Batt(L)ing with the tail enders

"Don't worry, just hold on," said Viv Richards to Michael Holding as the latter plodded down to crease at Manchester Oval. West Indies were precariously placed at 166/9 in first of the three match ODI series against England. 'Held on' did Holding. But for him, the best seat was at the other end, from where he watched, with awe, the King launch a ferocious attack on Messrs Botham, Willis, Miller, Foster and Pringle. Next 15 overs produced 106 runs with Holding contributing a mere 12 and Richards making a world record score (then) of 189.

Narendra Hirwani, the quintessential number 11, did not inspire similar confidence when he came out to bat in the first test of 1990 series at Lords. India needed 24 runs to avoid a follow on and Kapil had already played first two balls from Eddie Hemmings without scoring a run. But like Holding, Hirwani was best positioned to witness Kapil's breathtakingly audacious shots of the next four balls - all six - in the region from long on to long off. Follow-on was averted and Hirwani duly completed the task he had set out for - getting out on the second ball of the very next Angus Fraser over.

Two great players reacted in contrasting fashion, when faced with an identically perilous situation. The end result however was spectacularly effective. There is an underlying message in how Richards and Kapil took charge of the situation. That, playing with tail enders is an art, and not all players are adept at it.

M S Dhoni showed he was, in the just concluded Lords test, although at times, I felt he should have batted more against Monty Panesar and allowed Shreesanth to face the non regular spinner, Michael Vaughan. But as they say, all's well that ends well and Dhoni displayed a tremendous temperament, not only in playing an innings that went against his nature, but also controlling the game to its intended finish – bad light and rains - from Indian stand point.

Of all the players I have seen bat, Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Brian Lara were brilliant when it came to batting with the 'tail'. I remember many of Border's fighting innings esp against India like at Melboune in 1984/85 series and Sydney in 1991/92, the former innings depriving India of the what could have been their first ever series win in Australia. Who can forget Brian Lara's 153 n.o. at Barbados, when he single handedly chased the Australian score of 308? That innings was also rated as the second best in Wisden's 100 all time great innings. And it took VVS Laxman epic 281 to completely overshadow Steve Waugh's superb rear-guard action in the first innings of the same Calcutta test.

But is batting with the tail a 'single handed' show as it is deemed to be? I don't think so. Like a good Cuban Salsa, it takes two to tango. The less endowed batsman plays an equally critical role. Even more, I believe lower order players with a good 'cricketing sense' are more likely to succeed in playing more match saving/winning innings. Andy Roberts, more than once pulled WI out of a certain defeat against Pakistan, in the league match of 1975 corld cup and then in the opening test at Barbados. Ambrose similarly helped WI 'tie' their match against India at Perth in the 1991/92 tri series and also played a crucial innings in the 1997/98 series to deny India her first ever test win at Barbados. His contribution in that Lara special innings of 153 was no less significant.

Of the current players, Jason Gillespie and Mathew Hoggard have shown the enough 'common sense' to play a responsible innings lower down the order.

Indian team has sorely missed good lower order batsmen since the exit of Roger Binny and Madan Lal, both of whom played some useful innings coming down. While one can excuse the number 11 for falling to their 'moment of insanity', it is the runs scored (and the time spent in the middle) by number 8, 9, and 10 that can often make difference between defeat and a victory/draw.

Zaheer Khan, Shreesanth, RP Singh and co. better learn your lessons fast.