England trudged from the field at the PCA Stadium adamant that they had acquitted themselves nobly. They had bowled resourcefully and with good heart. Yet, if their pride was intact, it had not quite escaped the attention that so was the Indian innings.

Six hours' hard labour and all England's bowlers had to show for it were the wickets of a nightwatchman and a wicketkeeper - with the latter, Deep Dasgupta, making a cautious, if immensely valuable, hundred in his first home Test.

India, with seven wickets intact, were already 24 runs to the good, and Sachin Tendulkar had not even broken sweat yet. Or do Indian icons merely perspire these days? Richard Dawson, the tyro Yorkshire off-spinner, did at least have a first Test wicket to celebrate, Anil Kumble's nightwatchman's stint extending until 15 minutes before lunch when he nicked an attempted cut to another debutant, wicketkeeper James Foster.

Dawson's wicket perfectly illustrated the nature of this England attack. For a side of old salts, the removal of a nightwatchman after two hours, to a routine delivery, would have brought a furrowed brow and the odd world-weary backslap.

Dawson, successful with only his 12th ball in Test cricket, was quite naturally beside himself with happiness and he was soon submerged by delighted, wise-cracking team-mates.

This was "Test cricket: a Fun Thing," where shortcomings are defensible on the grounds of inexperience. The decision of Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough and Robert Croft not to tour has left England in the lurch. However skilfully Nasser Hussain cajoles and directs, four members of this attack boast only 15 wickets and 17 caps between them.

Not that Dasgupta is exactly steeped with experience. He was in only his third Test and, although he began life as an opening batsman, he was pressed into service at the top of the order during India's disastrous tour of South Africa last month and, having played two staunch innings to save the Port Elizabeth Test last month, finds himself kept on.

Dasgupta scored 15 runs in the pre-lunch session, including more than an hour stuck on 21, and he needed nearly three hours to reach 50. His story is considerably more interesting than his innings. In his formative years in Delhi, he was coached by a woman, Suneeta Sharma, and has played club cricket in Liverpool and Scotland.

The fact that an impatient crowd barracked him and his partner Rahul Dravid with calls of "Murdabad" - Urdu for "dumb player" - did not bother him. "Everybody is impatient to see Sachin bat," he said.

Dasgupta is one of six Indian wicketkeepers tried in the past year, a state of affairs for which Indians insist the former British prime minister John Major must take much of the blame.

It was Major, the story goes, who presented Nayan Mongia, India's regular wicketkeeper, with the gift of a yellow helmet, which a year ago he insisted upon wearing against Australia, in preference to the regulation Indian blue, and caused so much resentment among his team-mates that he was never seen again. Never let it be said that John Major did not change the course of history.

Dasgupta scored predominantly behind square until awakening with a second 50 from 93 balls, reckless by his standards, and increasingly fortunate, too.

Andrew Flintoff, perhaps bowling as well as at any time in his career, might have dismissed him with a lethal bouncer on 51, which flew wide of Foster, and had him dropped by Mark Butcher at slip on 75. Dawson forced an edge which flew wide of Flintoff at slip, and Foster's wild attempt to run him out granted him four overthrows.

He reached three figures, appropriately, by thick-edging Matthew Hoggard to third man, and after assuring his batting partner, Dravid, that he would not lose concentration, was immediately bowled through the gate by Craig White.

Dravid reached the close on 78. Struck by Hoggard on the elbow early in his innings, he was badly dropped by Foster, off Flintoff, when 33, a legside catch for which the keeper was able to remain on his feet.

Steve Waugh paid tribute to New Zealand after they forced Australia to dig deep in defence of their proud home record in a thrilling draw on the final day of the third Test at Perth.

Australia have not lost a home series since the 1992-93 visit of the West Indies but were put under intense pressure by New Zealand at the WACA to hang on and draw the series 0-0.

Adam Gilchrist and Jason Gillespie launched a bold bid in pursuit of a world-record 440 to win the Test and the series - but Australia were left to fend off the last seven overs and reached the close on 381 for seven.