So Long ,Fred

When Freddie Flintoff puts an end to his miseries at the Oval it would be sad to see one of the last remnants of the 'quite a character' field fade away from the glorious theatre of test match cricket .Plaudits have been plenty and arguements have been made as to why Flintoff wont be considered a great of the game,most of them statistical in nature with maybe a semblance of truth in their rationale .

But how many times have we seen a modern day bowler bowling at his most ferocious with a battered knee go unchanged for an entire session ? These are things that make test cricket the game it is and give you the kind of high unmatched in the less purer varieties of the game . And aristes who give us these thrills are to be celebrated and admired no less for these very virtues.

Blessed with skills as heavy as his own bulk and never short of a vice the journey of Fred from that of an untutored youth to almost a Botham like image has been sincere and fascinating . The pinnacle of this journey was captured in the one over he bowled at Edgbagston in one of the greatest test matches of all time .And that arm around a devastated Brett Lee after which he later quipped that he had told Brett at that moment of truth that 'its 1-1 you aussie what not' typify the man .A sincere bloke with a decent sense of humour . A guy who would rank up with the Warne's and the Lee's and the Lara's and the likes who embodied great fighting qualities but were genuine and sportsmanlike in their appreciation of their opponents abilities .

My memory of Fred will be from the Chennai Test of 2008 as I was sitting in the stands biting my fingernails as Sachin crafted a great innings to win a great test match . Fred was treated with great respect by the Indian Batsmen , the whole stadium watched in great anxiety as he ran into bowl and there was a sense he would ruin the party whenever he had the ball in his hand.In short he was a cut above the rest and as he made a coupla consecuitve diving stops at fineleg and doffed his hat the crowd roared in appreciation .So did I .

So long, Freddie .

Punter and the gibes

First the boos .Then the sneers and then the gibes . The fact being Ricky and spirit of cricket have never gone hand in glove for the lack of a better expression . But in the age of politically correct people and hot shot marketers and IPL addicts Ricky is the kind that doesnt enter the stereotype .

Never the type who would let a situation pass without an abrasive retort of almost unschooled arrogance as ferocious as his pull stroke, the one thing you cant accuse the Aussie captain of is 'being a bore' . He mouths his opinions direct and his response time is quicker than when he takes a brilliant reflex catch at second slip.

But to make him the scapegoat of this entire 'spirit of cricket' debate smacks of hypocrisy . It is only fair to say he is merely an bigoted adherent of a legacy sustained by generations of Autralian cricketers and captains. At the very base of the spirit of cricket arguement lies the dictum 'Be gracious in defeat ' and Australian cricket fostered and nurtured anything but that .

It is no secret that the Chappels were sore losers . Great visionaries of the game they never left any stone unturned in their quest for victory,spirit of the game or not. Border was a handpick of the Chappels (Kim Hughes a brilliant batsmen had to leave in tears because he was a decent man and there was no place for decency) . Border promoted the tactic of sledging ,Taylor his successor tried to mask it underneath a gentlemanly exterior and Steve waugh almost turned it into an art form . So much so that probably the last great 'spirit of the game exponent' Brian Lara refused to come to bat unless 'Motormouth' Steve move himself and his barrage of verbal volleys out of cover . So it is barely surprising when Shane Watson,'the new age' aussie pro blames Australia's tempered sledges to his teams defeat at Lords .Meaning decency and winning are poles apart when it comes to the baggy green . In order to win you need to cross all lines and clear all boundaries .

But it is this unflinching and relentless 'win at any cost' attitude that made Australian cricket a brand to be cherished and admired . And it is unfair to single out Ponting, though worthy of rebuke and criticism for his actions, for all the ills that plague the 'spirit of the game' .It is high time the game's administrators and intellectuals and one and all addressed the base of this 'spirit of cricket ' philosophy . Until then lets accept australian cricket for what it is and punter for his pull stroke .