter what the conditions – first West Indies, then Australia.’
