ShreyasIyer

Sunny Gavaskar is, without doubt, one of the greatest batsmen of all-time. Gavaskar is a true legend of the game. His technique was near faultless, and when combined with limitless patience, you had the mould for the perfect opening batsman. Gavaskar�s test career saw a total of 10122 runs at an average of 51.12, with an astounding 34 test centuries. Gavaskar retired from test cricket in 1987, and therefore his era would appear to almost completely coincide with the great Windies bowling lineups of the late 70s and 80s. In 27 tests against the West Indies, Gavaskar scored an almost unbelievable 2749 runs at an average of 65.45, with an astonishing 13 centuries. These statistics are often used by fans and supporters to underline his claims as the greatest opening batsman of all-time. However, one of the great myths that has grown up about Gavaskar is his amazing dominance of the otherwise unconquered West Indian four pronged pace battery that these statistics would suggest. If you break...

Around many a bar or kitchen table cricket lovers debate who is the best batsman in the world, the greatest all-rounder, the top spinner and so on. Sometimes the discussions turn to fielding, and the name of Colin Bland is regularly brought up. Bland�s reputation as a cover fielder was such that he almost solely remembered in this capacity. The fact that his fielding remains the primary legacy of his test career is perhaps a shame, as Bland was also a very good batsman. Nonetheless, it does underline what a magnificent fielder he was, as a Test average of nearly 49.06 places him near the elite level for international batsmen. Christened Kenneth Colin Bland, but always called by his middle name, Colin was born on the 5th of April, 1938 in Bulawayo, Rhodesia. Now known as Zimbabwe, at that time of Colin�s birth Rhodesia was a region of Africa being composed of both modern day Zimbabwe (then known as Southern Rhodesia) and Zambia (then called Northern Rhodesia). Southern Rhodesia was a se...

Australian cricket has a history going back almost to the start of the colony. The earliest recorded match occurred on the 8th of January 1803, when a game of cricket was played between officers and crew of the MHS Calcutta on a field that is now Hyde Park . Much of the information and knowledge we now have regarding players and techniques of the early eras are drawn from newspapers of the day. Brian Crowley and Pat Mullins have put together a fine collection of the writings in The Australasian by 'Felix', the pseudonym of Tom Horan, into the book �Cradle Days of Australian Cricket�. Tom Horan was a cricketer of not inconsiderable skill himself; indeed he was a member of the Australian team that were victorious in the first ever test in March 1877. Horan also toured England , and had in-depth knowledge of all the leading players of the time such as Spofforth, the Gregorys, Murdoch and many others. Horan commenced writing for The Australasian in 1879 whilst he was still ...

A question struck me the other day while watching the news; why are sport stars condemned for using illegal non-performance enhancing drugs, but musicians and artists celebrated for it? The news had a novelty piece basically lauding Ozzy Osbourne for his many years of drug abuse that has addled his brain so badly he doesn�t know who he is anymore. The next article was a savage attack upon a sportsman who had the temerity to be caught with illicit drugs. The two newsreaders severely criticized the sportsman, primarily because they felt he was such an important role model to so many young people. It was a fantastic example of double standards, but I�m not sure why it is this way in our society. Why is there such an amazing level of hypocrisy here? Why are some musicians almost worshipped for their abuse of illegal drugs and alcohol, but sportsmen are somehow expected to maintain a perfect existence? Bon Scott has achieved legend status in many parts of the music world, having die...

After a brief diversion with my cricketing diary, I thought I would get back on track with the historical stuff that interests me. So I'll start with a profile on Roy Gilchrist. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, Shoaib Akhtar bowled the fastest recorded ball in the history of cricket. The sixth and final ball of his second over was bowled at Nick Knight, and was recorded at 161.3km/h or 100.2mph. This remains the fastest ball ever recorded, and would seem to give Shoaib some claim as the fastest bowler of all time. However, speed testing of fast bowlers is a very recent development, and many other players over history would also be able to make a reasonable case to be considered amongst the fastest bowlers of all time. Any list of fast bowlers will undoubtedly be extensive, and open to intense debate. Names such as Charles Kortright and Tibby Cotter who were both pre WWI, Jack Gregory, Harold Larwood...

Day 6 After talking about it with the selectors, I have decided to hang the boots up again. At least, I would hang them up but I am too sore to get out of bed today. At least the cricket is on the television today. Australia versus Sri Lanka. If the breaks had gone my way over the years, I should have been out there ......

This was it. Aspirin had just performed a miracle with a maiden in the previous over, but who would bowl the decider? The question circled back and forth in my mind, and I deliberated it very carefully. Stanley had now completed his allocated overs. Cow had moved himself to deep fine leg, thereby indicating there was no way he was going to bowl again. Prof. was busy humming a tune to himself at point, whilst inspecting some sort of bug he had seen. Jeremy was looking very green again, and was clearly in no shape to bowl. There was only one thing for it � I would have return to the crease in a last do or die effort. I was up to it; my mind was strong and my spirit was willing. I knew I was the best player by far on the ground, and this would be another opportunity to prove it. Unfortunately, I had possibly taken a little too long thinking about what I was going to do, because Weezel had simply grabbed the ball off Aspirin. I had also possibly slightly lost track of the game, because whe...

