Better than those? My foot!

Cricket reacted quickly and responsibly in shutting down the game in order to try and minimise the crushing effects of the CoronavirusIn the absence of any cricket its an opportunity to reflect on an aspect of the game I enjoy Thats watching a batsman utilise good footwork to combat topclass spin bowling Two innings stand outmdashone played by Indias VVS Laxmanmdashthe other by Doug Walters of AustraliaLaxmans incredible 281 at Kolkata in 2001 is the best Ive seen against topclass legspin At the conclusion of that exhilarating series I asked Shane Warne how he thought he bowled I dont think I bowled that badly he replied You didnt I responded If Laxman comes three paces out of his crease and hits an unbelievable ondrive against the spin and you then flight the next delivery a little higher and shorter to invite another drive and instead he quickly goes onto the back foot and pulls it thats not bad bowling Thats good footworkDoug Walters the Australian batsman who could turn a match on his ownLaxman regularly did this during his 452ball stay in which he hit 44 boundaries Therein lies a clue to Laxmans success he consistently hit the ball along the ground Laxmans temperament was another huge part of his successful innings He proved on that occasionmdashand in many subsequent tight situationsmdashhe could ignore the teams dire predicament and concentrate solely on the next delivery Thats a great skill he shares with Walters Laxman was a superb batsman against all bowling His magnificent 167 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 2000 included many powerful hooks cuts and pulls against the pace of Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath However his 281 in Kolkata was a defining knock a very very special inningsShane Warne Three times Walters scored a Test century in a session There are no complete records regarding this feat but I suspect only Sir Donald Bradman did it more often Walters was the best player of offspin bowling Ive seen he didnt just survive against the very best he occasionally battered them into submission He scored a sublime hundred on a Chennai minefield in 1969 facing the offspinning wizardry of Erapalli Prasanna clubbing 14 fours and two sixes in the processHowever it was his century in a session on a receptive Queens Park Oval pitch in Trinidad that really captures his dominance of topclass offspinners In that 1973 Test Walters faced the first ball after lunch from the bowling of latertobe world record holder Lance Gibbs In the middle of a wickettaking over Gibbs was directing his offspinners at a rough spot just outside the righthanders off stump Walters promptly cover drovemdasha difficult shot for a righthander against the turning offbreakmdashthe first ball for four He collected another 13 fours and one six as he raced to 102 at tea There was one sequence of deliveries from Gibbs that summed up Walterss dominance Gibbs was bowling to a six onside three field when Walters with lightning quick footwork went onto the back foot and pulled a delivery to the midwicket boundary Gibbs immediately moved the point fielder to the midwicket boundary Next ball pitched in virtually the same spot as the previous one and Walters quickly into position cut it past the now vacant point position This prompted Gibbs to move the fielder back to point and when his next delivery again pitched in a similar spot Walters was in position for another pull shot to the midwicket boundary That is the essence of good footwork the batsman gets into the ideal position to hit the ball where he chooses rather than where the bowler wants the shot to go Walters was a freak who despite often staying up late drinking and smoking could still perform at the highest levelLance GibbsIve been privileged to watch many excellent players of spin including Brian Lara However those innings of Laxman and Walters are prime examples of batsmen dominating against topclass spin bowlingCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereAlso download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates