Since South Africa’s tour to India followed their trip to Pakistan and Bangladesh, Barnes has a ‘been there, seen it and done it too’ expression on his face as he takes a look at the Green Park track. He speaks about the pitch in Dhaka during the Bangladesh tour and how his team’s fear proved unfounded. “We first thought the pitch was certain to break in the first couple of days. It actually lasted for five. The same thing happened in Chittagong as well,” he says, highlighting how modern-day tourists to the sub-continent aren’t that fussy about the dust bowls they encounter.

Barnes even sees a ray of hope emerging from the Green Park pitch for his pacers. He speaks about the plan for his fast-bowling department. “All one needs to do is to take a stock of the conditions early. If we say that swing is not going to work, we have to find other ways. If there are cracks and the wicket does deteriorate, it can also play in the hands of our pace bowlers. The ball is going to do different things in case it hits the deck,” he says.

To emphasise his point, he speaks about Dale Steyn’s spell on the dead track in Chennai. “Stamina is the key if one wants to succeed in the sub-continent. Steyn bowled an eight-over spell in Chennai, it could have killed a lot of bowlers. That was the spell of this tour,” he says.

Ask him about the Indian bowling attack and he comes up with a counter question: “What’s wrong with RP Singh?”

... contd.