Mohan's Line and Length
Cup `07 is bridge between two generations
March 08, 2007
Each has been a trailblazer in his own right. Sachin (14,783) dominated the modern game by the sheer weight of his achievements over 18 years.
Inzamam (11,665) brought his unflappable temperament to bear even in such a frenetic form of the game, having begun as a gung-ho youth in 1992.
Jayasuriya (11,538) helped redefine the concept of modern World Cups with his firebrand exploits in 1996.
Sourav (10,470) took ones breath away by the spectacular audacity with which he took on the one-day game after he began opening the innings on a regular basis. Lara (10,136) proved there is no bar to individual greatness even in an intense team game like one-day cricket. Rahul (10,044) beat the early forecast that he was the least likely batsman to get this far in the one-day game.
Ricky Ponting (9,856), who made the 2003 final his own much in the manner of a dominant Clive Lloyd or a Viv Richards in early editions, will be passing the 10,000-run mark in the course of this World Cup, which will mark only the fourth appearance for a batsman who has already been part of two winning teams while being in a team that lost the final in 1996.
The seven have had so much to do with embellishing the game that it is hard to think cricket will be the same again after they retire from ODIs, which they will inevitably be doing in the next few months or years. Speaking of the game`s heroes in the context of the players missing the cup for Pakistan, Inzamam said – “ Every great player has his time, they serve their time, that`s life, that`s the way it is. So when the time comes, so be it.” Schopenhauer may not have put it better.
What makes this World Cup unique is that it is a bridge between two generations of cricketers. The event will be the first for a batsman like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who began his career in the post-modern school of batting and who represents an evolution in terms of technique and approach to batting. His career strike rate of 98.49 is very revealing of his philosophy at the crease.
It is remarkable that this will also be Michael Hussey`s first World Cup. The batsman, with the highest average (66.88), a strike rate in the 90s and a burgeoning reputation of being a finisher in the Michael Bevan mould, is a Cup novice at the age of 31. In most recent matches, he has also shown the flair to go with his dogged pursuit of targets.
There can`t be too many with his claims to ODI batting fame and he is another Cup debutant. Kevin Pietersen`s route via Hampshire and England to the World Cup may have been circuitous but he is certain to be an adornment with his big hitting style that blends so well with his amazing temperament for the game. An 56.50 average is a mere pointer to his capabilities. He is one of the moderns who can win a game off his willow. Dhoni, Hussey and Pietersen are the top three picks among first-timer batsmen at the Cup. There are any number of young batsmen who are getting their first look at the showpiece event, some as exciting as the young Kiwi of Maori extraction, Ross Luteru Taylor, Imran Nazir of Pakistan, Upul Tharanga of Sri Lanka, Robin Uthappa of Bangalore and Justin Kemp of South Africa.
The young Aussie Shaun Tait whose warm-up ball can get the speed gun ticking close to record levels should be vying for the top speed prize with Shane Bond, the Kiwi agent who has a reputation of leaving batsmen shaken, if not stirred.
Some of the names may not figure high in the official rankings yet. The World Cup is, after all, the start of a journey for many of them.
Remarkably, a few of the first timers are also promising to set the event alight. Consider this World XI of first-timers: Upul Tharanga, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen, Michael Hussey, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Justin Kemp, Shaun Tait, Monty Panesar, Liam Plunkett and Umar Gul.
Powered by The Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle
