England v India - It is pace and not movement that always troubles a quality batsman

Relying on skills rather than conditions is more important

During the ongoing Test series between England and India, while discussing about swing bowling, ex-England captain and now a renowned cricket commentator, Nasser Hussain quoted arguments from a NASA scientist to suggest that swing has nothing to do with the changes in the atmosphere but swing has everything to do with the condition of the ball and seam position. 

Many of his fellow colleagues in the commentary box were not satisfied with Nasser’s explanation but Nasser was not incorrect.

Wasim Akram was once asked about his ability to swing the ball even on bone dry tracks and the great Pakistani replied calmly with a smile, “Everything comes from the wrist”. Throughout their careers as the best fast bowlers in the world, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis used to swing the ball at will on any tracks – be it a placid wicket or rank-turners and the anti-pace-bowling conditions hardly had an impact over their abilities to swing the ball.

They relied more on skill rather than tracks and conditions and if you are technically well-equipped then neither moving the ball nor bouncing it on the flattest of tracks is ever a difficult task.

Cloud cover and heavy atmosphere do help the ball to move, but if you are not technically at home and skill enough then such conditions are of no use.

Pace is more difficult to counter than swing

On the 29th July 2011 Harsha Bhogle tweeted, “with sreesanth and praveen kumar the tradition of swing bowling is alive. it is movement not pace that troubles quality batsman.”

Speed has always been a factor of disinterest for the very best batsman in the business. Yes, swing is troublesome but it can be mastered whereas it’s never an easy task to stand firm against those cannon balls which travels at 100 mph on a regular basis. And if there is movement of the ball along with speed, then it becomes vicious for the batsmen.

Yesterday, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S Laxman showed the world how swing bowling can be countered by getting beside the ball. You can play the moving ball by getting behind as well but by getting beside the ball it seems more comfortable. The English did move the ball, but they didn’t generate enough pace to unsettle either Dravid or Laxman. 

Again, in the first morning at Trent Bridge, Sreesanth had electrified atmosphere not just by pitching the ball up and swinging it, but also generated lively pace which unsettled the English and yesterday, Stuart Broad’s magical spell not only had movement but pace as well which curtailed India’s innings.

At Nagpur, last year, Dale Steyn scripted a mayhem to dent India not with movement, but with sheer pace against which even Tendulkar had no clue. At Karachi in 1982-83, Imran Khan on a dead track put shiver down the Indian batsmen’s spine not with movement but horrendous pace. The famous West Indies pace quadrate’s pace killed even the best batsmen while Wasim and Waqar’s pace along with late-swing unsettled the likes of Brian Lara, Steve Waugh and co.

It has always been pace and not movement which always unsettled the batsmen.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

England v India - Yuvraj Singh for Abhinav Mukund would have given India an extra bowler

It was heartening to see swing bowling in all its glory at Lord’s in the much-hyped 2000th Test match, which concluded in a victory for England.

Swing bowling is something of a rarity in modern-day cricket — especially after the sheen on the ball wears off. It was thus a joy to see not just the English bowlers but also the Indian new ball bowlers testing the skills of the batsmen by curling the ball in the air.

Chris Tremlett and Stuart Broad relied on bouncing the Sri Lankans, but they unsettled the famed batting Indian line-up with swing than bounce.

Both Tremlett and Broad targeted the Indians by judicious use of the seam to test and tease the best Indian batsmen. And in the fourth innings, James Anderson’s guile and pace, mixed with prodigious swing, left the No 1 Test side clueless.

Ishant Sharma livened up the fourth day morning with one of the finest spell of fast bowling ever seen at Lord’s. Rather than keeping the ball short and wide, he pitched it up and swung it to come up with spell that raised visions of a strong comeback by India. But Ishant was brought into the attack quite belated after lunch which allowed the momentum swing England’s way — irreversibly.

