The Hindu : Sport : It's just not cricket

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 09, 2005

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Sport

It's just not cricket

Bowling down the leg-side has about as much appeal as a parking ticket. Proper cricket shots cannot be played to deliveries that land a yard outside leg-stump. Only rough and ready clouts can be attempted against offerings of this sort. Creativity must be abandoned in favour of muscular and risky biffs. In short batting is compromised to such an extent that connoisseurs may as well pack their bags and go home.

India has played some glorious cricket in this one-day series but has also stifled its opponent by aiming spinning deliveries at the blind spot behind the batsmen. It is the most cynical and destructive tactic in the game, and has been ever since Trevor Bailey and other Englishmen used it to save a Test against the Australians. Leg theory it was called, a title that seems to put it alongside the great discoveries produced by our most probing scientists — not least the revelation that an apple falling from a tree is apt to hit a fellow on the head. But, it is not a theory, merely a device whereby the unscrupulous can bring the game to a halt.

Ruthless exposition

Of course the most ruthless exposition of leg-theory came in 1932/3. Part of the problem with Bodyline itself was that it was directed down the leg-side so that only the most nimble batsman could even attempt an off-side stroke. Douglas Jardine added to the effect by placing almost all his fieldsmen on the on-side which added to the risk attached to the lofted stroke. Once the dust had settled upon the series the lawmakers hastened to prevent any repetition of a ruse that spoiled the game as a spectacle. It was as if a singer was only allowed to use half the notes in his repertoire.

In recent times leg-theory has crept back in as spinners strive to restrict opponents by landing the ball behind their backs. Now and then the style creates excitement as Shane Warne or some other wrist-spinner causes the ball to turn sharply and sneak between the pads of bewildered batsmen. Mostly the strategy simply causes frustration, not least amongst observers keen to watch a fair contest between bat and ball. After all cricket is supposed to be a game, not a form of torture.

England condemned

When England once again resorted to the tactic by way of containing Sachin Tendulkar they were roundly, though not universally, condemned. That Tendulkar lost his wicket to an indiscretion against Ashley Giles, the main instigator, did not help the cause. Virender Sehwag had charged down the pitch to cart the ball over cover and his partner decided that he, too, should try to belt the tactic out of existence.Thankfully the game's governing body responded by instructing umpires that persistent leg-side bowling should be regarded as illegitimate.

Accordingly it came as a surprise to find Tendulkar landing his leg-breaks so far outside leg-stump that only the most foolhardy batsmen thought of striking the ball anywhere except towards the heavily packed leg field. Nor was it encouraging to find the tactic treated as if it were a masterstroke and the bowler praised as if he were Chandra reincarnate. Of course the crowd roared and the players became excited as catches were taken on the boundary but this was not cricket.

No joy

Nor did the heart exactly swell with joy at the sight of an occasional left-arm spinner landing his deliveries in the same spot and then rejoicing as some poor cove of a batsman chasing 8 runs an over managed to thump the ball straight to a fieldsman. Of course it is natural for players to catch the mood of the crowd, especially at seaside resorts where even the most cautious men cast aside their inhibitions (no history of Brighton could otherwise be understood!).

In case it seems unfair to complain about the strategies of a team that has batted with such distinction — Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and the new gloveman have been outstanding — then reflect upon the consequences of allowing leg-side bowling to flourish. It is up to critics to draw attention to strategies calculated to reduce the game till it scarcely differs from rounders or whatever that sport is called that the Americans play with such singular devotion.

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