The game was delicately poised, yet again. Marshalling the troops, I threw the ball to Stanley, and called on him for a big effort in his second spell. Dodge was on strike, and we really needed to get him out if we were to win this one. Whilst fielding, I had noticed that Dodge had been standing out of his crease when facing. In order to put pressure onto him, I stood up to the stumps. The smarty pants simply grinned at me, and very deliberately stood with his back foot just out of his ground. I signalled to Stanley to bowl one down the leg-side for a quick stumping. Three balls and 12 byes later, I realise that Stanley wasn�t up to the task of putting it in the right spot. It is very frustrating to come up with a plan, and then have it fail due to poor execution by the bowler. I went back to a more traditional distance from the stumps, and I�ll be buggered if Dodge didn�t immediately move so that he was now standing inside his crease. This guy was seriously getting under my skin, alth...

The incoming batsman was only wearing one pad, and no gloves. He looked like a hick from the sticks, but these guys can be deceptive sometimes. He appeared fairly strong, so I pushed the field back a bit. The batsmen had crossed off the last ball of the over. Really, it is a shame that Dodge clearly doesn�t care enough about the game, as he should have known it was the last ball and therefore not run in order to retain the strike. It is this type of mistake that I pride myself on not making � paying attention to the game and knowing where the ball is at all times is a major key to my success. My first delivery from Stanley�s end was much better. No runs and very nearly a wicket. The batsman played and missed, and Prof made a late save down the leg-side to stop any byes. I don�t know why bowlers don�t get as much credit for beating the batsman down the leg-side as they do for outside the off-stump. The batsman missed it, didn�t they? Perhaps my celebration at the play-and-miss was bit o...

I realized that we were possibly in a spot of trouble when �Dodge� (if that is his real name) casually cover-drove my first two balls to the boundary. His bat had more meat in it than a 72oz. steak. We finished the first over having conceded 2 sixes and 2 fours � we looking a little worse for wear, but I consoled myself that we weren�t looking as bad their opener�s nose was. His hooter had been squashed flatter than a super-model�s chest, and was about as attractive. Stanley opened the bowling from the other end and whilst he wasn�t up to my standards, he did a reasonable job in supporting me. At the end of the first eight overs, the opposition were five down for 90. My figures after four overs were a very unlucky none for 75, whilst Stanley had taken a pretty arsey 5 for 5. Worringly, there were a fair few byes being let through by Prof. As their only decent batsman, I had cunningly kept Dodge at my end for most of the time, and he had played a serious of lucky drives and hooks that s...

I gradually built up speed as I ran into the wicket. My rhythm felt good and I could see that the batsman was concerned. I rocked back to release, my right foot landed but instead of gripping, it skidded like an ice-skate. I hit the ground with a massive thump. My right shoulder hit the pitch first, followed closely by my head and then legs. I lay somewhat stunned, trying to work out what the hell had happened. Prof. pointed at my feet and started laughing, and then the rest of the bastards joined in. At the change of innings, I put my bowling shoes on through force of habit. Unfortunately, my trusty old spikes weren�t necessarily the best option for bowling on a concrete pitch. I got up with as much dignity as I could, and quickly ran back to the car and changed into rubbers. The second time round, I was a bit ginger in my approach. Rather than trying anything too optimistic, I decided to simply try and put the ball on a good line and length. The ball left my hand reasonably well, pit...

I took the new �cherry� out of the bag, and as we walked onto the field, I casually threw it towards Weezel to practice our catching. He wasn�t really watching, and went down like a sack of spuds. I don�t know quite why he was whinging so much as there wasn�t any blood, and apart from the small bump on the back of his head where the ball hit him, he should be fine. I was more concerned that we may have taken some of the shine off the new ball � on a field like this we will need to take great care to keep the ball new for as long as possible. Unlike proper cricket, we used a two piece ball in the lower grades. These suckers swing like crazy, and for someone who can hoop a four-piece ball around like I do, I will need to be careful that I don�t swing it too much. It was clear that I would open the bowling, as I was easily the most experienced and skilled bowler, but I knew little about my fellow players. I gathered the team into a huddle, and asked who else bowled. They all shrugged a li...

One of the traditional parts of lower grade cricket is the arguing about the scorebooks. You have two scorers, one from each side. And you can guarantee that at the end of the innings, the two scorebooks will not tally. This results in a long argument between the respective scorers regarding which is correct. The 7 for 181, which I believed we had scored, turned out to be 7 for 169 in �their� book. Luckily for us, we had �Prof� on our side. Prof. used to be a university professor, and it was agreed that he would arbitrate. Eventually, the 7 for 181 stood as our score. I quietly asked one of our other players what subject �Prof� had been an expert in. I don't even know what ethnomusicology is. The tea break bore an uncanny resemblance to the drinks break. Tea was nowhere in sight, and instead both teams attacked the keg with great gusto. Heavy drinking is part of Australian cricket culture, but at my age, I have slowed down a little. I had a quick 5 schooners, and then decided to ch...

