Performance must count first

Thanks to the preIndian Premier League13 utterances of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ricky Ponting and the Indian offspinners recent warning dished out to Royal Challengers Bangalores Australian stalwart Aaron Finch some cricket followers got to know a lot more of Vinoo Mankad than ever beforeThey have been reminded that the great Indian allrounder ran out Australian Bill Brown for backing up too far in the Sydney Test of the 194748 seriesIndeed Mankad shouldnt be viewed in a derogatory way because firstly he did what he did according to the laws of the game By warning Brown in a previous game he also exhibited the spirit of the game and while that is and was welcomed the game will be played through the letter of the lawIn Sudhir Vaidyas 1969 biography of Vinoo Mankad the famed statistician and scorer mentioned that Brown was warned several times by Mankad during the November 1418 1947 Indians vs Australian XI game at the Sydney Cricket Ground held in the buildup to the fivematch Test series India won that game to register the countrys first ever win on Australian soil And Mankads 884 went down as a highly impressive effort watched by 3855 spectatorsDon Bradman who led that side just like he did in the Tests wrote in Farewell to Cricket In some quarters Mankads sportsmanship was questioned For the life of me I cannot understand why The laws of cricket make it quite clear that the nonstriker must keep within his ground until the ball has been delivered If not why is the provision there which enables the bowler to run him out By backing up too far or too early the nonstriker is very obviously gaining an unfair advantage On numerous occasions he may avoid being run out at the opposite end by gaining this false startOpposition fast bowler Ray Lindwall too was sympathetic towards Mankad in Flying Stumps Accusations of bad sportsmanship were made against Vinoo Mankad for the running out of Bill Brown at Sydney in the second Test but these were most unfair to the bowler If a batsman infringes the written laws he can have no grouse against a bowler not conforming to an unwritten lawWith the 194748 series getting so many mentions there should be more talk and memories of the performances in that series As much as we remember Vijay Hazares two centuries in the Adelaide Test we often forget that Mankad scored two centuries in that series mdash in both Tests which the Melbourne Cricket Ground played host toBefore his century in the third Test his sequence of scores was 0 7 5 5 with Lindwall sending him back on all four occasions A party was held after the first days play of the third Test and Mankad seized the opportunity to ask Lindwall his opinion on his failures In a moment of advicerelated generosity Lindwall told Mankad that he in Vaidyas description was coming down too late on the yorker and that possibly he would do better with slightly less back swing Mankad scored 116 the following day Another hundred came off Mankads blade in the final Test at MelbourneBradman was surprised by Mankads batting exploits considering the workload he endured in the bowling department mdash 174 eightball overs mdash in which he claimed 12 wickets none of those included the great Bradman though The Australian skipper playing his last Test series at home was dismissed on only four occasions His opposite number Lala Amarnath got him hit wicket in Brisbane Dattu Phadkar trapped him leg before in the first of the two Tests at Melbourne and Hazare disturbed his furniture in Sydney and Adelaide Very few can claim similar kudos as HazareTalking about appreciation the Well played Mankad note that Bradman handed to Mankad as the Indian team were getting ready to leave Australia was much appreciated and treasured He fought and fought magnificently to score two centuries against Lindwall and Miller the finest fast bowlers since World War II said BradmanThough the Indians lost 04 the individual allround performances of Mankad Hazare and Phadkar made it a memorable tour Amarnath may have not set the Yarra River ablaze but his good showing in the tour games contributed to him scoring 1000plus runs on the trip In the second Test at Sydney India utilised the wet conditions to bowl out the formidable Australian lineup for only 107 with Hazare bowling 429 with his cutters And if they were not caught on a Sticky Dog of a Brisbane pitch India would have fared far better than be dismissed for 58 and 98 in the first TestIf Mankad surprised observers by running out Brown he should also be commended for his sportsmanship in warning the Queensland batsman There was another example of good sportsmanship highlighted in Hazares book A Long Innings In the tour opener against Western Australia SW Sohoni hit the ball towards a pool of rain water at midwicket A fielder fearing a fall walked to collect the ball but Sohoni chose not to take the second run The sporting act was as handsome as the man performing it wrote HazareSporting gestures like these are rarely seen in the game today The current players shouldnt be blamed for being ruthless for the stakes are higher A display of sportsmanship could probably be counted as a bonusmiddays group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individuals and dont represent those of the paperKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news