Today, we shall go back in time and try to decipher the role played by some the men whose exploits changed the very face of our most beloved sport. The following article is Part I of the series that will comprise four parts in total.

1). Sir Donald Bradman

A famous Hindi movie dialogue translates to: “It isn’t just difficult to get hold of the Don, it’s impossible”. Coincidentally, the cheeky dialogue perfectly describes the unparalleled exploits of arguably the great batsman of all time. Bestowed with the sobriquet of “The Don”, Bradman is widely regarded as the greatest cricketer of the 20th century. Only WG Grace came close to matching Bradman’s towering stature as a sportsman. Bradman’s Test average of 99.94 has been claimed to be statistically the greatest achievement in any major sport. During a career that stretched over 20 years, Bradman scored at a rate that made him, in the words of former Australia captain Bill Woodfull, “worth three batsmen”. It is indeed a testament to Bradman’s dominance as a batsman that an entirely new form of gameplay, termed as “Bodyline”, was devised by the English to curb Bradman’s prodigious stroke play. Former Australian cricketer and journalist Jack Fingleton said, “Bodyline was specially prepared, nurtured for and expended on him and, in consequence, his technique underwent a change quicker than might have been the case with the passage of time. Bodyline plucked something vibrant from his art”.

While Bodyline did manage to put a hold on the Don’s frenzied batting, allowing the English to regain the Ashes, it couldn’t deter him from finding new ways to score as he managed a total of 396 runs at an average of 56.57 — almost half his career average at that time — an average that any contemporary batsman would be proud of. Bradman needed to score 4 runs in his final innings to maintain a career average of 100, but a googly from wrist spinner Eric Hollies undid him for a duck leaving his average at a staggering 99.94. The Australian team, however, won the Ashes 4–0, completing the tour unbeaten, and entering the history as “The Invincibles”. Bradman had an enormous fan following in England as well, where people used to come to the stadiums just to watch him bat. Former English cricketer RC Robertson wrote of the English reaction at Bradman’s retirement: “A miracle has been removed from among us. So must ancient Italy would have felt when she heard of the death of Hannibal”. Bradman’s role was not limited to a mere player; he excelled as an administrator, selector, advisor, sportswriter and cricketing statesman. It wouldn’t be a hyperbole to say that Australia’s transcendence as an independent nation, beyond the umbrage of its so called “mother country” Great Britain, owes a colossal debt to the remarkable feats of “The Don” of Cricket. On 19 November 2009, Sir Donald Bradman was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

2). Douglas Jardine

Well, every coin has that other side that completes the picture. While every story has its hero or protagonist, it must also have its villain or an antagonist to bring about a much needed balance. As far as the sordid tale of “Bodyline” is concerned, if Sir Donald Bradman was both its victim and hero, then Douglas Jardine surely has to be its villain, or to be more precise, its perpetrator. The venomous tactics that comprised Bodyline came into being during the never-to-be-forgotten Ashes series of 1932-33, which for this very reason is also regarded as the ugliest in the history of Cricket as the gentlemen’s game touched a new nadir. Few sporting events have caused as much international furor as the 1932-33 series, which threatened not only the tour but also political relations between Australia and England. The scars that the abysmal events of the series left lingered on for generations. The series gave rise to a new tactic called Bodyline, which was devised primarily to negate the genius of the young Bradman.

Harold Larwood bowling to a classic Bodyline field

Bodyline capitalized on the fact that the rules of Cricket then offered no restrictions on the number fielders allowed behind square on the leg side. The basic idea was to pepper the batsmen with short pitched deliveries aimed at the ribcage, terrorizing them in the absence of any body protection while also cramming them for room, with the aim of getting them caught on the leg side. Word has it that some players had noticed Bradman getting frightened and jittery while being struck on the body in 1931. England’s glacial, supercilious and opportunist skipper and middle order batsman, Douglas Jardine, looked upon this revelatory information as an opportunity to actualize the English dream of reclaiming the Ashes. Jardine seized on this framework of fear and leveraged it to devise the infamous Bodyline. He handpicked a battery of pace bowlers to suit his new set of tactics for the 1932-33 Ashes series that was to take place in Australia. What ensued was an ugly tradition that would continue to haunt Cricket for some more years to come.

