Dustbowls and Flat track Bullies — The Hypocrisy of England and Australia
In a recent tweet, Alex Tudor the ex England fast bowling all rounder said this about Virat Kohli
Now why exactly is scoring in England such an important criteria to be called as the best around?
As an ardent follower of cricket, I have been fed this propaganda since I was a kid. That, you have to score in Australia and England to be known as a great batsman. And somehow scoring heavily in Asian countries was considered secondary and taken for granted.
I used to believe this for a very long time and gauged my own countrymen based on their performances at Her Majesty’s kingdoms.
If you don’t believe how strong this propaganda is, I would like to point to the narratives of two the greatest batsmen of this era. Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.
Now Sachin could have scored a ton of runs in asian conditions, on dustbowls and turning tracks against some of the wiliest spinners. But it would not have mattered. He would be one dimensional.
Brian could have scored a ton of runs in Sri Lanka (according to me, his greatest batting performance was against Murali and Co when Sri Lanka was a fortress) but it would not have mattered. He would be called a decent batsman, good enough in friendly batting conditions.
How did they become stars? Which innings is often cited? Look at it carefully. Do you get it? Let me help you recollect.
For Sachin, we keep going back to his twin hundreds in Sydney and Perth and the desert storm vs Australia. Because he scored them against the great Australia you see. And for Brian, we cite his 400 vs England in England and his 153 vs Australia.
So all it takes for people to recognise you as a great bat is to score vs these two countries and preferably in their conditions.
Now, it is not enough that a billion people consider Sachin as the greatest. Don Bradman has to say it. It is not enough for a Sachin or Kohli score a ton of runs in some of the most difficult wickets to bat on at home, but they have to light up the holy grounds of Brisbane, Perth or Headingley.
Skill against swing, pace and bounce amounts to great batsmanship but an innings full of deft touches and craft in dustbowls means nothing.
Such is the hypocrisy that is being bandied around by the western media and former cricketers that it belies my belief.
What’s more painful is this abhorrent thought has spread to the players too. We are all aware of Anderson’s rant in the recent series against India on Kohli’s abilities or the lack of it in England. Really Jimmy?
Then, aren’t you a swinging conditions bully? Aren’t you an absolute muppet in conditions that don’t seam or swing . Thankfully, I was more than happy when your ex captain Michael Vaughan and more importantly Inzamam Ul Haq questioned your abilities as a bowler when you take a precious few wickets in conditions that don’t swing.
Another highlight of this propaganda was Ricky Ponting’s recent take on Virat Kohli in an interview to Cricket Australia. While he praises Kohli, he makes it a point to mention “especially in these conditions” pointing to Indian tracks. He then goes on to say he has struggled in England and then initially in Australia. Well, Ricky that’s unfortunate. But thank you. Because, I remembered how clueless you were whenever you toured India and just to check, I pulled up your statistics in India and guess what
Nice smile there Ricky but your batting, It is absolutely woeful. You averaged a majestic 26.48 !!
Well, aren’t you supposed to be one of the greatest batsmen? You were compared with Sachin and Lara at one point which I always believed was comical considering your absolute cluelessness in Asian conditions.
And I read somewhere that Greg Chappell, probably your greatest batsman after the Don, has never played in India!! Well, isn’t that rich.
Finally, for the ones who believe this point of view is exaggerated or wrong, please ask yourself this “
Would Sachin or Lara be considered anywhere near as great as they are called , if they averaged 26 in England or Australia?
Never !! And what would they be called by the western media? Yes you have guessed it right
Flat track Bullies !
(Images credit taken from Twitter and Cricinfo’s player page)
