Greatness follows when Lara gets mind-set right (1 May 1999)
There are plenty of homespun warnings to those who dare to rise above the common herd
01-May-1999
1 May 1999
Greatness follows when Lara gets mind-set right
Ted Dexter
There are plenty of homespun warnings to those who dare to rise above
the common herd. 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall' is one
that comes to mind and I thought I was doing my classics tutor a
favour when memory coughed up something about the gods destroying
those that they raise up in the first place. Sadly the Oxford
Dictionary of Quotations failed to confirm this line of enquiry and I
make do with a 17th century line - "whom God would destroy He first
sends mad."
There was surely a touch of madness in the decline and fall of such
sporting genii as George Best and 'Hurricane' Higgins and there was
more than a hint of imbalance apparently affecting the life of Brian
Lara as he spiralled downwards from the heights of record-breaking
run-scoring to the lower level of barely scratching a living at the
game.
Was he absolutely of sound mind to be championing a player revolt
over terms and conditions within days of such an immensely important
tour as the West Indians were about to begin in South Africa last
winter? And was his head really in the right place when various
absences from his adopted county team at crucial moments left his
Warwickshire colleagues wondering about his mind-set - to use a new
colloquialism I learned recently from fast-bowler Allan Donald
(attitude, in my day).
So how can we account for Lara's magnificent revival in the second
and third Tests against Australia? Was it simply that the gods
relented and, gave him back peace of mind? Did the Australians,
albeit unconsciously, ease off the pressure because they were
actually saddened to see the West Indians in such complete disarray
after the first encounter?
We can immediately see that he is in a very special, if not unique
category, having been gifted to an extraordinary degree by the gods
in the first place. If you are harsh in judging sportsmen, then it
may be you feel it was simply time that the young man buckled down
and accepted his responsibilities.
But the way he played, sublimely well with wonderful judgment, poise
and assurance, is surely worth more than passing comment.
I saw the second half of his double hundred and marvelled at the way
there was so little apparent effort, even when he was hitting the
leg-spinners for six. It was masterful to the extent that no ball was
immune from attack and of the great players I have seen, only Graeme
Pollock and Gary Sobers come to mind by comparison. Obviously Viv
Richards is in the same league but he was more brutal and took more
apparent risks.
When this graceful left-hander proved that this was no one-off by
repeating the process in the next Test, I was left in no doubt that I
had been lucky to see greatness without qualification, to rank high
against all other individual sporting achievements despite cricket
being a team game.
Which brings me to the greatest of mind games - at least where a ball
or balls are concerned. I keep a special category for golf and
snooker because in both you are hitting a stationary object.
There is none of that natural reaction to movement as in tennis,
ffotball, rugby and the various other court games. You must provide
your own rhythm and timing and deciding when and how to start the
swing or strike can become a nightmare.
So when a still youngish Spaniard overcomes severe health problems to
win against great odds as did Jose-Maria Olazabal at Augusta
National, then you can bet your life that his mind-set was perfectly
balanced, or poised, or whatever mind-sets are supposed to be when in
perfect working order.
Evidence that he was made of the right stuff was under my nose when
he competed in an under-18 World Cup at Portmarnock, aged 15.
In wind and rain he overheard my suggestion that a more lofted club
than a driver would help to get the ball airborne off the first tee
playing downwind. "You think I cannot hit driver downwind," he
muttered competitively and proceeded to knock it on the front edge of
the green, some 350 yards away.
A year later he was in the final and the deciding singles match
against David Gilford, two down and five to play. Gilford finished
the last five holes in under par but still lost to the precocious
Ollie at the 19th.
He was a real bright spark in those days, full of fun and very much
one of the boys, and I remember the same light-hearted reactions
during his early Ryder Cup exploits playing with Ballesteros.
He was in more sombre mood, at least publicly, after his triumphant
Masters but there was never any doubt that he had his mind-set so
securely on winning that those nasty little second thoughts which
assail most of us had no chance whatsoever.
Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)