Praveen Kumar made a memorable maiden appearance at Lord’s by getting himself on the Lord’s honours board with a five-for. His ability to swing the ball is unquestionable, but it is his lack of pace which allows the batsmen to get the better of him. Should he add a few yards of pace, Praveen could be lot more dangerous.

Sadly, the advent of T20 cricket has not helped in playing the waiting game that is requisite for Test cricket — something players like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have mastered.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy was disappointing. When the chips are down, it’s the captain who has to lead from the front. Yes, India lost Zaheer (hamstring), Tendulkar (viral fever) and Gambhir (on-field injury) at critical stages of the game, but history is proof that champion teams defy the odds than dish out excuses.

In 1989-90, in the second Test against Australia, Pakistan were seven for three with their batting stalwarts Javed Miandad and Salim Malik on the injured list. A defeat was very much on the cards, but captain Imran Khan took the responsibility to defy the odds and scripted an epic by guiding Wasim Akram and draw the Test. It’s such mental toughness that made Imran one of the great captains in history.

Not only Dhoni failed as a captain and batsman, but his ‘keeping was shoddy as well. In contrast, Matt Prior was simply stupendous and certainly proved his worth as the finest wicket-keeper batsman in the world at present. He was safe behind the wicket and rescued England with a match-winning hundred in the second innings.

The imagination of the Indian think-tank is baffling. A bold management would have picked Yuvraj Singh instead of Mukund to open the innings for India as Yuvraj could have been used as a fifth bowler as well. His left-arm spin could have unsettled Kevin Pietersen who scored a double hundred and bagged the man of the match award.

The Englishmen don’t play leg-spin very well. Amit Mishra would have done much better on the bouncy track at Lord’s than down-in the-dumps Harbhajan Singh.

England were a charged-up unit. Pietersen gave England the momentum and the trio of Broad, Tremlett and Anderson went all guns blazing. It’s a perfect combination of youth and experience to be the No 1 Test side in the world in times to come.

The Test match at Lord’s was heart-warming for one reason: Test cricket is alive and kicking! One saw packed house on all five days with thousand waiting outside to get in.

Test cricket was a winner and that is something genuine lovers of the game would be most happy about.

Note: This article has been published in Cricket Country on 27/07/2011 http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/yuvraj-for-mukund-would-have-given-india-an-extra-bowler-4267

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Test cricket's greatest match ever "the first-ever tie"!

It was 50 years ago on December 14, 1960, West Indies and Australia produced a tied Test to become a part of cricket’s folklore. The dramatic result came at a time when cricket was choking due to boring draws. Test cricket needed a push and West Indies and Australia did just that with heart-racing finishes throughout the summer Down Under.

The summer of 1960-61 in Australia witnessed some of the greatest clashes of all times. Australia had won the series 2-1, but the Brisbane Test was the best of all times. Of all the greatest Test matches in the history of Test cricket, this Brisbane Test of 1960-61 should wear the crown as the greatest Test of all.

The Brisbane Test was classic from the very first day when Gary Sobers scored 132 in 174 minutes with wide range of attacking strokes. Supported by Frank Worrell and Joe Solomon, Sobers reached his fifty in 50 in 54 minutes and on his way to his 100, he completed his 3000 Test runs. Gerry Alexander and Wes Hall took part in a late-order assault to post a total of 453 in the first innings which was scored at a rate of 4.5 runs per eight-ball over. Alan Davidson bowled his heart out and finished with figures of five for135.

The Australian batsmen did their best to follow the West Indies lead and, while not getting their runs in quite the same majestic manner, managed to reach a mammoth total of 505, courtesy the sheet anchor by opener Bob Simpson and a patiently-compiled 181 by Norman O’ Neil. There were fine supporting knocks from the likes of Colin McDonald, Les Favell and the tireless Alan Davidson. Wes Hall picked up four wickets for 140 runs.

Davidson’s pace wrecked the West Indies batting in the second innings, but amidst the fury of Davidson, Kanhai, Solomon and Worrell held the innings together. Davidson finished with figures of six for 87 as the West Indies were all out for 284, setting the Australians a target of 233 runs in 310 minutes.

