A view from the Gully (11 June 1999)

11 June 1999

A view from the Gully

Tawfiq Aziz Khan

Lord's was basking in glorious sunshine and in the glory of cricket.

The battle of David against the Goliath, or should we say, the humans against the gladiators in the mecca of cricket inspired many hearts around the world to the competitive spirit of the game. Zimbabwe gave the Australians a run for their money and produced a rare spectacle where the heart tried to touch the vanquished rather than reach for the victors. Yet there were patches of blue in the Aussie innings created by the Waugh twins - Mark and Steve - revered and remembered for their sublime ability with the bat and the ball alike. The two can sing a duet that can be melodious and murderous at the same time. There is hardly any match for them in the contemporary history of cricket.

Faltering Steve, the senior of the two, caught up with the junior Wednesday and with some help from the lower order they easily sailed past the magical mark of three hundred plus in this tournament. Campbell must have lamented his decisions to invite them in such an ideal condition but the Aussies relished this opportunity to improve their runrate also besides adding two points to their total of two.

Australia were offered the opportunity for a much needed batting practice before their big match against South Africa on next Sunday. Undaunted by the recent success of Glenn McGrath, Johnson went about his business of providing a lesson or two in copybook strokes. Neither McGrath nor the mover of the ball Fleming nor Warne had any influence on this elegant left-hander who was waging his own crusade against the top class bowlers of world cricket. This was a classic example of one man against a country - Johnson versus Australia.

Both Reiffel and Warne came in for a bit of stick but the former had his reward for his zeal and tenacity, the latter proved expensive. Johnson took a leaf out of Mark Waugh's book and hammered a century which will long be remembered for its sheer class and aggression. None of the Aussie bowlers could either contain him and neither been able to defeat him.

Campbell and company have sent strong signal to Wasim Akram. A chill must have ran down the spine of the Pakistan captain. A crunch match he expected and he shall have it today at the Oval, if everything goes well.

This will be Pakistan's last chance for a train to Edgbaston or Old Trafford.

Source :: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)