Capturing cricket’s varying hues

July 14, 2014 09:59 pm | Updated 09:59 pm IST

MID-WICKET TALES — From Trumper to Tendulkar: S. Giridhar and V. J. Raghunath; Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd., B 1/I-1, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area, Mathura Road, New Delhi-110044. Rs. 525.

MID-WICKET TALES — From Trumper to Tendulkar: S. Giridhar and V. J. Raghunath; Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd., B 1/I-1, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area, Mathura Road, New Delhi-110044. Rs. 525.

Cricket’s varying hues are like a tapestry, delicate yet complex. Here rummaging emotions swirl around the protagonists yet this is a game of undeniable romance.

In the many-layered canvas of cricket, brush strokes of genius and joy abound. So are colours of pain and despair. In the game’s labyrinth, resides an ancient heartbeat.

The moment flies way, memories remain. Cricket’s spirit might have been flouted from time to time, but its soul still stands sentinel; even when seemingly suffused by scandals and chaos.

Here, there is no last flicker of a guttering candle. Cricket is a survivor.

At its very core, cricket is a sport of amateurs. Australian legend, Victor Trumper, his protective gear scarce, dancing down to fast men on sticky wickets, encapsulated the game’s essence. Courage is its motif.

And when Sachin Tendulkar, light on feet, whipped up gorgeous strokes on both sides with technical purity and panache, the mind travelled back to Mumbai’s Kanga league in mesmerising monsoons.

Mid-Wicket Tales — From Trumper to Tendulkar celebrates the game with gusto and sincerity. The insightful work has its finger on the pulse, delves deep.

Penned by management executive S. Giridhar and V. J. Raghunath, a mechanical engineer with first division cricket experience in both Mumbai and Chennai (there are tales here from both these leagues), the book has energy and passion. It’s analytical, dissects technique, explores various facets but, crucially, never forgets cricket’s unsung men — talented players who missed out on Tests.

In cricket’s mosaic, character, best showcased in Test cricket, is critical. The longest form of the game, that has undergone major catharsis, is the book’s hub.

The picture is perfect before the readers’ mind-eye in the section ‘The thrill of close-in catching.’

“As B.S. Chandrasekhar would run in to bowl and the Culcutta crowd’s roar reached a crescendo, the batsman would already be on edge. At pick-pocketing distance from him (the batsman) was Solkar. Out of sight, just behind him was Abid Ali. Out of the corner of his eye he could also see Venkat, bucket-sized hands, chewing gum, supremely confident at close gully. Wadekar seemed to be lounging at slip but would not drop anything that came his way. The pressure on the batsman was unimaginable,” the book remembers.

In this fascinating chapter, the authors are puzzled by the reluctance of modern slip catchers to adjust their positions according to the pace of the ball and the carry off the pitch. Most of them stand too deep for conventional edges.

Australia’s Bobby Simpson is the greatest slip catcher, according to the authors. “He has his unique style. While the bowler — Alan Davidson, Graham McKenzie or Neil Hawke — ran up to bowl, he would be squatting on his haunches, left knee lower than the right. As the bowler delivered the ball, Simpson would come up. He hardly dropped anything and rarely dived or lunged to take a catch.”

Slip catching, indeed, is a blend of anticipation, concentration, economy of movement and reflexes.

Much as balance is central to quality batsmanship.

But then, even men with this precious attribute were, on occasions, given a torrid time by those magnificent men with speed. Fast and furious bowlers such as ‘Typhoon Tyson’ (Frank Tyson) and ‘Whispering Death’ (Michael Holding) are not forgotten.

Among left-arm pacemen, Wasim Akram and Alan Davidson are at the acme. Notes the book about the great Aussie, Davidson, “For someone as broad as Davo, his action was amazing. He seemed to glide in and bowled with such control, taking the ball away from left-handed openers. He would suddenly bring it in to surprise the left-hander moving across the crease and bowl him leg-stump behind his back.” That was deadly swing.

Among the game’s myriad charms is the mystique of spin. From Jack Iverson to Sonny Ramadhin, to the ‘Fab Four’ of Bishen Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekar and Srinivas Venkatraghavan, to Shane Warne, many aspects and nuances of this hazardous and varied art, are discussed and debated.

In a delicious nugget, the story of Chennai’s famous leg-spinner V.V. Kumar challenging a specialist batsman that he would not be able to touch any of his next 10 deliveries and accomplishing the feat is recalled.

The right-handed stylists, Gundappa Viswanath, Zaheer Abbas and V.V.S Laxman among them, conjured magic. And then there were the left-handed enchanters such as Neil Harvey who gambolled at the crease.

Recounts Raghunath about this captivating Australian, “As a boy of 10, when I saw him score 37 in Madras, I was mesmerised by the flair, dancing feet and the flashing blade.”

The openers and the opening pairs regularly walked into unknown territory — a fresh pitch on day one — and the feats of Sunil Gavaskar & company are brought into focus.

What, though, is cricket without leadership? England’s Mike Brearley read the game as well as he gauged the mind of his players. The legendary Don Bradman once sent his tailenders to open in difficult conditions since they would not be good enough to get a nick!

And England captain Peter May chose to carry on in pouring rain since he did not want Barbados to be robbed of a win. That was nobility.

Of course, there is a chapter on the ‘600 sit-ups a day men’, the wicket-keepers; a thankless job demanding strength, commitment and belief.

Dotted with photographs and illustrations, the book has rare and diverse statistics. Noted media personality Harsha Bhogle has written the foreword.

Conversations with the erudite Rahul Dravid, the moody but gracious Salim Durrani, and the multi-faceted Venkatraghavan are featured too.

The book is, both, an informative and a racy read.

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