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Friday, July 17, 2009
A legend built on dramatic moments, not numbers
Without recourse to valour or drama, with no shades of character, no tales of stirring deeds, no room for circumstance, numbers end up telling the story of a cricketer pretty well. A player might have had his fifteen minutes of fame, and words can do justice to the deed, but over a lengthy career, good players produce good numbers. And so it is with numbers that one must judge Andrew Flintoff for those will not change even as legend grows.
Occasionally numbers might falter but they rarely fail if you are comparing like for like. Batsmen who played on uncovered pitches might have lesser numbers than those that played on pitches that were tended to with the kind of love afforded to spoilt children. Opening batsmen who played in the glory days of fast bowling might want to look at numbers a bit differently from those that play in the one bouncer per over era where anything over 140 kmph is considered fast. That is why it is often best to assess players in the milieu they played in. And that is why Flintoff must be compared to his peers, not to the Bothams or Imrans whose class he probably wasn't in anyway.
In terms of respect among peers, always worthwhile to know, Flintoff rated as high as anyone of his era. When he was in form it seemed his averages belonged to someone else, when he steamed in and landed a fit ankle onto the turf, he could lay claim to being the world's best on most days. But the truly great sustain performances, they routinely challenge perceptions, they battle poor form and ride the days when things go right. Flintoff will be remembered in Test cricket, since he will still remain a limited overs cricketer, as someone who had his moments, as someone who could be a match winner but who didn't always deliver. Certainly by numbers alone, he wasn't the leading all-rounder of his era. That role must belong to two South Africans, the only country in modern times that has consistently thrown up players with multiple skills.
If you are looking at a batting all-rounder, which is what Flintoff said he would have liked to be, then you cannot look beyond Jacques Kallis who has 10,277 runs from 131 Tests at 54.66 and with thirty-one centuries. He qualifies as one of the great batsmen of our time but to that he adds 258 wickets at 31.08, numbers that are not too different from those that belong to the mighty Sir Garfield Sobers, with five five-wicket hauls, three more than Flintoff managed.
If you look at Flintoff as a bowling all-rounder, which is what dispassionate supporters in distant lands always thought he was, then you must look at the pre-eminent player of this era, Shaun Pollock who took 421 wickets from 108 games at 23.11 and hit five wickets in an innings 16 times. Could he bat? 3781 runs at 32.31 which gives him a very healthy difference of nine between his batting and bowling averages. By contrast Flintoff managed 31.69 with the bat and 32.51 with the ball.
There is one other set of numbers we need to look at. Chris Cairns was, like Flintoff, a charismatic cricketer, an impact player, who got the crowd buzzing when on song. Like with Flintoff, injury shadowed him like an unwelcome friend; his career too was like the Mumbai traffic, by the time it got going it was time to pause again. Cairns played 62 Tests, 14 fewer than Flintoff, made 3320 runs at 33.53 (versus 3708 @ 31.69) and, this will hurt Flintoff fans, took 218 wickets @ 29.4 with 13 five-wicket hauls (Flintoff: 219 @ 32.51 with 2 five-wicket hauls).
So why is it then that each one of us who saw Flintoff play would be happy to rank him among the very best in spite of possessing numbers that aren't the most dramatic? Maybe it is to do with the drama of sport where you remember a scene here, a piece of theatre there, remember moments that changed the course of a game, endowed it with a little tinge of magic. So was Flintoff a scene stealer, an actor capable of playing great character roles but never really the lead man?
Let's just say that when Flintoff charged in to bowl, you saw a moment not a career; you saw a scene not a full-length feature. Oh, and by the way, if his numbers are being looked at a little more critically it is only because the finest players are condemned to be dissected differently! Flintoff was a mighty fine player and hopefully in the smaller format he will find that, free from the need to constantly overcome injury, he will really come into his own.
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England's batting goes from good to bad to ugly
A score of 364 for six on the first day was disappointing after a rock-solid opening partnership of 196 provided the perfect platform to take control of the match.
Alastair Cook's dismissal for 95 precipitated a baffling collapse in near perfect conditions at a sun-kissed Lord's with Ravi Bopara, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior and Andrew Flintoff falling to lazy strokes.
The frailty of England's batting was reminiscent of the team's performance in the first test in Cardiff when several key batsmen threw away their wickets and only the heroics of tailenders James Anderson and Monty Panesar salvaged a draw.
Captain Andrew Strauss stayed calm in the chaos, ending the day on 161 not out, his 18th test century.
"I really enjoyed the opening partnership with Cookie but as they often do the Australians came back well in the final session," he told a news conference.
"I am slightly disappointed after the start we made but there are definitely wicket-taking opportunities on this pitch."
Strauss and Cook played themselves in patiently, mixing watchful defence with crisp cuts and pulls.
Cook was particularly severe on the regular short balls served up by the Australian seamers and Strauss concentrated on trademark cuts and nudges off his legs.
