AB de Villiers bludgeons Windies

18/01/2015

“Life is all about taking the right decision, seeing Gayle bat today I think I took the right decision of being wicket-keeper”.  Recall the message tweeted by MS Dhoni when Chris Gayle massacred the Pune Warriors with his record-breaking 175 in the IPL-T-20-2013 edition.  Similar sentiments would be echoed  by many more teams and players on seeing the AB de Villier’s holocaust today, while most international bowlers must be sighing, “Thank God, we are not at its receiving end”.

What unfolded at Johannesburg can only be described as absolute carnage. The West Indian bowlers were annihilated by the Proteas batsmen, dominated by the captain Abraham Benjamin de Villiers.  The South African skipper shredded the record books at the New Wanderers Stadium with his sensational 44-ball 149 that is registered as the fastest century in the cricket history. 

Records galore

Studded with 16 sixes (sharing the record number of sixes with Rohit Sharma) and nine fours during his devastating knock, AB broke the record of New Zealand Corey Anderson’s 36-ball ton (2014).  AB’s  16-ball fifty followed by 31-ball 100, in today's One-Day International against the West Indies, kept the scorers and statisticians busy. The strike-rate flashed a whopping 338.63, whereas he stepped in to the wicket only after the fall of first wicket at 38.3 overs.  From the start of his innings, it was evident that AB was going to make it a special day, but little did anyone, including his own team mates– who were spellbound by his blitzkrieg.

In the fierce contest between fours and sixes from AB’s bat, the boundaries ultimately gave way for the big ones, and the calypsos left to be mere spectators.

A genius of batting innovations

As many as seven bowlers tried their luck, but … not today! The decimation inflicted on the bowlers, instead of making the rivals numb, turned them into AB’s fans, on the field. The helplessness of the bowlers was writ large on their faces, ball after ball sailing over the boundary ropes. The odd dot-balls,  far and few, reflected disbelief in the fielding side and the spectators alike.

Though the openers Hashim Amla (153 n.o.) and Rilee Rossow (128) posted an opening partnership of 247 runs, the captain’s domination was loud and clear to finally post a record total of 439/2 in 50 overs.  What stood out more than how much he scored or how much he spurred the team to an almost surreal total, was the way in which he dominated the rival bowling attack.  He took on every bowler and sent each one of them on a leather hunt, producing the big shots at will, and reached his century at frenetic 31 balls in an exhibition of ceaseless, remorseless hitting.

Colourful stadium, colourful spectators, colourful  South African team. AB De Villiers richly added content to the colour. The picturesque record appears to be safe and stay with the  ever-entertaining AB for a long time to come.

While it should send jitters to Indian cricket fans with the World Cup around the corner, AB deserves sport-hearted salute.  And if you are an RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) fan, add your extra quota.

You might ask what was the reply by the West Indies.  The flip side to these type of matches is that it makes the second half of the game a mere formality.

A magic indeed!

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Catches win Matches, yet "FIELDER" is never the Man of the Match !

Catches win Matches, yet "FIELDER" is never the Man of the Match !

I am a big cricket fan. 

1969-70.  India vs. Australia.  5th Test at Chennai (then Madras). 1st day’s play.  Australian  Batsman Doug Walters just  then completed a  chanceless century.  The last over of the day. Bowler – Bishen Bedi.   Penultimate delivery. Venkatraghavan, the customary gully fielder was moved to first slip. As the bowler delivered, the ball flew off the edge of Walters' bat.  Venkat simply turned around 180 degrees behind to snatch the ball just before it could kiss the grass.

If I could remember the qualitative ton of Walters, evenly I could recall the sparkling catch of Venkat, who easily was the best close-in fielder during that period, next to Eknath Solkar. From that day not only I became the fan of Venkat for his fielding, but also assumed the equal distinction of fielding as a vital department of the game, on lines with batting and bowling.

Cricket, has undergone a  tremendous change, both as a game in terms of format, and commercially in terms of money and fame. With the shorter version getting more and more  prominent, fielding also obviously gains its share of momentum.  If you take Indian cricket, say the same Test match cited above, you will observe that hardly two or three players will figure in the quality fielding category- Solkar and Venkat in the close-in fielding  and MAK Pataudi in the outfield. 

About four decades from then, we have, at times, seen Dhoni, struggling to hide seniors like Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar (all old legs) on the field. Today, it is not easy for a new entrant to contend for his place merely by being a bowler or batsman, but fielding is a definite must.

