Michael Bevan calls it a day
I was quite fond of Ajay Jadeja & Robin Singh and Mohammad Kaif & Yuvraj Singh. They would never drive the crowds crazy with their superlative strokes, they just didn't have the repertoire of a Sachin Tendulkar or Rickey Ponting. But they pulled off something else, something far more important, far more romantic - a victory for your team. They got teams over the line . Like while chasing 245, Sachin would depart at a crucial juncture ( after making a well-crafted hundred for which he would be later given the MOM) leaving the match on the tenterhooks. And from there, it would be my pair which would each make a smallish 20 or 30, paltry enough to not win them the MOM, but big enough for the team to cross the line - towards a win.If Michael Bevan had been playing for Mumbai and not for NSW, for India and not for Australia, chances are, I would have easily dismissed the above four gentlemen. Michael gwyl Bevan was a master at the game of crossing the line - he was a winner.
Bevan never bothered about the boundaries if the situation didn't need him to. If the chase demanded an asking rate of 7, Bevan would get the 7th one by converting a single into a two. Greater (or lesser, depending on how you think) men would have prerered playing the odd dot ball coupled with a boundary. You don't need to be an ex- test cricketer to figure out what worked better. Bevan showed it time and again - and his contribution to the current run of Australia's ODI success has been truly underplayed and underrecognised.
After a glittering career consisting of 232 one-dayers, 6912 runs at a phenomenal average of 53.38 and 2 World Cup triumphs, Michael Bevan announced his retirement today in Hobart. My salutations to this great cricketer.
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In case Indian cricket fans are wondering, the man-in-blue is indeed Michael Bevan, and not Yuvraj Singh!!
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3 comments:
I think Yuvraj drives the crowds crazy. He isn't as calculated as Bevan though.
Bevan is probably most comparable to Hussey. What do u think? He was a finisher. A closer like they have in Baseball. He knew what do and had 3 strokes for every ball he would face. It also helps to be on an Australian side however. If we he were Indian or pakistani there might be instances where he would have to come in at 5 down after 9 overs and eventually get out. I wonder if there are stats about that.
Who has the most not outs in ODI's?
absolutely agree, Mr.Omar
we just used different phrases i guess - "finisher" against the "guy who takes you across the line". i think Jadeja was pretty good too...we would never know because we don't know if he really did indulge in match-fixing..boucher and moin khan were pretty good too.
as for your question, i did a fair bit of googling and yahooing but couldn't get it properly..as of septemeber 2002, it was bevan's captain, steve waugh..but the protegee himself was not too far behind, so he must have overtaken. as for tests, wikipedia says it is Courtney Walsh.
You may also read this very interesting article on NOT-OUTs
Bevan's way of playing brought about better matches as well. A tight finish rather than a six-laden canter.
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