T Chesterfield: Ackerman rediscovers magic (14 Aug 1998)

14 August 1998

Ackerman rediscovers magic

Trevor Chesterfield

Weligama (Sri Lanka) - Laughter, or worse still silence, can be a humiliating for any young sportsman trying to make his way in the tough international arena.

And most who have experienced the ridicule of their peers or a critical media, know the way back is pitted with as many unforseen pot holes as there are in what passes for an excuse of a national road in this poverty-ridden corner of Sri Lanka.

For HD Ackerman, however, the family genes are as strong as those of say Shaun Pollock, Gary Kirsten, or Hansie Cronje.

Yet his road to recovery on this unforgiving tour, which has all been but forgotten at home, began at the end of March. After falling for a third time in four innings to the off-spin trickery of Mutthia Muralitharan, he trudged back to the pavilion: the mind numb with anguish after battling for 24 minutes against a craftsman whose bent elbow has been sanctioned as "being fair" by the mandarins of the ICC.

On March 30, at Supersport Centurion, his career had been bruised by a media who referred to him as a one-season wonder. Failure, to those who have never slipped into such a black hole, is unacceptable.

Before the tour to the island of tea, monsoons, slow pitches, dodgy umpiring and World Cup champions (the limited-overs version) the son sought the advice of his mentor and highly skilled coach Hylton Ackerman.

A left-handed batsman of rare ability, soft hands and sure footwork on treacherous surfaces, Ackerman senior came from an era dominated by Barry Richards, whose South African domestic most runs in a season record his 25-year-old son broke last summer, Graeme Pollock, Eddie Barlow, and Mike Procter.

Not surprisingly there are many similarities in batting mannerisms between father hand son: the soft hands and footwork, so noticeable on this tour against the spinners on dusty surfaces. There is also a mental strength to build long innings and an ability to rotate the strike. It was noticeable at Welagedara in Kurunegala when batting with Herschelle Gibbs in their record partnership of 265 runs for the third wicket.

When that 102 was followed a week later at Uyanwatte, Matara by an innings of 145 he dispelled all the arguments which had haunted him since the two Tests against Sri Lanka in South Africa six months ago.

Statistically, he batted for 793 minutes, faced 586 balls and scored 92 of his 247 runs in boundaries; but a series average of 123.50 and a first-class one of 93 from three innings does suggest the run-making coffers are as rich and as healthy as they were back in January.

It also supports the view that the national selectors acted hastily when overlooking him for the tour of England.

Graham Ford, the A Team coach, is not the only one impressed by his ability to play long innings which are so crucial at Test match level. There are former Sri Lanka Test players who point to Ackerman's occupation of the crease as a major difference between the two sides. This was more noticeable at Matara where his strokeplay was governed by the knowledge there was no Gibbs at the other end.

Martin van Jaarsveld and Dale Benkenstein played major supporting roles on the slower Uyanwatte pitch in Matara. Yet it was Ackerman's batting personality, character, and adaptability to the harsh conditions which has set him apart on this tour.

He's a thoughtful player: always working out a bowler, examining the character and biorhythms of the pitch, putting technical skill to work in foreign surroundings. Both surfaces helped the spinner with impressive turn at Kurunegala, yet he mastered the conditions.

Ackerman has overcome the harsh tribulations of the bedraggled start to the tour five weeks ago and emerged as a batsman with a definite Test future. He arrived in Sri Lanka with a motivation to prove he has the ability to play spin and his success is as much a tribute to his monumental patience as it is to the coaching advice he has had from either Ford or his father.

"By picking off the singles and rotating the strike he has reduced the pressure on his ability to build the long innings which have been so vital to the side," said Ford.

It has been noted by one of Sri Lanka's selectors, Sajith Fernando, and the manager of the Sri Lanka A side, Brendon Kupuuru, a former Test player that South Africa A batted only once in the second and third unofficial Tests. For them was the surprise that he was not in England.

They attributed this to Ackerman's ability to read the game and work out his own game plan, adjusting the latter to suit the pace of the game yet mindful of the needs of the team.

"I feel this is where HD has been so valuable to the team's cause," Ford said. "We needed to bat big in both games and he supplied us with that platform."

What is pleasing for the Western Province batsman is that he has come back to Sri Lanka and put the disappointments of the 1995 visit behind him and torn up the theory that he could not play spin on the sub-continent.

Source :: Trevor Chesterfield, Pretoria News