Miracle at Eden that changed a British tradition
Three Indian cricketers got together
to change a British tradition. We are all aware that the Britons are a
conservative people, who take great pride in their age-old customs. They are
extremely proud of their heritage and their traditional practices.
But an event that occurred thousands of miles
away helped to change the Brits of a practice that remained active for more
than 100 years! VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Harbhajan Singh were involved with
a miracle in a Test match in 2001 at Eden Gardens.
Following-on, India raced to a decent total and
had the Aussies in all sorts of problems as they collapsed on the last day. The
victory from imminent defeat by a team after following-on was only the 3rd
instance in the annals of Test cricket since the first Test match in 1877 at
Melbourne between Australia and England.
The 1st instance was in
1894-95 when England captain Andrew Stoddart’s team defeated Australia at
Sydney after being asked to bat again. The 2nd occasion was in 1981
when Mike Brearley’s team had the measure of the Australians at Leeds.
Thankfully neither captain Stoddart
nor captain Brearley claimed any undue personal credit for the miraculous victories.
They were magnanimous enough to give credit to the principal architects as well
as to mention the secondary roles played by the other members of the winning
team.
My readers, of course, do remember
every detail of that stupendous victory which just celebrated its silver
jubilee early this year. Yes, 25 years ago at Eden that miracle of a Test match
left behind a whole lot of memories. Even books have been published to
highlight the Test victory. Very deservingly so. Ironically a very vital issue
related to the Test has been completely ignored in our own country.
Our media hardly realized that that particular
victory changed the course of a British tradition of more than 100 years! Britons
are a highly conservative people and rightfully take great pride in their
traditions and heritage. To alter their own practice reveals the exceptional respect
they have for the event and also their liberal views in the face of reason.
The point I am trying to highlight is
about Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, an annual that has been in existence since
1864 and is considered to be the ultimate reference book by all cricket lovers
all over the globe. Some even call Wisden, ‘The Bible of Cricket’ such is the
reverence for the reference annual.
In every edition Wisden chooses 5
‘Cricketers of the Year’ from those cricketers who performed in
England the previous season. For instance Wisden 1984 selected 5
prominent cricketers who played on British soil in 1983.
But the copy of Wisden 2002 had VVS
Laxman as one of the 5 ‘Cricketers of the Year’. This was extremely strange
indeed. For Laxman did not play in England at all in 2001. How and why did he
figure in Wisden 2002?
The Wisden’s editor of 2002 Graeme
Wright was magnanimous and knowledgeable enough to make an exception and had VVS
Laxman as one the 5 picks. This was certainly at odds with a very old British
tradition.
But it also goes to show how much of
respect Laxman received from very knowledgeable quarters. Let Graeme Wright
take over, ”…Initially his mission seemed impossible; after a while it had
become unbelievable…Despite the tradition that Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year
have played in England during the year under review, Laxman immediately became
an exception.”
This particular incident happened to
be a great contribution of that Test match. The unique victory altered a
British tradition. VVS was certainly the chief architect of that miraculous
victory with Dravid and Harbhajan in wonderful support.
In India, the artistic genius
Laxman’s magnificent prowess has never been properly acknowledged. His
superlative performances have attracted only cursory glances as the publicity
machinery concentrated on players who did not deserve half as much. That’s the actual
culture of Indian sport…