A run saved is a run scored.  Very true, we have seen that in the 1999 World Cup (SA vs Australia). The same WC, again, exposed Herschelle Gibbs not for just "dropping"  the catch of Steve Wagh, but the World Cup!  A top quality team like South Africa yet to win a World Cup!   Certain positions like "wicket keeping" and "slip" demands  more than constant alert. The pick & throw, astounding catches, diving stops, the stretch, the slide,  the fall, the stumping, direct hits .... The  fielding  grade, individual exceptions aside, has gone up by leaps and bounds, all glory to the ODIs, T20 and IPL.  Specialist fielding coaches are deployed in every team. The eminence given to fielding as a vital organ of the game is seen to be believed in terms of abnormal and acrobatic shows by some fielders. 

Now: Are the fielders getting their due?  Is media giving adequate coverage? Even media, correct me if I am wrong, only makes a passing reference to the fielding efforts vis-a-vis batting or bowling. Are the cricket pundits and bodies like BCCI bestowing the unbiased attention to the fielding department it deserves? Are they giving the due recognition to the the 'third department' of the game?  Are cricket fans showing the same level of support to fielders as they do to the batsmen and bowlers? Is fielding meted out a step-motherly treatment? Are we biased?

Is it that Man of the Match (MOM) belongs to the exclusive domain of batsman or an occasional bowler?  Is there any rule, restriction or guideline that denies the fielder to be the contender? Can somebody explain what parameters are considered by the match adjudicators in deciding the MOM?  Psychologically, the bias is loaded more in favour of batsman, sometimes the bowler, and never the fielder.  None of the three departments  can play or perform without the support of the other two.

Out of 11 players on the field, barring the bowler, the rest are the fielding majority.  Even the bowler has to be on guard to grab a caught & bowled opportunity.  When a wicket falls, however good the catch or stumping may be, all eyes are on the bowler and all the players go  around the bowler to jubiliate and greet, not that the fielder is neglected, but the degree certainly varies.

The bowler gets his credits and confidence invariably through the energetic and enthusiastic support of the fielders. What if catches are floored, stumpings are missed? I am  not even remotely suggesting to dilute the  merit of the bowler. But then, can a bowler perform independently?  How many times a bowler gets his victims only by "bowled" and "LBW"? Even Anil Kumble in his record scalp of 10 wickets against Pakistan, six  are through catches.  

It will be interesting to scan through the records of some of the best bowlers like Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Muthiah Muralidharan, Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee...  Out of their total tally of wickets, how many were "catches", how many were "bowled & LBWs". 

If a bowler at crucial times takes a couple of vital wickets, he immediately becomes a contender for MOM award.  If those wickets are due to some stunning catches, the fielder is not considered for any recognition.  If a batsman scores a ton, he raises his bat; If a bowler gets, say, five wickets, he is given the "match  ball" which he holds aloft. But if a fielder grabs 5 catches.....?  Of course, there is Karbon Kamaal Catch for the best catcher, but it is like giving a small tip to a bearer in a restaurant - utterly disproportionate value to the merit of the fielder and the game. 

More energy is required for maintaining a high stamina and standard throughout the innings. Even the fielder who is directly not involved in fielding must lookout to backup for the throws from other fielder on either side of the wicket.

Pataudi was titled the "Tiger" more for his fielding. Jonty Rhodes made people recognise him as an artist of fielding. While many players would consider fielding as a burden, Mohamed Azharuddin showed he was  an exceptional fielder, who enjoyed  his fielding like his batting.

Why not have some yardstick to consider:

A fielder/wicket-keeper seizing more than 5 victims, must be in the reckoning for the MOM.

Or, a separate award be instituted for the "best fielder of the match" and honour him along with the MOM.

A committee comprising of top fielding specialists and coaches like Jhonty Rhodes, Adam Gilchrist....  should  go into the subject of "according greater recognition for fielding", in greater depth. The notion of 'Fielding  as a relatively neglected segment" must be removed from the minds of the cricket players and cricket lovers.  With appropriate support and recognition, a day may come when a player will be selected in the playing XI sheerly as a specialist fielder even if he is an otherwise a part-time bowler or non-specialist batsman.

We all relish Chris Gayle clouting a 110-metre six, revel the straight drive of Sachin Tendulkar, but let us also look forward to rejoice the catch of the match  .... in the same measure.

http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/06/open-letter-to-sachin-tendulkar.html
http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/08/book-mark-rahul-dravid-timeless-steel.html

Your feedback is welcome at:  krs1957@hotmail.com

Book Mark: Rahul Dravid – Timeless Steel

Book Mark:  Rahul Dravid – Timeless Steel

Before even opening the book, my first impression is Rahul Dravid himself is a book. A career of the greatest ambassador of modern day cricket spanned with glorious, yet disciplined chapters! 

