An edited version of this piece has been published on ESPNcricinfo here.
December 22, 2013 was a sad day for world cricket. Cricketers like Graeme Swann not only bring their talents to the field but their attitude that conveys sheer joy at playing Test cricket is a much needed commodity. Especially in these days when young spinners are choosing to play the IPL over Test cricket (more on that some other time though). Jon Hotten is right in saying that he's the player the rebuilding England side will miss the most, but arguably world cricket will miss him almost as much. With Swann gone, Harbhajan and Vettori having completely faded away since 2011, and Saeed Ajmal and Rangana Herath (who're both nearly 37) not likely to last much longer, the next great (or even really good) Test match spinners are nowhere in sight.
Most fans of the five day game would probably rate great fast bowling as the thing they like most followed by fine batsmanship. And its now wonder that in most "greatest cricketer" or "my favourite player" lists its these breeds that dominate. In my view though, spin bowling is what imparts a unique rhythm to Test match cricket and makes it so different from other sports. No other role in a team sport requires that mix of patience, focus, and determination combined with the ability to suddenly seize the jugular. My view is likely rose-tinted (and therefore biased) having spent my formative cricket following years watching the likes of Warne, Kumble, Murali, Saqlain, and Mushtaq. And while the five named earlier were not in the same league they were pretty handy. Its why this list of spinners who've taken the most wickets since Swann debuted is such a depressing one. The top five in that list outside of those named here already are Ojha, Lyon, Ashwin, Shakib, and Rehman. All good, honest toilers but none that you'd back to run through a side on a good batting wicket with not too many runs in the bank. And its the same with the rest of the names on that list who are still active (and likely to have much of a career in future). Not one there to thrill or even inspire hope for the future.
The attitude of captains around the world has not helped much either. Nathan Lyon has been dropped by Clarke for the likes of Doherty and Agar who wouldn't make a second XI for an IPL team. India have recently resorted to picking Jadeja as their specialist overseas spinner and England are considering picking Moeen Ali as Swann's replacement. South Africa (who've never had much faith in spinners since readmission) keep dropping Tahir every time he concedes a few boundaries. The recent World T20 tournament offered a glimmer of hope with spinners ending up as six of the top ten wicket takers (Test match playing countries only). But its hard to see the likes of Tahir, Badree, and Mishra forging much of a Test career henceforth let alone emerging as very good. The IPL as well has seen spinners (and leggies in particular) doing really well but bowlers like Tambe, Karn Sharma, Chahal etc struggle to get into their domestic teams for four-day games let alone the national team. Its ironic that the emergence of the shortest format led to fears of spinners becoming extinct but while they're thriving in T20, their future in the five-day format looks bleak.
December 22, 2013 was a sad day for world cricket. Cricketers like Graeme Swann not only bring their talents to the field but their attitude that conveys sheer joy at playing Test cricket is a much needed commodity. Especially in these days when young spinners are choosing to play the IPL over Test cricket (more on that some other time though). Jon Hotten is right in saying that he's the player the rebuilding England side will miss the most, but arguably world cricket will miss him almost as much. With Swann gone, Harbhajan and Vettori having completely faded away since 2011, and Saeed Ajmal and Rangana Herath (who're both nearly 37) not likely to last much longer, the next great (or even really good) Test match spinners are nowhere in sight.
Most fans of the five day game would probably rate great fast bowling as the thing they like most followed by fine batsmanship. And its now wonder that in most "greatest cricketer" or "my favourite player" lists its these breeds that dominate. In my view though, spin bowling is what imparts a unique rhythm to Test match cricket and makes it so different from other sports. No other role in a team sport requires that mix of patience, focus, and determination combined with the ability to suddenly seize the jugular. My view is likely rose-tinted (and therefore biased) having spent my formative cricket following years watching the likes of Warne, Kumble, Murali, Saqlain, and Mushtaq. And while the five named earlier were not in the same league they were pretty handy. Its why this list of spinners who've taken the most wickets since Swann debuted is such a depressing one. The top five in that list outside of those named here already are Ojha, Lyon, Ashwin, Shakib, and Rehman. All good, honest toilers but none that you'd back to run through a side on a good batting wicket with not too many runs in the bank. And its the same with the rest of the names on that list who are still active (and likely to have much of a career in future). Not one there to thrill or even inspire hope for the future.
The attitude of captains around the world has not helped much either. Nathan Lyon has been dropped by Clarke for the likes of Doherty and Agar who wouldn't make a second XI for an IPL team. India have recently resorted to picking Jadeja as their specialist overseas spinner and England are considering picking Moeen Ali as Swann's replacement. South Africa (who've never had much faith in spinners since readmission) keep dropping Tahir every time he concedes a few boundaries. The recent World T20 tournament offered a glimmer of hope with spinners ending up as six of the top ten wicket takers (Test match playing countries only). But its hard to see the likes of Tahir, Badree, and Mishra forging much of a Test career henceforth let alone emerging as very good. The IPL as well has seen spinners (and leggies in particular) doing really well but bowlers like Tambe, Karn Sharma, Chahal etc struggle to get into their domestic teams for four-day games let alone the national team. Its ironic that the emergence of the shortest format led to fears of spinners becoming extinct but while they're thriving in T20, their future in the five-day format looks bleak.
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