by Oscar Rodrigo :
Cricket has seen through a series of mutations in the last 4 decades. So much so, it has had more variations than the varieties of razzle dazzle unleashed by the All Blacks in the sport of Rugby over the same period of time. The difference; the All Blacks and the sport of Rugby in general has been heading in one direction, up! While the changes in cricket has been a more erratic zig zagging one. When explored under Hank McCoy’s microscope to understand the varying degrees of outcomes in the two sports, you can draw down a hypothesis that the differences are largely due to the level of influence to each sport’s very gene structures, its rules & laws. It seems while Rugby has been consistent in working on one strand of DNA that quicken up the game, cricket has been trying to master a strand of DNA that provides multiple superpowers.
“The difference; the All Blacks and the sport of Rugby in general has been heading in one direction, up! While the changes in cricket has been a more erratic zig zagging one. “
Focusing our attention to the microscope, zooming in on cricket, we see cricket in the 80’s as a sedate and more patient game full of Gower’s, Gavaskar’s & Madugalla’s who were technically sound graceful to watch poetry in motion. But of course you also had the odd radical natural mutants like a Richards or a Miandad turning this poetry to hardcore rap. And while the traditionalist in yellow & red ties at the home of cricket looked at them with a crooked eye, a new audience started to develop around this radical approach. Then the impossible happened. Over a short period of time these radicals won. The art of batting changed. The roles of batsmen were no more from the textbook. The game mutated and the mutation started to catch on, and money started flowing in. Money got the William Strykers of cricketing administration to start playing with the DNA of the game even more. They picked up ‘One Day’ cricket as the ‘X Gene’ and started to promote it to entertain the masses. The game moved on with the new mutation of cricket growing faster than the old self.
“Tendulkar who was simple Bruce Banner going about his subtle experiments just ripped his shirt apart to become the ‘Incredible Hulk’ with a bat in hand. “
The outcomes of this mutations were shortened boundaries, a 30 yard circle and fielding restrictions. The Kiwis were the first to experiment with these mutations. In the early 90’s they started exploiting the new laws with Mark Greatbatch, introducing the art of pinch hitting and Deepak Patel doing the unthinkable of a finger spinner, opening the bowling. This encouraged other natural mutants in hiding to come out and play. Even the test cricket specialists who were in a different universe, got exposed to the strong Gamma rays of this new universe and mutated when Tendulkar who was simple Bruce Banner going about his subtle experiments just ripped his shirt apart to become the ‘Incredible Hulk’ with a bat in hand. Ranatunga went beyond the scripts of this new Marvel(lous) Universe when he started breeding mutants in Sri Lanka that unleashed ‘Batman & Robin’ in Sanath & Kalu. Afridi was the ‘Daredevil’ the man without fear. Hayden was ‘Thor’ putting down the hammer on bowlers. The age of the superheroes was upon us.
But Stryker was not done yet. More testing with different combinations of power plays, supersubs, two new balls, pink balls, etc. The list of mutations went on. Then Stryker stumbled up on a new type of DNA. A shorter but more forceful ‘X+ Gene’ in T20s. This took the sport to another level and got Superheroes teaming up to form leagues in IPL, BBL or CPL. But let’s keep that story for a new spinoff on another day and focus now on a superhero within the X-Gene pool who has been around for a while. Helping other mutants unleash their powers, solid yet been dormant for a long time in trying to understand one’sown powers, finally coming out now as an Omega Level mutant more destructive than most. Yes!, in superhero world it is Jean Grey, the once confused mutant who kept on dying and rising until she went on to be the powerful bad**s, the Dark Phoenix! In our cricket world, this bad**s is none other than the Number 3 batting position.
“And this is where a patient Jean Grey with a destructive Dark Phoenix waiting inside to come out,when the stage is set seemed an ideal fit.”
Just like Jean, the No3 batting position has been dying and rising in its role within the team. Just like Jean, No3 was also in a confused place trying to understand his own game while the others around him were flexing their muscles. Just like Jean, outbursts by the No3’s have hurt his team. Just like Jean, the confused No3 had two paths he could follow, give in to temptation and unleash all hell or stay calm until his time came to be the baddest of the bad**ses to rescue the team. And just like Jean, the No3 mostly chose the latter option and that is paying dividends now. They are on the rise to fame now as the most destructive of them all. But unlike Jean, I doubt the No3 will ever perish.
Number 3 has traditionally been a batting position for the team’s best batsman and could determine the outcome of a game. A mutated No3 coming out at the fall of a quick wicket can put the pressure back on the bowlers with some lusty blows or perish quickly for the cause putting the team 2 down for not many. And the middle order being exposed to the new ball with the bowlers having their tails up. On the other hand a powerless human at No3 with a dead bat can also frustrate the mutant strikers on the other end by not feeding them with the strike they need. And this is where a patient Jean Grey with a destructive Dark Phoenix waiting inside to come out,when the stage is set seemed an ideal fit.The successful teams going around today seem to have employed exactly that.
The World Cup in England seems to be that stage for the No3’s. Days of typical English summers contributing to green tops, heavy skies and swinging balls was starting to give centre stage to a brand of forgotten mutants, the fast bowlers. And when it all seemed like they have got the batsmen dancing to their tunes for a change, out comes the Omega Level mutant No3’s to destroy that short lived success. All top teams doing well in the tournament has the same common traits in their No3’s. From Even the rampant England talking up the 500 barrier to the West Indian batters who hit the ball with the intent of exposing the cork inside has Joe Root & Shai Hope as their respective No3’s. Aussies have the luxury of sending in Steve Smith or Usman Khawaja, the Indians have Mr Consistent Virat Kohli, and Kiwis have the elegant Kane Williamson. Even the Bangladeshi’s are using Shakib Al Hasan at No3 with great success and at one point he was leading the current list of top scorers in the World Cup.
These No3 batsmen refuse to throw away their wicket and anchor one end for the glamour boys to do their ruthless bashing. They are the masters at rotating the strike and feeding the hapless bowlers to the ruthless mutants. And when things get rough, they take the weight on their shoulders and carry the team like Kane Williamson has been doing. . To further emphasize their worth, all you need to do is to look at the struggling teams, South Africa, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. South Africans have struggled since the slow demise of Amla who was their rock at No.3. Sri Lankans have been off to great starts but struggling after the 1st wicket & Pakistan did not get the best from Babar Azam who’s had an electrifying start to his career until it was too late. Almost to the end of the World Cup, clear signs are coming out that the teams with the best chance of reaching the top 4 of this tournament, one of whom eventually will stand on that platform on 14th July are the ones with the mentally tough No3’s. Number 3’s who stay solid and get the runs by occupying the wicket, to allow the hard hitters to bat freely to pile up match winning scores.
The game of cricket has come a long way in the last four decades. It has mutated many a time to reach a level of all out entertainment. And while many aspects of the game has changed to make this happen, the No3 role that has been in the shadows for a long time, has risen again from the ashes to be the most powerful Dark Phoenix on the batting line up. The Number 3 has become the pivotal role for teams to be consistently entertaining while being successful. And in conclusion, as a Sri Lankan cricket fan I hope Angelo Mathews would realize this!
Cover Image Courtesy : thetimes.co.uk