A collaborative effort of Disney and ESPNcricinfo,     "Rahul Dravid - Timeless Steel" is a noble collection of write-ups of what great stalwarts and writers like Greg Chappel, Sanjay Bangar, John Wright, Rahul Bhattacharya ..... think about ‘THE WALL’ and what the Indian maestro thinks about the game.  Articles, interviews, pictures... You can pick up any story, not to insist on continuity and read at will.  While some of the articles you might have already read, it is nevertheless  a satisfying page-turner  without much technical stuff and the  compiled hard-cover takes you through a pleasurable journey.

Suresh Menon in his  "The Talent Myth",  comprehensively convinced the reader when he countered Sanjay Manjrekhar's subtle doubts about Dravid's "talents".   Sanjay : "...you don't need to have great talent to become a sportsman is reinforced by Dravid's achievement".

Retorting to this as one of sport's big misconception, Menon went on:

"Fifteen years at the top level without talent? Over 10,000 runs each in two forms of the game without talent? Three test centuries at 39 in England without talent?...........  It was all about anticipation and positioning  rather than flamboyance and showmanship.  It is called talent."  I don't remember, any time later, Sanjay made any comment on talent, least of all Dravid!

Rahul Dravid, the first Indian to be invited to deliver the "Bradman Oration" (a classic inclusion of the book), harmonised multiple aspects of human existence without losing sight of his core competency - cricket.

The book goes on to show the respect and admiration he commands from one and all. With interviews of former India coaches, his childhood friends, teammates, noted sports journalists  - the title offers great perceptions into the personality.  The book gives plenty of hidden insights that makes him a complete human being, professional and personal.  A genuine embodiment of the best traditions and values of the game!

While the 256-page collection of 30 write-ups is a tribute to one of world cricket’s top legend, it is very much a book on the Indian maestro that brings out the  stories of struggles and sacrifices, relives the great victories and defeats, bidding to showcase the sincerity of Mr. Dependable.

Well, is the penmanship incomplete without an eminent literary prose of Harhsa Bhogle? Just a thought!

A few sparkles from the text:

"Sachin Tendulkar was India's batsman of the '90s; Rahul Dravid made the 2000s his own". 

"There is a normalcy about him that is almost abnormal". (Sambit Bal, Editor, ESPNcricinfo)

"Watching him bat was like watching the movement of an old-fashioned clock: the pendulum working, gears and levers moving in perfect, elaborate accord to strike the hour when it is due and not a second earlier". (Mukul Kesavan, A writer based in New Delhi)

"In the trinity of Indian batsmanship - Sunil Gavaskar, Dravid and Tendulkar - each had a defined (and defining) role. They were the Creator, Preserver and the Destroyer respectively.  Dravid was as tough and as professional as they come, yet with a moral centre that was uncompromising". (Suresh Menon, Editor, Wisden Cricketers' Almanac)

"Dravid's basic talent can be found in many, but what has made of it is the rare, almost unbelievable, Dravid story". (Sanjay Manjarekar, Former India batsman)

"In cricket, as in life, it is not the most talented who  survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change. Dravid's career was an eternal quest to get better". (Akash Chopra, Former India opener).

"I always treat nets as a match. I really hate getting out in the nets. I create the sort of intensity that I would need in a match. Driving and edging in the nets is not okay with me". (Dravid in an interview).

"One word has attached itself to Dravid wherever he has gone; gentleman.  He is a man of substance, morally serious and intellectually curious". (Ed Smith, Former England player, and shared dressing room with Dravid in the English county)

"Had he (Dravid) been given the same whole-hearted support in the role he had given others, I think the history of Indian cricket may have been very different and he could have gone to become the most successful Indian captain ever". (Greg Chappel).

 “Dravid could play attacking cricket like me, but I could never play like him”. (Chris Gayle)

"He does not have an ego and can easily concentrate on the next ball after he has been beaten by one". (Sanjay Bangar, Former India Player).

"It was difficult at times for me to  decide who was better: Rahul Dravid the human being or Rahul Dravid the cricketer". (Fazal Khaleel, former Karnataka player)

"The caricature often made of Indian cricket and its cricketers in the rest of the world is that we are pampered superstars - overpaid, underworked, treated like a cross between royalty and rock stars.......

"Disrespecting fans is disrespecting the game".  (Dravid in the Bradman Oration).

If you are a cricket lover, straight away start reading!

If you are a Dravid  fan, buy, read and treasure!!

http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2014/05/cricket-where-is-gentleman.html
http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/08/catches-win-matches-yet-fielder-is.html
http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/06/open-letter-to-sachin-tendulkar.html