The Greatest

by Rex Clementine

A video clip from Benson & Hedges tri-nation series in the year 1990 involving two greats of the game Aravinda de Silva and Wasim Akram has gone viral. The short clip indeed is pure gold.

It not only has two of the greatest entertainers of the game in action but you can also hear former Australian captains Richie Benaud and Ian Chappell in commentary. The action takes place at Gabba. Not the concrete jungle that they have at present, but one of the most beautiful grounds in the world one time before its renovation to increase the capacity killed all the beauty.

Sri Lanka’s batting had done well in that game and the top three – Athula Samarasekara, Asanka Gurusinha and Hashan Tillakaratne had put on 191 for three inside 40 overs. With quick runs needed in the last ten overs, Rumesh Ratnayake is promoted as pinch hitter ahead of Aravinda.

Soon Aravinda arrives at the crease too and doesn’t waste much time hitting Wasim over point for a six. Chappell is lost for words. A scenario that often doesn’t happen with a man who is never afraid to mince his words. These were no 60-meter boundaries that we find in modern day business of cricket entertainment. This is proper long boundaries in the good old days. The shot that Aravinda plays is so difficult to execute that it requires obviously lot of skill and a bit of bravado.

The other important aspect is that this is no ordinary bowler. This is the great Wasim Akram in his prime. Both are at their peak age of 24 and what entertainment it was.

Chappell at one point asks when you have the skill of Aravinda why experiment with pinch hitters and all. Aravinda clears the boundary once again going over long-on and Benaud chips in wondering why batters need to play unorthodox shots like the reverse sweep when someone like Aravinda makes a living with proper cricketing shots.

Aravinda may not have the numbers of a Kumar Sangakkara or a Mahela Jayawardene, but he will be loved by Sri Lankan fans for feats like these. Many were the bowlers who were put to the sword by his craftsmanship.

Aravinda was inducted to the ICC Hall of Fame in Bombay last year, an event we missed to cover. The reason being this newspaper had opted to cover the World Cup semi-final in Calcutta between South Africa and Australia. The dates of the two events were clashing.

Ian Bishop, the former West Indian fast bowler was in Calcutta as well. We asked him for a comment on Aravinda. The tall quick summed it up in one sentence. “Who Ari, he finished my career mann.’

People also wonder what Aravinda would have gone on to achieve had he got his fair share of opportunities like the modern-day greats. Mind you during his best years from the age of 22 to 27 there was no cricket at all at home as no cricket team toured Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1992 due to the war.

When Sir Garry Sobers was asked who would break his World Record 365, most runs in a Test innings, he picked four names – Mark Waugh, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Aravinda de Silva. Imagine had Aravinda got the same opportunities as the other three.

Still, despite all those obstacles, he could have gone on to become the first batter to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket but he ran into problems with the selectors after the 1999 World Cup. He was given the cold shoulder for three years.

A wise man called Mr. Michael Tissera was instrumental in recalling Aravinda to the side in 2002 in his capacity as Chairman of Selectors. What happened in South Africa during the 2003 World Cup is history.

There’s little doubt that Aravinda is the greatest batsman produced by the nation. He was a freak. Only freaks like him could grip the bat one way in the first innings and change it entirely in the second essay. Many are the poor youngsters who wanted to copy Aravinda’s batting stance but soon would get into trouble because Aravinda had changed the stance for the next series. Only he could have experimented with such serious stuff in cricket and succeeded.

Lionel Messi has won it all in football but another Argentinian Diego Maradona will live in our memories forever for he left an indelible mark in people whom he met. Michael Schumacher may be the best racing driver that the world has ever seen, but Ayrton Senna’s flare and flamboyance are far more cherished. LeBron James may be the highest paid sportsman in the world but Michael Jordan is still adored because he turned an unfancied team into one that won six NBA titles.

Similarly, Aravinda made a massive impact wherever he went; both on and off the field. He was a sensation when he represented Kent in County Cricket in 1995. He helped Kent end a 17-year streak without a trophy and with a bit more help from his mates could have won the one-day double as Kent lost the Benson & Hedges final to Lancashire at Lord’s where he made a hundred. He also produced 1600 runs in First Class cricket that season.

England great Colin Cowdrey’s son Graham Cowdrey was part of that Kent side and he wrote this about Aravinda. “I can not believe any player, anywhere, has been so popular. When Aravinda packed his bags, he hugged each of us and I have never known a professional sports team so close to tears.”