Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Sunil Gavaskar in World Cricket

In early 2000, Wisden roped in a team of 100 eminent cricket experts from all cricket playing countries to do what is a favourite pastime for most – draw up a list of greatest cricketers of the 20th century. The panel included former players, journalists and cricket connoisseurs.

In the end they came up with a list of 49 great cricketers, the list predictably topped by Sir Donald Bradman followed by Sir Garfield Sobers. Gavaskar was ranked 12th. What was interesting was that amongst pure batsmen he was ranked 6th! And amongst his contemporaries and the great players of the last 40 years he was ranked 2nd after Sir Viv Richards! Amongst all time greats only The Don, Hobbs, Richards, Hammond and Compton preceded him.

‘The Voice of Cricket’ Richie Benaud in his list of an ‘All Time Greatest XI’, selects the little master along with Jack Hobbs as his opening pair, and pays tribute to him by calling him a ‘tough cookie’.

On the other hand in a book written by Don Bradman’s publishers the list of Don Bradman's greatest cricketers do not include Gavaskar. The book however lacks authenticity since it was published just after the great man’s death and has been taken by most as a marketing gimmick thereby lacking credibility.

So does this Wisden ranking do justice to SMG? Well in this writer’s humble opinion it does and it doesn’t.

When the Wisden list was published, the Gavaskar fan in me was mighty delighted, seeing my hero’s name in the top dozen. I felt vindicated in my opinion that I held through out my 25 years of following cricket – that Gavaskar was one of the world’s greatest and most influential cricketers that ever set foot on the cricket field.

Ramchandra Guha on a television program on India’s greatest batsmen, said that as Vishwanath was the greatest on the Indian stage, Gavaskar was the greatest on the World stage. He wasn’t far from the truth, for Gavaskar put Indian batting on the world map.

There is an interesting story that Guha tells in his treatise on Indian cricket, ‘States of Indian cricket’. While on tour at Lord’s the cricket guide asked the group as to who they thought was the greatest contemporary batsman after Viv Richards. Some from the group said ‘Greg Chappell’ and the guide seemed in agreement. Guha was peeved and wanted to say, who but Sunil Gavaskar! He wanted to go further and say that the ‘little master’ was probably the greatest of his era! This just goes to show the way the then headquarters of cricket looked at anybody who was not English or Australian. They had to give in to the genius of Viv Richards for his plethora of exploits in England and for the fact that West Indies during his era was the best side in the World by a distance.

So after all those years, the fact that the Wisden panel, which included 48 out of 100 experts from England and Australia put Gavaskar as the 6th greatest all-time batsman and the 2nd greatest batsman since the 1970’s is a vindication of Guha’s belief and that of this writer and other Gavaskar fans. Just like Benaud, the Wisden list proclaims Gavaskar as the only other opener apart from Hobbs in the top dozen.

So where does one put Gavaskar in echelons of World Cricket history?

As an opening batsman he should be at the very top. Some of the modern English cricket journalists and writers do him great injustice by bracketing him with Geoffrey Boycott who was the other great opening batsman of that era, who was indeed a great defensive batsman. However, not every English cricket critic took to his overwhelming obsession with defensive batting technique. Somewhere one always felt that this was one way of getting back at or belittling Gavaskar, for the latter never was enamoured by the snotty ways of the British. So tit for tat!
However, the truth is that Gavaskar was a more enterprising batsman than Boycott for most part of his career. Where Boycott froze at most times, Gavaskar despite his preference to parsimony had all the shots in the book and many of his great innings bore testimony to that fact. Further, Boycott for most of his career played for a very strong England team. Gavaskar on the other for most part of his career played for a weak team like India. For the first dozen years of his career he had only Vishwanath for company and only in the last half a decade did he have good company in the likes of Vengsarkar, Amarnath, Shastri at various times. The fact that India’s bowling attack lacked enough teeth at most times also affected the scenario greatly. A good bowling attack of your own team gives you great confidence as a batsman, as one observed with Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes of the West Indies. Gavaskar did not have that luxury at best of times. Unlike Greenidge he never had to face the ferocious West Indian bowling attack! Or Boycott who was bred on traditional seaming and swinging tracks of England against the likes of Snow, Willis, Lever, Old, Arnold and Hendrick. On the other hand in handling of spin, Gavaskar was undoubtedly the master towering over all of the aforementioned. Some of the modern opening batsmen of the 21st century have impressive records with likes of Hayden and Langer boasting high averages and strike-rates, but the quality of bowling that they have come up against and with cheap runs against a ram-shackle Zimbabwean attack and whipping boys, Bangladesh have diluted the impact considerably. Further they again have the advantage of a Greenidge and Haynes.

