mid-day Opinion: Maclean’s wait and weight

Wicketkeeping they say is a thankless job Apart from the fact that wicketkeepers generally get noticed only when they falter they are also the ones who have endured a waiting period for higher honoursSyed Kirmani made his maiden tour with the Indian team in 1971 England but only played his first Test at Auckland in January 1976 Bob Taylor debuted for England in February 1971 vs NZ and played his next Test in December 1977 vs Pakistan Bharat Reddy was understudy to Kirmani on the 197778 tour of Australia and 197879 tour of Pakistan His chance to keep wickets for India came only when the selectors dropped Kirmani for the 1979 tour of England the grapevine being because he was a possible Kerry Packer World Series Cricket WSC signeeDeparted wicketkeeperopening batsman Kiran Ashar made his firstclass debut for Mumbai in the 196869 Irani Cup got injured in the game and was recalled in the 197677 Ranji Trophy season His namesake More from Baroda figured in a Test a good three years after he was picked in the squad for the 198283 tour of the West Indies during the Kirmani years David Murray toured with the West Indies as Deryck Murrayrsquos junior from 1973 but got his Test opportunity in 1978 when war broke out between the Packersigned players and West Indies board Come to think of it a lot of wicketkeepers have played the waiting game Australiarsquos John Maclean who passed away at the age of 80 last week went through a remarkable waitMaclean say pundits was tipped to replace Brian Taber for the 197071 Ashes series He was part of a secondstring Australian teamrsquos tour to New Zealand in 1970 and was highly rated for his wicketkeeping and batting Dennis Lillee Greg Chappell Terry Jenner Kerry OrsquoKeeffe and Alan lsquoFroggyrsquo Thomson who were Macleanrsquos teammates on that February 20April 1 1970 trip made their debuts in the Ashes series that unfolded later that yearBut when it came to blooding a new wicketkeeper the selection committee which Sir Donald Bradman was a part of went for Rodney Marsh According to Marsh in his book Yoursquoll Keep both stumpers had dinner together at Macleanrsquos Brisbane home the night the selectors picked the squad for the first Test They didnrsquot have a clue of this development as they broke bread together Marsh learnt about his selection through a phone call from his wife in Perth the following morning The wait had only just begun for Maclean He was even passed over when it came to finding a place in Bob Simpsonrsquos international cricketinexperienced Australia squad that faced up to the 197778 Indian touristsWhile Marsh was playing his first season of WSC the selectors chose Steve Rixon for the India Tests Maclean finally broke into the squad for the 197879 AshesOn Test debut in Brisbane Maclean helped revive Australia with an unbeaten 33 out of a feeble 116 and then went on to claim five catches in Englandrsquos first innings He provided no reason to be dropped midseries but sustained an eye injury in the buildup to the fourth Test at Sydney while facing pacer Alan Hurst in the nets His captain Graham Yallop who was bowling in the same net saw it all ldquoAlan Hurst and I raced up to him lsquoIrsquom gone Irsquom gonersquo he kept sayingrdquo Yallop wrote in the book Lambs to the SlaughterMaclean was cleared to play the Test with six stitches over his left eye but had trouble continuing on Day One itself Yallop took over the big gloves for a while before Maclean was back ldquoMaccarsquos effort really was one of a hero All he kept saying was that it might improve and that he did not want to let the team down so he would stick onrdquo Yallop further wroteA good five years before his Test debut Maclean gave up the Queensland captaincy so that Greg Chappell could become captain in his 197374 South Australia to Queensland move ldquoIt was much better being vicecaptain of a successful outfit than captain of an unsuccessful onerdquo Maclean told Chappellrsquos biographer Adrian McGregorApart from Marsh Maclean had an association with another Australian great wicketkeeper mdash Ian Healy In Hands amp Heals Healy wrote about first meeting Maclean in 1974 when the Queensland team visited Biloela Healy then 10 said Maclean ldquokindly talked to me about keeping and showed me his glovesrdquo When the future Test stumper asked where he could get a pair Maclean directed him to a sports store in BrisbaneMaclean ended up being a mentor to Healy who he first sounded out about the possibility of him being selected in The Team of the Century in 2000 As you can see Macleanrsquos contribution to Australian cricket goes beyond four Tests and playing the last of those Tests in pain Yet Maclean didnrsquot complain Gratitude came shining through in a 2014 chat with journalist Peter Hanlon ldquoI was lucky to get four Tests I was lucky to play for Queensland to be honest You take what you can getrdquoRest in peace stumpermiddayrsquos Deputy Editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper