The current undisputed “bald headed Chenghis Khan of cricket” Virender Sehwag did it again. For a moment I thought I was stuck with some old highlights show. It was quick… New Zealand was demolished in no time in typical Sehwag fashion.
However, this is about New Zealand and specifically about a player that was instrumental in inspiring and bringing a massive change in the way the one-day game is played, ever since he made a stunning impact under the brilliant and innovative leadership of Martin Crowe in the 92′ World Cup.
Mark Greatbatch folks! And yes, he was bald too! The lineage starts with him in that remarkable pinch-hitting concept that he brought in the first few overs in the game. I rate him as one of the most important players that shaped the game for the simple fact on the huge impact he brought to the field with his unique ‘out-of-the-box’ batting style.
I still have lovely memories of looking in complete disbelief watching Greatbatch flick with ease the fast bowlers for a six over the leg side and frustrations at times, when he threw it all away. Exciting and lucky, it was always a scenario of having your heart in your mouth watching him tease the fielders by lobbying the ball just out of their reach.
Though he had a decent career, it is sad to see very little being mentioned today about him.
Sure enough inspired by him, the ‘original bald headed Chengis Khan of cricket’ Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana took it to a new level all together and made it the norm for any team for years to come. Jayasuriya’s ability to sustain that aggression for this long truly deserves to be bestowed this title until quite recently Sehwag quite comfortably snatched it from him.
Oh! This is no fun poking at bald headed people. I myself have lot more hair in my nose than in my head and perhaps lot less brains too but I have been fascinated by the fact that some of the most exciting modern day players that maul the bowlers with total disdain are coincidentally bald.
Mark Greatbatch, Mohammed Azharuddin, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mathew Hayden, Virender Sehwag and Herschelle Gibbs are classic examples and the only odd one that truly did not match with the lineage was Adam Gilchrist! How could Adam not fit the bill to this theory! Perhaps he is a product of modern day miracle science that you see on TV.
As a kid, I loved football and to me there was no other sport truly worthy of being seriously played by me and I adored the likes of Platini, Pele, Maradona and Beckenbauer, the reminiscence of my childhood still remains in my mom’s house, with all the now torn and faded posters of my idols.
Perhaps it is fair to say, the likes of Martin Crowe, Mohammed Azharuddin and Mark Greatbatch might be the reasons so many years down the line, that I have this cricket blog here instead of one on football.
Enjoy some memories of Mark Greatbatch pounding the Indians.
No comments:
Post a Comment