XI OF A KIND

XI of a kind: The overindulgence in chin music

by Bharath Ramaraj & Deepu Narayanan • Last updated on

There is always a kind of thrill when one athlete pits his skills, willpower and belief against the other in the battlefield. The two athletes push each other to the hilt and in the end, there can only be one winner. In the cricketing landscape, when a batsman pits his skills and temperament against a genuinely fast bowler, it usually makes for the most enthralling chapter in the sport.

A fast bowler with unadulterated pace, pelts down a barrage of bumpers, while the batsman collects bruises yet doesn't quit. Instead, he pushes the limits to play the next ball. In such a situation, there is no room for self-doubt or twitch as the next ball can again likely go whistling past the nose.

Here's a list of 11 such instances where fast bowlers with a lethal cocktail of unbridled pace and bumpers, drove fear into the minds of the batsmen. Also at the same time, there are instances of a few brave batsmen who stood up to the challenge and emerged victorious.

Minutes have turned into hours, hours into months, months into years and several decades, but even now the 1932-33 "Bodyline" series is regarded as an epoch-making Test series. It was an era, where it was considered "unsportsmanlike" to bowl a leg-stump/outside the line of leg-stump line and cricketers mostly adhered to that rule strictly. However, it wasn't the case with the Bombay-born England captain Douglas Jardine, who used the famous 'leg theory' to curtail the batting prowess of Don Bradman as England regained the Ashes Down Under.

The genesis of the idea took place on a dark and dreary day at the Oval Test in 1930. The great Bradman despite reigning supreme with his 232, had showed some discomfort while facing a few deliveries that reared up quite disconcertingly on a 'sticky wicket'. Percy Fender, the Surrey captain observed it and communicated his thoughts to Jardine. Jardine, who by then had taken over as the captain from Bob Wyatt, went through the footage and reportedly screamed, "I've got it, he's yellow".

Eventually, when the Test series started, one of the main protagonists, Bradman, missed the first Test at the SCG reportedly due to a few issues with the Board of Control. Jardine, though, believed that the great batsman had a 'nervous breakdown'. On the other side, the official reason given by the board was Bradman was laid low by influenza. In the England camp, there were a few problems too as Gubby Allen, one of the pacers, assigned to use the much talked about tactic, refused to follow his captain's instructions.

In the first Test in Sydney, Larwood made the ball streak through the air at alarming rates to leave the batsmen trembling. Larwood also bowled the first bumper of the famous Bodyline series - sixth ball of his first over - but to an orthodox field. The fast bowler went on to bag 10 wickets in the match, with England employing the Bodyline tactics intermittently. By then, the word "Bodyline" had also been coined for England's tactics in the Melbourne Age. The story goes that Hugh Buggy had sent his copy and had coined the term "Bodyline bowling" but the subeditor, Ray Robinson, kept it as just Bodyline.

The first Test also witnessed an intense duel between Stan McCabe and Larwood/Voce. Once Jack Fingleton was dislodged - caught at short leg via a vicious Larwood bumper - McCabe played a string of debonair hook shots, bisecting the infield on the on-side to crack a spellbinding 187* and lift Australia to 360 in the first essay. The famous line McCabe said to Bill O'Reilly, the lower-order batsman, "Don't worry about him [Larwood]. He's not as fast as he looks; I'll handle him," is still reminisced by connoisseurs.

The "Bodyline" tactics reached its peak in the Adelaide Test. After England were cleaned up for 341 in the first innings, Larwood bowled a nasty bouncer that just missed smashing Woodfull's head. He followed it up with another bolt of a lightning delivery that hit Woodfull flush on his chest. Such was the situation that it appeared with 50962 fans watching the game, there could have been a riot as the crowd began to jeer the English players. While the English players offered sympathy, at the same time Jardine turned to his spearhead and said, "Well bowled Larwood." It is believed that the comment was aimed at Bradman, batting at the other end.

Woodfull batted gamely for his 22 before being cleaned up by Allen. After the day's play, Pelham Warner, the England manager, visited the Australian dressing to enquire about Woodfull's health.

But, the usually calm Woodfull replied, "I don't want to see you, Mr Warner. There are two teams out there. One is trying to play cricket and the other is not."

The Test was further marred by controversy when Bert Oldfield, the 'keeper-batsman, was hit on the head by Larwood's bumper with Oldfield missing out on the hook. However, it has to be noted that a Bodyline field was not employed for that particular delivery bowled by Larwood. There was another riot-like situation with the English players even thinking of 'arming' themselves in case the fans attacked them. Later, Jardine dispatched a 'secret' telegram offering his sympathy to Oldfield's wife and gave a few presents to his young daughters.

