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.
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