Excerpts from Indra Vikram Singh's book 'Don's Century' ..... 30 - Chapter 7 : PEERLESS RUNGETTER AND OTHER MASTERS OF THE WILLOW (35. Matthew Hayden)

('Don's Century' is a book on the cricket career and life of Don Bradman, paying tribute to him in 2008, the year of his birth centenary. It is also a panorama of batting from the 1860s onwards featuring 35 of the greatest batsmen and discussing whether Don Bradman was indeed the greatest of them all).

For long his colleague Matthew Hayden sizzled in the first-class game, but fizzled at the highest level. His successes for Queensland did not translate into performances of any note for Australia. His first stint was mediocre and he was dropped. The big man continued to persevere, scoring heavily in domestic cricket, finally making his breakthrough at the age of 29 in the 2000-01 series in India. It has been forgotten that in that big turnaround in the Kolkata Test, engineered by the Herculean partnership between V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid, Hayden was a star performer for Australia with scores of 97 and 67. Since then the southpaw did not look back. Each year from 2001 to 2005 he hit up 1000 Test runs. Forging highly successful left-handed opening partnerships, with Adam Gilchrist in the One-dayers and Justin Langer in Tests, Hayden played a key role in Australia’s golden run.

The big bully advanced menacingly down the pitch, almost intimidating the bowlers like a giant caveman brandishing a chunky club. He did actually club the ball with his booming drives, rasping cuts and thundering pulls. The most menacing hitter since Ian Botham, Hayden slammed pacemen and spinners alike. His one weakness was his tendency to play a shot too many in his quest to dominate the bowling, thereby often giving his wicket away.

In their heyday this century, the Australians came to be hailed for their quick scoring. This was mainly courtesy the rousing starts Hayden gave with his partners. In the Tests they would hammer the new ball around and Australia invariably clocked four runs an over. In the shorter version, Hayden and Gilchrist would knock up six to seven runs an over in the first fifteen overs with the field in. That was the foundation for the incredible success Australia achieved during his fruitful days at the top of the order.

Hayden’s moment of euphoria, of course, was when he broke Lara’s Test record, blasting 380 against Zimbabwe at Perth on October 10, 2003. The bowling may have been ordinary, but it was a terrific display of hitting. Hayden struck 38 fours and 11 sixes - 218 in boundaries alone - off just 437 balls in 10 hours and 22 minutes. He took 208 deliveries to reach his hundred, and then just 229 more for the rest of his 280 runs. The Perth wicket was not as fast and bouncy as of yore, and with the ball coming nicely on to the bat, Hayden made merry. India’s former captain S. Venkataraghavan, who was umpiring that match told The Times of India, “He’s just so uninhibited. Nothing seemed to bother him.”

Just over six months later on April 12, 2004 Lara snatched the record back. Hayden bludgeoned his way through to 8625 runs at an average of 50.73 with 30 hundreds in his 103 Tests. In the One-dayers Hayden slammed 6133 runs at an average of 43.80, and a strike-rate of 78.96. An essential part of Ponting’s all-conquering World Cup team, Hayden hit the then fastest century in the competition off 66 balls against South Africa at St. Kitts in 2007. He also had the highest aggregate in that tournament with 659 runs at an average of 73.22 with three hundreds in 11 matches. One of the hardest hitting opening batsmen in history, Hayden’s contribution to Australian cricket has been matched by few.

These have been some of the very best batsmen down history. Others like Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Virender Sehwag will surely find their way in history. It is remarkable how the name Bradman keeps cropping up while discussing most of them. This is indicative of the standards Bradman set, and against which most batsmen are rated. Some of the top-class batsmen of the modern era like, to name a few, Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq, who rendered yeomen service to Pakistan in contrasting styles, but did not quite stir the senses consistently; and Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Mohammad Yousuf, technically sound and prolific scorers, but rarely dominant; have not been discussed at length in these pages. In terms of figures they have been close to the top, but inspirational they have seldom been. Indeed Kallis has an allround Test record that has now surpassed the multi-faceted Sobers, and at similar averages! But it would be hard to place Kallis in the same league as Sobers. The very great players have an aura quite distinct.

Statistically, nobody has been able to remotely challenge Bradman and, in a paradox to the Sobers-Kallis reasoning, it is difficult to anoint another batsman as being greater than The Don. Bradman was indeed unique, matchless - to put it in corporate parlance - in terms of output, quality, productivity and profitability, a winner and a leader by a long, long way.

(Statistics in Don’s Century are updated till 27th August 2011, the 103rd birth anniversary of Sir Donald Bradman).

Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com.

Follow Indra Vikram Singh on Twitter @IVRajpipla.

