In today’s weekend blog, I am writing on cricket, and the topic of the blog is
PLAYERS WHO DID NOT GET THE CREDIT THEY DESERVE
The Game of cricket has paved the path for several individuals to reach the peak, and similarly, the game has not been forgivable to everyone who has spilled blood and sweat on the field. A few have managed to climb the rungs of the ladder of greatness, while others have failed to attain legendary status. One single game has mixed contributions from those 11 players ( forming one team) playing their trade on the field. A few go on to leave an emphatic mark while the others battle it out with whatever flair they have up their sleeves. Today I am writing about five of those cricketers, who were renowned names, but did not really hog the limelight despite their limited heroics, they remain underrated.
1 Paul Collingwood (England)
After making his debut in the year 2000, he kept on playing till 2011, when he made his presence felt with some resolute batting in the middle order, some adept medium-pace bowling, and some fine fielding. He was considered to be a fine companion to one of the most hard-hitting talents of the game, Andrew Flintoff. In Test cricket, Paul averaged 40 and in ODI he averaged about 36. Alongside his batting credential, he went on to scalp 111 wickets with his dicey bowling. He also had a major impact as a captain when he went on to lead his squad in 2010 to a T20 World Cup win. He was finally axed from the international squad after 2011 to accommodate younger players. Sadly cricket has not remembered this legend for his outstanding contributions to the game.
2 Mohd. Yousuf (Pakistan)
Initially known as Yousuf Youhana, a catholic who converted to Islam, he was a pillar in the Pakistani middle-order. With classic stroke-play being his main ability. He induced fear in the hearts of his opponents. He was specialist in both Tests and ODIs where he averaged 52 and 42 respectively. His career started in 1998 and he went on to play until 2010. In the span of 12 years, he scored 18,000 international runs, which is not an easy feat to achieve. However, the legendary batsman did not really achieve cult status in the game due to a controversial exit, and Cricket never remembered him either.
3 Damien Martyn (Australia)
When he made his debut for the Australian team, the team’s batting order was, starting with the likes of Adam Gilchrist, and Mathew Hayden, followed by Ricky Ponting. However, whenever the top 3 failed to leave a mark, the man who used to hold innings was none other than Damien Martyn. He made his debut in 1992 but it took him considerable time to leave a significant footprint for the Aussies. He played a pivotal role in the 2003 World Cup win of Australia as he went on to score a fantastic 88 runs in the final alongside Ponting’s blistering century that dismantled India.
His average spanned above 46 in Tests and more than 40 in ODIS. He was a rock-solid anchor who steered the nation to several glories when the big shots failed. In fact, he was a massive backup to the cream of Australian batting that gave them leeway to unleash their exploits on the field.
4 Ajit Agarkar (India)
Equipped with the best quality for producing the most lethal in-swinging Yorkers at any point in time of the game that left the batsmen dazed and confused. He was considered to be a bowling all-rounder. He still holds the record for the fastest half-century by an Indian in ODI cricket. His batting heroics also included a brilliant century at Lords, thereby giving India a downright chance to fight the might of England. However, he was more renowned for his prolific bowling skills. Though he used to be pretty expensive, his wicket-taking capability made him an absolute favourite to his captains.
He took 288 wickets in 191 ODIs @ an average of 27. If we go by the numbers, his ODI bowling record is better than one of India’s best fast bowlers Zaheer Khan. Both Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid heavily relied upon Agarkar. However after Ganguly and Dravid left the captaincy, he could not stage another comeback into Team India. His last foray was the 2007 T20 World Cup, which India went on to win. He even bowled the famous final over in the first game with Pakistan producing a remarkable tie, which was won by India in a bowl out.
5 Shivnarine Chandrapaul (West Indies)
He was the consistent name in the West Indies outfit, who stayed as reticent as ever and yet silently kept on building to his greatness. In the presence of Lara, he always used to play second fiddle, learning from the legendary batsman. Once Lara stepped down in 2007, Chanderpaul hogged the limelight with his brilliant technical prowess.
Between 2007 and 2010, a lot of West Indian stalwarts departed from the game, thereby leaving a great void. Chanderpaul single-handedly took over the reins of the side and stunned everyone with his ever-improving ability. In 164Tests, he scored 11,864 runs @ the average of 51. In ODIs, he scored 8700 @ 41.
In his 21-year-long career, he served Team West Indies to the best of his ability, but as the age started catching up he left the game in 2015. Despite having such an illustrious career, he never got what he deserved from the game of cricket.
Waiting for your views on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
27th October 2023