Legends of the Ball


TV has played a huge (and largely unacknowledged) role in making the legend called Warne or for that matter any sportsperson of this generation. There is no bigger joy than watching the camera capture and replay the revolutions on a Warney delivery and the magic being executed as it roughs up soil and dishes venom to take the outside edge or the stumps of a flummoxed batter. Right since the ball of the century, every delivery that Warne has sent down has been mesmerizing to one and all, the cameras of course adding to all the effect. I can’t imagine how boring it would have been to watch Warne bowl just using the run of the mill cameras which would never have been able to capture positioning of the seam and the rip off the wicket. Mc Grath too with his consistent seam position and the subtle variations that could unnerve the best, was unraveled by some great camera work.

On the players side, videos of Warne have been studied to death by opposition teams, not with too much success though. In fact its an essential part of any coach’s repertoire now, promoted initially by the celebrated Woolmer.

I wonder whether the percolation of Warne’s greatness, or for that matter Sachin and Lara’s genius strokeplay, to public at large would have been complete if we didn’t have some great cameras at work.

Post script: Mc Grath and Warne both retiring in one go have huge implications on how the Aussies will fill in those big boots. While I don’t have access to stats of this kind, am sure just like fast bowlers hunted in pairs, this was a unique pace and spin combination that beat a lot of the Thommo Lillee, Wasim Waqar, Curtly Courtney combinations. Can remember numerous times when Mc Grath had cleaned up the top order with his first spell and then Warne did the rest in with his turners. In fact caught Warne at slips bowled Mc Grath is also ubiquitous. Can’t quite remember a unique combination of this sort that has been so deadly. The other closest pair that comes to mind is that of Murali and Vaas but then they haven’t been as consistent in all conditions.

Comments

Chandru said…
One example that comes to mind, although not as lethal as warne-mcgrath or murali-vaas...but the period between 93 and '00 on Indian pitches did give us one such pair- Kumble & Srinath, a pair that won us many matches, notably the SA series around 96-97 and many other home series
December 27, 2006 5:08 pm
Ajith said…
Yup very true chandru....though with Kumble's injuries one feels that this duo didn't quite achieve what it could have....
ajith
December 27, 2006 5:18 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Begs the Question

Beggars are as much a part of Mumbai as the Gateway of India. Over the last 10 years of actively roaming around the city, the no of cars have increased and so have the no of beggars. What has also changed is the kind of beggars in the city. The first kind of beggar that I encountered was the simple woebegone face kinds who would sit by the roadside and keep uttering monosyllables the year round. There was no strategy of any kind in place, and the adage beggars can’t be choosers used to get played out. Most of them seemed fatalistic. As the economy evolved and liberalized, so did beggars. For one, I think even the beggar economy opened up. There were a lot many more beggars because there was a lot many more economic activity (and hence money to be handed out) and a lot many more people. The quality of begging also changed. Some beggars, in order to differentiate their pitch, started to exhibit their skills. So you had harmonium totting kids and adults causing disharmony in trains. Strat
Read more

Plane Truths II

Image
Continuing my series of what happens to me in relation to airplanes, I have a gem to share. The wrestle of the arm rest can be quite irritating especially when both adversaries want it equally badly. The war of course is lost right at the beginning if one of the adversaries has an arm that's armrest size! My Chennai to Mumbai flight was spent in half a seat, with me folded up around an imaginary vertical axis, actually measuring kilometers to Mumbai and counting down time. I thought I was lucky to get a window seat, my luck ended the moment the middle seat next to me and half of my seat got occupied by a gargantuan who was impersonating a human being. Arm rest was the first casualty, I gave it up in the first 5 secs; my midriff also was being molested constantly by the elbow of the beast. Am not slightly built either but I know how to mark my territory out and contain my body within. Land grabbing was being rendered a new meaning by my sizable neigbour and I felt a bit like Papua N
Read more

Footpath- quite pedestrian

Image
I grew up in a Govt. colony in Mumbai. This meant that I had the luxury of a lot of things that were absent in the city outside campus. One of these was the footpath. Right since I was a toddler, I was instructed to keep to the footpath, lest I get in the path of a ‘speeding’ Fiat (that’s an oxymoron). That might sound funny, but the inherent message was clear, steer clear of the motorist. In a city where cars outnumber themselves everyday, it’s become a challenge to find a footpath. Most of you might have noticed this but its worth reiterating. 1. Footpaths do exist. Just that above them also exist a layer called hawkers. This layer is more permanent than pedestrian aspirations and difficult to remove. 2. Footpaths do exist. Just that above them frequently is a mosaic of human excreta, with some dog poo thrown in between. Nearby slums can’t do their bit on the highway can they and there’s nowhere else to go. 3. Footpaths do exist. Just that often the BMC or MTNL or MMRDA or such body
Read more