The dangerous Wes Hall unleashed a fearsome spell of fast bowling to skittle out half the Australian team for 57. At 92 for six, the Test looked all over for Australia. When Richie Benaud and Davidson walked in for tea, with 122 to get at four runs per over, the scenario was confusing. If Australia had tried to drag the game for a draw, West Indies would have cake walked it. And defending was alien to the Australian mindset.

Sir Don Bradman asked Benaud what he had in mind after tea. Benaud replied: “Well, we are trying to win it”.

Bradman’s face didn’t register any change of expression, but he said: “Good, I’m delighted to hear it”.

At 226 for six, the roles had reversed. Australia was in sight of a hard-fought victory. The West Indies players felt the pressure as some of their fielders were wayward when Davidson and Benaud were cruising. Just when it looked like Australia had the upper hand, Solomon threw down the stumps to run out Davidson.

Davidson was out for 80 and Australia were now 226 for seven.

Australia now needed seven to win with three wickets in hand as wicket-keeper Wally Grout walked in. He played out two balls. The presence of the Australian support some 80 yards away bellowed a disgruntled ‘aw’. A single off the seventh ball and Benaud’s failure to score left Grout to face the fury of Hall. The umpire took a hurried glance at his watch. Four minutes to go. Surely this was the last over of the match.

Six runs to get and eight balls to go. Grout realized that it was wise to give the strike to Benaud. He took the first ball on his thigh, but ran. Benaud responded. The run was completed.

Five runs in seven. “Don’t bowl a bouncer, Wes,”  Worrell had warned. Hall pounded in and unbelievably, pounded in short. Benaud hooked. Hall couldn’t bear to see. But, wait! Wicket-keeper Alexander was running towards Hall. The ball was in his hand! Benaud was caught - out for 52.

Five to get off six balls and Ian Meckiff was no great shakes as a batsman. Besides, he played his first ball without scoring. The words,  “Relax fellas, relax” interrupted the icy silence of the field. It was Frank Worrell. Hall turned round and charged in once again. Meckiff missed, but ran nevertheless. Alexander, standing way back, threw to Hall, by now way down the wicket. Hall received and attempted a shy at the bowler’s stump and missed narrowly!

Four runs in four balls and two wickets to go. Hall dropped the next one on a good length. Grout was unsure and it took the shoulder of his bat and flew. Grout knew he was history as he noticed Kanhai waiting under the spiraling ball. Nevertheless, he ran. Hall in the extension of his follow-through and exuberance went for the catch himself. Kanhai and Hall collided at square-leg. The ball dropped harmlessly on the Gabba turf. Grout was safe!

Hall cursed himself…he had thrown the match away for the West Indies. Frank Worrell walked over and put his arm round his giant fast bowler and said, “Relax”.

Three runs in three balls. Meckiff took his chance of a lifetime. He swung Hall over mid-wicket. It looked like a certain four for Australia. But Conrad Hunte chased nevertheless. The groundsman that day had left the grass near the boundary unmown. The breathless Hunte threw in, grateful. The ball flew 80 yards, and parallel. Grout, running for the third, threw himself in an attempt to win the match for Australia. Alexander whipped off the bails, a flurry of timber, chalk and leather. But the square-leg umpire raised his finger. Grout has gone run out!

The scores are level and two balls to go. Australia’s last man Lindsay Kline walked in. Kline asked for his guard. Meanwhile, Worrell walked in from mid-on and said to Hall, “Remember, Wes if you bowl a no-ball, you will never be able to go back to Barbados”. Hall resolved to put his foot a good yard behind the crease for his seventh ball.

Hall burst in, bowled and Kline found it on his leg stump, jabbed it to forward short-leg and ran. Solomon swooped on the ball, poised, threw, Meckiff stretched and the bails flew. It’a Tie!