Indra Vikram Singh’s latest books 

published by Sporting Links:

A Maharaja’s Turf   ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket   ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Don’s Century   ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Crowning Glory   ISBN 978-81-901668-6-7

Available online on several websites.

Distributed in India by :  

Variety Book Depot 

AVG Bhawan, 

M-3, Middle Circle, Connaught Circus,

New Delhi-110 001, India. 
Tel. + 91 11 23417175, 23412567.

Excerpts from Indra Vikram Singh's book 'Don's Century' ..... 29 - Chapter 7 : PEERLESS RUNGETTER AND OTHER MASTERS OF THE WILLOW (34. Ricky Ponting)

A batsman who occupied the no. 1 slot for several years is Ricky Ponting. For long the Australians said he was as good as Tendulkar, but this was often dismissed as hype bordering on jingoism. In his early days he seemed to be a brash young man, the naughty boy of the team. He also lived in the shadow of the Waugh twins. The mischievous look remains, but as he matured - which coincided with being handed the captaincy - Ponting quickly scaled the peak. In 2003 he hit up 1503 runs in 11 Tests at 100.20 per innings. In 2005 he amassed 1544 runs in 15 Tests at an average of 67.13, the sole batsman to notch up 1500 runs in a calendar year twice.

Not surprisingly for an Australian, Ponting is the one of the top batsmen against pace. Forever looking to get on to the front foot with an exaggerated pick up of the bat, he is quick to rock back and pull or hook. He has not always been happy against spin. Steve Waugh’s famous ‘final frontier’ series of 2000-01 in India was miserable for Ponting. Young off-spinner Harbhajan Singh mesmerised him, claiming his wicket in all five innings for 0,6,0,0,11.

In the 2007-08 series in Australia, Harbhajan once more troubled Ponting, dismissing him cheaply in the first Test at Melbourne, and then again in the first innings at Sydney. One got the impression that the Australians pressed charges against Harbhajan because they wanted to shift his focus away from the game. Whatever the truth, Harbhajan did not bother Ponting again in the series.

Despite this, there can be no denying that Ponting has been among the best batsmen in the world for many years. Having become the seventh to reach 10,000 Test runs - now stationed at 12,363 - with an average of 53.51 and 39 hundreds, Ponting would be vying with the likes of Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis to pass Lara’s record aggregate and set new benchmarks.       

In One-day Internationals Ponting has logged 13,602 runs, more than 4500 runs behind Tendulkar, with an average of 42.77, strike-rate of 80.59 and 30 centuries. His moment of glory in One-dayers came in the final of the 2003 World Cup at Johannesburg when he virtually finished the match even before India batted. His unbeaten 140 with a record 8 sixes ensured that the ICC World Cup stayed with Australia.

Ponting’s captaincy record in the World Cup is magical. His team won 22 matches in a row - 11 each in 2003 and 2007 - a feat that is unlikely to be matched and went another five matches in 2011 without defeat. Just as Steve Waugh’s side had a hiccup in India in 2000-01, Ponting’s outfit lost the Ashes in 2005. That was the first time Australia lost the Ashes since 1986-87, after winning an unprecedented eight successive series against the Old Enemy. Ponting’s team then bounced back at home, reclaiming the Ashes in style by 5-0 in 2006-07. His side also equalled the feat of Steve Waugh’s men by winning 16 Tests in a row in that acrimonious game at Sydney in 2007-08, full of umpiring howlers.

Of late the sheen has worn off a bit in Ponting’s career. His form has dipped somewhat, and there were even calls to sack him from the captaincy after that controversial Sydney Test. Peter Roebuck went to the extent of writing that Ponting had turned the Australian team into a “pack of wild dogs.” That might be going a bit too far, but his side lost the One-day triangular finals 2-0 to India. With two successive series losses in the Ashes, and the World Cup crown taken away in 2011, it was inevitable that he would relinquish the captaincy. Ponting can now focus on his batting.

(Statistics in Don’s Century are updated till 27th August 2011, the 103rd birth anniversary of Sir Donald Bradman).

Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com.

Indra Vikram Singh’s latest books 

published by Sporting Links:

A Maharaja’s Turf   ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket   ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Don’s Century   ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Crowning Glory   ISBN 978-81-901668-6-7

Available online on several websites.

Distributed in India by :  

Variety Book Depot 

AVG Bhawan, 

M-3, Middle Circle, Connaught Circus,

New Delhi-110 001, India. 

Tel. + 91 11 23417175, 23412567.

