The Daily Star: 1998 Cricket as we remember it (1 January 1999)

1 January 1999

The Daily Star: 1998 Cricket as we remember it

Lenin Gani

Those famous lines of "Forrest Gump" seem very applicable to cricket this year.

The bombshell dropped by Australians Mark Edward Waugh and Shane Keith Warne laced with those smashing Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar 100s were unmistakable images that left their indelible mark on the international scene.

The admission in December by the Ws that they were offered money by an Indian bookmaker in exchange for pitch and weather information not only brought the 'gentleman's game' into disrepute but also undermined efforts by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), to give it a global appeal. A year, which saw successful debut of cricket at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, the first-ever World Championship for the Blind at Delhi and a mini World Cup in Dhaka.

On the battlefield, Mark Taylor's Australians asserted their authority retaining cricket's oldest prize - the Ashes - for a sixth consecutive series dating back to 1989. The English with a new leader in Alec Stewart, arrived Down Under full of hope after coming from behind to defeat the South Africans at home in the Summer, but were soon on the receiving end. A freak electrical storm in the First Test only saved them from going back early as the tourists succumbed in the next two matches. They, however, managed to unearth a bowling sensation by the name of Alex Tudor. The Surrey speedster who made a dream start to his career claiming four wickets in the first innings of the second Test, incredibly, was promptly dropped.

In October Taylor became only the second Australian captain after Richie Benaud in 1959 to clinch a series on Pakistan soil. In years to come we will remember when the New South Welshman stood at the threshold of surpassing Brian Charles Lara's individual highest score of 375, only to give up the opportunity when within 41 runs of the mark. To be compared with the Don was ample reward for one of Australia's most successful post-war cricket skippers.

The Australians also whitewashed the hosts 3-0 in the one-day series. The ruthless efficiency with which they accomplished the task was characterised by successfully chasing a record-equaling 316 to win the third and final game.

Their only blemish was losing in India 2-1. Even "Wizard of Oz" Warne couldn't save them from Tendulkar's onslaught. The Bombay batting genius amassed 446 runs topping the averages for both sides with 111.50, while his adversary was left licking his wounds, having captured only 10 wickets for an average of 54/wkt. Unfortunately that was the last that the cricket world saw of "the leggy" who missed the tour of Pakistan and the first four Ashes contests because of surgery on his shoulder.

Tendulkar hit the headlines once again when he surpassed Desmond Haynes' seventeen limited-overs hundreds, although at the beginning of the year it seemed that the honour would go Saeed Anwar of Pakistan. The southpaw and holder of the highest score in the abridged version, completed his fifteenth century during the historic third final of the Silver Jubilee Cup in Bangladesh. But as we all know even after making 314-5 in 48 overs it didn't stop their arch rivals India from replying with a last ball 316 for six.

Anwar's form dipped after a series of injuries and illnesses.

Tendulkar began his year losing the captaincy to Mohammad Azharuddin prior to Dhaka event. However, it proved to be a blessing in disguise for the 25-year-old, who managed two centuries throughout 1997 when he replaced Azharuddin.

At the April Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah he hammered 142 and 134 in the space of two days respectively to tie with Anwar. By the end of May he had gone past the Pakistani with an unbeaten 100 against Kenya in Calcutta. Two months later, while the rest of the planet was engrossed in football mania; the pocketsize maestro equalled the record with 128 at Colombo. And on September 26 in Bulawayo he claimed the title outright blasting 127 not out off hosts Zimbabwe. Presently, he has 21 to his credit.

No tale about India is complete without a little word on the man from Hyderabad. Apart from lifting a number of trophies, Azhar became the first cricketer to appear in 300 ODIs during the Wills International Cup and, as if that was not enough, took over from Haynes as the game's leading run-scorer at Sharjah in November.

Asia's other powerhouse, the island nation of Sri Lanka, had a pretty wretched time. After winning the one-off Test against England at The Oval, where off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan wreaked havoc recording the seventh-best bowling figures, and the triangular Emirates Trophy involving the hosts and South Africa, the world champions lost their way in Dhaka and were eliminated from the Sharjah Champions' Trohy. Not even master-blaster Sanath Jayasuriya could instill his will on the opposition bowlers.

Zimbabwe raised its profile in 1998 as the most improved side notching up maiden series victories over the mighty Indians and Pakistanis.

South Africa put their disappointing tours of Australia and England behind them by capturing the Commonwealth, the World Cup for the Blind and the Wills International crowns. Currently they are leading the historic five-match Test series against West Indies 2-0. The fact that it is taking place is remarkable to say the least. I'm referring to the pay dispute and a comedy of errors by the West Indies Cricket Board when they decided to lay down the law; sacking skipper Brian Charles Lara and his deputy Carl Hooper for refusing to attend a meeting, and then bowling to player - pressure and reinstating them.

Cricket said goodbye to some familiar characters. They included South Africans Dave Richards and Fannie De Villiers, Australian Dean Jones (actually retired in 1994) but said he was quitting competitively too and India's Sanjay Manjrekar.

At the same time it was welcoming the arrival of Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill, who was instrumental in plotting Pakistan's downfall, and West Indian paceman Nixon McLean.

As in any competition there are bound to be those unforgettable achievements or moments, which one would like to cherish. Some will be good, some will be bad and some will be ugly. Obviously the list is endless yet the names of Ian Healy, Courtney Walsh, Wasim Akram, Shaun Pollock come to mind.

Healy edged past compatriot Rodney Marsh's 355 dismissals, Walsh became the third highest wicket-taker of all time replacing Ian Botham, Akram captured his 350th Test scalp while Pollock joined an elite group in scoring 1000 runs and claiming 100 wickets.

Prominent among the bad was the abrupt end to the First test at Sabina Park, Jamaica, involving England and West Indies. The match was abandoned after just an hour's play on Day One. The court case against television commentator Geoffrey Boycott was another story that made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Suspect actions and racism were the ugliest topics. Sri Lanka's Kumara Dharmasena and India's Harbhajan Singh were made examples of by the ICC. Happily their careers were not endangered. England coach David Lloyd got into hot water following his racist remarks about Muralitharan. The dismantling of apartheid has not prevented the media from urging the United Cricket Board of South Africa to advise the provincial sides to include more coloured players. The press argued, as a result of this neglect, that not enough non-white players were entering the Test team.

Off the field there some historic happenings too. Sir Donald Bradman turned 90, the Marylebone Cricket Club voted to accept women members into the world's oldest 'men's only' club and the English Cricket Board decided to pull the plug on sixty years of cricket on BBC Television by switching to rivals Channel Four.

Next year promises to be an exciting one, starting with Pakistan's tour of neighbours India. It will be the first time in eleven years that such a series will be fought. There will also be an Asian Test tournament, a prelude maybe, to an eventual World Championship of Test-playing nations. And, of course, the main event - World Cup '99 (in England) - where Arjuna Ranatunga's feisty Sri Lankans will be defending their crown against the world's best. But above all, for the first time the entire cricket loving population will watch a new breed of players in action... Bangladesh sets foot into a major international tournament. Let us all look forward to next year and await its surprises - the past has repeatedly witnessed "underdogs" and "Cricket" to have "astounding effects" when mixed together.

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