It is up to Ramesh to prove his detractors wrong

Neville Cardus once wrote an article entitled ``When art triumphs over science''. In it he pointed out that going by the scientific aspect of cricket was fine. It was correct and had to be respected. But, he went on to say, one could not make an absolute rule of it. They were exceptions and players of immense talent could get away with strokes that were not in any coaching manual.

This goes very well with the apocryphal story about a young boy and his coach. The former made a cross batted swipe with such timing that the ball raced to the boundary. The coach angrily pulled up the boy. ``Look the position of your legs. They are all wrong.'' The boy innocently replied ``But sir, look at where the ball has gone.''

Cardus' article and the apocryphal story of the boy and his coach have come to mind again recently because of what has been said and written about Sadagopan Ramesh and how the Indian left handed opening batsman has replied to all this with his feats on the field. Ever since he made his debut against Pakistan at Chennai in January, Ramesh has attracted considerable attention both because of his unusual technique and his run making abilities. The critics have pointed out flaws in his technique, his faulty footwork, his playing away from the body, the vulnerability to the moving or lifting delivery.

To be candid, these weaknesses are palpable and everytime he is out for a low score, the cynics get more and more ammunition to expose him. But then he has also scored 767 runs in seven Tests (13 innings) since that debut game with two hundreds and five fifties at an average of 59.00. Very few Indian opening batsmen have had the kind of run that Ramesh has enjoyed at the start of his career - 43, 5, 60, 96, 79, 40, 143, 30 - making it a total of 496 runs against bowlers like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Muralitharan and Vaas. And he has followed it up with scores of 0, 73, 83, 5 and 110 against the New Zealand which has a decent, if not overpoweringinly destructive attack.

These are not figures to be scoffed at. But the fact remains that he has played virtually all his international cricket in the sub continent - in India and Sri Lanka. His detractors are convinced that he will come to grief on the faster, bouncier wickets in Australia - a view shared by that supreme technician Geoff Boycott. They also point out that he had a very modest World Cup in England where he got only one half century against Zimbabwe.

It is said that a cricketer has to prove his mettle outside his own country - particularly in England and Australia where the wicket and weather conditions are very different. Ramesh has not exactly succeeded in his first foreign test and he will face his second test very soon. It is up to him to prove his detractors wrong. He can possibly take inspiration from a former Tamil Nadu and Indian captain K.Srikkanth. Never really strong on technique, but blessed with a remarkably quick eye, Srikkanth failed in England but was a success in Australia.