RESPONDING TO RESPONSES

 RESPONDING TO RESPONSES

The days when Farooq Engineer and Nari Contrator were in cricket team I use to stick to radio to hear commentary. Though my English knowledge was poor I very much liked comment by Chakrapani. I remember the days when we played cricket with wooden plank both sides are flat and with either a rubber ball or worn out tennis ball. Unforgettable are those days. K. Venkataraman

The above was an observation by my esteemed colleague Prof. K.V who chooses to stay modest and plain in utterances. He has cited the names of Farooq Engineer and Nari Contractor. Farooq Engineer was from Bombay [now Mumbai] He had a rare distinction of being an opening batsman and a wicket keeper. Normally WK bat lower down the order; Engineer was an exception, though earlier Budhi Kunderan used to keep wickets and also open the innings. Engineer was dare-devil of a batsman and could face hostile fast bowlers in the opposition.  Besides, he was a stylish batsman. His aggression and reflex won him a place in LANCASHIRE cricket team as their member. Thereafter he nearly settled in England and in Prudential Cup final [1983] he was on the commentators’ enclave and was quite boisterous about the day’s outcome.

Nari Contractor was an opening bat on the Indian cricket team; he used to partner with Pankaj Roy and the two were the opening pair for India till late 1960s. Contractor was not aggressive but could defend well against fast bowling. On a tour of West Indies, Contractor was injured rather seriously by a nasty delivery from Griffith and he just fell at the crease upon being hit. He was carried to hospital and after preliminary treatment he had to return to India for further medical attention. After a few months or so Nari Contractor underwent surgery on head at CMC Hospital  Vellore.             

Instances of attack on Indian batsmen by fiery fast bowlers was commonplace in Cricket by teams against India. The attitude was somewhat pronounced in encounters between India and Pakistan.  This was a tool to subjugate Indian batsmen who had no training against genuine pace. Teams used to defend saying that ‘bouncer is a legitimate weapon in the armour of fast bowlers’. The arrival of Kapil Dev into Indian team and his ability to bowl fast-rising deliveries contained the trend. Extraordinary pace from bowlers was proving a menace and gadget-makers designed headgears like helmets. Sunil Gavaskar used to face fast bowlers without a helmet. Now players are in ‘bandage-like vest’ while batting.    High stake money brings forth aggressive postures by bowlers and attacking play by batsmen. Two persons come to my mind for quick scoring. Vivian Richards [W I] and Kris. Srikkanth [India]could terrorize  opponent bowlers by dominant aggression. Both were dreaded for their merciless aggression. If fine stroke play was to be recalled Neil Harvey and Norman Oneil [Australia], Gundappa Viswanath  readily come to mind.

India also boasted of the finest Spin quartet in the Word With Prasanna, Chandrasekar, Bedi and Venkataraghavan. [ Prasanna and Venkat were off spinners, Chandra was a legspinner and Bedi was a left arm spinner. Times were when India would bring on spinners just after two overs by medium pace bowlers.  So much, to recall.

Prof. K. Raman