Excerpts from Indra Vikram Singh's book 'Don's Century' ..... 28 - Chapter 7 : PEERLESS RUNGETTER AND OTHER MASTERS OF THE WILLOW (33. Brian Lara)

When in the mood, Brian Lara was a genius, no less. Caribbean flair, and not any textbook principles, was the hallmark of his batting. High backlift, braced knees, a hop this way and that in the crease, flashing blade and terrific bat speed, and deft wrist-work on either side of the wicket were characteristics of his inimitable style. When he put his mind to it, he was amongst the very best ever, in the traditional form perhaps next only to Bradman.

As super success embraced him, Lara was quick to assume the airs of a megastar. Petulance, brushes with authority and stormy personal life began to cast a shadow over his career. For a long time it seemed that he might go the way of so many hugely talented sportsmen like George Best who frittered away their God-given gifts and ultimately destroyed themselves.

It is said that the pressure of expectations got the better of Lara. To his credit, he broke free of the stupor and applied his mind to his batting, returning as one of the greatest rungetters the game has seen. The difference between Lara and Tendulkar - hugely talented as both are in their unique ways - was that Tendulkar remained grounded, a dedicated player, committed team man, modest and content in the security of family life. He never allowed the unprecedented adulation to swamp him, nor did the burden of having to perform constantly stifle him. He sailed along, darling of millions, everyone’s very own endearing Sachin. If he had a flaw, as we have already discussed, it was that he would get carried away by his own brilliance and give his wicket away when there were many, many more runs for the taking.

That 277 at Sydney in 1992-93, Lara’s first Test hundred, when the West Indies were desperately defending their status as top dogs, was only advance notice of what was to follow. Lara emulated Bradman by holding the records for the highest scores in Tests as well as first-class cricket. Sir Garfield Sobers walked on to the Antigua Recreation Ground to embrace Lara as the new hero went past his Test record. In that 1993-94 series against England, Lara hit up 798 runs at an average of 99.75.

The world had still not stopped applauding Lara when he astounded everyone by piling up an unbeaten 501 for Warwickshire versus Durham at Birmingham. It was a new frontier - as a famous television series on space odysseys declared - where no man had gone before. In a matter of days he did what no batsman, not Grace nor Bradman, had done in 117 years. The English bowlers must have dreaded the sight of his punishing blade as he carved out 765 runs in the six-Test series on their soil in 1995 at an average of 85.

In between, Lara had not relished the slower wickets of India during the 1994-95 series. Not long after, when the euphoria of having scaled great highs so early in his career wore off, Lara began appearing listless and disinterested. It was akin to the feeling of unease that Bradman experienced in 1932, but Lara’s malaise was more severe. Bradman never allowed his performances to dip, Lara could not defy his slump.

He recovered, to the good fortune of cricket-lovers around the world. The first sign of a turnaround came in 1998-99. That season his stock had slumped to abysmal depths in South Africa as the West Indies were trounced 5-0 in the Test series. Then they were beaten by Australia in the first Test at home. There were shrill voices all around demanding that Lara be stripped of the captaincy. And then he struck. He scored a superb 213 to lead the West Indies to victory over Steve Waugh’s side at Kingston. In the very next Test at Bridgetown he carried his team to an exhilarating one-wicket triumph with a stupendous unbeaten 153. So gripping was the game that the Jamaican prime minister postponed meetings to watch the finale. The West Indies actually led the series 2-1 now, and Lara was again being hailed as a superhero everywhere. This was akin to Bradman’s stirring fightback in 1936-37, but not quite as decisive in the end. The Australians eventually levelled the series, but Lara had once again shown what he was really capable of.

The big turnaround eventually came in 2001-02 in the Emerald Island after a prolonged illness. He began with his 221 off the Sri Lankan bowling at Colombo in that landmark season. In three Tests, Lara scored 668 runs at an average of 114.66 with 3 hundreds. Though he suffered a serious arm injury as a result of a mid-pitch collision, he came back stronger than ever. Since that series, in the last six years till his retirement from Test cricket in 2006-07, he scored an average of a Test double century a year.        

When Sri Lanka made a return visit to the Caribbean islands the next season, Lara slammed 209 at Gros Islet. After he regained the captaincy in 2003, and perhaps consumed by a burning desire to finish his career in a blaze of glory, Lara was unstoppable. He played two big knocks in the 2003-04 season. He first slammed 202 against South Africa at Johannesburg. During the course of that innings he hit the highest number of runs in an over in Test cricket. He smashed Robin Peterson for 4.6.6.4.4.4, a total of 28 runs.

Matthew Hayden had taken away Lara’s Test record that season. The Prince of Trinidad, though, was not ready to be dethroned. And so Hayden had the pleasure, and privilege, of being Test cricket’s top-scorer for only a few months.  Lara returned to the same venue and against the very opponents of a decade earlier and reclaimed his coveted record. Again he went to a territory no Test cricketer had treaded before, reaching 400 before he returned unconquered. He had emulated Bradman by hitting up two scores of 300-plus in Test cricket. India’s Virender Sehwag joined the club at Chennai in 2007-08. But while Bradman was never able to reset the Test record, Lara, incredibly, got it back. That there was a gap of a decade between the two high watermarks, makes his achievements even more laudable.

