Himamshu Bt
Sep 5, 2018 · 5 min read

MasterChef Cook! Must you go?

It must be nothing, but sea and sand. The former- ferocious, relentless and beyond the clutches of fatigue. The latter- grim, calm, stern and too adamant to give in to anything else. It must be nothing, but bowler and batsman. The former- flaring nostrils, leaving trails and grunting as the ball is pelted. The latter- clenching jaws, peering through the orbits, still as a thing and too entrenched in the moment to be bothered even by the Almighty. The pendulum swings on and each of the two clamour to chain it or at least use it to smother the other. But for minds and hearts consumed by the spirit of contest, possibilities and impossibilities do not exist. And this is precisely why, these contestants and their contest win us over.

The big Australian bowler chugs in from the far end- a combination of intensity and strength. The wide,chiseled shoulders, the ridged forearms, the square jaw and the handlebar moustache are all playing their part. They forebode. Fury is about to be unleashed and the dazzling red cricket ball will gloat at its achievements- until- it dabs off the bat to a complete stop. Death could never be more careful and meticulous. The bat waits and watches, to ensure that no life can leak into that wretched ball again. It is a weapon that looks too decent to be one, its wielder- too fine to be the killer. There are no terrifying traits here- just a perfectly well sculpted gentleman- honouring his profession in the most professional way. That’s how cricket gleams when Alastair Cook performs.

In the age when the histogram that shows the runs scored in each over of the innings is stylishly addressed as ‘Manhattan’, Cook seems to be a misfit. Yet, when he invites the world to his territory which he may- with a whiff of arrogance- call his bastion, he can never be unimportant. This is that sort of accomplishment that requires the audience to fling the broadcast and package frills out of sight and see the game in its most established form. One that will neither have TV commentators croaking away like frogs at the onset of monsoon, nor glitzy cheerleaders grinning needlessly and dancing endlessly. But what it will, is oodles of intensity. This is where Cook grinds bowlers to pulp, where the wildest of bowlers are tamed and overpowered in an oddly unassuming fashion. When he bats, there is finesse- even while stubbing out all of the opposition’s hopes.

He surely must be a possessed man, for continuing to play only test cricket at the international level. Who would- in this day and age- after having played a bit of limited overs cricket and having accomplished as much as he has in tests, want to be seen as a lesser mortal by not attempting any ‘short form’ cricket? Especially when the money and the glamour lure lustily? But, there is some magic in the whites which ensures that some stalwarts are forever in love with them.

Cook’s rise through the England team is a victory of discipline over panache. He came into a batting line-up that in its prime could demonstrate shot making of the ethereal kind. Amidst the daredevilry of Piertersen, the velvety touch of Bell, the timing of Trott and the calculated certainty of Strauss, he seemed a lesser batsman. Certainly, he was of international standard, but one wouldn’t be able to remember his game- more so when it was surrounded by the other remarkable styles. Yet, much like Dravid, he ploughed on- beginning every innings vulnerably and then playing time and patiently waiting for opportune moments to plunder runs. When they eventually came, he was rarely unable to convert them into successes.

The new ball stings- it is hard, the seam is boldly standing out and the bowlers are muscling it through. It clatters into knuckles, darts into the ribs, beats the bat or worse, nicks it regularly. But in between this ordeal, a half punch- half push- through the covers sends it whistling to the boundary and kicks the innings to life. Imagine the thrills of this job! It demands a gutsy heart and a calm mind- a pair that is not overwhelmed by an outrageous delivery that squared the batsman up, but also not high on the shot well played. Obviously Cook has this pair because he seems to have been born to do this and this alone.

In the way he stands- partly open chested and how he ratchets into position to face ball after ball- he represents a frictionless super machine- that can perhaps never be late on the ball. His twitching triceps are the only slightest indicators of his excellent physique and no sooner does one realise this that the bat swings weightlessly to meet the ball- as delicately as if to say that those muscles and build were merely an aberration. Even in stroke play and while unleashing the most blunt ones in his game, Cook demonstrates that decency, decorum and order are all part of his technique.

When one reads and watches how he prepares for the English test season and how diligently he plays for his County, one cannot but have a great deal of respect for Cook. After having stonewalled mighty bowlers, scored ‘big-daddy’ centuries, won numerous test matches, lead the England team with distinction- what treasure spurs him on in his quest? What is left to be achieved? Can one love one’s job as much as Cook does, where he relinquished captaincy and has decided to play on under a much younger Joe Root? This ability to let go off a high chair and recede to the league of ‘just another player’ is uncommon and here, astonishingly, his story shapes up similarly to Dhoni’s. This was perhaps the only similarity they both could ever have as players!

He is not the most beautiful batsman in the test circuit and neither is his average staggeringly high and yet, despite not standing out in most parameters of evaluation, he remains the greatest active test player and possibly the only one who could go beyond Tendulkar’s runs. Cook’s story will always talk about the man who was much greater than the sum of his parts. There have been floods and there have droughts as the runs have come in spate and also receded to an ignominious trickle, but he has carried on- like a great river. Younger English batsmen have a great opportunity to play alongside him and pick up the finer aspects of his batting which have made him what he is today.

Alastair Cook is more important to cricket than what it possibly is to him for he holds the great tradition of test cricket fluttering high, amidst the tirade of franchise cricket. His accomplishments immortalize the longest format and push it that little further away from possible extinction. He is the antithesis to the hordes that have chosen to hop about from league to league.

Cricket’s story from this century will never be legitimate and complete, if his name doesn’t figure in it when it is told to legions of cricket lovers of the future. For a man who was never the most vaunted batsman, Alastair has come a long way, but for one that survives on batting- he has much further to go.

Now that is Emancipation- in its most sedate form!

#Cricket #England #AlastairCook #IndiaVsEngland

Himamshu Bt

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