Hence in the all-time list Gavaskar, as an opening batsman would rank alongside Hobbs and Sutcliffe. Not having seen either of the Englishmen in flesh or video it is difficult to compare them, but it would be fair to say that both these gentlemen again had two benefits going for them, their partnerships and the strength of the English side at most times when they played. However, to equate that it would be fair to comment that both of them played on uncovered pitches which Gavaskar did not have to much. Then again Hobbs played most of his cricket against Australia, and in England and Australia, whereas Gavaskar was playing against more countries and in most varied conditions. Between Hobbs and Sutcliffe, the former is considered greater by most English critics, since he was amongst the first professionals, and was the trendsetter.
Thus as Benaud would have it, it has to be Hobbs and Gavaskar at the very top of the ranks as opening batsmen of all times. Who was greater is a matter of conjecture and best left at that, though in terms of pure statistics Hobbs has his nose ahead, but greatness is not based on statistics alone. The aforementioned qualitative aspects are equally important. Therefore the gap in votes between Hobbs and Gavaskar, 30 and 12 respectively is too skewed towards Hobbs; probably the nostalgia took over most of the over populated English and Australians on the panel.

When it comes to batsmen over the last 40 years of the 21st century, Wisden ranked Gavaskar only behind Viv Richards. So how does Gavaskar stack up against his great contemporaries and the modern greats?

There were a number of great batsmen during the Gavaskar era. England had Geoff Boycott, Australia had Greg Chappell and Allan Border, Pakistan had Javed Miandad and Zaheer Abbas, New Zealand had Glenn Turner, South Africa had Graham Pollock and Barry Richards, but they didn’t play enough Test Cricket and West Indies had Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Clive Lloyd. Of the above, we have discussed Boycott vis-à-vis Gavaskar and the latter was clearly a better all-round batsman than the Englishman.
The others who fall in the all time great bracket would be Viv Richards, Greg Chappell and Javed Miandad.
The Pakistani ‘street-fighter’
was a butcher of spin bowling and along with Zaheer Abbas was responsible for bringing the famous Indian spin trio’s careers to a hasty end. He was not as technically perfect as the little master, however he made that up with his determination and aggressive demeanor. He was the ideal batsman for a crisis with his nerves of steel. He was not a pretty batsman but a mighty effective one. However, he was not as sure and consistent against fast bowling as he was against the spinners. His record against the West Indies bears testimony to that. The other aspect where Gavaskar is a clear winner is on performances abroad. Miandad had a great record at home, but an average one overseas. Hence, though he would go down as probably the greatest batsman Pakistan produced, he comes up short against Sunil Gavaskar, who had to open the innings which in itself was a very trying position especially if one played for a relatively weak team like India.
Greg Chappell the great Australian of the 70’s probably comes closer. He was a very stylish batsman with the best on-drive in the business. He had fine technique and had some notable success against the old enemy, England. His record against the West Indies was good too specially in that 75-76 series in which Australia decimated the Windies 5-1. Thereafter as the West Indies gained ascendancy his record took a bit of a dip. One of the advantages that Chappell had was that till the Packer era, Australia was the world’s best team, with great batsmen such as Ian his brother, Doug Walters and settled opening pair. This was backed by the best fast bowling attack which always is a comfort for a batsman. His record against spin bowling was never fully tested since he never played in India, and only toured Pakistan once, albeit with some success. Also, after the Packer era he chose not to tour overseas on several occasions, notably for the 1981 ‘Botham’s Ashes’ tour. Despite these factors he would go down as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the game as much for his record as it would be for his sparkling stroke-play against all comers. But being an Australian with a history of such great batsmen of the yesteryears starting from Trumper to Bradman to McCabe to Harvey to Simpson, Greg Chappell had a legacy to follow. He added his name to the above list, but was not path-breaking as it was in Gavaskar’s case vis-à-vis Indian cricket. Hence I have no doubt that despite the western cricket experts’ preference of Chappell over Gavaskar; the latter had a bigger impact on his country’s and world cricket than the great Australian. The Wisden rankings just validate this point where he wasn’t even considered in the list of 49.