The Gabba Test set the tone for the rest of the series. Australia won the second and West Indies the third. The Adelaide Test produced another thriller as it left everyone guessing down to the last ball. Australia were reduced to 207-9 chasing a target of 460. But last men Mckay and Kline saw it through. Worrell attempted every design he had learned in the game on the last two Australian batsmen. But they hung on for a draw.

A record crowd watched Australia win the last Test at the MCG by two wickets. There were tears on Melbourne's roads when West Indies left in a ceremonial open-roofed motorcade; thousands lined the route to give Worrell's men an unforgettable ticker-tape farewell.

But the Gabba Test not only produced the first tie in Test cricket that made it memorable, but it was played with an electrifying spirit of adventure by both sides who put the emphasis on attacking play from first ball to last as this was an era when the game was becoming hooked on the drug of defensive cricket.

Both Australia and West Indies showed the way the game could and should be played to the teams of that time who depended on defensive tactics. This tied Test at Gabba still draws attention and captures the imaginations of a true cricket lover.

The first tied Test is still a story of adventure and thrill for the cricket lovers even after 50 long years.

Note: This article has been published in Cricket Country on 21/07/2011 Test cricket's greatest match ever "the first-ever tie"!

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Test cricket is still the best!

Perhaps, it all started with one bored shepherd boy lobbing a pebble or pine-coat at one another who idly batted it back with a handy piece of wood. Gradually, the idle stone-hitting started to develop into an organized sport and with the passage of time it had become a major source of entertainment during the leisure times for almost two centuries and then it transformed into one of the most engaging spectator sport.

Test cricket had arrived and for more than a century it is giving us moments of glory and sorrow and heroes to cherish and its twist and turns has made Test cricket the most widely celebrated form of this game.

This year, we have suddenly come to know that Test cricket is all set to celebrate its 2000^th match. Appropriately enough, England take on India at Lord’s after 1999 matches have been played in countries including one which doesn’t play the highest form, the UAE.

Test cricket has started its journey way back in 1876-77 with traditional rivals Australia and England. For many years these two were the sides to carry the torch of Test cricket. Then countries like New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies started to carry on the legacy of Test cricket. After the partition of the Indian subcontinent, Test cricket saw the emergence of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and when Pakistan broke in 1971, a small country named Bangladesh joined the elite club of Test playing nations. Test cricket has now 10 members.

Its simply is astonishing to think how a game from a mere pass time have turned out to be one of the most professional and competitive sport. Test cricket was almost dead in the 19th century as boredom struck due to lack of results even after playing for 11 days and for which spectators had stepped back to watch Test cricket. Such situations demanded drastic measures and for which one-day cricket was born. Test cricket got pace through one-day cricket and even today both complement each other.

In the first 100 years, since England played Australia in the inaugural Test in 1876-77, there were as many as 803 Test matches. The period saw two World Wars, the Test careers of such as W G Grace and Don Bradman, the birth of one-day internationals, the banning of South Africa for that country’s apartheid policy and The Packer Razzmatazz. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe were yet to make their debut.

If 803 Tests in 100 years is impressive, what followed was even more so. In the next 34 years, there were 1196 Tests, bringing us up to Lord’s. And within this 34 years Test cricket got the touches of modern masters, got the touches of technology and it saw tilts in the balance of World cricket’s powers.

Test cricket has been surprised by watching the passion for the game in the Indian subcontinent, who were taught the game by the British rulers. In terms of passion nad love for this game, the British are still nowhere near the cricket-mad people of subcontinent.

The emergence of T20 cricket is a challenge for the longer-version formats, especially Test cricket. Is Test cricket going to vanish in course of time?  

Why Test cricket is so special?

It takes five days to complete, teams break for lunch and tea and certainly it’s hard to follow Test cricket for five days at present. But despite all these strenuous factors, Test cricket is still the ultimate format of the game. As because, a player’s true character can only be judged by  Test cricket and no other format of the game can gift you the true pleasure of thrilling romance.

