English seamers and Indian pitches are not the most natural of bedfellows but for one former Test bowler the memory of five days' toil on a Madras dust bowl remains the highlight of his international career.

"It was a fantastic experience," recalls former Essex and England bowler Neil Foster as his mind floods back to January 1985.

The five-Test series stood 1-1 at the time and Foster had yet to play in any of the opening three games, but injuries to Paul Allott and Richard Ellison opened the door and the gangly 22-year-old nervously took his place in the side for only his 7th cap.

What followed was nothing short of miraculous as the Essex youngster twice ran through a formidable Indian batting line-up, claiming match figures of 11-163 as England completed a stunning nine-wicket demolition job and set up their historic 2-1 series victory.

It remains the 3rd best return by an English bowler in India (and the 9th best of all-time by a non-Indian) and yet the opening salvos were ominous for Colchester-born Foster as Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar won the toss and elected to bat.

"I came in and I remember in my first over I bowled two half-volleys that both went for four and I though 'oh dear', but then Gavaskar missed one that swung and it all changed," remembers Foster.

Having bowled the host nation's legendary opener Foster then went on to pick up the scalps of Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohinder Armanath, Ravi Shastri, Nandlal Yadav and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan as his 6-104 helped skittle India for 272.

Graeme Fowler (201) and Mike Gatting (207) then guided David Gower's side to a huge 652-7 declared and it was soon Happy Hour again as Foster repeated his first innings mayhem by brushing aside their distinguished top-order once more.

Gavaskar, Kris Shrikkanth and Vengsarkar all fell in his devastating opening salvo, and Armanath and Syed Kirmani were added later as he followed up his first inning efforts with 5-59 and match figures of 11-163.

"In the first innings Gavaskar was playing a few shots and he just missed the ball, but in the second innings I got one to bounce and leave him," recalled Foster.

"I think that my extra height helped but I was just fortunate that on this particular occassion I got more out of this wicket than anyone else," he said modestly.

Tim Robinson and Gatting then completed the formalities for a nine-wicket win and England held out in the last Test at Kanpur to record a modern day cricketing oddity,... a series victory in India.

"It was fantastic for me but my only regret was that it didn't kickstart my Test career," said Foster. "I went on to Australia for the subsequent one-day tournament immediately after that but then didn't play in the first home Test of the next summer. I wasn't considered quick enough.

"A couple of years later I got bigger and stronger but I think realistically to take 11 wickets in a Test and then two games later being left out was bizarre."

What made it all the more galling was that first Test of 1985 (against Australia) was at Headingley, a ground on which Foster later claimed his Test-best return of 8-107 against Pakistan in 1987. But that doesn't his achievements in Madras in June 1984.

"The 11 wickets was definitely the highlight of my Test career because we won the game, and although England have been quite successful recently we hadn't got enough victories under our belts over the previous 20 years. So, to really play a major part of that win was very rewarding."

These days Foster, 39, splits his time between finishing a physiotherapy course at Colchester Institute and coaching the England Under-19s with Tim Boon, but he can see similarities between Nasser's class of 2001 and Gower's victorious 1984 vintage.

"It's very similar to when we went out because it's a young side and teh experience is in the batting line-up," he reasoned.

In 1984 England were still without the services of Graham Gooch and John Emburey due to their ongoing Test bans (for rebel tours to South Africa) while Ian Botham was unavailable and Paul Allott broke down before the Tests began.

That left a seam attack spearheaded by 23-year-old Norman Cowans (13 Tests prior to the tour) and backed up by Ellison (two Tests), Foster (six Tests) and Chris Cowdrey (no Tests). Spin was served up with varying success by Phil Edmonds and Pat Pocock but the general lack of experience in the bowling attack has similarities with the current tourists, and Foster believes the outcome could be the same.

"You would expect the wickets to turn a bit, but not be overly helpful," he said. "They'll have lots of close-in fielders around the bat but after last winter the England batsman should be used to that.

"The seamers are going to have to work hard, not just for wickets but for containment, and I think the Indian batsmen will attack our spinners early on so it will be a real test of temperament, but India is a great place to tour and you really do get an opportunity to work as a team unit when you're away together for so long. The mates you make on tour will always be your mates," he said.

19 Nov, 2001