PROGRESSION OF RECORD INDIVIDUAL SCORES 
IN TEST CRICKET

165*   Charles Bannerman   Aus v Eng   1876-77

211     Bill Murdoch              Aus v Eng   1884    

287     Reginald Foster          Eng v Aus   1903-04

325     Andy Sandham         Eng v WI     1929-30

334     Don Bradman            Aus v Eng   1930

336*   Wally Hammond       Eng v NZ     1932-33

364     Len Hutton                Eng v Aus    1938

365*   Gary Sobers                WI v Pak     1957-58

375     Brian Lara                 WI v Eng      1993-94

380     Matthew Hayden     Aus v Zim    2003-04

400*   Brian Lara                 WI v Eng      2003-04

           

Then in Adelaide in 2005-06, as if to rub it into the Aussies, Lara overtook Allan Border’s record Test aggregate, celebrating his achievement by bringing up another double century, hitting up 226. In a final hurrah, Lara crashed 216 against Pakistan at Multan in 2006-07, his last season. He blazed to what was the tenth-quickest hundred in Test cricket, off a mere 77 deliveries, blasting 26 runs - 4.0.6.6.6.4 - off a Danish Kaneria over. Lara has nine scores of 200 or more in Test cricket, second only to Bradman, who had twelve.

He walked away from the Test arena with 11,953 runs in his kitty at an average of 52.88 with 34 centuries in 131 matches. He did many things that Bradman did not manage - the Test record twice, 500 in first-class cricket, 400 in a Test innings, and the highest aggregate. Was Lara better than Tendulkar? This depends on which aspects of the game you cherish more. For nonchalantly churning out huge scores, Lara was in the top bracket; for performing steadily and mastering all types of bowling and conditions in both forms of the game, Tendulkar has few peers.          

PROGRESSION OF RECORD AGGREGATES 
IN TEST CRICKET (above 1000 runs)

                                    Runs   Tests    HS      Ave     100s   Year

A. Shrewsbury (E)     1,277     23     164     35.47      3      1893

C. Hill (A)                   3,412     49    191     39.21       7     1912

J.B. Hobbs (E)             5,410     61    211     56.94     15     1930

W.R. Hammond (E)   7,249     85    336*   58.45     22     1947

M.C. Cowdrey (E)     7,624   114    182     44.06     22   1971-75

G.S. Sobers (WI)         8,032     93    365*    57.78     26     1974

G. Boycott (E)             8,114   108    246*    47.72     22     1982

S.M. Gavaskar (I)     10,122   125    236*    51.12     34     1987

A.R. Border (A)        11,174   156    205     50.56     27     1994

B.C. Lara (WI)          11,953   131    400*    52.88     34     2006

S.R. Tendulkar (I)     14,965   181    248*    56.25    51     2011

Lara joined Tendulkar as the only batsmen then to score 10,000 runs in Tests as well as One-day Internationals. Dravid, Ponting and Jacques Kallis joined the club later. In 299 One-dayers Lara accumulated 10,405 runs at an average of 40.48 and strike-rate of 79.51, with 19 hundreds. In the World Cup he scored two brilliant match-winning hundreds against South Africa, in the 1996 quarter-final, and the opening encounter in 2003. He has the third-highest aggregate of 1225 runs in the showpiece event - behind Tendulkar and Ponting - at an average of 42.24 and strike-rate of 86.26. The fastest fifty of the competition stood to his name, off 23 balls against Canada at Centurion in 2003, until bettered in 2007.

For all his dazzling strokeplay, one often did not hear the thump of the ball against Lara’s bat. That was the result of his inimitable wristwork. He would guide the ball to untenanted areas of the field all round the wicket. What was utterly fascinating was that he did this on the rise to the slow bowlers as well, allowing the ball to turn, and then flicking it wherever he fancied. To work away a quick bowler is easy. To have done it to a spinner - and on the rise - is what made Lara extraordinary.

(Statistics in Don’s Century are updated till 27^th August 2011, the 103^rd birth anniversary of Sir Donald Bradman).

Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com.

Indra Vikram Singh’s latest books 
published by Sporting Links:

A Maharaja’s Turf   ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket   ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Don’s Century   ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Crowning Glory   ISBN 978-81-901668-6-7

Distributed in India by :  

Variety Book Depot 

AVG Bhawan, 

M-3, Middle Circle, Connaught Circus,

New Delhi-110 001, India. 

Tel. + 91 11 23417175, 23412567.