 An Ashes clash or a South Africa-England clash or an India-Australia clash ensures a jam-packed stadium for five days and still people enjoy the romance of five-day matches. Cricket followers spends time after time to watch the class of Tendulkar, a cricket purist waits for one classic timing from Tendulkar and a writer waits for the ultimate poetry from Tendulkar in the glorious arena of Test cricket.

Moreover, the players still value the game as Suresh Menon said in one of his article, “More importantly, players still value it. Ask those who will line-up for the 2000th match. Rahul Dravid is the quintessential Test player who adapted to the shorter game to emerge as one of its most successful batsmen. Both teams are full of players who don’t play any other form of the game.”

Test cricket is the perfect platform to build a cricketers character and technique. If a cricketer is well-equipped in playing Test cricket then he is bound to achieve success in any format of the game.

The emergence of Twenty20 cricket and cash-rich Leagues are challenging the existence of Test cricket. Will Test cricket get vanished? I don’t think so. The 2000^th Test match at Lord’s is the perfect example of Test cricket proving the test of times. Still Test cricket has plenty to offer in the upcoming days.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

India vs Pakistan is cricket's greatest series

Historically, the Ashes is regarded as cricket’s showpiece series. Yet, the significance of the Ashes has waned in recent times. The Asian cricket playing countries, in particular, believes it does not deserve the billing it enjoyed in the bygone past as a contest between two talented sides. From 1989 to 2005, Australia took the Englishmen to the cleaners. But things changed in 2005. After almost 18 years, England regained the Ashes and since then it hasn’t been one-sided.

The diminishing value of Ashes coincided with the increasing worth of India and Pakistan as cricketing forces. The two sides boasted some of the most talented cricketers and when the two teams met on the field of play, memories of their tragic past and the wars they fought along the border they shared added a sharp needle to the contests. Players on both sides came under the kind of pressure they never felt playing against any other side and as a result, the two teams unfolded some of the most memorable Tests and ODIs in the history of the game. This was the single biggest difference in the India-Pakistan contests compared to Australia-England; they were hotly contested.

Inzamam-ul Haq’s Pakistan was annihilated in Australia. Inzi came to India with one of the weakest Pakistan teams ever to tour India. But he and his men raised the bar when it counted most, making cricket pundits believe that an Indo-Pak clash will always transcend the limits of tensions and enthusiasm.

I hardly found the Ashes interesting during my school and college days; for me, it was the riveting India-Pakistan contests. Sadly, there wasn’t any Indo-Pak Test clash for a major part of the 90s because of political disputes between the two neighbours. Cricket became a casualty. The world missed epic clashes between bat and ball… Sachin Tendulkar against the might of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Surely, Waqar bouncing Tendulkar would have been a more fascinating sight than Shane Warne teasing the spineless English team of the ’90s.

The Indo-Pak Test series got going again in 1999 and turned out to be one of the finest series of the ’90s. Memories of that series are still fresh … Saqlain Mushtaq’s doosra which baffled the Indian team throughout the series…Tendulkar’s epic defiance at Chennai…the Chennai crowd’s standing ovation to Pakistan team after a nerve-jangling finish… Anil Kumble’s 10 wickets haul at the Kotla…Shoaib Akhtar putting the vociferous Kolkata crowd to silence after castling Tendulkar for a first-ball nought.

Then followed another five-year break. The two giants resumed play again in 2004 and continued till 2007. Virender Sehwag’s triple ton at the Multan Test in 2004, Abdur Razzaq and Kamran Akmal’s heroics in the drawn Test at Mohali in 2005, Younis Khan’s 267 in the Bengaluru Test in 2005, Tendulkar’s 141 in the Rawalpindi ODI in 2004, Mohammad Asif slicing the cream of the Indian batting line-up at the Karachi Test in 2006 and Irfan Pathan’s hat-trick in the very first over of the Karachi Test in 2006 are moments that are a part of cricket’s folklore. Many records were re-written and many moments of glory essayed.