England won the series 4-1 and it was the last time they held the urn till Bradman hung his boots in 1948. Bradman's average dropped down to 56 - the only time in his career he averaged less than 65 in a series. Larwood, who had sustained a foot injury during the final Test, never played for England again. The no-nonsense captain, Jardine, played his final Test versus India in Chennai in 1934. The "Bodyline" series had far-reaching repercussions as the Australian board sent a strong-worded cable at the end of the fourth day's play of the third Test and the MCC retorted with a strong reply too. The situation even escalated into a diplomatic affair between the two countries.

Fast bowlers continued to use the "Bodyline" tactics even after the Ashes 1932-33. Nottinghamshire tried it during the 1933 County season, while Ken Farnes, playing for Cambridge University, employed a similar strategy to hit a few Oxford University batsmen during the same season. Douglas Jardine, himself had to face such a strategy when the West Indies pace duo of Manny Martindale and Learie Constantine (under the leadership of Jackie Grant) tried to shake up the England line-up in the Old Trafford Test.

Wally Hammond, the England lynchpin, suffered a blow on the chin. However, he recovered and resumed his innings. Jardine was next in the firing line but the tenacious batsman offered mostly a straight blade to dead-bat the pacers. He also looked to take his bottom hand off the bat handle to negate the threat. Les Ames, his batting partner at the other end, struggled to cope up with a barrage of bumpers. Jardine had said to his partner, "You get yourself down this end, Les. I'll take care of this bloody nonsense." Jardine finished with 127 in the first innings while the Test ended in a stalemate. It remained as the only hundred for Jardine in his 22-Test career. Martindale was the most successful bowler for the visitors, ending with 5 for 73. Incidentally, Nobby Clark, the left-arm pacer also resorted to such tactics bowling in the second innings.

Ellis Park (Johannesburg) was initially built as a multipurpose stadium, with both cricket and rugby to be played. And as a result of that, there were many occasions when cricket was played on under-prepared surfaces. The track prepared for the 1952-53 Test against New Zealand had a good covering of grass and seemed to be a treacherous surface. To make matters worse for the visitors, South Africa had Neil Adcock in their ranks. The mean fast bowler could extract disconcerting bounce from most surfaces, but at Ellis Park, the ball was also exploding from a good length making him a very dangerous proposition.

After South Africa were bowled out for 271 in the first dig, the tourists lost both Geoff Rabone and Murray Chapple with the score reading 9 for 2. The openers also sustained blows after they were hit in the first over by Adcock. Bert Sutcliffe, New Zealand's best batsman, walked in at No.4. The fourth ball he faced, the gutsy left-hander attempted to hook Adcock, but the ball lifted awkwardly to plonk his left ear. The crack, the sound of the southpaw being hit, was such that even now eyewitnesses of that incident recollect it. Sutcliffe remained unconscious for a few minutes. After regaining consciousness, he didn't take the stretcher, instead bravely walked back to the pavilion with the assistance of Rabone and also shook hands with the South African skipper Jack Cheetham.

Sutcliffe was taken to the X-ray room and by then he had a lump behind his left ear. He collapsed in the hospital again and was unconscious for a while. Eventually, they dressed up his ear-lobe. Sutcliffe also asked his captain, Rabone, "How are we going?" and when he came to know the visitors were in dire straits, he decided to bat again. At 81 for 6, the heavily bandaged Sutcliffe walked out to the middle. He hooked the third ball he faced from David Ironside for a six. He also square cut Adcock for a boundary. The poignant moment of the Test came when Bob Blair, who had lost his fiancee, Narissa Love, in the Wellington-Auckland express tragedy, trudged his way to the crease, teary-eyed. The duo added a further 33 in just 10 minutes to reduce the deficit to 84. It included a 25-run over off the parsimonious Hugh Tayfield which remained the record for most runs scored off an over in Tests till 2001. South Africa, finally, won the Test by 132 runs. New Zealand, meanwhile, won everyone's hearts for their courage and valour.

According to New Zealand's most prolific cricket writer, Dick Brittenden, "It was a great and glorious victory, a story every New Zealand boy should learn at his mother's knee."

Barbados vs Indians, Tour match, 1961-62

When India embarked on a tour to West Indies in 1961-62, the visitors were expected to give a good account of themselves under the leadership of Nari Contractor. The Indian captain had just led the side to a memorable Test series win versus England. However, the Indian side couldn't make an impact against West Indies as they were crushed by 10 wickets, and an innings and 18 runs in the first two Tests. Before the third Test, the tourists were scheduled to play a tour game against Barbados.

