I look back at the moments that shaped cricket in 2013 and think I must be a bad charm or voodoo. The Tests I have been able to consume properly have been one-sided yawn fests in the main.
During the best Test featuring Australia – the first Ashes Test in this marathon (fells like an eternity ago, right?) – I was in the cricket wasteland of Switzerland, catching intermittent glimpses of the action at an Irish pub before my body inevitably crumbled under the nefarious spell of European liquor.
Sometimes Test cricket can be cruel. You watch for hours, hoping for a contest, hoping for something memorable – sometimes just to ensure it was worthwhile neglecting all that work, chores and partner demands – but after you’ve spent way too many hours in front of the box, the game usually unfolds predictably.
You can start sniffing an English batting collapse or an Australian middle-lower order rescue mission.
But the beauty of sport, notably Test cricket, is every so often surprises eventuate.
And in 2013, there was one Test that surprised, captivated, made me start biting my fingernails (despite being a neutral spectator) and will forever be indelibly etched into my memory.
Favourite Test of 2013
The recent, riveting first Test between South Africa and India.
I never expected to be more captivated with this series than the Ashes – which unfortunately spiralled into anti-climax some time in Adelaide.
Despite the South Africa v India affair being branded as a heavyweight contest – they are the two top ranked teams in the world after all – I wasn’t too enthused.
I was predicting a South African obliteration. India had not played a Test abroad for nearly two years (two years?!) and boasted a new generation of batting talent.
There was no Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman or Virender Sehwag to be relied on. And India’s bowling attack always stinks away from the sub-continent.
But this Test match was basically the antithesis of the Ashes series in Australia. It was a genuine hard-nosed contest.
It displayed the hallmarks of the very best of Test cricket – tough, tight, unpredictable, at times brilliant and ultimately unforgettable.
I agree, South Africa should have gone for the world record, even risking egg on face. It wasn’t just about the world record per se. It would have sealed their status in the cricket community and aura would be seeping from their pores.
They would indisputably be regarded as ‘The Best’, and there would be no whispers of Australia potentially usurping them as number one.
But the cringe worthy finale doesn’t deter from the feature.
Like how some bemoan Martin Scorsese’s Oscar winning film ‘The Departed’ because of the rat that crawled across the screen during the movie’s final moments. Sure, the hackneyed metaphor was eye-rolling but that shouldn’t detract from the previous 140 minutes of brilliance, right?
So, I’m not going to mark South Africa’s conservatism at the death too harshly. Not after five magnificent days of cricket.
We saw India’s young batting stars conjure the impossible and blunt the fury of Superman Steyn (of course, this was fleeting). We perhaps saw the first stride of Virat Kohli’s attainable bid to become the first player to simultaneously become the best bat in all three formats.
Even more intriguingly, is he the new Sachin? Yeah sorry, I know that was blasphemy…
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane showcased their talents and ensured India have batting depth both Australia and England crave right now.
India’s pace bowling, forever their bane, was impressive thanks to the surprisingly healthy Zaheer Khan and the surprisingly accurate Ishant Sharma.
Remember when Sharma made a still-in-his-peak Ricky Ponting hop and holler at the WACA six years? At the time I remember thinking Sharma was destined for greatness. He seemed like he was capable of becoming perhaps a ‘poor man’s Ambrose’.
But he’s been a disappointment ever since and was pummelled so badly during his last Australian visit that I was convinced his Test career would be consigned to solely playing at home.
Seeing a rejuvenated Ishant seek redemption was a revelation.
A fit Zaheer and a firing Ishant will ensure India avoids being merely fodder abroad.
Perhaps this wasn’t South Africa’s greatest performance but, like Adelaide, it showcased how difficult they are to beat.
And also like Adelaide, Faf du Plessis demonstrated his mental toughness with another monumental effort of rigour, technique, pluck and skill.
I can’t wait for the battle – Australia’s all-conquering attack against South Africa’s masterful batting line-up.
Favourite individual performance?
One of my earliest cricket memories was being awestruck by Curtly Ambrose. Yeah, I’m referring to the Australian summer of 1992-93 when Curtly ripped the heart out of the Aussie team (who possessed the superior all-round side) and cruelly stomped on it.
I thought I would never witness hostility and sustained brilliance on that level again.
Mitchell Johnson’s Ashes campaign this summer may have trumped Ambrose’s effort. He claimed 31 wickets at 14 during the first four Tests (Ambrose claimed 33 wickets at 16 in five Tests).
The Moustached Menace’s initial spell in Brisbane on day two turned the series on its head, while his obliteration on day three in Adelaide ensured not only Ashes redemption for Australia but that a series whitewash was virtually a certainty.