The entire series was played in an extremely hostile environment with the situation becoming really tense during the third match, with the series already tied at 1-1. During the Australian first innings, Aussie skipper Bill Woodfull was struck on the chest by a Larwood delivery to the rapture of Jardine, while Bradman was at the non-striking end. For the next delivery, Jardine moved his fielders into the Bodyline fielding positions, as a result of which the crowd became audibly angry. There was further anger later in the innings, when Bert Oldfield suffered a fractured skull. The situation became so tense that it was feared that there may be a riot and that the crowd would jump onto the field to attack them; mounted police were deployed as a precaution. Despite England’s win, Wisden believed that it was probably the most unpleasant match ever played in the history of the game. However, it commended Jardine’s courage, claiming that the praise of his leadership was unanimous, and that he captained his team like a true genius. The English may have eventually won the series 4-1, but the kind of flak that they earned was too overwhelming to bear even for a nation like the Great Britain. The thing that worked in England’s favor during this infamous series was that they possessed a battery of good, accurate fast bowlers spearheaded by Nottinghamshire’s Harold Larwood, who ended with 33 wickets at an average of 19.51. Ironically, the talented quickie could never play for England again, paying the price for poisoning the sport with Bodyline, while the real architect Douglas Jardine escaped without a penalty. Jardine led England in India a year later, while declaring his will not to play against Australia again. Despite being widely dubbed as the quintessential Ashes villain, one would be remiss to downplay the role played by Douglas Jardine in reinvigorating the sport with the forgotten art of short-pitched bowling.

3). James “Jim” Charles Laker

Cricket, like life, is a great leveler. The game professes the perpetual battle between bat and ball and it is the delicate balance between bat and ball that adorns the game with its unmatched diversity. While we talk of batsmen, who have had lasting impact on the game, it would be utterly obtuse to overlook the mammoth contributions made by the legendary bowlers of the game. When one thinks of bowlers, the first name that one is most likely to encounter is that of James Charles Laker, the legendary English off spinner whose feats were such that they got an entire Test match named after him. Yes, we are speaking of the famous “Laker’s match” in 1956 at Old Trafford, when Jim Laker took nineteen wickets in England’s victory against Australia. Over the years the Aussies have earned the reputation of being bad players of off spin bowling; be it Lance Gibbs, Erapalli Prasanna, Harbhajan Singh, or Graeme Swann; every classy off spinner has got them to squirm. It was indeed Jim Laker who had planted the seed of terror in the minds of the Australian batsmen, an inescapable fear that continues to linger till this date. Laker was known as an elegant off-spin bowler, who consistently bowled well, with his best performances coming against the arch-nemesis Australia. When he took 19 Australian wickets for 90, he had figures of 9 for 37 in the first innings and 10 for 53 in the second. No other bowler has managed more than 17 scalps in a first-class match, let alone in a Test match. Laker hunted in pair with left-arm orthodox spinner Tony Lock, who coincidentally took “the other wicket” in Laker’s match. Remarkably, Laker had also taken all 10 wickets in an innings for Surrey against the same Australian lineup earlier in the season. The only other bowler to have taken all 10 wickets in a Test match innings is India’s leggie Anil Kumble, who accomplished the feat in 1999 against a fiery Pakistan lineup at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.