Incidentally, Contractor, who was in poor form, with just 22 runs in four innings, wasn't expected to partake in the tour game. But there's little escaping fate. On occasions, an athlete will walk away from the sporting arena with a fairytale to tell, but at other times, there would be pain and agony to swallow. Just before the tour game, a few of the Indian players reported injuries and Contractor made himself available to play. In the subsequent warm-up game, Barbados compiled 394. It was after the lunch break on the second day when fate ended Contractor's Test career. Dilip Sardesai, Contractor's batting partner, was dismissed by Wes Hall. Barbados also had George Rock and a young tearaway quick by the name of Charlie Griffith in their ranks. In fact, Frank Worrell had warned the Indian team at a party about Griffith and his fearsome fast bowling.

Griffith then sent one thunderbolt that whistled past Contractor. Surti, who had joined Contractor in the middle, believed Griffith was chucking and said the same to his captain. Contractor, though, continued to bat and was almost caught by the short leg fielder (Conrad Hunte) off the fourth ball of the over. And then came the fatal blow as Griffith hurtled a shortish delivery, Contractor perhaps wanted to get behind the line, but in the end, tried to lean back. Unfortunately, he couldn't evade it and was struck on his left ear.

Immediately, he started to bleed from his nose and ears and was holding his head in tremendous pain. Later in the hospital, he started throwing up and an emergency operation had to be done as he had a skull fracture. Unfortunately, the local doctor wasn't a specialist neurosurgeon but was able to relieve the pressure on Contractor's brain. A second operation was conducted and afterwards, an iron plate was inserted. Worrell, the Windies captain, Chandu Borde, Bapu Nadkarni and Polly Umrigar all donated their blood and after battling with life and death for six days, Contractor regained full consciousness. The brave India captain tried to make a comeback into the Test side but was never picked again. As far as the antagonist Griffith is considered, he was no-balled twice in his career, including once by umpire Cortez Jordan in the same fateful match.

In the Ashes 1974-75, the spine-chilling pace duo of Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee hadn't just combined to help Australia thump England by 166 in the Gabba Test. But, they had also inflicted enough injuries to leave England in tatters. Dennis Amiss and John Edrich were more or less ruled out of the second Test at the WACA. Keith Fletcher, who was hit on his forearm during the first Test, was again struck in the same area in a pre-match practice game. England also had a few injury concerns with pace bowlers.

It forced the then England captain, Mike Denness, to make a desperate SOS call to Colin Cowdrey. Cowdrey had made his Test debut versus Australia way back in 1954 and was 42 by the time the SOS call was made. He had averaged a creditable 38 during that County season for Kent, but at the same time, he hadn't played for England in Tests since 1971. But the England great, who was watching the pace duo terrorize the English batsmen on television, readily agreed by saying, "I would love to" join the embattled set-up. He even said to the press that he was 'playing squash' and was quite fit. After having a net at Sevenoaks (Kent), he embarked on a 47-hour journey to Perth.

Thomson, on the other hand, had said, "he [Cowdrey] will cop it as quick as anyone". In the subsequent WACA Test, Cowdrey surprised everyone when he walked out to bat by saying to Thomson, "Good morning, my name's Cowdrey". A slightly startled Thomson bowled at scorching pace as Cowdrey played and missed a few.

However, he soon began to get behind the line. He even started to leave a few deliveries in the channel outside the off-stump. Despite being hit on the chest, he showed the required temperament and technique to compose a determined 22 before he was castled by Thomson. Australia went on to win the Test by nine wickets with Thomson picking up a rich haul of seven scalps in the match. Such was Thomson's scorching pace that Keith Miller, the great Australian all-rounder, later wrote, "Thomson even frightened me sitting 200 yards away". The Test, though, is still reminisced for a 42-year-old man taking up the challenge of facing the terrifying duo of Lillee and Thomson on arguably the quickest surface in the cricketing world. He retired at the end of the series with 43 Ashes appearances - the most by any England player.

The 1976 Jamaica Test between India and West Indies is (in)famously called as the 'Jamaica bloodbath'. The Windies pace attack, spearhead by Michael Holding and Wayne Daniel, bowled a string of bumpers and beamers, with India being bowled out for 97 (for 5) in the second essay - the remaining batsmen couldn't bat as they had suffered injuries.

If we turn the pages and look back at the series, India had chased down a massive target of 406 in the third Test at Port of Spain to leave the rubber deadlocked at 1-1. The result meant that Clive Lloyd decided to end the experiment of playing three spinners in the third Test and employ the deadly short ball strategy.

