Cricket in its long and illustrious history has seen some fierce competitors who never gave an inch to the opponents. They have ruthlessly made their presence felt on the field with their behaviour and would never have won the ‘most generous person on the cricket field’ award if there was any!
However, these tough customers have sometimes shown their other side as well. Completely in contrast to their belligerent nature, these superstars created some precious moments with their amicable gestures.
Here is a list of 5 acts of sportsmanship from fierce competitors.
1. Andrew Flintoff
One of the fiercest guys on the cricket field, the burly England all-rounder never shied away from expressing himself on the cricket field. Always at the opponents’ face, Freddy was an intimidating sight for most of the batsmen because of his lethal bouncers.
Bowling at a decent pace, Flintoff had that venomous delivery which would zip off the track and hit the batsman around his ribcage. Entwined with his deliveries, were his verbal barrages and merciless stares which would put any young batsman on the back foot.
However, creating one of the best moments in the history of the Ashes, Flintoff consoled his fierce competitor Brett Lee who was on his knees as Australia had lost the game to England by 2 runs in the second Test of that famous 2005 Ashes series at Edgbaston.
Flintoff, who had earlier bowled some hostile spells to Lee, displayed a gesture which still is treasured as one of the greatest moments in the history of the gentleman’s game
2. James Faulkner
The chirpy Australian all-rounder James Faulkner never backs away from a confrontation with the opposition batsmen and he always likes to have a go at them.
A deceptive left-arm seamer, Faulkner has surely imbibed the infamous Aussie tradition of sledging with precision, as he often shows that on the cricket field.
But the 26-year-old definitely showed a different side of him when he helped his adversary, Virat Kohli, with whom he shares a volatile relationship on the field. Those frequent banters between Kohli and Faulkner during India’s ODI series down under became the talk of the town before this act of the all-rounder provided a surprising culmination to the saga.
Faulkner helped Kohli get up when the batsman, unfortunately, slipped as he was turning back for a second run in the second T20I of a 3-match T20I series at Melbourne
That surely was a moment to behold as far as the photographers were concerned.
3. Shane Watson
One of the toughest opponents on the cricket field, Shane Watson never backed away from having a go at the opposition. Throughout his career, Watson’s quintessential stares became an integral part of his game as he kept throwing them at the batsmen with a lot of conviction.
However, recently the aggressive all-rounder bid adieu to international cricket and during the fag end of his career he exhibited moments of brilliant sportsmanship.
One of them surely has to be the one when he and David Warner provided solace to a limping Yuvraj Singh in their high-voltage T20 World cup clash in 2016.
Watson surely exhibited his human side to the cricketing fraternity with this sporting gesture
4. Wahab Riaz
The lanky Pakistan speedster is known to possess a tough demeanour which is so characteristic of a genuine pace bowler. Riaz undoubtedly bowled the spell of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 when he bowled some unplayable deliveries to the Australian batsman Shane Watson.
Pairing his lethal deliveries were the stares and words which Riaz hurled at the all-rounder with sheer conviction. He would have also got his man had Rahat Ali not grassed that sitter which really proved decisive as Australia won that game and knocked Pakistan out of the world cup.
However, being a true professional, Riaz left behind his disappointments as he hugged Shane Watson after the game and that surely required a lot of character.
Surely, Riaz deserved the plaudits for what he did that day. Cricket is much more than the realms of win and loss and Riaz certainly proved that with his wonderful gesture.
5. Shoaib Akhtar
One of the most lethal fast bowlers of all-time, the Rawalpindi Express has often hit batsmen with his brutal deliveries. With that never-ending run-up, Akhtar used to terrorise the best in the business with his frightening pace and whippy deliveries which invariably were targeted at the faces of the batsmen.
A fierce competitor Shoaib also never backed away from unleashing some of his choicest words to the opposition.
However, sometimes he showed he had a heart too. After hitting Brian Lara on the head with a brute of a delivery, a concerned Akhtar instantly went to the West Indian who fell on the ground due to the impact of a hostile bouncer.
Akhtar offered some words of assistance to the southpaw who looked in severe pain as the ball hit the back of his head and brought the game to a standstill.
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