Since the late nineteenth century, Australian wickets had become so unresponsive to finger-spin that the off-break had virtually disappeared and sides relied on pace and wrist-spin. Batsmen accustomed to playing the two varieties of bowling couldn’t help themselves from playing Laker’s vicious off-spin along the same lines, getting bamboozled in the process. Moreover, Laker’s accuracy as a bowler was such that the close-in fielders, primarily bat-pad, fielders like silly point, short leg, slip and leg slip, could afford the luxury of standing very close indeed. In all first-class matches, Jim Laker took 1,944 wickets at an incredible average of 18.41, and scored 7,304 runs with an average of 16.60. In a total of 46 Test matches that Laker played in his career, he took 193 wickets at a healthy average of 21.24. Laker was also a gifted close-in fielder. Despite Laker’s larger-than-life persona, his staunch critics often snub his remarkable feats, deeming the opposition sides he bowled against weak and ill-equipped to spin. His stature as a legendary spinner and as a great servant of the sport continues to rise, as aspiring cricketers continue to revere him not only as a role model but also as an institution of spin bowling. The ICC paid a tribute to the legendary spinner by inducting him into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on 23 August 2009.

4). Kerry Packer

It may appear a bit odd to many to see a non-cricketer appearing on my list of men who changed the face of Cricket, but all those who keep a great insight into the sport will agree with me that the if ever cricketing history were to be written, it would be divided into two eras: the period before the World Series Cricket and the period after it. So much changed in the world of Cricket, thanks to Kerry Packer’s brainchild! His intervention indeed left an unforgettable impression on the game, as its fate took a u-turn. Cricket no longer remained an object of the elite and as the moolah got poured into the game, folks started looking at Cricket not just as a competitive sport but also as a lucrative profession. Cricket no longer remained a mere mode of entertainment for the ruck or a mere means of indulgence for the aristocrats. Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer was the son of Australian media tycoon Sir Frank Packer—the owner of the Nine television network and a leading Australian publishing company, Australian Consolidated Press. After the death of his father in 1974, Kerry Packer assumed control of his legacy. Packer did everything in his reach to resuscitate the moribund Nine network, but his efforts seem to go in vain. The situation worsened when he failed to get their contract renewed for the television rights of Australia’s home Test matches. He had had approached the Australian Cricket Board with an offer of A$1.5 million for three years — a sum eight times the previous contract — but he was shown the door.

The World Series Cricket "super team" in 1977

Packer was clearly perplexed by the ACB’s partiality and pledged to turn the tables on the Cricket Board. Packer started looking for alternatives in order to feed his Nine Television Network with a much needed dose of Cricket. After some contemplation, Packer masterminded the World Series Cricket, a breakaway cricket competition comprising renowned players from Australia, England, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies. World Series Cricket, while disowned by Cricket’s governing body, turned out to be an instant success. The tournament’s success ensured that cricketers no longer remained underpaid as the sport attained a commercial status. WSC made cricket and cricketers much more competitive, as much higher levels of fitness and commitment were required from them, considering the taxing nature of the tournament. The unparalleled exploits of the West Indies cricket team, leading to their global domination in the 1980s, are widely attributed to the stint of West Indian players in the World Series Cricket. WSC drastically shifted the game’s balance to the entertainment side, forcing the technicalities to take a back seat. World Series Cricket, staged between 1977 and 1979, drastically changed the nature of the sport, completely rewriting its tenets, such that its influence continues to be felt even today as Packer’s spirit continues to reverberate through Cricket in form of novel concepts like the ICL, IPL and the Big Bash League.

To be continued.

Edited by Rishabh Bablani

Few modern day bowlers can terroririze opposition batsmen like Jeff Thompson did.

The world of cricket is fast getting depleted of its most majestic breed of species: Fast Bowlers. The sport is beginning to forget about its most potent tool that once adorned its armory. It seems an almost ancient matter when the teams used to be spearheaded by battery of fast bowlers. If we look back into the history of Cricket, we will notice that the fate of a match rested, without exception, on the efficacy of fast bowlers, and their failure meant an almost certain defeat. The enthralling sport we call Cricket has come a long way from its nigh obscure beginnings in some English county to becoming a global phenomenon. The commercialization of Cricket has done wonders to its viability as a professional sport, but has also paved the way for business moguls all across the globe to have a decisive say in sport’s decision-making. Consequently, the decisions that were good for the sport as a whole started to take the back seat vis-à-vis the ones that were considered economically viable.

