The Storm has come to Rest…!

It has clocked 140 km/hr... 145 km... 148 km... 150 km... 152 km... 155 km... till it reached 160 km/hr. That was how Brett Lee used to bowl. A real speed diamond of Australia’s pace mine. If we are to choose top three fast bowlers of last decade, Brett Lee would stand first along with Shoib Akhtar and Dale Steyn. His run-up, approach to the crease, jump, fiery delivery, and the typical celebration by jumping in the air, were always fascinating to watch. Be it a One-day, Test match, or 20-20, we all loved his bowling spell. In fact, watching him bowl against top batsmen like Tendulkar, Lara, Pieterson, gave us the real pleasure of true cricketing contest. In the crowd of senseless matches, we always search for the tussle between a champion bowler and a class batsman. Brett Lee was one of them.

I remember his debut against India in the 1999 tour in Australia. Before that match, Steve Waugh had said, “Be ready to face the fastest bowler in the world!” Indian team was most fragile during that period. It could not handle the fiery spell from this smart young bowler and living to the reputation of succumbing against genuine pace, Indian batsmen opted to put their weapons down. Brett Lee got five wicket haul in his first appearance.

 

Australia’s team was Alexander’s troop with invincible warriors in that reign. So in the initial phase, Brett Lee could not get all the matches to play and he played the secondary role. Mainly characterized by fast out-swingers and late in-swingers, Brett Lee also gave the taste of brutal bouncers to top batsmen. Ask Brandan Macculam who spilled blood when hit by Lee, even after wearing the helmet; ask Chanderpaul who fell on ground after getting hit on the head.

In a cricketing world where all the fast bowlers tend to be arrogant, sledger, and furious, Brett Lee was an exception to large extent. Even his sledging would be friendly and of simple words, most of the times. After trying hard or getting the wicket in critical condition, his celebration would reflect his passion and satisfaction of the job being done. Like every Aussie cricketer, he also played cricket with pride, passion, never-give-up spirit. In the 2011 World Cup quarter final against India, he tried till the end despite getting bruise on his eyebrow. 

 

There are very few cricketers who have other skills apart from their duty. Brett Lee is fond of playing guitar. He loved not only his bowling but also his guitar. His song with Asha Bhosale was a good experiment.

We will always remember him as a big hearted fellow, genuine Speed-diamond, pride of fast bowler’s species. After terrorizing the batsmen for 13 years, Brett Lee - The Storm has come to REST..!


Ritesh R. Kadam
rityakadam@rediffmail.com
Cell: 9011020015

Boucher: An Under-rated Wicket-Keeper

People often speak about difficult aspects of the game called Cricket. Which one is the most difficult task - batting, bowling, or fielding? Batting requires great skill, bowling requires extensive ability, fielding requires the desire and natural skill. But, what about wicket-keeping? Handling the position behind wickets is as difficult as………….! Wicket-keeper is the one who gets first impression of the wicket.  Planning the strategy of match, under sea-saw condition of the match, guessing the batsman’s move and nowadays, taking the judgment on using limited DRS facility, WK plays a very critical role. On a fast track, a good wicket-keeper boosts the confidence of fast bowlers; on a spinning track, the reflexes of wicket-keeper steal the wicket of batsman, even on a narrow margin stumping. He sometimes acts as a catalyst with sledging stuff to disturb the batsman.

Balance of any team depends on two key players, one - genuine all-rounder and two - wicket-keeper batsman (ask India the value of a WK batsman, before they found Dhoni...). All the great teams at their peak, had best wicket-keeper with good batting skills. Pak had Moin Khan; New Zealand had Adam Parore; Aussies had Rodney Marsh, Gilchrist; Zimbabwe had Andy Flower; Sri Lanka had Kaluwitharna, and currently the elegant Sanga; India had Kirmani; England had Alan Knot, Alec Stewart; West Indies had Jeff Dujon; and South Africa had Boucher!

Introduced in 1997 as successor of Dave Richardson, Mark Boucher showed his skills and ability, not only in keeping wickets, but also as a batsman right from the start. In ODI's, he played the role of pinch-hitter to great effect. His characteristic as a batsman was his typical On-Drive and Slog-Sweep. He always added extra and useful runs in coordination with lower order batsmen. South Africa was always rich with bowling all-rounders, so his contribution, most of the time, got sidelined. We discuss about Sachin’s 100th century, records surpassed by the batsman, record number of tests played by a player, maximum wickets taken by a bowler... But Boucher played 147 Tests in 15 years and reached to the record number of dismissals in Tests (555) and ODI's (425), without any bang. Though he was not a high profile cricketer, throughout his career, he kept himself out of any controversy or fame, but KEPT very well behind the wicket in a quiet way.

Tribute to “Bouch” for his contribution to the game and cricket S. Africa!


Ritesh R. Kadam
rityakadam@rediffmail.com
Cell:- 9011020015