'Everyone wanted a part of me'

Touring India, assuredly, is much more than Phil Tufnell's poverty and elephants. Newcomers must adjust not only to a country of vast contrasts and stunning diversity but also to pitches and match atmospheres unlike any other in the world. In the fifth of the My India Tour series, John Bracewell talks about his special memories from the 1988-89 tour of India.

The noise, the big enthusiastic crowds and their passion for the game of cricket were the things that caught my eye on our trip to India, and I enjoyed every bit of that tour. I felt it was an exhausting place as everyone wanted a part of me and, in that heat I felt tired quickly, but you recovered and the next day you were ready to play good cricket. You can't say the same about places like Australia, where you feel sore the next day. And the reason for the high energy levels was the people - who wanted to see cricket all the time - and their knowledge of the game.

Another outstanding thing I noticed first-hand was how a youngster is ingrained with the basics from a young age. During our practice sessions throughout the tour, young local bowlers who were barely 15 or 16 years old spun the bowl an alarming amount, which none of the New Zealand spinners could do.

Normally, bowlers from the visiting teams - especially the spinners - are directed by the think-tank to adopt the opposition's bowling style, which I didn't agree with. After our loss in the first Test at Bangalore, I told my coach and captain, `Look, we have one warm-up game before the next Test, and what I would like to do is bowl like I bowl rather than like the opposition.' They gave me a chance and I did reasonably well.

In the first Test [Navjot] Sidhu, [Krishnamachari] Srikkanth and [Ravi] Shastri targeted me and hit the ball as far as they could. However, that allowed me to think about counterattacking them in the next Test at Bombay, where I helped New Zealand level the series, taking six wickets in the second innings. It was a special game for me as I had outdone the Indian batsmen on their own wickets and also scored a good 52 in the first innings.

Apart from that I kept myself busy with my other interest: a passion for history. I like to go around and study the culture and history of any country I visit. India, in my eyes, is an advanced ancient culture and I was fascinated to find out more about it on the tour. Also, I am a fan of meditation and bought a few good books on India culture. I am a visual person and not a poolside guy, and made sure I did something interesting every day.

John Bracewell was speaking to Nagraj Gollapudi.