Now, before my aphorism starts to get questioned, let me expatiate on it!

When Test cricket was at its pinnacle in the seventies, Australian Television magnate Kerry Pecker, in an urge to feed his moribund Nine Television Network with some much needed doze of sport, inoculated the world of cricket with the most potent scepter of greed: moolah. Following a failed discussion with the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) pertaining to procurement of television rights for Australia’s home Test matches, Pecker masterminded the World Series Cricket (WSC) in 1977. Pecker used his great purchasing power to adorn the breakaway league with big names from the international arena with the then English captain Tony Greig at the helm. The great success of the competition made sure that cricketers no longer remain underpaid and that the sport attained a commercial status. Though the star-studded WSC was finally called off in 1979 after a successful second season, with the ACB finally yielding to Pecker’s inexorability, it did however manage to completely rewrite the tenets associated with the sport.

While on one hand, WSC made cricket more competitive as the draconian schedules required much higher levels of fitness and commitment from the players, it also shifted the game’s balance to the entertainment side with the technicalities taking the back seat, thereby sowing seeds for the things to follow. Consequently, night matches became very common in most nations, and one-day cricket became the most widely followed form of the game toppling the supremacy of Test Cricket. Many attribute the exploits of the West Indies cricket team in the 1980s to their stint in the World Series Cricket.

The incessant reformation that’s been going on post WSC in the name of commercialization is absolutely extraneous, and is being done merely to cater to the whims of the business moguls associated with the sport. The acquiescence shown by the governing body has yielded well on the monetary front, but it has also cast a huge blow to the legacy of sport. It started with the curtailing of the five-day game to give way to limited-over internationals. The laws of Cricket were made to take a complete volte face in order to make the game supposedly more engaging for the spectators. The even competition between the bat and ball that the sporty wickets ensured made way for the one-sided battle on docile, batsmen friendly pitches. This lust for moolah has most severely deterred the contingency of fast bowlers in the sport.

We seldom get to see fast bowlers bending their backs to extract bounce and movement off the tracks, which lack both the moisture and the grass needed to encourage the pacers to bowl their hearts out. The splices and edges of bats are made so thick these days that even the mistimed strokes tend to clear the deliberately shortened boundaries. This prejudice against bowlers is further aggravated by the commercially favorable albeit extremely hostile guidelines implemented by the Cricket’s ruling body, International Cricket Council (ICC), such as constraints put on short-pitched bowling, stringent extras rules, powerplays, free hits, over rate criterion, etc. The Cricketing Boards are also least supportive of aspiring pacers, not taking the necessary steps to nurture the talent of those gifted with raw pace and instead inveigling them to cut down on their pace in order to prolong their careers—a ploy to contain the over rate and extras—thereby catering to the desires of ICC. The advent of T20 Cricket has taken this prejudice to the next level with the off-field razzmatazz ruling the rooster and the sport itself losing the limelight.

Brett Lee quit test cricket at 33. Is the art of fast bowling facing a slow death?

Today, we hardly see a steaming Michael Holding bowling a bouncer that ends up hitting the top of the sight screen or a Jeff Thompson delivery defying the speed limits with the batsmen still managing to muster enough courage to hook and pull without the helmet and other protective gear. The handful of express fast bowlers that the sport did manage to produce—primarily the likes of Shoaib Akthar, Brett Lee and Shane Bond—in the recent past suffered the meltdown of the worst kind owing to strenuous tour itineraries that curtailed their careers. Even the medium pacers today have the general tendency to shorten their run-ups and bowl line and length in order to prolong their professional careers. The batting averages are getting more and more impressive while the bowling prospects are getting bleaker and bleaker. With each passing day we see more and more batsmen with the ability to hit through the line with minimal foot-work—in the absence of any movement off the pitch or in the air—tumbling records after records with the bowlers struggling for rythm on unresponsive wickets.