We last come to Viv Richards, who in opinion of most was the greatest post-war batsman and as Wisden testified by putting him in the list of top 5 cricketers of the century. ‘Smokin’ Joe’ was without doubt an outstanding once-in-a-life talent and he had the attitude to go with that. He strutted on the world scene for a glorious 17 years. He was a master against fast bowling, though he never faced his own lot. His technique though not perfect was more than compensated by his extraordinary eye. His shot making would awaken even the drugged. He made a statement for his team, his country and his race, notably against Tony ‘we will make them grovel’ Greig’s England side in ’76. His aggressive intent and the will to dominate the bowling at all times married well with his swagger to the wicket. Perhaps no other batsman in the modern history put fear into the bowlers like Viv did. The biggest help was of course the fact that post the disastrous Australian tour of 1976, he played for the all conquering Clive Lloyd’s team. Also there was the small matter of having half-a-dozen fast bowling monsters in his side who would - before or after a Viv Special – bludgeon the opposition into submission. The other significant fact that undoubtedly was a factor for Richards’ success was that he batted at No.3 after that impregnable pair of Greenidge and Haynes, one of the most successful opening pair in the history of the game. Viv in one word was an entertainer beyond compare. Compared to him Gavaskar was not an entertainer in the regular sense of the word. He had a more arduous task at hand. He didn’t have any of the luxuries that Viv had. The other factors that influenced others to acknowledge Viv’s greatness readily were his performances against – and in – England, which was the home of the game till not so long ago. Gavaskar’s performance against England pales in comparison to that of Richards. Then there was the influx of one-day cricket which Richards took to like duck to water. Gavaskar the master of orthodoxy probably did not take one-day cricket that serious. Further, Richards played in county cricket for over a dozen years and very successfully, whereas Gavaskar played only for one year for Somerset, incidentally the same county that Richards played for, for many years. Added to this was the fact that Gavaskar had always a love-hate relationship with the English way of the game. All these above endeared Richards more to the then, powerful English media who had no difficulty in promoting Richards as the best batsman of the post war era.
Though it seems apparently that Richards was the greatest, the matter is debatable for the Gavaskar fan. The little master was the better player of spin bowling. He played for a far weaker team and never had a stable opening partner like Greenidge or Haynes. He was not a naturally aggressive batsman, and he couldn’t afford to be one. But when the mood took over him – like in Delhi or Ahmedabad against Richards’ own attack – he was second to none. Then his performances in the last innings of a match which has got to be a major yardstick to ascertain a batsman’s greatness was non-pareil. A closer look at these factors makes the task of judging the two great batsmen. Nevertheless even if one were to consider Richards to be the greater of the two it wouldn’t be by the margin that Wisden proposes. In the book of yours truly, both were equals as they were completely different types. If at all I would like to probably concede that Richards was the first amongst equals if there can be one!

When compared to the modern greats, Gavaskar stands head and shoulders above most. The only ones who can lay claim to be among this list would be Tendulkar, Lara, Dravid and Ponting. But with the last two it has to be said that they reached their peaks only as late as 2002, by which time most of the great fast bowlers of the 80’s and 90’s had retired. The fast bowling cupboard is bare for some years now. That’s the reason one cannot put Mathew Hayden in this bracket either. This leaves only Tendulkar and Lara to contend with, who were the two greatest batsmen since the 90s, much like Gavaskar and Richards in the 70s and 80s.
Between the two Lara is more comparable to Gavaskar, with a lot of things in common. Playing for a weaker team, Lara scored tons of runs, sometimes to save test matches and on other occasions to bring in some semblance of pride in performances. He had the hunger for runs just like Gavaskar. Just like Gavaskar, Lara was the best player of spin bowling of his era. Tendulkar, similarly started when playing for a weaker team, but since the late 90s he has had the company of the likes of Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and Sehwag which makes the best batting line-up that India has ever had. Tendulkar was the bridge between Gavaskar and Richards, where till 2001 he was masterly in aggressive intent. But numerous injuries and the ravages of times have dimmed his effectiveness and whether he bows out in the same fashion as Gavaskar did is yet to be seen. His record is exemplary, though in the 21st century his performances in crisis situations leave a bit to be desired. He is undoubtedly the greater one-day batsman, but as a test batsman he comes out close but second to Gavaskar in the books of the connoisseur. This more so when comparing the list of intimidating fast bowlers, the 70s and 80s were stacked with them, while it dwindled somewhat in the 90s and has vanished completely in the 21st century. The only fast bowlers of note in the last 5-6 years have been Shane Bond, Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee – and none of them have an outstanding record - with the first two being sparsely available for their countries for various reasons. Plus modern technology of bats have definitely benefited someone like Tendulkar whose game is based on power and timing. He is also less of a visual treat – not in the matter of strokeplay – at the crease, with a hunched stance and peculiar mannerisms. With Gavaskar there was calm that one felt when he was taking guard, with Tendulkar, the feeling is less so.

For a Gavaskar fan, it was therefore very pleasing to find Gavaskar in that list of Wisden, though the difference in ranking is debatable as argued earlier.

But more than records and rankings, he was an ambassador for cricket and as the great Don paid tribute to him, after he passed his 29th century, ‘he was an ornament to the game’.

Afterword: It has been exactly a year since I started this blog. Time has flown by. And as luck would have it, I happened to meet my hero again in September 2006 and told him that I was doing this blog! The great man was indeed most hospitable and updated me on the fact that he was doing a cricket blog of his own, which needless to say I already knew! He was the first cricketer to hold a blog conference, the leader again! Today is his 58th birthday and I wanted close it with this last one, which was a bit hurried being completed while waiting for a flight at the airport!

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