SLICE OF LIFE
Into the sunset
BY V. GANGADHAR
When great players retire, it creates a void.
EYES moist with tears. A sudden feeling of emptiness that you had lost something forever. Can you experience all these sitting in front of your television set watching a cricket match? It happened to me on the morning of January 5 watching the closing moments of the fifth and final Test match between England and Australia at Sydney.
One more "Ashes" series was over and Australia triumphed five-nil. While this was a remarkable achievement, what was equally important was the retirement of three Australian stalwarts.
The game is important but it is the personalities which make the game. Thanks to live telecasts, we were able to watch the final playing moments of these great players. When Langer came out to bat for the last time, the English men formed a line and cheered him. Glen McGrath ended his playing career in fine style, taking a wicket with the last ball. Warne was not to be left behind. The greatest spin bowler of all time hit a brisk 71. It was a glorious exit for all of them.
Emotional moments
ESPN, fortunately, did not interrupt the telecast with ads. Once the match was over, the cameras focused on the departing heroes. They were interviewed separately and commented on the joy and pride of being part of an invincible team. They held the stumps in their hands, waved to the crowds and frolicked with their children who had run on to the pitch. McGrath walked around carrying his young son and daughter in his arms while Langer and Warne posed for family photographers. The emotional Langer was often wiping his eyes and we could understand his feelings on this historic moment.
Did these men have to retire though they were in their mid-thirties? They were still in top form and had contributed much to the Australian clean sweep. Langer had scored yet another century while the two bowlers had once again taken more than 20 wickets each. They were fit, as fit as the younger members of the team and could have played in yet another "Ashes" series. The reason why they left the game, obviously, was that this was the zenith of their careers, they could not do anything more. The Ashes defeat of 2005 had been avenged and how! There were family responsibilities. McGrath's wife was recovering from serious illness, the children were growing up. Warne had marital problems and wanted to spend more time with the children and Langer too must have had some personal problems. Further, a host of young Australian players were knocking at the doors of international cricket and the senior members could not go on forever.
Yet, when great players leave the game it creates a void and sadness. There was no live telecast when Don Bradman left the cricket scene at the Oval, England in 1948, inexplicably out for a duck. When the Don came to the middle, the England team, led by captain Norman Yardley, lined up and gave him three cheers and perhaps the great batsman was overcome with emotion. This particular moment has been immortalised by Jack Fingleton in his unforgettable book, Brightly Fades the Don.
Recent memories
Some similar memories are more recent. Whenever it was possible, I bunked office when Vivian Richards came out to bat and to this day I remember his well-muscled torso, his arrogant walk and his looking up to the sky to acclimatise himself to the sunlight. The last walk to the pavilion at the end of an Australian tour of West Indian fast bowlers Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh is again fresh in my memory. Aussie captain Steve Waugh was given a rapturous send-off in his last test against India at his home ground in Sydney. They were all great champions who gave much to cricket and won our love and admiration.
Watching their last moments as players on TV made one understand that they were also human beings like us. No wonder Justin Langer could not control his emotions and shed tears. He will never appear before huge crowds in a cricket arena, never be part of the dressing room environment and never again enjoy such media adulation. These are prospects which would test the feelings of even the strongest minds.
Mind you, these men were not perfect. I was often disgusted with McGrath's sledging, Shane Warne's deliberate taunts of the gentlemanly Sri Lankan players like Arjuna Ranatunge and the endless reports of his womanising and extra marital affairs. But then no one is perfect and it also proves that our favourite heroes were very human!
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