With dusk fast approaching, the onus is upon those at the helm of decision making to take necessary and timely measures to rescue the dying art of fast bowling from the state of shambles that it sees itself in, lest the game of Cricket be robbed of its greatest legacy.

Edited by Sambhav Khetarpal

The cat is finally out of the bag! The commonplace has made way for the sublime with the 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen signing a two year contract with Lotus Renault GP, putting to rest months of conjecture. The world of motorsports had been rife with speculations pertaining to Kimi’s F1 return with his name being linked to a number of different teams. Post Italian Grand Prix, there had been several occurrences alluding to his possible link up with Team Williams. There were spiced up talks of Williams trying to strike a deal with Kimi at Abu Dhabi during the penultimate race of the season, but nothing could be substantiated.

However, it is Lotus Renault GP which has finally succeeded in acquiring the services of the Finn. The news was made public by Lotus Renault GP’s team principal and FOTA’s vice chairman, Eric Boullier soon after season finale atBrazil. The inclusion of the flying Finn, who is widely renowned for his inexorable composure and equanimity as a driver, has taken the number of world champions competing in 2012 season to a record six, which already includes Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. Raikkonen will drive alongside Vitaly Petrov for the 2012 season.

Post Schumacher, only one charismatic driver has managed to fill in his shoes by winning the world championship driving for Ferrari. Yes, that driver is none other than Kimi Raikkonen! It is indeed ironical that it was Schumacher who had stymied Raikkonen from winning his maiden world championship back in 2003. On his arrival in Formula 1 in 2001, Kimi was downplayed by many as Miki Hakkinen’s dummy, but he proved them wrong through sheer assiduity and managed to carve a niche for himself in the world of high octane and drama. Popularly known as the ‘Iceman’, the Finnish driver is as much notorious for his off-circuit mood swings as he is renowned for his driving exploits. But, when it comes to the on-circuit daredevilry, the Finn comes second to none.

Kimi’s F1 journey has been nothing short of a vivid dream. He entered Formula 1 as a regular driver for Sauber-Petronas in 2001 before joining McLaren Mercedes in 2002. His sublime show at McLaren quickly catapulted him to title contention. He finished second, losing the championship to Michael Schumacher a­­nd Fernando Alonso in the 2003 and 2005, respectively. He joined Ferrari in 2007 and ended up winning the driver’s championship, becoming the highest paid driver in motor sport with an estimated wage of $51 million per year. He left Formula 1 after the 2009 season to try out a career in rallying.

If one goes through the record books, one would find Kimi Raikkonen’s name associated with quite a few of them, especially the ones dealing with raw speed. But, this vivid picture also happens to have a darker side. Harsh questions have been raised over Kimi Raikkonen’s commitment and professionalism after his shocking move to quit F1 in 2009 in spite of being under a contact. His stubbornness and caprice have earned him the notorious tag of a temperamental driver. His critics refer to him as “all or nothing driver”.

Now that Raikkonen has finally decided to make a comeback to Formula 1, he will not only have to once again prove his mettle, but will also have to work extremely hard towards rebuilding his professional image. Raikkonen is reportedly swooned over by the ambitious roadmap laid down by Lotus Renault GP. The Lotus Renault GP team is going through a phase of reconstruction after Renault’s role got reduced to that of an engine provider after it sold its 25 percent stake to Lotus Cars back in December last year. The Lotus Renault GP team is equally excited to have a former world champion within their ranks and are hoping that Raikkonen’s entry would fit well in their plan of things.

However, the question that is lurking on everyone’s mind is whether these two colossi of the bygone era could actually strike some much needed chemistry to spark up their prospects in the 2012 season?