The pair showed immaculate judgment until Cook was deceived by a ball from Mitchell Johnson which cut back and trapped him lbw.
GLORIOUS FOURS
Bopara struck three glorious fours before his dismissal brought in Pietersen, still bristling with indignation following widespread criticism of his two unorthodox dismissals in the last test.
The tall right-hander immediately shattered the sense of calm.
He scampered a few reckless singles and in the last over before tea just resisted the temptation to swat the ball away with his hand when it reared up towards the stumps.
He then tried an ambitious hook shot which sent the ball ballooning into the air and dropping between three onrushing fielders.
Pietersen struck two sumptuous boundaries after the interval and it looked as if he might have the last laugh with a dazzling century in the evening sunshine.
True to recent form, however, he wafted at a widish delivery from Peter Siddle and snicked a catch to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.
Collingwood spooned a gentle catch to mid-on and Prior was comprehensively bowled aiming an ambitious drive at Johnson.
"Paul Collingwood had a hand in his downfall but he was trying to push it along before the second new ball," Strauss said.
"Otherwise it was a bit of swing that did for the other batsmen."
Andrew Flintoff emerged to a standing ovation but he seemed completely out of sorts and a tame prod ended in the hands of second slip.
Strauss reached 150 and lifted his bat towards his applauding team mates on the pavilion balcony.
"It is important for me to score runs as a captain and set an example," he said.
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England v Australia - second Ashes test scoreboard
of the second Ashes test between England and Australia at
Lord's, London, on Thursday.
England first innings
A. Strauss not out 161
A. Cook lbw b Johnson 95
R. Bopara lbw b Hilfenhaus 18
K. Pietersen c Haddin b Siddle 32
P. Collingwood c Siddle b Clarke 16
M. Prior b Johnson 8
A. Flintoff c Ponting b Hilfenhaus 4
S. Broad not out 7
Extras (b-15, nb-6, lb-2) 23
Total (six wickets; 90 overs) 364
Fall of wickets: 1-196 2-222 3-267 4-302 5-317 6-333
To bat: G. Swann, J. Anderson, G. Onions.
Bowling (to date): Hilfenhaus 25-10-77-2 (4nb), Johnson
19-2-107-2, Siddle 17-1-66-1 (2nb), Hauritz 8.3-1-26-0, North
16.3-2-59-0, Clarke 4-1-12-1
Australia: P.Hughes, S.Katich, R.Ponting (capt), M.Hussey,
M.Clarke, M.North, B.Haddin, M.Johnson, N.Hauritz, B.Hilfenhaus,
P.Siddle.
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England captain Strauss leads from the front
At the close Strauss had reached 161 not out, his 18th test century and third against Australia, and also passed 5,000 runs in test cricket.
But England failed to take advantage of an opening stand of 196 between Strauss and Alastair Cook (95) and their score of 364 for six was no more than adequate on a bland Lord's pitch.
Strauss and Cook sped to 126 for no wicket at lunch against some wayward bowling, particularly from the Australian spearhead Mitchell Johnson who conceded 53 from eight wayward overs.
Australia regrouped, despite the loss of off-spinner Nathan Hauritz with a dislocated finger in his bowling hand, while the England middle-order gave their wickets away.
Strauss, batting at the headquarters of his county team Middlesex, took full toll of some disjointed Australian bowling in the opening session as England raced to 126 for no wicket at lunch.
He lost Cook lbw to a rare straight ball from Johnson after a splendid partnership which left Australia in seeming disarray after having much the better of the drawn first test in Cardiff.
DISLOCATED FINGER
Strauss was dropped on 52 when he launched a ferocious drive at Hauritz, who got his right hand to the ball and dislocated the middle finger. He left the field immediately for lengthy treatment.
Ravi Bopara drove the ball sweetly through the covers with an extravagant flourish but failed to take advantage of the situation and the conditions.
He had scored 18 from 19 balls when he played around a Hilfenhaus delivery for the second time in as many innings and was adjudged lbw.
Kevin Pietersen played a bizarre cameo for 32 which seemed entirely at odds with his side's requirements.
He scampered his customary risky singles at the start of his innings, stole the strike from Strauss who was moving serenely to his hundred and came dangerously close to handling a ball that looked like it was running on to his stumps.
An attempted hook off the next ball fell safely on the leg-side.
He appeared to settle down after tea, driving two majestic fours before Peter Siddle ran a delivery away from the bat and Pietersen nibbled a catch to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.
Paul Collingwood (16) chipped a simple catch to deep mid-on off Michael Clarke and Matt Prior (8) was bowled by a Johnson delivery through the gap between bat and pad.
Andrew Flintoff entered to loud applause for his last test at Lord's but departed after only 16 minutes for four.
England predictably chose four pace bowlers, omitting spinner Monty Panesar. Graham Onions won the final place ahead of Durham county team mate Steve Harmison.
Australia kept faith with their first test XI.
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