The ‘tails’ must keep wagging

THERE is a sting in the tail these days in most Test playing cricket teams.

Gone are the days when the entry of numbers nine, 10 and 11 meant time to get some lunch or a favourite tipple without missing much of the action. Some even chose to take a quick nap before the opposition came in to bat.
Times have now changed. The tail is expected to bat because the modern game is all about being multi-dimensional. Just going to the crease, wafting the bat about before edging or missing the ball is frowned upon by the team.
In the first Test against England, the West Indies lower order consisting of Denesh Ramdin, Jerome Taylor and Darren Powell put on 117 runs between them. That is the kind of stuff one expects from the tail these days.
Ironically, statistics since 2005 reveal that the West Indies have the worst tailenders.  They average 12.60 in 143 innings.
England have fared no better, being second from the bottom. In 169 innings, their tailenders have averaged just 12.90.
The top team, without doubt, is New Zealand. Their tail has wagged consistently and they average 26.46. Considering that their tail often consists of vice-captain Daniel Vettori and James Franklin, it is no surprise.
Both Vettori and Franklin have Test centuries to their name and would in any other side, bat much higher in the order.
New Zealand are even better than Australia and South Africa, who average 19.94 and 19.30 respectively.
India and Pakistan follow South Africa with 18.34 and 17.71. Zimbabwe, surprisingly, are sixth 16.64 followed by Sri Lanka with 15.69 and Bangladesh with 13.95.
Some of these statistics show that the tailenders have not done very well recently.
Sadly, many of the lower order these days are equipped with better techniques and this has taken away the entertainment value of Test cricket.
For example, Monty Panesar of England evokes mirth whenever he fields but give him a bat and he looks quite comfortable playing cover drives and forward defensive pushes.
England have produced some good entertainers in the lower order. Among the recent ones, Phil Tufnell was the best non-batsman.
Tufnell’s shuffles and attempts to connect the ball were great to watch.
Alan Mullally was another who was very intent on contributing his bit with the bat but rarely succeeded.
His crowning moment was in South Africa when he hit a six off Allan Donald, a top edged affair while attempting a hook.
Former England captain Bob Willis was a treat to watch. Willis made no pretensions to batting and his sole shot was a kind of circular drive which sometimes fetched him a few fours or sixes.
The West Indies had Courtney Walsh who despite his lack of batting prowess had a great air about him at the crease. Whenever Walsh connected, the ball would go far and wide. But these were few and far between.
Walsh had a record of 43 ducks in a career spanning 132 Tests. But he did manage to score eight 50es with a highest score of 66 in first class cricket. Probably Lady Luck was on his side for those innings.
Today, the West Indies team have Corey Collymore and Fidel Edwards, two batsmen who would give the statisticians a bit of a rest.
The South Africans have Andre Nel and Makhiya Ntini who add spice to the batting line-up. Both, however, are quite capable of hitting the ball hard and making some useful contributions.
Pakistan’s Danesh Kaneria’s batting is not as deceptive as his googly. However, of late he has made a marginal improvement by trying to be aggressive.
Pakistan boasted of one of the strongest tails in the late 70s when wicketkeeper Wasim Bari batted at number 11. At one time, all 11 batsmen in the Pakistan side had made first-class centuries.
The heyday of India’s tail was in the 60s and 70s when Erapalli Prasanna, Bishen Singh Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrashekhar made up the lower rung. Usually, the opening batsmen of the opposition team started their stretching exercises once the first of the three made his entry.
Chandrashekhar, unfortunately, was restricted from batting due to a polio-affected hand but he once hit a six in a Test match almost one-handed.
No tailend story would be complete without New Zealand’s Danny Morrison. Morrison once held the record for most ducks with 24. However, in his last Test, Morrison held on with Nathan Astle to put on an unbeaten 106 for the last wicket against to earn a draw for his team.
It was a truly heroic effort from a batsman who was a total rabbit with the bat.

By Babu Kalyanpur
babu.kallianpur@tradearabia.net