Nothing matches an Indo-Pak battle. Whenever these two teams clash, players of the two sides and their supporters experience a rare adrenalin-rush. The tension is immense and one does not experience dull moments in play. 

It’s hard to predict the outcome of an Indo-Pak clash. Sadly, since 2007 no Test series or an ODI series took place between these two amazing cricketing nations.

The Australians and the Englishmen never had interruptions in their epic battle for the Ashes. The Ashes remains the most enduring, if not the most riveting, rivalry. Yes, the epic Indo-Pak on-field encounters are much bigger than the Ashes.

Note: This article has been published in Cricket Country on 14/07/2011 India vs Pakistan is cricket's greatest series

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Roberts, Holding, Garner & Marshall - Lloyd's weapons that destroyed the world

Fast bowlers are a breed apart, which was best exemplified by the pacemen from the Caribbean. In the ’50s and ’60s West Indies hounded batsmen around the world with men like Wes Hall, Roy Gilchrist and Charlie Griffith. In the late ’70s and the whole of ’80s, the West Indian factory of pace bowling produced some breath-taking pacemen to send shivers down the batsmen’s spine with pace, bounce and guile. It was primarily due to the unrelenting terror struck by the high-quality fast bowlers that West Indies were such feared force in world cricket.

Clive Lloyd rotated four fast bowlers to ensure that there was no respite for the batsmen. Such was the quality of these fast bowlers that the nature of the wicket did not matter in asserting their authority. Though there was no stopping the West Indies fast bowling production line, but four men left a lasting mark in the history of the game – Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall, the nuclear weapons on whose strength Clive Lloyd maintained the West Indies’ aura of invincibility.

Andy Roberts was first in the line of great modern West Indian fast bowlers. After the decline of Hall and Griffith, there was a vacuum which undermined the traditional West Indian strength. Then a fast bowler emerged from Antigua, unsung and unheard till he started getting wickets in plenty cracking skulls and messing up faces. Roberts announced his arrival on the world scene. He was the spearhead of the Caribbean pace attack who was genuinely quick and could swing or cut the ball either ways. He had two shades of bouncers – the traditional one and the other where he kept the bowling fingers across the seam which left the best batsmen guessing.

In his first Test series against the Australians in 1975-76, Michael Holding wept as many of his appeals were turned down. But Holding came back from Down Under a wiser man. And in the Test series against England in 1976, he annihilated the Englishmen with the kind of pace that the world had not seen in a very long time. On a flat track at The Oval, his pace, control and guile is now part of Test cricket’s folklore. Holding’s run-up was poetry in motion and his silky run-up was deceptive. Holding earned the sobriquet “Whispering Death” because of his ability to ‘kill’ batsmen with grace.

Joel Garner, an imposing figure at 6 feet, 8 inch and 17 stone, generated speed and yet was astonishingly accurate. Garner was able to generate steep bounce from good length by virtue of his great height to make life miserable for the batsmen. To compound agony, Garner had the most lethal of yorkers – swinging in with a distinct buzz and threatening to rip apart the toes. Garner was mostly a stock bowler who came in after Roberts or Holding or Marshall had done much of the damage.

By the ’80s, Malcolm Marshall had developed into a lethal weapon and was hailed by many as the greatest fast bowlers in the history of cricket. He was not the stereotype fast bowler. For a West Indian fast bowler, he was just five feet ten inches. Again, he was even slender in comparison to the giants with whom he used to bowl. He generated speed with his rhythm, balance athleticism rather than strength. His run-up was not that long; it was sprint from the top of the top of his run-up culminating in a windmill kind of delivery action that made him astonishingly nippy in the air and off the wicket.

If Colin Croft wasn’t banned for touring the then apartheid South Africa, then the story of Malcolm Marshall may possibly not have been scripted.

These were Lloyd’s main weapon of terror who caused legalized mayhem around the world. 

Note: This article has been posted at Cricket Country on 12/07/2011 Roberts, Holding, Garner & Marshall - Lloyd's weapons that destroyed the world

Thank You

Faisal Caesar