The next player in was a young chap � a bit rough around the edges. I hadn�t seen many cricketers take to the field in a singlet before, but I thought that as it was fifth grade, combined with the fact it was white, I wouldn�t say anything. He introduced himself as Stanley. I commented that it was nice to actually meet someone with a normal name, rather than a nickname like Spotty, Mailman or Cow. He then told me that he had just been released on parole, and that he was called Stanley cause he had cut up a shopkeeper with a Stanley knife. Stanley said all of this with a smile, but I decided to spend most of the time at the non-strikers end for a while. Stanley swung the bat with great panache, and scored a quick 25 before being bowled attempting another boundary. It was just what the team needed, as our run-rate had started to drag. We had almost reached the half-way mark in our innings, and we needed to increase our scoring. Disaster struck us, however, as I nicked one just after I pa...

The opposition captain, the aforementioned kangaroo shooter Paul Keeting, used the time-honoured method of deciding who should bowl next. �You look like you could sling them down a bit� he shouted at some well built guy in the outfield. Their team was obviously selected on a similar basis to ours, as clearly Keeting had no idea who this guy was. Scarily for us, the guy nodded happily, and said that he used to open the bowling a few years ago. The new bowler marked out his run (fifteen paces) confidently, and swung his arm around in a manner that suggested he knew what he was doing. Mailman and I watched all of this going on from our mid-wicket conference. Using my discretion, and thinking of Mailman�s request for the strike, I quickly suggested that we swap ends. Mailman agreed, and we simply walked back to opposite ends from the middle of the pitch. No-one in the opposition seemed to notice this changeover, and therefore Mailman prepared to face his first ball. This would give me a ch...

Their opening bowler was a big bugger � he was well over six foot and built like the proverbial brick outhouse. It is always difficult to face a bowler you have never seen before. I have always liked studying the technique of the opposition players on tape before facing them in a game, but I was going into this innings completely unprepared. He looked like he could chuck them down pretty quick, so I mentally prepared myself by repeating the mantra �Don�t hook�. He lumbered in with all the speed of a ZX81. He rocked back and with a huge shoulder action, launched the ball at approximately the same pace as Trevor Chappell bowling underarm. I had enough time to look at the specific gap I wanted, rehearse my shot and re-adjust my thigh pad before the ball got to me. As it was the first ball of the innings, I carefully nudged it towards square leg, rather than smashing it out of the park as I would have under normal circumstances. I set off for an easy single, but was passed about a quarter ...

Day 5 Con�t Part of batting first is the responsibility for setting up the field. As we headed out to the middle, the rest of the team were sent around the ground to setup the boundary. The ground itself is located inside the local bull-ring, and is a couple of hundred metres long and wide. Don Bradman would find it impossible to actually hit the ball to parts of the fence here, which is why we need the witches hats. This involves placing witches hats at intervals of about 10 to 15 metres. Until you run short of witches hats, which means that the last few are about 40 metres apart. From the top, I rather suspect that the boundary line bears a passing resemblance to the zig-zag railway line, but I will fix that up at the change of innings (which will also allow me to move the boundary back a few metres). The ground itself was looking a treat. I found a few clumps of grass in the outfield, but other than that, it was fairly level dirt. There was a sandtrap on the straight hit (I think it...

Day Five Yeah!!! We flipping murdered them! My first game back started with a bit of a whimper. I turned up at the ground two hours early (which is my standard practice) in order to prepare my mind for the match ahead. I sat in the middle of the wicket with my eyes closed, mentally running through my batting plan. Sadly, I was interrupted a few times by a couple of cows that were wandering past, but I think it was worth it. Any attempt to assess the pitch was quite useless � concrete doesn�t really change too much over time. There was an interesting crack just short of a good length that I took good notice of though. With only twenty minutes to go before the start of the game, I was starting to get worried as no-one else from my team had shown up. In fact, no-one else at all had shown up. I wondered if I was at the wrong ground, but a quick phone call to the President reassured me. He did ask that I didn�t ring again though, as he was evidently umpiring at the time and the bowler got q...

Something different for a while - I thought I would share my diary (a la Steve Waugh) regarding my successful return to the field this season. Similiar humour probably to my article of the A to Z of Cricketing Terms . Not up to the legendary Uncle J rod 's standards, but hopefully you get a smile out of it. Day One Inspired by Australia's recent performances on the field in India, my own thoughts started turning towards a potential un-retirement from the game. I discussed it with my wife and kids, explaining that any return to cricket would involve me spending a lot of time away from them. They were very supportive, but I could tell that they had some reservations. Cricket is a harsh mistress, and for someone as dedicated to stellar performance as myself, the time needed to achieve the results I am capable of is high. Nonetheless, my family agreed that it would be good for me to spend more time away from home. In fact, they were so supportive that they suggested I start train...