That Adelaide spell was a mixture of Ambrose’s hostile WACA spell and Shoaib Akhtar’s furious destruction of Australia’s acclaimed batsmen in Colombo in 2002. It was fast bowling at its most intimidating.
It had me, and the rest of the nation, literally jumping for joy.
I have bemoaned the one-sided nature of the Ashes but Johnson’s spells throughout the series should be forever savoured. Because, who knows, it could be a one-series wonder for cricket’s most mercurial player.
What do you think 2013 will likely be remembered for?
It was a controversial year in many regards. Mention the name Haroon Lorgat and scorn will instantly reverberate.
I won’t harp on gloom, so I’ll focus on-pitch.
2013 will most likely be remembered for the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar – one of cricket’s most iconic and beloved players.
From the time he announced his retirement though to his final moments on the pitch, it was clear Sachin transcended the sport. It was testament to the frenzy that reverberated globally.
There’s been so many amazing cricketers but no-one since Don Bradman, even Viv Richards or Shane Warne, can claim to have been devoted the universal love of the cricket community.
Conversely, Jacques Kallis’ retirement received less fanfare but he was similarly lauded by cricket connoisseurs. It’ll probably be an eternal debate – Garfield Sobers or Kallis for greatest all-rounder status?
I vote Sobers for his ability to combine spin in his bowling repertoire, but who cares, right? Kallis is in the conversation, and justifiably so.
Twin Ashes campaigns will long live in the consciousness.
Many years from now, I can imagine many trolling through cricket annals and being flummoxed by the juxtaposition of Ashes series in 2013. How did England win 3-0 only to lose (probably) 5-0 several months later?
And how did Australia reel off four Ashes thrashings to end a year where they had previously not won a Test in their preceding nine matches?
Yup, cricket went schizophrenic in 2013.
Favourite cricket piece – feature, column, blog – of 2013?
Jarrod Kimber on Jimmy Anderson: Cricket writing in 2013 was owned by Kimber, who seized Gideon Haigh’s (who’s still great by the way) long-worn crown of ‘best cricket writer’.
Kimber’s end-of-day summations have been consistently genius. Anyone who has worked in the media can appreciate the difficulty of writing on deadline. Kimber routinely smashes the difficulty out of the park.
He’s produced too many gems but this piece on Jimmy A was evocative, informative and poignant. Brilliant.
Russell Jackson’s piss-takes on Watson and Warner: Rusty Jacko was one of the rising stars of 2013, with his hard yards blogging reaping the rewards with coveted (and deserved) gigs at The Guardian and Cricinfo.
Hilarious lampooning of Watson and Warner garnered Jackson initial prominence, rightfully too. They are the two pieces that slayed me the most last year. I wasted too much time at work re-reading them and crazily chuckling to myself much to the confusion of my fellow cubicle inmates.
Here’s hoping in 2014 Jackson replicates Grantland’s Andrew Sharp’s #hotsporttakes and writes a regular satirical column satirizing the likes of Conn, Dorries, et al.
This has to happen.
Aaron Timms’ every piece: There isn’t a cricket writer tapping prose better than Timms. He’s not universally admired. One of his critics wrote that Timms uses “too many similes, metaphors, pretend Latin, pretentious words, assumptions of knowledge, more keen to show off than inform…”
It was perfectly surmised, and that’s why I love his work!
Brett Graham on the WACA’s demise: Graham’s piece on the WACA’s sad decline as a cricket venue contained detailed and thorough research, and was an excellent analysis of the dire situation engulfing one of Australia’s iconic sports venues.
Matt Becker’s emotional powerhouse on his connection with Sachin Tendulkar’s career: A 2013 highlight for me was interviewing Matt – an American who somehow fell in love with cricket during the atrocity of the 2007 ODI World Cup.
This piece parallels Sachin’s career with his personal journey. Raw, honest and genuine, this is a real tearjerker.
Favourite piece of 2013
Bharat Sundaresan’s tour-de-force on Mumbai’s star cricketer before Sachin: Clearly with the work being produced by the mainstream media and blogs, cricket writing is in a healthy state.
But I lament the lack of long-form journalism in cricket media, and heck, Australia media generally.
The dearth isn’t surprising, considering long-form has long been a staple primarily in American media, and in the current climate of 24-7 news media there appears a lack of willpower among struggling media companies to invest in this expensive niche.
Look, I love armchair critic pieces and humorous yarns but quality long-form journalism pieces my heart like no other.
I so wish Cricinfo, for example, would unshackle some of its star power and let them run wild with long-form.
The lack of long-form (and its need) is always emphasised every time Wright Thompson – the master of the genre – is on cricket assignment.
Anyway, Sundaresan’s exhaustive feature is a master class in reporting and writing, and fused together it is simply one of the best cricket stories I have ever read.
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