India, who were inserted into the bat in the fourth Test, made a fine start and were well placed at 136 for no loss when Holding dismissed Gavaskar with a yorker. Gavaskar, in his autobiography titled Sunny Days, later described the crowd as a 'mob'. He had also noted, "proved beyond a shadow of doubt that these people still belonged to the jungle and forests instead of civilised country".

By then the Jamaican crowd was making loud noises, shouting, 'Kill him, maan!', 'Hit him, maan!', 'Knock his head off, Mike!'

It was on Day 2, when the Windies upped their game. Mohinder Amarnath was caught at short leg off Holding. The tearaway then hurled a thunderbolt that took the glove off Gundappa Vishwanath to speed away to the boundary. Holding finally dislodged Vishwanath with another wicked bumper and the elegant batsman hurt his finger. Anshuman Gaekwad, who had taken several blows on his body, had to retire hurt for 81 after he was struck on his left ear. Bishan Singh Bedi, who complained about West Indies' intimidatory tactics to the umpires, declared the innings at 306 for 6.

Worse was to come for India in the second essay, as due to injured players, Madan Lal was forced to bat at 4 and Srinivas Venkataraghavan coming out to bat at No. 5. Windies chased down the paltry target of 13 without losing a wicket. Clive Lloyd, the home side's captain, had later said, "This is cricket - if you get hit you have to take it!" Meanwhile, the Indian set-up returned home after losing a well-fought series 2-1, battered and bruised.

Because they didn't like the sound of 'grovel' ©Getty

At the start of the England versus West Indies Test series in 1976, Tony Greig had made an inflammatory comment on BBC's Sportsnight, saying, "I'm not really sure they're as good as everyone thinks. These guys, if they get on top they are magnificent cricketers. But if they're down, they grovel, and I intend, with the help of Closey [Brian Close] and a few others, to make them grovel." It was the time of apartheid in South Africa and as it was said by a 'white' South African, it angered Clive Lloyd and his teammates as well as West Indian fans.

In the first two Tests of the series, England competed with their formidable opponents with both the games ending in a stalemate. It was in the third Test when the tourists bowled with high intensity to thrash England by 425 runs. Despite Mike Selvey bowling well on his Test debut, the Windies compiled 211 with Gordon Greenidge crunching 134 of those runs. It was followed by a hypnotic spell of fast bowling by Michael Holding. England had trudged along to 46 for 2 before the Jamaican great picked up five wickets for just nine runs as the hosts were routed for 71. Holding eventually ended up with 5 for 17.

Greenidge and Viv Richards sent England on a leather hunt in the second essay as the Windies declared at an imposing 411 for 5, setting the host a massive target of 552. It was at that stage of the match when the 45-year-old Close and the 39-year-old Edrich were mercilessly peppered with short stuff by the trio of Holding, Andy Roberts and Wayne Daniel. After receiving numerous blows on his body, Close was struck on his ribs and then near his abdomen by Holding. Terry Bindle, in the Glasgow Herald, succinctly noted, "On each occasion Close's knees momentarily gave way. His face contorted with pure agony before he regained his composure and went on chewing away with feigned indifference."

The barrage didn't stop there as the next one whistled past Close's head. When stumps were drawn for the day, Close and Edrich had taken the home team to 21 for no loss after facing 14 overs and 75 minutes of hostile and brutal fast bowling. Close had made just one and Edrich 10, but the way the duo withstood the fearsome pace attack, made the crowd sit up and applaud them. It was the last of Brian Close's 22 Test matches in a career spanning 26 years & 356 days - the second longest in the history of Test cricket. West Indies won the Test and the series but the duo's gallantry against the pacers is still reminisced fondly by cricket lovers.

The all-conquering West Indies side arrived on the shores of Australia in 1979-80, aiming to exact revenge for their humiliating 1-5 series loss Down Under in 1975-76, which had made Lloyd say "never again". With the "Four Horsemen of Apocalypse" in their ranks - Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner, the visitors certainly had the firepower to decimate Australia. Australia were no less in pace ammunition with the likes of Rodney Hogg and Len Pascoe joining forces with Lillee and Thomson.

The first Test was drawn, while West Indies crushed the home side by 10 wickets in the second. In the final Test, the foursome fearsome shared all the 20 spoils between them as the home side suffered an ignominious 408-run loss. The hallmark of West Indies' performance was how they curtailed Greg Chappell's run-scoring. In the unofficial Packer Super Tests, he had amassed over 600 runs against the Windies bowlers but couldn't cross the fifty-run mark in the final two Tests of the three-match series. Holding, in an interview, later noted that they had studied Chappell closely during the Super Tests which helped them to work out the great batsman. The way Andy Roberts bowled a nasty bumper to force Chappell to fend it to the gully fielder in the final Test encapsulates the point. It was West Indies' first ever series win (2-0) in Australia in six attempts.

