SHARJAH Dec 10: "We foresee a major problem on this pitch," said Indian skipper Sachin Tendulkar of the Sharjah wicket in the Akai-Singer Champions Trophy cricket tournament scheduled to get under way on Thursday.

Calling attention to the typical Sharjah pitch which is white in colour, Tendulkar believed that batting under lights using the white ball could cause problems. ``I think the batsmen might momentarily lose track of the white ball on this pitch, particularly as it is also white in colour and also reflects light,'' said the Indian skipper.Tendulkar was very happy with the quality of the lights though, claiming that it was one of the best that he had seen. He was also full of praise for the lights at the practice nets.

The Indian skipper stated that fielding and bowling second would be difficult. ``Last night there was a lot of dew on the outfield. This will be a nuisance. The captains are to meet Thursday morning. We will discuss at that meeting whether to use just one white ball for the 50 overs or opt for two white balls. People here say that if there is a cloud cover there would not be much dew. But if there are clear skies we could have a very slippery outfield.''

The Indians need to get as many runs as possible to negate the disadvantage of the dew, said Tendulkar. ``The need is to score a lot of runs and quickly at that.''

Tendulkar sounded a note of caution against this England side. ``I would not take them lightly. They are a very good one-day side, as their results prove. They beat Australia and Pakistan in one-day matches, although they lost the Test series. So I would not underestimate them.''

Meanwhile England announced their playing eleven for Thursday's match. They have left out all rounder Ben Hollioake, paceman Peter Martin and left arm spinner Ashley Giles.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.