So now we can fully appreciate what Greg Chappell has been going on about. The India coach has repeatedly stressed the values of team spirit over individual stars and the wisdom of his philosophy came through yesterday, when a re-unified Australia overcame with ease an assemblage of global stars.And Chappell would have been equally happy with the result of a more mundane fixture, the Irani Cup, where Railways — who won the Ranji Trophy last season thanks to their on-field unity — beat Rest of India in the same manner.The Rest of the World XI, with a combined career aggregate of about 50,000 ODI runs, was all out for 162; at Karnail Singh Stadium the Rest of India, with the best of the fringe players, just about avoided an innings defeat.So the question arises: Do stars — and each member of the RoW XI is a proven match-winner — count more than solid teamwork?Put this to Railways coach Vinod Sharma and you get your money’s worth of an answer. ‘‘The Railways side and the Australians have a lot in common’’, he says, matter of fact. Then explains: ‘‘They are teams based on attitude, pride and commitment and, most important, they play for each other. If a team has these qualities no matter what the opposition is there will be someone in the Xi to raise his hand and deliver at the crucial juncture.’’The scoresheets of the two games underscore his words. It wasn’t McGrath or Lee but Shane Watson who, with figures of 3/43, turned the tide; and it was last-minute replacement Mike Hussey who made the score respectable with a crucial 32.In the Irani Cup, when the Railways top order failed, it was left-arm spinner Murali Kartik — not a certified all-rounder— who scored a match-turning innings of 95.Another factor, according to Sharma, is a coach’s familiarity with his players and a deep understanding of their psyche. ‘‘Only a regular coach can understand this. Take my middle order batsman TP Singh. He started as a No. 7 batsman, I saw him at the nets and liked the way he sighted the ball. Today he is my most trusted top-order batsman,’’ he says.That was a distinct disadvantage for the RoW XI team leadership. Another example from yesterday’s match: Muralitharan, after bowling his sixth over, raised his index finger, indicating to his skipper Pollock that he wanted one more over.It was a legitimate request, given his figures of 6-0-19-2. Pollock, though, had other compulsions; the match was 28 overs old the side’s other great spinner, Daniel Vettori, was champing at the bit.Vettori got the ball, Murali’s spell was broken and when he returned he wasn’t that effective. The Aussies went on to score 252. The World Agenda
