Ashley Mallett weaves some spin magic again

Itrsquos been nearly 40 years since Ashley Mallett played his last Test for Australia the last two of his 132 Test wickets were claimed in the England v Australia Centenary Test at Lordrsquos in AugustSeptember 1980 But the former offspinner has not stopped spinning them when it comes to writing books on cricketApart from educating us with works on Aussie legends like Victor Trumper and Clarrie Grimmett the Adelaidebased Mallett who turned 75 earlier this month wrote insightful biographies of his former teammates Ian Chappell Doug Walters and Jeff ThomsonNow comes The Magic of Spin ndash Australiarsquos Greatest Spin Bowlers published by Hardie Grant Books Mallett is known to Indian cricket lovers for his 28 wickets in the 196970 home series which India under MAK Pataudi lost 13Mallettrsquos informative profiles on Australia spin bowlers over the years include one on himself His family moved from Sydney to Perth where he enrolled at Mt Lawley Cricket Club He tried bowling quick like Englandrsquos Frank Tyson but realised that his body was ldquonot and never would be built for speed So I stuck to offspinrdquo Mallett ended up as one of Australiarsquos most successful finger spinners He opted out of Australiarsquos successful 197273 tour of the West Indies because he looked beyond the willow game to make a living ndash journalism For long he has been known as a fine cricket writer of articles and books but he also covered parliament did the police rounds and wrote ldquocolour and hard news piecesrdquoMallettrsquos great mate was Terry Jenner who like the offspinner moved from Perth to South Australia Better known to some as Shane Warnersquos spin guru Jenner first played for Western Australia before making his debut for South Australia in 196768 In Mallettrsquos words they were the ldquospin twinsrdquo There were times when Jenner was not utilised enough by captain Ian Chappell and the bighearted legspinner used to demonstrate his protest by thumping a beer bottle on the table of the Adelaide Oval dressing room Invariably he would want an honest explanation from the captain as to why he was not utilised better Once according to Mallett in the book when Chappell didnrsquot give Jenner even a single over the skipper asked an angry Jenner if he ldquowanted an answer that would soothe his temper or whether he wanted the truthrdquo Jenner wanted ldquothe truthrdquo And so he got it ldquoTo tell you the truth I forgot you were out thererdquo said ChappellI was delighted to see a profile of a man who did not have the good fortune of playing for Australia ndash Queenslandrsquos Malcolm Francke Mallett quotes Greg Chappell as saying ldquoMalcolm was a very good bowler and much underrated especially by Doug Walters and Ian Chappell who always tried to belt the st out of himrdquoGreg Matthews that perky offie who starred in the second Tied Test at Chennai in 1986 attracts wholesome praise from the author He ended his appreciation of the New South Welshman with the words ldquoYes Mo Matthewsrsquos nickname was a different breed of cat He was also a tough dedicated cricketer with commitment flair loyalty and consistency Greg Matthews did not bow to convention He did things his wayrdquoMatthews is also hailed for spurning two offers of 200000 a season to go on rebel tours to South Africa ldquoNo thanks 200000 wouldnrsquot make me happyrdquo he is believed to have said while deciding to play traditional cricket for his countryWhat is a book on spin bowling without Shane Warne Mallett goes into detail about Warnersquos deliveries and the description of each is nothing short of riveting But he wrote ldquoFor all his array of deliveries in his repertoire much of it was Warnersquos bluff He became the greatest of cricketrsquos showmen There were other great ones such as Grimmett and Bill OrsquoReilly but they werenrsquot showmenrdquoCurrent star offie Nathan Lyonrsquos international cricket journey is described as ldquosomething of a magical carpet riderdquo Lyon could end up with 500plus Test wickets Mallet reckoned of the ldquothe groundsman who soaredrdquoMallettrsquos ability to tell a good story touch upon on technical aspects without making it too complex for the reader while writing on what Ian Chappell called in the Foreword ldquothe difficult art of spin bowlingrdquo and his captivating writing style puts him at the top of a strong tree of cricketerwriters Not bad for a man who was told by his form master at Perthrsquos Mt Lawley High School that he was ldquohopeless at EnglishrdquoCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereAlso 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