Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s cricket’s own F-16 ‘bomber’ of a paceman, rated him to be the globe’s best batsman, following the fifth edition of the world’s premier quadrennial tournament — the World Cup — in the Antipodes (1992). Not only that. Younis placed him ahead of Brain Lara, who first smashed Gary Sobers’ ‘Everest’ of 365 into the second slot, and reached a personalised 400 later, in Test cricket. No small compliment that.
Martin Crowe (September 22, 1962-March 3, 2016), the batsman in question, for no fancy reason, was once the most accomplished batsman in the global context, thanks to his commensurate expertise in dealing with bullet-speed pace bowling without flaw in his technical, or artful, armoury. Younis was, once again, emphatic.He said that Lara, a cricketing miracle, had some weak spots outside his off-stump — not Crowe, a right-hander. Reads like a ‘sonographed’ commendation from a demonic fast bowler to an opposing batsman, who was all at sea against pace bowling during his (Test) initiation, or big-time cricket.
Fast bowlers are not really known for their sympathies, or admiration, for batsmen. That Crowe did not play more than a handful of Tests, before his early retirement from the game, and during the interregnum due to a nagging injury, is also over and above the point. Yet, he demonstrated his dexterous abilities a la Ted Dexter: character, and sublime grace, with the bat, prior to his final exit from the game, and quite early at that. In the process, he achieved a ‘saint-like’ status as a go-getter with a charming methodology, not to speak of great skills in conditions conducive to fast bowling — in all its nerve-rattling variety.
-30-
Copyright©Madras Courier, All Rights Reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from madrascourier.com and redistribute by email, post to the web, mobile phone or social media.Please send in your feed back and comments to editor@madrascourier.com
