Wednesday February 28, 2001

The spirit of Bradman shines through

If you believe in God, then it might be fair to assume that The Almighty decided to pass on the late Sir Donald Bradman's spirit through Adam Gilchrist and Matty Hayden. The partnership between our two left handers was as close to batting perfection as you could see on a cricket field.

At five wickets for less than one hundred, we were looking to be under the pump from our enthusiastic Indian opponents. Considering we are going to have to bat last on this deteriorating Mumbai pitch, Sourav Ganguly's team was on cloud nine when Ricky Ponting was out for a duck.

Enter vice-captain and excitement-machine Adam Gilchrist. History boasts of exploits from some of the game's great batsmen like Botham, Richards, Tendulkar and Lara, but his innings must go down as one of the best ever. From the sideline, it started off as a few good shots to relieve some of the pressure. These few good shots turned into an array of cuts, sweeps, pulls and drives that came together, producing one of the great innings of our time. From floating with Muhammad Ali's confidence, India was deflated like a popped balloon, as 'Gilly' hammered the ball to every part of the ground. He was incredible, combating the prestigious spin as if he was playing on a strip of batting paradise.

"History boasts of exploits from some of the game's great batsmen like Botham, Richards, Tendulkar and Lara, but his innings must go down as one of the best ever."

The atmosphere within our viewing area changed from nail biting tension to proud awe as we savoured the momentum shift back to our favor. The question running through our minds though was simple. How can these two guys make batting look so simple when only moments before the Indian spinners had the rest of us looking like second graders? I guess that is the game, and the reason why test cricket is so intriguing. It only takes one partnership, one innings, one bowling spell or even just one ball to change the shape of a game. Hence the complexity of this simple but great game.

It would be a tragedy if Matty Hayden went without receiving equal praise for his first Test century in five years. There is no man more deserving of this reward than our giant opening batsman from Queensland. For years has been dominating first class cricket in attempt to find his way back into the Test team. Now, after a few frustrations, he has marked himself as the rock for which this team can build strong batting foundations. From a personal point of view, I could not have been more delighted to see someone like 'Haydos' receiving these rewards. He offers so much to this team, not only with a bat in his hand but also with his enormous character and strength as a person. His record-breaking partnership with 'Gilly' will be remembered for a long time to come, as will be the smile on the faces of his teammates who are thrilled with his effort.

By stumps, one factor can keep us from victory. That factor is in the form of short but brilliant batsman named Tendulkar. Incredibly, he came to the crease with only five balls remaining in the day's play. With Nayan Mongia, as surprisingly, retiring hurt in the last over, Indias's batting maestro strolled out to the pitch. He then faced the five deliveries under extreme pressure, and strolled back into the changing room as if he was having a relaxed walk in the park. He is as cool and confident as any man I have played against. While he will need every bit of composure in the morning, he knows, as we know, that he is holding the key to the run chase we can expect in the second innings.

From Mumbai

JL

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