When West Indies pummelled England in Antigua to make a clean-sweep of the 1986 series, 5-0, David Gower, the England captain, had noted, "The ship is well and truly sunk, but congratulations to Viv and his boys." And Gower was perhaps right as a battered and bruised England team was thrashed in every match of the rubber. The scariest of the Tests turned out to be the first game played in Jamaica. The first Test also witnessed the debut of Patrick Patterson - arguably one of the quickest bowlers of all time.

In his debut Test, he bowled with volcanic pace, which made Graham Gooch (scored more runs than anyone else against West Indies in the period between 1980 to 1995) say, "It was the first time, I'd ever really got the whiff of danger in the nostrils."

With a low sightscreen in front of the George Headley Stand (authorities had refused to raise it claiming it would impair the view of spectators who had already bought tickets) and with deliveries shooting off a good length via a dangerous pitch, the tall and muscular Patterson charged in to cause mayhem and bag seven wickets in the match. There was no limit on the number of bouncers that could be bowled and it was left to the umpires to judge whether, in accordance with Law 42, the bowling was deliberately intimidating. Johnny Gayle, who was at Patterson's end, saw nothing wrong and the bumper barrage carried on. England were crushed by 10 wickets. Peter Willey, who played 15 of his 26 Tests between 1976 and 1986 against the West Indies, scored a defiant 71 (off 104 balls) in the second innings and said of Patterson, "If people are bowling 90 miles an hour now, Patterson must have been bowling 100mph in that game." After the Test, John Woodcock of the Times summed up the Test aptly, "ever felt it more likely that I would see someone killed on the pitch".

Mitchell Johnson unleashed his furious best in the 2013-14 Ashes ©Getty

For a period of time, the game of cricket seemed to be missing a hostile fast bowler testing every bit of the batsman's defense with pace and awkward bounce. But in the Ashes 2013-14, connoisseurs of the game were transported to a bygone era as Mitchell Johnson hurled hand grenades to snare a rich haul of 37 wickets. One of his best performances in terms of sheer hostility came in the opening Test at the Gabba. On a surface that offered good carry, he terrorised the English batsmen to pick up nine wickets in the match as the tourists crashed to a 381-run defeat. The visitors, who had perhaps started the series as marginal favourites, never really recovered and were whitewashed 5-0.

Johnson, with a slightly remodelled action, which was based on an exaggerated pistoning of the arm and a lengthened run-up, charged in on Day 2 at the Gabba to cause havoc. Just before lunch, Jonathan Trott was hit on the glove by Johnson and soon was dismissed. Trott, who was in the prime of his career then, suffered a nervous breakdown and took a forced sabbatical from the game. Kevin Pietersen, the aggressive batsman, attempted the hook, but was beaten by Johnson's lightning pace and awkward bounce. He then perhaps produced the best delivery of the match to dismiss Michael Carberry. With two fielders close in, he bowled a scorching bouncer from round the wicket that was angled away from Carberry, with the opener edging it to the first slip.

In the second innings he again dislodged Trott and finally spearheaded the hosts to a comfortable win by dismissing the last man James Anderson. The England spearhead also was in the midst of a verbal duel, with Michael Clarke telling to him, "get ready for a broken f...... arm". One of the ways to capsulise Johnson's effect on the match would be the slip fielders alongside three close in fielders waiting with bated breath for Chris Tremlett to edge one late on Day 4. Johnson ended the series with 37 scalps as seven from the England squad never played another Test after that Ashes. Trott made an unsuccessful comeback from the self-imposed sabbatical 18 months later in the Caribbean which lasted just three Tests.

In the recently-concluded Test series between England and Australia, the Australian pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood used sustained short stuff, especially against the opposition's lower-order batsmen. It was in the WACA Test, when the pace trio raised the bar a notch higher as England's lower order was put under immense pressure. In the first innings, England lost their last six wickets for just 35. In the second innings too, Australia employed a similar strategy to clean up England and regain the Ashes. Craig Overton survived a couple of well directed short ones, while Stuart Broad could only fend it to the 'keeper. James Anderson, who seems to come under the scanner of Australia's fast bowlers every time he bats, sustained a sickening blow when he was smacked on his helmet. However, he decided to resume his innings. Cummins provided the finishing touches to the well drawn plan when he dismissed Chris Woakes with a shortish delivery as England crashed to their eighth successive defeat at the WACA.

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