Why do you think more of Sir Viv Richards than Michael Bevan? Is it because the sight of the ball disappearing into and over billboards satisfies some primal instinct? Or is it that the swaggering charm of the West Indian reminds you of what you could have been – the,Why do you think more of Sir Viv Richards than Michael Bevan? Is it because the sight of the ball disappearing into and over billboards satisfies some primal instinct? Or is it that the swaggering charm of the West Indian reminds you of what you could have been – the clockwork efficiency of the Aussie one-day specialist bringing to mind the classmate who was the perennial star of the prize-distribution day and the villain of your nightmares? You are not alone. Outside the sight of a lucky captain holding aloft the World Cup before millions of viewers, good old-fashioned hitting is the shortest ride to cricketing fame. Only bowlers want to forget hitters like Richards and Sanath Jayasuriya. Lance Klusener’s Cup performances in 1999 alone mean that no matter what his form, he will be held in dread till the day he retires. Hitting is one tradition that is in no danger of going out of fashion. In South Africa, keep your eyes peeled for Virender Sehwag and Adam Gilchrist. Vivian Richards Master blasterThe World Cup is the stage for the kings of cricket. No one combined the regal arrogance and brute power of a monarch better than the son of an Antiguan jail superintendent. There were big hitters in cricket before him and there will be many more after him, but Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was an original. Richards stood alone in a great team for the clean authority of his batting. A 23-year-old Richards came upon his – and cricket’s – first Cup in 1975 quietly, a debutant who scored 38 runs in all; but he impacted the final against Australia, running out Alan Turner and the Chappell brothers, Greg and Ian, to break partnerships that were threatening the West Indian total of 291. The West Indians ended up winning by 17 runs and were crowned cricket’s first world champions at Lord’s. Four years later when he returned to the World Cup, Richards was regarded as the game’s most fearsome and fearless hitter who swatted bouncers off his face and took on the fastest bowlers with gum-chewing insouciance. In the 1979 final, West Indies were 4-99 but England couldn’t stop Richards. He tore into the bowling, and when the dust settled was 138 not out, off 157 balls (11 fours, three sixes). A 137-run partnership between Richards and Collis King helped West Indies reach a total of 286. It was a bridge too far for England. The most destructive batsman in modern cricket had destroyed them long before they began to bat; England lost by 92 runs. For Richards the second consecutive World Cup win was, he says, “A turning point in the West Indian cricket history. We knew we could beat anybody and had no reason to feel inferior.”advertisementMark Greatbatch Pinch Perfect Mark Greatbatch was unstoppable in 1992. Part of Martin Crowe’s strategy to take opponents by surprise in the World Cup, the hefty lefthander was one Kiwi who took wing and flew far that year. Sent as a pinchhitter – with the brief to lead a kamikaze’s life at the crease – Greatbatch, a middle-order batsman by choice, revelled in rubbing opening bowlers the wrong way. Crowe’s novel strategy of having him hit quick bowlers over the top in the first 15 overs worked well for New Zealand. Opposition quickies didn’t have the time to adapt their bowling against the assault. The prematch meetings of rivals started centring on thinking of ways to contain Greatbatch with only two fielders at the fence in the initial overs. It was during New Zealand’s third league match against South Africa that Greatbatch’s intentions became clear. His 68 took only 60 balls. His 63 against the Windies and 73 in the match with India came in bursts of boundaries and sixes. Other teams were quick to learn the Greatbatch Way. Today, all sides grant one-day openers the licence to go after the bowling in the first 15. Greatbatch couldn’t keep up with the pace he had set and is forgotten today. But every time an opening batsmen gets ready to go for broke, the Greatbatch spirit lives on.Sanath Jayasuriya Matara Mauler Nobody was afraid of Sanath Jayasuriya when World Cup 1996 began. That was because no one had heard of him. But Jayasuriya took only one month to gain fame to last a lifetime. In partnership with Romesh Kaluwitharana, he took Manoj Prabhakar’s first two overs in the World Cup group match in Delhi for 33 runs. It was enough to shatter the bowler’s confidence forever. The short boundaries at the Ferozeshah Kotla had never looked nearer the batting crease. In the game against Kenya at Kandy, the Lankan was at it again, the team putting up 50 on the board in 20 balls. In the quarterfinal against England, Jayasuriya took four consecutive fours off Richard Illingworth. A six off Phillip DeFreitas landed on the pavilion roof.advertisementThe batsman’s 82 took just 44 balls. In the 1996 Cup, giving even the first ball of the innings the treatment wasn’t beyond Jayasuriya. He still treats bowlers in much the same way.Sourav Ganguly Bengal Tiger The India captain is going through batting horrors at the moment, but there are bowlers from Shaun Pollock to Chaminda Vaas who know what the left-handed opening bat is capable of on the big day. Ever since he took on the job of opening the Indian innings, first with Sachin Tendulkar and now with Virender Sehwag, Ganguly has brought his gift of clean timing, sparkling off-side play and an unabashed braggadocio into play in the one-day game. Ganguly stamped his presence on the World Cup with a mammoth innings versus Sri Lanka in Taunton in 1999. His 183 is the highest score by an Indian in a World Cup innings. Ganguly’s blitz of 183, with 17 fours and seven sixes, also equalled a record for the maximum number of sixes in a World Cup innings. In 2003, he will relish fighting his way out of the corner he is in.
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