Ian Chappell on day 2 of the 1st Test: Stewart's alter ego revealed (22 November 1998)

22 November 1998

Ian Chappell on day 2 of the 1st Test: Stewart's alter ego revealed

By Ian Chappell

ALEC STEWART seems to be suffering from a common captain's failing at the Gabba - worrying more about reputations than trying to get the batsmen out. It was almost as though another man took over from Stewart when the Steve Waugh-Ian Healy liaison began. Where Stewart had been positive and aggressive, he suddenly backed off and went into run-saving mode. The change was dramatic and ill-fated as the two Australians counter-attacked to punch out their sixth century partnership.

My mind went back to the same ground in the 1986-87 Ashes series. On that occasion, it was Allan Border who bowed to Ian Botham's reputation as a hitter and allowed the Englishman easy runs early in his innings.

Botham proceeded to blast a century, which tilted the psychological balance in the series very much in England's favour. Judging by a few slumped shoulders and some sloppy fielding before lunch, it wouldn't be surprising if the Waugh-Healy partnership has a similar effect in this series. By lunch yesterday it had reached the point where Healy was virtually dictating the field placings as he manoeuvred the ball into the gaps and occasionally lofted it into the outfield. When that starts to happen, the fielding captain is at least one move behind play when he really needs to be like a top-class snooker player, a couple ahead.

Steve Waugh also took full advantage of England's generosity. Whereas most players become more conservative as they get older, Waugh came into cricket as a dashing strokemaker, and after a few setbacks, he turned himself into a single-minded accumulator. In the past couple of seasons the shotmaker has returned.

It's almost as though, having proved he can churn out runs with the best of them, the young dasher has been reincarnated. The change started in India, where he often came in with Australia having been shackled by the spinners and started pounding the slow bowlers to all parts. At the Gabba he again entered the fray with Australia in trouble and he was quickly into his stride, out-pacing renowned strokemaker Ricky Ponting with a stream of boundaries. At one point he became so extravagant that he attempted a hook shot off a bouncer delivered by the aggressive Darren Gough. The hook is a shot Waugh has shelved for at least a decade and it was hard to tell whether this was part of the new image or if he had been spooked into taking a risk by Gough's relentless pursuit of his wicket. While that is unclear, the important thing is that he played what he considers a risky shot and one that old steel-trap Steve would never have allowed.

His partner in destruction at the Gabba is also unique. Rod Marsh believes that if a wicketkeeper doesn't get better as he gets older, there's something wrong. It's not that 'Iron Gloves' now thinks he's in his prime and should replace Healy, but he concludes that once you're the incumbent, you practise and play so often that, with any thought, you're bound to improve. Healy has proved Marsh correct, getting better and surer with the gloves to the point where a mistake is rare and now he, not Marsh, is the holder of the keepers' world record.

While Healy's constant improvement as a keeper is not surprising, what is amazing is his continuing maturity as a batsman. His marvellous century at the Gabba proved that if he isn't still improving as a batsman, then he's definitely not regressing. He has averaged in excess of 40 in three of his last four series and his fourth hundred now means that he has more centuries than any Australian keeper. The real clincher is his strike rate, which remains high, and despite Australia's precarious position at the Gabba, the run rate picked up from the moment Healy came to the crease.

This pair of fighters contributed greatly to the decline in confidence of the English players, which plummeted to the depths when Damien Fleming ripped into the bowling and posted a career-high 71 not out that included 11 fours. Some of the boundaries were a little fortuitous, but none was better than the pull shot that took him to within reach of his first Test fifty. It featured a cocking of the left leg à la Gordon Greenidge as it flew to the backward square-leg boundary off the luckless Gough and would have brought a nod of approval from the Bajan. From four for 106, with a last four that were described by Shane Warne as "three Nos 11 and a No 10", Australia had reached 485.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)