Thorny issue: Haynes batted well for honour

In his early cricketing career Desmond Leo Haynes was known to be a shotgun. The ultimate proof came in 1977 when in a One-Day International against Australia he rattled off 148 from just 136 balls.

It was an innings that brought him instant elevation to the Test team; he remained there until 1994 when in controversial and contentious circumstances his glittering career came to an abrupt end.

Yes, at that point perhaps more than any other he lived out that old adage that cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. How coincidental now that he's entering an arena that can also bear that description.

After all, in political terms it was once stated that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. In the strictest and most realistic terms you're up one day in politics and down the next.

You have to brace yourself for any eventuality. It calls for adjustment, adaptability and acceptance. Haynes has the credentials earned from a game that makes all men equal. Untangling the many variables associated with cricket can help to develop a well-rounded personality, a sharp and analytical mind.

It teaches you that to succeed you have to stay in the battle, especially when times get hard, when you aren't middling the ball, when you have to rethink and refine your technique to stay in the race of life.

There was a time in Haynes' cricketing life when it was perceived he was not as comfortable against spin as he was against pace bowling.

Some would suggest that he may not have completely mastered it, but he fought hard to overcome the best spin bowlers in the world - and he succeeded.

There were times when the runs weren't flowing from his willow as he or the fans would have liked; times when many called for his head in the selectors platter.

But he remained steadfast; he never bowed to the pressure; he restored his form and his glory through perseverance and diligence.

The result?

A 7,470 Test runs from 116 matches, including 18 centuries, averaging 42.99 per innings; 8,648 runs in One-Day Internationals, including 17 centuries at an average of 41.37. Add to these statistics 13 opening century stands with Gordon Greenidge in Tests and you have a man who knows the formula for success.

As I intimated earlier politics is a similar ball game.The guidelines are the same as those that obtain in cricket. Therefore, I'm confident Haynes will have further success, starting in the Senate and even higher office.

He will be the same success in the politics of inclusion as he was in a cricketing career of distinction.

I expect a long and productive innings.