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I wrote an article outlining the ten Australian athletes I miss watching. Today, the focus shifts to international cricketers. I’ve selected one player from every major Test playing nation.
This doesn’t, with all due respect, include Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. It’s also not an attempt to nominate each nation’s best player, but rather those that I wish were still around.
Pakistan – Wasim Akram
If you were constructing the perfect fast bowler from scratch, the qualities you’d include would essentially be: tall, left-armer, smart, short and economical run-up, whip-like action that doesn’t put too much pressure on the shoulder, ability to swing it both ways, accurate yorker, lightning bouncer, ability to hide the ball from the batsmen, a good slower ball, controlled aggression, and the endurance to bowl long spells.
You’d then sit back and realise this wasn’t a lab cyborg. It was Wasim Akram. He was the perfect fast bowler.
Never has the phrase ‘making the ball talk’ been more applicable than when Wazzy was bowling. It was mesmerising to watch him make the pill do anything he wanted. And I’ll always remember his penchant for breaking batsmen’s toes for fun.
Honourable mention: Saeed Anwar. Elegant, classy and a nightmare to bowl to.
West Indies – Carl Hooper
There are so many class acts to choose from when it comes to West Indian cricket. Yet despite their long list of greats, I’ve selected Carl Hooper. His achievements didn’t come anywhere near someone like Brian Lara. In fact, his career statistics are fairly average. But his demeanour and style of play captivated me.
He had a strut. He had an earring. He wore a floppy hat instead of a helmet. He didn’t wear a thigh pad, because if a bowler was silly enough to bowl on his legs, he’d hit him for four, rather than get hit himself. And he casually lifted the world’s fastest bowlers over cover and mid-wicket with consummate ease.
When he’d bowl his off spinners, he’d just walk to the crease and roll the arm over like he didn’t care. He’d take catches that defied belief, then just shrug his shoulders as if to say ”No big deal, you’re meant to catch them aren’t you?”
He was the epitome of West Indian cool.
Honourable mention: Curtly Ambrose. Mean, menacing and brilliant.
England – Andrew Flintoff
On the eve of the 2005 Ashes series, I was telling anyone who would listen how overrated ‘Freddie’ Flintoff was, and how much I hated him. I thought he was an arrogant football hooligan who would be found out in his first full Ashes series.
It’s funny what five games of cricket can do for a player’s career and reputation.
By the time I got to The Oval for the fifth Test that year, Freddie was well on his way to being player of the series. Yet not only did Flintoff stamp himself as a world class all-rounder, with outstanding performances with bat and ball, he also showed a level of sportsmanship sadly lacking in many modern cricketers. The image of him offering consolation to Brett Lee after the second Test is one most cricket fans will never forget.
Four years later, I was back in England at Lords to watch the Ashes once again when Freddie ruined my second holiday to the UK. He had the Lord’s crowd eating out of his hand as he decimated the Aussie line-up with five wickets, using the famous Lord’s slope to perfection.
He was an absolute superstar and it was a privilege to watch him play. And he was a good bloke as well, who loved a pint or two.
Honourable mention: Graham Thorpe. A rare combination of style and substance; elegance and grit.
Sri Lanka – Sanath Jayasuriya
I still remember a one-day international at the SCG a few years back when Jayasuriya unleashed on an inexperienced Australian bowling attack. Brett Dorey and James Hopes, in particular, copped the brunt of the onslaught, as Jayasuriya went ballistic, hitting boundaries to all parts of the ground.
Off consecutive balls, Jayasuriya hit two sixes in completely opposite directions, despite the fact the two balls were pitched in the exact same area. The first ball he opened the face and square drove for six over point. The next ball, he whipped from outside off, hitting a six over square leg. It was an astonishing display of power and timing.
Far from an isolated occurrence, the evergreen Jayasuriya regularly decimated bowling attacks around the world. A truly devastating batsmen.
Honourable mention: Muttiah Muralitharan. Purely and simply, a freak.
New Zealand – Shane Bond
Unlike Jayasuriya, who had a long and relatively healthy career well past his 40th birthday, New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond’s career was beset by injuries and setbacks. Fast bowling comes at the price of putting extreme pressure on the body, especially the back, and Bond was a prime example of this.
However, when healthy, he provided enough highlights and moments to rank high on my list of players I’ll miss. What particularly ensured that Bond was respected by Australian fans was the fact he always saved his best for the Aussies, even while they were on top of the cricketing world. It’s one thing to rack up statistics against the minnows, but Bond attacked the best.
Consistently swinging the ball and bowling at 150kph with great control, he was a real handful, and while it’s a shame he couldn’t stay healthy, at least we got to see a sample of how damaging he could be.
Honourable mention: Chris Cairns. A whole-hearted cricketer with uncanny natural ability.
South Africa – Hansie Cronje
I remember when the news broke about Hansie Cronje being suspected of match-fixing, and immediately thinking there was absolutely no way it could be true. I was sure he would be proven innocent.
History showed I was wrong.
The reason I was so certain that Cronje would be cleared is the same reason why I loved watching him play: there were few tougher competitors on the cricket field. Cronje absolutely loved playing for his country and absolutely hated losing. Such was his competitive fire, that he once stabbed a stump through the umpire’s door after a Test in Adelaide.
Cronje was one of the handful players to take on Shane Warne and not embarrass himself. In fact, he once hit a Warne delivery on top of the O’Reilly Stand at the SCG. To say that’s a big hit is an understatement on par with saying Miranda Kerr is attractive.
While we can’t erase the match-fixing scandals from memory, we can at least also remember that Cronje, whatever his demons, was still a fantastic cricketer.
Honourable mention: Allan Donald. The White Lightning. Need I say more.
India – Sourav Ganguly
I originally had Mohammad Azharuddin in this spot. Yet despite his rubber wrists, I thought it wise to avoid having two match-fixers in my list. The other option was Sourav Ganguly.
Ganguly was never far from the limelight. Whether it was his fluent off-side play, his outspoken ways, or his ability to get under the skin of the Australians (even the Iceman Steve Waugh), Ganguly never took a backward step from anyone, and thus earned a begrudging respect from many Australians.
He wasn’t easy to like, but he was easy to watch bat. Some of the shots he played through gully, point and cover were nothing short of exquisite.
Honourable mention: Navjot Sidhu, for the way he absolutely pulverised Shane Warne.