He did not genuinely enter the consciousness of the international cricket community until 2001 when a century of extraordinary resourcefulness on a sub-standard pitch at Mumbai provided him with such confidence and momentum that he amassed 549 runs in a losing three-Test series against India at the Bradmanesque average of 109.80.
writes Mike Coward in his paean to Matthew Hayden. Which is fine.. The story has been told before and will be repeated again about how Matthew Hayden resurrected his career in India.
But it is not sufficient to praise the man for his deeds alone, it is necessary to embellish it with "on a sub standard pitch at Mumbai" to accentuate his performance?
This extract, from the Rediff match report of that time
There has been a lot of speculation about the nature of the wicket. As it turned out, curator Nadeem Memon did everyone proud, producing a fine track with a bit of surface grass, nice bounce and carry, turn for the spinners, and runs if you know how to bat.and this, from Cricinfo
Earlier, Waugh won the toss and put India in to bat on a pitch that looked like it might help the fast bowlers a bit early on. Help early on or not, it was a brave decisionand
This was a great day's play at the Wankhede, on a pitch that offered a little something for all the bowlers. And the highlight of the day came right in the middle, in just about 90-minutes either side of lunch. This consisted of the much-anticipated contest between the hometown boy Tendulkar and the Australian attack - primarily the two legends, McGrath and Warne.and here is the score card from that match.
Which begs the question - what match is Mr Coward talking about?Or is playing fast and loose with facts a mandatory requirement to be an Australian journalist?
17 comments:
Given the context, it sure sounds like the usual "good pitch" = "high scoring pitch" idea that Michael Jeh mentions in the comments at this Cricinfo post. But you do have to wonder whether there's also some subconscious "Mumbai = bad" going on...
Yeah - Mumbai = Bad.
Kinda like Perth = bouncy, though "you-know-who" complained bitterly about the Perth test wicket recently. (Now that tickles me).
As for the sub-consious - there's more to it than the Mumbai wicket -just as Homer suggests in the last line.
Jonathan.
Given that there is no proof that the wicket was indeed "sub standard", I am inclined to go with prejudice as the reason.
Which is not dis-similar to Matthew Hayden's "Third world" comments.
Cheers,
Homer, I am baffled. Usually it is a sub-standard pitch when Australia lose in the sub-continent. This was a match Australia won. I think somebody failed to remind Coward that Australia won - afterall, they had their ass whipped in that series and maybe he thought they lost in Mumbai as well!
raj,
It does not matter that Australia won - that would kill the narrative of Hayden the hero.
It is a lot simpler to call the wicket sub standard and then contrast it with Hayden's heroics - plays better to the gallery.
And a "sub standard sub continental wicket" - just perfect!
Facts be damned!
Cheers,
Another pair for Agarkar. And Mark Waugh getn him in the 2nd. Somehow with AA, that stumping off Mark Waugh in Oz, when he was zeroing in on a lotta ducks, always shines thru. Was duckworth named after him?
Naked Cricket - I'm struggling with the premise of your post! This one purely is on Hayden. You on some form of crack mate???
Done with that.
My memory of Hayden would be as a bully and master of hypocrisy. A bully for the sheer image he brought onto the field. A great opening batsman no doubt.
His hypocrisy is what grated me. For a supposed true beliver in christianity, he sure did and say things I'm sure the Anti Christ would have been proud of.
As Homer says, who won is irrelevant - the narrative is about Hayden, and the point is about batting well in a match where the batsmen weren't generally on top. It would be a fair point if not for the use of "substandard", which I am sure is a result of bias both towards batsmen and against India.
NC,
6/41 :)
Cheers,
Tifosi Guy,
I have no such memories of Hayden. In fact, I have no memories of him at all :)
Cheers,
Jonathan,
Coward did one better today
"The skill and resourcefulness of his batting for an unforgettable century on an unacceptably sub-standard pitch at Mumbai in 2001 proved to be the vindication for the impressive notices he had received from many observers and critics since his first tour of England, in 1993, when he played his first limited-over international."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story
/0,25197,24909437-28737,00.html
Cheers :),
Ouch!
Oh well... it is a Murdoch paper, after all.
Tifosi, there's a scorecard link on Homer's post.
Homer, Sure. And he even made 11 in the first and 0* in the 2nd.
lol Jonathan:)
Cheers,
NC,
100 at Lords :)
Cheers,
Homer, fair point, but you must not forget the main point in all this melee - if it is a sub-continental pitch and Australia lose, and the wicket was slightly helpful to spinners, it is a sub-standard wicket. Never forget that one. You are not fit to be called human if you do.
Raj,
But that did not happen - the wicket had something for the pace bowlers and spinners ( the wickets were shared equally by them) and Australia won!
And yet...
Cheers,
Post a Comment